Cheap Gifts

I don't mean cheap as in cheap and tacky i mean cheap handmade goodies, i made these on Valentines day for the kids to give to their friends and also made one for my Nieces birthday. Ashleigh came tome on the evening before valentines day and asked if i had a gift she could give to a boy at school, i didn't so i quickly whipped up a few of these beauty's they are simple to make, the wording was printed on the computer then i stamped and coloured the image, you could fill them with anything you want. Great for party favours or little thank you gifts, you would pay fortune for personalised gifts in a shop. I'm sorry about the picture but my camera has died so at the moment I'm having to scan everything in and its cr*p.

Mums house is all coming together she hopes to be in it within the next 2 weeks, then i an get back to creating more, i did however stay up last night and whipped up a couple of cards, i will share them later when i've scanned them.

I have had time to chill and browse my favourite blogs,stamping caz has decorated some candles here http://stampingcaz.blogspot.com/ just scroll down a little, i visit this blog everyday for inspiration.

Over at Becks blog you are in with a chance of some free stash here http://www.scrapgenie.blogspot.com/ you just need to leave a comment then test and review the product, (this is a scrapping related product). This is another of my favourite blogs updated almost daily sometimes twice she showcases some yummy stuff.

I will get around to putting all of these on my blog in case the comp crashes and i lose all my favourites at least i will still find them all here.

New House

I havnt been doing much crafting this week as my Mum and Dad have just got a new bungalow, (its a long story), they currently live with my sister and her family, the house was originally my mum and dads and they sold it to my sister many years ago as she didnt have any children or a hubby, and the plan was they were just going to stay with her until they were carried out in a box (their words not mine). Since they sold it my sister now has a hubby and 2 children so mum and dad decided they would move out so that they can have some peace and quiet from the kids, mum is partially sighted so its hard for her with all the toys about. They got the keys to their house last Thursday so since then we have been cleaning, decorating and knocking walls down. We are just waiting on a new kitchen then it can be decorated then the whole house can be carpeted and move the furniture in, so i recon another week or so and i can get back to normality as i seem to of been round the new house 24/7.

Sam is still spoty from his chicken pox but he has been well with them, he hasnt scratched much or complained. I have noticed he need a haircut before he goes back to school next week but ill have to wait untill the spots disapear from his head as he got lots on his scalp. My 2 nephews have also caught them so at least they have all got them together.

Its Ashleighs birthday next week so i bought her a cuttlebug and whilst i was at it some goodies slipped into my basket for myself too, i got 8 new stamps, some chalk inpads and lors of embellishmnets, so roll on next week and i can craft.

That is after ive come home from work, my lady of lesuire was short lived as work have begged me to return to work so with a few negotiations i have agreed to return, but i will reveiw the situation at regular intervals so watch this space i may get to stay at home after all.

Did i mention im going to see Westlife at the metro radio arena on the 4th March, i can wait, we will visit the metro centre for the day and then watch the concert, and as every year i dont see them just once we also make a weekend of it and go elsewhere to see them so this year we are going to Manchester to see them on the 15th March.
Its seems we were only at the merto a while back, we were there taking the girls to see highschool musical on ice, i can recomend it , it was really great.

wow that was a long post . Well done if youve read this far.

Chicken Pox

Yesterday my son Sam seemed to have a few red marks under the skin, i noticed them when i took him out of the bath, there was only about 5 so i didnt think anything of it. Today when he wore up he has about 20 and they are all raised like a blister so off to the doctors we went, only to be diagnosed with a mild case of chicken pox, so he will be off school untill they scab over. As he breaks up for 1/2 term on Friday i doubt he will be back at school this week so he'll have 2 weeks with me (oh what fun!)

At least we wont have to get ready as soon as we wake up, we can lounge around a little and chill out together.

The photo is a card i made last night using a magenta stamp i watercoloured it and then added stickles for a little highlight, you cant actually tell from the photo but i also made the flowers 3d by stamping in duplicate and cutting out the image.

Im loving the background paper i got a bargain in a local shop it is a paper mania scrap pad 40 sheets of 12 x 12 for an amazing 3.99 and it is really thick almost like a card stock thickness, and every sheet is gorgeous i could kick myself for not buying more or getting the other set which was more vintage floral style, i will go back on wednesday and see if they have any left (fingers crossed)

NEW START (again)

Well it has been ages since i blogged, so here i am to start all over again, i know ive said that time and time again but this time its all go. (but dont hold me to it , LOL)
Ive back into my cardmaking big time, scrapping is in the back ground for a while, im still completing the odd page but not at the speed in which i was scrapping before.

so what has happened in the past few months (not a lot) ther have been a few happenings at work which resulted in me walking out last thursday, my boss has given me time to think about my desision to return to work (with pay!), i think i have made up my mind not to return, so i may become a lady of leisure, just think of all the crafting i can get done.LOL

whilst out shopping last week i came across a craft stall on the local market in stockton called suzi crafts, ive discovered its also an online store which has an attached forum, so i came home had a browse and joined the forum, its only new so there are only about 34 members but everyone is so friendly and really helpfull so i urge you to take a look for yourself and come on over to http://www.suzicraft.com/ and join the forum, the more the merrier, you can showcase your projects and chat about cardmaking and scrapbooking, in fact all things arty, so what are you waiting for?

last night i was crafting and ive made a few cards, heres a small selection

this was made using sugar nellie stamps available from http://www.funkykits.co.uk/ also check out the new sgar nellies lola and simon and the little cotton rabit stamps coming soon.


this was designed using a house mouse stamp, this was requested by a collegue from work.
i will have more pics to upload later.
please dont forget to pay a visit to http://www.suzicraft.com/

Fight The Flab!

after weeks of threatening to take my body back from the cookie monster (or is that the cadburys monster), ive finally taken that step and joined a gym, im sick of feeling lethargic and lazy, I hate finding clothes to wear. i hate anything that clings or skims my body as it shows off all my flab. Well soon that will be no more as im in the right frame of mind my diet is on a kick start and i went to the gym and was shown around by the gym instructer ive signed up and my induction is wednesday, so untill then im having a couple of sessions at the baths. Mind you i did laugh when he said what do i want to acheive from going to the gym, i mean im not twiggy, ive got about 3 stone of extra baggage, i told him i wanted to loose weight and get into some sort of shape (preferably not the round that i am now! LOL) So i may be dying a slow death after wednesday as i havn't been to the gym in years. But just think in months to come i will be peeling off my clothes without a lump or bump in sight (if only!)

Ive also been scrapping this week and i uploaded a LO of Martin and Sam to Basic Grey and was shocked the next day to find an email telling me it had been chosen to go into the official online gallery, TOOT TOOT for me.

long time no see!

I know way back in January I promised myself i would blog more often, and already only 4 months into the year ive totally flunked, I know i should as then i can read back in months or even years to come and read these little reminders and look back on any pictures ive uploaded. (Note to ones self i must try harder).

So what has been going on in my little world since march?
ive been to see westlife (twice),
we had a great easter break with the kids, whilst i was in Glasgow Martin took the kids to York for the day but the rest of the time we spent together, going out for days and doing fun stuff in the house, we also all swapped bedrooms so that was quite a task moving furniture.

My Online friend and UK Scrappers team mate Marja gave birth to a beautiful baby girl called Noemie, she is so gorgeous, she is having a few complications but im sure she will be home with them soon, so in case you read this Marja im sending huge hugs to you all.

Another of my online friends Suzanne got through to the final 3 of the making memories idol competition and whilst she didnt make final winner she is a winner in my eyes and everything she created was inspirational,well done suzanne.

Ive also scrapped myself but will upload pics later as its too late and the light is crap they will only turn out blurred. so lets see how long it will be untill im back again.

mothers day hangover

when i woke up this morning i had a slight hangover from the party celebrations last night, but the dull headache soon went away when i was greeted by the kids with my mothers day breakfast in bed, all those cuddles worked better than any paracetamol!

breakfast was boiled eggs and soldiers with a nice cuppa to wash it all down, my pressies were some lillies and a new pair of PJ's.

here's a pic of the party last night, i must of been a little tipsy to of put this wig on and have photographic proof, we had a great night even if i did pay for it this morning (aka the headache!)

Does my bum look big in this?

I've just been downloading some pics from the camera, as I've been naughty and not done it in a while, (well I've not took any pics in a couple of weeks)

To my surprise Ashleigh must of taken a picture of me whilst we were bowling a little while back. I cant believe she took a pic of my big bottom, just wait until she wakes up in the morning! LOL

I will have my revenge i will take a pic of her just as she is waking with her straggly hair and scrunched up face, then i will scrap it so i can keep it forever, but i will also tuck this picture in a secret little pocket and add some journalling for future reference. (i loves my little girl, she is my best friend really, my shopping partner, my dancing diva and all singing sister, i love you Ash!)

help! ive become a stepford wife

oh my god i think ive become a stepford wife, any one who knows me knows i dont do baking, and apart from general houskeeping thats it for me. well over this past week ive been home baking cooking pies and making soups casseroles etc. ive even been house keeping on overtime. i had my parents over last night and cooked a 3 course meal and th e dessert was to die for, banana fritters covered in syrup and topped off wit ice cream. move over nigella. LOL gotta go the oven is calling me!

happy birthday

happy bithday to my daughter Ashleigh, today she is 10 and boy how time flys, i cant believe it 10 years since she was born, i can remeber it so clearly.

Last night when she went to bed i decorated the house for when she woke up this morning, i had helium ballons, banners and bunting all over the living room looked lovely with all her pressents laid out on the flor surrounded by hellium ballons, she was so excited whe she saw it. She said mam can we leave it up for my party, (little did she know it took me almost 2 hours to decorate the house) I wasnt going to take it down for a day only to have to put it back up on saturday for her party.

she got some lovely pressents but ive a feeling her favourite was her new bedding (pictured above) that she had previously picked out on our visit to dunelm, i bought her the full collecion including wall hangings and pillows, she got a tracksuit, trainers and cuddly toys to open on the morning, then whilst she was at school i put her new bedding on her bed, she was thrilled when she saw it, i think she thought she wasnt going to get it. Its nice to spoil her occasioally. Now i have to see if i survive the girly make over sleep over party on saturday, please send me lots of energy vibes, i think i'll need it.

having fun

its half term week and so far we have had so much fun. on Monday we went bowling and this time even martin came along too as he has had a few days off too. We had 2 games and all or the bargain price of 13.20 now that's what i call a bargain for an hours and a half entertainment for the whole family, of course i did win both games, i even whooped martins butt, after he was gloating about how good he was (that will teach him. LOL)
On Tuesday, it was a me day and on the evening i went to see a spiritualist/fortune teller, i don't normally go for these type of things (well not since i was married anyway) I've seen plenty of fortune tellers in my time but never a spiritualist, it was very good. and i was comforted to know that it was my gran who had come through for me, everything she said was spot on, I know there is plenty of non believers out there, but for me there was no disputing what she said about my past and present. We jut have to wait about the future.
Wednesday we took the kids swimming and then out for a bite to eat, Martin went back to work so we didn't have a full Day but we did enjoy what we did.
Today we have been shopping i got Jonathan a PlayStation 2 from Asda for a bargain price of 49.00, so we then went to town to find some games, we came back with a game, a pair of trainers, tracksuit bottoms and 2 footballs. I also bought Ashleigh a tracksuit and a body warmer, JJB sports had a sale on so i went a little overboard, i also bought sam a few things.
My bargain of the day had to be the PJ"s i bought from primark they were only 1.00 per pair, Ashleighs having a makeover sleepover party for her birthday next week so i bought each of her guests a pair of PJ's its cheaper than a bar of choclate and sweets in the party bag.
It ill be Ashleighs 10th birthda so ive booked a makeover party for her, the lady comes to the house and all the girls have pretend champagne in champagne flutes, a mini facial, their nails painted, and a hair extension put in their hair (which they then get to keep) they have all sparkly makeup put on and at the end of it they receive a goody bag filled with makeup and beauty products, i just know she is going to love it.
Tomorrow i've got to pop into work for an hour but after that i am taking the kids out only i don't know where we are going yet, maybe a trip to the cinema?
And during this week we have decorated the kitchen and emulsioned and glossed various other places around the house so all in all a very eventful week.

washing hell

Where on earth does all the family washing come from? i swear my kids must change their clothes every 5 minutes. My washer broke over a week ago and i waited about 4 days for the repair man to come out, i know its a long time to wait but he is normally very reliable and his prices are very cheap he has been in the business for around 20 years so knows what hes talking about, when i first rang him he was in the airport ready to go away on a short break and promised he would visit on his return last Monday which he did, the bad news was it was going to cost over 100.00 to repair which we both agreed wasn't worth it, so on Friday we went and bought a new washer, and since then it hasn't stopped, the amount of washing that we had accumulated is ridiculous, i have caught up and have been in ironing hell since.
Another reason for not catching up on my blog sooner is the Internet problems I've been having lately, Martin switched providers and for about 6 days its been temperamental and hasn't let us connect (well only intermittently) it seems to of sorted itself out but for how long i don't know, we are thinking of changing to sky broadband so any comments about their service would be greatly appreciated.

forgot to add on a happier note i have booked my train tickets to go to Glasgow to see Westlife, i see them every year in Newcastle and then we choose another venue to visit this year it is Glasgow, I've been there for a day visit, but this time we are staying overnight so we will have a little longer to sight see, If that's possible from the inside of shops and pubs LOL.

we have also been to Jonathan's parents evening and it was very positive, he has his difficulties but despite these he is doing his best and even came top of the class in his science exam (that has given him and us a great boost) We also mentioned his lost clothing and even his teacher was astounded at the amount he has lost, he has told him to meet him at the staff room tomorrow evening and they will go through the lost property together and try to find them all.

ive been tagged

ok so ive been tagged by the lovely karen, after reading everyone elses including jackey, marja karen i too thought it was an easy task but boy were they right, so here goes.
here are my 6 wierd things about me.

1. i am meticulous about being on time for anything in fact i am always at least 20 mins early for everything and i start to panic if martin and the kids arnt ready at least 10 mins before we have to go out.

2. when putting the shopping away i have to have everything in order, ie all soups together, all veg etc. then all the labels have to be facing the front.

3. when phoning someone official i have to write key words down so i dont get flumoxed and forget what im ringing them for.

4. i wont eat sandwiches that i havnt made myself.

5. i panic, and rush out shopping if there isnt at least 2 full packs of loo rolls in the house.

6. one pupil of my eyes is way bigger than the other.

im tagging anyone else who cares to read my blog, oh thats probably no one then, better get out blog pimping LOL.

thanks for that challenge karen (not! LOL) it was harder than i thought

eventfull weekend

WOW what an eventful weekend ive had so far, nothing fun just lots of busy time.
i know its not spring yet but ive been having a major spring clean and a clear out.
saturday morning i went out shopping with Ashleigh, were were gone about 3 hours, we had a trip to debenhams and i bought ashleigh some nice jeans a top and pj's that were in the sale with 70% off, i love a bargain. then i went into DIY mode and started buying pictures, shelves, wallpaper borders, curtains and a curtain pole. when we returned home i had the urge to start work ASAP. up went the curtain pole and new curtains followed by the pictures and shelves in various rooms, once that was done i stopped and ordered a chinese (martin was at work on nights so someone had to feed the kids!) I let my tea/supper settle and then i set to work on my wardrobe, god some of the junk in there was unbelievable 3 bags for charity and 2 bags of rubbish ( still now there is more room for me to fill it back up with new stuff (mwahahahahaha)at 11.30 last night i decided enough was enough and a had a cuppa a shower and went to bed, only to wake up this morning with the same inclination so after dinner im planning what i can do next, i know one of my jobs will be to put a new border up in jonathans bedroom (if i manage to get to next to buy it) and wash the windows outside (note to oneself, i must find a window cleaner)
i will of course stop a lot earlier tonight as Martin is at work again and ive got the kids uniforms to iron and early to bed ready for work in the morning. And during all this work ive not neglected the kids, jonathan is helping sam with his new thomas the tank game and ashleigh is in her element sorting out all her things in her room as i put up shelves and a hanging rail type thing, she is so girlie and everything has to be just so.
thats all for now i hope im not to knackered to sign in tomorrow.LOL

heck of a day

ive had the worst day today, it started bad when eldest son (11) couldnt find his big coat for school he had only had it the day before, turns out he lost it at school the day before, along with everything else he has lost since september footie boots, footie socks, t shirt, shorts, planner, rugby shirt and now his coat. he hasnt had any of these items back either, to be honest i dont think he has even looked hes very laxy dazy, so ive banned him from the computer, took away his psp etc untill he can value and respect his items and learn to look after his belongings.
that set me off in a bad mood for the day, i went to work only to find a pile of paperwork that should of been completed and faxed the previous day by the head caretaker, so i had to do all of it before i could even start on my own work, it just so happens the above mentioned caretaker went on holiday today and knew i couldn't not do his work, (wait untill he returns!)
when i returned home i was greeted with a broken washer, it wont do anything and the repair man cant come untill monday, well at least it gets me out of a few chore for a few days.

On a brighter note i had won some stamps off ebay, and they were here when i got home from work so i will be trying them out tonight, still waiting on one more package hope it arrives tomorrow, it is another stamp and some ink pads, will share piccies with you tomorrow if it arrives.

i was reading heidi swapps blog and i cant believe she is pregnant again, there will be only 11 months between her babies, i had children 22 months apart and that was hardwork enough . still its really good news and she will cope just fine with her gorgeous family around her.

i still havnt tried digi scrapping although i am a step closer ive read a few tutorials.

i was going to include a piccy but i cant be bothered to upload any after the day ive had.

new year, new start!

well i decided on new years eve that i was going to blog more often so i had something to look back on for reference, that was almost a month ago! so 23 days too late here is my first entry of 2007. Im not going to waffle on about what has happened in the last mo0nth or what has happened since october (my last entry) im starting a fresh from today.

ive been checking out kirstys blog (sorry cant do a link, im not that techie) and she has been creating didgi kits, ive decided im going to step into the world of cyber scrapping and start didgi.

talking about scrapping last night i scrapped for the first time since november, i completed 2 layouts and altered a giant peg that i bought from Au Naturale, they were reduced from 2.50 to a great price of 45p they only yad 6 left so i snapped them all up, i will go back on saturday to see if they have any more in, you cant let them get away at only 45p can you?

we woke up this morning to snow, the kids were so excited but i didnt last, but somehow i dont think we have seen the last of it yet, its freezing and forcast for a lot more.

Happy Halloween

Today has been fab, my youngest Sam had his first real Halloween celebrations, hes 3 and this year he dressd up as a pumpkin and had a little pumpkin pail to collect candy in, we went trick and treating with his brother and sister and his cousin Evan (who is the same age as him) they all loved it, it took ages for Sam to get his costume on as he didnt want to wear it at first, but boy i couldnt get it off him tonight i thought he was going to sleep in it. We had a little party before venturing out in the freezing cold, after visiting friends and family we came home and continued the celebrations with people knocking on our door, some of the costume were quite scary, i even jumped myself a couple of times. on another note not even anything to do with Halloween i got some lovely stash delivered yesterday from the US, lots of lovely christmas chipboard goodies and bags of buttons, so last night and today ive been creating more christmas cards, almost done now i've only got about another 30 to do LOL.

wonderful layouts

at last ive scrapped some of my brilliant photos of our photo shoot, they are not over done with loads of embellies, just plain and simple so that the main focus is still the photos, i love the way they have turned out.
i went on a marathon shopping spree at the weekend and bought a whole load of christmas pressents and for once am pleased to say im almost finished buying everything, im usually still rushing around christmas eve trying to find something for someone who has everything.
Its the kids half term holidays which means im also off work we havnt really done much this week yet, weve stayed home and played board games, crafted together and been on a few walks but we havnt actually been anywhere, we were going to go to the cinema tomorrow but didnt fancy any of the films that were on so instead we are all going bowling so that should be fun.
adios amigos i will leave you with the pics of my recent Layouts.

loving our photo shoot

oh boy where have i been for over a month, i didnt realise its been that long since i blogged (note to myself, make sure you blog more regular)
its been so long i dont remember what ive been up to. but i do remember at the end of september we went to a photo shoot that was arranged at DD's school, the money for the sitting was all donated back to the school, (which is so cool) . As soon as we saw the proofs i wanted all 90+ pics! it worked out much cheaper to buy the disk and have them printed at my leisure 90 quid for the disk, thats less that 1 pound a pic, and what was even better was my sister was on the same shoot as me as we wanted pics of the cousins together, so we shared the cost of the disk and only paid 45.00 each. now thats what i call a bargain, big thanks to success photography you did a great job, you even took a good picture of me and i hate pictures of myself.
ill try to upload a few of them here

All DIY'ed Out

wow this has been a very busy week on monday we started our DIY mission, the kids wanted to swap bedrooms so it ment new carpets and decorating (it was about time anyway as the kids are getting older and they still had child like bedrooms) monday saw us paint gloss and carpet the small room for jonathan, we completely finished it at about 10.30pm, cleaned up and went straight to bed. Tuesday we started to strip the wallpaper of the big room, we thought great as the paper was coming of in huge pieces, untill the last wall it took the rest of the day and tyhe next morning to get it all off, then it was off to the carpet shop for me while Martin finished the paining, we finishe painting and even got the carpet fitted that night, we finished at around 10.30 again. Thursday myself and Ashleigh put her room back together and threw loads of old stuff out so she could have the room of her dreams. Now the kids rooms are done its time to start our room, but i think we are all DIY'ed out as we cannot motivate ourselves to start it, maybe after the weekend we might start again, the only trouble is Martin goes back to work monday so he will be even less inclined to want to start painting.
on another note over on UKScrappers we have our old team (SCRAPITUDES) almost all back together again, yesterday Marja joined us again and at the begining of the week Jane joined us singing songs, its just like old times, lots of sillyness.
Hopefully this week will see me scrapping again as i have all my lovely holiday pics.