2 posts in one month!!!!

I know, I'm shocked too.... 2 posts in the same month :o Good job I'm sat down as I type, or I might fall down!

Just thought I'd share with you what I created using the May kit from Sarahscards. I know I always say how lovely the kits are, and you're thinking, well she's not going to say she doesn't like them is she.... but this kit was just STUNNING!

The whole DT fell in love with the My Mind's Eye papers at the retreat in March, and this collection didn't fail to impress either. The colours in this kit were just PERFECT for scrapping pics of my ginger bear.... and my cute new guinea pigs (one of which is also ginger).

Firstly I did this LO of Harry tucking into one of his Easter eggs... WHOLE!!! Still loving my ribbler, even though it has been unused for a while. This LO came together really quickly, and I was really pleased to find that the Ranger white pen actually writes well on photos. I've bought so many pens in the past that have failed miserably, but this one is fab.

Next came this LO, again of Harry, being all lovely and quiet, playing on his own on the trampoline. As boisterous and feisty as Harry can be, he can also be incredibly sweet and loving, and calm! Harry would have suited being an only child, as he is really comfortable and happy in his own company, and gets easily wound up by his brothers. I kept the LO really simple, and the photo small finishing the whole thing with a mist of rich coffee... which is nothing like rich coffee colour, but did work perfectly well with these papers. The colours in the photo are slightly off, and it does look much better in real life!

And now to introduce Ron and Eric, our new guinea pigs. Ron is the ginger and white one, and is named after another famous ginger, Ron Weasley. And Eric may not be blond, but he is named after my favourite vampire (now there's a surprise), Eric Northman. They're settling in really well, but are eating us out of house and home... man those piggies can get through fresh veg like it's going out of fashion!!!

When I opened this months kit, I picked up the two ribbon flowers that were included, said 'Yuk' and tossed them to the side... they are so not me at all. However, after pulling one apart a bit, and cutting off the nasty green leaf, it started to look very chewed and distressed, and ended up working really well for this LO. Just goes to show, don't dismiss things just because you don't like them on first appearances... most things can be altered somehow to suit your tastes.

Not long now until June 1st.... I'm ready.... are you?

Do you like my new Blog Header???

I've been playing with some new goodies from Sarahscards and made this header with some of the left over bits and bobs.

Changes are a coming on the Sarahscards Blog... exciting times ahead.

1st June...

Be there....

April's post is here!

Thought I best get this posted before the end of the month... seriously how fast does time go? I can't believe we're almost done with April already!

We've had a busy few weeks, mainly taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and enjoying playing out in the sun. My boys are all outdoorsy types and love nothing more than being barefoot in the garden. We're really lucky that we have a little park just across the street from us, so we also spend a lot of time over there with friends. We must look a strange sight once we are there, as we settle for the afternoon.... picnic blankets, bikes, police car, fire engine, football, food and drink supplies, hats, sun creams, first aid kit (which came in to good use last week when Alice fell and cut her chin open).

We went to my mum and dad's for the Easter weekend, which was lovely... I just needed to get away from home for a bit... it seems there is a bit of a witch hunt going on round here at the moment, and I've been reported to Ofsted AGAIN!!! I'm so fed up with it all. Seriously, someone seems to have a problem with me, but rather than just confront me about it, they prefer to go down the nasty route and tell lies that could potentially cause a lot of harm! Fortunately the allegation this time was so ridiculous, and the inspector that came was lovely, and was more than happy with what she saw, that no further action will be taken, and my name is clear.... until the next time!!! The worse thing is that it is likely to be someone close, someone that is maybe even considered a friend... maybe even someone who might read this! Well, I've always been a firm believer in karma, and what goes around comes around. I hope it comes back to bite them on the arse BIG time! If you are considering becoming a childminder... I'd think it through again. Whilst the job itself is great, and the kids and their parents are fab. There are some really nasty and spiteful feckers out there who can spoil it. One more strike for me, and I'm out!!!

Anyway, rant over...

On Saturday we went to sunny Mablethorpe for the day... After an eventful journey there which saw us having to stop 3 times!!! Drew is now in a booster seat, and as a result can move about a bit more than when he was in the baby seat.... he decided that he would open the back door of the car whilst mummy was driving!!! My heart nearly stopped when I first heard the increase traffic noise, then felt a draught, then turned and saw the door swinging wide open!!! I've got a bit of a problem with child locks on doors in case there is an accident and the kids need to get out, so have never used them. Oliver and Harry have never played with the doors.... but I guess it should have been expected that Drew would be different! So locks are now switched on on his side!!

It was the first time Drew had been since he was a baby, and he totally loved it. Straight in the pools the tide had left behind, dripping wet through within seconds of hitting the beach! Oliver has recently started playing cricket, so was really pleased to get a cricket set and soon found some older boys to play with. Harry was happy puttering round doing his own thing, and because there was a slight breeze he didn't suffer from the heat like he usually does. After a day on the beach it was time to go to the fair and the arcades, where Drew discovered he too loves the little rides! Oh boy, it's going to cost us a fortune!!!

All boys were totally cream crackered on the way home and went straight to bed once we got in... without a bath, what a bad parent I am!!!

We hoped for a lie in, but it seems the excitement of the Easter bunny having visited was just too much to keep them in bed! A super quick egg hunt took place, and all 3 boys collected quite an impressive amount of Easter shaped confectionery!!! Now it just needs to be kept well away from me!!!

The thing is, when it's sunny, I don't really get anything crafty done! I have done some scrapping, but really only the minimum I have been required to do. I am definitely a winter scrapper!

Anyway, I can share a few LOs that I have done for Sarahscards.

These were created using the March kit which was October Afternoon, Modern Homemaker. Although I loved the papers, I have to admit I did really find them difficult to use. I did this LO first, using a photo showing just how long Drew's eyelashes are... ridiculously long for a boy!!!

Then I got a bit creative and messy with the next LO. I wanted to echo the painty mess from the photos, so got busy with some mists, a bit of acrylic paint and some staz on. I also used my cyclograph from when I was a child.... after all these years its still fab to use.For the last LO I got really messy, and had fun adding paint, embossing powders, mists and then going to town with some stamps. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this LO. I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I think I have finally found my style... I can see me getting messy more often now! I like that you can still see the pattern of the paper through the many layers of paint, mist, powder and ink, but the colour has been changed to suit my photos. I think that everyone should at least try this technique.... it's a lot of fun!I then got to play with the new Ad Lib collection from Bo Bunny. I really liked these papers when I saw them as a sneak peak from CHA. They are fun to work with and quite versatile. This LO also used the Ad Lib papers, and was created using the March sketch from the Sarahscards blog. I also used the fab doily stamps from My Mind's Eye... quite girly for me, but I can see them getting used a lot! At the March retreat, the DT were all given 4 sheets of paper from AC Campy Trails to create a LO. I found this really hard, as the papers weren't exactly what I would have chosen. This is the LO I did, and although it is alright, and goes well with the photos... it isn't really a me LO!!! Go here, to see the fab LOs the rest of the DT created.The following LOs were created for the Twisted Sketches. This sketch had brads as it's twist, I have hundreds if not thousands of brads and eyelets in my stash.... buried away at the bottom of my tote, it's about time I got them out and put them somewhere where I will see them and remember to use them!

The twist for this sketch was 'glitter'. I had the perfect photos of when Drew found a brand new pot of glitter under the pushchair and managed to get it open and tip it all over himself and the floor before I discovered him!!! I used cute glitter thickers too.

This sketch had 'card' as it's twist.... I decided to scrap the Christmas card that Oliver made at school when he was in reception. I got him to print his hand on the LO as a mat for the date and title.

This LO added at the end is a just for me LO, using a Studio Calico kit. The tag actually read 'Oh so Happy', but a bit of careful writing and it easily became 'Oh so Harry'. The colours in these papers were just perfect for scrapping my ginger bear!

Right well after that mammoth upload and fanny about getting the photos in the right order I better go and do something productive!!! I have just realised that I haven't even posted pics of the two new additions to our family... Ron and Eric the guinea pigs! will be back soon, with photos... and hopefully a couple more LOs to share!

Here it is...

My monthly blog post... he he he ;)

So what's been happening in the Stevenson house since the last time I blogged? Well this little man turned 2 *sob*. There's just no way of getting away from the fact that he isn't a baby any more. He had a great birthday, getting lots of really NOISY toys.... seriously, why did I think it was a good idea to buy the noisiest boy in the world a microphone!!! Although to be fair that particular toy lasted less than a week, as he preferred to drag it around rather than use it to sing into. So I took it back, and got some rather lovely, and quiet garden toys in it's place!

Mum and Dad came up for Drew's birthday then took him home with them for a few days. I bet it was really quiet not having him in the house, but I wouldn't know because I was at the Sarah's Cards retreat in Warrington.! I can't believe it has been a year since the first. Another successful retreat.... except for a few hiccups on the hotels part. I was teaching again this year with Jen as my glamorous assistant. We had to decorate our own aprons, and seeing as we are both Twilight fans, that seemed the only way to go! The aprons started off really pretty, with a frill and everything... but that soon got cut off, and after a bit of paint and mist, iron on transfers, machine embroidery, slashing with a craft knife, and the addition of some sparklies, the Team Edward v Team Jacob war began! Obviously Team Edward was the clear winner... who'd want a boyfriend that may look good, but smells like a dawg!!!

This was my class LO. A clear LO with a mini book on it. The class seemed to go down well, and the results were all very different and personalised, which is fab.

It was absolutely fantastic to meet up with the DT again... and a great Saturday night was spent in the bar with Vanessa, Nat and Gems. I'm feeling a trip to Wales in the not too distant future ;)

All in all the weekend went waaaaaaaaaaay too fast, but at least it's only 8 months until the next one in November.... whoop whoop!!! On the Friday night the challenge was to use a sketch to create a LO. This is my interpretation. There were lots of fab entries from the delegates, and it was really hard to choose a winner. You'd think that having a weekend to scrap, with no housey/childreny interruptions, you'd get loads done.... not so! I only got 2 LOs done. But just look at my second LO, isn't it fab! I absolutely love it! It's my new favourite style... lots of layering and lots of randomness. It doesn't have a title, but I don't think it really needs one. The acetate calendar in the background, is part of a mini book from Sarahscards. I really like using it, and have loads of pages left, so expect to see them appearing on a few more LOs in the not so distant future! I also bought a few sets of new stamps at the retreat. My favourite being these and these by My Mind's Eye... (even though I've just spotted these which I also need) but I just couldn't resist this cute lil donkey, and this super cute fawn! Because obviously they will get used ALL the time ;)

Over at the Twisted sketch blog, it was time for Team B's LO. The twist was *frame*. This photo of Oliver and Harry taken at their art exhibition in school was perfect to use. I overlapped a number of frame stamps on white card to create a patterned paper to cover the twist. Both boys like the LO and argued over whose album it was going to go in.... guess I'll have to do another the same! Go check out the fab inspiration from the rest of the DT, and don't forget to add a link to your LO so we can visit and leave a comment. I recently became a Studio Calico kit subscriber.... OMG how did I resist for so long! I've only had 2 kits, but I am seriously in love. Today I finally made myself actually start using the kits!!! I did this LO, in super quick time this afternoon whilst Dink was having a nap and the other two were off doing whatever they were doing! I really, really love the wood grain paper by My Mind's Eye, and the wood grain fabric strip that was included.... and just how cute is that bumble bee stamp!

Right... off to do some more and ignore the hugely big ironing pile... I may just adopt the iron as you go method for this week ;)

I'm so bad...

At blogging, but at least I admit it. I don't even have a good reason as to why it's been so long! I've been busy with the kids... nothing new there. I've been doing lots of walking in a bid to tone up, and keep me out of the kitchen to prevent snacking. The weight is coming off slowly... 1 stone and 1/2lb, so far... still a looooong way to go, but I've got the support of some really good friends this time, so hopefully it will keep going in the right direction.

In 2 weeks time I will be at the second Sarahs Cards retreat in Warrington. So excited, and a little bit nervous too. Really hope the people attending like my class. Can't wait to spend more time with the rest of the lovely DT, and all the lovely ladies who will be attending.

Over on the Sarah's Cards blog, this months sketch challenge was designed by me... play along and leave a link to your work for a chance to win a £10 e-voucher for the shop. This is the LO I did.... I love these photos of Drew in the snow.

My first Twisted LO is live this week.... I should have posted a link earlier, but there is still time for you to play along. The twist is 'soft', any way, any how... I went with the Andrex ad line, soft, strong and very long after finding the creative mess Drew had left in the bathroom! I tell you, that boy might be a nightmare at times but he does provide loads of great scrapping opportunities!

The LO that won me a place on the DT went up a couple of weeks ago. I have to say I really like this one. I selected a few of the 100s of photos that Harry had taken of himself on the DSi... I think these will be great to embarrass him later in life... he he he!!!

I've been playing with the March kit for Sarahscards... it's a yummy one, and I've gone quite experimental with it... I'm not sure the LOs I've created will be to everyones taste, but I'm loving them, and they're right up there in my top ten favourites of all time. Here's a sneak of one of them...

And here's a sneak of a safer, none messy LO...

Right got to go, things to do (boring stuff mainly) and places to be (a date with Things 1 & 2 at the cinema to see Tangled). Back soonish

xxx