We were just coming out of Boyes today (our regular Sunday haunt) and the heavens opened!!



As we were already wet and the sun had come out by the time we got home, Georgia and I decided it was puddle jumping weather!!!



I can't believe it is exactly a year since our Estate was flooded, and I was too sick (pregnancy nausea) to go and look at the floods. I clearly remember my Mum taking Georgia out puddle jumping one morning in her school uniform and I was laying in bed wishing I could summon up the energy to take some photos.

These photos are me laying some ghosts to rest for not being there for Georgia when I was sick and kicking myself for missing out on a photo opportunity!!

Beer Mats and Bargains!!

If you ever needed an excuse to go to the Pub this is it!!!

These post it note holders are so easy to make and I think they make lovely gifts, so I have been busy making them for some of my crafting friends.



You will need 2 beer mats, 1 sheet of PP, 1 sheet of card stock and a packet of post it notes.
Cut 2 covers 2 cm larger than the beer mats from the PP
Cut 2 inside covers slightly smaller than the mats from heavy weight PP or card stock
Cut a 6 by 12 cm strip of card stock

*Simply cover 2 beer mats with thin patterned paper then cover with lace or ribbon
*Attach a 6cm wide strip of thick card stock between the mats, leaving a 2-3cm gap between them both.
* Glue the inside covers in place and stick on a pack of post it notes!!
* Decorate to suit.





Can you believe I bought all of this for £10 The plastic 12x12 holders were 4 for one pound as were the sticker files. The crop case was £1 and the box files £3. The 8x8 was also just a £1!!!!



What a bargain!! It sure made my day, now I will no excuse for not being organised!!!

Have a great weekend. xxx

Mr IT said to me last night "I have some exciting news but I can't tell you until the morning"!!

I was curious but very tired and went to sleep, until this morning when he showed me that I am featured today on INSPIRATIONAL!! Apparently Julie had e-mailed me and Mark had secretly replied on my behalf!!

I love Inspirational because Julie puts in so much hard work cruising cyber-space and finding awesome blogs for me to check out every day! It was through this site that I found spinnvild, whose work is so inspiring you can see her influence on my next LO. (Hopefully tomorrow if I get some Ink today for the printer!)

Thanks Julie for making a little corner of England very happy this week!! xxxx

I have been inspired recently by some awesome photography Blogs, especially Amanda Keeys and The Pioneer Woman.

Check them out at the side of my blog!!


This was just a quickie, I often have little photo-shoots set up in my head, but babies grow so fast and I never get around to doing them until it's too late.





I work nights in a local mental health unit and am so fortunate to experience the most gorgeous sunrises, especially as the view from my office is that of our house!!



I haven't altered these pictures as I'm atill working on just thinking about how scary that whole photoshop thing is!!!

TFL xxx

Mini Map Book

My local library run an afterschool club, and on a Tuesday it's craft day!! Well I kind of got involved like you do, and put a call out on my local forum PaperParadise for left over scraps and unwanted supplies.

The response from the crafters of Grimsby has been amazing and Sue, Tracey and I are soon to present it all to them. People have donated 12x12cardstock, stamps, toppers, stickers, inks, paper pads, ribbons, flowers etc. The girls are going to be soooo excited. Can you imagine a group of pre-teens who have only had tissue paper and pipe cleaners at their disposal suddenly being introduced to a whole new world!!




Well tomorrow is the start of that whole new world as I am going to teach them how to make this Map Book. I have used K&Co papers and tried to keep it all really simple, the envelope is a stencil, the heart a punch and the rest can be cut and glued. Later on I am hoping to introduce them to stamping.... but one step at a time!!

I was struggling to make a large flower without buying a punch when Tracey reminded me about the tearing technique!! Three circles of varying sizes and tear the paper towards you (patterned side up) scrunch and crinkle the circles and attach with a brad and voila a pretty flower!!



Who said you need expensive gear to make a great project for kids!!

My secret!!

Did ya figure it out!!

I e-mailed Julie at Inspirational and told her about Traceys awesome work and she featured her!!! Yay!! Tracey really deserves some recognition for her gorgeous work and for sharing her new techniques with us!

I know it has put a smile on her face after the lousy week she has had!!

My New Banner

I have had this old key holder for a couple of years. I picked it up at a car boot sale for about 50p, knowing that one day I would alter it!!



It said on the bottom something like "Enjoy your stay in Skegness"!!



I gave it a light sanding, painted it with black gesso and then applied a layer of Jo Sonjya's crackle glaze.
Once dry the cream acrylic paint was liberally applied on top. Then the magic begins! Don't ya just love that bit!!
The chipboard letters are a mixed variety taken from my stash, this is such a great way to use them up and they have all been given the same treatment.

After that it was a simple case of layering some torn, shaped paper and my favourite Making Memories paper to give depth. I couln't resist adding something "found" onto it in the form of the little key, that I picked up off the pavement!!
The key was glued in place with Diamond Glaze, perfect for metal objects.

Now that I have photograhed it flat for my banner I am going to add some red ribbon to the two holes in the top so it can be hung in my craft area for hanging things onto or as a door plaque when I get my own craft room!!!

TFL xxx

Watch this space!!!

I have a secret...............(and no Mum I am NOT pregnant!!)

Heaven must be missing an Angel!!

.........and isn't she just an Angel? Well only when asleep actually!!

I had these photos taken when Georgia was about 9 months old and was quite poorly that day, she had been asleep untill the photo shoot but she managed to turn on the charm anyway. I really wanted naked baby photos and there is another one of her laying on her tummy with her cute little bum in the air!!


This Lo has taken about 2 months of planning, making and putting off doing the wings, so I am relieved to finished it!! I have had it in my head for months and finally it all came together with a bit of inspiration from Scrapperlicious and Tracey who reminded me that yes I can create my own background using the masking technique. I also happened to have some butterfly peel offs!! Sue will be shocked but I bought them at my first card making class when we put them on vellum and painted behind them. Since then I have learnt from Leandra and Sue that you can mask them with paints and all sorts so I have been humbled!!

I have stamped the smaller insects directly onto the cardstock to fill in the background. The edges have again been shaped, roughed with scissors and had nibbles cut into them and heavily inked with Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Note: I wish I'd bought the Black Soot years ago it makes such a dfference to the overall efffect.


The music paper is from an old song book of my grans and I coffee stained it with real coffee to do an ATC once. This paper has been sittting in my scraps box ever since! I have used it for the gold embossing of the word Heaven and the outline of the butterfly at the bottom of the page.



The wings were made from parchment vellum stuff!! I created the shape then kind of etched feathers onto it and layered it with real feathers to make them look dreamy.


To try and ground the photo I have used a paper doiley and some lace. I did try inking the doiley but it looked too heavy each time so in the end I left it natural.

The butterfly was cut from a pre printed vellum sheet (another ATC purchase) and mounted on foam to give it height.


TFL xxx

Tattooed Toddler!!

During the Football World Cup Georgia and Josh sported these HUGE tattoo's (transfers) on their stomachs. Georgia would flash hers at any opportunity and people were often shocked by it!!



I created the template for the background, ripped and distressed the cardstock with Distress Inks. The photo was painted on and scratched to create the border, the journelling area was hand made and I used a childs sticker for the red heart. I'm still not sure whether it clashes too much but the matching purples were a bit too bland without it. The alphabet stamps I have had for ages and are finally coming into fashion again so I'm planning on getting some wear out of them this time around!!

I have made a couple of heavily distressed layouts in this style recently (one of them isn't finished yet) and I'm really enjoying the vibe I get from them!!

Could it be I have found my style at last?

PS: I do know I have spelt tattoo wrong on the journelling I know it will eat away at me but I bet you a tenner I'll never get around to fixing it!!

Working Hard

It's nice to get back to normal, hopefully Ben will sleep through the night and we wil get back in our own beds again!! yay!

I have been working hard (not) and doing my First Aid Refresher Training. The weather has been gorgeous so Lunch was taken outside each day!!


My training buddies were a bit strange looking though!!


I am a fussy photographer when I get the shot set up in my head I just wish I knew how to actually use the camera!!

OK so I made him move the bike against the brick wall to look cooler!!

We took the grandparents out for a meal because they are so good to us and Georgia was treated to a pudding!! Half way through and looking a little pale she passed it over for her Dad to finish!!


Or maybe it was all the tickling from Grandad that made her feel sick!!


Oh well back to normal now!!

Chicken Splotz

According to the learned Quack, babies under 8 months can't get chicken pox!! What a relief you might think...should you trust them...NO......, fortunately I didn't trust him and when the first few spots appeared I was vindicated!!



From a few to a few hundred within 2 days.

I have invented a cream called "CALM AQUA" It's calomine lotion mixed with Aqueous cream and goes on a treat, even if it does make him look like a ghost! I'm going to bottle it and earn a fortune!!



He started with a smattering at first and ended up with a full blown case within 2 days, I'd say he has the same amount as Georgia but condensed onto that tiny little body of his. Plus he has conquered the art of rubbing his head on the bed and splattering the pustules everywhere!! (was that just too much detail?)

Consequently we have had sleepless nights (without exaggeration no sleep at all) and are completely exhausted, so no crafting just cuddles!

Here is a lovely poem that Jackie my local Librarian told me on Tuesday:

I hope when my children look back on today,

They'll remember a mother who had time to play,

So sit down cobwebs and dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

I have the in-laws coming to baby sit for 2 nights as I have training for work, and an entire house to clean, because we have been holding Ben for days and consequently no time for dusting!!

So enjoy your weekend whatever you do and hopefully crafting will resume as per normal next week!!




xxx

Bradley Woods

Bradley Woods is such a fun place. We have been going there since we lived on Bradley Road and when we first got Sam we went quite often.

Then it became difficult with a pushchair and then fun again when we could go with without one!! They have really cleaned it up recently and put some basic play equipment in it. But the best bit is really just the long walk around the outside!



This Lo was made for the Paperparadise May Challenge hosted by Tracey. I have stuck to the sketch, but added flowers instead of paper and some stitching on the edges of the photos. The cute little bird stamp was a bargain from Boyes at £1.24 and I cut off the heart and the words love birds to make it more generic!!



TFL xxx