Paper Obsession

Oooops... where did the last month go?

Yep, it's been a busy one. I thought I might be away from here for a week or so.. but a whole month?!! I'm afraid 'Learn Something New' fell by the wayside too.. and I SO intended to finish the book this time!

I'll try to explain - briefly - what I've been up to..

Thurs 23rd Sept - my second ever Stampin' Up! home workshop - I spent ALL DAY getting anxious, fretting about my Make & Take etc etc.. All pointless fretting! It was a great evening, the ladies who attended were all really lovely - they enjoyed the workshop, spent some money(!) and one of them booked on to my next card-making class.

Sat 25th Sept - Stampin' Up! Open House Event at Community Wise, Eastbourne - my lovely upline Pat came down from Bromley to help out. Another successful event - we did two Make & Takes, made plenty of great new contacts and had lots of interest in my card-making classes. Hard work but I was exhilerated that we did it!

 

Mon 27th Sept - Beach Belles card-making workshop - I wasn't expecting this to be easy.. and it wasn't! The Beach Belles are a club for retired ladies which meet up in a pub on Pevensey Bay every Monday afternoon. I was asked to prepare for 12 ladies but only seven of them could be persuaded to take part. The rest were disinterested to the point of rudeness..

Sat 2nd Oct - Hailsham crop - So glad I went to this! What fun to spend a day catching up with my lovely crop friends.. and getting a few LSNED pages done too.. and I even won the raffle (again!!).

Fri 8th Oct - Card-making class - we made two cards using the SU! Vintage Vogue stamp set. My Mum & Dad came to stay this weekend and we had a fabulously busy time - and some great sunny weather!

Sat 16th Oct - My first Saturday card-making class - and we made some special Christmas cards using the SU! Delightful Decorations stamp set.

Today and tomorrow - I've been helping the children at Harry's nursery school to make bookmarks this afternoon. What fun! I love seeing the kids just get down to sticking straight away - no agonising over what pieces to use or where to stick things - I could learn a lot from them.. But the best part was seeing their pleasure in showing their mums their feathery, sparkly, stickery creations - and the pride of their mums too!

(Top: Harry's; Bottom: Charlie's)

Oh and another thing on my To-Do List.. catch up with Google Reader, which is currently up to (excuse me while I go check..).. 678 unread items!!!! Oh help..

Thank you Sian - for your comment on my Seaside Stampers blog which prompted me to get back to blogging over here.. and expect a return visit some time soon!

 

Learn Something New - keeping it simple

Wednesday 15th September:

 

Vicky Bees Toddler Group resumed after the summer holidays (well, it actually started last week but we didn't realise and missed it). It was lovely to see the ladies who run the group - they are always so friendly and welcoming - and all the mums and kids again. Every week, the children have a little crafty project to do - and the boys' efforts always adorn our fridge. 

It's good to get back to a happy routine of activity after a particularly rainy August.

Thursday 16th September:

We met up with my friend Helen and her two boys at the Bumper Bookshop in Eastbourne - I'd wanted to go for ages and it didn't disappoint. A lovely children's book shop with a great cafe, vintage books to look at, along with hand-made gifts and knick-knacks.

They do occasional craft workshops for kids in the large basement, which I only noticed as the loo's were down there and I saw a big table and lots of chairs. I asked the lady about it, said I ran card-making classes and we chatted about the possibility of me offering a workshop for children in October half term. An interesting idea!

That's all for now.. bed time!

Sarah x

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

Three pages to share..

And here they are..

Thursday 9th September:

I tend to stay up way too late during the week - scrapping, card-making, blogging, reading blogs (am I alone in this..?). It's all very well if you manage to get to sleep promptly when you do get to bed.. but not so great if you then take hours to doze off. When Harry trotted in at 6.15am on Tuesday morning, I was awake.. and I thought to myself, 'I swear I have not actually been asleep yet!'

So after three nights of little-to-no sleep, by Thursday evening I felt pretty rotten.. and an early night was essential - particularly as I had my card-making class on the Friday morning..

Friday 10th September:

I explained this one in my previous post.. I thought I'd prepared well for my class, but hadn't accounted for the possibility of an extra student. I learnt a number of other things during the class:

• Ink pads will get contaminated
• Wood-mounted stamps will get inky
• Stamping mistakes will be made.. and hence more pre-cut pieces of Very Vanilla cardstock will be needed
• You will get through more foam pads than you thought possible
• Unless you put your sample cards in cellophane bags, they will also get inky (see above..)

Information all filed away for next time..

Saturday 11th September:

Well, what could be nicer than a bit of scrapbooking on a wet, miserable Saturday afternoon? While I was busy sticking buttons to Thursday's page, the boys decided to get in on the act.

At first they played really nicely with a handful of buttons each, making patterns on the table, counting, sorting.. then Harry decided to tip the whole jar on the table and drive his little truck through them. Before long, though, buttons were flying in all directions.. Absolutely everywhere! Impossible to be mad at the little scamps, the buttons did look so pretty scattered around the dining room, and they did help pick them all up again!

Right then.. you know what? I'm off to bed! Night night..

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!

A near miss.. and a direct hit

Harry's first day back at Nursery yesterday went pretty well, although apparently one of the teachers shushed him during circle time, which he was a little upset over. He was trying to tell everyone about our summer camping trip but I suspect it was someone else's turn to talk. Oh well, he'll learn!

In the afternoon, we met up with my friend Jo and her little girl Rosie in Eastbourne. After a nice cup of tea and a cake in the shoe/toy shop/cafe, we walked over to Gildredge Park. The playground was teeming with mums and kids enjoying the sunshine.. and the last shreds of summer. Charlie spent about 20 minutes on one of those stand-up roundabout things, gently turning round and round. Preoccupied with Harry, I left him to it.. big mistake - and one of my learning points for the day.

We were about to leave when Charlie wandered over to me. 'Aren't you feeling dizzy after all that spinning?' I asked. 'I don't feel very well,' he replied in a small voice. I crouched down to give him a hug, at which point he threw up over my shoulder. Bleargh!!! Thankfully Jo was on hand with a bottle of water and copious wipes, and was even so kind as to clean the mess out of my hair.. not a nice job as you can imagine!

Lesson learned... Don't let Charlie spin on roundabouts - unless there's a good friend on hand to deal with the consequences.

As if that wasn't enough, we returned to the car to find we'd notched up a parking bill of £4.40.. for two-and-a-bit hours - ouch! And I could have parked up the road for nothing. Another lesson learned... The Enterprise car park is a last resort.. park on the street next time!

On the way home, I don't think my mind was fully on the road ahead as I had a bit of a near-miss involving a reversing car and a bus. I'll spare you the details.. suffice to say I drove very carefully the rest of the way home.. and we arrived unscathed (stinking of sick, yes, but unharmed). Third lesson learned... When driving, ensure brain is fully engaged at all times.

And on to the page... I actually used Shimelle's 'Print & Cut Challenges' to help me decide how to tackle it.. and picked out 'Go with lots of labels!'

The labels were stamped with Stampin' Up! 'Frames With A Flourish'.

The letter stickers are Making Memories 'Tiny Alphas' and the letter stamps are by Studio G.

The felt leaf is SU!'s 'Stitched Felt - Sweet Pea'.

Thanks for your visit!

Sarah x

Equilibrium restored..?

The boys bounded in this morning at 6:45am after a blissful night's sleep. Lucky them.. I could have done with another hour myself..

At least it meant we were up and ready, with time to spare, for Harry's first day back to Nursery. He settled in brilliantly, busying himself with the toy cars and giving Charlie and me a cheery goodbye wave.

With just Charlie in the house this morning, the place is SO much more peaceful.. and I'm feeling more on an even keel than I did yesterday. I've photographed my work so far.. and here it is:

This is the inside front cover - it's a calendar for the first half of the month:

My title page explains what I hope to learn this month (although I fear it'll take a lot more than a month to learn some of these lessons..)

Maybe I should explain my frazzled thinking when I wrote this on 31st August..

• When Charlie starts his new school, I will need to drop him off at 8:40am, then somehow sprint to Nursery - with Harry in the buggy - to drop him off at 8:45am. It's about a ten minute walk.. uphill. Hence the need to be in two places at once.

• I think sometimes I let my heart rule my head.. and undervalue what I do.. and have made umpteen other little mistakes in my quest to make crafting a business as well as a hobby. A subject for another blog post, perhaps..

• I need to learn how to work SMART - I guess being out of the workplace for 4 and a half years means I'm a bit out of practice. I get flustered and stressed when I have lots to deal with all at once.. and I'd really like to get better at this.

• I really dislike cooking. I used to enjoy it when I was just cooking for myself and Gareth. But since having the boys, it's become a great big CHORE! I think their fussy tastes have really dented my confidence and enthusiasm in the kitchen. I need to try and get it back somehow!

• And finally.. I really admire my fellow bloggers who have regular blog features and who manage to write intriguing blog posts filled with crafty goodness. I aspire to be this organised!! Again, it's all down to time management..

Phew! Where did that come from?!!

On to my page for 1st September..

I'm not entirely pleased with it.. it's a bit of a mess to be honest, but perhaps that accurately reflects my headspace last night!

The stamps I used were from the Baroque Motifs stamp set by Stampin' Up! If you're interested in buying any SU! products, or finding out a little more about SU!, I'd be delighted to welcome you over at my other blog Seaside Stampers. As I mentioned previously, I'm offering FREE shipping on all orders within the UK for the month of September.

Right.. I'm off to enjoy some quality time with Charlie.

Have a lovely day!

Sarah x

Cupcakes and Crises

So... First of September.. A big day in so many ways (well at least two).. Did I learn something new? Indeed I did.. but photos of crafty efforts will have to wait til tomorrow.

Here is what I learned..

• Stampin' Up!'s Last Chance List was published today.. this long-awaited, much-speculated-about list (amongst the SU Demo community, if not the rest of the population) reveals all the stamp sets and other products from the current Idea Book & Catalogue that will be retiring at the end of September. 

• Sneak Previews of the brand-new Idea Book & Catalogue (released 1st October) revealed a MASSIVELY improved (IMHO), gorgeous book stuffed to the brim with delicious new products.. along with revamped, fresh Colour Collections. 

• I'm going to need a second mortgage to afford everything I want from said new Idea Book & Catalogue. Eeek.

• We appear to be having an Indian Summer.. hooray! Today was glorious.. unlike the vast majority of August. The boys played at camping in the garden, loading up the Cozy Coupe car with wheelbarrow (acting as roof-rack) and plying me for drinks and food for their trip. Cute!

• Baking cakes with the boys, while fun and undoubtedly A Great Experience for both them and me, can be extremely messy and frustrating. If I had a pound for every time I told Harry to get his fingers out of the bowl I'd be able to afford half my Wish List (see above..).

• And finally... I've been unaccountably out of sorts today. I think the pressures of September are weighing heavily on me. I have a really busy month ahead.. Harry starts back at Nursery tomorrow, Charlie starts Reception on 27th Sept (aaaaages away), I have a variety of card-making classes, workshops and events planned. It's all feeling a bit WAAAAHHHH!!!! Well, it's either all that or it's my hormones.. I might just be fine tomorrow.

Piccies of my opening pages coming tomorrow.. time for SLEEP!

Getting ready to Learn Something New

I've been beavering away at my mini-book for Learn Something New.. just four days to go! Rather than having to 'reinvent the wheel' each day, as I attempted last year, I decided to make things easier by binding the book and stick in papers on each page. Eeeek! I'm hoping I don't regret what I've done so far - but my challenge is going to be 'Don't Stress - Just Go With It!'

The papers are all from the Stampin' Up! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack.. so many gorgeous patterns!

I printed my dates on to white cardstock then punched each one out with a Stampin' Up! Oval punch. I also punched out a load of Scalloped Ovals in coordinating colours and stuck the first few dates to scalloped ovals (after inking the ovals first). I've done the first week's labels (you didn't think I'd have sat there and done all thirty did you..?).

Next job - gather up/make embellishments and journaling spots. Yummy! :o)