Less is More wk65 - sketch

There are some fab new images at DigiStamp Boutique, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them as soon as they landed in my inbox... except it was much better in my head than it is on my card!  There's a sketch this week at Less is More so I've followed that... I missed last week, as when I'd made my card I hated it so much I couldn't even face blogging it!

I've used the fab Coffee break set - lots of coffee related images and perfect sentiments to go with them too.  I layered the cup images onto some digi paper (from Raspberry Rd) in PagePlus, flipping the flowery cup the other way.  Added some teeny gems and a touch of shimmer on the steam using a sakura clear stardust pen.  Then cut some frames using nestie dies and added a heart that was a waste piece from another die cut.  The sentiment was printed directly onto the card blank and is from the same set - love the font :o)

I only realised after taking the photo, that I should have added some shading under the cups to ground them - not sure why I forgot, I normally do that automatically.  I also managed to break one of my Big Shot plates AGAIN!  I think it's the 3rd time I've broken one, and I was only cutting a circle - not forcing it or anything... no idea why it keeps happening.  So off to Hobbycraft tomorrow, and if they've not got them I'll have to get them online and manage without the Big Shot for a couple of days... sob!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend :o)

Just for fun...

Hubby's home - yay :o)  They let him out of hospital this afternoon, then rang and said they needed him back for one more test!  So he had to go back for a few hours, but he was back in time for the boys' bath and bedtime.  He's very happy to be home - we've ordered a pizza to celebrate lol!

Sooo... as I've hardly had any crafty time this week, I really wanted a nice colouring session, so I made a little scene using a couple of stamps from the latest Magnolia stamp club.

I've sat this cute Tilda on the big daisy background stamp... could've done this better I think, but I was just playing!  The image is coloured with promarkers, flexmarkers and prisma pencils, with lots of glamour dust for some sparkle.  The papers are Prima 'meadowlark', the flat flowers are from the same range - available from The Stamp Basket, as is the lovely vintage style ribbon.  Buttons from my stash, little blossoms are from Wild Orchid and the sentiment is LOTV.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - sketch
• Just Magnolia - buttons & bows
• Midweek Magnolias - open theme
• Simply Magnolia - use at least 2 Magnolia stamps
• Simon Says - anything goes

** Also just a quick note to let you know about the Sweet Crazy Weekend Special at The Stamp Basket - a fab 25% off all Magnolia stamps and dies and a special offer on selected Magnolia papers **

I'm still slowly trying to catch up with you all, I'll get there eventually!  Hope you're having a lovely evening... I'm off to scoff pizza with hubby now :o)

A Gem of a Challenge - pink, blue & green

Hello!  Sorry for disappearing over the last few days... hubby's in hospital :o(  They finally decided he's got pneumonia, and that it's probably the cause of most of his problems, but they're just running some tests to rule other stuff out.  They might let him out this evening if his tests come back ok today, fingers crossed!

Right, so onto today's card, which is for our new challenge at A Gem of a Challenge - it was my turn to choose the theme, and I decided to go with one of my current favourite colour combinations, 'pink, blue & green'.  Luckily my card was made earlier in the week or I don't think I'd have managed it!

I've used the very cute Jodie for my card, coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers, with a bit of sparkle using a sakura clear stardust pen on her trousers.  The papers are from the fabulous Raspberry Rd, printed onto linen card - I've just spotted lots of new sets that I need... well, I deserve a treat after the week I've had, don't you think?  The swirl is the 'fanciful flourish' die by Cheery Lynn, flower and heart pearl from my stash, ribbon from The Stamp Basket and sentiment is LOTV.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Sketch n Stash - fab sketch
• Craft Your Days Away - just for children
• Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
• Paper Sundaes - let's get cute

I'm very behind with commenting obviously - will try and catch up with as many of you as I can today!  Have a lovely day, whatever you're up to :o)

Waste Not Wednesdays wk16

It's week 16 of my little Waste Not Wednesdays challenge, here to encourage you to dust off all that forgotten, unused or neglected stash and get it on a card :o)  My card's a bit boring I'm afraid, but I'm quite pleased that it's made entirely with old/ unused stash...

The image and sentiment are from an Elzybells set - I've got loads of their stamps, and lots of them are still unused (like this one was), but I still wish I'd bought even more of them before they closed... I miss Elzybells!  Coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The papers are Dovecraft, the flower, button and twine are from my stash, and the pink trim is... oh... at least 3yrs old.  One of those things I just had to have but it never gets used - I've got it in blue as well, and there's quite a lot of it!

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Divas By Design - buttons and/or bows
• Creative Inspirations - anything goes
• The Squirrel & The Fox - food
• Simon Says Stamp - anything goes

Hubby's still not too good... he saw the doc this morning and they gave him some anti-sickness medication, because one of his antibiotics isn't agreeing with him but he needs to stay on it.  And his blood pressure was even higher than on his last visit - 190 over something... although the doc strangely didn't seem as concerned as he was on Monday.  So we went to the chemist again, got his new prescription and went home... we'd been home about half an hour when the doc rang and asked if he could come back in!  They now wanted to do some tests because of the high blood pressure... So back we went this aft, and hubby now has to spend most of tomorrow at the hospital having more tests.

So I apologise for being a bit rubbish lately - I'm trying to keep up with you all, but I'm not getting much craft or blogging time with a poorly hubby around all week!  The challenge is 'just for fun' again this week - I'm thinking of having a little prize for the first week of every month though, think that might work :o)  Hope you all have a lovely evening, see you soon!

More stamped flowers...

Eek... I finally changed myself over to the updated blogger, so let's see how this post goes!  I'm finding my way around ok so far, but it all looks a bit different when it comes to writing a post...

I've not had much crafty time today - it's all hubby's fault lol.  He's been feeling worse and worse over the weekend, and last night he was up half the night coughing and struggling to get his breath.  Last week the doc told him it was a viral thing, but I talked him into going back to see a different doc today (because they told me it was viral once, and it turned out to be pneumonia!) and they said he's got a chest infection.  Two docs were debating over whether he should go to hospital, because his blood pressure was so high, but they finally settled on 2 different antibiotics and he's got to back on Wednesday.  He's slept most of today, but hopefully he'll start to feel a bit better once the antibiotics kick in.

So as most of the morning was taken up with the docs and then what seemed like forever waiting for the chemist to sort out his prescriptions, I've just made a very quick card this afternoon.  I used another of the stamped flower panels that I made a few days ago...

The stamp is Hero Arts, I think it's called 'blooming meadow', and I can't remember what ink colours I used, but they were dabbed on the stamp and then sprayed with water before stamping onto some textured card from Papermill Direct.  The papers are digi ones from Raspberry Rd, printed onto linen card, and the sentiment is from a Little Claire set, pearls from my stash.

It's very handy to have some bits ready stamped - I'm going to do more of this I think.  I love to colour, but there's not always time for it is there?  Anyway, hope you've all had a good day, will catch up with you later :o)

Sweet Stampin' - use more than 1 ribbon

Well I was half expecting to find that Blogger had forced me onto the updated version this morning, but it looks like they've not got round to me yet... maybe I should just be brave and change myself over... wish they'd just leave it alone, I'm not good with anything new!  I'm here with my card for this week's challenge at Sweet Stampin', which is 'use more than 1 ribbon'.  We're sponsored by Craft Ribbons this week and our monthly sponsor is Joanna Sheen.

This card was made for an order - the two fab images are Connie Shopping and Ava and flowers from DigiStamp Boutique, merged together to suit the customer's request.  I coloured the image with promarkers and flexmarkers and added a couple of gems on the flowers.  The papers are First Edition, as is the little tag - I added a computer generated 30 and a little pearl, and the main sentiment is computer generated too.  Ribbons from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Stampin' for the weekend - sparkle & shine (glitter on papers & around the tag, gems on flowers)
• Aud Sentiments - spring/ summer colours
• Delicious Doodles - loads of layers
• I Love Promarkers - let's go shopping (image with bags is 'Connie shopping')
• Tammy's Scrapin' Corner - anything with a splash of green

Don't think we'll be going anywhere today, so it looks like a day of crafting.  Hubby's still suffering with his yucky bug, and we couldn't go out even if we wanted to - hubby's workmate borrowed his company car for a couple of days while hubby's been at home, he dropped it off this morning but assumed hubby had the spare key - he hasn't, it's at work!  And as he parked it behind my car on the drive, mine is blocked in lol, so we can't move either of them... so looks like we're staying here for now!  Hope you're all having a good weekend so far :o)

Simple flowers

I've had a busy day crafting today - I can't share much of what I've made yet as I was trying to get ahead with some DT stuff, but I also stamped lots of these images in different colours using a Hero Arts stamp...

So far only this one has made it onto a card - will use the others another day.  The colours are quite pale and delicate and unfortunately look a bit washed out in the pics.  I inked up the stamp with Memento inks in 'new sprout', 'summer sky' and 'lulu lavender' and then sprayed it with water before stamping - my fave technique again, makes me happy lol :o)  I used 'summer sky' to ink around the panel and then mounted it on a layer of white card.  The gingham is a scrap of Pink Petticoat (printed on linen) that's been hanging around in my scraps for ages.  The sentiment is also Pink Petticoat.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp & Show - anything goes
• Charisma Cardz - shabby chic (I know mine is a very CAS shabby chic, so please delete me if you need to!)
• Oldie But a Goodie - on the farm or in the garden (all older stash really - had the stamp, sentiment and paper for a while)

Just a quick note to let you know about the Weekend Specials at The Stamp Basket - this weekend there's 10% off MME paper pads and selected Prima paper pads.

I'll be back tomorrow morning with my DT card for Sweet Stampin', hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Stampavie Sporty - The Stamp Basket DT

Oops... I did my blog post on The Stamp Basket blog and then instead of posting on here I fell asleep!  Hubby's been off work today with some sort of nasty bug, and I've a horrible feeling I might be getting it too.

Items used from The Stamp Basket

Craftwork Cards scalloped edge card blank (size 6)

Stampavie stamp - Sporty

My Mind's Eye papers - Fiddlesticks

Vintage style ribbon - walnut

The Hobby House pearls

I've used one of the very cute new Stampavie stamps for today's card - this one is by Penny Johnson and is called Sporty.  I coloured him with prisma pencils, adding a touch of green glow around him to blend him in with the papers.  I was a bit worried how I was going to use this bear with coloured papers - brown bear, black and white ball - but I think by adding a touch of matching colour around him, he could be used with most papers really.  The sentiment is Pink Petticoat, and everything has had the inky distressing treatment.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Here Come The Boys - cards for tiddly peeps
• PaperPlay Challenges - animal antics
• DYSU - stripes (hope the wood effect stripes count!)
• Stampin for the Weekend - ready teddy go
• Our Creative Corner - boys and their toys

Off to cram some commenting in while I can!  Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Waste Not Wednesdays wk15

It's week 15 of Waste Not Wednesdays... although I suppose really it's week 16 as I left the linky open for 2wks last time - better not confuse myself too much though eh?!  Thanks to everyone who joined in, and if I haven't managed to visit you yet, I will do later.  I also need to announce the winner of my little prize and the lucky one is...

Number 8 - Amanda

Congrats Amanda!  Your prize is 2 stamps from LOTV - 'Times to Treasure' and 'Little Acorn' :o)  Could you email me with your address please hun.

Here's my card for this week, made for my friend Kathleen who has just become a (very young!) great-grandma.

I've used a pram embossing folder that I've had for a couple of years - I think it's been used once before and then forgotten about.  It was embossed on a piece of core'dinations whitewash card (again, had this for ages) and then sanded over the image to uncover the blue core.  The papers are scraps of Pink Petticoat papers, with Stampin' Up kraft card.  The sentiment was computer generated using chocolate box font, and the lattice border was cut with an x-cut punch that I don't think I've ever used - I had to wipe off all the dust before I could use it lol!

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Creative Card Crew - kraft
• Paper Sundaes - anything goes

To all those who read about or donated to the appeal for Thomas Cammack, that I posted about at the weekend... sadly Thomas lost his fight against Neuroblastoma in the early hours of this morning.  I couldn't stop crying when I heard the news, his family must be absolutely devastated.  He was just 4 years old and was the bravest little boy throughout all his treatment... so sad.

Please link up below if you'd like to join in with Waste Not Wednesdays - just for fun this week.

Less is More - one layer, doodling

So this week's Less is More challenge... Ermmm... one layer AND doodling????  Nope, not really happening here!  As I may have mentioned before I do not doodle.  I've really proved that to myself today, by wasting several hours and lots of card, trying to produce something even remotely clever or interesting.  Then I gave up... and did some faux stitching instead...

I used post it notes to mask off an area of the card, and then used 'gathered twigs' and 'walnut stain' distress inks to create the panel.  I then added a very boring row of faux stitching and stamped the Stampin' Up motorbike and Penny Black sentiment in black versafine.

I do quite like the finished card, but as an example of doodling it's a bit pitiful - sorry!

The Thomas Cammack Appeal

I don't usually do this sort of thing, but you can't fail to be moved by what this brave little boy is going through.  

I know there's not much spare money around for a lot of us at the moment, but every little bit helps.  And it would be wonderful if you could post something on your own blogs, so as many people see this as possible.

Please visit Thomas's facebook page HERE

and you can donate on bmycharity HERE

or text Thom97 £1-£10 to 70070

Thanks so much for reading, I know the family will be so grateful for any help at all.

** Edited - thanks Sam for pointing out my mistake! Should all be working now **

A Gem of a Challenge - my sketch

This week at A Gem of a Challenge it's my turn to provide the sketch, so I hope everyone likes it!  Here's my card....

I've used the lovely Faye with Flowers, coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The papers are digi ones from Raspberry Rd, printed onto linen card and inked around the edges with 'worn lipstick' distress ink.  The lace, ribbon, Prima 'meadowlark' flowers and the Memory Box 'madera corner' die are all from The Stamp Basket.  The numbers were cut with sizzix 'night & day' alphabet dies, and covered in stickles, sentiment was computer generated (chocolate box font) and the button is from my stash.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far... sorry I think I'm behind with commenting again but will try to catch up later!  Hopefully things will get back to 'normal' again from next week, as the boys will be back at school and nursery :o)

Bella with Mum - The Stamp Basket DT

It's my regular day for posting on The Stamp Basket blog, and for today's card I've used one of the cute Bella stamps from Wild Rose Studio.  I think she's so sweet and perfect for young children's birthdays :o)

Items available from The Stamp Basket

Craftwork Cards straight edge card blank (size 6)

Wild Rose Studio - Bella with Mum stamp

MME papers - Howdy Doody

Prima flowers - Meadowlark

The Hobby House - 8mm pearl brad & self adhesive rhinestone

I made this one following last week's sketch from Sketch Saturday but obviously I'm a bit late to enter there!  Bella is coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up - it actually comes with the 'cheer & wishes' underneath the 'birthday', but I've inked each bit up separately and used the stamp-a-ma-jig to get it positioned properly.  The scalloped border was cut with an MFT die, butterfly cut with a kars punch, and everything else is from The Stamp Basket.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• My Mum's Craft Shop - it's a celebration
• Crafty Creations - flower power

Dex gave me (and himself) a bit of a scare today - he fell down the stairs.  I didn't see him do it, just heard him bumping all the way down, and it was almost a relief when he started screaming - at least I knew he was still conscious!  Luckily he doesn't seem to have done any serious harm, although he's going to have a bruised bottom and his legs are a bit sore!  I've got a horrible earache today, so I'm going to grab some painkillers now... will be round to catch up with you all later :o)

Less is More - 3 shades of green

My plan for today was to make a quick card for this week's Less is More challenge, which is '3 shades of green'... for some reason my first card wasn't playing nicely and took me hours to finish, so I made a couple of quick ones after that - just so I didn't feel like I'd completely wasted the day!

For my first card I inked up a piece of ivory linen card, using 'scattered straw' and 'shabby shutters' distress inks, and 'bamboo' memento ink, then flicked drops of water on it from a paintbrush.  The motorbike and sentiment are Stampin' Up and were both stamped in 'bamboo' memento.  The scalloped border was cut with an MFT die and I added some scraps of card, a button and twine from my stash.

For my second card I've used one of my favourite techniques, it's so quick and easy and always looks different - even when you use the same stamps and ink.  I just inked up a Hero Arts stamp with 'new sprout' memento, then dabbed on 'shabby shutters' distress ink and a touch of 'bamboo' memento, sprayed the stamp with water and then stamped a few times on the card blank.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up and was stamped in 'bamboo' memento.

And then I made a similar card, using 'iced spruce' and 'evergreen bough' distress inks, spraying with water again.  I matted the Stampin' Up sentiment onto a slightly paler shade of aqua/ green.  I'm not sure if this one really turned out quite green enough!

Apologies if any of my post is nonsense... a couple of glasses of wine may have been consumed this evening and I might be ever so slightly tipsy... just a teeny bit of course!

PS. I haven't forgotten that it's Wednesday - I left the Waste Not Wednesdays link open for 2wks this time, as I knew it'd be a bit chaotic over the school hols - so if you'd like to play along this week please see this post :o)

New Magnolia stamps...

I've finally finished my first card using one of the super cute new Magnolia stamps from the spring kit... surprisingly for me, I used the only Edwin stamp first - I think he's fab :o)  It's the first time I've had one of the Magnolia club sets (hubby bought them for me) and I can see me 'needing' each set now lol.

I've coloured Edwin and his starfish with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The papers are digi ones from Pink Petticoat, printed onto linen card and they've all had the inky distressing treatment, the red textured cardstock is from Papermill Direct.  The sentiment is also Pink Petticoat.  The raffia, gingham ribbon and buttons are from my stash, as are the little shell beads - I've had these so long (never used) I can't even remember buying them!

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Simply Magnolia - sketch
• Just Magnolia - anything goes (2nd entry, hope that's ok!)
• Pile It On - all about 's' (shells, sand, summer, starfish, spots...)

Hope you've all had a fab Easter weekend!  We've done lots of family visiting and eaten far too much, my clothes are feeling worryingly tight and I really must start doing some exercise!  I'm probably very behind with commenting again - if I don't manage to visit you tonight, I'll have a proper catch up session tomorrow :o)

New images from DigiStamp Boutique - Funtime Rosie!

It's not often I post 2 cards in one day at the moment, but I had some colouring time today and had a play with one of the gorgeous new images from DigiStamp Boutique....

This cute girlie is from the Funtime Rosie set which is one of the 'offer of the month' sets for April - isn't she fab?!  I've coloured her with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The papers are digi ones from Raspberry Rd (pink) and Pink Petticoat (stripe), pink cardstock is core'dinations.  Flowers were cut with x-cut punches, the button, pearls and ribbons were from my stash - the narrow pink one was cut out of some clothes, probably pyjamas, it all comes in handy eventually eh?!  The sentiment is from a CC Designs set.

I'm entering my card for the bingo challenge at Allsorts - I've used 'pink, stripes and pearls'.

Well, I probably won't get chance to post anything tomorrow, so I hope you all have a lovely Easter - don't eat too much chocolate!... I probably will though ;o)

Sweet Stampin' - dies and doodles

This week at Sweet Stampin' our challenge is 'dies & doodles', and we're sponsored by My Mum's Craft Shop who have a £10 voucher for one lucky winner, and our monthly sponsor is Joanna Sheen who is also providing a £10 voucher prize.

Now before you get a proper look at my card, can I just say - I do not doodle!  I did consider having a teeny tiny bit of doodling that you could hardly see, but decided to be brave and just go for it... so please excuse my amateurish attempts!

I've used the lovely 'sweet princess Tilda', and I've coloured her with promarkers and flexmarkers, with a bit of glamour dust for some sparkle.  I'm not sure what make the pink paper is, I found it in my stash.  The leafy swirl is the Cheery Lynn 'fanciful flourish' die, with some pearls from my stash, and the sentiment was made using PC generated lettering that I cut up and then inked around the edges.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• CES Challenges - swirls & pearls
• Just Magnolia - anything goes
• Papertake Weekly - anything goes

Sorry I've been a bit rubbish at keeping up with comments this week - it's hard to find time for crafting and blogging during the school holidays!  Hoping to have a bit of a catch up today, and I also need to find time for a colouring session because my Magnolia spring club stamps arrived - eek, so cute!!!  Hope you all have a lovely day :o)

Waste Not Wednesdays wk14

We're onto week 14 of my Waste Not Wednesdays challenge, where all my (and your) forgotten and neglected stash gets dusted off and used.  Before I show you my card for this week, I did say I'd have a little prize for a random winner and the lucky one is....

Number 6 - Alyce

Congrats Alyce - your prize is a Sugar Nellie 'simply sassy' stamp and a little embellishment selection, which I've just realised I forgot to take a photo of!  Please email me with your address hun :o)  I will usually keep the challenge as a 'just for fun' one, but I've decided to keep the link open for 2 weeks this time to make it a bit easier over the Easter hols, so I'll have another little prize again.

Here's my card for this week...

I've used a Mo Manning digi that I've had for a long time and never used - I do that with Mo images... I've got loads of them, but I get a bit nervous of colouring them so I have a lot of unused ones.  I've coloured the image with promarkers, flexmarkers and prisma pencils, the papers are K&Co from an older pad, and I've inked around all the edges with tattered rose and worn lipstick distress inks.  The sentiment is Pink Petticoat, cut out with an MFT die.  The leafy swirls were made using Cheery Lynn fanciful flourish die cuts (cut into pieces), flowers from Wild Orchid, ribbon, pearls and gems from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - anything goes
• Simon Says Stamp - use your favourite tool (probably my Big Shot, use it on most cards)
• Crafts and Me - butterflies & bows
• Divas by Design - anything goes
• Totally Gorjuss - swirly whirly

I wasn't impressed to see snow this morning!  It carried on for quite a while too, but then it rained (hurrah!) and washed it all away :o)  Morgan was thrilled to see snow, until I pointed out that we're meant to be taking his 'girlfriend' to the cinema tomorrow and that wouldn't happen if the snow settled!  So fingers crossed we won't get any more now.  Hope you've all had a good day and that it's been a bit warmer where you are!

Less is More wk61 - picture inspiration

Oh you can imagine my joy when I saw the latest Less is More challenge was a photo inspiration one... sob!  I know lots of you probably see an inspiration pic and run off with all sorts of ideas, but they just don't work for me... I see the colours and that's about it!

I'm not very happy with my card (surprise, surprise!), it doesn't look at all like the idea that was in my head.  I used my new Cheery Lynn fanciful flourish die, a little x cut flower punch, Kars butterfly punches, and some scraps of Raspberry Rd paper and core'dinations card.  The pearls are from my stash and the sentiment is Penny Black, stamped in 'London Fog' memento ink.

I'm feeling a bit frazzled today... the boys have been squabbling all day and they're SO noisy!  They're now sat giggling over a book together, which is an improvement on the squabbling but still very noisy lol.  Oh well, they'll be in bed soon and I can have some peace.... Hope you're all surviving the school holiday, will be round to catch up on some commenting later :o)

DigiStamp Boutique Easter chick

Well the boys are now off school for the Easter holidays, so I'll probably be a bit quieter over the next couple of weeks.  They've been very good today though, so I managed a bit of time in the craft room and made a little Easter card.

I've used one of the cute images from the Easter Collection 2 set from DigiStamp Boutique, coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers.  The papers are scraps of Papermania, Kraft cardstock is Stampin' Up.  I inked all the edges with 'cantaloupe' memento ink, then decided it would suit some stitching, so I've hand stitched everything with orange thread.  The flowers were cut with an MFT die and the buttons are from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Cupcake Craft - sewing box
• Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
• Fab n Funky - Easter
• Cute Card Thursday - Happy Easter
• Charisma Cardz - Easter
• Delightful Challenges - Easter
• PaperPlay Challenges - Easter
• DYSU - sew it
• Totally Papercrafts - Easter
• Paper Sundaes - Happy Easter

Isn't it typical that we had the nice weather last week and now it's all cold and dull for the school hols?!  I've just put the heating on, my feet are freezing even with my slippers on - not like me at all!  Yesterday we went and bought some shorts and sandals for the boys, so it's probably my fault it's turned cold lol.  Hope it's warmer where you are, have a lovely evening :o)