Yes, I'm here

Hi all,
Wow, has it really been three weeks since I posted on here?  I'm really not sure where the time has gone.  Between doing supply teaching and sorting out the clubs in the community room, I haven't had time to craft.  It was my birthday last Friday, and the girls gave me a lovely handbag (they know me well!) and then took me to the local pub for a meal, which was fab.
Over at Incy Wincy, we have a sketch for you.  I have used an image by MilkCoffee and went for an unusual colour scheme, but I think it works.
I'm working for the next three days, so may not post until Friday.
See you later.

Button it!

Hi all,
Daisy had a school visit yesterday to the Centre for Life in Newcastle.  It is a fab hands on museum for children.  She kept talking about the dinosaur exhibition and they also had a workshop where they made their own felt.  I may have to try it with her here.
Over at Creative craft, it's our 4th blogaversary and our theme is anything goes.  I have made a blue button bunny.  I glued the buttons onto fabric and then used some sticks I found on a beach in Scotland when we were on holiday at the top and bottom.  In case you haven't already guessed, this is for Martha and I have also made a pink heart for Daisy.
See you later.

Cackle, cackle...

Hi all,
Well, the girls are at school and nursery, so I have a day of housework ahead of me.  How nice!
I am at least on time for this week's Incy Wincy post.  Our theme is Halloween, and I have made a treat bag topper, using an image called Witch Sign by one of our sponsors, Limited Runs.  I was going to colour the witch in blue for Martha, as that is her favourite colour, but forgot and went with the traditional purple and green.  I realise that this is very simple, but I haven't had an awful lot of time to spare.
See you later.

Ooops!

Hi all,

Well, this week has been very busy.  I had some work on Thursday at a school I had never taught at before. I had a lovely time, although the class were a bit 'lively', as you might say!  We went to a local show on Saturday, which had craft stalls, animal shows and a small fair.  The girls had a lovely time.
Now, I'm very late with this Incy Wincy card as there will be a new theme tomorrow, but I just looked at my blog and realised that I hadn't posted this.  Ooops and sorry to my teamies.  Our theme was sweets, and I took for my inspiration the foam ice cream sweets I used to have in a 10p mix up when I was younger.  The image is a precoloured oe by The Paper Shelter.
See you tomorrow.

Sweet teddy

Hi all,
The girls are in school and nursery, and so I am doing some crafting to try and keep on top of my DT work and preparation for the clubs I run.
Over at Creative Craft, we are sponsored by StampArt by Kathryne, and I am using a fantastic image by hers, called MERRY BERRY.  I have made a tag.  I have made a few Christmas cards and tags now, but the trouble is, I can't remember where I have put them.  Ooops!
See you later.

Say it with flowers

Hi all,
I hope you had a good weekend.  We went to a christening yesterday of the son of hubby's best friend. It was nice to meet up with people we hadn't seen in a while.
Over at Incy Wincy this week, our theme is to give thanks.  I have used an image from our sponsor, Delicious Doodles.
See you later.

A bit crabby

Hi all,
Well, another week has started.  They seem to be flying by at the moment.
Over at Incy wincy, we have a fantastic picture inspiration challenge for you.  I seem to be running out of time with everything at the moment, so have made a very quick and simple tag, using the sun from the picture to inspire the shape and colours.  The image is Happy Crabby by our sponsor, 2Cute Ink.
See you later.

Sparkly shoes

Hi all,
Wow, two posts in a row.  Maybe I am getting back to normal.  Martha is at nursery and Daisy is at school, so I thought I would post this before sorting out the activities I will be doing in craft club tomorrow after school.  At least 10 children come after school for an hour and love getting stuck in.  Daisy always seems to go off on tangents and never ends up with what she was copying, but that shows imagination, I suppose!
Over at Creative Craft, our theme is to use ribbon.  Easy, you would think, especially as I thought the theme up!  Well, I made the card and realised I had no ribbon on it, so had to do it again.  I was given the shoe topper years ago, but it is lovely and sparkly.  The ribbon is from a bunch of flowers I received and the papers are Webster's Pages.
See you later.

The colour purple (and green)

Hi all,
I hope you had a good weekend.  It was our local village show on Saturday and the girls made loads of things for it.  They were very pleased when they found out they had each gained the most points in their categories and had a trophy to keep for a year.
Over at Incy Wincy, we have a colour challenge for you.  I apologise for my rubbish colouring, but I bought a different pack of card and it hates my pens.  I will now have to go and get some more before I can do any more colouring.
See you tomorrow.

Another Christmas card

Hi all,
Martha has her first full day at the preschool attached to Daisy's school today.  She is looking forward to it and is hoping she will see Daisy at lunch time.  Hopefully this will mean big school next year won't be as scary for her.
Over at CRAFT, we have our monthly Christmas challenge.  I have used a fab Stamp Fairy image and sentiment and gone quite traditional with a range of digi papers.
See you later

It's blue, but not a bunny!

Hi all,
I know, I've been awol again.  Sorry, but Daisy went back to school today, and hopefully normal service will resume. Daisy enjoyed her first day in Year 2 and Martha starts preschool tomorrow (only one more year and then school for her - aagh!).
I made this a little while ago, but don't think I put it on here - if I have, sorry!  I found some fab blue cord in the bargain box in my local fabric shop.  Martha claimed it and chose some fabric for decoration.  I made some Suffolk Puffs (I kept calling them Suffolk Punches and hubby was wondering where the horses were) and now Martha's cushion is in pride of place on her bed.
See you later.

Incy Wincy ATC blog hop

Hi all,

We have a Bank Holiday today, so Daisy has asked to go swimming.  We will probably do something after, but I'm not sure what yet.  I can't believe that there is only one week left of the school holidays.  I have enjoyed having Daisy around and the girls haven't annoyed each other as much as I thought.

Now, over at Incy Wincy, we have a new challenge for you, and a blog hop.  It is our very first ATC challenge and blog hop.  We would like you make an ATC, and also join in the blog hop.  You should have come from Nikki.  Each DT member has made some ATC's and some of us have at least one ATC to give away to someone has joined in the whole blog hop.  For more details please see the challenge blog.  An ATC is 2.5 by 3.5 inches and can be on any topic.

I have used owl images by Limited Runs and on one a quote I love.

Anyway, I will be giving away the bottom ATC to someone who completes the blog hop. If you would like to be in with a chance of receiving it, please put your name below.

Now you need to continue the hop, and will be going to the wonderful Samantha.

Blog Hop Order ** Must Comment on all Blogs to win a Prize **

Incy Wincy 

Carol 

Avril

Chris Kaia
Heather
Helen
Jackie 
Jenny Karen C Nikki Nikki F You are here Samantha Sheryl

A bit sketchy

Hi all,
I hope you are having a good weekend.  It was lovely seeing hubby's family last week.  Daisy and Martha don't see their cousin an awful lot, so they were very excited to have a sleepover and got to bed very late.  This weekend we went to Wallington house, a national trust property, which had a Gruffalo weekend.  We spent the day searching for all the characters in the story, although Martha was a bit scared he might catch her!
Over at CRAFT, we have a fantastic sketch for you.  I have used an image called My Fair Lady by Sassy Studios, one of our sponsors.
See you later.

Just the one

Hi all,
I'm sorry for my absence.  I really don't have an excuse, but the school holidays mean I don't get any child free time and so crafting is almost non-existent.  The girls loved our weekend at the theme park, with Daisy declaring it The best holiday ever!  Hubby's eldest brother is up from London this week and staying at my in laws.  We saw them this weekend and are meeting up with them for a day this week, which should be fun.
Over at Incy Wincy, our challenge this week is to create a one layer card.  I found this quite difficult, but in the end I cheated a bit as I created digital layers on the computer, but when printed out, it is only one layer.
See you later.

Hanging around

Hi all,
Well, the girls are going to a birthday party today and then we are going away for the weekend.  We are staying near a theme park and have access to it all weekend, so the girls will be happy.
Over at CRAFT, our theme is to create a bookmark or a doorhanger.  I have made a very pink and girly doorhanger for Daisy's room, using an image from QKR, one of our sponsors.
See you later.

You are my lucky star

Hi all,
We took our bunnies to a friend's house yesterday as we are away this weekend.  I'm sure they prefer their holiday homes as they get more spoilt than with us.
Over at Creative Craft, we have a tic tac toe challenge for you.  I have used an image called star by one of our sponsors.
See you later

Ice cream anyone?

Hi all,
I hope you had a good weekend.  Hubby's brother and family came up to visit and so we went out and about.  Today, Daisy asked to have a pyjama day, so she just watched tele and mooched around in her PJ's, which was a novelty for her.
Over at Incy Wincy this week, our challenge is to make a gatefold card.  I have used a gnome image from Lacy Sunshine, one of our sponsors.
See you later.

And blow..

Hi all,
I hope you are all well.  We had a wonderful holiday last week.  It was sunny for all but one day and we had lots of outings to castles, wildlife parks and a fantastic open air living museum, which had loads of things for the girls to do.  Back at home, Martha has still been at her nursery Monday and Tuesday, so Daisy and I went to the cinema to see Despicable Me 2, which we thought was fabulous.
Now over to Incy Wincy.  The theme this week is birthdays and balloons and I have used an image by Lacy Sunshine, one of our sponsors, called Pickles birthday celebration.
See you later.

Yes, it is girly

Hi all,
This is another scheduled post.
Over at CRAFT, our theme is for the girls.  Now, I know this isn't the traditional girly style, but it was another birthday card I made for Martha.  She loves bunnies and the colour blue.  Although she loves barbie dolls at the moment, we had a lot of trouble trying to find a blue barbie car for her dolls (it was what she asked for).  It does annoy me when everyone seems to think that all girls like pink.
See you later.

Silent night

Hi all,
Well, this is scheduled post, so no waffle from me.
Over at Creative Craft this fortnight, our theme is brown and blue.  Although it is unusual for a Christmas card, that is what I have made.  The papers are a mix of ones by My mind's eye and digi ones which I don't know where they are from.
See you later.

We are helping, we're helping hands

Hi all,

I'm sorry I went disappeared again, but hopefully all is back to normal again for a while.  Martha had a lovely birthday and she had fun at her party.  We had a barbecue and her friends came and played in the garden.  She wasn't too keen about sharing her new toys, but she did manage without too much moaning!  It is now the school holidays, and we are in Scotland for the week, which should be fun.
Over at Incy Wincy, our theme is read all about it - so to base your creation on a book, use something related with a book on it.  My card is based on Labyrinth.  I know it was originally a film, but there was also a book released based on the film.  I loved the film so much (that's where the quote in my title comes from), that I had to buy the book as well.  The page on my card is actually from the book, as it fell apart from use a long time ago and some pages are missing, but I kept it in case it came in handy.  The image is from our sponsors, Bugaboo stamps.
See you later.

Think of a number

Hi all,
We spent the day looking at houses and then I ran the after school craft club.  It's the last one before the school holidays as next week will be full of activities and things as that is the last week.  Daisy is really looking forward to having some time off.
Over at Creative Craft this fortnight, we are sponsored by Melonheadz, and our theme is to use a number or numbers.  I have used a fab bunny image by our sponsor and decided to make a birthday card for Martha, as she is in a big bunny phase at the moment.
See you later.

Boo!

Hi all,
I'm sorry I have been away for a fortnight.  Life has been really crazy here and I just haven't had a lot of time to do anything.  My parents came up here last week and are staying until next Monday, as it is Martha's birthday on Sunday and they are staying for her party.  They are planning to move up here some time this year, so we have been looking at houses for them.
Over at Incy Wincy, we have a sketch for you.  I have used an image by our sponsor, Meljen's Designs and the papers are by Hot off the press.
See you later.

The wonderful Wizard of Oz

 

Hi all,

I hope you had a lovely weekend and a great start to the week.  Yesterday was Daisy's sports day, and she was so excited as it was her first.  Last year, when she was in the reception class, the sports day was rained off a few times and was eventually cancelled.  Daisy got to do javelin, long jump, shot put, discus and a running race.  She thoroughly enjoyed it and I loved watching her too.

Over at Incy Wincy, we have a tic tac toe board for you.  We are sponsored by The Paper Shelter and I used one of their pre coloured images as I still don't have any mojo. 

See you later.

Pieces of eight

Hi all,

I hope your week is going well.  I had the second part of the interview today and unfortunately didn't get the job.  I suffer badly from nerves and they definitely got the better of me, although I know the job inside out and back to front.  It now means that I am re-evaluating things and what to do with my life as I need to do something about interview nerves, or do something that doesn't need an interview.  I am quite upset at the moment as it's a school that I have done a lot of supply in and they still want me to supply (which I'm not going to do).  All of this means my mojo has disappeared so I am sorry if there isn't an awful lot on here at times.

Sorry for the moan, but now onto other things.  Over at Incy Wincy, we would like you to make a pocket card.  I have used a fab pirate image by Pink Gem and the pocket on the inside should hold gold coins, but I forgot to buy some.  (Silly me).

See you later.

I'm so late it's nearly Christmas!

Hi all,
I really don't know who stole last week.  It completely flew by.  I had the teaching part of an interview last Friday, so spent as much time as I could preparing for that, as well as doing supply work, my youth work (craft and drama clubs) and looking after the girls, that I had no time to craft or blog.  Sorry for neglecting you.  I have been asked back for the formal interview part this week, so I may not be around too much this week either.
We went to a local beer festival on Saturday, which was great, although I was most put out that they had run out of chips at 9pm!  All I wanted was a chip butty!
I am very late posting this card for CRAFT challenge.  This week we have Christmas as our theme.  We are doing this every month to help you get ready for all those cards you may need to send out.  I have used a fab image by Bugaboo stamps and the papers are by Nitwits.
See you later.

Cheers!

Hi all,

I have finally found a bit of time today to do some DT cards.  My time seems to be running away from me at the moment, so I am sorry if I haven't visited you for a while, but I will do so soon.
Over at Creative Craft, our theme is We love you, Dad, because it is Father's day here this Sunday.  We are sponsored by Kenny K and I have used one of his fab images.  I still don't have my guillotine back, so don't look too closely at the edges of the paper!

I know this is a bit of a novelty, but I have decided to enter some challenges as there are quite a few male themed ones at the moment.

Here come the boys - add ribbon
Simon say stamp - masculine/father's day
Crafts 4 eternity - For the boys
Papertake Weekly - Hello Boys
LEJ Designs - Something for the boys/men

See you later.

Higher, higher

Hi all,
I hope you had a lovely weekend.  It was quite sunny here and we spent Sunday at Morpeth street fair.  The girls enjoyed going on lots of rides and eating fair food!
Over at Incy Wincy this week, our theme is butterflies and bows, and I have used Summer swing by one of our sponsors, Saturated Canary.  I went for a shaped card, as I loaned my guillotine to a friend and haven't got it back yet, so straight edges are a bit difficult to do.  The back paper has butterflies on it, but if you look closely you will see they are flying upside down!  Ooops!
See you later.

Tweet, tweet

Hi all,
Well, the weather has been lovely all day here.  It was wonderful at the weekend too.  The girls went to a birthday party on Saturday and there was a magician there.  It was lovely to see all the faces of the children whenever the magician did a trick.   I have been doing all the housework jobs today as I have work tomorrow.  I do hope the weather stays nice.
Over at Incy Wincy, our theme is Spring.  I have used an image from Doodle Pantry, one of our sponsors.  I'm really not sure about this card - I'm going through a phase of disliking everything I make at the moment.
See you later.

Fancy a rest?

Hi all,
Well, it's the weekend (nearly).  We had a lovely half term, even if the weather wasn't too good.  Today, it was really sunny, so we went to a park, which has a great paddling pool as well as all the normal play park things.  The girls loved it and then we had an ice cream to finish off (I was probably more excited about this than they were!)
Over at CRAFT, our theme is father's day or male.  I have used an image called It's your day, by Karen's Doodles and the papers are from my scrap drawer.
See you later.

Live, laugh, love

Hi all,
I hope you had a lovely weekend.  It was a bank holiday here, and it was actually nice weather.  We went to the beach yesterday and the girls loved it.  We went rock pooling and then made loads of sandcastles.  Today, we went to the County Show and the girls went on some of the fair rides and we saw the animals.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any bunnies, which Martha was desperate to see!
Over at Incy Wincy, we have a photo for your inspiration this week.  It's a fabulous photo and I have used the colours and the flowers from it for my bookmark.  The image is from Bugaboo, our sponsor, and the papers are from my scrap box.
See you later.

I'm a rocket man (or dog!)

Hi all,
Well, spring seems to over and we have gone back to winter.  It's been very windy all day.  Martha and I stayed in a lot of the time, except for going shopping for a blue bunny that Martha wanted.  Well, we couldn't find one anywhere, so when we got home, I tried making one.  I have to do the face now.
Over at CRAFT, we have a colour challenge for you.  I have used an image called Rocket Dog, by QKR Stampede, one of our sponsors.
See you later.

My little princesses

Hi all,
This is just a quick one to say a massive thank you to the wonderful Sassy.  She held a little giveaway on her blog to win one of three fantastic tiaras that she made.  My name came out of the hat, and Sue very kindly sent two of the tiaras, so the girls could have one each.
Here are the girls wearing the tiaras.  Daisy loves hers so much, she wore hers to school.

Martha refuses to smile when she is photographed, so this is the least scary one!

Thanks again.

I'm just sitting watching flowers in the rain...

Hi all,
I hope you had a good weekend.  I went to a fabric shop on Sunday to let the girls choose their curtain fabric.  There was a lot of choice, but eventually they settled on some.  I wanted to get some fabric too, but was amazed at how expensive it can be.  I will have to look out for off cuts I think.
Over at Incy Wincy, we are sponsored by Stamp Fairy and our theme is metal mania - so use something metal or have an image which shows something metal in it.  I have had the sunflowers for ages, and I thought it would work well with this image.  I am hoping my spring card will convince the sun to come out.
See you later.

Naughty or nice?

Hi all,
Well, it's nearly the weekend.  Martha and I met some friends today and then I ran my after school drama club, which went well.  Hubby came back from work with fish and chips, which I was really looking forward to!  The weekend will be another busy one, I think, but we should be going to a fabric shop on Sunday, so the girls can choose material for their bedroom curtains and I'm hoping to find some bar
See you later.gains.
Over at CRAFT, our theme is Christmas in May.  I have made a tag, using Santa naughty list snowglobe by Doodle Dragons, one of our sponsors.

Check

Hi all,

I am sat inside listening to the wind howling outside.  It's quite sunny, but very cold at the moment.  The girls are desperate for summer, though and Martha insisted on wearing her sun hat and slightly thinner jacket to nursery today.  I've been busy trying to write application forms for part time teaching jobs.  I know I need to do it as there isn't an awful lot of supply work around, but the thought of being back in the treadmill is a bit daunting.  I'm also thinking about starting up a business in a few months, but the thought of doing this as well as teaching fills me with dread (but I can't just start the business as I don't know if it will be successful).
Anyway, enough of my prattling, and onto my show for today.  Over at Creative Craft, we are sponsored by Crafty Individuals, and our theme is just checking, so we would like to see a check pattern on your creations.  I decided not to make a card and instead made a patchwork bag.  Martha has been nagging me to make her a bag to put her ballet shoes in, so she chose the material (she likes blues and purples) and I made the bag.  It's a simple patchwork design, but it's all I could manage with Martha sat on my knee helping!
See you later.

Animal antics

Hi all,
I hope you had a good weekend.  The weather wasn't too good, but it didn't stop us.  The music festival on Saturday went well and the drama group performed well.  Some of them are quite shy, so it was good to see them in front of an audience and enjoying it.
Over at Incy Wincy, our theme is Animal Antics.  I have used a stamp of Popcorn the Bear, which I don't use much really, as it is quite large and I find it is difficult to stamp cleanly.  The papers are magazine freebies.
See you later.

CRAFT birthday blog hop

Happy Birthday To Us

Happy Birthday To Us

Happy Birthday Dear CRAFT Challenge

Happy Birthday To Us!

Can you believe it? CRAFT Challenge is already 4 years old. Originally started by Tracy from Just Tracy Crafts and with a DT mostly recruited from Trimcraft forum members (Hence the term CRAFT Challenge, which stood for Crafters Residing Are Friendly Trimmies. Or if you wished alternative meaning of Can't Remember A Flipping Thing) on the 4^th of May 2009.

We have now grown to be a large team of Design Team Members from all around the world, supplemented with lots of Guest Designers who join us for a month at a time.

We have always welcomed all kinds of craft, not just paper craft (unless specifically stated so in the challenge at the time) and are happy to have such a large group of faithful followers.

So, how are we going to celebrate this milestone?

Well, how else can we celebrate than to have our yearly Blogaversary Blog Hop?

We all feature one of our sponsors for this blog hop on our blogs and I have the honour of featuring and offering a prize from the following sponsor. You can win this prize by adding your name to Inlinkz at the end of this post. I would love to see your comments as well.

Floppy Latte Designs

Prize: $6 USD gift coupon

How can you get to win any of the prizes provided by our sponsors?

That is easy! Just follow the route on our blog hop (you can also find that in our side banner), Our Blog Hop lasts for the duration of this challenge, which means a closing time of Wednesday 6pm GMT on the 15^th of May 2013.

And here are our little rules for this challenge/blog hop:

• Our challenge this week is Birthday
• Create something with this in mind
• Add your project to our Inlinkz on our Challenge blog to be in with a chance of being one of our Top3 and win a prize from Karen's Doodles
• Follow the route of the Blog Hop
• Add your project to the Inlinkz at each of these stops to be in with a chance of winning the prize advertised on that blog
• Collect the letters on this and the blogs on the blog hop
• Form a sentence with these letters
• Return to our challenge blog and put your winning sentence in our comments under the post.
• We will enable comment moderation for the duration of this challenge/blog hop to ensure there is no cheating, lol.
• And the main rule: HAVE FUN!

What can you win on our challenge blog?

1. The winner of the winning sentence wins My Memories Suite 4, amazing software, for free.

Everyone else can also get this software with a $10 discount. Just follow the links to My Memories.com or My Memories Suite 4 and use ourcode in the discount box on purchasing this software you get a fabulous $10 off this software. That is not to be sneezed at.

In order to get $10 off this great software, copy and paste our code

STMMMS98952

and enter it in the discount slot while purchasing this software. It will take it automatically off the purchase price. It is however only valid for this software and nothing else!

2. Our Top3 this week will win a prize from Karen's Doodles

• Top3, 1 : 3 images of choice
• Top3, 2 : 2 images of choice
• Top3, 3 : 1 image of choice

You should have come here from Lyndsay (from LEJ Designs)'s blog and as you can see your next stop is Rachel (GDT)'s blog. The start and finish of this blog hop are at CRAFT Challenge Blog.

And here is my project for this week, hope you like it. 

 I have used Garden Fantasy by Floppy Latte.  I used my alcohol inks to make a background and then printed the image onto it.  The papers are by Kaisercraft and the butterflies and sentiment were from a kit I bought years ago when I first started card making and have never used.

And now for our Blog Hop route:

CRAFT Challenge Blog

Aunty Sue

Carol

Divya (GDT)

Evie

Hazel (from Rick St Dennis MFA)

Jeanette

Jo

Judy (GDT)

Lyndsay (from LEJ Designs)

Nikki (you are here)

Rachel (GDT)

Rick St Dennis (yes the man himself!)

Saskia

Sharon

Sheryl

Sylvia

Trimgym's Digistamps and Images

Wenche (GDT)

CRAFT Challenge Blog

And here is the letter to be collected on this blog:

Your next stop is Rachel (GDT)'s blog. Enjoy the rest of your hop! Don't forget to add your name to Inlinkz below to be in with a chance of winning the prize on my blog.