Ironing not done but lots of layouts are. :)

Well had planned on doing the ironing today but then sat down to finish a LO and ended up doing 4. lol. But first yesterdays party. Was going to blog last night but left my camera at my sisters. Woops. Anyway, kids had a great time, spent most of it on Mollies new trampoline jumping on my sister.

Which of course gave me plenty of time with the not-so-little-anymore Lillie. :)
so after stuffing themselves with sugar and running like nutters was a nightmare getting them to bed last night! Oh well, at least they had fun. lol.


This is a card I made for a Twilight addicts birthday. I don't own any stamps or anything related to Twilight scrapping so just did a red/black vampish theme. :)

And now for he layouts. :) This is the first I did, was for a challenge on UKS. The rules were:
1. Make your own background/pp - done this with the green stickers.
2. Embossing - didn't manage this one
3. Use Summer Colours - greens and blues
4. Stamping - in the bottom corners
5. Lace - under the bunny. :)

This was scrap lifted from the SC kit again. :) Picture is of Mark and the kids at the beach. They were far off when I took the photo but playing and splashing in the water together. :) So thought the title 'So far away yet close together' fit well. Ran out of E's though so need to buy another pack of these letters sometime!

This was for another challenge
scrap in a different size to usual - done
use ribbon - done
use scraps - done
include some visible journalling - done :)

Did the title in two parts as it was a big one. lol. I love this photo of my two playing together, so wanted to do a layout to show that thought they are different people are are so close and so similar.

This is a very special photo to me. It was the first holiday that Mark and I had together after we started going out. We went to Cheddar Gorge which is a beautiful place. It was also where I discovered Mark's terrified of heights! I had a great time jumping about near the edge with him freaking out. lol. Yeah I know I'm evil. :p But he did mange to go near to the edge where it was misty as he couldn't see below. lol

Well that's all I've done today! Got dr in the morning (8:20, joy) then going to my grans to paint her ceiling for her. Hope every ones enjoying the holidays!

The header is a work in progress. lol

Well as you might have noticed I've changed my blog a bi. not sure I like it so will probably change it again sometime soon. lol.
Well managed to do some crafty bits today. Did 4 cards but can only show one as one hasn't been photographed yet and the other 2 wont be received until tomorrow. :) But this is one I did for my niece Mollie. She loves anything girlie and pink so stuck with that. lol.

This is a lo I did a while back but only got a round to photographing it now. Its scrap lifted from the SC design team booklet and is of my son at wicksteed park. :)

Loved this little chipboard shape so just added a few gems to it to highlight it a bit.

These are a few close ups of the wedding lo i showed you a couple of posts back. Don't think the photo showed the lo very well so thought this would help. This is another SC DT scrap lift. :)

Love the center of this flower. NO idea where I got it from. I have a feeling they used to be stuck on an old pair of jeans. lol.

Well not much done today besides that lot. Kids were at nursery this morning so Mark and I watched 'clash of the Titian's' on dvd. I admit I was too tired and missed the big battle at the end but what I saw of it I thought was really good.
Got a party at sisters house tomorrow for one of my other nieces Evie (for those wondering I only have the one sister, she has 3 girls. lol) so will have lots of pictures no doubt!

Twin lakes

Ok well managed a lot of little jobs today (including some cards I'll blog tomorrow) but nothing hugley interesting so thought I'd blog about our trip on Saturday. :)
Well we went on a big family trip to Twin lakes, was nice for all the kids to get together as with school/nursery/life they dont all see each other often.

There was a fair amount to do at the park, and was a nice day too so we made the most of it and focused on the outdoor rides. I was so proud of Mark as he has a dreadful fear of water but went on this boat ride with Cameron when he asked him too. Cameron wasn't that impressed however so only lasted about 3 minutes. lol

Now anyone whos been there will know what I mean but the park is SO hard ot find your way around!! Its not like alton towers were you just go around the lake, or follow a large path to the different areas, its all mixed up and like a big maze. We spent ages tryign to find the fountain area and eventually gave up as in this photo I should be sitting in a fountain according to the map. lol

Just a cute photo of Caitlin, lol.

Mollie and Cameron enjoying themselves.

My sister on the zip line. I very much wish I had a camcorder here as she was screaming the place down! lol

All in all was a good day. :) Will blog more crafty things tomorrow. :)

Best laid plans and all that....

What is it they always say about best laid plans? lol. Well this post i actually started on friday, lol, then been busy since so havent had the chance to finish. So friday morning got off to a good start. Got up with the kids, tidied up a bit, fished all Caitlins toys out of the paddling pool (which was then emptied) Then it all went wrong, lol. Started to feel really tired to went to lie down, planning to do all the other jobs upon waking. Woke up to the room spinning. lol.
Now my Mum often gets bouts of vertigo but I'd never had it before, couldnt belive how ill I felt so quick! lay down again for a while longer and felt better when I woke up but didnt really get anything else done that day. Then Saturday we went to twin lakes with my neices for my neice Mollies birthday. but more on that tomorrow when I upload photos. lol.
For now I'll shwo you this. We put Caitlin to bed the other night and heard her playing about. Fair enough as she often plays with her dolls for a bit before putting herself to bed. However when i checked on her a little while later I found this!

Little begger has pulled off bits of her wallpaper at different points around the room. Was just a bit livid. lol. We only finished doing it a few months ago and certainly can't afford to do it again so soon. So going to have to paint it I think.
Also been working a lot with this months Sarahs cards kit. Have done more than this but this is the only one photographed so far. Lo is of hubby and me on our wedding day. Title is first wedding as we did have a big wedding planned, then he fell very sick so we pulled it forward as were told he might not survive the week. However he obviously did so we had a big wedding blessing later on in time. So this was our first wedding. :)

WOYWW

Forgot to do one last week so made sure I did it today. :) Got my Sarahs cards kit this morning and LOVED it! So the page I was scrapping has been shoved to one side and I'm using this kit instead. lol.

This is a more detailed picture.

not much more to post. Hopefully some los to show you tomorrow. :) lol

Had my hair cut!

Well had a hectic day today. Took kids nursery in the morning and came home to get my card to go shopping. Ended up lying down for 5 minutes and awoke 4 hours later. lol. Just enough time to rush and get the kids, then go get my hair done. Didnt know what I wanted but quite pleased with the results. Cant really type more as hubby watchign a film and I type too loud! lol. Will be back tomorrow. :)

I've done some layouts. :)

Well today Mark took the kids to the park for a few hours. As I was on top of the housework decided to do some scrapping. :) Haven't actually done much lately as been doing either projects for other people or making mini books, so was pleased to get some scrapping done. :)
Cameron made me laugh this morning. At Christmas my gran bought him a Thomas dress up tabard. Which Cameron hated and has sat in his wardrobe ever since.Well this morning he insisted he had to wear it. No idea where this desperation came from but fair enough. lol. It's a fat controller type hat he has on with it, though looks more like a Russian hat in the photo for some reason.

Now onto layouts. :) this one was done using a old Sarahs cards kit, from November I think, as I'm trying to use up my old kits. Doing well so far. :) Photo was from Butlins last year.

This was for the UKs week one July challenge. Rules were:
Use the sketch provided - done
Use 7 things - Used 7 journaling stickers.
Use a photo of someone being lazy - Cameron lying over the table on the train.
It was also asked to use a stamping/sewing technique but forgot about that. lol

This lo was for the house challenge, which I've never done before so was a bit of a change. Was a big challenge as the rules were to use 7 photos to show a snapshot of family life and use a technique you've never used before. For the technique I decided to distress the main photo. Which I've never done before as been too scared. lol. Quite pleased with the result, gonna give it to my gran I think. :)

This was done for week two of the UKS challenge. Rules were:
Bright colours = done
TV or film title = well kinda, lol, it will be a film, just in production at the moment. lol
Flowers = done
Buttons = done. :)
These are photos from our favourite place in Greece, Tolon. We've been a few times not and its such a quiet peaceful place, but a great base to go to Athens, Olympia and all the big places. I was there the year Greece won the Eruo cup and it was amazing! There were people coming out of bars handing out bottles of champagne and everything. Also loved diving there, such clear waters and fish swimming around you. Sorry, went on a bit there. lol

This was to use up some of my scraps. I've blogged this photo before, Caitlin was sitting watchign tv when I took a photo. As you can see she was very impressed and stuck her cup in front of her face to stop me taking anymore. lol.

Well planning on watching a film with hubby tonight and kids are still up, so better rung and get them to bed!

Quick strawberry muffins

The muffins are SO quick. I made a batch this morning while Mark was getting dressed simply because I wanted a baked potato and didn't want the oven on just for that. lol.
You will need:
175g Self raising flour
50g Margarine
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
150g strawberry jam

1 - heat oven to gas mark 6/200c
2 - Cream margarine and sugar together.
3 - Stir in flour, eggs, milk and essence
4 - Beat to a smooth consistency
5 - Stir in Jam, not too much, just to give a mottled effect.

6 - Spoon mixture into the cases.
7 - Bake for 20 -25 minutes.

See, so simple! This is a great recipe for kids to do too as not too complicated. Just pour into a bowl and stir really. lol

Orange crunchy top muffins

Something a bit different!! I tried these in order to use up the oranges when we bought the wrong ones and they were no good for the kids really. Turned out so nice I'll def be making them again!
You will need:
330g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
110g sugar
3 tablespoons of grated orange zest
130g melted butter
2 eggs
For topping:
1 tablespoon melted butter
90g brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 - Preheat oven to gas mark 4/350c
2 - Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and orange peel together in a large bowl.
3 - Stir in the orange juice, melted butter and eggs. The result will be very liquidy rather than the usual cake dough. This is normal.

4 - Pour mixture into muffins cases.
5 - Now make some crunchy topping by mixing 1 tablespoon of melted margarine, 90g brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle some of the mixture onto the top of each muffin.

6 - Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Bit happier today. :)

Well a bit of a better day today. I think I always feel better when I fell like I've done something with my day. Granted today it was just a huge pile of ironing but it was something. lol. Mark was also a star doing a load of the general housework while I was ironing. Kids were brill today. Caitlin lay in till gone 9 as had a restless night. Think it was my fault a bit as me and Mark were watching a comedy in the bedroom (next door to her room) and I was laughing. Well she got out of bed, came to the door, shh'd me! and shut her door and went back to bed! What a little madam!!! lol. Well at 2:15 she came into our bed and did her usual starfish move. So I admit I abandoned Mark to his fate and went into Caitlins bed instead. lol. Shes been full of energy today though, dressing up and dancing to the wiggles. How cute is this face!

We got this dress at a car boot sale a while back. Its a bridesmaids dress but a few sequins and beads have come off so its not good enough to wear out, but at £1 thought it'd be ideal for her to dress up in and she LOVES it. She loves swishing the skirt round while she dances. Which I admit worries me a bit as she reminds me so much of my sister! lol.
Another job we've done today is start to sort out our computer game collection. Before I had Cameron we used to run a stall at car boot sales selling retro consoles and games. It was a brill hobby and made a bit of money for treats and the like, but obviously with a newborn getting up at 5am and sitting at a market all morning was less than appealing. We did sell off about 12 boxes at the time but kept a vast amount of rare ones or personal favourites. Which was fine at the time as our old house was huge. here, not so much. lol. Theres 6 boxes stuffed in the wardrobe and another 28 in the garage, so, some have got to go!

So tonight we're gonna start on the megadrive games. Play through a load and decide if they're worth holding onto. Wish us luck! lol

Still not happy bunny. :(

Another morning, another plan down the drain. lol. Sorry if I seem a bit of a miserable cow latly. Just lots of little things going wrong and getting to me. Won't complain though, could be worse! lol.
Not up to much today, taking my computer over to marks friends house to see if he can fix it. Hopefully having a huge tidy up of my desk. I've done this about 8 times now, always saying 'this is the last clearout!' never is. lol.
This is how things look at the moment. Hoping by the end of the day it will look different! lol

Not a happy bunny. :(

Well not in a brill mood today. Put my computer (which has been broken since before xmas) into be fixed last week. We were first told it would be £30 to fix. Ok great. Next day we get a call, problem something different its now £60. Right ok then. Went in to collect it today, Oh its not fixed yet and will be £90. Ok no, just give me it back. :( So not fixed yet. Hubbys friend is going to look at it though so hopefully he can fix it. In the meantime Marks set up the laptop and cleared a load of space for me so I can work in my corner again. :) Planning on having a HUGE clearout tomorrow to get my craft corner in order properly. :)
Well besides that not been too bad today. Took the kids down to see thier gran which they loved, I saw baby Lillie again. Shes getting so BIG! honestly, got big chubby cheeks and everything now, lol. Baked some more. Mark thinks I'm a bit of an addict as he went upstairs to get dressed and came down to find a batch of strawberry muffins in the oven. Well i wanted a baked potato for lunch and didn't want the oven on for one thing. lol. Kids spent the afternoon with salt dough again. Mark helped this time though so instead of having lots of sausages they made Bertie the bus, Crankie the crane and Thomas. :) Thought I'd show you Thomas, complete with his number 1. lol

made a few mini books last night and a LO with the scraps of my Sarahs cards kit. Don't really like these photos as it was in a dark disco so turned out badly, but they're the only ones I have of a brill night out so had to make do. lol

Well thats about it today. Did a couple of recipes too, hoping to get a fabric flower tutorial on tomorrow. Depends how nice the weather is as hubby wants to take kids park. lol

Cheese scones

A savoury recipe. Thought I'd try a few more of these. :)
You will need:
175g Self rasing flour
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp mustard powder
25g margarine
75g grated cheese for scone
35g grated cheese for top
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

1 - Heat oven to 220c/gas mark 7. Gease a baking tray
2 - Mix flour, mustard powder and salt and pepper. Rub in Marge using your hands.
3 - Stir in cheese.

4 - Add egg and milk, mixing into a dough.
5 - Roll out to a round shape approx 1/2 inch thick. Cut into triangles
6 - Place onto baking tray and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 10-15 minutes untill brown.

Today has lasted about 3 weeks!

OMG today has dragged! I'm quite pleased with how much I've managed to get done, done a load of batch baking for the freezer, cleared out the kitchen cupboards, made some salt dough, phone calls etc. couldn't believe it when I went to start dinner and it was only 3pm! Decided to blog some of the recipes I used today to post when I've had a dull day. Not sure if anyone uses them but fills a page! lol.
Kids are playing with salt dough at the moment so they're quiet, Caitlin's making Barney (as usual) while Cameron's making Tidmouth sheds and all the engines. Always has to go a step further, lol. He seems to have turned into a teenager overnight. Caitlin was born a teenager really, but now Cameron's developed into a little know it all. I thought I had a few more years before I went from 'loved and adored Mummy who knows everything' to 'Silly old woman who should be looked at with scorn at every opportunity' Obviously not. This morning for example I've been told off three times. Once when Caitlin fell down and hit her head on the table, I told the table off for hurting her (mums of toddlers will be nodding right now I'll bet, lol) Cameron said 'Don't be silly Mummy, the table can't move, Caitlin hit the table, tell HER off!' Then when he put Caitlin's shoes on I told him to take them off as his feet were too big. 'No Mummy my feet are the right size, the shoes are too small!' Can't argue there. Then finally when I gave him one of the cheese scones I baked. He ate all but one bite then came up to me:
Cameron - I don't like this one, I need another one.
Me - No Cameron you've eaten it all you obviously like it.
Cameron - (thrusting the leftover bite at me) No mummy LOOK, I didn't eat it ALL theres a bit left.
Me - Well they all taste the same if you don't like that one you won't like this one.
Cameron - No Mummy they're not the same, this one is in my hand, that one is in the tin!
How am I supposed to argue with that! Apparently hes the same with his Nanny. She was watching a sad film with him and started to cry, he asked why she was crying, he said the tv was sad. He promptly went over and turned the tv off. Made sense I suppose. lol

hungry day!

Well I woke up this morning STARVING! It's been the first time I've wanted food since thursday because of this bug so had a bowl of bran flakes and didnt feel sick after woohoo! So been to the range and got some bits and now going to go get the kiddies from nursery and see what Grannys been baking. :) But thoguht I'd show you this first. :)
While in one of my faves shops recently I saw a photo frame for the wall. It was basically lots of photo frames conected in a haphazzard way. While it looked good, i didn't think it was worth the £65 price tag! So decided to try and do my own. :)
1 - First pick some cardstock you want to use. Use different colours to add variety. Ive used 3 colours as I've picked 12 photos, so 4 photos for each colour. Use good quality cardstock as the thinner type will bend easier so is harder to use.
2- Pick your photos. Can be as many as you like. :)

3 - Work out how much of the photo you want on show and measure it. For example on this photo I wanted 3 inches by 3 1/2 inches shown.

4 - Add on and inch each side for the frame (so I would need 5in by 5 1/2 in) and measure this onto a piece of cardstock.

5 - Cut out.
6 - Measure the frame you will need. One inch from each side.

7 - Cut out.

8 - Mount photo onto the back so the image shows as you want.

9 - Repeat this for all the photos you want to use.
10 - Once all photos are 'framed' position them where you would like them to be. (You could just stick them onto the wall one by one but I found it easier to do this way.) Once you are happy with the positions, stick together.

11 - Once photos are all stuck together, embellish as you wish. :)

12 - Attach to wall using double sided tape. (low tack if you have wallpaper)