>>> Happy Halloween! <<<

Normally we don't celebrate Halloween but my SIL invited us over to a party and the boys became excited! So we had to get them a Halloween outfit including all the accessories.

They (including their cousin) attended a Halloween party first at Monkey Business, one of those soft play places. It started with a magician show which they got bored halfway and went off onto the soft play areas. Then it was followed by party food. After that, we whisked them home where they got ready to go out for Trick or Treat. It was their first time and they were dead excited! We adults accompanied them. Have to say that people were all ready with their treats when the kids knocked on their doors. The boys had their buckets full of sweets and chocolates!

Moi & the boys

The kiddies knocking on doors.

The boys' treats!

The party continued at my SIL's house. The boys played games and had a very spooky time. We even put on a fireworks display. Finally, to calm them down, they watch a DVD and eventually dropped off to sleep!

Fireworks display

Games the boys played... Oliver sticking his hand in some yucky stuff to find bones! Zac wisely refused to join in! LOL!

All wrapped up as mummy.

It was a great day today! Weather was fantastic too, warm and just perfect for trick or treating! TTFN!

>>> We're Off! <<<

It's half term this week and hubs took 2 days leave and we're off to Poole. SIL is having a Halloween party this Sat, so we are spending some time down south. The boys luv it there as it's near by the sea and they luv the sea a lot!

Our first stop is Lymington where we had a fish and chips lunch, much to the boys' delight! Took a quick walk around the town area before heading off to our hotel. We are booked two nites at the Holiday Inn.

I leave with some photos of today...

At Lymington Lifeboat Quay

A wonderful array of boats on display

Zac on the trampoline in the playground.

Later, ventured to Highcliffe coast. It's lovely to see the sea again.

TTFN!

>>> Wedding Party! <<<

We spent the afternoon getting new clothes for the boys, more precisely, Halloween costumes and a posh outfit for a wedding party tonight! The Halloween costumes were easy, the boys picked them out fairly quickly. The posh outfits, slightly more difficult. Somehow, we managed after a great deal of difficulty.

As the wedding 'after' party was family-based, the boys were invited and they had fun! It isn't often they get a chance to go out and they enjoyed it. There were other kiddies around too so they weren't so bored. They did look forward to the fish and chip dinner though!

It's so hard to get Zac to pose hence this particular stance!

The boys sharing a forbidden drink... Coke. I don't allow them to drink it but they somehow got their dad to get one for them!

I got to drive the Jag home as hubs had alcohol! That's the only time I get to drive that car! The boys were thoroughly knackered and couldn't wait to go to bed... not surprisingly since we got home at midnite! TTFN!

>>> So Busy! <<<

It's Friday and the last day of the school term! The morning saw Zac performing for harvest assembly. His class was chosen to give a performance and the past few weeks saw him singing and dancing at home in preparation for it. Only parents of his class could watch the performance due to lack of space in the hall. It was certainly entertaining and I took a fair number of photos. Thank goodness for my new external flash as it certainly made a difference to the pictures! They were so much better and sharper.

Here's Zac doing his harvest rock and roll.

In the afternoon, Oliver's school held a sponsored walk and the children could wear a fancy dress in an environment-based theme. The kids had to walk around the school perimeter 10 times. I did join him a couple of time. It was interesting to see the various fancy dresses donned on by both the children and teachers. Thank goodness the weather was brilliant and it was sunny!

Here's Oliver dressed as a cyclist... do your part for the environment and cycle!

Today also marks the start of half term! Can't believe 7 weeks of school term is now over. Looking forward to a week of not getting up early! Yay! TTFN!

>>> Unity's Friends With Flair Friday! <<<

Oops a little late in display but it's the last day of the school term and there was so much activities going on in my boys' schools! I've been concentrating on Xmas cards as I realised I do need a lot (like more than 30 and I'm no where near half that amount!) Anyway, without further ado, here's my offering this week.

Recently received this new Xmas stamp set and just had to have a play with it. Background was sprayed with glimmer mist. Paper by Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses.

Luv this particular stamp image. It's so versatile and I've used it for a Xmas card. Poinsettia came from Hodge Podge of Happiness set. Paper by BG Eskimo Kisses (gotta luv that set).

Have a great weekend (so glad it's here and even happier it's half term!) TTFN!

>>> On Display! <<<

Haven't scrapped for a while so decided to break into my new October 09 Scarlet Lime kit. Found this sketch on this blog and decided to have a go:

Here's my effort. Have to say, it was hard work as I've not scrapped for a while and was a bit rusty in the beginning.

All from SL kit apart from alphas & lace used. Journaling stripes from Unity Sep SB kit and background stamped images from Oct SB kit (only received recently and had to play with them).

TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 235 <<<

Today's challenge is Wacky Colour Wednesday and the colours are red, purple and brown! I luv playing with colours and this is my offering:

Just a stroke of luck that I had this particular brown paper with Xmas images on it. Paper is from Dovecraft Xmas range. The red paper came from Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. Poinsettia image from Unity and coloured using Promarkers. Added some liquid pearls in the centre.

Yay, another Xmas card done! TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 232 <<<

Today's is Super Sketchy Sunday and this is the sketch:

Have to say, it stumped me a little but here's what I've come up:

I found a pack of shimmery off cuts and decided to make use of them. I'm concentrating on Xmas cards from now onwards so hence, made this card in an Xmassy theme. Images are a mixture of Unity, Elzybells (Xmas script) and Imaginisce (gloves & cocoa) and coloured using Copics.

TTFN!

>>> On Display: Banana Frog! <<<

It was my turn to blog at Banana Frog's and I chose a Xmas theme using this new stamp set:

Retro Christmas

Here's my projects:

That sleigh image is just too adorable. Luv those ornaments as well.

I luv making tags as these are usually given out to my sons' classmates instead of Xmas cards. I've been exploring a few Xmas images to see which one is the easiest to do as I've got to make at least 50!

A 4x6 LO for my Ikea calendar frame.

I literally used all the images on the set. I can see myself using this set for Xmas cards! TTFN!

>>> Whitmore Concert! <<<

The boys had their first violin concert of the season at Wiltmore in Staffordshire. It was held in a church amidst a historic and beautiful setting. Their music teacher is rather active in organising concerts around.

The concert officially kicked off at 3pm although we were there at 1.45pm for rehearsals. The boys are part of an apprentice group of violinists. The concert lasted for an hour which was opened by the Fuoco Strings playing their pieces. Then the Fuoco Strings apprentice group came on, followed by a lady who played the oboe (gosh, she was fantastic) and finally, the Fuoco Strings group finished it off.

Here are the boys doing a practice run. (blurred the other kids' faces)

After the concert, the boys were treated to an array of sandwiches and cakes. Then later, we headed to the nearby pub for tea. We certainly enjoyed our afternoon out. TTFN!

>>> Blah Blah! <<<

Got my mitts on this today at Stampeezee Craft Store. I wasn't specifically searching for it but came upon this online store and saw it had this border punch in stock (not surprising, the corner one wasn't). Found out it was just 20 mins from my place, so called up and asked her to reserve it for me. Hubs was nice enough to drive me there (had to get him as I get hopelessly lost with new direction, yeah, even with the satnav!) Had a good browse in the store and they do have quite a fair interesting bits like Unity stamps!!! Had to give in to my paper addiction and bought a few Graphic 45 papers. I'm sure I'll be back there on my own to browse thoroughly. I knew they existed but never took much notice until today! Can't say they are cheap as some items are priced a wee bit costly but at least I don't have to pay postage cost so I guess that evens out.

Autumn is definitely here.... leaves are falling down in heaps and the boys luv running thru' them. Weather's getting colder too and the heating has to be switched on nearly everyday now. I've to start hunting down the scarves and gloves for the boys. Somehow, I can never ever find the other half of their gloves!!! I guess it's time to put away my summer shoes and bring out the winter ones!

Got this photo while coming back from my boys' violin workshop. There are still leaves on the tree but I reckon by November, they will all be gone!

Next weekend, the clock changes too, moving back an hour. Hate it when it starts getting dark early. I will really dread it when it starts getting dark at 4pm onwards! Yuks! It's a fact! I do not like Autumn!!! TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards Challenges <<<

Before I left for my summer hols, I was a frequent visit to this card challenge site as it was held everyday. Upon coming back, I just couldnt' get into the mood of crafting (well, partly had to sort my craft room out). But I'm back and will try and keep up with the challenges everyday!

Did a few Xmassy cards last nite for this past week challenges and here they are:

Day 230: Shape It Up
The challenge asks for a semi-circle on the card. Here's mine:

I used a doily for mine and sprayed it with glimmer mist. Not sure why I chose mittens as I thought it was mittens that was hung up but realised it's stockings!!! Duh! Oh well, if you don't have stocking, you will use anything! LOL!

Day 229: Colour Scheme
The challenge is to follow this particular colour scheme:

Here's mine. I sctually did two similar ones.

Not trying to be enthusiatic but as it was an 8x8 paper, I merely half each and used them both on two cards. Save me fluffing about later. I outlined the Xmas trees and stars. Stamped a Unity bauble image and coloured using Promarkers and Copics. Sticklers was later applied. Added a wire and stuck the bauble using foam dots.

Day 228: Same, but Different
The challenge is to use at least 2 papers that have the same pattern but are different in colour. Here's mine:

I was lucky that within the same Xmassy pad, there were these swirly patterns in different colours! Yay! Hot cocoa image from Imaginisce (couldn't resist them when I saw it) and circle image by Unity. Finally got down to learning how to emboss using my Cuttlebug & Nestabilities. (It's amazing how people are willing to show how it's done freely on the Net... thanks!)

Day 225: Super Sketchy Sunday
This was the sketch:
Here's my take on it:

Polar bear image from Imaginisce... isn't he adorable?!! Coloured using Copics. Sentiments from Unity. Paper from Dovecraft 6x6 Xmas pad (normally don't buy them but as I've got a fair number of cards to do, it's much easier pulling them from a pad!)

That's it so far! Will try and complete the rest of the challenges tonite. Now that I've gotten the card making bug again, I'm really enjoying it. TTFN!

>>> Caardvarks: 'Take A Bow' Ribbon Challenge <<<

Was in a creative mood last nite and made some cards. Also took a peek at all the challenge sites I used to frequent and decided to do them in conjunction with the challenges. First on the list was Caardvarks. Their theme is 'Take a Bow' which asks to use ribbon on a card in a wonderful way. Well, here's mine:

I did a similar card like this last year and thought I replicate it. It certainly made use of my ribbons which I've not touched for a while. Patterned paper by Tapestry by C.R Gibbon Nouvelle Noelle. Trying to use up all my old stash as much as possible.

TTFN!

>>> On Display: Bellaboo <<<

I was given Bellaboo's October's kit to play which features Sassafras Sweet Marmalade papers. It even included a Hero Art journaling stamp!

I had great fun playing with the papers as it has been a while since I used Sassafras papers. Here's what I did with it:

There was one paper begging to be cut and so I did! Sprayed the background with glimmer mist (can't work on plain cardstock! It has to be grungy somehow! LOL!)

Lots of Unity stamps used here as embellishment.

Heart image came from a Prima stamp set. Hot air balloon image is from Unity.

The kit came with 6 chipboards. So I made use of 2 of them and filled the interior with pages. I had these photos of Zac's 6th birthday party for a while and decided to scrap them.

Here's a snapshot of the album's interior pages.
It has been a while since I did mini albums so was glad to get this done. TTFN!

>>> Unity's Friends With Flair Friday <<<

Luv Friday! Not only it's the start of the weekend but it's also Friends with Flair! Today's offering is a Xmas card. Yes, Xmas is only 69 days away. Scary when you think about it as it wasn't that long that we had Xmas!

Anyway, played with a few random stamps that I received from Unity when I made orders and here it is:

The squares are from Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses and the background from Bo Bunny. Images coloured using Copics.

And do drop by the Unity blog as there is a mega sale right on till Sunday.

Not only that, each order receives 5 random stamps and if you spend over $25, you get to buy a selected Unity stamp set for merely $2 (some of these set cost $29 retail). Check out the Unity blog in detail here. I've done my shopping.... got my eye on a few sets and this discount sure came in handy!

Thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend! TTFN!

>>> Blog Makeover! <<<

Finally buckled down and gave my blog a makeover. Always wanted 3 columns and you gotta marvel at the generosity of people who share info on how to do it. Seem daunting but not so when you actually tackle it. I'm by no mean HTML savvy but can just about get by with simple instructions. Again, thanks to all those generous souls who kindly created backgrounds, headers for use. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My background came from here and the header, from here! So far, the blog looks fine in Safari and Mozilla. Haven't checked in IE (these days, I avoid using the PC wherever possible!) TTFN!

>>> On Display! <<<

Some cards I made for the Unity's Bachelor Bro Challenge over at Splitcoast Stamper site. For week 3, the challenge was to use plaid and polka dot. Here's what I did:

Made use of September's KOTM set and coloured using Promarkers.

For week 4, it was to make a recipe card. Here's what I came up with:

The stamps (cocktail and sentiment) used here were a random set that I received from orders that I made so not exactly sure which set they come from (although one can check it on the Unity site). The torn notesheet is from the Le Chic Vintage kit, September scrapbooking set. Images were coloured using my new set of Copic markers (decided to give it a try and luv the brush nib!) Mmmm.... TTFN!

>>> Urghh! <<<

Tuesday
Down with the 'puke' virus that bugged Zac! He must have passed it on to me as I started feeling unwell on Monday nite and in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, puked for a good 5 mins! Yuks, it was such an unpleasant experience! Went to bed thoroughly exhausted but was quite restless until dawn. Struggled to bring the boys to school before collapsing in bed till the next school run. Hate feeling ill....

Wednesday
Was off sick from work. Felt a wee bit better in the morning (as in I could move about) and had some soup and bread for lunch (as I had nothing the day before). Big mistake! Felt quite ill in the afternoon and was struggling to pick the boys from school. Thankfully hubs was able to come back early and got the kids to their extra curricular activity. Spent the evening resting big time!!!

Thursday
Thankfully felt so much better. Even went back to work (another big mistake as I came back thoroughly exhausted!) Was able to sweep the kitchen floor (couldn't bear seeing the crumbs on the floor) and even sorted out my patterned papers. I had them in 12x12 drawers and haven't touched them for a good year so figured it was time to separate them and sort them out accordingly. Came out with a dozen 12x12 baggies and a better idea what sort of papers I do possess, some completely forgotten!!! Got a fair number of scrap papers for cardmaking too. Feel so much better now that I organised my patterned papers.

Rite, time to do a bit of crafting. Missed it while I've been ill. TTFN!

<<< Sunday! <<<

Had a class at the Apple store. I wanted to find out what Garage Band was all about and I sure did at the class. I was the only student so that was a plus too. The guy took me from the beginning and we had a practice session, jamming away. It was quite entertaining. Have to say, if you do know music, that is one great software to possess! I was also taught how to do podcast and to make your own ringtone. Fab! Found out more about the One to One session too. Might just get that as they do have some very interesting lessons.

Zac is getting better. He was still throwing up but wasn't as bad as the nite before. In fact, he was almost back to normal self by afternoon. Thank goodness! TTFN!

>>> On Display: BackPorch Memories <<<

It's showtime and I got the Medley kit to play with for this October at BackPorch Memories. Luv Paula's kits as she tries to get the latest papers and bellies and it helps she has a store too as I do get bits and pieces from time to time. Anyway, here's this month's kits:

Solo kit featuring Cosmo Cricket Earth Love

Medley kit featuring Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend, Bo Bunny Delilah and Little Yellow Bicycle Autumn Bliss collections.

BackPorch Memories stamp set
(luv how it mimics the designs on the papers)

Unity September store kit
(gosh, those images are simply adorable)

Here's what I've done with the Medley kit:

Back to School
(back to routine too)
Background sprayed with Glimmer Mist (probably didn't come out nicely on photo)

U & I

Dad & Moi
(this was based on a Becky Fleck sketch which I had rotated it to suit my photo)
Background sprayed with Glimmer Mist. Luv them to bits!

Had this Ikea frame for ages and decided to do something with it. So I will create 4x6 pictures to put in the folders. (can't get Zac to give me a nice smile when the camera is pointed at him... amazes me how he pulls those faces sometimes!)

I don't use my rubons enough so decided to use it here.

And here.

Finally a card using the Unity Sep store kit set. Ahhh, that rag doll is just too cute for words! Stamped image coloured using Copics (yup, bought a set to play with and have to say I like the brush nibs a lot.....)

TTFN!