WOYWW....

Here we are at another catch up with all the crafty desks around the world that link up over at Julias....click on the link to find out more.

This week has seen me playing with more fleece and running a few more toys up for little Milly....

 Here she is now [photo taken Monday]....eyes are open now.  She is still not able to walk and drags herself around as yet....think she is struggling to get her fat tummy off the ground lol.

We are going to meet her in just over a week and a half....can't wait.

She now has a froggy toy.

A spider....she can chew, pull or just use it as a pillow.

A plaited chew / pull toy.

This got made to use up a spare bit of plaited fleece and we think it looks rather like a little handbag.  :-)

Just in case you think sewing is all I've been doing....we are still working on decorating our home and Monday saw us working together to tile the splash back in the new kitchen.....every time I walk into the room it makes me smile.  I really love the colours in the tiles and the wow factor they give you.

That's all from me for this week.  If you leave me a little comment I will do my best to pop over to yours to see what you've been up to this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

Ps don't forget to email me at wipso@toucansurf.com if you want to swap ATCs with me.

WOYWW......

Wahoo wahoo wahoo  I've actually managed some time in my sewing room this week and have something on my desk to share with you...

I have been busy doing some machine embroidery on the last bunch of Christmas tree card toppers.

I have now found cards and mounted up 64.......every one is slightly different :-)

It's been a fab way to use up some of my fabric stash making the little patchwork trees and I've really enjoyed spending time playing on my sewing machine. :-)

And that's not all.....

Amy asked if I could make her a Christmas tree that would hang up and could be played with by the children so I delved in my fabric stash, found some card [no shortage of that when you've just had 150 boxes with your new kitchen in them], sorted out some ribbon, felt and buttons and hey presto.....

....I have a feeling they will have fun deciding where everything hangs don't you?  And I had fun making it. :-)

And just in case you thought I'd had a quiet week this is the latest pic of the kitchen looking from the French windows/doors.

• Double oven ....working and in use
• Dishwasher ....working and in use
• Sink ....plumbed in and in use
• Gas hob ....still to be fitted
• Curtain pole is up and I have shortened the curtains and they are up [and you know how much I love shortening curtains :-) ].

As you can see we are getting there but still lots to do yet.  I'm getting my exercise going from the old kitchen to the new....mugs in the new kitchen, kettle in the new kitchen, so I make a drink but have to fetch the milk from the fridge freezer that's still in the old  :-)  I'm sure the exercise will do me good.  Now all I need is a cat.....cos I now have a kitchen that's big enough to swing a cat in.  :-)  ......and I love it.

Please leave me a little message and I will pop over to yours to check out what you've been up to this week.  Thanks for calling in.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 146

Hello folks.  Here we are at another catch up with the week's smiles.  Many of you joined in the fun by linking up your own smiles and for that I thank you all.  I know, for sure, that spending a little time each day concentrating on the things that makes me smile does me good so I hope you all feel the benefit by doing the same.

I am featuring Angela's blog from last week over at Felix the Crafty Cat.  I really loved the little toadstools she found around a tree where she walks her dog.  I could just imagine the little elves and pixies skipping around them while no one was watching....aren't they just fab?  Thanks for sharing them Angela.

My smiles for this week have mainly focused on the 'jigsaw' we have been building in our kitchen.  Last Friday our new Ikea kitchen arrived in 150 boxes and all week we have been sorting and putting together the cupboards.....we do have a long way to go yet but our kitchen is slowly developing each day.  Last night I helped hubby cut the hole in the worktop to fit the new sink in and hopefully we should get the sink and dishwasher plumbed in tonight.  Our son, Mark, hopes to come later today to complete the electrics and our son-in-law hopes to come tomorrow to certify the electrics for us so we can call the building inspector back to sign off the building completion :-) :-)

I have also snapped a couple of my other smiles to share with you...

We had to order blinds to fit the windows and door in my sewing room and Wednesday evening I helped hubby to fit them....don't they look lovely?

The blind we ordered for our new hall window also arrived on Wednesday so we also cut that to size and fitted that Wednesday evening.....I love it and can see me using the design for inspiration for a dumfed picture....sorry the pic is rather dark but it was 9.30 at night when we finished fitting it......Zzzzzzzzzz

The other pics I just have to share is this one I snapped of my two tired little munchkins after their day at play school enjoying a bit of chill out together watching a bit of telly....aren't they just adorable?

That's all I have to share with your for this week so please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and link up your smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

What a busy time we have had since last Friday morning.  Our Ikea kitchen arrived as planned first thing Friday morning....in 150 boxes!!!!! We have spent many hours doing the jigsaw but of course had to check all the codes on each box to make sure it was the right piece of the jigsaw we were using!!!

So since then there's been no time [even if I was able to get past the boxes] to get into my sewing room.  I did manage to finish 27 of my Christmas tree card toppers before it arrived....

Sorry the photo isn't very clear ....I just snapped it quick on my phone as I finished my first batch.  They are all little patchwork Christmas trees but I have free machine embroidered some and used machine embroidery stitches on others....every one is different.  Lots more to do yet but I have been playing support act to my hubby fitting the kitchen cupboards since.

I know some of you will want to see the progress so here's a few quick pics....

On the left we have a tall larder cupboard, our fitted cupboard with the double oven in, a little infill cupboard then a corner cupboard that comes out into the room like a breakfast bar.

On the right is the dishwasher [have managed without one for 15 months so can't wait for it to be plumbed in], then will come the sink, a store cupboard and on the left in this pic will be the gas hob.

Looking down the kitchen towards the new doors you can see how the corner cupboard sticks out into the room and behind that will go our new dining table....we have managed eating off our laps since we moved house so really can't wait to eat at a table again.  :-)

As you can see we have been very busy [helped by several of our wonderful family members] but there are still wall cupboards to make/fit, the work tops to go on and appliances to fit/plumb in etc.  The boxes have definitely got less but there are still many hidden in every corner yet :-)...and if you're wondering the door fronts are off white and work tops and a dusky dark oak :-) :-) :-)

So there you go.  That's it from me for today.  Please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP.  Thanks for calling by.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 145

Happy Friday to you all.  You will be here to share in this weeks smiles and hopefully to share your own smiles below so welcome to one and all.  Lots of you joined in again last week and I thank you all for taking the time out from your busy lives to join in the fun....please keep up the good work.

I am featuring Michelle's little care bear from last week over at Studio Scrapworx.....what a cutie.  Thanks for sharing Michelle.....please call back again soon.

My smiles for this week have been many, as always.  Several of you seem to be watching our building developments with interest and I'm sharing some of our latest pics that have really caused many smiles this week......

Our new french windows/doors into our kitchen....aren't they beautiful?

And from inside the kitchen looking out onto the garden.....just look at all that sun shining in.  It's south facing and we plan slabbing a patio outside the doors so I can imagine many happy hours spent with the doors open in the summer.

The bath, washbasin and toilet have now been plumbed in our new bathroom by my multitalented hubby and I have even enjoyed a relaxing bath in there already.....I know, I know it's not finished yet but I couldn't wait. :-)

This is the wonderful new roman blind that my much older sister made for our new bathroom from a piece of fabric we found in my fabric stash....what a lovely job she made and what a great use of the fabric....Thanks Jo.

The other pic I'm sharing with you today is of some of the Spring bulbs that are shooting up in our garden already....I know it's been very mild here but I do hope they survive the colder weather that is bound to come later in the year.

We should have the delivery of our new Ikea kitchen cupboards today.  Yes I know it's Friday 13th but I like to live dangerously so lets hope it all arrives without a hitch :-)

So there you go....those are my smiles for this week [well, some of them].  Please leave me a little comment before you link up your smiles and I will be over to yours as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 142

So here we are at another Happy Friday's post.  Thanks to all who joined in last week.  I am featuring Zoe's post from last week.  She filled in a questionnaire....it made me smile and it was really lovely to learn a little more about her.  I promised her that I would have a go too [why don't a few of you join in the fun?....It's always lovely to learn a little about our blogging friends].

So here I go.....

TIME:  11.10 am [yes, I am writing this post on Thursday morning and will schedule it automatically].

LOCATION:  I'm sat on the laptop in the sitting room....it's one room I can keep warm in and is fairly dust and noise free :-)

FEELING:  Blessed with all the wonderful things in my life....but just a little worn out with all the mess, dust, noise and chaos of the building work that's going on here.

LOVING:  My wonderful family and watching my new home taking shape.

READING:  Nothing at the mo....If I started a new book at the mo I'd be asleep before completing page one :-)

DRINKING:  Just coffee for me....tea makes me sick and I rarely drink alcohol because of my diabetes.

ANTICIPATING:  The end of all the building work....It will be a while yet but I do feel we can see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel now  :-)

LISTENING TO:  Radio 2

WATCHING:  The birds feed just outside my window  :-)

PLANNING:  New kitchen and bathroom plus floor coverings.....this week  :-)

LOOKING FORWARD TO:  No more dust  :-)

CREATING:  A huge list of things to make and do when I can get into my sewing room....I am so thankful for Pinterest  :-)

NEED TO FINISH:  Sorting the fabrics and emptying the many boxes of stored stash in my sewing room.

WISHING:  For sunny days and lots of fun times ahead in our new home

MAIN GOAL THIS WEEK:  Keep smiling through the dust cloud  :-) 

That's the list and here's a few pics that have made me smile this week...

Our new front door and window......still need to take the old porch down and block up the old front door.  :-)

It always makes me smile to see my hubby and son working together on any project....especially when it's putting the first fix electrics into our new kitchen before the builders board and plaster it out.  I'm such a proud mummy.  :-)

Thanks Mark for all your willing help....it's his birthday on Sunday.....my baby will be 28  :-)

Beautiful skies at silly o'clock when I'm on Nanny Annie duty with the twins.  And speaking of twins.....

......here they are with the latest family member who has also been making me smile this week.

Meet Monty the kitten....isn't he cute?

So there you go folks.  I have so much making me smile this week....and today is my birthday so lift a glass with me today please and link up your smiles below.

Have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 141

Here we are once again at my Friday catch up of smiles.  Please feel free to enjoy everyone elses smiles by clicking on the links below but also please try to join in when you're able by linking your own smiles to Mr Linky.  It's such good therapy to smile and sharing what makes others smile too does us all good I'm sure so a huge thank you to those that join in the fun each week....please keep up the good work folks.

This week I'm featuring Lynn's post with a photo of Sir Tom Jones in it....firstly because at first glance I thought it was Lynn that he was kissing and secondly because he once bought my hubby a pint in a pub in Wales....that my hubby's claim to fame [what we don't tell everyone is that he actually bought everyone in the bar at the time a pint too :-) ].  Thanks for making me smile Lynn.

My smiles for this week are of something that wouldn't make everyone smile but it really had me grinning from ear to ear....

Yesterday my builders put up dust sheets and sealed two doors up to help stop the mess going further than necessary and they knocked out the window and wall through into the new extension  :-)

The size of the room that resulted was much bigger than I'd imagined and I love it....mess, dust and all.

From the outside it looks like this...and that had me chuckling too cos that certainly wasn't how I'd imagined it :-)  The hole where the french doors and side windows will go has had to be boarded up until the doors are made so instead of beautiful white UPVC it looks like this. :-)....and inside is like the black hole of Calcutta :-) :-)

I'm not sure you can see this photo clearly but my builder has a good sense of humour and he's written Annie's Sewing room on the make do door in pencil  :-)

I did reassure him that there won't be any sewing done in my new kitchen and in fact probably rather less of anything done in there than there will be in my new sewing room.  :-)

I hope my pics have made you smile today and you will leave me a little hello comment to say you've called by even if you aren't able to link your own smiles this week.

Hugs,

Annie x