Paper Obsession

How a bit of ribbon made me happy

Guess what.. I completed a project! Not one of the ones that has a pressing deadline attached, that would be sensible! But I'm pleased with myself anyway (and really will try to get organised with other projects this weekend).

So you remember that gorgeous gingham East of India ribbon from Wednesday's post? Well I got very sticky fingers this morning and trimmed the bedside lamps with it. I think it's a marked improvement on boring beige (as long as the ribbon stays attached.. time will tell).

A 'before' picture would have been good - but the light was terrible this morning - dingy yuck. So here's the finished article (and this is my Project 365 photo for Friday 7th Jan):

{The glue was still a bit wet on the top ribbon.. it doesn't show through now!}

 
{The bedspread was my absolute fave Christmas pressie from my Mum & Dad - I love it!! It was from Dunelm Mill.}

Next project: a bunting for the boys' room! I've bought the fabric and the twill tape to go on top of each flag (both from eBay) but I fear that's as far as I'll get until my sewing machine is fixed. Here's the fabric anyway (yes.. I appear to have a gingham obsession at the moment):

And finally.. Project 365:

Thursday 6th Jan: Charlie with his work in progress - a paint-your-own-crocodile set we've had for ages (thank you Sharon & Oli!) and have finally put to use.

Here's his finished work:

 
I LOVE IT! He took such care with the colouring (then got a bit bored of the blue).

But wait til you see this... Harry's interpretation of a lion:

It started off well.. orange as it was supposed to be.. then Harry decided it needed a touch of blue.. after all blue is his favourite colour.. and then just a dab more. Harry could never get bored of blue. Fabulous?!!! I LOVE IT just as much as Charlie's!

Happy New Year!

I hope Christmas was lovely for you and that 2011 has had a promising start. I'm just so glad to see the return of bright blue skies after such a GREY Christmas! Always feel so much more optimistic under blue skies.

Haven't quite managed to tie down and commit to paper all my thoughts, goals, aspirations etc for the New Year.. but one thing I decided today was to try and take part in the 365 Project. A photo a day.. how hard can that be to keep up? LOL... we'll see, shall we?!

OK.. so here's my favourite photo from yesterday, Saturday 1st January 2011:

The boys had found a crab shell amongst the seaweed on the beach. Harry was just pulling off one of its eye-stalks to show Charlie... *sigh* boys will be boys.. Love the concentration on their faces.. wish I'd got down lower to take the photo.

And this from today, Sunday 2nd January:

Harry at Gildredge Park this morning... he's still such a little munchkin... I adore his blue eyes (and envy his long eyelashes!).. I really must scrapbook this photo.

Oooh and here's a bit of news! If you happen to see Creativity magazine this month (you know, the Do-Crafts one), check out page 111... my scrapbook club is featured.. woohoo!

Right.. time for bed.. the dining table is barely visible under all my JYC scrapbooking mess but I think it'll keep til the morning. I hope I might even be able to share a few pages tomorrow!

Let it snow...

Yes.. we have snow! Here in Eastbourne!!

It started yesterday morning, just as I was beginning to explain the workings of my Christmas Planner project to the ladies at Scrapbook Club. We carried on regardless, while I kept a wary eye on the state of the road and gave updates on how it was settling.

Here they are, hard at work..

[If you'd like to see what we made, do pop on over to my Seaside Stampers blog for all the details!]

Thankfully, they all finished the project and the snow stopped long enough to enable them to get home again afterwards.

In the afternoon it was play time..

 

We've had some more snow this morning so there'll be more fun and games in the white stuff later, no doubt.

Have fun!

Learning Something New.. but Struggling to Keep Up!

It was all going so well.. then, inevitably, a few days' worth of LSNED fell by the wayside. It's been a busy week.. But hey, no stress!

So here are the next three pages I have completed..

Sunday 12th September:

Last Sunday was a glorious early Autumn day.. warm in the sunshine, surprisingly nippy in the shade.. so we were out in the garden looking for seed pods, slow-worms and anything else of interest to small boys. Breaking open a huge dried-out poppy seed-head, we were intrigued to discover a woodlouse inside.. and then several tiny woodlouse babies! Charlie was so fascinated by this discovery he proceeded to demolish every seed head just to see what was living inside (more woodlice families in most of them).

Meanwhile, Harry looked on, apparently deep in thought..

Monday 13th September:

At the age of four, Charlie has a vivid imagination.. but I hadn't realise he could do maths! On Monday he had tied together my two washing baskets and was pretending they were the Dotto road train. He had six teddies inside and was taking them for a ride to the beach. At the 'beach', all the teddies wanted an ice-cream. So I was the ice-cream man and starting squirting pretend Mr Whippy into the cornets. When I'd handed Charlie three invisible ice-creams, I asked him 'OK Charlie, you have three ice-creams and six teddies.. so how many more do you need?' Without missing a beat, he replied 'Three'. 

Impressed, I told him the ice-creams were £1 each.. so how much did he owe me? 'Six pounds', he said. Does this mean he's going to be a mathematical genius..? Ok, probably not, but I was so proud of him!

Tuesday 14th September:

I'll spare you the full view of Harry in his underpants.. and the one of him 'in action'! Although initially very reluctant to ditch the nappies for proper pants, he actually did really well, getting through the day with no accidents! He had another excellent day on the 15th, prompting me to think 'Well, that was easy!'..

The toilet training 'honeymoon' lasted til Thursday afternoon, when he seemed to forget all about the pants/toilet thing.  But Friday was worse - he had a full-on 'accident' at the cafe in Gildredge Park - Not pleasant! Yes.. the toilet training is going to take time.. and more perseverence than I first thought.

Next week is going to be busy.  Charlie starts school on Monday, and I have parents' workshops to attend all week. I have a Stampin' Up! party booked for Thursday evening and an Open House event on Saturday.. followed by a presentation/Make & Take session for the Beach Belles ladies club in Pevensey on the Monday afternoon. EEEEEEK!!!! So much to do.. and I'm beginning to panic!

Wish me luck.. :o)

Sarah x

Catching up on some learning

Where has this week gone?!

I keep thinking of things I really want to share here.. but just haven't found the time to sit and write. So now I'm all caught up (momentarily, anyway), I'll try to keep it succinct!

Sunday 5th September

A thought struck me while in the kitchen today.. 'I'm SO much happier when Gareth is home!'

I realised how hard things could be sometimes with Gareth working away Monday to Thursday. How everyday life just got on top of me at times.. especially after several nights of not-enough-sleep. It was just really good to have him around.. for cuddles, for laughs, for the adult conversation.. and of course for the boys to have their Daddy.

By the way, this is the FIRST time I have used bunting on a project.. expect to see more of it on future pages! (Yes I know.. I do catch on to trends a bit late in the day!)

Monday 6th September

One of my hopes for Learn Something New this year was that I would try to enjoy cooking a bit more. And I have been making an effort! I've invented a dish involving cod fillets, assorted vegetables and olives in a rich pasta sauce (the Loyd Grossman ones are a favourite).. oven-baked with cheese on top. I've done it twice now and it's delicious!

Actually, that's an aside.. my page today celebrates an Apple & Raisin Crumble which was also pretty fab.

I want to add a few bits to this page.. it needs some apple stickers or something!

Tuesday 7th September

The boys and I enjoyed a 'crafty afternoon' together on the dining table. While I scrapbooked, Charlie and Harry drew round their hands and coated them with glitter. Harry, exhausted after his morning in Nursery, got very frustrated with his efforts and took a nap on the floor by the cat-flap. Poppy looked most unnerved as she came through to find a sleeping Harry in her way.

These photos go in the little envelope.. there's journaling on the back of each one.

Wednesday 8th September

Reading The Copy + Paste Project blog this evening, I learnt about a neat photography trick called 'Tilt-Shift', which makes landscapes look as if they are miniature models.. and just HAD TO have a play immediately (thanks Kirsty!)!

Also on The Copy + Paste Project was a post by Julie about using song lyrics in your projects. That instantly brought to mind one of my favourite albums, Dead Calm by Morcheeba, which I've been playing a lot lately.

So I took this photo...

...let the Tilt-Shift-Maker do its thing, added some poignant lyrics, and ended up with this...

And here's my page:

Well, I think that's enough for now.. except to say all the papers are from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack by Stampin' Up.. and are only available til the end of September. If you'd like them, pop over to Seaside Stampers for all the info.

Thanks for popping by,

Sarah x

Those life lessons keep coming..

I had a bit of catching up to do, but now I have a couple of pages to share from my Learn Something New book..

So here's Friday's page:

Along with the hidden journaling card:

We are currently remodelling our kitchen - on a minuscule budget! Rather than hauling out and replacing all the units, as we originally planned, we are simply moving things around and adding home-made base units and recycled worktops to fill in the gaps. I rather like the original wall cupboards - they are REAL wood, painted an antique cream (or is it decades-old white.. we're not sure), and they go right up to the ceiling. It would have been so sad to replace them with 'foiled laminate' wall units with no character whatsoever!

And here's yesterday's page, documenting our afternoon trip to the beach:

It was SUCH fun playing on the seashore with the boys splashing around, drawing faces in the sand, collecting seaweed and generally getting wet.

Memories of that lovely afternoon prompted me to muse about how much happier I am when Gareth's home on the weekends. We get to do things together as a family. And that is my lesson for today.. page to follow!

Here's where I'm at...

As you may know, it's been almost three months since I took the plunge and became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. It's been quite a steep learning curve.. And yet, in these last few months I do feel I've begun to achieve something.

On Friday 11th June I held my first monthly card-making class at Community Wise, Eastbourne, for the benefit of just two ladies. I fretted all week in the run-up to that class - but I got through it.. and my ladies enjoyed some creative me-time while producing two pretty hand-stamped cards. 

The following week I gave a stamping workshop to a group of ladies who attend a monthly scrapbooking club in Hailsham. I was a little petrified at first - but my hostess and the other ladies were so chilled out and friendly, the evening was great fun.. and also a success in terms of orders!

I held my second monthly card-making class on Friday 9th July - this time at home. It was attended by three ladies this time - well that's a 50% increase on June's numbers! It was the right decision to hold the classes at home - I felt so much more relaxed, and I hope my guests did too. The ladies each made two stunning cards and had lots of fun in the process. :o)

Meanwhile, September is shaping up to be a pretty hectic month. I'll be doing another card-making class, giving another stamping workshop and also holding an Open House event.

To add to the general chaos, Charlie starts school in Reception class and Harry will be doing five sessions a week at Nursery. The logistical challenge involved in getting each child into his respective school within a ten-minute window - all before 9am - is going to be taxing to say the least! (And that's assuming they will both go happily into class without tears or fuss.. eeek!)

{Charlie getting to grips with box-making.. a natural talent!}

I'll be back tomorrow with news of a scrapping blog-hop, a fantastic SU! promotion... and maybe even a big stash giveaway?!!

Fancy a quick nose round my other blog..? Pop over to Seaside Stampers to see a few more of my SU! creations.. I'd be delighted to see you over there!

Thanks for reading..

Sarah xx

Flying the flag...

 

On the way back from our toddler group this morning, I was explaining to Charlie all about the World Cup and how England needed to win this afternoon.. and I suggested he and Harry might like to make England flags to wave during the game.

Shortly after arriving home, Charlie found a drinking straw in the garden and disappeared into the house for a few minutes. He then emerged, proudly waving his new flag - a piece of a plastic subject divider with a red cross drawn in red Biro, sellotaped to the straw. Genius! He then very kindly made one for Harry so they could both wave them during the game..

COME ON ENGLAND!!!!

Easter bunnies, a new baby card and crazy blog ideas

Our Easter day started with clouds and rain.. but as soon as the sun appeared I was in the garden surreptitously scattering little chocolate eggs amongst the flower-pots and in the borders. When all was set, out we went, the boys clutching their little Easter baskets, to see if the Easter bunnies had been.

Unfortunately, my scattering of choccie treats in the flower borders was not such a smart idea.. while retrieving an egg nestled in a clump of bluebells, Harry managed to trample heavily on a couple of newly-emerged Allium plants. Oh well... they'll be fine next year, when we're gone from this house!

(That yucky-looking brown thing is a wet leaf, not a slug.)

The boys were delighted with their spoils - six eggs for Charlie and five for Harry - and they have got through the day eating just three each. We didn't buy them any other Easter eggs and they didn't expect any more. Oh, how I wish it would stay that way!

We had a delicious Easter lunch - steak for Gareth and Charlie, Quorn escalopes for Harry and me - complete with roast potatoes, parsnips, broccoli, garlic mushrooms and mini corn-on-the-cobs. Yes, a slightly bizarre combination but it tasted good!

On a crafty note, here's a card I made yesterday for our friends, James and Kate, to celebrate the birth of their baby, Samuel:

The papers are from the 'Ducks in a Row' range by October Afternoon and the alpha stickers are Basic Grey's 'June Bug' letters.

It's so exciting to see that Shimelle has extended the 'Something From Almost Nothing' class with challenges continuing through April. It's been such fun seeing the amazing pages everyone has come up with - so many fresh new ideas to try.

I'm still thinking about the possibility of starting up a new challenge blog, based around finding new ways to use up old stash. I know there are already lots of challenge blogs out there, so I'm going to have to convince myself the crafting world needs another one before I plunge in there. A couple of virtually sleep-free nights have given me plenty of ideas.. this would not be just a challenge blog, I'd like to make it a bit more than that! Once I've turned these ideas into a coherent plan, I'll let you know what I'm thinking.. and then you can give me your honest opinion!

Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your Easter weekend.. hope the sun shines where you are! :o)

Carry on stash-busting!

Every night, Gareth and I lie down beside Harry and Charlie, holding their hands while the baby monitor plays five minutes of lullabies to send them peacefully to the Land of Nod. I must confess I love this part of the day.. I often find myself planning my next layout, or dreaming about ideas for starting a crafty business.. it's a productive time!

Tonight I found myself thinking about how Shimelle's class 'Something From Almost Nothing' is drawing to a close, and how lovely it would be to continue with the inspiration and the challenges to get using those old bits of stash.

I'd like to share some of my ideas and see what you think...

• The simplest idea would be to open a challenge thread on Shimelle's forum for members to post challenges - say once a month - and perhaps attach an example layout for inspiration. I loved how Shimelle found links to some incredible layouts on Two Peas In A Bucket for the buttons prompt. Maybe we could do that too, for extra inspiration!

• Another idea might be to start a new challenge blog, initially for SFAN participants and promoted through the SFAN forum, but there'd be no reason why others could then join in. Of course, the blog would promote Shimelle's class - her materials, free printables and video tutorials are absolutely top-notch and I'd recommend her class to anyone!!

• A different idea I had, but still related, would be to start a stash-swap challenge! Participants could put together a small kit of old stash, maybe based around a theme - say, several scraps of patterned paper, some brads, eyelets, stickers.. you get the picture! - and then swap them with someone else in the group. The challenge would be to create a layout or other project with whatever you've been given and post your project to the blog or forum.

I have a couple of other ideas swirling around in my head too, but I'll leave it at these three for now.. don't want to overwhelm you!

Any thoughts? Would you be interested in participating in any of the above, or have you had any other ideas? I look forward to hearing from you!