Finally!

I have finally finsihed this weeks Speshals Dare!
My original LO ended up being binned b/c I hit a brick wall and just could get inspired by the papers I had used.....guess thats why they have sat unused since the day I bought em!

Anyways I finally oiked out the very first papers I had bought.....I wasnt going to use them because they were "special" to me.
The papers were used on the first card I had ever had published way back in August 2005!


Cardmaking and Papercraft mag ran a feature on how I began cardmaking....all b/c I was home educating J due to the lack of special school placements for ASD children and needed to cover the Arts and Crafts curriculum within his educational plan. We headed off to the local craft shop and bought some card making goodies......J loved his ickle bits and pieces so much.....but not as much as his Mom did!
At night, once he had gone to bed, I would sit and play for hours. Friends started to ask me to make cards for them and things just escalated from there.

Hubs 40th was approaching and I wanted to make him a special card. Whilst searching the net for inspiration I discovered Scrapbooking.....I had just 7 days to make him a Scrapbook....a quick on line shop for goodies and then my task started.

I didnt have a clue what I was doing but I received so much support and encouragement from the girls over on the Craft Supplies Forum that without it Im sure I would have quit! I managed to get the album finished and Hubs loved it.....so much so that it bought a tear or two to his eyes!

That was the start for me...Hubs reaction got me hooked. No matter how much I loved making cards for people, I loved the visible emotion on Hubs face, as he looked at his album, a hell of a lot more. Cards are fab but LO's....well they just convey so much more dont they?



Journalling around the edge of the LO just tells how I discovered scrappin.....title Life Begins.....a combination of "Life Begins at 40" for Hubs....cus thats why I started scrappin and because since I have started scrappin my life has begun too!
During the short time I have been addicted to this hobby I have regained a life for myself! J is now in full time school which means I can finally indulge in that "me" time I previously never been blessed with.
Papers are MOD Designs from Autum Leaves and the title is cut from some suede effect paper....think is SEI????

The piccie is Moi! Its the one CM&P used in the mag!My appearance has changed so much in the last 18 months....Im deffo looking older/greyer/wrinklier and my rear end is sure a lot fatter!

Ummmmm I think I prefer my hair longer???? Not sure? Maybe I'll grow it again????

Have a good one....whats left of it!

T.x.

I miss.....

I miss my Mom!

Having spent a few days with my family last week Ive come home feeling a little homesick.
There is no way I would ever pack up and head back North....lazy Devon is deffo the place I wanna stay until my dieing day....but I do miss having my family around.
I miss girlie get togethers with my sisters, I miss going out for lunch with my Mom.....simple things like chatting over a cuppa I dont get to do with any of my family :(
As the guys get older it is becoming harder for me to arrange visits to go see them all.....you know what its like.....teens have a busier social life than their parents!
Last weekend my heart nearly broke when I went to see my wee nephew and he didnt know who I was.....half of the day was spent with him calling me "the lady" :(

Ive decided that I really have to make more of an effort to drive the 3 hours to see them all, speshally as my Mom isnt in good health atm.

This weeks prompt for Emilys Challenge is I miss........


I added text and printed out the photograph I took of Mom last weekend whilst we were wandering around Lichfield Cathedral. Gave the piccie a slight sanding and then stapled into place....added an Angel Kiss Mini Daisy and used my Dymo for Make Time. Journalling on the reverse tells just how much I miss my Mom.

Last night whilst I was trying (and failing miserably) to finish this weeks Speshal's Dare J wanted to play with my Sizzix......he just loves cutting out the dies. Having spotted this weeks Card Makers Dare...we set to work on making a card for Nanny....so here is our collabaration....J cut....I stuck!


Just some happy piccies inspired by this



Oh lucky me....Ive just received a delivery.....

How beautiful are these flowers.....they smell divine.....if you are reading this then it should be me thanking you for such an amazing time.xx.

Have a great day...have fun...be creative...but most of all be happy!

T.x.

Happy Days

I didnt get chance to update yesterday mainly because I am still stuck with the endless task of stash sorting! I cant believe I have spent three days tidying stash! All my brads, eyelets, buttons and ribbons are now safely stored in their right places....yeeeee ha!
My cardstock, papers and rubons are all stored in their relevant homes.....as are my chipboard, alphas and blossoms. Ive just got a box of tricks to sort out and put away and then I'll be finished.

If there is one thing that really bugs me its being untidy. The hours wasted trying to find stash is a nightmare....well no more. I know where everything is and everything has a home....almost!

The guys have spent the weekend making a ramp! They rummaged around in the store shed and found some old bits of wood lurking amongst the rubbish that Hubs keeps for a rainy day. At least my stored "junk" is pwetty to look at unlike Hubs magled old pieces of metal.

Anyways the guys have had so much fun making the ramp and the whole of yesterday was spent perfecting their jumps! I almost died when Bobs asked me to go watch him.....boy does that guy live off adrenalin rushes....he obviously takes after Hubs.



Having spent an hour surfin the net over the weekend I spotted this fab blog which inspired me to take a few piccies messing about with the different settings on my camera!

These are the things which make me happy:)

Spring is in the air...crisp days with blue skies and of course the daffodils are out in abundance.


Momiji's make me smile


and now my mags are stored together and are even in date order - Im a happy bunny:)


There is a one word prompt uploaded to the bog every day.....Im going to try and use the themes a couple of times a week and Im deffo going to be using my camera "properly" a lot more after spending time with my sis....she's a bit of a whizz when it comes to cameras.

The Speshals Dare is just perfick for me b/c as Ive been sorting Ive found stash I had forgotten about! Ive even found the very first sheets of papers I bought way back in August 2005! They have been hacked into and Ive started my LO....just need to tweak and then its finished!

Talking off the Speshals......

There is a buzz of excitement in the scrapping community and I wanna wish a great bunch of gals all the best with their new venture. This concept is such a fab idea and will be such a source of inspiration for scrappers who cant get to attend the many retreats, crops and workshops that are held across the UK. I really do wish the Speshal Gals all the luck in the world.....not that they need it cus they are fab fab fab. Go check out The Design Collective.

T.x.

Tidy....I wish!

Last week whilst I was away at Stitches Hubs put up some new shelves in my craft room and had a little tidy up for me....how fab is he :)
The only problem I had was I couldnt find anything!

So today has been spent making a huge mess....Ive pulled out everything and had a really good sort out.
Ive found things I'd forgotten I had!

Whilst at B&Q this morning Hubs picked up a few more storage boxes for me so Ive just completed the relentless task of filling them with all my bits and bobs.....some of my finds are awful.....stuff I bought when I first started cardmaking.....stuff I will probably never ever use but just cant bring myself to dump it....well not yet anyway. If I havent used it in 6 months time then it will go!

Im a quarter way through sorting and have all my drawers to go.....so far Ive filled 2 black bin liners.....eeeeeeekkkk.








Have a fab Saturday night.....we are off to the pub for supper!

T.x.

Theres a storm brewing!

Brrrrrrrr its fweezing.
There have been 8ft waves battering the beach today......icy cold rain that hits your face like a thousand needles.....Im chiiled to the bone.
No surf allowed due to the strong rip:(






Weve just walked and walked and walked today.
They guys are whacked, so much so that they havent the energy to go to youff club tonight. The dogs have got the right idea and are curled up in front of the log fire.....think Im going to join them and do a little scrappin......thats if my fingers defrost!

Dont forget, if your a whizz, Im in need of a banner....Ive added some extras to the goodie bag of chipboard.....see yesterdays post for details.
Thanks to the peeps who have alreday submitted.....they are looking very swish.

Tx

Rockin Rockets

Emilys prompt for the art journal this week is "shoes".

I will admit to having a slight shoe obsession.

I love funky, whacky shoes....the funkier and wackier the better.



A couple of Christmases ago Hubs bought me my very first pair of Rocket Dogs....Sugar Daddy chocolate suede boots....Ive worn them to death....they are the most comfortable boots I have ever owned....much nicer than my UGGS.
Then came the summer releases and I just couldnt resist buying a couple of pairs of the funky ballet slippers.....when autumn arrived I invested in a pair of suede clog slip ons and winter saw the need for a replacement pair of Sugar Daddys.
With over 12 pairs of Rockets lurking in the shoe cupboard Im starting to think I have a serious Rocket Dog fetish.
I just love the unique look of the Dogs coupled with the fact that, unlike Crocs, Im unlikely to bump into anyone else who will be wearing them.....Ive never been a sheep and never will be.

Today has been a wonderful day.....I took the guys out for lunch....then off to get their out of control locks trimmed....they are both long haired yetti skater/surfer guys but I still want them to look reasonably smart for school.
We have been for a stroll on the beach and grabbed a hot drink whilst we have just sat and chatted....I love days like this...days when its just us doing our own thing.

Surf is up so we are waiting for Hubs to arrive home and then off to the deep blue for an hours splash about......brrrrrrrrr its gonna be cold.

I need some help......

Ive had a bit of a sort out and have a baggie of chip board up for grabs......in return I need need someone to make me a new banner for my crop which is called Crop N Craft.
Im looking for something a bit funky with a girly feel to it.....Im open to colour options but love bright and eye catching.

Email your designs to me at traciehudson@hotmail.co.uk before Sunday 25th Feb......I'll choose one design and the lucky creator will get the baggie posted out on Monday.

Thanks.


T.x.

Stitches

Where shall I begin?

Sunday morning driving through the quiet streets making my way to the NEC was a breeze....the journey took me 25 mins.....25 mins to prepare for a day of visual over load.
How excited was I to be meeting Beckie for the first time..we have chatted lots over the past 18 months via the different forums we use but hadnt met IRL before. I arrived at the Scrap Genie stand dumped my bags and had a fabulous squidgy cuddle from Kirsty....what a wonderful way to start the day.
More cuddles from Becks and Beckie and then the fun started.....
the stand was looking pretty darn hot....so many wonderful new ranges to feast my eyes upon.

From dusk til dawn the stand was busy busy busy...a real hive of activity.
I managed to scrap a little...demo'd the Crop-A-Dile...chatted lots and lots to loads of lovely peeps and even found time to wander off and enjoy a quiet natter with Debs.
Roz popped by the stand and hand delivered a healthy supply of Lippy Chick books for me to play with. How cool was is that we got to meet up properly, we had crossed paths at a couple of retreats before hand and had only chatted briefly...this was our first chance to get together and have a good ol chat....I just love Roz's zest for life...she is such a happy person....the sort who just makes you wanna smile smile smile.

I couldnt resist taking a short break from the stand to wander over and watch Tim Holtz work his magic.....that man is a whizz.

Lookey at what he made me.....Im now the proud owner of a signed Tim Holtz tag....tis gonna take pride of place in my newly revamped workshop. :)


Sunday flew by and before I knew it it was time to head home.....back to my Moms for a delish supper and loads of TLC. I spent the evening tweaking a couple of projects that needed to be posted off the next day then hit my bed.
It was strange sleeping back in my old room....those walls have seen and heard every emotion possible....yikes when I think back to my teen years I shudder and wonder how my Mom could love me after all the sleepless nights I must have caused her....I deffo give thanks that I am blessed with boys!

Monday morning traffic....dont you just hate it? Living where we do means we are spared the nightmare of commuter traffic. The 25 minute journey took me 90 minutes! 90 minutes sat trawling along at a snail's pace. Im so glad we escaped the rat race when we did. I looked at the faces of the other drivers and they all looked so grey....so miserable....so sad. Surely there is more to life than being stuck in traffic for half of your waking day....why dont these peeps stop the ride and get off? Why do they work the same old same old every day??? I guess people get trapped in their ways and have to do what they have to do to survive the dog eat dog ways of city life....I just know its not for me and am grateful that we made the life changing decissions we did and escaped the treadmill madness.

So I eventually arrived at the NEC and spent the day in the pleasurable company of Emily Adams from Imagination Project.....



Emily has the most inspiring desire to share her gift of talent....and boy has she got talent. I sat along side Emily as she taught make and takes on the Scrap Genie stand and just had to have a go for myself.....Im just lovin the new Calendar and Office ranges which Emily co-designed.

I also managed to find time to take part in the Rusty Pickle make and take taught by the ever so lubberly Christy.....
Im lovin the new releases....specially Island Summer....its so vibrant with colours that are almost lickable.....think rapsberry ripple ice cream....perfect for lazy summer layouts.
The afternoon was a hoot and I sat giggling as Amy Pilkingtons hubby John decided to have a go at Amy's make and take class. This guy isnt a crafter at all but he managed to produce a wonderfully distressed card for Becks and then continued to make more and more....Im sure he is a closet crafter....Amy had better lock up her stash!


So another day ended....the stand had been busy all day with the new ranges being positively recieved. I was sad to wave bye to Beckie as she headed back to bonnie Scotland but its not long now til Crafteire, so we will have chance to get together.


I met so many people I knew....Chrissie popped by to say hi as did Angela..Kate and Mirielle from Crafteire...Scrapagogo's Lorraine....Sarah(plus the bump) and Lianne...tis always great to meet people in real life when you have chatted online for a while.
I crawled through the traffic back home to Moms and hit my bed with sore and acheing tootsies.

Tuesday's traffic was worse than Mondays due to a rather nasty RTA on the M6....I sat motionless for over an hour whilst the emergency services did their thing....I just couldnt spend my days like this and I feel so sorry for the peeps that have to do it day in day out.
On my way over to the NEC I called into another craft store and have been invited to teach a couple of workshops....dates etc TBC very soon :)

The morning flew by as I sat making Karen a card for her hubby....Happy Birthday Karens DH...he's norty 40 dontchaknow :)

4pm came and it was time for me to head off home.....3 hours with just lil ol Mika and Amy Whinehouse for company.

Tis lovely to be home....the guys came in and made such a huge fuss. I had demo's on how to operate my new conservatory blinds from J and Bobs told me all about his hat trick:) We cuddled up on the bed with a mug of Horlicks and I listened to all their news.

I love going away as it makes me appreciate what I have here so much more.....Im blessed with two beautiful boys, a wonderful hubby and am fortunate to live in what I consider to be the most beautiful place on earth......plus I get to scrap and play all I want....Im feeling pretty lucky atm and feel as if all my dreams have come true.

So that was my weekend away at Stitches....what did you get up to?

Tx

Home is where your heart is......

Im home! Spending 3 nights away from my guys is far too long. A whole 87 hours has passed without a kiss, cuddle or squeeze from my babes and I have really really missed em.
I cant begin to even find the right words to explain how I felt as I approached home.....I was longing to see their faces, my arms ached just to squeeze them all so tightly....I really needed a snuggle from Hubs and I so wanted to hear all the guys news....Bobs had won his footie match 7-0 and I had missed out on seeing him score his hat trick :( J had managed to skate the deep end of the bowl and I'd not been around to share in his achievement....all of this news had been relayed to me via my cell phone but I wanted to see the excitement in their faces as they re-told every second of how much fun they have had.
As I turned into our lane I was greeted by an almighty JCB sat right outside my house....the road is blocked because finally the highways bods have decided to deal with our problem springs.
I negotiated my way past the road block signs...jumped over a couple of barriers and headed up my garden path....the house was in darkness :( I had been late leaving the NEC and Hubs had taken the guys out with him....so Im home alone and have to wait just one more hour to get my kisses and cuddles.
Once inside the house I flicked on the kettle....kicked of my shoes....boy do my feet ache! As I stood waiting for my long awaited cuppa to brew I spotted a post it note stuck to the kitchen door....."this way Mom --->"....so I followed it and the host of others all dotted around the house which finally directed me to my craft room.....
whilst Ive been away Hubs has painted my craft room....he's put up new shelving and had what looks like a blooming good sort out! Oh heck! This means he now knows exactly just how much stash I have lurking in my room! He has even found time to put up new roof blinds....what a star he is :)

Oh its so nice to be home.....surrounded by the things I love.....it'll be even better when the guys are here with me.

I have had such a fantastic few days away....Ive spent my time surrounded by the most inspiring people...chatted with my "heros"...met up with friends and made some fabulous new friends. Ive returned home feeling so inspired by all the amazing talent out there.



Saturday was spent hangin out with my Mom....I dont get to spend as much quality time with her as I'd like....living so far away makes it almost impossible to see her more than 3-4 times a year. As the guys get older and develop their own social lives we find it even more difficult to negotiate family trips...it was wonderful to spend a couple of hours just chattin and potterin around one of my old haunts.
My sis is fortunate enough to live in the grounds of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful cities in the UK....Lichfield.


The Catherdral is such a magnificent building which towers over the quaint cobbled high street.

Saturday afternoon was spent paying a visit to one of my fav spots in the city....The Place.
Its definatley worth a visit to this treasure chest which is stacked floor to ceiling with wonderful crafty finds.

I'll be heading back to The Place in the not so distant future to teach an all day workshop...so watch this space for dates etc.

The alarm woke me bright an early on Sunday morning and I headed off across the Midlands to the NEC.

Ive so much to record from the amazing weekend I have had but my poor old eyes are in need of sleep so I shall update tomorrow......

Its nice to be back.....back home.....ahhhhhh bliss.

T.x.

Symbols

After a day spent tidying the house and packing for my trip up to the Midlands I decided I was in need of a little retail therapy!
Hubs phoned just as I was heading out of the door and decided to meet up with me for a latte and a chat. We do this sometimes....just off the cuff get together out of the house....have a cuppa and a chat then head back home to be Mom and Dad.

Some of my mates think its mad that Hubs and I will have lunch dates or that we phone each other to arrange a meet up at the local pool...we swim....have a glass of wine afterwards and then go our seperate ways for the remainder of the day....I do the same with my girlie friends...Hubs is my best mate so why shouldnt I meet up with him like this? We may be peculiar but after 18 years together we cant be going wrong!

So what did I buy?
Some new shoes that I had seen in the sale earlier on in the week and wished I had bought them when I spotted them...fortunately they were still there....Oh the joys of having size 7's :)
A new top from Monsoon for a party Im off to tomorrow night :)
A black ink pad and a box of buttons

and some Trolls beads! LOL! I knew I wouldnt be able to resist walking past the shop without diving in to "just have a look"!

Anyways I now have an almost full bracelet!

I bought

Symbols -The frog symbolises fertility, the scarab life. The turtle is for a longevity, the star for the spiritual. Copper is the metal of love, the sun source to life on earth and ying and yang is for harmony and balance


Aquamarine Pastel


This is the bead Hubs bought me for Valentines day...its one of the Limited Edition Anniversary beads


Ive also got my eye on one of the Scroll beads and will be popping my order in as soon as I get my next cheque from SI.

Im going to have it engraved with all of my goals for 2007.....then at the end of the year will have another engraved with the goals I managed to acheive.

My bracelet as it is now


Bags are packed, car is ready and Im so excited to be spending the next few days living, eating and breathing scrapbooking at the NEC.
I will be on the Scrap Genie stand with the rest of the lovelies from the design team so come say hello if you are passing by.
Im so looking forward to be meeting up with some of my buddies...speshally Debs, Roz, Kirsty and Beckie.
Im taking my laptop with me so hopefully I will be able to upload and share some images with you over the weekend.

Yesterday I revealled a ickle secret.....well


make sure you keep May 2008 free!
Its going to be sooooo lippyliscious.

Laterz hunniez.
T.x.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

Can you keep a secret? Can you?
Theres something BIG happening!
Really BIG!

Have a looksey here