SOME MORE STARS...

Okay...I know, I know it's ages til Christmas yet but I am really trying to promote my wee etsy shop at the mo (I should be doing housework but this is much more fun...lol).

Why not pop over here and have a look for yourself???

Also...the postie arrived this morning with the first Simply Create Design Team stash...very exciting...will be getting stuck into that later....still got toilets to clean...lol....xx

CHRISTMAS IS A COMING...

Thought since I have my first ladies night in a couple of weeks I had better get a wriggle on and make something....This will also be available in my etsy shop. I decided this year that I was fed up painting the stars and hearts as it's very time consuming waiting for the layers to dry so thought I would try something a wee bit different....I have previously experimented with this before for just me and this is the first time I have made them to sell...

The papers used to cover these are 'unknown' (sorry can't remember the make as Susan and I split the pack and she must have the packaging)...I then distressed the edges with Tim Holtz Tattered Rose Distress Ink which is a really lovely colour...I added the small star which I painted with a Cranberry Paint Dabber, then coated with Glossy Accents and sprinkled with glitter...it is finished of with some distressed raffia....

Thanks for looking!!!

NEW IN....

Another new item for my etsy shop....not sure I will do as well as Judy as I haven't sold anything yet...boo hoo...but if they don't sell I have been persuaded to do a couple of ladies/craft events so hopefully they will sell there...

I am definitely trying to be a little more organised at the moment what with Morgan doing training with AFC THREE times a week in Aberdeen....It's quite hard juggling everyone as the girls have something on 2 of those nights as well and while my mum is good at babysitting she doesn't drive so I then have to organise lifts for them as well...

On Friday I went to a Stampin Up party at my friend Trish's demonstrated by Elaine...we made a funky little cupcake card which I forgot to photograph (ooops!) and then I posted to Sharon for her birthday and I think that's what inspired these cards as I came home from there and made them....

Had an email from Jacqui at Simply Create yesterday to say the Design Team Kits are ready to be posted out today...will be pacing the hall waiting for the postie tomorrow and Wednesday (oh no just realised that Susan has just booked us into Body Attack (help!!!!)at the Sports Centre tomorrow so let's hope the postie is late!!!)

Thanks for looking today....xxx

AUGUST 365 CALENDAR PAGES (AT LAST!!)...

At last my August 365 Art Journal Calendar pages.....a bit late but as they say better late than never....I don't know why I am running so far behind this month...I can only put it down to being on holiday - I am also 3 weeks behind with my Claudine class too....hopefully have time to do a bit of catch up this week.... For the background I wrapped the pages with some raffia (a technique I seen in an old copy of Craft Stamper) and then sprayed with inks or rather alcohol inks mixed with water as I don't have any spray inks yet!!! I then used co-ordinating ink pads to stamp various images round the pages which I quite like...

For my squares this month I cut them from a Dovecraft 6x6 paper stack called Funky Village...I haven't been in the habit of decorating the squares as I think there is enough going on in the backgrounds but I think this is the first time I have used such patterned papers apart from January....I quite like that too....

The month is done using Making Memories Vintage Findings Stamps which I found over at Simply Create the other week and I though it was like stamps you would find on postcards in keeping with August being the holiday month!!!

I stamped Summer Days with chalk ink and then went over it with a Versamark pen and then Perfect Pearls to create the slight sheen which I am not sure you can see on the photograph!!! That's it for this month, hopefully will manage to catch up as I am almost finished prepping the September pages....

At last I have found a link for everyone on the Simply Create Design Team...all except Pauline who I believe is Angela's sister and someone said they possibly share a blog (feel free to correct me if I am wrong about this!!!)

Angela and guest designer Pauline
Carol
Debbi
Elizabeth
Jane
Judy
Kat
Kath
Katy
Sarah
Shelly
Sonja
Tina

Okay...sorry I can't find the link for Angela now but as soon as I have it I will link it....why not pop over and wish the ladies luck and check out their blogs....

Edit...Found the link to Angela...

DESIGN TEAM ENTRIES....

Jacqui has said it's ok to post these now so here goes.... This is a 7Gypsies Printers Tray that I bought at Art From The Heart last October which we visited when we were on holiday in the Lake District... It's been sitting in my Things To Do box ever since and I have picked it up a few time lately thinking it would be a good place to show some of the Stampotique stamps that I have acquired recently...I didn't have any real plan and just went with whatever came to mind when I was working on it...I wanted to use kraft cardstock as the background so inked and stamped and splodged a couple of sheets and then cut them up to fit the trays...everything else just seemed to slot into place...the flowers were a last minute panic addition as what I had originally planned just wasn't working out...the flowers were something I had just been diddling about with (as you do) and they were lying on my desk and I just thought why not!!! I have used lots of different techniques in the tray and really enjoyed doing it....

Secondly was my July pages for the 365 Calendar Challenge which was already a work in progress - I now have to play catch up with the August pages - not even started them yet - thank goodness for my little red filofax that Allan bought me last year and I got mad about cos I thought I would never use it!!!!

This one is a variation on one I did last year for Scrap Attack...you had to pick your favourite stamp and then send it on to the next person on the list and you would get one from the last person....I think a lot of people struggled with my choice...lol...well it did have to be challenging...!!!

This last one is actually going to be my class over at Simply Create and there is a tutorial to go with it but that is saved for another time....It is totally different to what I had originally planned for the class but it worked out - I am very nervous about doing it so if you do happen to be coming, please be gentle....

Now I, like the rest of my teamies am just waiting for my first box of goodies to arrive...Jacqui was giving a couple of hints yesterday and telling us about some of the exciting things in store - Can't wait to get started and I hope I do her proud as I feel very proud and honoured to have been asked...Thank you again Jacqui....x

MORE GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK...

Well this has certainly been the week for it in our household...not only has mum (that's me!!) been selected for the Design Team over at the most lush of lushy shops Simply Create but Morgan (No 1 child) has been signed for Aberdeen Football Club in his chosen position of goalkeeper and Ellie (No 2 child) has landed a part in the junior chorus (again) in our local pantomime...so it's been a week of highs and everyone is well chuffed with their achievements...


Will try to catch up with some crafty photos tomorrow...

SIMPLY CREATE DESIGN TEAM...

I'm in.....the Simply Create Design Team that is....Can't believe it...never thought I would be picked in a million years as there are so many wonderfully creative people out there...I swithered about entering but Sonja and Susan both said I should go for it so I thought 'why not'....I didn't even send my entry in til last night - last minute Annie as usual...I am soooo exciiiited and can't wait to get started and to meet all my new teamies..... Thank you Jacqui - you have really made my day!!!

Hop on over and say hello to all the rest of the girls....




I am also going to be doing a class over at the shop on the 23rd September and here is a wee sneak peek if you fancy it!!!!


OMG...still can't believe it...and it's so lovely that there are one or two or even three or four of the peeps that I know and love on the team as well....Don't think I will be able to sleep now!!!!

NEW BACKGROUND

Sorry messing around with Blogger Backgrounds today...bear with me - this may take a while...lol

NEW ETSY SHOP

This week I opened my etsy shop - StorminavintageTcup for business after setting it up in July- I started of with this little trinket box that I bought along with some other shapes and sizes from Hobbycraft just before going on holiday and it was a tutorial that I seen on mjm-the art tart that spurred me into using this one and then a remark from Sonja that morning made me put it in the shop....so thank you to both of you for the kick up the butt that I probably needed...I found these two notepads lurking about in a box from a while ago so I thot just to add a couple more items I would pop them in the shop too...you never know...unfortunately the photo of the other one just refused to upload!!!

I would also like to say a BIG thank you to Jacqui over at Simply Create for the 'One Lovely Blog Award' she gave me yesterday....now I need to pass it on....but I am going to cop out of this and pass it on to everyone whose blog I read and follow because they are all so full of inspiration and fabulousness..... Well that's it for now...hopefully will have more to show next week and hopefully I will manage to keep up with demand for items from the shop...lol...chance will be a fine thing!!!!

HAIRCUTS AND 1ST DAY AT SCHOOL...

MORGAN before... and after...not sure there is that much difference but there was a fair chunk of his hair cut of and it is much neater than it was.....
ELLIE before...
and after...she is starting to look very grown up all of a sudden and doesn't she have a lovely smile...very natural..(sorry, bragging about my kids, can't help it!!)
LIBBY before...
and after...much, much better, still trying to grown that fringe out...
NIAMH before... and after...she only had the very wispy ends cut of and this was her first haircut too... This is my baby of to school this morning - doesn't she look gorgeous in that school uniform...I could eat her all up, she is so cute!!!! Edit...if you enlarge this one you can see the little dimples in her knees....
She is another one with a gorgeous smile. She was very excited to be going to school today (1st day) and was up at 6am this morning so I had to send her back to bed for a little while...
The little ones all ready to go...
and the big ones...
Don't they all look smart in their uniforms!!! So that's them back to school - Primary 7, Primary 6, Primary 4 and Primary 1....

Sorry no crafty things to share this week as I am working on some things that are being kept under wraps for the minute but maybe once I finish that I will have time to work on some other bits!!! Take care and enjoy what's left of the week!!!

HOLIDAY REPORT...

Well here we are back from holidays and what fun we had...first of we went to Disneyland Paris. We flew from Glasgow Prestwick which is a great little airport about 30 minutes further South than Glasgow's main airport...and when you can get flights to Paris for 120 quid for 6 people you don't mind going a little further...lolFirst day and Allan took Morgan and Ellie to queue for some of the faster rides and I took Libby and Niamh to the more genteel ones!!!
This was them in the Alice in Wonderland Maze...I remember it from last time...so much fun with things popping out at you and water scooshing you at every turn...

This is the Mark Twain paddle steamer - it takes you for a wee sail round Big Thunder Mountain and back again. I used the photo editing tool Time Machine to change it to around the 1850s...looks quite cool I thot!!
The girls in front of an old fashioned American ice-cream van with The Hollywood Tower of Terror in the background (that's where Allan and Morgan were)...no thanks!!!
A rare photo of them all smiling - there is usually one with a grumpy face...

I love this one!!

Enjoying dinner in the Rainforest Cafe...it was just as cool as we remembered it from the last time we were there 6 years ago (really doesn't seem that long ago)...

This is the castle preparing for the Fireworks extravaganza which was amazing as it was pitch dark by the time they started with the parade and then the fireworks...Niamh was in her element here....

Had to get this picture as it's not very often you will see Niamh in a dress and doesn't she look sweet??? And so that was our Paris adventure over and then it was of to Yorkshire on our return...
First day we went to see our very good friend Mandy (have a look on her etsy shop - she does the most amazing things with felt!!) who lives in a village called Riccall which is quite near York...It's been 8 years since we last met up (our wedding), although we do talk on the phone and what not and it was fantastic to see her - she hasn't really changed that much since we first met nearly 20 years ago in Ibiza....
This is us now - I will really have to did out some old photos and do a comparison...

On the 2nd day we went to York and went round the Railway Museum which is awesome and most importantly FREE...lol...then we did the open top bus tour and the lady was really nice and didn't charge us for any of the kids and told us to go buy them an ice-cream instead - wasn't that nice of her???

3rd day we took a trip to Harrogate as Allan said the shops were quite good and I thought it would also be a good opportunity to go visit Dy at Art from the Heart but guess what???? She was closed much to my disappointment!!! Never mind we had a lovely day anyway...

I was glad to get back on Wednesday and that's really me just up to date now with everything - last of the washing is out on the line and kids are all in bed...practicing for getting up for school on the 18th August (yeehaa!!!) as the girls have summer dance school this week and Libby's starts at 9.30am...

I really need to get myself motivated again as I am 3 weeks behind with Claudine's workshop now and I have a couple of other things that I need to get done too...