Watch out Berlin!

Hi all,

It's been a gorgeous week here, weather wise. Daisy broke up for the Easter holidays today and this morning parents were invited to the Easter assembly and then the children took part in egg-rolling. I had never heard of this before, but apparently it is a tradition. Each child from each year group took it in turns to roll an egg along the ground. The aim was to reach a circular target. Daisy won the reception class competition and won a chocolate egg. She was desperate to have some when she got home from school. This will probably be my last post 'in person' for a couple of weeks, as we are travelling to Manchester on Sunday to fly to Berlin early Monday morning. Hubby's eldest brother and family live out there, so we are going to stay with them. I have a feeling that I won't get on the internet much, if at all, as we will be busy and it would be a bit rude to spend all evening on someone else's computer and ignore their company! Tomorrow night will be spent scheduling all my DT posts. Yippee!

My card is another I made last year for the competition and didn't post. The image is by Stamp Fairy, the sentiment is by Digital Delights and the papers are by First Edition.

I hope you have a lovely two weeks and I will see you later.

They're red, they're green, they're brown, they're blue...

Hi all,

It's been a gorgeous week up here. The sun has shone and we have spent lots of time in the garden, which is great as Martha is a real outdoorsy girl. (It must have something to do with being born in Australia!) On Tuesday the head at Daisy's school asked me if she could wear socks instead of tights as she was boiling, bless her. It was cold when she got the bus, honest!

Over at CRAFT this week, we are sponsored by Digital Delights, Lauretta's Digital Stamps and Truly, madly, crafty. Our theme this week is things with wheels. For my card, I have used an image by The Stamping Boutique, which is our sponsor of the month. When I saw it, I thought of Thomas the Tank Engine and friends, which is where my post title comes from. The papers are magazine freebies.

Don't forget to check out the projects from the rest of the DT.

Hop

Hi all,

Yesterday didn't quite go to plan. I drove Daisy round to get the bus as I was going food shopping afterwards (we usually walk as the bus stop isn't far from home). I saw her off, got in the car, and ... nothing. It was saying parking brake failure and electronic failure on the dashboard, so my heart sank, thinking it would be at least £500. I rang the AA and 2 hours later, they came (luckily, the car wasn't far from home so I went home and did the housework while I was waiting). The guy found the battery needed replacing, so although it cost money, it wasn't as much as I expected. I was a bit annoyed as I always have lots to do if I'm not working on a child free day and didn't manage to do it all, but there is always tomorrow!

Anyway, at Creative Craft, we are sponsored by Some Odd Girl. Our theme is anything but a card. I chose to make a little Easter treat box for Daisy. I got the idea and template from April's Crafts Beautiful magazine. It's quite hard to see on the photo, but I stuck cotton wool on the back for the bunny's tail. I'm not sure whether to make one for Martha or not. She won't want to be left out, but she might not leave the box as a box. She loves cutting and sticking, but when she is finished, she carefully takes it all off the paper and sticks it on her head.

Have a lovely day.

A bit fishy

Hi all,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. We went to the beach yesterday as the sun was here. It was still a bit chilly, but the girls loved it and Martha loved looking in the rock pools and got so excited she fell in twice! I was so glad we had taken some spare clothes.

Over at Incy Wincy this week, we are sponsored by K n K Designs and the prize is 3 digi sets. Our theme this week is tag it. I used a cat image by K n K Designs and made a heart shaped tag to mirror the heart on the collar. For the background, I used a habico fish stamp and then embossed the images. I then used different coloured ink pads to create the background. Please check out the rest of the projects by the fab DT.

See you tomorrow.

The sun will come out tomorrow (maybe)!

Hi all,

I hope you had a good week. Hubby is out with friends tonight, so I am making the most of the time and crafting and blog hopping. We haven't got a lot planned for the weekend, but I'm sure Daisy will have some ideas tomorrow.

I have another card to show you that I made last year for a competition and forgot to post. This uses an image by Some Odd Girl and the papers are by Echo Park. I find it hard looking at cards I have made a while ago, as I look and see so many things that I wouldn't do now. This card though does make me think of summer. Hopefully the sun will come out soon.

Have a good weekend.

Awards

Hi all,

Well, it's Friday! Martha is having a little nap, so I thought I would pop on here to thank three lovely ladies with fantastic blogs showing all kinds of crafty goodness, who gave me blog awards last week. I was meaning to do this earlier, but I have been madly tidying up as we have a man coming to value the house this morning as we want to do some renovations and the bank needs a valuation.

Thank you Susan, for this award:

For this one, I have to nominate 5 people with less than 200 followers. Now, many of my bloggy friends have over 200 followers, but I would like to award this to:

Judith

Sheryl

Thank you Colette, for this award:

There are a few conditions to accepting the award:-

• To thank the person who gave it to you and include a link to their blog.
• Select 15 blogs that you have either recently discovered or follow regularly.
• Tell them you have nominated them for the award.
• Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Here are my 7 things. I apologise if I have already said them.

1 - I was born in Somerset and lived there for 18 years. I moved to Newcastle to do my PGCE in 1999 and have stayed up north ever since.

2 - I am a vegetarian, but don't mind buying and cooking meat for hubby and the girls, as long as I don't have to have it.

3 - I played the clarinet when I was younger. I got my Grade 8 exam, but haven't played for years. I'm not even sure where my clarinet is now.

4 - I spent a year in France as part of my degree and have loads of half read french novels in the house.

5 - I love Apple Mac computers. They are so much simpler than Microsoft PCs in my opinion. Also, they are very stylish.

6 - My favourite film when I was younger was The Lost Boys, and I still like going back to my youth and watching it now.

7 - I love musicals. I have seen Les Miserables at least 5 times, and have also seen The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats to name but a few! I also perform in amateur musical productions.

I would like to give this to:

Dianne

Gemma

I know this is not 15, but I have brain ache and my fingers are hurting with all the typing. I may be back later with more nominations.

Thank you Jacki for this award:Here are the terms and conditions of this award:

1. This award is for any co-blogging friend who has helped you develop your blog in any and all ways.
2. This award is for any co-blogging friend who has cheered you along in your blog building, craft advancing career.
3. This award is for any co-blogging friend who always stops by and is kind to you. You can count on them to always be one of the great comments at the end of your post.
4. This award is to be given to 3 to 5 Blends whom you feel meet the listed requirements.
5. Create a post with the terms of use and publish your Blends of choice.
6. Blend of choice may copy the award from your blog and proudly post it on theirs.
7. Blend of choice may continue the kindness by issuing this award to keep the circle forever growing.

I would like to give this to:

Annmaree

Mary J

Cheryl

I could choose many more blogging friends, but these ladies always have wonderful things to say about my creations. Thank you!

I am so grateful to you all for thinking of me and I am sorry I was late in posting them. I have found it hard to pick people, as everyone I follow is fantastically talented. Usually I cop out, so thought I wouldn't today, but it has taken me so long!

I will be back with a card soon, I promise.

Flutter by

Hi all,

Well, we have managed to get to Thursday without any sick children. Daisy has dancing after school and then a friends of hers is coming for tea. We have had to cancel twice as Daisy was ill, so hopefully it will be third time lucky!

Over at CRAFT, we are sponsored by Crimson Cloud, Floppy Latte and AiFactory and our theme this week is handmade flowers. I have used a lovely image by AiFactory and the papers are by Floppy Latte. The flower is made from pink tissue paper, fastened with a brad. Don't forget to check out the fab projects by the rest of the DT.

Wing it!

Hi all,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Daisy is much better now and is off to school today. I just hope she doesn't get sent home again! On Saturday we met up with some friends for lunch and then we spent Sunday with my in laws. As it was Mothering Sunday, my hubby cooked lunch for us, which was lovely.

Over at Incy Wincy this week, we are sponsored by The Digi Garden, and our theme is things with wings. The DT were lucky enough to have some Digi Garden images to use. I love this sweet little fairy. Most of the papers are by Kaisercraft and the charm and gems are from The Works. I went quite orange this week. It's completely out of my comfort zone, but I quite like how bright a cheerful it is. Don't forget to check out the creations by the rest of the DT.

I would like to enter this into:

Make it Monday - always anything goes.

Love to create - anything goes

On the rocks

Hi all,

My sister had her second daughter on Monday. There is no name yet, and no photos, but Daisy is very excited to have another little cousin. I'm just wondering how Martha will cope, as she has always been the youngest and might find it hard having someone smaller around. My sister is living in California at the moment, so I'm not sure how long it will be before we see them in the flesh. I'm so thankful for skype! So, at some point, there will be a baby card on here.

Daisy was sent home from school yesterday as she was ill, which means that she now can't go back until Monday as she has to be kept away for 48 hours to stop germs spreading.

Over at CRAFT, we are sponsored by Digi Doodle Shop, Pink Gem Designs and Sassy Studio Designs. Our theme is houses, house warming or moving home. I have used lighthouse by Digi Doodle shop. I have seen many beautiful cloud backgrounds around blogland, so I thought I would have a go. It's not perfect, so I need some more practise. The papers are by Papermania and I kept the card quite simple embellishment wise as I wanted the image to be the star. Please check out the rest of the projects by the DT.

The stars are coming out tonight

Hi all,

I'm off to work today. I 'm back to the small rural school I went to last week and am really looking forward to it.

Over at Creative Craft this fortnight, we have a picture inspiration challenge for you. Here it is:

Well, I had a bit of trouble getting any inspiration for ages. I then found this image called Shopping Tween, from Digis with Attitude and thought it would be great for this. I used ribbon to create the tartan effect from the picture and used punched stars to complete. Don't forget to check out the rest of the projects by the wonderful DT.

I will see you tomorrow (hopefully).

Which will you pick?

Hi all,
I hope you had a lovely weekend. The girls had lots of fun at the party and when we got back, we sowed some vegetable seeds in pots so that they will be ready to plant out after the last frosts. Although it's not been bad weather, I don't trust it up here to really be spring yet!

Over at Incy Wincy, we are sponsored by Meljen's designs. Our theme is tic tac toe, but we have not one, but two boards to choose from. The pink board was originally set up as a joke because one of our teamies, Samantha, really doesn't do pink. However, it sort of backfired as many of the DT liked the board, so we kept it but also have a normal board for any of those who don't want to make a pink project.

For my card, I have chosen the regular board, and have gone for the diagonal of tag, charm and faux stitching. The papers were more magazine freebies. Check out the wonderful projects from the rest of the DT.

See you tomorrow.

I would like to enter this into:

PanPastel UK challenge - girly/mother's day

Paper Sundaes - feminine flair

Crafty Emma's Challenge - use a charm

Floral dance

Hi all,

Yippee! It's the weekend tomorrow. We have nothing planned tomorrow and then on Sunday, the girls have been invited to a joint birthday party of two of Daisy's best friends. It's in the village hall and it was lovely that they invited Martha too. It's a disco party, so it will be good to see them all dancing.

I was sorting out my photos on my laptop and came across some cards that I hadn't blogged as I entered them in a competition. I didn't win and forgot about them, as they were made last year, but I thought I would show them to you anyway. This card uses papers and stamps by SU. I stamped french script on red and white card. Then, I stamped the flowers in stazon. I covered this with diamond glaze and cracked it when it was dry to give an aged feel. The ribbon was from my stash.

I'll be showing a few more of these cards over the next few days.

Last night I heard my mama singing a song ....

Hi all,

I'm so glad that it is Thursday as it means the weekend isn't far away. This has been a long week!

Over at CRAFT, we are sponsored by Robyn's Fetish Digital stamps, Fantastic ribbons and Bugaboo Stamps. Our theme this week is to create something that is inspired by a song. As soon as I saw we were doing this theme, I knew what song I wanted to do. So, I have used Bird by Bugaboo Stamps. The papers were free with a magazine and I cut the clouds myself. If you haven't already guessed from my title, the song is Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Middle of the Road. It's one I find myself singing at weird moments throughout the day.

I spy ...

Hi all,

I'm sorry I wasn't around yesterday, although I planned to be, but I actually had a day's supply and then I went to the musical rehearsal in the evening, so I didn't go on my blog at all! I was teaching in a small rural school, with only 30 in the whole school, aged 3 - 9! I had a great time and have been booked for two days next week, so I must have done something right.

My card today was made for my brother in law, who was 40 last week. My hubby (his brother), gave some 'helpful' suggestions for themes - curry, beer or spies! I couldn't find anything he liked that was curry or beer themed, but I did find this spy from Hambo stamps. It was originally for Valentines day and the case had a heart on it, but I cut some DP to cover it. The paper is a mix of Papermania and paper from a free CD.

I will be back tomorrow.

I would like to enter this into:

Anything goes - Boyz to men

Craft your passion - Anything goes

What's old?

Hi all,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. We got a lot of work done in the garden on Saturday. We now have many trips to the dump ahead of us. I am now ready to start planting seeds, although we need to wait a little while as we had some snow on Sunday. The girls had a lot of fun with my inlaws while we were working in the garden. They went to a soft play and then played at home.

Over at Incy Wincy, we are sponsored by Sassy Studio designs. Our theme this week is 'something old, something new', and we would like you to state what you have used on your creations that are old and new. I have used Holiday Victorian Sassy and decided to use my nesties to make the card shape. The image and the flower paper are new and the ribbon and flower embellishment are really old.

Have a great day and I will be back tomorrow.

A whole new world

Hi all,

Not long until the weekend. My inlaws are coming up tonight and staying over so that they can look after the girls tomorrow for us. We will be sorting out the garden ready for Daisy (and Martha) to plant the vegetables. Some will go straight in the garden, but I think we will sow some into trays and leave in the conservatory for a little while. I just hope we have no more frost!

Two of Daisy's friends are having a joint birthday party next weekend. One of the girls will get the Snow White card I showed last week, but I still had to make another. This Little Honeys Jasmine image is by Sassy Studio Designs and is perfect for a girlie 5 year old! The papers are by imaginisce, the flowers are from Prima and The Works.

I hope to be back over the weekend.

What shall we do today?

Hi all,

Wow, Thursday already. Where has the time gone? Martha and I went to toddlers yesterday morning and then she slept while I caught up with some DT cards. Today, I'm not sure what we'll get up to.

Over at CRAFT this week, we are sponsored by In 2 Stamps, Trimgym's digistamps and images and Wild Rose Studio. Our theme is Mother's Day. I have used an image by Sew Many Stamps, who are our sponsor of the month. The papers are a mix of makes as they are from my scraps and the purple flowers are cut from some lace I had. I must admit that this card is probably more to my tastes than my Mum's, so I will probably still have to make another for her.

Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow.