The Photo Gallery: Friends

This photo pretty much sums up the friendship my 9 year old has with his group of school friends.
Easy going, trusting, fun, solid, constant.
They work hard together, they play together, they help each other out, they fall out, they fall back again, some of they play rugby together, they go to Cubs together, they're in and out of each other's houses for sleepovers or for tea.

I see them together and it makes me smile. Such a fabulous bunch of young men in waiting.
They've been together since Reception (age 5) and I am convinced that the reason my boy thrives in school, is confident and happy and emotionally sound has an awful lot to do with these friendships.
And I am so thankful for that - and to their parents for raising such wonderful boys!

This post is for for week 93 of The Gallery: Friends.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.
And you could also subscribe to make sure you never miss a theme every Friday.
Now go forth and show some big blog love. Visit other posters, comment, get inspired. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
The link stays open until Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

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The most awesome Star Wars Lego craft project. A tutorial

I saw one of these beauties on Etsy and drooled.
But at £45 I baulked. And then I thought, hang on a minute. We have a squillion Lego Minifigures dotted around this house, I can SO make one myself.
So that's what I did.
And I now have mahoosive Mummy Brownie Points from Dan who thinks I'm just the coolest mum EVER because he has this hanging on his wall.

So here's how I did it. It cost me around £12 (not including the figures).

The display frames I bought from Ikea - called Ribba - for the bargain price of £4.25 each.
You will also need:
Superglue of some description
Good quality card (I used a card from a make your own greeting card kit, cut in half, but any card that's quite robust will do).
Tape
Lego Minifigures
Access to a printer
Basic knowledge of Word

First up I wanted to make sure that the font used in the 'May the Force be with you' text had the genuine Star Wars look about it, so I found this fabulous site which converts your text into Star Wars font.
You type in your chosen words, choose the font, then download your chosen phrase to your desktop. You can then add it as a 'picture' to a Word document.
Cut your piece of card to fit the aperture inside the mount of the frame.
I then resized the Word document to match the size of this piece of card, so when you put the card in your printer and print out the Word document with your Star Wars quote on, it will exactly fit the aperture.
This is as complicated as it gets!

Tape the card to the reverse side of the frame's mount, making sure your quote is level and of equal distance from the sides and bottom of the mount.
Now turn the mount over to the correct side and glue your Lego Minifigures where you want them. Making sure you hold them down for a few seconds so they stick and not let your excitable 9 year old hold it in the air and yell: "LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS" as all your figures drop off one by one.
Ahem.

Rebuild the frame, and voila.
Then repeat with any other figures you fancy framing.

We've toyed with doing a Harry Potter frame and a Pirates of the Caribbean frame but Dan is still struggling with the whole 'they're superglued in and you can't really play with them any more thing'!

And yes, those on the top are his series 6 Lego Minifigure collection.
The boy is slightly obsessed!
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The Photo Gallery: Week 93

Hello and welcome to week 93 of The Gallery.

This weekend I will be spending some quality time with friends.
Away from the husband and the children. Talking nonsense, drinking cockails, lounging around in my joggers, eating fab food. And laughing. Laugh laugh laughing.
Because that's what friends are for, right?

And so this week's theme is quite simple: Friends

They really can make all the difference when you have something to share; be that sadness or joy, tears or laughter.
Let's showcase all the wonderful people who make us smile - those from our past and from our present.

If you want to join in with The Gallery and showcase your photos, come back on Wednesday and when my Gallery post goes up, add a link to your post on the Linky below mine.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about sparking your imagination, being inspiring - and inspiring others.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Also, if you're linking up to The Gallery then try to visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with. Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

You will get out of this what you put into it.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe and get all prompts delivered directly to your in box.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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The Photo Gallery: Landscape

Before children, hubby and I travelled to Thailand.
THE most amazing and beautiful and inspiring place.

This is Phra Nang beach near Krabi. Only accessible by long-tail boat. If you think it looks familiar that could be because it looks very much like something you saw in the James Bond movie Man With the Golden Gun.
That wasn't filmed here, but at a very similar location - here you get the stunning backdrop without the tourism that's ruined 'James Bond Island' as it's called (or Ko Tapu).
We also travelled to the tiny island of Phi Phi Leh (used as a location in the film The Beach).
Phi Phi was devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004, when nearly all of the island's infrastructure was destroyed.

Unfortunately, my photograph is before digital became mainstream and before I developed a real love of photography so I kind of weep when I see this landscape and think what I could do with it now.
Still, I stood on that beach, open mouthed at the truly breath taking beauty of it all. It is a photographer's dream.
And one day, one day, I'd love my own children to see this fabulous place. And maybe they can stand there and take a much better photograph than me!

This post is for for week 92 of The Gallery: Landscapes.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.
And you could also subscribe to make sure you never miss a theme every Friday.
Now go forth and show some big blog love. Visit other posters, comment, get inspired. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
The link stays open until Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

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Junior tattoo parlour

Just as we're about to leave the house, Mia decides what her outfit is lacking is a giant pirate tattoo slap bang in the middle of her forehead.
Seriously, this girl is ACE.
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When she comes back she wants to be a killer whale. Or a dolphin

To my six-year-old daughter these are some of the greatest photographs ever taken.
The fact that her mother took them matters not. In fact, the only thing which could have made it better is if she had been in that first one.
She loves animals. All animals. But she has a 'thing' about sea creatures and anything from the Polar regions.
Dolphins, sea lions, polar bears, Arctic foxes - and the greatest love of her life, killer whales.

I have no idea where this love stems from, but the year we took her to Sea World while on holiday in Florida and she sat and watched this show, she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
I think she watched the whole thing with her mouth open and I probably sat and watched her sitting there with her mouth open.
But since then she has watched every TV show and sucked up every scrap of information she can lay her young hands on about whales and dolphins.

Which is why, when we were sent a copy of the DVD A Dolphin's Tale to review and ponder, we've had to watch it pretty much non-stop. Like every day for a week. Twice on Saturday.
It's the true story ("OMG it's TRUE mummy") of a dolphin called Winter who lost her tail and is brought to a marine hospital in Florida ("OMG we've been to Florida mummy") and forms a heartwarming bond with the young boy who found her.
Cheesy, right? Yes it is. But if you could see the way my little girl's eyes light up every. single. time she watches it, well, who cares how cheesy it is?
And DAMN IT it also managed to make me cry for heaven's sake. Tough old boot me. Bah.
Oh, and it's also got Harry Connick Jnr in it. I'll just leave that sentence hanging right there . . .
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The Photo Gallery: Week 92

Hello and welcome to week 92 of The Gallery.

After some truly awesome/ruddy awful 80s fashions last week, I'm setting you a 'proper' challenge this week. A proper photography challenge.

This week's theme is: Landscapes.

Go and take a photo of one that inspires you, dig one out of your archives or get creative.
Trees (ahem), sea shores, beach, skyline, fields, roof tops, pylons, mountains, snow whatever.

Let's show what a wonderful and diverse place the world is.

If you want to join in with The Gallery and showcase your photos, come back on Wednesday and when my Gallery post goes up, add a link to your post on the Linky below mine.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about sparking your imagination, being inspiring - and inspiring others.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Also, if you're linking up to The Gallery then try to visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with. Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

You will get out of this what you put into it.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe and get all prompts delivered directly to your in box.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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The Photo Gallery: Embarrassing Outfit

Some photos don't need words with them because they are so awesome.
Other photos, well, it's just best not to say too much.

It's a good job I already had a boyfriend at the time because it would have been a lonely time at college otherwise . . .
Why did nobody SAY anything for the love of god?

This post is for for week 91 of The Gallery: Embarrassing Outfits.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.
Now go forth and show some big blog love. Visit other posters, comment, get inspired. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
The link stays open until Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

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Dog days

Normally when we look out of the window and it's cold and frosty and everyone else is huddled up infront of the TV with a bowl of popcorn and a blanket over their knees, we totally do the same.
However, having a dog makes you go out. You HAVE to go out to walk it (especially when you have a large breed like ours with boundless energy and a very loud bark which says TAKE ME OUT if you're still sat on said sofa at his allotted time).
So, we figure, if you're going to go out, why not make the most of it?
And then you get to see things like this; the UK at its very finest.

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Girl Lego. Or grrrr Lego

I never ever thought the day would ever come that I would have something bad to say about Lego.
But why why why does their 'girl' Lego need to be, well, girlie?
And the mini figures be . . . just girlie? And, let's face it, not like mini figures.

This set was sent by a PR for Mia to build and have a play with and she initially winced at the pink packaging but then brightened as the theme was 'doggy' and the included character is called 'Mia'.
"What do you think? Would you like more of the sets?"
Pause.
"I'd rather have one of the Hero Factory robots".

I always thought Lego was genderless. Why can't a girl want to build a Star Wars set just as much as her brother? Or lust after the Harry Potter Hogwarts, or indeed ask for a Hero Factory set?
Or sit and rummage through a pile of those crayon-bright bricks and just create something.
Building and exploring doesn't need to be pigeonholed. Does it?

I'm saying all this like some angry rant but actually it's not. I know Lego have had pink boxes of bricks for years. And personally, we've always ignored them.
I think we'll be ignoring this range too.
I my humble opinion Lego doesn't need 'girl' sets - it's awesome enough as it is.

.

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When your six year old discovers you can take photos of yourself on the iPhone

Just to clarify; She's really rather chuffed that she's lost her two front teeth.
I mean, she's not COMPLETELY insane.
.

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The Photo Gallery: Week 91

Hello and welcome to week 91 of The Gallery.

After last week's wonderful family photos and stories I've decided to go daft this week. Have a bit of fun. And by fun read have a laugh at your expense.

This week's theme is: Embarrassing Outfits.

You know when you look back at an old photo from your childhood and think 'what the HELL were my parents thinking when they dressed me in that?'. Or the teenage years when you discovered punk/mods/New Romantics? Or the fancy dress outfit you wish to god you'd never put on.
Yeah, THOSE photos.
Show us your embarrassment.

If you want to join in with The Gallery and showcase your photos, come back on Wednesday and when my Gallery post goes up, add a link to your post on the Linky below mine.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about sparking your imagination, being inspiring - and inspiring others.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Also, if you're linking up to The Gallery then try to visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with. Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

You will get out of this what you put into it.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe and get all prompts delivered directly to your in box.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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Experimenting on my kids

The day I gave my kids sprouts I devised a plan.
I cooked up their very favourite meal - roast dinner with Yorkshire Puds - and then at the dinner table told them a really juicy tit bit I'd picked up from the school gate that very morning.
They were so distracted they barely noticed something new on their plate and mindlessly added them to their fork and chowed down.
They now eat them all the time. Willingly as well.

The point is, I wonder how many kids won't eat something just because of the way it looks or the bad rep that piece of food has?
Hell I do it and I'm 43! Do NOT put beetroot anywhere near my plate.
And I mean just look at passion fruit - would you even believe that's a fruit if confronted with it for the first time?

Both of my kids are big fruit and veg eaters but they've just lately started to narrow their range down and will only eat a couple of favourites.
Mia is so obsessed with tomatoes she's become known as 'Mia Grace Tomato Face'.
Well, I wanted to change that. Get them to broaden out a bit. Because I am In Charge.
So we conducted a little experiment.

A platter of 9 different types of fruit - some they always have, some they haven't had in a while, some new.
Blindfolds.
Pen and paper to write your guesses/comments.
A 'reward' at the end of it.
(The toothpicks were to pick the fruit up, not for torture).

It was actually very interesting to see their reaction to some of the fruits, which were:
Strawberry
Raspberry
Melon
Passion fruit
Mango
Plum
Kiwi
Pineapple
Grapes

The top and tail of it was they detest raspberries (a bit harsh) and "don't EVER put that anywhere near my plate again" for the passion fruit. Other than that they really liked them all.
Of course, they like the large bag of Minstrels the most!
.

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The Gallery: A Family Story

She never knew how awesome her grandkids are because she died before I ever got around to making babies.
My nan. My mum's mum.
She was fab.
We used to watch World of Sport wrestling on a Saturday afternoon together. Then show jumping. Then the snooker.
We were usually snacking on crab's claws or home made crisps at the time. The day she made crisps I declared her to be a culinary genius.
That same evening we'd all walk down to the off licence together because she wanted to queue up and get the Saturday Argos for the football results.
She loved her football. And a bag of pork scratchings and a bar of Fry's Chocolate Cream; every single week.

She died before either of my children came along. It remains one of my greatest regrets because she would have adored them.
Like I adored her.
(The photo is my nan with her daughter - my mum - in July 1997. She did like her puddings!)

This post is for for week 90 of The Gallery: A Family Story.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.
Now go forth and show some big blog love. Visit other posters, comment, get inspired. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
The link stays open until Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Read more...

Things I love during the winter

* A piping hot cup of tea to start the day.

* Wearing angora knee-high socks from Marks and Spencer.

* Duvet days in front of the TV.

* Wearing hats.

* Stepping into a lovely warm house after being outside in the cold.

* Having the fire on.

* Stew.

* Ski mittens.

* That crunching sound when you walk over frosty ground.

* Going out so early in the morning that the frost is all sparkly as the sun rises.

* Seeing the kids' faces when they realise it's snowed.

I also opened this question up to Twitter and asked 'what things do you love about winter?'
Here were some of the responses:

@alittlemisfit: Appreciating the warmth inside! Being stuck in the house all day never seemed so appealing until now

@EnglishMum: Pies, stew and dumplings ... Treacle sponge and custard.. Just your basic winter gluttony.

@ElsieAnderton: 1. good telly 2. thick tights 3. any sort of stew 4. red lipstick 5. warming Old Fashioned cocktails.

@TheJellyMonster: Onesies, blankies and tea and all that @EnglishMum said too.

@FaryalAhmad: Chunky jumpers. Chunky socks. Hot soup, stew, cake and custard. And hot chocolate!

@Tiddlyompompom: Gravy, frost, fires, woolly jumpers.

@ChristineMosler: Sparkly frost, our wood burner, kids rosy faces, dragon breath, empty beaches, soups and stews, welly walks, DVDs and popcorn.

@Jodiekins22:  The Man walking the kids to school cause I don't do frost or snow, Bovril, Chestnuts, not shaving your legs and wearing tights :)

@DaveFowler: Hot water bottles and Vicks Vaporub!

@LoveitLoveit: ELECTRIC BLANKETS.

@HelloitsGemma: Am with her @elsieanderton you can't beat wooly tights. Comfy, warm and no ladders.

@FlossieTeacake: Wearing tights to hide fact I can't be bothered to get my legs waxed.

@Amanda_Fitness:  Wrapping up warm, staying in all cosy, my electric blanket, and eating apple crumble and custard.

@PorridgeBrain:  Getting to drink water from the tap cold enough to make you gasp. Also having an excuse to put your hands in nice men's pockets.


So, what would yours be?
.

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I'm going to CybHer. I will expect hugs

I am honoured to have been asked by CybHer founder Sian To to speak at her event in May - a new conference for women who blog.
There are some amazing speakers lined up (full list here) and it looks to be a fabulous event, but I actually agreed to speak because Sian is awesome and she's promised me cake.
And it also means I get to hug a whole bunch of old friends and make some new ones.
So I'm THERE.

Name: Tara Cain
Blog: www.www.stickyfingers1.blogspot.com/
Twitter ID: @tara_cain
Height: 5ft 5 - Small of stature, big of heart
Hair: Long and brown and swishy.

Five things you should know about me...
1. I'm named after a man.
2. Ali Campbell from UB40 used to live in the flat above me.
3. I just got a new dog. I'm slightly obsessed.
4. My drink of choice is a Mojito. Closely followed by a nice cuppa.
5. Did I mention I have a new dog . . . ?

6. Oh and I've been with my husband for - EEEK - 21 years and have two of the world's greatest kids.
7. What do you mean I'm only allowed 5. I'm a bit of a rule breaker. What of it?

If you're going please please come and say hi and I'll hug you in an inappropriate fashion and it will be slightly awkward but totally awesome.

If you want to join in the Cybher Meet and Greet, do a post and add it to the Linky here. Or just go see who's joining in.
See you in May! *Does a little dance*
.

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The Photo Gallery: Week 90

Hello and welcome to week 90 of The Gallery.

This week I want you to dig back into your archives - be that last week, last year or the last century - and tell me a story.
You know those quirky little stories you pass on from generation to generation? Every picture tells a little story, but some tell a really special one. I want to see THAT photo.

So this week's theme is: A Family Story.

I think the hardest part here is going to be how to narrow it down to just one photo!

So, if you want to join in with The Gallery and showcase your photos, come back on Wednesday and when my Gallery post goes up, add a link to your post on the Linky below mine.
The link stays open until the following Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
Remember, The Gallery isn't about technically brilliant photos. It's about rediscovering photos; both old and new.
It's about sparking your imagination, being inspiring - and inspiring others.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Also, if you're linking up to The Gallery then try to visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with. Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

You will get out of this what you put into it.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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Homemade photography gift from your kids. A tutorial

Whose heart wouldn't melt if presented with a framed picture like this of their kids?
I saw this idea and knew instantly I'd have to have a go. Because, quite frankly, anything involving taking photos for gifts and I'm there!

I made this for the inlaws at Christmas after seeing it done on Pinterest and it's the easiest thing to make but got a real 'oh wow' effect when they opened it.
And it's perfect for a homemade gift.
You just need patient kids and a sprinkling of creativity. And a camera. And a bunch of other stuff I'm going to tell you about.

So for anyone who fancies giving it a go, here's how.

1. Decide on a word.
We opted for 'Love' but you can have 'Kiss' or 'Mum' or 'Family' or even spell out someone's name. Anything which has meaning for you or the person you're giving it to.

2. Create the letters.
You can get the kids to write them out on a sheet of A4 paper or do what we did and print them off using a font we liked.
I just used a Word document and typed each letter onto one sheet so that it filled the page, then printed each one off.
I used Bookman Old Style as the font.

3. Mount your letters.
I bought a clipboard for £1 just because I think it displays the letters well and was easy for the kids to hold while we took the photos.

4. Get creative.
Take loads and loads of photos so you have plenty to choose from. Let the kids get creative if they're old enough and involve them in the process to make it even more personal - and fun.

5. Tinker around with the photos
Decide on what sort of style you want your finished, framed photo to have.
I opted for black and white, but you could go for sepia tones to give it a more 'old fashioned' look or stick with colour.
Play around with a photo editor until you get the style, shape and colour you want.

6. Print the finished photos off and add them to your frame. Stand back and admire.
I bought this frame for £12.99 from TK Maxx, but you could try second-hand shops for a more 'vintage' look, Ikea for a modern, clean lines look or even your local supermarket for a bargain.

Honestly, I don't mean to boast, but it's the bees knees.
.

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The Photo Gallery: Me Right Now

We're terrible for 'posing' for photographs aren't we?
Making sure we look our best, have our hair brushed, our make up just so and turning just so to ensure the camera captures our best side.
But it's the impromptu snaps which tell the best stories - they mark out our every day lives and show how we live and what we are 'really' like.

I'm a sucker for taking my phone everywhere with me. EVERYWHERE. WITH. ME.
Yes, I Tweet on the toilet, what of it?
So this week, after seeing the hashtag #MeRightNow used on the photography app Instagram, I set the same theme for The Gallery.
Literally that. Take a photo of what you are doing when you read the prompt.

This was me when I was tagged on Instagram. I was taking my make up off in the bathroom with my phone balancing precariously on the sink.
Let us just thank all that is holy I didn't read it 10 minutes earlier . . .

This post is for for week 88 of The Gallery: Me Right Now.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too.
Now go forth and show some big blog love. Visit other posters, comment, get inspired. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
The link stays open until Tuesday so you have plenty of time to join in.
And absolutely ANYONE can join in.

Read more...