After a bacon butty for breakfast, I had a quick catch up around the forums, then did a bit more beading, it's getting easier with practice!! I had already got the head pins made up for a bracelet so I got that made for Mandy and made 2 pairs of earrings.

One black and silver bracelet

and here are the earrings, the black ones are just like the ones I didn't get to photograph before Mandy snapped them up yesterday. I just love the amber/brown ones I may have to keep these myself they will look nice with the dress mum has bought me for christmas!This afternoon I have baked my 12 sponges ready for delivery tomorrow, boy how I need the money, I am spending as if there is no tomorrow!! I am loving beading but buying all of the bits required to make these delectibles isn't what you would call cheap!

Hollie made me laugh today, she plays with Stripes our latest guinnea pig (my birthday one) like he's one of her toys, she always has him out of his cage and even when he nips her she doesn't care. Anyway she had only got him belted into her dolls buggy and was pushing him around the room, the second time I looked he had been given a handbag and a doll to keep him company!!

Wow just realized I haven't blogged since Tuesday, must be this busy life I lead LOL.... Wednesday we met up with Mandy and Luke at playgroup for an hour, we have started leaving early because they now do singing nursery rhymes and reading stories and that's not our thing!! Besides mum was coming over so we could go to Debenhams as it was 20% day and then go to Matalan as I had seen some bits in the brochure I liked the look of. Debenhams was pants, I didn't buy a thing and mum only bought 1 little manacure set for sis for christmas!
Matalan was better, I got the girls some lovely longer length tops/dresses with free leggings, and long sleeved nighties ready for christmas morning. I picked out a couple of long top/dresses to wear with my leggings and long boots, I let mum get them as she has no idea what to get me for christmas. Only thing is I now have to wait for them, mind you I could do with loosing a few inches between now and then, but I know it's not going to happen!
Thursday I did some beading as I need to catch up with the orders that I have. I successfully made the 3 bag charms sis wants for the boys teachers. After we picked Lillie up from school we went over to mum and dads as Lillie hadn't seen them since the weekend, so I took my beads with me and made another bag charm, and pair of earrings, pinging bits of metal all around the room when I cut the ends off of the head pins!! We popped up to see Matthew as he had been off work for 2 days (correcting his work hours) he was laying a patio at my aunties around her new conservatory. He had just finished as was clearing up when we got there, it looks really nice, my auntie can't believe how particular he is with his work!!!

Take 4 lengths of chain, attach a clasp

a few beads and heh presto 2 bag charmsand another 2, I really do like the colours of these 2 This morning we were invited to stay a while at school to look at the childrens picture books (books with pictures of them doing certain activities during their school time, Lillie started hers in nursery). A couple of the mums who I was with saw Lillie's hand writing book and couldn't believe how good her letters were, their children only had lines in their books. It is really good all of her letters are readable, we occasionly write words for her to copy but not that often. Her head teacher came and asked if I had seen it and said how brilliant she was and that she had taken Lillie's book along with 1 other pupils to a school meeting yesterday and they thought a year 1 pupil had done it, not a reception pupil. I am very pleased with her and should really spend more time with her reading and writing.

I have also been beading again, and have made a watch for Kay who changed her mind with the red 1 as I said I had no idea of how to make the brooch, she has now requested an amber coloured one!!! So that's done and another black bag charm made. Mandy popped in so I could measure her wrist for her bracelet and saw the earrings I made yesterday and bought those along with the bag charm she had ordered, and has also ordered another 1 for her mum. Oh I do enjoy this!!!!

Kays watch, not a very good piccie but it is lovely in the flesh!

I didn't get around to taking a piccie of the earrings as Mandy snapped them up before I had the chance! Oh well they were easy enough to make more of!

Oh and I forgot last night I made this quick card for the girls to give to their cousin who's 5th birthday it is today. The fab 3d image was made for me by a forum friend.

Really pleased that I channel hopped last night, as I caught Sara demonstrating the 'ultimate crafters companion', the first thing she made was a notelet folder! Wow just what I needed, as Kay had said she had looked all over for a notelet set with birds on for her mum and couldn't find anything anywhere. She also showed other bits which I hope I will be able to remember!

Here is the set I made with Kays mum in mind

view from the insidethis is the note paper, 6 different birds, 2 of each so that makes it a nice set of 12 A5 sheets and envelopes

I liked it so much that I made this onenot a very clear piccie but here is the note paper, all the same this time, and I have done this as a set of 10and another onethe note paper, again the same and a set of 10these are so easy, and I think a nice little gift, so yes I will be making more of various designs! But I guess I should really get doing some beading, Kay has just emailed trying to persuade me to make a brooch aaarrgghh... I have the fitting but no idea of how to make one, she wants a watch to match so better have a go!!!!!! shouldn't really turn down an order!!!!

Hubby decided he would like to take the children to Thursford yesterday, as they had been advertizing a winter wonderland and chance to meet Father Christmas (for a price of course!). It was very much like the display they have at Baytree garden centre, but I would say nicer and they also had shows on for you to watch if you wanted to. We got to see a ventriloquist (mmm..spelling!) and a magician, which were both quite entertaining. Father Christmas was lovely, Matthew thought he was very much like the 'real' Father Christmas, but mum and I saw one far better in a grotto in Asda a few years back!! The girls got lovely presents, Hollie had a barbie doll with a set of clothes for it, Lillie had a disney princess case full of make-up and Tia got a very pretty watch.
We called in at mum and dads on the way back, and had tea there, we had bought some fresh bread and bits when we called into Morrisons en-route.
That's about it for yesterday.
Today I called mum early and got her out of bed, to ask if she wanted a trip to Toys r Us so reluctantly she said yes, we were in there just over 2 hours. Hollie made us laugh when we got to the doll section she found a buggy feld up, she proceeded to open it up and then pushed it all over the shop where ever we went, it kept her quite amuzed! I think the 3 wheeler buggy I got her for her birthday to go with the baby anabel we have got will go down well.
Sadly no time for crafting today, hopefully tomorrow!

Ran out of time to post yesterday, so catching up today. Well it was children in need day, and it was role reversal day at school, so the pupils were dressed as the teachers and vice versa, Lillie was so excited, she wore a skirt, jumper, tights and shoes, I had made a name tag which I laminated and tied with ribbon which she wore around her neck it said 2chuildren in need, for one day only Miss Lillie, Teacher, and had popped the lenses out of an old pair of glasses for her to wear!! Unfortunately they hadn't reminded people so there were only about 8 in her class that actually dressed up! I wasn't too happy when I read the dates of times of Lillies christmas play, as I've said before the 2 days they are doing it are mad. Yes just as I thought it's in the morning on the Tuesday and the afternoon (right in the middle of Hollies playgroup christmas party, around about the time father christmas arrives!!) aarrgghh...

So anyway we decided to pop over and visit nannie and grandad as Lillie hadn't seen them all week, whilst there I read the local paper, and the garden centre where I am having a stand at the craft fair had a full page advert in. There was a small piece about a crafts event they are having, yes......., and......., it's only 6pm to 8.30pm Matthew had lead me to believe it was an all dayer!!!! I screamed I laughed I danced around the room, it meant I could go and see at least the 1st performance of Lillies play yippeee......

In the afternoon I had made a quick couple of pairs of earrings and finished a bag charm that I had started, not 100% happy with it yet but I have a few different bits on order so may swap some bits around.

Here are the earrings, quick and simple

and the bag charm, these take a bit more planning

I am really enjoying making these and have Kerry (Angelswings_2) from the CM&PC forum to thank for inspiring me with her lovely work.

I also made this card for my nephews birthday which is at the end of the week, now all we need to do is try and think what we've bought him and find it in the loft!

'Mater' is 3d'd and looks fab in 'real life' I think it's one of my favourites, I have made it so that if wanted the 'mater' top will actually come off and could be framed, or just blue tacked on the wall, it would be such a shame to throw him away!

Off to bake cakes (12 of them!)

Had a mad crazy day today with visitors. Kay came round with her 2 boys just after lunch, her eldest is a little sod, he does something naughty, says sorry and then laughs, I'm sure he's got invisible horns!! Her youngest is happy enough playing for a while and then he starts crying because he wants her to pick him up, which she does and has done every single time he has cried since being born, I've told her many many times she needs to leave him to cry, so he knows he's not going to get what he wants all of the time, but she doesn't take it on board, you would think 3rd time she would've learnt!?!
Then as she was leaving sis turned up, she wanted me to have Ethan for a little while whilst she took Jordan to the dentist, bless him he was ever so good he came with us to pick Lillie up from school which was a surprise for her. But when Jord got back they trashed the living room, well covered it in toys aarrgghh...!! Still it got cleared up. Jordan is very impressed with my jewelery making and wanted some bits to take home to make me a pair of earrings, but as he had no idea what to do we made a pair together, and then he went and gave them to his mum!!! I don't mind, she has now asked for them to be made in every colour!!

We were all organized to go to playgroup this morning when I checked my phone and there was a text from Mandy saying her little boy had been up since 1am with no intentions of going back to sleep and there were knackered. So we didn't go, instead we went round the house for a little while, she liked her engagement card!
I mentioned that I had made another bracelet and a bag charm and that I had them in the car to show my sister, she said she would like a look, and put in an order for a brown bracelet and bag charm, wow my first order!!!
After we left we went to mum and dads as Claire/sis hang rung earlier and said she had the dentist so would be over for a while. I showed her my jewels and she was very impressed, so much so that she had the brown bracelet there and then as a pressie for her mother-in-law abd she has ordered 2 more bracelets, 1 pair of earrings and 5 bag charms!!! OMG I will be dreaming beads!!!!! But it's so exciting!!
Here is the re-worked red bracelet and newly made earrings to go with it, so that's one part of sis's order complete!

Hollie was happily playing in the room this afternoon and when I went to tell her she had to get her boots and coat on to pick Lillie up from school, she had arranged the 'little people' in this circle! It was so cute she even turned the people so they were all looking into the middle at the baby!! She usually lines them up as if they are going into school like Lillie does!!