Links to manufacturers

Please go check out my friend Suzanne's blog (link to the side) as she has just listed links to 80 scrapbook/craft manufactures on her site. It must have taken her ages but what a brilliant resource to have them all listed in one place so we can all go check out the DT team's work.

And a big thankyou to Clare, Anso and Suzanne who have helped me to get my slide show into my side bar!

Getting to grips

with blogger. So after an hour and a lot of messing about with a different stats counter I have finally managed to get my old one back! I am even starting to get a little (and its a very little) familiar with hmtl code!! Wow!!
So next challenge is to get a slide show in the side bar. Yeah right!! LOL



A bit of really good confidence boosting news. Yesterday the school where I had my interview phoned and offered me a day of supply work. Ok its only one day, and OK maybe I should think - "well if I wasnt good enough to be employed full time ...." but to be honest I am just sooooo very chuffed they actually asked me, and I am going to get back into the classroom. Mind you its a little scary as they have asked me to teach Year 4 and it has been oh so many years since I taught any child over the age of 6!

Where is ....?

So the carpet is down in the craft room and all my stash has been carted back in there. It looks a treat, and I even went over to Dunelm Mill and bought some new curtains and nets so that the neighboughs across the road can have their privacy respected as I scrap. That was fun as they were in the middle of a refit and all the nets were piled in a pallet in an out of bounds part of the shop. The assistant wasnt very helpful, wouldnt let me though and was very unwilling to look for me. She wanted me to come back another day, but its quite a trip for me to get there and I had gone specifically.

Anyway I finally could get back to some paper scrapping. I needed to finish some recipe cards I am doing for a swap. I had made 4 before the move round and had left my tweezers, my beautiful holly garland stamp and my paint brush (Art-Kure) out all ready. So where are they now?????The room is tidy. There is no where for them to hide! Humph!!

Banner

Would you believe that wonderful Clare had already posted a very clear set of instructions for putting a banner on blogger. So it may not be the most artistic banner in the world but it is mine and for now it will do. I may play again later.

The only trouble is that in doing all that I managed to loose my visitor counter so next challenge...to get it back again. LOL

I will only be able to digi scrap for a while, and since I cleared all my photos off the pc and onto discs its a massive hunt through them all to find the photos I want to do that. I cant paper scrap as we went out and got a new carpet for the craft room today and all my stuff is piled up around our bedroom ready for Martin to lay the new carpet tomorrow morning. We got a beautiful bit of Axminster for £50, enough to do the whole room, in the half price sale. It should have been £46 a square metre but it was the end of the roll so was already at a cut down price. Its going to show all the cheapo stuff in the rest of the house up though. Hubby was a triffle put out that there will be better quality carpet in my scrapping room than in all the other rooms. I think I best be a bit careful with the acrylics for a while in there LOL

Updates

Oh slap my wrists, I have not been blogging of late and seem to have fallen behind a bit. But my lovely online friend Anso has just published her very own blog http://glitteradventure.blogspot.com/ and it looks so fab I thought I should really start getting to grips with Blogger a bit more seriously. Hence the template change. I am going to set one challenge at a time and this week it is to work out how to get a pretty banner at the top so if anyone can point me in the direction of some hints, tips or tutorials I would be so grateful.

Ok so updates. Well I went for my interview, and had a terrific day. The day before I went I got a phone call to say one of the candidates had dropped out so it was a two horse race. The staff were so friendly and put me at my ease straight off. The TA I was to work with was wonderful and after only 10 mins went out and told the Head that I was 'lovely'!!

It was fantastic to be back in the classroom with the kids and withing minutes I was so wrapped up in the lesson I forgot it was actually an interview and I was being observed. After that I was meant to get the chance to look round the school but the Deputy Head asked if I wouldn't mind helping his ICT lesson in the ICT suite as he was missing his TA, so I got another chance of teaching, Year 3 this time.

Lunch with the staff where a terrific buffet spread had been put on but I was still too nervous to eat. Shame as there was lashings of lovely chocolate desert and cheesecake. The other candidate said it was horrible being only the two of us especially as I seemed so nice (gosh so not used to all these compliments after all the horrid things my last Head had said about me.)

I felt the actual interview bit had gone ok, and even though the Head quizzed me on the stress and how it had been caused I managed not to say anything detrimental about my last empoyer.

However sadly I did not get the job. In feedback the Head said I had just not said enough about what I knew when asked questions. Basically lack of interview technique. Apparently even after 10 years of teaching and having to follow the National Literacy strategy you can not assume the Head knows you know about teaching phonics and have to actually tell him so!

So onwards and upwards, a brilliant brillant day that did wonders for my confidence and has given me the experience to get the next job that comes my way.

Thank you to all of those virtual friends who wished me a happy birthday. It was a strange day as I was left alone all morning, hubby left to play golf before I was awake, and my two daughters didnt turn up until later as we were having a late family lunch to celebrate. Infact the younger one phoned me to come over to the new house to see progress, then the older one wanted to go over there to take a look, so I got two visits to the building site and even ended up stacking house bricks at one point. Lunch was good, but Kelly had to get home to feed her two new little kittens and mum and dad needed to get back for their dog as the fireworks really really upset the poor little mite, so I got dragged to the pub to watch the Tottenham game!! Hubby says he likes me more since I have had stress as he would never have got away with doing that two years ago LOL

My attempt for International Dare

I counldn't moan about this dare - it was just so spechal!! I used some of the ideas from a brilliant class Maria Horton did for Carolinez Crafts forum. I think I met all the challenges - paint on chipboard swirls, filled the page, mostly with Cherry Artes paper, childhood theme (my youngest daughter's). Ok I didnt journal - I forgot to leave any space LOL and I couldnt bring myself to write on the photo. But thanks girls, I had super fun doing it.

Birthday list

Next Sunday I will reach the grand old age of 49, and my eldest has just phoned to ask what I would like as a pressie. Why oh why oh why is it you can always think of heaps of things you would like, right up until the very moment someone asks what would you like, and then you just cant think of anything?
Of course then I start writing things I see on bits of paper but never have it to hand when I am asked!
So I am going to make my list here this year. Its ok if it stays here and I just add to it because it usually doubles as a christmas list with it being so close to Christmas. Please please dont anyone take this as meaning I am asking anyone to give me this stuff - it is here purely to aid my poor aging memory for when the youngest and my hubby ask me what I would like, but please feel free to chip in with any 'must haves' you think I should add on.

Ok then - Yvonne's birthday/christmas gift list

Body Shop Lightning touch
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
Book reading light - as seen in Boots, nice pink girly oneLOL

I had been house sitting and dog sitting while mum and dad went to Lanzarote for a week in the sun. They had a terrific time - they went on camels, took a deep sea dive in a yellow submarine and delved down volcanoes. The trip was only mared by the phone call their mate got saying that sadly his mum had passed on. So they came back from the sun to attend a funeral in the rain.
We, in the meantime finally got our medicals for the fostering through. My doctor has a very dry sense of humour so the hour we spent at the surgery was a bit of a giggle. Hubby couldnt come in with me for mine as Doc said he would only get confuddled trying to fill in two forms at once so I went first. I've not had a medical since I was 16 and applying for a job with the MOD so I was a tad nervous. So result - high blood pressure result. But fingers crossed everything else is ok on it. No idea how long we will have to wait for the next bit though.
I have also been having a major stress about the job interview in a week and a halfs time. They seem to want so much of the candidates - a lesson in the morning fully planned, lunch with the staff, a 10 min presentation with a portfolio of work and then a proper formal interview. It all got too much for me and I finally broke down in tears because I just dont have any work samples - well why would I? I walked out with stress last november never realising I would never set foot in the place again. Anyway Hubby was great and said that it doesnt matter, I can only do what I can do and if I dont get the job we will find something else, even if it means I have to go back to college (and that wouldnt be for a whole other year!) So I am now trying to let it all 'go over my head' as the saying goes.
I also went to my local crop yesterday where lovely Bernie RAKed me a lovely little tin for me to decorate for my advent swap and then Margie gave me a mini lunchbox for the same reason. Margie was very impressed with the short lesson I gave her on photoshop 7, mum finally made some christmas cards and I managed the best part of an exploding box as well as two cards and a half decorated tin.

Mother of the Bride

Gosh my legs ache - my youngest daughter and I went to Bluewater today to get something for this poor fat short Mother of the Bride to wear to the Big Event. I dont do a lot of distance driving so 40 miles there and then walking around for several hours was a tad tireing to say the least.
Anyway the first shop we tried was Coast where I tried on a bustier top and matching skirt with a lovely lacey kick pleat at the back, all in a dusty plumish colour. It actually looked ok and whats more it was in the sale, £75 top reduced to £35 and the skirt had a similar huge price slash. Wow! I couldnt believe we had actually found something and so easily. Next was our stop after that where we picked out some lush gold and cream brocade shoes which lifted the colour - I didnt actually buy them as I wanted to have a further look round before settling but I think they are what I will go for. I thought we were on a roll, all I now needed was a shrug/jacket/bolero/top coat to wear with it (as it was off the shoulder and the wedding is in March, plus I am getting a little long in the tooth to be parading too much bear flesh). This is where it got difficult though as nothing either was the right colour, fitted or suited me. Without the complete outfit there is no point in looking for the accessories (jewellry, hat, bag) so its back to scouring the internet and ebay. But at least I have made a start.

By this time we have been out 5 hours and it is tipping down, but it is my dad's birthday tomorrow and neither my daughter or myself had bought a pressie for the old man, so a detour over to Sheerness to find the concrete ornament factory. Yes a good idea except we didnt actually know where it was or what it was called. An hour spent driving in torrential rain around docks and industrial estates later and we stumbled on it. Between us we got him a lovely water feature complete with pump so I just hope he appreciates the effort.

I am still doing the Dares from the WeDigidareYa site - so many challenge sites have shut down this week its hard to keep up with them - this is my attempt for Dare #8

Shir Benovich Kit 1
ES Spooks stitching
Quote "A hug is worth a thousand words, a friend is worth more" Author unknown

On the up?

Are better times on the horizon?
Well hubby has been told he can stay in the store he is in at the moment recouperating from the stress episode for at least another 4 weeks so yes that is good news.
After loads of job applications (one I was positive I was perfect for but alas no) I have finally been shortlisted for interview. Mind you they want to see a taught lesson, lunch with the staff, a 10 min presentation AND an interview so scary but a confidence boost to be chosen at least.
And ok only a little bit of good luck but is it a sign that the bad times are over? We bought some computer chairs from Morrison way back last November. They were such a good offer we bought 3, one for my daughter, one for my daughter's boyfriend's dad and one for me. Within a month the one for my DBF's dad had broken (awheel on the stand snapped off). The cat had snagged the plastic on the seat of mine so we made one decent chair out of the two broken ones, but had lost the recipe so could do no more about it. Last week a wheel snapped on mine so it was religated to the pile of rubbish sitting outside waiting to go to the tip BUT THEN Monday Morrisons put out a recall on them!!Apparently this wheel snapping thing is a fault and they are giving every one who brings them back a full refund, no recipe needed! So WAY HAY a result. Money returned and off to Staples for a new chair.
Fingers crossed this is a bit of a turning point.

Black tie affair!

My youngest daughter is social secretary to the local cricket club, and has been helping to arrange the end of season Dinner and Dance. We had never been before but this year curtesy of Laura we got an invite (at £25 a head mind). We were rather dubious as this seemed a lot of money for a meal, but since it was also to combine a celebration for Laura's boyfriend's 30th birthday both my husband and I, plus my parents agreed to come along.The day started off disasterously. Already in a bit of a spin because the response to the affair had been so poor this year and the ordered marquee had had to be reduced in size, costs not likely to be covered etc. Laura got up early to sort out a few of the surprises she had in store for the birthday part of the celebration. She had spent ages making a special birthday cake which needed a few finishing touches. These finishing touches should not have been mine as I managed to give the poor woman decorating the top of the cake green eyelashes!

Then we went up to the clubhouse to help set up and decorate the tables to find the marquee had only just turned up and no one else was there to unlock or let them in. Worse still when we did get inside it was to discover that the place had had a break-in. One of the small top windows had been completely pushed in, an optic of JD was on the floor and mud everywhere. So far from cleaning up and getting the place ready we had to wait for forensics to turn up and dust for fingerprints!

Laura had a hair appointment followed by a make up demo appointment (care of her last employers who had bought it for her birthday) so had to leave. I ended up doing all the bits and peices she was going to do in the morning instead. I walked all round town looking for oasis to do the table decorations, dashing back up the club with my husband to put them out, and put up the balloons and stuff.

Anyway at last we were all ready, Laura was highly stressed out and had an awful headache but we were ready! Or were we? We had not realised it was to be such a 'posh' affair. Black dress and DJ's no less. There were only three men in ordinary suits - my husband, my dad and ....the club chairman LOL.

But it was a fantastic evening! The band were brilliant and had us all up and dancing and singing, my dad won his first ever raffle prize, a 14" combo tv with dvd player (he was so chuffed) and then my mum won a bottle of whisky, the meal was supperb (pate starter, roast turkey and heaps of trimmings, trifle with lashings of cream, cheese and biscuits, coffee and mint). Then to top it all, as it was also the prize winners presentation too, Laura and her friend recieved a cup for services to the club. This was a presentation cup that could go to anyone as voted by the club committee and it is the first time in the club's history that it has gone to two people, and the first time EVER it has gone to anything other than a male!!! Girlpower rules!!! Their names will be added to those already on the bottom of the cup and also up on the winners board around the clubhouse walls. It was certainly well deserved though as they have knocked themselves out over the last two years, running the bar, making the match teas, organising curry evenings, quiz nights, bbq's as well as spending time up the club cleaning and painting.

Ok I was going to put a photo of Laura and her friend holding the cup but blogger is not letting me upload it.

And as for the birthday boy? He was in seventh heaven as he not only got a cup for being bowler of the season, had a terrific cake off his girlfriend, but all the team had clubbed together and bought him a Spurs shirt signed by all but one member of the Spurs team!!

I'm back - did you miss me?

I know I know, not been around for a bit. IE6 kept crashing everytime I visited and Firefox simply doesnt get on with blogger at all so I gave up for a while, but I have now downloaded IE7 so fingers crossed?

The plans for the wedding are steamrollering on. A venue is now booked for the reception, menus nearly sorted, bridesmaid's dresses chosen and the groom has now had a change of mind (he was adamant he was not going to but!!) and now the ushers, groom and Father of the Bride are to be in full top hats and tails, with proper penguin suits!!! This thing is getting posher by the minute and I am having a real panic about what to wear as Mother of the Bride. I have been given lots of instructions from my daughter who does NOT understand my body shape, and I know that the choices I am left with will not suit me or fit or be comfortable. And is going to cost an absolute fortune since I am strictly forbidden to buy off ebay LOL. The diet is not going well either, I put ON another pound this week so I am going to have to ban all goodies from the house and live on lettuce leaves for a few weeks.

On the scrapping font I went to a crop at the weekend, the first time I have been since I became ill and left work. It was really good to get back and chat with the lovely ladies I had met before. I was supposed to be giving some lessons in photo manipulation using Photoshop and had spent quite a while burning all the freebie plug ins I had downloaded off the net onto discs so that I could use them. Unfortunately the lady who was supposed to be supplying the laptop to play on forgot it so I never got to do my class but I did manage to get some stuff made, and a lovely lady Jackie showed me how to make a brilliant waterfall book.

We Digi-dare Ya challenge #3

Used a Jen Capulo template.Colleen Lynch kit Sweetpea papers. Book image downloaded from internet.
Book quote a play on children's nursery rhyme book 'The house that Jack built'
Photos of the house my youngest daughter and her other half are self-building together.

So all sorts of stuff blew up on UKS this week and lots of people got hurt, which I am really sorry for. Its just not the place I joined 3 years ago and I hardly visit now but I do use the gallery so that I can link back to it for all these wonderful challenges. There is a lot I could gripe on here about the place, but I'm not going to, lots of others have blogged about it so much better than I have.
What I am fed up with is the limit on the gallery. I am sure no other forum puts up such a piddly small limit. Yes I know there are a hell of a lot of members and I know about bandwidth and all that stuff, but I am so fed up of having to keep taking something out every time I want to upload something. I'm even more fed up when I forget and having written all my credits and explanations I just get that blasted blue screen telling me I have used up my limit.
This week I am putting my LO on my blog - next week I may try actually using my 2peas gallery (had it 2 years and never used it LOL). One place it probably wont be going is UKS ..... and who's lose is that!!!

Firefox or internet explorer?

I've been having real problems with Internet Explorer lately, freezing and shutting down on me, despite doing umpteen virus scans and spyware checks. So I have given in and installed Firefox, which now that I have got used to it I love. Sadly it doesnt seem to love Blogger so everytime I have come on here it has crashed. I've had to go back to IE to get back in here, which is going to be a bit of a pain. Anyone else have the same problems?

Mind you not that there has been much to update on. Its been a quiet week so far. Its strange but I realised today, this is the first time I have ever been off work or away from education without a reason. When I first left school I was at home but only because the date I was due to start work was later than my school leaving date. After that I worked right up until my maternity leave started. Then a SAHM until I went to uni to do my degree as a mature student. OK there were a few weeks between leaving uni and starting teaching because school didnt start until September but even then I was familiarising myself with the computer system and the policies before taking up my class. I can find plenty of things to fill the day (housework, reading, scrapping) but the truth is I feel so guilty that I cant settle to anything. I wonder too if that is a normal reaction or residue from the anxiety?

Mum and Dad are booked on one of the Sun Newspaper offers to go to Butlins next week so I am housesitting and looking after their dog. I had to go visit today to be shown how to give the poor animal all his medication as he suffers from really bad eczma. Of course Dad showed me for the zillion and one time how to feed the fish and water the green house plants LOL Bless! They had been wanting to go abroad with their friends on holiday but with my Mum still waiting on the hospital tests to find out if she has angina they had assumed they wouldnt get medical insurance. Of course I had to open my mouth and go and tell them to check with the insurance co and the doc's. Good news is she DOESN'T have anything wrong with her, bad news, they have now booked to go with their friends and I shall be dog sitting in 3 weeks time too.

Duck herding

Gosh not blogged for 5 days, I shall have Clare telling me off.

And such a lot happening, I really should have been keeping up to date.

Saturday I went to the Kent Autumn Garden show with my parents. There really wasn't alot there to see for the £5 entrance fee, although mum did get some of that powder stuff you can mix with yoghert to make some scrummy dips. What did happen though was that when we sent mum off to buy a round of hot drinking choc, although she managed to juggle three poly cups full of steaming hot liquid safely back to the table on her own, the wind caught her cup and tipped the whole lot over her white tee and down her skirt through to the lining.

Saturday was also my eldest baby's 25th birthday although she was out all day with her other half so I didn't get to see her on the actual day. Its strange how you forget all the pain of the birth but can remember other details that happened at the time of birth so vividly. She supprised us 10 days early so hubby had been out on a bit of a pub crawl with his footie mates. When he got back and the ambulance rushed me off to the hospital they put me next to a room with a very drippy leaky pipe. Not somewhere someone who had just consumed several pints of beer really wants to be.

Sunday hubby and I went to Challock Goose Fair. We had never been before although apparently it is a huge event with over 1400 visitors every year. I'm not surprised. It was really good, took me right back to my school fates back in the late '60's early 70's. Sadly we missed the dog show but the bit I really enjoyed most was the 'duck herding'.

Life's little nuffin's

Thats about all thats been happening these last two days. Hubby 's day off yesterday so the day (which was very warm - back up into the 29/30's) was spent giving the garden the rest of the good hack back ready for the winter I started the day before. It really had gone made with all the rain we have had through glorious August.

Weighed in at my daughters. We got fed up with Weight watchers as we reckoned we could do a little mini family club. Its not really working for me but my mum has managed to loose a stone since we started so its worth it for that. Then we came home via the church she has booked for the wedding so I could have a looksie. Very picturist if you ignore the barbed wire on the building beside it.

Today I helped my youngest daughter finish off her scrapbook for her other half. I got the job of sorting out and printing the photos off while she wrecked havoc in the scrap room and used up all my stash supplies. Not that I mind, as I think she has enjoyed doing it.

Then this evening I went to the launch of the new Body Shop range of make up and ended up buying all the wedding make up for my daughter as a slightly early birthday present. Still we got a 20% discount and lots of freebies so it was well worth going along.

So besides all the housework, paperwork, shopping and paying bills, just two days full of the things that make life trundle along.

Same template - different place

I feel slightly that I have something to proove about these digi templates having opened my big mouth about them. So same template as yesterday, except I rotated the canvas, stretched the photo really big and then overlaid it so it was in two parts of the template. I didnt use a kit either this time, just changed the colours of a few backgrounds to make my own paper. The ghost letters are from the same kit as yesterday though, and the label is from K Teague vacation kit.

Digi templates

I've been trying to explain to some of the girls on the Padders forum what a digital template is and how it works. This LO was done using a template I got in my kit for taking part in the first challenge on We Digidare Ya. There's a link to the site in the sidebar, if you are into digi scrapping then this is a fab site, well worth a visit. I like working in digi as it means I can scrap while keeping up with the forums. When I paper scrap I am in a different room to the computer. I can't wait for Sky to get sorted in my area so that I can go wireless because I still like paper and glue best. There's nothing like making a mess all over the floor!

So my parents came over for a quick coffee today. Dad has just bought himself a new big greenhouse so he is going to give me his old one which is really tiny but ok for me to pot up a few plants and seeds. We looked round my garden to see where it might be housed, but the place was rather overgrown so when he left I got out there to hack back brambles and rambling roses. Then I thought I would attack the reeds in the pond which have rather taken over and the poor fish have virtually no where left to swim which isn't filled with roots already. I used the hedge shears and was gaily chopping away when I looked up to see the cat's head just between where I was about to close the shears!!!! One nearly decapitated cat!!!! Since after that he refused to stop following the shears around so that was the end of that gardening session. The fish are going to just have to take their chances.

Photoshop ..wayyyhayy!!!

Look what I have learnt to do in Photoshop! It really is worth getting to grips with this wonderful bit of software!!

Original photo of hubby and I on holiday last year - way too much table (and olive oil bottle) intrusive background and us too far back in photo.
And after a play.... I can't wait to go scrap this now and yet I hated the original.

If that wasn't enough I have spent the whole morning digi scrapping and this is my entry for the first dare on http://http://www.thedigidares.blogspot.com/

K Teague Vacation kit

Anne Langpan July kit

Miss Mint HoneydewLemon kit

Ink edges by Nancie Rowe Janitz

Celebrate!!!!!!

Gosh its about time we had something to celebrate - my eldest daughter has just phoned. She has got through an interveiw for a transfer within her firm and instead of a crappy dead end bit of a job as an insurance claims person she is going to be trained up as an accountant!!! With a substancial pay rise, perks, and a proper career structure!! Only downside is that it is in London and she is going to have to commute.

AND... they saw the vicar on Wednesday and have booked the date for the wedding. So now I have 6 months to loose 2 stone and find a Mother-of-the-Bride outfit.

I went down to the local craft shop to spend the vouchers the school gave me as a leaving present. I think they must be running their stock down as there was very little I could find to buy. I really wanted to get lots of stamps with them but they didnt have anywhere near the selection they used to have. I ended up saving half the vouchers and just getting a set of Woodware clear stamps (the retro boarders) and a jumbo circle punch. I'm hoping that closer to christmas they will have more in stock.