It's A Wrap!

Well it's almost a wrap. I know, I know exactly what you're thinking - oh not again that blooming Chestnut Soup paper! Yes, it is but I am only going to do one more page with it I promise.

I paid £18.00 for 6 sheets of patterned paper, 5 sheets of Bazzill, the sticker sheet, the journaling sprouts, the ribbon and twill pack, the alpha stickers and some red and green buttons. I have added a couple of extra sheets of Bazzill because I wanted different coloured backgrounds so when I have finished the page, I am hopefully starting today I will have made 6 pages so that will be just over £3.00 a page - what a bargin.


The latest page is from 2nd December when we had the heavy snow and freezing weather. My beautiful Gracia and I went for a treck in the snow and both had to wrap up warm. For the first time, since she was small enough for me to dictate what she wears, she wore a hat and lovely she looked it it too. Another thing that I love about this photo is how, when my camera is on snow setting (I really must get it together and learn to use a camera without it being on automatic) how beautifully red her hair looks.


I was shopping yesterday and a little girl, who was about 6 or 7, was standing in front of me in the queue. Her hair was the most beautiful light ginger and so shiny. I said to her 'What beautiful hair you have'. Her mum smiled and said that the little girl hated her hair and often said that as soon as she was old enough she was going to colour it. What a shame, I hope she learns to love it before then.


So because I took time off to do my page yesterday evening, today I have to get the business banking done and finish printing off all the invoices BUT I will definately find the time to make my last Chestnut Soup page and finish a non-scrapbooking project I started last week and had hoped to finish on Friday but got sucked into scrapping. Oh that kit has a lot to answer for but most of all it has kick started my creativity once again.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. It's Sunday and I had a lay in until 8:00am - unheard of for me to do that.

2. The day looks promisingly bright and I can hear a wood pidgen cooing in the garden.

3. The man came to measure up for the new stairs yesterday. They can't go in until the floor is down and that can't go in until the warmer weather but once the warm weather comes there will be a flurry of activity and that half of the new lounge will be finished xxx

K is for ............

Look at what I have.


My very good friend, the other Karen (sometimes I'm the other Karen ;o)), paid me a flying visit this morning and gave me this. A beautiful wooden K because she said "All Karens need a K". So I have sneaked a break from paying David's suppliers and doing the banking to quickly post about my lovely K. So what is K for ........

• K is for Karen of course - who came for a lovely, if short, visit

• K is for kindness - in thinking of me when she saw the lovely K
  

• K is for kits - always a subject of our conversation, whether it is ones we have recently bought or ones we are making up for the crop.

• K is for knowledge - the very lovely Julie is going to show me how to make icing flowers.

• K is for kidding about - loving the laughs that I always have with my girl friends.
  

So after a lovely respite from the tedium of the business admin. I really must get back to it.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Lovely thoughtful friends - Karen

2. Friends with special knowledge which they are happy to impart - Julie.

3. Friends who are always there regardless and make me laugh - Eileen.

I am so very lucky with the lovely ladies I get to hang out with xxxx

Snowman Soup

Ok, you might be getting fed up with this paper range appearing on my blog but I simply love it. I love that it is printed on kraft. I love the simple and quite muted colours - unusual for an 'in your face' colour lover. I love that each paper is so different that it can stand alone or mix it up with the other papers. I love the little elements on the papers that are perfect for a little bit of cutting out whilst watching some mental chewing gum on i-player, after a long day. Are you getting the picture - this is one range that I absolutely adore.




I am getting down to the dregs of the pieces I have but, thankfully have enough for a couple of more pages. They are both in my head and will certainly be onto cardstock by the end of the weekend. I 'have my scrap on' as Laura calls it! 3 layouts this week, something that is unheard of lately.

Have you noticed - I am trying to embrace my inner stamper! Stamping embellies AND stamping on finished pages - the stamping is not perfect but I love the rustic feel to it, perfect for this range of papers.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Friday afternoons off.

2. Thursday, after school, cups of tea with your best friend.

3. Saturday tea and cake with your next best friend.

Have a lovely weekend but I may be back before then xxx

New52 Week 3

For the first time, in almost a year, I taught Sunday Club. I was with the pre-schoolers again this term, they are the age I love to work with the most. Our lessons this month was Zaccaeus and as a craft we made biscuit trees, with flake trunks, popcorn flowers and a little biscuit Zaccaeus up in the tree. I enjoyed making the biscuits with them as much as they did. I really appreciate the privilege it is to work with Lara and the little ones.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Being coerced into doing Sunday Club again.

2. Having the opportunity to work with Lara.

3. The amazing little ones who make me laugh with their antics and my heart sing with their innocence.

More Chestnut Soup

Yep - I told you so. I have been doing a little mid week scrapping and I may even do some more tonight! I just adore the Chestnut Soup range from Jillibean Soup.

For this page I used a sheet of 'Sprig of Parsley' cut out the parcels and inked the edges and used a strip of 'Sweet Chestnut' and 'White Sugar' along with some Jillibean soup twine, twill and a couple of journaling sprouts.


Reasons to be cheerful:

1. David and Gracia are both out tonight so I am left to my own devices :o)

2. No more exams in this house until May.

3. Jillibean Soup Designs xxx

Proud to announce ....................................................................

Da Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (trumpets blasting)


Yes - Mel asked me earlier in the month and of course I said YES xxx

Christmas Revisited

I haven't had the time to scrap this Christmas' photos, as few as they are, and therefore hadn't had the opportunity to use the gorgeous Jillybean Soup - Chestnut Soup kit that I had bought as a 'Get Well Soon' present to myself. I was so chuffed with myself when I purchased this as the transaction was carried out on David's iPhone - a new experience for both of us!

The first page I made at the little crop last Saturday and the photo was taken just before we opened our presents. This year, for the first time in quite a while, we had a Christmas tree in the new lounge. To be honest that was all that was in the new lounge as we have to wait until the weather warms up before the wooden floor can be laid. So we dragged cushions from the sofa into the room and sat there to open our presents. I cut the title on my Craft Robo and it was from here.


The second page was one I made yesterday. Scrapping at home and not at a crop is a rare thing at the moment and something I am going to work on. This page celebrates all the cupcake related gifts I had for Christmas. I loved each and every one of them because they are a testiment to how my friends and family know me and take time and effort to choose exactly the right present. Look I stamped directly onto the page and stamped cupcakes, I even went out yesterday to buy just the perfect stamp for this page and from the Range got 3 sets of cupcake stamps for £4.00! I am going to overcome my fear of stamping this year.


My other absolutely fabulous and much used present this year was a Martha Stewart punch - not something I could justify buying but Eileen knew how much I loved this punch and bought it for me - such a thoughtful and kind friend xxx.


So that's my crafting so far this week BUT I fully intend to get some more done today once I have printed out a year's worth of invoices for David, sorted out the Gift Aid for the Rainbows and registered my new Rainbows onto the Guiding database, changed our bed and cleaned the bedroom and cleaned the bathroom - so it should start about 7pm today but starting then is better than not starting at all!

Also I have started on a little secret project for a friend of mine so I will be a very busy girl today.

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. A fixed boiler.

2. Teaching Sunday School to the pre schoolers for the first time in over a year.

3. The prospect of more crafting this afternoon.

1st Project Finished.

New52 Week 2

Handbags and Gladrags

I am going to show you a project I make for the lovely Mel and Jill at ATDML - fact that this class had gone live completely passed me by! It think that I lost track of everything during the run up to Christmas and during the Christmas period due the the prolonged bouts of different bugs we had but thankfully we are all well now.

New52

Ok, I know I am a sucker for an online anything! So far this week I have joined New52 - a challenge to do, photograph and blog something new each week for the year. This class at Big Picture Classes - thanks Deb and this - A Monthly Make thanks Sian. If you hear me mumbling about joining anything else just tell me to walk away with dignity and get back to reality. One of my aims for this year is to have more crafting time. At this rate I will be spending all my spare time just crafting - who other than David would have a problem with that?

So my new thing week 1 is shopping at Hollister, Bluewater - not very exciting but I had to retrospectively find something I had done that was new.
Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Blog friends who have inspiring challenges on their blogs.

2. People who think up amazing challenges

3. Sneaking in the time to do said challenges - heee , hee, he.

Have a lovely day inspiring blog friends xxx

Believe