Ouch!

Poor Alex has had a major bump at nursery today, falling off one of the climbing frames and cutting his lip with his teeth and bumping his nose hard. We were called in as the blood kept pouring out of his nose and mouth.  The poor little thing was really shaken up by it and understandably very upset and is now sporting a wonderful fat lip, fortunately there was no damage to his teeth or nose.  That is on top of his allergic reaction to sun cream which has resulted in eczema all over his arms, legs, cheeks and ears. The poor boy really is in the wars. Despite all that we have had a lot of fun playing in the garden over the past few days, and although this evening he has been inclined to be a little more teary than usual (not surprisingly), we had a picnic in the garden and played with water and sand which he enjoyed.

Crafting wise I have made this little card, just playing with my new embossing folders and stamps with the water colour technique and therefore fits the stamping challenge from Creative craft. This fits with the Crazy challenge of make it in an hour, although to be honest most of my crafting projects do as I only have an hour or less a day to craft and this only took 30 minutes.

I also made this scrapbook page following this weeks Practical Scrappers sketch.  The page also fits with the challenge of decorative edge scissors (Practical Scrappers), zigzags (drawn in silver; MTTC), stitches (drawn in silver; PTW) and ice and snow (Daring cardmakers). The layout is entitled ' Sledging joy' and the journalling reads 'Alex and I had such fun sledging down the little slope just a few houses up the street from us. The street echoes to the shouts of 'Go' followed by 'Whee' followed by 'Again, Again'. 4th-6th Jan 2010'.

Finally here are my photos for this weeks WOYWW. My desk is relatively tidy at the moment and only really has the stamps, ink pads, craft sheet etc that I need for the current card I am making. With the exception of some large Christmas brads and a Thomas the Tank engine book sat on it (don't ask me why!). I wont be updating this again until Sunday as I am at Robin's funeral on Friday. Have a good weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
x

Hot weekend!

The weather has been amazingly hot this weekend, a really summery spell which is wonderful.  Yesterday Alex and I went out to the Oughtibridge Gala with some friends from work and their families.  We all have children ranging in age from 2 to 8 so it was great fun to have all the kids together, even though Alex did keep running off on his own!  Alex's favourites were the bouncy castle (no surprises there),

the little train ride (this is both of us on the train - I don't yet trust him on his own),

the fact that he was allowed to sit in the fire engine (I was hard put to get him out of it again!),

being swung round in the air by Carlos,

and of course this ice lolly which got amazingly sticky!!

Today we decided to go and find some water to try and cool down so went to the Rivelin valley playground where there is a permanent paddling pool.

It is the first time that Alex has been there and he absolutely loved it - within minutes he was splashing with the best of them and sitting happily in the water.

One very kind girl gave him the ball to play with and that was an instant hit as I then paddled with him and we played catch - this is the first time he has ever managed to catch a ball!

Crafting wise I made this card for my design team entry for Quicky Crafts where this fortnights challenge is ribbons.  I used ribbons in two ways: a) across the card, and b) in the ribbon flowers.  This card also fits with the stamp something 'something vintage with flowers' challenge (for me these papers are very vintage), the crafty creations 'shine' challenge, and the Magical Crafts 'flower power' challenge.

I also made a scrapbook layout following this weeks Unscripted sketch, entitled 'Sticks'.  I used Crate papers and making memories cardstock, DecoArt Acrylic paint (soft green), Kanban stamps, an X-cut punch and emboss for the leaves, and some pressed flowers.  The journalling was done in the style suggested in this weeks Sketches by Tamara challenge, and reads 'Alex and Daniel enjoyed picking up sticks with Grandma, but most of all they enjoyed having time to play with the wheelbarrow'. This layout also fits with the Scrap and Stamp challenge of using acrylic paint, CCT theme of 'reuse, renew, recycle' (in my case the pressed flowers), and loosely with this weeks Scrap it with a song (I took the line 'time to do the things I like', and based the idea around the fact that the two little boys enjoyed the time they had to do something they liked i.e. playing with the wheelbarrow and Grandma).  I hope you all have a good week.
Love,
Caro
x

Time to craft!

I love having time off work when Alex is at nursery as I usually manage to clean the house from top to bottom, do some gardening and craft, and yesterday was no exception.  I had a wonderful day doing all three and made a total of 5 cards! Alex was on good form in the evening entertaining us with his laughter and antics which were great fun.  He is a happy little chap at the moment, which is lovely.

This first card is for Hilary, Robin's wife and my second mum.  I wanted to make something to show her how much I am thinking about her at this time as she prepares for Robin's funeral next week.  It was made using brayering and Lavinia, Crafty Individual and Penny black stamps.

The next card was for my best friend in Sheffield who is moving to Coventry on Tuesday.  We had our last lunch together today and I will miss her loads although there is no way we will lose touch!  She is too special. Needless to say it has been an emotional week. I used clear embossing powder and the resist technique on this card  and it fits with the Ooh La La 'flourishes and pearls' theme as it has flourishes in the background (Inkadinkado stamps).

This next card fits with the 'best wishes' theme for A spoon full of sugar challenge and the crazy challenge of 'spotty' (the righthand background paper is spotty).

This card fits with the 'strawberries and cream' theme from CCC and uses a free kit from CM&PC a few months back. It also fits with the 'pink and girly' challenge from Bee crafty.

Finally I made this card for La La Lands 'white on white with colour on a stamped image' challenge.  This also fits with the crafty creations 'shine' challenge as it has shiny glitter on the embossed image, a shiny ribbon and a pearl at the centre of the flower. That is all from me for now so have a great weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
x

Wednesday!

Well I have finally decided to join in with the What's on your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) with this photo.  This was my desk at 10am this morning when I had just finished the scrapbook layout pictured.  Believe it or not this is actually relatively tidy for me when I have been crafting LOL!  I had a mug of tea (it holds about a pint of tea - I don't function without several of these each day!), several stamps and ink pads, alphabet stickers, double sided tape, a pen and a pile of new crafting toys from my DH as an anniversary present (on the left with the punches on top) scattered everywhere. At the back of my desk I have a wooden tray in which I store my distress inks, acrylic blocks, some of my stamps and a magnetic gadget for holding my crafting knives, ruler etc. Beside this tray is a crafting bucket with useful pockets for things all around it and a large central bucket for dumping things! I try and keep it organised but to be honest it is at best organised chaos!!

I am having a few days off work this week to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  We decided to celebrate this year with a meal in our favourite Chinese Restaurant and some time at home in order to enjoy our new presents.  Needless to say I have loved having some crafting time to myself in order to play with my new crafting toys (stamps, cuttlebug embossing folders, images and punches). This little card was made with the new toys for a friend who loves pink and has recently lost her husband.  The card fits with the theme of stamping from Creative Craft.  It is my first attempt at the watercolour stamp technique, which I really liked doing.

I have also made a scrapbook layout following the sketch from Stamp with fun.  This is a page of my Dad and me sat in his office before going to the State Opening of Parliament in 1986.  My Dad's perseverance in the face of adversity really inspires me and so this page also fits with the theme of scrapping someone who inspires you from Scrap and Stamp.  The papers were Daisy Dee's, the corner stamps are from Purple Onion and the Alphabet stickers are glitter stickers from Doodlebug Designs so this page also fits with the Pollycraft theme of 'not a card and glitter' (the very centre of the flowers are also glittery), as well as fitting with the Crazy Challenge 'spots' (two of my flowers are spotted) and Practical Scrappers 'flowers' challenge. 

Finally it is with a heavy heart that I have to report the death of a dear family friend, Robin Bush, who died yesterday after a battle with lung cancer. Some of you may remember him from the early series of Time Team.  I have known him all my life and when my Dad didn't want to do the father of the bride speach at our wedding we asked Robin to do it instead, which he did with his usual flair and fun.  He will be sadly missed.   

Love,

Caro
x

Father's Day!

We have had a lovely weekend with a good mixture of jobs (mowing, washing, cleaning, cooking and shopping) and a trip to the park yesterday,

and then a trip into the centre of Sheffield for a go on the Sheffield Eye! 

All three of us enjoyed going round on the big wheel and seeing out over the city. 

There were great panoramic views all over it and it was fun to try and spot the different buildings. 

This is the cathedral

and the town hall.

We then went to the Peace gardens so that Alex could play in the fountains. 

After a little persuasion and encouragement that it was really OK to do he had a wonderful time splashing,

putting his hands over the spouts, trying to squash them with his feet,

running through them etc.  Tim and I played too, but we didn't get as soaked as Alex.  After about 15 minutes he began to get chilled so we dried him off changed his clothes and came back home, but it really was wonderful fun.  Definitely something to be repeated in any sunny weather that we get.

Crafting wise I made these tags for Tim's wedding anniversary presents so they fit with SCSC wedding/anniversary challenge (the card can be seen in Friday's post). 

I also made this card following the sketch from Friday Sketchers, the themes of 'summer' from Stamp something, 'stitching' from Crafty Creations, 'ribbons' from Meljen's, and 'stickers' from Pile it on.

Finally this is the card that Alex made for his Dad - his first attempt at stamping - not bad for a 3 year old!  Have a great week everyone.
Love,
Caro
x

Car woes!

Our car developed the most horrendous grinding noise which you could also feel coming up through the clutch.  It turned out that it needed a new clutch, fly wheel and cylinder and it has taken 2 days to repair (and that is without the suspension which also will need fixing at some point) so much to Alex's delight we have been in a succession of buses, friends cars and taxis to get us to and from work and nursery.  Alex is in good form and entertaining us no end with his antics.  The latest amusement has been a return to his sunglasses obsession - it doesn't matter whether he is just out of his bath or in his pyjamas, he will wear them!

Crafting wise I have made a wedding anniversary card for Tim.  This is my first ever Easel card, and as usual with me I wasn't going to just do the standard design..I had to adapt it in someway!  In this case it was to use a heart instead of a plan square background.  This fits with the flourishes and pearls theme for Ooh La La, and the xtra special challenge from MTTC.

I also made a scrapbook layout following this weeks Sketchy Thursday Sketch, the theme of mixed Alphas from Scrap and Stamp (the stars in the corners are stamped), the stars theme from Crazy challenge, the OCC theme of decorated corners and I used the line 'Smile just to see the smile upon your face' as part of my journalling from the song 'I could not ask for more' which is the song for this weeks Scrap it with a song.  As such this layout also fits with the Pollycraft theme of using a song as inspiration and the SCSC of including a quote.  My journalling reads 'It makes me smile just to see the smile upon your face. Lydgate park, Crookes, April 2010'.  All the papers and embellishments are from Basic Grey. As usual I would love to know what you think.  Have a great weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
x

Conference

Sorry for not updating as usual on Sunday but I went to a British Association for Cancer Research Conference in Edinburgh.  We left early on Sunday morning, arriving at the Herriot-Watt University in time to dump our bags, grab a quick sandwich and head for the first lecture. The conference was entirely out of Edinburgh at the Herriot-Watt which was a lovely conference venue, However, as I had never been to Edinburgh before we decided to travel into town to go on the Auld Reekie Ghost tour which started at 10.30pm next to a church on the Golden Mile. 

We were told a lot of the history of Edinburgh and why it was known as Auld Reekie before I was chosen out of the tour to act as a witch.  It was quite embarassing, but good fun as I had to scream and didn't hold back!

We then went underground into the South Bridge where we were taken into the vaults and told a mixture of fact and ghost stories before being given a massive scare which was very funny.  All in all I enjoyed the trip and was glad that I got to see at least a little of Edinburgh.

The conference was excellent although very tiring and on Monday night we had the conference dinner which was held at the Murrayfield stadium. 

We had a champagne reception beside the pitch while a pipe band played for us and then we followed them into dinner.  The dinner was delicious, haggis for starters, followed by roast chicken with raspberry and shortbread to finish. 

To top off the fun we had a great ceilidh, and I danced almost every dance - here we are sat in a heap at the end of it.  The conference finished yesterday by which time I was exhausted so I was glad that I had today off work to clean and craft!

Crafting wise this is my entry for the summer challenges from Quirky Crafts and from a Spoonfull of Sugar.  These are actually inchies which have been stamped and coloured using distress inks with shells and a wave stamp.  The ladies are images from vintage photographs and the lettering is from a Crafty Individuals stamp. I also feel that these fit with the stamp somethings 'happy' challenge.

I also made a Father's day card for my Dad who is into bridge hence the playing card theme.  This fits with the Crafty Cardmakers, CCC, Creative craft and Magical Craft challenges which are all cards for men this week.

Finally I finished with a quick little card to use as a tag on a present for a friend who is turning 60 this week.  I hope you all have a great rest of the week.
Love,
Caro
x

Its Friday!

Yes, it is Friday and although it has been a good week I am ready for the weekend.  Sadly it is going to be a one day weekend for me as I am working on Sunday.  I am attending a conference in Edinburgh from Sunday until Tuesday.  Although the conference should be good I really resent working on a Sunday, but there you go, these things have to be done sometimes.  Enough moaning!  Alex is tired as he has a bad cough and isn't sleeping well but he is cracking me up with all the different things he is saying at the moment.  He likes games of pretend and today we were pretending we were in a space ship, then a pirate ship and then pretending to be dolphins.  I just love his imagination and we have a great laugh messing around together.

Crafting wise I have made the first of the Father's Day cards. This one is for my Father-in-law who loves bird watching.  The card followed the CPS sketch, and used Lavinia Stamps and distress inks. This fits with the creative craft 'for the man in your life' and the MTTC 'for someone special' themes.

I also made this card for a friend who is moving away.  The card follows the themes of dazzle from CCC, floral delights from A spoon full of sugar, and 'Sparkle, glitter and bling' for Meljens. Have a nice weekend everyone.
Love,
Caro
x