Another week

goes by without a post from me.

I really thought I was getting back into the swing of this blogging malarkey, and then it all goes to pot again.

I've had a busy week, with the kids having after school stuff and two governors meetings...one of which lasted until 8.45, by which time I was shattered, but still had to fill the car up with petrol and get a takeaway for tea. I barely stayed awake long enough to eat it (although it was yummy KFC). To cut a long story short, other stuff just got in the way this week.

I did finish the card for my (stand-in) line manager's daughter's birthday - here it is:


I did get a wonderful bargain though - our local 'Au Naturale' shop was having a '20% off' day, and Michael and I had been chatting about how rubbish our cushions on the sofas are (we have 2 x 2 seater sofas and no single chairs)...so it was decided that I would look for some nice, good quality, well filled, plump cushions to replace them. So in to Au Naturale I nipped, and spotted some lovely large faux suede cushions, in a mushroomy/biscuity kind of colour - perfect! £12 each they were, but with 20% off, I could get two for under £20 (we can make do with 2 I thought - don't have to have 4 all at once). When I got to the till, the young girl behind the counter said "These are a real bargain today - they're coming up on the till at £5 each" - which meant I was going to get 2 for £8.

When I got them home, Michael asked why I didn't get 4? Because I only have two hands and I was carrying 3 bags of shopping before I bought the cushions, and the cushions were so big they needed a bag each...so that's why (the polite version anyway).

Needless to say I went back the next day and bought two more (after checking that the price was the same of course). We're now using the old cushions in lieu of a door draught excluder (anything to save money on heating bills) - but I'm going to look around for a proper draught excluder in the near future, I promise.

What a week

Well, this week has been a busy one. I've had a birthday (I will photo my cards and pop a picture on here soon), I've been on a course to start my NVQ3 in Business and Administration (I must be mad), I've been running around left right and centre with the kids swimming and clubs and stuff, and I haven't started my Christmas cards yet, despite it nearly being October, and the fact that I'm fast running out of time! It was also 21 years on Thursday that I lost my Mum, and strangely I find myself missing her more and more as the years go by, and I see my kids growing up without her by their sides. RIP Mum.

My friend Helen from work has only gone and got herself a secondment for 3 months, so after having finally thought we were settled at work, it's all up in the air again. It's great for Helen, as it's more money for her, but on a purely selfish note I don't want her to go!

I have to get my posterior into some sort of gear today as I have loads to do, in the form of housework and card making (neither of which are floating my boat at the moment). So that begs the question; why on earth am I sitting here updating my blog when I should be running around the house with a duster or something...(I think, dear reader, that you probably already know the answer to that one in your heart fo hearts).

As promised

Here are the cards I made yesterday (well, and one from this morning too). I still have to put inserts into these, but for the first time, I've inked the edges of a couple of the envelopes to match the inking on the cards - it looks quite effective, even if I do say so myself! In Jayne's card, I'll be putting an image on the left hand side of the insert (as you open it - the left page) to tie in with the front. (It's the same Jayne that's on secondment - so I hope she's not reading my blog to keep up-to-date!)

General birthday cards:

A couple of anniversary cards:

A card for my cousin's son (10 this week and a mad-keen footballer):
A 40th birthday card for Jayne:
And another general birthday card:

Itchy and scratchy

is how we've been feeling for a couple of days as Sophie came home from school with some little tiny multi-legged friends in her hair. Well, that is , I assume she did, as I could see the eggs, but couldn't find the actual little pests themselves. All treated and presumably gone now, but it doesn't stop you itching when you think about them.

The consent form for James to appear on TV came (via Special Delivery 9am - guess who wasn't here?!) so I went to the sorting office to pick it up, and it's duly been completed and returned. We'll just have to wait and see when he will appear now (she said within a couple of months).

I've spent all this morning making cards! Yippeeeeee - finally! I shall take some piccies either later today or tomorrow and let you have a peek. Nothing spectacular (I bought some of those 'No Scissors Required' decoupage sheets, so I've been making fairly quick cards with them, and also some Paper Nation decoupage which I seem to have had forever.

I might get around to making something completely original one of these days, but don't hold your breath!

This evening, I shall be mostly watching 'Strictly Come Dancing' - I love the program, and since the gorgeous Tom Chambers (Sam Strachan from Holby City) is appearing, it will be even more worth while. I didn't realise that my sister knows Tom's dad though, until I was speaking to her about Strictly the other week! Apparently they're quite local to Matlock and they come into the Bank regularly - jammy cow [smiles sweetly].

Anyway - come on Tom!!!!!

Famous at last

Well, it looks like James is going to be famous at last! He's pestered me for days to take some photos of him that he can upload to a CBBC website Funky Fables - he needed seven photos of him with different (pre-defined) expressions on his face. We did this exercise on Sunday, and they were duly uploaded. They are then used for animated clips on the website where a character uses your face and it appears to talk etc. I'll try to post a link to his clip later on when he gets back from his piano teacher's leaving party (I'll tell you about that another day).

Clip is here

Now along with the website, there is also a TV Program, which is 10 minutes long and on the CBBC channel. Photos which are uploaded are randomly selected to be chosen to appear on the actual TV prog (with parents' consent) - and James has been chosen!

I was contacted on my mobile today by a producer from the program who asked me loads of stuff about James and confirmed he will be on the TV program within the next couple of months.

Can you imagine how excited a certain 9 year old boy is?? I'm not sure I can put it onto perspective, but I think the whole school knew about it by 8.50am this morning!

Sophie's been off school poorly for the last two days, with a stinking cold and a bit of sickness, but I'm hoping she will be well enough to go back tomorrow (she is slowly regaining her appetite) as I really need to be at work!

Right - Michael's cooking tea as I type, so you can guess how popular I am for being on here again. Must get around to crafting again soon...or I'm going to found buying birthday cards late at night under cover of Tesco's.

Photo

All quiet

on the South Normanton front - well, that is to say the kids are in bed, recovering from the shock to their systems that is 'school'. Sophie was so excited this morning, she was practically bouncing off the walls before we went to school - I'm sure that we won't be early for school every day, but it did make a change. The only shame was the dreadful weather - it's rained persistently all day. I'm grateful we don't have a river nearby, as some of the local villages have had problems with flooding!

I did take a photo of the kids this morning all togged out in their new uniforms (well they're both 'new as in bought very recently and expensively from the shop - but Sophie's was a new uniform as in she has now moved up to the Junior School which James has attended for the last 2 years. I now have 2 years of them being together, so no more rushing between schools with seconds to spare and fighting for parking spaces. Phew.

With Michael at Band, I really should be doing something constructive - like making one of the 27 'occasion' cards I need to make for birthdays and anniversaries before Christmas, and that's not to mention the cards for that occasion in December which begins with C and ends in chaos and overdrafts.

I think I also need to make a card for a commission, only the person that asked me for the card hasn't mentioned it since. She is in work tomorrow, so I will find out some more info (seeing as the birthday, from the brief conversation we had) is very fast approaching.

I will upload the photos in a minute, so as long as there's a decent one among them, I will add one to this post shortly (and no - I'm sorry - I didn't meant to call you 'shortly'!)

I can show you

the card I made for Jayne at work now - as she left us on Friday 25th August to go on her secondment.

When in doubt...

...post anyway!

Well, I've been so busy with work I've neglected it (my blog) again. I will be back very soon with some pictures and some info, as I'm finishing work today until 9th September. Yeeeehaaaaaa!

A Quickie

Where does all the time go? I've been hectic at work for most of the week, and also the two days off I've had with the kids have been filled with mundane stuff.

I've got my new contact lenses (continuous wear ones that I don't have to take out at night) but I'm not sure about them. They just don't feel right/comfortable. I'm going back to the opticians on Tuesday to have a check up, so I'll see what the optician says. I've been looking forward to having them for ages, but now it feels like a real anticlimax.

Anyway - made a card tonight for one of my work colleages that's leaving on Friday to go on a secondment - can't put it on here yet, as although I don't think she does read my blog regularly, I know I've sent her the link in the past, so I daren't risk it. I'll put it on the Canny Crafters forum in the meantime, and put it up next weekend once it has been given to Jayne.

Just passing through...

No time to stop - I've got 101 things to do tonight! As well as going and getting some food shopping and filling up the car with the last Tesco 5p off a litre voucher I've got, I've also got to get all my craft stuff together for loading up in a hurry tomorrow.

I also want to make a couple of bookmarks tonight, and I'd like to stamp out some images and colour them ready for doing my candle class at the weekend.

There's also some ironing to do (Michael is off this week with the kids, ands he's done loads of houseworky type things (cleaning floors, tidying, hoovering, cleaning) but he's managed to ignore the ironing so far (and only one day left). He is, however, at home all weekend with the little darling children as I'm off crafting in Nottingham with my lovely forum mates.

Can't wait until I finish work tomorrow - yipppppppeeeeeee!

xxxxx

Phew - finally

I've finally made the candles with matching cards for Emma at work. I think they're for her to give to her daughter's teachers when she finishes private day nursery at the end of August. I just need to start working on the bits she's ordered for Christmas now!

I've also managed to take some photos to put on the tutorial sheet for the altered candles I'm doing at the craft weekend. that way. if I bore people to tears and they fall asleep, they will be able to follow the instructions instead [smiles].

I've also made a few cards to keep up to date with family birthdays. Should be all right for a couple of weeks now.

Back to work tomorrow - at least I won't be able to hear the kids arguing from there. They've been dreadful this last week - hitting and shouting at each other, then best of friends the next. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Anyway - here are the photos:

I promise that the last card has silver card round both images - the top one looks gold because of the flash :-(

Whoops!

I was bemused when I heard the doorbell ring at 9am this morning. I wasn't expecting anybody, and I couldn't see a post van outside...so imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw my hairdresser standing there! She wasn't due until tomorrow...or so my pea-brain had convinced me.

How embarrassing, but at least we were all up, dressed (at least 2/3 of us were) and hadn't gone out for the day! It frees up tomorrow morning though.

Alas I still haven't had time to craft, but at least the ironing pile endeth! Should be able to get some major stuff done tomorrow now (although we have to fit in a trip to Tesco petrol station to make use of my 5p a litre voucher, and to the kids' holiday club to pay the next shed load of money, and also to the local fancy dress shop - the only outlet that sells the Junior school's branded items of uniform [I kid ye not - not even the school itself sells it]).

Really need to get some candles made for examples at the craft weekend (wont be showing you those until after the weekend, for obvious reasons).

No crafting today

No time to craft - still got half a mountain of ironing to do (it was just far too hot to finish it last night! I got a few bits yesterday at The Range - notably some cheap ribbon (not that I need to restock my ribbon collection, but if it's a bargain, it always seems to find its way into my basket one way or another), some brads (and I have a fair few of these too *ahem*) and some white acrylic paint, as mine is all stringy and weird inside.

Quote of the day went to Sophie though. We were browsing the aisles, and Sophie declared that she really needed some foam pads. I turned to her and said:

"Sophie - how many foam pads do you think I've got at home?"
"Fifty million" was her reply. The shoppers around us were almost doubled up with laughter (and a few knowing smiles made me think they understood the situation exactly).

I have also been to my local candle shop to buy some stock for the craft weekend - 24 so far. I had to make two trips as I couldn't carry them all in the poor quality plastic basket. I'm sure the woman on the counter thinks I'm barking mad - it was only a couple of weeks ago that I bought 10, and now another 24. Perhaps she thinks I've got a candle fetish?

Popped to Ikea too, to stock up on batteries and some small square mirrors for a friend (and had to have a few for me too of course!). Had meatballs and chips for lunch too. Yum yum.

Little and often

First day of a week off, and if I can get the kids to do as they're told, I'll be off to The Range in a minute (just for a few basics (need a new glue stick and maybe some bind-it-all covers and other little bits).

Got a mountain of ironing to do (didn't get any done last week at all) so that will be my main job later on (hope the heat dies down a little before then!).

Will make a concerted effort to turn this blog back into a diary/showcase, rather than one entry a month.

And some more

And these were taken with my phone, so apologies for the quality (or lack thereof):

Some recent cards

Right then

Well, who's a naughty girl then?

I've been neglecting my duties and my friends, my blogging and my cardmaking - but folks, and listen very carefully, I shall say this only once...

The MOJO returneth!

I sat and made 4 cards this weekend! Now I know that compared to some of you out there, 4 is a drop in the ocean - a mere pinprick on the face of the earth, but considering that lately I've been making cards rarely, and I've even resorted to altering cards from my few remaining 'stash' pile, and even buying a few here and there (hangs head in shame).

So when I sat down and made a graduation card for my neice, Dawn - who by the way got a 2.1 degree and can continue on to next year to do her PGCE so she can be a music teacher), I started with a little inspiration, and I actually did some stamping.

Now, I know I have other things I must do, like get back onto the Canny Crafters forum and prove to them that I didn't die or run off with a cowboy from Denver, and they will come in time - I promise.

For now, I'll leave you with my cards.

Au revoir, mes amis.

Dawn's congratulations card:

3 general cards (all Penny Black Stamps): there isn't a mark on the 2nd one on the embossing, honestly!