Welcome to Sookie's World
Friday 4 December 2009
The house is full of bits!
CRAFT CENTRAL chez nous is underway and there doesn't seem to be a spare top that isn't covered or festooned with bits of paper, peeloffs and ribbon. Will I achieve the task of making ALL my cards this year??
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Reindeer Candy Canes
Finally managed to finish these cute candy canes for my class. I got the template from http://www.marthastewart.com/ only I used card stock instead of felt. I bought bulk white pipe cleaners cheaply from Boyes and coloured them myself with a brown sharpie pen.Tuesday 17 November 2009
Friday 13 November 2009
It's time to get a handle on Christmas
Everytime I pass by the local Aldi I keep reminding myself that I need to get Christmas goodies in. I just love chocolate coated gingerbread and cinnamon biscuits, Lidl do these too, and while I get chastised for shopping there, I do believe German goodies are gorgeously authentic. This stems from when I had a German penpal. She would send the most fantastic packages over for Christmas. My mouth is watering now just thinking about those cigarlike dark chocolate marzipan confections and the warm sweet aroma of ginger and cinnamon cake like cookies. Eternal thanks, Martina Beyer!
It will also a good time to stock up on chocolate tree decorations that I pop into the pockets of our homemade advent calendar and I'll need a load as it's 2 x 25 for both my boys. You can bet your bottom dollar that the 1st of December will be on us in no time, as it was last year when I had to nip out smartish for goodies the night before and had to ferret about in the attic for the calendar itself.
Then I have to consider my class, as I'm a dinner nanny (lunchtime supervisor to give it its posh name!). I have 30 children this year, of mixed race so Haribos are a no no. Chocolate is always a good and safe bet but I'm going to give them a candy cane each. Each year I've made little Christmas boxes and stashed coins inside or used some marvellous gold bags that I bought cheaply from an amazing shop in Manchester that sells shop fixtures and fitments. If I have the time, theres a cute idea on Martha Stewarts website, http://www.marthastewart.com/ where you can fashion from a few scraps of card, a reindeers head and fit it on the cane. But only if I have time . . .
It will also a good time to stock up on chocolate tree decorations that I pop into the pockets of our homemade advent calendar and I'll need a load as it's 2 x 25 for both my boys. You can bet your bottom dollar that the 1st of December will be on us in no time, as it was last year when I had to nip out smartish for goodies the night before and had to ferret about in the attic for the calendar itself.
Then I have to consider my class, as I'm a dinner nanny (lunchtime supervisor to give it its posh name!). I have 30 children this year, of mixed race so Haribos are a no no. Chocolate is always a good and safe bet but I'm going to give them a candy cane each. Each year I've made little Christmas boxes and stashed coins inside or used some marvellous gold bags that I bought cheaply from an amazing shop in Manchester that sells shop fixtures and fitments. If I have the time, theres a cute idea on Martha Stewarts website, http://www.marthastewart.com/ where you can fashion from a few scraps of card, a reindeers head and fit it on the cane. But only if I have time . . .
Monday 9 November 2009
Pink Petticoat Pillow Box Challenge
This is the first time I've tried to do this from a blog so heres hoping it works. Over at Pink Petticoat, http://www.pinkpetticoat.co.uk/ Liz has set a challenge for a decorated pillow box and kindly included a template for the box. I decided to do a Christmassy one but not using Christmas Pink Petticoat papers. Instead I chose Boudoir Cranberry and White narrow stripe for the box itself to evoke candy canes. Then I made a poinsettia template and printed it out on Boudoir New Leaf Wallpaper and Big Swirls Cranberry Negative designs. I edged and dulled down the colours with green and red ink pads and then layered up the flower with foam pads to add dimension. A yellow jewel finishes the poinsettia. The box was tied with a moss green organza ribbon then tied into a double bow on the front of the box with a single jingle bell threaded on.
Friday 6 November 2009
It's My First Ever Posting!
So be gentle with me.
Well here I am the day after the night before where 10 of us (6 adults + 4 kids) watched £100+ worth of fireworks go up far too quickly at my in-Laws house. Their garden is elevated and backs onto a railway line with a station across the road. It was so funny watching people disembark from the trains only to be swamped and enveloped by an eerie looking fog that blew from the garden. It would have been a great effect for Halloween if not for the loud bangs. Bro-in-Law, aka Naughty Wasp, kept shouting, "Pound a look! You look, you pay!" at the onlookers who had gathered on the downramp from the station.
There was severe competition coming from a garden on the other side of the track. Quite a professional show from a semi. So we oohed and aahed in a childish manner at the roman candles while Granny handed out the remains of Halloween chocolate and hoped that grandpa wouldn't snag his cardi sleeve on the rough wood of the rocket stick and end up careering heavenwards. For then we would have to decide which among us would become his landing pad (we are mostly built for comfort, not speed).
A slap-up supper ensued, as is the norm with the in-Laws, with jacket taties, beans, chili, hotdogs, nachos, dips, salady stuff, ginger parkin and copius amounts of booze including Naughty Wasp's notorious home brew, Dreg-end Falls, a cheeky little number that could double as nail polish remover or drain unblocker, if pushed.
On to crafty matters now. It's the International Craft and Hobby Fair at the NEC tomorrow and we're going and taking my Mum. And it's just tough if the boys aren't impressed, I do enough trouser stuff, now for some fluff. We were actually down there last Friday for the Snow + Ski show and it was great. I haven't ventured yet but youngest has just started skiing lessons, eldest has progressed to the big slope and hubby has taken up snowboarding, no mean feat for someone with loads of metal in his legs. We go to Xscape in Castleford http://www.xscape.co.uk/snow/castleford/ and I'm going to have to get my skates (skis) on sooner rather than later, judging by the amount of brochures we brought home. Looks like a hol is on the cards for 2011. Saw the gorgeous Graham Bell, former British ski champ. Eldest was too embarrassed to speak, as was I, but youngest got his autograph and I got his photo. Had a go on a vibrating plate for approx. 2mins. Hubby was bent double with laughter and loudly declared there was an earthquake going off in Lichfield. I felt like someone had been juggling my kidneys and had to take 2 paracetamol.
Well here I am the day after the night before where 10 of us (6 adults + 4 kids) watched £100+ worth of fireworks go up far too quickly at my in-Laws house. Their garden is elevated and backs onto a railway line with a station across the road. It was so funny watching people disembark from the trains only to be swamped and enveloped by an eerie looking fog that blew from the garden. It would have been a great effect for Halloween if not for the loud bangs. Bro-in-Law, aka Naughty Wasp, kept shouting, "Pound a look! You look, you pay!" at the onlookers who had gathered on the downramp from the station.
There was severe competition coming from a garden on the other side of the track. Quite a professional show from a semi. So we oohed and aahed in a childish manner at the roman candles while Granny handed out the remains of Halloween chocolate and hoped that grandpa wouldn't snag his cardi sleeve on the rough wood of the rocket stick and end up careering heavenwards. For then we would have to decide which among us would become his landing pad (we are mostly built for comfort, not speed).
A slap-up supper ensued, as is the norm with the in-Laws, with jacket taties, beans, chili, hotdogs, nachos, dips, salady stuff, ginger parkin and copius amounts of booze including Naughty Wasp's notorious home brew, Dreg-end Falls, a cheeky little number that could double as nail polish remover or drain unblocker, if pushed.
On to crafty matters now. It's the International Craft and Hobby Fair at the NEC tomorrow and we're going and taking my Mum. And it's just tough if the boys aren't impressed, I do enough trouser stuff, now for some fluff. We were actually down there last Friday for the Snow + Ski show and it was great. I haven't ventured yet but youngest has just started skiing lessons, eldest has progressed to the big slope and hubby has taken up snowboarding, no mean feat for someone with loads of metal in his legs. We go to Xscape in Castleford http://www.xscape.co.uk/snow/castleford/ and I'm going to have to get my skates (skis) on sooner rather than later, judging by the amount of brochures we brought home. Looks like a hol is on the cards for 2011. Saw the gorgeous Graham Bell, former British ski champ. Eldest was too embarrassed to speak, as was I, but youngest got his autograph and I got his photo. Had a go on a vibrating plate for approx. 2mins. Hubby was bent double with laughter and loudly declared there was an earthquake going off in Lichfield. I felt like someone had been juggling my kidneys and had to take 2 paracetamol.
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About Me
- Sookie
- Passionate about all things arty & crafty. Probably too much for my own good. I feel bereft if I don't indulge daily. My other half is fed up with me taking over his office and doesn't enjoy having glitter in his briefcase. Been married 13yrs in November 2009. We have two boys, 11 and 9. I live in the house of trouser, so you can see why I might have a need to escape and wallow in bits and bobs of a shiny nature.