festive scrapping

finally managed to scrap some festive photos! used december's sweet spuds kit.

coffee cup cosy

i had the idea of making this last night when i realised how many cardboard cup holders ive gone through recently. i do of course recycle but thought id try and reduce my impact on the environment even further. so i created this little gem!

here's a little frosty extra. we rarely seem to get snow, just fluffy frost!

spuds sneak

here's a sneaky of january's sweet spuds kit:



how fun does that look! thats why i love sweet spuds. all the bright colours. i still havent managed to use my christmas kit yet and am impatiently waiting a photo delivery!

the christmas list

were you all good girls and boys?? i got some fab things, including dvds of the Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd, the new gregory maguire book, ali edwards Sharing Your Story, my silver trainers and a bind it all!!

for new year we have no plans, but for previous years we've been to 'bring your own chilli' nights which sounds good to me. plus im working new years day night so nothing too excessive!

on an unrelated note, the book Coraline, by my fave author neil gaiman, is being made into a stop motion film! i cant wait.

merry merry

well 2 days of festivities are coming to an end and i will be getting up too early tomorrow to go to work. ive really enjoyed my brief christmas this year.

christmas eve marcus and me went to midnight service with my mum and stepdad. it was really lovely but the choir and organist were a bit questionable!

christmas day was busy, with me and marcus having lunch at my dad's with his parents coming too. we had a lovely walk after and then me and marcus went to my mum's in the evening for tea and tv. lovely.

faves

thought it was about time for a few more favourites.

1. snowmen cookies, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Noel mini album pour Scrapoulette, 5. I just wanna sing, 6. Dream Girl, 7. mini album loves, 8. a la faveur, 9. Looking For A Lost Dream, 10. gnomes, 11. My Own Drum - Red Velvet Kit Club, 12. Maia's Friends, 13. 100_2632, 14. Untitled, 15. jolly, 16. my favorite things

due to obvious family stuff, this may be my last post for a few days. so


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

last night..

we went to see Cherry Poppin Daddies in London. i managed on 4 hours sleep after a 12 hour night and stayed awake til we got home at 1am. i love London, and i love Camden. its a bit on the dirty side but it's a place where it doesnt matter what you look like, you can fit in. the gig was ace, 2 ska punk support bands, the Catch it Kebabs and Grown at Home, who both rocked. the place was packed with rockabilly girls and guys in their 50s style gear - very cool. CPD were full of energy. i never realised how old they were, mid 40s? receding hairlines and everything. but really played the crowd. i jiggled all night til my legs were sore.

and then i found CHERRY tic tacs in a corner shop on our way back to the tube. made my night.

tom (our cat) hated having my friend Chris stay over. totally freaked him out. he wouldnt go in the front room on his own and sat in the doorway staring at poor Chris!

i have 1 more shift before christmas now and i cant wait.

dolly dresses

a couple of dresses, modelled by frankie (top) and bella. frankie's dress has a corsage on it, which is something i might add to future dolly projects.

start nights tonight. boo!

got my sweet spuds dec kit today.

crafty spree

(mon) this little beauty is my crochet blanket all finished. its big enough to wrap a person snuggly. about half a dozen of the squares are really loose as they were my first few so they've been sewn in line but it gives a bit of a bobbly effect. overall im really pleased with it and will def attempt another one at some point!
(tue) i managed a few LOs, including one i cant post as it's for January's category stories prompt.

(wed) today marcus is in bed with man flu and i am sewing dolly dresses. i have 4 in progress at present! i sense major hand cramp!

introducing Bella

my new girl finally turned up looking exausted and jetlagged. :) here she is in her lovely dress by fishknees, meeting frankie for the first time.

christmas and goodies

these goodies are from a challenge i won on say it in scrap (suspended for the holidays)

these are a few decorative pics.

im hoping to make a start sewing my crochet together today, if i can be bothered to have a shower and get dressed! also need to get a couple of last minute presents together and wrap marcus's.

paid my VAT on my new dolly plus a handling charge which takes her total cost to £100. damn the man!

grr

very annoyed. i tracked my new doll and i apparently have to pay customs charges on her, even though she's £30 below the new allowance.

new dress

this is Frankie's first home made dress. it took at least 3 hours and i now have cramp. i think i might alter the neckline in future dresses, make it a little lower.

category stories wants YOU

thats right! the DT search is on!

*WE WANT YOU*

To join the Category Stories team.
The search is on for some new Story Tellers, to join Jodie, Karin, Lee, Sarah and our NEW NEW NEW Story Teller STEPH, who was our fabulous November guest!
And it is super simple to apply if you’d like to be considered for the team…….
1. Complete the November, plus the December and January categories - creating a LAYOUT of your favourite size based on each category. (We are only accepting layouts as part of the Story Teller search to even the playing field a bit!)
2. Link us up to your pages as per usual in the comments section for the November, December and January prompts.
3. After you make your January page, EMAIL category (dot) stories (at) ymail (dot) com with the phrase STORY TELLER SEARCH in the title bar, and answers to the following questions in your email:Your Name & Country:Links to your blog or online gallery/ies:Any other design teams you belong to (includes other challenge or inspiration blogs, online stores or manufacturers):The links to your pages for November, December and January:Tell us why you would like to become a Story Teller in five lines or less!:(You can also ask any questions you might have about the team).
4. APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 15thPlease feel free to ask any questions to us privately via the email address, or in the comments to this post if you wish! We will amend this post with any questions asked and the answer if we feel it necessary.

FINE PRINT:
* You need to have your email to us by January 15th with links to the Nov, Dec & Jan category pages - you don’t have to have your pages for Nov & Dec completed in the normal timeframe of the end of the month if you wish to just be considered for the DT, in case you find us for the first time after that month has passed! You just won’t be eligible for the monthly prize draw.
* Jan 15th is the cut off date for Story Teller applications (pages for people who aren’t applying are Jan 31 as per usual) to allow time for the new Story Tellers to get their creations done to upload on Feb 1 with the new team announcement.
* All people are welcome, including digi and hybrid peeps, from any country.
* You need to be able to commit to supplying at least one original creation (which is not limited to just layouts, it can be cards or other creations) per month based on the monthly category for inclusion on the Category Stories blog, for 6 months minimum period of Feb to July 2009.
* We have on occasion in the past each been given product sponsored to work with, but it is usually we use our own stash. Sometimes a prize might be sponsored to the months participant winner. Story Tellers contribute towards a RAK for a month we don’t have a sponsor, so be prepared to be able to contribute a small amount on those sponsorless months (usually no more than $2.50US each). You will need an active and useable paypal account to be able to contribute. * There will be a number of positions to be filled (exact number to be determined), so please apply! We fully encourage those of you who have never been on a team before, we’d love to see your stuff. Likewise, if you are already on another team/teams but know you can meet the commitments listed above, please apply too!THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK - hope you have fun making your pages!
Cheers,
The Story Tellers!

faves

thought i should do some more of these:


1. December Daily : Day 6, 2. ribbon wreath, 3. circle wreath, 4. Meet FAWN, 5. 100_2775, 6. PC080068, 7. Untitled, 8. Molly's Sketchbook: Simple Sewn Bird Ornaments, 9. Doe-eyed girl, 10. la Jetée, 11. granny madness, 12. Sassafras Lass Christmas card!Carte de voeux Sassafras Lass!, 13. Mandy, feeling blurry, 14. december four, 15. december 3, 16. belladrummer christmas

category stories

the new category stories prompt is up with a new blog address. here's my go at the prompt 'decorate'

its a LO to show the stuffed trees i have made to decorate my presents. the little gingerbread man is kittyrobot.

here's the presents wrapped with their trees:

yum

december's yummy sweet spuds kit. i hope you subbed because it's all sold out! im not sure im going to keep my sub going after it runs out in jan. its gotten so expensive now the exchange rate has gone down.

paid for my PD violetina doll. hopefully she should turn up this week.

spent last night writing cards and wrapping presents.

have decided i need another 10 squares for my crochet blanket. the rate im turning them out, it shouldnt take too long!

its getting very icy here at the moment. tom is refusing to go outside because its too cold!

speaking of our baby, according to the age and date the rescue place gave us, he'll be 5 tomorrow! happy birthday Tom!!

love martha stewart

gotta love martha

nights tonight. made gingerbread men to take :)

all christmas trees stuffed and sewn.

jewish christmas

i seem to have developed in interest in Judaism due to marcus's family being (lapsed) jews. by chance i found these Jewish themed christmas cards. ace. check here



managed to get advent calenders for us both today. phew.

dec faves

1. Merry Happy - Set of 16 Gift Tags, 2. Holly Jolly Jolly - Card Set, 3. dolly doodles, 4. some quilting, 5. d is for dreamer, 6. Toys R Us Limited "Matryoshka Maiden", 7. WTJ Day26 my secret is safe ♥, 8. Midnight Pony Ride, 9. Maple leaves bokeh, 10. IMG_0207.jpg, 11. Yoke - week 4, 12. For Those About To Rock..., 13. The Cautious Woodsman - Paper Tags, 14. Warm Wishes - Pink Paislee Card, 15. Sack Race, 16. xmas 00

the trees are coming!

8 stuffed trees. 4 more to go!!


here's a pic of the magazine i like, in case anyone fancies checking it out!

new magazine

picked up a copy of a UK sewing publication called sew hip in borders. its fab!! loads of easy fun projects and links to shops, as well as fab articles. it linked me to morsbags, a site for people who make reusable shopping bags to give out to the public!

sweet spuds RAK

*(sorry the pic is dark, it gets dark so early now!) i picked up this lovely box of goodies from the post office today. im not sure about the tinkering ink Finery but love the jenni bowlin rub ons and the scenic route chipboard book.

*i ended up not waking until 11am today! i was exausted from 3 really busy 12 hour shifts. i was a little annoyed as i had a few things i wanted to do but obviously needed it!

*i still managed to crank out a couple of layouts with novembers sweet spuds kit.

heres violet!

the final pics are here at last:





ive just finished 3 busy busy days at work. so busy i got up at 11 am today! i plan to do some scrapping and sewing and should hopefully have some pics later.

the illustrated girl

i adore this print by emily martin, available here.

also love this scarf for two print.

i wanted to be crafty tomorrow but instead am doing an overtime shift at work.

i dreamt about the elusive PD marigold last night. elusive because she will be far too expensive for anyone outside of japan!

prima dolly marigold

isnt she a cutie? but apparently you can only reserve her if you are part of some members club. and you can only be in that if you are in japan. not fair!!