Its the weekend again!

Not sure what we have planned for the weekend but I am looking forward to it! Work this week has been chaotic and the week has just flown by. Alex is absolutely exhausted at the moment because his cough is still keeping him awake at night so the poor little thing is really struggling. He has been a bit more tearful at nursery which is most unlike him, but apart from that has been having a good time there. We have been playing with his camera over the past few days much to his enjoyment. This included taking various photos of me (not at my best as the photo above shows!), his cars, his teddies etc. He is gradually learning how to look through the viewing screen to see what he is photographing although it is still somewhat hit and miss! I hope that he sleeps better over the weekend and enjoys himself.
I have been busy making Christmas cards again. I do them in fits and starts otherwise I get bored. These all used the cuttlebug embossed image of the snow houses which I really like. This first one followed last weeks Friday sketchers sketch…I was a bit slow!
The next one followed this weeks Card Positioning systems sketch with a bit of adaptation.
I also re-used the Unscripted Sketches sketch for a card this time rather than a scrapbook layout.
Finally I used the sketch and stash layout…the old stash I am using up are free papers that came with a scrapbooking magazine over 2 years ago (maybe even 3!). This also fits with this weeks PTW challenge of spots and stripes. Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you are up to.
Love,
Caro
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Fashion victim?!

Who would have thought that a 2 year old boy would have a strong sense of fashion. OK so it isn’t my idea of fashion but Alex has a definite idea as to what he would like to wear and the most important part of the outfit is that it has to include a cardigan…he doesn’t want to wear jumpers at the moment just cardigans and they have to be done up. Now this can be tricky as he usually needs a clean one every day and he only owns 4, so for three days out of 4 we have upset and a battle to get him dressed when he realises that he isn’t going to get to wear a cardigan! Cardigans are not the end of the story however, trousers are important (he has two pairs which he particularly wants to wear most days), he has to wear Bob the builder socks, and there are about 6 tops which he will wear. I don’t quite know where he gets this sense of ‘fashion’ from but it is so funny, albeit frustrating at times. This photo is of him wearing the cardi knitted by Granny! Crafting wise I have been catching up on some ATCs for swaps that are being run on different forums. These first ones are for a pink themed swap on Quirky Crafts. I found the photos on the internet and used papers that came free with a magazine ages ago, my hero arts stamp and some free stickers. The second lot of ATCs are for a vintage transport swap on the CMPC forum which I am running. I used K&Co background paper, Images from Crafty Individuals and stamps from Xela and Stamps Away for these. Finally I made a card following the sketch from CCC and the recipe of 3 eyelets, 2 different shades of pink and one ribbon from Quirky crafts. Anyone who knows me will know that I am not into pink so to do two pink projects was a real challenge for me, however I used up some scraps of free paper so it wasn’t all bad! Thanks for looking everyone and have a great rest of the week
Love,
Caro
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A nice weekend

Despite the weather being very changeable, misty and wet yesterday morning, sunny and very windy in the afternoon, and sunshine and showers this morning followed by lots of rain this afternoon, we have had a lovely weekend. Alex is gradually getting over his cold and therefore is on really good form. Yesterday we went shopping in the morning and he was really well behaved round the supermarket and in the afternoon we went to the park where he played with his new car, on his scooter, splashing to his hearts content in the puddles where he was joined by 5 other children who all had a fantastic time, and going down the slide. Today we played in the garden in between showers, cooked flapjack together, then played with cars, trains, etc. In the afternoon I took Alex to meet Andreas, who is almost the same age as him and likely to be going to the same school. Alex had a great time playing with all Santiago and Andreas's toys, but sadly Andreas wasn't feeling very well although he did keep smiling until he fell asleep in his Dad's arms. Alex had such a nice time that he didn't want to come home! I have managed to do some crafting this weekend. This layout follows Unscripted Sketch #28 and fits with the open theme for Scrap and Stamp this week. I stamped the plain Bazzil cardstock in silver with a snowflake stamp that was free with Papercraft Inspirations, and added snowflakes to the tree paper from American Traditional crafts with a small HeroArts stamp. The snowmen in the corner were another free stamp from a few years ago which I stamped on white card and coloured in with Whispers Pens. The three snowmen panels on the bottom were cut from Basic Grey paper as was the lace effect paper on the right, and the large silver snowflake was cut using my Cuttlebug. The journalling states 'One advantage of the deep snows in February 197* was that I made my first ever snowman aged 3 years old. Although the sun was shining I must have had very cold fingers! I have also started crafting for Tim's birthday. He is really into computer games and the game that he most wants wont be delivered in time for his birthday so I decided to make an exploding box featuring the game. The lid has the game title on it while the outside sides have images of some of the different monsters and people from the game. As this box contains images of things I would certainly find spooky or that go bump in the night I thought that this box would also fit with those themes from Kaboodle Doodles and Cupcake Crafts this week. The inside of the box features images of dragons and a flying dragon which pops up on acetate to really look as if it is flying over the city. Finally I made Tim a decorated CD case as he is getting a downloadable CD for his birthday so this gave him something to open on the day. The CD case is decorated front and back with images from the original album art and contains really nice chocolates so fits with the CCT theme of sweets. That is all for now and I hope you all have a great week ahead.
Love,
Caro
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Improvement!

I am glad to say that both Alex and I are improving although we still have colds. Alex is back to his usual cheeky and mischievous self and the past couple of evenings we have had fun dancing, singing, playing with his garage and general games of rough and tumble. He has also discovered the fun of sliding down the stairs on his tummy! His appetite is back which is also good as he is quite a thin child and can’t afford to lose much weight. I on the other hand am back on my diet which is going well again I have now lost in total 1stone 3lb…only 4lb more to go to my target weight. I went out for a leaving do on Wednesday which was lovely although sad at the same time as I am really going to miss Ann. Needless to say I haven’t done much in the way of crafting, although I did manage to complete a layout following this weeks Pencil Lines sketch. In continuing a scrapbook of my childhood I wanted to do a layout of my imaginary friend – a 2 inch high elephant. Not exactly an easy challenge. In the end I thought that the Pickles and Onion images would work well as they are really cute so decided to put one of them in a thought bubble to try and indicate me thinking of my friend. At Tim’s suggestion I also put a little one on the swing with me to try and tie all elements of the page together. This page uses Bazzill cardstock, Hot off the Press papers and Hero Arts stamps. The journaling reads ‘Between the ages of 2½ and 4 I had an imaginary friend called ‘Nellie’, a 2 inch high elephant. Gran tells the story that one day I came to her in floods of tears and when asked what was wrong I explained I had put Nellie in the paint tray and Grandad had poured paint in, so Gran helped me ‘rescue’ Nellie and wash her and peace was restored’. Have a great weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
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Bad cold!

Don’t you just hate having a bad cold. My darling son has kindly shared his absolute stinker of a cold with me and I am full of it, as is he, bless him. Alex is really suffering with this one, with an intermittently raised temperature, nasty cough and exhaustion. He has still wanted to go to nursery this week though and by all accounts has enjoyed himself even if he is a little more subdued and easily upset than usual. When he comes home in the evening the only thing he really wants to do is watch a little television and then have a bath and go to bed.
I have been attempting to crack on with my Christmas cards this week and made the first two following Unscripted sketch #27 using the snowflake embossing folder on my cuttlebug.
This is the second one with sakura stardust adding some sparkle to the background.
The next card is Tim’s favourite (he likes green) and follows CPS # 138. For some reason I found this sketch really hard to work with, but the card turned out OK in the end.
Finally I followed this weeks Sketch Saturday sketch for this card using slightly subtle shades of blue (the colour reproduction isn't good in these photos I'm afraid). I am off out to a work’s leaving do tonight so must dash. Have a great rest of the week everyone.
Love,
Caro
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Autumnal weather

It has been a beautiful weekend with some patches of brilliant sunshine, although there is the traditional autumnal nip in the air which becomes even more apparent when the sun goes behind the clouds. We had a weekend relaxing at home which made a nice change. The usual round of cooking, cleaning, washing, tidying, shopping (the loudest ever rendition of 'Old MacDonald' was heard in Tescos!) etc was interspersed with games with Alex and a trip to the park yesterday and the museum today. Alex is tired and full of cold so inclined to be fractious, but he did enjoy playing with the leaves and then the plastic cups and tea-pot in the museum. We also had a nice time drawing together…apparently he was drawing dolphins, although bright red scribbles aren’t my idea of dolphins!
I have also had a good weekend crafting wise. This card was made for an autumn challenge on Quirky crafts Forum and used my JustRite stamp coloured in with Whispers pens. The background was made by brayering with Adirondack butterscotch ink and then stamping with a maple leaf design. My Time To Craft blog is having a ‘Quick and Cute’ card challenge and both the next two cards took only 10 minutes to make which fits with my idea of quick. The first one follows the spoonful of sugar sketch for this week and uses some scraps of a basic grey paper and a free sticker.
The second one follows this weeks Friday sketchers sketch and uses entirely free papers and images which I received with various magazines. I also made another scrapbook layout of my childhood, this one following the theme of Thankful from scrap and stamp. The page is entitled ‘Cuddle’ and uses Purple Onion and JustRite stamps, Hot off the Press papers, and Flora Doodle and Angel kiss flowers. The quote stamp says ‘Give Thanks for Simple Blessings’. The journaling reads ‘Having a cuddle with my one week old brother, Andrew’. In these photos I am not yet 3. Finally I made this layout of me between the ages of 4 and 5. The far left photo was taken when I was just 4 and the far right a few months after my 5th birthday. The title is ‘Three times a bridesmaid’ and the details of each wedding are under the different photos. The journaling reads ‘I was a bridesmaid three times for members of the family between the ages of 4 and 5’. This layout follows the 15th Oct sketch from Stuck?! and uses Basic Grey and Hot off the Press cardstock, Flora Doodle flowers, some of Gran’s lace and a Hero Arts stamp. Thank you for looking and I hope you all have a good week.
Love,
Caro
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Tired and poorly!

My poor boy is really struggling at the moment. He has a stinking cold and isn't sleeping well as a result of a bad cough and is totally exhausted. As a result he is tired and grumpy and inclined to cry at the slightest sign of him not getting his own way, which is tiring all round. My tummy is still painful but at least I was able to sleep last night (first time in a week). I am really glad it is the weekend and maybe we can all recover a bit with a gentle time at home. Hopefully Alex will have a decent nap tomorrow which will set him right again. Crafting wise I have made this scrapbook layout of me 'Helping at home'. Again these papers are all from Hot off the press, the flowers are angel kiss and flora doodles and I used my Martha Stewart edging punch for the lace effect. The journalling reads 'In these photos I am aged between 21 and 24 months and am helping to clean the daffodil bulbs for my parents nursery, Broadleigh Gardens and picking the mulberries from the big old tree at the top of the garden'. This page again fits with the use ribbon challenge from crafty cardmakers, and as the photos were taken in Autumn I guess it loosely fits with the autumn challenge on SCSC. Thank you for looking and have a great weekend.

Love,

Caro

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Uncomfy!

Poor Alex has yet another stinking cold and while I have managed to resist that so far I have an extremely uncomfortable tummy. Not sure why, but it is stopping me sleeping at the moment so I am a bit zombie like which isn't great for work. Despite everything Alex and I have had fun playing with his train tracks, his Buzz Lightyear action figure and the endless round of cars. He and Tim have also had fun at bath-times where Alex has learnt to drink water from the tap!

I have been on a bit of a roll these past few days crafting wise with five Christmas cards and a scrapbook layout! This first card follows Sketch Saturday #72 and uses free papers and my new Just Rite stamp. The second card follows CPS sketch #137 and again uses free papers, a ribbon I have had for ages and the Just Rite stamp. The third card follows the Sketch and Stash challenge and uses my new Just Rite stamp, some stickers and free papers that I have had over a year and the background paper which is new from American Traditional papers. The next card follows the Daring Cardmaker challenge of 'purple' where purple is supposed to be the dominant colour...not sure if this really counts, but purple is the predominant colour in the background so maybe I can get away with it! This final card wasn't made in response to any challenge but I did enjoy using the snowflake embossing folder for a change. Finally I made a scrapbook layout featuring me aged 8-10 months (Summer 1970's). This follows this weeks Pencil Lines sketch (#156) and fits with the CCC challenge of stitching and buttons. Anyone who knows me will realise that needles and me do not mix (blood everywhere) so I have cheated with fake stitches. This also fits with this weeks Scrap and stamp for summery layouts featuring at least one stamp. The stamps I have used for this page are Purple Onion swirls and Just Rite letters. The papers are Hot off the press and BoBunny and the flowers are flora doodles. The buttons came from my mother's button box so are entirely appropriate. The journalling reads 'Me, aged 8-10 months discovering the delights of the world around me and in the New Forest in the company of my parents and Carn our dog wearing my Mother's favourite outfit for me'. As usual I would love to know what you think. Have a great rest of the week.

Love,

Caro

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What fun!

We had a wonderful time yesterday with my brother and his family. Alex and Daniel (both aged 2) were delighted to see each other and were very funny together following each other round and copying each other. After an initial mix-up and discussion about where we should go we decided that Gulliver’s land in Milton Keynes would be ideal as the weather was actually nice. I have to say it was definitely the right decision as we had a wonderful time and would loved to have stayed for longer (always a good sign). We had our meal first where Alex had his first ever chicken nuggets and chips. We went on various different rides including the hot air balloon Ferris wheel, the fire-engine ride which Alex loved as it involved spraying water at a building and going up and down at the same time (Daniel wasn’t as sure about this), the vintage cars (twice), overhead peddle cars (never again…it was exhausting pushing that thing round under Caro power only!), pirate ships (the boys went on by themselves), the train round the entire site, the jungle river ride (Alex loves anything to do with water so was very happy), the ball pit where Andy joined the boys, and finally a log flume where we all got completely soaked much to Alex’s delight (Daniel didn't like it and wanted to get off). All in all it was a wonderful day. Today we have had a gentle day at home with the usual round of cleaning, tidying, washing, cooking, playing etc. While Tim had his afternoon nap, Alex and I went out to the park where for the first time he really got the hang of being on his little scooter and was zooming around all over the place very happily. I have actually manage a little crafting as well this weekend in the form of this scrapbook page entitled ‘Fred’. This page follows (loosely!) sketch #26 from Unscripted sketches, the challenge of perfect pets from My time to craft and the challenge of summer from scrap and stamp. The photo is of me aged 22 months and the papers are all from Hot off the Press, the chipboard letters from Heidi Grace, the flowers from flora doodles and Angel kiss, and the paw print stamp from Stamps Away. The journaling reads ‘Fred was Gran and Grandad’s big, soft, mad and loveable Afghan hound. He was extremely gentle and I loved stroking him and feeding him. Here I am aged 22 months feeding him a snack in my grandparent’s garden in Hampsthwaite, Yorkshire. August 1970's’. That is all for now. Have a great week everyone.
Love,
Caro
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