First scrap page of my grandson.

I created the pages last night. Click on it for a better view. I love these two photo's of him!!
I used some of my old baby background papers that I've had since I started scrapbooking.

... more photos!!

Here are some more photo's of my family, and it's latest addition Elijah.



Great Grandad!

Matthew getting his first cuddle.

The first time Matthew dared to touch him, after about an hour and a half of plucking up courage.

The happy new parents - Darryl and Abby.

How cosy does he looked snuggled up on his Nan's blankets? (Weird reading the word "nan" knowing it now means me!)

Nan (me!!!) with Matthew and Elijah.

Grandad Justin getting broody, lol.

More photo's!

Introducing....

ELIJAH INDIANA JAMES
Born at 1.30pm
6lbs 2oz

In the same delivery room as his father, lol.

Abby has gone into labour!!!

So sometime today I shall become a grandmother... blimey, lol. Dad will become a great grandfather, lol.
Abby's waters went during the night and contractions are coming along nicely. Ouch.
The name they have more or less decided on is............................... Indiana..... he will be called Indy. I'm not that keen on it, but I suppose neither was Shirley Crabtree's grandparents (Big Daddy in the Wrestling world in the 70's). He's more important than his name.

So.... a long day ahead looms.

Update.
Abby went to hospital around 11am.

Disneyland Scrapbook page - Let the fun begin.

I really should do more pages in the Disneyland Scrapbook, but it's such a mammoth task. I have a gorgeous album the pages go in that Justin bought me for Christmas 2 years ago! The album has just four completed pages in it.
I used the Cricut to make Mickey and the text. Mickey from Mickey and Friends cartridge, text from the Storybook cartridge.

Yesterday I got our first two bits foodwise for Christmas. Sainsbury's had the big Victoria tins full of chocolate biscuits and a box of After Eights at half price, so I couldn't resist. Dad has also been and bought 2 tins of sweets... and it's only September!

I'm cooking a beef casserole today. It's been in the oven for half an hour but the smells aren't escaping the oven yet. I do love the smell of a casserole cooking.
Talking of casseroling... the rat man came yesterday about 4pm. I now have a black box full of blue poisoned wheat lodged up the back of my greenhouse. The dogs won't bother it there.

Christmas Eve 2008!

These photo's are from last year's Christmas Eve. I fancied making a scrapbook page today (sorry Uncle Dave!! LOL!) and here's the result.
Oh what a difference a year makes - this Christmas I'll be a GRANNY!

Below is the first page from Christmas Day. I used the Cricut to cut the Holly on both pages, and the reindeer. The little teddy is the stamp from a card making magazine again.

Smilebox.

(click the little triangle on each page after loading!)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pest Control!

Are coming to our house tomorrow to lay down poison... DO NOT read any further if you are squeamish!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday morning I got up for work at 6am, Matthew came down at 6.30 and laid on the settee. Justin didn't get up this morning as early as he'd gone to bed really late.
Around 9am Justin sent me a text message to say that there had been a rat in our lounge!!!! Matthew had been watching telly and had heard his toys move. He looked halfway down the room to where his toy cars were and noticed his train getting knocked over. He got up to investigate - braver than me! He then saw something run under the table and noticed it's long tail. He went up to tell Justin, who thought he was joking at first, until he started moving Matthew craft chests that were under the computer desk and heard a squeak!
He took a photo of it for proof, lol. Matthew opened the backdoor - again, braver than me, and the rat ran out under my tomatoes. The creepy thing is, the rat had been in the lounge all night with the dogs!!! The back door hadn't been opened since the night before.
A few days ago, I'd noticed that the tomatoes I'd got that were on the lower branches were half eaten. If the dogs nibble at them they pull off the whole tomato.
On Sunday we decided to clear out the greenhouse as there were two garden chairs that were living in there for the summer instead of the garage... and in the greenhouse was were the rat had been camping. He's gone now thankfully, and all his food sources have been removed so he won't be happy.
When I spoke to the council they said I could leave it as the rat was gone and wasn't bothering us anymore, but as my dad was so insistant that I phoned them in the first place, I thought I better book them to come out. The council lady said that I was just unlucky, and that rats are on the move at the moment anyway coz of clearing out of a nearby brook and harvesting the fields.
IF the rat comes back, no signs so far that he has, then it will eat the poison. Why don't they put poison in the sewers, brooks, streams and fields? That's where they live afterall...
My cousin, Wendy, just two weeks ago had rats in her loft. Her other half Garry used to bang on the ceiling to shut them up coz he couldn't sleep, lol. They're gone now... or at least they're all now poisoned and dead in her loft.... what a lovely thought to leave you all with today.

Christmas Bears.

I love these two stamps. They were part of a free gift with a cardmaking magazine this month... oh, the same mag as the stamps that I used in the Snow Box card, lol.
I used Anita's 3D glaze on the Merry Christmas part of the stamp. I used some large plasticky glitter, I call it that coz it's not really glitter even though it's labelled that, on the little Christmas hats.

This is my latest blanket. It's bigger than it looks here as it's folded for the photo. I'm making it in various colours with black in between and then I shall use black on the outside as well. I'm using that Wattle stitch again... I do love that stitch!!

Snow box card.

On Create and Craft this morning they were selling something called Floating Decoupage Kits... so I followed the same sort of instructions and adapted it my way, and here's how it turned out.
I used one of my free stamps from Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine and coloured him with my Do Crafts brush markers. The background was just blue and white card and the white card torn and added "snow" with glitter glue. I made the front part a shaker and added some white glittery snow. The sides are made with concertina panels so the whole thing can fold flat (ish) for posting, and then it's able to stand up once the card out of the envelope.
I used my Cricut to cut out the card, and then just cut the back off before decorating it and reattaching when the concertina folded sides were made.
I enjoyed making the card and will have another go at another one.

Also today I finished this blanket for my unborn grandson. It was made with gorgeous blue lustre wool and using the wattle stitch. If you click on the picture at the bottom you should be able to see the "glistening" thread running through the wool, plus a close up of the stitches. I made a white blanket in this wool also, and it look like it was glistening snow.

Just a quickie!

I've just come across this fab site for FREE crochet patterns, and also this next one has some great free crochet patterns (easier to search as well) Click the links to go to the sites.
I didn't know until a day or so ago that there is a difference in the stitch names between USA/Canada and the UK/Australia/Europe. A single crochet in the US is our double crochet, a double crochet in the US is our treble crochet, and a treble crochet in the US is our double treble crochet... just in case anyone watched the video to the wattle stitch further down the page and wondered why the lady called the stitches a different name, that was the reason.

Also, dad sent me an email this morning and it was time/date stamped 09/09/2009 09.09.25 - pity the seconds were off!!

Dad's trip to Austria.

Dad had a great time in Austria last week, and here are some of his photo's. I would love to go to Austria!!

2369 metres above sea level at the Grössglockner Glacier.

The following is copied from the Leger website.

Itinerary. (Dad took all of the opitonal trips as well)

9-Day Break

* Day 1 – Local departure then onwards to Belgium for an overnight stay.

* Day 2 – Continue south to Saalbach, Austria, for a 6-night stay.

* Day 3 – Zell-am-See and Lake Cruise (included). Zell-am-See mixes lofty peaks and stunning alpine scenery. Take a cruise on Lake Zell to experience the tranquil setting, then enjoy time to wander around the town. We recommend a cable car ride up Schmittenhöhe mountain (extra cost), or instead you can relax at a local café with strudel and coffee.

* Day 4 – Kitzbühel and the Gisela Train (optional). We board the’ Gisela’ train at Zell am See for a nostalgic ride through the hills to Kitzbühel. The ceremonial opening of the first continuous European railway connection from Paris to Istanbul took place in 1875. The centrepiece of the original train is the Royal Imperial Mail Carriage of 1910. The middle section was made into a saloon car, hosting an original mail box with a special stamp, a buffet and a bar.

* Day 5 – Salzburg and Lake Mondsee (optional, included on Silver Service). One of the most beautiful cities in Austria, Salzburg offers lovely, tranquil squares and medieval lanes, gothic churches and quaint cafés. For the best view of the city, climb to the terrace of the fortress of Hohensalzburg. Later we head towards the Austrian Lake District and the resort of Mondsee, on the lake of the same name. A day of contrasting beauty in city and countryside.

* Day 6 – Grössglockner Glacier (included). Travelling along the Grössglockner Hochalpenstrasse, we ascend Austria’s highest mountain, the Grössglockner (Big Bell). The impressive icy world of the glacier can be captured from the Franz-Josef’s-Heights viewing platform, before we continue to the charming mountaineers’ village of Heiligenblut, where you can shop or simply relax.

* Day 7 – Hallstatt and Bad Ischl (optional). Join our full-day excursion to the Salzkammergut through splendid
scenery to visit the Hallstattersee lake and the picture-postcard village of Hallstatt. We also visit the spa town of Bad Ischl, which was the summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph.

* Day 8 – To Belgium for an overnight stay.

* Day 9 – To Calais then return home.

A selection of crocheted blankets...

DawnMarie from 3 Sneezes and a Magpie got me thinking about my crocheted blankets, so I thought I'd upload a selection from over the years.
I haven't added one of any of the three I've made for my unborn grandson!! I've not taken any photos of those ones! I'd made one each in white lustre (which IS in a photo below), a cream lustre, currently I'm making a baby blue lustre, and a lemon small ultra soft one. I shall take a photo of the blue one when it's finished.

Last year I made about 15 blankets that were ordered by people from work... I was really fed up with making them at the end... especially when I was just finishing the last one on order and about to do the outside edge when she asked me to double the wool...............................

These two were made for a little boy and girl made to order and sold.

Matthew and Bob the dog cuddled up under his "doggy blanket", called so because of the colours and the dog motif which you can't see lol.

Made for Lucy (ex hubby's daughter) when she was really poorly with Leukaemia.

The white one at the top is for my unborn grandson, crocheted in WATTLE STITCH (click for youtube video) - my current favourite crochet stitch. The white one with motif was made for a little girl born 7 weeks ago, to order and sold.

A selection of colourful blankets made over the years. If you click on the photo below it will make it clearer to see the text on each blanket.
The purpley one for the double bed I crocheted in Wendy Velvet Touch and they come in 50 gram balls and were approx £3 per ball... it cost just over £120 to make, and goes on our double bed every winter. It's lovely.