Whoosh...

So where did half term go?! I can't believe the girls are back at school again tomorrow & Tuesday and that we're in our mad month for family birthdays and heading for the countdown for Christmas already...time certainly seems to go quicker the older you get!
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.Thought I'd better strat scrapping the pumpkin photos straight away as I have so many I love :)

I used Scenic Route Salem papers & die cuts.Love love this paper,having used it on a couple of layouts a couple of years ago.It is so perfect for pumpkin pics :)
I will be back tomorrow with the rest of last weeks goings -on (including Wicked and very squashed cup cakes!)

I love Lyzzy :)

Because she told me where there was a pumpkin field!! Okay, so it was two years ago and this is the first year that I've remembered to ask her for directions before she headed off her for her hols!
We did have a trip to Willows planned ,the picnic was all packed ,when I realised that the kids go free vouchers all expired at the beginning of October -oops!So after a quick phone call to check we could actually go on to the pumpkin field ,we headed off to the PYO & farm shop :)I absolutely love pumpkins,don't know why ,they just make me fell really Autumn-y :) So, apologies to Anna, but photo overload of orange-ness coming up!







They had loads 'ready picked' but were happy for us to go round the field to hunt for our own...we came home with the smallest one on the field ,as chosen by Holly! Luckily the people working there had already coveniently arranged the picked pumpkins in big piles around the filed, perfect for getting the kids to sit on!! We will be heading back there next year :)
Tomorrow Em is off to a freinds for a sleepover and Holly has her friend coming here for a sleepover...it's like musical houses!
And Thursday I am so looking forward to as I'm off to London with Anna for a cupcake in Selfridges,dinner at Chez Gerard and then to see Wicked....I'm so excited !!
And Friday afternoon will be spent carving our pumpkins ready for Saturday :)
I'm off to scour the net for pumpkin papers....:)

It's half term :)

Woohoo!!
Today we have been on a pumpkin hunt but I'll share those photos later :)
This is my Pencil Lines Lo for this week, we joined up with The Next Step this week and also used sponsorship from May Arts ribbon.I used
My Minds Eye Breaking Free paper
May Arts ric ric & ribbon
KI Memories lace cardstock
Pink Paislee letter stickers

Prima crystal swirls

Sunday was crop day and as per usual I got very little done! Most of my time was spent talking to Karen and Kerry and eating brownies...ooops! I got two Lo's almost done though which is better than nothing!

Be back later with pumpkin pics!

Yum :)

I forgot that I said I'd add photos of Em's 'cake' display from Saturday :) Now, I am no domestic goddess, and believe me there was an awful lot of cursing whilst I made these cupcakes! The recipe said to use an electric mixer ,(which I don't have) or a whisk ,so I used the small handheld electric whisk...hence lots of flour floating around the kitchen and gunged up mixer blades once the mixture was thick!I'll be looking for an easier recipe next time!I decided to use some ready made icing for them and then stocked up on lots of different toppings, my favourite being the Waitrose 'balls' in really bright colours :)Once in the lovely new cupcake stand, I added a 13 birthday candle, no 13 sparklers and then added some other indoor sparklers as well.It looked really good and even her friends were impressed :)

Em is still recovering from her cold/flu whatever it was,having spent most of yesterday asleep :( She's been a bit more lively today and this afternnon we chilled out and watched Sleepless In Seattle together,she's normally more into Harry Potter,Twilight etc so I need to introduce her to a few chick flicks ;)!

Birthday Blog Hop winner

Okay, I have got my girls to pick a winner :)

Kazuko said...
Happy birthday Pencil Lines! This is so fun!
10:35 AM



Thank you once again to everyone for taking the time to join in the blog hop and for leaving so many comments:) I will try and get round as many of your blogs as possible in the near future!

Party on!

Thank you so much to everyone who's stopped by my blog during the blog hop and left such lovely comments :) You still have a couple of hours to leave a comment on the post below to be in with a chance of winning the My Little Shoebox goodies :)Tomorrow I will get one of my girls to pick a winner and post their name on here :)
So as well as the birthday cyber crop,we've still had time for a new sketch for you this evening :)This week we were very generously sponsored by Cosmo Cricket -swoon! I had planned to use Early Bird but in the end the the photo which jumped out at me went perfectly with Earth Love :)I can honestly say I am so pleased with this LO, though for some reason the colours don't look so great in the photo,it's much 'warmer' in real life.Anyway, this Lo basically tells the story of how every year I try and get the perfect leaf throwing photo and each year I fail! I have so many photos of the girls with their eyes shut, not a leaf in shot or just a huge blur!

All supplies from the Earth Love range.The leaves are cut out and raised up on foam pads.I also used American Crafts felt thickers.
Last night Em had her birthday sleepover.Just before her friends arrived she started to feel a bit flushed and dizzy.Although she made it ok through the night ,she promptly went back to bed once everyone had gone home this morning and has felt pretty rough ever since :( Looks like she will home tomorrow ,which she is not happy about as it will ruin her 100% attendance record at school, bless her! A valuable lesson was learnt last night though, twelve and thirteen year old girls cannot be trusted with popcorn...we spent ages this morning hoovering it up and picking the stuff off various throws and cushions!Yesterday I made proper big cupcakes to go in the fancy cupcake stand that we bought a couple of weeks ago,we added indoor sparklers and Em loved it :)Will share photos tomorrow :)

And make sure you check out Anna's announcement over on Pencil Lines too,below this weeks new sketch :) This is part of my contribution :)

I'll be back tomorrow with my RAK winner!

Birthday party blog hop :)

As part of our pass the parcel blog hop ,I'm ofering this RAK of My Little Shoebox goodies and a few co-ordinating flowers:) All you have to do is leave me a comment and I'll announce the winner on Monday:)

*blog comments now closed *

To unwrap the next layer of the pass the parcel over on over to Ania's blog :) Happy blog hopping!

Come and join us for the Pencil Lines Birthday blog hop :)

It all kicks off at 8pm GMT on Friday 16th :)

Check out Pencil Lines for more details!

Teenager in the house!

Yep, our oldest is now a teen...I've no idea where those years went! Her main present was a new mobile which she has been longing for for sometime now, definitely takes after her dad! Her other presents seemed to follow one theme...Hello Kitty! We're talking t-shirts, lip balm, bag, playing cards,passport holder,you name it they do it in Hello Kitty! This weekend we will be descended on by her freinds for a sleepover,we'll be taking refuge upstairs while Holly gets to escape completely (to her disappointment!) for a sleepover at Nanny & Grandad's house :)

Not much else going on,the weather has turned really damp and chilly today :( Not even much scrapping going on,even though I have lots of lovely paper waiting to be used!

Pencil Lines

That was an imaginative title wasn't it?!
This is my LO for this week, and the sketch is mine too...for the first time ever (only took 3 yrs...!!)Love these photos and these papers,they have stashed away for a couple of years now just waiting for the perfect photos :)
The trees along the bottom of the big photo are raised up on foam pads.
I used
KI Memories Grateful papers
Jenni Bowlin letter stickers
AC puffy thickers
KI Memories chipboard
Basic Grey Offbeat sticker
Yesterday we went conker collecting again, and have got heaps more again for the squirrel who is currently burying them all over our garden! Just as well we're not too 'garden proud'!
I'm off to blow up balloons and put banners up as tomorrow we will have a teenager in the house (now how did that happen?!)
Don't forget, we are on blinkie patrol again over at Pencil Lines this week!

Roald Dahl Day

Today Holly's school finished their Roald Dahl week with a day dressing up as characters from his books :) There were so many fab costumes in the playground this morning,lots of oompa loompa's,fantastic foxes and Willy Wonka's :) Holly wanted to go as Sophie from the B.F.G (there were a few of those there too!). We used a pair of cinema 3D glasses ,minus the lenses,and added few freckles :)


Tomorrow morning we are off the see the movie Aliens In The Attic,though really I just fancy a lie-in! In the afternoon we are off to my mum& dad's for a pre -birthday tea for Em as my sister is visiting with her girls :) Sunday is food shopping and most probably a pile of ironing - nice! And before I know it willl be Monday again :(

I know, I know...

I keep promising to get better at blogging,but I seem to be getting even worse :(

Anyway,let's see what I can remember....!

This is my Pencil Lines LO for this week.Our birthday month was kicked off with sponsorship from May Arts ribbons :)

I used the chunky ric rac,the reverse side of some green spotty ribbon, and the flower is made using the leaves of the suede effect trim :)

I keep promising to get better at blogging,but I seem to be getting even worse :(

I also used AC felt thickers

Bo Bunny paper

MLS letter stickers

On Friday last week I came down with a rotten cold so spent most of the wwekend with my nose in a tissue :( On Sunday afternoon though,Holly and I went up to Ayot for some more conkers and then walked back home through the woods as the weather was so gorgeous:)

This week Holly has had Tudor day at school ,as well as it being Roald Dahl week :) Tomorrow she'll be dressing up as Sophie from the B.F.G :) Amd whilst I would have loved to have sent her as a rich Tudor, we settled for the servant look!
I seem to be geting no where fast at the moment, loads to do and nothing getting done! So don't be surprised if it's a few days before I return!
Don't forget our Birthday blinkie blog hop is still on over at Pencil Lines!

Another weekly round-up!

Because I never seem to get round to updating this more than once a week :(
So, what's been happening....
Last Wednesday we went to the library so that Holly could collect her Quest Seekers reading challenge certificate and medal.I didn't bother trying to take photos whilst we were there ,so just for Lyzzy, here's another hedge photo :) (Don't worry ,the wall will come back into use soon now the BBQ's been put away for the winter ;) )
Saturday was spent doing the boring stuff like food shopping,and Holly and I cycled into the town to get some new storage boxes for her room.We also collected all our runner beans from the dried out pods (is that what they're called?!),ready to dry out and plant next year.Don't think we'll need all of them some how,as we got loads of beans from just two beanstalks this year :)




Yesterday morning ,as Geoff was working,the girls and I went for a walk down to the lakes.It was so warm we didn't really need our winter cardies!Although the leaves seem to have come down from most of the conker trees round here, the others don't really sem to have turned yet.So I've plenty of time yet to try and get a decent leaf throwing photo!



This is my Pencil Lines LO for this week.We were sponsored by EAD this week :)



I used
Bazzill Kraft
October Afternoon paper
Petaloo flowers
beady flowers from John Lewis
Jenni Bowlin letter stickers
Kaisercraft pearls
All the pink swirls are by EAD
And yes, I'm aware of how wonky I managed to stamp the date!

Tomorrow is Harvest Festival at Holly's school (it seems early this year!) After that I have to come home and venture into Holly's room and start a big clear out...
This week I also have a heap of scrapping to catch up on,I can't believe we're almost in October already...who stole this year?!
Pencil Lines turns three next month too,make sure you join us for our birthday celebrations!

Autumn loveliness :)

So the summer may have been a bit of a wash out, but Autumn is [roving to be very lovely so far :) Lots of sunshine and warm days, with everything turning golden and crunchy :) This weekend we went looking for conkers.I know it seems very early, but the trees are looking pretty unhealthy this year and lots have come down already in the wind last week.So we took a chance as the weather was so lovely Saturday afternoon.At first it didn't look as though we'd find many, but Holly managed to fill her bucket and there were quite a few still hanging on the trees.The question is, what will we do with them?! Most years they just rot and get thrown away.However,last year, a squirrel came and took them all!This year Holly has been prepared and has scattered a few around the garden for them to find! This is my Pencil Lines layout this week, very clean & simple!

I used Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper
Kaisercraft pearls
Martha Stewart punches
Prima Journalling page
Hambly overlay
Prima crystals
Bazzill just The Edge
The beady flowers are from the haby dept in John lewis :)

Sunday was crop day where I got a massive two layouts done...speedy scrapper I am not! We had lots of party food and I was very lucky to get some presents too ,as well as some lovely cards:)

Yesterday was my final birthday 'celebration', which was a trip to the waffle house -yum! I had a very delicious warm hazelnut & chocolate brownie one with cream,which I'm hoping they will make a permanent fixture on the menu!
Today it's all back to normal,catching up on jobs around the house.I have washed all the sofa cushion covers, sorted the shoe rack and this afternoon I have a visit to the dentist -yuck :(

The big 4 0...

Yep, yesterday I turned the ripe old age of 40.I'm still not sure whether I should laugh or cry,but lets face ,life isn't that much diferent today than it was two days ago!
I had a lovely day yesterday being thoroughly spolit,hence today feels like a a bit of a downer! But it's also our 16th wedding anniversary today so I'm not really down,as that's quite an achievement these days!My pressies included two momiji's, some gorgeous silver bracelets,DVD's, and a 'small' shopping spree yesterday ,amongst other things :)Anyway, the celebrations aren't over yet,as Anna's turned Sundays crop into a mini b-day bash and in October I get to go out and see Wicked in London with Anna as my pressie from her :)
I know the photo is a totally un-original idea but it's better than nothing! Okay, so you can't see the photo at the mo as it won't let me upload it, but it will be there sometime!

Another week

of no blogging,whoops! You can tell we're back in the term time routine and nothing interesting is happening!
The girls are both settled bacl at school okay, thouigh Em seems to have a mad a mount of homework, she spent nearly all weekend with her head in her books :(
On Friday Holly had a 100th Celebration disco at Brownies.I could share photos but she looked exactly like she did for the school disco! Apparently it was packed and she came home with bruised feet where someome had trod on her foot who was wearing high heels!
Saturday the weather was gorgeous and I'm guessing it was probably the last decent warm day we'll have as it's been distinctly cooler since then! In fact yesterday was flippin' freezing!The pool has now been tidied away until next year,maybe it'll get a bit more use next summer?!

This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.
I used
Pink Paislee Fascinating papers
Bazzill Kraft
Prima bling
Pink Paislee letter stickers
Doodlebug letter stickers
Prima felt
Heidi Swapp butterfly
Kaisercraft pearls
The title is 'borrowed' from a Pink Paislee rub-on

There's not much else to report,other than the fact that I manged to fall flat on my face yesterday walking home and now have very sores knees and lots of bruises :(
I will try and get back during the week :)

It's oh so quiet...

After almost seven weeks of school holidays ,I was finally home alone again today...it felt really strange! Whilst I was tempted to chill out and watch a film and do nothing, I got started on the boring stuff like hoovering,mopping and cleaning the bathroom :( There is so much that needs doing in here at the moment I thought I'd just start off with the every day stuff!

This is my Pencil Lines LO for this week, and I can honestly say I love it :) I have had the papers for ages, just waiting for that perfect photo, which came along last week :)

I used Basic Grey Sugared papers & brads

Scenic Route letter stickers

AC Puffy thickers

Petaloo flowers

Martha Stewart butterfly punch & border punch

Kaisercraft pearls

October Afternoon stickers

The stitching is hand done, hence why some of it looks a litle bit wonky !

Last night I have to admit I was asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow,must have been all that walking ;) !! Yesterday was a fab day,I'm so glad I did it! My main incentive for taking part was to keep Anna company but I'm pleased I've managed to raise some money too :)
If you want to see our band of supporters all in orange ,check out the race coverage on BBC2 on BBC I-Player ! We found out that as I walk pretty fast anyway, Anna's running matches my very fast walk so I able to keep up with her when she ran the last k !! And I even managed a jog over the finishing line!! (And I'm pretty sure the photos of that are awful!!) We ended the day with a picnic by the Diana Fountain, where the girls had paddle to cool their feet down .We will be back next year :)

Fab day :)

And I even managed a short jog over the finishing line (I don't do running!!)
Back tomorrow with my Pencil Lines LO for this week :)

Today was Em's first day which meant that it was her turn for a photo shoot...much to her resentment!And it was time to take some of them both,though most of them are awful as Geoff was messing around and making them look all over the place!
And it's the weekend tomorrow -woohoo!
Tomorrow afternoon I'm taking Holly & her friend to see Hannah Montana The Movie (again!) as it's on at the cheapy cinema :)Then I need to do some serious catching up on the ironing and housework stuff :(...
Today I went and got myself some trainers for Sunday,so I think I am all ready :)Just need to try and remember what tube station we get off at! Holly is all excited already and has been wearing her MS tshirt for the last two days in preparation :)

That time of year again...

When the schools start going back and everyone has photos of kids in uniforms on their blogs! Same here too! Well, only one child as Em doesn't go back until tomorrow..

Here's Holly all dressed up and ready to go :)It was a bit dull and windy so my pics aren't great,fingers crossed for sunshine tomorow when they have a joint photo session!

And it's all official now. My MS t-shirt and sponsor forms arrived today :)