Cardmakers!

I very rarely make cards but I really really really wish I could make cards like these girls.

You have to check out Jane's blog, she makes the prettiest and most detailed cards I have ever seen, so beautifully coloured in and with the sweetest little touches, I spend ages looking at her creations, and to top it all, she is a really lovely lady.

I am also very excited that my friend Lousette has just started a blog, she is going to be making samples from the brand new Stampin' Up releases and I just know they are going to be blummin' brilliant. She has only just posted her first entry but already has shared some gorgeous creations, she is so creative and has a really unique style that I totally love!

So, go and have a cuppa and a nose and we my friends, are off to the zoo!!

Charlotte xx

I wish I had a ......

This is George's most absolute favouritist thing to say right now. It is used most prolifically during ad breaks on NickJr and applies to just about every single advert that comes on, including Barbie, My Littlest Petshop and Glade Touch 'n' Fresh. Sensibly he follows this request with "I'll have to ask Santa for it" bless.

When he first started saying this I thought I was being dead clever by surreptiously making a list until I realised that it was a) going to be the World's Longest List and b) he did indeed say it for everything, totally indiscriminately (btw, when oh when is an advert going to come on for the Sylvanian Families Hotel for crying out loud? That WOULD get on the list.)

Anyhoo, today in the car he said he wished he had a birthday, so I told him he could - albeit next August - which went down okay. He then added that he wished he had a Santa cake for his birthday. He asked for a Snowman cake for his August birthday this year. I think he has Christmas issues. I have no idea where he would have got those from *whistles Jingle Bells innocently*.

These photos are from his second birthday (pre-Christmas issues, when he asked for a Dinosaur cake) and all these papers and bits are Cosmo Cricket and were sent to me by my friend Jackie at Make the Moment Last, she has fab taste (in papers and people ha ha!!).

Anyhoo, must off,

Laters taters, Charlotte x

Rainy Day

I love rainy days (as long as they aren't every day obviously). Today my little one is content on a bit of drawing, a bit of playing cars, a bit of watching Toy Story on the sofa, a bit of obsessive teeth brushing (don't ask) so I thought I would give my new cheapo scanner a whirl.

Bonus ball was I found the disc that my stitching software came on and - shock horror - it appears to be Vista compatible I am cooking on gas babies!

First two victims are layouts from a mini cyber crop I took part in earlier this year, the first layout was my own sketch, the second layout is from a sketch by Katie Hadfield who is the most delicious digi-scrapper ever (except I did a paper version because, try though I might, I just can't get the hang of digi-scrapping, just not enough opportunities for fannying about probably).

This one has sort of a two-layer thang going on, and is perfect for you if you have lots of little scraps to use up and about a zillion foam pads lying around with nothing better to do. I used up some of my ultra-precious old-school KI Memories scraps on this one *sigh*.



More old-school here :) This time the Doodlebug stickers got a dusting off.



Anyhoo, off to try and artifically ripen an avocado,
Laters taters,
Charlotte x

Scrapbook Inspiration time!

Today the new issue of Scrapbook Inspirations magazine should be arriving with subscribers (in the shops Friday) and my ugly mug is in it!! I am very very chuffed to have been asked to join their new extended design team as I really do love working with these girls and think the mag is great :)

Here are all the girls on the team with their blog links below:



from l-r

Andrea Gourley
Anita Mundt
Anne Parry
Me (see notes below!!!)
Cheryl Johnson
Chloe Harp
Helen Miles
Jane Dean
Jen Naulls
Jo-Anne Cavanagh
Julie Kirk
Karen Cole
Kathy Bridgwater
Laura Buckingham
Mary Anne Walters
Morag Cutts
Sam Ball
Shimelle Laine


I'll tell you what though. I look at that photo of me, and this is what I think.
Errr...have I never heard of under-eye concealer?
...or hair straighteners?
...or flattering camera angles lol!!!!
Ho hum ;)

Anyhoo, I'm waiting now for the postie so I can see what the other girls have contributed to this issue (they were all slaving away whilst I was moving house, although I know what I would rather have been doing....big time)

Laters taters,
Charlotte x

More skelligtons...

Will you look at my little monkey here? I scrapped this layout last year but having him dressed as a skeleton 24/7 at the moment reminded me of this layout so I thought I'd dig it out. Butter wouldn't melt eh?



This year I really like the look of My Minds Eye 'Boo to You' papers and embellies, maybe I feel another skeleton layout coming on :)

Anyhoo, husb is settling down to watch the Grand Prix on Sky+ so that's my cue for a bath before I start sewing name labels on everything in sight in prep for George starting nursery tomorrow :)

Laters taters x

How rubbish am I?

You know, I love blogs, I read them all the time. My Bloglines list is huge and I check it far too many times and yes, I get cross with people when their blogs are not showing updates. I mean, how dare they?!!!

Yet still I don't bother with my own. That's different ;)

Anyhoo, I have had a lazy Saturday today with lots of surfing whilst my boys have been playing Lego and visiting the swings and I thought I would share some of the sites I like to visit when I've got 5 minutes, a cup of tea and an urge to look at some crafting pretties.

A site I started to look at when i very first started crafting is this one. I have to confess I have never bought from them but I love the way they present their products and their ideas gallery is just beautiful, just lots and lots of simple ideas which I think are real classics. Go and have a look :)

In other news I am still tidying my craft space (started 1 week ago, the shame) and George is mostly wearing a skeleton costume,



at least he's a healthy apple eating skeleton though, eh?

Party party!

Have you been for a nose to see what this is all about this weekend?



Just look at all those projects! I am currently in post-3-year-old's-party recovery (lying on sofa watching the Antiques Roadshow) and am going to enjoy a happy evening visiting all the blogs of the clever girlies who have been busy making bits and pieces with Shimelle's printables.

As soon as I saw the goodies that I received I knew I wanted to make a little plaque for the wall by the front door - we are renting at the mo whilst our house is being built - and I thought a little reminder that this house is still home would go down a treat ;)



Anyhoo my lovelies, I need to recline once more and scoff leftover rolls and pizza slices ;) Back tomorrow with pics of the infamous snowman in summer cake.

Laters taters,
Charlotte x