I have been AWOL!!!!! and Emma is back and well

Hi everyone
Sorry  haven't been around to leave a post or comment on your lovely blogs but remember the internet problem I told you about a month ago? It happened again!!!! All of a sudden they blocked us again and it has been really
difficult getting switched on again. I hope that we are sorted for good now.
We picked Emma and her friend up from the airport....bad timing....the England match was on....Good thing her Dad loves her!!!!  She is much better now ( she had tonsillitis while she was away). She looks well and tanned and like she has lost weight too. She liked the scrapbook page I did of her. You can see it here
This is an exploding box I was commissioned to make for a teacher at school. I haven't shown every page, there are already lots of pics to look at.She really liked it.

Love sarah XXX

My beautiful daughter!

Here is another scrapbook page I made for Saturdays workshop. It is all one colour. I used C'ordinations cardstock and cut out flowers and sprays with it using Sizzix dies.  The girl sentiment was cut with chipbopard then covered with the cardstock. I also cut some netting flowers to add to the back of some of the flowers. I added  jewewl brads to the flowers too.
This photo was taken when Emma was on holiday a couple of years ago and I think it is lovely. Well I would....I am her mum!!
Most of the photos we take of Em she closes her eyes on so it is great to have a photo of her with her eyes open!!
I would love to read what you think about this layout
Sorry for so many photois. I got carried away!!!!!
Sarah XXX
challenges entered
Craftilicious challenges - monotone

Scrapbook page

Hi girls
just a quick post to show you one of the pages I did in prep for the scapbook day I had yesterday. Mike's brother and family are here for tea any minute . They just got back from 3 weeks in Australia so we're looking forward to the photos and of course seeing the kids. A good excuse to act silly!!! Actually I don't need and
an excuse.
This photo had been in a frame and somehow got damp and spoilt. It is also very faded but I didn't want to throw it away. It was taken in Scotland when we went on holiday with Mike's parents when the kids were little.
Hope you like it
Back with another post tomorrow

Love sarah XXX

Totally Gorjuss DT card and DT call

Sorry this is so late. I have been holding a scrapbbooking workshop all day. 8 were supposed to come but only 4 turned up. However we had a great day. 2 had never scrapbooked before and between the 4 of them they made 24 pages!!!!! Ubfortunately I can't post any pics of them as a lot of them were of children and I didn't feel I could ask them if I could make those photos available for all to see.  I visited my local Hobbycrafts before the workshop as the first 100 customers got a free Goodie bag. I am posting a pic of the contents.
My card here is for Totally Gorjuss where our theme is Sugar and Spice. The Gorjusettes have made some great cards as usual. I have used a C.C. Designs image coloured with Promarkers and if you double click the photo you will see I have crackle glazed her boots. The sentiment is a izzix die and the flowers are from my Sizzix 3D flower die. It was great to see how many entered last weeks challenge "boys". Considering we all say we never know what to do for men, we had our most entries ever!!!!!
Also, we have a DT call for 2 guest DT for 3 months!!!!

Have a great weekend
Love sarah XXX
challenges entered:


Crazy for challenges - Paper flowers
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Nice and Girly
A spoonful of sugar - Enjoying the sunshine
Stamp something  - something summer

Lovely Hanglar only card

Hi girls. What has happened to the sunshine?
We were in touch with Emma yesterday. She is worse now with pain in both ears. She can hardly swallow and has spent the first 2 days of her holiday in bed!!! We told her that she shouldn't go but she really didn't want to spoil things for her friend Hayley who she went with. Mike and I went to the Gardeners World show at the NEC yesterday and we rang her. It was so upsetting to hear her crying and saying that she felt worse. To top it the weather is bad in Gran Canaria and her hotel not so good either. I just wisg she had taken our advice but you know what young people are like these days. Perhaps we were the same when we were her age too.
This is my card for the great new Lovely Hanglar Only Challenge blog. The theme is Shabby Look.
I have coloured the image with Copics. The papers were from Poundland. The BOY was cut out of chipboard with a Sizzix die and coloured with Adirondak daubers. I also used my sewing machine on it. Definitely a shabby look!!!!
Hope you like it.
I'm off now to continue preparing for tomorrows Scrapbook workshop I am holding
Love sarah XXX

Fancy a bargain?

Hi girls
Well Emma has gone on holiday with her friend Hayley this morning. She nearly didn't go at all as yesterday she woke up with ear ache and difficulty swallowing. All day she dosed herself with Beechams etc. Yesterday evening she was so unwell we ended up at one of those walk in clinics. They said she had tonsillitis, and prescribed medicine. They were happy about her traveling even though her dad and I weren't!. She was so worried about spoiling things for Hayley. After a rough night she was picked up at 5.00 this morning and left with a timetable (from me ) of when to take her medicines.I am just waiting for a call to say she has arrived safely in Gran Canaria and is feeling better.
Well this post is to show you a bargain you can get at Dunelm. I bought these DCWV stacks from the Wolverhampton branch ready for the Scrapbook workshop I am doing on Saturday. I will post one of the pages I have already done later.They were all half price.
The second photo is a bargain from Hobbycrafts. Again these stacks were half price too.
Hope you manage to snap up some of these bargains. Have you found any bargains?
Love sarah XXX

Sympathy cards

At last the weather is getting better. I go to school every morning dressed like it is summer and then feel foolish as it feels like winter!
I have had to make a few sympathy cards this week unfortunately.. The first one is for a teacher at school who's mother suddeenly died. It will be sent from the school. The other cards are one I will send from myself to the teacher and the other 2 to a family who have just lost their mother/grandmother. She was a lovely, lovely lady and will be missed greatly.
I personally feel that sympathy cards should be quite simple and that is how I nade the cards. The white and black papers are actually from Making Memories

Speak to you soon
Love sarah
p.s. to those of you who have enquired about my mum and dad, they are much better and doing well. Thank you

Chi Chi Memories DT card

Happy Monday to all of you. Hope you all had a good weekend. Did you watch the football? I'm not into it but I did watch the England match. I felt so sorry for the England goalie.

Here is my card for Chi Chi Memories. Natalie sent me this lovely Freddie loves Daddy stamp which you can

This image is so cute, dont you think?
I have used Tim Holtz papers, Copics and Nestabilities to make this card.The sentiments were cut using a Sizzix die.
If you haven't visited Natalies blog you really must. She has some great images to use and the DT have made some brilliant cards too.

Also I received an award from Lyndsey  Thank you Lyndsey for thinking of me.  You need to tell everyone 6 things about yourself that aren't true and one thing that is true. I will leave you to guess which is the truthful bit!!!!  So here goes

1. I have the perfect figure
2. I always tell my husband when I buy new craft goodies, shoes or handbags
3. I  always keep to the speed limit
4. I always do my housework before I make any cards
5. I never eat chocolate in secret
6. I limit my blogging time to 1 hour a day

So which one of those statements do you think is the truth. Please leave a comment and let me know.
I also have to pass this award to 6 other blogging friends and they are

1. Squirrel
2. Samantha
3. Net
4. Kat
5. Lynne
6. Juls

Well ladies  I am looking forward to what you have to say

Speak to you soon
Love sarah XXX

Totally Gorjuss DT card # 34 Boys

Well this week at Totally Gorjuss is BOYS week. Now we all seem to have problems with men don't we? I mean making cards for them!
I have made this card for a teacher who is retiring, so I thought Edwin on a pile of books would be a good idea.
I have coloured him with Promarkers. The papers are from my stash. The Goodbye letters are  Tim Holtz Sizzix Vintage market. Finally I added 3 butttons.....I don't know why!!!!!!
Anyway I hope you like it and I hope he does too.
have a great weekend
Love Sarah XXX

Altered vase

Hi everyone
How are you all today?
I am convinced if something can go wrong, then it does . At least for me any way. After last weeks fiasco with camers, computers and leaking conservatory roofs ( it still leaks)
This week we have Rentokil in because we have had an infestation of moths which have ruined all of our carpets.
They say it can happen to anyone at any time. ..............................You have been warned!
Thought I would show you a little project I made some time ago.
I bought a plain vase and an out of date" flowers" calender. I cut up the little flower pictures and stuck them with PVA glue to the outside of the vase ( well inside would have been pointless because you wouldn't be able to see them!)
I then painted the PVA over all of the images and bits of vase still visible to seal it. And Voila!
Hope that inspires you to buy up some plain vases and alter them
Love sarah XXX

Scraobook page

Hi girls
Is it raining by you?  Remember I told you we had our leaking conservatory roof fixed last week? Guess what? It LEAKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any way, calming down, worse things could happen.........right?!!!!!
No card today but I thought I would show you a scrapbook page I made a while ago. It is of Emma and Mike the last time the 4 of us went on holiday together, 4 years ago in Florida. ( she's coming on holiday with us this year and Mike is chuffed to bits. But, don;t let him know I told you so)
Thed sentiments were from a kit I had from QVC yonks ago. I used 2 scrapbook papers. One for the background and the other I just cut the flowers out and randomly placed them on the page. The green wording was computer generated.
I don't know if this qualifies for any challenges but I hope you like it
Love sarah XXX

Whiff of Joy stamped card I forgot to post!

I have just visited fellow totally Gorjuss DT member Paola's blog. (Her cards really are fantastic) I realised that the style of card was similar to one I made for a friend who has had an operation last month andI forgot to post it on my blog when I made it. So here it is.
The image is from Whiff of joy and I coloured it with Promarkers and Copics. The beige lace was from Hobbycrafts and the lovely flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. It is such an easy but quite pretty card to make. i hope you like it.

As I have an extra day off school today, teaching assistants and pupils go back tomorrow, I thought I would tidy out my craft cupboard!!!!............................................I wish I had gone to school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love sarah XXX

I've lost all my digi images!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone. Hope yopu all had a great weekend.
What a week I had.
The builders came to sort out our leaking conservatory roof. Has it been fixed? Well, we did have heavy rain this week and no leak!!!! so far. I may be able to put away my towels and bowls for good.....I hope.
The main computer at home died...completely and has been taken away. I have lost all my digi images and digi papers. I am gutted as I hate to think how much I spent on them and there were so many I hadn't even used.
Then my trusty camera broke. the lens stayed out and wouldn't go back in. Mike brought the works camera home for to borrow and that broke too!
After several hours researching new digital camers we bought one on saturday from Argos. It was faulty!!!!!!! the pictures were so blurred no matter what setting we had it on. Fortunately they changed it and my new camera works just fine.  WHAT A WEEK!!!!!!
So this is why my Dt card for Totally Gorjuss is so late. I hope you like it anyway. the image is Hanglar and Stanglar coloured with Promarkers. The papers are K & Co. the lcae was from hobbycraft and the flowers were in my stash.

I hope I have a better week
Speak to you soon
Love sarah XXX

Challenges entered

• Lovely Anglar only - pink and green

Chi Chi Memories Blog Hop - today!!!

Well today is the day. 
It's the Chi Chi Memories Blog Hop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Below is the order in which to follow the hop. You need to start at Chi Chi Memories and as you go through all the blogs you will end up at Chi Chi memories again
Following the blog  hop is a great way to get inspiration and make new friends too!
If you have come to me as a regular follower and you want to follow the hop please click on the first one on the list, CCM and work through the order of blogs. 
You should have come to me from Laura
Your next visit after me is .Kerry
Please comment on all the blogs you visit
Here is my card following the sketch for the hop
Enjoy the hop.

I have used the lovely Elephant  Love image which I coloured with Promarkers. The\papers are DCWV and my loopy border is Martha Stewart. The flowers have been cut with Nesties


 3 people stand a chance of winning a great prize each.
Have fun
love sarah XXX

Quick reminder about Chi Chi Memories Blog Hop

Just a quick reminder that the Chi Chi Memories Blog Hop starts tomorrow.
Join in the fun and you could win a prize!

 Love Sarah XXX