Home is where my He{Art} is

Misting - gettin' messy feels awesome

2012-01-22T09:18:00.000Z

Oh mess...

Splattered pink hands

White finger tips

**>Irridescent<** oak table

I've missed you.

I miss the satisfaction of a memory preserved.
I miss the buzz of trying a new technique - and lovin' it!
I miss pouring out the saved contents of my mind, snippets of inspiration.

I miss scrapbooking instead of procrastinating and hiding behind half-loved attempts at cardmaking.

2011 Amazing - best year of my life
2012 Time to repeat 2011, but damn well record it!

>> Confession Over <<

Oh yeah.. made this:

For this:
http://www.ukscrappers.co.uk/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=456

Photographs distorted..
Papers warped (too wet!)
Photographs not added yet..

still..
Hope you like >.<

Stash: Incoming! Plus a badly shot baby card

2012-01-06T22:06:00.003Z

It's been so long since i've been here at this familiar place. The place where I have lovingly uploaded so much of my life and my creations.

A place where I connect with those who 'get me' and share in what I do.

I've taken time out to refresh my batteries. It was so long since i'd last crafted, I mean REALLY crafted and dug in to something amazing for me. Something that excited me and made me want to upload right that instant.

But then I did create something.. oh and boy, it was one of the best creations I ever set eyes on:

Gabe, aged 9 months, nannas house.

*Oh, hai!*

So i've been focusing all of my love and attention on family, on kids, on enjoying moments i'll never get back again - and 2011 was amazing! I feel complete, I feel positive and I feel happy. Trully happy.

I'm getting more free time now, so I knocked up a quick card for the 52 card challenge over on UKS, run by the very talented Nat of Kool Kitty Musings.

My sister is expecting so I thought it'd be nice to knock up a little something although I really dislike the end result:

Well, it's a start isn't it? I've completed a challenge, used up old stash. It feels great! Shame about the crappo picture thanks to winter nights!

Lastly.. on the mention of stash...

Thank you Sarahs Cards and Jackies Fabrics for your awesome bargains!

Well.. you can't use it up without replenishing 10 fold!? Stash diet?? Pfft! They're for the weak!

The day I could finally breathe again..

2011-03-31T15:05:00.000+01:00

Ok. So you probably think I mean that quite literally.. babies really do squash your lungs (kidneys, bladder etc etc!) but putting on my serious face now.. it is such a relief to say our baby is here.. we made it.. and everything is perfect. Oh so perfect.

We didn't know the sex, we only had a girls name chosen. After I failed two pregnancies (yes, failed because even now it's the only way to describe that hole inside of me) in three long years of heartache.. we couldn't care what our baby was.. just that we made it.

Our beautiful son Gabriel Lee Marshall was born at 11.47am on March 17th (8 days late) weighing a tiny 6lb 9oz. The smallest of our children but by far the most painful, quickest labour lasting exactly 5 hours.

And I think he likes it here.. here's our boy at 5 days old..

It's good to have him home, we're smitten..Marshall family complete :)

And now you know where i've been!!

Update on life.. and a card!

2011-03-14T11:34:00.000Z

It's monday 14th March.. and i'm still stuck here! 5 days overdue.. and to be honest, I'm absolutely relieved.

This past week has been hell for me.. Lee broke his ankle and selfishly left me a single parent ;) I never knew how serious breaking an ankle was.. and now my husband is finally home after a week with a lovely metal plate, screws and some pins.. plastered up to his knees! We have to inject him every day for the next 6 weeks with anti-coagulants (see that medical term there.. 10 seasons of CSI paid off) but it's good to have him back.

I should have took and posted a picture of my ginormous belly (because you so want to see that!!) but my washing machine has died, so i'm resorting to wearing an old hoody today and it's very attractive.

Anyway.. on with the card.. because we all just scroll past this boring stuff to get to the pics anyway, right?

This card features some of the gorgeous Birdsong Filigree paper from Papermania, ancient ribbon that i'll always love from Chatterbox and more luscious American Crafts Letterbox papers... you can get so many looks from that one range.. I love it!

I hope you're having a more peaceful week than me ;)

Card Using 5 Year Old Fibres!

2011-02-02T14:33:00.000Z

So we're going all out on this card..

Handmade Mulberry paper in a bright and garish colour - CHECK!
Fibres that have been hanging about for half a decade - CHECK!

(hang on.. I'm sick of typing check now..)

Well.. here it is, I used some old stash (very old) and some new releases from DoCrafts that are great quality but not my cup of tea..

Front:

Inside:

I like the way the gorgeous new 'Birdsong' filagree paper, Die Cut Butterlies and fibres sort of work together to create a soft and natural looking card. There's lashings of American Crafts paper hidden under there too!

I think I often neglect the insides of cards.. and why, when I have so many offcuts and papers that are not my first choice but would look so pretty inside the card?

Maybe you could look through your old, unloved stash and give a few items a new life.. your eyelets are looking at you with puppy dog eyes as I type..

My Predictions For 2011

2011-02-02T14:23:00.001Z

Around 2 years ago, when I actually scrapped (little dig at myself there), I began to find my comfort and style within modern vintage and lashings of Prima for good measure. I remember cockily predicting, 'vintage is going to be the next big thing.. everyone will be doing it' and as 6 months rolled past - I noticed the trend slowly creeping into shops and across pages as distressing was no longer left to the altered dare devils. Then it exploded - Prima must have been the only company (well.. and Apple) to do such a good trade in the economic crisis!

I just get a sort of 'feeling' for these sorts of things..

So without further adieu, here is my feeling for the future..

Old Skool scrapping is back! People are going to revert and enjoy going back to the days when you couldn't buy the huge selection we have now.. and do it themselves! DIY is THE word.

- Magpie finds (salvaging buttons from old clothing, labels etc)
- Using 'Old Skool' Stash - Zips and fibres will definitely be making a return!
- Rebelling against the expensive ready made embellishments.. creating our own unique flowers for example!
- Old Skool techniques.. ones we cringed at - cutting people out from photographs - the works!

As for styles?

I predict that
- We will see a rise in art techniques, more melting pots, glimmer mists and painted textures
- People are going to revert back to using photographs 'just as they are' instead of photoshopped, lifeless images that are contrasted to within an inch of reality.
- No longer will we stare at pages full of embellishment but no journalling - journalling is coming back BIG!
- The other side of scrapbooking are going big on bright, contrasted clean colours. Black and white shots, layouts as beautiful as a rainbow.

We're still all about the shabby chic too! We're talking amazing combinations:

- Peach, silver, lilac and cream - the vintage, soft and beautiful pages full of intricate detailings, handcutting and added extras.
- Red, teal, buttermilk and black - Shabby and retro, loads of inspiration from old advertisements and books

So, these are just my silly predictions!

Let's see how the next year rolls out.. either way, i'm really excited to delve into a brand new world of scrapbooking and find who I am again. I miss that creative outlet.

Making flowers - making babies!

2011-01-31T02:01:00.001Z

Well, it's been a long time since I ventured back to my beloved blog. Loads of people have asked about me, which is totally sweet - so thank you!

I've missed crafting, i've missed my creative outlet.. but boy have I been tired. When you create every day for 5 years and 2 kids..you hit a wall at some point.. and I didn't just hit mine, I crashed full speed.

Scrapbookings getting a lonely place now.. it's 'untrendy' but i'm still here and I never let go. I never will!

I'm easing back in gently.. creating and looking at the world through a creatively hungry passion to find inspiration again. I will be back!

Why have I been tired? Because we finally got our miracle, I was finally blessed after so much heart ache:

IGNORE the silly face.. kinda hard to concentrate when taking a pic in the mirror =/ This is me at 32 weeks pregnant.. I haven't just been eating loads of pies! I'm 34 weeks + 5 days today, and i'm so full of happiness and sheer love.

So.. easing back in gently.. I've had a go at making a flower from ribbons.. and I hate it! It was only my first go but it took ages and the end result sucked. Still, I used it to make a tag.. waste not, want not hey!

If we can't make mistakes/awful craft nightmares... then how do we ever learn and better ourselves?

It's a rather extravagant tag - hehe!!

CSN Stores £25 giveaway for my readers :) Super Quick Giveaway!

2010-11-11T13:53:00.000Z

CSN Stores have very kindly offered another £25 gift voucher to give away to one lucky reader, How cool is that?! If you've never heard of them, then hop on over and check out any one of their 6 stores, they sell everything and i'm in love with their bedroom furniture!

Fancy winning a £25 voucher just for stopping by? Leave a comment at the end of this post telling me what you would love to spend it on from CSN Stores and i'll choose a winner at random :) Simple, right?
You have just 24 hours!

Good luck!

Competition closes Midnight November12th

Gorjuss Heart Attack - Boots 3 for 2!

2010-10-03T17:50:00.000+01:00

I can't beeeellieeeveee it!! My absolute favourite thing in the whole world has hit my absolute favourite place to hang out at christmas..

Boots.com would like to welcome.. GORJUSS GIRLS!!

OH YEEESSSS!! 3 for 2 and merchandise I can get my grubby hands on!! I want this, no, I need this!!

CCW - The Boss Gives Us A Challenge!

2010-10-03T17:34:00.003+01:00

Well, it's time for another challenge from Creative Craft World and the fabulous owner Lou has set a cracker once again!

Black White and Silver!
As soon as these words entered my brain.. and the amazing new Gorjuss Girls hit my doorstep from Creative Craft World: http://www.creativecraftworld.co.uk/Product+Search+PT1nT29ObWNoVjJj

I just thought.. Time to get started on the christmas cards!!

So here's my project to start you off:

A Gorjuss easel card!
You can create anything for your project, if you're creating something with a photograph then this may be in colour :)

Check over at the blog to enter and see the full specification:

http://creativecraftworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/lous-black-white-silver-challenge.html

You could be our next winner :)

These things make my heart melt!

2010-08-16T23:38:00.001+01:00

So, sometimes.. I see things and fall in love. Now, it's a double-edged sword. On one hand.. i've found something totally cute and perfect.. on the other.. Gawsh.. am I getting too old for this? Are people looking at me as I pay at the counter and hoping that this is for my daughter?:

Well it's darn well not for her.. it's all mine! She tried to steal it and I let her ruffle it about the garden for a bit, laden with teddy bears.. but it's MINE!!

This cute little rucksack was a bargainous £6.99 from Matalan and they had a range of towels and lunchboxes to match.

I've lusted after these shoes for so long:

But they're too expensive for me right now. How can I justify these when I can take the kids for a day out at the beach with the money?!

SO the rucksacks a halfway house ;)

But don't think I won't be getting me some Irregular Choice babies to line up next to the TUKS for christmas.. *shoe fetish* hehee!!

Cherry On Top Award

2010-08-15T22:02:00.001+01:00

I just received an award from the lovely Sh3ri3 over at http://sh3ri3-mybubble.blogspot.com/

How cool is that? Thank you!!

Now, I don't usually bother with awards as it makes me feel a bit large headed but i've done a major cleaning on the house today.. so I damn well deserve this :)

After getting the award you have to:

1) Thank the person who gave you the award.... Thank you Sherie you lovely lady :) x

2) Post the award....
CHECK!

3) List 3 things you like about yourself:

i) I give my kids and husband the best, most love-filled life I can, i'm devoted!

ii) I can look at any piece of patterned paper from the past 7 years and tell you the manufacturer and range name.. sad or what?!

iii) I'm totally bad ass. Just kidding. I make my friends smile, loads.

Now do I get to do 1000 things I dislike about myself?! :)

4) Post a favourite photo

This is from Lee's birthday party when I hired a full ring and wrestling show for him and our guests. We met these great people from his online fed, it was so special. Yes, we are all freaks.

5) Pass it onto 5 peeps!

OKies,

I'd love to pass this award onto:

Mel - http://melissa75-melsmess.blogspot.com/ - She makes gorgeous things and is adorable.
Katie - No bloggingtons - Just because I love her ;D
Lou - http://louscreativecraftworld.blogspot.com/ - Awesome girl, awesome makes!
Emma. B - because you rock sis!
and lastly..

give it back to the girl who gave it me :) Thanks Sherie!!

Pimp My Laptop!

2010-08-15T17:20:00.000+01:00

My laptop used to be a really boring Black affair with the logo emblazoned across the front.. nothing very interesting!

So imagine my joy when I came across a selection of covers in Home bargains for.. 49p!! The one I LOVED was quickly snapped up by a lady infront of me, but then I found this amazing pink design that has angels on which is perfect for me, being married to 'The-Arch-Angel' haha :)

Once finished, I used some gorgeous medieval font rub-ons to add our family name to the banner and one of my fave epoxy butterflies (Remember what I said before, you don't need a reason for butterflies!)

I'm in love with my new laptop.. 49p! Thank you Home Bargains :)

Card for my friend

2010-08-14T16:47:00.000+01:00

One of my bestest friends recentely asked me to create a card for her sister's birthday. She loves pink and Disney Princesses.. even though she is in her 20's.. my kinda girl :)

So I set to work and created a little easel card as I think they're kinda magic and pretty!

This is the card stood up.. See how I used peel offs and they're perfectly OK?!

Here's the card when folded back down into a normal flat card. I love the shabby chic sorta fairytale look, it's such a great excuse to use lashings of glitter!

This is the embellishment cluster which was built up on a raised gold embossed sticker with a pearl heart and gems. I just love scattering butterflies everywhere.. there doesn't have to be a reason for them!

Here's the inside of the card where I'm going to use letter stickers to spell out a special greeting. My friend first language is not English so i'm waiting on her to let me know the special message.. it's usually pretty long.. their words make Mary Poppins look illiterate!

The image was coloured in using Promarkers and a selection of antique pinks and peaches. The die cut was a Tim Holtz Die, flowers are by Prima, glitter is Tim Holtz Distress Stickles, Golden stickers are all Papermania and pearls are Basic Grey. Image by Magnolia but sent to me courtesy of my dear friend Mel :)

CCW August Challenge

2010-08-01T12:12:00.000+01:00

How do you fancy a challenge with the chance to win a Guest Design Team spot on Creative Craft World for next month?

If this sounds like your kinda thing, then head on over to http://creativecraftworld.blogspot.com and check out this month's challenge, as hosted by the lovely Sue!

Here's my entry:

Everything used on this page (except the butterfly punch; Martha Stewart & Paint; Docrafts) is from the Creative Craft World Shop, so check it out! www.creativecraftworld.co.uk

Good Luck and I can't wait to see your entries :)

Creative Craft World Sale!

2010-07-30T12:16:00.001+01:00

Creative Craft World are an amazing store with a great selection of goodies and treasures nestled away within the varied inventory. For one day only, there will be a sale where everyone can receive a fantastic 25% off goods until 6pm tonight!

Just enter the code: Flash

Think this is a great offer? Well Lou has stepped it up a notch.. This discount even applies to pre-orders! That's right.. you can use it on the gorgeous new ranges set to hit the store very soon:

My Minds Eye - Haunted:

My Minds Eye - I believe:

My Minds Eye - Holly Jolly:

Whatever you're looking for, don't miss out on the amazing sale over at www.creativecraftworld.co.uk

I'm off to go grab me some Gorjuss Girls :)

I love playing with T!m Holtz

2010-07-23T17:49:00.000+01:00

My wonderful friend sent me a box of goodies for my birthday and i've been dying to delve into them. Not only that, I picked up some gorgeous Webster's Pages papers from the March Hobbycrafts show; never have I been so desperate to cut into some paper but also so reluctant!

I haven't crafted for me in so long now, it's quite depressing really. I've thought about just giving it all up, it'd make my unpacking and arranging a lot easier.. and think of all the space! There's just something in me that can't stop, i've always done this.. and I think I always will.

Anyway, here's the card I came up with, I'm very rusty so forgive me!

The image was coloured using Promarkers which I haven't had a dabble in for ages!

I lightly went over the image using Tim Holtz Cut 'N' Dry and Distress Ink, then used a finger to smudge in some neat perfect pearls. For the edges, I added water to create a dark pearl paste and topped with crystal shavings. The flowers were covered in shimering distress Stickles then topped with more crystal shavings for completely gorgeous, dew dropped florals; finishing with a light inking.

CCW July Challenge - Holidays!

2010-07-11T13:43:00.000+01:00

How do YOU fancy winning this load of gorgeous stash:

Then head on over to the Creative Craft World blog where i'm honoured to be hosting this months challenge with a 'holiday' theme. Who knows, the winner could be you!!

And the award goes to...

2010-06-23T16:53:00.000+01:00

The ever gorgeous Clare Curd has gave me a lovely blogger award:

How cute is that!

SO, the rules state that if you accept the award, pass it on to 12 more people who then must link back to you and choose 12 people of their own. PHEW!! Here goes!

Katie Sunshine (Private Blog!)

Melissa Cruickshank -http://melissa75-melsmess.blogspot.com/

QwikSave - http://creativeflourishes.blogspot.com/

Sh3ri3 - http://sh3ri3-mybubble.blogspot.com/

Katy Godbeer - http://scrappingandnewfs.blogspot.com/

Scattymam (Link witheld until permission granted to share!)

Sarah Carrington - http://smellyblog-slcarrington.blogspot.com/

Lou Colebrook - http://louscreativecraftworld.blogspot.com/

Beckie Dreyer - http://beckiedreyer.blogspot.com/

J S - http://jordanshannonsmusings.blogspot.com/

All my CCW DT friends - http://creativecraftworld.blogspot.com/

and lastly.. my husband.. who's blog would be of no interest to you!! :)

Katy Godbeer is a slave driver.. and other lies..

2010-06-21T20:52:00.001+01:00

Wow.. to quote the amazing Sue Sylvester;

'It's as barren as me in here...'

I've been away and I really have no excuses. I mean yeh.. I've been delivering a baby, moving house and crafting like a cheap slave.. but aside from that.. how lazy of me, right?

With that over.. let's get on to the lame crafting efforts I have to share with you today.

Hello this is 2007, Cosmo Cricket wondered when you're going to use those paper packs. Ack! Ancient paper used, CHECK! Inkadinkado-rocktastic-stamps, CHECK! Using up the 2 million DoCrafts alphas I have lying about.. ABSOLUTELY CHECK!

You don't want to read my soppy ramblings, so ignore that. I'm too cool, remember?! The kids got to decorate inside here... isn't it so cute.. LOVE the Logan and Emily courtesy of Basic Grey Stamps.

The kids both made daddy cards too, Emily loves her cardmaking and 'scwapbookings' so I can't work anymore without her invading my space and begging to use the new Docrafts punches:

Promising me that she will be ' so very carefuls!' My little darling :) She has good taste though, I seriously love these border punches and they feed my unhealthy Martha addiction at only £3.99 a go.. PHEW!!

Here's her gorgeous card she made just for me:

Not bad for a 4 year old :) Think the photographer needs sacking though!

I picked up this most gorgeous set of stamps when I went to the Hobbycrafts show in March. The little boy looks exactly like my son so I couldn't wait for an oppurtunity to use him! Unfortunately.. DISASTER! The stamps are absolutely useless and wouldn't ink ;(

Solution: Soap? nope, did nothing. Loads of strong tape to take off the sticky? Nope, nothing.

SANDPAPER! Yes seriously, I was recommended to sand my acrylic stamps. Sheer barbarism really! But it worked!!

I'll leave you with the gorgeous new niece that I birthed, it was one of the most rewarding and emotional experiences of my life and i'm honoured that I was chosen to share it.

♥♥ I love you Ellie Melanie Judith Evans ♥♥

Promise I won't leave it so long next time!

Promarkers Super Cheap!

2010-03-30T12:10:00.001+01:00

Promarker BARGAIN Alert!!

Sick of buying packs and mounting up duplicate colours?

Right now, over at Creative Craft World, you can pick your own for a bargain 1.50 each.. an unbeatable price!

If you haven't already been across to the Creative Craft World Blog then come on over as there's always prizes to be won and lots of inspiration to use up your stash:

http://creativecraftworld.blogspot.com/

Promarker Tutorial/Tips - Clothes and fur

2010-03-20T23:28:00.000Z

It's a great day today.. I had a present in the mail from my darling friend.. how cute!!

We're a day late already, so let's begin right!

Tip: Before you begin colouring in your image, decide which direction your light source will be coming from to ensure your shadows all match up!

With the image we started yesterday, focus try to focus on where you want the shadows in clothing to be. Take your Cornflower and create those dark spots!

Usually, we would always have the dark colour first.. but this time, I'm going to now take a Blue Pearl and think about the folds and recesses in clothes.. really focus on your lighting and don't be afraid to experiment.. it all adds to realiism!

Now we're going to start blending. Colouring in circles with your Pastel Blue, Begin to bring all of your shades together.

Remember, you can add more shadows.. more texture.. as long as you go back over with your lightest colour :)

I don't want my colours to contrast or fight on this image.. so i'm going to use a lot of browns and keep it all complimentary.

Start to fill in your shadows with Cinnamon..

I like to colour objects directionally in the shape they are.. in this instance the wheels!

Go over your Cinnamon now with Caramel and being to bring those colours together, leaving the highlights.

I'm going to take Sandstone now and blend in circular strokes across my browns.. you may wish to leave a white highlight on your wheels or create one with a white gel pen. I want to leave mine natural looking.

I've also added a little shadow to my dog.. I want him to be a grubby white... but by adding this shadow it doesn't look so much like I forgot to colour him in ;)

Taking Cool Grey 1, I'm going to outline a few areas I feel the shadow would fall of our images now. Sometimes.. I 'overshadow' as I love the way it makes the images 'pop' to life!

Remember those mistakes.. going over the lines.. they're now a thing of the past!

See how I also used Cool Grey 1 to also liven up the white stripes of the jumper and add creases?

I think he looks pretty cute!!

I like to finish my images with some elaborate inking and matting:

I quite like the little wheels left with white streaks for 'motion'.

Tim Holtz distress inks rubbed in with the blending tool really soften this whole look.

For an added finishing touch, I used some Rock candy on the edges too. Little boys are just so much fun!

I hope you enjoyed learning today how I go about my colouring. It's far from perfect but I guess it's a start if you're completely clueless on Promarkers ;)

Have fun playing!!

♥ ♥ Mel ♥ ♥

Promarker Tips - Colouring in flesh

2010-03-18T15:34:00.001Z

Today, I will be showing you how I colour in stamped images with Promarkers. This is just my own personal preference and is by no means an expert opinion ;)

Colouring in flesh really saturates your paper with ink, so I advise to place a spare bit of card or paper underneath your image to avoid staining surfaces!

A long while ago, I decorated this clipboard just for fun! Now, It's my absolute staple for sitting in bed colouring at night with a film ;)

Here's that ink I mentioned in yesterdays post:

And another gorgeous designer stamped image from Lili Of The Valley!

Ok on with the show..

ALWAYS colour in circular motions to achieve the best blend. Start with your darkest colours first, then build up, going over your previous colour. (Remember to always go over your previous colour with the lightest to really blend in them layers!)

Begin by filling in your shadows. I used Putty for the darkest areas and then Blush.

Think about the crevices of the nose, the shadow under the ears and towards the neckline, the way the head is circular and therefore shinier in other places.

TIP: If you have trouble trying to see shadow, look for a similar real life image and view it through slightly squinted eyes. When you just close your eyes a little, all colours merge until you see blobs of shadow and light.

Now, colour the whole head in circular motions with Satin.

For the beautiful rosey cheeks, we're going to take a Rose Pink and colour gently just where we think the apples would be.. as if applying blusher!

Don't be alarmed.. I know.. it looks SO bright and scary!

TIP: You have plenty of time to work with Promarkers, but try to keep it as quick as comfortably possible.. ie.. don't pop off for a cup of tea mid-layering session! Once your inks dry, if you go to layer on another colour.. you will get 'dirty' lines.

So now we need to work over the whole area with Satin again. You may decide to take some Blush and add a little more shadowing. This is no problem at all, just remember to go over with your lightest colour at the end.

and here we have our beautiful baby boy! I think he looks great so far, look at those gorgeous rosey baby cheeks!

The hands and legs were built in colour the same way. Putty Then Blush and finally some Satin.

Notice how I went over the lines in some places? NO problem! The beauty of Promarkers is that they blend and dissolve each colour before it.

Once finished, he will be outlined in Cool Grey 1 Which will dissolve all of those mistakes and create a shadow to really make the image come to life.

Hope you found this useful today!

Have fun playing :)

♥ ♥ Mel ♥ ♥

Promarker Basic Starter Tips - Straight from the novice!

2010-03-18T00:36:00.000Z

What Paper Should I Use For Colouring With Promarkers?

To achieve the best finish, you really need a great bright white smooth cardstock or paper. I buy mine from Rymans at 5.99 for 50 A4 sheets and usually on 3 for 2! Letraset also sell their own that is for the specific use of Promarkers.

- Remember, Promarkers leave a lot of ink on the page.. always have something underneath your work as the colours tend to seep through!

Which Ink Pad Should I Use With Promarkers?

Whenever I stamp, I like to fill the whole A4 sheet with the same impression so that I don't have off-cuts lying about. I love duplicates to use later or send to friends (if the company allows image sharing..) Sometimes I might make a mess of an image... but this is a perfect space to test my colours out on.

I always use a Memento ink pad to stamp images for use with Promarkers. Never use Staz-On! The reason for this, is Staz-On and Promarkers are both alcohol based and will react with each other causing unhelpable bleeding.

You can also use Impress:

When I first started out with Promarkers, I was overwhelmed by the amount of colours available and despite spending a lot of money on what I thought looked right.. I could never achieve the results seen on other creations. To help anyone else that feels like this, I'll be posting some more tips over the following days for Promarkers from my own personal experience :)

If you ever asked:

What colours should I get to start with?!

What works well to colour in flesh?

How do I achieve shadowing and highlights?

What the heck is a blender pen for?

Then I hope I can help you out !

Thanks for stopping by

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

Promarker Challenge.. come join us!

2010-03-18T00:04:00.000Z

Over on Creative Craft World we're holding a Promarker competition..

Come Join Us!

>>Click Here<<

Rumour has it, there might be a Promarker offer featuring a ridiculous price coming this sunday.. but SHH you didn't hear it here ;)

Moving on.. here's my DT work to show you how Promarkers can be used to achieve a soft look that works great with vintage styles:

This card was created with the ever-gorgeous designer stamps from Lili Of The Valley, you can find the beautiful fairy here

Papers: Prima

Punch: McGill Branch

Ribbon: Anita's

Onto the image itself!

Promarkers used:

Shadow/outline: Cool grey 1

Skirt: Blossom, Rose Pink

Shoes/Hair: Cinnamon, Caramel, Sandstone

Leaves: Olive Green, Marsh Green, Sap Green

Flowers/tights/wings: Blue Pearl, Corn Flower, Pastel Blue

The wings were covered in Tim Holtz/ Ranger Rock candy in clear

The image was finished with some distress ink on an Inkssentials tool.

Give it a go yourself.. and you might win 5 pens in the Creative Craft World challenge!

Good luck ;)

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

Lili Of The Valley

2010-02-27T11:49:00.001Z

I love the fantastic impression you get from the gorgeous new 'designer' stamps from Lili Of The Valley.

My sister is due in June so I decided to splash out on a boy and girl stamp.. seeing as we don't know what it will be ;) Actually.. I just wanted an excuse to get my hands on them!!

I took this picture at about 10pm under yellow lighting so I apologise in advance for the dodgy colour!

Coloured Using: A waterbrush with Ink It Up Ink pads + Tim Holtz Distress Inks;

Letter stickers: Doodlebug Loopy Love, Papermania Rose Garden Die cuts;

Paper: Basic Grey Lily Kate (Blast from the past!)

Ribbon: Anita's wide organza

Brads: Papermania

You can pick this stamp up here:

I can't wait to colour up the boy now.. they're both too sweet!

Have an awesome weekend.. I've got loads of work on (booo) But it's all crafting.. (yay!!)

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

Never Ending Cards and Antique Promarkers

2010-02-25T14:22:00.000Z

I just love these scalloped card blanks from Papermania, with a sweep of Colourbox chalk ink around the edges they look instantly amazing.. before adding the goodies!

This card was made with a gorgeous stamped image from Sugar Nellie @ http://www.funkykits.co.uk/

I achieved a vintage effect by layering brown and pink Promarkers, building a gradient and adding the colour 'putty' each time as a blending agent to give an antique finish.

To finish, I finally used the flower I cut on my Craft Robo when I first got it around 2 years ago! Glittered and layered, to create a really pretty inside.

I love that lace tape, it's perfect for just adding the last little finishing touch of decoration :)

For Emily's birthday, I thought she would love the magic of a never-ending card. I followed an excellent tutorial on YouTube:

and she absolutely loved it!

We start off with the personalised cover:

That magically opens to:

Look at all that sparkle! My princess loves glitter as much as me so I made sure to make there was plenty of princesses and plenty of sparkle!

Not sure why this one has got an amazing black sideline ;) Ah well!

And we finally arrive at the end.. the greeting! After photographs, I added a journalling block to write in a special message.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you a lovely day,

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

The return of the mojo! - Martha Stewart TSV punches

2010-02-23T22:51:00.000Z

I mistyped the title and wrote 'mofo' by accident.. LOL!

I'm setting myself a challenge and trying to become the scrapbooker I used to be instead of the stash collector I have become. Everytime I have something new, I have to use it before I am allowed to buy anything else. It doesn't matter if I only use a tiny piece... it's the rules!

The layout is about my daughter who is growing so fast before my eyes. The journalling is going to go in the right hand side but that will be private.. and my handwriting is absolutely rubbish!!

I wish I had that gorgeous Ali Edwards sorta handwriting.. I do love that font ♥

So, I used up the Martha Stewart Butterfly TSV from QVC, Oh How I love butterflies so much!

I also had some Fancy Pants paper that I knew would be perfect to cut apart to make the sub-title!

Prima's mommy and me papers... I love the glitter on them.. I love glitter full stop ;) The gorgeous lullaby glittery thickers and Making Memory mixed up ledge type. Finished off with that cute carousel button. As soon as I saw them princess buttons I had to have them!

So that's mission 1 completed.. but at the weekend I was a bit naughty and went to Hobbycraft.. so now i've got to use that stuff up before I dare make any more purchases..

..Including some dodgy looking frogs that I couldn't leave behind.. they was giving me sad eyes.

Until Next time...

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

P.S - I'm elated about the welcome Tim Holtz received in the UK, he is a total legend. I think I might need to try out that rose wreath real soon!!

My first ever cake.. My second ever child!

2010-02-15T23:57:00.001Z

Today was the birthday of our beautiful princess Emily. It's hard to think that it's been four years since I sat there holding her in my arms, waiting for daddy to return and pick us up. We'd planned a home birth but just as I was ready to push the midwife was going off shift so I had to take a scary rush journey to the hospital.

When we got there, they put me in the delivery suite.. the exact same room I had Logan in! As I walked in the memories and reality hit me.. Ah gosh.. AM I NUTS??

3 hours later I was home!

Anyway..

The Princess wanted pizza.. The Princess GOT Pizza!! Table of 9 for Pizza Hut!

I always think shop bought cakes are awful. I can't stand the manufactured, cheap taste and Lee makes the most amazing cakes I ever tasted.. EVERYONE is crazy about them... so I felt a little stupid buying cakes! Emily would always fall in love with the designs in the shop, the characters.. so I always surrendered the cash. This time I took her out and we chose a special cake topper together that she can keep forever. We bought some edible glitter and I decided i'd give this my best shot.

I guess the roses turned out alright, but that's about it!

In hindsight I wish i'd bought the icing already pink.. kneading white icing and dye for half an hour was not much fun on the old arthritis! Someone was a bit anal about doing it ALL herself though...

Anyways,the finished result was knobbly and disastrous. I was in tears really.. crying that i'd failed her and my cake was rubbish... but she absolutely loved it!

Those candles were so brilliant.. they sparkled like sparklers every now and then as they burned away.. the kids were all fighting to blow them out!

Emily had this big vanity make up case for kids from mum and dad, which is fine by me because she loves to play like face paints. They had these brilliant stampers and body ink to make 'tattoons' like daddy, so she was straight into them. As you can see, she was very proud of herself!

Here's me and Ez, keepin' it real.. devil horns! I don't know what's going on with my face.. I was having a proud mummy moment.

Ignore the trashed house with bags of presents all over the show!

So there you go..

Happy Birthday Princess, you mean so much to me. Even though you got us out of bed at 5am this morning, I couldn't imagine my life without you.. you're my girl... one of my best friends.

Over and out!

Mel

(Long way to go till Charm City wants me..)

Thank you and Cake!

2010-02-10T13:51:00.001Z

These cupcake card blanks are available from http://www.docrafts.co.uk/ and are fabulous value at 1.99 for 6 to create something a little special:

Those 3D pop-up butterfly stickers are so gorgeous and very on-trend right now with Martha Stewart also releasing a range but at around 4 times the price per pack!

Direct link to card blanks:

http://docrafts.co.uk/asp/products/product.asp?id=78853

Christmas came and went in a blaze of generous gifts which of course means a big batch of thank you cards need to be produced!

This card features a few products i'm crazy about right now.

1. Butterflies. Oh yes. One of my favourite things is now in fashion so i'm stocking up!

2. Raffia ribbon - How gorgeous is this? Brand new from Docrafts and perfect for finishing any project.

3. Jillybeans kraft ranges.. Oh sweet goodness.. this is the paper of the gods!

4. Brand new jewel brads from Papermania - ideal for holding awkward items on cards - no glue needed!

I've been keeping my eye on a few items at CHA and this coredinations has just reminded me of the gorgeous new release coming from Cosmo Cricket:

Here's praying the DoCrafts Gods bless me with both packs else it's going to be a rather expensive month..

Hot chocolate cards.. and something for a good cause!

2009-12-12T12:30:00.000Z

I love these glittery outline stickers from Anita's, they're just perfect for making shaped matts if you don't have a die cutter and I love to use the small circles for bling on crowns!

I can't even talk about the sugared Doodlebug letters without fainting! ;)

I'm trying to build up a stockpile of cards to send for Alicia and hope they will sell well to help her cause:

http://cardsforalicia.blogspot.com/

Next year, i've decided that I really need to make some christmas cards every month so that i'm not left panicking in December! All the cards I made earlier in the year I strongly dislike now.. the colouring is not as good as I can achieve with a years extra experience. Next year.. simple and elegant!

I really am in love with this image and next card:

I don't even have a scalloped circle punch yet but using my deckle scissors and some camoflage doodling.. I can hide how imperfect the circle is ;) But.. What's inside?

looking a bit scary but absolutely packed with extremely clean hands by an OCD freak! ;) I've made one for all of my friends so I hope they enjoy it! Spreading the christmas love!!

The kids are at a birthday party right now so i'm going to try my hand at getting this jumble sale organised into the form of Christmas gifts and ready rooms for father christmas!

How did an organisation freak end up with a kid on 22nd December? I don't know but he is so worth it!

Merry Christmas!!

Give me an 'M'... How egotistical?!

2009-12-05T10:24:00.000Z

OK.. i'm just going to straight out admit it..

I bought this M to make a beautiful piece of art for our living room that would represent the 'Marshall' family.

Then Lee said 'M was for mommy' and I should decorate it for myself...

.. and then I downloaded this goth girl a month ago and coloured her the BEST i've ever coloured ANYTHING.. and everyone (EVERY. FREAKING. PERSON) who see's it immediately remarks 'OMG is that you?!' which is highly flattering but this image would have to be in widescreen to even start to look like me..

And the image was floating about... I was scared it would be creased or lost forever.. i've even mounted it on foam so her belly was fat.. Keepin' it real y'all!

SO I USED IT!!!

I feel so dirty now! It's all out in the open..

I made a GIANT 'M'...

Anyway moving swiftly on (of course!)

Have you seen the amazing projects over at http://www.docrafts.co.uk/? We're currently running an advent calendar with a different festive project each day for you lucky lovely people!

Today is a project by someone you might recognise.. niftily (if I say so myself) using a snowflake punch to create a Christmas Tree.. OOooo!

So pop on over and say 'Hi'!!

(whilst you're there, there's also an interview on me.. incase you want to see my gurning face!)

Bloomin heck.. I crafted AND updated my blog..

I've come over all faint ;)

Christmas fun, decorations.. and Thanksgiving!

2009-12-05T10:12:00.000Z

Before:

Good morning!

Gosh it's frosty today, just perfect for waking a girl up and kicking her into action, wouldn't you say?

With everything that happened the end of this year, I didn't even know if I would be here right now.. Just taking every day as it comes and making the most of it... being incredibly thankful to see my kids grow up into beautiful people and share my life with Lee.. so.. why the heck not celebrate Thanksgiving day?

Oh ok ok .. so I wanted an excuse to cook a turkey too!!

Well, we woke up on Thanksgiving eve to find the Christmas elves had FINALLY come to decorate our house! They had left the tree bare and a box of decorations next to it for us...

After:

Ah! That feels better.. twinkly lights and our special baubles collected over the years always get me in the mood for mince pies and wrapping!

We had to pop out and buy some more decorations.. Every square inch wasn't basked in sparkly beauty so I wasn't satisfied!

Ahh that's better isn't it!

Go on... say it.. say what they all say..

'That's a massive star ain't it?!' (or 'dats a massiv star ay it' if you live by me)

Thankgiving was a HUGE success!! We didn't set the oven on fire this year (HURRAH) so that's always a bonus!

After consuming copious amounts of turkey for the past week.. this picture still makes me salivate! Holy goodness it was so tasty and not dry at all. On the last day we passed an amazing Mexican eatery but I was low on cash so we decided to use our last turkey on making our own version. A tin of gorgeous organic tomatoes, shredded turkey and fajita seasoning left to simmer down was absolutely amazing.. like.. SOOooo good!! Not exactly authentic or cheffy but i'd been to see santa so I was too tired for cooking!

My camera is rather tempremental indoors so when the kids were grabbing a love I just needed to take shot of it.. in all it's blurred glory! You just can't miss a moment like that.. in focus or not (definitely not!!)

We had a really great day.. with Logan resounding ' What's this many thanks day about??' I'm not too sure where he made that up but he's brilliant sometimes!

We had a drive around last night to see the amazing row of three houses that go crazy decorating for charity! They're still not finished and there was a MAHOOSIVE car in my way.. but I think you get the idea:

ThomasLand was as fantastic as ever this year, but made even better because I got to share it with my family.. all 9 of us! I won't tell you how much the tickets came up to but let's just say the savings jar covered it.. so I will definitely be saving in it again this year!

Money is unimportant when you share moments like this!

So that's everything!

I guess I get to leave you with a grade A cheesy photograph now.. MWAHAHA!!

Updates!

2009-11-07T13:45:00.000Z

Christmas is approaching faster than anticipated.. I'm sure the clocks are bugged, the world is spinning faster! How can you prepare since January and still find Christmas comes from nowhere!?

I'm crafting and creating more then ever, spending amazing time with the kids (who are coming out with some daft things lately!) and yet I hardly get time to blog it all!

So.. Mrs Claus Blogs, I (am in love with) love the background and the title I made, I love updating and recording my frivolities.. but really.. I need all the spare time I can get to make the real thing happen! So my darling sister blog has now descended into darkness as I put my priorities right and balance work/family time without other dedications chipping in!

I'm scared to death... 47 more days?! WOW!!

Looks like i'd best crack on then!

P.S - Super fast lunch - Pizza toasts!

We use a nice heart wholegrain bread and spread a thin layer of tomato puree on. Pile high with mushrooms, sweetcorn and onions (I even used chorizo here) and grill with a sprinking of cheese for 5 minutes! Voila! The kids love it and we have fun making it together. they believe they have got a giant mound of cheese instead of vegetables.. everyones happy!!

And the winner is...

2009-10-28T13:55:00.002Z

It has been a long and exciting journey to the end of DoCrafts Scrapbook Apprentice. Just the very start of it was enough to bring me into a panic induced heart attack.

From creating with ONLY Coredinations and some bare essentials:

To the brightest, daring colours I have ever used before, completely taking me out of my comfort zone:

But as I said at the beginning of this post.. it was a journey to the END.

Back in August I was chosen by the judges to be the DoCrafts Scrapbook Apprentice.. I WON!! Something I just never thought I could achieve, I never had the confidence in myself.

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout the competition. I can't tell you how many messages and emails I have had, telling me I was your chosen Apprentice and you love my work. Self confidence of a frumpy mum is steadily increasing! :) Thank you, it meant a lot to me.

Most of all, a huge thank you to the DoCrafts team. They have been consistently amazing throughout and sure do know how to set a good challenge. I have been working as a paid designer there now for a few months and it already feels like a second family. A special Thank you to Katy Godbeer who is just the most freakin' coolest 'boss' you will ever get to work for..

.. She once got through to the boot camp on X Factor you know!

Thank you for your support and guidance.. Geekchat rules!

SO as this is turning into a speech.. *ahem* I just wanted to say thank you to my best friend Sunshine who has been a rock to me. My girls on MSE who have been like team Mel! and lastly, my husband - my inspiration who believed in me from the start... who told me:

'It doesn't matter who wins, what matters is you was in it.. and to me you will always be the best damn scrapbooker in the world.. and you got a great bum'.

So thank you everyone, I am working hard and I hope to live up to your expectations.

Now I need to just go do a screaming dance again... I WON!!!!!

Cards for Alicia - Please help!

2009-10-26T12:06:00.000Z

http://cardsforalicia.blogspot.com/

One thing that always strikes a huge chord with me, is the suffering and pain of others. It paticularly hurts me to see a child go through such a hard time as Alicia will be. Alicia has a low grade glioma in her brain which is potentially life-threatening in children. The glioma is inoperable but she can and needs to have some treatment to reduce the size. Unfortunately this involves a trip to the states which the Health care will partially fund, leaving her parents with a 50,000 bill. I'm sure they have enough worries right now.

If you can help by creating something that could be sold, anything at all.. Please contact them through the blog and donate.

Myself and all the Docrafts girls I can muster are going to be putting forth our efforts soon :)

Holidays are coming, Ikea agrees!

2009-10-24T21:46:00.000+01:00

That has just festived me to the maximum (is that even a phrase?)

Oh and if that wasn't good enough, Ikea just mailed to tell me the whole Christmas shebang is ready instores! Oh sweet mother!!

If you click >Here<

You can view Ikeas Christmas chaos and click on different sections such as:
+ Bags Boxes and Wrappings
+ Advent Calendar Stockings
+ Bakeware

Etc! Oh my goodness I am so there!! Looks more like heaven than chaos to me.

My Poinsettia has been growing great this year so she needs a beautiful new pot.. Oh and look at that for a co-incidence:

Oh and whilst I am there I might accidentally purchase these to create a layout or four on ;)

SO excited now! MUST take my traditional trip to Ikea for a taste of traditional Swedish Christmas :)

With Love

Mrs Claus xx

Free Christmas Papers to Download and Organized Countdown!

2009-10-24T21:35:00.000+01:00

Papercraft inspirations have come up trumps this christmas, with a fabulous paper & topper set to download and use! Find the full lot of links here:
http://www.papercraftinspirationsmagazine.co.uk/page/papercraft/20091019

Don't forget that tomorrow dawns the start of OrganizedChristmas.coms Christmas Countdown! Head on over and make the pledge to be organised this year by printing out some sheets and spreading the stress over 6 weeks! The plans a dream.. oh and soo much fun ;)

My grand plan went down the spout this year due to ill health but the Christmas Countdown has scared the life out of me into joining.. is it really THAT close to Christmas?

Let me know how you get on!

With Love

Mrs Claus xx

Warning: Sister blog gets all the action!

2009-10-19T17:14:00.002+01:00

I haven't crafted much lately other then the commitments I have.. so there hasn't been much to say on my poor neglected blog.

Truth is, I've had a rollercoaster of a year and the past 5 months were the hardest of all. I just need test results now and then hopefully I can get on with living my life and move on to the future. So, bear with me!

I crafted today for the first time in AGES! Bed rest was killing me, I can't stand not being busy and I must have clicked on every blog in the world 32 times over the weekend! SO.. Last resort.. crafting!

** REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION - BACK LATER! **
Journalling reads:
'We were in and out of hospital, tired and desperate for a Christmas. Eventually we were home, I remember eating bacon from the turkey at 2am - our first meal together in 5 days. You were worth every second x'

I was looking through old photographs and laughed as I remembered us savagely eating the bacon that had roasted beautifully on the turkey.. no bread or anything.. at 2am! There was no such thing as a sensible dinner time after 26 hours full labour and our first baby. I thought times were hard back then but gosh I would love to go back and experience that world again. That baby is so big now. *sigh*

Oh and GOSH I remember having that Christmas hat waiting for him and crossing my fingers he wouldn't wait till AFTER Christmas ;)

** REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION - BACK LATER! **

Speaking of babies, here's my boy Kiwi who was 2 in September. Oh how I love my nephew, he is classed as the naughtiest boy on earth by his mum but to me he is the most perfect little angel :)

I'm going to do a bit of stamping tonight and see where that takes me!

Guys... I think i'm back!!

xx

Nintendo DSi - Can you spot any bargains?

2009-10-19T15:06:00.000+01:00

I have been asked today if there are any bargains for the Nintendo DSi. I know Christmas is all about love and family, religion and birth but also when you have children.. it's about magic and the ability to grant their special wishes just once a year. So, needless to say I got cracking on the DSi hunt!

WINNERS:

Amazon.co.uk have an amazing deal on right now:

Buy a DSi for a 13% saving of 129.99 and choose a selected game for just 5 pounds PLUS an accesory kit for free! The games are pretty decent too, Star Wars and My Sims Agents are surely winners this christmas!

Obviously as the race hots up towards Christmas you could find yourself faced with sell out news or hold out and there could be some fanastic bargains heading your way. It's a tough decision to make!

Either way, I can see Mr Claus having a sneaky go on these before they are wrapped up ;)

With love

Mrs Claus xx

Perfect Christmas Music - Just 3.99 at Play

2009-10-17T20:16:00.000+01:00

There is nothing that gets me in the mood for Christmas like a good CD. As soon as I hear the sounds of 'Last Christmas' or the faint hum of 'Holidays are coming' I am instantly transported into nostalgia land surrounded with snowflakes!

If you're like me and love the older classics (such as Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt, It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como) then this is the CD for you and currentely available at a bargain 3.99 from Play.com

Or perhaps you fancy a blast back to the pop charts combined with a mix of modern retakes? For 6.99 you can't go wrong with this modern mix! WARNING: Contains Cheeky Girls and Rick Astley... The best feature on this CD has to be the karaoke DVD.. which will surely only be unveiled after one too many egg nogs :)

What are your Christmas CD recommendations? I need to get a new one after my favourite CD got scratched to death last year and now refuses to play!

Brr It's freezing - I love it!

Mrs Claus xx

Shopping Fever - Christmas Bargains and Go Go Hamsters!

2009-10-17T20:03:00.000+01:00

This week, retail giants Amazon announced there was now no minimum order amount for free delivery! I already hold this company in good stead after receiving unbeatable customer service and they just get better and better.

On a recent trip to Toys R Us (one of many) Emily finally took a liking to something.. A little furry hamster that squeaked when you press its nose. Not wanting to show an interest or a hint of a purchase I make a mental note to look online at a later date and watched in amazement as it seemed every person in the store had some of these critters in their shopping trolleys!

Oh and the horror of it all..

.. When my aging brain remembered to look online I realised that this hamster is this years predicted NUMBER ONE selling toy for Christmas! Oh NO! They are going for crazy prices on Ebay already.

Cheapest prices:
Of course, price is irrelevant.. stock is more the issue! Some people get lucky in their area though:

For a hamster and the funhouse get yourself onto http://www.argos.com/
They currently offer a deal where you can get the hamster (9.99) for half price when purchased with the fun house (19.99)

All hamsters are 9.99 and 3 for 2 in Boots stores and on http://www.boots.com/ but currentely out of stock.

The manufacturers http://www.character-online.com/ sell the complete range on their website with free delivery over 25.00 I was lucky enough to grab a few sets and accessories on here earlier this week. Be sure to sign up for the stock notification email.

Be wary of over inflated prices and make sure that if these items are on your childs list, you begin to shop now to avoid disappointment!

Is it just me or are the toy shops packed and sold-out already?!

Hugs and Cocoa

Mrs Claus xx

Classic Christmas kids film - Home Alone Bargain Boxset!

2009-10-10T11:26:00.000+01:00

Grab a BARGAIN to add to your Christmas DVD Stash (if you criminally don't already own it!)

Home Alone 1/2/3/4

The COMPLETE DVD Box Set

Only 8.99 at HMV!

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=572020&WT.mc_id=101780

(Don't forget Quidco)

Ok so hands up if you had a crush on Macaulay Culkin when you was younger? Or in fact if you are old enough to have seen this at the cinema on release!

Home Alone is an absolute classic film featuring an endearing tale of a boy who is left behind by his stressed out mother and has to fend for himself. I believe the focus is to show the importance of family but I was always left awake at night wishing my mum would accidentally leave me at home and planning what i'd do!

The later films all faced harsh reviews from critics but I enjoyed each one of them and think the stories still hold up well for todays modern age kids!

Oh go on.. just buy it for yourself ;)

Mrs Claus x

Boots Christmas Catalogue!

2009-10-07T00:35:00.000+01:00

Every year I religiously await the release date of the Boots Christmas catalogue so that I can feast my eyes upon toys for the children whilst curling up on the sofa with a hot chocolate!

The stores have been adorned in gifts for a month now (I nearly had a panic attack the first time I saw it..) and I have to say this year Boots have certainly chose some winners! Roll on the sales ;)

Don't forget to pick up your slice of Christmas.. The Boots Christmas Catalogue.. Available in all stores and an online version.. TODAY! (7/10/09)

Let the countdown begin ;)

Mrs Claus xx

Add Christmas Cheer to your life!

2009-10-06T11:14:00.000+01:00

How FABULOUS are these bin bags?!

I can just imagine the look on neighbours faces when you put the rubbish out, the smirk it would bring to the bin men! Tis the season!

Available at Play for a princely 8.99 for 12 delivered.

Go on.. you know you want to ;)

11 weeks and 2 days to go.. my word! I must get cracking on!

Mrs Claus xxx

The SHo Ho Ho Must go on!

2009-09-15T14:56:00.000+01:00

I had a wonderful holiday last week (thanks for asking) and now I return full of vigor to share the Christmas Spirit - 100 days to go tomorrow - How exciting!

How simple and delicate are these little holly earrings:

These would look fabulous on a card bearing a Christmas Poem to sell or use as gifts in velvet pouches! :)

How about these hair bows!:

Anyone who knows me will agree I have a homemade hair bow obsession.. they are just soo cute! I will have to add some Christmas ones to my handmade list.. perhaps a little Jack Skellington on mine though ;)

Tonight.. I am going to attempt some Fimo modelling! Wish me luck!

How's your grand plan cleaning coming along? I need to actually start mine ;) Ahh well! Tis the season!

Mrs. Claus xxx

Our Seaside Adventure

2009-09-12T12:47:00.007+01:00

We decided last minute to go away on thursday to Barmouth. A few people have asked about the pictures so I thought I would make a blog entry instead of a ton of emails ;)

On the way to Barmouth I was keeping my eye open for a little narrow gauge railway where the original trains come from in 'Thomas the Tank engine.' As luck would have it, we went right by it and I had to stay there for Logey the anorak!

(oops forgot to turn it haha!)

We had a wonderful time seeing real old fashioned steam engines in action and the weather was completely glorious. Next stop - Snowdonia National Park for some sandwiches and to meet up with mum and dad - then ON to Barmouth!

Logan was absolutely in his element building giant sand castles and jumping down the sandy banks. Emily on the other hand was escaping live-burial from daddy and stamping on sandcastles!

It felt really amazing to watch them have such a wonderful time because I had promised and been unable to afford or find the energy to get the beach for two years now.

So we was watching them having a wonderful time, Splashing in rock pools and smiling so bright. We was feeling amazing getting away from the never ending decorating and catching fish in rock pools was a million miles away from home! SO.. Well.. We have been talking about going back to our special place, Blackpool ever since we left there 3 years ago. We love it so much.. and just haven't been able to afford a return trip even though we say we will every year..

and the washing machine and drier just broke..

.. and..

Well.. we decided to do the stupid thing and just drive to Blackpool! No money and 4 hours later we realised we was going the wrong way so we stopped at the Premier Inn which was amazingly comfortable and the kids were so excited.. they thought it was a beach house and they got their own room to share.

Feeling fresh and with an olden days Sat Nav in hand (Map!) we got to Blackpool pretty quickly and once there the kids were so excited (and so was we to be honest lol)

First stop will always be.. CORAL ISLAND! It felt amazing having a drink with two grown kids chatting about how they felt and sharing our excitement. The first thing I did was take Emily on this ride she used to love on her first visit three years ago and I think she still loves it now:

With the power of technology let's travel back three years:

Isn't that so cute?!

One thing that has grown a lot in 3 years is my boy Logan.. and wow he IS a boy now. He loved riding on every single vehicle imaginable, cars/trucks/rockets/bike - Everything!

(I am just listening to these two now and Emily is saying she wants to live in a castle when she is bigger with a merry-go-round inside it.. Logan has chose a beach house with a ping pong ball table..?)

(Oh yeah this one is to the right as well haha)

We took the kids to Sea Life and for the first time in about 7 visits they was actually enthralled and excited. I have never been to a Sea Life as amazing as Blackpool.. the sharks and sheer amount of exotic and beautiful sea life is just breathtaking.

After a big long walk round Sea Life we decided to go on some rides. Emily exhausted all of the little fun fairs so we left Logan and daddy to the boys rides and had a little flitter on the 2p machine! One pound later and we had a little stash.. Emily was so happy when I won her a token badge that she exchanged for this:

She called it Sunshine!! Can you believe that :) I was thinking of loads of names but nothing was coming to mind (2p sounds more like a rapper than a doll) and she chose Sunshine.. that's a wonderful name for a best friend dont you think?

We went down to the beach and it was looking great, they are really making such an amazing change there and Blackpool was clean and looking good.

We needed to get warm after an hour down on the windy beach so it was back into another arcade where Lee decided he wanted to try his hand at the 2p machine after Logan took a shine to a lovely 'Writchwatch'. 3 pounds and loads of fun later..

(The photo quality is getting worse and worse.. the will to try was just lacking lol) It was the world fireworks championships that night and we was so lucky to witness the most amazing fireworks i'd ever seen. Some were angled like UFO's in the sky. Incredible. This is my favourite sort or firework:

We decided to embark on a journey home through the illuminations... and when we finally got to the best ones...

Ahh well never mind eh! So.. on the way home, they close the M6 down from 4 lanes to 1. Oh my word. It took about 4 hours to do 15 miles. At around 3am we finally got home and it felt so good to be home.

So.. now i'm tired out and poor.. but I still got those pictures forever and I think they show we have some pretty priceless and special memories. Right now I am really living by the motto of making the most of every second, you never know how long you have got left in life.

I'm hoping to craft tonight (talk about living life on the edge) that's if i'm not asleep hehe!!

if you got this far.. well done ;)

Big hello and waves to my best friend Sunshine x

see you soon!

OrganizedChristmas.com is looming!

2009-08-29T08:53:00.000+01:00

Thundering rum balls! How cute are these gingerbread men and when will I become talented enough to make them?!

Back on topic..

Every year I love to complete the 'Grand Plan' at Organized Christmas:

http://organizedchristmas.com/holiday-grand-plan

and make some difference to our home in the run up to Christmas. Usually my plans are scuppered with illness and fatigue (it's pretty hardcore) but it has become a little Christmas tradition that I countdown to every year...

.. Oh and of course, it allows me to start celebrating in August ;)

We are currently in the midst of a major overhaul at the North Pole with paint and furniture everywhere and then I have a minor hospital procedure on friday (4th) to look forward to! Despite this, I am completely printed out and geared up READY to go.

Make a date in your diary..

Sunday August 30th - GRAND PLAN STARTS!

Go print out your sheets now at: http://www.organizedchristmas.com/

My little red folder is crying out to be Christmas make-overed so watch this space!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

.. Oh STOP it already! I usually don't use that line until I post my Christmas decoration pictures ;)

Happy Organising my festive fiends!

Mrs. Claus xxx

Dave Barker's Poultry Cooking Guidelines

2009-08-27T23:08:00.000+01:00

All the information you should need to be able to defrost your xmas bird and cook it safely... and well!

DEFROSTING YOUR TURKEY...

If your turkey is frozen, make sure it's properly defrosted before you cook it. If it's still partially frozen, recommended cooking times won't be long enough to cook it thoroughly. This means bacteria that cause food poisoning could survive the cooking process.

So, before you start cooking, make sure there aren't any ice crystals in the cavity. You could also test the thicker parts of the turkey with a fork, to tell whether the meat feels frozen.

It's very important to work out defrosting time in advance, so you know how much time to allow – it can take at least a couple of days for a large turkey to thaw (see the estimated times below or use our handy guide).

WHAT TO DO...

When you start defrosting, take the turkey out of its packaging, put it on a large dish and cover. The large dish is to hold the liquid that comes out as the turkey thaws. Remove the giblets and the neck as soon as possible, because this speeds up thawing.

Put the dish in a cool, clean place (ideally the fridge) where the turkey won't touch other foods. If it isn't possible to defrost your turkey in the fridge, you could use a cool room, or a garage. Remember that the temperature of the place where the turkey is kept will affect thawing times.

If you're defrosting your turkey somewhere cold, such as the garage or garden shed, watch out for sudden extremes in temperature, if it gets very cold (or very warm), this could mean the turkey won't defrost properly or won't be kept cold enough. Keep the turkey covered and make sure that pets and young children are kept away.

You could also defrost it at room temperature, but make sure it doesn't touch or drip onto other foods.

Pour away the liquid that comes out of the defrosting turkey regularly, to stop it overflowing and spreading bacteria. But be careful not to splash the liquid onto worktops, dishes, cloths or other food. And remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw turkey, giblets or any other raw meat.

HOW LONG TO DEFROST...

To work out the defrosting time for your turkey, check the packaging. If there aren't any defrosting instructions, use the following times (or our Turkey defrosting guide) to work out roughly how long it will take to thaw your turkey, but remember to check that it's fully thawed before cooking.

In a fridge at 4ºC (39ºF), allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg, but remember not all fridges will be this temperature.In a cool room (below 17.5ºC, 64ºF) allow approximately 3 to 4 hours per kg, longer if the room is particularly cold.At room temperature (about 20ºC, 68ºF) allow approximately 2 hours per kg.When your turkey is fully defrosted, put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. If this isn't possible make sure you cook it immediately.

PREPARING POULTRY...

It's very important to keep raw poultry away from food that is ready to eat. This is because if raw poultry, or other raw meat, touches (or drips onto) these foods, bacteria will spread.

Remember, bacteria can also spread from raw meat and poultry to worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils. So, to keep your Christmas food safe, remember to do the following things:

Always wash your hands with warm water and soap, and dry them thoroughly, after touching raw poultry.
Don't wash your turkey (or other poultry) – this is because bacteria can splash onto worktops, dishes and other foods. Proper cooking will kill any bacteria, so you don't need to wash poultry.
Always clean worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils thoroughly after they have touched raw poultry.
Never use the same chopping board for raw poultry and ready-to-eat food without washing it thoroughly in warm soapy water. (If possible, use a separate chopping board just for raw meat and poultry).
When you are storing raw meat, to help stop bugs spreading you should remember to:Always keep raw poultry away from other foods.Store raw poultry at the bottom of the fridge so it can't drip onto other foods.

This advice applies to poultry such as turkey, chicken, duck and goose, and game such as partridge and pheasant.

COOKING POULTRY...

It's very important to plan your cooking time in advance, to make sure you get the bird in the oven early enough to cook it thoroughly. A large turkey can take several hours to cook properly.

How to check your bird is cooked
These cooking guidelines are only estimates; always check that the bird is properly cooked before serving, because eating undercooked turkey (or other poultry) could cause food poisoning.

These are the three main ways to tell if poultry is cooked:

the meat should be piping hot all the way through
when you cut into the thickest part of the meat, none of the meat should be pink
if juices run out when you pierce the turkey, or when you press the thigh, they should be clear

HOW LONG TO COOK...

These cooking times are based on an unstuffed bird. It's better to cook your stuffing in a separate roasting tin, rather than inside the bird, so it will cook more easily and cooking guidelines will be more accurate. (If you cook your bird with the stuffing inside, you will need to allow extra time for the amount of stuffing and allow for the fact that it cooks more slowly.)

Remember some ovens, such as fan-assisted ovens, might cook the bird more quickly – check the manufacturer's handbook for your oven if you can. Always check that the meat is cooked thorougly before serving.

As a general guide, in an oven preheated to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mark 4):

for a turkey under 4.5kg, allow 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes
for a turkey weighing between 4.5kg and 6.5kg, allow 40 minutes per kg
for a turkey over 6.5kg, allow 35 minutes per kg

Tip: Cover your turkey with foil during cooking and uncover for the last 30 minutes to brown the skin. To stop the meat drying out, baste it every hour during cooking.

COOKING TIMES FOR OTHER BIRDS...

Other birds, such as goose and duck, need different cooking times and temperatures. The oven should always be hotter for duck and goose to melt the fat under the skin.

GOOSE...
should be cooked in a preheated oven at 220ºC/425ºF/Gas Mark 7 for 35 minutes per kg. Tip: Pierce the skin before cooking to help drain the fat and pour away any excess fat halfway through cooking.
DUCK... should be cooked in a preheated oven for 45 minutes per kg at 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6.
Tip: Pierce the skin before cooking and drain off the excess fat halfway through cooking. CHICKEN...should be cooked in a preheated oven at 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes. Tip: Cover your chicken with foil during cooking and uncover for the last 30 minutes to brown the skin. To stop the meat drying out, baste it every 30 minutes during cooking.

LEFTOVERS...

It's very important to keep cooked meat and poultry in the fridge. If they are left out at room temperature, food poisoning bacteria can grow and multiply. So, after you have carved your turkey (or other bird), cool any leftovers as quickly as possible (within one to two hours), cover them and put them in the fridge.

When you're serving cold turkey, try to take out only as much as you're going to use and leave the rest in the fridge. Don't leave a plate of turkey or cold meats out all day, on a buffet for example. Put it back in the fridge as soon as you can, ideally within an hour.

If you're reheating leftover turkey, or other food, always make sure it's piping hot all the way through before you eat it. And don't reheat more than once. Ideally, try to use leftovers within 48 hours.

* guide made using information from the Food Standards Agency.

Christmas Plans and Jamie Oliver

2009-08-27T22:32:00.000+01:00

Christmas time is all about family for me, so I always ensure that we complete a 'family values' worksheet from: http://organizedchristmas.com/printable/christmas-countdown/values-worksheet which enables me to ask Mr. Claus how he truly felt last year went in hindsight.

Results show that we are always very rushed on Christmas Day, so this year I have accepted my mothers invitation to dinner (after last years fire) and planned that we will have a relaxed and enjoyable faux Christmas dinner on Thanksgiving day (26th November) because I really have a lot to be thankful for and would love to dedicate a day to celebrate love and family.

So.. what to cook?

For me, it has to be turkey every single time. I hear so many complaints and frustrations over the dryness of meat and endless leftovers but I really can't get enough!

When it comes to cooking.. This man is my hero:

This DVD is absolutely fantastic and can be purchased from Home Bargains for 49p! I purchased my copy when it was first released and have used it every year to get me in the festive baking mood.

Jamie's methods give you crispy roast potatos and succulent turkey every time. I especially love the flavoured butters you can prepare in advance and freeze to use on veg throughout the season and on the big day. He walks you through what you can prepare in advance, the timeplan and advice on selecting meat.

But what about starters and desserts? I have just started to trawl this thread on his forum:http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21500&p=1
which is absolutely jam packed with amazing ideas. I will definitely attempt my own 'Italian sausage and chestnut stuffing' this year - Sounds incredible!

And on that note.. I shall leave you whilst I salivate over gingerbread trifles and beef wellington..

Best Wishes

Mrs Claus xx

COMPETITION CLOSED

2009-08-27T22:22:00.000+01:00

Thanks to my method I have now received two winners who have been notified. Their parcels should be with them!

I would like to thank everyone for taking part in the giveaway and look out because I am sure there will be another one soon ;)

Thank you to all of my lovely friends for your wonderful comments, I wish I could have let everyone be a winner!

Christmas crackers!

2009-08-19T11:21:00.000+01:00

Just to let you all know that I am not AWOL again, I have just been very festive lately and spent a lot more time on my other blog:
http://mrsclausblogs.blogspot.com

I know a lot of people will recoil in horror because it is far too early for Christmas, so for your viewing pleasure I have kept my festive ramblings to another blog ;)

Will be back soon

x

A little competition for my friends :)

2009-08-18T21:56:00.000+01:00

I have felt like running a giveaway for ages now, so tonight I got together two little card kits so that there can be two winners :)

Winter Wonderland

An assortment of ice white, gorgeous snowy blues and sparkling pinks to get your modern creativity juices flowing!

Tis The Season

A more classic colour selection of red and green with great design and textures.

If you would like to be in with a change to win one of these kits, here's what you need to do:

1) For 'Tis The Season' just leave a comment to this post, that's it!

2) For Winter Wonderland, leave a comment guessing the Christmas word I am secretly thinking of. Be fair.. no stupid amounts of guesses! I will update every night to let you know if someone has correctly guessed the word or not!

Once someone has guessed the word, both giveaways will end and both winners will be announced. You can enter both in just one comment :)

Good luck!

Beary Christmas - Creative Card Crew Christmas Challenge

2009-08-18T21:42:00.000+01:00

What better way to add to my pile of cards for Christmas then to take up a challenge! Thanks to Polly and everyone over at http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.com/ I may have just stopped procrastinating and produced something!

This card uses some Anita's snowflake stamps embossed with Heat It Up! Silver tinsel (so sparkly!) and finished with Papermania red jewels.

The main card itself was a stunning embossed card blank from the new Papermania Christmas range which looks brilliant lightly rubbed over with a silver ink pad:

There are some great prizes up for grabs and at the very least, you will be one card down towards your Christmas organisation ;)

Snowflakes and Cocoa
Mrs Claus xx

Martha Stewart is a Christmas saviour!

2009-08-16T20:33:00.000+01:00

I have just been browsing across the website of an extremely talented Martha Stewart (Please reincarnate me with her talent in the next life) and realised I hadn't yet search out the Christmas crafts! Slap my wrists!

Here is some absolute eye candy and I shall definitely be attempting a majority of these ideas over the next few months:

Absolutely genius, making a stocking from a fringed scarf:

Sweetie heaven and oh so festive, I would definitely love to attempt these olde sweet shoppe style jars:

Gift card holder ideas:

'Spread cheer with batches of homemade cocktail mixers for Bloody Marys, cranberry cocktails, and apricot-ginger fizzes':

Bottle Wraps, customised and personal, much better than shop bought holographic monstosities:

Bath Salts, perfect for a pamper hamper and definitely cost effective:

Candles wrapped in cinnamon sticks, very couture:

Antique and charity shop finds, adorable little tea cups filled with wax and essences to make beautiful little unique candles:

They have some fabulous quality frames in the Poundshop but the designs let them down. Cover them with your favourite papers or fabric to rennovate and create a stylish gift:

A matchbox, a paper piercer and some tiny beads.. and you have a home made little maze game, a classic from my childhood!:

(These would be perfect put into childrens stockings and customised with their favourite characters.. obviously.. Be careful as they pose a choking hazard)

Hand customised tea towels:

'Use a set of hand towels and a letter stencil. Lay towel over a sheet of paper. Center stencil on towel and, holding it firmly, apply two coats of washable fabric paint with a medium-size brush. Remove stencil, and let dry, about three hours.'

Sweet mother.. someone make these for me!:

Macadamia Butter-Crunch Popcorn and Chocolate-Almond Popcorn, in one popcorn tin.

An indulgent and wonderful gift for my nan:

Handmade flavoured coffee.. Just add cinnamon or nutmeg to medium bodied ground coffee:

Little loaves of love, I think these are so cute and would be perfect for a neighbour with a bag of speciality coffee:

As would these:

You can find all instructions and ideas here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/handmade-gifts

Enjoy your creative side and give someone a special personal gift this year :)

Mrs Claus xx

The Snowman

2009-08-14T22:37:00.000+01:00

The SnowMan is a classic Christmas film and I can just imagine bundling the kids up with a nice warm special fleece, some freshly baked cookies and a flask of hot chocolate ready for a ride out in the car. We could look at the abundance of Christmas lights displayed on houses around the neighbourhood whilst listening to The Snowman on CD as they delight in the accompanying book..

Perfect!

I am hoping to have little elves come to stay with us over Christmas and they will leave us an activity to do every single day so this will be another idea crossed off my list :)

So.. How perfectly timed when I came across this fantastic bargain at Play.com (thanks to Hotukdeals.com):

Just 2.99 delivered:
http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3478619/Howard-Blake-The-Snowman/Product.html?&P36=FJLAP9#

It's so exciting having childrens memories to build :)

Trick or Treat Smell my feet :)

2009-08-11T20:44:00.003+01:00

Well.. it's only took me a year to scrapbook the photographs but at least they're done now ;) Had to have a little closed-eyes-thinking sesh to remember all the memories and it was amazing what little details flooded back.

I completed this layout as part of a team challenge that I set. I have been with my scrapbooking team for three years this month and the girls on there are just brilliant friends. There are only 4 of us left now and it's so nice to catch up with the ones who stopped scrapping and share their lives.

I have got my SIL and possibly MIL coming round tomorrow to have a little crafting session with some spaghetti bolognese thrown in for good measure.. can't have hungry scrappers ;) Best get off and do some tidying...

.. Aren't you proud of me.. I'm scrapping again!!...

.. EEK MIL! ;)

Love sprinkled with snowflakes :)

2009-08-09T11:58:00.004+01:00

I have been doing this layout for absolutely ages! (Click to enlarge image) Hard lesson learnt: The longer you take a break from scrapbooking, the harder it gets to scrap! I am not overly pleased with it but the memories are down on paper and that's what matters most to me.

I rarely get any 'me' time these days as I have been trying to decorate the house and last week we got another offer for a perfect home but it fell through again. I'm not interested anymore, I lost interest a long time ago when I started building my memories and my life right here in this house I call 'home'. Im very happy though and there is nothing more rewarding then working your hardest all day and then enjoying a good home cooked meal and a sit down at night. Life feels so rewarding.

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas lately (no change there) so I decided to create a blog dedicated to the crazy amounts of organisation and excitement I put in all year, for those to share who are Christmas fanatical like me :)

Right then.. I'm slacking off here.. No decorating today because it's sunday and there is no better time for a day off ;) I am going to attempt to catch up on house work though. 'Attempt'.

For all you Crafting telly fans ;)

2009-08-07T12:17:00.000+01:00

Christmas Door Hanger - Present Idea

2009-08-02T16:32:00.000+01:00

Mission:
This year I have created a list of things I hope to achieve for Christmas, one of those is to make Christmas special for my mum.

Reason:

It's hard to believe she was once a little girl (hehe) but as I grow older, I realise I never feel any different inside but I am expected to accept a less magical and boring life. There is no way this young at heart girl will allow that so why should I expect it of my parents? My mum should still have a Christmas like when she was younger with all the magic of surprise gifts and trips out, I also don't want her to miss out now that we have all left home so every day a part of me will be there.

Solution:

I am working towards some little surprise gifts for my mum in the form of an advent hamper so that she can open a present every day and receive a little magic. Hopefully she will be bursting with excitement by the time the big day comes round :)

So here is a simple gift I have created, a Christmas door Hanger:

I think this will make the perfect gift for day 1 to welcome Christmas.

I used an acrylic album by Papermania (Currently on offer for just a few pounds at their online store) and pulled it apart so that each page can be converted into a hanger. Diamond glaze is the perfect adhesive for this so that no glue shows through.

I think this is a fun and cheap gift that will make use of any craft scraps you have and be treasured for years.

Mrs. Claus is coming to town...

2009-08-01T11:16:00.000+01:00

She's blogging a list,

She's checking it twice,

with home made gifts,

and a little surprise..

Mrs. Claus is coming to town!

It appears we have gone into full mental meltdown here but what the heck, it's for the most wonderful time of the year!

Since time began my mother was always known as Mrs. Claus. Decorating her abode with an ovewhelming abundance of colourful lights and tinsel, a tree in every room and the air filled with that familiar smell of mince pies baking. 6 Years ago I left that magical world to begin my own journey into Christmas and here I stand, the young Mrs. Claus ready and willing to spread Christmas joy into the hearts of my own family.

Join me as I document my countdown to Christmas and list the planning and preparation I hope to achieve this year.

With Love

Mrs. Claus x

Martha Stewart came for tea and ended up staying..

2009-07-31T21:14:00.002+01:00

Oh hello,
Look it's me again! Ok, so it's not the night I promised I would be back.. but look.. I did make some pretties! Oh and of course.. Would I break a promise to you?.. I used that Martha punch liberally.. but only because I promised you of course..

The above card was made as a little notelet and the Papermania elements just kick it up a notch.. gorgeous detailing and glitter in real life.

And then we have my favourite card.. All made from my fair hand.. meaning.. NO patterned paper was hurt in the making:

I love the shine of Christmas and can easily get over a peel-off when it finishes a card so nicely (oh and easily)

There was some serious aging and shine going on with this stamped centrepiece:

I love how the gold embossing powder appears bronze at the edge when the ink pad stains over it

Bored of Close ups? Ah ok.. here's the whole thing:

It's amazing what you can do with some tools and a white piece of cardstock. Oh hang on.. there is a touch of patterened paper there for the vine.. Naughty me!

I am really getting into Christmas lately.. There is no way I will be caught out this year with half made cards sitting in my handbag never sent. It's time to make in advance and feel smug this December!

It's raining heavily today.. fantastic! I love the rain :)

The voting is getting furious over at http://creativitylifemag.blogspot.com for the Scrapbook Apprentice Competition. I have had such a good run of mystery votes and support and I would like to say a huge thank you to every single person that took the time to vote for me. I am proud that I made it down to the final 4 and we will see where fate will take me in the forthcoming months. Either way, I made a great friend and stepped out of my comfort zone using patterns and colours that scared me half to death!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Christmas Scrapbooking and cute Travis-ness

2009-07-28T20:09:00.005+01:00

Yeh.. 'Travis-ness' is a word, look it up in the cute-tionary! :)

If you did, this would be the picture accompanying the definition:

That's my new nephew *squeal with excitement*

I went down there for a little photoshoot yesterday.. Oh ok ok.. I lie.. I went for a cuddle. What did I tell his daddy.. DON'T give him to uncle Lee because babies puke all over him.. would they listen.. NO! So my husband immediately was covered in milky vom all down his legs. It was so funny I wish I'd recorded it.

I finally finished a layout from 2008. It's not even Christmas yet so don't sneer at me alright!! I've been busy *raspberry*

I am biased but look at those beautiful little cute kids.. aren't they the best in the whole wide world? Without questions? YES? I knew it!!

The layout is soooo much more prettier in real life with glitter and layers of fabric and glazes. Damn my photography 'skills'.

So today... OMG.. Martha Stewart came to my house in the form of a Doily Lace Punch. Sweet goodness I have wanted one of these for so long and it was totally sold out everywhere but I have got one in my hot little hands now and damnit I have already punched everything I can see.

Lee says I don't do trends.. I just do tools and when I get a new one you can see it on every single page for a month ;) I'm up for that...

Ready..... STEADY... punch!!

When the punch arrived today Lee asked if it was going to be a boxing gloves on a spring.. a punch... hahhahah oh hilarity.. men just don't get it.

Gorjuss new Travis

2009-07-25T09:54:00.004+01:00

Oh hai :)

Thursday bought me a beautiful present.. A gorgeous new nephew, baby Travis.. weighing in at 8lbs 6oz he was born by caessarean and looks absolutely beautiful - The spitting image of his brother at that age. Welcome to the world little boy x

I have been busy crafting lately but haven't taken many photographs as I wanted to get a few pieces done instead of dithering. Did plenty of procrastinating ;) Here are a few cards I made:

Outside:

Inside:

Outside:

Inside:
I received the new collection of Gorjuss stamps the other day and fell in love with the little Princess with a princess teddybear - Just like Emily. So I decided to try my hand at a bit of Shrink Plastic. The pink version wasn't good enough so I made it into a bracelet for teddy and a clear version for Emily:

I just love how Shrink Plastic always seems to appear as though it is going disastrous and then turns into something wonderful. Emily loved her necklace so much and has taken good care of it. Feels nice to make something handmade and see the kids enjoy it.

I might get to photograph my latest layouts etc later.. But don't hold your breath ;)

There is a reason I have been away though, It was Lee's birthday:

And to top it off we had the dreaded 'S' Word:

But all is as good as good can be around here and I am really enjoying being a mommy and just spending some time in a Martha Stewart-esque sorta bliss making freezer meals and being Uber Organised!

Don't get me wrong.. The craft room still looks like a bombsite ;)

Twilight bracelet - Esme :)

2009-06-15T20:08:00.003+01:00

I promised a picture of the bracelet I got for my birthday but I have not successfully had a moment to photograph it yet! If lee is not hogging the camera then I am busy full of flu trying to meet deadlines.

Here is a pic from the interwebs anyways:

and in the process of finding that I have stumbled across so much that I want to buy right now! This is SO mine:

I can't wait for New moon to come out. I might have to read the collection for a third time now just to trully embed each line into my memory :D

This bracelet is so special to me because Esme is the gentle soul that truly loves and cares for people, the mother of the family. She is also the perfect companion to Carlisle as they are such clear soulmates (Do vampires have souls?) and when Lee handed me the present, he told me that this was perfect for me because I am his Esme. I am trully happy and in love right now, enjoying wearing my beautiful new bracelet and enjoying being in my own fairytale.

If this bracelet can also make me thin then I am going to cry.

Just kidding :)

Do you like the new blog look? I got a new name too. I felt like the words, 'random' and 'musings' were on every single blog I had visited and it was driving me insane! 'Home is where the He{art} is' just came to me so naturally and I love it. It's weird to have a change after two years :)

Off to do some scrapping now.. Maybe I might show you some soon!!

xx

Fathers day cards and home for the holidays..

2009-06-12T01:17:00.010+01:00

After a rather stressful year it was amazing to be surprised by my husband with a romantic break to celebrate our anniversary. We dropped the kids off at my parents and instead of embarking on a 3o mile trip home we behaved like teenagers and I jumped on a most luxious bed in a beautiful hotel down the road where we used to go once upon a time.

Sorry about the blurry picture but it was late at night when I actually remembered to get my camera out LOL It's amazing how memories come flooding back when you visit places.

Anyway, I am home now and I did promise you some work to ogle!

I was recentely set a task to create a pop-up layout but I wanted to try my hand at the mechanics and different techniques before diving in! As a result, I have an awesome little pop-up card tutorial to unleash on you:

http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stampin_studio/2008/04/pop-up-card-tut.html

Here's what I managed to create:

And a video of the card in action (tilt head sideways!)

Over on a different forum I set everyone a challenge to prepare for Fathers day. I have been lousy lately at crafting so I thought I would make some cards!

These are a matching pair, both for Lee's dad and one will be from us whilst the other is from the children. I have left the inside of theirs completely blank so that they can put their own personal messages in:

(personal messages will no doubt be some erratic looking stickmen)

It is always hard to make cards for males, so when I was faced with making an anniversary card for Lee I was a little stumped. We celebrate so many occasions for so many years that the ideas are running out now!

When he sees a Gorjuss Girl with the little skull in her hair he says it looks like me (I wish) so I chose that as a base idea:

I have been meaning to try Promarkers since there was a 20% off coupon a few months ago and it never happened! I finally used them here for her hair, cheeks and face. I love the way the strokes blend into one another and the end result is a cleaner, professional result. I can't help missing my watercolours and own artistic license though, and think I am definitely not converted.

And alas I must leave you again.

Before I depart, I really have to share and laugh about our adventure out for dinner last night. We had planned to go to this amazing Indian restaurant where we first went 6 years ago, when we arrived it was dreadfully busy and the only available car parking space was too far for Lee to walk. We decided to go on a drive and find somewhere new. Lee knew the way to somewhere.. and around half an hour later with a completed tour of Shropshires thinnest country roads.. we eventually ended up at the Wrekin?! In the end we went to the exact pub eatery we go to every single time we go out haha!!

The food was amazing though. Holy cholestrol Batman!

Now you have evidence of two amazing events. Husbands can still be romantic and spontaneous.. and Mel still crafts ;)

Look out for more soon! I totally forgot to photograph my new Twilight bracelet Lee bought me for my birthday.. watch this space :)

Today I am greatful for my amazing friends. I have had the best fun this past month and the positivity is just breeding itself evermore. A special thank you to sunshine - you know who you are ;)

Mel x

P.S - There are now watermarks on my photographs of work due to law changes, I won't bore you but basically it is for my protection ;)

Interior obsessions and belated wreaths!

2009-06-05T00:55:00.004+01:00

What can I say about my absence? YET AGAIN! Life keeps throwing so many surprises at me and I am a girl that likes to fulfill all of her commitments so they have been taking my spare time lately.

That and obsessing over homemade interiors! I have always loved antique finds and cream vintage resin pieces or ironmongery.. it really excites me in ways that make me fall in love all over again with craft and the beauty of design. Many people had told me to watch Kirstie's homemade program but I resisted. One boring night I caught up on every single episode and was hooked.

I have tried to avoid updating my home because we are so close to moving but suddenly I feel such an urge to nest and make it our own. As an artist, I have my own style and I want to make my mark on things so that our interior feels right for me and my family. A home that makes our hearts smile.

Anyway, onto the obsession quenchers! EEK!

I picked up this gorgeous little vintage style pot in Au Naturel for just 1.50 in the sale and found one to match perfect for 2.00 in B&M. I like the quirky mis-matching.

Totally cute, right? I have seen that exact pot for 8.00 at BHS which makes me wonder if perhaps they have the same suppliers or are indeed the same goods rebranded? Food for thought indeed. In this shot I have my cake stand that is currentely being used for fruit as it has been a while since I made cupcakes (Watch this space.. i'm going glitter icing crazy!) I have a few of these dotted about for holding embellishments in my craft space. They just make me smile!

Anyway, the kitchen ones are to be updated with these:

http://www.bhs.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/bhsstore/63823

Isn't that just beautiful! I am definitely going to invest in the whole range!

It was a beautiful hook set which started it all off a fortnight ago and now I am eyeing up kitschy and vintage finds all over the place! I went to put the hook onto my door and look what I found there:

How on earth did I not notice this before? Obviously Christmas is a friend in our house LOL Anyway, I wanted to pop the hooks up to see how they looked and decided to display some of Emily's new 'finds' of her own from H&M. She is so cute now she has her own style:

The black tutu has already been used in a mini photoshoot and she insists on wearing her Hello kitty rainmac even when the sun is shining! Definitely my gothic princess, I love being her mummy :)

Look at those metal roses.. *swoon*

A little dude came to see me today in the kitchen. I love leaf cutters. They look so robust and are the most vibrant beautiful things to look at. I am fascinated with exotic looking animals in England, it's amazing to see such stunning nature:

I suppose I best leave with a pic of my new stash delivery so that something is scrapbook related!!. I am currentely on a 'no-spend' ban but this was ordered a good few weeks ago LOL I have got to use it soon. It has been so long since I scrapped for myself.

Well that is all from me for now. I hope you enjoyed a little tour of my front door haha!! I promise that tomorrow I shall upload pictures of my latest craft projects. They have been few and far between lately but I am slowly starting to get the mojo back!

To see my current work, check out:

http://creativitylifemag.blogspot.com/

and scroll down to the princess of pink, Melanie Marshall (tis me!)

Must go get some sleep now.. i'm getting old.. 26 yrs old sunday ;)

My Gorjuss new girls inked before storage!

2009-04-25T18:36:00.007+01:00

The Gorjuss girls have arrived and lovingly cut from the rubber sheet with excited shaking hands.. Eeek! Is it healthy to be this excited over some stamps?

The Gorjuss girls took my heart the moment I saw them. They are everything I love, emotional, gothic and display an unbelievable likeness to my own princess Emily. When the latest set were released with wings and teddybears I felt fated to get my hands on them. Next stop.. Some original artwork for my daughters bedroom :)

You can get your hands on some Gorjuss Girls from:

http://www.funkykits.co.uk/

and check out the blog at:

http://sugarnellie.blogspot.com/

Here is a quick card I made last night:

Front Cover:

And that's all I have to show you.. for now.. Still packing and it is driving me insane.. or rather, I am driving myself insane with all the sorting!

Have a lovely weekend x

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

P.S - Magnolias I still love you!

Scrapbook Apprentice sneak peeks!

2009-04-24T23:58:00.007+01:00

Well It is that time of year again where I update my blog (groans eminate from the audience) Nah seriously, I haven't updated a while due to family issues and I apologise... Where are my manners?

My latest projects are handed in and the brand new Gorjuss stamps dropped through my letterbox.. Guess what I played with ALL day! There is nothing better than therapeutic watercolouring whilst chatting to a friend over superhero costumes and Richard O'Brien.

Geesh.. I think the sun's shining through my clouds again.. Thank goodness for that!

Anyway, back to my absence, please allow me to make up with an extra large serving of Next months sneaks peeks for the Scrapbook Apprentice.. Yee Ha!

I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the sneak peek of my bobbly carpet there, soon to be replaced by the oak floor that is waiting in the hallway for permission to land.

I am going to view a house on monday and if they accept I could be living there within 4 weeks, I can't even tell you how scared and excited I am. Very sad because I will be leaving behind every amazing memory I had here.. Planning weddings, departing on honeymoons, 5 Christmas's, 2 children and even a labour in my front room! Ive been waiting five years for an ideal property for Lee's needs and now one is here I am shellshocked trying to work out how I can fit my house into less than one million boxes. All this just to live closer to my sister!

This month I am finding great happiness and strength from these little dudes:

This photograph just makes me feel like I did something right as a mother and reminds me of how beautiful and innocent they are. Look at the love. My kids are amazing (Yes I am biased) and if you hate kids and can't appreciate the cuteness of shoving 5 teddybears into one giftbag, then check out the sunshine!

P.S My son really does have a microphone in his hand..?! I blame Rock Band!

And then there is this little monkey:

I don't know what makes me laugh more, my mums crazy Easter cake or the fact my nephew believes he can fit it all in and pick out the feathers later. Pure beautiful. Chickens look a bit freaked out though.

I finished all of the Twilight books in 5 days flat but awoke with temporary blindness which was the most scariest thing I have been through in a long time. I seriously contemplated how life would be never scrapping again.. the tragedy! Warning: Don't read from 8pm through to 4am without a break to turn on a light. D'oh. When I got to the end I felt empty and sadness that it was all over. That will teach me to gorge on books until they are used up.

I have found this brilliant site:
http://www.craftfail.com/

Go check it out! I am in absolute stitches reading the mishaps, I have got a fair few that could go there.

Enjoy your weekend and thank you my friends for your support this month when I needed you most x

Positive happy thoughts, life's too short.

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

Prima swirls and bling titles - I love Sparklies!

2009-03-31T21:30:00.008+01:00

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love my sparklies. This can take shape in the form of glitter, diamantes, irridescence, holographics, metallics.. oh I am practically making an order for another fix of pretties right now!

I have been so busy with Scrapbook Apprentice work and it has been a great excuse to not do anything.. but when Katie left us a week without a parcel.. what could a girl do.. I had to scrap.

I haven't scrapped my family for so long now so I really enjoyed digging out a picture from the wedding and finally using a quote I had saved. The moment I saw 'Did you know that I was waiting for you? To love you for the rest of my life?" It really rang true in my heart but it's a long story!

I've had these blingy words for a long time now and the flourishes just kicked me into maximum sparkly overdrive. I haven't been able to use my own antique style for so long now as the materials I was sent were too bright so it was like slipping into a pair of comfy old shoes and getting aquainted with an old love.

The second layout needed some butterflies just to convey how this little bundle of preciousness makes me feel. I have added some concealed journalling (I don't do picture books!) but the picture speaks a thousand words to me.

If I didn't use all pink she would kill me. For sure.

I hope the sun has been shining in your life wherever you are. I am thinking of running a giveaway soon, so watch this space. My heart has been so full of love from my friends lately that I seem to be giving away like crazy and I'd love to give something on my blog.

TTFN

♥♥ Mel ♥♥

Free stuff - Blog candy!

2009-03-27T23:13:00.003Z

Dizzy Blonde is a SU demonstrator and is currentely giving away a scalloped circle punch on her blog to one lucky commenter:

http://www.dizzyscrafts.blogspot.com/

You got to be in it to win it!

Secondly, check out the blog candy right here:

Hop on over to http://creativitylifemag.blogspot.com and become a follower to be in with a chance of winning all of this gorgeous stash.. all of which I had the chance to work with this month.

Whilst you're over there check out the Scrapbook Apprentice work I did this month and if you love it.. give me a vote.. just 4 days left now.. so nervous!

Thank you so much for all your love and support

Good Luck x

♥♥ Mel ♥♥