Feeling Poorly...

Had been feeling the early signs of a cold, and when I woke up this morning my throat was sore and my nose was streaming. I must have blown it a million times today. It made me think of something my Mum used to say to me. I would say "Mum, my nose won't stop running" and she would say "Tell it to walk". I really do miss the silly things she used to say to me. So hard to believe that she will have been gone for 4 years at the beginning of May. I miss her every day...just talking to her, hearing her voice. Anyway before I have myself in tears, back to business. I managed to drag my sorry self off to the school to drop Georgia off, and on the way home felt incredibly sick, and decided to cancel my appointment for today. Bearing in mind that I had trouble making it home the mile from the school, I decided that a 70 mile round trip was not the most sensible thing to do. So I spent the day feeling sorry for myself and scrapping on the sofa. I had a little 6x6 canvas given to be by a team mate on UKS, and decided to make it for Georgia.
So here it is, when Georgia saw it her exact words were "Mummy, it's fantabulous", she is such a cutie. Knowing how poorly I was feeling she was such a little angel here this afternoon.

Anyway, I think I can hear the shower calling me, and then I am off to bed to watch the new series of CSI on Five.

More CHA Sneak Peeks...

Well CHA is in full swing now, and more pictures are appearing on forums worldwide.

I have been looking to see what all my favourite manufacturers have in store for me. I have started to make a list of things that caught my eye from the pictures, but like most scrappers, I would like to see better pictures before I decided for sure.

I am loving all the new stamps by Autumn Leaves, particulary the seals and the barcodes pictured here, there are also some fab new overlays as I mentioned yesterday, they are great for easy to do pages.

The florals still seem to be popular, so anyone hoping that trend was over will be disappointed. As usual there are an abundance of "girly" papers and embellishments, with fewer aimed at the "boy" market. Saying that Junkitz have a new "boy" range which looks great, as does Creative Imaginations, and of course as I mentioned yesterday...there is also a "Toby" range from Love Elsie by KI Memories.

Bazzill have bought out some new Bling Colours, and also some new shapes and colours to the "With an Edge" range, here is a picture of one of the new shapes, I like the look of the tag....it will make great not so mini albums, or just an interesting change on layouts, think I will put a couple of those on my wish list.

Also by Rhonna Farrer and Autumn Leaves is a fab new line of papers, French Twist, they are also on my list.
A couple of new books in the Autumn Leaves Designing with range...Designing with Details, and Perfectly Clear Stamps. The list really does go on and on. Like majority of Scrappers across the world I will be searching out my favourites.

As a self confessed stash addict, I really do not need any of the items I have listed, if I carried on scrapping for the next 5 years I would barely run out of some of the items in my stash....but I still NEEEEEEED them!

On a more personal note, after much umming and ahhing, I have finally ordered myself a Troll Bracelet. I ordered a nice long length of bracelet, so that I have enough room for my chubby little wrists once it is laden with beads. I only ordered a couple of beads and the clasp, I opted for the fish clasp...I am a Pisces after all, then came a Coffee silver bead...I do love my morning coffee...finally came a Rose Ribbon...which I think of as a Pink Ribbon and reminds be of loved ones who lost the battle to Cancer. I have also commissioned a "dangle" to be made by a lovely lady in the US ( Thanks Vicki for her details). With Mothers Day and my Birthday around the corner, I am already making a list of ones that my family can buy me. I will post a picture of it as soon as it arrives (hopefully later this week). What Troll Beads are on your wish list??

CHA and the new stuff...

I am sat here browsing through the sneak peaks posted on many of the US & UK Scrapping Forums, and I wonder where it all ends. It seems like every manufacturing is coming out with a different cutting system. We have the CraftRobo, Cricut, Pazzles, and Quickutz have just announced their new system...The Silhouette. With so many different manufacturers and systems coming onto the market, how do you decide which one to get?, and will there be a better one on the market only moments after you have made your purchase? With a price point of between £370 & £270 there are many things to consider. With the CraftRobo the initial outlay is the highest, but then you don't have to pay for cartridges, or downloads, but then there is the steep learning curve, and it needs to be connected to a PC. With the Cricut you have a price point of £265 with many online stores having special offers on at the moment. You don't need a PC, but the cartridges are in the region of £50 each. I am told it is very easy to use. I don't know anyone who has the Pazzles, although I see it regularly advertised in the US CK magazine. The Silhouette says that it will have downloads available, but whether they are free remains to be seen. It also says that it will cut any true type font, but again, can they be ones you already own? So by the time the next show happens later in the year, how many cutting systems will there be?

I also saw another new gadget from Making Memories....a Tag Curler, I mean, could they not have designed one tool last year...instead of giving us the Tag Maker last year, and the Tag Curler this year? Or is it just a ploy to part us with our hard earned cash.


I am loving the look of the new Love Elise range introduced by KI Memories. I think there is something for everyone. I know many people are frustrated at the lack of "boy" stuff, with so many manufacturers adding flowers & hearts to green/blue paper ranges. I am sure Elsie's line will be successful, and hope we see many more lines from her in the future.


For anyone who has been getting the Jenni Bowlin kits this past year, you will have seen her line of journalling cards. Well Autumn Leaves are releasing them as clear stamps. Also be Autumn Leaves are some fab Overlays by Jackie Eckles, I have recently purchased some digital overlays of hers. There are also some fab seal stamps and barcode stamps both by Katie Pertiet, which I quite sure will end up in my stash at some point.

For a stash addict, the trade shows are a glimpse into my future purchases, and while there is plenty that I won't be buying....there is plenty that is already on my shopping list.

New Header

Well, I did manage my lie-in, can't remember the last time I got to sleep until 8am...LOL Since having breakfast I have been busy cleaning and tidying and I decided to take a break from housework (I know...dirty word to a real scrapper) and made a new Blog Header. David took this picture of me last week during our little photo shoot, when I was looking up at Georgia's balloon....and I kind of liked the lost look....contemplating, what I am not entirely sure.

Took delivery of some 7 Gypsies papers from QVC yesterday. Now QVC really could learn a thing or two from the Online Craft Stores. They sent them in a corrugated envelope...which is an improvment on their previous packaging. Sadly as the weather had been wet all week, they arrived a little soggy. Ironic really when Creative Imaginations Foam Stamps that I also ordered arrived packed in the same corrugated envelope, but also had a plastic bag around them. Anyway, back to the papers, approx half were beyond use, but the ones in the middle faired a little better. When I called QVC she wanted me to send them back, I explained that it wouldn't be worth it as most were a soggy mess, so she finally agreed to send me out a replacement pack...yipee.

David has just taken Georgia off for a walk, so the house is totally peaceful. I cannot remember when it has been this quiet...no tv, no music, just the gentle hum of the fridge/freezer. Well that didn't last long, no sooner had I typed it, than they walk through the door, leaving a muddy trail on the carpet in the hall.....arrggghhh, MEN.


Will leave you with more layouts done earlier this month. I took this picture of Georgia with Jody (my step niece) during a quiet moment in the afternoon. They look so comfy and cozy snuggled up together.
This layout was done for a Design Team call by Ribbon Mad on UKScrappers back in October, I think. Sadly I was unsuccesful, but I really loved the page, and that is all that matters in the long run, and I am on the ScrapaGoGo one now, so maybe these things happen for a reason.

Well back to the housework, as sadly it doesn't do itself.

Another week flies by...

I cannot believe another week has passed. Not the best week for me. I have been run off my feet with work, and feeling tired, stressed and snappy. Georgia has come home from school with nits again...despite my vigilance. I treat her, and she goes into school each week nit free...but she always seems to come home with them. I have never in my life had nits, and cannot believe common they are in kids these days.


Wednesday saw the arrival of snow here in Milton Keynes, sadly is was gone before the day is over, but I did manage to take a quick photo before breakfast. Georgia and I had a quick snowball fight on the way to the car...she managed to hit me on the back twice.

Thursday after school we took a quick trip to Gambados, where Georgia ran around, bounced, slid, swung and generally had a great time with Katie/Katherine her friend from school. Georgia has finally found the courage to go head first on her tummy down the wiggly slide. Once she started she couldn't stop. David came and joined us, and we ended up staying there until almost 6pm. Once home Georgia soon flaked out and fell asleep in my arms. I really miss her snuggling up on my chest, just like she did when she was younger. Like all children her age she is becomine more confident and independant. All too soon she won't be needing me as much, can't bear to think about that.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and I am determind to stay in bed until 8am....a lie-in.

{Smile for the Camera...}

Well the weekend is almost over, and sadly no craft show as due to the foul weather on Thursday, the marque was damaged.

Instead David, Georgia and I had a mini photo shoot in the lounge. Before Xmas I ordered a pop-up background to use with my new Nikon D80 (one side is black and the other is white). I spent just over an hour beautifying myself (David's choice of words not mine....LOL) I changed into jeans and a black t-shirt (ala Venture style) and off we snapped. We bought a remote to take picture as it means we don't have to run back to the tripod to press the self timer. The reason for the pictures was that I desperately needed some photos of us both together for my February Scrapagogo Design Team work. Obviously there is a romantic theme to the kit...it is the February Kit after all.

Ok, so the pictures were all taken and this morning, I played around with them, coverted them to black & white and coverted them from RAW into JPegs...and then dashed over to Costco to get them printed out. I was pleased with how they turned out, and even more pleased with the finished projects I did with them. Cannot show pictures until the kit is out in the middle of next month.
I will however share a couple of pictures that I took yesterday. First is of David & I, adjusted the brightness due to indoor photography, changed to black & white, and also changed to hi key (think that is what you call it, please leave me a comment if I am wrong).

The second is of Georgia & I, when setting up the picture, the cat knocked the tripod, so we are not in the position we planned...but I liked the shot, so kept it. It is what I call a "Happy Accident".

Mid Week Moan!

So we are halfway through the week and just over halfway through January already. Can someone please slow time down a bit for me, as it feels like I have been put on fast forward.

Today was a bumper parcel day for me. My new camera bag arrived....now at least my camera is protected...I hate to leave it out on the side as the cats have a habit of climbing and then things just seem to jump from the table. I also got my January & February kits from Scrapagogo, and also my layout back from Creative Scrapbooking. I was pleased to have it back, plus angry that it was only sent second class regular mail, when they specifically ask for you to send it to them either recorded or special delivery. Why do they not treat our layouts with the same care that we treat them...In my opinion it shows a complete lack of respect. I was also disappointed as it means that it will not appear in the February issue....as there will not be a February issue....or any other issue come to that.

I am off to Thorpe Park on Sunday for the craft show with a group from the Milton Keynes Crop that I attend. Not sure what I want to buy...not sure that I really need anything. But when has that ever stopped a scrapper from buying more stash. I am semi interested in the imagepac system that allows you to make your own clear stamps. I had a go at Bonanza last year and was very impressed with the results, so that may be considered. I know that I shouldn't buy any more patterned paper, blossoms, buttons, stamps, alphabets...the list just goes on. But who decides how much is too much? Can there ever be such a thing as too much? When someone works it out, could they please, please let me know the answer.

Tonight I am working on my DT work for Scrapagogo....I have a project underway using the January kit that Lorraine is going to add to the site later this week...just as soon as I send her some pics...hopefully tomorrow. Once that is completed I am free to play with the February Kit...cannot wait. I totally love the Bo Bunny Heart Throb collection. If you haven't seen it check out their website www.bobunny.com

OK before I go off to create, I thought I would leave you with something to look at. I did this layout earlier this month while cropping at a friends house. While sticking the buttons down, I dripped Diamond Glaze onto the photo....seeing that everything was stuck down fast, and thinking on my feet, I decided to just stick a crown on her head and stick a couple of diamonte's on it...Voila!

Ok, just one more picture, I do love to add some colour to my blog...well surprise, surprise Blogger is being a pain in the a*se and won't do as it is asked...just like my 4 year old...LOL

Enough from me for now...off to create.
C
x

Yippeeeee the weekend is here...

Well The last couple of days have gone by in a huge blur. Thursday morning Georgia woke up at 4am with a stomach ache, and by 5am, she had manage to cover us and our bed in vomit...what a lovely start to the day...covered in blackcurrant juice vomit. So that meant me having to cancel my appointment and stay home with her. Poor little mite lay on the sofa. I told her she had a stomach bug, and her response was "Mummy, Do I have an Ant in my tummy". I tried to explain that it was a virus/germ, but she wouldn't budge from the Ant comment. I explained we have to starve the bug to kill it, and her response was..."If I don't eat or drink anything but water, the Ant will die?" I really tried to stop her calling it an Ant...but gave up trying as it didn't work...LOL

I also have other news......I am finally on a Design Team. I am now an official member of the Scrapagogo Design Team. Having subbed to the kit for almost a year...and loving it, I was so honoured to be asked to join their Design Team. I start from the February Kit, and cannot wait to get my hands on it. If you have not looked at the kit before, check out www.scrapagogo.co.uk, or click on the link to the right of this post.

David got his settlement from General Motors yesterday, and we wasted no time dashing off to Jessops to get our grubby little mitts on a new DSLR. We had decided to get a Nikon D80, with a couple of additional lenses, and we came home £965 the poorer...but oh so happy. David could hardly wait for the battery to charge before playing. We intend to take a few pictures today to give it a good road test.

We are about to set off to visit my family down in Surrey, and tomorrow David's Mum & Dad are coming up to Milton Keynes for the Caravan Show that is on in Middleton Hall this weekend.

Anyway, better leave you with a couple more layouts. This is a picture of my nephew Alex who turns 16 in July this year. Like almost all teenagers, he does not like having his photograph taken. This Christmas I persuaded him to let me take lots of pictures. In all of them he was smiling, but that didn't look right. I mean do you know a teenager smiles? So I asked him to give me his "normal" stroppy teen face, and this is what I got. I did play around with the colour saturation of the picture, so that it is almost black and white, with just a hint of colour in his face and the red hat.
Not sure what he will think of it, but I am pleased.

Anyway, enough for now...better get ready to hit the road.

New Layouts...

As promised here are a couple of layouts that I have done so far in 2007. The picture was taken a couple of days before Christmas when Santa dropped in to make sure that Georgia had been behaving. We don't know how he found the time in his busy delivery schedule to drop in. Thanks to Sasha and Paul for arranging it, Georgia was so excited, she felt so special.

The second layout is of my Niece, Hannah, she is such a poser in front of the camera, always happy to have her picture taken. I love the way David caught her in a more natural pose with her new puppy. Both of these layouts were done using my December Scrapagogo Kit, which containted the Blonde Moments Festive Feast papers amongst many of my own bits and pieces.

Happy New Year....even if it is a little belated...

Well, as usual I am a bad blogger. I really was never that good at keeping a Diary/Journal up to date, as you will probably have already worked out.

So what has been going on in my world you may or may not have been thinking. Well December went by in a huge blur, I left all my Christmas present shopping until about the 14th December, and then had a mad week getting everything organised. Well I got there, and we had a fab christmas down in Surrey with my Dad, Sister and her clan. Boxing Day was spent with David's Mum & Dad. In the afternoon a short walk in Bushy Park, and then a trip to Hampton Court Palace to see the ice skating. We had wanted to skate but it was very busy and Georgia was too nervous, so we just sat and drank hot chocolate and watched.

David finally ended an 18 year career with General Motors on 31st December, and for approximately one week he was unemployed. He has now started a six month contract with Comau in Luton, and seems to be enjoying working days again, after over 8 years of permanent night shift.

I have been busy scrapping away so far this year, having completed 11 layouts so far in 2007. I will upload a few each day over the next week. Like almost everyone else in the world, I have made a couple of resolutions. Nothing to serious, although the first is to live a more healthy lifestyle, including more exercise and a more healthy diet. The second is scrap related, 2005 saw me published in a scrapping magazine for the first time, 2006 saw me published twice with three different layouts appearing in two editions of two different magazines. In 2007 my aim was to become a member of a Design Team, and although I cannot mention which team I am joining, I can confirm that I have been offered a place on a Design Team....I will give more details as soon as I am able.


Well enough words....onto a picture. I took this picture on Christmas Morning, just after Georgia had opened her presents and before she had a specially prepared boiled egg breakfast lovingly made by her Grandad.

Well surprise surprise it has been almost 2 months since my last update. I am not sure where all the time went. Life around here has been hectic as usual....and that is not set to change anytime soon.

A couple of weeks ago, while in the car with Georgia, I commented on how bad the blue car next to us had parked. Georgia pipes up from the back seat "What, the blue car on the left Mummy"....I stop for a second and realise that she got it right. I ask her a couple more questions and soon realise that she now knows her left from right....I was so darn proud of her. Then later that day while sitting in the car waiting to go into an appointment, we decided to read a couple of Georgia's reading books. It is amazing how they suddenly seem to pick up things...and make huge leaps in their learning.

Christmas is almost upon us. The past weekend we have put the Christmas lights up outside and the tree inside. Georgia is very excited...but still does not understand Advent Calenders and keeps eating all the sweets. I have not even started my Christmas shopping, so now have a full scale panic on my hands. I have made all my Christmas cards, but now have the onerous task of writing them all out. Oh well....a wife and mothers job is never done!

Time for a Quickie...

Update that is.....get your minds out of the gutter people....

Life has been hectic around here lately...I feel like I have been running around like a crazed woman. Had a fab day at Ally Pally on Saturday 30th September, at "The Big Stamping & Scrabooking Show" with Sue affectionately known as "Lumpy Sue" due to her lumpy style LO's....and nothing more. Spent loads of money on beautiful stash....I have even been using it....miracle of miracles. Then last Sunday was the Milton Keynes Scrappers October Crop, which was great fun as usual, I actually managed to do four...yes four LO's. I will post pics another day as I really cannot be arsed to get my camera out...LOL

Today Georgia has come home from school singing a cute song....I'm being eaten by a Boa Constrictor. In typical fashion I have been humming it all evening, so decided to do a "Google" search and find out the rest of the words, so here they are...

Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper & Row, 1974

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,It's up to my knee.
Oh my,It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

It sounds so cute when sung my a 4.5 year old....but can you imagine a whole class of them singing it....too cute for words.

Thank goodness it is Friday tomorrow, I have decided to work from home tomorrow, as I need at least one day this week when I am not running around like a headless chicken. Can't believe we are almost at the weekend again, this time last week I had a weekend of scrapping bliss to look forward too...this weekend I have a weekend of chauffeuring my Hubby David around....what an exciting life I lead.
Oh well, off to bed for me, have been up since 5.30am, took a nap this afternoon as I felt so ill with what I thought would be a nasty migraine...but thanks to my fab pills was just a nasty headache instead.

Well after the multitude of parcels that arrived on Wednesday I decided that I had to have a play with all my lovely new stash. I went to Sasha's house, which has become a Wednesday ritual, one that I really enjoy. I made this fab (even if I do say so myself) little mini book using 3 sheets of 12x12 folded. Let me know if you want to know how to make one. I think they are better than Paper Bag Book (which I love) because they are acid and lignin free, unlike paper bags. I used K&Co Maison Papers, plys 7Gypsies 97% complete stickers and hardware. I wanted a new brag book for my handbag so that I can carry around pictures of my school girl. So here it is...









I have yet to make up the cards to go into the 3 pockets. Georgia is going to write and draw pictures on those pieces of card for me to look at when I need a boost.

I also started a LO that evening, but the amount of cutting that was needed meant that I run out of time.cutting out the design...I even got my craft knife out. And here is the finished LO. Those of you that know me, know that my husband David works nights so I have to be home by 9pm every night...poor me! Anyway I was home early from work yesterday, and I only had 30 minutes before I needed to collect Georgia so I didn't want to start working on another clients books...so out came the unfinished LO. I finished I am really pleased with it, and feel my scrapping style has changed slightly. I credit the change to Elsie Flannigan and her book "52 Scrapbooking Challenges". It has inspired me so much, and I try not to over think a LO and try to just go with the flow. You will have to tell me if it is working... So here it is...

I also started to make another mini book for a dear friend. We met online through a shared passion for collecting Toys "R" Us Cabbage Patch Dolls. When the scrapping bug got me, I stopped collecting. She has been kind enough to "adopt" some of my kids from me. In the CPK collection community, you do not buy a doll, you adopt a kid. Anyway she was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I have been trying to offer support and encouragement for her to remain positive. Thankfully she has been given the good news that it had not spread to the Lymph Nodes, and she now just has to go through a course of radiotherapy. I wanted to make her a little book, so that she can put pictures of all the things that are important in her life, so that when the treatment gets her down, she can look at her little book, and all the reasons why she must continue the good fight. It is lovely citrus colours with a splash of bright pink...and is delicious. I will post pictures once it is complete.
I was described by a friend of mine recently as the Mini Book Queen, as she thinks I have a knack for making them. Not so sure about that, but I do love to see the face of people when you hand them over. I also need to make another book for a close friend whose Mum lost the battle with Breast Cancer earlier this year. I want her to be able to put all her keepsakes and notes that her Mum wrote her when she was nearing the end. I am sure I will end up in floods of tears while I make this one, as I had known her Mum, Jan, for my whole life, and she was more like family.
Better leave it at that for now, as I should be on my way to a Clients already.

Christmas has come early to MK...

Well I had a note from the Postman through the door last night, so I went straight to the collection office to see what I had. Well there were two sacks, one for me and one for Bex. I received my Jenni Bowlin kit, Canvases & Alcohol Inks from Kate @ Scrapcanvas, some 7Gypsies bits from Lyn @ Craft Emporium and my Crop A Dile from ScrapMad. Then this morning Parcel Force delivered me my 3 sets of Autumn Leaves stamps, and the "Crazy in Love" clear Fontwerk stamps designed by Elsie Flannigan, from the US. Will have fun tonight playing. I made a little brag book last night, all I need to do this evening is put some pictures in it. I am off to Sasha's tonight...so I will take it with me. Oh well, best get off to see my Client...have 2 to visit today, but should still be done by about 3.30pm...plenty of time to get my stuff sorted for this evening.

Will Blogger play nicely and load.....

I did this LO last week. Blogger will now let me upload. I really love this cute picture of Georgia, such a little poser when she wants to be LOL. Used lots of stash some old and new, including Scrapagogo Stamp, Fontwerk Happy Corinna Alpha, Junkita Blossom, Doodlebug Button, HS Bling word and frame, Bazzill Large Heart Brads, Rusty Pickle PP, Bazzill CS, plus the smaller text is the Rebekahs Birthday font that you can download free.

The other LO was the one I did with the Scrapagogo September Kit last night. The papers are not all ones that I would normally choose, but the colours went well with the photo...and sometimes a challenge is good.

Another week flys by...

Not had a chance to do a single bit of scrapping over the weekend...I do hate a weekend with no creativity. David's Mum & Dad were visiting us on Saturday. We had a lovely day, just mooching around the house playing with Georgia, a quick walk for everyone except me as I hurt my back trying to lift my little Heffalump!

Sunday we went out for a drink with an old friend of mine. Our parents had been best friends so we spent most of our time together from the time we were born until we hit our teens. Kyla & her Hubby Neil and a couple of their friends were up in Milton Keynes for a couple of days as they had tickets to see Robbie Williams at the MK Bowl on Monday night. I hope they are enjoying themselves as I am sure the concert is almost finished...not sure as I can't hear it tonight...which is the first night that has happened...maybe the wind is blowing in the wrong direction tonight!

Today I was expecting my Scrapagogo Kit. I sat patiently at home expecting the Postie to knock on my door....and nothing. I tried calling the collection office, but they seem to have some kind of allergy that means they cannot pick up the bloody telephone! Anyway, I decided that I would take a quick drive to the collection office. I knew our regular Postie was on holiday, and they never seem to cover any of the rounds here. So I walk up to the desk and explain, and tell them that I am waiting for my "Yellow Box of Joy"...LOL out the back he goes...and a few minutes later he comes back with mine and Bex's kits. He tells me that they have a pile of parcels and he thinks we both have some more in the parcel mountain. I offered to go and sort through the boxes....he did not seem all that keen...can't think why! Anyway I have to make another trip there on Wednesday morning and he has agreed to put all our parcels into one of the sacks so that I can take them all away....Christmas is coming early...roll on Wednesday!

Burst of Creativity

Well Saturday has become my creative day. I finished a canvas that I started (painted) months ago. After playing around with the photo for a while, I finally came up with something I liked. The canvas is for my Step Niece, she loves pink, so there was really no other choice than Blonde Moments as they are the most lush pink papers in the world. Here is the finished canvas.....hope she likes it!

So I have been moving things around my new Ikea Cube system that I bought for my craft room come office, and came across the photo tree that I bought from eBay a few months ago after seeing one that Bex had done. I had also bought a metal bucket for 99p from Asda, and the photo tree was sitting in it...I realised that it really looked good in the bucket and decided that it would have to stay like that. Feeling so inspired by the hearts I cut from the Blonde Moments paper...I carried on cutting, adding some from the sheet of Suet Pudding hearts that I had left from a previous LO. I also added a reel of ribbons that I bought from Instore for £1, some free Pebbles Real Life Dymo Words that I was given by Becks Faggs in the Li'l Davis class @ Bonanza in May, and the whole thing just seemed to come together very quick....so here it is...
I am really pleased with how it turned out. I love the contrast of the pink and black...they always look so lush together.

Tomorrow we are off to my Sisters for lunch with her and the rest of the family... Haven't seen them for about a month, which is a long time for me as I usually visit them every couple of weeks. We are having Roast Lamb for dinner...one of my favourites, Dad watched Saturday Kitchen this morning and saw James Martin cut slits into the skin and add garlic and rosemary....so he decided to give it a try...founds fab and I can't wait to try it.

Been pretty quiet here today. I love it when I get a couple of hours to play in my craft room...I am often to distracted by the Computer and UKScrappers to get anything creative actually done.

My Baby is a Baby no more...

Wednesday marked the end of an era with my baby Georgia starting school. She is now officially a big girl (or so she tells me). She went part-time on Wednesday, and when I went to collect her at lunchtime she didn't want to come home. When I collected her on Thursday lunchtime she told me that she wanted to stay all day. So Friday she went full-time, with her decorated lunchtin in hand. When I went to collect her at 3pm, her teacher told me that she had been a great help. She even told me that she wished all the children were like Georgia. Georgia had listened and done as she was asked, played nicely and even tidied away after doing her picture, without being asked...she even got a "Well Done" sticker. Here is a picture taken of her on the first morning as we were about to leave...

Best Laid Plans...

OK, so the walk was abandoned due to bad weather. It would have been more blown along than walk anyway. So I have been having a play in my craft room with Georgia. We have finished her Asda Kitten Lunch Tin. She says she wants to use it for her lunch when she starts school on Wednesday. She is a chip off the old blog as she asked for "More Ribbons". So now it is adorned with masses of ribbons a couple of Li'l Davis Jewelled Blossoms, and I used my Ellison Twang Alpha for her name...she thinks it is the bees knees. I didn't cover it at all as the kitten and the pink polka dots were so flippin' cute. The one on the left is for Georgia. She decided what she wanted on hers, and when she saw mine she also wanted the heart jewel and the jewels for her kittens tiara. The one on the right is mine, and will hold my photos awaiting scrapping, that I will take to crops etc. I really love how they turned out, and hope some turn up in my local Asda, but I don't hold out much hope. The ones here came from a lovely lady in Northern Ireland (SharonNI) on UKScrappers.

Autumn is on it's way...

Today is my little (or not so little) Sister's Birthday. I phoned her up this evening to wish her Happy Birthday and Georgia sang Happy Birthday down the phone to her...it really was heart warming, and bought a lump to my throat.
I was traveling down to see them in the morning, but the trip has been cancelled until next weekend, when we will have a lovely family Sunday Roast all together.
Tomorrow's day has been planned. Weather permitting we are going for a walk in the park, play "Pooh Stix" on the bridge over the stream, look for conkers, and generally get some exercise and fresh air.
Georgia starts school on Wednesday part time for the first three days, and full time the week after. We are already planning what we will be doing on those afternoons, it is called "Mummy & Georgia time". While I am not at all worried about her starting school, as she is bored at Nursery and very excited about going to school. It makes me sad to think that my Baby turned Toddler has now turned into a lovely Little Girl. With every passing day she grows more independent, and her dependence on us as parents lessens. I am excited for her, but sad at the loss of my baby. She likes to tell me " I am a Big Girl Now Mummy, not a Baby"...Can someone slow down time a little for me so that I can keep her as my Baby just a little bit longer.

Sunday is the Milton Keynes Crop. I really look forward to seeing all the girls and having a good old natter, and eating Gill's delicious cakes of course. For the first time in ages I will not have to pack in a hurry, taking everything I have because I don't have time to sort it all out properly. My intention is to try to pack light. Now my light and your light are going to be very different. What I mean is my rolling tote, one small bag and my AMM Tote....So not that light really.

Oh well, almost midnight. I better get to bed before I turn back into a Pumpkin!