How lucky am I - another award

Hey look at this award! It's from my lovely talented friend Anita. Please pop over and check out her blog (Inky Blossoms) and all her beautiful work. Many thanks Anita.

So here are some rules I need to follow:-

* Thank the person who gave it to you. Thank you again Anita :o) x

* Tell seven things about yourself. That's not easy.  Let's see:

• 
  
   I am very interested in family history and at the moment am alternating between family history and card making.
• 
  
  I have an absolute phobia of snakes and worms!!  I can't do any gardening or weeding without gloves.  When I was a lot younger (my eldest son was 2 - he's now 35!), I came across a worm in the garden and wasn't wearing gloves.  I dropped everything on the garden, rushed in doors, shut and locked the back door so it wouldn't come and get me!!  It was a very large worm!
• 
  
  I used to  do ballet dancing, tap and modern from when I was 7 until 15 or so and still have a love for the ballet.  Not that I can do much nowadays!!
• 
  
  I loved doing cross stitch and made lots of cards and one very beautiful (even though I say it myself) fairy picture.  My mother had it framed for me as a birthday present and it still hangs on the wall.  It did take me rather a long time, I have to admit.  My loft is still full of threads, aida and cross stitch patterns.  I can't get rid of them because one day, I might start again.
• 
  
  I am a great hoarder and procrastinator!!  I can't throw things away because one day they may come in useful or I may want to do them again!!  I would hate to have to move house and downsize.
• 
  
  I have four wonderful grandchildren - grandchildren are so much more fun than children - you have time to do things with them which you didn't have with your children, and you can give them back!!
• 
  
  My daughter turned up in my office last week and informed me she had just got married!  It was her second marriage, but she had told no one in the family.  It was a great shock but she is so happy,  if that is what she wants, she's old enough.

* Pass this award to five other bloggers who you think are fantastic - now this is difficult, not because I can't think of anyone but because Anita has picked the people I would have chosen and I really don't know many other people.  Well I shall chose my crafting friends Krafty Karen (KKFantasticPlace) and Scrappy Sarah (Sarah-scrap-book)and then  repeat Anita (Inky Blossoms), Jilly (A Calendar of Colours), Lynn (A Moment in Time) and Linda (Linda's cards and pages).  - Ooops that's six but hey ho, what's one between friends!!   xx

Kids never fail to surprise you !!

Last week, I was at work minding my own business.  Suddenly just before lunch time my daughter Kate popped in, as she often does.  She looked really lovely in a short white dress, and sparkles in her hair.  I commented on how lovely she looked and she smiled, turned round and in came Danny, her partner.  They had moved into a rented house only last month.  They just grinned and then said they'd just got married!!  At the Registrar Office in Hastings.  You can imagine I was absolutely flabbergasted.  I just couldn't really believe it was true as I had had no inkling.  Apparently absolutely no-one knew; not their siblings, parents, friends, no-one.  Kate popped into school and got the two girls out just for an hour.  She had bought them new dresses which they changed into in the car.  On the way to the Registrar Office they ran out of petrol!  A lady took Kate to the petrol station.  A police car stopped to see what was going on.  When Kate explained, the policeman helped the girls do the buttons up on their dresses and then she got a police escort to Hastings!  They got two of their fire brigade mates to be witnesses, having sworn them to secrecy.  Kate bought three sunflowers, one for her and the others for the girls, and that was that!

They did have some pictures taken but I've not got any just yet.  I have been promised some. 

So - who'd have children ???

Anyway in the meantime I thought I'd show you the third book I made for my granddaughter in Australia.  She's loves fairies so I couldn't do any better than using the Crafters' Companion Flower Fairies stamps and CDs.

I think this is one of my favourite fairies from the collection.  The baby is so cute!  Some of the fairies I masked and then spray glittered their wings - they looked quite effective.

and the last one in the book:

Sorry there were rather more than I thought!  My son said Emma was pleased with it.  I hope she was.  Anyway I enjoyed making it.

I'll be back on another day!  x

Me again!

Hello, back again!

Whilst I've been off line I've not stopped buying stamps and things - well you can't can you? :o))

So being a member of Crafters' Companion I was offered Souffle the Duck CD and stamps using some of my loyalty stamps.  Too good an offer to miss.  So this is a card I've made with that.

I already had a Popcorn the Bear CD and just made this card from some bits left over from some of the decoupage.

I also had some freebie papers from Creative Cardmaking magazine, which I love, so I made this card for one of the girl's birthdays at work.  She was chuffed with it and I felt a bit guilty as I made it out of freebies, but you couldn't tell.

I even used a bit of the freebie 'ribbon' to embellish the insert page too.  Well I could afford to, couldn't I?

Then, of course I HAD to buy the new Jayne Nesterenko Duo's Stamp sets and here are a couple of cards I made with them.  They really are lovely and I am very pleased with them. 

Using the Wishing Line set of stamps,  I stamped  the trees in the background direct to card and coloured in with watercolours.  The the little mice I stamped, coloured, cut out and stuck onto the card and then I stamped the little mouse again, coloured him in, punched him out with a circle punch and then used glossy accents to give a sheen to it, and then matched the circle with the rest of the card.  I have to admit, the circle bit took me longer than I thought, but it'll probably be easier next time!  The flowers I just sparkled using Crafters Companion Spray and Sparkle and then glittered as well.

I was very pleased with this one and shall experiment a bit more using other stamps.  What do you think?

Finally using the Crafting Companions stamp set I made this one.

This one is so simple but very effective.  Again this can be used in several ways and different colours but I think this looks very elegant.

Well I'm off to do some more card-making.  Enjoy your weekend.  xx

Break a leg!!

Hi again

My grand-daughter, Chloe, was 11 a couple of weeks ago and I made a book card for her, using the Jayne Nesterenko new Patchwork Polly stamps.  It didn't take as long as I thought it might and the effect was rather nice.  I think Chloe was pleased.

Front cover

Patchwork Polly

Helene

Jenny

Olivia

Julie

Chloe

The day after she came home from school, playing on her scooter and fell and broke her ankle!  Very traumatic especially as that week she was meant to be playing 'Nancy' in the school play and Chloe had been practising and practising for weeks, driving everyone mad.  She is also going to senior school in September so this was her last week at her old school and they had lots of things planned, like being picked up in a limo, swimming and bar-b-q at hospital pool, leavers' mass, bowling and just general goodbyes.  It was the end of the world!!  Not only that she had to go in and have an operation on the day of the school play so all that practising was for nothing.  (Mind you her sister Emily (5) said the play was 'rubbish' and 'no -one clapped''!!)  Anyway she has been in to school on her crutches, been the centre of attention and doesn't feel quite so bad.  She is still not in a full cast because of the stitches - she has to go back next week for further x-rays and re-alignment.

I have bought a Seraphina & Friends CD (as you do) from Doolicraft and thought I would make a 'get well card' for Chloe and I couldn't miss Emily out, so I've made a little one for her too.  Thought you might like to see them.  I'm quite pleased with them.

This is Emily's little card

and this is Chloe's

 

It is called a Doolirama Tunnel Card.

xxx

Surprise! surprise!

I'm back!  I'll bet you didn't miss me anyway!!  I can't believe I haven't blogged on here since the end of May.  Where did the time go?
I've not been doing anything special - oh I've been to Cornwall to see a mate and I've got some pictures so I might pop some of them on.  I haven't even been looking at everyone's blogs (as has been commented on by some - you know who you are Jill!). 
I've made a few cards and bought a few new bits and bobs (no surprise there!)
Oh and my eldest grand-daughter broke her ankle on her scooter last week.  Day after her birthday and 10 days before the end of term and she's going up to the senior school in September!!  Disaster, disaster! 

Right - I'll see what pictures I've got to show you:

I flew to Newquary, Cornwall with a friend to visit another friend - thought it would be quicker but we were delayed - anyway that's another story.  My friend Sue and I went to stay with Pippa who lives in an isolated place with her dog.  Absolutely beautiful and restful.   We had breakfast outside = such luxury.  The weather was brilliant and Pip had a beautiful chocolate labrador who has two black labrador friends so we went for lots of long walks.  You can see how much the dogs loved it!

The scenery was absolutely beautiful.

We only went for a long weekend so our days were pretty full.  Whilst there there was an open gardens 'thingy'!  Seven gardens opened their gates - all nearby but totally different.

This was an old Post Office and its gardens were pretty but nothing special - standing stones and things in trees:

The next garden was absolutely stunning.  There was also a school jazz choir there which we listened to whilst munching through a cream tea! 

 

We also went into a tiny garden which had plants in pots - nothing else.  Unbelieveable though.

Some of the houses had special displays too such as pottery, quilts and garden furniture.  The quilts were absolutely stunning but we couldn't get any pictures. There were some king sized quilts which had been stitched by hand - everything had been done by hand.  Absolutely gorgeous.  I bought a small wall hanging which I want to put in my work room. 

Last picture is the three of us at a lovely restaurant in Mousehole overlooking St Michael's Mount.  The end of a beautful  break.

I promise I'll be back later with some pictures of cards but my tea is calling.  x