Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop

Welcome everyone to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop!!

The hop started over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog and if you get lost you can see the full list of participants back there. I found this great site after visiting Sian's blog, I really love the idea of making up an alternative to a currently available kit, though I haven't taken part yet, I will do, as I have so much to use up in my stash!

Hopefully you have come here from Bethany's amazing blog, I've just become a follower! I am the last stop on the blog hop journey, so I hope you have enjoyed seeing all the creations taken from this sketch. I am so excited to be part of the hopping as this fantastic sketch from Scraps of Darkness finally got me scrapping again!! I did flip the image, substituted an alternative shape instead of the circle, tweeked here and there, but my page is based on this sketch.

It took me a while to decide which photograph to use, as I have so many waiting to be used in a layout. In the end I chose one that I thought would work well with flowers! The overall look is very girlie, which is not what I would consider a natural style for me, as in real life I tend to be a bit of a tom boy and 'I don't do pink'!! I was really pleased to use up several things that have been in my stash for ages, I really need to have a good sort out (completing a few Counterfeit Kits would probably help!)

This is a close up of the photograph as it is difficult to see in the previous image and I love the little peg in the corner with the pink flower, it is so cute!

Thanks for visiting my blog and joining in with all the fun. I hope to be joining in a lot more with Counterfeit Kit Challenges so watch this space! xxx

IDIC card making challenge 'Make the cut'

This week on IDIC the challenge is 'Make the Cut' which requires you to use your die cutting machines and/or punches on your card.

The DT had the opportunity to use images from this weeks sponsor Floppy Latte and with lots of birthdays in February I chose a cute image of a girl with a birthday cake in the middle of her celebrations found here.

I actually ended up making 3 cards with the image and coloured them using my trusty pro markers (found one had completely dried up and had never used it as the lid didn't fit properly should I contact letraset do you think??) I ended up using my newest spellbinders die 'eyelet squares' to cut the finished stamp out. Because the image is quite detailed I kept the diecutting and embellishments to a minimum, so as usual my cards are very simple

Please go over to visit IDIC this week to see the cards created by the DT as they really are a talented lot (not sure how I ended up on there!!) so please join us with your card creations x

rocking my world Friday

What a great Friday! Definitely rocked my world today! Check out Celtic House to see what rocked for everyone else today.

9 of us headed off to the beach, the weather was fairly mild, dry and we're British so we went to the sea side because we are on holiday! There was mud, which DD got stuck in, was pulled over by DS 'helping,' then DS dropped my bag in the mud so I was rather fed up with muckiness and it was a bit stinky and seemed to be everywhere! We managed to clean up fairly well thanks to lots of hot water and tissues!!

There was a great fish restaurant

that is Hubby's seafood platter.... huge! Can you recognise any of the seafood??? note to self I don't like cockles, they taste sandy!

There was a shingle beach with shells, ice cream, and pastel beach huts!

I love days out with the family, 3 generations, away from the normal everyday grind, enjoying fresh air and fun company! I have had a great time, it is brillant to be off with the children sharing in the half term madness!

It's Monday what are you reading??

I must confess to not having read much at all this week. I decided to read one of three books as I have a plan for one of them (will reveal more at a later date!) so I chose Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Set in Nigeria, it is the story of three characters and how events

test their relationships in a unsettled time of civil war. I have literally just started this book but hope to finish it this week while I am off for half term... though not sure if I will manage that as gonna be spending time with the children... watch this space!

So what are you all reading at the moment? I love hearing about other peoples reads and recommendations, I bought The Help last week as Rainmac had left a message here saying she had read it! Pop over to the book journey to see what all those real readers are getting their teeth into this week!

IDIC card making challenge 'Anything goes'

Good morning friends! Thank you for visiting my blog and viewing this weeks challenge over at IDIC that is Anything Goes. This week is sponsored by Digi's with attitude and we were provided with an image to use. I have the gorgeous Tabatha and Tony (available here) a pair of loving, fun tigers.

I kept the card really simple and actually just printed out the image onto orange card so i didn't even have to do any colouring! After last weeks bling it up challenge I decided to add a wee bit of sparkle to the card (a Carftwork Cards scallop one) and added some tiny orange gem stones.

I also created a second card as I printed off 2 images to play with, this is really similar

and these cards are now in the post to a couple of friends!

Please go over to IDIC to view all the other cards from the talented Design Team and don't forget to enter this week xxx

Smiling on Saturday

Yep I have a smile on my face for 2 reasons...

firstly, I am now on holiday for a week!! Yipeeee! It's half term so both the children have no school and I have no work, we have lots planned including lots of relaxing time in this rainy weather!!

secondly I have a postal Angel who always seems to know when I am at a low ebb and sends a perfect handmade card to brighten my day. Look at this wonderful card that has just landed on my doormat

I also got this really clever book mark which of course I am madly in love with.....

just look at that image how perfect is that... a pig in mud... delightful!

Thank you so much 'Postal Angel' (some of you may know who she is, as she is very talented and her work is featured on several DT's) you did bring a smile to my face with those fab images, I must get that pig one!!!

Wednesday Happy Thoughts

isn't this the best image for today??? I was so happy to find it on Ms Kitty's Online Purrs
Obviously I had to make the most of it after yesterdays totally fed up post and try and think of some Wednesday Happy Thoughts......

1. There are some really lovely cyber friends out there, I really, really appreciated how many of you took time to leave me a message and I hope I have got round to replying to you all xxx
2. I have a great family and a supportive hubby who is there for me
3. I have set the wheels in motion to try and bring about some changes, not gonna say too much just yet but will keep you updated as time goes on
4. It's half term next week and I get the chance to have a whole week off with the children and will probably see my parents and sister and catch up with some friends...yipppeeee!
5. Spring is definitely trying to break through, there are crocuses (?sp) blooming everywhere, bulbs coming up and I have my favourite flowers brightening my world in a vase on the mantlepiece (daffodils!!)

I am off to fat club tonight so will be with friends, then coming home early to watch Bones and do some card crafting so a great evening planned. Wishing you all a happy thought on this Wednesday xxx

hard times

Well I can honestly say I have had a few difficult days and have been rather tearful and anxious. I will not discuss it further here as it is a public forum and unfortunately people who are not real friends can access my blog. People are not always what they seem and this can be a hard lesson to learn. Some people will never look out for you and will never be on your side no matter how they appear to the rest of the world they can be evil and devious and plotting your downfall. Others are literally wolves in sheeps clothing, as you can be fooled into thinking they will support you but when push comes to shove they are there to stab you in the back along with your known enemies. However every cloud has a silver lining and sometimes you realise where the light is shining at the end of the tunnel so you know you have an escape!

I WILL ESCAPE!

I have just seen this on Mel's fab blog and this is what I am gonna aim to do

I am bored of crying now, fed up of my eyes and face hurting so I am gonna try to 'think happy thoughts' and get myself into a better place and leave bad people and bad places behind xxx

What are you reading???

After reading the Legacy I was keen to carry on with my reading but I haven't done very well! I borrowed a book from a 13 year old at the end of last year and decided I should read and return it to him, in case he had given it up for lost!

Do you ever read children's books? I do! I have read all the Harry Potter books, all the Twilight set and have started to re read the Narnia series. The book I finished a few days ago is another in a series. Several years ago I read an article that said if you liked Harry Potter we recommend you try Alex Rider.

Alex Rider is a school boy and a spy. After his parents died he went to live with his uncle who worked in a bank, only it wasn't a bank it was MI5 and they recruited Alex at the earliest opportunity. Trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes and he has had some amazing adventures around the world and I have enjoyed them all.

Crocodile Tears starts off in Scotland and ends up in Kenya. Yet again Alex is fighting evil often in isolation relying on his wits and intimate knowledge of marshal arts. He is given some great gadgets appropriate for a pubescent spy, I loved the explosives disguised as gel pens! It is an easy read that is fun with some really interesting scenarios and I enjoyed it.

I have a huge pile of must read books and haven't started any of them yet, I am trying to decide which one! So watch this space to see what I am reading next Monday In the meantime visit Book Journey and see what everyone else is currently reading xxx

ps Happy valentines day everyone!

IDIC card making challenge 'Bling it up'

Today over at IDIC the weekly card making challenge starts and the theme for this week is 'bling it up'. I am not a very bling kinda girl in real life but I have a few sparklies for card making. Here is my DT card....

We were working with images from this weeks sponsor Beary Dust stamps and I chose a gorgeous bear with an umbrella. This image is so versatile as it could be for someone 'feeling under the weather' or 'showering you with birthday wishes' or like Rhianna 'you can come under my umbrella ella ella e e e etc etc'!!! I already had the tear drop clear stones from Hobbycraft which made perfect raindrops. I am still undecided about adding a sparkly puddle...what do you think?? Leave it plain or add some shimmer/sparkly stickles at his feet??

Please come over to IDIC this week and join in the fun challenge xxx

I did creations challenge blog hop

I am so excited to be part of the first ever IDIC blog hop dedicated to all things Valentine! The hop starts here at IDIC then hops through the blogs of the very talented DT (they are all listed on the IDIC post).

The blog hop is a real international affair and hopefully you have found your way here via New York and Nicoles amazing blog. Welcome to not so sunny Surrey in England! I hope you have enjoyed the journey so far and have remembered to leave a comment on each blog and collect the letter you need. Together once unscrabbled, these letters will spell out a valentine message, leave this message in a comment on the IDIC blog at the end and you will have a chance to win a great prize!

We were all given a Robyns Fetish digi stamp to use I got 'Bee Mine'. It made me think of honey and all things sweet and delicious. So I combined the coloured image with yellow, black and white card and a bright yellow heart.

I was trying to think how to use it for Hubby on Valentines Day and decided to use it with a small Valentine gift. He loves trying different beers and ales (Christmas 2009 I gave him a different beer/ale/lager a day for advent!) I discovered this one...

and combined the two to produce the perfect Valentines Day gift for him....

I also got to choose an image and I opted for 'Primitive bear' which isn't specifically for Valentine's day but can be used for so many things it really is a great digi stamp. I made a really simple card...

Now it is time to travel to Tammylee's fantastic blog here as you continue to hop on this Valentine trip around the world... enjoy!

Ps did you guess the letter from my blog??? Yes of course it's the letter N.

Don't forget to leave a message here as one lucky poster will win a digi image coutesy of IDIC! Please note the blog hop will be running for 7 days. Good luck everyone xxx

Pay it forward 2011

I joined Pay it Forward on facebook in January and I really think it is a fantastic idea. A few of my blogger friends have also posted Pay it forward on their blogs and I have decided to join in here too. The idea is that you leave a comment on this post and repost the idea of 'Pay it Forward' onto your own blog. If lots of people reply to the post I will randonly pick names to 'win'. I then promise to send those people a hand made item at some point during 2011. So please feel free to leave a comment and I will be in touch to let you know if you are a 'winner'.

Just wanted to add that lots of people send their gifts to the first few people to reply and indeed this was what I did on facebook but agreed to send to everyone who had replied in the end (6!) so I want to give everyone a chance this time. So leave me a message and include your email so I can get in touch and don't forget that you need to 'Pay it forward' on your own blog in order to qualify!

Have fun xxx

reading....

I have just come across this group via Jo's fab blog here. I really want to get back into reading again after finishing all that Uni work last week so hoping to join some online reading type challenges. I am setting myself the challenge to read 52 books in 52 weeks, needless to say I am way behind at the moment as my reading was all articles from nursing journals up until a few days ago!!!

Anyway, this post ties in perfectly with my book club that I am attending tonight. I actually suggested this book so will be interested to know how everyone has found it. I have been watching 'the TV book club' (on more4/channel 4) and last series the book I wanted to read was....

The Legacy by Katherine Webb. It is 2 stories connecting the early 1900's with the present day. Two sisters come together to sort through their Grandmother's belongings after her death and they are both haunted by something that happened in their childhood. One cannot really remember what happened and I believe the other has spent all her live trying to forget it! The 'other' tale is all about their Great Grandmothers first marraige in America and how she leaves this life, taking something with her. This secret has to be hidden but the truth is discovered by one of the sisters in the present day.

I really enjoyed this book and it was an easy read, a perfect first book after the studying. The relationships are interesting with some strange interactions at times but as the story progresses you begin to understand the depth to some of the characters. I guessed what happened to the cousin Henry and some aspects of this are somewhat unbelievable but it didn't ruin the story (I ma trying hard not to give the story away here!!!)

If you go over to the book journey you can see what other books are being read this week.

I would love to know what you think of this book and also what you're reading at the moment xxx

Long time no see!

No more of this
I have finally stopped all this..

and this...

whilst looking at these...

and this is the end result

Doesn't look much but this is the culmination of 9 months work, I have finally completed the V300 Non Medical Prescribing Course at University. I had same great experiences and met some great people along the way. I will have to wait to see if I have passed my last exam and my assignments but I am soooo glad to have it all behind me. I feel free again!

You are going to be seeing a lot more of me, both here and in the great blogosphere popping in to post and interact with you and hopefully join in a few things again! I NEED TO SCRAP, not done a proper layout for months!

Anyway tomorrow is an exciting day as it ithe start of the IDIC blog hop and I have had a play and made some cards! Please come over and join in as it will be great fun. It starts 7 am Eastern time or midday UK time and runs for a week.