headache!

I seem to have a permanent headache at the moment, probably caused by not sleeping due to an extremely irritating cough which keeps me awake at night. Most frustrating. At least I have finished work for the week, although I do have to face a long drive tomorrow. Alex is also extremely tired as he is suffering from a stinking cold...the joys of winter. Spring can't come too soon for me. Crafting wise I haven't felt up to much recently, although I have scanned in a few photos from my childhood including this classic school photo! I did make this card which follows the CPS sketch for this week and the theme of roses from my time to craft, blooming marvellous from CCT and the colour scheme from SCSC. I'm not sure that I got the right shade of green however, and the photo is a bit bleached because of the flash...the card is cream not white. I also made a scrapbook page following a sketch on the Stuck?! forum. This also fits with the Spoon Full of sugar, anything goes challenge. Must dash, and as I am off to Somerset this weekend I wont be uploading again until Monday. Have a great weekend everyone.

Love,

Caro

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Outdoor fun!

Alex and I have enjoyed the fact that we have been able to get outside this weekend without freezing! We had a lovely long walk by the stream in Endcliffe park yesterday, exploring some new areas of the park with shouts of excitement at every waterfall and yells of 'Big water, really fast'. He was fascinated by the fact that some trees had been cut down leaving some large logs and decided he wanted to sit on this one. The walk ended up in the playground where he had fun climbing over and under the rocks and going down the slides. Today I promised him that if the weather was nice we could go and find the bouncy castle. Sadly though, by the time we got there it was raining, albeit not hard, and so the bouncy castle was all folded up. However, he did get to have a go on the carousel which he enjoyed and then a long go on the bouncy slide, which he loved! He was absolutely soaked by the end of it, but loved every minute. We also explored the stepping stones which he was very happy with before coming home to dry out and warm up. I hope that he will sleep well tonight after all that.

I had some really good news this weekend as well...my sister in law has given birth to a baby boy who they have called Nicholas...He weighed in at a whopping 10lb 4oz! It makes me wince just to think about it. I made this card for them following this weeks Sketch Saturday. The stamp was free with CM&PC and the papers were all old scraps from my stash. This card also fits with the theme of lots of layering from A spoon full of Sugar. This may be stretching the definition somewhat but Stamp, Scrap and Doodle have the theme of 'Spring' this week and for me new life is part of the joys of spring.

I also made a very girly birthday card follwing Friday sketchers sketch and the theme of Pink from Papertake weekly and fairies from CCT. The flower fairy tag was a free gift with a magazine ages ago and all the remaining papers were scraps from my stash.

Finally I made a scrapbook layout following this weeks Unscripted sketch and fitting with the theme of 'using your old stash' from Stamp and scrap. All the papers, buttons, stamps and embellishments on this page are over a year old! The only newer things are the letter stickers which are 3-6 months old. The papers are all Hot off the Press. The title of the page is 'All fall down' and the journalling reads 'Alex and Tom developed their own game called 'All fall down' which consisted of the boys sitting on the sausage shaped cushion, bouncing up and down on it and then throwing themselves on to the floor with yells of 'All fall down!'. Alex and Tom loved it, but Sam wasn't quite so sure. 1st Aug 2009'. Have a great week everyone.

Love,

Caro

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Ready

I am so ready for the weekend as for some reason I have found things really tiring this week. Possibly I am coming down with a cold as I have a crashing headache, although I really hope not. Alex has been very entertaining these past few days with his constant chatting and being really demonstratively loving. That cute little voice saying ‘kiss Mummy’ followed by a sweet kiss on the cheek complete with sound effects and then ‘Mummy cuddle’ followed by a big squidgy hug completely melt my heart. This evening he made me laugh as when I said 'You're gorgeous' he turned round and said 'No I'm not, I'm Alex!' You have to grin at that wonderful two year old logic! Last night he refused to go to sleep and then managed to take off his sleeping bag and trousers, then couldn’t put them back on again so was most upset! Hopefully he has learnt his lesson and wont do it again, otherwise I foresee a trip to Mothercare for a duvet. The joys of him getting older! I don’t seem to have had as much enthusiasm or energy for crafting over these past few days although I did manage to make this snowy ATC using one of my photographs from a few weeks ago as the basis. I have also made a scrapbook layout following the sketch on CCC, which also fits with the theme of damask from My time to craft (the orange circle has a damask pattern on it) and the theme of point from this weeks Daring Cardmaker (the arrows!). The page uses Bazzil and My Mind's Eye cardstocks, Doodlebug design Alphabet stickers and a Just Rite stamp. The title is 'Smile Please' and the journalling reads 'Ths was the first time that Alex responded to a request to 'smile please' with a cute little smile. Spider Park, Oct 2009'. Have a great weekend everyone.

Love,

Caro

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Bump!

Poor Alex is having a bit of a tough week! Not only has he got yet another cold and hasn’t got rid of his cough, but on Tuesday morning his teddy had yet another hole in it so there was great trauma as we went off to nursery/work as he wanted teddy fixed before we went…this wasn’t possible as teddy is very definitely falling apart and poor Tim spent 1.5 hours sewing him up. While at nursery Alex succeeded in head butting a toy box with his nose, resulting in his first ever nose bleed. Apparently he was very brave about it, but the evidence was still there when I collected him and he is now sporting a bruise across his nose. Crafting wise I have made this scrapbook layout following this weeks Pencil lines sketch and the theme of girly from Scrap and Stamp. The papers and stickers were all from Basic Gray, the stamps are a mixture of Tapestry and Crafty Individuals, the ink is Tim Holtz distress ink (worn lipstick) which I used to dab on the background with a paintbrush as well as stamping the little flowers, the paper flowers are Angel kiss and the lace was made by my Gran! The page is entitled ‘Godmother’ and the journaling reads ‘My Mother and Anne Restall were best friends at University so it was only natural that they would be Godmothers to each others daughter. In these photos, taken in the summer of 1976, I am sat on Godmother Anne’s lap, while Eleanor is sat on my Mother’s lap.’
I have also made this simple card following this weeks CPS sketch and using my Just Rite stamps for a friend who has just lost her brother. As usual any comments are welcome. Have a great rest of the week everyone.
Love,
Caro
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Finally melted!

In the space of just a couple of days the majority of the snow has gone and the weather feels almost balmy. A vast improvement in my book – even Alex was beginning to get fed up of the snow! Yesterday Alex had fun playing with playdoh with Daddy and then cooking flapjack and playing cars with me. Then in the afternoon we met up with one of his nursery friends at the indoor play area near us, and he had a great time. Neither boy wanted to leave at the end of the day.

Today he and Tim played with his road mat while I did some crafting and then we went shopping and then this afternoon we went out to Alex’s first ever proper party, complete with children’s entertainer! Unsurprisingly Alex didn’t really sit still to watch the entertainer, rather stood and watched occasionally, but he was most impressed with the juggling and with his balloon sword. The other part of the party he liked was being allowed to hit the piñata with a big stick! Crafting wise I made this card for a work colleague and friend who is leaving. It had to be big enough for everyone to sign so I found it quite a challenge as I like working on a smaller scale for cards! I used the idea of the dress from Papercraft Inspirations magazine and followed this weeks Friday sketchers sketch (I did adapt it slightly). As this card has a stamped sentiment and corners, and I doodled on the dress, it fits with the Stamp Scrap and Doodle theme of girly. It also fits with the CCC girly theme, and finally with the Daring Cardmakers ‘holes’ theme (from the punched border). This birthday card for a 3 year old boy followed this weeks Papertake weekly sketch and fits with the music theme from SCSC and the cool cats theme from My time to craft.
This final birthday card, this time for a 5 year old boy followed this weeks Sketch Saturday sketch. Finally, I made a scrapbook layout following this weeks Unscripted sketch. The page is entitled ‘Sandpile’ and uses Bo Bunny and Basic Gray papers, a flora doodle flower, a Stamps Away shell stamp, and shells I picked up on Cleethorpes beach last year! The journaling reads ‘My cousin Harry (aged 4), my brother Andrew (aged 2) and myself (aged 4.5) having a wonderful time on West Wittering Beach’. It is funny looking back at old photos…I really remember that swimming costume and thinking I must look so pretty in it! This also fits with this weeks Kaboodle Doodle challenge which is anything but a card! Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Caro

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Tired

Poor Alex is exhausted at the moment, in part due to a stinking cold again. He was fast asleep when we went to get him this morning and really did not want to get up for breakfast. I think he is ready for a gentle weekend of playing at home and a nice long afternoon nap (crafting opportunity for me!). Although that said, apart from a tendency to flip out at the drop of a hat, he has been remarkably good natured for the most part in the evenings considering how tired he is. I will be so glad when we can get the car back on our drive as it will make life much easier all round; we wont have to get up so early and Tim and Alex wont get as tired with all the walking.
Crafting wise I have only managed to make this little notelet for a work colleague who is finding things tough at the moment. It follows this weeks CPS sketch, is suitably girly for the CCC theme, uses my new Crafty Individuals stamp and distressed inks in the background fitting with the crafty cardmakers challenge, and is very yellow fitting with the Quirky crafts forum challenge! I must dash now, so have a great weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
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Weather woes!

Well we woke up on Monday morning to another 2 inches of snow turning everything white again and low lying cloud attempting to dump more snow on us. This meant that it took about an hour to go to work as everyone was crawling in it…most frustrating. In contrast yesterday was a bit foggy and misty again, but at least there was no more snow and it took 20 minutes to get into work. Things were even thawing a bit creating these massive icicles on most houses. Our longest icicle is now 2 feet and growing!
However, this morning it was lethal sheet ice everywhere and the walk to the car was decidedly treacherous…Alex decided he had had enough and had to be carried. I don’t really blame him as it was horrid. Fortunately he decided that he would walk back this evening despite it actually snowing and being dark. As a result of the ice there were several accidents in Sheffield reducing everyone to crawling speed on the main roads so we took 1.5 hours to get into work. Ridiculous. I will be very glad when things warm up a bit. I have only had time in the evenings to complete one scrapbook page so far, but it does actually fit with several themes this week. It follows the Pencil Lines sketch for this week, is excessively pink and girly so fits with the CCC challenge, uses my new scrapbook papers so fits with the crafty cardmakers challenge (OK so it isn’t a card!) and just about fits with the recipe challenge on Spoonfull of Sugar (3 designer papers (Basic gray x2 (one matting the main photo) and Sandylion), 3 buttons, 3 flowers (there is a sneaky extra flower) and one ribbon (I cut it in half and used it in two places)) although I have then added massively to the recipe with a number of over the top embellishments! The title is ‘Race for Life’ and the ribbon, medal and title are memorabilia from the day. The journaling reads ’12 women from the Medical School joined 6,000 others for Sheffield’s Race for Life on 12th June 2009. Between the 12 of us we raised over £1000 for CRUK. I did the race as a pushchair push with Alex as the only boy participating. He was very good, encouraging me to run from time to time and we finished the course (5km) in a respectable 45 minutes – not bad considering the heat and those pink lab coats!’
Stay safe everyone and have a great rest of the week.
Love,
Caro
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Sledging!

Alex and I have had so much fun playing in the snow again this weekend, especially now he has discovered the joys of sledging. Cries of 'Go', followed by shouts of 'Wheee' followed by 'Again, again!' have echoed down the street. I don't know how many times we have been down the little slope a few houses away from us but it is causing us both great joy. Definitely a scrapbook page in the making! I did try and make a snowman yesterday, but failed dismally as everytime it looked like I was getting somewhere with it Alex jumped on it and knocked it down...he thought it was a great game. Friends have suggested that the only way I will make one is if I sneak out after he is in bed!! It was lovely and sunny yesterday afternoon so we had this gorgeous sunset, however, today it has been cloudy all day and bitterly cold so we haven't been out as much. Only to dig out the car to get to the shops for an emergency food top up (Alex likes digging, although not in the ideal place!), and then out for a brief time sledging this afternoon. Crafting wise I have made another baby card for friends who are due to have a baby boy any day now (due date today!). This card therefore fits with all the baby card challenges (CCC, CCT and PTW), with the My time to craft brown and blue colour scheme and follows the latest sketch from sketch and stash. Again I used the new puppy stamp from the latest Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. Everything else was old scraps that have sat in my stash for ages. The second card I made fits with the favourite technique theme for the Crafty cardmakers challenge this week as my favourite theme is definitely stamping. I used my new Tim Holtz distress inks and Crafty Individuals Stamps for this. The central dragonfly was masked and then painted over in mica powders, in an attempt to recreate the lovely irridescence you see on dragonflies in nature, but I don't think that worked as well as I hoped. Finally I made a scrapbook layout using Basic Gray and Hot Off the press papers, following the Unscripted sketch layout for this week and the theme of family from Scrap and Stamp. The photo features my brother, my cousins and myself when we were between 3 and 5 years old, so definitely fits with the family theme! The page is titled 'Dragonfly' and the dragonfly stamps are from Crafty Individuals. The journalling reads 'Aunt Lavinia and Uncle Bob were part owners of a loud old motorboat called 'Dragonfly' which they used to take us (my brother, my cousins and myself) around Itchenor Harbour and out for a trip to East Head, which had wonderful sandy beaches. Here we are looking rather cold, tired and miserable sheltering in the cabin on our way back from an exciting day at the beach: August 1980'. As usual I would love to know what you think. Have a great week everyone and stay safe in all the ice and snow.
Love,
Caro
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Winter wonderland!

It really does feel like I am in a winter wonderland at the moment. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and there is beautiful snow everywhere, although it is coming off the trees now…just a shame it is such a nightmare to drive in and that I am stuck at work! We have had to park our car at the bottom of the road and walk to it each day, which poor Tim is finding a struggle. Alex, on the otherhand, thinks it is great fun to be able to play in the snow first thing in the morning and in the evening which triples the length of time it takes to walk the distance! Therefore we have to get up earlier in the morning, however, that means we have seen a few lovely sunrises, including this one which was particularly bright. This is our garden as it looked yesterday....I just love the way the wigwam has turned into an igloo! I have so many photographs of hills and trees in the snow now, but can’t resist trying to get one more good one! I have also been crafting in the evenings and completed a scrapbook layout using this weeks Pencil Lines sketch and some photos I have been meaning to scrap for ages. The papers I used are Bazzill, Dovecraft, Cosmo Cricket and All my memories. The page is entitled ‘Bottles’ and the journaling reads 'One of Alex's favourite games was moving the squash bottles round the kitchen!' A number of sites have New beginnings or babies as the theme for their challenges this week (CCC, CCT, PTW, SCSC ) so I have made a Baby Girl card for a friend who is expecting her first any day now. I followed the Sketch Saturday sketch for this week and this card also uses heart shaped eyelets so fits with the Spoonful of Sugar challenge. 6 challenges in total - not bad for one card! I am looking forward to playing in the snow with Alex tomorrow. Stay safe everyone and have a great weekend.
Love,
Caro
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Back to work - sort of!

This has been a very strange week so far! On Monday I went back to work for the first time since Christmas, but then yesterday it snowed non-stop all day (about 7+inches overall) and I didn’t make it into work. We had to abandon the car at the end of our road on the bus route and walk back home. This meant that I worked from home instead and Tim had to look after Alex, both having a much needed nap at the same time. Alex and I did get a little time in the snow together during my lunch break which he loved, despite the fact that it was still snowing. We tobogganed together with many shouts and squeals of excitement. Alex pulled the sledge around the estate and generally had a great time deliberately falling over in the snow etc. Today, thanks to the bus route being gritted, we did make it into work so I managed to get one grant signed off and the other posted which was a relief. While I was walking back to the hospital where I work from the research office I went via the main part of the University. I just love the crenulations on this building (Firth Court) and the colour of it in the snow. I also detoured ever so slightly through Western Park where I took these photos. This one is of the museum in the snow. These are the park gates. Not long after these photos were taken it started to snow again, but fortunately not too much. We will have to wait and see if we get anymore overnight. Crafting wise I haven’t done a great deal as I have started with my keep fit regime which limits my time for crafting. I have made this card following this weeks CPS sketch though. The stamps are all Crafty Individual Stamps and the inks are all distressing inks. Have a great rest of the week everyone and stay safe.
Love,
Caro
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