Wednesday Whitterings!!!

A little late blogging tonight I have a really good excuse though...Honest...had a bit of a tidy up of my desk earlier on, bought a new drawer set from Ikea on Saturday for all my bits and bobs and needed to fit it in somewhere, so I was hauling through my ever increasing craft stash and I found a whole load of Tilda stamped images that someone had very kindly sent me and I have spent the entire evening sat colouring them with my watercolours...see I told you it was a good excuse!!! Just have to transform them into cards now but I think I managed to watercolour five of them...god that's so relaxing, I could have sat at my desk all night doing that but I have to teach tomorrow and need at least a couple of hours sleep before then!!!

So thought I would show you the before and after photos of my desk, taken about 30 minutes apart earlier on, unfortunately it doesn't look that tidy anymore but beautiful things are created from chaos...that`s my excuse and I am sticking to it!!!

Before...a little bit of a mess!!!

And after...very tidy!!!

Still not sleeping very well, hoping that because I am up a bit later I will collapse into bed and sleep for a decent chunk of time tonight, although all around me are ill...I am surrounded by sick bugs floating through the air trying to attack me...I have tried to protect myself all evening from the onslaught of little bugs but I am anticipating being up in the night with at least one of the kids!!!

Ooh and before I go the photo prompt over at her space my space is aroma...now that is a good prompt...capturing an aroma in a photograph...hope I have managed it with my Mum`s Bread Pudding!!!

Off to make hot chocolate with bailey`s...have been told its a perfect cure for insomnia!!!

Instruct...

Is the prompt over at her space my space, not taken part in this yet this year so thought I would play along...Funnily enough I am teaching this afternoon and I am taking my camera as the college has asked me for some photographs as evidence for an open day that I am going to be involved in.

But then I remembered this photograph from Boxing Day...Ella "Instructing" Grandad on the Nintendo DS...My Dad is a gadget freak, that's where I get it from I think but unlike me he doesn`t read instruction books...Dad get the manual out that way you wont have to ask me or Daniel how to do something!!! So within about twenty four hours I think My Dad had gone out and bought a DS...that's to go with his I pod, lap top, digital camera, photo printer, camcorder and electronic blood pressure monitor to name but a few things!!!

Christ if he ever set eyes on a Sony Ebook I know he would have one before me!!! Love you really Dad you just make me laugh!!!

And here is another...yep 12 x 12 layout...staring my little gadget freak, Harry...Photo taken on Christmas day and the journaling reads...Hair Gelled (I am still not convinced that is spelt right), smart top can only mean one thing...Harry lives in tracksuits and football shirts so it is lovely to see him dressed up!!! I am loving these papers as well, only bought them on Saturday they are by Daisy Bucket and double sided, I think they are called Boardwalk but they are so great for male layouts.

Off now to make me some Marmite on toast...I love marmite mmmmmmmmmmmm and if you are a fellow lover check out this site

Winter!!!

Winter is here...oh yes, its cold and I want to be in indoors in bed or snuggled in my dressing gown all the time, I would love to be reincarnated as a tortoise so I could sleep through Winter, I hate being cold it makes me irritable and bad tempered, and it doesn't help that the building I run my workshops in has no heating in so we sit huddled round the lamps cradling mugs of hot chocolate to warm our cockles!!! I didn`t even take off my coat today at work, sat and taught a jewellery making class in my fake fur!!!

The great thing about Winter is Christmas although saying that I spent two back breaking hours last night wrapping Christmas presents, my bedroom resembles a scene from a bad Christmas film with presents and wrapping paper everywhere, I still haven`t wrote my Christmas cards and I have four more courses to plan as I found out today the college want me to run four more courses after Christmas!!!

But I am looking forward to a few weeks off over Christmas, I officially "break up" next Friday and do not return to work until the first week in January...all good!!!

So funnily enough today's prompt over at her space my space is winter...this is from Manchester last Saturday...look at the bare trees!!!

Off now to snuggle in my dressing gown possibly in bed!!!

Her Space My Space...Angel

Here is my Little Angel...




My Girls and Harry belong to a cheer leading group and they are called "The Angels" This was at one of their performances in the summer where Mia and Harry both got thrown through the air whilst my heart was in my mouth!!!

Mia happily went off this morning with her little suitcase and so far there has been no phone call tonight to rescue her from the forest, it is very quiet without her though!!!

Although sliding up to school this morning with her case on wheels and all the other paraphernalia she insisted she needed was no easy task due to the ice, I must remember not to wear my cowboy boots again in such extreme weather conditions, took all the strength in the world not to slide on my backside this morning!!!

Yucky Day!!!

I am officially ill!!!

It must be official because I went to bed this afternoon even though I didn`t get up until 11am, and I rarely admit defeat and go to bed when I am ill, at first I thought I was suffering from a little too much alcohol last night, had a few of my girlie friends round for food and drinks, but I felt terrible, all achy and cold to the bone so snuggled up in bed and slept!!! I think Ella and I just spent too long in the cold in Manchester yesterday. Feel a bit better now but still have that horrible flu ache, hope it is just a 24 hour thing as I have the busiest week this week!!!

Got a card to share with you, one of my workshop cards for Tuesday, I am teaching a Christmas Card acetate workshop, the other card is still in progress...well to be honest I haven`t started it yet was planning on doing that this afternoon but all the best laid plans!!! I am going to try and get that designed tonight.

This is my SOS for Her space My Space, taken yesterday in Manchester...just look at the architecture on that building absolutely stunning...I really need to get out more it can`t be normal to stand in the freezing cold taking photographs of buildings!!!

Off now to design my other card hope my mojo is awake!!!

Her Space My Space SPS

Took this photograph of Ella this morning in the freezing fog at the train station on the way to Manchester to spend her birthday money...still can`t believe she is 11...I love the look on her face excited at the thought of hitting Primark!!!

Her Space My Space...Rain

I have not took part in this for a few days but the photo prompt today over at her space my space is Rain...I hate rain not because it gets me wet and I can never find an umbrella when I need one even though I have about six of them but because I have naturally curly hair that I hate...inherited from the milkman I think as my mum`s is straight and my Dad is bald!!!

It has to be attacked with my GHD`s every single morning for at least ten minutes or I would hugely embarrass my girls when dropping them off at school looking like a very pale Diana Ross in the middle of a chain reaction!!!

So back on subject...rain...this is Wolverhampton through a rain soaked Virgin Train window.

Her Space My Space...France

Bit of a tongue in cheek take on today`s photo prompt which is France....Here is my little baby girl with a Frog!!!

Her Space My Space...Italian

Bit of a cheat here...shock...Here is My Mia!!!


Italian because the name Mia originates from Italy and means My...honest...look here

I love this Picture of Mia...and yep they are my glassses she had stolen!!!

Her Space My Space...Fake

Fake...thats a toughie, until I remembered I had my photo took last week in front of a fake Christmas tree covered in fake snow, holding a fake present...you can`t get any more fake than that!!!

Her Space My Space...Button

I have the best picture for this, Diane is a very good friend of mine and she is shall we say a little on the loud side so I had to take this photograph of her earlier in the year at the GMEX to finally say "I got Diane to Button it"

Still makes me smile every time I see this picture, and how big is that button!!!

Her Space My Space...Music and Pub

Two of my favourite things, even better is music in the pub, that and a nice glass of wine, although been a bit poorly this week so not had a nice glass of wine for a few days, may have to have a sober Firday night too as I still feel a little dicky!!!

So here is my Pub shot...me in the pub...shock!!!

And here is my Music shot...me lushing after the boys (well the poster anyway) from McFly yesterday at the NEC, please no comments about how I need to get out more, I really need to stay in, have a duvet day and try and shake off this bug that has been slowing me down all week!!!

Her Space My Space...Clean

The photo prompt today over at her space my space is Clean

My soap in the kitchen which keeps my hands clean and free from Germs!!!

Her Space My Space...Brush

The photo prompt over at her space my space today is Brush and had this lovely picture of my desk when it was tidy, which is almost never so it is nice to look at these photos, cropped it down a bit so you can see my paint brushes!!!

Her Space My Space...Cling

Today's photo prompt at Her Space My Space is ...Cling

Oh great excuse to show off this photo again!!!

Taken early in July, you know one of those days where we had about three hours of sunshine and everyone suffered with sunburn for two days afterwards!!!

I like to "cling" to my kids, I am not one of these touchy feely people but I love to hug my kids, who doesn`t and I especially love it when my boys hug me.

Her Space My Space...broken

There really is only one picture I could put here today!!!

Her Space My Space...Collection

OOh this one got me thinking, apparently we all collect something...hmmm I dont really, some would say I have a great collection of kids...I do actually but I always put their pictures on here, so I really had to think...this early on a Sunday morning too!!!

Then it hit me Accessories...I have a vast collection of jewels, bling, flowers, scarves, I am known as the queen of accessories and if I didn`t accessorize an outfit people would start talking about me!!!

So although the light here is crap today here is a little selection of my collection of accessories:

Her Space My Space...Passage

Great prompt today...passage...heres my photo

Her Space My Space...Structure

I have been up since half five this morning but I did sleep solid until then so I am feeling good, better than I have over the last few days, I hate not being able to sleep I get emotional and can`t function properly but today I feel amazing.



Like I say I got up early to finish a commission for the magazine...It has took me about four days of serious grafting to get this one done, although I have had to shout at the kids several times...bloody holidays...I am trying to explain to them that even though I don`t physically leave the house some days I am actually working...It fell on deaf ears until I threatened to remove the PS2 and Xbox from their bedrooms...muwahahahahah!!!...all quiet upstairs now you know.

So the reason I got up so early was to get this commission finished so I could actually spend some time with them this afternoon but its sooooo cold I just want to snuggle so we may end up in front of the telly with a DVD and chocolate mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

So the photo prompt over at her space my space today is Structure...this is the amazing conservatory at Syon Park in Brentford...where I used to live, I absolutely love the structure of this building the architecture is amazing.

History alert.......................

The crowning glory of Syon Park's gardens is the Great Conservatory. The 3rd Duke of Northumberland commissioned Charles Fowler to build a new conservatory in 1826, the first of its kind to be built out of gunmetal, Bath stone and glass. It was originally designed to act as a show house for the Duke's exotic plants and inspired Joseph Paxton in his designs for the Crystal Palace.

WOW....



Absolutely stunning.

Her Space My Space ...Office

Today`s photo prompt over at Her Space My Space is Office...here is mine on a rare "tidy" day complete with my favourite coffee mug...you can get a whole lot of coffee in there!!!