Its finished…………………………………..

No not the scrap room,Sandra,he’s working on that….

The ensuite is finally all completed.We had to wait 7 weeks for the shutters to be made and they were finally fitted today.Unfortunately its a dark drizzly day so the light is crap for photos.

Its been bliss for me without the shutters.Hubby obviously hasn’t wanted to share his stunning physique with the neighbours,so he’s avoided using the shower or bath in our room ( he uses sons) So I’ve had the room to myself everyday and its stayed immaculate.No tidemark around the bath or splatters on the shower glass.

I don’t care who gets to see me naked,as you may have noticed from my previous post about the notice board.So I’ve been stripping off and strutting my stuff for everyone to see.So the neighbours will be relieved to see the windows are now covered.

I am really pleased with how the room turned out,especially as it was all my design.OK, Hubby did a bit of donkey work,but its all about  the design……

 

Above mentioned Hubby knocked a doorway through from our bedroom,to make an unused spare room into our ensuite.I bought a Victorian door at a reclamation yard and then Hubby made it perfect.

I HATE tiles so I decided against them above the bath. I had three mirrors cut and bevelled to act as a splash back.Now when I have a  bath the water stays in the bath.It doesn’t go on the floor or on the walls.But God help me when Hubby hits that water .Lets just say I make seal noises at him…..

The only real problem for me with the mirror is you get a full unedited shot when you sit on the toilet opposite.As I said I like to be naked ,so suffice to say I am now dieting.So maybe the mirrors are a great idea after all.

 

This is the other side of the room.This whole wall is Hubbys handwork.It never used to exist..(clap here)(this is an in house joke)

But of course its about the design.I LOVE the little cabinets I bought from Ikea.They are perfect for the spaces.Each one is for a different use in the bathroom.

You know me and organising…

 

 

 

 

The one thing that gets people oohing, is the floor.Its exquisite.Yes it was an arm ,leg and a bit more ,but it was SO worth it.Its hard to photograph as it twinkles.

Yes twinkles.

It looks amazing in any light.It has little crashed pieces of mirror in it which catch any light.Plus Hubby has laid under floor heating so its stunning and cosy all at the same time.

This picture does not do the shower justice.It was the largest one we could find for the space.

It is sooo powerful and its a doddle to wash my bushy hair.Its done in seconds.It takes me a tad longer to clean and dry it though…

Teddy keeps trying to get in with me,in fact I’ve just realised I can now shower him when he’s covered in mud,which is a daily occurrence.

 

 

 

Whilst the two men where fitting the shutters,I got busy making some chocolate Guinness cupcakes with chocolate frosting.I had finally managed to get a large size piping nozzle so I had a play and I picked this recipe because I had some Guinness left over from a meat pie I made.

No doubt the men will find something wrong with them.

They ALWAYS moan about something.They don’t realise how lucky they are.

My son gets excited when he has a reheated supermarket meal!!!!!

Tonight I will hear”what's for tea?”from him

“homemade chicken (i don’t eat mince) lasagne with a spinach ricotta sauce (instead of a white sauce)and a double cheese flavoured tomato sauce with salad and garlic bread”

“groan” “ I hate pasta,I’m not hungry” will be the reply.

The salad has to be undressed and the garlic bread wet and limp for him to even attempt to eat it.

Anyway,I was one of the lucky winners of the weekend challenges on Shimelles class.I win a class of my choice and one for a friend.So Sandra will no doubt get as much enjoyment out of it as me.A little bird told me Shimelle is thinking of doing a photography class so I may hold out for that.

This layout was for Sundays challenge.Some of the flowers were from the first ever patterned paper I ever bought.

Because I have used up a lot of stash I treated myself to some newly released bits.

Plus I think I know what might have been aggravating my migraines.I had started taking iron tablets and they can do that in weird people like me.I remember thinking they were a cause years ago when I had a spate of taking them.So fingers crossed……

I confess….

I love peaking into other peoples craft spaces.

I have been doing a lot of research lately for my own room.Sadly I still haven't had a return call from the carpenter.

Check out Donna Downey's amazing studio here.She even has a cute video on the net showing the making of the room.God knows why she changed the original one,it was just as good.

I have been busy again putting more furniture on ebay for sale.I have no idea where it all comes from? I have a loft,summer house and cellar full,and both my sister and sisteri-n-law have lots of my “spare” pieces.

I have been busy dressing this bed for its spot on ebay.

I was shocked to win it a couple of years ago on ebay for £9!!!!!!!!!!

Hubby moaned about putting it back together in the dining room,but I’m sure you’ll agree it now looks worth more than £9?

I sold a pine table and chairs last year that I won on ebay for £21.We used it for over a year ,why we restored our house.It became obsolete when we had our kitchen fitted.So back it went on ebay,and can you believe it I got £220!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We sold a very old worm eaten wardrobe this week,for more than I bought it for over 10 years ago.My husband thought it was only worthy of the dump,but now I have a nice three figured sum of cash!!!!

I LOVE EBAY……………………………………

The conservatory is a dumping ground at the moment for furniture we’re selling.Its full of space now the dresser & workbench  are upstairs.So out came this gorgeous chest of drawers that has sat in the summer house with no home.

 

I hadn’t wanted to give it to my eager sister or sell it,so I’m so pleased to see it back out again.

I can fill it with the stash that is all over the place until the scrap room is finished.

 

 

 

 

 

Shimelles set another challenge for Saturday.I knew exactly what I’d like to finally use.

I was desperate for these spinners when they first came out.But they have sat ever since in my stash.In fact they were right at the bottom.When I dug it out today,I knew that I had to use a picture of Teddy.The words were so apt.

The two backing papers are yours Hilary.You may have recognised them.

Hilary has enough stash to start a shop,believe me.I am very jealous of all the lovely kits she has.

So I hope you think I put the papers to good use…………..

My word for the year-

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happiness

2 men in a shower!!!!

The bathroom is finally all plumbed in.My Son has named my Husband and Andy the plumber- The chuckle Brothers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure which one is Chris?

Both of the above are of course much better looking than this pair.

Andy certainly has the right accent as he’s from Doncaster.Poor thing.

And Chris did on our Wedding Day have a Chuckle Brother moustache  (and hair)

I left the two of them in the shower assembling the cubicle-“to me ,to you” and popped to my sisters and off to St Albans for a spot of  finishing touches shopping.

Armed with a pad and pencil I had to dash around my Sisters house as if was Ann Maurice,The House Doctor.

My Sister will admit she doesn’t have the eye for detail like I do.Or in other words the OCD or anal retentive gene that I have.Her house has just gone up for sale and she had two viewings within half an hour of me arriving.

She needs to sell it pretty fast,as she owes me a ton of money,plus interest.Poor old me has been having to go without.

Sometimes you just can’t see what's in front of you,and you need a fresh pair of eyes.So I am sure Dave is thrilled to now be repainting the spare room,waxing all the wood,and rubbing the staircase trim down.Among a few other jobs.

Last I heard they were on their way to Ikea to replace all the crappiest lampshades I have ever seen.

So I hope they will get a quick sale so they can start planning the interior of their new house just around the corner.Hang on let me rephrase that “ so that I can plan the interior!!!! Me and Andrea couldn’t be more different when it comes to decorating she’s Miss Beige and I LOVE colour and “stuff”.She spends three months trying to make a decision and then goes for what I told her in the first place!!!!Kitchen in point Andrea!

This building site is her new home.

I grabbed the opportunity to have a photo shoot with the girls.I even jumped on the trampoline,but my bladder wasn’t up to it.Unlike Tayas????

My Sister has kindly said the girls can come and live with me when I start Karen Russell's photography course in June.Sadly I had to decline the offer.My nerves wouldn’t be able to take it.

I put together a layout with some of the scraps left from the Crafty Stash crop kit.

I finally got around to the third crop layout by Tracie Hudson.I love how varied all the layouts have been from this kit.Plus I still have loads of stash left to play with.

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          (home is where the heart is)

January 30th

I have tried to catch up with two blog posts-sorry.

We have been busy decorating and finishing the walls in the bathroom.

We couldn’t decide on a colour and had 3 colours to choose from.We decided to risk it and plumped for a very dark grey.I have ordered white shutters for the windows and with all the other white bits going on it shouldn’t be dark just sumptuous and classy.We papered the wall where the sink,toilet and shower are going.I LOVE this paper and have used it in 4 rooms in my house.All in different colours.

The silver in it matches perfectly with our sparkly floor tiles.It all glimmers and glistens even with the lights off.I will add dots of colours like this pink towel.

To brighten up the solid colour of one of the wall I pinched this idea from Elizabeth Kartchner.

And this embroidery hoop was my idea.I have been waiting to use these for my scrap room.I have another one ready to go but I will wait and see if its needed in this room.

This is the same wallpaper in cream that I used in a cloakroom.I’ve stretched it over the hoop and embellished it.Hopefully it will tolerate the steam,if not they do make a fabric in the same print.

My Husband is busy cutting all the skirting boards and painting all the woodwork.He’s like a pig in sh*t.He loves getting his hands dirty.

This is an outfit I wore Friday.Its a very bright print dress.When I bought it I thought I’d see people everywhere in it.But I only ever saw a pregnant GMTV presenter with it on?

A bit of bright ,clanky jeweller.

and a pink cashmere cardie with jewelled buttons.

matching striped socks and my old comfy boots.

I wore my favourite outfit last night to my In Laws 50th Birthday dinner,but no one took a picture of me in it!

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(Spring)

January 18th

I was always known for my colourful clothes.I use to be always shopping for new outfits.But since buying our Edwardian money pit,every penny I have,has been spent on this for the last two years.As I don’t have any spare money I NEVER shop anymore.This has resulted in me wearing comfy,slobby clothes and piling on the pounds.Some of my favourite clothes now hang in the wardrobe as a distant memory.Far too tight to come out to play

I scrapped this a few years ago,just after moving to this house.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/2545053819_8118b1b0b9.jpg

As you can see my wardrobe was full of colourful clothes.This was why I came to choose the name for my blog.

My friend Hilary sent me a link to this blog today.She thought I may be interested in “my year in outfits”

After reading about lots of yearly projects this is the first one I have become really interested in.

I thought this may be a way of getting the old me back again.Even get me interested in shopping again.So out came the tripod and I found out how to take a self timer picture.But that was where the problem began.I was horrified to see how big I had got in the pictures.(believe me this was a good “thin”one)

My original cardigan was stretching at the seams,so of I went to change again ,only to hate my dinner lady arms.

So maybe this will be a torturess project in the end.But as we all know in years to come,I will look back at these photos and think “I thought I was big then ,and look how big I’ve got now!”

At least I know I can wear this to complement the outfit.I love this ring.

Even my bloody hands look old!! At least they aren’t fat as well.

I shall wear this sparkly coat tonight,when I am out on the town.It used to be miles too big for me,but you guessed it,its snug now.

It has been hard for me for the last 3 months not having a bathroom.I am using my Sons ensuite and all my toiletries are in this little basket.

I have gone from using £89 pots of Dior cream to a £2 Aldi cream.I had a makeup case full of Dior make up (I was a Dior consultant)now I have a blusher,lip gloss and cheap mascara.

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Fake beauty

January 17th

I stayed in bed this morning until 12pm!!!

But I was busy on my laptop researching my holidays in the States.I am the most anal,organised person you could have the misfortune to meet.Along with my written lists I have labelled folders of web pages on my laptop.Both my trips will take lots of organising.I hate to miss out on anything when I travel.

I have been posting questions on travel sites and the American “two peas in a bucket”scrapbooking site.People are so helpful,and its best to talk to the people who know the area where you are going.

Luckily I am going to Chicago with another two very organised ladies. However they have informed me they like to pack on the heavy side.I am again the most organised packer.I travel so light I can fit my clothes in a hand luggage bag.I prefer to buy clothes in the States and keep all my luggage allowance for my purchases.I have been known to bring home curtain poles and Goose down quilts (Poor husband had to return the quilt on another trip!)

Are you a light packer or like my friends take everything but the kitchen sink?

I spent the day yesterday with the above mentioned ladies at Crafty Stash's crop at Tempsford.The crop kit was very similar to last months,so my album now looks like there is a bit of a theme going on.I must say I would not have bought the papers we used ,but I again love the layouts I created.

They are both of my nieces,I added a few embellishments of my own and added some hidden journaling under the 3D mounted photo above.

I started following the kit on the one below but ended up doing my own thing.I added some stash left over from some of my previous crop kits.

I am after some new bits for my scrapbook room.I bought these boxes for storing my stash in.

The bottom one will be handy for keeping my unfinished layouts in.

I wanted a AMM tote bag with a carousel on the bottom ,but I have been informed today that they have been discontinued.If anyone knows of any stores that still have any I would be very grateful.

I bought one of the cheaper papermania ones when I started.I thought scrapbooking would be a flash in the pan for me,but four years later I am still going strong.

How long have you be scrapbooking?

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