Laid back weekend

Instead of spending too many hours on the other side of the bar spending all my wages on Friday night I stayed in with the girls and me and big one did a circular jigsaw :) Was nice spending time doing something together especially as she spends most of her time shut away in her room these days.
Saturday we had to be up bright and early as wee one had neglected to bring a party invite home and we were reminded about it Friday night. So Saturday morning me and her rushed into town to buy a present and she managed to wangle a complete party outfit out of me too LOL
Once the party was over (after me and big one had to go early as wee one was upset, I spent time at the party trying to help out with other girls tears and tantrums and lending an ear to my friend who was hosting the party and regretting it) the three of us went off to get some paint and boy did we buy some. :) Undercoat and top coat for the newly plastered living room, paint for each of the girls bedrooms and a tin of what promises to magnetic blackboard paint. Oh yeah I bought new rollers, paint stripper and some suger soap too. Empty purse moments LOL
I really need too get my arse into gear and get my OYP Halloween special swap finished and in the post, plus I owe two dear friends over in America some baby vests and if I don't hurry up they'll have grown too big to fit into them. Least I got all the washing and ironing out of the way this afternoon... off now to try out the lovely new egyptian cotton bath sheets that I sneaked into my basket out shopping yesterday. ;)

Zzzzzzz

That was me this morning. Got up with the smalls got them off to school then sat down with my book and a cup of tea and zonk asleep. Woke up in a panic as I had to get to work URGENTLY!
I guess not sleeping so well does that to a girl eh?

I did it!

I actually applied for a job today, not that I'm saying bar work isn't a proper job but hopefully this new job will be one where I don't get sworn at, leered at, molested or have disgusting sexual references made to me on a regular basis. But then who knows some people seem to think teenagers are a terrible lot these days LOL
No seriously it's a job up at the High School as a SFL (Support For Learning) and it will mean that I will finally use the qualifications that I actually have. So fingers crossed I get an interview, then fingers crossed I don't mess it up, then fingers crossed I get the job :D

Craftwise I've nothing to share :( Been working too many hours, the house is still in chaos due to having the living room walls replastered. And there are no swaps over on Craftster that are luring me in at the moment. Guess I should get on with my Xmas gifts then. Ha de ha de ha.

Fed up with junk mail?

then do what I do. Take all their annoying envelopes and recycle them into envelopes that are actually useful.

Step 1. Take an annoying junk mail envelope (


Step 2. Very carefully take the envelope apart, you can usually manage this just be delicately pulling but have a craft knife handy incase it starts to tear.


Step 3. Fold all sides back on them selves so in effect you are turning the envelope inside out. Then glue sides together, carefully we don't want the envelope stuck together completely.


Step 4. Voila...one perfectly good envelope that can now be used for a far better purpose than sending off for loans or credit cards or the such like.


I use a wee bit of glue to stick the envelope down when I'm posting it off and if you're going to try to re-use envelopes that have your own address on them remember to black it out for your own data protection ;)

Keep doing this and you will never run out of envelopes for sending fun things like cards and letters or paying school dinner money or out of school subs :D And they look so cool too!

It's wet

and cold and once again I have no living room. In fact I have no living room, no kitchen, hardly any craft space and a sofa propped up on the hall wall by the front door! Yep sounds fun eh? But it will all be worth it once the plastering is finished and I can begin my decorating and then we will have a lovely cosy living room to be proud of :)

Ings for today


watching... wee one enjoying her new cheerleading class

listening to... the radio.

eating... bacon butties.

shooting... pictures of drunken friends.

buying... As little as possible.

selling... my time to the highest bidder.

gossiping... well a friend rang me today to tell me some gossip that I would rather not have know.

completing... printing off an application form for another job.

wondering... how much stuff I can throw away/recycle without him indoors noticing.

Too cold to sit in here anymore, I'm off to get my jimmies on and put my cold feet on him indoors ;)

The night of little sleep

Him indoors went out for his wednesday night lads night out last night. It's what they do when they're all home from work, why a wednesday? no I don't know why either! Anyway 3am this morning the dogs alerted me to the fact that he was home. 4am I woke up to find him staring at my wardrobe door, yes I asked him what he was doing. His reply "I'm just standing here" Me: "Are you coming back to bed?" Him: "I'm just standing here" Ok then :/
Needless to say I wasn't too thrilled when the alarm went off this morning, ah well least he had a good lie in LOL
Took the bag for my friend into work today and she was really thrilled with it which was lovely. You know how it is how you always worry that 'they' won't like what you've handmade for them. She told me that when she got home from work her kitten climbed straight inside it :) Her son was on strict instructions that as soon as the kitten emerged he was to take the bag and put it in her wardrobe away from the cats and their claws.
Tomorrow we're having a girls night out to celebrate her birthday so that should be a good laugh.

Good news both my Go Green Recycle Swap and my Days of the Week Undies partners have both received. Yah!
My shots of the undies are on the other camera but for now this is what I sent for the recycle swap.


Josie is off to Uni so she wanted this for her room, so these are two empty spaghetti hoop tins (aren't I such a gourmet mum!) made into pen/pencil/brush/bit and pieces holders.



This is a neckwarmer knitted from thrifted and left over (from other projects) wool.




A stationary set. The paper is surplus paper brought home by a neighbour from their office, the envelopes were made out of magazine pages and the box is one that I had a gift in and have had on the shelf forever.


Pencil case made from an old skirt and the pencils were out of the art box (yes that wooden box that I spent forever sanding the other day)


A tote bag made from the fantastic curtain that I bought in the charity shop.


A wee make up bag made from said curtain and I filled it up with all the airline bits and pieces that him indoors brings home from his flights.

Well thats all folks :)

Did someone mention credit crunch? Is that a new topping?

Yep did the weekly shop today and him indoors nearly choked on the receipt, you can who does the shopping on their own usually can't you? But oddly enough he didn't look phased at all when we were pricing up fireplaces, hearths and grates this morning, and that was definately a lot more than a weeks shopping! This is the hole in the wall that we currently have


attractive eh? Actually the whole thing was hidden behind plaster board, wood panelling, a 1970's gas fire and surround until recently. Now we've had the original (very very old) wall repointed and we're on the search for something nice and chunky and that will look just right.

Craftily before his lordship dragged himself and the shopping trolley round the supermarket I got him to agree to buy this first and take it out to the car. Can you imagine...I'd probably have had to pick him up off the floor if it had been added on to the food bill :D

My last food processor lasted me 12 years but then I didn't actually use it for the first 2 so I guess I should say lasted me 10 years. Anyway as they don't make things like they use to I guess I should think myself lucky if this one keeps going past it's guarantee date. God I sound so old!

Tomorrow is the birthday of my friend (who I also work with) and my old next door neighbours eldest girl. So this evening I made these, hopefully they like them. Big one says they're cool so I guess that's a good thing, for something to impress a teenager must be ok eh?

Thinking about Christmas

yes I know it's still only August but I really need to get my dainty wee bum (ha ha) into gear if I'm going to be organised before I jet off to New York in November. Yes you heard right this girl is off to strut her stuff in New York, well it's him indoors big 40 and it's somewhere that we've both always wanted to go so why not :D
I've been busy busy getting my Days of the Week Undie Swap and my Go Green Recycle Swap stuff finished and posted off. That just leaves me with one swap so I really should try and stop myself signing up for anymore swaps for oooh a good couple of weeks and get some Christmassy goodness started. But what to do, last year my head wasn't in such a great place and everyone pretty much got a pile of pennies which as far as I can tell wasn't as well received as my previous year of crafty goodness. There is just no pleasing some people eh? I'm thinking bags for the ladies in my life especially as I've been finding some amazing curtains in my local thrift shop lately...yes this picture is especially for you Karan ;)


But what for the men? Any ideas would be gratefully received and I might even make you something as a wee thank you if you solve my dilema.

I received my Go Green Recycle swap from my lovely partner Josie.
She totally spoiled me with lots and lots of gorgeous goodies.


I also received my Days of the Week undies which are lovely and colourful and I'm sure they'll make my dullest days a bit brighter. :)



And just to finish I'll share my project of today.
I bought this art case from my local charity shop last week for about a £1 and thought to myself now that can be made into something more interesting. So today I ripped out the plastic pencil holder from the inside and sat in the garden sanding and sanding and sanding.





Watch this space to see what happens next.