One set of alphabet stamps

The birthday card season for me really begins from April when I have a whole plethora of birthdays (and thankyous!) to address up until August, where it calms down a bit. Oh except that I will have wedding craft mania then!  

I have been a bit smitten with my alphabet stamps (and that manuscript paper) so all three attempts today make use of them. 

This is for a close family member's E's 60th birthday which is today!  Happy birthday E!


He's a bit of a fan of many types of music- jazz, rock and all that and so I thought I'd celebrate that in this card! I watched an origami tutorial on Youtube to make the shirt.  Thank goodness for Youtube- there's NO way I could have followed a book instruction on this! I used peeloffs for the instruments and backed onto a variety of metallic cards.  Not so much a fan of this ink pad- it smudged a dozen times and didn't like most of the papers I tried it on!


Next up was a belated birthday card for one of my favourite bloggers, Katie at www.hooklineandsinkher2.blogspot.com Katie makes no bones about her love of cake (er- every blog post is it?) and so a TOWIC (much nicer version of TOWIE) was definitely the way forward!



Finally, it was CBC's birthday so I made use of his love of maps and bicycles in this card- using a bike stamp I bought to make the first card I ever made for CBC, combined with reused road atlas and old Royal Academy of Music concert programme.

I must find the pictures of that first ever card at some point- it's one of the cards I have been most proud of (and the most time-consuming- it must have been 10 hours in the make!)


Link-parties galore!!
Linking to:

Sarah's Super handmade Sunday


Linking to Creative Mondays with Claire Justine xoxo
and Cynthia at Feeding Big's In and out link party

Lakota, Lakota, wherefore art thou Lakota?  I come proferring Tahdahs!!!

Bears no relation

No, I am not denying the family-connection to the trio in whose house Goldilocks squatted but an attempt to prepare you for an outfit which bears little relation to the outfit above- this week's Twobirds Inspiration.  I confess, I don't like this outfit: I really don't like leather trousers, showing black underwear under a white top (which looks like a net curtain rather than tasteful lace) and those shoes! However, I am usually game for anything so I tried...



This is a chilled-out version, suitable for teaching 4 year olds.  The jacket (H&M) is that sort of denim-twill material and the top (unironed- I can't possibly iron EVERY Monday!) DOES have a lacy collar.  I found it really hard taking full length photos tonight- the light in the garden was crazily bright, washing everything out and erradicating even the slightest contrasts and details between skin and top.  I wasn't even going to attempt tight trousers so you have bird print trousers I've been wearing all weekend! (euggrh, I hear you cry!  Tis MOST unusual for me!)  Toms were the only possible footwear to suit this casual outfit!


The children have made lots of comments on my appearance today.  A 4-year old boy told me he liked me trousers, a year 6 girl said I looked like I was wearing pajamas, another year 6 girl asked me if I'd had my hair cut (errr, yes,3 weeks ago and you only notice now I've straightened it hence it being longer, and some of it pinned back!) etc.     It was a hard afternoon with year 6 this afternoon.  We were learning a new gamelan tune and despite lots picking it up and playing really nicely in time with each other in many cases, they had to spoil it by just generally being obnoxious and rude when they weren't playing!  They make me so cross sometimes- they have the ability but they waste their talent!  Oh how the parable of the talents seems appropriate!!! There are some children in those classes who I just WISH could be in another class- they ALWAYS listen and never get sucked into the silliness but they always suffer!

Did you have a nice weekend? I did but I'll tell you more about that soon!x

Target Pedestrian

I stood backed up against the brickwall as the driver lurched crazily towards me, manic gleam in their eyes as they hurtled.  At the last moment, I leapt out of the way, jumping to the right.  He turned at the last minute to avoid the wall and screeched off. The harsh metal barriers to my right showed that there was little escape.  Drivers veered in all directions but not one had the care or compassion to stop and check I was alright, they drove on in their haste, caring for no-one but themselves.   Just as I recovered my composure, another one erratically drove within a whisker of me, I feel the breeze hit my face and my heart pounded.  The sun beat down and I wrapped my scarf around my head as if to protect me from my surroundings as well as the light.  If only I could take refuge elsewhere, but it was my duty to remain.

All of a sudden, an influx of individuals headed towards me and leapt into the parked cars around me and immediately joined the manic circuit of vehicles.  I ducked left and right as they apparently seemed to look through me and treat me as invisible.  They seemed not to care as I squeaked and jumped to and fro as my toes barely missed being squashed and run over.

Finally, that first driver returned and once again, I seemed his target and he headed straight towards me. "Please don't hit me!" I pleaded in my head but to no avail.

Barely a second passed and collision seemed imminent.  I bravely reached out and caught the handlebars at my knee.  "Time to give somebody else a go on the bike!" I called as the 3 year old disappointedly alighted from the bike.

*******
Such was my afternoon supervising the outdoor bike and car area in nursery on Thursday, with a little poetic license!

Pink bow

It was Style imitating Art with Jess at Animated Cardigan blog.  The inspiration was Pink Bow by Jeff Koons This painting is apparently a HUGE canvas! It's er- very bright!

We all felt challenged this week by the colours of this one!  I am not the biggest pink fan though I do have quite  a few items in my wardrobe is seems which at least have pink accents!



The outfit started from the hat!  This was a charity-shop purchase around 5 years ago when my Mum got married.  She declared that we all must wear hats (her daughters at least!) and in the search for a hat, I somehow ended up with 5!!! All but 2 were charity-shop bought!

I then added the skirt, then top, then belt and then scarf in that order.  It was a case of mostly, "Oh look, that's got a bit of pink on it, let's throw them together!"  The sequined shoes were a nod to the metallic gold.  If I were thinking harder, I could have worn gold sandals though it wasn't THAT warm!!!

I'm scheduling this one but tonight, I planted a whole load of wildflower seeds for my wedding.  I say planted:  I raked, watered and sprinkled!  Here's hoping that they germinate and grow in time for the wedding.  We thought wild flowers would be lovely, particularly as my favourite flower is the humble ox-eye daisy and CBC loves poppies!  Much as I love the birds in the garden, WOE BETIDE their eating them!  Please don't eat them!!!

Slow awakening of a Jane Austen addict!

CBC has a variety of photos of me posing by historical four-poster beds just waking up!  Somehow, I can't resist the pose! The little girl in me still longs to have a four-poster bed as my own!


We went to a wedding fair on Sunday at our favourite Georgian mansion! It was SUCH a beautiful place to be on a sunny day!  I remembered just how beautiful it is and how lucky I am to be able to come here for free and enjoy it!

There are a set of beautiful gardens with sundial, cosy benches for trysts.  The gardener's cottage cafe is beautiful with a thriving  vegetable garden during the coming months.  In the summer, one of the gardens is heady with lavender everywhere.  I hope it's blooming during our wedding!


I mentioned we went to Braintree freeport at the weekend.   I also bought this top and trousers from the Next clearance.  The sum total of both items was £11.  The trousers are fabulous- they have tiny polka dots on them.  I think I love the top because of the neck-detail.  It has that sailor vibe to it that I adore, as do the trousers!  The hat was a charity-shop purchase a little while ago which I adore! I've worn it loads!



One of my favourite parts of the mansion is this gorgeous stained glass window- it is so vivid and beautiful and is the part I always remember drawing when I sketched the mansion as a 16-year old!


It was CBC's birthday and we had a fantastic evening of swing-dancing!!!!! I cannot express how much I adore swing dance!  I'm off to Brighton this weekend to spend a day learning lindy-hop! Hope I can learn some new moves well!  The question is: WHAT to wear to the social dance on the Saturday night!?

Blue for a boy

Though it may seem to you that I am always making cards (possibly true!), I always seem to have a deficit in certain areas in having 'stock ready' as it were (not selling them obviously but you know what I mean!).  One of those areas is definitely 'new baby' cards.  There have been several opportunities over the last couple of months where I have missed giving a made card, because I've been busy and not had some ready!

So I was happy when the Daring Cardmakers blog challenge of the week was 'Child's Play' as it reminded me that this was something I'd need in my stash! I haven't linked to there in ages too, as not been able to get organised in time.  Their challenges are lovely, so it's worth going to have a look!  Their makers make absolutely stunning cards!



Card no.1 FINALLY uses a rubberstamp I have had for aaaaaaaaaaages!  I saw this cute 'feet' stamp and knew it could be used in so many ways for baby cards.  I am not fond of rubber-stamps but this one was different!  I also used a set of alphabet stamps I bought when I'd not been long making cards!  I punched the circles around them once punched which is a revelation as I am soooooo bad at cutting circles! 



Card no.2 ALSO uses a tool I bought with the same idea in mind- a tiny foot punch! It looked a bit boring with just feet so I added little pearl accents with  Pebeo touch, 3d paint pen!  No matter how long I haven't used the Pebeo paints, they never dry up or clog the nozzle, unlike those horrible Anita's 3d paints which cake up after using the paints once, no matter how religiously I clean them!  So, if you'd like 3d paints, go for Pebeo NOT Anita's!

You're wondering what's been recycled in the making of these cards?  No?  Well, a 'London borough of Walthamstow' prospectus guide has been utilised for the feet and the white card with feet on comes from a church holiday club left-over sheet (it has a picture of a mountain on the back!)


Also, I couldn't resist this necklace over the weekend!



I saw it and HAD to buy it!  It was only £2 otherwise I probably wouldn't have!!x

Linking also to Claire Justine's Creative Monday
AND
Lakota's Tah-Dah Tuesday (if she's moved in yet!!!)

With thanks to Miss Katie Hook Line and Sink Her for making me realise that I too, can have pretty backgrounds in my picture rather than dusty looking wooden tables!

Sunny outfits are us!

Ahhhh, the lovely Emmy Rossum!!! She's soooooooo pretty (and has a marvellous voice- LOVE her rendition of Christine Daae in Phantom! Even if it was supposed to be Anne Hathaway originally!) .  She's the inspiration with the Two birds


Alas, I don't have cutesy sleeveless white blouse nor yellow floral skirt so here's the Kezzie interpretation since despite the sunshine, it's still pretty cold! (I also wore a black cardie, not pictured!).
I must admit, I feel most myself when dressed up in a skirt with flowers on- definitely my idiosyncratic outfit, if you can describe it like that!

(Skirt and daisy-headband Primark, top- H&M thrifted, shoes- Red or Dead, earrings- French market, Cross necklace- random, turned up in my bedroom when I lived in London 10 years ago!)

Has anyone been watching The Syndicate at all?  I've been watching it on i-player after we watched it with WOMOTM and it's super!!!!  I'm looking forward to catching up on tonight's episode tomorrow!! I also caught up on Doctor Who which is fab- I adore Clara!!!!! It was BRILLIANT to see an old-foe of the Doctor in the form of the Ice-warriors, although I wish there had been more than one!!!  Oh if only the yeti could come back!!!

xx

Hope you had a lovely weekend!  I did.  CBC and I had a lovely sunny Saturday with park walks, tea and cake and then went to Braintree Freeport and found him a lovely Jaegar suit for our wedding at 60% off!

Linking up with the lovely Patti at Visible Monday
with the fab Two birds and
the brilliant Claire Justine, who just ran the marathon, at Style your Saturday

52 weeks of happy 15 does Friday letters

Dear Spring,
Thank you for allowing me to walk home coatless and to be able to wear Spring outfits!  I am enjoying it!



Dear Flowers,
You are so beautiful!  Thank you for gracing me with your presence, colour and vivacity!



Dear Freezer and cupboards,
Long have you held great mysteries.  What unknown depths must I explore in the coming months?  Let's enjoy this adventure of freeing food from your icy-prison and combining you with hidden items from the more temperate cupboard and combining you with lovely fresh salad to make pleasing meals!



Dear Debenhams at Taunton,
Thank you for sending me my beautiful wedding shoes.  I love them, they fit really nicely and I love you all the more for handwriting the parcel and obviously cobbling together what packing materials you could in order for my shoes to reach me safely!

Dear Aaron Copland,
Another composer who I admire and wish I could have met!  I adore your music.  Thank you for giving me and my Year 4 class a serene and beautiful afternoon of Appalachian Spring listening and inspiring us to compose

Linking to Friday letters with Ashley

A bad spell

You probably realise now how much I love feeling nostalgic and reminiscing over childhood memories!  Yep, I get teased by my beloved fiance about it on a daily basis.  Apparently, I say the same stories over and over again!  I am glad to have fond memories so this will not affect me!  Recently, I picked up a copy of A bad spell for the worst witch in the Oxfam 3 for 99p kids book section.  Oh how I was suddenly 7 or 8 again as I read it!  Those illustrations of Ethel Hallow with her pointed snub nose and perfect ponytail were so familiar to me!  Does anyone else remember the film version of it with Faruza Baum (or whatever her name is) who played Dorothy in Return to Oz as Mildred Hubble and I am SURE someone like Tim Curry played the chief warlock!?  I always remember watching that at my friend Lucy's house! 

The book was just as good as I remembered- I demolished it in an hour flat and then hunted the school library for the other 3 books in the series and read those too!  They're fun books for children of that 7-9 age!

I've also read Ramona the Pest in the past week and again, nostalgia reigned supreme!   I still have the overwhelming urge to boing the curls of friends with curly hair due to Ms Quimby's obsession with Susan's curls!  So watch out Mel and any other curly-haired bloggers!!!  I then followed that with Ramona the Brave and Beezus and Ramona!  Such fun harking back to one's days as an eight-year old!

Red Squirrel Safari

Hello there!

Last week, CBC and I went to Northumberland to see his parents which was lovely, though it was only three days.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I first came to Northumberland was see a red squirrel.  I don't know about you international bloggers but here in Britain, red squirrels are rare.  I have never seen one before.  When I was a little girl, I absolutely adored squirrels and always used to pretend I was one, eating my food like a squirrel.  But I never saw a red one in real life though watched some in a brilliant TV series called Daylight robbery  in which squirrels were filmed and I think that's the first time the Mission ImpossibleI theme was first associated with squirrels, completing vastly complicated obstacle courses to reach nuts.

Thus, over the 3 or so years I have been going to Northumberland, I always lived in hope of seeing on but to no avail despite several red squirrel safari trips!

On Thursday then, CBC and I decided to take the long drive from Haltwhistle to Kielder where there is a wonderful artificial lake (it's over 30 years old) and surrounding countrywalks and park and attractions including an observatory.

So we drove there.  We stopped to have a first look at the lake and the dam that was built to create the reservoir  It was really beautiful but it was a really icy day.  We then realised that we had absolutely no cash for parking and lunch and indeed anything else. On the map, we saw a centre where you could go with facilities which we hoped would have access to cash.



Upon arriving, we managed to discover that a red squirrel hide was located very nearby.  Wishing and hoping as we climbed up a path into a wood, we found our way to a hide.

An observation log book was there and to our delight, a previous visitor had seen a red squirrel amongst other birds.

The hide had windows that could be raised with catches.  All was serene and beautiful.  A merry dance of chaffinches and coal-tits were flitting around the feeding containers.  It was however, very cold.


We sat there for some 15 minutes watching the birds and in our heart of hearts, feeling that we wouldn't see anything. Then 2 more visitors arrived and came and sat down.


They couldn't have been there more than about 5 minutes when the woman whispered, "There's a red squirrel," (she must have had binocular eyes because we had binoculars and couldn't see anything.

Then, following her eyes, we suddenly spied a flash of red in the undergrowth...

There was the little fellow forraging for hidden items no doubt (this was totally zoomed- I couldn't see him with bare eyes).  This way and that, he ambled, foraged, rested on hind-legs

And with thunderbolt speed, he headed closer...

...and zoomed right up to the feeder directly in front of us, not 2 feet away!

Obviously, this wasn't his cup of tea, as he streaked down...

and headed for a ground-level feeder, where he began to eat...

...and eat (with occasional nonchalant glances at us)

and eat (the white bits are the bits he'd finished with) for some 10 minutes.

Simultaneously, a greater-spotted Woodpecker arrived for some food.  Mr Squigs decided that even HE had eaten too much and danced off to the right...

And as he went, lo and behold, from the left, appeared another red squirrel.  Much shyer, he shinned his way up a further tree.  He stopped and peeked from the right...

and found a happy perch, where he lifted the lid on that nut container, took one nut and then shinned down, danced off to the left.

The hilarious thing was, he repeated this EXACT manouvere: Streak, right-hand peak, perch on the stand, steal a nut, streak down, streak left about a dozen times.  Not like Greedy-guts earlier who brazenly had a feast.  This one was a bit nervy and obviously didn't want to stay in one place for too long!

It was with great alacrity that we wrote down Red Squirrel x 2  and Greater-spotted woodpecker in the log book and relucantly left as it was just toooooooo cold sitting there and we needed some warm tea and something to eat!


The Kielder adventure continued further round the valley. But that's another story...

Frustrated sailor

The Twobirds came up with a great inspiration today!  Nothing says Sailor like a stripy top and nothing pleases me more than an opportunity to pretend I am a member of Her Majesty's navy!
You'd be forgiven for thinking this was Megan Bird in the outfit (SOOOOOO looks like her!) but it's actually Selina Gomez who I HAVE heard of because she's in 'Another Cinderella Story', a film I have on TV (I love Cinderella films- if you know any that I might not have heard not, please pop them in the comments box because I'd love to find more- I have Ever After, The Slipper and the Rose, Cinderella Story, Another Cinderella Story, Disney Cinderella, Ella Enchanted)

Here's my sort of inverted attempt (Wish I'd remembered she was wearing what look like Toms on her feet otherwise I'd have worn mine too!)




It's Visible Monday with Patti and co, so obviously I had to make this a really bright outfit to make me feel confident despite the gloom of returning to school today!

Last time I wore these trousers on this blog, I spent most of the post moaning about how creased and horrid they look so last night I had the foresight to iron (my family gasp in shock!) them AND the t-shirt AND scarf.  However, as you can see, by the time I reached home, they look like I managed to screw them up so thus I conclude I should not bother to iron in the first place as it all comes to the same!

I saw a tip on Ang's blog a while back about 20 different ways of tying scarves so I tried to achieve the infinity look with this cheapy shop special by tying it in a loop!  The earrings are genius ones that Jille gave me during the Christmas swap we did!
(Other details, t-shirt: H&M, Cardie: Primark, Trousers: Dorothy Perkins, Earrings: Swap gift, Hare Necklace: Wolf and Moon, Shoes and socks: Peacocks, Hat- Collectif)

The hat is featuring for the first time on this blog. (It must be Let them eat hats 45 or something like that!) .  Now contrary to popular belief, I do not set out with the intention of buying hats- somehow it just happens.  Take this hat for example.  I bought a sailor dress from Collectif (ahem, yeh, you could have guessed that!) and when I got it home (because I had 5 minutes flat before CBC came and hauled me out of the shop, I didn't try it on!) it didn't fit and they have only an exchange policy on items.  So when I returned, everything was very expensive and somehow, the only thing I could find for a reasonable price was this hat! It looked quite nice in the shop.  When I got home, I discovered it looked really stupid on and couldn't make it look good.  THAT is until I went to the famous Chipshop near Spitafields and saw all the waitresses wearing these Collectif hats on the BACK of their heads with hairgrips rather than the front and voila, I was happy to wear the hat!

Let's not mention the BAD choice in terms of wearing stripy socks with this outfit!  One day I will be able to wear these adorable socks in a way that makes them look good not like a Michael Jackson bad ripoff!

This evening I went to pick up a parcel from town and had the most hilarious moment on the bus coming home.  This man came to sit down next to me and he let out the most ENORMOUS fart as he sat down.  I looked up and started soundlessly laughing my head off as did his wife and friend. We were in hysterics for most of the journey home!

School was actually alright today.  Reception were very responsive and well-behaved and Year 6, who are learning about the Balinese Gamelan were mostly focused and joining properly.  If you want to try playing a virtual gamelan, click here and choose the Baris Bali option.  Click your mouse on the gongs and keys of the instruments (and the drum heads on either side) and you too can play the gamelan!)

After school we had a PE inset on Athletics.  I must say, these sport insets are actually restoring my self-esteem in terms of sport.  I was ALWAYS the worst at sports at school and never won races but to my surprise, when we were doing running, I was actually one of the fastest!  It's nice to be able to do something you couldn't do when you were young!

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue

I mentioned my friend's wedding.  It was held at Lympne castle (pronounced Lim) in Kent.  We had a gorgeous morning walking along the beach in Hythe, Kent in the sunshine! After my friend's wedding, we stayed at the Mercure Imperial hotel and spa.

(photo from the Mercure website mentioned above)

It was a gorgeous hotel which I was gutted not to be able to use the swimming pool as I didn't bring my cossie!

WHY oh WHY did I not check that there was a swimming pool????

Boo hiss to last minute disorganised packing! It was right by the sea too. I shared a twin room with my pal C whose husband, who is vision-impaired and has a guide dog, who was not able to come last minute because of a bereavement. She had reserved a disabled access room and of course, she didn't think to change it. It was a huge room with really good access for anyone with a wheelchair etc so I'd recommend it if you ever went there!  We ate a hardy breakfast after waking up horrendously late!

We had a glorious walk along the Promenade chatting and then a friend drove us home via Folkestone where we had a cup of tea near the harbour and laughed at the seagulls!!!





The wedding at Lympne the day before was really beautiful.  For the first time in my life, I cried at a wedding- it's crazy!!! As L came up the aisle, I felt tears welling up and then as the vicar said, "Let us pray!" to my horror, tears started coming out!!  The service was lovely and proper.  We sang as a small choir at the front.  She looked so beautiful in a lovely Medieval looking dress with loads of beautiful lace and embroidered details.  Her daughter and the other 5 bridesmaids looked resplendent in sage green dresses!



The meal was delicious though freeeeeeeezing cold setting of a marquee.  Luckily we headed into Lympne castle for the evening dancing! The speeches were really short and simple but heartfelt. A good way to keep the speeches!


I went to the hairdresser in the morning to get a haircut and somehow was convinced by the hairdresser (not my favourite one) to let her do something different to my hair in terms of style as I "always have it the same"- I thought it looked a bit of a mess.  It looked better later on when it had dropped a bit and I could brush it!
(dress and fascinator Monsoon, shoes- Marc Jacobs (not the real one, some local one), cardie-H&M.)



She had thought of so many details.  Each table had a literary theme (she's an English Lit graduate)- our table was Elizabeth Barratt Browning and we had her poem, "How many ways do I love thee" as a table centre with the flowers.

The wedding favours were little retro tins filled with sweeties. Again, great fun!

Another great fun thing was the photo booth which she'd hired.  You could dress up in silly hats and glasses and have an instant photo to stick into a scrapbook for her.  Here's me and a friend enjoying the glasses!  I was totally taken with these red ones! Lots of us had fun with them!



One thing that kids and adults alike enjoyed was the sweetie stall!  There were paper bags and lots of sweets to choose!  The kid whose hand I captured here was highly amused when I said, "Can you just reach your hand in for a photo please?"

Later on, there was a hot buffet of hot dogs, chips and a "Cheese" cake!!!!

All in all, it was a gorgeous affair and I am so happy for her finally to have married him!  It's been a difficult journey for them!  It was also good to steal some wedding ideas!    Today, we have been doing wedding invitation type activities!!!

How's you anyway!?
xx