How can one week be so different to the last?

How apt was this weeks Gutter Girlz prompt?? It has just exactly summed up how my week has been and is...! This moo card also summed up how i'm feeling too :)

On a much lighter note... this one. Inspo taken from the lovely Kirtsy Wiseman.... Ben just is saying the most funniest things. Last week was 'Cray-nons'.

How is that possible? That last week breezed by and this week, well... starting on Saturday; it has gone downhill rapidly. I had an awful night at work on Saturday and followed by an unhappy call early on Sunday morning. Grr. Woken early. Not happy :(

It all started to go wrong from there. And that so far has been my week, one which, I would quiet happily erase from my life... which isn't something I really should ever say. The kiddos are pretty full on, work is full on, I have so much to do in the house.... hmmm not at all like last weeks breeze. I seem to have no time to stop. It seems as if someone has taken many hours from my days, even though I know this is not true. I am tired. Why does life have to be so damn stressful?

And the plan to rectify this? There isn't one. After a quick chat with a friend, she summed it up. It's like being a hamster in a wheel. Yes, Constantly running to try and keep on top of stuff. To the outside life looks rosy, how wrong could they be. Yes, I do spend most of my evenings chopping up paper. Thats my sanity. Seriously. I hate it when anything eats into this time. It seems gradually life is eating into my own time :( It is taking a toll on me. I am feeling unmotivated and pretty darn pi***d. Rah. I hate feeling like this. Tonight, I am planning on doing nothing but watch tv, chop up paper and relax. Mucho wine is needed.

Tommorow I will be happier. I promise ;)

It's that happy time of the month again :)

This is just a little sneak at the kit that came yesterday. It's not a great pic, as I outed all the brown bags of goodies and they are all underneath... this cute fabric album is on top though!! OMG! I don't think Kev has ever seen me so excited. Like this kit totally rules my life right now :D Paper just is so cool! How anyone can not get crafting I just don't know... So anyhoo, this album is my little perfect project inbetween making heaps of other stuff, work, classes and everything else that is my life. Wouldn't it just be fab to have some time for me?? Ok, some real time. Instead of 9pm - midnight, when actually the majority of the time i'm too knackered to be productive... hmmm. Well, i'm so excited about kit. It's totally fab.

I did this LO last night as I watched The Apprentice, Desperate Housewives and the repeat of Shameless... WTF!?? That was one weird episode. Seriously weird. But great all the same.

I love shoes. I love pumps. My feet hate heels. I have always hated heels, even tho they make you feel ultra cool for like five seconds and then my feet just hurt too much. Comfort always wins with my feet. Well, these babies were a bargain £4. I loved them to death, quiet literally... they stunk so much I slung them away in the end. But they were cute shoes... with bows.

This I started last night and finished today. I have three slotted in journo'ing cards. Sad stuff in a way but happy to know we still have our little boy, even though he was very, very poorly.

I love the new crate paper range, the colours are bright but toned down alittle... I love yellow too atm. I love deers and this kit has so many cool deers, birds and stars!! :) Oh, I am happy :D

Right, off to check on our roast chicken dinner and wake the boy from his snoozing. Happy times :D

Windy beach happiness.

Yesterday I managed to make this while watching CSI, tweeting and sitting on the sofa relaxing. It's pretty plain and not much to it but I wanted to use some of my old OA supplies and those glittery alphas from an old SoML kit.

Yesterday during the day, we headed off to the beach. We found the most beautiful and deserted place on Shoebury beach :) and found the tide had just been in and was on it's way out. It was pretty windy but not too cold. We found these live goodies... to bring home and cook. Emily was fascinated by it all. Esp when we cooked the cockles in lemon juice and they all opened up. We also found this...

As you can see, we were rather wind swept! Here's Emily digging about and collecting cute shells.

I stuck Ben in some of his cheap pumps and he enjoyed a paddle... wellies would've looked just too wrong with cropped trews!

As you can see the whole place was deserted... just the wee little beach huts, a few crabs and us :)

It was a windy but very happy Tuesday spent doing very little but having fun :) which is he best type of doing nothing.

Weekend, late night scrapping :)

Kev, kindly picked these goodies up from the post office for me... the gorgeous new October Afternoon papers... yum. Cherries really are so cute on paper.

And the Martha Stewart strawberry I got from work :) How could you not love them!?

And one of my 200 mini moo cards ... Along with some old sassafras and new OA.

This pic was one of a small few of my time not long after my mum died. I practically live in this pub. This pic was one of a Saturday night bet, George (a dad of one of my friends) took on the bet to wear my sister skirt... I have no idea why. Anyhoo, I snapped a pic. This pic really makes my heart happy, like so many I have. I reminds me of pretty cool times.

Another new OA layout with an old photo... Emily getting her first pair of proper shoes... :) I am so sad that polaroid have quit making film :( It will be a huge reminder to her too when she's older) I am also loving grey!

And mirrors with rub ons on them... and cutting up huge bling swirls to make smaller ones...

And of course Thickers...

This one I did with an old SC kit. See i've been digging out old photos...

I thought including one main fact about my gran as the title was a pretty good idea. And she really did love to sew. After loosing her leg to gangreen (sp! and yuck!) she made soft toys to sell for a disabled childrens charity. She loved sewing and in fact I still have an old tin full of bears eyes and noses.

I am sure that the winter after this photograph was taken she died on Boxing day, in her own bed with my Grandad beside her. I just wish I had known her when I was older. The same with my Grandad too. I have so many photographs of people I have no idea who they are. My Grandads side of the family is a complete mystery and was to us all, as his family disowned him after Gran got pregnant before they were wed; they did marry before David (my mums eldest brother) was born though. We have only a few pictures of his family, or what we think is. I have pictures of his sister as a beautiful ballerina, I am sad that I know very, very little about them.

I know though, that when my sister comes down to stay for some time during the big summer hols, I will be quizzing her on all these pictures. I am hoping that she can give me some answers to things I feel that I need to know.

I also got my new gorgeous Helen Dardik book arrive today :) OMG! Stitch-y, stitch-y heaven :D Here illustrations are just the best... I am planning on trying to complete my cute canvas for the loo with some of her cute drawings. Happy, happy days!

Mooooooo!

Yesterday I did these two LO's. The second I had already started the night before... but had to put on hold, due to tiredness... :)

This one was probably the last one i'll managed to squeeze out of my Sarahs Cards kit. I have used nearly all of the flowers, I have very little Bazzil left and lots of scraps of patterned paper. I am going to try and make some cards with what i've got left, I figure unless I do... these scraps will stay in a box until they get chucked out years later. My new motto is going to be 'use it now!' I know if I don't, the chances it does get used is slim. Very slim.

This one I did with my SC kit. I can't say the whole wedding papers are really my thing. I am not married... and both my mums marriages ended on pretty bad terms. I did see Helen scrapping pics of her parents wedding at crop and i'm sure Claire had done the same the previous crop... I dug this photo out. I honestly don't have many pictures of mum with Clive (my dad). This is mum and my sisters dad. It's not even the proper photo. It's only a proof, i'm not sure where all the original pictures went to, i've scrapped one and the rest... I am assuming that he destroyed them along with many pictures of Carolyn and Jill as babies :( Between us I have the majority of the photos. I have one or two of Jill as a baby, none of Carolyn. The photos of her start from when she was around one. It makes me sad really to never actually know all those little details about the pictures. hmmm.

I also found (well, ok I knew where it was) an old bible yesterday, it has many names written in the back, beautifully with fountain pen. I am sure it is detailing my mums mums side of the family. I was sad to read that a few of her babies had died very young. I am sad that I guess I will never know about any of this. I really know very little of my past. I only know snippets. It is further proof to me that scrapbooking really isn't just about pretty pictures.

I also recieved my moo cards today!! My order is missing my stickers :grrr: but the cards look fabby!!! :D I am planning on using them on LO's and I have a little holder which I ordered too, to make a weenie mini to hang on my keys. I was surprised to see them packaged in a cute white plastic box :) Another mini I think! So I am pretty happy with them turning up today.

I am of course, ever patiently waiting for my SC kit... :) I will be so excited when this comes this month. This month is the biggy. I'm just waiting for that dispatch email .....

An extra long week and weekend!

Well hullo! We had a mixed bank holiday weekend. I worked for much of it, well I had yesterday off which was a surprise really as usually I am at L/C and working hard! I lied in (thank you Kevy) and then just got a few jobs done. Emily went out with Kev in the afternoon (and came back ladden with new books!) and Ben went for a nap, so I crafted :D I finished up these LO's last night...
The first two are lifts, of sorts. From ideas from the SC gallery and my new issue of SB trends!! Whoo hoo. I love this mag!

I just love Studio Calico stamps. They are always such beautiful designs and so usable!

This LO is documenting, the fact that Benji cannot sit still (his arm is totally out of focus!), his love of Roary the racing car and his new shoes/fake crocs...

This one, I stole the title from SB Trends. I totally understood this LO and needed to have one too. I am in denial that Emily will start school in September and I will no longer have two children under 5. My baby is growing up and 'sometimes DENIAL is a good place to be'.

I doodled around the page, I cut up more of my K&Co valentines paper pad and used lots of those MM weenie glittery letters and my last heidi swapp mirror.

This I made while watching the secret millionaire last night. I used my family tree class as a starting point. I wanted the tree to represent family my kiddos won't know.

I used ALOT of green buttons, gems and randomly cut and punched patterned paper pieces from my SC kit. I love their own papers... I love the fact they clearly love cosmo as much as I do and wood grain.

I also got to use a sassafras chipboard deer shape... I think I brought every pack when these came out, some even in duplicates and I have used around 2/3 shapes. I was glad to use this one, rather than having them sitting around in a bag.

I did a whole heap of journo'ing on this LO too. You can't see it. Its a huge piece on the back explaining the title. The fact that my mum, their gran will never know them both. A little sad but good therapy.

I did start a third, but then the clock struck midnight... and I thought it was time for bed. I will be finishing it up this afto, while watching murder, she wrote (i'm soooo glad that the snooker has finished!) and listerning to Emily on the DS; no doubt!

And lastly, even if I do say so myself... I have the best class coming up at the end of June. It's all about journalling. It's an all dayer and you will make a mini and a LO. I am sooooo happy about it all! I have been planning it for a while now. There will be a huge handout to get you going and lots of chatter and natter about writing your life/feelings down. And just telling you how important it is! I am soooo excited about it :D