My word for 2011

Hello all!

I have finally decided on my word for 2011: 'Guardian'. I really enjoyed having last year's word as a scrapbook page, stuck up on the wall of my study all year to keep me inspired. (You can see last year's word here if you're interested.) So I have made a page for this year too (click to see it larger):

Journaling reads:

It's 2011 and I am a guardian. My little girl will be three soon, and I'm expecting our second child. I must remember that even when I'm tired and frustrated I'm still a mother, protecting my children and nurturing them as they grow. I need to look after their daddy as well, to give him strength to be a guardian too.

I'm also guardian of my own life. I need to take care of myself. And things won't happen for me unless I make them happen.

I was inspired to use lots of buttons when I saw the Scrapbooker's Anonymous challenge this month (to use 17 buttons or more). I've used way more than 17! I set them out like a protective circle, and then I smashed some up and added the bits around the circle, like the awkward, sharp bits of life that I'm trying to guard us from.

It was harder than I thought it would be to smash up the buttons, I had to freeze them, put them in a plastic bag, and then whack them really hard with a hammer. I had a few white buttons I wanted to break, but couldn't even get them to chip! I am happy with what I ended up with though.

It took me quite a while to get the page completed, as I hadn't scrapped in so long. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of it now. I've certainly got the creative bug back - today I've been working on an art journal page, and some polymer clay buttons. I'll show them off to you soon!

xxx

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December catch up, part three

Okay, the last of my photos from December. My mum, stepdad, and sister stayed for a few days after Christmas, and one of those days we visited Lulworth Castle, a nearby attraction which I'd never been to before. Despite the day being very cold and windy we had a great time. They had events going on: a magician, a storyteller, an activity table, and a christmas cracker hunt (if you spotted all the crackers you got a bag of sweets).

My daughter loved it there, as she thinks she is a princess and that it's therefore her castle, of course. She even joined in the story, which children got to act out as the storyteller told it - my little girl was an old lady in the woods (it was a very small part!).

My Stepdad Mick even joined in - he made a brilliant evil troll!

Little miss also liked the cracker hunt, running around trying to find them all. Then we had a cake and a cuppa in the cafe, saw the animals at the animal farm, and played in the playpark.It was a great day out, and it was good to go then, as the attraction has just announced that it won't be putting on events any longer as it can't afford them. A real shame, as there's not much for kids there otherwise.

We also did a bit of sales shopping, and my mum bought this very cute outfit for her grandaughter, hopefully it will still fit her next year:

And my little girl also had her first proper haircut, courtesy of my sister Katy who's a qualified stylist (so proud of her!):

So, there we go, you're all caught up with what we've been up to! I promise the next post will feature a scrapbook page, but in the meantime, do you like the new blog background and header? The background is from Shabby Blogs, and I designed the header myself in Microsoft Publisher. It's probably a bit spring-themed for mid-January, but I like it!

Bye for now xxx

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December catch up, part two

Okay, a few more photos from December, this time from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. My Mum, Step-Dad, and little Sister came to stay with us, and we had a lovely time with them, playing games and eating way too much!

(me making pancakes xmas morning, with bacon and maple syrup mmm)

(loved my daughter's xmas outfit!)

(Boxing Day walk in Swanage, all sporting new wooly hats)

( playing tag with the waves!)

(one of my mum's presents was balloon putty that you could blow into a big ball!)

I have a few more piccies to share of the few days after boxing day, and then I promise I'll share something craft related.

I am still feeling quite tired, I keep falling asleep on the sofa when my daughter is watching a movie in the afternoon, until she shouts 'wakey wakey mummy' in my ear! It's getting a bit better though - thanks for all the kind words. xx

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