Half term nearly over:-(

With half term very nearly over I decided to day to have a go at stamping onto candles. Fi told me how to do it and sent me over to splitcoaststampers where they have a tutorial about it.


So, I went into town this morning and bought some cheapie candles, greaseproof paper, and tissue paper. Got home and dug out my heat gun that has been lurking in my craft room unused for over a year and started to play! I chose the PSX robins on a branch stamp as the stamp I was going to use and this is the result.




I am really pleased with how it came out and can't wait for Fi to see it. I am sure she will love the fact that her instructions worked first time.
I now want to go and buy loads more candles, I think they will make great presents for friends. Just a piece of festive ribbon round the bottom and voila, one very snazzy present.

I am just doing this to help out a friend :) Hi Fi
i want the photo of my card here >














that's worked out ok.

My God, it's very nearly November!!

And I haven't written a thing since August!
Got some catching up to do haven't I.
To start with I have started university and have nearly finished my first assignment. I have spent a small fortune on books for the first year of my degree, I don't mind though, I love books:-)

On the scrapping front, I have finally bought myself a cricut machine, only the baby one. I have now got 12 cartridges for it and there are still loads more that I want, but they will have to wait till christmas now. All I need to do now is find time to actually use them in my scrapping; which has been a bit hit and miss lately, actually if I am honest its been more miss than hit!!
Work has had me so busy I haven't had time to breathe let alone scrap and with uni it's like I have had no real 'me' time, but if I get this last piece of work done this week I will have at least 2 weeks before I get the next lot, plenty of time to play with the cricut LOL.
I have got to make a wedding mini book for a friend who got married during the summer holidays, I started it on Saturday, but my Zutter 'round it all' broke and now I am stuck until my sister comes down and lends me her one on Thursday.

Tony bought me a book on Sunday. Don't laugh, but it's a Jeremy Clarkson book LOL. It's called 'For crying out loud' and it's so funny. If you ever read his column in the paper then go and buy this book, preferrably from Asda as they are the cheapest!

Anyway, I will write on here again very soon, OK, but I won't leave it as long as last time LOL.

I am a bad, bad blogger!!

I don't know without looking when i last posted here, but i know it was a long time ago now!!
Well, in the last few weeks i have been really busy, making 3 leavers books for 2 staff and one pupil who left where i work, all greatly received and loved!!!
I have been doing a scrapbook about our holiday to wales in 2000 (yeah I know it was a long time ago) and only have 5 pages left to do, thank god!
I have also, and most interestingly of all, started researching my family history on Ancestry.co.uk.
I am now in contact with 2 relatives I didn't know i had, one of them is a scrapper as well!!!:)
I am loving finding out about my relatives, reading old birth and marraige certificates, letters, looking at old photo's, etc and I have now even got a copy of my Granddads will (my dad's side), in it he states that he is leaving all of his tools to his son, now i know where my Dad got all the tools that filled the shed up!!!
The only down side to this family history research lark is that i now have a craft room full of bits of paper with scribbled notes and workings out on and i am up till the early hours every night trying to find that elusive relation!!! I have no idea how long T will put up with having to do dinner and all the housework, but i hear him tutting and sighing now and again!!!!!

I have now enrolled at University and need to register and pick up my student ID card in september then the hard work starts!!! oh, i am so looking forward to it!! No, really, I am!!

I would put some pics up of my latest layouts, but i haven't done any over the last 2 weeks, so nothing new really to show you.
I have been asked by a friend to amke a book for her son, he starts uni in sept, he is going to Bangor Uni and so she wants a book for him that his family and friends can write their messages for him in. She brought the photo's round yesterday and all i need to do now is get the book made before next Monday!!!!!
Better get it started then eh!!!
I will keep this updated slightly more often than i have been doing and I will post some pics of my crafting, i promise!
bye for now.
x

A great Day!

It has been a great day today, my stamps have arrived today that I won on ebay, 2 of them are penny black stamps that I got for a really good price:-)
I spent Sunday playing with my new prisma pencils and I am in love with those pencils :-)
I had a good day at work today, no snidey comments so far, lets just hope it lasts.

The best thing is I have just been on a blog called Spiral Whisper, they are a new company dedicated to stamps, at the moment they are running a competition to name 2 of their lovely stamps, the winner will win some blog candy, but most importantly they will use the winners chosen names for the stamps:) Go and check it out. The launch of their website is 14th July for pre-orders and the site opens proper on the 21st July. Count me in on the pre-ordering ladies, thsoe stamps are just gorgeous:-)

B is doing work experience at my place of work this week and she likes it at the moment, C has now finished school, but he has seen his teachers and asked if he can stay on for another year to make sure he gets the grades he needs to go to university to study astronomy and astrophysics!!!!!!
T has been lovely lately, not sure why, but if he finds out just how much i have spent on ebay lately i am sure he will change his tune VERY quickly!!!! Oh well, it's only money and you can't take it with ya, can you now??
Better go and get the dreaded ironing started.
have a lovely one:-)
Niki

The weekend at last:-)

Thank Crunchie it's Friday.
Firstly, I must correct a typo in my last post- I stupidly put the name of a great site as glittergirlz but in fact it is called GutterGirlz!!! Don't know why I put glitter in place of Gutter, must have been using glitter that evening:-)

I have found these amazing things that I must tell you all about!! Prismacolor pencils:-) OK, so you have probably heard about these fantastic little sticks of colour, but it was only this last week that I found out just how gorgeous they really are, they colour like a dream, blend so well it's almost unbelievable and are just the most super colouring medium that I have ever come across!

Anyway, tomorrow I am going to my sisters house for the day and we are going to be crafting in peace, no kids, no husbands, no annoying but lovable dog asking to be stroked, just me and my sister, a pile of patterned paper and loads of craft stuff to play with, pure bliss:-)

I haven't really got a lot to write about today, could carry on letting off steam about work, but what's the point?? I am sure things will pan out eventually, one way or the other!!
One thing though, I have been asked by a friend to make 3 memory books, I just need to know what sort of budget i have to work with then i can get them started. I have also been asked to be editor of our works monthly in-house social newsletter starting in September and I have accepted the position:)
I will keep this updated a bit more regularly, see you all soon. X

oh Bugger it!

WARNING: there is some swearing in the following post, please do not bother reading it if you have an aversion to swearing!


I have had the crappiest last few days ever at work this week. I so felt like not going in today due to someone making a snide comment yesterday, but went in anyway and then today she does the same bloody thing. If the comment came from anyone else i wouldn't have thought anything about it, but coming from this person made me really angry. I have had just about enough now and I can see me getting into big trouble at work becasue of her if she carries on this way.
I feel like shit anyway, feeling really down at the moment, but trying to hide it at work because i don't like getting sympathy anyway, but worse is from people who are just being sympathetic on the surface but really couldn't give a shit about you, they just give it to look good in front of others. So to be honest i could really do without this rubbish just now!
It's a good job no-one from work knows i have a blog, but just in case anyone does see this from work, "bugger off, this is my space not yours and what i write here has nothing to do with you" LOL.

Anyway, sorry about the swearing, I can't help it, i am still so angry and I have decided that this blog is not only for the stuff i make, but also a place where i can let off steam and say the things that i want to say!
I am just so glad it's the weekend, gives me a couple of days to calm down.

I'm not going to bother writing anymore tonight, probably said too much anway!

But i will say one thing crafty... you have got to check out the GlitterGirlz blog, it is full of great inspiration and challenges, I have put a link into my side bar, go click on it and see what i mean, fanatstic work there:-)

whoa! so long ago!!

It's been ages since I have blogged, my excuse being that I have a fractured elbow!! I fractured it back in February, but it's still really painful, I am now back at work though, thank god for that, I got sooo bored being at home. (I haven't been off work since I did it though, just the last 5 weeks!!)

My best news is that in October I start University, I am so excited about it. I am sure i ahve already written about it, but now it's all sorted and final. I am taking a 3 yr honors Degree in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I have all my note books, pens, files and folders at the ready, may buy a laptop if I feel that I will need one.

On the crafting side of my life I have been busy getting my Wales holiday album done, only 8 more pages to do then it will finally be done and dusted, thankfully, I am getting fed up with doing it now and can't wait till it's all done.

C has been taking his A levels this last week and in his spare time he has been playing rock band on his Xbox, my god that drum kit is soo loud and he insists on playing it at stupid o' clock at night!!
B has been getting her course work done for her GCSE's, weird, she is in year 10 and already getting course work done for next year.

I have done Aprils pages for the save the day by Shimelle and have the photo's ready to scrap for May, I will need to get a wriggle on to get then scrapped in the book before the 25th of June hits me at full pelt. This year seems to be going so fast, it's already half way through, not long till Christmas now, HA HA HA HA!!

Well, I feel better for getting this blog up to date, don't think I have missed anything, oh, apart from I have found that I am starting to buy from Ebay again, I haven't bought anything from there in years, but the last couple of weeks has found me winning some crafty goodies at stupid prices, so I am a happy bunny at the moment:)

I will try to keep this updated, but i can't promise, ha ha! Life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes!
bye for now,
Niki

Today is the Day

As anyone who 'lives' over at UKS knows, today is the start of the cyber crop and how excited are we all:)

It is also the first day of Shimelle's challenge called 'Save the day' in which you take photo's on the 25th of each month for a year and at the end you have a record of one day in each month to look back on.

I have completed the pages and the front cover for the book and have been busy snapping away with the camera, weird, I never thought I would take a photo of my ironing pile or the washing hanging on the line, but hey!!!

Here are some photo's of my book and some of the ones I have taken today so far:-

The photo's are- in order from top to bottom- the front cover- the inside pages- a shot of my alarm clocks (yes I have 2) and a shot from my bedroom window (this will change drastically over the year as they are going to be building houses there:(

I am going to be spending tomorrow at my sisters, we are going to be cyber cropping together, so I need to get my kits ready for the challenges and classes, no idea what I will take for the challenges, but luckily she has said I can borrow anything I need. Love you dear twin of mine:)

Well, the dog is asleep on the sofa, Tony is at work, Becky and Craig are both at school and I am wasting time on here when I should be in my craft room getting ready for tonight and tomorrow!!

I will try and get back on here over the weekend, anyway, hope everyone at UKS has a great time at the cyber crop and one last thing........

GO DRAMA QUEENS!!!! ra-ra-ra!

Scrap your day

Tomorrow; the 25th April; is the first day of Scrap your life, a challenge from Shimelle over on UKS that will be running for a year.

I am so looking forward to this challenge, my book is getting there, my batteries are charged, my camera is upstairs ready and waiting till the morning.

The idea of this challenge is to record a day in my life every month, the same day every month, namely the 25th of each month, some days will show the good, some days will show the bad, but all of these days make up a year in my life.

People are going mad over at UKS about this challenge and are at this moment working up to fever pitch about it:)

The other thing that will be going on this weekend is the cyber crop at UKS, actually the Scrap your life challenge is part of the cyber crop, I have completed the sketch pre crop challenge and here it is:)

sorry about the bad picture lol

Others over on UKS have been a lot more organised than me and most have completed all of the pre crop challenges, and what fantastic work they have all put into them:)

Away from scrapping for a moment I had some great news last night:) I went onto UCAS to see if my application for University has been accepted and My God it has, I have been accepted to the University of Kent, in Canterbury. In October I will be starting Uni life and will be there for three years, studying Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I am so excited and just so happy about it.

Another thing I need to say is that for the past 9 weeks I have been living and working with a fractured elbow wityhout knowing it. I fell over In February and landed heavily onto my elbow, went to hospital and had xrays, they said that nothing was broken it was just swollen and bruised. OK I thought, so I carried on as normal, carrrying stuff around, working etc. Well, the pain just wouldn't go away so two weeks ago I went back to hospital to get it checked again, more xrays were taken and again a nurse said that he couldn't see any break, but he would get the xrays checked. I came away from there in agony because of the way he pulled my arm about, but again thinking ok so it's still just bruised. But, OH NO!! When I got back from a day out to Rye with my sister last Monday I get told that the hospital had phoned and I need to phone them back. It turns out that I have a fracture in my elbow, so at this moment I am off work, but luckily the consultant says I can go back on Monday, just have to be careful with my arm. I didn't get to have a plaster cast put on as i fractured it so long ago now and it wouldn't do any good.

Damn, this is the first time in my life i have ever broken any of my bones and I don't get a cast, how sad am I to want a cast LOL.

Anyway, I had better get this book finished for the Scrap your life challenge, as soon as it is finished I will put pics here.

later. x

Such a BAD blogger!!!

I can't believe I haven't blogged for ages, I knew this would happen when I started this blog:)


Anyway, lots has happened since I last blogged, some good, some not so good.





The not so good is that my eldest sister had a bleed in her brain and was rushed to hospital after collapsing at home, she had to have surgery to stop the bleed and after 2 weeks was allowed home, she is now recovering well, thankfully:)





The good news is that I have decided to go to university and study for a degree in Intellectual and developmental disabilities, I have sent off my application and am now waiting to hear if I have a place. I am so keeping my fingers crossed that I get in. I also have a new PC, I am getting used to Vista, but prefer XP, but I am loving having a PC that my daughter can't go on, she has the old one and now we don't fight over who's turn it it. All that needs to be done now is to set up the network with the printer, at the moment if I want to print anything I have to load it onto my memory stick and then go to the other PC to load and print off from there (a right pain if dear daughter is on it at the time).





I am on Easter break at the moment, only 1 week left now though and I have so much to do before I go back to work. I have managed to only get 4 Layouts done this month so far, I feel like I need a kick up the backside to get me scrapping again.





We started re-decorating the kitchen yeterday, Tony plastered part of the wall, I filled in the cracks around the walls that surfaced after the earthquake last year! then we both set about painting the walls a lovely chocolate latte colour. We noticed in B&Q that all their kitchen doors were half price so we measured up and went and bought lovely walnut doors today, only to find when we went to fix the first one to the cabinet that the hinges didn't line up with the drilled holes in the cabinets! Well, after 3 hours Tony had had enough, he had drilled new holes in the cabinet for the hinges and they still didnt meet up, so needless to say the doors will be going back to B&Q tomorrow and I will be painting the existing doors with the chocolate brown paint I originally bought to do them with. I need to take some photo's to go in the kitchen and Tony is getting some small shelves for one wall for all of my cookery books anf then that room will be done, thank goodness!!





Tomorrow I am going to Rye and Hastings with my twin sister for the day, we are going on a photography day out, just us two! Hopefully we will also find a craft shop of some sort to buy a few 'essentials' in, like you do on a day out!!





I loved the snow we had last week and so did Skip, it was his first sight of snow and he wasn't quite sure about it but loved catching snowballs, I managed to get some photo's before it melted.



This is skip catching his first snowball!!




The view from my front window, a lovely sight.
That sight will soon change though as we have workmen buildng new houses opposite us, they make great alarm clocks, making a hell of a racket at 7am!!!! Not nice when I am on holiday!

Well, anyway I have better go and get my camera batteries charged up ready for tomorrow.
I promise that I will keep this blog updated from now on:)

Oop's!! Not only have I not been keeping this blog updated but I haven't done any real scrapping either!


I have been busy at work, taking a Braille course and finding it so interesting, I have now finished the course and passed! YEY!. I can read Braille and Moon through sight.


I have also had a bit of a hard time at work from a member of staff who doesn't share my passion for Pec's (a form of communication) and the whole thing upset me for a while, but I am over that now.


I now also have a new Grand daughter called Nola Marie and we met her last saturday, she is the most gorgeous baby i have ever seen with a thick mop of black hair and the cutest little face.

Isn't she just the cutest!!

I had a surprise on Valentines day as well, my dear husband of nearly 20 years finally bought me not only a card, but also a ring, flowers and chocolates, he decided to buy them for me because apparently I always moan about not getting anything from him!! Bless him, I really do love that man :-)

On Sunday he also told me that I can have a new PC and so we took a trip to currys and found one I liked, but he didn't really like the price of!! I finally talked him round explaining that his game would play on it as it had the right graphics card already installed. I am now trying to find my way round vista after being used to xp for years!!

I am now on half term and so should have the time to get all the backlogged scrapping done, including the overlooked challenge and the A-Z journal and any challenges on UKS that i have missed recently!
The weekly challenge on Ukscrappers; which is set by my team this week is now up and I can't believe how many people are taking part in it, there are some fantastic LO's on there, well done to everyone who has taken part so far.

I will upload some LO's during this week; as soon as I get them done!! I think I will start with a LO about my darling Granddaughter.
I also really need to get out and about with my camera, hopefully going to Rye and Hastings on Friday with my twin sister and our daughters for a day out, so loads of opportunities to take some photo's there!! As long as the rain stays away!!
Well, time for housework now, but I promise I will be back on here before the end of the week!

I'm back!!

After not posting for what seems like ages I am finally back. Only after being reminded that I do have a blog though. This blogging thing is all new to me and I have been treating it too much like a paper diary, I always say every year that I will keep a proper diary, but after 2 weeks I forget what I should be doing and it then sits there unused for the rest of the year.

Well, not this blog, I AM going to keep it up-to-date.

I have been busy at work, well, until I caught the flu bug that is. I have been off work since Tuesday last week and have only been properly back online since today. I have managed to get a couple of LO's done though and I have taken a few photo's of a friend's 1-32 scale tractor, just so I could have a play with my camera as the weather has been miserable outside for the last couple of weeks.

Today I have been trying to find a venue for my darling son's 18th birthday party in March. He decided that he wants a party; I did ask if he wanted jelly and ice-cream at the party, but strangely enough he didn't take me seriously!!! I have been quoted anything from £185-£300 for the venues!! The cheapest includes a disco, the most expensive doesn't!! How do they work that out then???

I am tempted to join my local conservative club though, because if I join then I can hold the party there for a returnable deposit of only £50; which includes music. My Dad would turn in his grave if I joined though! He was a staunch Labour supporter, whereas I have no real political leanings.

Anyway, onto what this blog is mainly about: scrapbooking!

I have received my email about the 'B' page for my 'About me' journal and will get that page done tomorrow, not sure which word/s to use for 'B' yet, but I have a list of words I can choose from, so will sort those out tomorrow.

I have also got the journalling prompt for the 'overlooked' challenge I have joined, I have jotted down my thoughts for the journalling, just need to wait for the LO prompt on Monday then I can get the first LO done. I have decided to do this using a 6x6 album; two reasons for this choice:
1. I think I will have trouble filling a 12x12 page.
2. I have loads of 6x6 albums and papers that need using:)

Also, I have completed my LO for my Crafty Magpies team February challenge on UKScrappers, I won't upload it here until after the challenge has started in February, don't want to give the game away before the event do I!!!

I had better get to bed now, before I go here are a couple of LO's I have done this week, plus a photo of the tractor I took. The 'The cowardly lion' layout is for this week's challenge on UKS; this challenge was from the Ruby Snippers team and I really enjoyed their challenge:)

Same old, same old!!

I have been back at work for 2 days now, after having the christmas holidays off and it's the same old routine again- get up at 6.30am, wake Becky up, get showered and dressed, shout at Becky to get up and ready for school, go downstairs to let dog out and make coffee, shout at Becky again, get Becky's lunch ready, load washing machine, feed dog, shout at Becky yet again, have coffee and a ciggie, wake Craig up, walk out of door at 8.05am (after making sure Becky is now ready for school) and get lift to work, arrive at work at 8.15am.
I had a good day at work, luckily all the children came back to school happy after their holiday:) I took down the christmas art displays, after taking photo's of them for my portfolios of work- ready for new art displays to go in their place. This term we are working on texture, so i need to start thinking about what sort of things the children can make and do during art and DT.

Got home from work and had dinner ready by 6pm when Tony came home from work, to be told that he is now thinking about getting a new job, he has had enough of his current job and wants a totally different career, not helping that his new boss is a right pain and everyone has already had a snotty letter from him about their working practises. When i read the letter i was shocked to think that anyone who is new to the post, even a boss, can be this harsh, he obviously doesn't have a clue what his branch can acheive and just what his staff have sacrificed for the company!!
Today has been better though, Tony came home and said that he will stick it out until he finds another job rather than jumping at the first one that comes along (he was offered a landscape gardening job yesterday). I didn't mean to put him off that job, but i must admit that when he said that he wouldn't be taking it I was so relieved, we have too many commitments for him to be jumping into something he knows nothing about and a job that is probably more seasonal than most. How many people want their gardens landscaped in the middle of winter???

I had every intention of doing some scrapbooking tonight, even printed out a couple of photo's, but i am feeling tired and just want to go to bed at 8.30pm?????
Might have to go and have a coffee to try to keep myself awake for another hour!!I will get a LO done tomorrow and I will upload it here when it's done, I promise!!

It can't be Sunday already!!!

I can't believe it's Sunday 6th January already, I have to go back to work tomorrow after being off for the school holiday since 21st December. I have had loads of time to myself over the last 2 weeks, now it's coming to an end, no more getting up late, no more wandering round town at lunchtime, no more slobbing out on the sofa and watching daytime TV, but worst of all- no more scarpping when i feel like it. I will have to get back into the habit of scrapping in the evenings, that's after I have tidied the house and cooked dinner for the tribe.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that I like my holidays as well:)

After not getting out of bed till 10.45 (had to get a lie in on my last day)I popped into town to buy some watercolour pencils and a box frame that i want to alter, both from Poundland. I will put a pic here when it's done.

I also bought myself Russell Brand's booky wook, have wanted it since it came out, but didn't like the price tag, so today when i went into WHS and noticed that it is now half price i just had to buy it. Can't beat a bargain:)

Tony bought me Phil Collins 3 CD set which i have been playing since getting home.

I have done another layout today called Calm Waters. The photo was taken at Brighton beach last year. I painted the cardstock with watercolours and when it finally dried out I completed the layout, for the lettering I used Sizzlit Mango Tango alphabet; which I then embossed using the cuttlebug embossing folder. I love my Cuttlebug and am so glad I bought it, I now have 6 of the embossing folders and want all the rest:)

Well, i better go now, my daughters turn on the pc now!!

Evening all, Well, I had a good day today, I managed to get my first page of my A-Z journal done and this is the result. I am not really happy with the way it has turned out, but i am hoping that the pages will get better as i go along the alphabet. I used loads of chipboard flowers as i am loving chipboard now. This page is about me being so absent minded, i forget everything so easily, I even had to make a planner so that i know what i am doing for this journal:)

I want my kids to know all about me and what i like, how I feel about things and what makes me tick, this journal will hopefully give them an insight into my life and it will also help me when i am grey and old and have lost my marbles and memory:)

It's soo late!!

I can't quite believe that i am still awake and it's now 1.15am!!

I have been so busy doing a layout that i didn't realise the time, DH has just asked me if i have any intention of going to bed tonight!!

I took me so long to finish because i wanted to do some heat embossing on it, my poor heatgun hasn't seen the light of day for nearly 2 years:( I have never heat embossed on a layout before and i had already stuck the word 'snow' down before i decided that i wanted to add a bit of sparkle to the letters, thank God for the versamark embossing pen; which again has been sittng in a drawer for the best part of 2 years. I don't think the embossed areas show up well on a photo, but believe me it's there, all sparkly looking!!

Well, i had better go to bed now, up early to go shopping for crafty storage:)

Here are a couple of layouts i have completed since the 1st Jan. The bald eagle photo was taken at Groombridge gardens during their falconry display in may '07.

the beach LO is of my son when he was little, he is at Dymchurch beach with his uncle, the book you can see peeking out holds another 3 photo's and the journalling. This one was done as a challenge from a member of my team on UKScrappers.

I am also doing the 2008 target on UKS and my target is to complete 104 LO's during the year (2 down; only 102 to go)!!!

Another project i am taking part in is the A-Z journal; which started today! I am doing mine about me and my life, better get started on the first page then eh!!

I am really hoping to keep this blog up-to-date, bye for now.

my first entry

Well, after reading and looking at other peopels blogs, I have finally decided to get one of my own:)
I will have to decide what i will be using this blog for, probably mainly for my scrapbooking layouts and other arty, farty things i attempt!!