My own little corner of the web

Tuesdays Twitterings - Valentines Day

2012-02-14T08:24:00.004Z

Happy Valentines Day. Just a quicky this morning as I have to get myself off to work. Last night I tried to make a coconut cake that Maria has on her blog and it was scrummy. You cook it for a long time but well worth it.

Here is the card that I made recently for the latest arrival to the family. Its an old style but I think its so cute.
I cant show you the card that I made Paul yet, because it isnt finished. Tonight we are having a loving SW dinner and chilling in front of the telly. Thanks for having a read and have a lovely day

Snowy Sunday - hope not

2012-02-12T06:47:00.003Z

Another Sunday but does that mean another snowy one? I havent seen the forecast so I dont know. I do know that it is a lot warmer this morning, 2.5 degrees at the minute compared to the big minus of yesterday morning.
Yesterday was lovely. Paul and I spent the day at home and I did all my washing and ironing, lots of sorting and I managed to get into the craft room. Paul plumbed in the new dishwasher and cooked a wonderful steak for tea. By 9p.m. I was fast asleep on the settee lol.
Here is a photograph of the cakes I made last week,
we have a St. Clementines and a Chocolate Orange. To me the Chocolate Orange tastes a little bitter but Paul love's it. Yesterday I made another St. Clementines to take into work tomorrow. I have mastered that one now, I believe so I will make two for the Crafty Afternoon on 25th February.

Ohh yes, all the leaflets have gone out about 25th February as have the emails.
If you fancy an afternoon of crafting on Saturday 25th February, please please do come along to St. Martins Church Hall. Lots of SU goodies to play with, for sale and cards to inspire. If you would like some more details please give me a call on 01332 721877.

Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely day....dont forget to leave a comment if you can as I love to read your comments over a cuppa.

That week soon went by

2012-02-11T08:18:00.007Z

I am pleased to say that last week was a lot better than the week before, without too many mishaps. Spent a lovely night on Monday crafting with some friends in Ripley. Fortunately, the snow had just about gone by the time I set off and had a fantastic evening, thank you ladies. Here is the snowy scene of our garden
Poor Katerina didnt see any snow in Preston so she didnt get to build a snowman, oppps.

Here is the anniversary card that I forgot to post, still, it gave us a good excuse to go out and visit the family

The rest of the week has been spent with very early nights, twice this week I went to bed at 8pm and slept all the way through. Craft room is nice and clean, not a lot of washing nor ironing so this afternoon, I hope to be in the craft room making easter bonnets and easter chicks lol.

Thanks for having a read

Brrrr snowy Sunday

2012-02-05T04:03:00.000Z

Here's hoping that the new week tomorrow is better than this one has just been

I put my hairspray under my arms instead of deoderant
The dishwasher has broken, flooded the kitchen. New one to arrive on Thursday.
Was that because I used a washing machine tablet instead of a dishwasher tablet, dont think so.
My sink got blocked in the kitchen.
My fridge/freezer decided to leak, all over a cleaned kitchen floor. Not once, but twice.
I went to make a cuppa and the tea bag pot was empty. I filled up teabag pot, put a teabag in cup and then mashed. Went to get milk from fridge and I hadnt put water in my cup, I had put it in my teabag pot....strong tea.
Pauls car battery has died.
I came home on Friday to a black cat in the house, I dont have a cat??? Took me ages to gt rid of him.
The pond has lost most of its water but we dont know why.
and the list could go on, and on and on

and still I am smiling and still things could be worse but they arent. Cup being half full and not half empty and all that.

On top of all the above, I cant believe that I forgot a birthday, and anniversary and forgot to take presents round for a new member of the family. Here is the birthday card that I made, a nice clean and simple one, with no fuss.

I have been having another play with Fresh Vintage Sale a bration stamp set, that is one of those that you get for free with a £45 order.

I just mat and layered it and think its quite nice. If you would like to get your hands on a Sale a Bration set, just give me a call on 01332 721877 and place an order for £45 or, why not host your own Stampin Up party before the end of March and who knows, you may be able to get the set/sets of stamps/12 x 12 papers for free. I still have a couple of dates free.

SAVE THE DATE OF 25th FEBRUARY please. If you are free for a few hours in the afternoon of Saturday, 25th February, why not come along to make a couple of cards at the make and take, have coffee and cake, enter the raffle and browse lots and lots and lots of cards on display. I am having a get together at St. Martins Church Hall, Allenton, Derby and it would be fantastic if you could join in the fun. I will post more details nearer the time.

Thanks for having a read today and hope you manage to stay warm

It's the weekend

2012-02-04T05:33:00.003Z

When life is rather hectic, something has to give and unfortunately, it was the blog ooops. Just to let you know that YES I am okay, my health is good, I am still off the cigarettes and YES YES YES, I lost weight at the FC. Thank you to everyone for getting in touch to see how I was, I just got caught up with normal everyday things and not enough time to blog.

Do you remember this card that I made last June,

Well I thought I would make another one in a similar style for this months Thank You cards using one of the Sale a Bration sets, Fresh Vintage

I made a little template using the square punch and just went over it with one of the daubers and blushing bride/pink piroutte ink. I then used the pens to ink up this lovely little stamp, gave it a big huff and viola. I made about 30 but they were so lovely and so quick to make. They are my thank you cards for the Stamperettes this month.

I also made a fantastic Clementines Cake, oranges and lemons. It is a really moist cake full of flavour. As I cut the cake, I could see little flecks of orange and the smell mmmmmmm

Marias blog tells you how to make this cake and it really is scrummy. My next one will be a chocolate cake.

Thanks for having a read on the cold, very very cold morning. For my girls in Cyprus, it's only -5.7 at the moment lol. Have a lovely weekend.

Rubbish and Button Buddies

2012-01-26T06:20:00.003Z

Good morning, its a damp one in here in Derby, it has been raining in the night.

Today we have our rubbish collection, its the blue bin, the brown bin along with the orange bag day. Two weeks ago I put out my orange bag, full of cardboard and it stayed out all day. No one collected it. I emailed the local council and got an automatic response saying someone would contact me within 2 working days....I am still waiting. There are signs all over Derby "missed bin call this number" so I called them. As expected it was an automatated reply but not to worry,they will call me back, I am still waiting. So here we are two weeks later and I now have 2 orange bags and I shall keep my fingers crossed that they take them away today.

I joined FC (Fat Club) last night and the ladies were wonderful, so here begins the wobble less journey. The Zumba classes restart for half an hour tonight too, goodness where will I find all this extra energy?

Onto another button card
I have made lots and lots of these in various colours. I've used the Button Buddies set along with some of the Paper Stacks designer paper. A bright and cheery one on this dark damp morning. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you will see that I have threaded card through the button hole. This was one of the cards we made during a crafty week and all the ladies loved them.

Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely day

SALE A BRATION ARRIVED - yes, its here

2012-01-25T14:05:00.004Z

I know this should be midweek musings but wow, Stampin' Up! have Sale a Bration and its just fantastic because you can actually get free stamps and/or free 12 x 12 papers. If you place an order with me, (or your local demonstrator) for £45 worth of goodies (plus p+p) you get to choose an amazing stamp set or the 12 x 12 designer papers absolutely free. If you spend £90 you get two lots. Host a party during Sale a Bration, which runs until the end of March, you could get more goodies. And, for the rest of January I am offering free postage for goodies delivered to me which you can collect.....does that sound good?

On top of that, why not sign up to join my team during the sale a bration and as well as getting over £230 worth of products for £119, you can also chose a stamp set out of the catalogue. This is the perfect time for signing up. Give me a call on 01332 721877 so that we can arrange to have a cuppa and a chat where I can answer all your questions.

Here are the FREE Sale a Bration sets

you may have to click on the image to make it bigger

Tonight I am off to join Slimmers World...so wish me luck. I shall come back and make another Lemon Drizzle cake for tomorrows Christmas Card Club, which I am looking forward to.

Thanks for having a read and hope you have a lovely evening

Tuesdays Twitterings

2012-01-24T13:15:00.004Z

brrrr I do hope that everyone is wrapped up warm, it is soooo cold today. I saw the forecast and its for snow, ooopps. How about this for a lemon drizzle cake
Paul loves it. The sponge is so light, soft and lemony and the outside has a lovely drizzle on it. Again its thanks to Maria because my other cakes didnt come out as good as I had hoped and I made 3 of them, so I gave it my best. But this one, well.......Paul has nearly eaten all of it and its not even 24 hours old lol. I will be making another one tomorrow for visitors on Thursday evenings.

Thursday is the first night of our Christmas Card Club. A few friends will gather to make some cards and then next month, we will all go to someone elses home and hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have all been out once a month and made a stash of Christmas cards to boot, perfect. If you are free Thursday and fancy making some cards, just let me know.

I spent a wonderful day on Saturday with some new friends and some old friends (oops, I dont mean old as in age, I mean old as in, friends that I already have) and just look what Margaret made for me.....isnt it wonderful.

It contains a mini candle that smells perfect. I shall be very sad when it has all gone, thank you so much Margaret. Here is one of the cards we made on Saturday
I havent put Marina Mist and More Mustard together before and I have discovered that More Mustard goes with just about everything. Opps, if you dont know what an earth I am talking about, Marina Mist and More Mustard are the names of colours that Stampin' Up! products are called, the blue being Marina Mist and the yellowy orange being More Mustard. Sorry about the photo quality but Paul has done something to my camera, which I will get him to undo later today. Back to the card.....we stamped the image with Pocket Silhouttes stamp in the two colours. Mounted this piece of white card onto the Marina Mist card, which was then layered onto More Mustard card. A piece of Marina Mist ribbon and some little butterflies just finished it off. I have a greeting on my card but its still blank as I am not sure for which occassion the card will be used for, I guess it could be a birthday, a get well, a note, a congratulations....etc. etc.

I am now back at work, mornings only at the moment. I seem to be managing okay and I go to see a works doctor next week. I am still off the cigarettes which I am so proud of and tomorrow, joining Slimmers World to try and shred the lbs that I have put on. Life seems to be getting back to normal now although its a little slower, which is fine by me. I am taking time to smell the roses, as Jackie once told me.

Thanks for having a read and pop back tomorrow, where I have all the news about getting FREE 12 x 12 papers or FREE stamp sets from Stampin' Up!

Steaming Sunday and buttons

2012-01-22T06:26:00.006Z

My Sunday is going to be a steaming one due to the ironing I plan on doing, nothing more exciting that that today, sorry. Paul will cook lunch as he loves doing it, honestly he does and whilst ironing I will be catching up with some TV that I have missed this week, did I miss anything exciting? I know I missed the Spondon Dabblers Friday night and I hope that everyone had a lovely time. I am sure I didnt miss any birthdays although I have been told that one of my birthday cards didnt get delivered, thanks Royal Mail, again. I wont rant and rave about it cause that will just get blood pressure up and it wont get me anywhere and we dont want the bp going up.

I also know that I didnt miss anything from work during my absence. I returned to work on Thursday which is a bit of a shock to the system but I went back.

A couple of weeks ago I got to playing with the Button Buddies stamp set

I must stand up and admit " I AM ADDICTED TO BUTTONS", yes its true, pretty ones, bright ones, small ones, big ones, shaped ones, you name it....I love them. What do I do with them? not a lot. I cant justify buying one more button (nor snipping them off shirts and blouses) as I have so many so, I have had to start using them, which was painful. Here are some Stampin' Up! buttons which as we all know, co-ordinate perfectly with the SU coloured card, inks, ribbons etc. etc. I could go on but....it is Sunday.

Here is the insert of the card using the new Swirls & Curls Verses from the mini catalogue. I am just loving this stamp set soooo much because it has lots of little flowers, birds, balloons and butterflies around the words that you can colour in. Here is a close up of it

You may have to click on it to get it a little larger.

This is a hostess set and if you have been thinking about having a Stampin' Up! party why not book one today. You can have a couple of hours of crafting with your friends and, get your hands on this lovely set as well. Give me a call on 01332 721877 to have a chat about booking a party and find out how to get the sought after hostess sets, for free.

I am "waving" a big hello to all the wonderful ladies that I spent the day with yesterday. We had a wonderful time crafting through the gales of Derbyshire and I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in a few weeks time.

Thanks for having a read and please, do leave a comment if you can. Its lovely to know that you have visited.

Monday morning and piles

2012-01-16T08:17:00.002Z

Good morning and another new week begins. After a lengthy recovery period I am returning to work this week, not until Thursday but back to work I go. It will do me good to get back into a routine and there really is only so much daytime tv that you can watch, really.

I had lots and lots of lovely visitors last week and everyone commented on my second pretty table cloth so I thought I would share a photo of it with you. It looks crumpled but it wasnt??? For those that dont know, it took me months and months to find two pretty table cloths but I did find them, in the end
A bit of a close up of one of the butterflies. It is quite interesting to note that crafters pull the wings of the butterfly up, so that they stand up. Non crafters press the butterfly down, to make it flat......

Yesterday morning I went through my piles. Yes I am a pile person, in the study I have two piles, things to do and things to file and everyday they get taller and taller. In the kitchen I have a pile on my worktop, this pile is underneath a book of things to do. My craftroom is full of neat little piles and to be honest, they are all the same things, either to file or to do so I set to, and got rid of them. Paul has been commenting on my piles for ages and you know what, he didnt notice that they had gone, thats men for you.

Here is a card I made using the Everything Eleanor Stamp set and the Stampin Up In Colours, I really like this card, so simple to make and it only uses up a few of the stamps in this stamp set
I have had plenty of time to go round blogs and I have seen some wonderful cards and have CASED quite a few.
Thanks for having a read on this extremely cold morning and I hope you stay warm today.

A chilling Sunday

2012-01-15T06:52:00.003Z

Brrrrr it looks like Winter has met Spring!!! I have woken up to yet another very frosty scene outside, everywhere frozen over, little puddles of ice (can you say that), and sooo quiet. A tinneey tiny -2 degrees which is a big difference from earlier this week, 8 degrees and the blossom coming out on some trees, a couple of new rose buds and plants looking green. As I said, Winter has met Spring and goodness knows what will happen to the plants but still, its warm and cheery inside.
Up at 6 today which is extremely early for me these days. I used to get up at 5.30 ish every day but since I had a mini stroke and started taking medication, you would be lucky if I got up before half 9.00 (one day it was half past 12 in the afternoon opps). I havent got anything planned for the day, I am just going to take it as it comes (yes another change for me).
No cards to show you today but I did want to share a photo of a meal I made. I have been following a blog for quite a while of a lady who cooks/bakes and its lovely to see some proper homemade meals and cakes. I know we can all buy a cake for less that £1 in the supermarkets but I dont think you can beat something homemade, especially when we have the time to make one. I do appreciate that not everyone has the time but...ok, I shall shut up rambling on.

This meal was based on THIS that I read on Maria's blog. Instead of chicken thighs I used chicken breast and I put mushrooms in. Unfortunately I couldnt add garlic as mother in law was coming to eat with us and she cant stand the smell of garlic, never mind the taste. It was just as Maria said, something for a wintery night. I got great comments so thank you Maria it turned out a treat.

I have also been trying to master the perfect Lemon Drizzle Cake. So far I have made 3 from a receipe that Sandra gave me and whilst they have been nice and lemony, they are not perfect so, if you fancy some lemon drizzle cake this week PLEASE pop in for a coffee and a taste because this is not going to beat me, I shall be making another one tomorrow. Here is a picture of the first one
I had a bit of an accident with it when I turned it out so it had to go upside down.
Thanks for having a read today and I hope you manage to stay wrapped up and warm if you venture out.

Tuesday Twitterings

2012-01-10T08:07:00.004Z

Puff.......and the weekend was gone. I did manage to see most of my immediate family at the weekend which was lovely and just did some pottering.
Yesterday was Millie's birthday, she was 8 and here is her birthday card
I know she was going out with friends last night and I really hope she had a great night. It was also Liz's birthday and I will show you her card later in the week. I also hope she had a lovely day.
Yesterday I used a Christmas present
Mum got me this scrummy proper baking bowl, it reminded me of cookery classes at school lol. So I made some chocolate brownies. Well Katerina is due back in Preston tomorrow and she loves brownies so I have been practicing.
She loves the brownies with cheese on top so I am not sure that these will be up to scratch. I also had a go at some lemon cupcakes
I have now got the receipe for lemon drizzle cake so will have a go at that tomorrow, after I have been to see the doc.
I had a lovely natter with Sophia and Katerina yesterday over VIBER. Its a programme that you can download on your telephone and the best thing about it is....all my calls and text messages to the girls in Cyprus are free. We spoke for ages and ages and ages.
Well its warm outside, even if a little dull so I am off to sweep up some leaves and do a little pottering in the garden.
Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely day
Barbara was the name of the lady that I spoke to at Sainsburys last week lol.

Saturday -

2012-01-07T15:25:00.003Z

Yesterday sped by but I can tell you that I had that Friday feeling. I actually ventured into town on my own but I wasnt there for too long. I am sure that I really am on the road to recovery now. I also had more blood tests and did a little shop in Sainsburys where I met umm, Debera? no that doesnt sound right, me and names, I just never remember. Anyway, she was lovely and tipped me off that the petrol station will be closing for a couple of months, whilst they do some refurbishment. That will be a bit of an inconvenience to me as I normally fill up when we do the weekly shop. So *waving* to you as you said you would pop by the blog as you are another crafter.

Today I have been out for a coffee with mother in law. We went to CC to watch a card making demonstration and then had coffee and cake, dont worry, the diet isnt starting until Monday so I havent cheated.

It was Lesleys birthday yesterday and here is the card that I have sent her (hope she doesnt read my blog before she opens her card as I know she is away this weekend, opps)
As this is my week using just one stamp set, Charming, I made a couple of cards with one of the stamps using the IN COLOURS, embossing folders and punches. A nice cheery card and here are another couple of pictures

and a bit of a close up.

Unfortunately with the light that we have at the moment, my photos arent coming out too well. I know they arent brilliant at the best of times but not quite crisp enough for me. Do I need a new camera?
Thanks for having a read and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thursdays blustery post

2012-01-05T09:23:00.006Z

Flooding, trees fallen down, lorries being blown over, no electricity and that is just the latest that I have read for Derbyshire. I know we are experiencing strong winds but I had no idea that it was so bad. Fingers crossed that it soon blows over (excuse the pun).

I am really pleased to report that today I feel almost human which is a great feeling, it must mean that I am getting used to my new tablets YEAH. The non smoking is still ongoing, I thought it would get easier rather than tougher. Paul has told me it will take about 2 years to get used to not smoking so, just 1 year, 7 months and a few weeks to go. I am back at the doctors next week and hoping he will tell me I can go back to work, there are only so many drawers and cupboards that I can sort out. Speaking of which, another 2 black bags are off to the charity shop today but I have come across my foot spa, which I just am not using anymore. If anyone would like this £30 foot spa, for £10, please do come and collect.

As promised in my post yesterday, here is another card that I have made using the charming stamp set, not a brilliant photo but I am sure that if you click it, you will be able to see it.

I shall post more over the weekend. Thanks for having a read and welcome to my new follower.

Spring Mini Catalogue Blog Hop

2012-01-04T09:18:00.001Z

If you have reached me on the blog hop from Carolyn, welcome.

Thanks for joining me on this very dull, damp and miserable Wednesday morning in Derby. Stampin' Up! have a brand new Spring Mini Catalogue out, starting today. You can order products from this catalogue right up to the end of April 2012.

To see inside the catalogue click HERE.

Some of my fellow SU demonstrators have got together to bring you this Blog Hop. That is where you hop from one blog to another to look at all the wonderful projects we have put together, using products from the Spring Mini Catalogue. You can order any (or all) of these by getting in touch with your local SU Demonstrator, telephoning me on 01332 721877 or you can hold your own Stampin Up Party where you should be able to get some freebies too.

For my cards, I was inspired by my Margaritta Plant, which is coming into bud again. The plants just dont know what season it is do they?

I just love the green and yellow together, so I made these, using the new Charming Stamp Set, first using green (old olive)

and then using yellow (Daffodil Delight)

Then for a splash of colour, just because I could

I shall be sharing other cards with you over the next week, all using the same stamp set which is
brilliant value for money as you can do so much with it, here are all the details.

If you are here on the blog hop, your next port of call is with Kara, so just click HERE

Should you have gotten a little lost around the hop, below is a list of all the people taking part today.

1. Alison P - www.craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com
2. Daisydaye - http://www.emma-daye.blogspot.com
3. Sarnie - http://www.kraftybiker.blogspot.com
4. CarolynUK - http://www.stampaholix.blogspot.com
5. Tracey R - http://www.derbyshireducks.blogspot.com
6. Kara M - http://karascraftycorner.blogspot.com
7. Hayley (craftydevils) - http://www.mycrafthaven.blogspot.com
8. Emma_H - http://www.emma-letsstamp.blogspot.com
9. Kate - http://stampinupwithkate.blogspot.com/
10. Theresa M - http://my-next-chapter.blogspot.com
11. TinaFaghy - http://littlewhitehousecrafts.blogspot.com
12. Donna M - http://www.head-over-heels-by-dlm.blogspot.com
13. Laura - http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com
14. Charlie - http://craftylittlemoos.blogspot.com/
15. Sara (craftingandstamping.com) - http://craftingandstamping.com
16. Leanie - http://www.beautifulimpressions.co.uk
17. LittleBeckie (Beckie) - http://www.bextiesandstickytape.blogspot.com
18. Jayne (charliemenace) - http://jaynescraftycorner.blogspot.com
19. Julie H (craftybug) - http://www.the-crafty-bug.blogspot.com
20. Fiona W - http://www.oakfieldcrafts.blogspot.com
21. Natalie - http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog.html
22. Rozelle (LittleMoo6) - http://thepapercraftsessions.blogspot.com

If you would like a copy of the new Spring Mini Catalogue, just let me know and I will put one in the post to you. Thanks for having a read and I do hope that you will leave a comment so that I can come and visit your blog.

Birthday Girls - Post 1 of 2 today

2012-01-04T08:10:00.001Z

Its Pauline's and Elvie's Birthday today - Happy Birthday to you both, hope you have a wonderful day. Here are the cards that I made for them which I hope the postman has delivered on time.

What with bank holidays and Christmas post, I dont know when the postal service usually get back to normal.

I shall be back later with my post for the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue Blog Hop.

Hello 2012 - Tuesdays Twitterings

2012-01-03T09:21:00.004Z

And what a blustery start to the New Year. We have such a lot of rain today and the wind is very strong today. I haven't seen any weather forecasts recently so dont know how long these blustery conditions will last. I guess the best place to be is to stay home, wrapped up warm and maybe do a little crafting but not me. No I am going to brave going into town and buy a few birthday presents as its family birthdays this weekend and next week not to mention birthdays tomorrow, but I will wait until tomorrow to show you the cards.

We spent New Years Eve playing cards with mum, mum in law and dad. It was a lovely evening that flew by and I didnt get to bed until nearly 2.00a.m. New Years day was spent clearing the bedroom (7 black bags went into the rubbish). I have 4 bags for the charity shop and whilst I have done under the bed, all the drawers and cupboards, I havent sorted out my wardrobe yet. But a great way to start the New Year, clearing out.

Yesterday I managed to get ALL my ironing done, now that is a great achievement for me as I hate ironing. It's a good job that I did it because it looks as though Paul will have to go back to work earlier than expected and he will need some of his shirts to pack. I also managed to spend some time in the craft room, gettting ready for tomorrows BLOG HOP.

Myself along with quite a few other Stampin' Up! Demonstrators have got together and are doing a blog hop with new products for an exciting new SPRING MINI CATALOGUE. I cant show you this until tomorrow but it has some lovely things in it.

I received a great new mobile telephone for Christmas and today I have tried to transfer all my telephone numbers over from the old phone to the new one. CATASTROPHY - there are no numbers in my old phone. Typical. Because I transfered my old telephone number to my new phone, I have lost all my phone number so, if you are reading this, please please please, send me an email with your phone number.

I wanted to show you this lovely gift bag and matching card I got for Christmas from Sue. She is such a talented lady

And this was inside it. This is now in my craft room and lit during the daytime, smells lovely.

Also this set that Paul got for me, he knows me too well, I love pretty matching things, the only problem is, I have too many of them, opps

Thanks for having a read of my blog today, the first post of 2012. I do hope you will pop back tomorrow to see what I have to show you, from the new mini catalogue. Have a lovely day and stay dry.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-30T09:48:00.006Z

Good morning from a very damp Derby. It's really dark out there, wonder if we are due some rain.
Well this is the last day of 2011 and I am ready for 2012. The craft room is clean, all the washing is done and I have taken the decs down (yes I know its early but its a bit of along story), we are having a new bedroom carpet so have to dismantle our bedroom. I need to put the dressing table, chest of draws and other bits in the spare room. The spare room has all the empty boxes for christmas decs so we have had to put the decs in the boxes and then put those in the loft, now I can start to dismantle my bedroom.....why does everything seem so complicated? But it is.
We are off to the crem today, do a bit of food shopping and then its the mamouth task of doing the ironing and then start to dismantle the bedroom. But how nice to start the year with a nice sparkling bedroom.

Here are some of the cards that I have made this last year, although I am not too sure if they are in the right order

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

I hope that everyone has a lovely day, the last of 2011 and that the New Year will bring everything that you wish for. Thank you for having a read and

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Santa paid me a visit

2011-12-27T13:03:00.002Z

Santa came and I must have been a very good girl as I got lots and lots of pressies. Thank you so much to all my wonderful friends that gave us such thoughtful presents, Paul loves his too. So Christmas day was spent making a mess with wrapping paper, first on our own in the morning. Then more pressies were opened when Paul's mum arrived. I cooked lunch for Paul, mum in law and myself and we were stuffed. We had a cuppa and opened even more pressies with Sis and family later in the day. I watched the twins open there gifts via Skype, what a fantastic thing that is. Then it was feet up (amongst the mess) and we watched TV. Yesterday we decided to give the study a good sort out all because I received a lovely cook book for Christmas and I had no room to put it away. The drawers were emptied, paper was shredded and we took 7 bags out to the bin. Then it was a lovely tea with mum and all the family, back to the TV amongst the mess phew.
Today I am cooking again for Rob, Nat and the grandchildren who are coming for tea. We did manage to put some presents away but as I got a lot of baking bits and pieces (ohhh lots of moulds for the cupcakes), I had to sort out my baking cupboard first.

I have 4 birthdays coming in the couple of weeks and I managed to make quite a few tags, in preperation.

Not a brilliant photo but the tags are ready and believe it or not, the cards just need inserts. This years motto for me is "TO BE AHEAD OF THE GAME" Nothing is going to be left till last minute, wonder how long that will last "giggles".
I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and that you are enjoying your time at home. Thanks for having a read

Santa Clause is coming to town

2011-12-24T09:26:00.006Z

A very late start to the day today but then I didnt sleep too well last night. I have this awful TCP taste in my mouth from the dental work I had done yesterday yaks....... I am rather sore this morning but will just take more tablets and feel a lot better, yeah.

Paul and I shall be nipping into town for lunch today, grabbing some fresh veg and just have a wander around, which I love.

I thought I would show you this lovely gingerbread tin that Katerina gave me, oh dont worry it was empty, she ate all the gingerbread men but I filled it with mini tarts. Not too many of these left now.

The postman left me a lovely parcel yesterday from Cyprus. Here is the card that Christiana made for us this year.

As promised, here are the rest of the Christmas cards that we have received, quite a few of them, all lovely.

Thank you so much for reading my blog today, I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. Hope that Santa visits and that you get all that you wish for.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2 Sleeps to go

2011-12-23T12:06:00.000Z

What a bright and breezy day I had yesterday. The kitchen got a good clean including the cooker, hob and extractor, all my bits and bobs came out, had a clean, a polish and put back into place. I even managed a little bit of ironing fortunately, I was saved from doing lots and lots of it by visitors, which was really appreciated. Then I made mince pies, lemon curd tarts and jam tarts. Finished the day off with shepherds pie and a tidy up.s

As promised, here are the some more cards that I have received, tomorrow I shall show you the last of the them

Arent they all stunning?
Well I have been to the dentist this morning. I had a broken tooth, my front tooth. I believed it was a past filling that had come out and I was right. As I have been in quite a bit of pain with this recently I suspected that I had an abcess and unfortunately, I was right. The abcess was so bad that the dentist had to make a hole in my tooth to relieve all the puss and pressure. Not nice. On top of that, he has had to remove the root/nerve, not quite sure but I can tell you that it was not a very pleasant experience. my dentist is the the nicest person you could hope to meet and as he knows I am afraid of dental treatments, he puts so much stuff in my mouth to freeze it that I dont feel any pain at all. I can certainly recommend him to anyone who may be afraid of dentists.

So here I am, sat at home with my mouth frozen, my face swollen, eye half closed. Paul has gone off to do some xmas shopping and I am going to go and have a potter and then try and get in my craft room. I am sure that everything will all be okay by the time santa comes and I can enjoy my xmas dinner.

3 sleeps to go

2011-12-22T09:48:00.004Z

Up early today, for a change but only cause I was at docs at 9.20. My boken tooth now has an abcess and I rang doc yesterday to check I can take pain killers, doc wanted to see me. So, on top of all new mediation I am also taking painkillers and antibiotics, at least I will rattle for Christmas.

Had coffee with friends yesterday and today I am staying at home. Thought I would tackle the cleaning of the oven, arent I brave. I want to bake later today and to me there nothing better than seeing my tarts through a clean oven door. So if you fancy tarts, you are most welcome to pop round later this afternoon and say helloo

What about these cards? This was a stamp I was after for ages and ages and ages and my friend, who has just become a grandmother AGAIN, managed to get it from the states. She got one for me too and its just adorable. I think I may be using this for a valentine card too.

Congratulations to Pauline and hubby on the arrival of their new grandson. He has arrived quite a few weeks early but both mum and little one are doing fine. I will get a card sorted as soon as I am able.

Here are a few more cards that I have received from my talented friends

And I will show you more cards that I received tomorrow.

Last night we went to see the grandchildren and we had a lovely surprise. Robert had taken videos of the Christmas plays so we sat and watched them, stars in the making.

Thanks for having a read today and thank you for all your comments. Have a lovely day

4 sleeps left

2011-12-21T05:49:00.000Z

It was bitterly cold yesterday but I wrapped up warm and felt a lot better after my morning meet up for coffee and cake and then my afternoon stroll. I went to the post office and posted the last of my cards and went and got veg etc. as we have a little visitor for tea today. Bethany, my eldest grandaughter finishes school at lunch time today so is going to spend the afternoon with me, have tea and then go home this evening. Pauls mum will also be joining us for tea so a bit of a busy day for me, just the ironing to do this morning, yaks.

Here is another Christmas card that I did for family members. I stamped out some images at one of the dabblers get togethers and finally made up a few cards with them, quite cute arent they.
Paul breaks up today for a couple of weeks off, it will be nice spending some time with him but I do believe he has created himself a great big list of things he wants to get done.

Thanks for having a read and I hope you have have a lovely day.

5 sleeps to go

2011-12-19T08:56:00.008Z

I made it into town yesterday, in the cold and the rain but I did just have to nip into Argos to pick up the LAST present. It took longer than I thought it would as everywhere was soooo busy, I had trouble driving into town, took twice as long as normal, car park was packed but I was lucky as someone was just leaving as I arrived and then the queue, but at least its all done now. Then it was home for a cuppa and a warm and to start cleaning my craft room. Well I only got so far as I suddenly remembered that I hadnt finished off the family Christmas cards, trust me. So I spent a couple of hours doing those.

As promised yesterday, here are some more of the wonderful handmade cards that I have received for Christmas this year.

I must tell you about an incident on Saturday which goes to show, you dont get anything unless you ask for it. Paul and I nipped into Debenhams to get a couple of bits. Whilst we were in there Paul saw some boots, a big thick cardi and some other things he liked. As we all know, its difficult finding clothes for men so I thought we were lucky he liked so many items, off to the till we went, queued up and paid for all the stuff, which cost £147.00, but that was with some pressies as well. Paid, down the escalator and on our way out of the store there was a big sign "buy a £50 gift card and get a £10 gift card free" So we thought that if we purchased 3 x £50 gift cards we would get £30 for nothing. As we had just spent nearly £150 could we return the items, buy the gift cards, purchase the items again and get £30 for nothing? strange. Paul said forget it as it was too much trouble but those that know me, know I like a challange and to be honest, £30 would go towards more presents we needed to purchase. So off I went, back up the escalator, back to join the queue at the till and spoke to the sales assistant, luckily it was the same one that just served us.
"excuse me, would it be possible to return all these items (3 bags full), purchase 3 x £50 gift cards, get the 3 x £10 gift cards free and then re purchase my 3 bags full of goodies?" Well that stumped her, she asked another team member who said that I couldnt use the gift cards straight away, which I said was impossible. Then she called the floor manager. By this time, lots of other people were interested to. She asked the manager who said of course you can but dont bother doing a refund, we shall just give you a £30 gift card. Thank you very much.

Yesterday I remembered that I hadn't finished off some family cards, so I did that and here they are
and a bit of a close up. More to show you tomorrow

I managed to get the craft room quite straight, just another half an hour and that will be done, but that will have to wait until later, along with the ironing as this morning I am off to meet a friend for coffee at Little Eaton Garden Centre. The Garden Centers are all decorated lovely at this time of year so I thought I would have a walk round and have a coffee.
Thanks for having a read of this mamouth post today and I hope you have a lovely day.

6 sleeps to go

2011-12-19T08:39:00.004Z

This is an extremely long post so grab a cuppa and get comfy.
Oopps I overslept on Saturday and on Sunday but the good news is that I got up around 8a.m. this morning. When I say overslept, I mean I got up later than I wanted to cause I hadnt really got to get up for anything too important over the weekend. Katerina rang me at half 8 Saturday morning to chat on Skype so it was lovely having my morning cuppa chatting to her and Sophia. They are both well and were both getting ready to go into Larnaca town centre for coffee with friends. Paul and I went into town to get the last of the presents. I am really really lucky as Paul doesnt mind a crowded town with lots of shoppers, he just says the more the merrier and we managed to get everything that we went for (plus a little more). Just one more present to buy and wrap today and then its all done and dusted.

Here is another one of the Christmas cakes I made recently
I hope to bake later this week, just have to get my chores done first, especially the cleaning of my craft room, I cant walk in there, nevermind about do a card or two, I dont know how I got it into such a mess.
We had the family round to visit on Sunday and as I had left my bigshot downstairs after cutting out even more tags (well I couldnt do it in the craft room as there wasnt a space for me), the grandchildren were asking what it was. So I showed them and just look what they all created.

Are these the next generation of crafters? Next time they come we are going to use the bigshot to make cards using a caterpiller die that I have, more kits to get ready lol.

Here is another little card that I made for Craigs son
And here is a card that we made recently. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to CASE it and I am so pleased that I did, its a lovely card and I really enjoyed making this with all my friends.
I thought I would share some of the wonderful handmade Christmas cards that I have been receiving this last week with you. I have so many talented friends, thank you so much for these.

I shall share more with you tomorrow.
I really must get my skates on now and start my pottering. Thanks for having a read on this really cold day. Wrap up warm and have a lovely Monday.

Friday Feeling and Christmas Card No.,16,17, 18 and 19

2011-12-16T12:07:00.005Z

Just 9 sleeps to go till we get to see what Santa has left us, stuff ourselves silly with Christmas lunch and all the chocolate. I hope you are more prepared than I am. I do have a few more presents to get and wrap but the majority of my cards have been posted out, the decorations are all up, the house is all clean and I am feeling extremely chilled, which is great as its Friday.

I havent made as many Christmas cards as I usually do but here are four more for you to have a look at. These are for the grandchildren, all cuties.
and in a little more detail

Tonight there is a craft club get together at Spondon. It's a Christmas fuddle so I shall go along, have a little nibble, a little chatter and colour in some birthday cards that I need for the end of this year and the beginning of January, getting well in advance of myself.
Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a wonderful weekend x

Happy Birthday Pam

2011-12-14T10:14:00.004Z

Today is my friends birthday. Pam hope you have a wonderful day. Here is the card that I made for her which I hope the postman delivered this morning.
Well I am now into my 7th week of not smoking and its a bit tough today but hopefully, if I keep pottering, the day will get easier.
Paul got home safe and sound and fingers crossed, he shouldnt be going away again this side of Christmas. Katerina also got back to Cyprus safe and sound although she did have a 5 hour delay, bless her.
Well its cold, damp and miserable outside but inside its warm, the washer is on and I am going to sit and wrap some presents for Santa to take away (grandchildren read this blog). I know that the grandchildren have all been good girls so Santa should bring them lots of presents and surprises this year and with only 10 sleeps to go, YES 10 I had best get writing even more Christmas cards.
Thanks for stopping by and having a read, have a lovely day.

Birthdays, Baubles and Christmas Card 15

2011-12-14T09:27:00.005Z

If I was you, I would grab a cuppa as this is rather a long post today, with quite a few photos. Today I was up rather early, for a change. Katerina is leaving UK to go home for Christmas and I knew that her taxi was due to pick her up at 6a.m. so I was hoping to be up early, to make sure she was up early but, she sent me a text at 4a.m. which woke me up...kids. She went to bed at 6p.m. last night (this was because she didnt go to bed monday night) so she was up bright and early ready for her taxi. Unfortunately, so far, the flight is delayed by 4 hours so she is with another 11 friends at Manchester airport waiting. Paul is due home today, fingers crossed so at least I shall have some company at home again.
Yesterday it was my nieces birthday, yes more twins, they were 9 years old and here are the cards I made for them a while back. Cuties

The search is over, do you remember my posts about looking for pretty table cloths? I finally found 2 table cloths to make my kitchen table pretty, what do you think?

Opps I should have smoothed it over first lol. And here is another Christmas cupcake that has already been eaten.
I have already been out to the doctors this morning. He is pleased with my progress so far, 6 weeks of not smoking, blood pressure slowly coming down, strength in right hand improving and looking healthier (perhaps a bit heavier but never mind). He has asked me to stay off work for another 4 weeks so that he is 100% sure that I have adapted to all the medication that I am on. I have gone from taking no medication at all to taking lots during different times of the day. I do get some side effects but that could also be due to the non smoking, caffine withdrawal as I am only having 2 coffees a day and the shock to the system of the mini stroke. Hopefully I will feel crafting a little more and getting myself back to 100%.
And finally for today, a Christmas tree bauble
This was made by Elvie (I think), isnt it wonderful.
Okay you can stop yawning now and get on with your day lol. Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely day. If you are going out, wrap up warm. x

Tuesday Twitterings and Christmas Card No. 14

2011-12-12T15:06:00.006Z

Goodness the wind last night was quite awful. The alarms on my sheds kept going off, the lights were flickering and it was quite scary sat all on my own. I decided to have a really early night.

Have we all had enough of Christmas card making yet? No? Well its a good job really. I am afraid that I am not one of those that have been organised enough to get all my cards done, even though I have had the time to do them and I actually went out and purchased some, naughty me. But, here are some cards that I did make earlier in the year.

I started off by stamping out the word NOEL and colouring it in with copics/promarkers and SU Stamp n write pens.
I then sat, very patiently cutting each letter out, along with the quacker of course
I then stamped the word NOEL again onto my card and coloured this in with a watercolour pencilvery carefully I put small 3D foam pads arounds the letters and stuck these onto the card base.

Then I set to and decorated the inside of the card.

Job done, 30 odd cards done and dusted and now on their way by post

We had a lovely weekend with Katerina, she arrived by train on Friday night and she left Sunday. Tomorrow she will be flying back to Cyprus and I know that she is really looking forward to seeing her sisters again. Here she is chilling with her phone
We went out for coffee and these looked too nice to drink but we did drink them and scrummy they were too.

Can you believe that this is breakfast???Well the countdown for santas visit is really on now. How well prepared are you?
Thanks for having a read and hope you stay warm and dry today, the forecast for Derby is rain and wind.....sigh

Monday Morning Feeling and Christmas Card No. 13

2011-12-12T08:28:00.005Z

Lucky for me, or is it, anyway, I dont have that Monday morning feeling today. No work for me as I am still off work recovering from the mini stroke I had a few weeks ago. I am now on some new tablets for my blood pressure and am just getting used to them. That means that I am lucky enough to stay home and potter around, cleaning up after all the visitors we had yesterday. Wow, so many people came to see us its was amazing. Hopefully I will get into the craft room this evening for an hour for a play.

How about this for a little christmas cup cake
Here are some cards that I made a while ago using the Hostess Set Simply Soft

The lighting wasnt too good to take photographs and I dont have the skills with a camera that some friends have but I am sure you can make these little cards out.
Here is another Christmas card that I made earlier this year.
*Waving hello* to my new followers, welcome aboard to my blog. I do hope you will find something you like here.
Thanks for having a read on this very chilly (2 degrees) Monday morning and I hope you have a lovely day

Christmas Card No. 12

2011-12-08T05:51:00.002Z

Brrrr its a cold day today. I dont think we can complain about the weather too much as in Derby we have been lucky so far. A lot of snow/sleet at the weekend and just generally damp, cold and gray ever since. I believe others already have had snow but I really dont mind if that gives us a miss. The forecast for up North today is very high winds, fingers crossed that everyone I know up there, and those I dont know of course, stay safe.

I have been lovely and warm at home, nipping out for my two walks each day which has been very refreshing. I am hoping to go to a park on Monday and have a wander round, that will certainly wake me up.

Here is a super duper Stampin' Up! Christmas card.
and a close up, but you will still need to click on it to make it larger
I have used the polar party stamp set with cherry cobbler and pool party card and ribbon. I made these cards in various sizes and just love them, hope you do too. The little "Merry Christmas" has been stamped on the Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch.
Katerina is coming for the weekend tomorrow YEAH. This will be her last weekend with us before she goes home to Cyprus for Christmas. Due to her visit I will have to miss a get together I was looking forward to on Saturday but I am sure that everyone will understand. I really dont like to miss one minute with my daughters if I can help it as every minute with them is so precious to me. I am sure the Katerina has the whole weekend planned out for me and I am positive that some of that time will include her favourite passtime, shopping. Really she can shop, shop and shop and never get tired of it lol.

*waving* to my new followers, thank you for joining in and reading my ramblings. I do hope that you find something inspirational on the blog.

Have a wonderful day, stay warm and thanks for having a read today

Goodness, not blogged for a few days

2011-12-05T18:32:00.006Z

The weekend came and went and I cant believe that we are halfway through this week already. Today I have done a little more pottering around the house and collecting Christmas presents, thank goodness for the internet, saves all the hussle and bussle of fighting through the crowds.

I handed out my first Christmas cards and have a basket full of them all ready to be signed and posted, a nice little job for tomorrow. Here is one that I have made.

I have also been lucky enough to receive some fantastic hand made cards too, which I shall post on my blog as soon as I am able.

I thought you might like to see what some of the ladies made at Derby Dabblers recently, with the owl punch
arent they all sooo cute.

I am really pleased to report that I am still off the nicotine sticks YEAH. It is certainly getting harder rather than easier but its very nice to see the bank balance remaining the same rather than getting eaten away buying cigarettes. Ok so its not really remaining the same as I am spending it on other things but I am sure you know what I mean. Have a lovely evening and thanks for having a read

White rabbit white rabbit white rabbit

2011-12-01T11:02:00.003Z

1st December and its lovely and warm today. The sun is out and its a wonderful crisp morning, well it is where I am.
An earlier start to my day today and feeling very positive. Still a little light headed so I wont be doing too much, whats new I hear you say. The house is tidy, the washer is on so I think I will do a few chores and then go and sit in my craft room for a couple of hours and make some Christmas cards. This afternoon I shall be going on my daily walk, post some overseas cards, get some more fresh veg and this evening I am seeing a few friends. A nice relaxing day and hopefully the blood pressure will stay down.
A big cheer from everyone please.....I still havent had a cigarette YEAH. This is now my 5th week and its still tough. If I had cigarettes at home I would have smoked one or two by now but I have resisted the urge to buy any, I know that my health is a lot more important.
Enough of the boring stuff, how about this for an advent calendar
You will have to click on the picture to make it bigger so that you can get a proper look at it and the quality of the photo isnt brilliant due to the poor lighting but hay, something for you to look at . I made it a few weeks ago with a group of wonderful ladies in Peterborough and I did all the finishing off at home. It has a little chocolate in each drawer which will be my treat at the end of each day.
And now for something a little different
This is the painting that Paul and I got with all the fantastic wedding gifts/vouchers for our wedding earlier this year. I hate to say this but we still havent got our wedding album of photographs and this is a top priority job when Paul comes home from site.
Thanks for having a read and I am sure that there will be some cards for you to have a look at tomorrow x

Happy Birthday Hollie

2011-11-30T13:57:00.002Z

I went back to the docs yesterday, blood pressure is still a bit high, oops. A little more exercise and a bit better eating will hopefully get it sorted. He also gave me some additional tablets. I am a little dizzy so taking things easy. He said that I can drive again YEAH but wont go out till I feel a little better.
Today its Hollies 5th Birthday, wow she is growing up quickly. Here is the card that I made for her
This is what I put on the back
She is really into Hello Kitty so she had lots of little bits to open this morning. She is one of the lucky ones who was able to go to school today, what with a lot of schools being closed due to the strike.

Thanks for having a read and hope you have a lovely day

Chilly Monday Morning and Christmas Card No. 11

2011-11-28T11:22:00.004Z

I got up this morning (10.30) to a very chilly, and late, start to the day. It was only 5 degrees outside brrrr and not such a lot warmer inside. So it was a quick shower and clean bedroom to get myself warm, it did the trick.
We had a lovely weekend, lots of friends visiting and wishing me well. It is now 4 weeks since my mini stroke and I think I can breath a BIG sigh of relief. We have known that it was likely that I would have an other one within 4 weeks if I didnt take drastic action and that has been playing on my mind so much. Well I have taken drastic action by stopping smoking, trying to take a walk out each day even though it has been a slow walk, purchasing a shopper on wheels so that I dont carry anything and trying my hardest not to eat anything fatty. I have been drinking lots of fruit juice yakkss and eating a lot of fresh veg, more yaks and a lot less coffee, biggest yaks. Of course there has been all the medication too. My blood pressure is still rather high and I am suffering from hypertension but its off to the doctors tomorrow to see if he thinks I am fit enough to go back to work.
Unfortunately, due to lack of concentration I havent been spending much time in the craft room which is rather surprising. It has had a few little tidy ups but I did make this card for Katerina's friend, who had her birthday yesterday.
Not a brilliant photo as we just havent had very good lighting but I am sure you will be able to see it clearly enough.
Today I have a few visitors popping in to see me this afternoon which will be lovely and I hope to do a little pottering and putting bits and pieces away.
It's getting to be a bit of a struggle to remember what Christmas cards I have put on here and which ones I still want to share with you but I am sure that you havent seen this one yet
Another masterpiece that was made for my demo day quite a few weeks ago but one of my many talented friends (I am sure you have guessed that I dont know if its an Anne, Sue, Lynn or Elvie card lol).
Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely start to the week.

Happy Name Day Katerina

2011-11-25T11:35:00.002Z

In Cyprus, all children are christened with the name of a Saint. Every saint has a name day and today is Katerina's name day so happy name day hon. This is the card that I made for her which I hope that she has received.

I am told that she is off to Manchester for the day but as she hasnt answered her telephone yet I presume that she is still sleeping, oh to be a student. They do keep strange hours, up till 3 -6a.m. every day but not waking up till gone past mid day when there are no lectures. At least I know that she is having a nice time, she is doing her studies and has made new friends.

It's Friday YEAH but I dont have that Friday feeling just yet. I did wake up a lot earlier today and have done some pottering around. After coffee I shall continue putting bits and pieces away and hopefully get to make a card or two. Can you believe that we are just one month away from Santas visit ooopps.

Thanks for having a read and have a lovely weekend

Thursday and the 3 C's, Christiana, Cakes and Christmas Card No. 10

2011-11-24T10:57:00.002Z

The weather yesterday didnt do a lot did it. Was damp and chilly all day long, a bit like me really but we cant always be happy all the time can we.
Christiana, my eldest daughter in Cyprus who suffers from Schleroderma, Raynards and other bits, went to the hospital yesterday. The good news is that her lungs and blood tests are all good again, well done to her. Unfortunately the mobility in her fingers is still very bad but from today, she is going to be doing her own physiotherapy, arent you tana? She reads my blog daily and I know that she is going to try really hard to get her fingers moving again. Tana also makes cards which are wonderful. There arent too many places in Cyprus that she can buy goodies from so mum likes to send a box over now and then full of little bits but now that her craft room is full (and a mess) she cant get anything else in there so I have a nice little pile of goodies here waiting until she has a bit more room. She shouldnt worry about her crafting area being a mess should she? It will be interesting to read your comments about the state of your crafting area, go on, leave a comment so that Christiana can read it.
As I mentioned yesterday my hand mixer broke boo hoo. Paul, bless him, (we all know how good he is) took me to Sainsburys at half past 7 last night so that I could get a new one. Sainsburys was empty, it was lovely to walk around and have a look at the new things they have got for Christmas but I was good. I only got a mixer and some frozen peas oh, I did treat my best friend to a little something but she will have to wait until tomorrow night to see what it is, arent I a tease lol.So today I may make a few more little cakes, if I am up to it. These are the cakes I made when my mixer broke
Diddy carrot cake. I got the carrots ready but I would love to make my own. Does anyone know where I can get a little mould from? Hoping you can help with this (oh I am still on the table cloth hunt by the way).
Now onto Chrissmassy bits
I know that Sue made this fantastic Christmas Star card. Its so shiny and so lovely, thank you Sue. Here is a link to her blog HERE to see all the other wonderful things she makes, a very talented lady.
Well I have had a lie in this morning, it was gone 10a.m. when I got up so its off for a shower and to start my day, a little, okay a lot, later than normal. Have a great day and thanks for having a read.

A Christmas tag and cakes

2011-11-23T10:56:00.003Z

I think we all know the saying "red sky at night shepherds delight, red sky in a morning shepherds warning" well the sky was soooo red this morning. Wonder what the weather will do today, I know its cold cause I have been out for my walk already.

I have been for my freshstart appointment, smoke free for more than 3 weeks. I am so pleased and then I went to the shop and saw all the cigarettes lined up for sale....but I didnt buy any. I got some boring milk and bread instead.

Last Friday whilst I was waiting for Paul to come home I had a play with some pastry cutters and made all these
All I needed to to them was to make the cakes, which I did and here they are

I just used a normal fairy cake receipe, a creamy cheese icing topping and decorated them, can you see all the glitter. I promise you that they were tasty, now I still have lots of decorations but my mixer broke oppps. Sandra came to the rescue to lend me hers but I still need to go and get myself a little mixer and make a few more cakes to use up the rest of the decorations.

How about this for a Christmas Tag
Lovely isnt it? I must admit that either Sue, Lynn or Elvie made this for me and I know that in a few hours I will find out who it was.

Off for a little more chilling now, thanks for having a read and have a great day.

Tuesday Twitterings and Christmas Card No. 9

2011-11-22T06:48:00.003Z

Do you ever check that you get the right amount of boots advantage points? It might be worthwhile if you do. I recently purchased something and whilst I got a £5 discount, and 340 additional points I only got 100 points instead of 240 that I was entitled to. Now I know you may think that because I got the discount and additional points why moan about the missing 140 points but that is £1.40 that I would have lost. I got in touch with boots who checked out my complaint and the wonderful lady added 700 points to my card, £7.00, so its worth checking that you get what you are entitled to......moan over.

*waving* at my new follower, thank you for signing up and reading the blog, its always lovely to know that people do actually read what I write.

Now who has made this Christmas card? I think it could have been Elvie and I know that Sue will correct me if I am wrong
The colour combination is lovely.
UPDATED - Phew at last we know who did it, Anne Made It lol. She used the colour coach (which really is a must have) for the colour combination. Thanks for letting me know Anne.

Yesterday was a quiet day and a lovely evening with friends. I did a few jobs around the house but I watched quite a bit of tv too. Now that the tv has been fixed I am catching up with the second series of misfits, do you watch that? I think its great. Paul cooked a lovely steak for tea, how pleased am I that he is home. Today I am going to attempt to spend some time in my craft room, chilling and sorting, not sure that I will come up with a card or not but at least I will have a relaxing time. What are you up to today?

Thanks for having a read and have a lovely day

Monday Morning and Christmas Card No. 8

2011-11-21T10:11:00.005Z

The weekend went by in a flash again but dont they always. I cant say that I did alot though which is good since I am not supposed to be doing a lot. I changed a couple of xmas present that I purchased for Paul which was very naughty of me but hay, I saved £22.00. Yes £22.00. I got him a couple of things from Debenhams prior to knowing about the sale so I took them back and ordered them again making the saving.
Paul took me to the Christmas Fayre at the roundhouse on Saturday and it was lovely to have a wander round and see all the beautiful things that everyone had made, very inspiring. Sunday was spent at home with mum in law and doing some baking. Yes I baked lol.
I have found this wonderful blog and I am spending hours reading it, its all receipes and cakes and biscuits etc. etc. This got me into thinking that making a cake would be chilling so that is what I did. I made a lemon drizzle cake which Paul and MiL said was lovely.
It was really moist inside but its definately a tea soaker, so of course I had to mash for them both too.

Here is another of Lynns (I thought it was Sues) amazing cards
If you would like to know how to make this and all about the products used, please send me an email and I shall explain all.

Thanks for having a read today and hope your Monday is a lovely one oh, and by the way, I am still a non smoker and so proud of myself. Thanks to everyone who is encouraging me on this "lifestyle change".

Friday Feeling and Christmas Card No. 7

2011-11-18T10:09:00.004Z

Friday already, it really shouldnt be but it is. My days are just wizzing by and I must admit, that I am still not doing a lot but only because I cant. I have cleaned another cupboard or two and happy to say that I havent thrown anything out cause nothing was out of date, this time. Have you ever discovered food so out of date that you cant believe that you still have it in your cupboard?

I finally at last found 2 lovely tableclothes for my kitchen table. I was so happy, did you note the was? mmmm they are too small, drat. It is my own fault as I should have measured the table before I purchased them so, the hunt is still on.

*waving to Paul* He is still away but due home today YEAH. Then he will come home with all his washing, yaks. Its not the washing I mind because to be honest, I only have to put it in the machine and switch it on, it is the ironing that I really dont like. Why cant men just wear black bin liners with a belt? Life would be so much easier, its all those shirts and shirts and even more shirts.

Well I havent been on here for a few days as the hours have wizzed by but, I did promise you some photos and here they are, some wonderful cards that I have received from Alyson, Paula, Diane and Trace.

Paula came to visit with these wonderful roses, I have never seen colours like it

Here is a close up of one of the bigger flowers, isnt it lovely. I am watering it regularly as I want them to last and last and last.

And how about this beauty.
It is my 5 year old orchid. I dont know if you remember but after it flowered for the first time I was going to get rid as I thought they flowered and died. Lesley told me how to look after it during the time it just stayed dormant and each year it comes back, thanks to Lesley. Well this year it has the biggest flowers ever, even if it has flowered a few months earlier than normal, I wonder if its due to the warm sunny weather?

And just for a change, a Christmas card of mine.
Pam was making some Christmas cards using this stamp and I just had to stamp out a few images, isnt it cute. Thanks Pam
Here is a close up. I coloured it in using copics, cut it out and layered it on top of the original image. Hope you can see all the glitter.

Thanks for having a read of this long post. Hope you have a lovely start to your weekend.

Christmas Card No. 6 and a lovely weekend

2011-11-11T12:20:00.008Z

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and arent we being lucky with the weather. It's hard to believe that its the middle of November and I have been out without my coat, lets hope it lasts, yikes, hope I havent jinxed it. Katerina spent the weekend in London, she is certainly travelling around quite a bit, lucky girl.

Friday I spent a lovely few hours chatting to crafting friends and doing a little colouring, very relaxing and theraputic although I am sure some with think that I am quite sad. I even managed to sort out a cupboard or two over the weekend but not a lot more.Had lots of visitors which was lovely and I received some wonderful get well cards and presents, thank you so much, they really cheered me up and are so appreciated. I will get photographs taken today so that I can share them with you tomorrow.

I didnt manage to get into my craft room boo hoo but it is still there waiting for me for later today. The grandchildren came round to visit (they are keeping an eye on me whilst grandad is working away). They like to get creative (and it keeps them busy) and I found this table covering for my dining table (I am still looking for a round kitchen table cloth that is pretty)

Here is another one of those smashing Christmas cards from Sue......... I made an ooppss. This card has been made by Lynn but its still a super smashing card, thanks Lynn
Again this is with the Everything Eleanor set which is on my wishlist, she has teamed this up with Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler, its stunning.

Today I believe that I shall be having a few visitors so its a chilling morning for me just pottering, who knows, I may tackle another cupboard as its so rewarding when its done. Thanks for having a read and I am sure that I shall be doing some blog hopping throughout the morning.

A lie in and Christmas Card No. 5

2011-11-11T09:45:00.001Z

The oops is because I didn't get up until gone 9.00a.m., unheard of for me, all I can say is that it will be a very slow start to the day. Today its a bit more pottering and I am hoping to sort out a cupboard or two in the kitchen, nothing strenuous, just a sort out, wipe down and put things away in some sort of order. Of course I shall chill and relax in the craftroom for an hour this afternoon, well you just have to dont you.
The hunt for the table cloth is still on. We weren't successful yesterday but I am not giving up just yet. I did manage to get (wait for it) yet another little cake stand but this one is different, its for Christmas as it has santas on it, how sad am I. I had a lovely few hours out but I couldnt believe how tired I was last night, obviously I am not completely recovered yet.
Another Christmas card below, again from the talented Sue

I have made some cards too but we still have 46 days until the big day so plenty of time to show you mine.
Another little *wave* to Paul who should have a read of this at lunch time. He did call me at half 6 this morning but I think it was the words "lucky you, you can turn over and go back to sleep" that made me do just that lol.
I just saw the date, did you realise that it's 11/11/11, what will you be doing at 11.11a.m. today?
I am being taken out to sit and chat to the ladies at Spondon Dabblers tonight and really looking forward to it.
Thanks for having a read and have a lovely day and...... it's nearly the weekend YEAH

Its a cracker and Christmas Card No. 4

2011-11-10T09:23:00.002Z

No luck yesterday at Dunelm with the table cloth but I did find a few little bits, a nice guest towel with Santa on, the grandchildren will love that when they visit. A very pretty little cup cake stand (yes I know I already have a lot but cupcake stands are like shoes, you can just never have enough). 2 pretty little plates to match the cupcake stand, all I need to do now is make cupcakes...when I feel a little better.

How about these two little projects, both made by Sue

These have been made using the Everything Elenor Set, they look and feel very posh.

Off out to another store today, hunting for that table cloth, thanks to Jayne. She is taking to me a shop in Burton. Just so that you know, I still havent you know what lol.

Thanks for having a read and hope you have a lovely day.

Midweek Musing and Christmas Card No. 3

2011-11-09T09:10:00.003Z

Goodness, I had a lie in this morning, how rare for me. I woke up at half 7 but I am sure I had a bit of a conversation with Paul around half 6, didnt I!

How many of the recommended 5 a day do you have? Now that I have to eat a little healthier I have realised that I wasnt getting my 5 a day at all, especially difficult when you dont like fruit, arrgh I hear you scream, how can I not like fruit. Well it's true but I am now starting my day off with a fruit drink, strawberry and banana (its to hide the taste of 4 aspirins yaks). I dont know what is worse, the taste of the aspirin or the fruit juice but the box says, its 2 of my 5 a day.

I bet you are getting fed up of me saying this but, another smoke free day yesterday, wayhay.
Today I join Fresh Start YEAH. I will see if I can get a little support whilst I am doing my best to stop smoking and grab all the help I can get.

Another Christmas card that Elvie made for meThis is using the Contempo Christmas set from Stampin' Up! She has teamed up Crumb Cake and Real Red, lovely Elvie, thank you.

I know Paul has a read of my blog during his lunch break so *waves* to Paul.

Yesterday was a day spent with the TV and just a few odd jobs. I did venture out to the local shops but it was dark and damp and that was at 2pm, the cars had their lights on. I was glad to get home back into the warmth. Mum is picking me up later and we are going to wander around the local Dunelm, just to look at Christmas Decorations and pick up a few pretty bits for the house (and see if they have any new table cloths since my last visit).

Have a wonderful day and thanks for having a read x

Tuesday Twitterings and Christmas Card day 2

2011-11-07T10:20:00.005Z

For quite a few months now I have been searching for a round tablecloth for my kitchen table, without success. I am looking for something pretty and dainty with a little red in it, as red will match the other accessories I have in the kitchen. If you know of somewhere in Derby that may sell something like this, or if you have come across somewhere online, please let me know. It seems that table cloths are out of fashion.

Another "cigarette free" day yesterday and a big pat on my back for me. I really am proud of myself and I know that Paul and my daughters are all really pleased. I am trying to watch what I eat too but after Christmas I will go on a diet. I would rather be chubbier and smoke free than skinnier and smoking, although I know I will never be very slim...sigh

Here is another Christmas card that was made for me using all Stampin' Up! products, isnt it lovely.
If you would like to purchase any Stampin' Up! items used to make this card, please let me know.
Paul treated me to a new magazine last weekend, no it wasnt a crafting one, well not really
This is really great, the recipes are easy to follow, you get a free little cake stand and other bits. Whilst I am not up to baking at the minute, as soon as I am I shall attempt the little biscuits.
I have received two adorable little cards one from Lesley which is so elegant
and one from Denise and Ros which is so sweet
Thank you ladies, these really brightened me up, its lovely to get something so unexpected.
Well I think you must have read enough by now so thanks for having a read. Have a lovely day x

A new week

2011-11-07T08:31:00.004Z

Yesterday really was a chilling day and not just the temperature outside. After a lazy start to the day, coffee, reading magazines and looking at some Christmas decorations we purchased, Paul cooked lunch whilst I sorted out some bits for ebay. The afternoon was filled with visitors and well wishers and long chats with two of my daughters, just lovely. I only managed to spend a little time with the grandchildren before my sister came to take me out for an hour. Today will be another day of pottering as I really do need to get my blood pressure down and keep it low although I am not sure how to do that. I am still "cigarette free" but it will get tougher this week as Paul will be going away but I can do it, I know I can.
Sue has made this wonderful card
It all moves as the black lines are really pieces of thread. It looks a lot better in real life, a stunning card, thank you Sue. I am sure that I now have a Christmas card a day to show you, all the way up to Santa's visit.
Thanks for having a read and hope you manage to leave a comment as they inspire me to keep going with the blog.

A challenge for a change

2011-11-05T09:24:00.004Z

It's still wet, damp and dark outside and the forecast is 11 degrees for the day but I am not complaining, it could be worse (we could be in the middle of a snow storm). I am envious of Christiana and Sophia having 21 degrees in Cyprus though and I know that they are looking forward to the rain, there is just no pleasing us at times is there?

I met up with 7 ladies last night and we had a lovely evening chatting, drinking coffee and doing some stamping and colouring in (yes colouring in, very theraputic), how relaxing, just what the doctor ordered, really he did. I have to get my blood pressure right down so am trying to chill as much as possible, no worries, no stress, I do believe I am starting to feel better already.

For a change, I have decided to enter a challenge today, something I very rarely do but on the Less is More challenge the colour theme is red and orange. I have just finished making some thank you cards so I had the stamp already out on my untidy craft table and this is what I have come up with.
I do hope that when you click on the picture you can see the embossed lines at the top of the card. Now does it need a little bit of glitter or not, mmm, tough question.

Yet another day passed yesterday without a cigarette and I seem to be coping at the moment. Now not being able to drive for the next 4 weeks is going to be harder than not smoking I think so, if you are nipping out for a wander around a shop, going for coffee somewhere or visiting dunelm, a garden centre etc. and would like a little company, please remember me, I may be climbing up the walls and in need of a change of scenery.

Thanks for having a read x

A card from Elvie

2011-11-04T09:14:00.004Z

A wet and soggy start to Friday but at least it isnt cold.

A big hello to BEE and a *wave*, thank you for joining my list of followers, its always lovely to know that someone has decided to have a read of my blog. I really should say A BIG HELLO to everyone who just nips on every now and again to have a look at the photos, read a little bit but cant leave comments, thank you for nipping in.

I am really sad to say that I shall not be going to the NEC this year booo hoooo, wiping the tears away. This will be the first Christmas NEC show that I will miss for quite a few years. Unfortunately the husstle and busstle of getting there, the crowds and the walking around will just be a tad too much. I have to take things easy for a few days as I have had a scare with my health this week so its rest, rest and rest. Oh but what fun I shall have with the internet shopping I am going to do tomorrow. If you have managed to go, please please please tell me all about it, what did you buy, whats new this year and bring your new things round to show me.

I am really proud to say that I have stopped smoking, yes, I know that some of you will find that hard to believe but I have done it and feel really proud of myself. Any weight that I gain I will soon lose again after Christmas when I have all that yakky nicotine out of my system so, I am patting myself on my back.

I was really lucky last week to recieve lots and lots of cards to display at my demo day. I had lots of help from Elvie, Sue, Lynn and Anne who made such wonderful items which I showed you in yesterdays post but all on the tables. Here is one from Elvie using the Contempo Christmas Stamp
She has teamed it up with the circle punch to make her own baubles and that devine embossing folding square lattice. Stunning card and thank you Elvie.

I shall be sitting on my laurals at Derby Dabblers tonight and doing a lot of colouring in, how relaxing. Hope to see you there.

SU goodies for FREE

2011-11-03T07:20:00.002Z

Yes thats right. Free stamps and free papers which are all extra freebies for hostesses who hold a party between now and 15th December!

You can earn a Paisley Petals Bundle FREE! The bundle consists of a pack of Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper and the Paisley Petals stamp set (wood or clear-mount), worth up to £33.90. if you host a party totalling £300 or more.

This is in addition to the usual hostess benefits. A £300 party earns you £50 to spend anywhere in the catalogue, including the exclusive hostess products. It also earns you the opportunity to purchase ANY item at 50% off!

Here are a few more photos of some of the display tables from Saturday, lots of things to look at

No one has yet come forward with the raffle ticket

65 IS THE LUCKY RAFFLE TICKET WINNING NUMBER

if you have this, please get in touch. The Winner of the Treasure Hunt will be announced on Saturday.

Thanks for having a read, have a lovely day x

Smashing Saturday

2011-10-29T21:59:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was THE day that I hired a hall, invited lots and lots of people and with a lot of help from friends, held my first demo day. It was smashing. So many people turned up. There was a make and take, retired products for sale, lots of tea, coffee and cake and so many cards, boxes, handmade items for everyone to look at, new punches to try, a raffle, treasure hunt and everyone went into a free prize draw.

A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who helped to make this go so smoothly, I really couldn't have done it without you. Not just the day but all the preperation as well, ohh just wait till I show you all the fantastic cards and other items that everyone made for the display tables

Over 30 people came to look at all the cards, boxes, creations that everyone had made for the day. The atmosphere was great even if it was a tad hot. You can never tell with church halls if its going to be too hot or cold, there really isn't an inbetween. We had a lovely little cafe area and it was constantly busy so everyone caught up with each other, learnt the lastest news and gossip (which I just cant repeat). All in all it was wonderful.

Here are a few photos of the event

So many people asked, when I shall be holding another one, well the answer is March, if I can wait that long.

The raffle was drawn at the end of the last make and take and the winning number is ...drum roll please

If you have this raffle ticket, please let me know so that I can get your prize to you and Congratulations. Hazel won the door prize and I shall be getting this over to you this week. The Treasure Hunt entries are due to be in by Tuesday so I shall annouce the winner on Wednesday.Lots of pictures over the next few days of all the stunning display items so please, pop back and have a look.

Today is a day for putting everything away. Hope you manage to stay dry and have a great day x

STAMPIN' UP! PARTY and SALE

2011-10-29T07:18:00.003+01:00

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS

SATURDAY 29th October 2.00 - 4.00
St. Martin's Church Hall, Allenton, Derby, DE24 9BG
Make and take, free prize draw, lots of sample cards, make a Christmas tag or two, unusual way to wrap stocking fillers, little bags, SALE of retired SU products, Coffee and Cake whilst placing orders, raffle, details about joining the SU team and find out about holding your own party
I am holding a catalogue launch and SU party and SALE and it would be fantastic if you could come along during the two hours on Saturday.

The make and takes are being held at 2.00, 2.45 and 3.30 Booking the make and take is a must.

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS

Sue made this

2011-10-27T04:40:00.000+01:00

Had a lovely evening out on Tuesday with family to celebrate Brother in Laws 50th birthday. I must have been shattered as I came home and went straight to bed but an early night has done me the world of good.

Last night it was rushing around and getting everything sorted for Saturdays big day, I bet you are fed up of me reminding you all about it arent you. Ooops. Mum in law came for tea, the usual pie, chips and veg, scrummy. Then it was cutting up some new 12 x 12's, sorting out retired papers and retired stamp sets and seeing what else I need to take with me. Of course, I just have to put this is my box for the display table.

This is what Sue made for the Papermax Show, isnt it wonderful. Sue will be there on Saturday and she can tell you how she did it.

Hope to see you there

Anne made these

2011-10-26T06:43:00.003+01:00

I hope everyone is managing to stay dry, we had a lot of rain last night and even more to come today. That wont bother me too much as I will be in an office all day and crafting all night. Tonight is the night to get everything finalised for my big day on Saturday, it would be so much easier if I could just take my craft room with me instead of sorting everything out. I am getting very excited about Saturday but nervous at the same time. I do hope that lots of people will nip in and say hello.

The card is cut for the make and take, the stamp sets are sorted, the items for sale are all ready and the display items are being looked at one by one, just to check that everything is still in the new catalogue. The treasure hunt is printed as well as the wish lists, just the prizes to wrap.

Here is a drawer box that Anne made out of the new In Colours, you make have to click on the picture to get a better view, she is so clever.

And here is one of the cards that Anne made with one of the current hostess sets.

Lucky me to have such wonderful friends who can help me out with all card making for displays, I dont know what I would do without them. If you fancy helping me out with cards/boxes/bags etc. you are most welcome to.

Thanks for having a read and have a wonderful (and dry) day

Tree Treemings Christmas Card

2011-10-23T07:45:00.003+01:00

Good morning from a very mild Derby. Its 12 degrees this morning.

A big hello to all my faithful followers *waving at you this morning* Thank you for everyone's lovely comments on the adhoc posts I make, it really is wonderful to know that people are actually reading what I put and having a look at the photos.

I had a lovely day catching up with friends yesterday in Peterborough. It was so nice to see everyone again, Elizabeth, Carol, Jacquie, Pauline, Janice and Andy. I didnt realise that it was March the last time we all got together.

Pam picked me up early in the morning and off we went. Quite an uneventful trip until we saw a pheasant at the side of the ride and both did the "ARR" thingy. Then out of nowhere this brown thing flew from the side of the road and hit the windscreen, both our hearts racing, both aghast. We still dont know what it was except that it was brown and it didnt land in the road behind us. Hopefully we just stunned it and it flew off, silly thing. I did joke to Pam that it was still on the roof of the car clinging on but it wasnt really.

Today I am off into town to an art exhibition and to buy Katerina a few bits and bobs she needs. I managed to do ALL her washing and ALL her ironing, lucky girl. I never thought, she should have done it while I was out yesterday, why do I still treat her as a child in some things and as an adult in others? I guess thats just being a mum.

I still haven't show you all the cards we did at the stamp a stack so, here's another one. Its made using the Trendy Tree stamp, vellum and a little green ribbon.

I saw this card on the net quite a while ago and thought it was lovely but I didn't have a go at making it as it looked so hard to do. Well it wasn't hard and I love this little card. If you want to know how to make it, just let me know and I will happily show you.

Just a few days to go until my Stampin' Up! event at St. Martins Church Hall next Saturday. Hope that you will be able to make it. Until next time x

More Welcome Christmas

2011-10-22T05:10:00.002+01:00

The week has been and gone so quickly but its been a good one, now its the weekend. Paul and Katerina were waiting for me when I got home last night and how lovely it was to walk in and find them both here. It was a quick rustle up of chicken, yushpud studding and the trimmings as they were famished. Washer went on (you cant believe how much washing the pair of them brought with them) then it was time for Katerina to have her hair cut and coloured. It looks smashing. Sarnies made for today and a relatively early night, well it was for me. Up with the larks today as getting a lift at half 7 to go to Peterborough.

Here is a little card that I made last weekend, using the Welcome Christmas stamp set

I have used Bashful Blue, a little Pretty in Pink and some Marina Mist. I am really happy with the way this turned out to look as though the children were on a ridge. I was inspired by Michelle Zindorf and all the wonderful scenes that she has created, a very talented lady.

Have a lovely Saturday and remember, just one week to go before my 2 hour crafting event, I do hope that you can make it. More details are at the start of my blog.

Mid Week Musings

2011-10-19T16:33:00.003+01:00

Half way through the week and just another couple of days before the big W is here again. The big W being the weekend. I already have a busy weekend planned. Paul and Katerina arrive home Friday night and as usual, it will be roast chicken, mash potatoes and yushpud studin, Katerinas best food in the whole wide world.
Saturday I am out for the day visiting two lovely people, Andy and Janice.....its ages since I have seen them and I will be meeting up with Pam, Pauline, Jacquie, Elizabeth and Carol. Sunday we are off to an art exhibition, posh.... and out for lunch, really looking forward to the whole two days....now where do I fit in Katerinas washing and ironing? Or the food shopping??

I am busy getting ready for crafty week next week. There are a few places available if you fancy a couple of hours crafting, 3 places on Thursday and one on Friday.

Isnt this box in a bag wonderful.
It was a present from Sue and full of my favourite goodies, no not chocolate lol. Thank you Sue, it was lovely to receive it but you shouldn't have xx
With the weather being as glorious as it has been, my plants outside are still in flower and here are a few pictures of them

Fingers crossed that the frost doesnt come just yet.

More cards to show you tomorrow, I have to take some photos of them but to do that, I have to clean my desktop and to do that....you know the rest. Have a wonderful evening and thanks for having a read.

Tuesday Twitterings

2011-10-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

Monday went without too much of a hitch. I went to work, had quite a good day and got home around 5ish. I managed to print out, stamp up and address all the envelopes to advertise the Stampin' Up! event on 29th. I hope that from the 60 cards I am posting some people will be free to come along.

Sunday Afternoon I went for lunch at my sisters and the time just flew by. I was so lucky to spend time feeding and playing with this little tot. This is Ollie, my nieces baby

I promised I would show you some more cards with the Welcome Christmas stamp set and here are two cards using 3 of the stamps in the set.We made these at the stamp a stack event last week and I am really pleased that everyone loved this card

This was made using Bashful Blue and Wild Wasabi. The edging around the words looked a lot softer using the Wild Wasabi Stamp n Write Marker rather than the red that is shown here but still, I love the colour combination.
The same stamps again but using the more traditional Old Olive and Real Red, oppps, my bow looks a bit scewiff, sorry.

Three months earlier than usual, my orchid has got buds and flowers, we dont usually see these until just after Christmas but its a stunning colour. Hope Lesley is proud of me for looking after it all these months, even though it did look like dead twigs in my kitchen window
I have put this picture of the orchid on so that Paul can see what he is missing, just 3 more days left and he is home, bringing Katerina with him.
Hope the weather isnt too bad where you are. Have a lovely day

Welcome Christmas

2011-10-17T05:24:00.001+01:00

Monday and a brand new week. A full day at work and then who knows what tonight will bring.

I currently have a SU Pen Share Running. This is for 48 Stamp n Write Markers including the In Colours. The cost is £16.70 per month for 7 months. You will get a selection of pens each month and on the last month, you will get the carry case to put them all in. There are 3 places left in this share. The Stamp n Write Markers are not just for the finishing touches of your projects, you can also colour in stamps and stamp them out, instead of using ink pads. You can colour one stamp with different colours, write around the edges of your scrap book pages and lots more. If you would like to join this share, please give me a call on 01332 721877 or email me.

I have been going a little bit silly with the Welcome Christmas stamp set. This is the set, just in case you missed it in the catalogue. Brilliant Value for money at £21.95 for 5 beautiful stamps, that works out at £4.39 each and every one of the stamps can be used on their own.
There are so many cards that you can make with this and I just cant leave it alone. Yesterday I said I was having a 'day off' from crafting, well I didn't. I went to clean craft room and I just made it a bigger mess because when I went to put this stamp set away I thought "what if" and 'didnt I see something on the net that looked a bit like this'....well I am sure you all understand.
We made this card at one of the Stampin' Up! parties that I did recently, using the wreath from Welcome Christmas and silk Real Red ribbon. So yesterday I sat and made a few more cards with this set, which I shall share with you this week. Well I do need a few for Christmas dont I? If you would like to receive one my Christmas cards, please let me have your name and address and I shall pop one in the post to you at the beginning of December.

Thanks for having a read and have a lovely Monday

Polar Party

2011-10-16T06:41:00.006+01:00

That's another week gone and we are getting closer and closer to Santas visit. After the hectic week I have had I have decided to stay in pjs this morning, before going out to lunch at my sisters. I shall finish the weekend off with a game of bingo this evening, what a lovely way to spend a Sunday.
Stamp a Stack was a hugh success yesterday and a big thank you goes out to Sue, Lynn, Margaret, Sandra and Elvie for a wonderful time. The ladies went home very happy.
Here are some photos of everyone busy at work on Thursday and yesterday.

I have updated my events page with classes for November. There are still a few places left for Crafty Week next week so if you fancy a couple of hours of crafting, please give me a call 01332 721877 and book your place.

One of the 10 cards (yes 10), that we made during Stamp a Stack
This is from Polar Party, a new stamp set in the 2011-2012 Catalogue and Idea Book, one of the 9 stamps in the set.
We stamped it twice onto watercolour card and coloured it in using the watercolour crayons or pencils with blender pens and then added touches of colour to the baubles with the stamp n write markers. The sentiment is from the same set and of course, we just had to put some glitter on it too, well it wouldnt be right, a Christmas card without glitter would it? We coloured and cut out one of the trees to pop into the bottom right hand corner. If you would like to order this set, or anything else from the new catalogue, I shall be submitting an order next Friday. Plenty of time to get in touch. If you havent got a catalouge yet, just let me know.

Thanks for having a read and dont forget SAVE THE DATE of 29th October to come and say hello at St. Martin's Church Hall from 2.00-4.00p.m.

Sunny Saturday Santa

2011-10-15T09:27:00.004+01:00

Although the temperature has dropped the sun is shining so it's a sunny Saturday. I have my second Stamp a Stack this morning YEAH. The first one took place on Thursday and we all had a great time, this was the first one I did. I think that everyone went home happy, but tired. I learnt that 10 cards in a few hours was perhaps a little too much. I shall modify it for the next Stamp a Stack event. A big thank you goes out to Brenda, Julie, Wendy, Jayne, P.Ann, Diane and Jane for coming along and letting me try out this event.

Here are some of the little treats I made for everyone

Can you see the little cadbury chocolate sticking out. Do you remember the chocolate machines we used to have at Christmas? Well me and my sister used to get them at Christmas,
The chocolates from this little machine fit perfectly sandwiched in between the two large tag punches and the santas coat stamp from the stamp set Tags for Christmas. A lovely little treat and if you punch a hole in the tag at the back, it will hang on the christmas tree.

I am placing a SU order at tea time today, if you would like to add anything to this order, large or small, just let me know, 01332 721877 or email me at tracey.rossos2@hotmail.com

Have a lovely Saturday and thanks for having a read

Brownies, Macaroni de Funo and SU Cards

2011-10-14T07:02:00.002+01:00

The new SU Catalogue is so good that I have spent nearly the whole week having a play with some new stamp sets, naughty me. Here is one of the new Hostess Sets that you can purchase for £12 if you are a hostess at your own party. I havent put a sentiment on this yet but it's in my box ready and waiting to go....along with the other few in my box.

I held my first Stamp a Stack last night, we sat and made 10 cards, yes, 10 cards and everyone had a great time. I have another one tomorrow which I am looking forward to.

These photographs are for Christiana. She had a small accident in her car this week, she was sat at an island waiting to cross it and a lady drove into the back of her. Fortunately Christiana and Panayiotis are okay, the other driver said that she didnt see the car...........so why is she driving??? Now they have to go through the insurance routine which, as I am sure most of you know, is a nightmare. Sophia is enjoying her uni in Cyprus and seems to be managing with Uni and work at the minute, which is great for her. Katerina is loving her uni in Preston. She has met a great group of friends, her room is okay, she has student hours, up after lunch and bed early hours of a morning, loves wetherspoons, its just the lectures she is not keen on.

Katerinas Macaroni de Funo which is absolutely fantastic. I kept a piece at home for me and loved it, I guess I will be making some more next week.
My first attempt, sorry, OUR first attempt at brownies with cream cheese. Not quite like the ones you can buy in Cyprus but still scrummy. Katerina took 20 pieces back with her, they were gone in two days as she ate them with her friends.
One of the cards we made during last months crafty week. The next Crafty Week starts on Monday 24th October. If you would like to come and make 2 cards there are more details on the events page on the blog.

Off for a mornings training and then work this afternoon. Tonight its put my feet up time.

Thanks for having a read and have a lovely day

Sunday's News

2011-10-09T08:37:00.003+01:00

A box in a bag is something that I have been wanting to have a go at for quite a while and I was really pleased at what seemed to be something so difficult, turning out to be quite easy to make. I was lucky enough to show everyone at Dabblers how to do them, I just forgot to take my camera to show you, trust me. Here are the two that I made using Stampin' Up! new papers called Timeless Portrait. I have put them both against some other SU papers, Just Add Cake. The new papers are lovely.

Katerina is home for the weekend and yesterday afternoon we spent a couple of hours making some food for her to take back to uni. She is living off McDonalds, Wetherspoons and coco-pops at the minute but I guess that can be said for all new students. Here she is (still in pjs at 5p.m.) holding the Macaroni de funo that she made cough cough - well she did read the instructions and help with the pot washing.

I hope you have a lovely day, despite the weather

Monster Week

2011-10-08T06:05:00.004+01:00

YEAH it's the weekend and what a MONSTER week I have just had, not a complaint though. I was poorly for a couple of days with a tummy bug but I am pleased to say that I am feeling a lot better now.

Here is one of the cards we made at our last Crafty Week.
There are so many cards made with this perfect stamp set and I am so pleased that it has made it into the new catalogue. For children and for adults, it can be used for lots of occassions, more samples will follow in the next few days. It does go perfectly with my little monsters that Sue made for me using the SU material.

The next Crafty Week starts on Monday 24th October. If you would like to spend an evening of crafting, please get in touch as I do have some places still available.

Below are even more tags for Christmas, at least I shouldnt have too many to make when I start the christmas present wrapping, for Santa to take away,

And a card using one of the tags, again.

I have Katerina home this weekend, a bonus for me. We are going to be cooking and baking as she wants to take some homecooked food back to Uni with her, that will be a laugh especially as she was home (Cypriot) food. She seems to have settled in, says she is enjoying it, made a few new friends, the only problem is....she doesnt like the lectures/classes!!! What more can I say.

STAMP A STACK - ONE PLACE REMAINING on Thursday 13th October. Please give me a call 01332 721877 or send me an e-mail. if you would like to make 10 cards, 5 different designs in two different colours. This is being held in Allenton, Derby.

Thanks for having a read today and I hope you manage to stay dry, the weather forecast is for rain all day, lets hope they have got it wrong.

STAMPERETTES SERIES 7

2011-10-07T20:47:00.000+01:00

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR RECENT UPDATES

Just one more month to wait because on October 28th the Stamperettes Series 7 will begin. This is a club 10 group - 10 ladies spend at least £15 per month on Stampin' Up! products for a period of 10 months. During these 10 months everyone will be a virtual hostess of their own Stampin' Up! party and get all the hostess benefits for that month. If you would like more details, please get in touch. This will stay at the top of my blog until all places are filled, which I dont think will be too long.....

THIS IS NOW FULL

Series 8 will be starting in November. If you would like to join Stamperettes Series 8, please let me know.

2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Catalogue Blog Hop

2011-10-02T09:59:00.002+01:00

Good morning and welcome to this amazing Blog Hop. Lots and lots (over 30) UK Stampin' Up! demonstrators have all got together to show you some fantastic new products from the 2011- 2012 Catalogue and idea book. I am sure that you that get plenty of inspiration from what you see.
If you didnt already know, Stampin' Up! now have some wonderful co-ordinating material in the new catalogue. I have been so fortunate to have a fantastic friend who can sew at the drop of a hat. Sue made me these two Monsters which are the cutest things. The material matches SU papers and SU stamp sets.

Next it's the Tags til Christmas stamp set.

I sat down and made all these tags in a jif, so easy as Stampin Up have the co-ordinating punches. I make so many tags to put on the Christmas pressents and it usually takes me hours, with this set I am sure I can get them done in next to no time. And they are not just for tags, you can make lovely cards with them and use them on scrapbook pages. I shall be showing you more samples later in the week.
The Hostess Sets rewards system has all changed and there is no longer the level 1, 2 or 3 system, it is so much easier to get the hostess sets that you want and as many as you want (depending on your total order sales of course). Here is a table of how it all works

The hostess now gets £££s and can spend these £££s on either the hostess sets or any other products in the catalogue AND if party sales reach £300 or more, the hostess will also receive 50% discount off products. So, what are you waiting for? If you are in the Derby/Derbyshire area, give me a call, book your party today 01332 721877.
Your next port of call on the blog hop today is PATRICIA Thanks for having a read and dont forget, drop by later in the week to see more samples from our new catalogue.

Full list of participants in the Blog Hop

1. Lauralou http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com/
2 AlisonP www.craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com
3 Glittermum http://www.mygroovystampinup.blogspot.com/
4. Theresa M http://my-next-chapter.blogspot.com/
5. SarahLP http://stampingobsession.com/
6. Sassy Stamper (Elaine) http://www.thesassystampers.blogspot.com/
7. Sarastamper (http://craftingandstamping.com)
8. JJ66 http://jan-crippin.blogspot.com/
9. Evy c http://evyscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
10. DonnaM http://www.head-over-heels-by-dlm.blogspot.com/
11. Scrappydiva http://www.stampin-divas.blogspot.com/
12. Natalie http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog.html
13.Dawn http://www.tartanstamper.blogspot.com/
14. Vicky www.vickylouscorner.blogspot.com
15. Maggie (maggiemae) http://thefineartofstampin.blogspot.com/
16. Julie H (The Crafty Bug) http://www.the-crafty-bug.blogspot.com
17. Elizabeth (Stash Fairy) http://elizabethscraftroom.blogspot.com/
18. Michelle (ShellieStamps) http://michellescraftypaper.typepad.com/
19. Keren. http://www.kerenbaker.wordpress.com
20. Emma (Daisydaye) http://emma-daye.blogspot.com/
21. Rachel (Rachel) http://www.stampingurl.blogspot.co.uk
22. Valerie (valmoody) http://stampingwithval.wordpress.com/
23. Kara (KaraM) http://karascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
24. Sarah (IOW Sarah http://www.stampinsarahiow.blogspot.com/
25. Tracey Rossos http://www.derbyshireducks.blogspot.com/
26. Patricia (Beckscraft) http://stampinbeckscraft.blogspot.com/
27. Sarah-Jane http://cardsandacuppa.blogspot.com/
28. Claire http://stampinupscrapper.blogspot.com/
29. Cupcake http://pinkycardsandcreations.blogspot.com/
30. Kimf http://kimfeecrafter.blogspot.com/
31. carolineskinner http://stampinupandbranchingout.blogspot.com/
32. Emma_H http://www.emma-letsstamp.blogspot.com/
33. Sally - Pink Sky. x http://pinkskysu.blogspot.com/
34. Carolyn http://stampaholix.blogspot.com/
35. Tina http://littlewhitehousecrafts.blogspot.com
36. Hayley (craftydevils) www.mycrafthaven.blogspot.com
37. allyf - http://serendipitypapercuts.blogspot.com

TODAY REALLY IS THE DAY

2011-10-01T06:00:00.002+01:00

ITS HERE WIIIPPPPEEEE

If you click on the word HERE above, it should take you straight to the link to start having a look through the brand new 2011-2012 catalogue and idea book. I am sure you will be as excited about it as much as I am. There is just so much in there that I want NOW - stamping feet on floor in frustration. My first order will be going in at 2.00p.m. today. If there is anything that you want as much as I do, please call me on 01332 721877. If you would like the real thing, I am happy to post one out to you.

And as if that isn't enough, there is an amazing, wonderful fantastic promotion starting today too. Join me and my team and you can get FREE 2011-2013 In Color Kit containing five Classic Stampin’ Pads in the new In Color colours and an assortment of A4 smooth card stock.
Now this is an offer that is really really hard to refuse, especially if signing up is something that you have been considering for some time and if you havent been considering it, maybe you should.

Not only are there some fantastic new stamp sets, lots of new papers, ribbons, brads, additional In Colours, there is material as well. Oh yes, this catalogue is bigger and better than anything we have had before. Here is just one of the hostess stamp sets that Anne used to make a card with

And if this little sample is not enough to wet your wistle, tomorrow I am taking part in a BIG BLOG HOP. Starting at 10.00a.m. demonstrators from all over the UK are having one of the biggest hops that I have ever known, so please, come back tomorrow, join the blog hop to see what we have all created with some new products.
If you would like to be one of the first to get your hands on some of the beautiful hostess sets by holding your own Stampin' Up! party, I have a few nights free mid week in October and at weekends. Get in touch and I can give you more details.

Well enough from me for now, thank you for having a read and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thirsty Thursday

2011-09-29T15:21:00.003+01:00

Phew, how hot is it today? I thought yesterday was lovely but today is even better, sorry Jackie, opps, not everyone likes the heat. I have been thirsty all day, its been tea, tea and more tea.

Just a few hours left to order from the 2010 - 2011 catalogue. We get to place our first orders in the new catalogue on Saturday so if there is anything that you would like, from either of them, just let me know 01332 721877.

Another little something from the table at Moorways last Sunday. Sue made these for me from the Springtime Vintage papers. I have ordered quite a few packs of this paper as its so lovely. Thank you Sue.

We had a prize draw on Sunday and the winners are:

J. James from Hatton
R. Lewis from Findern
J. Wood from Woodville

Your prizes are in the post and I hope that you have them by the weekend.

Still a couple of places left for Saturday morning's crafting session, just give me a call on the number above to book your place.

Thank you for having a read and I hope you have a lovely evening

Tuesday Twitterings

2011-09-27T18:16:00.003+01:00

Silly me, I didnt put the pictures on yesterday of the wonderful ladies who helped me out on Sunday. As mentioned, Jayne vanished before I could photograph her, which I am sure she is pleased about.

Here is Anne, having a well deserved sit down, it was such a busy morning

Sue is proving that she has mastered the art of opening and closing SU ink pads without getting ink all over her
Sue and Elvie having a little natter

A few bits from the table. Goodness there were so many wonderful projects on the table. I will be sharing more pictures of them with you over the next few posts but if you would like to see them all out on display, details of a local Stampin' Up! party will be available soon. I am just confirming dates and times with venue

Lots and lots of exciting things coming up, did you know there is a new catalogue out on Saturday, perhaps I havent mentioned it before, although I am sure I did but a reminder wont hurt. It is super duper. Then there is a Stampin' Up! party in Spondon very soon. I am just finalising dates and times not to mention the Stamp a Stack and October's Crafty Week.

I have a couple of spaces left at the card making class this Saturday so if you are free, fancy a couple of hours of fun, please give me a call 01332 721877 and book your place. More details can be found on the events section of my blog.

Thanks for having a read and I hope to catch up with everyones blog over the weekend xx

Where do I begin la la la la

2011-09-26T18:55:00.004+01:00

To say I have been busy is a bit of an understatement. With sorting Katerina out at Preston Uni, having her home for a weekend and shopping, getting ready for a mega sale, preparing lots and lots of things for the Papermax show and having a table there yesterday phew. On top of that, its crafty week this week and we have just finished our first session.

I still have ironing from the honeymoon and lots of chores in the house but hay, I am having fun.

I want to say a big thank you to Jayne, who disappeared just before I got my camera out, Anne, Elive and Sue for all your help yesterday. A very special thank you to Anne and Sue for making so many wonderful projects for the table as I really couldnt have done it without you...sounds a bit like an award speach. And finally all those wonderful people who stopped to say hello, watched the demos and stood and chattered to us, it was wonderful to meet you.

A couple of pictures to share with you..first of all, trouble

This is going to make her sister soooo envious. Katerina with her own concoction of ice cream, chocolate and strawberry sauce, 100s and 1000s and wafers. Every since I can remember the girls have always made up there own ice cream.

A few pressies wrapped in crumb cake card that has been put through the ribbling machine, tied with seam binding ribbon and a tag made with Baby Blossoms. I stole the idea from a hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon and Anne sat in my craft room and made them for me...naughty but soooo nice.
Springtime Vintage Cards with Baby Blossom stamp set, very sweet. I will be sad to see this set go
Not a brilliant photograph and trust me to get the back of the tin. Lots and lots of flowers from the SU flower die, butterflies all the way around, honest and some diamontes on top.

That is just a taster of all the wonderful things that I have to share with you over the next few days.

Not long to go now until the new Stampin Up Catalogue is out and WOW, its really amazing. If you would like a copy, just let me know and I will put one in the post to you.

Thanks for having a read and I am so sorry it has been such a long time since I posted. Have a lovely week.

Tuesday Twitterings

2011-09-13T05:43:00.007+01:00

If I was you I would grab a cuppa, I think this may be a long post.
First of all, what with returning from honeymoon, washing, cleaning and trying to catch up, there was just no time to update the blog, apologies for this, hopefully I can get things a little bit more towards normal now, although, what is normal?

Last weekend Sophia and Katerina came to the UK as Katerina has started to study at Preston University. Here are some photos of her in her new room, just for Christiana, who is going to miss Katerina soooo much.

paul sorting out paperwork

Sophia on Katerinas bed, just a few of the photos Katerina has

A little bit dark, but I guess you get the idea

I have also been busy sorting out all the SU orders, which are ready for collection/delivery. There are quite a few items on the Retired list that have already sold out so if there is something that you have been pondering over, give me a call and I shall see if it is still available for you.

Here is the card for this months "Thank You". It's from the hostess set Slice of Life, there is still chance for you to get this set. I have a few dates free if you would like to have a few friends over for a Stampin' Up! party.
I hope you can see the wonderful dazzling diamonds in this photo

Stamp a stack of Christmas cards. I shall be holding a Stamp a Stack event in October, well I will be holding two actually. The first is on Thursday 13th October and this will be repeated on Saturday 15th October. You will make 10 cards. There will be 5 designs in 2 different colours. If you would like to book your place or find out more information, please give me a ring on 01332 721877 any evening after 6.30p.m.

Hope that you have a great day and thanks for having a read

Last of the holiday snaps

2011-09-07T05:25:00.002+01:00

Our honeymoon tour of Cornwall has come to an end and here we are, home again. It has been a wonderful break away and I have returned refreshed, relaxed and ready to start again, but at a slower pace.

Whilst we were staying at the Headland Hotel we were woken by someone knocking at the door. When we opened the door, early in the morning I add, there was no one there but the knocking continued. We were on the third floor and Paul thought the noise might have been coming from the window?? puzzled I gently opened the curtains and here is the culprit

He quite happily sat there for a couple of hours tapping away, obviously someone must have fed him previously so he thought by tapping I would give him food. How wrong he was. We had a pitstop (or should I say pub stop) in St. Issac, the place that Doc Martin is filmed, emmm, I didnt recognise anything?? We wandered around, looked at the stunning streets and scenery but to no avail. I think that this may be Docs house but I am not sure

and I think I recognise this, or do I, again not sure
but the views and scenery again, fantastic. We had a one night stay in Tintagel (one night rather than two) and we had a wander around. Unfortunately I didnt take any photos. Then we headed off to Bath and I am in love with the place. Its wonderful, beautiful, fantastic shops, cobbled streets, friendly people and this was all in rain. We are most definately going back there, perhaps for the Christmas market in November.
Being in Bath, we had to do the baths
The history surrounding this is amazing. If you havent been, its well worth it and, if you want to go just tell me, I will happily come along for a visit.

So now its continuing with the washing, putting away and the dreaded ironing. Today I must get my hair and nails sorted out along with 1001 other little jobs. Some great news, Sophia and Katerina arrive in London today with their dad. Katerina is moving to Preston as she is going to study there and we are all meeting up on Saturday for her to move into her accommodation. Another exciting and busy weekend.

Thanks for having a read. I shall hopefully catch up on all your blogs over the next couple of days to see what you have been up to.

Friday Feeling

2011-09-02T20:05:00.003+01:00

It certainly feels like a Friday today and I must admit that I havent done anything. Got up a lot latter than normal but still in time for breakfast and then we had a gentle stroll into the centre of Newquay.

The sun has been shining all day and I must say that the hardest thing I have done, was buy a new work bag and make some tea...terrible.

Here are a few photos taken today

paul in front of the hotel

a view of just one of the beaches in Newquay.

tonight its a lazy night at the hotel, Thanks for having a read.

Catching up on the Honeymoon Tour and Stampin' Up! news

2011-09-01T22:54:00.008+01:00

At last I can catch up with everyone and see what is happening. When we booked our accommodation in St. Ives we were told that we had wifi but when we arrived, it didnt work. Although we tried lots of different places to use the computer, no success.So, where have we been, after leaving Falmouth, this was the view from our hotel room,

we travelled to St. Ives to a lovely B+B at the top of the hill. During this trip we stopped off at the Minnack Theatre which was a lovely treat. It is so hard to believe that this has been built Unfortunately, we were able to see a show there but maybe next time.

St. Ives was a really bustling place and a good place for us stay to visit lots of other villages, coves and points of interest. The photo below is of the biggest candy floss I have ever seen, I dont know who the girl is though, but she happily posed so that I could show you her whopper.

Lands End was a surprise, I was imagining bleakness, cliffs and lots of people, what I didnt expect was a fee of £5 for the carpark as soon as you arrived, amusement arcades, shops, rides,

4D theaters, cafes and restauants...amazing. Here

is Paul and lots of strangers, not a brilliant picture but at least this has the least amount of strangers in it. Penzance was another port of call, unfortunately the tide was out so I couldnt get a good picture of the harbour, I did find a craft shop though and I couldnt leave without buying a little something could I? I must admit that I am missing my craft room as I have lots and lots of ideas that I want to try out, oh well, I will soon have time to do that

Another one of Paul at the edge of the cliffs, I was tempted to tell him to stand further back, and back but I didnt. Peranporth was a lovely little cove, very busy with holidaymakers and this is what it was like on the beach earlier today

And here is my treat, after arriving at our posh hotel, which will be our base for the next 3 days.

Now that I have the internet, I have been catching up with Stampin' Up! news and ohhh what news.

If you click HERE it should take you straight to the Stampin' Up! retired list page. I shall be placing an order on Friday 2nd September at tea time and again most days. Hopefully I shall be getting my hands on the new 2011-2012 catalogues in a couple of weeks so if you would like to pre-order yours, get in touch and I shall pop it in the post to you the same day that I get them. I have also had a sneak peak of what's in the new catalogues and I am really excited about all the new goodies. I shall be having a catalogue launch as soon as its possible....

Thanks for having a read today, lots of it I know. Hopefully internet wont be such a problem now.

Bank Holiday today and the sun is out

2011-08-29T08:10:00.005+01:00

Bank holiday monday and the sun is out, in fact its been out for a couple of hours now. Today we leave Falmouth and move on to St. Ives, stopping off at anywhere we fancy inbetween.

Yesterday was another great day with some unusual sights. Firstly we went to Helston, cough cough, whilst it looked like a lovely place to visit, there was one very long street, all on a steep hill and everywhere was closed, well it was sunday. Not even a place for a cuppa, so off we went and ended up at the Lizard where Paul had a look around the vintage cars and I sat with the laptop. Next it was off to cadgewith covewhere we stumbled across lots of boat races in the cove. Here are a couple of photos.

I actually went into the shop at the top of those stairs, wasnt I brave? I did come down backwards though.

Next was a little place called Mullion and we discovered the teddy bear parachute jump. Yes you read that right, we stood for an hour and watched the majority of the 50 teddies in their parachutes, such a laugh.

Then somehow, the day just flew by travelling through little villages, another walk around Falmouth, where we found my road

and then the beach for a coffee and a burger (oops to the diet). We spent the evening listening to a jazz band, what could have been nicer.

Just a few days to go now before the SU retirement list comes out. I shall hopefully put a post on my blog and send emails out to everyone.

I was hoping that I could have shared some more wedding cards with you as well as pictures from the wedding, what I had forgotton was that they are all on my computer at home, silly me. Here are a couple of cards that we made at the last Saturday crafting day using the Clearly for you stamp set.

Thank you for having a read and a look at the pictures. Enjoy your day.

Our Honeymoon tour of Cornwall

2011-08-28T08:02:00.009+01:00

Well here we are, on our honeymoon tour of Cornwall. I am currently sat on a balcony, in the sunshine overlooking the beach in Falmouth listening to the sounds of the waves hitting the shore, it sounds wonderful.

We had a nightmare of a trip here, started out on Friday travelling to Bristol. It took over 4 and a half hours to do a two hour trip, we have never seen weather like it. In some places the visability from the rain was 0 and you still got the idiots travelling at 70 miles an hour whilst the majority of people were only doing about 20. Then there was the queues, well, how was I to know that 100s of people were going to travel south on a bank holiday he he. Never mind we had a lovely chat in the car, talked about allsorts, especially the wonderful day of the wedding.

This is me on our first pit stop on the motorway, just before we hit the rain

Bristol was lovely, wet but lovely. The hotel was very modern and we had a walk out, in the rain, got soaked but laughed a lot. I think I must have SU fever because just look at the hotel carpet, I could see cherry cobbler, pear pizzaz, whisper white, basic gray etc. etc. okay, so I am sad

Saturday we set off for Falmouth but stopped off first in Lauceston

We got quite peckish so when we stumbled across the Mad Hatter Tea Room, we just had to nip in for a cuppa and a sandwich.

Next stop was Truro. After a quick pint, Paul, not me, we had a wander round. A very big sprawling town with lots of the usual shops, marks, monsoon, phone shops etc. etc. nothing very quaint about it but nice to have a walk around. A very impressive cathedral, so would that make it a town? Here's Paul next to the drainage system, little gullies next to the pavement

and a view of the cathedral up a little alley.

Goodness, I had forgotton how long it takes to write up a piece for the blog on the laptop. WiFi seems to be available at quite a few places so far so I am staying in touch with the girls on Skype and Facebook.

I am really pleased to say that in just a few days Sophia and Katerina will be coming to the UK with their dad. We are meeting them in Preston as Katerina has been lucky enough to get into Preston Uni, a new chapter in her life.

We are off to the Lizard now so more photos for you tomorrow. Paul has found an old car display so he is wanting to have a look at that. Thanks for having a read and hope I havent bored you too much

Yachts and Weddings

2011-08-18T04:50:00.004+01:00

I am up with the larks this morning, in fact I think I am up before they are. Its still dark outside and so quiet. Why am I up so early? no idea but I will make the most of it and continue with my earring hunt. The hoover has to come out tonight so I will make one last look around. Wish me luck.
Here is another card from last week's crafting nights, hope you arent getting fed up of them as I made lots of samples for everyone to have a look at

no sentiment yet as it will box in my box for the right occassion.
This is the second card that everyone made along with a matching tag and envelope.

The photographer has been in touch and I can go and get my wedding photos YEAH. As soon as Paul comes home we shall go and collect them, something I am really looking forward to. Speaking of wedding, I have finally got round to photographing all the wonderful handmade cards we received. There are so many of them that I would love to share with you so here are a few, the rest I shall pop on the blog over the next few days.

Have a lovely day and thanks for visiting.

Tuesday Twitterings

2011-08-16T06:30:00.000+01:00

Tuesday again and the forecast today is rain, rain and a bit more rain, well my garden does need it even if I dont.

Another busy day in the life of a crafter. After my day at work its off to the post office as there are quite a few birthdays this week, I will show you the cards at the weekend when everyone has received them as I know two of the ladies will be looking at my blog. Then its back home to continue the earring hunt...no I didnt find it last night. After tea it will be a little more washing and ironing and then as a treat, into the craft room I go. I have a new baby card to make that is going to be going to the states and I really need to get cracking on items for the table at the papermax show in September. If any of the dabblers or the ladies who come to the crafting events fancy making some cards, boxes, 3d items etc PLEASE get in touch, I would appreciate all the help I can get.

I hope you arent fed up of the Plane and Simple cards yet as I have another one to show you, which I used my distressing kit on. Yes, Stampin' Up! have a wonderful little distressing kit which we shall be using this weekend at the Clearly for You card making event.

Whilst I was playing with the Plane and Simple stamp set, I used Soft Suede ink on the ivory card and then put Crystal Effects on the image. Next morning I couldnt believe how wonderful the colour was, the Crystal Effects had total changed it. I hope that you can see the difference in the photo.

My friend, neighbour and fellow crafter celebrated her birthday last weekend. Here is the card that I sent to her, using my old time favourite, pocket silhouttes. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this stamp set is going to be in the new Stampin Up catalogue as I am sure that there is a lot more that I can do with it.

Enough twittering for one day and apologies for such a long post. I hope that you have a lovely day, whatever you are up to. Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful comments and please, keep them coming. Off to do a bit of blog hoping myself now, to see what everyone has been doing the past few days.

Lost and Found

2011-08-15T17:03:00.003+01:00

Well the weekend came...and went. It started off lovely with Paul returning home and my friday night crafting night. We had lots of chatter and laughter, which is a must during crafting and everyone worked really hard.

Here is one of the cards we made, which there are a lot of out there in blog land at the moment. I used soft suade, elegant soiree, crumb cake and the neutrals ivory card, teamed up with some crumb cake ribbon, large eyelets and the spiral punch. The stamp set is plane and simple. I have seen something very similar on someones blog during my wedding blues week so I would like to thank them for this idea. If it was you, please let me know so that I can put a link to your card.

This is the insert I did, after everyone left. I think that it was Nina that suggested it and I thought it was a great idea....

During the clean up on Saturday I found this
its a lovely red pencil and I dont know who it belongs to. Unfortunately on Thursday night I lost an earring
It is from a set that Paul got me during on our first christmas together. I have searched high and low for it, to no avail. I still havent had the hoover out, just in case (well thats my excuse) so tonight, I have to start hunting in silly places. The dishwasher is being taken apart, the drain in the sink etc. etc. and I have borrowed a metal detector to get into all the nooks and crannies around the skirting boards. I will find it, I am determined to.

Do you fancy a cardmaking class on Saturday in Derby? We are going to do a little heat embossing, some distressing and have a play with clearly for you. There are a few places available in the morning and afternoon. Please give me a call on 01332 721877 if you would like more details

Well that's all for this evening, now its time to cook tea, start the treasure hunt and who knows, I may get an hour in the craft room.

Ooops

2011-08-13T20:30:00.001+01:00

I have been having some computer lessons on a programme called Canvas 8. Its a bit hard for the brain to get into gear and understand everything but I really wanted to put lots of photos on my blog, without boring everyone and having pages and pages of them. This is my first proper attempt, (for those that saw the other photos over the weekend apologies). I shall get another lesson next weekend and hopefully I should improve, with practise.

Here are the ladies that kept me company during crafty week. I had a wonderful time and by the sounds of what everyone was saying, they did too. We made two cards, decorated envelopes and hopefully, everyone made a tag at home. If you didnt manage to finish your tag, let me know and I will make sure you get to finish it next time we meet up.

Some photos of cards and a lost and found will be on the blog tomorrow. Thanks for having a read and I hope you enjoy your evening

Tuesday Twitterings

2011-08-09T05:32:00.004+01:00

The weekend came and went, far too quickly as they usually do but I kept myself busy with getting lots of samples done for the Plane Sailing Crafty week this week. As I hadnt got too much mojo, my Stampin' Up! fellow demonstrators helped with the inspiration of the cards. Thank you to everyone whos blog I visited, too many to mention but if you see your card in my inspiration, please let me know so that I can link back to you.

Here are a couple of the samples, these arent the cards we are making this week, I will show you those at the weekend.

Of course, the evening wouldnt be quite right without a little bit of coffee and cake so I made these

And a quick peek into the raffle basket, everyone loves a raffle and P.Ann was the lucky winner last night.
Do you remember this card that I made for the newest member of our family?
Well I have been asked to run a class to show how this is made. This will take place THIS SATURDAY at 10.30. There are more details on my events page but there are only 5 spaces available so if you want to come along.....please hurry and book.

Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a lovely day

Home Safe and Sound

2011-08-06T04:48:00.003+01:00

Christiana and Panayiotis flew home yesterday and I am pleased to say that they got there safe and sound. We spoke last night and she said the flight was perfect, which was brilliant news especially as Sophia told us the week before that the flight was too bumpy and she cried most of the way home, made me feel so sad. We did have a few little hiccups packing for Christiana though. They had one large case weighing in at 23 kilos and 2 small cases weighing in at just over 10 kilos each, sounds a bit like a boxing match. A couple of hours before we were due to leave home we re read their flight ticket which stated "1 piece of luggage per person can be taken into the hold" yikes. So out came the BIG BAG, and I mean BIG and surprisingly enough, all the contents of the small cases went into the bag, but it was full. Then, being such a silly mummy that I am, I agreed to take them to Primarks for the last time so off we went. They got a few bits but the cases were full, they were overweight and happy.
I am going to miss them.

We drove back from Manchester in fairly good time and I was able to go to the Derby Dabblers last night. Unfortunately I wasnt feeling the best, well not a surprise really, so I didnt stay until the end, sorry ladies. It was lovely seeing everyone and hearing all the news. I did manage to hand out some of the SU orders and here is the thank you card for this month. I have used the Silhoutte Sentiments stamp and the photo corner punch. I couldnt make up my mind if the photo corners should go in front of the image or behind it?

All I have to do now is send out the Thanks You's from the wedding.

2011-08-01T05:48:00.002+01:00

You may have to click on picture to make it bigger

Here we go, another Monday morning but phew, its a so hot already.
Stampin' Up! have a new promotion starting today YEAH. You can get your hands on this wonderful costmetic bag, some rich razelberry ribbon and a 24 piece assortment of clips. All this can be yours for every £75 order placed throughout the month of August. If you are thinking of having a Stampin' Up! party during August, you can get your hands on the freebies if your party has an ordering total of £250 so what are you waiting for, give me a call today 01332 721877 to place your order or book a party.

My favourite room is back in action

2011-07-31T05:30:00.004+01:00

Half way through the weekend and what a lovely busy one it is. Yesterday we managed to get the craftroom put back together but not everything is in there just yet. I thought I would show you something that you may not see again for quite a few months

Clean, tidy and bare. It was just screaming out to be used so I spent the day cutting everything out for my craft classes in a couple of weeks.

For the wedding I wanted to bake some cupcakes for the buffet in the evening. Everyone was telling me that I wouldn't have time but I thought I would. Two fantastic friends, Alyson and Paula offered to make them for me and thank goodness they did as I really wouldn't have had the time. I have had so many comments from guests saying how wonderful they were and could they have the receipe. I didnt get any photographs of the cakes on the stands but here are a couple of pictures for you, they really were very scrummy.

Christiana and Panayiotis had their first outing on Friday, going on a bus to Manchester to visit Panis cousin. They stayed overnight in a hotel and came back yesterday full of themselves. They really enjoyed it but its lovely having them home again.

Off for a play in the craftroom (after a quick clean up) whilst everyone is still asleep in bed.

Thanks for having a read today and I hope that you have a lovely day.

Stampin' Up! Special Offer

2011-07-30T06:17:00.001+01:00

THIS WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG UNTIL THE END OF JULY, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATED POSTS

You may have to click on the image to make it larger and readable
If you would like to host a Stampin' Up! workshop please give me a call on 01332 721877 or send me an email tracey.rossos2@hotmail.com to discuss possible dates.

Friday - nearly the weekend

2011-07-29T06:03:00.003+01:00

Fingers crossed that the weather stays warm for the weekend, nothing better to lighten the soul that some good weather.
The last week has been a whirlwind, we had the wedding, lunches out, shopping, shopping and a bit more shopping with a picnic thrown in as well, not to mention that I have returned to work. Wednesday we went to Manchester to take the girls to the airport, so sad. Here we are at checkin
My craft room is in the process of becoming a craftroom again, YEAH but last night I just couldnt wait so I nipped in and made this little pillow box gift
Please excuse the photograph but nowhere to take a decent one at this time of the morning.
I have used the pillow box die from SU with some of the scrummy Springtime Vintage Designer Papers topped off with seam binding ribbon. I have some little bars of soap all wrapped up in tissue inside them. They are so simple to make and hopefully I will be making a few more over the weekend.

I am placing an order today so if there is anything that you would like, please let me know before 2.00p.m.

Do you use facebook? I have just started a Stampin' Up! page, if you put Stampin' Up! Stamperettes in the search facility, it should take you straight there. It would be great if you would nip over, have a look and let me know what you think.

And finally, before I get myself ready for the daytime job, there are a few places left on Thursday 11th August card class evening, more details can be found on the events page (if you click on events at the top of the page, it should take you there).

Thanks for having a read and thank you for all your wonderful comments. Have a lovely weekend.

UPDATED - I have just realised that I have another follower, thank you to you all for following my blog, especially during the trying time of having no access to blog.com, internet problems on an old computer and for just being there, it is really appreciated.

Mr and Mrs

2011-07-26T07:28:00.006+01:00

Here are the first photos of our big day, they arent the best of pictures but it's a taste of what we all did. Thanks to the photographers, the girls, my husband and everyone else who managed to grab my camera and take pictures.

The day started with breakfast at 8.00a.m. with our children and grandchildren. I can tell you that the girls were a little grumpy to start the day as I woke them up so early. I knew that it would be hectic all day long so I wanted us to be able to sit and talk as a family, the only chance we would get.

Robert and Natalie (my son and daughter in law) with
the grandchildren who were angels all day long

Christiana, Panayiotis, Paul, Sophia and Katerina

Paul and myself, ready for the happy event

This is us girlies off to the hairdressers, we had champagne, orange juice and chocolate in that big green bag. Kim did a wonderful job and we only had once hitch, Fifi came into the salon. This is the first time that the girls had seen a transvestite and they couldnt control their laughter (sorry). Living in Cyprus they hadnt seen a man dressed as a woman before and I had to take Sophia outside as she had a fit of giggles. Katerina was in the chair having her hair done and saw Fifi arrive in the mirror and burst into laughter, poor Kim.

Paul and Robert, waiting for my arrival
My husband and I with our children
with our parents
The cutting of the wonderful cake, such a shame to cut it, but we did
It was a wonderful day from start to finish

The big day has arrived

2011-07-23T05:58:00.003+01:00

I am sure that I will be forgiven for the lack of posts recently (fingers crossed) but I have been rather busy getting everything ready, for today.
Tuesday we caught the train to London to collect Christiana, Panayiotis, Sophia and Katerina but they didnt know that we were going to meet them. I do love London, especially the tube

and to make it even more special, we met up with my nephew for dinner in a lovely little cafe. Despite the rain we had a wonderful time.

Wednesday morning we set off to Heathrow and I didnt know it would take us over an hour to get there opps. The girls were so surprised to see us so after breakfast at the airport we came home by train.
Sophia arrived minus her suitecase which had her wedding outfit, all the underwear and shoes in it, this was our first major hiccup. We made lots of calls and discovered that it never got on the plane with them but just after 10.00 on Thursday, it turned up.

Since then it has been all rush, a few problems but nothing major. Yesterday we spent a few hours at the wedding venue and I have a few photos to show you what we did
We decorated the tables for the wedding breakfast

And the cake was all put together

A close up of the flowers

The red carpet arrived in time and this is where I shall be walking at 4.00p.m. today

I have left everyone asleep in bed and grabbing half an hour to myself before the mayhem starts. We are meeting up with Paul's son, his wife and the grandchildren in an hour and having a family breakfast together as I imagine that this is the only time today that we shall be able to sit and chat to our children. The nerves and the excitement have all kicked in and I have been told to savour every moment as it goes in a flash.

Thanks for having a read and I will be back again in a few days

5 sleeps to go

2011-07-18T06:54:00.000+01:00

Gone are the days when Mum goes to the wedding with a big handbag and a plastic bag to put any cards or presents you may get into them. I have been suitable advised that you need a card box, i.e. a box that people can put their cards into upon arrival. This apparently sits on a little table at the entrance of your wedding reception, well we all learn something new each day. So off I went and purchased what I thought was a lovely box which matches the colours of the day.

Well, when I opened it I discovered that it was rather flimsy and something was missing, that was me then, on a mission, thinking 'outside the box'. SU came to the rescue, all those 12 x 12 wonderful designer papers come with a sturdy strong piece of card so I set to, trimmed a little off each side and stuck them into my 'wedding card' box.

Next came the ribbon and it took me ages to get the bow right, ummm, it is right, isnt it? And then the best bit, sticking SU diamontes on the top but I dont really think that the photograph picks them all up. So Viola, my pretty box.

And who is going to know that SU is with me on my wedding day? If you dont mention it, I wont.
Thanks for having a read and have a lovely Monday

6 sleeps to go

2011-07-17T05:19:00.003+01:00

I only have 6 sleeps before I become a Mrs. Yes the big day is next Saturday and I am still not really in a panic. I have been told that it is a really stressful time, rushing around and things going wrong so I am ready and waiting for all the mishaps. I just checked the weather forecast and whilst I ordered the sunshine, it has given out showers, oopps, especially as we have got giant dominos, giant skittles, giant jenga, giant connect four, hoola hoops, footballs and a few more games for the children to play on the lawn. They will just have to bring their wellies and raincoats lol.

Christiana, Sophia, Katerina and Panayiotis arrive from Cyprus on Wednesday and that's something else I am really looking forward to. Their rooms are ready and of course, there will be a little something waiting for them on their beds, once I make them up later today.

I was going to post a photo of my wedding invites and I have just discovered, I havent photographed them so the camera is on charge and I will get some pictures taken later today. I do have a picture of my Thank You cards though.

Here they are all stamped out and drying

I have used silver ink and a nice shiny rhinestone from SU on the Elegant Thank you stamp

and here is a close up

We now have a brand new shiny computer to work on YEAH. It is so fast and easy to use and I have to start my bookmark list all over again. It means that I can start blogging and catching up on all I missed and most importantly, answering emails knowing that they will be received.

Thanks for having a read, have a lovely Sunday and thanks for bearing with my blog during all the hic cups with my old computer.

Manic Monday

2011-07-11T13:48:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I did it, the craft room became a bedroom and it is so sad. I have made sure that I have access to everything and today I am going to clear the dining room table as I still have the seat plan to make. The exciting bit will be to put my craft room back with Christiana and she can see everything that I have and hopefully we will get lots of crafting time together. She is desperate to join in a few crafting sessions whilst she is here so, if anyone has anything organised that we can gatecrash please please let me know.

I promised to show you what was in the little bags on the table at my Hen Night, well apart from the obvious Hen night sash I got busy and made a few things

Thank you cards using the Cheers to you stamp set from Stampin'
Up! This set is so versatile...
An envelope to put all the little thank you cards in. Again, all SU
products, the new dies (envelope and butterfly emboslits) and
Pocket Silhoutte stamp set
Then came the kisses, well you just have to have a kiss or two
on a Hen Night dont you. I dont know if you can read this
little ditti I made up (yes I do poetry as well). You may have
to click on the picture to make it larger. I used the SU punch to get
the shape for the ditti
Using the Top Note Die (SU again), I made little sweetie bags
for the kisses.....they looked lovely

Then for the bags, I made these tags which were coated in glitter,
everyone shone on the night.

Due to spending most of my day upstairs yesterday, I have to clean downstairs today and find homes for lots of little bits and pieces as well as try and do another 101 little jobs so that I can tick them off my never ending list.

I am still using the old computer so not able to visit your blog as often as I wish but I promise, as soon as the new computer is installed, I have a little more time and manage to transfer all my favourites over...I will be visiting.

Thanks for having a read

The countdown is on...

2011-07-10T05:49:00.005+01:00

It's now less than 2 weeks until my wedding day and I am getting so excited. I know I still have lots and lots of things to do but I will get them done in the end, I am sure.

Well the wedding celebrations started on Friday with a Hen night that my best friend organised at my favourite restaurant in Derby. We had a fantastic night out but the time just flew by. I didnt get chance to sit and talk to everyone. sorry but I am pleased to report, no one fell over and showed their knickers YEAH, although one or two people were expecting this, it didnt happen.

We had an amazing meal, a few glasses of wine and a couple of games that made us all laugh. Jayne did a lovely job of arranging it all, thank you Jayne, and for a few photos

This is me and Sandra just about to be taken into town

Here are a few of everyone after the second game........can you guess what it was? The night couldnt go by without a little paper crafting could it?

A lovely photo of my in laws to be, mum, aunty and sister in law

And here is Jayne....how many did she drink?

This is me and the wonderful veil that I wore all night, with flashing lights, I told everyone it would be the only thing I was flashing that night.

I had lots of wonderful advise for a happy marriage, lots of fantastic little pressies and best of all, lots of memories that I shall treasure forever, of my hen night.

Now you may be wondering, what was in all those little bags on the table? What bags? I can see you going back to the photos now to have another little peek.... more on this tomorrow.

Thanks for having a read

Tuesdays Twitterings

2011-07-05T05:55:00.002+01:00

Not up quite so early today but then I have to go to work. Just 15 days to go and my daughters will arrive, such an exciting time for us all. It does mean that on Sunday my craft room has to be a bedroom again so I am busy putting everything away and I cant believe that I have so much crafting stuff, it just keeps growing and growing.

I know I must be mad but last week, in between getting all the bits and pieces done for the wedding, returning to work and prepping for my August Stampin' Up! events, I took myself off to a cake decorating class. I met some wonderful ladies and had 3 hours of decorating cup cakes. This is what I came home with

My favourite was this one with a shoe on it
I took them to the Dabblers last Friday for everyone to eat/share and it was so lovely to see that some people at the cake but not the decoration as they took that home, wow. So who knows, will I be making some more for the Crafty Week? I will try.

I would like to say a big thank you to all my followers, I cant believe that I have 32 of you. Its really appreciated to know that my blog is read. Have a lovely day

Derby Dabblers Parliament

2011-07-04T18:43:00.002+01:00

I didnt know that a group of owls was called a Parliament, did you? I also learnt that a group of crows is called a murder....its amazing what you learn at Derby Dabblers and that's where I was on Friday night. I showed everyone how to make these cute little owls, all from a pillow box die and some oddments of circles and hearts, everything Stampin' Up! of course....we had a great time.

I wanted to show you these yesterday but Mr. Blogger decided to throw his dummy out of the pram and not play ball.....Today he is behaving so far.

What a lovely warm day we have had but I hear its rain from tomorrow night. Running around with wedding bits and pieces today. I have got the sashes for the Hen night, plus another little something, more garden games for the big day and something for my table at the Papermax show later in September. Now its off to finish some thank you cards and get the ironing board out, oh well it has to be done.

Thanks for having a ready and hopefully, I can show you something new tomorrow. Have a lovely evening

Naughty Mr. Blogger

2011-07-03T04:47:00.002+01:00

Up before the larks today silly me but its so hot and stuffy. I wanted to share some photos of what I have been up to this last week but Mr. Blogger just doesnt want to play ball which is frustrating but I know that lots of other people are in the same boat. I will try to download them later .

I have updated the events side of my blog with dates for crafty nights and some saturday crafting events though, ohhh its going to be a busy Summer with lots of crafting with lots of friends, I cant wait.

Until later ....

A day to remember

2011-07-01T06:44:00.002+01:00

1st July is always a sad little day for me, I lost my dad 33 years ago and it always on 1st July it seems as though it was yesterday. I am sure that most people who will be reading this will understand. Not a lot of that Friday feeling but it is nearly the weekend.

My weekend will start in about 5 hours and what a busy one it will be, starting with the Derby Dabblers get together tonight and then running around for last minute bits for the wedding which will take place 3 weeks tomorrow YEAH. I am also hoping to get the bathroom painted on Sunday.

I have been having a play with my trendy trees stamp set, it doesnt get used too often but we used it at Sues last Friday so I have a few cards to share with you but one at a time.

Here I cut out some small tags with a punch and made a template, used blues and greens for a background and then just stamped. I am really pleased with the way it turned out.

I had a Virgin Vie party a couple of weeks ago and I am pleased to say that the goodies have arrived so I will be going to work with some lovely looking lips today.

Thanks for having a read and I hope your Friday is wonderful.

Beautiful Wings

2011-06-29T06:23:00.002+01:00

I havent been able to access blogger the last couple of days. I wasnt sure if it was my computer or blogger.com but today I get here and there are a couple of new features so maybe it was blogger.com? I wonder if anyone else is having similar troubles?

Friday night we went off to Sue's house, played at being furniture removers and redesigned her kitchen for more than 12 people to have a couple of hours of crafting. I really enjoyed myself and I hope that everyone there did too. Here is one of the cards that we made. I saw a card very similar to this on Jens blog and fell in love with it. Jen didnt mind me using her idea for our crafting night, as I did ask her first. To see the original card, just click here which will take you Jen's blog

We used one of the stamps from the Vintage Vouge set and the lovely beautiful wings emboslit die. Teamed up with pretty in pink ribbon, card and ink, or rich razzleberry, or melon mambo the cards turned out just perfect, especially when the tiny little pearls were added.

At the end of the evening it was furniture removals once more but this time in the rain. We were all lucky enough to have one of Sue's amazing cup cakes and I saw the biggest box of chocolatates that I have ever seen in my life, it was huge and it had two layers and I must admit, I did sample one or two of them (okay so maybe it was 3 or 4).

Thanks for having a read and hopefully I will be able to post more later in the week. Have a lovely day.

Sunny Sunday

2011-06-26T07:23:00.005+01:00

Today is going to be sunny so the weather man says but we shall see. It is already 16.8 degrees outside and we have been told its to be a hot one but I shall be keeping cool. No plans on going out of the house for me until tonight as I have lots and lots of crafting bits and pieces to put away from my night out last Friday, but more about that another day.

I promised to to tell you all the about the bead counting
Here is one of the bags of beads, I have about 12000 beads which I want to decorate the tables with at my wedding. And here is the protype floral decoration that I want to have on the tables
If you click on the picture you can see that I have put some beads in the bottom of the vase. I thought to make life easier, it would be a good idea to get bags of the beads ready for the big day, so that I can just empty them straight into the vases. Can you imagine me and the girls with a couple of big bags of beads tipping them into the vases, the beads would go everywhere and we would spend ages collecting them all up.
So I got coissants, fruit cake and a kettle full of boiling water ready for tea and coffee and at 10a.m. yesterday started to count out 300 beads per bag. I had thought that I could weigh them out but the little blighters dont weigh anything lol. It only took a couple of hours and I am sure it will save me lots of time on the big day.

I just had to share this wonderful present I received on Friday night.

Sue held a stampin' up! workshop at her house and at at the end of the evening (which was a lovely one), Sue gave me this wonderful box and inside was one of my favourite products, Sanctuary Hand Creme, I love everything by Sanctury.

Thank you Sue and a big wave to all the ladies I met, I hope you enjoyed the evening as much as I did.

Now I had best start putting away all the things I took with me to Sue's. Thanks for stopping by for a read this morning and I hope you enjoy your Sunday

Say hi to Ollie

2011-06-24T06:00:00.002+01:00

Here he is, the newest member of our family, meet Ollie. He really is adorable and I know that Christiana, Sophia and Katerina are all really excited about meeting him. Less that 4 weeks to go and they will get to see him, hold him and probably want to take him back to Cyprus with them.

I made my second nappy cake. As we thought Kelly was going to have a BIG baby, I used big nappies which I couldnt find in plain white (not in the brand mum told me to get anyway). So armed with present galore and the nappy cake I went visiting and wow, I still cant get over how small he is.

Goodness, if the girls are going to be here in less than 4 weeks that means that I am getting married in just over 4 weeks lol. Am I ready, no but hay, I will be.

My first day at work came and went, thank you for all your good wishes. At least today I can really have that Friday feeling YEAH. After work I am going to a friends house as she is hosting a Stampin' Up! party and guess who the demonstrator is, yes me. I cant think of a nicer way to start the weekend.

Thanks for having a read and if anyone fancies counting out little beads on saturday morning, please do feel free to drop in around 10a.m. for an hour. You have to be able to count to 300 though...all will be revealed on Sunday.

Have a great Friday

Back to work

2011-06-23T07:12:00.003+01:00

Off to work this morning and after more than 9 weeks at home, it feels a bit strange.

I got to meet Ollie yesterday and he is such a cutie. I will post a photograph of him tomorrow. Its amazing how you forget the tinyness of new born babies. I managed to hold him for a while but it was only because he was awake and hungry and what do hungry babies do....yep they cry, bless him.

I thought I would show you the Father's Day card that I made for my dad

and here is a close up of it

I love cute little cards. I also love my new little pink stilettos. Arent they lovely?

Well I had best not be late for my first day back, thanks for having a read and, as usual, hope your day is lovely.