Staycation Day 5 - BLOG CANDY!

Well, all you lovely people have done it - I've had 1,000 visitors since the beginning of May. To celebrate, I am offering up the following blog candy. The winner will get the following load of goodies:



-one pack of mixed Prima Obsessions (these are wonderful embossed flowers that come in three sizes)
- mini cards and envelopes
- ribbons, brads, rub-ons, stickers, feathers, mini journalling spots
- a stack of 6x6 DCWV and Chatterbox Villa papers
- a pile of Little Cotton Rabbit stamped images (you'll get two of each bunny)
- and last but not least, a slab of delicious milk chocolate from Hotel Chocolate (their stuff rocks!)

The runner up will get this:



mini cards & envelopes; mini paper flowers; stickers and Little Cotton Rabbit stamped images (again, you'll get two of each bunny).

This is open to absolutely everyone who wants to take part - yes, I will ship the goodies outside Europe! For those of you who don't have a blogger ID, just email me and I will include you in the draw (click on my profile and you should get an email link)

Deadline is midnight (London time) on Sunday 21 September - I shall announce the winners on Monday 22nd (which is also my birthday!!!) so please spread the word as far and wide as you can!!!

Staycation Day 3 & 4

Well, after much cursing and gnashing of teeth (I think Mr A feared for his life at one point!), a silly number of chocolate digestives, and far too much wasted paper, the memory box is finished! This has been a real labour of love - stopped at midnight last night and was at it again at 8am this morning......I bought two of these boxes last summer, and decorated one of them for my sister's wedding - now I remember why I didn't immediately start on making the one for DD......what a faff! The biggest problem was that the box measures exactly 30x30cm so I could get a strip of paper to go over the edges - I had to cut lots of smaller pieces to cover the 'lips' on the sides.

Anyway, enough wingeing - on to the details: I have managed to make a serious dent in all my pink papers - they are mainly HOTP, but there's also some American Crafts in there. For the embellishments, I've kept them to a minimum as the box is probably going to get wrapped up to protect it for the future. We have Pink Paislee and Doodlebug letter stickers, some Bazzill, Aunty Sarah and Prima blossoms and some Kaiser gems.

Here's the front flap (held together with velcro)



Here are the two sides




And finally, the top (featuring a log cabin design inspired my my Mum's patchwork quilts)


I am reasonably happy with the end result and at least I can finally cross it off my project list!

I also had so many scraps of the various papers left that I whipped up this LO - yes, that's me, at the tender age of seven-and-a-half giving my little sister her first bottle after she came home from hospital..........how time flies!



Off now to wash all the ink of my fingers and have a massive tidy-up! Don't think I'll be doing anything in pink for a wee while now......

Staycation Day 2

My mojo deserted me yesterday, which was VERY frustrating! However, I did manage to sort out some papers for DD's memory box and my desk is now covered with strips of paper. I've been inspired by my Mum's beautiful patchwork quilts (see below) and I'm going to try and do a log cabin pattern on the lid of the box. Lots of measuring and cutting ahead!






I did manage one card yesterday - for my friend's forthcoming wedding anniversary.




I also (just about) survived a trip to the hairdressers to get DD's wild mane trimmed into something a bit more practical. Thankfully, she didn't lose her curls and now has a very neat (and cute!) bob.....and Daddy was very relieved that she didn't come back looking like a little boy :-)

Staycation Day 1

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of my week's 'staycation' but it didn't get off to a very good start, as I had to go into work for a meeting. It was delayed, and lasted longer than it was supposed to, so I ended up only getting home at 3pm.....however on the good news front, I have been allowed to extend my leave by one day, so I won't be going back until next Tuesday!!! {does a happy dance around the room} I have a list of projects as long as my arm (will be interesting to see how much I get done).

Today's list includes putting a load of craft stuff and baby clothes on eBay (I absolutely HATE doing it - it's sooo boring, but I have to feed my habit somehow!) and then make a start on DD's baby memory box (to be used for storing all the cards we received when she was born).

I shall leave you with some pics of the two cards I managed to finish yesterday - one for a colleague who is leaving us and another for a friend who's sister is pregnant..




Sorry about the bad quality photos - the light is really not good today......

Another award!

The lovely Paige has covered me with glory again, giving me this award - it was just what I needed, as I've been feeling really out of sorts all weekend so far - haven't even wanted to scrap!!!

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog
2. Link the person you received the award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the girls blogs you have nominated

Sooooo - here are my nominees:

1. Karen coz she just makes me laugh so much and is the bestest cyber friend any girl could have in the whole wide world
2. Jo because I just love visiting her blog and admiring her amazing photos
3. Voodoo Vixen for her ingenuity and creativity
4. Kristine because I find her cards so inspiring
5. Fae - so that she finds this when she returns to blogdom after her enforced absence!
6. Crafty Caz because I am always totally amazed by her stunning cards (and you should see what she can produce when crafting in a caravan!)
7. And lastly for Kirsti, in the hope that this helps her mojo return!

And if you have managed to get all the way to the bottom of this post, here's a little secret: I'm putting together some blog candy for when I get 1,000 visitors - so keep your eyes peeled for the announcement!

A little change does a lot of good.....

Do you like the new look to the blog? I love it - and it took all of 10 minutes to do! Thanks to the lovely ladies over at Cutest Little Blog on the Block, who make it all so easy (see the button at the top of the page).

You may have also been thinking that I haven't been doing much in the way of crafty stuff lately - well, you're kind of right and kind of wrong. I haven't done much in the way of paper crafting, but I've been doing lots of knitting and stitching. I have managed a few cards along the way though:


This one is for my brother-in-law in the US - hope he likes it, I always struggle with male cards........


This one is for a friend who's having a bit of a hard time at the moment - I was going to put a Magnolia stamp on here, but it didn't work out.......


and last but not least, I saw this quote while surfing the web and just HAD to use it! Very simple, very quick - but I LOVE it! I was going to give it to my sister (it's just perfect for her sense of humour) but I have now decided to keep it a bit longer as it makes me smile each time I see it (I guess we have a similar sense of humour after all!)

The Great British Duck Race

On Sunday 31 August, 250,000 plastic ducks will be released onto the River Thames and allowed to swim 1km up the river. While this is a great attempt at breaking a world record, it's also a fantastic way of doing some good, as you can adopt a duck and help raise money for many UK charities. There is also a chance of winning a £10,000 prize.

It costs just £2 to adopt a duck - this includes a donation to the 3 lead charities, which are Water Aid, The Down's Syndrome Association and the NSPCC. You can make additional donations to any of over 100 charities. My former employers, Sense International, who work for and on behalf of deafblind people in the developing world, are part of the list.

There are 30 top prizes, and first prize is a whopping £10,000. So go on: adopt a duck today by clicking here!

Transformed!

Amazing the positive effect a trip to the hairdressers can be. Ok - it took 3.5 hours, but boy was it worth it! I am totally in love with the new look - the more subtle honey highlights topped by the chunkier lighter streaks. And of course, the much more manageable length. So, thank you Mum for giving me the much needed kick up the bum to go and finally get my hair sorted (and for partly funding the operation)! I should have done this AGES ago.........silly me!

We're back!

And a lovely time was had by all - DD got simply lavished with attention and cuddles by her grandparents and DH and I got to feast on Mum's lovely cooking and Dad's extensive wine cellar! We had fantastic weather (with the exception of one amazing thunderstorm, which produced the most amazing mists in the valley below the house - see left). DH got to have a lie-in every morning and I got to have a snooze every afternoon (it's great this sharing of kiddy duties!). We're perhaps not feeling quite as rested as previous years - but that is what being parents is all about I guess! It would have helped if DD hadn't been determined to taste every single stone and pebble in Grandad's garden.......

Here are a few piccys to give you a taster of the last week:

Our little rural refuge.....

Stripey tops anyone?

Our little charmer

Pool time

Giggles in the hammock