Monday 2 November 2009

It's wats on the inside that counts .......



ok, so this isn't me under the mask, but it does help get across a certain message.

This is No.2 son at the Hallowe'en party on Saturday night. You wouldn't think to look at him here but he is the sweetest, kindest boy ever, always ready and willing to lend a hand. He also has this knack of giving company to those who might otherwise sit on their own all night. I love him to bits.

Applying this book/cover thing to me, Im not pretty, im overweight, Im no fashion icon, dont have money to throw about and dont own the latest must have accessorie BUT my family love me and that's all that truly matters. I do feel we live in an extremely materialistic society and culture that puts more importance on how people look and what they have rather than how people feel and act. I think I have done a good job in instilling good old fashioned values into my boys :)

When I last wrote, my creativity had gone, that is still the case so, rather than sit and do nothing I have been busy making inserts for my yet to be masterpieces. See, the inside counts .... see where im going with this! I love cards, pretty colourful ones but I do tend to pick shop bought cards according the verse inside. It is a very important element. A lot of people have expressed this as important to them too so I have taken the time to find some nice verses and had them printed up. All I need now are the cards to put them in lol.

Perhaps some blog hopping will help .............

Sunday 25 October 2009

What's Up Doc?




No2 son is a Dr Who fanactic! When in Blackpool we visited the Dr Who exhibition which was brilliant ..... this was his purchase. A 1000 piece jigsaw. Doesn't it look well, I did help him just a little. He did really well to stick at it to get it completed ..... short pepole and short concentration spans and all that!


Now, i'm going to try again to add a pic to the middle of my blog, i've seen it on many other posts so I know it can be done!






Ok, so it's not great and I imagine I did take the long way around to do this but at least the picture is there. I will practice to try get it to look more balanced with the rest of the blog. This is fanatical son No2 in side a Dalek, he had a ball in there :)
You know, I haven't made a card now in almost 3 weeks. I did miss it but now, i'm getting to the stage where my inspiration has totally left me. I don't find myself thinking of layouts and colour combos. I have no inclination to retreat to my haven for a couple of hours of crafting therapy. I should be getting stuck into it big style what with Christmas only weeks away. Not much time to get all my cards etc sorted. Any ideas of quick 'n' easy fab looking cards would be much appreciated lol. Just to get me going again like.
Now, enough posting for the minute. I'm off to take it easy for the rest of my weekend, cuppa tea n a muffin has my name on it ....... bliss xx




Sunny Blackpool!



Yes, it was sunny, can you believe it? The weather arrived just for us and made our weekend even more enjoyable.


We made it to the top (well almost the top) of the tower and did the 'Walk of Faith'. This was about 10am and I couldn't believe the number of people that were out and about. We even had to queue for about 30 mins to get the top. I suppose it was 'cos the illuminations were on too.

Foto is later on in the day, prob about nearing 5pm, 2 very tired boys. They weren't really that grumpy, honest, they were play acting lol, didn't like being behind bars!!



Have to say I wasn't impressed at all by the lights! Wasn't worth taking a trip just for that. Lucky for us, we were visting and staying with some family there so there was plenty of craic :) At least I can say, and the boys can say, they've seen them. We did have a very enjoyable trip with lots of new experiences.



Oh I feel a song and line dance coming one ......... Penny Arcade lol, off we go, yeeehaaa xx

Saturday 24 October 2009

The Slug and the Lettuce

Oh, I have been such a bad blogger, such a neglectful blogger, please forgive me, it has been over 2 weeks since my last blog lol.


I do have an excuse .... i mean, a very valid explanation :) I have been otherwise engaged ..... and if you had read my previous entry you would have known why ..... ok, i'll wait while you go check!!



Oh, go on then. I was in Blackpool for a weekend with my boys ...... proof?! Here u go .... now, i've tried to add a foto just to show u, but I haven't be able to figure out how to get it in the middle of the post!!! so i'll just have to add another post.

Lol, no posts for a while, now u's willl be sick of me.

The next weekend I was in Newcastle with my girlie friends. Hence the picture, The Sage Hall, also affectionately known by locals as the Slug!! Can you understand why. I have to tell how daft we girls are tho. We had brunch in a restaurant just across the river from this amazing structure. Because of the location we thought thats how it (the restaurant) got its name. How were we supposed to know that The Slug and the Lettuce was a chain of eateries!! They sure don't have any in Norn Iron. Anyway, a nice wee lad (from East Belfast (over at Uni) I might add ... woo hoo) who worked there explained it to us. Moral of the story .... don't give 4 Irish women wine with their breakfast ...... can u guess how the rest of the trip panned out??

Doesn't the slug make a brilliant picture!! Back soon with some more ....... xx






Wednesday 30 September 2009

It's a date ......

I went to my friend Karen's house last week for a SU! workshop. It was a great nites craic and we made two beautiful cards. My Mum who has never 'stamped' before was all in and I think we just may have converted her!!

Karen had made a few wee mini calendars so I had to give them a try too. Didn't turn out half bad! This is intened to be a Christmas gift for my youngests teacher and will also make some for Sunday school leaders etc. The other is bookmark just to put in with it.

My world is far from exciting at the minute, not a lot going on. October is however a month for me to look forward too. Starts 2moro!! Off to the city (Belfast) for a meal and a show with my line-dance pals, Dreamboats and Petticoats, t'is a lovely name for a show but I don't really know what its all about. I'm sure we will manage to have a good time anyway. Next on the agenda is a weekend to Blackpool to see the illuminations. Imagine, i've been there on and off over the last 20 odd years to stay with friends but have never seem the lights, crazy but true. Wont be able to say that in a few weeks time. The weekend after that is a girlie weekend to Newcastle (no, not Co.Down, a lil further afield!) Thats going to be a tough one, 3 full days of shopping and partying. These are the friends I went to Spain with earlier this year and bedtime was never any earlier than 6am!! I will need a week to recover from that one I think! My final event in October is another trip to the city to see Ludovico Einaudi, one of the most fantastical musicians on the planet, really looking forward to hearing his new compositions.

Today, I have taken a well desreved day off from work, have all my jobs done and dinner prepared. Im off to my 'wee room' for a couple of hours before the boys come home and we need to get stuck into homework. Dunno yet what im going to do up there but im sure i'll find something.

See ya .....

Sunday 20 September 2009

Late summer sneezes


I did mention in my last post that something was coming. Little did I know it was going to knock me right off my feet :( Have been feel rather ill the past couple of days but am beginning once again to feel normal. I had planned for this weekend to be somewhat of a cardmaking marathon following the acquisition of my new SU supplies but having spent yesterday curled up on the sofa with a duvet and hot water bottle I have made only one card! Even tho it is not completely an SU creation it is cute and I plan to make a few more.

I love the Ski Slope designer paper and would even dare to say that out of the sets I have, it is my fav! Im going to have so much fun with it. I am also pleased with my attempt at the knot with the ribbon. I watched the tutorial on Monica's blog, mine is nowhere near as neat as hers is but maybe someday it will be.

Just a point, I really should link back to Monicas blog but I don't know how too, I wonder is there a tutorial somewhere to show me how ......

I also see from looking at other blogs (which I do quite a lot!) that everyones logs what they have used to make their cards. I can't do that either as i'm still using up old supplies and don't have the foggiest idea of where they came from. I really should get into the habit of noting the items of which I do know the origin, but not today lol

My baby is 10 today so we (13 of us) are off to the local Italian for some yummy birthday treats.

Back soon ........

Friday 18 September 2009

It's coming ........



......... im dont know yet what exactly ...... but something is sure .....

Watch this space ..... hmmmmm, maybe not, it could be a while .... maybe best just check back in a few days time!

K, the paper on the post it thingy was a just sheet I got free with a magazine along the way somewhere. It is quite pretty but I have to say I do like my SU papers much more. Looking forward to seeing you next week so you can teach me how to use then properly, lol :) x

Thursday 17 September 2009

Ten



Now then, now then, now then, wat have we here.

I was actually quite chuffed with this 1st attempt at making the post it note organiser thingy (im not quite sure of the techical name!) It's perhaps not as neat as I would like but practice, practice, practice AND guess wat ....... I now have some nice new Stampin' Up paper to play with so my next attempt is going to be OHHHH so pretty :)

I have aso been practising my photographic skills ....... ok, so it's still not great but much better than the last few ...... don't you think?

I've been thinking about this blogging you know. I do think I should make an effort with the titles of the posts. So, now that you all know I'm a clever wee lass and can count to 10 I think I will stop and be a grown up, watch out for some of those 'obtuse' statements I mentioned before ^_^

Not really much else going on in my wee lil world at the min. Kids are back to school and clubs have started again so it's a case of organising and snatching a lil bit of time here and there to satisfy my crafting urges! Having to fit work into the equation is a royal PITA too. Work for me is .... well.... its just work .... and it gets in the way. Ah well, the weekend is fast approaching and with already having a headstart on my chores I plan to have a little "me time" No caravaning in the country this weekend so I will have all my bits and pieces to hand.

Have to say .... "Thank-you K, for all my goodies" :) x

Til next time .......

Friday 11 September 2009

Nine


hmmmm ........ i'm feeling a wee lil bit peckish but I dunno what for!!! I need a nice new recipe ....... ok, so imagine the ingredients, certainly celery, creamy caramel, old olive, chocolate chip, only orange, more mustard, pale plum, barely banana, pumpkin pie, always artichoke, apricot appeal ......oooooo the possibilities. Add in my most fav film ever and it can only be ..... Truly Scrumptious ...... yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm x

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Eight


Don't the guys look hot, hOT, HOT!! Went to their gig in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast last night. Let me tell you, even tho we weren't home til gone midnight it was well worth the trip. They looked and sounded fab. It was a small gig, about 3000 or so but there was plenty of noise nonetheless. I would def go see them again. Oh, for those of you who don't know who they are ..... they are .... 'The Script' :)
Since my last visit here I have thankfully been given a jolt of creativity .... oh happy days! I have been busy beavering away making a European mountain of Christmas cards, ok,ok so maybe its more of a molehill. I am extremely proud of this seeing as my last post was full of frustration!! I have made all these cards with my existing resources ..... how good is that?? i still have plenty more where they came from too so over the next weeks I hope to have all my Christmas stuff complete and I can settle into other things. By that stage I hope to have my new Stampin,' Up products that I will be ordering, soon, from Karen.
So I have said that im using all my existing items. Well, thats not 'strictly' true. I have placed an order with Craft Creations for a job lot of assorted cards, I want to practice my Iris folding and I needed some aperture cards. I just HAD to order them ..... honest. Don't you just love getting parcels? Hopefully mine will arrive tomorrow and I can have a good poke through it before the weekend.
I was going to upload some photos of my Christmas creations but u'll never guess what!?! My photographic skills have come under some criticism ..... yes, I know, I could hardly believe it either.!! A friend has told me that my pictures on here are .... well..... not very good! Oh the shock lol. Haha, actually I do know they kind of suck. The few that I have uploaded are all shiny and the lighting is awful. I just can't get it right ...... you don't want me to tell you how many takes it took! Must practice, along with everything else.
Think I need to spend a lil time getting to know my camera .....

Saturday 29 August 2009

Seven


Warning! Warning! Warning! No-one should impulse buy craft items! But i'm sure none of you do that ...... rite!!!??
I am beginning to think that all craft supplies should have a risk assessment and be sold carrying a health warning.
By now you all know I have a newly organised workspace. I was so excited about getting stuck into making lots and lots and lots of cards. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh!! Frustration is an understatement. I had a little time to myself during the week and took myself off with a cuppa tea to make a few bits. My mind went blank! Ideas popped in and out of my head so quick I couldnt't make any sense of them. I had paper here, card there, stamps, punches, ribbon, embellishments ..... but I couldn't get anything to gel together. Everything was gorgeous and pretty in its own right but nothing seemed to match anything else. All the patterns and tones clashed or were just a shade off.
I was disheartned, demoralised and totally fed up. After a long time and a lot of mess I did manage to get a couple of pieces together. Still didnt feel much better tho.
I have learnt my lesson and am going to try very, very, very hard. Note to self: no more impulse purchases ........

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Six


In the words of 'The Killers' - 'Smile, Like You Mean It'

I've made this card from odds and ends just as a gentle reminder to keep smiling. I do feel that in this busy world some people have actually forgotten how to smile! I know, how shocking is that? It has to be one of the easiest things to do AND it costs nothing. It warms the heart and you never know, you may even get one back!

Do you remember being a kid and laughing so much that you could have been sick? Your belly and cheeks hurt from giggling and then when the fit had finally passed you couldn't remember what you were laughing at. That just set you off again ...... ahh...good times they were. I do still get the odd occassion like that. It's a great feeling.

Just take a look next time you're walking down a busy street. Folk are always in a hurry to get somewhere, bustling about, blank expressions, shouting into their mobile phones and some have hardly the time, energy or inclination to even lift their heads to see what's ahead of them.

I don't see this so much where I live, a small town in NI where you could have said 'hello,hiya' a dozen times from one end of the main street (which isn't all that long!) to the other. I do notice it more when I venture outside of this country area to the city. T'is funny, I know almost everyone who lives in this street but I have friends who live in Belfast and they haven't a clue who their immediate neighbours are. Can you imagine what it's like in huge city like London?

So anyway, keep smiling ......

Sunday 23 August 2009

Five


Isn't it so exciting, my trip to Ikea yesterday was very productive. Can you see my empire starting to take shape? Ha, don't be fooled! Although I have the boxes all nicely arranged .... they're EMPTY!!!!
I haven't started yet to fill them with sparkly things, beads, flowers, card offcuts, stamps, inkpads, cards ..... the list is endless.
So, on this extremely wintery Sunday afternoon, whilst the wind is howling and the rain is beating consistently off the window, I plan to make a start on filling the boxes ...... hmmm .... i wonder do I have enough? When I see the mountain of supplies in the middle if the floor, I am beginning to doubt it .....
My mind is in overload now, seeing everything together has given me lots of ideas. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get sorted (i do have netball practice and dance class to fit in as well!) and I can start blogging about some of my creations.
Think I need a cuppa ..........

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Four

Organisation!!! What? I haven't chosen this word today because it's particularly strange or interesting. Oh no, it's because that is going to be my next major project.

I would love to be able to tell you that the tidy organised storage system pictured is mine, for all my crafty bits and pieces ..... but yep, you've guessed already haven't you, it's not mine.

I have been interested in making 'things' , lots of different things over the past many years. 'Things' could be defined as pictures, cards, patchwork quilts, christmas decorations ...... i think you get the idea? Over the years I have accumulated lots and lots and LOTS of products and resources. Sometimes when I'm looking for something entirely different and not at all craft related I come across an item I have purchased and put away for use later. So, as you can imagine there are craft 'things' scattered in various places of the house. This isn't a good idea at all, I never remember what I have and sometimes end up with duplicates (i'm sure i'm not the only one with this problem ....... i hope not anyway!)

The plan then, is to combine everything in the one place for ease of access. It's so much easier to come up with an idea too when you can actually see what you have to work with. Having recently converted the attic space into a bedroom for my youngest I now have some room in his 'used to be' bedroom that i plan to take over and populate with my creativity. So, I need an action plan....

  1. Find all craft related items (this could be harder than I think!)
  2. Find suitable storage solutions
  3. categorise all items into appropriate boxes (this could take a LOT of time)
  4. find space for all the boxes
  5. fix and re-arrange many times until I get it just the way I want it
  6. destroy the tidiness by beginning to make something :P

I have decided on a little trip to Ikea at the weekend, Saturday in fact. If I can't get storage there then I definitely have a problem!! I have had a wee nosey online and there is a great picture of something that would suit just fine (i did try to copy it but it wouldn't let me!) That leaves me two evenings in which to locate all the offending products and shift them to their new home. You know what it's like, once you get stuck into something it's all you can think about. I can see myself spending hours making sure everything has it's own space. I know it will be worth all the pain, sweat and tears (I won't really be crying ... t'is just a figure of speech).

There is something I have to remember though ....... now what is it ..... ummmm, .. oh yes ... feed the children .......

Sunday 16 August 2009

Three


There we go, that wasn't terribly difficult ..... quite pleased with the end result and first draft too. I did use the smaller shape cutter so not as much room to embellish but sometimes less is more as they say.
So that's me settled and contented now that I have experimented. For a little while at least ...........

Two


Two posts in 2 days ....i'm spoiling u's!
And it's not even two days, i'm still within a 24 hour time span here. That's why i'm quite ashamed to say i'm already a blog thief ... oh dear ... but you have to admit that the handmade bookmark pictured just has to be one of the cutest things for like ever! You can see more here http://elzybells.typepad.com/my_weblog/
honestly I don't think i'll be able to settle until I make one of these. My problem is that I don't have the shapecutter for the disc with the frilly edges (you can tell i'm not a seasoned crafter .... i dont even know the technical names for the tools!) I have a similar punch but its on a smaller scale and wouldnt look right. Think i'll have to call in some help on that. Anyone point me in the right direction for a quick purchase?
So if I manage to do this it will enable me to combine 2 of my 3 favourite things. Making and reading (the 3rd is music ... im working on geting it in the mix too). I love reading, love words and they way the can raise emotions. We, my siblings and I, were always encouraged from a young age to read. I remember reading and not even knowing what some of the words meant. If I asked my Mum she always made me guess first and then told me to look it up in the dictionary. I still have to do that sometimes, look words up. I have this friend you see (here we go again .... bit of a trend/theme emerging here .... just lets hope I dont run out of friends!!). We correspond by email and he has such a great vocabulary and uses words i've never heard of. I love it tho, 38 and i'm still learning new words :)
Actually, i'm just back from hols and i managed to fit in quite a lot of reading whilst 'caravaning in the country' Here are the titles:
The Twelve by Stuart Neville - this was fantastic. Having been brought up on the streets of Northern Ireland during the height of the troubles I could really relate to this. All the street names, areas and landmarks frequently on the news were involved. This painted a very vivid picture and I could just imagine all the going's on. I must be however more niave than I thought or maybe I just didnt think of how much high level government turned a blind eye or was directly involved in manipulating events/corruption/collusion. Anyway, def one to recommend.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - This title was lent to me by a friend. It was a dark adult fairytale which incorporated traditional tales but with a alternative slant. Wierd but brilliant.
The White Tiger (sorry cant remember who wrote this one) - Set in India its about a boy who makes good in the city ...... but how did he do it?? A terrific insight into how things are done in other parts of the world!
Currently getting thro The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - have to really concentrate whilst reading this one but enjoying it all the same.
Not sure how to continue with this blogging, picking a new title for each post could be exhausting, that's why for now they're are just being numbered ^_^ I have this friend, the same friend mentioned previously in fact .... c'mon keep up, no scrolloing back up to see what I wrote, pay attention! He always manages to come up with better subject headings than me :( He calls them obtuse, not keen on that word myself (not sure why ... ) I prefer obscure but there you go. We'll see what happens ...
Just for fun whilst since we're talking lexis.
Ive opened the dictionary at a random page. This is the most interesting word in my humble opinion: Stultify - make ineffective, useless or futile. Now then, let's see if I can get this into a sentence before the end of the day .......

Saturday 15 August 2009

One



Oh wats a girl to do!

I got an email from a friend today telling me she had created a new blog. The link brought me here. Well not here here of course ..... to this site with the orange square and the white B. Blogger? Blogspot? Is there a difference? I dunno, fancy putting me straight?

Well, there went my afternoon down the pan! Curious as I am, I have spent a while (a long while) sifting thro the random ramblings of other folk. I have heard about this blogging lark but never really paid much attention to it. I do have to say tho I could be well and truly hooked, maybe not so much the posting myself, but definitely looking at other creations. This has been all very inspiring. I make cards you see, ok, I used to make cards, thats better. I haven't had much time lately what with one thing or another .... don't ask!

So I have this other friend who did something nice for me. Having perused many card/scrapbooking/crafty blogs I have in fact, this afternoon created a masterpiece, see picture above. Cool eh? Just a wee something to say 'ta very much' Now my kitchen table resembles a bomb site ..... all for one wee card ...... but it was worth it.

I really should make more of an effort to create more of these masterpieces ...... makes me feel good. Just must remember that I have to also feed the two children ........