Does my bum look big in this?

Im loving the Basic grey challenges. Ive always been a big fan of basic grey and have quite a few of their collections, even some of the older ones. When I have a clear out of some of my older stash I can never quite bear to throw my basic grey out. The challenges are helping me use up my stash.

Today I had a go at this sketch challenge. I used an older collection called Origins. This is one of my favourite collections - the colours are just so fresh - and Ive done quite a few layouts using it.

This layout shows Matthew wearing one of his Daddy's sweatshirts and walking round the house with his arms in the air like a monster. He is so cute! ( but im biased)

Lily Bee - Love is...

Here is one of the other layouts I completed at my crop on Thursday. This time I used a sketch on the Lily Bee blog. I used some Lily Bee papers called Head over Heels and some of the stickers from the range. Plus a few bits and pieces from my stash such as the flower, thickers and the little row of cut out people. I love the turquiose and pink combination and it is a while since I used it.

The photo show Matthew and one of his little playmates at our valentine tea last week. The title is Love is... sharing a bowl of fruit.

Show off Saturday - 5 layouts

There  are so many things to love about our Saturday crop. I love to meet up with all the girls and hear all the latest news. We seem to chat about so many things. I love it that it is next to Sainsburys and Starbucks for a bit of retail therapy. I love that Sandra often brings her shop. Yesterday I loved it that Gaye (who organises the crop), made scented tea cup candles for each of us to celebrate our 6th birthday. I love to see what everyone else is doing and get inspiration for new projects and purchases. And I love it that I can sit and scrap for a decent period of time - yesterday about 5 hours - and this means I will usually do a few layouts. Yesterday I completed 5 layouts and here they are:

The first layout uses some Bo Bunny Snowfall papers. Matthew looked so cute in his woolly hat in the snow. I used this layout here for inspiration.

More snow photos for the second layout and this time Echo Park's Winterpark which the lovely Sandra gave me for Christmas in our crop Advent swap. No specific design  to inspire this layout - just great products and photos to inspire me.

My 365+1 photo  a day project was the inspiration for the third layout and also a colour combination that Im keen to explore more of - red and grey. I went through my stash and picked out red and grey stuff and went from there. You can see all my photos taken this year here.

The fourth layout uses some Echo Park A boy's Life. Perfect for these photos of Charlie and Matthew playing cars last weekend. The design is pretty much a copy of this great design. Thanks to Gaye for bringing along some unwanted stash and for Ali for picking out those cute felt cars.

My last layout was inspired by this pretty picture of Anna taken last weekend. Soft pinks and greens are lovely but I dont get the chance to use them much with Matthew. These are Little Yellow Bicycle.

Hopefully Ill be back soon with my other two layouts from Thursday night. 

Double Date - Basic Grey Sketch

Last night was my Thursday crop night. A lovely chance to catch up with my scrapping buddies and do some scrapping. I completed three layouts and hope to share them all with you.

This one is for the basic grey sketch challenge . On Monday Matthew had three of his little friends round for a valentines tea. It really was the cutest thing in the world to see the four of them sat around the table eating their sandwiches and wearing their little red t-shirts. A proper double date!

I used some more Basic Grey Kissing Booth for the challenge and here is the result.

12 on the 12th

So this was the first time I did the 12 on the 12th challenge that I mentioned last month. This month it fell on a Sunday - not quite sure what im going to do when it falls on a work day as I barely have time to the loo at work , let alone take photos! I might have to cheat that week.

But this time I managed it. Here they are:

The remains of our snowman

• Dinner out - my roast ( please note this includes Matthew's food and I did NOT eat two large Yorkshire puddings) and eton mess.
• Matthew mastering bananas and custard. He did a good job.
• My preperations for valentines - heart cookies complete with initials for our little guests coming for tea today, blueberry muffins and cards for the three little girls in Matthew's life.
• Just some really cute photos of Matthew sitting all grown up.
• Bathtime.

Show of Saturday - on Monday again!

Im a little behind with my posts but not with  my ideas to fill them. I had an idea for my show offf saturday and I took my 12 photos on the 12th but will need a couple of days to get up to date with it all. Another thing to add to my to do list.

For my show off saturday this week I want to show off my little boy, Matthew ( boring I know - but he is such a good boy and Im always so proud of him and the new things he does). One of the things he is doing so well at the moment is 'reading' his books. He will sit and read a book in our bed in the morning while we get ready. Or he will sit on the sofa and look at books without us reading to him. And he likes to have a book to look at as he is going to sleep. And I always have a book or two to keep him occupied if we go out. Of course, he also loves to have books read to him. He does have his favourites - at the moment they are the Elmer books, Kipper the dog books, and probably his absolute favourite is the Gruffalo. Our house is full of books and I love them so Im delighted that now he seems to be really getting into them.

Here are some pics from the last week of the little man reading.

On the sofa with Gruffalo's child

Reading in our bed in the mornings.

Being read the Gruffalo by the lovely Anna.

With Daddy

Crazy boy!!!

10 Things on the 10th

So its time for the monthly 10 things on the 10th. Last month were some things that I planned to do over the coming year. We have already crossed one of these of our list as a couple of weeks ago we took Matthew to the Natural History Museum. He absolutely loved it, especially all the stuffed animals and the tube journey. Simon and I were shattered when we got home from lugging him and the buggy up and down the stairs at the stations and keeping up with him in the musuem but he loved it so much it was of course worth it.

Today however marks the start of half term. Im delighted. This term has been short and although that sounds fantastic we often feel like we pack the same amount of work into the term whether it is 6 weeks or 8 weeks. Just like I often feel I pack  a 5 day working week into 3 days. I love my job - but it keeps me very very busy at times.

So half term sees some time to catch up on the things that dont get done during school time. Im lucky that Matthew will still spend some time with grandparents and nursery so I hopefully will get some jobs done and have some me time.

So I have 2 lists tonight. My to do list ( jobs) and my to do list ( pleasure).

10 jobs to do at half term:

1. Medical appointments - dentist, opticians ( boring!)
2. Have a wardrobe sort out - bin some old clothes and a general tidy
3. Dressing table sort out - im hoping to get a new one soon as mine is tatty so time for a clear out!
4. Complete my album sort - started at Christmas but needs completion
5. Some school work - marking/ reports/admin/ lesson planning  etc
6. Start to organise Matthew's 2nd Birthday
7. Order my new drivers license ( apparently I need to update the photo)
8. Sell a few bits on ebay and marketplace in UKS. Want to buy some new items from the latest craft ranges.
9. Go through some old magazines and tear out bits I want and throw the rest out for recycling
10. Find a couple of new recipes to try out in coming weeks. Feel like we need some new ideas.

Not all the jobs above are horrible - but they are jobs nevertheless.

10 pleasurable things to do at half term:

1. Visit friends in Eastbourne
2. Swimming and then lunch with Matthew's swimming buddies and families
3. Meet up with NCT friends
4. Breakfast with a work collegue who is a great friend and yet I never have time to talk to at work
5. A meal with a good friend
6. A shopping trip - just me!
7. A Thursday night crop
8. A Saturday crop
9. Reading magazines and books and catching up on some TV.
10. Maybe even more scrapbooking at home! Who knows!

Wow - that is going to keep me busy. Im worn out just thinking about it. This time next week I will looking forward to going back to work for a rest ( just kidding!).

Another Basic Grey challenge

As I said in a previous post I have been following the Basic grey blog. Not only did I get to see some lovely layouts using all the new fab products - they also have some great challenges.

So on Thursday night at crop I went armed with a sketch and some supplies from the Wander collection and had a go at this sketch challenge.

The photos were taken last Saturday when we took Matthew on the tube and his first trip into London. We went on the District line so you can see out the window most the way. Matthew loved looking for the trains coming in the opposite direction. He was so good. He loved the natural history museum and went from one stuffed animal to another in awe. He also enjoyed the dinosaurs.

He was worn out and fell asleep on the tube on the way home. Another big adventure!

The layout is made with basic grey Wander, is loosely based on the sketch. My favourite bit is all the little arrows.

Show off Saturday - which photo for 365+1?

I dont have much to show off today. I have a couple of layouts from this week that I am really pleased with and Matthew is saying new things all the time, but I dont want my theme to be the same every week.

However, I did take a few photos on Monday of a heron sitting on the tree opposite our house. It had a little battle with a crow and I managed a few half decent shots. The photography isnt excellent - but I think the pictures tell a good tale so I think I will show them off today.

Im still working on my 365+1 photo a day and uploading them onto the 365 website. Its a really easy way of seeing them all together. So my question is - which one of the heron photos should be my photo of the day for Monday 30th Jan. You decide! Please comment.

I love U and all your silly faces

Recently I have been following a few scrapbook manufacturers blogs - keen to investigate their new CHA products. Ive always been a big Basic Grey fan and have been stalking their blog to see the new lines. My favourite is Plumeria with its subdued lilac and pale yellow tones.

Whilst looking at their blog I came across this competition and thought I would have a go.

These photos are of Matthew after I gave his wild hair a trim. He was very cooperative and afterwards posed for photos - making loads of silly faces.

The competition was to create a layout with the I love you theme. I used some of my favourite papers by Basic Grey - Marjolaine.