Fresh Off The Cutting Mat!

Realised I had quite a few photos of recent commissions that I hadn't even taken off my camera so thought I'd finally have an edit. I've had lots of orders for personalised hand cut poster papercuts lately but, with moving house and studio, I often haven't had time to photograph them before running to the Post Office to send them to their new owners. Here are a few of my latest scalpelled creations that I did snap though...

Happy Father's Day!

These are the only photos I could find of me and my Dad. Must take more from now on. And also have a look through the old photo albums next time I go down south and see my folks. So, anyway, a big 'Happy Father's Day' to my Pa and all the other super Dads out there! Can't believe it will be Mr Storeyshop's turn next year...

The Bump Abroad!

So we went on our last child-free holiday the other week. We had been planning to book something since our 12 week scan but things just kept cropping up and I'm glad they did now as I was still feeling really sick all the way to 19 weeks. When the sickness went away I was like a new woman. It made me realise how rubbish I had really been feeling and that I had started getting used to it. To feel well and have my energy back is amazing!

So we finally jetted off to Lanzarote when I was 24 weeks. A bigger bump than I was expecting to take on a flight and along to the beaches but it was perfect timing for us in the end. 'Twas lovely to get away, just the two (and a bit) of us and escape work, emails and moving hassles for a week. We even took Bump on a camel ride!

















Lanzarote was recommended to us by a few friends and was lovely. A nice balance of beaches but also cool places to explore. We hired a car which I really think is essential there if you want to make the most of the island. It was smaller than I'd expected and we nipped all around the place discovering lovely little coves and restaurants as well as exploring the volcanic scenery and caves. We also embraced a bit of culture including César Manrique's house and his other sculptural works around Lanzarote which were stunning.

My trusty Canon 1100D came along with us too and I made the most of having less of a beach holiday (lying on beaches isn't amazingly comfortable when you can't lie on your front or your back) and more of a sand-free exploring holiday, taking lots of snaps around the place. I'm ashamed to say I hardly got it out of the automatic settings but I am still learning and didn't want to miss out on capturing memories by having it set to the wrong F-stop or ISO setting. I have promised myself that I will find a course soon and learn how to use my new toy properly. Preferably in time for Junior's arrival (we'll see)!

Let's Hear it For The Dads!

So, Father's Day is around the corner. I'm excited to announce that I'm (finally) getting back up to date with Storeyshop orders! It's been a really busy year so far and I kind of missed getting any cards made for Mother's Day (Ma Storeyshop got one obvs!) but I'm more on the ball now and have a little selection of hand cut Father's Day cards available. Most designs can be cut in your choice of colour, if you can wait a few days for me to scalpel them for you, and some are in stock so can be popped in the post straight away. Woo hoo!

Happy Jubilee Weekend & A Giveaway!

Hope you are all enjoying your long weekend of celebrating all things red, white and blue! I'm feeling a bit groggy as one of the evil colds that have been going around has finally caught up with me. I've been eating strawberries and cream and lots of cake though. Rude not to! Here's my Victoria sponge and Jubilee socks combo from yesterday... IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME! Head over to my Storeyshop Facebook page now to enter my giveaway to win a free laser cut card of your choice. Just 'like' and/or comment on the most recent post to be entered. I'll pick the winner at random tomorrow evening. Good luck!

In other news, I am now a whole year older as it was my birthday on May 19th. Had a lovely time celebrating in Sheffield before heading to Sussex to see family and friends and then to Lanzarote for our last child-free holiday! Photos to come of the bump abroad but here are a couple of my lovely birthday presents :)

I haven't had today off as I've been busy catching up with card orders. Getting there so the waiting time should soon be less again. I am getting bump ache though from leaning over my cutting mat. Anyone got any tips for comfortable working?!

Business (Almost) As Usual!

Broadband, oh how I love thee! I'm finally back online and getting the order list down a bit, too. Phew! Things are starting to get back to normal. Just a lot of unpacking and tidying to do. I've been so busy working that our new flat is still a complete mess. I'm waiting for the mum-to-be nesting instinct to kick in. Things will all be perfect and immaculate then, won't they?

Well, I promised some new baby bump photos so here's my 23-week-old bump from last week. Getting big now and I have had the first strangers asking when I'm due so it must look proper baby bump now, rather than just too much dinner! Yay!

News From Storeyshop (New!) HQ

Just a quick note to apologise for anyone waiting for an order or reply to an enquiry. I have new moved home and studio but am still waiting for broadband to be connected so I'm relying on the slighty hit-and-miss web signal on my phone to try and keep up with orders! Waiting time for current and new orders is still around 3 weeks as mentioned on my shop page but just a reminder that I'm still cutting away. I'm replying to messages as and when I can, as well. Have been a bit quiet on Twitter and Facebook for the same reasons but I'll be back. With a giveaway to celebrate the move to Yorkshire so watch this space! There'll be more bump pics, too. Our 20 week scan was great and all is looking very well with Junior. I never like to do things by halves...!