I believe...

...in Fairies; don't you?

I found this wonderful range of Fairie Doors at my local garden centre and this is the first one to come and live in my garden.

There are currently 16 different doors in the range.

The one I really wanted was "Dentist" the little door sign said..."Tooth fairy out on call"...how sweet is that :o) Unfortunately, they didn't have one of those so I got this to put with Alfred & Barty (I'll introduce them to you another time, lol).

Efforts to upload the picture of the whole range from the website didn't work too well, think it was the format they used so for now this is all I can show you.

I think there will be doors appearing around the garden as we go through the year, I'll try to get some pics of them in their new locations...

Sorry...

...forgot to tell you.

I finished my Harry Potter today at lunchtime. Was so intent on getting to the end of the book so that I would know what happened but now I wish I hadn't, coz that's it, that was the last one - no more Harry Potter stories to look forward to, no more trips to Hogworts or shopping in Diagon Alley.

It's done...

Finished...

I won't tell you what happened, there has already been too much hype and too many spoilers linked with this book. If you want to know what happens you will have to read it for yourselves.

Don't know what I'm going to read next...Break no bones by Kathy Reichs is a possibility or perhaps David Hewson's latest 'Nic Costa' story - the Seventh Sacrement. Whatever I decide it's not going to be the same as diving into a HP.

Still, who knows, there could be something even better just around the corner...

Okay...

...I know I didn't really need yet another bag!

But...............................

I saw this Amy Butler bag on the 2 Peas home page several weeks ago and soooooooo wanted it, lol. I do have a bit of a thing about bags **not that anyone would ever guess** I have a super collection of mauve AMM totes as well as a smashing Karen Foster bag - lots of places to shove my stash (yeyhay).

I also love handbags but they have to be just right and once I find one that works for me I am reluctant to change to something else until needs dictate otherwise (usually at the time the handles start falling off or something similar...).

However, back to this delish piece of hand luggage...I just love it, love it, love it (anyone twigged yet that I am quite taken with this item - smirk). Had to make a choice at Artbase today between this one and an all over pink design - very nice but at the end of the day I'm not really a pink person and this was the one that had originally caught my eye on 'Peas'. So this is now mine all mine :o)

Have to give some serious thought as to what is going to 'live' in this bag but in the meantime I'm off to do the scrappy bit of holding and stroking, bye for now...

Yes, I'm reading it...

...the last Harry Potter.

I went for the 'grown-up' cover - not because I didn't want to be seen with the childrens version - I just liked this cover better...

I didn't queue anywhere to get my copy I just called into Mum's local Sainsburys on Saturday morning and 'bagged' a copy at less than half-price without the hassle of having to spend "x" amount in store as was the case with many retailers.

I am currently up to page 447 so should have it finished by the end of the weekend, if not sooner :o)

I can't remember what it was that got me to read the first of the 'Potter' books but I convinced my niece that it wasn't just a story for boys (she was just starting a new senior school at the time and J.K.Rowling was one of the authors they were covering in English) and ever since it has been a challenge to see who got the next book first, who finished it first and who has seen the films, LOL.

The world of magic has always been something our family have found of interest - I remember reading 'The Faraway Tree' and the 'Narnia' cronicles (amongst others) as a child and being totally drawn into the make-believe worlds created by the authors. Perhaps the 'Potter' books have reminded me of the fun that books can create and whilst they may have been aimed at children the style and content easily capture the adult imagination too...

I won't spoil things for anyone who has yet to read the book or hasn't reach as far as I have. All I will say is...ENJOY!!!...

I did it...

...I've turned yellow.

I've been "Simpsonized", LOL.

There I was, merrily browsing various blogs (as one does) and I came across a link on 'My life in colour' - see link to the right coz you all know I'm useless at adding links to my postings :o)

It's a fun site that lets you create a 'Simpsonized' image from a photo you have stored on your PC (if you haven't worked it out yet, this was created from the pic that Emma took of me at the Artbase crop earlier this month).

You don't have to be yellow, although I think that is part of the fun...he,he...you have loads of choices and can play to your hearts content.

The site does seem to be very popular at the moment, probably because the movie has just hit the cinemas, and you might have trouble getting in but do 'try,try again'. If you don't want to simpsonize yourself you could always do someone else in the family or even a friend and then send them an e-card of the creation.

Go on, have a play...if you do, let me know, I'd really love to see what you look like in 2D...

We've only just begun...

...the summer holidays that is and already I'm stressed and moving towards "kill mode".

All this from someone who doesn't even have kids...!!!

This morning's journey to work wasn't too bad - just the normal rush hour crowding. Not many kids in evidence **obviously as it wasn't a school day one couldn't expect them to be up & out at such an un-godly hour...8am, LOL** but by the time I arrived at Stratford (9.10am ish) many had struggled out of their beds and were running riot in the shopping centre. Needless to say I grabbed my Starbucks latte and headed for work at a very rapid rate of knots.

Today was the annual Bowls competition at work and unfortunately, for the first time in years, rain stopped play :o( However, before the heavens opened and brought play to a soggy halt we had already had the pleasure (???????) of a group of unruly brats making a nuisance of themselves and one of the organisors had to insist that they left the 'green'. This resulted in very pleasant taunts and cat-calls through the hedge from the little darlings, hurumf.

So, not the best of days...but more was yet to come.

I arrived at West Ham station in time to get a 'through' train that would take me all the way home without having to change, yippee - the bad news was that it was packed and there were tons of kids everywhere... Even worse, they were not being supervised as the two Mum's responsible for the largest group were more interested in having a natter. If that little brat in the seat next to the aisle where I was standing had kicked me one more time (he and his 2 brothers were trying to wrestle each other whilst crammed into two seats), I swear, I was ready to kick him back.

I think everyone let out a huge sigh of relief when this hoard left the train two stops later.

How long have they been off so far? three days...groan...not sure I'm going to make it to the end of the holidays without doing someone some serious damage if today's journey is an example of what is yet to come...

EEEEEEEEK...

...I've just seen a spider.

I don't like spiders, I don't really like any creepy-crawlies **shudders at the thought** but I can normally cope if I know where they are...

At this moment I don't know where it's gone so I am perched up on my chair (feet up on seat) trying to see where it went. It sort of scuttled down the wall and across the carpet towards the desk and that's when it disappeared from view.

It's no good, can't stay here wondering any longer...I'm going now, lights will be turned off and the door firmly shut.

Fingers crossed, it won't be here in the morning...

Guess where I'm going...

...AGAIN!!!

Yep, this Sunday I will be heading 'op norrrrrth' again. This time there will be no four-legged creatures of any shape or kind - just a large suitcase full of freshly washed clothes, another large bag of clothes, a couple of side tables, food (including the 'famine' relief parcel that my Mum has been putting together, LOL) ... oh, and not to forget - my niece...

After two weeks at home with her Mum and all the 'furry beasties' I think Kristy is starting to long for the piece and quiet of her Uni flat so I wasn't surprised to receive a text asking - pretty, please :o) - if I would take her back to Leicester this weekend.

So on Sunday we hit the M25 & M1 yet again **I think my poor little car could probably find its own way there now** but this time we will be starting off with a car load and I get to come home with it empty.

If you are wondering about the 'famine' relief parcel...my Mum is a very concerned Grandma and she worries that Kristy won't have enough food, cleaning materials, loo rolls etc. and there are some of Kristy's specialised food items that don't appear to be available in Leicester - so Grandma has taken to sending food parcels. However, postage is starting to get a bit silly so she decided that this time she would save everything in a box ready to go back with Kristy when she returned to Uni - hence the FRP, he, he, he.

The BBC 5-day weather forecast has become a regular sight on my PC screen at work as I keep an eye on the 'supposed' weather for this weekend. It doesn't look too good but I'll wait and see because most of the bad weather that has been promised for this week seems to have by-passed us, so here's hoping!

With luck this will be the last trip north for a while, but then, you never know...

Cards, cards, and...

yes, more cards (lol).

I promised to show you the cards from the Basic Grey 'Blush' kit and here they are...

My scanner doesn't do them justice but you can get the idea :o)

I had great fun with the kit and my liquid chalks...ooooooooooooo I did get mucky. Brown and Blue not just on the cards & papers but also all over my fingers. One day I might just work out how to 'ink' without getting more on me than the project.

The colours of the 'blush' papers are so soft and pretty. They also mix & match with a whole load of cardstock so the variety is wonderful.

I loved making these cards but the problem now is that I don't really want to give them away - silly really as that is the whole idea behind making cards...

Perhaps if I keep them a while doing the normal scrapbooky type things (you know, sit and stroke the papers, look at them lovingly - he,he) I might eventually be able to pass them on for the appropriate occasion.

The kit was lovely to work with and although there was only enough cardstock and paper to make these seven cards there are loads of rub-ons left and more than half the sheet of chipboard letters and shapes - I would say that was real good value for money, Ta Mum!

My only gripe is that the kit did not contain any envelopes...but hey, I'm getting it sorted.

Have been busy punching out loads more 1" circles and now have a whole box of assorted colours, papers and cardstock all ready to get stuck into for a massive card making session.

I even sorted out a load of Christmas papers (no don't groan, it's not that far away) and I fully intend to get going on this years cards in plenty of time.

I do tend to be a 'Fits & Starts' type card maker...I go for ages without making any and then it's like a production-line comes into operation.

I want to play with more stamps on this years Christmas cards and I have lots of lovely embossing powders that I can experiment with - just need to find some time.

That's the problem isn't it...it always comes back to time. Well, I will do it. I will not be buying loads of cards this year, I have more than enough stash to meet my needs (and I'm sure a few other things will find their way into my craft room between now and December, LOL) so no excuses.

Cardmaking, here I come...

On the subject of...

...card making.

Mum bought me one of the Basic Grey "Blush" card making kits earlier in the year. I've finally made a start on them.

I really love the blush range of papers and this kit is proving to be great - love the ideas and the effects.

Promise to let you see some when they are done...

A new punch...

...and here are the resulting cards.

A selection of coloured papers & cardstock and a whole variety of cards can be created just by punching out a lot of 1" circles.

As these circles have a fancy edge I decided to add some spirelli to a single circle and raise it on a foam pad - quite pleased with the final results :o)

Haven't made many cards for a while but today I sat at Mum's and punched out all the circles then tonight spread everything out on the lounge floor **gotta have a bit of space when being creative - lol** and voila!!

Hope you like the results...

Peeks at...

...my latest LOs.

The Artbase project this month involved the use of some of the new range of Hero Arts clear stamps - the alphabet is 'wicked' and great fun to play with.

Have been trying to scrap these pics of DH for a while but couldn't come up with any suitable ideas. Well, as you can see...sorted!

As I have previously mentioned, I don't do the "in front of camera" bit so I rarely have any pics of me. However, Emma has been threatening to snap me ever since I talked about it here on the blog and so far I have managed to avoid her in 'David Bailey' mode.

Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky on Sunday at the crop and she got me well & proper (lol) so here is a peek at the LO I created.

I have been trying really hard lately to get photos onto class projects ASAP so that I don't end up with albums full of lovely LOs but no photies. Am slipping a bit at the moment but I am working to catch up...honest...:o)

A Prayer...

...for the stressed.

Found this on UK Scrappers -

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can not accept and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today because they got on my nerves.

And also, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today as they may be connected to the feet I may have to kiss tomorrow.

Help me always to give 100% at work...
12% on Monday
23% on Tuesday
40% on Wednesday
20% on Thursday
5% on Friday

And help me to remember...

When I'm having a bad day and it seems that people are trying to wind me up, it takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile and only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth!

AMEN"

**do you think someone has been having a few bad days lately? - lol**

Cream Crackered...

...sort of translated - I'm tired!

Yesterday I was up at six, over to my sister's, car loaded and on the M25 by 7.50am.

First stop Leicester to collect my neice then on to Nottingham to collect the cats. As we had some packing boxes we stopped off at the flat in Hucknell so that there would be room for the cats and all their belongings. All was going well until almost at Tom's grandma's and we hit a problem - road maintenance was blocking the road that would give us the most direct route to our destination. Off we went in the opposite direction to complete a circular tour of Nottinghamshire that would get us to the part we wanted to be in...

Some time later, we arrived!

Polite exchange of small-talk and the cats were duly basketed and loaded for a trip back to Hucknell.

Various sorting of belongings at the flat, re-boxing of cats, additional items added to the contents of the car, a ham salad roll, strawberry tart, and sis & I bid farewell to Kristy. She was staying at the flat to be there for the early arrival of the removal men on Sunday morning.

We set off on the journey home...

The main problem with yesterday was that it was hot, veeeeeeeeeery hot, too hot to be stuck behind the wheel of a car nearly all day. The fan was going, the air con was on but it was still hot and the air con was drying out my contact lenses. No matter how much I blinked my eyes felt gritty and the lids wanted to stay down...DANGEROUS...time for emergency caffine.

The service station prior to Newport Pagnell had a Costa Coffee **don't like as much as Starbucks, but hey, when needs must :o(** I must have looked pretty ropey as the girl who served me took one look and asked if I wanted an extra double shot in my latte, lol.

Ooooooooooo, it tasted good and the brief wander back to the car in a very pleasent breeze was just what I needed.

However, what I didn't need was the sight of half a dozen guys clambering out of a people carrier and making their way over to the row of trees and shubs right in my line of sight. My sister and I were totally bemused to see them answer the call of nature facing said trees - it was actually farther for them to walk to the trees than it would have been to walk to the loos (???).

Nature answered they wandered back to their vehicle and drove off...

The remainder of the journey passed without a hitch and Charlie & Benjy were reunited with the hammys and the chinchilla.

Some rearranging of furniture and the hope that the house walls would actually stretch to accommodate all the things that were due to arrive from Hucknell and I drove myself home. I don't really remember head and pillow connecting...

Today (Sunday) was the Artbase July crop - being holiday time we were a little low on numbers but the project was fun - a LO using the super Hero Arts clear stamps. I couldn't complete my page because I had managed to leave the photos I was to use at home...Doh!

Kristy phoned and said she had been delayed so wouldn't get to her Mum's local station before the staff left for the day. Being in a wheelchair this meant she wouldn't be able to get of the train. So arrangements were made for me to collect her from Upminster - just down the road from the crop.

Then it happened...!!!!

I got caught - on film that is. I normally manage to avoid being in front of the camera but Emma snapped me and very kindly printed the photo out there and then. Well, what's a girl to do...scrap it of course!

I have produced a LO but I want to tinker with it a bit before I post it for the world & his wife to see. :-D

Kristy was collected from the station and took her home, arriving only minutes after the removal men. Bid farewell and took myself home.

I'm too tired to play with the LO tonight so it will have to wait until tomorrow evening. You never know, I might even get the photos on the crop project page...stranger things have been known.........

I'm Spiderman...

...according to the quiz (link on Nicola's blog).

Not sure what happened though, I seem to have lost my pic **ho, hum** (had a tinker and got it back)

Your results:You are Spider-Man
Spider-Man
60%
Superman
50%
Green Lantern
50%
Supergirl
43%
Robin
42%
Hulk
40%
Wonder Woman
33%
The Flash
30%
Iron Man
30%
Batman
25%
Catwoman
25%
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have greatpower and responsibility.
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Not enough...

...TIME!

Where does it go???

It's crop night tonight and I know I won't be able to complete the LO project because I can't find any suitable photos - but it will be done by the next Thursday gathering...promise!

The weekend is fast approaching and it's another trip 'op North'. More animals to collect **YES, I did say more animals** two elderly Persian cats to be collected and transported 'doown South'.

This time I will have a passenger, my sister, as there are other things that need to be done and they say many hands make light work.

So, it's off to Leicester & Nottingham on Saturday then it's the Artbase crop on Sunday. At some point I need to do some shopping, housework and washing.

Anyone know where I can get some more time...

Someone with too much time on their hands...

...and I can assure you it isn't me!!!

Someone out there either has too much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble - wait 'til you see the last one...:o)

Just look what you get when you re-arrange letters...

Dormitory - DIRTY ROOM
Presbyterian - BEST IN PRAYER
Astronomer - MOON STARER
Desperation - A ROPE ENDS IT
The eyes - THEY SEE
George Bush - HE BUGS GORE
Gauteng - GET A GUN
The Morse Code - HERE COME DOTS
Slot Machines - CASH LOST IN ME
Animosity - IS NO AMITY
Election results - LIES, LET'S RECOUNT
Snooze Alarms - ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
A decimal point - I'M A DOT IN PLACE
The earthquakes - THAT QUEER SHAKE
Eleven plus two - TWELVE PLUS ONE

...and here we go **drum roll - ta, dah!** last one...

Mother-in-law - WOMAN HITLER

As I said, someone with waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands, lol...