Hot Hot Chocolate.

So Sandra said Gotta Craft has just got in the new Fancy Pants Hot Chocolate range, how do you fancy some Fancy Pants? And I said Fantastic!

As I spread it out on my desk I started to realise that actually I really, really like COLD chocolate and so I made this:

It's a page about a little habit we've got into of a winter evening. It's becoming a ritual. Every night, once everyone has eaten, they tend to scatter round the house plugged into gadgets or whatever else it is teenagers do in their rooms with the door closed. But I've discovered that the offer of a choc pop around eight-ish always brings them back out . I send someone on a "lolly-run" to the freezer and we gather together again, just like that. As long as I remember to keep the freezer stocked.

I built up the layers and texture on this, so that it reminded me of ice crystals, and added some pops of bright yellow to make that beautiful chocolate coloured paper look even richer. The journaling cards are by Jenni Bowlin and Sandra has some new ones in here. The chipboard accents are Crate Paper and they are here. And the title is done with Echo Park alpha stickers from a previous Gotta Craft kit.

So, if you're looking for me and I'm not about? You know what the ad says..Mum's Gone To Iceland.

Postscript: Happy Last Day Of November! It's December tomorrow. Oh yes! I very much want to thank everyone who Christmas Clubbed this week. I had a wonderful time enjoying everyone's memories and I hope you did too. Please continue to add your story  here or think about joining us next Sunday when I'll be rolling out the Christmas Club welcome mat again. But I'll see you before then?

Christmas Club (2) My Inner Elf

Are you ready for Christmas Club again this week? It begins like this...

I have a friend. A crazy, kind, dear friend who likes to make things happen. She can persuade me into all sorts of mischief I'd never have come up with on my own. Well, I might; but it would take me a while. She likes to create things; she likes a costume or two; and so it was that the year she persuaded me to join the P.T.A. I found Santa in my kitchen.

Maybe he's trying to disappear here, or maybe, just maybe, he's trying to let you see the beautiful red hood on the back of his jacket. It took quite a lot of bargain upholstery velvet to make that cloak (and it's slippery stuff). But make it I did. Because my ingenious friend had decided that a Santa Photo Booth would be the perfect fundraiser for the School Christmas Fair.

To make it work we needed a Santa (check), a camera (check), a fast printer (check, check) and some help. Oh, you know what sort of help Santa needs, don't you?

Elves, of course. The kind of elves prepared to dress themselves up in felt outfits of their own devising, with mad makeup and silly hats. You are beginning to have an ide what's coming next now, aren't you? Setting up was the hardest bit. But the elves only had themselves to blame for that, because they'd been out on the town the night before. Once we were in character we had a ball. The little ones loved it; their parents bought photos..and we were asked to do it all over again the following year.

And that is the story of the Christmas I found my Inner Elf. And Santa? Haven't you guessed? The world needs a Father Christmas who can balance his books...

If you have a Christmas memory you love, you can Christmas Club it too. Write a post with your story; then, please, come back and link us up. The more, the merrier..

And I'll have a new Christmas Club story for you next week.

The Big Ask

According to the newspaper last weekend, the most frequently asked question today is "What are we having for dinner?" Well, it certainly feels like it at our place. It sometimes seems like I get asked this one about twenty times a day. Which is interesting, given that we are a family of four. But I know that the thought of a nice pork chop or two often used to keep me going through Double Physics (who am I kidding? Double General Science), so I try to have an answer for them.

It can be hard having answers ready all the time, though. Especially if you are married to the kind of man who takes one step outside the front door, turns and says "Do you think I need a coat?" Does he really want me to answer that? Really?

Other questions round here lately have included:

• Eurgh, What's that stuck to the outside of the fridge?
• Can I have a new Sheriff's Badge for Christmas?
• Are there cannellini beans in this?
• Would you take those things out of your ears?
• Who said Horsey could borrow my hard hat?
• What would happen if I sat on a paper piercer?
• Did you put that paper piercer there on purpose?

I'll leave you to guess who asked what. There isn't anything momentous there I know. It's just the stuff of everyday life; but I thought a page was in order. I did another simple speech bubble shape (like this one) and a bit of stitching so I could concentrate on the words:

And a funny thing happened. By the time I had finished my journaling, my thinking on questions had changed. It's not the being able to answer that's important: it's the knowing when you can't. Being able to hold your hand up and say I don't know is a good thing, do you think?

A Christmas Catch All

I'm opening up the doors and letting Christmas in completely at High In The Sky. Over the weekend I sewed two of the three felt ornaments from this years Rosy Little Things kit. The final one - a cross stitched grey mitten - uses waste canvas, and I've come a bit unstuck with it. I know the theory, it's just the practice. I think I need more.

I love the grey, red and white colour scheme (and especially that red felt coat. I'd like a grownup version, please). It seems very fresh this year, like the new Jenni Bowlin line I'm hoping will arrive here soon.

As you can probably tell, I'm having a bit of a fling with felt at the moment. I found these you might like:

• Family Circle easy felt makes. Be sure to click on "next" for the instructions (found via Felt-O-Rama)
• Twisted Felt Garland at Purl Bee. It needs some really long strips of felt - but the necklace or bracelet would be much quicker and cheaper to try!

(See also here, if you missed my felt-y links a couple of weeks ago)

And I've been eyeing up some sturdy shoe-coloured pieces because, as a couple of you suggested on Sunday, those children need a new home. I'm so glad that you enjoyed Christmas Club this week; and I'm delighted that so many of you are thinking of joining in. I'm going to see if I can add a linky thing so that you can add your own posts next week.

But, please. No stress. A simple memory of a treasured moment is more than good enough. Maybe it's happy, maybe it's poignant. Most celebrations in most houses are a mixture of both. And that's why it always bothers me a little when magazines urge us to have our "best Christmas ever". Surely it doesn't have to be that. All many of us hope for is a happy few hours with time for laughter and time for being quiet with people we love. So, when I'm choosing my gifts (and hoping they are the right ones); putting my turkey in the oven (and hoping it comes out nicely cooked); and setting out for a Carol Service (and hoping for the tunes I know the best), I'll be thinking about this:

It came to me as a giveaway gift recently from the lovely Laurie at One Black Bird. If you are getting ready for Thanksgiving or thinking ahead to Christmas, you might like to keep it in mind. And I'll see you back here very soon.

Sian's Christmas Club

I've held off for as long as I can, but with only four Sundays left before Christmas I'm getting excited. How about you? Getting ready for Christmas is one of my favourite things to do. Any members of my family reading this are now smiling because they can tell what's coming next. They just know that I'm going to tell you about Christmas Club.

Sian's Christmas Club ran for four weeks every year. Oh, I was a busy little organiser when I was eight. I gathered the family together on Sunday afternoons and beguiled them into enjoying the programme I had prepared. We began with the raucous singing of a festive favourite (my choice), followed by a recitation of a seasonal verse (by me) and we finished with a craft project (something I wanted to make). My Mum, who is still the biggest Christmas lover in the family, connived with me in the whole enterprise by bribing my little brother and sister with mince pies and hot ginger cordial. It was fun while it lasted.

But, wait. I'm thinking..why not bring it back? You don't have to sing, you don't have to eat mince pies(because I haven't made any yet) and you definitely don't have to make anything if you don't want to. I simply thought I'd share a seasonal story or two every Sunday until the Big Day itself. If you'd like to join in and do a Christmas Club post of your own, I'd love to come and visit.

For today I'd like to show you a photo of one of my favourite ever presents:

That's me in the pink and blue, learning early that cerise isn't really my colour. We are playing with The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe. There is her shoe and all her children. All made one by one by my Mum. Funny thing is, I think I actually got this present early, because she was so pleased with the way it had turned out she couldn't wait to give it to me. I really, really loved it. The Shoe has gone now, crumbled away to dust. But I still have all the little dolls. Each one is different: tall, small, boy, girl, play clothes, party clothes. I got them out this morning and took a couple of new pictures. They are looking pretty good for forty year olds, do you think? Getting up on their feet is a bit harder than it used to be. But then a lot of us can say that.

So, that's Christmas Club for today. If you have a story about a memorable festive moment, you could Christmas Club it too. The more the merrier!

Back In The Saddle

If there is one thing I miss about my job at the library it's the clothes. That took you a bit by surprise, didn't it?

See, the thing is: that hair-in-a-bun-pencilskirted-librarian? She only exists in comedy sketch shows. No, really. I used to love getting dressed for work. I had a pair of grey hot pants city shorts which made my boss spit out his coffee the first time he saw them and a black dress like the ones in the Robert Palmer video (it was quite a long time ago). Oh, all sorts of cute stuff.

Then I gave it all up for jeans, machine washable everything, and flat shoes all the better for chasing toddlers with. My wardrobe improved again for a while when I had to present myself at the school gates every afternoon - because, as the Small One observed at the time, I had to be a "fashion mummy". But they don't need me to bring them home by the hand any more. These days, when I go out to work, all I need to take is this:

It's fun; but it does mean jeans again. And they don't even have to be clean ones. So that photo of me in the dress last week? that's me making a bit more of an effort. I'm tired of jeans. I want to get back in the fashion saddle.

Pass The Book: November's Adopter And More

It was lovely to see some new names in the draw for Pass The Book this time round - thank you for joining us! I really enjoy setting this up every month. I'm only sorry that it's one name out of the hat at a time. But if the books keep on doing the rounds, everyones turn will arrive eventually. And we might even find some new blogs along the way.

November's Good Mail Day got me thinking about all the letters I've sent and received over the years. It was biting cold here yesterday, bitter and raw, so I stayed inside and pulled out my tin box of treasures.

Inside I found:

letters from my Grandpa, sent to little me in the 70's

"My Dear Little Angels (oh dear, Grandpa forgets how to spell Horrors.."

picture letters form my brother, sent in the 80's when he was at school and I was a university fresher:

"First, here is a picture of me very shortly (not meaning that I'm short. I'm not. I'm a Growing Boy.."

and from the 90's, a letter from a friend travelling in Kazakstan (mail from Siberia? That's a keeper!)

"My writing is not usually this bad, but we are celebrating the end of a successful expedition and I don't think anyone has been sober for about two days.."

and the tissue thin airmail sent from Taiwan by my brother when he was studying there. I hope he knows what a bright spot they were in the days when my life was spent toddler taming



"the landlord swears the shower and the toilet will be back by Saturday but I don't believe him. It would be great if he put a few of the windows back as well. "



I haven't reached the bottom of the box yet. This is one I'd love to come back to, if that's alright? Maybe by then I'll have time to make a page. For today I'll leave you with the name of the first adopter. It's..

..Rinda from Gallo Organico. Rinda..you've got mail!

My Nest Knit

I've been talking about making a knitted, nesting set of Matryoshka dolls since the summer holidays. A couple of weeks ago I finally got round to it. The knitting was the quick bit - the making up took a little longer; and they really only took on character when they were completely finished. Maybe they couldn't wait to get nesting.

Three dolls all lined with yellow gingham





 

Now that I've done one set, I fancy knitting out of the box a bit and creating a set in a completely different colour combination. Natural geys and creams or neon pinks and green: what do you think?

I'm glad I started with the traditional colours, though, because it meant I had a photo to use with a few more of the gorgeous Glitz papers from Gottacraft. This is what I made:

A Few "F"'s For Fursday

From High In The Sky today I am:

• Fantasizing about an hour curled up with a book this afternoon. Instead we are off to the orthodontist (wish us luck)
• Fielding a clutch of questions all beginning with  "At Christmas, when I get my hamster.."
• Finding Folksy easier to navigate than Etsy
• Ferretting through the fashion at a favourite new blog That's Not My Age. For the ahem,(slightly) more mature among us
• Feeling just a little bit foxy in my new cord dress
• Fessing up to feeling slightly tearful, but very thankful, every time I think about the blog hop. Still. Thank you to everyone for your comments and mentions and everything.
• Flying a flag (alright then, a banner) for Kate of Liberty Cottage who is the winner of my blog giveaway. Please get in touch Kate and I'll put it in the post.

Since I finished my little banner, I've been thinking about sewing some more felt. So I've searched out my favourite felty finds and here they are:

• a nice tutorial for felt trees at Allsorts
• Feltorama has lots of makes and links to other felt fans as well as a shop
• Bugs and Fishes for tutorials and felt to buy - her service is excellent
• Or you could try The Felt Fairy - her blog is fun
• Betz White has some lovely tutorials like this Christmas ornament
• And finally Fa La La La Felt - a book on my Christmas list this year I think

Whatever you are up to this Thursday - have a good one!

Pass The Book: The Fourth

Maybe it's the first sightings of Christmas cards in the shops, maybe it's simply because I love getting post; but when I spotted a review of this book:

I just knew I had to include it in Pass The Book. We all like to write and we all enjoy those parcels which seem to fly backwards and forwards through blogland, so I thought some of you would love the ideas in this as much as I did. If you are already making art and sending it off to friends, maybe this one will really encourage you to push the envelope. (See what I did there?) because, of course, to get a letter, you have to send one first!

The usual rules apply. Leave a comment and I'll draw a name for the first adopter in a week's time. And don't forget that you can catch up with all the other books by checking here to see where they are.

Of course, if your name comes up, you know what I'm going to say don't you?...

...you've got mail!

Celebrating Blog Friendships

Come on in! Come on in! You look like you've been celebrating already! Does that mean that you set out at the beginning, at Lizzie's place?

Welcome to my stop on the Celebrating Blog Friendships Blog Hop. D'you know, for once I hardly know where to start? I get a bit lost for words when I think about what this last year has brought. We have a saying round here: we talk about "taking a punt" on something. Well, last year - thanks to Shimelle's class - I took a punt on blogging, and - thanks to all of you - it's been one of the best things I've ever done. Never in a month of scrapbooking Sundays did I imagine that there were so many amazing, talented, wonderful women out there. All ready to share and connect and listen and laugh.

I'm hoping to meet one or two of you in person soon; but even if many of you remain friends across the ocean - well, what friends! Months ago now I wrote a post about a skirt of my mum's, a special one I was hoping to pass on to my daughter. One of you said "Well I hope she knows we'll be checking up on her to see if she looks after it"  and that has stayed with me since. Because it says it all. We're in this for the long haul. And what a lovely thought that is!

But of course there will always be room for one more. The door here is always open and the coffee machine never sleeps. Make yourself at home and wish Blogging For Scrapbookers a Happy Birthday by saying hello. Here's a giveaway to tempt you. It's a little felt hand sewn birthday banner, small enough to wrap around a card and put in the post - just leave a comment and I'll put your name in the draw.

But wait - before you go, don't forget to pick up the letter E

and take it with you. Collect a letter at each stop on the hop, put them in order from Lizzie's onwards, end up at Jo's and have a go at a Grand Prize! Now, with thanks to Lizzie and Jo for their magnificent party planning, I'm sending you on your way. Next stop is Rachel - have a good one! And if you get lost along the way, you can turn round and head back to Lizzie's and she'll put you right.

Blog Friends - A Toast To Many More Years..

Simply Sneaks

A quick Friday post from me today because I want to make sure you all know that you're invited..

..to what is going to be one of the best blog parties of the year. It's a chance to celebrate all that's best about blogging. The friendships, the fun, the fast and furious world of blog giveaways. Oh yes, we'll have it all. Eight o'clock UK time. Saturday night. Won't you join us?

What's that? The sneaks? Here you go..

My little giveaway fomorrow night:

and then if you make it back here on Tuesday we'll be Passing The Book:

See you soon, then?

Death On A Bench

It was teatime yesterday when The Small One decided she needed to pack her Games Kit. That was for dramatic effect, of course. But I didn't really mind because it took the heat off my dodgy lasagne.

I've got a lot of sympathy for her actually. I never liked Games either. I watched her wrestle her hockey stick to the ground and force it into its hold-all. It put up a good fight. She shot a glance at the kitchen wall with its photo of her Dad in his rugby playing prime (I do that too, sometimes, but not for the same reasons. Obviously. That's him, jumping at Number 4 in the lineout, with his hand on the ball).

"You don't understand, it's going to rain and.."

Before I could open my mouth to say something bracing, The Tall One crashed through the door:

"Don't listen to a word she says, he said, gesturing at me, I caught her maligning my bowling on her blog the other day. What does she (that's me, his dear mother) know about sport anyway?"

"I do too know stuff about sport", I said, disguising decorating the lasagne with some artfully placed lettuce. "I know I don't like getting cold or wet or standing about outside or -"

"See, she's right about some things, said The Small One. The worst bit is when they call you a "substitute" and make you sit on the side. Do you know what that is? That's Death On A Bench."

And she kicked her hockey stick under the table and sat down to eat.

Today I'm Loving...Inspire's new Christmas issue of Inspired Ideas magazine. You can read it here.

Roll Up! Roll Up! Glitz At Gotta Craft

How do you make a coconut shy?

Show it two blokes who believe they know a thing or two about spin bowling...At least, that's the theory. But, hey, who needs a coconut when you are on holiday in a tent anyway?

When Sandra at Gotta Craft said she was going to send me some Glitz I thought that sounds pretty fancy and I wasn't disappointed. As soon as it arrived I was back on the old email sharpish saying please, post me some more bits. I like this stuff. I have the Scarlett papers (red, green, yellow, black, versatile) with some Whatnots and stickers. What can I say? The bags of Whatnots are some of the cleverest little touches I've seen in a long time. Ready made ephemera. A couple of these on a page and you'll feel like a thrift queen! Which reminds me: I'm finding this line a great match for some Jenni Bowlin  - that big green button is one of hers.

That's only the start. I've nearly finished another page about a set of nesting dolls - great colours for that too! Sandra tells me that this month's kit is going on sale at the beginning of next week. These papers won't be in it - but if you like this, I think it's safe to say you'll be interested.