Card Therapy

Digi-Stamp Boutique giveaway

2011-04-09T09:08:00.000+01:00

Check out this little cutie, how sweet is Olivia!

My own little cutie daughter, Eloise, is cat crazy and I just know she would be over the moon to get a digi like this to create with (me too!). So if we are not lucky enough to win it - I know where I will be spending some pennies in May! Pop over to the DigiStamp Boutique Blog for a change to win Olivia.

Bi-annual blog post ;-)

2011-03-26T13:11:00.001Z

Seeing as I am so rubbish at posting I have decided to set quite a low target - bi-annual posting! So here is the first one for 2011 and the next one I can schedule in for sometime after October ;-).

I am blaming the lack of posts on the fact that I am now back working full time. After working part time for the last 9 years, what a shock to the system that was! This all happened in the autumn last year, and was only temporary as there was so much on at work, well there is still so much on at work, so it is now permanent and I think I am getting into the swing of it now (only took me 6 months).

Card making has definitely been on a back burner and I think I have only made 2 or 3 cards - one which was for my niece 21st birthday. I wanted to make something she could keep, and she has quite an unusual name, so thought it would be nice to use that:

It turned out to be a rather large easel card - I think she liked it.

I had the last week off from work. It was rather busy but lovely, family and friends visiting, oh and a session of koi carp resuscitation, after the fish decided it wanted to leave the pond one night - and I found it playing dead in the wood chippings at 6.15am.

Off I went to get some paper to wrap it in - and then it's gill started moving! So I leapt to its aid (in my dressing gown and pink marigolds!) holding it in the pond and swooshing in over the air bubbles (seen hubby doing this when another one tried to make a break for it) - anyway after about 20 mins I passed it over to hubby to carry on with the intensive care. I went to thaw out my hands - bloody pond was freezing! Anyway, the fish survived and lived to swim another day :-)

On that happy note I am off to make bacon sarnies xx

Off to the NEC!

2010-11-03T16:18:00.001Z

I know, it has been an absolute age since I last blogged, I haven't been creating much - apart from some table decorations for my brother in laws birthday party and helping my niece decorate some albums for two of her friends 21st birthdays, all of which I forgot to take photos of, so nothing to see here!

I am just so excited though, as I am off to the NEC tomorrow, with my bestest buddy Faye and her Mum, Val, just can't wait. My gorgeous daughter Eloise is being taken to school and picked up by her Nanny tomorrow - as we are off at the crack of dawn. Better make sure I pick up something nice for Ellie, to make up for the fact that I won't be doing the school run.

The car is clean, full of fuel and the snacks are ready - all I need now is my purse and my shopping buddies (oh - and apparently flasks of coffee for Val!)

Challenge and The Firemen (plural!)

2010-08-08T13:49:00.002+01:00

First of all I am going to enter a challenge! Not something that I have done very much of - challenges, but my buddy Faye has just taken over running the Cupcake Challenges Blog - so I had to have a go. The challenge is distressing, and this is the first time that I have roughed up my papers!

So this is my easel card. I really had fun making this, using colouring pencils on the image - one of the new House Mouse sets from Joanna Sheen - I just think the rabbit and the mouse cuddled up is so cute. Lots of inking with distress ink on the My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus and Dovecraft Back to Basics papers and I made the paper flower too.

Now - onto the Firemen! A couple of posts ago I mentioned that we had received a visit from some Firemen. Bit of a long story, but I will try my hardest to condense it.

Eloise went to the Devon County Show in May with the school, Fire Service where there giving safety talks, letting the children on the fire engine etc. During the talk the asked who didn't have smoke detectors, well yes, guess who didn't - so up went Eloise's hand. They had been taken down when we decorated (quite some time ago) and never put back up - that is very bad, I know. So, she signed us up for a home safety check which included free smoke detector fitting - dear of her.

Well the visit was arranged. I was expecting one Fireman - but oh no three, very tall, Firemen arrived - in their Fire Engine!! They were very tall to me, and I am 5ft 10 - so they were really very tall! I also live in a quiet sleepy cul-de-sac - so the Fire Engine filled that right up. You can just imagine how the neighbours curtains were twitching. I was just so embarrassed, why on earth would they come in a Fire Engine!!

Anyway the minute they got in the door, Eloise shot up to her bedroom and stayed there for their entire visit, so I sat there all on my own (feeling like a right burk) with the three, rather lovely Firemen, as they went through the safety check, and then fitted my smoke alarms. Took about 45 mins and then they were gone - guess who appeared the minute they were out of the door though - yes Eloise!

Evening all

2010-07-21T22:05:00.000+01:00

I haven't had chance to sit and play for ages, but that is just what I happen to be doing - and it is lovely. Usually I am asleep by now due to the fact that I have a dear little cat, called Dex, that just happens to think it is breakfast time at 5am. If I don't agree with that, then she will wake up the rest of the family - so muggins here has to intervene before my dear hubby tries to launch the cat off the end of the bed with a size 9!

So, at about 5.30pm I just couldn't stop yawning, the sofa and a kip were calling to me, but I had tea to make - so I had a can of red bull (I don't have much caffeine usually) so now I am wide awake, but luckily though, no wings!

Off to carry on playing now :-)

Has it really been that long since I posted last!

2010-07-16T09:39:00.000+01:00

I don't know where the time has gone. We are into July already and the weather is back to its usual British summary best - rain (mess your hair up kinda rain here at the moment - you know the fine drizzly stuff, the gets everywhere), and windy, generally just yuck! Never mind, I am trying to remain positive and thinking OK, we can have this for a few days, as long as we get another few weeks of the lovely sunny stuff but yes, think I am living in my own little dream world.

I have made a card, but it was a bit of a rush and then I nearly forgot to take a photo of it before giving it away. (That is my excuse for this being a pants photo).

I had the stamp from my bestest buddy Faye for my birthday (which was back in June) along with lots of other lovely craft stash. I am so lucky to have a best friend who also is a craftaholic.

I must remember to fill you in with the details of my visit from the Fire Service - nothing bad happened but I was a tad embarrassed!

I think I need a lie down now, after managing to get a post done, with a bar of galaxy to keep me company!

The missing hamster

2010-05-11T18:15:00.001+01:00

Luckily for me, the hamster is not real, it is one of Eloise's toys.

Weekend before last Eloise bought a Zhu Zhu toy hamster (it is on wheels and makes funny little noises - very cute and much less hassle than a real one!), then nanny paid for lots of accessories, so she now has a little home for it, complete with play wheel, beds, babies and pram - lucky Eloise.

Towards the end of last week Eloise was looking for the hamster without any luck. Everything else was all together, but just no sign of the hamster. We had a big search for it, with me asking the usual 'I can't find ......' questions:

"When did you last play with it" - "when Rebecca came to play" (this was on Saturday)
"Where did you last see it" - "Charlie had it" (Charlie came to play on Wednesday)
"Where did Charlie have it" - "in the bedroom"
"Are you sure that Charlie had it last" - "yes"
"And you haven't played with it since then" - "no"

So big search continued for another hour - but no sign of it anywhere. Eloise is so good though, I explained that she would have to wait and ask Charlie at school on Monday if she can remember where it was - by the look on her face she wasn't happy about that, but I think she knew that I had had enough searching by then!

Anyway, that was that. The next day another friend came to play and just happened to bring their little hamster with them. Eloise got out the house and they started playing - well by then I was feeling pretty sorry for her, to the stage where I was even considering popping out and buying her a new one. No - I thought - so off I went, back upstairs to the black hole of a bedroom, to have another look.

I re-checked all the places again and I started to think that maybe someone else had taken the little hamster home with them - how dreadful is that - but I just didn't know where it could be.

I started to pack away some polly pocket toys. Eloise has a set of hanging canvas shelves, that dangle under her bed (she has a high bed) - we usually keep bags, purses and belts in here. Next to that is the polly pocket tub. I got out the tub, put the toys in, was just sliding it away when I saw a little glimpse of fur - wrapped in a little orange blanket. What a relief - I had found the blasted thing!

I then felt really dreadful for thinking that someone else could have taken this home with them, but then happy that I could let Eloise have her hamster back. Off I toodled downstairs to give her the good news.

Taadaa - I said - and explained where I found him. "Aaaahhhh - now I remember" was the reply, "I put him to bed there".

Well, you can just imagine what I wanted to say - but we had company - luckily for Eloise!!!!

Oh - and I made a card, which I forgot to post just now!

I made a flower

2010-05-03T15:34:00.001+01:00

I was full of good intentions to give the house a really good clean, and that has gone out of the window! I'm in a real slouchy mood today and the pull of crafting and blog hopping has won - well, really - cleaning or crafting and looking at other peoples fab creations, just no contest :-)

Here is my flower that I made. It was an idea that I completely copied from Kristina's blog (fab inspiration) - how lazy is that, not one ounce of my own inspiration there anywhere! I just really fancied having a go at making the little flower, as I thought it was gorgeous. Next time round I will make sure that I do put in some effort on my part :-)

Going to get out some different papers and have another go now.

I had a fabulous afternoon on Tuesday, which seems like a long time ago now. I babysat for my gorgeous (16 month old) godson. I went to his house, picked him up from Mum (the fabulous Faye) and Dad and then we came back to ours to play. This is the first time that Daniel had been in my car and he was a little unsure about what was going on! He was such a dear and was so well behaved for me. He amazes me at how well he copes with new experiences, and apart from a little scowly face during the car ride, he took it all in his stride.

Daniel's scowl soon disappeared and we were having a lovely chat on the way to our house. As soon as he was in the door he headed for the toy box with the cars in, but was interrupted on the way by Dex, our cat, who he adores. Well then that was it - all settled and we had a fun afternoon. The scowl made a brief return when we had to get back into the car again though :-) He was delivered home safe and sound, and I hope that Mum and Dad will let me take him out again, and maybe this time they will be able to relax a bit more ;-)

Hope everyone is having a lovely bank holiday Monday - and not doing any cleaning - otherwise I will feel really guilty!

Bowl of cherries

2010-04-25T11:03:00.001+01:00

I have made a little card, which I really like - not often that I say that about one of my own card, but I don't think we are usually happy with what we make ourselves are we!

I treated myself to a Martha Stewart punch when Faye and I had our girly gossip day - and this is her first outing. Whilst making this card I have realised that I don't have many papers with red in them - took me ages to dig around in the stash to find one, and then when I did it was totally the wrong red, so back to the stash again - eventually one surfaced that I think works OK.

I was totally shocked when I work up this morning - it was grey, cloudy and had been raining. I can honestly say that it has been weeks since we had any rain and it was a shock to see it! The sun is trying to come through again with the odd shower now and again.

Eloise is taking part in the St. George's Day Parade this afternoon, with her Brownie Pack, so I really hope that the sun is shining for that. Better go, got some badges to sew on her sash!

Have a great Sunday xxx

Do you love ribbon?

2010-04-17T11:16:00.001+01:00

and do you love a bargain - I do. I had an email through to say that unfortunately Poppicrafts is closing for a while on the 30 April :-( and Michelle is having a massive sale. So if you need any ribbon then go and have a browse, she also does some gorgeous little crochet flowers, which just happened to jump into my basket just before I checked out! Now how on earth does that happen?

I have actually made something too, which did involve a little bit of ribbon. I found a video quite a long time ago for this little Kit Kat holder, and really wanted to try and make one. It is so simple and quick. The video is done by Angie Kennedy Juda, who is a Stampin' Up Demonstrator. She has loads of videos online if you are looking for any ideas. The video of this treat holder is here and here is my version:

as you may have spotted Breakaways also fit :-)

The papers were from my recent Pink Petticoat purchase and the little zebra is a Cuttle Kids die.

On a totally different subject my poor sister is stranded in Croatia at the moment, due to the no fly rules that are currently in place. She went to a work convention on Wednesday and was due back today, but the news yesterday was that she may possibly get a flight on Monday, although it keeps changing by the day. I feel so sorry for her and really hope that she gets home soon.

Off to play now - got a need to stamp something xxx

Can't think of a title!

2010-04-17T10:53:00.001+01:00

What a great morning it is today, the sun is shining and it is just beautiful.

Also its a good drying day - so the entire fabric content of my house will be forced into the washing machine - whether it needs washing or not! Am I the only one that does that? I go stalking around the house trying to find things that can be washed - like a woman possessed. For some reason, just cause I know I can dry it, then I have to wash it.

I had a nice surprise earlier in the week from Lindsey - she passed on these lovely awards - thanks chick!

Most of the people that I want to pass these awards onto have already received them - so I will have to just keep them for myself for now. I am sure I will come across someone in the next couple of days to pass them on, so I will edit my post then to say where they are going on to.

Earlier in the week Faye and I had a great girly day out. It included lots of chatting, a lovely lunch - with a nutritious salad with heaps of dressing (see this post, and the comments, on Faye's blog for the truth about that one) and we just happened to stumble into a couple of craft shops! We have to travel a little bit to get to craft shops down in Devon - they are few and far between.

One of them is very close to a shop that sells gorgeous cup cakes. I didn't have one - but picked one up called 'Over the Rainbow' for Eloise - lots of pink icing with a twirly rainbow chewy sweet wrapped around it and Faye said that she was getting her VUH 'Malty Balls' well - how could I not get my dear hubby one with a title like that! So the boys had Malty Balls! Faye and I were very good and didn't have one ourselves, as we were still extremely full from our nutritious salad ;-)

I have a couple more things to blog about, but I think this post has gone on long enough - better split it, so I don't send my readers to sleep!

I shouldn't have eaten that!

2010-04-10T09:02:00.001+01:00

How guilty (and podgy) am I feeling today. Last night I polished off a large bag of Walkers Roast Chicken and Thyme crisps AND half a Cadburys Flake Easter egg!

I was possessed by something, honest, as there is no way that I would ever do that, so there must have been some other spiritual force involved ;-) (do you think if I keep telling myself that I will be convinced? - nah, me neither).

I have to be good today - the fruit bowl is positioned in front of the chocolate mountain - in a bid to distract me from temptation. Wish me luck!

Cute little kitty

2010-04-08T08:35:00.000+01:00

I treated myself to the Colour Collections Paper Designs from Pink Petticoat over the weekend, as I really NEEDED some gingham - oh ok, I didn't really NEED it, but I wanted it. It was such a bargain too - only a fiver and that is for 5 sets of papers, in millions of different colours (slight exaggeration, but there are lots!). The offer is only on until Friday 9 April, so if you also NEED these, then be quick ;-)

I had coloured in this little kitty (another freebie digi from the fabulous Sliekje), so I needed something that would go with the darks greys. I went about printing off about a dozen different colours, different designs - and sat there with my card and just mixed and matched - guess what I chose - grey!!

I was a little unsure about the colouring, not happy with the green copics that I chose and then I kinda over did it, but hey - you learn from these things and there was no way that I could throw the little kitty away.

The little butterfly charm was in a pressie that I had from Faye - I have been desperate to use it on a card - and I just love it. I was prepared for a battle with the jump rings, but they behaved, although the ribbon made up for it - and was determined not to thread easily! So with much fraying and trimming I got there in the end.

I am working from home, as it is the Easter Holidays, so I am just waiting for the phone to start ringing and the emails popping into the in-box.

I best stop blogging and switch over the the work laptop - pah! One conciliation is that the sun is shining in Exeter today, hope it is shining for you too - have a great day x

Apology

2010-04-05T11:29:00.001+01:00

I have to type a very quick apology, as I have accidentally entered a challenge on Pollycraft, without making anything for it. I hit Mr Linky and I shouldn't have.

I'm really sorry - promise I won't do that again x

Bank Holiday - yay!

2010-04-05T07:36:00.000+01:00

I just love Easter bank holidays - the extra days off are so nice and I really think this is something we should push for, at least once a month! A four day weekend out of every four weeks would suit me down to the ground :-) Do you think that someone would take this on as part of their election campaign - if they did I would vote for them!

Anyway, we had hubby's family around for lunch yesterday, which meant that Eloise had her little cousin come to visit, she is 6 and never wants to sit still! I made up a little Easter goody bag for her, as I know that her mum doesn't like her having too many sweeties and chocolate. So the bag had a little Easter crafting set: felt egg shapes, pipe cleaners, crepe paper, butterfly stickers, lovely bright coloured feathers. Together with a little cuddly lamb, a little bag of white chocolate buttons and maltesers (well it is Easter, so there had to be some chocolate).

I thought it needed something else, so stamped out some images for her to colour in. I asked Eloise to put them in a little envelope, which she decorated and wrote on 'for you to colour in' :-) Eloise then started searching for something and when I asked her what, she said she was looking for one of her little pencil sets. Well - due to the fact that I was cooking dinner for 7 at the time - I didn't really have time to help search.

I suggested that Eloise go through one of her many pots of pens and pencils and get some from there - which she did. She has so many that some have not been used, so she picked these out. I think this might have something to do with my love of pencils and pens, not so much hers! She even found a little Disney Princess pencil case set, again which is brand new - and she is 'oh so too old for now' (her words!) so she asked if Erin could have this too.

I am always amazed by Eloise's generosity - I really expected her to say that she didn't want to give away some of her own pencils when I suggested it - but no, she was more than happy to - she is such a dear.

All the goodies went into a brown paper bag, which Eloise decorated with butterflys and little pink bows, we searched out some chipboard alphabets so she could put Erin's name on the front. It looked lovely.

The bag was a hit, Erin plonked herself down on the floor and started colouring right away - the images were more popular than anything else (together with the little colouring kit that Eloise put together).

I made the little header, bag closure thing (have no idea what to call it!) with a freebie image from Sliekje's blog - I love her little images so much, they are just so cute. She is so generous and gives all her images away free. I coloured in with my copics, which I am really starting to love now!

Jees - just realised how much I have babbled on, sorry!

Everyone else is still sleeping in the house, so I think I may have a play :-)

Hope everyone has a great Easter Monday xxx

Cheesecake Wish

2010-04-02T08:57:00.001+01:00

What a lovely name for a stamp, although if I was to try and guess what the image would be, before I had seen it of course, then it would have shown the mousey actually diving into a cheesecake rather that just wishing for it! But then again, maybe that is what I would wish for, one massive cheesecake big enough to dive into :-)

Anyway, that was the stamp that I used on Faye's birthday card, which was rather late as, as usual, I ran out of time! I did let her have her pressies on time though and just said that the card would follow!

You may be able to tell by the excellent photo, that I didn't take this one! I forgot to take any before I gave it to Faye, so she very kindly did it for me - thanks hunny x

I bought the papers at a show in Taunton about 2 years ago, and loved them so much that I have just looked at them for all that time, but there comes a time when they must be used. They are from 'on the dot' and called raspberry lemonade. The card stock is from Stampin' up - and probably has an equally delicious name, but I don't know it!

It has been a really busy week, lots of PTA things going on, we ran a plate decorating competition for the kids, so this week involved the judging and prize giving. The children were so creative - just fantastic and really made me smile looking at their little works of art. Eloise won with her plate too - and no, I wasn't a judge so it wasn't fixed :-) One of the criteria in the judging was to try and make sure that the children had done most of the decorating themselves - we were absolutely amazed at the amount of 4 year olds that could draw perfect chicks and bunnys, and could also colour inside the lines! I suggested that the next competition we hold should be for the mums and dads and not the kids ;-) We also held an Easter cake sale, so the cash keeps coming in for the school.

Eloise is looking forward to eating lots of chocolate this weekend (which I may have to help her with a little) and I am looking forward to doing a lot of nothing today! The rain is pouring down here at the moment, so another excuse to stay all cosy indoors.

Oh - just realised that I can enter a challenge with this card, how exciting, only done this once before :-)
It is over at Charisma, and it is Animal Magic.

Have a lovely Easter weekend all xx

Edwin playing the guitar

2010-03-20T12:23:00.000Z

It's my gorgeous hubbys' birthday tomorrow - 21 again, of course!

I coloured in Edwin earlier in the week and have just been sat looking at it till this morning - trying to decide exactly what to do with it! Anyway, after a couple of hours playing, this is what I ended up with:

I really struggled with the finishing touches. It is just so much easier for girlie cards. In the end I resorted to staples. I have admired lots of projects using staples - but never had the courage to use them myself - till now. Who better to test it on than hubby :-)

Right, better get on with the rest of the day - the washing is sat in the machine waiting to be hung out (oh the joys!) xx

Carlyann's mega candy!

2010-03-20T07:38:00.001Z

Carlyann, Sweet 'N' Crafty, is celebrating nearly reaching 100,000 hits on her blog with a super blog candy - you just have to go and check it out. I love her work, everything is just gorgeous, and there are lots of Tildas too.

Anyway - here are the rules to be in with a change of winning the fab candy:

1. Become a follower of her blog, Sweet 'N' Crafty
2. Post about her Candy on your blog (or a link on your sidebar)
3. Leave your name & blog link, on her blog, with MR Inlinkz
4. Leave her a comment
*YOU MUST DO ALL FOUR PLEASE*

Candy will close on the 30th April (forgot there's not 31days in april lol) and winners will be annouced shortly after!

Copic class

2010-03-16T14:57:00.002Z

I went to the Introduction to Copics class on Saturday and had a really lovely day. Wendy from Stamps and Memories took the class through the history of copics and we started at the very beginning. It was great to have a whole day to play, as well as look at all the lovely goodies that Wendy had brought along. Stamps (there were hundreds!) copics, papers, cards, nesties and more.

We were taught about inks, paper and card, and all the different ways of blending. Here is my effort at colouring properly with my copics ;-)

Wendy is running classes all over the place! (you can fill in a form online to say where you would like a class), so check out the Stamps and Memories site.

The day just flew by so quickly. I met some lovely new people and I was very happy coming away with my goodies (there were four copics in our goody bags).

Problem is that I just want to sit and colour now :-)

Happy Mothers Day

2010-03-14T08:10:00.000Z

Morning all and a very Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there.

My dear daughter is very busy in the kitchen as I type this, making me breakfast. There are flowers on the table and she has made me a throne (chair covered with a throw and a cushion). I even have a red carpet to walk on to get to my throne (two tea towels) :-) What a dear little thing, she is so sweet.

Better go - breakfast is ready x

Confused and copics!

2010-03-12T20:25:00.000Z

Right - I have been having a great time catching up with all the great blogs that I follow (well, not all - but I am getting there) but now I am a little bit confused.

I was overjoyed to see that I have some new followers, and I wanted to check out their blogs - so I tried clicking on their names - but it wouldn't let me through. So I thought I would send a message - to ask what their blog addresses were - but when I tried that it said that I needed to be a member of my blog! Anyway, so now I look like a bit of a 'sad o', as I am now a follower of my own blog!!! Oh well - one way to boost the numbers I suppose :-)

I am really excited tonight, as tomorrow I am off to an Introduction to Copic Ciao class in Exeter. This is being run by Stamps and Memories. I have been using my copics for a while now, but feel that I could do with some pointers - I have watched a lot of tutorials on YouTube and love colouring with my copics and promarkers, but I am still not totally happy with the results. So, lets hope that I learn lots tomorrow.

Anyone got any ideas how I can label my copics?

Valentines treats

2010-02-10T17:22:00.002Z

At Eloise's school on Friday we are having a Valentines Goodies sale. I say we, as I am on the PTA and we thought it would be a lovely treat for the children, and a great way to raise a little bit of cash.

Well that is not the whole story, but I am just getting used to PTA politics and I don't want to bore you with the details - lets just say I seem to have caused an upset with my last set of minutes!

So this is what I have been making these little treats for - they have been made out of 6 inch squares of paper - so they are only diddy - and they have Love Hearts sweeties in them. So far I am up to 30 and I am going to keep going till I run out of the paper squares, or until I get fed up - whichever may be sooner!

I have kept them really plain, so they are quick to make. Not sure how well they will go down with the kiddies, but I just wanted to do something that was a little different than cakes.

Saying that, the oven has just beeped - which means that the 2 dozen fairy cakes Eloise and I just made are ready. Don't think I will be able to resist, so time for a cuppa :-)

I have a feeling that I may have to bake some more tomorrow!

Violins

2010-02-01T16:48:00.000Z

3 girls
3 violins
1 house

Help!

No card - just buns

2010-01-26T13:45:00.000Z

Sainsburys really need to stop their bogof on hot cross buns, otherwise I will end up looking like one! Just polished off two (no, not packets) and now I need a hot chocolate.

Hmmm - I wonder why I never loose any weight?

I won :-)

2010-01-23T11:08:00.000Z

This probably isn't such exciting news that I need to blog about it - but I never win anything - and I have won something!

Jayne from Stamposaurus had a little draw to win some tickets to go to Craft4Crafters being held at Westpoint, Exeter - which is in my neck of the woods. I just had to email in my name and address and she would do a draw. So I did. Then on Tuesday morning the tickets popped through the letter box - yay!

So next week, it's on from Thurs 28 to Sat 30 January, Faye and I will have to go and have a mooch around the show. We need to check it out thoroughly as we went the year before last, and quite frankly it was pants! Last year I was working there, demonstrating for Debbi Moore, and it was loads better. So this year we are keeping everything crossed that it is still improving.

Free tickets means a little bit more cash to spend on crafty stuff - result!

Challenges

2010-01-17T19:18:00.000Z

I have just been having a bit of a hopping session (blog hopping that is!) and have come to the conclusion that me and challenges just don't mix. Now, the ones that have sketches are the trickiest for me - I look at the sketch and think yeah, know where to start with that, then I look at all the lovey things that the Design Teams have made - and then I have absolutely no idea how I can make anything different to those! Ah - I know - maybe I shouldn't look at the examples before I have made my card.

Right, gotta go - hubby just said that he has a button that may be coming off his shirt. I asked him what he wants me to do about it, 'Call the Tailor' was his reply!

She's gorjuss

2010-01-17T16:02:00.000Z

This stamp is just so cute - I love it. This is the first gorjuss girl that I have bought - having previously borrowed one from Faye - but I think I am going to need more :-)

Faye and I had a lovely gossip and catch-up when she and Daniel came to visit on Thursday. I was very lucky to have lots of snuggles and tickles with Daniel too. I was also spoilt, as she had a pressie for me, some Prima celebration flowers (yay!), which you will see I just had to use on this card! I have admired these flowers on Faye's projects for a little while now and I am just so chuffed to have some of my very own. I think she may have realised how much a liked them eh!

My dear hubby gave me a quick lesson today with the camera. He explained that I need to use the macro mode as I am taking the shots close up (that is the little flower button on top of camera mode to me!). So hopefully now, no more fuzzy pics.

Happy 101 Award

2010-01-15T11:19:00.000Z

I'm so excited, I have been given the Happy 101 Award by my buddy Faye - that is just so sweet.

I now have to list 10 things that make me happy, so here goes:

My little girl, Eloise. She is growing up into a gorgeous little lady.
My hubby, Tim. We have been together for 16 years, married for 11 at the end of this month, and he makes me smile every single day.
Family, some are near and some are far - but the love is felt just the same.
My buddy Faye, she never fails to amaze me in her fluffy little world!
Our dear little pussy cat, Dex.
Craft goodies. I was going to put card making, but I think I enjoy getting new goodies more!
Now it's card making.
Chocolate digestive biscuits and a cuppa.
Laughing - I don't think we remember to laugh enough. Maybe that should be a New Years Resolution :-)
Blog hopping. I love the inspiration that I get all the great blogs out there. And really appreciate that time spent by all the people to share their creations.

I have to think of 3 people to pass this award onto now but can't do Faye as she gave it to me! So I will pass this to Kath, Debby and Lorraine.

A little Tilda

2010-01-15T10:30:00.002Z

Instead of photos of the snow, just for a change here is one of a card - yay!.

I am still having problems with the camera - I just cannot get it to focus! I am not that great with cameras at the best of times and rely on the point and shoot setting - but I think it is time to have some lessons from hubby with this camera, as I am just fed up with looking at fuzzy cards!

I used copics to colour in Tilda, chocolate chip card, and some very pretty paper and lace that I had for my christmas pressie from Faye (I'm so lucky to have a bessie mate who is also crafty!).

Let's Have Some Fun - From Kath's Blog

2010-01-11T17:37:00.001Z

My Fiskars buddy, Kath, lives up in Scotland. Poor thing has been getting the worst of the snow and has posted Let's Have Some Fun on her blog, to try and stop her from going stir crazy. She wants us all to put photos of our snow on our blogs. So here is mine of Eloise making snow castles:

and also the little tiny snowman she made:

Down in my part of Devon we have only had maybe 4 or 5 inches, so no where near Kath 12inch cutting mat covering amount!

Candy on Mindy's Blog

2010-01-09T19:53:00.000Z

Mindy has just found out that she passed her exam and has put up some Blog Candy to celebrate.

Visit Stampin Mindy to check out her work, it is just beautiful - I just love her projects.

I just want to play

2010-01-09T18:43:00.000Z

First week back at work after Christmas and what a week it was. There is just so much to be done, that I ended up doing 12 hours extra. So now my house needs a darn good clean, and the washing basket was full to the top. I had some new stamps arrive on Tuesday and I just haven't had the time to ink even one of them :-( That is just not on.

Eloise and I had a trip to a little Bead Shop today. We oooeeed and aaahhhddd over all the lovely little shiny things, and picked up a few - 'cause you have to, don't you? Now I am sat here, ooeeing and aahhing all over again - trying to think just what I should do with them.

Eloise was looking through her beads earlier and said "I just don't understand these beads" which baffled me totally - I am really not sure what there is to understand about beads?!

I was chatting to Faye at the time and asked if she had been tutoring my daughter in the ways of "Fluff" - if you are a little confused with that, then go and check out Faye's blog and all will become clear.

I am off to catch up on some blogs and really hoping to ink up those stamps later - they are just calling to me!

The snow has arrived in Exeter

2010-01-06T09:13:00.001Z

I know that a lot of people out there in blogland have had snow for a while now but this is the first proper snow fall to happen in Exeter. There wasn't a flake in sight when I went off the bed last night, but when I looked out the window this morning...

So, because we have had a couple of inches of snow the city is coming to a stand-still. The schools are closed, the coach companies aren't running, the park and ride sites are closed - and this is just the first day of snow for us!

Eloise couldn't wait to get outside, so after getting her to put on 15 layers of clothes (OK slight exaggeration there!), she went out to play...

but as for Dex - she knows the best place to be...

Fortunately for me (or unfortunately depending on what way you look at it!) I am able to work from home - so no playing for me yet - that will have to wait till later :-)

Just for a change - a card :-)

2010-01-02T19:41:00.000Z

and no - it's not with my new stamp set, but it is a fairly new stamp that I got at the NEC, by Lili of the Valley.

I gave up with the Trendy Trees as I really can't line them up properly, so they will have to wait until I have seen my friendly Stampin Up supplier to order my positioner thingy!

I need a stamp positioner

2010-01-02T12:00:00.001Z

Just playing with my new set of Stampin Up 'Trendy Trees' stamps and realised that I really do need a stamp positioner right now! :-)

She slept till 9!

2010-01-02T11:41:00.001Z

I just had to mark this occasion on my blog - my dear daughter actually slept until 9am!

Eloise really does take after her mum on this occasion. When she is being cheeky and misbehaving, then she takes after her dad! She likes to get out of bed the minute that her eyes are open, none of this laying and waking up gently for her - oh no. Sometime it is like a runner off the starting blocks! Usual wake up time is between 6 and 7, with 7 being a lie in. So that is why I had to make a note of this occasion - sleeping till 9am! She appeared downstairs looking very bleary eyed and she snuggled up next to me on the sofa for a lovely cuddle - bliss.

Anyway, I am sat in the chilly conservatory this morning looking at the beautiful blue sky and the frost gradually melting on the decking - and thinking that I really need to go and get a cardie on xxx

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:56:00.000Z

Happy New Year everyone :-) I wish all my family and friends happiness, love and laughter.

I was snuggled up on the sofa with my dear hubby when 2010 arrived, watching the fireworks over the city - it was beautiful. We live pretty high up and have a great view of the city from the front of our house - so we open up the curtains and enjoy the light show. Eloise slept through all the noise and now that she is getting older I am not so worried about the noise waking her up, so no dashing up the stairs to check on her every few minutes.

We are off to Tim's mums for lunch later, which I am really looking forward to. She makes a yummy roast and also that means no cooking for me today ;-) Home made desserts too - squidgy chocolate log and lemon meringue pie. There has to be two as no one gets a look in with the squidgy chocolate log - that belongs to Tim and his mummy makes it specially for him. He will share a little bit of it, but whatever is left comes home with him for safe keeping!

I hope everyone has a lovely day whatever you are doingc xx

Hello Kitty

2009-12-31T11:39:00.002Z

Just a quick post to put on the card that I made for Eloise. She is Hello Kitty mad, which in turn meant that I just had to buy some of the sizzixs dies and embossing folders! I had great fun making up the little kitties, which all come out, so she can play with them.

I had to go hunting in her bedroom to find them, so I could take this picture. Eventually found them playing in the tree house :-)

Where did the last week go?

2009-12-29T11:09:00.000Z

It has all been a bit busy in the Wood household, but we have had a lovely time over Christmas and I was thoroughly spoilt with lots of lovely pressies. I was bought a very snazzy touch screen phone, by my dear hubby. He has been quite amused by my lack of touch screen knowledge, as I am still looking for the proper buttons to push and not using the screen :-)

My dear little angel Eloise went shopping with her Nanny just before Christmas. She gave me a lovely pair of pink fluffy slippers, and a gorgeous furry blanket - paid with out of her own pocket money. She is such a sweetie. Tim tried to give her some money to use, so she could keep her money, but she wasn't having any of it.

I also now have some lovely crafty goodies - lush 12 by 12 papers, lacey ribbons, charms, buttons, chipboard flowers, which all came from Faye. I am determined that they will be played with today!

We had a lovely day yesterday, the highlight of which has to be the game 'How many people can you fit around the dining room table!' Seems to be a family favourite at this time of year. We don't have much room in our kitchen at the best of times, let alone when we are trying to squeeze in 9 people as well - but it was fun!

The rain is falling down in Devon at the moment, which means that I am going a little deaf, as I craft in the conservatory - good job you don't need your hearing for that eh :-)

Copic Colour Challenge #41

2009-12-01T23:56:00.001Z

I'm a little nervous about this one, but have decided that I should finally give a challenge a go! I am getting in by the skin of my teeth on this one though as the deadline is tonight.

I have done the following card for the Copic Colour Challenge which was to use the following colours in your design:

I am still a novice when it comes to colouring with the copics, but I am having fun trying :-)

Now then, the following picture is soooo bad - but I just cannot get it any better as it is just too dark, and if the flash comes on, then you just see a big white flash! I will upload a better picture tomorrow, when there is some proper light.

There are some fabulous Design Team cards on the Copic Colour Challenge Blog and it just amazes me how they can all create such fantastic cards.

What a mess!

2009-12-01T14:59:00.000Z

Just look at the state of this ......

and this is just a very small part of the conservatory that I completely and utterly trashed while I was finishing off this ......

rather large advent tower.

I managed to get it kinda finished (there are still lots of little swirls and ribbon that I would like to add) at midnight last night. All the little drawers were filled with goodies ready for Eloise to open drawer number 1 when she got up this morning.

I pinched the design from a kit that Stamps Away did on Create and Craft, but their version was much smaller. I found it really hard to buy little things to fit in the drawers, that were not just sweets, and that did not break the bank! I am not a totally meanie, there are some sweeties (and a couple of choccies) in there, I just didn't want it all full of junk that Eloise wants to devour at 6am from now until Christmas Day. So that's why I made this one much larger.

Seeing as I had spent the best part of all weekend and every evening till last night working on my master piece - I decided that I would take it into the living room and spend some time with the other half, while I filled it with goodies. He said some really nice things about it :-) and then asked where his was. I don't think I am up to making another just yet (especially seeing as I haven't finished playing with this one).

Next I really want to have a go at a challenge - something that I haven't attempted yet - just got to decide which one.

xxx

Oops!

2009-11-29T01:42:00.000Z

PVA glue and big cardie sleeves do not mix!

Yay - it's the weekend

2009-11-28T07:50:00.000Z

It's an early start for Ellie and I today. The Brownies have organised a 'Golden Globe Event' at our local Odeon Cinema and the girlies have to put on their bestest outfits and at 9.30 this morning will be walking down the red carpet - how exciting is that! I am very jealous :-)

I am just about to get Ellie moving as, at nearly 9 years old, the fashionista in her has kicked in - 'Oh What to Wear' - no longer happy with what mummy picks out. She did whittle it down to one of three outfits last night, so I see a mini fashion show coming on.

As for me, going to be a mum's taxi day, and I really hope for a bit of time working on the advent boxes as time is running out!

Georgie xxx

What to do?

2009-11-27T09:56:00.000Z

Morning :-)

Just got back in from the school run, which was a rather chilly and wet one this morning. Nice to be all snug indoors, but typical that the blue sky is back now. What's up with that? I really think someone up there has it in for me sometimes. Watches for when I reach for the door and then bam - the heavens open - just till I get into the car mind you and then it stops!

It's the last day of my week off work and I just can't decide what to do today, so many things to choose from:

Washing
Food shopping
Deliver PTA letters
Housework
or make a start on the advent boxes that I have decided to finally make for Eloise

I think I know which one is going to get done today! Every year I admire other peoples fabulous creations and think yes, I will do one this year, and then the time just disappears. Probably doesn't help that Ellie's birthday is on the 21st December, so trying to get ready for her birthday and then Christmas is always pretty busy.

Anyway, a couple of days ago I actually bought the card - three A3 sheets of white pearl (think I may have gone over the top with that , but better to be safe than sorry and anyway we can never have too much card). But then I had a very hard time choosing between two lovely scrapbook pads by My Minds Eye. In the end I went with their 'Wonderful Winter glittered papers' for the fun bit. I just love every design in there (just hope Ellie likes it too).

This is my favourite for today, as every time I look at them there is another one that looks yummier than the last.

Right then, I am going to stop yapping on and I have decided on the plan for the day:

Cuppa
Crafting

Blow everything else, I'm on holiday!

Georgie xx

Just like waiting for a bus, nothing for ages and then two turn up at once

2009-11-23T18:09:00.001Z

There really must be something wrong with me - blogging twice in one day, well that is just unheard of.

I just had to share a little tale about me and my bessie buddy Faye. We are very lucky in that we both love everything crafty and can spend hours discussing articles in craft mags, moaning about the lack of craft shops down our neck of the woods and swapping info when we find something worth looking at on E-bay! Well, this is what happened.

I found a lady selling some second hand stamps, and a great deal of them there were too. There was a massive selection and all good makes, so the first thing I had to do was send the shop address to Faye (I tried to do this in a discrete email, so the hubbies wouldn't be alerted to possible spending on stamps, so no GREAT CHEAP STAMPS ON EBAY! in the subject). That was that, job done. Next thing I did was went and bid on a stamp, a little ant in a hammock - and forgot about it.

I won the auction for the little ant stamp (not sure why I am calling it little, as in general most ants are little!) and had a really nice surprise when it arrived. The lady had included two little packets of flowers and a selection of stamped images on postcard sized card for free :-) I was overjoyed with the little crafty freebies and my new stamp.

Faye came around for a visit with my gorgeous godson, and I was telling her about my lovely surprise extras and showed her the stamp, to which she exclaimed 'I bid on that one too!'. What are the chances of that eh! Lesson learnt for today is - make sure you tell bessie buddy what you are bidding on on e-bay!

Right, hubbie home so better get tea sorted x

It has been a while

2009-11-23T10:43:00.000Z

Now then, I am not sure if I can remember how to do this - but I will give it a go! It has been a little while since I have blogged and I was starting to think that if I didn't do something on here soon, then my poor little blog would end up in the big trash can in cyber space!

I actually haven't been making any cards and have had a spate of stamping and colouring images. I have been bitten by the copic and pro marker bug and I am learning slowly how to use them, so I get a half decent image at the end of it. Taking a while, but I am getting better - still getting the whole shading and light thing right is another story though!

Anyway, here is a piccie of my card. The stamp was borrowed from my bessie mate Faye who, by the way, has a fantastic blog which you should go and take a look at http://stampinfluffnstuff.blogspot.com/. Her take on life and being a mum is just hilarious and certainly brightens my day when I read what she has been up to. She is also a very talented paper-crafter and produces beautiful cards.

I am going through an orange and brown phase at the moment - not sure if that is due to the lack of copics in other colours :-)

Not a lot been going on here!

2009-08-31T10:30:00.002+01:00

Well then, nothing I can really say except that I haven't been up to much (as if you couldn't have guessed that eh!)

Anyway, I was in Paperchase last week and saw some lovely wrapping paper that was covered in owls, just crying out to be used on a card - so I am going to have a play a bit later. Also have a couple of new stamps too, one of them is a little birdie. Think there may be a bit of a theme going on here.

Really need to get my act together, and get crafting again, but we will see eh!

Here's one

2008-10-06T21:37:00.004+01:00

I actually got around to making a card! I was meant to be making a birthday card for Tim's Grandad, and in the search for a stamp I found my Penny Black Hedgehog Visit, and I just had to use it :-)

I used Pink Petticoat papers, flowers from Poppicrafts, ribbon from a Craft Work pack and some little sparkly gems.

I think this may be a little too girly for Grandad eh? Never mind - I have an excuse to make another card.

Night all xxx

No Excuses!

2008-10-04T19:43:00.002+01:00

Well then, it has been such a long time since I have been blogging. Anyway - thought I would try and get that sorted and do a little note to say Hi.

Nothing really that new going on in my life. Eloise has settled back into school really well - loves being a Junior in Year 3, this is the first time she has looked forward to going to school - no more tummy ache or tears in the morning - which is really strange after 3 years - but it is lovely that she looks forward to going in now.

What else has been happening - not much that I can think of, how boring is that! I haven't been doing much card making at all - just the odd card here and there, for family and friends, which I didn't even take piccies of - so nothing new to show at the moment.

I hope everyone is well, I am going to surf some blogs now, take a look at all the lovely cards you guys have been working on and wait for the inspiration to hit :-)

Take care
Georgie xx

I have been a bad blogger!

2008-07-10T21:50:00.002+01:00

Now then - I have no excuse other than I have been busy!

Things have been pretty hectic around me at the moment, work is crazy - trying to get the new company website ready to go live, as well as doing about a dozen other things. I had my Dad and Step Mum come to stay from Portugal, which was great - I just love it when they come to visit.

Finally I had to get ready for my Fiskars demo last weekend - which I think went pretty well.
I enjoyed myself - seemed to help some people out and had a little crowd watching what I was doing - so all seemed good.

Things are now getting back to normal. I am really looking forward to the end of term for Eloise - she is so tired and really needs a break. We both are fighting off colds at the moment and looks like hubby may be coming down with it too - we all just need a nice long rest (dream on eh!).

Anyway - things that are going on in the next few days are:
We are all going to see the new Disney Pixar film on Saturday - I think it is called Wall-E (really looking forward to that)
Then Sunday I have the demo at The Range in Truro, Cornwall - their new store - so that should be fun. Never been to a brand new Range before.
Then next week - website work work and more work!

I hope to get chance to play a bit too - I need to take photos of the cards that I took and the ones that I made from the last demo and get them on here too. Getting a bit late now though - so hopefully will do that tomorrow.

I also have to give a challenge a go which is on the Fiskarettes Blog - check it out - it is their first one, so you really should get involved.

That's it for now then - Bye
Georgie xx

Where has the week gone?

2008-06-22T20:55:00.007+01:00

Well then goodness me - I really do not know where that week went! Not sure that you really want to know the ins and outs - but here is an extract!! I was busy at work all week and then I had arranged a training session on Weds. I had to work ALL DAY!! Can you believe that! (I usually work until 1pm ish) - I can tell you that was a shock to the system :-).

I also had to go to see my Consultant at the hospital. I suffer with a bad back (like many many unfortunate people do) and I had a call on Weds (right in the middle of the training session) asking me to go and see the Consultant on Friday - well I was very surprised, I have never ever had an appointment that quickly. When I saw the Dr all became clear.

He explained that the Registrar that I had seen on my last visit (about 2 months ago), became very confused and thought that I had problems with my leg and not my back!! I kind of thought something wasn't right at the appointment. I found it hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. He ended the appointment by saying that he had to discuss matters with the Dr and then they would contact me - but there was a chance that I would be put on the waiting list for an operation - but they would phone and let me know!

The appointment on Friday cleared that all up - I do in fact have a bad back and not a bad leg! Joking aside I have at last had it explained that I have 2 herniated discs, which the Consultant is willing to remove and fuse the two vertebrae together - but there is only a 60% chance that this will be any better than what I suffer with now. So I don't fancy taking those odds at the moment. He is also concerned about me having this op at my young age! (what a lovely chap). I have an appointment for Pain Management near the end of July - so I am going to give that a go and hope that I can find an alternative to the pain killing patches I currently wear. They make me so tired and believe me you can see that by the state of my house!! Anyway - sorry to have blabbed on.

I had a fun day today. I went to a Paper Craft Extravaganza - Sincerely Yours - in Taunton, Somerset (about 50 miles from home). Not a huge event - but funnily enough things seemed to be leaping into my bag. A very trendy pink BoBunny retractable craft knife and a Cuttlebug (yay!!), also some lovely papers by 'onthedot'. Guess what I am going to be doing in a minute eh!
I am sorry to hear from the girls up in Scotland that the weather hasn't been too great - sorry girlies but we had a beautiful day down in Exeter today - sunny and a good breeze - wait for it - 'a lovely drying day'!!

Here are a couple of the cards I did last night - I have a few more too, but I am going to keep those for my first Fiskars demo - The Range in Plymouth on Sat 5 July. Wish me luck - this is my first ever demo! I better like it as I also have Sun 13 July The Range in Truro, Sat 19 July The Range in Exeter and then Sat 2 August The Range in Bristol. Busy busy busy!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend. I hope to get chance to catch up with a bit of blog reading too - I have really missed it this week.

Take care,
Georgie xx

P.S. - Just seen your Tag Kath - how exciting first one for me to do!!!

I have a day off - hooray!

2008-06-12T10:29:00.004+01:00

Well then - I have the day off today (lucky me) and I was all set to go to an acetate card class for the morning, but unfortunately I had a call a couple of days ago saying that it had been cancelled :-( So then I thought 'well that's ok - I have a mountain of ironing to get through - so probably better that I do that'. You can guess what is coming can't you?

I sat down to check my emails, starting blog hopping and that was it. I am full of ideas for card - and I just have to make the most of that don't I?! So I am allowing myself some time to sit and play now - and then I will do a couple of hours ironing this afternoon. I had even put the ironing board up and everything, so I will leave it up, just to remind me of what I should be doing!!

Anyway - I had a little play already and made a wallet, I saw this idea, where it had some little lollipops in it - and I just had to have a go. I think it would be great for vouchers or money and the lollipops for kids too.

The papers are from the DCWV Floral Stack, and Paisley Woodware Chippies - which I inked.

Hope the sun is shining where-ever you are.

Georgie x

My second Tilda card

2008-06-08T00:14:00.003+01:00

I have finally got chance to make something with all the images I have been colouring in with Eloise - Tilda and her cat.

The stamped images were coloured with water-colour pencils. I've used DCWV Floral Prints and Mat Stack, together with some yellow grosgrain ribbon.

I'm not usually a yellow kinda girl, so this was a little bit of a challenge (for me) to get the colours to work (you know what it is like, you have every paper pack out and your desk is covered with different variations of paper, patterened and plan, card, ribbon, brads, flowers etc!!! Fingers crossed the end result looks OK.

Well thats me done for the day, may get chance for a play early tomorrow morning - then Eloise has a birthday party to go to, so will be taxi driver in the afternoon (she has a better social life than Tim and I do!!)

Blog Candy

2008-06-07T22:21:00.002+01:00

Right then - this is something I am new to - the whole Blog Candy subject. Anyway I have started taking a look at other Blogs to try and get to grips with what it is all about, and as usual Kath's blog has been a good starting place in helping me to understand how it all works. So here we go:

Lil' Deb's has some great Blog Candy in her giveaway - there is so much there! She mentions that it was to celebrate 2000 hits - well her hit counter now shows well over 3000, so she has gone way past her target. She has some tutorial videos on her blog and lots of inspiration.

Secondly my Fiskars buddy Lorraine has some lovey Laura Ashley Blog Candy on offer too, pop over to her blog and take a look - you just need to answer a question (answer featured on her blog somewhere) and you are in with a chance.

Good luck everyone.

They are done!

2008-06-07T21:58:00.006+01:00

Well, at last the invites are finished. Yippee.

The stamp arrived on Friday morning (to replace the one I had accidently thrown out - d'oh!) - so set about the stamping and embossing today. Finished and delivered to Brother-in-law and sister-in-law (to be) this evening. Both were very pleased - they loved them. They then put one in an envelope and gave it back to Tim and I!! I said there was no need as I knew the date and details, but they still wanted to offically invite us to their wedding - ah, its sweet init!

I've had a lovely day today - spent most of the morning stamping and colouring in Tilda's with Eloise. It seems to be her favourite past-time at the moment and she just loves Mermaid Tilda. Just look at the lovely colours :-)

Then, this afternoon, finished the wedding invitations. Eloise has gone to stay with Nanny this evening - so now I get to play on my own!

Wedding Invitations

2008-06-05T14:48:00.004+01:00

Well then - what a busy couple of weeks it has been. Not that I have really been up to anything exciting, just working - oh and it was my birthday last Sunday - so had a lovely day then. I was really lucky and had lots of gorgeous Tilda stamps and Lily & Milo stamps (yay) - there are so many that I don't know which one I want to play with first! I am sure that I will overcome that little problem later.

I have been working hard on the wedding invitations for my brother-in-law and future sister-in-law - which are very nearly finished. I just have to tell you why they are not completely finished of course. Well, on the cover of the sleeve (sassy Bazzill card), bottom right hand corner - there is going to be stamped in gold the words -'Trust, Respect & Love' - which I had made, and arrived in plenty of time to finish off the invites. I went through all the different options - water mark wording, black and clear embossing, gold and gold embossing - and the couple decided on gold. They then had to decide where they wanted it, I suggested bottom right - bride-to-be wanted middle and bro-in-law agreed with me - they decided to go with bottom right. That's great then - all sorted. Sorry - hope you're not bored yet!

I had a busy couple of evenings, getting the invites finished, with just the stamping left to do - it was getting late and I didn't want to chance rushing the stamping, so thought it best to leave it till the next day (yesterday, Wednesday). Came home from work, thought I would get right on with it - but I couldn't find the stamp! There then followed a two hour search for the little stamp - but to no avail :-(

I came to the conclusion that I must have accidently thrown it out in the rubbish, and of course the bin men had been yesterday morning. Although I really don't think I would have enjoyed routing through the bins! Anyway - I ordered another one last night - luckily they do next day delivery so should be here Friday morning (keep your fingers crossed for me!). Never mind - these things happen eh! Oh - and here is the invite :-)

Eloise's creations

2008-05-22T13:46:00.006+01:00

Eloise has had a busy couple of days making cards, as we had two family birthdays yesterday.

I was really impressed with her creations. She knew what she wanted, where she wanted it and how she wanted it to look (I did help by drawing the lighthouse as we didn't have one).

I am so proud of her (I know I am biased), but I think she is really clever.

I gotta Tilda stamp!

2008-05-21T00:53:00.003+01:00

Now then, I don't post for a week, and I have done three today!

Anyway I am now the proud owner of a Magnolia Tilda with Basket stamp - I love these. I have seen so many blogs with examples on and just had to get one. I was very restrained and only bought 2 stamps - but it is my birthday soon - so guess what is on my wish list - MORE MAGNOLIA STAMPS!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

So here it is - my first card using my Tilda stamp, and the tulips. I still think this needs a little bit to finish it off - but I am beat now, just too tired and worried that I may ruin it. I am pretty sure that I will add some flowers and then leave it at that.

Right - off to bed now, night, night.

Georgie x

Wedding Card

2008-05-20T21:26:00.005+01:00

I have actually got around to making something and not just blog surfing!! This is for a wedding (as you may have guessed), where the bride will be wearing a red and gold sari (sorry if that is spelt incorrectly). My crafting buddy, Faye, is a supersleuth and had a chat with the bride to be to find out the colours. We really wanted to incorporate the red and gold - so this is what I have come up with.

You will probably hear me talk about Faye quite a bit. We work together, and over a chat at a work event (a few years ago now), found out that we both make cards - well that was it. We have been really good friends ever since - she is my bestest pal and is always there when I need her, and I love her loads. We have chatting on Messenger down to a fine art, but failing that we are in the same office, so able to chat in person, or by text!!

Anyway, enough of me babbling on - still have two more cards to do this evening. Brother-in-law birthday (hmmmm man card!), and female birthday (which I hope will be easy). Gonna have to tear myself away from the PC :-)

Wow - I've Been Tagged!!

2008-05-20T18:13:00.004+01:00

I have been tagged with this 'Circle of Friends' from my Fiskars Buddy Kath - which was really lovely - thanks Kath. By the way Kath seems to be a bit of a Blog Queen, so you have to check it out! I now have to think of 4 blog friends to pass this onto - tricky as I am pretty new to blogging. Sure I will succeed :-)

What a Beautiful Day

2008-05-11T20:19:00.002+01:00

Wow - it was a scorcher down in Devon today, I really couldn't believe how hot it got. The sun shone all day, and we did the obligatory - sun's out, gotta bbq! Would love to hear if anyone else had a lovely day, whatever the weather was doing in your part of the country.

It was great, we spent most of the day in the garden. Eloise was on form, entertaining the family - there was 11 of us for lunch - and she just loves it when people come to visit. She also gave the trampoline a a pounding, so hopefully she will sleep well tonight. She was awake at 5.45 this morning! I really could do with a little more sleep.

Well off to clear up, got a mountain of dishes - luckily to put in the dishwasher (now that is one piece of kit I wouldn't be without), and then it won't be long before I'm off to bed (blimmin 5.45 I mean!).

Hi again

2008-05-09T12:23:00.002+01:00

Nothing much really to talk about today, just day to day stuff, doing the school run, working, food shopping (boring), and thinking about the fact that I have to get on with the wedding invitations for my brother-in-laws wedding.

I promised that they would be done by this Sunday, so I really do need to get this sorted. They are having deep plum and gold for a colour scheme, which looks really lovely together - I will put a copy on the blog once they are finished. I suggested the invites should have a sleeve, which I am making out of Bazzil card - the texture really gives it a nice finish. I now have to cut out 50 of them (should have kept quiet about the sleeve!!). Nevermind, once they are done I will be very pleased with myself. Oh and I have to do half in Polish, as his wife to be is Polish and the wedding being held in Poznan, in Poland, in August - I can't wait. Eloise is being a bridesmaid and is so excited. Anyway, better stop chatting and get on with it!!!

Georgie x

Some Cards

2008-05-07T23:39:00.007+01:00

You will have to excuse my rather shoddy photography skills! I also need to figure out what size the images should be before I upload them, here goes anyway....

I regularly have to make cards for colleagues at work (you know the ones where everyone in the office has to sign them) - this was a leaving card, so has to be a fairly decent size. I used papermania vintage pink paper (the pink is on the other side!), together with some co-ordinating flowers, and I used my craft robo to cut out the text.

This one was using Francois Reed's Lazy Days stamp set.

And finally, I have a friends birthday coming up shortly, and she loves bold colours and designs. The papers are by Kate Knight dressed up with a little bit of glitter, the flowers from poppicrafts and I used my QuicKutz leaves.

Well, after all the excitement of actually getting my blog started, I think I am going to call it a day. I just have to make sure that I remember to keep it updated now! Somehow I don't think that will be much of a problem.

Georgie x

My First Post!

2008-05-07T22:30:00.005+01:00

I've done it at last!

I have been blog surfing for a couple of weeks now - and keep thinking how great they all look, what a fantastic idea it is, and how kind all these people are to share all their hard work and inspiration.

It has taken me about half an hour to get the blog up and running, and about an hour and a half trying to decide what to write in the 'About Me' section!!! It's not as if I am short of anything to say - I can chat for England, as my poor husband would let you know. It is just hard to think what people would want to know.

Right - I am going to try and upload some piccies now, let's see how long that takes eh!