Merry Christmas to all of you in Blog Land...

We are just finishing the packing of the car as we are off this evening. We will be spending the holidays with our family down in Surrey. Not sure whether we will have net access until Christmas Day, so I will wish you all a Merry Christmas now.

I hope you all enjoy spending time with people you love/care about, whether they are family or friends is unimportant.
Love
Caz
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HS:MS Glass

Today's prompt over on Her Space: My Space is "Glass", hard, brittle and transparent. Find 'glass' in your space today.
Ok here is my "glass" photo....or is it???
Will be back later with more...
Caz
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ETA - The bauble is actually acrylic from Hobbycraft and I decorated it by filling it with stiff ribbon, and making a bow with the same ribbon and using some organza ribbon to hang it, and finally used my Kandi Kane to attach some AB hot fix gems to the outside. I made one for a Bauble Swap over on the ScrapaGoGo Clubhouse...and loved it so much I had to make myself one.

HS:MS Drawer

Today's prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Drawer", a sliding storage compartment. Find "drawer" in your space today. Ok, so my first thought when I saw the word drawer was drawing, so I took a photo of a drawing Georgia did for me.

I then decided to go with convention and took a picture of the drawers on my welsh dresser...you can see Georgia has decorated one of the drawers...which is pretty much the norm for the kitchen, she is forever sticking stickers and pictures on everything.

We have another busy week on the run up to Christmas. I am working in between I am seeing Georgia in her school Christingle service. She has been busy practising the words to the songs, so I am looking forward to seeing that tomorrow morning.

Anyway I better finish getting ready for work. David worked all day yesterday and went back late last night, so he is off work today, so he has taken Georgia to school and is meeting me for lunch at Dobbies....feels so decadant.
Caz
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HS:MS SPS & SOS

Bit late with my HS:MS SPS this week as I had a house full of visitors yesterday...and they expected to be entertained. So as I received a special request from Maz...my SPS is of me in Georgia's pink wig....well she did ask, she may well regret it once she sees it...LOL. OK so definately not as cute as Georgia...but that was expected. Georgia did wear it to the fancy dress birthday party, and when she got there none of her friends recognised her...until a mean boy (one of the naughty ones from school...her words not mine) pulled it off, and she couldn't get it back on again.

So my SOS's for today were taken yesterday in The Centre MK at the Christmas display and on the Carousel. This years theme was Toad of Toad Hall. I took pictures of all the displays and I am rather pleased with the pics...taken without using the auto feature...had to crank up the ISO as the light is poor because they had darn curtains up at all the windows. So here they are, the first is of Georgia on the Carousel. I am so pleased that I got this shot, what with it going round and round and all the lights and the poor light. This next one is of the boating lodge that was part of the wishing pool where people can throw money in, and it is given to a different charity each year, this year I believe it is going to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital.

This final picture is of the Nativity scene, it was lovely, and surprise surprise most people didn't even bother to look at it...

Anyway, I have loads to do...including writing Christmas cards, writing up a class PDF, designing with my ScrapaGoGo january Kit ( and it's totally lush and I can't wait) and helping Georgia with her homework, which is to design her dream bedroom using a shoe box......
Caz
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HS:MS Teddy

Today's prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Teddy", a soft toy bear. This is one of Georgia's favourite bears. The bears are called Newton (Newton's Law), this is big Newton and her original one is called little Newton, or newty. We have found the website that sells the stuff and have almost every item that they sell. The original bear came from Boots in an Xmas Gift Pack with bath bits, and since then I have had trouble locating other items. This picture shows big Newton lounging on the chocolate brown fur throw that is on my bed.

Georgia is off to a fancy dress party on Saturday, and I got her a new costume to wear. She is going as Stephanie from Lazy Town, right down to the pink wig and bangles... She tried the costume on last night and let me take a couple of quick photos. She loved it...right down to the pink wig. She looked so flippin' cute, I cannot wait for her to wear it to the party.

Georgia is off to Milton Keynes Theatre with the school today to see Aladdin, and she is very excited, so I am sure we will hear all about it when we collect her late this afternoon.

Caz
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HS:MS Laces

Today's prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Laces", two pieces of string to assist in the fastening of shoes and clothing. So finally one I can join in with today.... So here are laces in my space today.

On Friday before the School Xmas Bazaar I took some photos of the Year One & Two's in their costumes for the production of Hosanna Rock. I took over 100 pictures and chose the best of each grouping (totalling 11) and we displayed them for the parents to buy. We sold them for £1 each, with a cost price of 25p, we made a little over £65 from my pics....I am chuffed as there were lots of lovely comments from the parents, some even asked if it was what I did professionally. I am a long was off from that, but definately an enthusiastic amateur.

Lots to do still this week, as I am off on Friday and spending my day off with the kids in Year One at the school making snowflake decorations....chaotic fun.
Caz
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I'm back....

Wow, had a fabulous if somewhat busy weekend. The School Xmas Bazaar was a resounding success, and looks set to become a regular event. We finally got on the road at 6pm on Friday, and arrived at approx 8.15 tired but happy. I got to meet up at the hotel with Sandiee and Kazzii for a chat and a cuppa, and also for brekkie on Saturday morning, which was fab.

On Saturday we started our day long class with Shimelle, and it was fantastic. I also finally got to have one of her lush cupcakes....Gingerbread Latte....and it was delish, I made it last from 11am till about 5pm....I even took a piccie...and here it is...

Finally for tonight, here is a picture Lorraine took for me, of Shimelle and I. A little grainy as we had to crank the ISO up...but not bad... (thanks Lorraine).

Shimelle was exactly how I imagined she would be, warm, friendly and very enthusiastic about scrapping.

We finally made it home at approx 5pm, after spending a couple of hours in Aldeburgh on the beach...well technically we didn't stay on the beach long as no sooner than we walked 100 yards, the heavens opened and we were soaked....we had to take cover in a telephone box. After enduring it for an hour we walked back to the car and drove through the town to the best Fish & Chips I have ever had....trust me they were amazing.....

Tomorrow is Georgia's School Play, and I managed to process and upload the photos that I took on Friday to Costco and got David to collect them on his way home this evening. The idea is that the parents can buy a photo for a £1 and the PTA makes a little money to spend on things for the school. Anyway the video camera is charged and I am ready for tomorrow.

So till then, goodnight.
Caz
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Off to CropaGoGo

I am off now to CropaGoGo's December crop, featuring fun and a fab Shimelle class, so I won't be back until Sunday. I may have internet access, and if I do I will update, otherwise I won't...
No rocket science there...LOL

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and take care.
Caz
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HS:MS Card

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Card". Now I am sure the obvious picture at this time of the year is a Christmas Card....but I opted for something a little different....










Ok, so my list has gone down a little.

1. Bauble for a bauble swap DONE
2. CJ WILL DO ON FRIDAY EVENING AND AT CROP
3. Choose/print 20/30 pics for a Shimelle class WORKING ON
4. Decorate 60 snowflakes..well about 40 as some are done DONE
5. Cut out 150 keyring blanks for the school bazaar WORKING ON
6. Finish a mini book for newphew James NEXT WEEK
7. Make 2 or 3 teachers gifts NEXT WEEK

As you can see from the list, I am slowly making headway...although I see a late night on the horizon for me tonight...LOL
Caz
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HS:MS Chilly & Christmas

I am playing catch up today so here are is yesterdays prompt "Chilly" and todays prompt "Christmas". Chilly is a bit of a cheat as the photo was taken in January...but I couldn't resist.

Now my Christmas tree is partially up, but we need to add some of the baubles as we ran out of time last night and Georgia wanted to help so I said I would leave it until she got home from school.

I am working my through my "To Do" list, and I am determind that everything for the School Bazaar will be finished by the end of the day. I am about to work on the snowflake decorations and then I need to finish cutting the keyring shapes. I had also forgotten that I had to print labels to go on the keyring parcels once they are wrapped, and I have them done on the computer, but the darn printer didn't feed properly and printed them in the wrong place, so those donated labels will have cost me a packet as I now have to go to Staples and buy another pack of avery address labels as I have used up the ones my Mum got for me 5 or so years ago.

Anyway, back to the grindstone.
Caz
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HS:MS Cosy

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Cosy". A little late posting this today, but everything seems to be conspiring against me today.

I have a stack of crafty type things to sort out this week including...

1. Bauble for a bauble swap
2. CJ
3. Choose/print 20/30 pics for a Shimelle class
4. Decorate 60 snowflakes..well about 40 as some are done
5. Cut out 150 keyring blanks for the school bazaar
6. Finish a mini book for newphew James
7. Make 2 or 3 teachers gifts

Not much, thankfully the bottom two items are not needed straight away...but the rest have to be done by FRIDAY. Thank goodness my Wednesday client cancelled today, so now I have an extra day to play.

Anyway, better get back to it, or I will never be done.
Caz
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HS:MS SOS

Here is my HS:MS SOS. I am off to the MKScrappers monthly crop....It's December so there is plenty of lovely food and fun this month.

Will be back this evening with pics.

Caz

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HS:MS SPS

It's Self Portrait Saturday over on Her Space : My Space, and after my night out with the girls last night I am feeling a little the worse for wear. So my SPS reflects the drinking and lack of sleep, and I hadn't even brushed my hair...

Today we have visitors, David's Brother and his wife and their two boys. Georgia is very excited as it means she can cuddle baby Lewis again.

Tomorrow is the December MKScrappers Crop, and we have a fab acrylic album kit, so I am determind to pack lighter than normal....and plan what I want to do.

I can't believe it is December already...it is now officially Christmas. Tomorrow David is getting the Christmas decorations down from the loft as we always put them up the first weekend of the month.

Anyway, back to chores before everyone arrives.
Caz
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HS:MS Soft

Todays texture on Her Space : My Space is "Soft", and things don't come any softer than my beautiful moggie "Sweep". She is the most adorable kitty. She is definately a Momma's cat, and will curl up on my lap and purr till her hearts content...licking me with her rough little tongue. Her coat is somewhere between long and short hair and feels like velvet to the touch. Her brother "Sooty" is a different story, he is incredibly nervous around people and will escape out of the cat flap the minute Georgia comes into the house, or when we have visitors and only returns when she is asleep or they have left. His fur is much shorter and not so soft & fluffy.

Georgia came home the other day with a note from school asking for a sheep costume for the school play, now they did't say you had to buy anything, but Georgia didn't have anything that I could use (most of her clothes are pink...and I have never seen a pink sheep). So I knew I had seen a sheep costume in Asda so yesterday I popped it...but they had sold them all. So I decided to try Tesco as it was just round the corner. As I go up the escalator I can see Angel costumes hanging up....but can't see anything else. As I rounded the corner I finally saw that they had some sheep costumes and they were 20% off...so cost me just £4.80...what a bargain.

Have a busy day again today, so better get going. Back later.
Caz
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HS:MS Bristles

Todays texture is "Bristles". I thought I would get ahead of the game today and get a picture before I left for work. So here is mine....the bristles on my hairbrush.

Georgia went to her School Disco last night and I was a helper...I took about 200 photos in the space of one hour. All the kids kept coming over and dancing in front of me wanting me to take their picture. Some were rubbish, but in amongst the rubbish are a couple of corkers.

This was one of my faves of Georgia and her friend Anneka not sure I spelt it correctly (said Arnica). She is such a pretty little girl.

Caz

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HS:MS Smooth

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Smooth". Now Kirsty mentions worksurface, but that certainly wasn't what sprang to mind when I sat an thought about the word "smooth". So here is smooth in my space today.

Still busy designing bits with ScrapaGoGo December Kit, so far have done a DLO and 3 Projects...and I have another LO on the GoGo...hehehehe. This evening I am helping at Georgia's school fancy dress disco as part of the PTA...so no peace for me.

Yesterday was my mate Lynseys birthday, and as a little surprise I went to see her. She saw my car arrive and wondered where I was....I was hiding behind the hedge trying to light a candle on a carrot cake (her fave) in the wind, with one hand (the other had the cake and gift). So she answers the door and I pop out an sing very quietly (and badly) "Happy Birthday", she was on the phone which is why was singing so quietly...think it made her laugh, and made her day too. We are off out on Friday evening to celebrate properly.
Caz
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HS:MS Rough

Todays texture over on Her Space : My Space is "Rough". Had real trouble today as the light is so poor, so here it is...wish I could have managed a better shot of the texture...but this was as good as it got.

Been busy working on December designs for ScrapaGoGo. Finished a couple of projects and a DLO, and I am really pleased with the DLO...you will have to wait until 20th December to see them though...unless you are a subscriber that is...

**ETA - Dozey mare that I am, I didn't tell you what it was....well it's Heidi Swapp Sandpaper.**

Caz

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HS:MS Wet

This week over on Her Space : My Space we are looking at texture. Todays texture is "wet". Well isn't it just typical, on the day for wet when I was looking for rain....it doesn't rain. So anway here is what I came up with instead.

Georgia and I have spend the day together as the School was closed for a teacher training day. We spent our time watching TV, tidying up....sort of, and then getting messy all over again. We also started our annual ritual of watching christmassy films, and today was our first..."Elf". We have picked up a couple of the phrases from the film..."Cotton headed ninnie muggins" and "Son of a nutcracker".....they always make me smile.
Caz
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HS:MS Crystal

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "crystal". A substance with geometric regularity. Find ' crystal' in your space today. Ok, so my picture is not as fab as Anita's...but I am pleased.

Off to do the weekly shop in a minute...we must be mad on a Friday evening...but it would be worse in there tomorrow....and anyway Georgia & I are out visiting all day tomorrow while David is working.

Caz
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HS:MS Thirsty

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "thirsty". To feel a need to drink something. Find 'thirsty' in your space today.

After a hectic morning, I came home dying for a lovely cuppa....coffee not tea...can't stand tea, and haven't drunk it for over 20 years. So here is "thirsty" in my space. This is my own recipe....I use coffee mate and milk, I am so slow to drink, that the coffee mate helps it to stay hot longer as I use less milk. Today I even frothed the milk a little with my frother.

Last night at the PTA meeting the committee loved my samples and ideas for the "gift room" at the Christmas Bazaar, so I came home last night and placed the order online. So we are having 90 coasters and 150 keyrings (50 each of t-shirts, houses & hearts) and the kids can decorate them and we will help them to wrap them ready to surprise their parents with on Christmas morning....it sure beats the other idea...a cheap tacky comb.....just don't ask...LOL
Caz
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HS:MS Grain

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Grain". A rough texture on wood or stone. Find 'grain' in your space today. Well I have tried a different interpretation. Now I did get down and get a picture of my wooden floor, but it was too boring....so I decided on "grains" of rice....

I am off to a PTA meeting at the school. Plans are in full flow for the Christmas Bazaar, and I have purchased some bits for the kids to do. They are going to have a room where the kids can buy a gift for their Mum's & Dad's. We have chosen some coasters that the kids can draw pictures to go inside, and I am hoping to tempt them with keyrings that the kids can do in the same way. I also got some funky foam snowflakes that they are going to be able to decorate.

Glad Anita managed to find time today to post a prompt, as my day felt strangely empty again while waiting for it to appear.
Caz
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HS:MS Alley

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Alley". A narrow passageway between or behind houses. Show us an 'alley' in your space today.

Here is the alley that runs along the side of the house giving access to our garden without going through the house. While it is not the biggest alley, I like ours. It has lovely green ivy, beautiful scented lavendar and a gorgeous pampas grass. There is a streetlight right by the side of the house, but it is a lovely ball shape, and lights up the house in a pretty glow in the evening.

Caz
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ScrapaGoGo November DT work...

OK, so today is finally the 20th, so I can share....

This first page is titled "I Crown You Miss Cheeky 2007"

This next one is called "Going to the Ball". This months kit was very unusual in that you got black and white papers with small amounts of pink and blue/green. As soon as I saw the sheet of patterned paper I knew that I could colour it in....I used glitter pens to give the page extra sparkle.
This next one is a 12x6 page. I really enjoy this smaller size as it works perfectly with a 4x6 photo. The picture is of my Step-Niece taken in the summer, she is growing up so fast, and turning into a young lady.

The final page that I did was for a PDF class, and was called "You Bowl Me Over". I wanted to do a multiphoto layout as I lean more often than not to single photo pages. So this one is using pictures of Georgia when we went bowling in half term, I turned the photos to B&W and they really seemed to have a vintage feel.

I also showcased an acrylic album using the kit. Although the album was not included in the kit, they were available to purchase in the "Grab-Its".

Ok, so I also created a card, decorated the little pot that the blossoms came in, and still have lots of pieces left. Check out the ScrapaGoGo Clubhouse and see what the rest of the DT came up with....stunning work as usual.
Caz
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Venture Pictures...

Well here they are, up on the wall. I love them, they may have cost an arm and a leg, and I will never do it again...I have to stay away from them...next time I find a local independant photographer with a white studio and get them to take them.....but put aside the cost, and I still adore them.

With no daily prompt over on Her Space : My Space because Kirsty has been over to Holland visiting with Anita, I feel as though something has been missing from my day. I have found myself regularly checking the Blog to see if there has been a prompt posted...but nothing, nada, zilch....please come back ladies...we miss you.

The rest of this week is a little easier work wise, and hopefully this can continue into the new year as October was hellish. I can't believe we have slightly more than one month to Christmas and I have barely started shopping...although I don't actually have that many gifts to buy.

Tomorrow (fingers crossed) my December ScrapaGoGo Kit should arrive. I have a couple of planned items and cannot wait to get my hands on it and get started....so if you are reading Danny (my Postman)...I know...like he would be..heeheehee, then please deliver it to me tomorrow.

Anyway that's all for tonight folks...back tomorrow with more.
Caz
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HS:MS SOS

Today is SOS over on Her Space : My Space, so here is a picture I took of Georgia yesterday after her fancy dress party. Can you believe the size of that balloon....and I had to blow it up...unaided.

Today has been spent doing odd jobs and watching Zoe 101 and Hannah Montanna with Georgia.

I collected my Venture pics yesterday and I am so pleased with them, once they are on the wall I will take a photo and post.

Caz
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HS:MS SPS

Ok, it is Self Portrait Saturday (SPS) over on Her Space : My Space, so I decided that this morning all you were getting was a peek at my slippers...note to self, stick slippers in washing machine..LOL

Yesterday I received my November Jenni Bowlin kit, and for the first time ever I used it the same day....I know, shock horror...LOL. Anyway here is the LO I did last night.

Georgia is off to a fancy dress party this afternoon, and while she is there I am off to Venture to collect our prints....very excited.
Caz
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HS:MS Away

Todays prompt on Her Space : My Space is "Away". So I have been "away" working so didn't get a chance to do a picture today, so here is one I took in August when Georgia and I were "away" for a few days in Suffolk visiting with Lorraine from ScrapaGoGo and her lovely family.

I really love the shot we took on the beach in Aldeburgh...the sky (when th clouds disappeared) was so blue and gorgeous every shot taken looked fab.
Caz
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HS:MS Minature

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "miniature. A replica of something in a smaller scale. Find 'miniature' in your space today.


Ok, so I have loads of these charm things that I use on minibooks, my favourites are the corkscrew and keys, so I have taken two pics today.

I have taken the pictures on a regular DL envelope so that you can see how small they really are.
Caz
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Drama on a Thursday...

I was sitting in the lounge, minding my own business, drinking a cup of coffee when I noticed that Sweep, our female cat was up to something in the hall. So I get up to investigate and to my surprise she had a field mouse. I think she must have bought it in earlier this morning as I had just had a quick cuddle and she didn't have it then. She must have put it down in the hall and then it disappeared under a pile of shoes. Anyway I am sorry to say, no picture this time as I was worried that it would disappear into the house. Georgia wanted to keep it an now Sweep is wandering around the hall all dejected like she has lost her "play thing". This is not the first "play thing" she has bought home, we have had a baby bird, 2 frogs and now a field mouse, she is very accomplished in the art of catching things where as Sooty is afraid of his own shadow and would be scared of bird/frogs & field mice. Thankfully all but one "play thing" have left the house safely if a little shocked, the only exception was a frog that thought hiding under the mat by the front door was a good idea...maybe he was waiting politely to be let out, sadly he was a little thinner when he left as he got squished under said mat.

HS:MS Collect

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "collect", To bring or gather objects together. Find 'collect' in your space today.

Those who have known me for a long time know that I am a "collector". I usually always collect something. As a child I have collected scented/novelty erasers (known as rubbers when I was young), badges, keyrings, Beanie Babies (I was an adult by then), Cabbage Patch Dolls (cute ones from the US, not the ugly ones from my childhood), Lladro & Momiji Dolls. Since I started crafting/scrapbooking I have stopped collecting...well apart from Stash and the occasional Momiji.

So here is a picture of my Momiji dolls, and I will try to find a picture of my Cabbage Patch Dolls...just to prove they are quite cute.


Caz
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HS:MS Snip

Today over on Her Space : My Space the prompt is "Snip", to cut quickly. Show us "snip" in your space.

This was Georgia showing me that she wanted to give her frings a quick "snip".

Got to dash, collected Georgia from French and now she is going off to Gymnastics.
Caz
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ETA..just looked at the photo and it looks pretty scary...but to set your minds at rest...someone was holding her arm, and they are not as close to her face as the angle of the photo portrays. I asked David to hold on so that I could get the shot....what am I like. She loves to cut things up, and generally she uses her own pair...she was just being her usual sneaky self.

HS:MS Almost

Todays prompt over on Her Space : My Space is "Almost". Not quite or very nearly, show us 'almost' in your space.

Georgia came up with this idea. I was reading this mornings prompt and she told me my glass of water was almost empty....so I used her idea.

Georgia and I are trying a new morning routine, as so far so good, she has just finished getting herself dressed...including tights. She is about to brush her hair and try to put it in a ponytail. I have told her we will be having a chart, and everytime she does as she is asked she will get a smiley face, and if she doesn't she will get a sad face, and then at the end of the week she will get a treat if she has over 80% smiley faces.

Provided she continues to behave this morning, we are going to make Christmas decorations after school.

I also wanted to add a huge thank you for the words of support after my rant post on Friday, it was good to know that others had been through a similar time and come out of the other end....
Caz
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LO's from the Crop

I am really pleased with both of the LO's I did at this months MKScrappers Crop. I had an idea to use all my SPS pictures to make a sort of "Book of Me" and scrap each picture that I take. It took me a while, but I love this LO. Every LO that I have seen using the pink scalloped circle has placed it cut in half and vertically on the page, and while I love that I really wanted to make mine different. For the first time ever I used loads of my favourite products and didn't care if I used them up...I promised myself to not dash online and replace all the finished items

Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, MM Noteworthy paper & glitter diecuts, MM glitter letters, HS chipboard, bling, acetate clock & journal spot, Fancy Pants crochet blossoms & button, MAMBI bling star and the crochet wings were from eBay US.
The other LO I did was of Georgia. I love the photos that David took of her when the went out together while I was cropping back in September, the sun in Georgia's hair is sooo lovely.

Materials used: All Creative Imaginations "Caution Girl"

HS:MS SOS

Ok, so I am posting this just after midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning as I am off cropping all day tomorrow. I took this photo on Thursday this week with the new lens...one of the first. Georgia was so cute practising framing her photo with her hands...very cute.

Anyway I am all packed for tomorrow, and now I need to go and get some beauty sleep. I will be checking out everyone elses SOS's when I get home tomorrow evening, and will also share some of the things I did and the crop....provided I actually get something done.
Caz
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Another picture...

Ok, so we rushed of to a Halloween Party, I had been to Asda yesterday and got a cape reduced from £6 to £1, and a witch hat that was reduced to 34p, and I was the only adult in fancy dress. Not quite an SPS as Lyns took the picture for me. I have had to play around a bit in PS Elements 5, as the background wall was an awful colour and I had a light switch and a picture frame coming out of my head. I am quite pleased with the results...although I am still learning and have a long way to go. So anyway here I am in my Witchy outfit...

Anyway, better get organised as it is the MKScrappers Crop tomorrow and as usual I am not packed.
Caz
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HS:MS SPS

Here is my SPS for today...got to dash, will be back later as we are off to a Halloween Party...

Caz

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