Picture heavy Thursday.....

Today i have spent most of the day cleaning, scrubbing, washing down paintwork, hoovering, fluffing cushions blah blah .....you get the picture! I also put a couple more finishing touches to the kitchen, curtains are now hung and so are a couple of the pieces i really love on the walls - dh even said how much he likes the produce reminder!! :)I am also finishing off some more bits to go in my blogshop, i worked on these bags over the last couple of days so will be putting those up (im still dithering as i dont need any more bags but i want to keep one - the hazards of making your own bags while having a bag addiction!) lol

Mitmot sent me these gorgeous goodies today from the Pay it forward post she did...........thank you hun they are gorgeous and the button heart already has a home.....

Painting and inking.........

Mini toot as my card for the Hero Arts distress challenge has been shown in the Basic Grey gallery :D I used their new porcelain papers and inked everything in sight! The birdcage is a Hero Arts wood mounted stamp and i stamped it 3 times onto acetate and cut it so that it looks like the front of the cage is open out of a window - hence the title Freedom :)I also worked on this little sweetie today - i love it! Painted a blank box frame and punched out some hearts from decorative My Minds Eye papers. The rub on is a Rhonna Farrer one from those little tins (which i have had eons so may have to splurge and get some more as im running low!) It now sits on top of my bookcase and i keep looking at it thinking should i make more and list them in my blogshop? Will anyone want one? What if i do some with flowers and hearts and oooh the list is endless..................i think i just talked myself into getting knee deep in paint and punches.........see you soon!! :D :D

Playing catchup again!

I think the boys are all cuddled out - Ethan is loving the fact Jake is home from school, Jake is loving the fact he is OFF school and the pair of them are playing together no problem :) We have drawn, cut and coloured pictures, we have built lego houses/guns/robots, we have had picnics on the floor (they want to eat but dont want to iykwim) - all fun until one starts to look a little off colour and has to go lie down for a nap.........its like having teeny babies again when theyre both dozing during the day! *awww* (dont worry my broody chip was taken out a while ago!!) LOL

Well, i thought i would share some pics of the kitchen in progress. I still have pics to go up on the 2 walls i havent shown and some finishing touches etc but i love the pale blue walls and red accents. I have some white curtains with red cherries on to go up too and some more 50s style pics for the walls, the chairs are going to be painted and i will make new cushions with the mass of fabrics i have here..........im thinking quite plain as the dots on the table are OTT! LOL I have to have somewhere to store all my cardmaking/scrapbooking/art/sewing etc so that its on hand if i have any orders or design team projects etc. This unit replaces the dresser which was moved into the living room (it use to be housed in Bens room so he is happy he now has more space).
I love the mugs hanging under the unit - they were £1.99 from TKMaxx and the tea coffee and sugar cannisters were £2.99 each (again TKMaxx), inside the middle mug it says Kindness which i thought was sweet :) I found these plates in BHS reduced from £3 each to 71p!! :DI am popping a link in the sidebar to my blogshop which will be filled soon with handmade goodies and trinkets ive found while bargain hunting :)

Measles and chicken pox!

After a trip to A&E this morning it seems what with moving around and switching doctors etc Ethan missed his MMR booster! EEK! He has measles!! At least hes happier than he looked yesterday! So what with Jake and chickenpox and now Ethan diagnosed we are well and truly marking the front door with a do not enter sign!!

Oh the joys!! Everyone else is fine and Me..........i just want some sleep! LOL

'Do over' goodies.........

Im sure thats a real phrase isnt it?? You know the kind of stuff you buy to specifically 'do over'.........well i went to the charity shops and came out with some real little gems!! The painting were 50p each and are originals - they even have the artists address and phone number hand written on the back!! LOL Im going to paint all the frames cream and work on a wall of paintings for the wall towards the back door - its in a little passage way so it will be like a little art gallery! :)

Also bought these fab egg cups and holder which will be getting the shabby make over too!On a personal note - Jake has chicken pox! Only a few spots right now and we just discovered them tonight but im sure there are more to come! LOL

Mini pizza gift box :)

ok this is so simple if you have the Ultimate Pro from Crafters companion - follow the numbers of score marks and you will have this made in seconds!! :D Quick tutorial for those who have the Ultimate :)

Working with your A4 card placed against the handle score lines 1, 2 and 3 as shown in the below picture...
Turn the card 180 degrees and score line 4....
Move card along and score line 5.....
Turn card 90 degrees and score on the two closest lines to the handle......turn 180 degrees and score again so the opposite sides match.
Starting at the end where you only have 1 line scored, cut as shown below to make the lid.
The rest of the box is cut to create the sides and reinforcement pieces.
Turn over and attach double sided tape to the 2 inner small side reinforcements and along the 3 most outer scored sections.
The very bottom flap can be folded straight over.
The side reinforcements are folded in and the sides then folded up and over.
This is how it should look once fully assembled.
Decorate and use as you wish - i cut a acetate window into the top of mine and made little divider sections for inside....popped in 4 little mini cakes, fastened with ribbon and made a little gift tag :)

Finishing touches...

We added the finishing touches to the living room today. Before we moved in i decorated it in warm browns and creams to make it cosy enough for us to settle into.........since that has been and gone it was time to put our stamp on our home :) Knowing what im like for bargain hunting you will know that most of it is either carboot sale finds or sale/discounted items. I still need more pictures for the walls but that will all come in time - give me a chance, the bootsales have only just started ;) The walls are a pale apple mist colour, the accents of pink are picked up around the room in the cushions etc. The room isnt that big so it still needs to be cosy yet not cluttered so its a hard balance. Excuse the fire, it will be changed eventually!! lol

Mum is coming for a couple of days tomorrow and shes bringing the boys back home - the eldest 2 have been there 2 weeks for the Easter holidays! Cant wait to have all the family back together for a proper Sunday dinner tomorrow :D :D

A Smashing Time....

or crash, bang, wallop!!

The shelf on my dresser gave way last night resulting in a smashed jug, 3 smashed cups and saucers, the pink plate i got at the carboot sale the other day and my gorgeous tea pot - thankfully i hadnt finished filling the dresser with all the bits i have!! Im just pleased no one was seriously hurt (Jake was caught by flying debris and got a teeny cut on his ear - and boy did it bleed!) - it could have been so different which is scary!

Spirit of Giving....

I am a firm believer in Paying it Forward so was delighted when i came across a couple of blogs with the same sentiment. I am following on from Mitmot and im now paying it forward here. The first three people to leave a comment will receive a hand made gift from me! Please make sure I have a way of contacting you - email me your address ---------->

The only thing you have to do is participate and carry on the gift giving to three more people...as soon as you have left a comment do a "pay it forward post" on your blog and continue the giving.

On another similar note please join in with this amazing site - The Toy Society - i am making some goodies ready to deposit around the UK. I love the idea of stumbling across a handmade toy that someone has taken the time to make and put out there. Its not about hearing back if its been claimed, thats a bonus, its about bringing a simple smile to someones day. Go for it - join up too :)

Finished canvases and oops!

I fell over yesterday! Yep....smack straight into a wall headfirst!! I was stepping over one of my wicker baskets and my foot got caught, well, that was it.....i couldnt save myself and ended up taking a chunk out of my finger, pulling something in my leg and scratching and bruising myself. I can laugh now but at the time i told dh to leave me where i was (lying on the kitchen floor) because i knew if he made a fuss i would have cried it hurt so much!

I sat this morning and with a little help from the boys (they love punching out shapes) i made 2 canvases for the living room :) One has 121 butterflies and the other has 49 hearts! A LOT of sticking and measuring! lol

I dont know whats wrong with the colour setting as the walls area lovely pale mint green and the hearts/butterflies are all pastel colours - the darkest colour is chocolate brown!! LOL

First carboot of 09!!

Went to my first carboot sale of 09 today...took the 2 boys and they were so well behaved it was lovely, i was so proud of them, they wouldnt leave my side and when they spotted anything remotely my style they steered me towards it saying 'do you like that' :) I have them well trained! LOL

The lampshade, picture frame and mirror were all together and i asked how much for the shade - she said she wouldnt split them but if i wanted i could have them all for £1!! EEK!! I almost took her arm off - so did Jake!! LOL

The large pink plate was £1, the tea set was £3.50 and the Laura Ashley Wallpaper was £1 a roll!! :) I managed to get a couple of blank canvases, a gorgeous mint and cream spotty floaty summer dress (£2.50) and some little trinket bits too and came back with some lovely things for next to nothing! Im so happy and looking forward to the next one - especially since my niece should be over Chickenpox and well enough to go next time with me and sis :)

PTI background and roll on tomorrow!!

Here is a background that i created with one from the Papertrey Ink Spiral Bouquet stamp set, raspberry fizz cardstock and ink and the sentiment from the new Wishing You set of stamps. The ribbon is Stampin Up Certainly Celery and the gems are from 3djeanRoll on tomorrow as its the first carboot sale of the season that i will have been to - fingers crossed for no rain and im on the hunt for some very specific bargains so will show pics if i find them! ;)

Good Friday :)

Ive spent the last two days making 'stuff' with my sister so im on a creative high right now! lol I have so much stuff littered around the house that im running out of space unless i start to get rid of some bits....hence im going to start looking for craft fairs and ask in a couple of shops if they sell cards - the worst they can only say no :)

I made another one of the folding book sets but this time instead of cards and envelopes, i included Sakura pens and a set of note cards :) As of last night i am teaching a class next Saturday on how to make these and other boxes but will post a quick tutorial for something similar after that - sorry to do it that way but the class has been requested.Here is an example of why i need to practice my colouring in!! I love it when i blog hop and come across the most wonderfully coloured images.........sit down, try it myself and i just cant grasp the whole colour/shading/texture thing. ARGH! Sit me down with some blank paper and i will create something but stick an image in front of me and i cringe.........what pens/pencils/chalks/inks do you use??

Have a lovely Easter weekend :)
Debbie
x

Quick Pics...

Im so busy right now preparing for a demo on Saturday (Stampin' Up!), making more templates, teaching classes.....plus i have my sister staying here with her little girl :)

I have 2 makes to show and im working on the tutorials now so will post them in the next day or so :) I love this little book, how adorable is this! It really does look like a mini album until you open it up and see whats inside.......how sweet is this for a present! The outer frame is just one sheet of A4 card so you need to make yourself the little mini cards and envelopes - so sweet and quite quick to do.I made a set of cards to go inside and stamped all the different sayings from the Papertrey Ink Wishing You April release set of stamps.........they are so versatile and i think just took over from the Heart Prints as my favourite set!The Hero Arts challenge this week is to stamp on something other than card......naturally what sprang to mind was a tray!? OK so it was sis's idea to stamp on the tray - thanks Kelly :D Im really pleased with how it turned out and cant wait to use it for breakfast in bed one morning (ok minus the mini eggs of course!) ;)