ten minute tuesday with a WOYWW twist..

hello, welcome. Sorry about being missing recently.

Where to start… “ahhhh” seems like a good place right now.

Having the kids at home is having a bigger knock on effect this year than last.

Last year, they played quietly. This year they have to be constantly reminded of what indoor voices sound like.

Last year they got on. This year they argue, scream and shout at each other over the smallest things.

Last year I could work happily with them in the background. This year it’s proving to be very stressful.

How many weeks until the schools are open again? We really should have summer camps like they do in the States. I know I’m a slight workaholic. You have to be when you work for yourself. I know I add self induced pressure to the mix. I know I am overdue a nice long break. Right now a Pimms will do!  Oh well, The Better Half finishes up on Friday for the rest of the summer and the full on family fun starts in earnest. Warnings have gone on the shop, just need to add holiday dates as well. (you can still order, but I won’t be popping back to pack them).

Right – creatively I’m been working on secret squirrel projects. Stuff I’d love to share, but can’t.

This is my desk pad. It’s been used for a wee bit of brainstorming. The rest of my desk is full of ink pads and stamps, invoices, pre-orders and stock lists.  I’m not sharing that as it looks like a fax machine has puked up on it. I kid you not, paper mountain, avalanche danger to all who enter. I have three weeks left before we head off on our jollies and I’m wondering how I’ll get it all done. I will though, because I have to. The Better Half will be here to ease the pain and allow me to get on with what needs to be got on with.

Just going to leave you with this picture, taken on my phone before the clouds wondered on. I love the crisp white edge to the clouds… a silver lining perhaps. A good omen.

brand new 7 Dots Studio!

Good morning everyone!

Not a lot of creativity going on, mainly because I’ve been paper stroking….

The first of the new releases we shall be stocking has arrived this morning. 

For your pleasure we have the two new collections from 7 Dots Studio.

  

Both collections have 6 double sided 12x12 papers, 6x6 paper pads, collection kits, die-cut elements and alpha sticker sheets.

Click on the images to be whisked away to shopping pleasure!

Happy Creating

Vicki

questions, questions

this may sound a little odd, but I went blog hopping around my own blog. Could that be considered a hop. No, probably not. A trip down the old posts then.

While I was there, back in 2009 (I didn’t even realise I’d be blogging that long!) I found a post “questions, questions”. It made me wonder if anything had really changed. One way to find out. Answer them again. It’s funny as I was taking a break from trawling through oodles of photo’s.  What’s on my to-do list – yep, trawling through oodles of photo’s.  Maybe life doesn’t change much after all.

The idea is you answer each one with just ONE word. No qualifying your answers… you can do that silently in your head if you wish, but go with your first response.

1. Where is your cell/mobile phone? Desk
2. Your hair? needing
3. Your mother? better
4. Your father? absent
5. Your favourite food? Homemade
6. Your dream last night? busy
7. Your favourite drink? Water
8. Your dream/goal? Less chaos
9. What room are you in? Study
10. Your hobby? Creating
11. Your fear? Loneliness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? surrounded
13.Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? skinny
15. Muffins? No
16. Wish list item? beach
17. Where did you grow up? Midlands
18. Last thing you did? finances
19. What are you wearing? glasses
20. Your TV? kids
21. Your pet? fluffy
22. Friends? Few
23. Your life? good
24. Your mood? exhausted
25. Missing someone? Yes
26. Vehicle? Car
27. Something you’re not wearing? tutu
28. Your favourite store? Lakeland
29. Your favourite colour? teal
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? tuesday
32. Your best friend? Chris
33. One place that you go to over and over? School
34. One person who emails you regularly? chris
35. Favourite place to eat? Piccolinos

If you answer them and share them on your blog, let me know, the nosey side of me would like to, well, take a nose!

ten minute tuesdays…

hello, and a very late welcome.

Isn’t it sooo good to have the sun out, for more than an hour. Not that I’m much of a sun worshipper….

that’s me… legs out, hiding in the shade of the tree’s on the school playing field waiting for my youngest to be released to me.

It’s a prep week this week. My little boy is growing up and I have a birthday cake to create! He doesn’t know it yet, but so far I’ve purchased a bigger tin to bake it in and this little lot..

All the colours of the rainbow! This time next week I’m sure I’ll be in baking hell.  Next on the list is a cake tin and base big enough to store it.

I’m also working on this weekends flash sale as part of our store’s birthday celebrations. 2 years old. Amazing. If you’re a scrapper, you’re gonna love the next one, but you’ll have to wait until Friday to find out what it is!

It’s the last week of term here next week so there won’t be a ten minute tuesday post from me. With birthdays, end of term Church services, parties, school disco’s and whatnot I won’t have time to do anything other than curse while decorating this cake.  I’ll try and remember to take photo’s if the cake works out and share that with you next time.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Vicki

words that speak to me…

…and I am no exception!

**NEWS FLASH**

 It's our birthday, and we're celebrating! 

All Darkroom Door Unmounted Stamps 

are reduced for this weekend only!

summertime photography scavenger hunt : Item No. 8 “a sign”

…that the little devils are close by….

My son told me to go and see it. Insisted I see it. I am so so glad he did. I laughed my socks off when I saw it. How perfectly apt.  I do have one problem with it though.  I have an overwhelming urge to paint the red triangle back in at the bottom to neaten it up!

Don’t forget to drop by Rinda's blog for all the details if you want to join in with the scavenger hunt.

ten minute tuesday

hello there! 

Summer seems to be coming in fast and the school holidays are a mere three weeks away for us. 

I dread them. 

Not because I don't love my kids, or spending time with them, but. Yeah, but.  I get nothing done while they are home so much. Working for myself becomes very hard and as for time to create, well, yeah, you can almost kiss that one away. 

On the plus side I'm lucky enough to have dearest darling hubby at home with me for the bulk of the school holidays. As a result, this year we have planned oooooodles of days out to keep the kids amused and get them nicely knackered.

 Its a plan.

 That means most of my ten minutes have been spent dreaming up and booking up some great days out. 

It had better work! I couldn't cope with a summer full of grizzles. 

I did manage some more traditional creative time this week, with my art journal. 

Confession....

• I spent about twenty minutes drawing on this... in one go. 
• I've been backwards and forward to laying down the colour for at least an hour at a time. 

So , not strictly ten minutes. More a gathering of ten minute sessions.

You can probably tell I used a page that had gesso on it. Why? It was the next page in my journal and I didn't give it a second thought. I've done the drawings using Pigma Micron pens (here in the shop) and Derwent watercolour pencil (I don't sell them as I you can get them cheaper elsewhere than I can get them!)

I've had a new set of Derwent Coloursoft pencils arrive today so I'm off for a play with them now.

Happy Creating and don't forget to link up if you've joined me this week. Links run until midnight next Monday.