Tuesday 30 June 2009

Just a little bit to share...

It seems that my LOs are a mixture of allsorts of late. I mean, a mixture of photos that are new and old, and a mixture of kits/stash buys. This one was mainly from Studio Calico but alittle of Sarahs cards thrown in...(the little maya road velvet flower)



I am loving grey at the moment. And I love this American Craft paper which I had been saying for that LO. I think it goes well with the navy in the picture and the navy lacey/crocheted ribbon. I also love that thicker font too!


Eyelets!! OMG! A blast from the past. I alcohol inked them, kinda! :/ and added my rocket stamp I got from Ally Pally. I hadn't even got them out of the packet :( until now. And they were in a long line but I chopped them up so they are now six individual rockets.



It's documenting my new-ish now, trainers complete with rockets, robots and multi coloured star eyelets!


I love trees! (and houses) and loved making this one, adding gems and cutting out grass...


I used my sugar and spice stamps on this one and used the 'i' from the word with which I masked off so I could stamp the phrase 'I just love you'. I love that font too :D


This LO actually made me have a little tear when I took the picture. I spent every weekend getting drunk in this pub from the age of 15... I played pool here, I had an unhealthy obssession with a blokie called Mick Greaves here (LMAO), I threw up here (yes, I was young, and it was literally by that little brick wall you see), I wore my C & A (remember that store?!) clockhouse Jarvis Cocker stylee cardi here for the first time. I was sad to see that it had changed its name to 'The Boathouse' even though its a beautifully idylic pub by the river Soar, complete with narrow boats of all colours and pretty field views... for me, it will always be 'The Riverside'.

I never really talk about my dad. Not that I really call him that. I have very few photos of him and although I don't want to look at him, he does not deserve any attention of mine I am curious still. This photo was taken at my eldest sisters wedding, about six months before we moved from our family home. I wanted to document that even though I try to not let my past affect me now. It does.

And look how pleased Kevy is! He just got his new gaming joystick thingie for his xbox. He didn't expect it to arrive yesterday and when it did he was happy :D He played til gone midnight last night...
Also my dresses have arrived for Anthonys wedding do. Hooray, I think I like one defo, the other I am waiting to see once my Gok, suck you in underwear arrives...
And lastly:
The twiddley blog has a challenge, so go pop over and have a go! If you are lucky enough to win, you'll get a parcel of yummy twiddley bitz :D Which is well worth having a go for ;)

Monday 29 June 2009

Lots to share...

...but alittle too hot to go back upstairs (it's like a sauna up there) to get my LOs to photograph.
I will when it's cooler.
Also need to get Emily ready for her third session at 'big' school.
Laters!

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Hola!

Emily has taken to watching Mickey Mouse on Youtube. She asks everyday, while Ben is content with anything really... Kev fed him his tea the other night while Pocoyo was playing; in Spanish. He was very contented... these were the piccies that followed.




Too busy watching, no time for kissing!! Looking a rather hot and sweaty little boy who is in desperate need of a haircut :D Know anyone with the patience of a saint???
I am busy preping for my journo'ing class... I need to print out all of the handouts... in fact one huge long one :) Just tweaking now in between picking Emily up from old school, making lunch for Benji and me and blogging. Right, back to it!

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Giddy :D

I have had a busy morning! Tuesday now seem to be the day that me and the kiddos 'do stuff'. Today, I really didn't fancy the beach so I decided we'd nip over to Barleylands. I was incredibly brave and just had Benji on his 'leash' (ok, wrist strap) and went to take something back to the shop, pick something up and I got talked into going into the farm. Benji loves the chickens. He is very, very fond of chickens and is getting a slight obsession for them. We also had a long bounce on the bounce pillow and then the trampoline and a play in the sand pit; along with feeding every animal we could... including a very friendly chipmunk :)
Benji screamed the whole walk back to the car when it was time to go home... I'm sure if you had your windows open in Billericay or Wickford, you would've heard him. And then the looks start. It makes me kinda cross because he is two (ok, three in September) just because he looks big, he is still little and he is quiet abit behind Emily in his developement, whether that be 'second child syndrome'/ the fact he's a boy and alot lazier/ or whatever. I just feel like saying 'quit looking, he's having a tantrum, he will get over it!!' Anyhoo, we had a fabby morning/afternoon. :D

Yesterday... I managed to make these few:


This was taken on our meal after Ally Pally on the Saturday night, after walking around for a good half an hour for somewhere suitable. This place was gorgeous inside, built in an old pump house with beautifully tiled walls, ceilings and arches. The meal was pretty good too :)

This has made me all giddy!! ~ Martha Stewart train punches!!! OMG! I just really needed this (and I also got the EK Sucess dino one too!!) It punches perfectly, which surprised me as it is such a weenie and delicate punch. I love it! I feel lots of train cards and LOs coming on.

No picture as yet as I need a suitable one with the kiddos and the copious amounts of brio we own. I might add little photos in the train window too... not sure. I just needed to use the punch!

And this documents my time at L/C. I covered the bottom pic as i'm not sure if its breaching confidentiallity showing a no booked carer to the whole of the blogging world. I'm guessing it probably would. Note Ann's plate that sits at my desk... the 'round tuit' which took me ages to get the joke but now I think its really funny. I'm sure that sometimes I should've been born blonde.
Ok, so off to try and get a certain little boy to have a nap and then I might get alittle punch of those dinos. Have a happy sunny, sunny day!

Monday 22 June 2009

More SC Goodness!

I sat down on Saturday night when i'd finished my late shift at L/C (around 10pm) and started on these. I must have been in the company of my mojo that night as I managed 4 LOs. Yes, 4!

I used mainly cosmo on this one, all from my last month SC kit apart from the blackboard which was from a kit a long way back. It just fitted in nicely though...



How cool is this chipboard toast and toaster??!! Oh, I love them! And it's apt for the fact that Ben's favourite food is toast. With butter or cheese... anyway it comes he'll eat it :)


This one is alittle odd, maybe. I took these pics when I last went up to see my sister and went over the the cemetary to put some flowers there for mum and everyone else. Its hard to think it's been over 7 years now since she died. It seems sometimes like it was just yesterday and then others like she hasn't been around for much longer than 7 years.
This one is about documenting the journey back home which between 2000 and 2004 I did at least once every week sometimes 2/3 times. From London/Essex/Cambridge to Leicestershire/Derbyshire. I love driving and miss these times when I used to drive along with the radio up and clear my head.


I had a fairly lighter weekend of work with only doing one shift on Saturday, I am slightly ever so sad to find that one of my colleagues there has taken on a co-ordinator role and so will not be working out of hours any more :( Jodie, I will miss you!
Normal service has been resumed at home, meaning its only me who bothers with washing, ironing, tidying, hoovering and other household jobs. Including rectifying shopping mistakes! I am not happy about this. In fact i'm pretty narked off. And currently i'm re-washing clothes that have been sat in the machine since Saturday night :(
My Sarah's cards kit came on Saturday morning too, I haven't really looked at it properly. I'm not sure that this months is really me. I am debating on cancelling it. Hmm. Decisions.
Today is Emilys second session at 'Big School'! She is so excited :D Oughta go and make lunch for her and Benji before she has to go.

Friday 19 June 2009

Studio Calico Scrappiness :D

I feel as if this month my Studio Calico kit has been slightly neglected. It was never meant to be that way... it's just I wanted to catch up with some projects and finish up some too... and tidy up alittle before I got more out (remember that? I still tell my kiddos that but it seems no one listens, even me!) So I hadn't really gotten round to looking in this gorgeous box of yumminess until last night.

Thursdays are ideal scrappy nights, kiddos to bed... supper eaten and then I sculk off upstairs and shut myself away with The Mentalist and my supplies. I had also printed off 11 pages of photographs so I had plenty of subject matter to scrap. This was a piccie I manage to get off my phone earlier in the week...


And I didn't think i'd ever find a use for this stamp included in one of the add ons this month but actually I did and I loved it. There stamps are just so kitsch!


I am also loving all the collage press goodies in the kit too, esp. these journo'ing spots. I love using them together, some flat, some on foam and journo'ing on them all in one big lot. :)


A LO documenting the fact that Ben is a 'Roberts' through and through. I occasionally see alittle of Kev/Lucas' in him but more often than not he is just so much like my side of the family.



This photo called to be scrapped with brown, seens as his face and hands were covered in chocolate! And the apt title... not alot of thought but he was so happy!



I used this wooden token (actually for 10% off) from the previous months kit. Cheating? Maybe. Along with the cool 12" x 12" rub ons, which I have never seen this make before, why??? They are super-de-dooper!


And a little cosmo. It would be rude not to, wouldn't it?



This one, I used a stamp set i've had for a while now. Since last August infact when I went to demo at Fidgeons. I thought i'd use them all the time but tbh i'd actually forgot I had them! That is when you know that you ought to stop buying stamps!!



Again, those cute rub ons. Although i'm not entirely sure about this LO. You know maybe because it's so plain and simple that I feel it's not me. The photos are abit wacky though, as it's near on impossible to get two small kids and one dad on a trampoline to actually stay still/look the right way for a photo. We nearly managed it. Nearly.

I have alot of other stuff to do today, including some ironing. Not much though seens as i've finally caught up with the ironing mountain that was taking over our room. I feel quiet smug about that fact. I love being on top of the laundry as its my least favourite household job.
And the random fact of today is that Northern Uproar have an appreciation group on facebook. Seriously. I just had to join. Memories of a wild youth. :D
I have no work until tomorrow evening :) So tonight, no doubt will be a late night scrapping extravaganza! Whooo hoo! I do have a whole heap of prep work to be getting on with though... and of course next week normal service resumes on the working front.

Thursday 18 June 2009

Productive Mornings.

Ok, I have managed a big fat ZERO on the housework front. But I finished two DT pieces for here... One of these will be shown on the 3rd of July and the second on the 19th... so all is good this morning.

We had a fabby meeting last night, it was great to all catch up and meet Louise, whom I have heard alot about (all good!) and of course hear Marion doing her heavy breathing crafter :D Nina was excited as she is off to Glasto next week and has even brought her tasch!!! We want pics ;)

I have my first journo'ing class a week on Sunday, which is fully booked! I am now getting alittle apprehensive about this seriously. *quake* I want to do it justice and make sure that everyone goes away happy and able to journo whatever they please. I am still bringing together a pretty hefty hand out which will cover everything I hope to talk about and of course it means that you can refer to it at home/crop/where ever. It also gives a heap of ideas on ways to journal. I am pretty excited about that bit :D

Right now though, i'm going to crack on with some twiddley loveliness...

Wednesday 17 June 2009

Right now.

This was us yesterday. We spent a good few hours at the beach. It seems that generally we are all very happy here. And yes, his hair does need cutting desperately... I try and put it off for as long as possible as it is so hard to do. Seriously I have thought about just shaving the lot off but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Here's to hoping he's in a good mood tomorrow and will sit still long enough!



That's Emily right out there... searching for crabs and anything else she can find. She loves it best when the tides in but its far too early for us to get there or far too late... I might try and take her down early on saturday morning as i'm not working until later and let her enjoy the sea alittle more.

And then we took a long walk along the beach... It really is a beautiful place there. It's not all sandy white beaches but I love the open, the breeze, the boats and the fact the kiddos really run around and enjoy themselves. Emily has also taken to collecting shells and she enjoys finding the really cute pretty pink periwinkle ones.
Today, Emily has returned back to 'old-school' which was much to her disgust. Ben and I are at home doing laundry, tidying up, doing puzzles and general sorting! Tonight I am out over to Sugar and Spice for a DT meeting ;) I also want to print out some pictures too... seens as I have learnt how to take them off my phone :) So much to do and so little time!!!


Tuesday 16 June 2009

This was then...

This was prior to 'operation-scrap-tidy-up' which happened last week. Everything now is slightly more organised, note the slightly in that sentence. Such as it doesn't have a deo can on the side... ;) And I emptied a few more SC boxes, so my whole sheet and scraps sheet paper piles have grown radically.

These side bits need an over haul as I have many half finished projects in bags here that need/ought to be finished up... I just need a whole heap of time to be able to. Time, of course is in short supply!

And I think I want some baskets to fit in a couple of the holes, except it does drastically make those holes smaller... :( There are a heap of chipboard shapes and packets that could do with a big basket to be thrown into.
And I have emptied my cloth tesco bag too... It is on the whole alittle tidier... which is a good thing. And how do you organise alphas?? I have a huge pile which I have to sift through each time... is there an easier way to organise them? I also have a bar and some jars and hanging things to go above but Kev hasn't got round to putting it up yet, I may try myself but i'm not too handy with a drill :lol:
Today, We nipped to Shoebury again. We had an ok time. Ben is just alittle hard work right now that i'm inclined to stay in the whole time until it passes :D Even a chap walking his dogs commented on how I had my hands full. It made me laugh. Yes, I do but sometimes he is just so hillarious... like how he 'weeps' and makes his Bert the Guinea pig noise. *very cute*
Also Kev has agreed to fund my March GoGo retreat :D I am not sure who is going but I will enjoy it all the same. I cannot wait...! I have debated over going to a retreat but having time away from the kids/work is hard. But anyhoo this will be fantastic!
I made time for a classic Shameless last night, how bloomin gorgeous is Jamie?? *yum* and while scrapping and watching tv and drinking rose cider *yum yum* the adverts came on UGLY BETTY is back!!! Whoo hoo, on the 24th of June... another thing I am looking forward too!
Right, off to tidy up as the house has been neglected as we have been out for much of the day... we also have half of the beach on the rug in the lounge...
p.s. its Mary Portas tonight!!

Monday 15 June 2009

Time.

Time seems to be in short supply lately. I worked a day less last week (and this, although I am going into work on Wednesday night) but I still only managed to blog once and scrap very little. I have no idea where the time goes atm?!

I had good news on Friday from here about a design team place! I am now officially a member of the Sugar and Spice design team. Whoo hoo!!! I am pretty excited :) We have a meeting on Wednesday night (over cake!) and a good old natter ;) Along with me are Nina, Paula, Sam, Jayne, Louise, Nicki and Nicola. Congrats ladies!! And see you on Wednesday night (apart from the talented Nicola, where Cheshire is alittle too far to travel for a night). I have to admit I did use my stamps last night and will defo be using them again tonight too :D

Well, last week I spent the whole time tidying up. Seriously!! I spent the time on the phone sorting out all those niggling queries/bills/jobs eg. on hold for hours at a time!, ironing (like the whole contents of the kiddos drawers which has been ironed as needed for the past month or so as I have been so busy)our room is clothes free for the moment), tidying up the garden and my scrap space, cleaning up the lounge and bedrooms and bathrooms... and every other left/boring job going. There is still a heap to go. I think peeps don't always realise and think I have unlimited free time to do things for them... I hate the comments about why I haven't done something and feeling I have to justify myself. I think whoa! Life is busy the whole time for me and give me a break :D It makes me angry too how sometimes peeps feel I should prioritise them over other things in my life ;) So this weekend I left no washing to be done and no ironing at all, Today I did a whole basket of ironing which had been washed and dried by Kev the weekend :) I am happy that some peeps listen to me!

After tidying my scrap space up... I found a heap of projects that had been started an age ago and not finished... these were some of them that I kinda finished up... its hard because of the method I use scrapping... just stick down as I go... none of this laying out and rearranging... so they don't work maybe as weel as if I had finished them when I started them...


I love this font though... and I love the american crafts letter sticker books.....

This idea was from someones gallery on SiStv... I can't remember who... but thanks! It was a cool LO and I took the idea for this pic of Ben as a baby on Crimbo day 2006.


This is a pic of Kev from a picnic we had down at Southend... Not sure I like the papers anymore or the LO. I love the picture tho... he might just kill me for posting ;)


This one is such an oldie... when we lived in Derbyshire Twycross Zoo was just down the road... and they have so many chimps/monkeys/apes there. I think the PG tips chimps actually came/went to here. We took Em when she was a baby and lived in this baby bjorn sling... and I remembered seeing this photograph how much I loved this pink duffle coat she had. I loved it so much I brought the next size up too... so she didn't grow out of it so quickly ;)


A very simple LO doucmenting this month for me (she I am pretty busy!) and how obsessional I am over calendars and diaries.


So .... I have had a busy past week. I have a busy week this one too. Emily has her first ever 'big-school' visit and stay/play hour and I am still waiting for my SC kit... right now though i'm off to get a few more jobs done!

Thursday 11 June 2009

Yesterday.

This little guy has been giving me grief... his fave word is 'NO!' right now...



It was one crazy, weird day. Kev's work colleague gave him a lift to work and so I had the car. It was tipping it down though and so we thought it best to stay indoors. Em was at school, Ben had ALL the toys out everywhere and was having the best time. Until, we went to get Em from school, during which he screamed and I mean screamed the whole place down. Even today the nursery manager asked if he had woken in a better mood today ;) So needless to say that yesterday afternoon I had the headache from hell and had decided to put myself off mummy duty as soon as Kev came home!

After a long soak in a very, very hot bath with delish bubbles, potions and lotions I felt calmer and more me. I watched some tv with Kev and had tea... and a large slice of treacle tart which always makes you feel better ;) And then I sneaked upstairs to do this:


I used a mixture of stuff from Studio Calico, Sarah's cards and Angel crafts. I had wanted to use this picture, alittle strange but just to show that sometimes the tiles in our kitchen are spotless and shiny (ha, ha)... and I guess that seens as Emily is starting school in September (where have five years gone??) that its a time for reflection.


I also caught alittle of the programme about monkey babies last night. OMG! how weird was that! The woman driving the car on the freeway and with a monkey hanging on the steering wheel and her lap while on her cellphone to her psychic as she thought the monkey had eaten her pink heart pill or something!!! OMG! Totally freakin' mad. And not too safe, infact if she actually valued that little monkeys life she would've had him strapped in a seat and not be yakking on her phone, concentrating on the road! And then the frilly, frou-frou dress that the other weird couple brought the monkey. That they queried the $28 price tag, yet were willing to buy it lunch at a cafe??!! and then she moaned when the cafe wouldn't have the monkey in there ;) these peeps were sooooo strange. I am still in shock.

And then this morning, we have had words. I want no more 'no~boys' I just want good, agreeable ones! :D And so a chocolate biscuit or two sealed the deal. It also caused alot of mess too ;)


This little boy is a dirt magnet but a happy one!

(for today at least!)

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Picture heavy post

Firstly, so much for the regular blog post, eh??! It seems the week has flew by and it's been a whole week since I last posted. Life is so busy at the moment. Last night we had Emily first school meeting and she is going for the next four Monday afternoons, so she gets used to it. She is really excited and cried this morning when she had to go to 'old' school! I will miss 'old' school alot, although we are hoping that Ben will start either in September or after Christmas. I know he will love it, although i'm not sure they realise he is so much more louder and boisterous than emily ;)

Well, I have been making a few bits.... this mini I started a while back (April, I think?!) with my Studio Calico kit. I finally have gotten round to journalling in it and stamping .... and adding cute rubons and bits. It is far too fat for the bind it all rings I got but I like its fat-ness, it adds to its charm. I love these papers to, so summery although the weather here has taken a turn for the worst :( We have rain yet again today.

I used the effervescence punch on this book (and everything else that stays still long enough!)

And old photographs, some that have made there way onto LO's and others that I just love for the memories. This one is of Ben when he first got 'real' food... ok, baby rice. Since this day he has loved every minute of eating :D

Here's a little hidden one of Nina and the blurry 'ringage' shot. I am still amazed that the scrapbook teacher thought we were nutty talking pics of each other. I was like, what??!! You scrap, you should realise the weird and crazy things we do for our LO's. I still have to put this onto a LO but it looks great in this mini.


A few cute quotes cut from the cosmo strip paper. Oh my. I love cosmo.

An old piccie of mum, as I found an apt quote about it taking more strength to let go rather than cling on. It's good to look back on my journalling about her over the years and see how my perspective on death has changed. How now, I want to celebrate the time we had together rather than greive for her loss. It has been great therapy scrapping her.

A very honest post about someone admitting a crush on you... and how it made me feel good about myself. This boy (ok, man) is a cool friend and even though its been a few years since we have hung out, there is something quiet confidence boosting about being told you're a great person.

One of me at the start of the book documenting my life now. Being hectic with two jobs and two kiddos under 5. Note the grey hairs ;)

The front cover using that punch and my most favouritest thickers in the whole wide world (until the next batch get released).

An old, old pic ( I think I was about 11) in Skegness... on a very, very hot summers day. The photo reminds me of my mums brother who also died young (in fact alittle morbid but all family on my mums side have died before they have reach 60. Scary really) and how we used to go to Skeg on a day trip each summer. This year was particularly hot and I just don't do heat.

I wanted to use some tags as I have a heap of them and seem to never use them. I thought this was a great way to add some journalling to a LO. A LO about mum and her cancer and how after the intial shock and fear. The worst thought was loosing her hair. Which she did and I have documented how much I hated this wig, although at the time I never actually told her as I knew she would be upset. But this wig looked so... 'wiggy' and I really did hate it!

And no, she didn't really have ears like that... it was a Christmas party.

A take on my flower frenzy class and using a few fabric flowers as well as the punch circles to create a large embellie.

A little bit of a controversial title but so true. I think I was a chav for a time. Why?? I have no idea. I think it was just to impress this guy. The photo is mega old though, from Crimbo evening 1998, back when I was 18.


And lastly this one... with up to date photographs from my weekend away in February with Adrienne and Fabbi. I loved this weekend as it was so relaxing and i'm not sure I have laughed so much for a long, long, long time. Fabbi falling through the front door when we arrived was the most funniest moment of the weekend, seconded by Adrienne eating as many mars planets as physically possible.
Right, back to the housework. :(