Oliviagrace designs

apologies

2008-04-18T17:09:00.002+01:00

sorry im not posting much here lately but if you want to catch up with me on a day to day basis im more than often over at my other homey blog www.countryheartandhome.blogspot.com I started the other so that i could post on some different websites i visit where i didnt really want pics of me and the kid plastered all over iykwim.

Hope you pop over and see what ive been up to and i will update this one with more about family and scrapping soon once things have settled down a little at home - long story and involves moving within the next month!! :)

Race for Life

2008-04-11T13:48:00.002+01:00

Ok blatant pimping here but in honor of my dad im doing the race for life and im trying to raise sponsorship from online only as im doing it with my sister who will get family and friends who are offline to sponsor her. If you would like to donate please visit my page to sponsor online..... http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/deborahnicholas

Thank you so much - it is going to a good cause and very much appreciated!!

getting back on track....

2008-03-27T12:11:00.002Z

Things are starting to get back to normal around here and its Jakes birthday on saturday so lots of suprises planned :) He hasnt asked for anything in particular so is ending up with a spiderman robosapien (sp?) - he loves spiderman and robots so what could be better!! lol

I have been busy making some doorstops - sis wanted one but wasnt going to pay the £45 price tag in JL (department store!). Thats where having a sister with handy sewing machine skills comes in i suppose! lol

Bye dad xxx

2008-03-10T18:09:00.003Z

My dad passed away at 2am Sunday morning. Thank you to everyone who sent messages and love this way during the past year xxx

2 days!!!

2008-03-04T18:11:00.003Z

My first OU assignment is due in in 2 days!! ARgghh where the heck have the last couple of months gone!! Sorry for the short post but i dont want to get kicked out of the course on the first assignment! LOL Will leave you with a pic of a cosy corner of my kitchen where im going to go write 1200 words on the difference in chair capabilities and then make my own chair out of cardboard - sheesh, any hoops i need to jump through too??! lol
See you soon!! (i hope!) xxx

Finished dresser project

2008-03-01T16:47:00.002Z

.....and i love it!! :D :D So pleased with how it has turned out, painted with Craig & Rose Pale Mortlake Cream paint and the shelves are covered with £1 wrapping paper from Primark!! What do i start on next???

New project

2008-02-28T16:44:00.002Z

I was surfing ebay and came across a fab dresser that was only 5 mins from my house and pick up only so no bids!! I got a real bargain and paid almost nothing for it yet its going to be a wonderful project i am so looking forward to starting!It is going to be sanded and painted with Craig & Rose Pale Mortlake Cream paint to give a real shabby chic feel which will then house some of my more special plates, vases, cups etc :)

New look banner!!

2008-02-22T21:01:00.003Z

Isnt my banner just gorgeous!! Unfortunately i cant take ANY credit for it as a lovely friend (who wishes to remain anon - i think shes scared she will get inundated with requests!! lol) made it for me. In no stretch of the imagination could i have done anything like it - give me a bench full of cooking ingredients or a table full of fabrics and i can do anything but put something technical infront of me and i turn to mush!! The banner is made using a Nitwit digi kit so thank you to them too for making such scrummy goodies!! :)

Well, i havent done much scrapping as the weather has been good enough to be out flying and taking aerial shots so thats what we have been doing. These pictures were taken in the grounds of where mum and dad have their retirement home. Its a run down old castle with would be fabulous if it had the money ploughed into it to take it back to its former glory! *sigh*The two older boys are still at their grandparents so we have had a relatively quiet week and ive thoroughly enjoyed playing 'little kid' games - you know, colouring in, racing around the living rooms with cars and general messing infant style :)

I did do one layout and ive been asked to create a canvas for my sisters newly decorated dining room so im off tomorrow to check out the decoration and work something that will go well - wish me luck! lol
Please excuse the glare on the photo, i think my camera is on its last legs as i just cant seem to get the settings right and no matter how much i fiddle with the flash etc its just not playing nice!!

and into the album they go :)

2008-02-13T16:59:00.004Z

It feels so good to be putting layouts in an album again and to actually enjoy working on something! I really did think for a while there any artistic qualities i thought i had had got up and done a runner! Im off to play with some glue and scissors before it realises im back for good! ;)

We went to visit my mum and dad today for the first time since Christmas. In January they leave their home for 5 weeks and return after a well earned break and usually a hot holiday in Portugal!! For those that didnt read about my dad, he has cancer and went through chemo last year, all was well and the drugs worked their magic! He was given glowing reports towards the end of last year and then the news came during one of his appts in Jan that the cancer is back and theres nothing they can do now......he tried a new drug form of chemo but it isnt working so now he is off that and is now in Gods hands.
Having seen him today i feel a lot better as he looked really well, i had been building up to seeing a shell of how he was but he looked good, he had colour in his cheeks and laughed with us, said he wasnt that unwell that they couldnt drive down here to see us soon! Thank you to all those who are keeping us in their prayers!

oh how i wish........

2008-02-11T05:58:00.000Z

These are seriously cool!! I wish we had Target stores over here in the UK!! Its probably old news now but have you seen these adorable little mailboxes for $1 ......how cute and possibly worth the airfare over to grab some!! lol

I am back in the scrapping zone! Mojo left me for a while but it has returned with a new passion and even made me want new goodies to play with, i havent scrap shopped in about 4 maybe 5 months so right now EVERYTHING out there is new!! Yaaayyyyyy!! Will upload some scrapping sneak peeks later today as im just waiting on my new white pen to do some doodles and then its finished!

We took the heli up again yesterday, this time at Finchale Priory. Anne who owns the site was so nice and explained about it now being a retirement village and boy would it be a gorgeous place to live - wish mum and dad had known about it before moving so far away :( Anyways here are a couple of pics i took of the Abbey with my canon 350d.

Have a lovely day today, its 6am here and looks as though it might actually be a nice day!

Debbie
x

and then there was 8!!

2008-02-08T14:49:00.000Z

Dont get any ideas!! 4 kids is more than enough!! lol The title of the post refers to the amount of albums i have now filled, yep 8 full albums and countless others that are only semi full (those 14 dont count though so it doesnt sound so bad! lol ;)

Sharing a couple of layouts i have made over the past few weeks as i feel like i havent scrapped for ages and i feel the bug coming back to me - yayyy!!

These are some of the photographs taken over Christmas and projects designed for Make the moment last store - i was guest designer for January along with Annette :) Thank you for having me Jackie :)

That wind has a bite to it....

2008-02-07T13:07:00.000Z

I swear i could have worn 5 layers and i still would have been frozen yesterday! We took E out with us while we tried the heli in the air for some aerial shots of Gateshead causeway, not too good since the signal between the heli and the camera wouldnt connect but still managed a couple of shots. I got some good shots of the scenery and E wrapped up warm - he had a field day and loved every minute of it......almost as much as DH i think, me?? I kinda came around to liking it - no matter how much i promised not too!! lol We had permission to drive along the walkway and you should have seen some of the looks we got!! Sheesh - surely they must have known we were given keys to the gate to get through as there was no other way in and the gate was padlocked but NOoooooo, boy if looks could kill!! lol

pics as promised.

2008-02-03T17:44:00.000Z

Here is the latest project i have been working on. Im struggling with a bag i bough as the handles are way too small and i have to carry it instead of slinging it over my shoulder! The colours of the fabric here are exactly what i was after so if i thought why the heck not just make one yourself! Soooo here it is.......

Still not sure if i like the orange button, im thinking it maybe needs a big cream one, or brown, or green .........lol

Girlie Weekend....

2008-02-03T13:38:00.000Z

Sorry i couldnt update before now but ive been staying at my sisters since friday after a phonecall offering a kid free weekend!! Who in their right mind would decline! lol

Friday night saw us visit the cinema to see Sweeny Todd and although it starred the gorgeous Johnny Depp i wasnt that impressed and we almost walked out half way through! Fab acting by the cast but just not something i would go to see again, i love musicals but it was just kinda annoying (and yucky!)

Saturday i spent the day in the university while sis went to a tutorial for her OU course and then we went to try on party frocks and Oscar acceptance dresses........found the one i want and now all i need is to be in a movie....any Spielberg offers welcome!! mwahahhhaa

Home today and back to reality though of running round after 4 kiddos (ok 5 if you include dh) ;) So its catch up time on whats happening on the PS3 and an all out shoot em up on Call of Duty - catch you later for some pics of what ive been creating!

Catching up...

2008-01-31T17:55:00.000Z

You know some times when you just need a break - well, ive been and done and had it, so im back! :)

Seems funny writing about Christmas now when it was so long ago so i will keep it short and simple - see pic below for how much the boys enjoyed it!! lol Needless to say storage space has become an issue! lol
Ethan was rather taken with Captain Jacks outfit!
Me and my little sis, she hates having her picture taken but i think shes finally realised its easier to give in than have me follow her round all day!

Im cracking out the sewing machine tonight for the first time in well over a month and im worried im not going to be able to sew anymore - does that seem wierd?!? I have so many ideas and drawings etc but actually making them into something seems is scaring me a litle at the minute! Best go make a start and i promise to post sneeky peeks tomorrow....yes i will be trying to update everyday from here on in, my online diary of sorts even if its just a hi/bye type post :)

Christmas rush!

2007-12-14T11:35:00.000Z

Why is it no matter how much i think i have prepared for christmas sometime else seems to get added to the list! I swear everytime i tick something off, another is added lol

Here we go with the family christmas card this year - another tick off the list!

oopsie and update!

2007-12-05T20:31:00.000Z

oops forgot to change my blog from invite only after a couple of days break sorry! Im back though and so so busy its unreal....what with Christmas prep and all the kids activities this month i dont have time to sleep! lol

Im being a real good girl and have stuck to the diet since last monday and come the beginning of this week i had lost 4lb!! WAHOOO lets hope a few more pounds drop before Christmas and i can enjoy some of the naughties i really shouldnt be eating! ;)

will add some piccies of recent projects soon but for now blogger is acting up!! GRRrrrr

making some decorations this year :)

2007-11-26T09:16:00.000Z

All wrapped up!

2007-11-25T16:09:00.000Z

YEP you read that right! Not only have i finished my Christmas shopping but they are all wrapped up and Santa took them away to the North Pole ready to redeliver on Christmas Eve! (ok, so they are all bagged and stashed away in the garage but the kids dont need to know that do they? LOL) At the grand old age of 9, Scott still believes in Santa but took a knock the other day when someone said he wasnt real - mum to the rescue! I made a letter from Santa himself, inked and aged it then sealed it with some wax and a 'Santa was here' stamp - needless to say, to Scott Santa now is very much alive and kicking, oh and WAY COOL!! LOL

I had a little bump in the stash diet road but on the whole im doing well, only a little spend and now i have 17 of the 50 layouts under my belt! Here are a couple of things i have been working on lately :)

Jacob Lizard Tongue - I swear ive never seen a pointier tongue in my life! lol

He who stands in front of the TV when Johnny and the Sprites is on will get this face pulled at them until they move! lol Ethan feeding the ducks by hand - yep he was the only one doing it that way, everyone else was throwing the crumbs!

poorly kiddos :(

2007-11-11T22:19:00.000Z

Ack its like sick central here lately!! Jake was ill all of last week, we had one day break and now Ethan is projectile :( Anways i have washing to do and brows to mop so will leave you with a couple of pics for now.....
Jacob with his little lizard tongue..........Ethan watching TV looking rather angelic..........Santa Rules, Scott is a year round Christmas fan..........Christmas 06, Jake opening up his Christmas eve pressie of new pjs and chocolate in anticipation of Santa arriving.....
....Scott the night before we flew to Majorca, he got himself all worked up and didnt want to go - which of course was all forgotten about 2 mins into the flight!!

On a stash diet!!

2007-11-03T15:51:00.000Z

I have admitted i have a problem, no its not serious but it could end up in me having to climb out from under a mountain of stash should it all topple over! My name is Debbie and im a stash-o-holic therefore im now on a stash diet until i have completed at least 50 layouts! How brave am I?!?!

Here are the first 3 ..... Naughty or Nice? layout based around whether Jake will hit the naughty or nice list this year, the chipboard halo is painted gold and made into a little step but its just not working out on the photo :(

Number 2 is Scott @ age 9 - just a few of his favourite things at this age :)

Number 3 is Jake @ age 4 - he is both full of mischief and full of fun (generally both at the same time, hes our little tasmanian devil!!) lol

DCM and Dream Street Papers...

2007-10-28T11:04:00.000Z

Im loving all these challenges around and to tell you the truth its this thats made me really love this hobby!! Not just going through the motions of scrapping for an album but pushing myself to do things i wouldnt normally do and i think ive finally found a style im happy with, ive tried simple layouts and it just wasnt me.....ive tried loads of patterened papers and it just looked messy! Now im working on the cluster of embellies look and it is sitting well with me - im finally happy with how im scrapping and thats all that matters isnt it? :)

Here is a card for the daring card makers ribbon challenge this week, first time ive taken part but not the last, i should have done this ages ago!!

creation station!!

2007-10-26T12:29:00.000+01:00

I think my creative train is on full steam ahead!! I am loving 'doing things' again....dont get me wrong there hasnt been a point when i have disliked it but im now at the 'ok what can i make next' bit!! I made a few bits for halloween including a tin for my niece, filled with candy and bearing a DIVA logo im sure it will go down a treat :)

I love the look on Jakes face in this picture, so wide eyed and innocent (believe me he isnt - behind that smile and those sparkly eyes are pure devil child, the cheeky laugh that goes with the mischief is all part of his charm!!) lol

My mum rocks!! lol

2007-10-23T18:31:00.000+01:00

Well i could hardly pass up the opportunity to get Jake this T-shirt - even if he doesnt quite think so when he is older and i have the photos to make him squirm!! lol I love paper piecing (should i have whispered that??) - i dont mean the teddy bears and random scrapping circa 1990, i mean punch shapes and making scenes like the one below. This is a snowscene capped of with snow via the ink daubers (how cool are they and why have i just discovered them!!) made for the Design Collective christmas extras :)
Collectively Yours dare this week was elemental - you know, water, air, fire and earth. Well since during the summer we spend an awful lot of time at the beach (yeah they are all water babes!) it seemed the only way to go with a beach shot. Jake is terrible for not wanting to get wet and had us in fits of laughter with his genius way of skipping that 'wet trouser bottoms' syndrome!! lol

What time is it??

2007-10-21T22:32:00.000+01:00

SCRAPTIME!! Now whenever i look at the clock it tells me to go scrap, make art - whatever, its scraptime! lol This was a project for the papercraftjunkies design team challenge. Tracy set the challenge this week about time and this clock was just shouting out to be altered - it already has pride of place on the wall in my studio!

The Bad Girl Kits forum set the october challenge to use journaling on your layout, these are more pics of the boys at the beach and some notes on the usual routine. You know the kind, skimming stones, jumping waves, being told not to get wet and falling face first into the water - that kind of thing!! lolOh and im absolutely covered in magnolia paint splashes why cant someone invent a non-splatter roller!!?? Im completely whitewashing the house in the hope it will sell quicker, what is it all those 'sell your house' programmes say......'make it neutral and cream' well yes the life is being sucked out of our house in the hope someone can fall in love with it the way we did.....funny how life makes sudden twists isnt it!

Dirty Dancing..

2007-10-17T21:32:00.000+01:00

The living tv show started tonight (infact its on right now!) and im loving it - its set at Kellermans and looks just like it did way back when!! Im doing some serious arm twisting with dh as its got to be our next holiday - i swear it would be a complete dream come true! I dont know anyone who doesnt love Dirty Dancing! lol

Heres another layout of me (yawn i know but im loving the girly papers lately and im the only one i can use them on!!) Im working on some christmas projects so will share those soon too :) Ive entered a few DT calls and a couple of manufacturer contests and still have lots to do so please cross your fingers for me :) :)

for the love of basic grey...

2007-10-12T19:35:00.001+01:00

Im in their gallery with my About a girl layout - I made this at the retreat at the weekend, airing my new Fancy Pants stamps......boy are those babies HUGE!!! Its made using the Infuse papers with prima flowers, circle stamp (think its an autumn leaves one) and the fancy pants stamps.
Isnt this just the cutest thing ever!! A mini atc carousel - i dont do atc's too often and dont enter swaps so dont really need one i just think its mega cute and would look fab on my desk! lol
Here is a sneaky peek of a project for the Design Collective 12 week run up to christmas - im loving all the different ideas the girls are coming up with, 13 girls designing and each with a different take on each weeks challenge!! This is on top of the normal classes too! :)

Scotland and stamp obsession....

2007-10-10T09:42:00.000+01:00

We had an amazing time at the Scotland retreat!! It was Heathers birthday last tuesday so i suprised her with a party theme (heather organised the whole retreat so it was the least i could do to bring some decorations and a pinata without her knowing!!) lol Thankfully she loved it! The pinata was a huge shoe and didnt half take a beating to break - i swear at one point we almost trashed the tree with all the blind swinging of that stick! All of the sweets inside were batterred to a pulp and eventually it was Mel who knocked it for six!! lol
erm.....nuff said - the 3 amigos!
Heather was a fabulous hostess and is a Rainbow leader - on Saturday night we got to meet some of the girls as they had made us all a 3 course meal and served it to our table!! These girls are so pretty and polite and bearing in mind what some 14/15 year old girls get up to these little grown ups were a complete and utter role models for the younger brownies out there - they gave up their saturday night to come and make a meal for a bunch of 15 nutty scrapbookers! They deserve any badge going in my opinion!! lol
OK, so have you fallen for the Magnolia stamps yet??? I know i have.........

Back at the sewing machine...

2007-10-03T18:44:00.000+01:00

Overnight i finished off the bag, purse and keyring for Marja and they are winging their way to their new home tomorrow :) Im really pleased with how they turned out - i am still working on the whole zipper thing so for now this is a tie purse instead! What is it with zippers i just cant grasp - anyone out there that hold the secret then please put me out of my misery! LOL

I have some projects to finish off for the Design Collective and PapercraftJunkies so best get busy (plus im making a secret birthday pressie - sssshh, cant tell you anymore but will share pics soon!) ;)

New fabrics.....

2007-09-27T19:11:00.000+01:00

I finally finished sorting my studio (im calling it a studio as ive now moved all my sewing things in there too!) and i can finally get to work on some outstanding projects! Marja has commisioned a tote style bag to take out when she takes Naomi in the buggy - i have the fabric and the ideas so Im making a start on that tonight, with co-ordinating purse and a little suprise too.....will post piccies once marja has got her hands on it :)

We are having a huge clear out ready for a carboot sale - even if we dont move house for a while yet we needed this clear out ready for christmas otherwise the kids wont be able to move again! LOL

Im so in love with this programme - infact i think its overtaken Grays Anatomy in my 'best programme ever' category. The story lines are great and of course having eye candy like Rob Lowe cant be bad can it??

Its my Birthday!! :)

2007-09-25T21:30:00.001+01:00

Its my day today and what i thought was going to be a pretty run of the mill and nothing special birthday turned into the BEST birthday ever!! I have been so spoiled by girls i have the pleasure of calling my friends, these girls are just the most fabulous people i have ever met (and i havent even met some of them!!) lol Look what they bought me....a gorgeous HUGE bouquet of flowers complete with vase!.............an absolutely gorgeous bangle from A String Of Beads! I admired andreas when she had hers on and it looks so pretty!! Also from A String of Beads is a beautiful necklace, all dark and lush swirls from the fabby Heather! Some handmade christmas stamps from my phone buddy Lemon! lol A gorgeous handmade Home is where the heart is canvas and a pack of fabrics from the very artistic Clare and some beautiful embellies from Lousette!! I feel so spoilt!!!Look at all these cards- ive never had this many cards since i was in infant school (you know when you use to get one from EVERYONE in class! lol) I have noticed the neighbours looking too probably wondering what special occasion it is! :)

DH took me out for lunch and let me stop off at the Scrapbook shop where Gill was serving!! I havent seen Gill in years so that was a fab addition to a fab day!

busy busy bee!!

2007-09-24T09:37:00.000+01:00

I love working on these mdf layouts - here is the third in a set of 4 that are now on my kitchen wall - its great to be able to display some work without having to sort out frames, nails in the wall etc. All i have done is attach some double sided sticky velcro to the back of the mdf and stick it to the wall - the mdf is light enough to be held up by it and it means they are flat on the wall too instead of at an angle due to a nail etc :) I finally got the jacket finished for sewmamasew and I LOVE IT!!! So does Ethan as he wont take it off, its really given me the clothes making bug and im definately going to make more! I thought i would struggle giving it was my first venture with fabric outside of bags but the pattern was so easy to follow and everything just seemed to flow :)

Went to see Gwen last night and what can i say apart from FANFLIPPINGTASTIC! Loved the fact she actually came out and into the audience running down the aisles and singing in the stands - its obvious she loves her fans and judging by the response she got last night everyone loves her too :) Im slightly worse for wear this morning having come down with flu over the last couple of days! The boys and dh arent well either so its 5 cases of man-flu on top of me feeling like pants so if you have any hugs, medicine, patience etc going spare throw some this way!! LOL

Im going out!!

2007-09-23T10:56:00.000+01:00

Yep, im off out tonight for the first time in ages!! My little sis bought tickets to go and see Gwen Stefani for my birthday and tonight is the night (birthday isnt until tuesday), Soooooo excited as its bound to be a real all dancing all singing show! :)

I have so much to do today including photographing items for my next DC class, finishing my write up for Sewmamasew, finish my project for Papercraft junkies DT, parcel up some RAK pressies and alround finish off projects that are now taunting me!! Will be back to post some piccies later :)

Christmas is a comin' .....

2007-09-18T22:41:00.000+01:00

sorry couldnt resist!! I picked up a couple more christmas pressies today (bargains at Tesco - 75% off toys, what could be better!) , the boys love playing rough with their cars etc and they get thrown around the garden etc so im all for some cheap throw away toys!!

I dont know if its the weather getting cooler or that feeling of the nights getting darker but something in the air is feeling Christmassy - and you know what - IM LOVING IT!! I cant wait to get the decorations out, cant wait to start making table centrepieces, cant wait to start wrapping presents and everything else that comes with it.

Maybe im feeling this way because its been an absolutely awful year here - i mean BAD.....some days i really feel like standing there and shouting ' if theres anything else hit me with it now i really cant get any lower'!! There was the problems with the neighbourhood, bullying, dads cancer, business problems and now the fact we have to move again....seriously if this is karma i must have been such an awful person in the past! I try to live by the 'dont do anything to others you wouldnt want done unto you' but boy i think ive had my fair share of crap now, someone stop the ride i want to get off!!

OK, that was a little heavy but im guessing i just needed to get it out there and if youve made it this far then thank you :) On a lighter note then here is a piccie of my gorgeous teeny one (before a much needed haircut!)...

...his favourite phrase at the minute is 'what you doing?' He makes me smile :)

I now have a reason to use pink!!

2007-09-09T12:52:00.001+01:00

Meet Cassie :) She is our new teeny 9 week old kitten - now i will be the first to admit ive never been an animal person but me, dh and ethan went for a walk the other day with the other boys at school and we stopped in at the pet shop to show ethan the bunnies etc. Sitting in the corner of a cage was a little teeny ball of black fluff - she poked her head up, flopped her head down and just looked so sad - my heart melted there and then. *wub*The lady at the pet shop said someone was coming to pick her up that day but if she didnt turn up she would give us a call and let us know - fully expecting no phone call we tootled off home and sat wondering what kind of home she had gone to. Next morning the phone rang and she said 'what time will you be here to pick up your kitten!!' The boys were all at school when we picked her up and had no idea about her at all as we didnt mention it - they are so ecstatic and dote on her and she is the bestest thing to happen to us in a long time! She is only 9 weeks and is the same size as the tv remote control....so teeny that you have to watch where youre walking as you may stand on her!!!

Its was self portrait saturday over at HS:MS yesterday - this is one of the pics i did when trying to get a shot for my avatar on here but sadly i just cant do the 'elsie' look - i just look like im constipated or something! mwahahaa

today at HS:MS its Show off Sunday - show a favourite pic - heres mine, how cool is this t-shirt!! LOL

The boys are back.....

2007-09-05T08:15:00.000+01:00

....at school - partyyyyyyy!!! LOL I dont mean it honestly but after 6 weeks of constant MMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM you kinda look forward to packing them out of the door on a school morning! ;) Ben started BIG school and Jake went back to school from being taught at home instead of nursery for the last few months of last term!

Im just sorting through more holiday photos and have already received 200+ that i need to scrap! I had a visit to B&Q for more MDF and cant wait to make a start on more actual wall layouts - i have 3 so far and they look SO cool! Heres a couple more holiday shots and i will take some pics of the layouts on the wall and post them too -

Todays post at HS:MS is - To grasp, carry or support with your hands. Find 'hold' in your space. Ethan bought this monkey at Banham Zoo and hasnt put it down since!

HS:MS - are you playing?

2007-09-04T07:27:00.000+01:00

I discovered herspace - myspace a while ago and loved looking at the prompts, seeing what everyone came up with and then decided to jump in taking part each day. I LOVE IT!! Not only does it mean i get to update my blog each day but i get to take pictures too -always a good thing especially when im in a slump and have moany kids who 'dont want my picture done again' LOL

Todays prompt is a good one :- Absorbed in or involving thought. Show us 'thoughtful' in your space today.

I think the thought Jake was having here was - 'hurry up and take the picture - this llama doesnt look too friendly!! lol ;)

M.I.A!! Im home!

2007-09-03T17:32:00.000+01:00

Omg it feels like forever since i updated this blog - just looking back and erm......yes....it WAS FOREVER!!!

We have been on our holidays, no where flash but we had a week in Suffolk and the weather was fab so we all had a great time! The kids were happy as there was a beach everywhere we went, there was plenty to do and they had a great time at the arcades and amusement promenade in Great Yarmouth! *insert rolled eyes here because if i ever see another one of those machines you put 2p's into which try to push more 2p's off for you to ply back into the machine then i think i will scream!* mwhahahahahaaaa

Todays prompt at HS:MS is fall and it fits in perfect with one of the photos taken while we were away - no i wasnt cruel enough to photo one of the kids going head over heals but dh did capture me saving ethan just as he was falling head first into the sea! LOL Thankfully we were only ankle deep at the time! LOL

Anyways, lots more stuff in the process of being sewn, lots more scrapbook pages in play and over 200 photos delivered this morning so im going to be one little busy bee!!

Ive been creating again!

2007-08-23T18:10:00.000+01:00

Someone stop me as im using all my new stash and dont think i can buy any more for the next 10 years, it might end the nice relationship i have with the bank manager! LOL

Here are a couple of sneaky peeks of layouts ive created on mdf.....im liking it a lot more than working on paper, dont know if its because its 'different' or just because i have loads of new stash to throw at it! lol I bought a sheet of mdf at B&Q and the nice man there cut it down into 12x12 inch pieces for me - these are fab as they can go straight onto the wall and also stand up on their own for use elsewhere!! (i also bought a 10ft piece of dowling but thats another story!) lol

Todays prompt at HS:MS is white : The palest colour and sign of purity. Find 'white' in your space today. This is a bag i posted out to a lovely lady this week - it was the Mary Poppins bag because it has a cavernous inside that you could seriously get lost in!!

Friends.....

2007-08-22T08:54:00.000+01:00

The loony lot are going away again in October.....I swear we should need special permission to leave the house! Alone we are all respectible parents, workers, daughters, wives, etc but stick us all in a confined space and mayhem breaks out! Thats what true friends are about! :) Cant wait to see you all girls!

Todays prompt at HS:MS is Friends :- A person you know particularly well. Show us 'friend' in your space today. Well, i couldnt show you one friend without showing you all so here is a layout i did a while ago for Collectively Yours.

Feeling a little alien!

2007-08-21T11:22:00.000+01:00

Well, not an alien as such, more like a monster! I bought this little fella from etsy - go check out this seller, all the items he makes are gorgeous (some are a bit freaky in a HAVE TO HAVE THEM ALL kinda way though!) LOL

Todays prompt at HS:MS is wet :-Covered or saturated with water. Find 'wet' in your space today. I promptly tootled outside to see what was covered in water and low and behold its been raining again so i had plenty of choice! Here is our BBQ soaked with water - see those little pools, i swear the birds are loving their new funky baths!!

I also received my fabric and pattern for the sew mama sew review i have to do - wish me luck as im going to make a start on it straight away! If the fabric turns out to be too girly i have a niece the same age as Jake so the coat will be put to good use anyway (that is unless it ends up with 3 arms or no head hole or something else quite possible!!) lol

I dont do gardening!

2007-08-20T11:14:00.000+01:00

All my life ive dreamed of living in a little cottage, white picket fence, mature garden. You know the kind where you can have fresh flowers everyday by going out and picking your own. Popping on some gardening gloves a little apron and grabbing a basket to go fetch fresh vegetables for tea, peas i would pop from the pods myself, carrots i have dug up and washed the dirt off myself, you get the picture! :) *dream*

Unfortunately i soon realised im just not a garden person, i hate the fact the weeds come back through with a vengence as soon as ive finished, I hate the fact it always seems to rain and things get put off until later = more weeds! I wouldnt mind if we lived somewhere hot where we could have orange and lemon trees, beautiful blossoming trees that REALLY flower without being windswept and bedraggled and never really get a chance to shine! NO, sadly im just not a garden person - give me a lawn where the kids can play and some tubs of flowers and im happy! I have bought an olive tree for the garden but sadly due to weather resembling the North Pole its on its way out already - see, why do i bother!! LOL

Todays prompt at HS:MS is plant :- A green living organism. Show us a 'plant' in your space today.

Raining ....AGAIN!!

2007-08-19T10:11:00.000+01:00

Does this rain ever stop :( I dont feel like we have had a summer this year, what i would give for a couple of weeks non stop sunshine - it changes your whole outlook doesnt it! SO, instead of taking the kids to the park or out doing something nice we are off to B&Q to get some shelving for the craft room. Then we are coming back letting the kids play on their ps2s/watch dvds/eat a picnic of cakes while i get some scrapping and sewing done - yes bad mummy alert but i need some time out!

Todays prompt at HS:MS is can....A container for food or liquid. Show us 'can' in your space today. These cans from M&S are fab - love love love the Pina Colada - not so fussed on the Harvey Wallbanger shown here, too orangy!!

The return of the mojo!!

2007-08-18T09:59:00.001+01:00

After shouting from the rooftops the other day about my mojo returning I finally took pictures of my layouts ..... not sure if anything is fantastic about them but hey it got me in the scrapping mood again and for that im thankful!! lol I have posted some atcs too (forgot to take a picture first!) and i have signed up for a card swap, I now have regular challenges to do on the Papercraftjunkies forum and the Design Collective is always keeping us busy so im pleased to be back in the scrapping seat!!

Todays prompt over at HS:MS is Fly :- To move through the air. Find 'fly' in your space. DH will be happy that he is subject of my photos today, well his helicopter is at least! lol You see, as much as I love scrapping and sewing DH loves his helicopters more.

The photograph for today is the one of the heli blades ( i tell you it took me and caz a long time to stop calling them 'spinny things' - so we could annoy them more than anything!!) This shot was taken the other day and it took all my power just to keep up with the thing - I tell you Stuart earned some respect from me that day as it took some control to keep it about a foot from the floor while i tried to focus in close enough without getting dangerously too close!! LOLMwahahahaa Its good that dh has a hobby but its also kinda freaky some of the coincidences that have popped up!

You see me and caz have been friends a long time through scrapping, caz' husband is called Stu (same as mine!) and he flies helicopters too. They are both on the same forum and meet up for the 3day masters each year! Freaky eh? Actually its really cool, we dont have much chance to meet up but when we do there are none of those awkward silences as we all have so much in common - add that to the fact that Caz and Stu are probably one of THE nicest couples in the world and what more could you ask for! :)

An update for those asking about my dad.....

Mum phoned on Thursday after they had been for the scan to see how the chemo is doing. The news is good, infact its better than we expected! The tumors on his lungs and bowel have shrunk to half their size and the ones on the lining of his stomach seem to have disapeared altogether.....mum said the doctor was so pleased and can only predict good things what with another 4 sessions of chemo left! Fingers crossed things are going in a better direction for him and mum! :)

Sale at Oliviagracedesigns...

2007-08-17T16:42:00.000+01:00

Check here - I need to make some space so ive reduced the bags and accessories - go bag (mwahahahaa) yourself a bargain!! :)

Friday again....

2007-08-17T10:40:00.000+01:00

Why are the days flying by so fast? Has something happened that has made the hours seem shorter - i swear i only just wake up, get 'normal' stuff done and its bed time, it also seems to jump from Tuesdays to Fridays......AND Christmas coming just a little too quickly this year!! Thankfully most of that is taken care of as I WON a PS3 a couple of weeks ago - the kids dont know about it and ive managed to keep it secret so far haha!!

Todays prompt at HS:MS is lock - its supposed to be one with a key but the locks are all boring and i didnt read the prompt properly before i took the pic!! sorry!!

Do you see this photo? Do you think im going mad taking a picture of an empty basket? Do you have kids? If you answered yes to the last one you will realise why i had to take a picture of this monumental occasion!! MY IRONING BASKET IS EMPTY!! Now wasnt it right to take a picture of the empty basket - this marks a sight i may never see again LOL. Now, the washing basket is a whole other story - and a whole other photo which im just not up to sharing (maybe some therapy will get me to share but for now my little Everest that is my washing pile will remain hidden from blogsville!) ;)

I took this picture of Ben as he was running around the field doing normal kid stuff, football/chase etc.......so why do i feel so sad looking at it? Could it be that i can see hes growing up and not so much my little boy anymore? Could it be that i can see the man he is turning into - hes only 11 and meant to still be a kid but his attitude is changing everyday, hes willing to argue more and stand up for what he believes. This is a good thing, just something im not sure im ready for yet :(

Cutie, Congratulations and Carrots!

2007-08-16T16:22:00.000+01:00

Bit of a random title haha!! Had to share this picture of Jake taken yesterday - posing with his muscles apparently! LOL (erm.....his fringe is curtesy of scissor happy Scott - yes his brother gave him a 'trim'!!)

Today was girly day, I was picked up early by Andrea and Clare for our day out. No idea where we were going which turned out well as we visited every craft/scrap/art shop in the area!! First off was a visit to The Scrapbook Shop at Durham followed by dinner though at Big Lukes in the Metrocentre - yum!! (Their ribs taste like duck though - strange, unless they have funky looking ducks with huge ribs but they tasted nice so who was i to ask questions??!!) LOL We then dithered and decided on hitting Wards Graphics (good for peel offs! mwahahaa), then into Team Valley for a spot of Hobbycraft (absolute pants and not even nice pants! lol), then best of all we got to Dainty Supplies - now this place doesnt have the best rep but boy was it a fab place to be when looking for Cuttlebug supplies and brads! Needless to say we made up for not spending anywhere else!! lol :)

Andrea picked out todays winner for the bamboo handle bag and congras go to Diana (caz' mum!) Fingers crossed you are staying at Caz' still so i can post it to you there :)

Todays prompt on HS:MS is CHOP - now im not supposed to be let loose with knives without adult supervision but dh was standing by for this shot so im ok - no blood was spilled! ;) (only joking im honestly a good cook!!)

Missing mojo found and Blog Candy time!!

2007-08-15T10:18:00.000+01:00

I was starting to get really worried and about to place an advert for a missing mojo yesterday!!You see, my scrapping mojo disappeared about a month ago and no matter where i looked i just couldnt find it!! We looked everywhere, it wasnt even under the kids' beds and believe me EVERYTHING ends up 'under the kids' beds!'

WELL, yesterday i think i found it.......do you know what sparked it?? Some pink glittery paper and little pink jewels - coming from a mummy who only scraps blue/brown/BOY colours I quite suprised myself with the pinkness that turned into a LAYOUT!! Wahooooo, I really enjoyed it too and was on a roll so then made some ATCs and started a second layout........now i just need to get a cage for the mojo so it cant escape again! lol :)

The prompt at HS:MS is Window ......now, i could have gone outside and took one into the house for a sneaky peak but its raining (theres a shocker! lol) so ive had to make do with one looking out -

BLOG CANDY TIME!!

I had so many compliments on the bamboo handle bags that ive decided to hold another competition for you to win one........pop a comment in this section before midnight tonight and I will get one of the kids to pick a name at random :)

I can't get them uploaded to the store as things are changing this end so if anyone wants to buy either the pink or blue ones (coffee one is already sold) theyre £15 including postage - email me for details. :) I will be selling the aprons etc from the blog too - its going to be easier to keep everything in one place so watch out for new releases soon!!

A new addition to the family!

2007-08-14T10:39:00.000+01:00

Its ok pick your chin off the floor Im not as brave as Heidi and going for a fifth!! lol Meet Molly,

shes our new addition.....a gorgeous (quite big too!) bunny designed by Melly and Me, its the Pocket and Floss pattern and i cant believe how easy it was to follow!! The girls design everything you could possibly need and then some - dinosaurs are the latest and boy are they cute!! There was only the stitching left to do on Mollys face so while i had the cottons out last night i thought i would finish her, im so pleased i did as she now has pride of place next to my dressforms in my sewing room! :)

Word of the day today on HS:MS is Pasta, I love this stuff and really should try to eat more. We go through phases where its all the boys will eat but lately they cant stand the stuff - fickle kids!! LOL :)

Parcels were posted yesterday to the winners of the competition and im all raring to set another - who else would like a competition to win some goodies?? Check back tomorrow morning for a competition to win one of the bamboo handle bags!! :) :)

Ta-da!!

2007-08-13T09:23:00.000+01:00

Im going to share a sneaky peek with you of one of the aprons I have started - it still needs some ribbon and buttons adding but other than that im pleased with the fabrics I got yesterday - something about them said BUY ME!! (its funny but this seems to be happening quite a bit lately - should I worry more for my sanity that fabric is speaking to me or the bank manager who im sure is having heart failure!) lol

Ok so its not a secret that I cant drive - yes I know I need to learn and I SOOOO want to have that bit more independence. I have my provisional license and have failed tests in the past but the thing is I know I can drive as im more confident now - its just the initial getting behind the wheel and some of the idiots on the roads now that scare the pants off me! Do you know we nearly got wiped out by an 18 wheeler that was bombing it down a country lane the width of one lane!!
Anyways, what prompted this outburst (lol) was todays prompt over at HS:MS - drive..... unfortunately this is the only 'vehicle' that im allowed behind the wheel of!! lol :)
Can i tell you about a special lady?? Meet Heather ...... not only is she a fantastic artist but first and foremost she is a mum, mum to 4 wonderful kids - go read her story and I dare you not to be touched by the heart this woman has! Heather has the ability to make you laugh within seconds of meeting her and she is so creative it has to be contagious (please dont shatter my hopes! lol)

We were looking for some storage for the kitchen to pop all the clothes in for the kids to take upstairs and put away and Heather came to the rescue! She suggested Ikea and the Trofast collection - well, I swear im in love - this unit now has pride of place in my kitchen and has had so many oohs and aaahs, is used all the time and I dont know how we managed without it! Thanks Heather!! :)

EDIT :- I made the Papercraft Junkies Design team!! yayyy :) ------------> see my blinkie for a link to the forums!!

Finished!

2007-08-12T11:51:00.001+01:00

Need to get these babies uploaded and im off today to find some scrummy black and white fabric for those aprons (last post) - im thinking black and white apron with colour pattern frill, pocket and belt! So excited to get started and would have yesterday if my brain hadnt gone into overdrive and come up with an idea i just cant shake! lol

The prompt for today over at HS:MS is threads - well, i have plenty of those lying round so it fits quite well with the embroidery threads ive been using lately!

DH is busy setting up his new helicopter for some ariel photography so i need to take some pics of it in the air - do you know how hard it is to photograph something thats flying all over the place and doesnt stay still for 2 seconds (with 4 kids you would think i should have the action shots down to a T!!) lol

2007-08-11T11:06:00.000+01:00

Todays prompt from HS:MS is down.......I have been sitting at it so much lately the only logical pic for me was the foot on my sewing machine! Im starting work this afternoon on some 50s style aprons - frills, pocket....everything, similar to these ones :)

It carries on shining!

2007-08-10T19:45:00.000+01:00

That big ball in the sky was out again today - so warm we headed off to the beach infact! Scott stripped down to his swimming shorts but the rest of the boys didnt think it was that warm (infact i dipped in the water myself - erm toes and thats all as it was freezing!!) You know what you dont see very often near the north sea - a 70 year old grannie in a bikini!! Scott said he wished it was Chanelle (from BB8 - yes im worried about his mentality!) lol This is my pic today too for the herspacemyspace blog - im thinking a pair of ickle feet are as good a double as any (and major cute too!!) :)

I am off now to upload to the store the checkered bag from last night and the blue bag (shown here), just got the others to finish off and photograph and im finished this style, time to move onto something new! Speaking of which im reviewing one of the patterns on sewmamasew - i have to make a jacket for one of the boys as part of their September projects :) If it all turns out well we could be the next Von-Trap family all with matching jackets (only joking!!) lol

Bamboo tote and baseball!

2007-08-09T19:38:00.000+01:00

What do you get when an 11 year old brings home a baseball glove??

One over curious 2 year old! Ethan was so funny, he tried every way possible to get the glove on (it was huge on his tiny hand!) and then when he finally had it on the ball was way to heavy for him to catch. LOL He persisted though and eventually had a few throws and catches but gave up - too much like hard work just now when the glove is almost as big as your head!

After a walk in the park it was back to finish off one of the bamboo handle bags i started yesterday. I only have 4 sets of handles and each of them are in different fabrics - i will try to upload them to the site over the weekend as i finish each one. Theres the checkered one below, a blue one in the same fabric as the custom order 3 posts below, a pink one like the box tote in the shop and one other (just not sure what fabric to use yet!) lol

Tote winner and then some......

2007-08-08T11:41:00.000+01:00

So, we printed off the names, folded them and popped them into a bucket....

.....in goes a little hand to pick the winner......

....and congrats go to.......drumroll........

....anice!!! Can you email me your address and i will get your tote out to you :)

It doesnt finish there, Scott loved picking the name out that he wanted to do some more so we now have 2 more goodie bags (sorry i cant send you all totes!) to send out! If you are a winner please can you email me your addresses and i will get some goodies packed up and out to you :)

Yay for Yasmin! Congrats to Lisa Swift!Remember to keep checking back for more competitions and give aways as well as all the latest info on my creations! :)

..bags as promised!

2007-08-07T22:01:00.000+01:00

Here are the new bags, the blue one was a custom order and the pink one is mine. There are more on the way to be added to the store .......

I am off on a fabric hunt tomorrow, wish me luck!

Pickin n stitchin!

2007-08-07T09:58:00.000+01:00

While the sun was shining and we had something yesterday that kind of resembled a summers day we headed off to pick some raspberries! Once we arrived at the fields we found that they not only had raspberries but redcurrants, blackcurrants and a few rows of strawberries! (sweetcorn ready in 2/3 weeks too - thats down on the calender for a revisit!)

We each grabbed a basket and headed out to the fields, we could have spent hours there but there was so much fruit it only took half an hour to fill all the baskets! The boys loved running between the rows of raspberries and squealing every time they saw a fresh batch of fruit.

Usually we get home, wash the fruit and have it with ice cream but the kids wanted something different this time so we made some raspberry coulis and a big tub of redcurrant sauce. They were both so easy to do and the coulis has been frozen for use over the summer. YUM!

The coulis was litteraly just squishing the raspberries through the sieve, adding sugar then freezing. The redcurrant sauce had to be cooked which the kids watched, then helped put through the sieve and added the sugar....it tastes fab and so fresh!

I have a couple of new bags to upload this afternoon and if you havent entered the competition on the previous post do so NOW!! You could win one of the coffee totes!! :)

More new bags added and Competition Time!!

2007-08-04T16:04:00.001+01:00

So pleased that i finally have the labels to finish off the bags....its been coming a long time and now they are here i am just so pleased to be able to put our name on the finished items!! yayy!!

COMPETITION TIME!!

If you post a comment on the blog by midnight on Tuesday 7th august you will be entered into the draw to win one of the Coffee Totes......now isnt this better than a carrier bag and so much more environmentally friendly too (and a confidence boost when you visit Starbucks and they ask where you got it as its TOO COOL - yes that happened last weekend!!) :)

If you recommend someone to the site please get them to mention your name for an extra chance at winning. Your name will be put into the hat again for every person you recommend!!

busy busy!

2007-07-20T16:15:00.001+01:00

Finally got round to making the kids aprons only to have them nabbed by my own kids!! Have made more though so they are being uploaded to the site tonight - they're fully lined with a double pocket across the bottom of the apron. I will be making more but not necessarily in this fabric as i have some funky wipe clean fabrics to use too!!

martha stewart watch out!

2007-07-17T16:06:00.000+01:00

not only do i love aprons and have a mass collection but i made up the pattern for this one too! This will be going in the store today and available on order......it will take approx 3 days to get one made and posted but as its fully lined (both apron and pocket!) its well worth the wait :)

I only have enough fabric for 2 more in this fabric right now until i can get to the suppliers for more.

Welcome.....

2007-07-15T20:26:00.000+01:00

We have a blog!! Welcome to the Oliviagrace designs blog - be the first to preview snippits of the new items to go into the store. Here we will try out new ideas, gain feedback and take on board requests for new items. As well as that we will give you will get to see prototypes of new items heading for the store - your imput will count!

Here are a couple of items that headed to the store today....
a delicious ultrasoft cord tote with chocolate mock suede detail!
the ultimate duffle bag with external pockets all round the bag - plenty of space!

We are now working on some baby accessories including burpee cloths, changing mats and bags and snuggly baby blankies!