Haiti Earthquake

We've all been shocked and upset watching the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake unfold on the news and in the papers. It's hard to imagine how the survivors are feeling and how they will ever recover from such loss. There are lots of appeals for donations for the organisations who are providing help in Haiti and I have visited a few blogs that have posted links for donating too - click here for one of them. Loved what Elsie did over on her always fabulous blog to raise money for this cause - auctioning off an original painting she created especially and Elle's Studio have put together a fantastic fundraising package of goodies that you can bid for...they are even throwing in the postage (that includes international addresses) Click and see - maybe you could help and get some beautiful products too...xxx

Monday already?!?

That was one quick weekend...especially once we decided fairly late in the day on Saturday to paint Ellie's bedroom. I'm still amazed that I managed to persuade Paul to help me but once we got past the preparation stage he was pretty handy with the roller! I was on edging duty so we made a great team...

Paul in action

Plenty tea breaks seemed to keep him motivated!

After spending about £30 on tester pots of pale pink and pale blue paint over the past few months, Ellie finally decided on Apple White (pale green...) But the room looks fantastic, still a work in progress so here are a few little bits for you to see...

Tomorrow we are unpacking all her bits and pieces for her shelves and adding some wall transfers and other finishing touches so will take more pictures then. No crafting over the weekend as a result but it was great to get it done. Got lots of sewing projects in mind now though...

All the snow has gone from the garden and the boys finally got out to play with their go-cart and tricycle that Santa brought. Harry asked if the snow going away meant that Christmas was all finished!?! Speaking of the wee man, here he is playing the bells to Jingle Bells alongside the Bon Accord Orchestra in Aberdeen just before Christmas...keeping perfect time too! They asked him to join in after he put some pennies in the collection bucket - he loved it!

A couple of Blog Candy mentions ..there are lots of them around right now! I've been doing a lot of Blog Hopping and have started following some really interesting ones - not all crafty, for instance, you have to check out Sleep Talkin' Man...Paul and I laughed SO much at some of the things he's said... Anyway, onto the Blog Candy...

This stash is up for grabs on Inky Fingers - there have been so many comments for it that Katy had added more goodies and there are now going to be 3 draws!

This one is quite mysterious as the prize hasn't been revealed...yet!!! Check out Brenda's Blog to find out more.

Finally Bo Bunny have launched their new ranges and they are gorgeous! If you leave a comment you can be in with a chance of winning some! Love these a lot...

Bye for now! xxx

Little things that make me happy...

I know I said in my last posting that I wanted things to go back to normal but OMG I had forgotten how exhausting normal was!!! The school run, Playgroup drop off and pick up, dancing, Socatots, homework and Miss Molly having to be dragged backwards through the slush in her buggy! I am SO glad it's Friday and the weekend is here...

Ellie's ruler out on the deck last week measuring 8 inches of snow!

The snow is finally starting to melt which is a relief as we just can't seem to cope with it in this country! Paul, Ellie and I lived in Canada (Newfoundland) for a couple of years where they have some serious snow but they have the resources to deal with it...(they have to though or life would grind to a halt for 4 months of the year!) Our pavements here were hazardous at best and the icicles hanging from the buildings (although very pretty) looked lethal! Saying that though, everything did look beautiful covered in snow...Last Friday we had to drive to the nearby villiage where Paul's folks stay and collect his Mum to take her to the supermarket as she was nervous about driving down into the town. The scenery was amazing...

Trees that looked freshly iced pies

The last remaining red phonebox in the area...how much nicer are they?!?

Haybales in the snow

Bennachie in the distance...

...and the road ahead.

Me and my camera.

Have spent a lot of time in the house the past couple of weeks - apart from the odd outing, and have been photographing little things around the place that make me happy...here they are.

The bargain tealight holders I bought in Fat Face in Aberdeen - reduced to a tiny £1.50 each! Bought 5 not really knowing what I'd do with them...perfect hanging on the dining area light.

We did a jigsaw together last weekend. A 1000 piece montage of old Ladybird books - some of which I had when I was little!

Another houseplant that seems to be surviving! Got this Ponsieta from my lovely friend Lesley over Christmas and it's still alive - it's a miracle!!!

My little teapot for one...bought it from the Avon catalogue last month - tea tastes so much nicer when it's poured from a pot!

The teeny bottle of Hendricks that Paul found...too cute to drink.

Bought this a while back in Laura Ashley...it says it all.

The jewellery hanger that Paul brought home after a trip to M&S one evening (an impulse buy apparantley!)

Storytime with the boys...and cosy slippers!

After school trip to the sweetie shop...

Onto some crafty stuff...have been filling in my 365 challenge calendar (sort of) faithfully each evening and finally got the title sorted. Here's how it came together.

Made a frame (from old envelopes!) and used it as a mask on the page

Used the same stamps as the calendar pages

Added some doodles and Distress Ink

Cut some letters and numbers out using the Cuttlebug and coated them with Glossy Accents

Started out punching holes along the bottom edge and stitching but it didn't look right so added eyelets and ribbon instead.

Will stick the pages together once I'm sure I don't want to add anything else. Each month I can pull the design of the whole book together by using the materials from the double page layout on that month's title page. Need to get cracking with February!

Went sledging last Sunday, here's some pics of the action...

Paul testing the hill...to make sure it was safe for the kids!

Molly all cosied up in the wagon...

...so cosy that she's taking her gloves off?

After this it was off to the nearby coffee shop for hot chocolate and scones...thankfully my cousin showed up so he took me, Harry and Molly back up the hill in his car!

And finally, Molly Moo's wardrobe remix yesterday. She wore the hat most of the day...

Love those slippers! That's all for now - have got some blog links to share and some other bits and pieces but my bath is waiting and it smells divine! xxx

More Snow?!?

Are we ever going to get back to normal? By normal, I mean all up by 7am, kids back at school, eating lunch at lunchtime (and not at around 2.30pm) and not staying up watching the box sets of West Wing till the wee small hours - will life as we used to know it ever return?!? Kids are still off school and the forecast is for at least 2 more weeks of this! Can't see them going back tomorrow, they went out to play in the garden earlier and poor Harry was up to his armpits at some points!

Finally made it to the hairdressers yesterday - have had to cancel 2 appointments recently because of our Chickenpox outbreak. Had a lovely relaxing time complete with a hand and arm massage and a good gossip with Colleen. She made a gorgeous job and I came out feeling like a new person. Met Paul and kids for lunch then did some shopping for supplies for my February pages and some other projects I have in mind...

Got these beautiful papers and a few other bits and pieces but sadly no Craft Stamper - did anyone else notice the date was wrong for when the February issue was out? 1st January 2009 - glad I'm not the only one that does that, I'll still be writing 2009 till at least May! Anyway, got a copy today - yay!

Also bought this wee doll for a friend who's just had a baby - how cute is she!?! Has made me want to make some little dolls for Molly...will show you the results if they turn out well!

Packed up all the Christmas Decorations yesterday and it was only when the tree was away we realised the the Amaryilis that I planted back at the start of December had grown huge! How amazed was I?!? Not got the best track record when it comes to house plants so I'm really proud of this!

Finally got round to taking some photos of my 365 Calendar project with the 'days' on. I think it will evolve as the weeks go on - don't have a title yet but am in the process of making it and there are some other bits that I plan to add...love that it can develop though and have started to plan February's pages too.

Looked at lots of different papers but none of them seemed to quite work then remembered I had bought a few packs of Blonde Moments papers a while back and the Minaisie Moo ones were perfect. I didn't want to measure and cut out so I was a bit lazy and used Stampin' Up punches.

I also didn't want to write on the days of the week - thought it would look too cluttered - so instead I set eyelets in each Saturday and Sunday tag and threaded ribbon through. I probably should have planned a bit more carefully and only had 7 tags running across the page but I'm looking at this as a learning experience and will take what I've learnt from this month onto next month!

Got this gorgeous sign from my Mum and Dad at Christmas - put it up in my study and it's perfect.

Finally Mini Wardrobe Remix...

That's all for now! xxx