Butterfly Bundle Offer

Good morning and I hope you are all looking forward to a lovely weekend.

Yesterday the girls left after a mad breakfast




 so Paul and I headed off for a swim at the local beach. It really is less than 5 minutes away. After a swim we had an ice cream and then I watched this man appear from a rocky side, he walked in a very shallow area of water and then got out a fishing rod in pieces which he built up, out of the same bag he pulled out a little chair and just sat there, fishing amongst the swimmers, I couldn't believe how daft that was. If you click on the pictures below, this will make them bigger on your screen and I hope you can see this fisher man.

After a shower and a cuppa we visited the nearest tourist area and went to a fish festival, phew it did pong a bit as you could try local fish, yaks.  A lovely group of local musicians entertained us all. Then it was a bite to eat and home.

Hre is just one of the latest offers from Stampin' Up!




Save 15 percent when you buy the Papillion Potpourri Stamp Set and Bitty Butterfly Punch together. This is a current offer from Stampin' Up! and ends on September 30th.

Bundle Item	Page in Catalogue	Description	Catalogue Price	15% Savings Price	Amount Saved!
135311	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Clear-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	37,20€/£28.20	31,62 €/£23.97	5,58 €/£4.23
135312	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Wood-Mount)  Papillion Potpourri Wood-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	42,20 €/£31.20	35,87 €/£26.52	6,33 €/£4.68

Place an order with me from 1st -21st September for £55 or more and get FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR.

Mum and Dad arrive this evening but that isnt before Paul and I meet up with the girls (and friends) at a bar called Lush, wish us luck, we will need it.

Have a lovely day and thanks for having a read 

That Friday feeling again

I have that Friday feeling again but I have had it for a few days now and how nice it is.  I really do think I could get used to getting up every day wondering what to do with my day but not sure I could do that in the heat, phew

So, yesterday I cut Paul's hair, not that he had a lot left to cut off but, off it went.  I think he looks a lot nicer with the Bruce Willis cut although he isnt too sure about it.  We had an invasion of girls and so, we had to have a pool party,

Then of course lots and lots of food

and then it was time for shower and off out but ummm, one problem, no water.  I mean not one drop of water in the house at all, nothing to wash the plates, which I didnt mind, but the girls were full of chlorine and had planned on going out oops.  So I had to call the maintenance man, who said he could do nothing.  I explained about all the girls and again, he could do nothing, he wasnt a plumber.  He said he would try and find a plumber but it was doubtful as it was dark and late.  Well a plumber did come out about 15 minutes later, he prodded and poked the water pipes, took a couple of valves out and said, that should work, call me back in an hour and let me know how you are getting on. huh!! so, we had an hour, I suggested that the girls have a shower using a hosepipe and, as they wanted to go out, they didnt mind.  Well it was hair washing, shampoo and conditioner everywhere, showergel and sponges flying but it really was  a slow process but then Paul said, next door but one have an outdoor shower and guess what, there is no one home.  You guessed it, all these girls in swimming costumes armed with towels, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel walked up the road with Paul so that they could shower.  It wasnt long before they were back.  We sat a while and then I was asked, ohhh, can I have a plait in my hair, and me, and me so my next hour was making plaits and then they all left to go into the centre (we call it the stretch) and left us too it.

The hair that I did, plaits and cuts 

We called the plumber and he returned as we still had no water.  It took him ages but in the end, he sorted it so poor Paul and I were washing pots, cleaning floors and sorting out after the pool party. I did two lots of washing at gone midnight because all the towels that we used, we will be wanting them again today because yes, the majority of the girls stayed over.

I thought I would remind you that I am having a Christmas card class on 28th September and whilst there are only one or two places left for the afternoon, there are a few places left for the morning.  If you fancy making at least 4 cards and who knows what else, please get in touch.  

Here is a picture of another card that I made a couple of weeks ago using the mosaic madness stamp set and matching punch, which you can buy as a bundle.

I have quite a few more ideas of using this for Christmas so as soon as I am home, I shall be having another play with them.

Well, I am  not sure what today will bring but it is bound to involve lots of girlies, sunshine, heat and water.  Have a lovely day and enjoy the weekend.

Thursday

It is still hot but then you would expect it to be.  Yesterday was quite lazy, pool, beach and out for dinner but we got to meet some lovely people who live out here.  Spent hours chatting with Christiana and putting the world to rights. Even Christiana had a swim (well paddle) in the sea, it was so warm.

Here are my new beach sandles that my mum treated me too, lots of sparkle of course

Today is the day that there is a new Stampin Up autumn winter catalogue out. I have tried so hard to add a link but it is not playing ball. I don't know if this is due to the intermittent Internet connection or the slowness of it but, I shall keep trying.

 Off  to cut Paul's hair now........

oopps

it has been a while since I posted but I am sure that all will be forgiven, as a friend once said....there are no blog police but I do wonder about that.

Well the bees in the garden have gone, quite sadly I add.  It looks like they were attacked by a parasite.  How do I know this?  Paul took an injured bee into work (please dont ask for more details, trust me).  Anyway, he got injured bee under a microscope , oh yes, perhaps I should mention that it was dead by this time.  And under the microscope Paul saw the parasite, which was alive, lots of parasite eggs and little parasites YAKS,   I got all the details, you are just getting the basics.  So Paul has reported it to who ever needs to know, very sad.

Mum in law has been quite poorly following her fall.  She has been in and out of hospital, for tests and more tests and a change of tablets.  All quite disturbing and tiring for such a regal lady but she is well into her 80s and it has been quite a shock for her.  She is recovering now but still very frail.  She wears an alarm when she is at home, in case she is not well and currently, does not got out alone.  One of her legs will just not do what she wants it to do so, she is going to go off for physiotherapy.  I am hoping she will be chasing me around when I get home.

Oh yes, I am not at home currently.  We travelled out to Cyprus and its a good job I did because as soon as the girls came to see me, they wanted feeding

It is lovely being with them and they are all coming backwards and forwards with friends, boyfriends and who ever else they like to spend time with.  We are all just going to chill out this week, and catch up.

Even though I am out in the sun *hot hot hot* I am still keeping in touch with Stampin' Up! and placing orders.  In fact, there is an order going in tomorrow and you can get your hands on some new items.  Oh yes, we have another seasonal catalogue coming out tomorrow.  If you would like anything please, send me an email or get in touch via the blog and I can get your items delivered, straight to your door for £4.95 p+p.  If two or three of you would like to place an order together and share the p+p, then you may even get some hostess goodies, for free.

If there are any Stamperettes reading this, today is 28th *nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*

I must share this with you, 

I am hoping that when you click on the pictures you can see the sparkle and shine on the tree that I have stamped.  The tree image and the plain card are both whisper white card but the tree image has sprayed with  smooch spritz from Stampin' Up!  Its wonderful and I can stop spraying things with it.  Its a good job that I am away as I was going a little overboard.

Thanks for having a read and apologies for the long absence.  I am now able to sit back, recharge my batteries and plan for September - Christmas, lovely.

Red sky at night, shephards delight, Red sky in morning and ohhh, what a red sky

Yes its true, the sky was so very very red at half past 5 this morning, goodness knows what we have in store for the day.

Well its been a very busy few days, catching up with lots of people, including parents.  My mum and dad are both doing fine and are back at home, rather than the east coast.  Pauls mum is not doing so well unfortunately.  She had a fall (blackout) a couple of weeks ago and she has not been right since.  It is in and out of hospital, backwards and forwards to the doctors and she cant really be left on her own.  It is very sad to see her like this because just a few weeks ago, she was out and about everywhere, taking her time but still very active and at 85 that is wonderful.  She has spent a lot of time with us here and we have been at hers at lot so other things, have just had to be put on hold.

I have lots and lots of things here to get out to some wonderful ladies this week, punches (Sue and Paula J), orders (Mel and Paula H) Winter Catalogues (everyone I know) so get ready for the phone calls.  Hopefully I can do this on Monday.

 The world map stamp is ready to order YYYEEEESSSS.



















 I have been waiting for this for ages, if you recall, it had a little hic cup with some of the text (a naughty word), but it is back and I am placing an order on Sunday so, if you would like to get your mits on this, let me know.  £12.95 for the clear and £15.95 for the wood.

Do you like this sweet card?

I am using it for a RSVP for a party we have been invited to, lets hope I can get into a dress by then, its not till October so I do stand a bit of a chance, we all love to party.

Colours colours, colours,

You will have to click on the image to see this properly but wow, lots of wonderful colours in this collection.  These are all the NEW colours (dont get it mixed up with the IN colours). 
Here you have Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Soft Sky and Wisteria Wonder.  You can get 40 sheets of card, that is 4 sheets of every colour for £11.50 or get the inks, all 10 of them for £42.95.  It you wanted to grab the bundle of both ink pads and the card, you can at a cost of £49.99, so that is like getting all the inks and then paying just £7.04 for the 40 sheets of card.


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

Tuesdays Twitter

Another morning at work and then its off to town I go.  I have a shopping list, Primarks for Tana and Sophia, Nails Shop for my toe nails, B&M for a couple of bits for garden.  Hopefully I will be home by 2ish so that I can meet the UPS man, he has a parcel and I am so excited as it has lots of new bits in there, for me.

I wonder if anyone locally (Derby) would be interested in a  Giant Garden Kerplunk which is ideal to keep youngsters entertained during the school holidays. Used one afternoon at my wedding reception, otherwise, it is as good as new. This should be £50 but selling at half price at £25. 

I cant believe that my craft room has actually stayed perfectly clean now for 2 days, you can see carpet, worktop and amazingly, lots of inspiration all around.  So yesterday, after I did everything that I wanted to do, I spent a couple of hours in there, relaxing.  I had seen a card that I liked HERE on Helen's blog and as I was really desperate to use some Gingham Garden Washi Tape, I cased Helen's card, and made this.

I loved the colours Helen used, so bright and clean so I cased those as well.  I used melon mambo (must order more) and Daffodil Delight card.  A lovely border punch as well as the little butterfly punch and a sentiment from one of the new hostess sets called Express Yourself.
Once I had cut down the Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo card to make the 4" x 4" get well card, I found a few small pieces of Natural Ivory card and stuck the Washi Tape on to it.  I just used the butterfly punch to punch them out and voila,  a pretty border, a sentiment in Melon Mambo ink and the card was done.

Well that got me started, so my next job was to decorate a couple of pegs as I use pegs to secure bags and I came up with these, which i think are soooo cute.

This is the Gingham Garden Washi Tape and at £4.50 for 3 rolls, I think its value for money.




If you would like any, there are a few different packs available, my next order will be going in quite soon, just get in touch and I can put your Washi Tape onto the order.  If you would like a few things, why not have them all delivered to your home address.  The postage is less than £5 and that you get everything delivered to your door.  Give me a ring on 01332 721877 or send me an email to tracey.rossos2@hotmail.com to find out more.

Hoping that everyone reading this has a lovely day, until next time.....

Happy Birthday Sandra

Happy Birthday Sandra.  It is Sandras birthday today and here is the card that I made for her.

I do hope that you have had a lovely day.

Well today I went to work and did my bit.  As it was so busy the morning flew past and on my way home I had to have a blood test.

I  sat in the chair and said to the nurse, oh, you are better off taking blood out of my right arm as it is easier and less painful for me.  "Oh" said nurse, the left arm will be fine as the vein is very clear.  I did say yes, it is clear but it causes me discomfort and the blood doesnt flow so well.  She laughed and stuck needle in oww, well a little oww.  "I see what you mean" says nurse, takes needle out and gets my right arm ready to take blood.  Why didnt she listen to me?  Should I have been a little more forcefull?  Next time should I say, well here I am, can you take my blood but I am only offering my right arm?

Anyway, I came home to finish a few chores.  Hopefully once these chores out of the way I can make another birthday card for a certain person....she knows who she is.  I also want to get final preperations for a SU party that I have in September.  I love being ahead of things, life is so much easier.

Had a quick chat with a friend,  mother in law with us , Paul wants his hair cutting but I am still hoping to get cards done.

Would you like a Stampin' Up! party in October?  All you need is somewhere for your friends and family to craft and to make a cuppa at the end.  I will bring everything with me to make a couple of cards, books to look through, a raffle basket that is brimming with SU goodies.  It only takes a few hours and you, as the hostess, could get a few things, FREE. Give me a call on 01332 721877 to find out more or book your get together.  It could be any afternoon or evening, to suit you.

Right, off to make a start, thanks for having a read... until tomorrow

Flowers and cards

Good morning from a fairly warm Derby. The forecast for today is 20 degrees and a slight chance of rain but I dont mind.  I am cooking a roast beef Sunday lunch for a change so the weather can do what it wants this morning but this afternoon, I would like to spend and hour in the garden.

Well I did all that I wanted to do yesterday, plus a little bit more so that was good news. I went to bed at just after 9pm but was still awake at 2am, another little nap this afternoon perhaps?

I dont think I have shared this card with you.

I haven't put a sentiment on it just yet as not sure what it is for but, it is in my box of cards to go.  It is one that I made a few weeks ago at a lovely day out with some lovely friends.

The garden is looking quite nice, just a bit of a tidy up this afternoon and then it is ready for a week of teas/coffees with friends and family sat outside.  Here is the hanging basket we did, in all its glory.


Now this little gladioli is about 13 years old.
 
 I had a whole row of them planted against the fence.  We then had the extension built, the garden paved and these two little fellas have worked there way up through the walled border to show themselves, amazing.  So I thought I would photograph them



this is what they have grown through.

And a splash of colour


Thank you for for having a read today.  Dont forget to look at the events page, this is being updated, lots of special offers from SU at the moments, papers, new "Best Of" stamps and of course, a flick through the catalogue.  I still have a few of these for sale if you would like one.

Until tomorrow

Stampin' Up! card

Good morning and I cant believe that I am up so early today.  I am so tired but cant sleep, maybe, just maybe, I can sneak a nap in this afternoon, we shall see.

I have a lovely day planned, all at home for a change.  I shall be doing the obligatory chores (washing and ironing) but around that I am off to visit at the coffee morning at St. Martins Church, I shall be going to buy some new bedding for my eldest daughter and I shall be making a card or two that I have in mind and that is just this morning.

Here is a card I have been playing with, this was a prototype for the September thank you cards which are done, ready and waiting to go.

I have used Wetlands Stamp Set which is lovely, with pool party and so safron ink and teamed it up with so safron card.  I think a lot more could be done with this but I wanted something calming and for me, it was very calming to make.  I hope you like this.  If you fancy making something similar, let me know in October and I can show you how to do these if  you need a hand.

I have mentioned a few times "the bee hive" that we have just outside out kitchen door.  The actual nest is under the shed, well, over the last few days we have found lots of gigantic bees all dead in our garden.  We are not quite sure what this is all about but Paul is looking into it.  There is a possibility that it is just the end of the life cycle for the males but we think this is a bit early.  It could also mean that they have this awful parasite that is killing other bees?  I will let you know what he finds out.

Thanks for having a read today and, if you are in the area of Allenton, I can always use a coffee break.  Pop in for a coffee and a natter and pick up a Stampin' Up! bargain or your order or just have a look through the book. Have a great day

Bags and Bows

The weekend is just a few hours away and I cant tell you how much I am looking forward to it.  This week has been extra busy and, with the sudden loss of a lovely lady, it makes you look at life a little differently.  I wasnt able to go to say goodbye to her for lots and lots of reasons so I shall be going to the crematorium over the weekend to do this, so sad.

I also have lots of other things planned for the weekend, shopping for my daughters as I will be seeing them very soon and their shopping list is growing arms and legs, giving the craft room a bit of  a tidy up, food shopping and a few other little bits and pieces.  Of course, there has to be some crafting in there too.

Do you like this?

I love the way you can see all the papers from the pack at a glance and I really enjoyed making this. I would love to make another board over the next week.

Here are the bags I made last week, which Elvie very kindly showed us how to do.

There will be a few of these made up in November for Christmas I can tell you.   The blue one was made using 2 sheets of 12 x 12 and the smaller bag used 2 sheets of 6 x 6. If you fancy a couple of hours making a few up, I shall let you know when I am making mine and you can come along armed with your papers and sticky stuff and we can do them together.

Christmas in September class.  September 28th at 10am or 2pm.  Venue to be advised.  If you would like to make a start on your Christmas cards here is the ideal opportunity to come along, make a couple of cards, see lots of samples.  Spaces for this will be limited as it is usually a very popular day.  More details will follow but I thought I would let you know the date as a few ladies like to plan early.

Thanks for having a read today, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and more news very soon

FREE papers and FREE stamps

Sunday and the day of rest *snigger*  I wonder how many of us do actually rest on a Sunday. Yesterday was sunny, warm and the forecast of rain was true, but we only had drizzles in Derby.  We managed to sit outside for a while in the afternoon catching up with a friend and it was lovely and warm.   I am up early today to get on with some chores as we are supposed to have a lot of rain later.

We had a wonderful night at Derby Dabblers Friday night *waving* at the ladies.  It was a good turn out and good to catch up but I must say, I feel that I didnt get to chat to everyone but hopefully, this week I can rectify that as I am having a week out.  Oh yes, each afternoon this week I shall be out visiting for an hour or two so I can hear everyones news.

We made bags, boxes and little ferrero roche table decorations which I shall share with you over the next few days.  A big thank you go to Elvie and Sue who showed us how to make them.

Offers, offers offers from Stampin' Up!  You saw the one yesterday, well if you didnt just scroll down a little bit.  It was the new Best Of stamp sets and there is a paper offer too.

You buy 3 paper packs and get your 4th one FREE.  This is especially good if there are a couple of you who want to club together to do this.  If you would like to share this offer, let me know as I am sure that we can work something out.  It really is good value.

AND oh yes, there is an and , if you order any of the 'Best Of' sets, or the paper offer or anything else of  a similar value and there are another 11 ladies who do this, two of you will get the simply sketched stamp set for FREE.  Orders need to reach me by Tuesday to be in this.

We have a birthday this weekend, it's Uncles birthday and here is the card that I am sending.

Its from a lovely SU set that I shall use again, again and again.

Thanks for having a ready today and if you would like a chance to get the Simply Sketched Stamp set for FREE,  give me a call on 01332 721877, send me an email to tracey.rossos2@hotmail.com or drop in any time today.

The weekend arrived

oh wow, have you seen this?

Best of Shelli is a wonderful little set and I shall be placing orders for this next Wednesday.

I remember most of these stamps from the first time round and I already have ideas for a some of them.  If you would like me to order a set for you, please let me know by  the evening next Tuesday, 6th August.  If there are enough people who would like one of these sets (11 orders for this set or an item of a similar value, then 2 of you will get this set for FREE

Just 10 more orders to go

You can reach me on 01332 721877 or send me an email to tracey.rossos2@hotmail.com

Paul is home YEAH and bless him, he has spent the whole day working on the pond.  If you read my previous posts, you will know that the pond stopped working.  Yesterday the fish were up on surface, getting oxygen, bless them. Paul is so clever, he has fixed it, mind you it took ages for him playing around with the electrics, yikes.  So the fish are happy again. 

Here is this months thank you card and tag, I do hope that everyone like them.  I used the Simply Sketched Stamp set, which is a hostess set along with Costal Cabana card, ink and ribbon.

Well thank you for having a read on this and, if you are free for a couple of hours tonight, it's Derby Dabblers.  It would be lovely to see you there.