Jelly Birthday To Me

Ooooh I have had such a fabby day so far celebrating my 40th Birthday! Hubby took the day off work and took me out for breakfast, after Zac and Blake presented me with a box of yummy cupcakes and then we've been out shopping treating me to some new clothes and bits. There is more pampering lined up later including James cooking me dinner! Here's one of my cupcakes.....

I've not had much time for crafting today surprisingly but I decided I had better get into the spirit and make a 40th Birthday card, so I went a bit silly:

  

It's such a quickie but it made me giggle. I made my cupcake using the scallop border punch and the largest of the circle punches, a cute button and some Chocolate Chip DSP that I also ran through the crimper. The sentiment is using Just Perfect.

Got to dash and pick Blake up from my in laws. Maybe I'll get jelly and ice cream for pudding later?

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Laughter and Stunt Baby

Good morning to you. I have a slightly thick head this morning after a fabulous night out last night with Tracy and Dean. We went to see comedian Micky Flannagan and I honestly can't remember ever laughing so much. You know the sort of laughter that makes you cry and let out the odd snort without warning you first? The sort that has you wishing he'd shut up for just one minute so you can catch your breath and try actually breathing again? Just amazing. Here's Micky if you don't know who he is:

So, it's Deans birthday today and this is the card I made him from Zac and Blake:

 

 

It's another large card (A5) using Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise and Perfect Plum. The 'Uncle Dean' is stamped using the Jumble alphabet set, it's a great set and has two of each letter so you can really have fun with it. The bunting is from Party This Way with letters from Just Perfect alphabet.

I wish we had a bunting punch, although even I have to cave and admit I'm starting to enjoy the odd but of cutting out, 'tis becoming slightly theraputic!

Now after seeing the capers my children got up to yesterday, let me introduce you further into the world of Blake who we shall now refer to as 'Stunt Baby'. Stunt baby got bored. Stunt baby decided maybe Mummy's windows were a bit mucky and could do with a clean (more of a lick really). Stunt baby decided to just go for it:

 

 

..........'right, this is the way to get up there I reckon, just need to make sure I've piled enough of Zac's clothes on here to help give me that extra lift. Ready, steady, go.........'

 

 

'.................................cough, splutter, dust? Mummy seriously you need to clean these blinds every once in a while. Tell you what, I'll save you a job, you pass me a shammy cloth wotsit and a bottle of that Mr Sheen stuff Daddy says lives in the cupboard under the sink and in return you can give me two fingers of oat milk, a ham sandwich and an hour alone with the tellybox, a pair of wire cutters and a blowtorch  and bobs your lobster, jobs a goodun.....'

Back tomorrow!

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The Reason My Sky Plus Box died.....

Morning on another bright and sunny day. I'm excited today as my MIL is coming round to babysit and we're off out for a double celebration. My lovely downline Tracy's husband celebrates his birthday on Wednesday and I'm celebrating my 40th on Thursday so we're having a joint night out tonight and we're off out for a meal and then to the concert hall to see comedian Mickey Flanagan. I've made a couple of cards for Dean and this is the one from me and James:

It's a nice large card using Crumb Cake for the base with a layer of patterned paper from Woodland Walk. I've used shimmery white card and then masked off the base of the pedestal stamp from On a Pedestal and instead of cupcakes I've layered up the pint glass from Cheers to You. Well, cupcakes are a bit girly aren't they? I've shaded the images with markers and layered up on Soft Suede. The sentiment is also from Cheers to You but I cut out just the word 'cheers' and mounted it in a frame from the Hodgepodge kit.

I've decorated the inside of this one too:

The sentiment is double stamped in Soft Suede using Just Perfect Alpha to help Dean feel like he's already been celebrating and then I inked up a foam circle and randomly stamped it around in an attempt to make it look like a beer glass had been sat on the card. Remember you still have a few days left to buy both the Shimmery White card and the HodgePodge kit on offer this month!

So on to the tale of my Sky+ box. It's not been working very well recently. We could watch tellybox but not actually record anything. So several phone calls to Sky later we established what the problem was. Let me introduce you to Exhibit A:

 

And I quote 'see what your problem is here Mum, you need to take the scart lead out of the X-box and attach it to the shopping trolley, then we could take out those red, blue, yellow and green connector cable things and maybe give them a bit of a chew.....'

Moving on to Exhibit B:

....'right Zac, here's the plan. You hold the tellybox bench and keep watch whilst I start removing the cables and reinserting them in to the shopping trolley, I reckon we can sort this out before Mum makes that cup of coffee.......'

Turns out Blake had 'loosened' the record input cable. I use the term 'loosened' in the vaguest possible sense. He'd pulled it out and yanked the end off it. Wait until I share his latest household adventure with you!

Back tomorrow.
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For Everything Class

It might be chilly this morning but the sun is shining and I'm going to meet my little nephew Evan for the first time later today - can't wait!

This weekend I ran a couple of classes using the For Everything stamp set and this is what we made:

I had so much fun with you all and it was an especially fab thing to be able to say Fluff came to play as she's moved up this neck of the woods now! I crafted along with the ladies and made a contrasting set using the In Colours:

I forgot to announce the winner of my first scrapbook challenge yesterday - oops! The winner is......

Michelle

Congratulations Michelle, please email me your addy and I'll get your goodies out to you.

Remember you have ages yet to enter this months challenge and the theme is Birthday's and Bunting. The prize is a mystery as it's from the new mini catalogue and I'm not allowed to show you anything from that yet!

Hugs
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Party Duck

It's Less is More challenge time again and this time Chrissie and Mandi have given us this fabulous sketch to follow:

So here's my early morning take:

I've made a DL card using Early Espresso as my base, teamed up with Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Melon Mambo. I've used the Fancy Flower punch and stamped a duck from Every Little Bit.

 

Now let me explain! Ever since I moved to Nottingham just over 20 years ago, it has always tickled me to hear blokes calling each other 'duck'. Still does. So I made this inspired by that! Here's the inside:

I braved it and wrote the sentiment by hand using the Early Espresso marker.
Got to dash as I have two classes to run today! Please hop over and join in with Less is More.

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Monthly Scrapbook Challenge #2

Ooh I missed a day! Yesterday I was practically sleep walking after very little sleep again with Blake on Wednesday night (and again last night) we think he's allergic to ibroprofen as they have had the same effect on him as dairy does. Marvellous. Anyway, he seems a bit brighter today so fingers crossed for a better night tonight.

My Mum has gone back to Spain now, we had a lovely time together and it was so fab that Mum was here for my monthly scrapbook class. Thanks to everyone who came along, great to see some new faces too! Laura, Linda and Gemma's replacement!!!

Our theme this time and the theme for my challenge this month is....Birthday's and Bunting.

So to join in my challenge you need to create your scrapbook page or pages with a Birthday theme and feature some bunting.

I'll announce the winner of the first challenge along with the prize for this challenge tomorrow! Here are my pages:

We all used the In Colours with both 12x12 card, Designer Series Papers and ribbons. I opted for Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush and Poppy Parade. I was going to do a layout of one of the boys' birthdays but thought it would be fun to use some photos from Hubby's 30th Birthday a few years back. After cutting out 30 candles by hand I wished I had picked a second birthday party instead! Here's the second page:

The stamp set we all used is Party This Way, I even took my page title from the set. I stamped the bunting in the In Colours and added the wording using Just Perfect Alphabet stamps before cutting them out, punching holes with the crop-a-dile and threading with silver elastic thread. I stuck them down using dimensionals. The journalling is written on one of the accent stickers from Celebrate Quick Accents. I cut around it as didn't want a striped background and stuck on to a piece of Poppy Parade card. The In Colour Ribbon is so soft and you get a whopping 13.7 metres per roll!

Want to see both pages together? Like I wasn't going to show you!

Right then, to join in with this months challenge, please create your NEW (no backlinking) layout and link it below, please also link back to my challenge. Please if you can also add my challenge button to your blog:

You have until 24th April to join in!

Hugs

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Pick a Petal

A quick post from me today as I'm absolutely exhausted. Not as you might be thinking as a result of us actually going out last night. Although the meal was very lovely and it was great to be out, when we got home Blake started with a temperature again and this time we couldn't bring it down. He was at 39.6 most of the night and although it's down a bit this morning to 38.7 he's still quite unwell. It was one of those nights where we couldn't quite decide if we should go to A&E or not, so we're off to the Drs soon to see what can be done to help my little fella get some rest, he's not slept and won't eat either now.

So my card for today is a bit iffy to post as my Mum checks my blog (not this week whilst she's here!) but it's her Mother's Day card:

I've used Crumb Cake card, and stamped the petals from Pick A Petal on to some Subtles DSP before cutting out and sticking down. To get the Occasional Greetings  sentiment light blue, I inked up the stamp with Tempting Turquoise ink and then Whisper White on top - easy enough to clean up the white ink pad afterwards! I've decorated the inside too:

Got to go, hope to be back tomorrow with better news about Blake.
Hugs

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A Case of a fab card

A while back I saw this gorgeous creation by Michelle Last and vowed to case it! Finally I did, here's my version of Michelle's card:

 

I've used Crumb Cake for the base card and rounded off the corners. The cute 'lil cat is from the Every Little Bit stamp set - which it really is as you get 28 stamps!!! I've stamped her in Basic Gray on to white shimmer card, coloured her using the blender pen and inks and added some bling with basic rhinestones to her collar:

The sentiment is masked off from the cat in the Longfellows level two hostess set. Michelle did a great job of decorating the inside of her card so it would have been rude not to case that too!

I've used another hostess set for the inside sentiment, this time Afterthoughts, stamped in Basic Gray.

I'm having a fabby time with my Mum here, she is babysitting tonight and me and hubby are going out, either to the cinema to see Paul or just out for some drinkies - we haven't decided yet.

Hugs
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Look No Stamping

What a scrummy morning it is so far today, such lovely bright sunshine and a bit warmer too. Always puts me in a good mood and it makes taking photos of cards a much easier task too!

So today I have a card for you with no stamping. I've used a combination of rub ons, accent stickers, punches and accessories instead. I've also made this project for a new to me challenge blog Embellish. Their theme for this challenge is a colour combo with a masculine theme. Here's my take:

I've used Bashful Blue card for my base teamed up with Real Red, Basic Gray and Pear Pizzaz. I've rounded off the corners, y'know just for a change and added a strip of gray card using the Spiral Border Punch to create my edge. Always find this punch handy on male cards as it lets me decorate without going girlie! Both the striped and scallop strips are accent stickers from the Celebration kit. I popped a jumbo eyelet in before sticking it down.

The sentiment and arrow are both rub ons from the Bday party set, conveniently next to each other too! Punched out with the Small Tag Punch and layered onto the Large Tag using Dimensionals. For a finishing touch I've added a Small Library Clip - again a nice masculine embellishment.

Zac is home again today, it's an inset day. Glad to have him home though as my Mum is in the country and we're going to pick here up later this afternoon, I can't wait! Mum is staying for a few days and is even going to be joining in my scrapbook class on Wednesday, how fab is that?

Right, I'd better go and check the kids haven't pulled all the wires out of the back of the telly for a change. I'll have to be quick one day and snap a photo of Blake in action at work with the wires and cables!

Don't forget today is the last day to join in with this month's scrapbook challenge

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Cor look at my stash!

Oh my word I just love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Not only is it the best most fun job in the world, but the perks are pretty damn fab too. Not only do you get demo discount on your own purchases, but Stampin' Up! also run incentives and offers for demos as well as customers and just look at this little lot that I earned during Sale-A-Bration in January and February:

 

11 FREE stamp sets from teh catalogue! I feel lucky as can be. If you'd like to have a chat about becoming a demo too, just give me a call on 07748 707845 and I can tell you all about it!

On the subject of things I love, it's my monthly classes again next Saturday (26th March) and here is a sneaky peeky of some of the projects we'll be making:

Want to see more?

I still have a couple of spaces left but you need to contact me tonight to reserve your place. Classes are held in Nottingham 10.30 and 1.30.

Hugs
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Less is More Masculine

I'm so pleased Hubby isn't working this morning as yet again I've managed to sneak in some early morning crafting! The theme over at Less is More this week is 'Masculine' and I actually always find these a challenge so thanks for that one ladies!

I was so chuffed to be one of their showCASed entrants for a previous challenge and must get the badge up on my blog today - thanks for the honour ladies.

I chose my colours using the Colour Coach and went for Pear Pizzaz, Note Quite Navy and Peach Parfait - no way would I normally have put these together!

Apologies for the quality of the photo - the early morning sun isn't quite on my conservatoire yet!

I've used a mixture of stamps here, the 'Happy' is from Basic Phrases, the 'B' from Broadsheet Alphabet and the 'irthday' is a masked off stamp from the level one Hostess set Afterthoughts. Yes I had to use my Stamp-ma-jig for this at this time of the morning! The Pear Pizzaz paper reminds me a little of a tie pattern so on it went - with me avoiding the temptation to add a strip of Not Quite Navy card down the centre, trust me it looked awful when I placed it there. But then that's the whole point of the challenge - less is more, it's in the name right?

Please hop over and join in as it really is a fabulous challenge and it's so lovely to visit the other entrants and leave comments too.

On the subject of challenges, if you want to have a go at scrapbooking and you like clean and simple, you still have a couple of days left to enter my monthly challenge. You can find all the details and the prize information HERE.

Hope you've got the sunshine today too.
Hugs
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Red Noses for Comic Relief

Today in the UK is Red Nose day for Comic Relief, unfortunately me and my little boys are poorly with sore throats and bad coughs so Zac has been off school. Yesterday he should have dressed up at school and donated some money to Comic Relief for doing so. He missed out on a day of fun bless him. I had made some cards for him to give out to a few of his freinds and teachers, he still can, just on Monday instead!

This features Poppy Parade, one of the lush In Colours. The spotty paper is from the Level One Hostess Gift - In Colour Paper Stack. I stamped my monsters in Basic Black using stamps from the fabulous Make a Monster set, so fitting for today as monsters are the theme for this year's red noses! The noses are actually a stamp from Something Sweet, stamped in Poppy Parade and then coated in Crystal Effects to give the lovely shiny look to them.

I've used a sentiment from Basic Phrases, I don't know what I'd do if Stampin' Up! ever decide to retire this set as I love it and all but one of the sentiments fit perfectly in to the Word Window Punch.

So as I said, my little man missed out on his school day of fun, but he still got to wear his costume at home. He dressed up as his favourite character 'Captain Rex' from Star Wars the Clone Wars. So here is my very own little clone warrier:

I imagine I'll be taking a clone warrier to the supermarket, the park, for walks etc as he loves his costume. He even has to take the helmet and 'pow' to bed with him so he can keep an eye on them!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend
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