Having fun this week, its ages since I crafted every day. I think the fact that I'm just making things for the fun of it, rather than having to because I've left it late to make a birthday card or whatever helps - I've even enjoyed the Christmas cards so far this year (I often find the sheer quantity a bit of a chore), I think because I've started them early and I know if I get bored and leave the rest for a couple of weeks it'll still be OK!

Did this one this evening

Plus the inevitable Christmas ones lol, A5 this time

I'm hoping to do a bit of scrapbooking tomorrow, if I can get near the big computer long enough to print out a photo! Del took a great one of Bel the other day just messing about - she looks really grown up, 8 going on.... well I'm not sure what age really, but its a nice photo anyway :-)

More crafty bits - and a good night's sleep!

Well the wall bed is fitted and we had our first night's sleep on it last night - its great! We might treat ourselves to a better mattress for it at some point next year but for now after the sofa bed its brilliant!

I've been doing more Christmas cards this evenings - snowmen this time (I'd completely forgotten they were on the Doodlecharms cartridge!) I made eight, all pretty similar to the last ones, here's just a sample

I also made this card by way of a change from Christmas bits - the black and white papers were part of a Dovecraft pack I bought in Eastbourne on Saturday.

I also made one other card, but that one's for the Forum monthly papercraft challenge so I can't show you that one yet!

Busy weekend!

I did intend to post this yesterday but a mixture of working between Del and Bel's computers whilst mine's being repaired and the fact the internet connection "disappeared" completely when I'd just about got myself sorted out stopped me! Oh well... On Saturday we went to Eastbourne for our shopping trip - I didn't buy tons but got a few bargains

My Lilli of the Valley Christmas fairies also arrived on Saturday before we went so I was all set to go making a few Christmas cards on Sunday...... but actually as you'll see from the bottom picture I had a great day and made loads!

Actually it was good, as it took my mind off my tap exam which was yesterday afternoon, although in the end it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Twice in class I've frozen when dancing on my own and completely forgotten what comes next and obviously I was a bit worried about doing that in the exam but it was fine. Our Teacher told us the Examiner might ask us to do the odd dance on our own, but in fact she made us dance practically everything together (there were three of us in my group) and then again on our own. I think it was OK, our Teacher did also say that after a day of watching the younger ones do their exams (who have to be really technically correct)the adult beginners are a bit of light relief - not quite sure how to take that! lol

Penguin Parade!

The Bazzil I ordered from The Glitter Pot arrived today - 20 sheets which was very restrained ordering I think! Decided to spend the evening folding some A6 cards ready to make Christmas cards (I usually prefer A5, Christmas is about the only time I make A6)so I've got a batch all ready, and cutting out penguins on the Cricut! (From the Animal Kingdom cartridge) Excuse the blurry photo but I reckon they're quite cute!

You'll be very glad to know I didn't also photograph the folded card blanks! Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some Christmas papers and I can have some fun putting the cards together!

Must have seemed a good idea at the time!

I have to say I've had to cut down on dancing a bit lately, mainly due to lack of cash with Del off work at the moment and the "home improvements" etc :-( I have been going regularly to tap though due to the fact I am taking my "Adult Fun Tap Exam" (level 1) on Sunday. We have had a lot of laughs preparing for it, but there are times when we've seriously questionned the word "fun" lol. For some reason when our dance teacher told us about it, we all found ourselves saying "oh OK, we'll have a go...." (she's very persuasive in a clever sort of psychological way which means you find yourself agreeing to do things without her actually having to ask directly!) We then get a whole week off before she starts getting on the dances for the annual show the School puts on each Easter - when we joined the dance class in June 2006, the one thing we all said was "Ok, we'll have a go as long as we're not in the show....."

And yes we all did the show last year - told you she was a clever lady!

Ooh shopping lol

Now all the kitchen chaos is finished, my craft stuff is sorted and in its new place and my mojo is raring to go, I've discovered some definite gaps in my current level of stash! I'd fallen in love with the little Lili of the Valley fairy that Tink used on the card for Luci on her blog on 11th September - I've just bought a few sheets of their Christmas ones here http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/LILIOFTHEVALLEY.CO/SHOP_CHRISTMAS_DIE_CUTS.html
I'm also nearly out of Bazzil and I'm afraid the Papermill card I've got is OK but just not the same so I'm off for a bit of online retail therapy at The Glitter Pot to stock up! I'm also planning some bargain hunting at the weekend - Eastbourne is becoming quite well stocked with places where you might not expect to find craft bits, but do! They've got a Lakeland, The Works, a small cardmaking department in C & H Fabrics and an Alan and Barry craft department in ESK (which seems an odd choice of venue, ESK for those who don't know is one of those shops selling all sorts of things at very cheap prices). The craft stuff is often not that much cheaper than in other shops but its always worth looking! lol

Del also ordered a bed today! Because our flat is so tiny, Bel has the bedroom and we sleep on a bed settee which has lasted brilliantly but has definitely seen better days :-( A while ago we bought a kit for turning a bed into a wall bed - i.e. a proper bed you you can fold up against the wall during the day. He's found a reasonably priced one that he reckons he can convert easily. You can then add cupboard doors or whatever to it so that no-one realises its actually a bed when its folded up! Can't wait to sleep on a proper mattress again!!

Tuesday

Well my laptop was collected today - hope as they collected it so quickly, it will be repaired just as quickly! Least I've got Bel's to play on for the time being so I won't get withdrawal symptoms!

I did make a card today but can't show you yet, as it was for the forum card challenge! I've organised this one and we've had some great entries so far. If you're not already a member of the forum why don't you pop in and join us http://z14.invisionfree.com/cardmaking/index.php?act=idx :-)

On another subject, it only occurred to me a couple of days ago to add a counter on here. Duh! I'll be giving everyone the chance of a little blog candy when it gets to 100!

Disaster - averted!!

Woo hoo!!! I've literally been dancing up and down lol. Del took out my hard drive and connected it to his computer - and he's managed to get at all my stuff!! So it looks as if it might be the motherboard or something else rather than the hard drive itself - I have to say I don't really mind what it is, they can take it away and repair it (its under guarantee) and all my "treasures" will be safely saved here :-) :-) :-)

Disaster!

Oh sad day! I used my laptop this morning, went to work and came home to a message advising me to back everything up because my hard drive is in imminent danger of going wrong - unfortunately even with a recovery disk and the help of Gateway Technical Support there seems to be no way to get in to recover it! They're picking it up in a couple of days to take it away for repair, but chances are I've lost the lot - I backed up some of my digital scrapbooking stuff a while back but have collected loads since... and I've lost several (um a lot actually lol) of my Chemical Romance pictures. Well rather a few of the band in general and rather a lot of one particular member actually.... Oh well, I guess the joys of searching for more photos of guitarist Frank Iero is going to be the only consolation to it (I'm in a "gotta laugh or I'll cry mood") at the mo as you can probably tell!

Christmas!

Can't believe we're looking ahead (in the world of card making at least) to Christmas already! I decided to avoid a last minute rush this year but getting some bits ready - I've found the missing bits I cut on the Cricut a while ago and cut a few more today. Hopefully by the time I have to start actually making up the cards I'll have a nice little pile ready!


Talking of Christmas and crafting, I noticed yesterday that our local Poundstretcher is starting to do a reasonable range of crafting bits and pieces. I don't usually buy pre-made toppers but I did buy a few Christmas ones yesterday - I thought they were nice and at £1.29 for four (I bought three packs) I thought I'd got a bargain!

I've also been collecting today - on the search for digital scrapbooking freebies, always a joy! There are so many talented designers out there who are prepared to share their work with us, just for the enjoyment of making it - thank you so much to all of you.

Tagged

Hey, I've been tagged by Leigh! This one's great, so here goes:-

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Tiggy Focus

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Chocolate Choc Chip (!!)

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) Aper

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Mary Carshalton

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Peran

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") The Orange Lager (what? Lol)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Harry Ernest

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Opium Aniseed

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Olive John

I tag the following people (join if you would like to, don't worry if you'd prefer not to

Shell

Pootle

Louise

Annette

Claire

New storage

Well my Ikea storage unit is in place, amazing what fits in it! Its one of these, with these boxes in each space - the best thing is the boxes are large enough to take 12 x 12 paper. Much tidier than it used to be!

Made a few cards this afternoon, using up some small odd sized envelopes I've managed to accumulate! Can't get to the scanner at the mo so you'll have to wait for pictures! I did manage the fitting the missing Christmas bits I'd cut, and found some more red and green card I didn't realise I had, so am going to spend the evening with the Cricut cutting some more (and won't lose them this time!)

Variations

I decided to experiment yesterday, with two variations on a theme chosen at random from one of Leigh's sketch challenges. This is what I came up with. Del's off at Ikea at the moment buying me a unit which hopefully will store my craft stuff in a rather better way than my current very random collection of boxes! Hopefully when he's assembled it and I'm sorting out the stuff to go in it, I'll find the Christmas bits and pieces I cut about six weeks ago on the Cricut and which have since disappeared! I'm determined not to have a last minute rush on Christmas cards this year. I must also decide what scraps of paper are treasures to keep and which I really should send to the bin!

Yay! The crafting drought is over!

Well I actually had time to sit down and craft last night! I thought I'd keep it simple and ease myself back into it gently and this is what I came up with

I'm not entirely sure the sunset ones work, but you may have noticed I rather liked the photo (taken by my Father-in-law from the deck at the back of their bungalow! I'm going to play with my Cricut this evening and work my way through some of Leigh's Sketch Challenges on the forum!

Day Six

Its finished!! Apart from some wallpapering and painting we have to do its all done and I'm so pleased with it - the Fitter was brilliant, considering we live in such a small space he really kept disruption to a minimum :-)Last few pics and I'll stop boring you, I might even get back to some crafting by the weekend! You'll notice Bel managed to sneak into one of them!!

Day five

They didn't get quite as much done today - we've got a really awkward corner (well its sort of a corner with the point cut off but the angles each side are different if you see what I mean) which we've never been able to do much with. They've built up some custom shelves in there which fit absolutely perfectly! :-) I had hoped they'd have the floor done and the dishwasher and washing machine today in but I'm so pleased with the shelves I don't mind! The other things should be done tomorrow

Day four

Its all coming together! They left us last night with most of the cupboards up, the tiling done, the fridge/freezer door on and the oven in and working :-) Next week the flooring has to be done first, then they can put in the disherwasher and washing machine and fit some shelves in an odd shaped corner! Then its just finishing off jobs, then we can stop living in chaos!

Day three

Well, we have a working sink (and waste disposal) and the fridge/freezer is in - its been great, we were able to keep our old separate fridge and freezer plugged in the front room so the stuff's gone straight from there into the new one, I'd run them down as much as possible but I'd still had visions of having to throw stuff away so I'm really pleased. And although we had take away pizza last night it was good to be able to wash cups and bits in the sink rather than in the bathroom wash basin! I'm at work til 5.30 today and then going straight to tap so I can't wait to see what it looks like tonight! And best thing is Bel will be back from MILs tonight as she can actually get into her bedroom again!

Kitchen - Day two

Well it looks a bit different today! They did say they would have got some of the units in yesterday but the electricians needed to do some work first and they couldn't come until late afternoon, so hopefully things should start going in today :)

Kitchen - Day One

Well here are the "before" pictures - notice how nothing matches,is tatty and I'm not sure whether you can see it in the pictures, but there's a huge hole in the wall where the old boiler used to be (its now in the airing cupboard)

Hello!

First of all apologies for the gap - we've had a busy few weeks, as you'll appreciate its Summer holidays and me and Bel spent a great ten days or so with my Mum and Dad at the beginning of the holidays, the best bit being that Bel learned to swim whilst we were there, she's gone from being quite nervous of water to swimming quite confidently which is lovely :-)

Another bit of good news is that my best "on-line" friend Kim has managed to get My Chemical Romance tickets for 15th November in London! Can't wait first of all to see them, and also to meet her! We chat every day but haven't met yet so it will be great :-)

Not so good has been the fact that Del had what at the time they were treating as a suspected heart attack so its been a bit of an up and down time. He spent a night in hospital and has had lots of tests - they're now saying they don't think it was a heart attack but because of his job (he's a bus driver) he's not allowed to drive a bus until all the tests are completed and they can say for definite that it wasn't,so he's been at home for the last few weeks. Mind you, he hasn't had a chance to get bored, whilst me and Bel were away, we had new central heating fitted and today work starts on our new kitchen! Eek!! It'll be great when its done but its going to be chaos for a while! Actually its chaos now, everything was delivered on Saturday and because we live in such a small flat, Bel's bedroom is completely full with cabinets, the new washing machine, dishwaser etc and the front room (where we sleep) has the new fridge freezer and all the boxes of everything we've taken out of the kitchen! Poor Bel's been sleeping at MILs since Saturday as she can't get to her bed! I've been ruthless and chucked out tons of old stuff I don't use or which needs replacing so I'm feeling quite good (although slightly nervous) at the moment! I took a couple of pictures this morning which I'll put on in a minute so you'll see why I'm so happy about having it replaced! lol

Another digi one

I'd forgotten I'd got this photo - its our nutty cat, Sharna

Bel's off to Preston Manor today for a School trip - I had to drop her off extra early and the children (and teachers) looked brilliant, they were all dressed in Victorian clothes. Apparently all the staff at the Manor will be dressed up and they'll have a day of activities to add to what they've been learning about the Victorians. I did look Preston Manor up on the internet - I didn't tell Bel is supposed to be Brighton's most haunted building! lol

Digital scrapbooking

This is my new "project" - it seemed just perfect for those lazy evenings when I can't get motivated to get the craft stuff out. I might eventually do some pages to put on a cd to put in Christmas cards (at Christmas obviously!). I also had the idea a while ago of making a My Chemical Romance scrapbook but had real difficulty finding suitable papers - there's so much digital stuff available out there that this might be the answer :-)

Anyway, here's first layout, just playing earlier on

Eek! Had an urgent order for a card for a 10 year old boy last night - fortunately he's keen on football so it was the good old football shirt again (West Ham this time!)

I also did Bel's birthday card but haven't had a chance to scan it when she's not around yet! I promise there'll be a picture soon!

More pics of "little" Bel

Haven't had a lot of crafting time lately but have managed to do this double layout - as you can see I am still working through the pictures of Bel! I've got a reasonable amount to work with - hard to believe she'll be 8 in a couple of weeks' time! I've just written out her party invitations for her to take to School today so she should be happy - when she wakes up that is, she's never easy to get out of bed in the morning :-)

Fathers' Day card

Inspiration finally struck - I'm quite pleased with it and the person who'd asked for it liked it, just hope his Dad does! No crafting this evening, Bel's got modern dancing after school, then its off to line dancing later

Hmmm....

Got to at least get an idea for the third card tonight, as its a Fathers' Day card! Struggling a bit - (a) its a man's card (well obviously) (b) its for an elderly gentleman.... I've been given traction engines and trees as things he likes - I'm just off for a Google! lol

New cards

Spent the weekend up in London with Mum and Dad which was lovely. Was quite glad I'd booked yesterday off as well as I'd had an order for three cards, got two done and have one left to do later. Here are the first two

Beach Babe

I seem to be on a scrapping roll at the moment. Woo hoo! Started this one last night with pics I took at the weekend, I've had the pebble paper for ages but it seemed perfect for this - Bel had managed to find one of the only patches of sand on what is otherwise a very pebbly beach here in Hastings! Finished off the lettering this morning, I wanted something smaller for the wording than I could get with the Cricut so this is the Quickutz Sunshine alphabet

Double layout

I decided to scrap some of my Jack in the Green photos - was so grateful for the Cricut in cutting out the leaves! I was quite pleased with this one - I chose the papers and stuck down the photos this morning before work and finished the leaves and the lettering etc while Bel was at athletics this afternoon. Well at least it took my mind off the fact that my ballet and jazz class last night was fairly, well challenging I suppose is the word for it and I've definitely got a few aches and pains today!

Meet my "Meez"!

Saw a link to the Meez site on Louise (Looby's) Blog and had great fun creating a virtual "me". It doesn't actually look anything like me but I think its the "me" I am on the inside so nice for it come out for a while! She might change every little while so keep checking back

And yes, Louise, I said you recommended me so you should get some "coinz"!

More scrappin'

Had a lovely relaxed day surrounded by my crafty bits :-) Here's the result