stamps for sale

anna griffin darcey collection scrappy cat designer flourishes
The Paper Company - Baby

Inkadinkado Somerset Alphabet

The following two packs are sold together

Inkadinkado Rock Star

tim holtz visual artistry urban grunge

tim holtz visual artistry lost and found

heidi grace - urban acres

heidi grace - marina dr

fancy pants 6 x 6 brush strokes

daisy & dandelion - gone fishing

inkadinkado - flourishes - arabesques

Sorry I havent been on for a while - things have been hectic - hubby has been made redundant - so things have been a but yucky but they are starting to pick up again now - anyway am starting to get ready for christmas now so have had a huge sort out of my craft room and have the following stamps for sale over on UKS - photos should hopefully be just above this blurb.......thanks for looking - Elaine x

This is what I am gonna make one day soon

onion , finely chopped
2 garlic cloves , crushed
olive oil
2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes
4 tbsp mascarpone
a handful basil
6 chicken breasts , skin on

How to -

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Fry the onion and garlic in 3 tbsp oil until softened but not coloured. Add the tomatoes, season, then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until thick and glossy. Take off the heat and stir in the mascarpone and half the basil, roughly torn.
Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the chicken on both sides until golden. Transfer to a baking dish and pour over the sauce. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Scatter over the rest of the basil.

Yummy Scrummy Toffee Apple Pud

Well what do you think to this

We have a gorgeous bramley apple tree in our front garden - so sent hubby up the ladder this evening - ready so I could make this.........

Here is the recipe

Ingredients
85g butter , melted
140g self-raising flour
100g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
200ml milk
1 egg , beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Bramley apples (or other cooking) apples, peeled, cored and sliced

FOR THE TOPPING
140g dark brown sugar
250 ml boiling water

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease a 2-litre/3½-pint ovenproof dish lightly with butter. Tip the flour, sugar and baking powder, along with a pinch of salt, into a large bowl. Mix together the milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and stir into the dry ingredients until you get a smooth batter. Arrange the apples in the dish, spoon the batter on top and smooth with a knife until the apples are covered.

For the topping, pour 250ml boiling water over the sugar and stir together until smooth. Pour the liquid over the pudding mixture, then scatter over the pecans. Bake for about 40 mins until the pudding has risen and is golden. Use a big spoon to serve the pudding, making sure you get some of the gooey caramel sauce covering the bottom of the dish. Serve with pouring cream, warm custard or vanilla ice cream.

There's more

Have a look at this one - made this afternoon with the help of Jiminy Cricut and the Zooballoo cart

My friends little boy is 1 this week - (Spot the figure 1 under Ollie Octopus's arm)

Papers are Love Elsie - nice, bright and funky - love them

Have you seen this - just received it in an email

Looks like fun - doesn't it - head on over and check it out

http://caardvarks.blogspot.com/

Busy Making Cards

Have been so busy just recently - with the school hols and then the children returning to school and all the activities starting up again. I do kickboxing - the children do it on another evening of the week - my son does Badminton and Beavers and my daughter wants to start gymnastics. My oh my - I run a craft club once a week from home and squeeze 20 hours a week in at work - where of where do I find the time to craft but if I dont I am like a bear with a sore head - I definitely think its an addiction - I always feel so much better when I have been cutting and sticking - lol

Anyway just recently I have had a thing for making cards instead of layouts - here's the results


That is for a close family friend who has just been in hospital - get well soon Kath!

I have two friends who are expecting a visit from the stork very shortly - not sure if its gonna bring girls or boys - you watch now I have made 2 girls and 1 boys cards - they will both have boys!!

I found the instruction on how to make this double tag card on Utube in the early hours of this morning when I couldn't sleep - hang on - will see if I can link them to here
.....
Have tried - I cannot do it direct but if you click on here - this should work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oympgN3qzj0

http://www.shimelle.com/cupcakes/200/between-l-and-n/

want to try these when I get a mo - look so yummy - dont think I could bake them for the kids and not eat some so had better wait a while till my journey is complete - dont they look good

Oh Stupid Me!!!!! Google Profit Club AAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Money is a bit scarce at the moment like so many people just now. So when I saw the Google Profit Club - a way of earning money from home using the PC I thought well I am on here so much anyway why not give it a go. It was £2.49 to find out more and I thought oh well its the cost of a drink at the pub (something we do about once or twice a year - go out!!!) and its done on a credit card so hey why not - I asked hubby and he agreed. So paid the nominal amount and off I went to read the reams and reams and reams and - you get the picture!!! Needless to say I thought - oh that was a mistake - oh well - I didnt want that beer/drink anyway and put it down to experience.

Hubby gave me a letter from the bank yesterday - the company have kept taking money out since then and apparently they can continue to do so until you can get hold of them to cancel - strangely enough and I know you will find this hard to believe but whenever you ring Amercia to speak to them - they are not there and a voice says please call later and hangs up.

I sat here until the wee hours this morning researching other folks fates at their hands and to see how they managed to solve it - some have sent emails but most have added that they wont do anything from an email only an actual conversation which is aaagh as you cant get tos peak to them.

Someone said register your card as lost but we cant do this as we have already told them what has happened and they are not stupid they will know we havent.

So here I am sat in tears venting this on here - cos needless to say hubby is fuming with me and I am so angry at myelf I consider myself to be fairly savvy - ok ish!! but how on earth was I so stupid to get sucked into this - y'know what your mom always said...If somethings appears to be too good to be true it usually is'!!!!!!!!!

So folks if you see anything with Google Profit Club - click that x button on the top right hand corner of the screen QUICK and avoid like the plague

the most amazing blog candy ever

I absolutely cannot believe this blog candy - there is gonna be one very very happy winner soon

see here

......

Hope I have linked it ok - cor please please please please please please please please lady luck shine on me - its not a want its a need 'onest guvnor!!

I have just got this...

Too cute.....and a bargain too - total £6 from Jo-joMamanBebe in their sale

School Pressies

Last week was aaaaaagh busy - had all the teachers pressies to make - birthday cards to do and also a new baby book for work to make - and I was in a fabric atc swap on UKS - which I had been intimidated by and stupidly kept putting off - why oh why do we do these things - I signed up for it as it sounded (and was/is) so lovely but I cannot sew a blumming button on - I am crazy I know. I was fine until I saw one of the lady's set of atc's and thought oh my goodness mine are awful compared with those. (I found out later that she was a professional seamstress!!)

Anyway when the pressure was on I got going and actually ended up loving doing it so I can safely say this one really took me out of my comfort zone but I am pleased I did it

Anyway here is a piccie or two of what I made last week

The top two little boxes are presents for the ladies in the admin office - one is just a couple of lip glosses and the other is a strawberry candle. The two books are for teaching assistants - the books are just lined books so they write all their little notes inside. Mrs Picketts one has a piece of really touchy feely material on - kind of a ribbed chenille

the two candles I bought plain at Ikea and have just prettied them up - there is a lovely little girl in my daughters class who is deaf - she has two ladies who work with her on a one to one basis - one works two days and the other three days (I think) but they also help out in class and Em loves them both - really nice ladies

Miss Stumms Note book is for the teaching assistant in my boys class and the brown/rust note book is for Em's favourite dinner lady

The gold and red book is for the head - (Who it turned out that day had balloons all around her door - she was 50 on Friday)

The next two are exploding boxes for the two lovely ladies themselves - the teachers - Mrs Metheringham and Miss Wells. Will be sorry to move on from their classes - they are both lovely ladies

and finally here are the atc's that I made

It is now the school holidays and I doubt I will get much scrapping done during the week as I am going to be working in the evenings mainly - humph!!

Purple durple!!!

I love the closeness of this photo!!! Long may it continue.



I said to dh when he went shopping - I want a colour - something funky - oh my word - I only left it on for 15 mins instead of 20 - if I had left it on for the full time - I think my hair would be actually glowing - lol - actually I really like it - its totally different = it looks really purple when the sun shines on it - ha ha - oh well

soooo cool - sarah jane

oh my - have you seen how gorgeous this new range is. It is called Sarah Jane and is beind sold by Indigo Mill - I LUUUUUUURVVVVE IT!!

http://www.indigomill.co.uk/shop/-new-in-/new-sarah-jane-by-bella/

Gonna have to get me some of this on payday

There are some lovely new ranges appearing aren't there - I love paper so much but dh thinks I am tap tap curly wurly!

New Layout

Well it has taken me most of the day in between lots of interruptions from the family and little turns in the pool but it has been so hot here - anyway - have finally finished playing with my blog - what do you think?? Was looking for a fresher looker - something more summery and alive....Well anyway I will live with it for a few days and see how I go


I have not had a lot of time the last two weeks for crafting as we have been on holiday to Centre Parks in the Lakes - fantastic time and then since being back have been catching up at work and home and dealing with a swine flu scare at the children's school - one of the teachers is off with it - poor woman.

Anyway I have given my bootie a shake and got crafting this weekend and have done my circle journal ready to post on Monday for Quirky Crafts forum. I really hope other peeps think it is ok too - took me quite a while and quite a bit of playing - have tried different distressing techniques with it - and am now ready to pop it in an envelope - already excited at the prospect of getting it back all filled in - seems ages away but I bet it goes fast


Anyway let me go and find a couple of piccies from our hols, in case Grandma and Grandad log on to have a peek at our delightful duo

This is where we went








Here they are after winning the sports challenge - well done guys

really proud of you - as always

The boys went creep crawly spotting with the forrest ranger Dan spotted the first toad of the season - the Ranger was really impressed with him and on his return he brough me a stem of beautiful wild flowers that he had found - Just for Mummy - my heart melted

Whilst the boys were having male time Em and I went to ....




have our hair braided

and our nails painted

Think the creepy crawlies and the walk tired Daddy out - he had a head massage when he got back - here he is look

All for now

despite asking our young man time and time again if all of his homework was done and despite being told absolutely yes - he has now found some at bedtime before he starts back at school tomorrow - guess who is banned from playstation for 1 week - aagh boys - will be boys!! _ back later with more piccies

broken toe

Guess where I have been this afternoon - the hint is in the title - yep A & E in Preston. I went to my friends house in the week - and was that busy talking to the children, I walked into one of those metal stand things (only 8 inches high) that props a door open - ouch I nearly cried - my ickle toe really hurt - then yesterday when we went to Glashoughton my ds and I crossed paths and he accidentally stood on my toe - well it has been aching like I dont know what - even woke up in the night with it - I can still walk though no problem so have just been wearing toe posts leaving the tender area uncovered. Anyway on the way back today from QVC outlet at Warrington (which incidentally was a complete waste of time) I asked hubby where we were going and he said hospital - seconds later we pulled into A and E - the waiting board said 2-3 hours wait and I thought OH NOOOOOO...but half hour later we were back on the road - the nurse practioner had a good old look and a prod and said she was sure it is broken but as it is the little toe there isnt a lot that can be done - so take ibrufen and paracetamol and she strapped it to my next toe. We are going to Centre Parcs tomorrow and have a spa session booked for Tuesday night so I started to panic but as long as I am careful she said it would be ok - phew.


Other bit of news - I have now lost 3 1/2 stone - yipppeeee and when we went shopping yesterday I got into my first paid of size 14 jeans - yayyyy so excited -long time since I have bought jeans that size - just hope I can keep it off now - still want to lose some more but am happy where I am at the moment - first time in a very, very long time that I have been able to say that!

My entry

although I think I may be too late - have had horrendous problems - no aol whatsoever at home so have logged on at father in laws house and taken picture with the kids vtech zoom camera as that is the only one with a memory card that fits fil laptop - so please excuse the fact that the picture doesnt really do my card much justice

anyway here we go - for rosie and dees challenge