I love Popcorn x

I love Popcorn the Bear to be more precise, although the eating kind is quite lovely too! This is a card I made for my Niece's little boy. 

I used a sketch from the Crafters Companion Challenge Blog and coloured in the image using my trusted water colour pencils.

tfl,

Dee

xx

I've cut into July

I've cut into July, my July Go-Go kit to be exact! Just lately the kits are arriving and after a little stroking they are being put away into my Cropper Hopper and not touched :(  so I am pleased to report that the July kit has been used, although only a little :) I do have another set of photo's on my desk to use with this kit so there will be more to share soon.

The photo's on this LO are of my two boys doing what they always do - mess around, wrestle and chase. The result of the chase is always the same ending with Tony on the floor laughing! He seems to fall down to the floor as a way of surrendering to Joe because at the moment there is no why he would outrun him. Its  great fun to watch them in the brotherly ritual and its lovely that they are so close, I just look forward to the day when maybe, just maybe Tony will win the chase x

tfl

Dee xx

I've Made A Mini

I have been stocking up on chipboard mini albums for a while now and finally got around to actually finishing one. I used up some K & Co papers and embellies that I have had for a while from the Sparkly Sweet range and chose my daughter Amy as my subject. She loves to get her photo taken so I had plenty to choose from and she is a real pink, sparkly kind of girl which suited the colours on the papers xx

Im pleased with how this turned out x

TFL, Hugs

Dee xxx

A Box of Goodies . . .all for me!

Just a quick post this morning while I gather my thoughts and get ready for the afternoon ahead. We are off to a BBQ & Fun Day organised by the Chernobyl Childrens Charity  as this is the last day before the children head home tomorrow. Our host child Masha has had a brill time here and doesnt want to go home so i sense tears tomorrow for sure. She has actually been a minx this morning which is the first time we have seen this side of her and I'm sure its because she knows she is leaving.

On Friday my Stampin Up! parcel arrived in the post and as I was Virtual Hostess this month my box was full and came with an extra wee treat from Monica xx

All I need now is some free time to actually play with my goodies. I have one or two projects lurking on the table needing my attention and although I have all good intentions at the moment the kids have me totally whacked out so come the evening all Im good for is a cup of hot chocolate and an early night.  

tfl,

Hugs

Dee xxxxx

More About Masha

Masha has settled in really well now and has learnt some english words which is making life a little easier. Yes, No, Thank You, more please . . . just the basic stuff but it has made a big difference. Amy has also taught her to sing along to Beyonce which is really funny to listen to!

On Wednesday a gang of us headed off to Belfast Zoo for the day complete with huge picnic so it was a good job there were a few strong fella's to carry everything from the car . . . lol x Everyone had a great day. We were telling Masha the names of the animals in english and she was teaching us to say them in russian - quite entertaining to listen to us all trying to pronounce russian names. My favourite was Zebra because in russian it is . . . . . Zebra . . .lol x

These are just a couple of shots I took that day. . . . 

On Friday Masha went on a bus trip to a park organised by the charity which gave us the day to ourselves at home. Amy has been fantastic with Masha but Im sure she was pleased to have a little breathing space to herself for a few hours, as was I. Once we had dropped her off to the bus I headed back straight into my craft room for some much needed crafty time. I managed to catch up on my Mini Album project which I am doing along with a bunch of girls on UKScrappers and got all three months pages done so I am up-to-date finally.

April Pages

May Pages

June Pages

Well, Im hoping that this beautiful weather continues on into next week as we have more local trips planned with Masha and a BBQ at the end of next week before the children head back to Belarus.

Hugs

Dee

xxx

                                      

Taking Masha to the Beach

Masha is 11 years old and from Belarus. She is staying with us for 3 weeks as part of the Chernobyl Childrens Charity scheme. Her first few days with us were quiet as she settled in and got to know us a little better. She doesnt speak a word of english so things have been interesting so say the least and Google Translate has been our saviour. Although the way she communicates with Amy is amazing, already they have this way of understanding each other which is a mixture of actions and sounds - but hey it works!!

Our first trip out was to town to but Masha some new clothes. For her 3 week stay she came with one pair of PJ's ,  a flannel and the clothes she stood up in! We were told of the poverty these families live in but I was expecting her to have a little more in the way of clothing. Anyway a stint in Primark soon had that one sorted and she was one very happy little girl.

In the evening we took a stroll down to the beach with the buckets and spades and of course my camera. And I am so glad I had my camera. As we got to the edge of the sand dunes her face was an absolute picture - she has never seen the ocean or the beach before, only in books. I was not quick enough to capture her first reaction but I got some great snap shots of the kids building sandcastles and jumping the waves!

More update on Masha's visit to come later. My crafty time is going to be a bit on the short side while she stays with us so I probably wont have much to share in the way of creativity this week.

Hugs 

Dee

xxxx