A work in progress...

Oops - I've not been around much lately, have I? It's been a frustrating ol' week...designs taking much longer than expected...boooooo! I thought I'd give my earlier snowman a few new friends, so I've been creating a wrap design involving many snow buddies; trouble is - they're taking TOO LONG!! Here's a little look at my current progress anyway...

- these are just a few of the little guys; as you can see they need a bit more texture and detail adding to them yet! Must finish  them today though, so I can enjoy my weekend guilt-free..... Right - back to it!!

Have a great weekend everyone!! :)

'Sweet little girl....'

We went to see Black Swan last night.....ooooh; it was a little bit grizzly!

- A sure far-cry from the innocent little ballerina girls depicted here in one of my wrap designs. Go see it if you dare.... ;)

Love-ly Lollies

Keeping on with the 'love' theme this week, I came up with this quick valentines design the other day...sweet treats for your loved ones! :)

Valentine yums! :)

Morning! I hope you were all made to feel special by your loved ones last night..my lovely hubby happened to have the day off, and took the opportunity to prepare a gorgeous tasty treat for when I got back home...we even had oysters(!!!) The biggest highlight for me though was the main; a Jamie Oliver delight - sirloin of beef with pak choy, soy sauce and ginger...mmm...mmm......mmmmmmmm - it certainly tickled my tastebuds! ;) You can find the recipe  here or in his book Happy Days with the Naked Chef - I highly recommend it!! :D

Ahhhh...'tis the day of love...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Spring has sprung!

Well....it's a miracle; the Spring Fair seems to have finally brought spring-type weather along with it - no sign of snow at all thank goodness! AND my garden is beginning to show signs of life again - there are shoots galore coming up :D Spotted the first snowdrops this morning...

...and even a ladybird too! Wow; that's early!! Fingers crossed this means that Winter has well and truly packed it's bags for the year...oh, I do hope so! :D

It's here!

Phew - what a very busy week it's been...sorry for my absence; with preparations for the Spring Fair having to take precedence it's been hard to fit in much else! It even meant a 15 and a half hour stint at the studio on Friday to get all the finishing touches completed for the show - YIKES! With songs such as 'Happiness' and 'Smile' playing on the radio it certainly felt like someone was having a little chuckle at my expense!

The fair started today and is running until Thursday, 10th Feb...come along and see us all if you happen to get the chance; Rah Rah and Lucy B will be in attendance today, whilst myself and Little Red will be manning the stand tomorrow....fingers crossed for a great show; at least there's no sign of the naughty snow to put people off this year...now that's a first! ;)

February....already?!

 - I can't quite believe it; can you?? The year certainly seems to be setting off on a flying start...though I'm super-happy as this means that Spring is gradually drawing closer and the buds will soon be out - YAY! :D

We always try and get a his 'n' hers calendar each year, and I particularly love the ones from M&S...check out the new look design for this year - I think it's one of my faves :)

- you can even add your very own photos to the scene; very cute! Though I'm liking the existing illos myself, so maybe they'll stay for now ;) Ahhhh....Venice; how I'd love to go back there again!

Hot off the European press...

Got a little surprise when I arrived at the studio today; it's not often we get to see samples of the finished product once we sell a design, but it's so lovely when we do. :) Here's a card that'll be making it's way onto the European shelves over the next festive season....the design was purchased by one of our new customers; TMS International

- they've even printed a little image on the inside!

And one more makes three...

 - that's the final piece in the revamp jigsaw (well; just a sneaky peek!)...now onto something new!

With the weekend almost upon us, I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed as Inspire By Design Ltd makes its debut at the CHA show this weekend....running from January 29th until February 1st in LA; here's hoping it's a roaring success! Check out my earlier posts here and here for a taster of what's on offer...if you happen to get the opportunity to visit we are in Kentia Hall, booth number 4844 :)

*****Have a great weekend everyone*****

Tick, tock, tick, tock....

- that's the  sound of the clock quickly counting down to Spring Fair; I've been so swamped that I even missed my daily post yesterday; sorry about that! Here's a jolly Santa peeking round to say 'hello'..he's another one to add to the set I've been reworking....still one more wrap to go before I can move on to something different and it's Thursday afternoon already (not that I'm panicking or anything!!)

..note to self...must work faster!!!

Repeats, repeats...

....they're driving me BONKERS this week; do you ever find yourself endlessly moving elements around the page in the hope that they might finally repeat?! It seems to be taking me forever....here's part of a current work in progress...

I have to rework a couple more wraps in addition to this before I can start on the cards I'm hoping to display at Spring Fair; fingers crossed they don't take too much longer to crack...the time is sure ticking!! :-O

One down, one to go....

Well, I did it, and managed to have a nice relaxing weekend after finishing everything off ready for CHA last Friday afternoon...fingers crossed that all the hard work pays off as we're practically newbies to the scrapbooking scene! Here's a little look at a couple more designs I managed to squeeze in to complete my new cookies and candy set...

...with one deadline out of the way, the focus now turns to Spring Fair - only a couple more weeks to go until it will be up and running, so it's busy, busy, busy yet again - this time it's the turn of the card design. Well, I guess I'd better get on then...

That Friday feeling

It's been a busy ol' week again, with lots to get finished off and done for CHA, but it's been easier with this little face by my side to keep me company....she was curled up in my study aaaalll day yesterday, bless her!

All that remains are the last little bits to print off and mount and then I'm done...just in time for the weekend - hoorah! :)

Have a good one everyone - I do hope this crisp winter sunshine continues so I can get out and about for some much needed vitamin D!! ;)

First deadline drawing nearer.....

It's only a couple of days until my agent takes off to the US again for another selling spree fingers and toes crossed for the selling bit!! so it's busy, busy, busy, trying to get all the last little bits done before he leaves. Here's a peek at another recent addition to my collection...he's very jolly! :)

More candy for the Christmas pot

On to new designs at last, and here's a little peak at one of the designs I've been creating...

...oh - I do enjoy working on the cookies/candy theme! :)

Happy days!

Ooooh...I'm excited; our new mattress has just arrived!! We've been suffering from many uncomfortable nights and bad backs for a few months now (our current mattress looks like a rough sea!!), so I cannot wait to get all comfy and cosy tonight....BLISS! :D

A whistle stop tour..

..well, as the title suggests, it's certainly been a period of flitting from one thing to the other over the last couple of weeks; revisiting existing designs to create new scrapbooking pieces from Christmas...

...to juvenile...

...to wedding...

...to feminine florals...

....and everything in between!

But, now I can finally say it's all done, and I can move onto something new - hoorah! - a good way to begin the new week methinks! :)

Hooray for the weekend!!!

Well, I'm officially frazzled......but smiling inside like the happy little flower shown below as I've had a super-productive week and can now take a well earned weekend off, completely guilt-free - HOORAY!

*****Have a great weekend everyone!!*****

Love it or hate it

Just a little random post from me....seeing as it's Friday.....

- marmite.....and cheese....together?? YES - it really, really works!! Found this little gem in my local supermarket the other week and couldn't resist trying - I'm glad I did - I LOVE it!!! :D

 So what's your take on marmite.....love it or loathe it?