Messy cardmaking (WOYWW)!

Well this is the state of my desk (as my entry to WOYWW) as it was after an emergency card making session...no space even for my mug of tea as I had turned my patterned paper drawer upside down looking for inspiration for the card I needed to make. Hidden under the paper are the ink pads, dylusion inks and stamps I had been using for a journal page which I abandoned when I remembered the card!

Here is the finished card...sadly I didn't get it to the recipient on time, but I hope she liked it.

Part of the reason for my distractibility this weekend was a little sporting event called 'Le Tour de Yorkshire'...Alex and I went up to Kirk Edge road to watch the tour whizz past. 

The atmosphere was amazing and we enjoyed every bit...I am glad that we didn't try and go to one of the hills, the crowds were so big we wouldn't have seen as much. That's all for now.  Have a great week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Dinosaur smiles!

Well it is Friday and time for Annie's smiles.  My smiles this week come from the fact that we finally made it to the Dino Jaws exhibition in Leeds as a family - it was small enough for Tim to get round with plenty of rests and was really well set up. Alex was fascinated by the Baryonyx skull

and animatronic model

as well as by the massive pile of dinosaur poo!

It has to be said that all the animatronics were excellent and well worth a visit, and we all enjoyed them (a rare photo of all three of us).

 This week I also had the bonus of a girls night out in Bakewell at the official Bakewell pudding shop where, alongside a delicious meal, we got to make some real Bakewell puddings:

puddings note, not tarts - they are completely different, as this photo shows. It was a great evening with lots of lovely chat and laughter and definitely made me smile. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Loom bands and camouflage (WOYWW)

Well it is Wednesday and time to show you my desk as part of WOYWW.  As you can see my desk has been taken over by loom bands.  Alex loves them and can make three different varieties of bracelet. However, he keeps asking me to make the more complicated ones which is why the bands are all over my desk.  Half hidden under the bands are my ipad, my phone and various stamps which need cleaning and putting away!

Here are some of the bracelets I have made for him and a smiley face (the smiley face and the starburst bracelet were the most difficult - I definitely need a better and longer loom!).

The main excitement of the week however, has been the amazing parcel that arrived from Jo (Twiglet) - if you check out her blog you will see all the lovely goodies that she very generously made for Alex, all neatly laid out.  She made him camouflage curtains for his den, which have the words 'Top Secret' sewn onto them and were installed immediately as shown here...

a padded cushion for his desk chair, a cushion cover, two pillow cases and a duvet case (already in the wash so he can have them on his bed asap), a wonderful bag which he is wearing (Alex was most impressed with the three pockets inside it - 'it even has a pen pocket Mummy') and the notepad that he is showing in this picture. Thank you once again Jo! Now the pressure is on for my woodworking skills to make the desk to complete the den (although it wont be this weekend with the school fete and tour de France). 
I hope you all have a wonderful week.
Love
Caro
x

Ikea smiles

Sadly we didn’t get to do what we planned last weekend as Tim was too ill to go out so my smiles (for Annie’s smiles) come from a trip to Ikea in Leeds, that Alex and I made to go and get some of the furniture for his new den under his bed.  It is the first time Alex had ever been to Ikea so he thoroughly enjoyed looking round the different rooms, being pushed around on the trolley and testing out some of the chairs – I think he is a little big for this one, don’t you!

This is him with all the things for his den (plus a few items for the rest of the house) as we headed to the checkout.

Needless to say I had to build him the furniture the moment we got back. This is the cosy end of the den which he loves; the other end still needs a desk installing - we are going to custom make that to fit the space so it will be a little while before it happens. At the moment it has a small set of drawers, a desk chair and some file storage all ready and waiting for the desk. He has also requested some curtains to turn it into a top secret spy den (they are on their way thanks to Jo - her generosity really made me smile this week).

Alex also had a wonderful time at a friends party this weekend (I had to crop the photo to show only Alex waving a balloon sword - they all had them and were posing as a group round the monkey mascot).  That is all from me for now.
Love
Caro
x

art journalling (WOYWW)

Well, as my entry to WOYWW this week, I have two shots of my desk to show you.  This first one is when it was tidy and covered in the crafting goodies that Tim gave me for our wedding anniversary - you can see some new stamps, new stencils, a little bottle of liquid pearls, some pens and some grunge paste.

The second shot is from when I had been playing with lots of those items in making some pages for my art journal!  There is stuff everywhere (stamps, paints, distress paints, inks, pens, stencils - you name it and it is on there somewhere!) and hiding in the middle is my trusty mug of tea, almost empty now.

Here is the wedding anniversary page that I generated using acrylic paints applied with a spatula, stencilling (again with the acrylic paints), pen work, stamping, liquid pearls and a small photo from our wedding.

This next page is the 'Family' page generated with acrylic paints, masking, stencilling, stamping, pens, a making memories 'tie' and a photo of the three of us taken last summer.

Finally I made the 'Who am I?' page using dylusion spray inks, water through a stencil, masking, stencilling, stamping, and hand drawing/writing.  I think it is fair to say I have found my mojo again! That is all from me for now. Have a great week everyone,
Love
Caro
x

creative and carnival smiles!

Well we have had a busy week this week with lots to smile about so here is my entry to Annie's smiles. Firstly, last weekend I finally managed to get Alex's cabin bed assembled, and boy was it a challenge doing it in his tiny little box room of a bedroom.  I was stiff and aching for days afterwards, but it was worth it as he is so happy with it and he has plans to turn the space under the bed into a 'spy den'.  Curtains have been commissioned (thanks Jo!), some furniture chosen, and his Grandpa is lined up to make a desk.  It may be a month or more before it is completed, but he is simply happy that the process has started (we promised him this about a year or more ago).

Have you heard of loom bands?  It is a craze that seems to be going around school age children at the moment in the UK. You use little coloured rubber bands and weave them together to make a bracelet.  With Alex's hypermobile fingers and wrists I thought he might struggle with it, but he has taken to it really well and made three different style bands for the school world cup carnival - this was his first one.

Today was the school world cup carnival, where the children dressed up in the colours of their country and then paraded round the streets near school playing instruments and shouting very loudly. Alex's class were representing Australia so he proudly went to school in his bright yellow shirt, armed with three different loom band bracelets of yellow and green.  The carnival was VERY loud and lots of fun as you can tell.  That is all from me for now...lots to smile about as you can tell.  Have a great weekend.
Love
Caro
x

card making for once (WOYWW)!

Well as the post title suggests I have been busy card making, but my desk (for WOYWW) is still looking relatively tidy...this is because the latest card (face down in the centre) is for Tim for our wedding anniversary and is being kept under wraps!  Also on my desk is my trusty mug of tea (in need of  a refill), our tickets to Dino Jaws (we are having a much needed family day out this weekend assuming Tim is well enough or I can borrow a wheel chair), and various stamps recently used on cards. The cables are from my laptop which is to the right of the desk and out of view.

It was Father's Day here in the UK last Sunday and this is the card I made for my Dad, who is a bridge player. I cut up and mounted a King, and used washi tape in the background

This is the one I made for my Father-in-law who is self confessed twitcher (made using the free stamp from Craft Stamper magazine).

That is all from me for now, but I couldn't go without showing you a quick photo of Alex who had a street dance exam last weekend... this is him just before the exam... we will get the results in a few weeks.  Have a wonderful week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Mixed weather smiles!

The weather last weekend was so topsy turvy that my smiles for this week (for Annie's smiles) come from our wet weather activity: Alex's first attempt at roller skating - very wobbly and unsure - my shoulders still hurt from holding him up!

and our sunny weather activity: Playing in the paddling pool

and the fountains at our local water park (only 5 minutes drive away and completely free!).

I will leave you with this photo of Alex receiving a shopping voucher as a result of winning the draw at the science fair... he hasn't decided what to spend it on yet, but he is planning! I hope that you all have a lovely weekend; keep smiling.
Love
Caro
x

Mojo found! (WOYWW)

This is my entry to WOYWW this week. However, although my desk is looking remarkably tidy again this week, it has actually seen some action for once.  I had all my paints and stencils out to make the journal page that is shown on the desk.  I haven't really done much 'free form' art journaling and so this was a lot of fun.  I have decided that this little book is going to be a complete experimental book where anything goes and it doesn't matter if I don't like some pages.  As usual I have a trusty mug of tea keeping my company. Propped up at the back of the desk is a playing card, which will be incorporated into my Dad's Father's day card (he is a bridge player) and a wedding invitation we have been sent.

Here is the close up of that journal page...it is the first time I have really played with inks, paints, stencils and masking in this way and was great fun in the making. 

I also received some happy post this week, in the form of this ATC and card from Krisha as part of the 5 year anniversary swap. Aren't they gorgeous!  That is all from me for now.  Have a great week everyone,
Love
Caro
x

Waterslide smiles!

It is Friday and time for Annie's smiles to get us ready for the weekend. My smiles come from the wonderful sunny day we spent with my in-laws last weekend.  The weather was so nice we ate outside and then set up the waterslide for Alex and his cousins. As you can see he had a wonderful time,

sliding again

and again and again and again...

It looked so much fun that I had to have a go although I was somewhat hampered by a lack of a change of clothes!  I hope these pictures have made you smile with us.  Have a great weekend everyone.
Love
Caro
x

WOYWW ATC extravaganza!

This is the week after the wonderful 5 year anniversary swap for WOYWW, so now we get to show off all the wonderful ATCs that we have received!  I have to confess that my desk has been somewhat neglected this week as I have been busy doing various odd jobs around the house so apart from the ATCs it is pretty empty.  As you can see I have had a lovely week receiving these beautiful artistic packages.  The ATCs are in the centre of the desk, and the beautiful packaging is to the left…Special mention must go to Annie’s inventive commemorative poem which I love.

Here is the close up of the ATCs I have received: 
From top left to right: Jan (LLJ), Chris (Mrs D), Margaret (glitter&glue). 
Middle row: Chris Porter, Annie (Wipso), Jo (Twiglet)
Bottom row: Angela, Janet (Fairythoughts), Nan G
Aren’t they all so beautiful and varied.  I just love each and every one of them.  Thank you all so much.

Now that most people will have received mine I can show you the ones I made…they are all very similar with an inky background made with dylusion inks and water and stencils, then a zentangled number 5, a stamped WOYWW, and a doodled edging.  That is all from me for now. Have a wonderful week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Half-term smiles!

My smiles this week (as my entry to Annie's smiles) come from my little boy going off to stay in Castleton with my parents, all by himself.

He is so grown-up and was extremely happy.  They walked miles every day, exploring the countryside around

including Mam Tor,

Peveril castle,

watching the Garland ceremony and meeting the horses

polishing Blue John stone and exploring various caverns

and generally having a wonderful time.  It was strangely quiet here without him, and I missed saying Good night to him (there was no phone reception in their cottage).   I hope you enjoyed Alex's smiles and have a lovely weekend.
Love
Caro
x