Birthday card time

This first card is made using a lovely new Greetings Farm stamp which arrived yesterday. Sophie is off to a party tonight and the little girl is called Dollie. Unusual name, yes? But if everyone had the same name life would be boring!

Anyway, Sophie is off to the brickworks to a soft play party. I think this year will be the last year Sophie's friends go for soft play parties as they are all getting to be too tall to go in the soft play areas! No doubt Alex will be put out that she is not invited, but I have no desire to sit in this particular play area while she plays too, so I will drop Sophie off and pick her up later!

The second card is for a special friend of mine who is 40 on Friday. Perhaps I should not be putting this up on my blog yet, but I want to show her that I have remembered, unlike some people who shall remain nameless! She's had a tough year this year, so I hope this coming year is better for her. We are off to Llangollen at half term to a holiday house with our 4 girls, I am really looking forward to that! The 40 on the card is very subtle, can you spot it? This stamp is also a new arrival in my house, an Anya stamp from the Greetings Farm range of stamps. She is just so cute, I had to ink her up straight away. Both images are coloured using my copic markers, can't remember which shades, I never keep track of things like that! The letters on the top card are some stickers I found in my stash. No idea where they came from! The Super friend letters are AC Thickers, I love those, wish I had more!

I will share pics of my newly decorated craft room soon, it is almost organised, just a little more to do! Ciao for now!

Stampin Up Workshop at My House

Just in case anyone wants to come along, I'm having a Stampin Up workshop at my house on Friday 5th February at 8pm. If you're in Leeds and would like to come, leave me a comment and I'll get in touch. If you're not local, but want to order Stampin Up products, you're welcome to do that too! Again, leave me a comment and I'll be in touch.

So how has your week been?

It seems as if time is rushing past me at the moment. I have been really busy since New Year, sorting out this, that and the other. This week has been an assortment of dental appointments, swine flu jabs, chiropractic appointments and time spent doing all the usual mundane things that being a parent involves. Sophie had to have a filling and Alex was having a filling and a tooth out. Unfortunately, Alex's extraction didn't go quite to plan, so she ended up screaming in the dentist's chair. All very traumatic for both her and me, it is times like that when being a parent is so, so hard. Watching your child being put through a painful procedure is something I don't want to repeat.

I managed to find some bunk beds to fit in Alex's room, the smallest bedroom in the house. It was a challenge to say the least, as shorty bunk beds in general seem to come with narrow mattresses, and that was something I didn't want to buy. I finally found a company which made bunks in different lengths but with a full width, 3 foot mattress. The bunks are 5'9" in length, and so fit beautifully. Alex's last bed was a divan single, which fitted well, but bunks are always longer, so wouldn't fit at all. I started putting the beds together last night, and finished them off today. All I have to do this evening is attach the safety bar and ladder, then Alex can have her first night in her new bed! I am hoping she sleeps all night in the bunk, as she has a habit of waking and coming in to my bed. She has been better since I got her a thicker duvet and a sheepskin effect under sheet, so maybe the attraction of sleeping in a bunk bed will keep her there every night.

I made the decision to renew my membership to the WAY foundation a couple of months ago. I paid my membership fee in October or November, then forgot to tell the membership secretary that I had done it, so I finally got round to emailing her. I have no doubt that there are some people I know through WAY who will presume I rejoined because I am single again, but I actually joined before everything changed over New Year. If it gives them something to obsess over, so be it, it gives me a bit of a giggle to think that they have nothing more interesting to fill their lives with! Something I have discovered is that, sadly, having widowhood in common with someone does not mean you will find kindred spirits. There are some really bitter people out there, and I am determined not to become one of those people. I was dealt an unkind hand when Nigel died, and life is full of struggles, but the one thing I want to do is live my life to the full, and give my girls the most positive experience I possibly can. I have been thinking a great deal about the events of August 10th 2006 lately, remembering how everything changed in an instant. Tears are still shed from time to time, but a lot less frequently than they were in the early days. Perhaps the thing I find most sad is that Nigel can not see how his girls have grown into wonderful young ladies. Yes, if you share my religious beliefs in heaven, he can see from there, but he is not here with us now to experience the fantastic journey with these two girls. I love them both so very, very much, and even though it is hard word, it is worth every minute!

My craft room is still in chaos, must get in there this weekend and put it all away. My desk is pure white now, and the walls are pale blue. Looks ace, so I will finish it all off very soon and share pics.

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

My special quilt

If you've been reading my blog since the early days back in 2006, you may remember the beautiful quilt which was made for me by my online friends from around the world. I had put it on the spare bed, but when I was in the spare room the other day, putting Christmas decorations away, I decided it was time to put it back on my bed. It has been so cold over the last few weeks, and sleeping alone can get very chilly sometimes!

I have been so warm since I put the quilt back on my bed, plus I have loved looking back at all the squares, remembering the people who made the squares. Some of them have moved on from the forums I was on then, in fact so have I from some of them, but it was very reassuring to see the squares made by people I am still friends with. I am blessed to have a great deal of very good friends, both online in various communities, and also in real life. They have been there for me, through thick and thin, keeping me going, reminding me that I'm doing a great job even when it seems like my life is one constant battle. Life as a lone parent does often feel like I am wading through mud up to my waist, but I know we will get there eventually. It might not be via the usual route, or even the route I planned when the girls were born, but we will get there in the end!

I'm off to get cosy under my quilt, so night all!

Exciting news for me!

I've been accepted onto the team for the Crafty Storage Blog! I am so chuffed! Time for me to get looking for more storage ideas out there on the internet! Leave me a comment if you've seen anything interesting.

Along the same vein, my craftroom has been repainted now, and I am starting to put things back in which is a job and a half! Watch this space for new pics very soon!

Happy 2010!

Here's my first card of 2010, made for my mum's birthday today using two Gorjuss girl stamps. I stamped the right hand image, then masked it and stamped the other girl, so that they look like they are standing together. The idea is that the girls look like my two gorgeous girls, saying Happy Birthday to their Grandma!

The images are stamped and then coloured with my copic markers in a range of shades. I can never remember which shades I have used, as I tend to pick up a selection, and use them all until I am happy with the effect. The coloured cardstock is DCWV, and has a white core which I have revealed by sanding gently round the edges. I punched the bottom of the cardstock with a Martha Stewart border punch., then cut out a strip of purple cardstock to go on top. Lining up the punched base of the strip was really easy, and I like how it looks! The oval sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

So here we are, 2010, a new year, new start. Lots of exciting things to do this year. I face it as a single woman again, things didn't work out as hoped, and I reached the point where I didn't feel valued within the relationship. It proved that love is not enough, so it was time to move on. For now I am enjoying being with my girls and waiting to see what the future holds.

The snow has continued to fall here, in fact I had to abandon my car yesterday outside my friend Avril's house as I couldn't get up the hill her house is on. Fortunately my friend Bill came and picked me up, then came back with me this morning to get the car. It was very slippery, and took a little while, but I was very glad when I finally got the car back home!

Back to school for the girls tomorrow, then there will be time for me to get this bombsite of a house back in order! I have the decorator coming to repaint the playroom, Sophie's room and my craft room. Can't quite decide what colour to have my craftroom though, so tomorrow I will go and get some colour charts from B&Q before Ben arrives on Tuesday. I need to get more organised, start to do things with my time at home which I enjoy, instead of wasting time on the internet!

Happy New Year to all my readers, I hope you have a great year, I know it is definitely my aim to do so!

White Christmas!

Another year over with! We have had a fabulous Christmas this year, the snow has made it so special. The girls have loved every minute out in it, and are now sledging queens! Hearing them laugh so much this morning was infectious, they were so happy to be outside in the sunshine, sliding down the hillside on two red plastic discs.

The girls both received Gogo hamsters, which seem to have become this year's must have toy. They love them to bits, and have played with them over and over again already.

Tomorrow we head to my brother's so I will sign off for now.

Happy Christmas!