Pencil Lines Sketch 104

Wow it has been a while since I have done this but I always visit Pencil Lines every Sunday to check out the latest sketch and the layouts posted.
I liked this weeks sketch so much thought I would join in, that's not to say that I don`t like the sketches every week but had this pic ready to scrap and hey well the rest is history as they say!!!
Ella and Mia looking god damn beautiful in the garden.

The journaling reads:

"When I was little I always wanted a sister, I still do! Savour how lucky you both are"




Off to be a student now xxx

Her Space My Space...Taut

On the swings on Saturday...obviously only used to childrens bums being on them the chain on mine was deffinately Taut

So bloody Tired!!!

Okay so I have had three nights out on the run...I think as I am getting older my recovery time is hastily slowing down. I am so tired, it is only 8pm and I want to go to bed, can I really go to bed if the kids are still awake and if I do will they insist on tucking me in kissing me goodnight and god forbid reading me a bedtime story!!!

If I go to bed now will I be awake in the early hours of the morning unable to sleep kicking myself for going to bed so early. I have a million and one things I could be doing but I can`t even see straight to do any of them...Not even after using Optrex Bright eyes...which I am convinced is a form of torture and I forgot to take off my mascara before using it so I look like a giant bloody panda now!!!

I know that I should be knocking six bells out of some little guy on the Wii boxing but I haven`t the energy to get the remote and the nunchuck out of the drawer...God listen to me, I am getting old, I sound like a bloody pensioner.

Mia had a swimming lesson today and I asked her how it went when she came out of school...7 years old remember...Oh Mummy she said oh so seriously...I nearly drowned, now call me unsympathetic but I was PMSL at her, not because she nearly drowned which I am sure she didn`t but just the way in which she said it...My kids really do crack me up sometimes.

Okay I am going to make myself a very strong coffee and see if I can make it to at least 10pm without nodding off xxxx

Her Space My Space...Landmark

One of my favourite landmarks...Manchester Palace Clock Tower. When I see this from the train I know I am nearly at the shops in Manchester which means Primark carrier bags!!!

And a similar Landmark but approximately 300 miles away from Manchester, is the Gillette tower in Brentford...where I am from and when I see this I know I am near my family.

Parklife...

...Not only a brilliant song by Blur but what we got up to yesterday.

While the British weather seems to be having some sort of mid life crisis, me and my little peeps enjoyed the late summer sunshine yesterday and went to the Park, its a lovely Park near where we live and has a huge fishing pond and a little play area and a big field and trees and its just a lovely place to go...so we went armed with Warburtons finest...I had no bread in the house so I had to buy some!!!

OMG I have decided that ducks are evil...pure evil, they could either smell the bread or recognised the rustling sound Warbies bread packaging makes...we were surrounded at one point, on a little bridge with about 6000 ducks around us, they ate the bread in about six seconds...A FULL LOAF!!!

Greedy Evil Ducks

Then we went on the little park and the kids dared me to go on the slide...so I did, my bum just about fit on it, we had ourselves a lovely happy family afternoon.

And of course when the sun shines you have to have Ice Cream

Leave you with this shot of me and My fella, went to some friends 25th Wedding Anniversary Party last night and had to get dolled up so Harry insisted on taking our photo...That's it now, I have had three nights out on the run...THREE...I am exhausted, bone weary tired and the muscles in my bum hurt from swinging on the swings yesterday...I am off now to put away my dancing shoes!!!

Her Space My Space...SPS and SOS

Been a bit busy this weekend so not had a chance to do these before now...both these were taken yesterday, as it was such a lovely day and I was trying to avoid having to do the ironing I took the kids to a park near where we live and we fed the ducks and went on the swings.

This is me on the swings taken by Harry

SPS

and this is Mia trying to get the ducks to come closer to her!!!

SOS

I am an Indie Chick....

...According to my 15 year old Jack.

I bought a hat yesterday and another scarf...I am obsessed with scarves... and had them on last night when I went out to watch an amazing band that some friends of mine are in, and I had them on again today.

We were walking home from school tonight, the other kids have gone to my friends for the evening, and he said you know mum you look well cool...Aww gotta love him!!! So we were discussing "groups" of people and putting everyone we know into a "group" so I am an "Indie Chick" he is an "Emo" and my other half has been labelled a cross between a "Chav" and a "Spice boy" pmsl...I love that label "Spice boy"

So this is me in my "Indie gear" before I went out last night

And this is me...the morning after the night before...complete with hat hair!!! Taken very kindly by my friend who was playing with my camera!!!

I felt great when I got up this morning, after only four hours sleep...totally fine, got the girls to school on time, got all my cleaning done, washing, ironing all that boring shite and then came the BIG mistake...I sat down...OMG I am soooooooooooooo tired now...and I am going out again tonight! I think I am getting too old for this partying, I want to snuggle in my dressing gown and read my book but oh no I have to dance magic dance at a seventies night tonight...I`ll be the dancing queen young and sweet only 17 (...ahem...)

Off now to "seventy" myself up...where did I put those platforms!!!

Her Space My Space...Carved

Her space my Space prompt today is carved

This photo is from a visit to Manchester a couple of weeks ago...hmm most of my photos are from Manchester ;-) can you tell I like shopping there!!!

This is a beautifully carved section on the side of the Town Hall



Off now for lunch with a friend xxx

Savage Garden and a Basketball

I love the song "I will fly you to the moon and back" by Savage Garden, its such a beautiful song and it is Mine and Mia`s Song, although we have slightly changed the words to "I will love you to the moon and back"

So taking that song as inspiration, because I never want to forget that we sing that to each other, and a photograph I have of Mia looking totally beautiful I have created this page.

Whilst I was creating this happened...again...I really should learn to be more tidy and then would not have to hunt through piles of crap for my craft knife or a pencil...I am going out tonight and the kids have told me I am not allowed out until I have tidied my studio...hmm we will see...I am in charge!!!

Oh and had to share this with you, Ella had a demonstration at school on Monday by some Basketball players who were apparently ten foot tall ...(!!!) and after the demo they ran a little competition and Ella won a signed copy of a basketball...Now ever since then she has took this ball with her everywhere she goes...and yes...I climbed up onto her bunk bed this morning to make it and low and behold the basketball was in her bed...Kids!!! This is Ella and Mia snuggled up watching kids crap on TV this morning before school.

Off now to prepare myself for an evening on the town!!!

Her Space My Space...Stack

Okay I got a great shot for this photo challenge...A stack of kids!!! Two of which are mine!!!

Her Space My Space...Adventure

I am not really one for extreme sports or adventures!!! Unless you count shopping as an extreme sport and I tell you the Next or Debenhams sales can get quite dangerous with all those elbows and granny bags on wheels!!!

So my photo today is of a good friend and I when we hit the Manchester Gmex on our crafty adventure last month, and boy did we have an adventure!!!!This was us before the adventure began!!!

Does it mean I am old if....

...My son has a blog!!!

Not quite sure what he is going to be blogging about but have had to give him a blog lesson...which wasn`t too hard as he is an excellent student ;-)

Go see him here

Aww bless xxx

My Boy, Baileys and Ice Cream!!!

I feel crap tonight, felt a bit out of sync all day, you know the feeling when you just can`t get motivated or concentrate on any one thing...well now I have ear ache and a sore throat, and I have to teach a class tomorrow. Bring on the Lemsip`s!!!

Had my Photography class today, which was fun...had another play in photo shop, which I am so loving, its so cool makes Picasa look like child's play, and who should be in my class but none other than the former Mayor of Warrington so had a bit of a laugh with her, and helped her switch on her laptop!!! She is a lovely, funny lady and should have been meeting with Seb Coe today but ditched him for the photography class. Anyway got to grips with the lasso tool...and no I wasn`t reeling people in, although I was wearing a pair of cowboy boots...yee ha!!! No it actually crops around elements of your photo but you have to do it by hand and its bloody tricky!!!

Also managed to get into the College laptops Bluetooth while the tutor wasn`t looking and bluetoothed some of my photos to my phone ;-) I will probably be thrown out next week!!!

Anyway despite feeling like crap I have completed a layout tonight of a gorgeous photo that Harry took of Jack and I earlier in the summer...Its similar to a layout I did last week with another photo took on the same day, so they will sit side be side in my album.

I am off to gargle with some Baileys and have a bowl of ice cream...very good for sore throats, take it from me!!!

Her Space My Space...Leaf

This Picture was taken about two weeks ago, beautiful bamboo growing in the middle of Manchester!!!

Her Space My Space...Delicious

Ooh have just the picture for this today, from my cousins wedding earlier this month, profiterole tower...If I get married I am so having one of these...looked delicious and tasted divine.

My lil baby boy!!!

Have completed a layout this afternoon of Jack, don`t very often scrap him on his own because all the pages end up looking the same but I love this photograph of him and considering I made him climb on top of a four foot rock to get this shot thought I should at least make an effort to scrap it!!!




Not done much else today although judging by the state of my desk you would think that I had had several people here crafting...where are those pesky craft fairies when you need them!!!

Sunday Sinners

They know who they are, they are shameless thieves who have no respect for anyone or anything.

Some scanky little sod broke into my garden last night and stole my garden table and chairs, not a cheap set either, wouldn`t mind if it had been a manky plastic one but nope nearly £300 worth of gorgeousness, that I saved and saved for. What is most upsetting is the kids and I use the garden a lot, just to mess about have a laugh or a chat and we sat at the table a lot, we ate out there I just want my bloody table back...and the chairs would be nice too ;-)

The funny thing it that I am a really really heavy sleeper...once I am asleep thats it nothing will wake me...I have slept through an earthquake, thunder and lightening and the kids leaping all over me...and this is no different, my bedroom is right above where my table was and the window was wide open and I slept through it...The other half was out until the early hours and he was too...shall we say delicate to notice whether the garden furniture was still in place!!!

Although that has upset me I am still in a really good mood, I am blaming the sunshine!!! The kids and I have been in the garden and Harry insisted on taking the camera out so he can perfect his photography skills.

These are the pictures he has taken...

Ella took this one

Her Space My Space

Favourite photos....hmmm took these yesterday of my gorgeous girlie's and their Rapunzel like hair, all clean, dried and straighted...just for a little treat and just love how they turned out...God my girls are beautiful.

Christmas Tree Tutorial

I have had quite a few requests for the instructions on how to make this Pink Christmas card so I have put together a basic tutorial for anyone that wants it.

You will need a card blank and a 6x8cm rectangle of scrap card

On the scrap card mark at 3cms at the top and draw a line from each bottom corner to this mark, to form a triangle. Cut this out and fold in half, this is your template.

On the inside of the card blank mark at the top and the bottom 7 and 8cms from the left hand side. Join these lines. I have used pen so it stood out more in the photos but use pencil so you can rub it out afterwards.

Mark at 3.5 and 11.5cm from the top on both lines.

Line up the fold of the triangle with with the line and draw around. repeat for the other side.

Score the centre lines and cut the other two.

Cut four more half triangles leaving a little tab on each as shown. Score the tab

Stick double sided tape to the tab.

Stick each triangle to the card blank as shown. Push them through to the front.

The front of your card should look like this...Embellish as required.

Obviously this is a basic tutorial on the cutting and folding and you can adapt it in any way, on my card I assembled the tree on a square of card that I then layered onto a card blank.

I would love to see what everyone comes up with so if you have a blog link back here so I can view your card xxx

Sunshine, Jewels and Mars Bars

Oh what a beautiful morning oh what a beautiful day!!!

I hated that song when I was at school and we were made to sing it regularly , probably as a sick form of torture, my Nan loved it though and used to sing it at the top of her voice...if she were here today she would have been singing it all day. We have had sunshine here again...so much sunshine I think I may have got burnt. Harry and I have spent the best part of today sorting out the back garden, weeding and general tidy up, and it looks all lovely and pretty and tidy again now. I have a feeling that I am not going to be able to move very fast tomorrow though, my back is twinging now...my nails are ruined too and they are dirty...minging dirty, ground in disgusting dirty...can see a manicure coming on later!!!

I made these yesterday afternoon, after I had done my commissioned piece and and the bracelet for this weeks lesson, these are for me though and made using the gorgeous new beads that cried to come home with me on Thursday ;-)

Look at these little beauties...

There are actually two bracelets here and I will wear them together, gorgeous little beads that are now very happy ;-)

Oh and sometimes I really dislike my kids...Jack in particular...now I love Mars Bars...I always have I always will but if I eat them I have to spend an hour on the Wii trying to counteract the fat that will slip onto my hips, thighs and bum...but Jack...not one bloody Mars Bar but two and he is a skinny little sod, not an ounce of bloody fat on him....:-(

I am off now to soak my aching body in a radox bath....god how old do I sound!!!

Her Space My Space...Portrait

Another little cheat today for Her Space my Space...photo courtesy of Harry I love this photo.

Daring card Makers...All mixed up

Wow it has been so long since I completed one of the DCM challenges but with Christmas on the way (only 13 weeks now you know) I need all the help I can to get ALL my Chrimbo cards hand crafted this year...not the mad dash to M & S that I had last year because I was so disorganised, although I could say it wasn`t just a Christmas card it was an M&S Christmas card ;-)

This week's theme is All Mixed Up.

How come the majority of girls' cards are pink and flowery and the boys are blue and have absolutely no flowers at all?

What about cars for girls???

hmmm?

This week Tracie wants you to mix up those genders and create cards with a little bit of something not normally found for that sex.

Okay so I got out this gorgeous skull stamp that I have had for....ever and not used....and created this card...You would not normally associate skulls with girls so hopefully this meets the challenge ;-)

Thanks for looking xxx

Fabulous Friday!!!

I love Fridays afternoons, who doesn`t but, what I really love about Friday afternoons is knowing that I don`t have to get up early and rush around on a Saturday morning...and I have done all my shopping, washing, ironing and cleaning so I really do have a free weekend...the kids have nothing on, I have nowhere to go and it feels fabulous.

Plus I have been the busiest little bee today which makes my Friday afternoon all the more brighter...apart from the bloody bead which has lodged itself inside my keyboard, I suppose that will teach me to try and multi task!!!

Two bracelets to show you, first one is a commissioned piece that somebody asked me to make, so hopefully she will like it!!!

Second one is the jewellery workshop at Edwin Allens on Wednesday so if you are booked in with me this is what you will be making. This by the way is what I was making whilst on the internet...hence the runaway bead in my keyboard...which wont come out despite me tipping it upside down and smacking it like a sauce bottle!!!

Two layouts to show you, the first one is a picture of Jack and I taken earlier in the summer...what summer I know but this was on one of those rare days when we did have sunshine...and I have titled the layout "Son Shine". The journalling reads "Jack and I have a great relationship and can talk about ANYTHING" ...which we can absolutely anything, we have one of those sickening perfect mother son relationships where he knows he can ask me anything or tell me anything!!!

Second layout is of Harry in the weeds!!! He had to climb through about two feet of this stuff until he was in the right place to get the photo...My kids really will do anything for me so I can get the right photo!!! The journalling on this one reads "If you follow only one rule let it be this one, just be yourself" which is pretty apt for Harry, he is very very much like me and hates to follow rules and be told what to do so it just seemed the perfect quote for this layout!!!

This is a little purse/gift box I have designed for jewellery gifts I am going to teach this in a workshop later in the year because its just so damn cute!!!

Off now to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and to look forward to my Saturday morning lie in...all hail the duvet!!!