Quick note

To say I dont know if I will be blogging or crafting again. This last week has been the most awful
time of my life and I seriously dont know how Im going to deal with it. I shant even say watch this space.
Take care
Sue x

I have no idea what happened but I couldnt upload any images for a while - hence the second post. I know the tag is in an earlier post but I cant delete it! The cream one is a deep box picture Ive made, the colours are creams and white but its not too easy to tell! The mirror started life as a 99p IKEA one. Some Tim Holtz inks and dyes, grungeboard butterflies I made and stamped and dyed, lace and handmade muslin roses later you have the finished product which is a cheer up present for my best friend who is having a bit of a rotten time lately - hope she likes it!

Take care

Sue x

Time flying by again.

Well despite my good intentions of blogging more regularly time ran away with me again. In my defence I have been busy. Back to school /work again :-( means trying to fit in cooking, shopping, cleaning, ironing etc etc along with working - really is time for me to find a job that makes me want to get up in a morning and makes my heart sing.


A rare thing happened last weekend....I had a night away from home! On Saturday we stayed over at the Hilton Doubletree in Milton Keynes which was wonderful, then on Sunday drove into London to see The Jersey Boys musical in the West End. I didn't know much about the musical before we went (it wasnt my choice it was a surprise) but all the same it was a nice experience. It was lovely to be in London again, it must be 12 or 13 years since I was last there, and it was 4 or 5 years since I had a night away from home. It was about 2.30am when we finally arrived home and I was up for school the next morning! I think its taken me a week to get over it!!!


Those of you who know me will know that last October one of my cats went missing and never returned..............until yesterday! We heard noises in the back garden, when we looked out there was my Pepsi boy talking to Bella (the rescue cat we adopted after he left), however when Emily his sister came into the garden too it was obvious he recognised her...Emily, however, being the Queen of Hormone Dysfunction, decided to hiss at him. To cut a long story short he ran off again but came back a few times later on in the evening, we fed him outside ( he wouldnt come too close ) in the hopes that he would come in but he didnt. We spent the evening calling for him but to no avail. We are just keeping our fingers crossed that he comes back today.


I will leave you with a couple of things Ive been working on of late.....catch you soon.

A few bits and pieces as promised

A few altered boxes and a tag.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures and the fact that one is upside down too!

I may redo them and actually start a brand new blog, its something Ive been thinking of doing for a while.

Sue x

I'm back !

Phew......

I'm not going to state the other obvious and say 'where has the time gone' - it went. John Lennon famously said ' life is what happens when you're busy doing other things', he wasn't kidding but goodness know what I've been doing for so long - not blogging though that's for sure.

Lots of decorating has been taking place, including the craft room, oh boy what a revelation............where on earth did I get all that STUFF from? Anyhow, it's back to what passes for normal (in this house) and I'm hoping to make time to blog more regularly.

I wont bore you with the masses of photos I've taken but I will pop a few on here and there.

Here goes:

Playtime at last!

Iwas determined to have some 'playtime' this Easter break, despite the living room being decorated and the house being upside down.

I've been using Kirsty Wisemans newest cd 'Colourful burst of fanciful things' this week and what problems I've had trying to decide which of the fabby papers to use. I dont know about you but I've often been disappointed in the past by some cd's but thats not the case with this one - there literally isnt a single item on it that I dont like! I was quite loathe to actually USE them, very very strokeable lol!! Ive also managed to complete two oval wooden boxes that Jordan liberated from his bedroom - yet again Ive forgotten to take a picture BEFORE I started them. Theyve had the Tim Holtz distress ink treatment along with glimmer mists, pearls, butterflies, flowers etc etc ! On the larger of the two I made up some muslin roses from scratch and was quite pleased with the outcome, I finished them off with a flower/pearl in the centre and a swipe across the ink pad! The smaller of the two I kept very simple, I quite like the contrast.

I've also managed to make a visit to Costco and IKEA over at Gateshead with a friend, meet three of the girls I worked with at another school a few years ago for lunch on Tuesday and today Ive visited my cousin and her husband who are over from Cyprus for a while - not bad eh!

Need to try and get my hair highlighted before going back to school on Monday :-(. would love to have a complete revamp but somehow it always ends up the same - oh well.

Bedtime I think - my book is calling me. Hopefully more crafting tomorrow. xxx

We have a new addition to the family this week. Meet Bella.........Emily is wishing she hadn't met Bella but hey ho! After Pepsi went missing in October (Emily's brother) I wasn't sure if I would have another fur baby but I came across this one on a rescue website and I dont know why I rang but there you go, I did. They said in the write up about her (oh she WAS called Vera or V for short but come on.......Emily and Vera?????????sounds like two old ladies in the snug at the Rovers!) that she was a year old and had been rescued as a stray in the autumn, but theres no way this little thing is a year old. We reckon she is nine months old at the very most, bless her. She may be little but my word can she eat!! Emily has turned into a real hissy missy and has stopped sleeping on my bed since Bella arrived on the scene. Fingers crossed this is only a temporary thing, poor Bella follows her around everywhere just wanting to be her friend. I'm glad I managed to get a picture of her on this rug in the kitchen, it's one my (ex-mother in law) mum made for me last year. She makes these hooky rugs despite being in her 80's and absolutely crippled with arthritis. Years ago she had loads of these in the farmhouse made out of scraps of all our clothing, it was wonderful knowing there were bits of all of our past all bonded together in a rug. The Americans apparently pay a fortune for them but mum gives hers to the local cerebral palsy charity shop, she's a gem and I love her to bits. I've made rugs in the past but not from scratch like this, I may ask her to show me how to do it.

Other news this week, Declan turned 17 on Friday, how is that possible? Being Declan of course he had everything organised and in place ready to start driving on the big day, Jordan spent the day sitting in with him and from what I can gather they were all over the county, Keswick included. He has booked himself lessons and has a 3 hour one on Tuesday next week, on Thursday he has his theory test booked. Now this next part makes me feel really weird.............his Dad has my car in his business at the moment working on it and taking it for its MOT on Monday - I am going to be using Declans car to go to work etc!!!!!!!! No doubt I will have a million instructions before I set off about how to drive it lol.

Hoping to do some crafting tomorrow so fingers crossed I will have something to show you then.

and again.........

Forgot to add one of the photo frames Ive altered etc., it started off as a very very bright shiny gold - it isnt any longer !!!

More tomorrow hopefully. x

Quickie................

With the best intentions in the world I still dont find time to keep this blog up to date :-( perhaps I need a secretary lol!

Anyhow, been very very busy lately what with work, reading intervention training, staff meetings and juggling things at home, roll on the Easter holidays.

Last weekend I was determined to grab some time out, it didnt stop me feeling guilty though about the things I didnt get done around the house.

I always forget to take photos of the things I alter before I start, so, with that in mind Ive taken a couple of pictures of upcoming projects . I bought a load of different photo frames that were reduced to the ridiculous price of 49p, so even if they turn out rubbish it doesnt matter :-) The pail was a brilliant find too ( the mug is to show just how big it really is) not sure where Im going to put it yet, either in the bathroom for used towels or in the kitchen once its decorated next month, we shall see.

Today I made a card for one of the most important people in my life, my mum ( actually my ex-mother in law but still my mum ) the pictures a bit light and doesnt show it at its best but hey ho.

Right, am going to upload the pictures now and in my usual fashion heaven knows where or what order they will end up on here - wish me luck!

- forgot to say, it takes two minutes to make those roses on the mirror, Ive made them in every size and colour imaginable!!)

Back again.

Right now, Im not even going to attempt to tidy this lot up because I wouldnt know where to begin, but at least Im honest about it !!

Theres a selection of cards, two rose brooch type things I made - thats the purple one and the silver one and two small pictures that Declan and I have decided to call Instant Ancestors lol!!

Im in the process of working on another mirror so hopefully I will have that to show you soon too, heaven knows how Im ever going to get these hands clean - Im off to make shepherds pie. Take care xxx

Photo heavy warning !

What a week its been.

Half term..........should have known really!!

So in no particular order and as briefly as possible, here is as taster.

Finished the week at school nearly on my knees what with meetings, assessments and trying to fit in the Reading Intervention course work, it was cold, it was busy, it was a typical pre-half term week. Woke up Saturday with the start of a cold and it went rapidly downhill from there. Constant sneezing, eyes streaming, headache....dire. Fingers crossed and touch wood ( head ) it seems to be improving, Sunday the washing machine decided to throw a hissy fit and keep pausing itself for no reason other than it could. TODAY the engineer finally gets here, yes TODAY, and informs me 'hmmmmmmmm think it may not be economical to repair it' so now Im sat here waiting for him to ring back once hes been in touch with the insurance company. Monday the vacuum cleaner decided that what was good for the washing machine was also good for it and IT decided to die on me too. Im trying to locate Wilma from the Flintstones to see if I can loan that dinosaur she used to have clean her carpets. My car has developed three not one or two but three 'interesting verging on scary' noises and has developed a new way of braking - trip to ex husbands garage with a pleading expression was in order. Tuesday................bad day, should have been my silver wedding anniversary (had I not been divorced now that is) - best skip Tuesday me thinks. Yesterday I hid the sharp knives just in case. Today ( be thankful you are reading the brief version I can tell you - I had to live through the full version, and there was no popcorn either ), well today I made the decision to leave the Polkadoodles Design Team, I didnt really want to and am regretting it already but I wasnt being fair to Nikky. Ive hit a brick wall mojo wise and gone back to my comfort zone of altered art, which is a shame because Ive seen what shes putting on her new cd and its awesome :-( So there you go, now arent you glad I havent told you EVERYTHING lol !!!!!

Anyhow.........................my comfort zone, have a look and see what you think - its all thats kept me moderately sane this week I can tell you.

The wooden panel at the top ( I cant get used to adding pictures to this blog) started off life white and cost me £5 - Im pretty pleased with it and am going back to see if I can get some more, theyre pretty heavy and I havent a clue where to put it but hey ho.

Im going to publish this part so far and start afresh with the rest of the pictures, see if I can get things a bit more orderly.

Apologies again, nothing to show yet but I AM working on something fantastic if and when I get the time- will show you soon, promise. Crafting has taken somewhat of a back seat of late thanks to the Reading Intervention training I'm busy with for school. I know that when I finish in May it will all be worth it but my goodness my heads like cabbage at the moment. Had another two full days of training yesterday and Thursday and it was concentration and work from the minute we started until we finished at 4.30. So much so that I woke up with a migraine this morning, heads still yucky.
Anyhow, just wanted to check in and let you know why theres been no blog or Polka Doodle DT activity of late, Id love to think I could get some crafting in this week but its another hectic one I think, Monday starts off with a big annual review meeting at 9 oclock, then teaching what Ive been learning, Tuesday slight reprieve as we are off to see Joseph with school - hope I dont fall asleep as I love Joseph, then all downhill from that point!!!!!!!!!
Catch you soon hopefully, dont think being on the laptops too good for my headache actually. Take care
xxxxx

New year - new challenge!

We were asked to use the Back to Nature cd and a song title - not as easy as it sounds I can tell you! I settled for Love is like a butterfly by Dolly Parton and the gorgeous butterflies from the cd, I inked the edges of the card, added some decorative buttons and ribbon, the sentiment is one of masses from the cd too so a really quick and easy card that took no time.

The challenge is open until 12 noon GMT on Sunday 17th of January - the rules can be found here:

http://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/

Nikky has a brand new cd called Love Marriage and More, launching on Sunday 10th January at 11am on Sky channel 671, the design team have been working with the cd, I can honestly say I dont know how she does it! She surpasses herself with each new cd, you are in for such a treat.