Five Faves Friday

OK - so I'm a few minutes late and technically its now Saturday - but what the heck - here are my Five Faves for Friday.

Tea - I can go a day without a cuppa - I love tea - especially tea made by Hubs - after 19 years together he knows just how I like it.....strong but not too strong - sweet but not too sweet.

Crate Paper Mia collection - sooooo pretty.

Sassafras Woodland Whimsy collection - soooo cute

Celeb - OMGoodness this is just the BEST TV programme ever! I'm totally hooked - hate DVD and the Mallet - the guys want Joe to win, but I'm supporting Esther.

Xcut scissors - especially the little ones - perfect for handcutting - which is something I have done a LOT of this week as I've been really busy scrapping!!

We are all heading along the Atlantic highway down to Cornwall tomorrow - the guys are off to the Skate Park for a couple of days whilst I go spread some Sassafras love at Scrap Angels Christmas Workshop.

Here's a peek of tomorrow afternoons class

plus a few peeks of some of the classes I'll be teaching over the weekend.






Have a great weekend - have fun.....I know I will because the Cornish girlie's are so much fun. T.x.x.

Monday Monday!

The beginning of the week sees me almost back to normal after a weekend spent knee high in stash, paint and mess!
After much discussion Hubs and I decided not to move the craft cupboard he built for me earlier in the year.....instead we decided to paint it and now I LOVE it even more than I did before.
Not really being sure what kinda "look" I wanted for the room I have now commandeered as my crafting space wasn't a good place to start - far too much time was spent in B&Q looking at paint!! I was thinking maybe bright and funky but as we live in a really old, old farmhouse kinda cottage, Hubs wasn't so keen on bright and turned his nose up at the funky idea -

so we settled for a teal, ivory and black - so long as everything has a vintage/old feel to it.
As the room will double up as a guest room we had previously purchased a Victorian day bed and slowly the room is coming together a lot nicer than I had envisaged it would.
Ive been rooting around today and found an old Lloyd Loom Norfolk style chair that belonged to the guys Great Grandma. I now have plans to strip it down, repaint and recover it so that it can take pride of place in my newly painted room.
Today started with the best of intentions - I had huge plans to finish sorting stash - but my creativity bug got the better of me and I gave in and scrapped a couple of projects instead -

I'd rather play with it than sort it!

Pencil Lines sketch 112 went live last night and this weeks GDT member is the ever so lovely Claire Wheatley - aka Weetabix - check out her amazing page right here.

My page features photographs of Ania's girlie with her little pal "Mr Wabbit".
I used the delish products from Chatterbox - I love the felt die cut accents so much.

So how was your weekend?
T.x.x

Five Faves Friday

Ive been busy the past couple of weeks and missed out on sharing my five faves - so here are my five faves for this week.....


Glimmer Mist - I just love the stuff and cant get enough of it!
I was lucky enough to be given a box of Glimmer Mist whilst at CHA earlier this year. I came home with it and left it to one side and kinda forgot about it....that was until I saw how Ania used it so much - she kinda inspired me to have a play and now I am officially hooked on the stuff!
You can get it here in the UK.


Happy Holidays - I love this range by Fancy Pants and I have so many ideas of things I want to make with all of the funky papers - I'm thinking of making a family Christmas 2008 mini album with them :D
You can get them here in the UK.


Making Memories Tiny Alphas - I cant scrap a page atm without reaching for these little beauties - they have fast become a firm fav of mine.
You can get them here in the UK.


Hot Fuzz - I love this film and have watched it twice this week whilst cuddled up on the sofa with Bobs who has been proper poorly with a horrid cough :(



Jalapeno Peppers - This one of my fav places to go eat and I'm off out on Saturday night with Hubs and my buddies to go indulge in some fiery Mex Tex...all washed down with a bottle or two :D

Ive been playing with Decembers Bad Girls kit and thought I'd share a couple of sneaks just to wet the appetites of the Bad Girls over on the message board - they are always eager to see peeks of the upcoming kit - which will go live on November 30th



Don't forget to check out the Bad Girls Christmas Workshop which is now in full swing - with 22 FREE classes, challenges and games with PRIZES galore up for grabs.

Hubs and I are busy tearing out the craft cupboard he built for me last year - Ive decided I wanted it moved to a different part of the house and now I wished I hadn't bothered because it means I'm in such a HUGE HUGE mess!
Why on earth I did I think that moving my stash was a good idea?????
Thinking is far too dangerous!!!!

Have a great weekend and thanks for popping by.
T.x.x

Beady Bargains

I hate the cold!
Its been freezing cold here the past couple of days and Ive not wanted to venture out of the house at all - but I had things to do and people to see, so I had to brave the brrrrrr....I wraps up warm and did what needed to be done as quickly as possible!

Whilst out and about I called in to one of my local jewellers, who just happens to have a fantastic offer running at the moment for all those Troll, Buddy, Love Links bead fans out there - spend £25 on beads and you get a free chain bracelet - bargain eh?
Ive bought a few silver beads for Christmas pressies and managed to bag myself a couple of bracelets for nothing - a great saving given that we are heading into a recession :(
Check them out here -or here

Ive been busy playing with some of the new Christmas papers from Sassafras's Life at the Pole collection - which I am loving lots :D





Ive used the funkilicious papers to create my class for the Bad Girls Christmas Workshop - my class goes live on Sunday but there are already some pre-workshop classes available right now - from tomorrow we will kick things up a gear with 5 classes going live each day over the weekend - why not come and join in the fun and use up that stash you have sitting there waiting to be played with :D Its all FREE so what have you got to lose?????

Bobs is home from school today as he is ill with a horrid cold - the poor guy is hacking like he has been on 20 a day :( He is snuggled up on the sofa with a duvet and a pile of DVD's so I'd best go and join him.

Have fun

T.x.x

Im Home!!

WOW! What a wonderful weekend I have had.
Mel and Jill from A Trip Down Memory Lane, really do need to be congratulated on organising one of the BEST retreats ever.
The venue was perfect, the food totally de-lish, the company amazing and the shop so very well stocked.....all of which made travelling to the other side of the country all the more worth it - even if it did mean that I was stuck in my car for 7+ hours!
Its true - the M25 is just one great big car park!

Travelling up on the M5 and M4 was fine, but the second I hit the M25 my car ground to a halt and I was sat there for almost an hour in the hugest of tailbacks - *sigh*

Anyways - I finally arrived at the venue - unpacked my car and headed to the crop room where I then spent the next 48 hours laughing, scrapping (a little) and catching up with my scrappin' pals.
Anna came over on Saturday to teach a couple of classes and she very kindly spent some time taking some piccies of Moi - which I love! (Thanks Anna .x.x.x)

I got to meet up with Debs, Heather, Ali and Ann....which is always a pleasure - and also got to meet one of my scrapping faves Dawn (aka Evans1) and her daughter Jo!! (LOL! Only kidding ;D)

I taught two classes and a "make and take" for Prima Marketing using their adorable Paintables and products from the Dude collection.


The versatility of the Paintables meant that no two LO's were the same, as the delegates chose water colours to co-ordinate with their images.



My Dude class focused on clustering and layering and I left the classroom on such a "high" as everyone really loved the products (how could they not?) and my class seemed to go down well :D


The class kits were packed with stash....enough to make 3-4 pages - so I used up the remainder to create my layout for this weeks Pencil Lines sketch.....which features a photo of my guys meeting Goofy at Disney in Jan 08.


Back to the retreat - Clare taught a really great class on using junk to create a mini book cover which involved getting very messy indeed - I loved it and cant wait to use the technique again - I'm thinking I may even use it to cover note books as Chrissie pressies for the guys teachers.

I was really inspired by Clare's baking tray advent calendar, so much so that I shopped a little in the store and bought some yummy Christmas papers to make a couple for my nephews - with my stash box now over flowing with class kits and shop goodies I really cant wait to play - I'm planning on spending the remainder of this evening doing just that. :D

Too many late late nights spent sitting scrapping and chatting, meant I was physically unable to even think about driving the 350+ miles home - so I headed up North and stayed over with my family (I'll find any excuse to spend a little time with my wee nephew, who is growing up so very quickly!)

I arrived home late this afternoon and was greeted with lots of hugs and squeezes from the guys - ahhhh its good to be home :D

Dont forget to check out the Pre -Christmas Workshop classes over on Bad Girls - 3 have gone live whilst I have been away and they are STUNNING - as well as being FREE!!!!!
Stash is calling me to go play - a night scrapping whilst catching up on "Celeb" = perfect night in for me!

Have fun.
T.x.x

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane

Opps! Norty blogger alert!

I've been too busy to blog these past few days.....so much to do - with never enough hours in the day - I bet that sounds familiar to most, especially as the festive season is fast approaching!

I'm trying to be totally organised this year and have my Christmas preps wrapped up early, so that by the time December hits I don't have to battle through the crowds - Im not a fan of shopping at the best of times - so being an early bird suits me fine :D
Ive wrapped pressies and posted off those that need to make it overseas - made the Crimble cake and have started the "feeding" process - yummmm Rum - my favourite :D

Whilst out shopping over the weekend I stocked up on some Yankee candles and now the house smells of cinnamon and spice - a sure sign to my guys that Santa is on his way!!

I gave up on the idea of making Christmas cards - apart from ones for close family - so real life friends - listen up - this year its going to be a card made by Mr Hallmark from us - sorry!

My days have been kept busy as Ive been working behind the scenes over at Bad Girls putting together what promises to be THE BEST CHRISTMAS WORKSHOP EVER

Starting from Saturday 15th - Thursday 20th November there will be one daily class - as usual they will be FREE OF CHARGE - and then - as if that's not enough - from Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd November there will be a whopping 16 classes going live throught the duration of the weekend - giving a total of 22 FREE classes for you to enjoy - all guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing and set your Mojo fired up to create.
Come and join in the FUN and GAMES right here......there are PRIZES up for grabs and the classes are all just amazing and perfectly timed for you to make the odd gift or (twenty) two for Christmas.......plus how would you like to WIN $50's to spend on scrappy stash????
Then check this out!!!

Despite being busy organising the Workshop, I have managed to get LOTS of Scrapping done :D
This week my Pencil Lines Sketch, which went live on Sunday, features a little girl whom I totally adore - she looks so angelic and cute - but don't let looks fool you - this girl is so feisty and full of determined spirit - for a two year old she sure is head strong and knows just what she wants (and knows how to get it too!) Her poor Mom despairs at times - but I don't think she would want her daughter to be any other way.

I used papers from Crate - yummmmmy...and Heidi Swapp alphas....swooon.

Last weekend saw me teaching a couple of classes - both using Sassafras Happy place product - Ive not photographed one of the pages yet!


I really must get around to photographing the second page tomorrow, before I head off to take "A Trip Down Memory Lane" where I will be spreading the Sassafras love and teaching a make and take and two Prima classes as part of the PrimaDonna Education Programme.....




I'm so excited to be spending the weekend amongst some of my RL pals - who just happen to scrap too!
I asked the guys what their plans were for the weekend- ummmm - they arent telling -

but, by the looks on their faces, I just know they have something very boyish planned - its probably best Im not around!! Whilst the cats away.........eh????



Don't forget - the first of the BAD GIRLS CHRISTMAS WORKSHOP classes goes live on Saturday 15th - class supply lists are already available on the message board....so why not gather together your supplies right now and be prepared:D

Have a great weekend and thanks for popping by.

T.x.x.

Autism 2008

Autism 2008 - the latest Awares International Online Autism Conference - opens on November 24, 2008 and lasts for a whole week.

Last year's conference attracted thousands of delegates from around the world and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen called it "the best online autism conference on the planet."

As in previous years, Autism 2008 is a unique opportunity to put your questions directly to international Autism experts and to people with Autism.

This year's outstanding list of more than seventy speakers includes:

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen (UK) - a man we as a family owe a great deal to and someone to whom we will be ever thankful, as he took time to help us with our own personal battles in life.

Other speakers -
Dr Gary Mesibov (USA), Dr Ami Klin (USA), Donna Williams (Australia), Dr Susan Folstein (USA), Merry Barua (India), Dr John Constantino (USA), Dr Carol Gray (USA), Dr David Skuse (UK), Dr Pamela Heaton (UK), Dr Glenys Jones (Wales), Dr Dawn Wimpory (Wales), Dr Wendy Keay-Bright (Wales), Stephen Shore (USA), Dr Roberto Canitano (Italy), Dr Manuel Casanova (USA), Dr Susanne Bejerot (Sweden), Chantal Sicile-Kira (USA), Dr Darold Treffert (USA), Dr Mayada Elsabagh (UK), Dr Sven Boelte (Germany), Nuala and Dale Gardiner (UK), Dr Robert DeLong (USA), Dr Dirk Dhossche (USA), Dennis Debbaudt (USA), Dr Cheryl Dissanayake (Australia), and Dr Amanda Ludlow (UK).

Topics will range from the genetics, neurology and immunology of autism, biomedical approaches, environmental issues, educational methods, autism in adolescents and adults and first-hand experiences of living with Autism and Asperger's syndrome.

Autism 2008 is open to absolutely anyone with an interest in Autism.
To find out more about Autism 2008 and receive e-mail updates with all the latest conference news, please take a moment to register now at www.awares.org/conferences and make a note in your diary to join us on November 24, 2008.

Please also let anyone else know who might be interested.

Abstracts of speakers' papers will be available online at www.awares.org/conferences from November 17, 2008, and the full papers from November 21.

An online Foyer Café will also be available for delegates to meet and discuss issues prior to the conference.
Autism2008 - the Awares International Online Autism Conference - is organised by Autism Cymru, Wales' National Charity for Autism.

For further information, feel free to e-mail Adam Feinstein at adam@autismcymru.org

Vintage Treasures

6am this morning saw the launch of "Vintage Treasures" - Novembers Bad Girls kit.

I love the vintage feel of this kit and although at first I had planned to scrap older photos - I actually reached for more up to date images, as the kit has such a great mix to it.

As always, my Bad Girls pals on the DT have blown me away with their creativity - I really look forward to each months kit reveal, as I love to see how each DT member uses the products so differently.....you can see for yourself right here.

I really enjoyed creating with the kit - the velvet flocked paper from 7 gypsies is just so beautiful that I struggled to cut into it. As the rich ruby red tones match so well to the decor of my home, I decided to create a box framed page of Hubs parents on their Wedding day, which will now hang in our sitting room.


The frame I picked up on a recent trip to IKEA and I'm so glad I picked up more than one, as I plan to make another as a gift for my Mom.

Each month Wendy sets the DT a challenge - as this month sees Thanksgiving in the USA, Wendy set us the challenge to create a page documenting something we are thankful for.

Obviously I am thankful for my family and my health - but I am also extremely thankful that I am able to live in an area of outstanding natural beauty - being so close to the beach I am fortunate to be able to escape and take some time out, whilst sitting watching the waves. The beach really does inspire me in so many ways and its fast becoming my sanctuary - a place where I can go to clear out the cobwebs, whilst I sit and contemplate life and all that it throws at me.

From my favourite spot on the beach, on a clear day, I can see the coastline of South Wales - hence my title Diolch - Welsh for Thanks.


This captured moment between the Bride to be and her Mother is one of my favourite photographs, that I took whilst at my best friends wedding back in September.

I hand cut the floral details from the papers and used Glimmer Mist to give the ribbon an aged look.


Hubs is a great believer that you have to search your inner self to discover your hidden talents and happiness - I'm not sure where his belief comes from, but he is always telling our guys that only they can make their dreams come true.....only they can make their own happiness...I'm so glad he has this belief because he has encouraged our guys in so many ways - they both believe that nothing is impossible and I'm sure that J's determination to succeed is born from Hubs beliefs.

I stripped back the Thickers to expose the raw surface and gave everything on this page a good coating of Glimmer Mist.....I love the stuff and have been converted to using it more thanks to my pal and fellow Prima Donna Ania :D

I've a heavy date this afternoon with a box of goodies including some lushness from Crate, Sassafrass and KI - the fire is lit and my workspace warm - so Im off to go play.

Thanks for popping by....have a great day.
T.x.x

ScrapaJack

I'm home after a wonderful few days away at the Scrapajack Autumn retreat, which was quite possibly one of the most well organised events I have ever been to....Debbie and Jak both need to be congratulated on putting together a wonderful weekend of non stop scraptivity.

My classes seemed to go down well and I "think" everyone enjoyed them...


- including the extras I made using up the scraps -


The store was well and truly stocked and thanks to the lovely Sue from Crafty Stash I am a few pounds lighter!!
I got to meet up with some familiar faces, as well as meeting new ones too....it was really lovely to finally meet another "ie" in Tracie Doodle.....there arent many of us "ie's" around.

Weetabix and Tracie both made me feel very welcomed and I enjoyed spending time with them both as we had a little play around with our cameras.

The girlie's at the event raised a over £100 for Cancer Research as they all donned Pink for the "Think Pink" campaign.

I just loved Sal's "name badge that's not a name badge challenge" entry- very Bad Girls indeed :D

Talking of Bad Girls - I took my Bad Girls kit along with me and whisked together my DT projects whilst away - the kit goes live at 10pm PST tonight - which is 6am tomorrow morning for all the UK girls out there.....set your alarms because this kit is soooo beautiful - think vintage/shabby chic with a velvet funky twist.
Just to wet your appetite here are a few sneaks of my projects so far.....




As the retreat drew to a close I waved goodbye to the girls at Scrapajack and headed North of Birmingham to go spend some time with my family - Sis cooked - we ate - drank and got merry as we discussed a multitude of topics - I left the adults in mid convo to go and spend some time with my nephews watching Boo, Zino and the Snurks - I just love that movie!

All three of my nephews are growing up so quickly.... my youngest nephew, Wills, has mastered walking and was eager to share his new found talent with me, whilst Jacob - the oldest, gave me a Gymnastics display :D
Mom and I said our goodbyes and headed "home" - Sunday morning saw us lounging around in our PJ's until we dressed and wandered off out for lunch - I finally arrived back to a rather windswept Devon on Sunday evening and was greeted by the guys with lots of cuddles....followed by a hot bath - a mug of tea and a roaring fire - ahhhhh bliss - tis good to be home.

T.x.x