The Craft Room, Derby: April 2020

Monday

Bird Ballard Hello card

Good morning and hello to a new week. For me this is day no. 42 being at home. The last time I went anywhere was to the hospital (apart from the mercy dash to Aunty Jean). Most days I can cope with it but I do have the odd 'wobble' day which is to be expected.

The craft room has had a major overhaul and today it will be finalised, I believe. Boxes and boxes of items have been removed (all given to good homes), things have been put in the dustbin and shelves and cupboards have been pulled out, sorted and put back, apart from the scrapbook cupboard. I cant go in there just yet and I have no inclination to do any scrapbooking at all. It will just sit there a little longer until I feel I can cope with all the emotions it will bring.

I have been crafting, making things that I cant show you yet (birthday cards) but I can share this lovely card that I received in the post over the weekend from Helen.

Isnt it lovely. The cards actually have the silver foil around the edges and at the moment, they are on special offer, see below. The bird ballard stamp set has been used to create the bird image and quite a bit of fussy cutting I believe has been used. I adore the way there is a blue background above the birds on the stitched edge label die and yet it is left blank below them, perfect for a sentiment. Have you seen that pretty ribbon, It is called woven thread trim. All the details are below should you wish to purchase anything to recreate this card or please get in touch with me and I will order them for you.

I had best get a wiggle on and get that craft room spic and span as I want to do a Magazine Make on a Monday. I have lots of magazines and I thought I would make one of the cards featured in the magazine later today.

Thank you for having a read and I hope you have a lovely Monday. Tracey x

Product List

Thursday

Note of Kindness

Good evening and I hope you have had a good start to the week.

I managed to make these over the weekend, it is a kit and Stampin' Up! are currently selling this at £13.50 rather than £33.00. Not too sure how long this will last on the shelf though.

It is called a Note of Kindness and I have used some other stamps from my stash too. I have just about finished all the kits off that I have had for many years, some rather older decoupage (13 years old some of it), as well as lots of odd cards that I have found along the way. The craft room is certainly breathing a sign of relief.

It has been a day in the garden today and the fresh air was lovely. A bit warm at times but that isnt a complaint. The weather is super.

Stampin' Up! are having a bit of a clearout with all the items that will not be in the new catalogue in June. If you fancy a look to see what there is please click on the link below, where it says shop here. If you would like me to order anything for you, please do get in touch, my details at at the end of this post.

https://www.stampinup.uk/categories/sales-specials/last-chance-products

I hope everyone is well and still managing in this strange new world. If you need any help with crafting, please do get in touch. Thank you for having a read, Tracey x

Sunday

Happy Anniversary Robert and Natalie

Good morning. It is Easter Sunday in Cyprus and THE most religious day of the year. Unfortunately no one can go to church, families cant be together and lots of traditions cant be upheld this year. Next year lets hope it is a different picture. I am pleased to say that all our family in Cyprus are well and managing with their new measures, lockdown, curfews and not being with each other.

Here is a Wedding Anniversary card made for Robert and Natalie. It was a couple of weeks ago and I hope they liked the card

It has been made from an old stamp from my stash but all the colours are Stampin' Up! You can colour with their watercolour pencils or the ink pads themselves. This one is coloured on Shimmery White card with watercoloured pencils.

The climbing climb in the gnome garden is doing wonderful. The flowers have finally all opened up and are so delicate.

They are not perfumed but such a pretty sight. We have grown some plants from seed called Teacup and Saucer. The have shot up and we have now planted them on. We needed to have a little trellis for them to start climbing up but we cant get to the shop. So I have been a little crafty and made trellis from twigs that were deadheaded from the garden.

I will keep you posted on how these develop.

Stampin' Up! still have lots of wonderful items on their clearance rack. If you would like to have a visit, please click on the image below. If you would like to order anything, you can do this yourself or I will be very happy to order it for you.

https://www.stampinup.uk/categories/sales-specials/clearance

As it is Sunday (I only know this as it is the day we have a sunday roast), I had better go and put the joint in the oven. Thank you for having a read. Please do get in touch if I can help in any way. Tracey x

Tuesday

What is life but a grand adventure - memories and more

Good afternoon. Yesterday I had a little play with one of the memory and more cards along with some papers that I had from the set.

The cards are really good value for money as you get a really good selection of double sided card in two sizes. You just team it up with the colours that co-ordinate (it tells you the colours in the catalogue) and you find papers and stamps that will compliment. I am hoping to play with these a couple of times a week. I teamed the lighthouse card up with Seaside Spray cardstock as well as Night of Navy. A few stamps from the Sail Away stamp set finished it off. The what is life but a grand adventure was backed onto Whisper White Card and then a base made out of Night of Navy. Both are just perfect for later in the year.

Stampin' Up! have a clearance sale on at the moment. Please click on the link (clearance rack image) below to find out what is on offer.

A very late start to my day today but that isnt a problem. Plenty to keep me busy in the craft room this afternoon, going to start working my way through some card kits that I have had for years and years. Thank you for having a read and please do get in touch. Tracey x

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Monday

Happy Birthday Harry

Good morning and it is a cold one. The forecast is only 9 degrees so a little too cold for me to be out in the garden. So I will have to spend the day in the craft room. I also want to have a little more of a practice with Instagram and Canva, just because I have the time to do it.

It was our neices son birthday recently and here is the monster card that I made for him. I used SU blends to colour in the monters and teamed it with Real Red and Black Card. The white card is 13 year old stash along with some fairly old monster stamps.

Of course this was posted out as we couldnt visit. I really enjoyed making this, took a little time but well worth it.

We spent the day in the garden at the front yesterday. This is what we had to tackle first, the broom with the yellow flowers which is full of bees each afternoon needed trimming back as well as the bush to the right of it.

This is how it ended up just as the bees arrived, a lot tidier and more manageable.

The bush really does need to be taken out but at the moment, we have no where to get rid of it. Our dustbins of garden waste is not being collected, the local recycling is not open and it isnt something you can burn. We would like to replace it with one or two other plants but as it is at the moment, it looks tidy before we take it out.

We have inherited some gnomes and Paul received one on his birthday so during this quiet time, we shall try and get some paint and smarten them up a bit. In the meantime, we have a gnome area, with the small patio roses that I have been given over the years as presents.

The large rose to the left is usually a stunner so we are just waiting for it to flower. The climbing plant on the right is called an Anniversary Clematis and it is one I got for Paul quite a few years ago and for some reason it has flowered quite early, looks lovely.

Well I am off to start my day. Thank you for having a read today and I hope your Monday is a lovely one. Tracey x

Please click on the Shop Here picture to take you to the Stampin' Up! shop

Sunday

Happy Easter

Good morning and a very Happy Easter to you.

I hope you have a lovley day at home, which is where we shall be. I dont want to number the amount of days I havent been out and about but I do know that I still have a fair few left. To be honest, I am still enjoying being here, keeping busy each and every day and settling into some kind of routine.

I have been fortunate enough to see some folks as they have popped in to collect their crafting goodies whilst they have been out shopping/helping others. So not totally alone. Unlike Aunty Jean. She is home now, 92 years old and has just carers popping in 4 times a day. We do telephone her a few times each week and she sounds in good spirits.

The girls in Cyprus are coping with it all, rather bored and fed up but coping. Lots of face time with them and they are both going to work. Sophia managed to get a few weeks working from home but she has been into the office a few times this week.

I have managed to do some crafting and here is the card that I made for Pauls birthday.

I loved doing it and am very pleased with it. The stamps are from my stash that I have had for a few years. The letters are die cut from Stampin' Up! dies, old ones but so useful. Hubby loved the play on the word Hus-band especially as he is very musical and has quite a lot of musical instruments that he plays.

The gardens at home are starting to come on lovely. We have a very large back garden with a lawn, greenhouse and flowers in pots. I keep rearranging the pots and need quite a few more of them. If you see any nice brightly coloured ones for sale anywhere, please do let me know. We have managed to get some compost but that is about gone now. We have another delivery going to mum and dads this week as dad wants to do his tomotoes. They are both coping well but again, getting bored. My house is becoming a greenhouse whilst we try to grown our own flowers so if you are doing the same and fancy a swap this year, please get in touch. Whilst the weather is nice, we are enjoying the sunshine and having coffee on the bench in the morning.

The smell of the flowers is wonderful and I am so pleased at how they have all grown, even the winter pansies are still there. We are working on the borders at the front of the house and this is done in stages as there is a large area to cover. As we are expecting sunshine again today, with a few showers, this is where we shall be.

Thank you for having a read today and I hope you have a wonderful Easter Sunday at home. Tracey x