Very quick entry tonight as I want to catch the end of I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. Still got my cold so not felt like doing a lot again today. Saying that I have been playing around with the photos I took of the girls for our family christmas cards, I now have 3 more designs to add to the one I made a couple of weeks ago, now all I need to do is decide which I am going to make up in bulk!

I also made this for a friend of Lillie's who's birthday party she is going to tomorrow

I was talking to the mum of the boy who is playing Joseph in the school nativity again today and she told me that Lillie is his favourite at school at the moment, she is all he talks about at home and says that she looks so pretty in the mornings when she comes to school and she has really beautiful hair! Aaahh.. bless him!!

We sat in the hospital yesterday for what seemed like forever. We were there at about 7.40am and the sign said they didn't open until 8am luckily for us as it was really cold the lady opened the doors about 7.50, Matthew was among the first 8 or so people to be called through onto the ward and we thought yeah this is a good sign, but oh no, when we asked the lady said he was last on the list for his surgeon and it would be late morning, ugghh....

He finally went for his op at about 11.30am and seemed to be gone ages, but I managed to get 2 bag charms and a bracelet made up and another bracelet when he came back. He was drowsy for a while and get drifting off, after eating, drinking, having a little walk etc he was allowed to go at 2.45pm. Mum and Dad had taken the girls back to ours so we invited them to stay for tea. It sure had been a long day!

2 black bracelets made at the hospital

2 bag charms

another 2 bag charms, the one of the left is multi coloured and the one on the right is clear and silver, I love this one and also got really good feedback from my mum and Matthews mum when they saw them, as this can go on any coloured bag. I will be making a few more of these!Today he is a bit sore and achy and sits on tender hooks that one of the girls is going to jump on him or bash him by accident. I have a blinking cold, runny nose, sneezes (my nose tingled all day at the hospital) and have to keep catching my breath, so I haven't really done a lot today. I did have to go to the dentist for a check up, got to go back for a filling (great more expense!) and had to collect a parcel from the post office. Apart from that and the school run, I made a quick card Kay had asked for and collected this afternoon along with the watch and notelet set she had ordered, before she left we showed her Matthews log/tea-light creations and was quite impressed and decided to buy one of those to!!!!

The 'in the nightgarden' card requested by Kay (not my best, but all I could muster today!)and finally a pair of chandalier style earrings I made whilst tea was cooking. I had an order of earwires this morning, I can make 4 more pairs in this style but have got 50 other pairs to!!

Woo hoo Lillie came out of school today and glee-fully told me she was going to be 'Mary' in their school nativity play, how excited was I. I have just told Matthew and he said "good ole girl" bless her, leading her class in the ballet show and now Mary we could have a star in the making LOL!!!
Well I've been piling the beads onto headpins again today ready to take with me tomorrow, I just hope there is somewhere I can work. I'm taking the findings to make 2 black bracelets and 2 black bag charms, 2 more bag charms and a bracelet, so if I get those done I will be happy. I also bought a magazine to read when we went to collect the chinese, yeah we didn't have to share it with the girls tonight as they are having a 'sleep over' at nannie and grandads! Mum won't sleep a wink as she watches them all night!! They shouldn't be too much trouble, Hollie has a bit of a cough and a cold, but she has taken her medicine and once she's asleep she's ok.
Well best get my beads packed away, and remind Matthew where his new pants are LOL and look forward to a really exciting morning sitting in the hospital.

Busy start to the day today, after we dropped Lillie at school Hollie and I headed for town. I needed to top my bank account (for ebay) up yet again, nip to the doctors to sort out my prescription, only to be told I need a check up before I can have the next lot, oh joy! Then we had to get Matthew some new pants, bless him he is worrying about his op on Wednesday (a delicate 1, see card below!) LOL I keep telling him I had my stomach cut open when I had Lillie (c-section obviously) and he's going to have a tiny little 2" cut!!!!!! Still it means he is going to drag his sick out for 2 weeks, that on top of holiday days and days off to correct his working hours means we will have him home nearly the rest of the year, I think he is only working 5 days, we love having him home but it will make going back harder.

Matthew's card I will give it to him after the op.!!!

and the insert (I hope these pictures don't offend anyone)

So jobs done, and a quick catch up round the CM&PC forum as I didn't get on the pc yesterday as we went shopping to take back the girls tv/dvd and get them a new 1 and Tia a portable tv for christmas. Then by the time we got back we had arranged to go up town with mum and dad for the oh so exciting switch on of the christmas lights! It was ok the girls had a good time going to see Father Christmas who gave them a bag of sweets (ok for a voluntery donation) a couple of goes on the side stalls and a ride or 2 on the fun fair. Then it was back home to ours to cook tea, then bath then bed.

So today I have been putting beads on headpins ready to take with me on Wednesday when I have to wait at the hospital for Matthew. Those, jump rings, pliers, chain and clasps and I should be able to get some bag charms/bracelets done, well that's what I am hoping anyway. I also made 3 pairs of earrings, I just love making them as they are so pretty and so quick and easy. Therefore ordering more findings, beads, jump rings etc

Todays earrings

I also made this other card today for a forum friend, unfortunately it is going to be late.

Tomorrow I hope to get lots more headpins loaded, thing is I could get so many more done if I wasn't so finicky and worried that I'll run out of a certain type LOL

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!!!!