Cooler.....

Good morning on this warm day, again.  The weather man has said it is going to be 15 degrees today which is rather cooler than previous days but I can cope with that. 

I have been busy the last few days with life so no posts on the blog and my hands/wrists have needed a bit of a rest in the afternoons.

Monday night was magazine make Monday and this is what I made.

 I really enjoyed the evening and look forward to the next one.  If you fancy coming along please let me know, it really is a relaxing night.

I have also been busy with the greenhouse and garden and it is looking quite good.  We still have a long way to go but it is all in the right direction.  I have been trying to grow some flowers around the bottom of the tree on the drive and this is what we have so far. 

The yellow flowers are very unusual as they have long tall spikes in the middle of them.
I shall be saving some poppy seeds to put some poppies here next year as well as I hope that by then we will have had the drive re tarmaced and looking a lot nicer.

It is crafty week next week.  There are 2 places left on Tuesday night and 3 places left on Friday night.  The price is £8 and if you would like to come along to make a couple of cards, a box have coffee and cake please let me know.

Off to get ready for a morning in the office before an afternoon and evening of crafting.  Have a wonderful day and thanks for having a read.  Tracey x

Sunny Sunday

Good morning, I just saw the weather forecast and it says 26 degrees for Derby?? it would be nice if that was the case but I am not sure.

My right hand is now back to normal YEAH.  My left hand is slightly swollen and gives a little pain so that is improving.  Today my right shoulder/arm is playing up, it feels as though I have pulled a muscle oh oh.

Yesterday Paul took me out to look at new beds, oh my.  We went to Kingsway Shopping Center quite early in the morning to Bensons for Beds.  Walked in and said we wanted to have a wander, okay said the assistant, couple of minutes later assistant came back, "can I tell you...." we said thanks, we just want to have a look.  Off he went, a couple of minutes later a lady assistant came over, "can I show you...." and we were not really left alone to look.  After half an hour we left only to join a queue to get out of the car park.  We were in said queue for over an hour and a half so we shall not be going back to Kingsway any time soon.  It seems that there are new traffic lights in the area but personally, I think it is the way the car park is laid out too.  I have since discovered that lots of people have had problems there and the trick is to either park in Sainsburys opposite the center or in the 'top' car park where currys is. 

Paul and I downloaded an app last Monday so that we can monitor our food intake and hopefully cut back a bit and lose a couple of pounds each week.  Last week I managed to shed two and half pounds which I am really pleased about.  Not sure what Paul has done yet.

Just look at these home grown beauties

 I cant believe the taste of these wonderful potatoes.  We are going to start to grow some more very soon because now I have been spoilt.  Mind you, whilst the cost of the actual potato seed was cheap, the price of the earth to keep topping the bags up was quite expensive tut tut.

Paul helped for a while in the greenhouse last night and we sorted out tomatoes and the mint and strawberries and the smell from everything is just devine.  I wish I could bottle it up as it is nothing that I have experienced before.

It was Amy's birthday whilst we were away and here is the card I made for her

I loved doing this.... as usual.

Well enough from me for today.  Thanks for having a read and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday, whatever you are up to.

More cards without ink pads

 Bed hunting today.  As I am struggling to get out of bed when I get my flare ups we have decided to go and get a new, higher bed, to see if it helps, wish us luck.

As promised, here is another notelett that we made during our first pen club get together.

This time we used the pens directly onto the stamps, rather than using an ink pad.  We used the smudge from the perpetual calendar stamp

 We scribbled on it in soft sky and pear pizzaz all over the stamp and gave it a big huff before stamping it out on to the notelett

We used the two flowers from the Cottage Garden stamp set

 We coloured in the stems with Old Olive pen and the flower in pink

 A little huff on the stamps and viola, this is what we have

An image of the cards once finished....again, not an ink pad in sight.

 Wishing you all a wonderful Saturday and thanks for nipping in for a read

Love is in the air

Friday and boy do I have that Friday feeling....

The right hand is still rather puffy and painful but the bad news is that two of my fingers on my left hand have become very swollen and sore.   So here we go, the Hydroxychloroquine has begun.  This is the first of the medication that i need to take, probably for life.  I started them last night as I really have to get this under control.

Katerina passed 8 out of 10 of her exams for the bar in Cyprus which is wonderful.  I am so proud of her.  She will retake the remaining 2 in September/October.  She has also been accepted at Nottingham Uni as well as De Montfort......we shall see what happens

Another person is interested in joining the Pen Club mentioned in my post yesterday.  If this is something you fancy doing for the next 6 months please, do get in touch.

Sophia and her boyfriend have been together for 4 years and this is the card that i  made for them.

Tonight it is the Christmas Card and Chatter night in Alvaston.  If you fancy coming along, please do get in touch to let me know.

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

Bonus Days and Wetlands

No work again today.  Hand is still very painful, very big and causing me lots of uncomfortable problems but I am sure it will pass.  If anyone sees me today they will get such a fright with my hair, *giggles*.  Thank goodness for technology where I dont have to type this blog in today.


I know we are nearly half way through the month but, should you place an order for £45, you will get £4.50 bonus coupon to spend in August.  If there are a couple of you lovely ladies that wish to share this, I am happy to oblige.



The results will come out tonight for Katerina's bar exams.  This is where she took 10 exams in a two week period.  If she passes 7 of them, she can retake the remaining 3 in October, or passes 8, she retakes the remaining two.  However, if she passes less than 7, she has to resit the 10 again, which is what she has just done.  Can everyone keep there fingers crossed for me.

We have a Stamperettes Pen Club.  This is where each lady is a member and pays £20 a month for 6 months.  During this 6 months everyone gets all the 48 Stampin' Up! pens, the carry case, all the catalogues that come out as well as 3 get togethers where we use the pens to make cards/notelets. In addition, each one of the ladies is a hostess during the 6 months and gets to spend a minimum of £15 on items of her choice.

We have recently had our first get together and here is one of the four notelets we made.
 
We did this by first of all, lining up the notelet (made from the shimmery card) on SU grid paper (such a handy thing to have and at just £10, well worth it)

 Once lined up, we put post it notes all around the front of the card so as to create a frame

 On a pallett, or tile (I use wilko's plastic plates) scribble on Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Daffodil delight (or any other similar colours)

 Open up your notelet, add a little water to your pallett and go across the frame of your notelett starting with the soft sky, then marina mist, crumb cake and finally the daffodil delight.

 You must let this dry for a few minutes before stamping on the group of birds from the Wetlands Stamp set (another must have as so useful).  I used Early Espresso ink for this card

 I added a sentiment and voila, another little thank you card

 If you go back and look at the two cards together higher up, you will see that the one on the left has rather smudgy birds, this is because I didnt let the card dry before I stamped on it.

I hope to share the other noteletts we made later in the week.  If you would like to join the next Pen Club which is due to start at the end of August, please do let me know.  These needs to be a minimum of 6 ladies to do this and at the moment there are 2.  

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

Midweek Musing

Good afternoon.  No work today, boo hoo. Paul and I were up at 4am as I was in agony with my right hand, arm and shoulder.  Painkillers, cream and a glass of water.  Pain not gone away but it is easier so it is a day of rest.  I really dont know what I did to cause the flare up or, if I did anything at all? Was it using the mouse after not using it for nearly 3 weeks, who knows.

Here are a couple of cards I made for Sophia who graduated last month.

I am so proud of her, as I am her sisters.  She doesnt know what to do next, lots of choices open to her but I am sure she will make the right decision.

Thanks for having a read and have a wonderful day x

Thank You's

Good morning and not so early today, I lasted until 5am.   Mind you I was in bed just before 9pm.

The greenhouse was looking very busy when we got back but Paul and I set too yesterday (after the unpacking) and got it sorted.  The tomatoes are very green but lots of them, I shall be having strawberries this morning and the potatoes got dug up Wow, I am amazed.  Now I need to start off another sack of potatoes.  The cucumber has just taken over the greenhouse, not too sure what to do with it but it certainly is fun growing it.

I also managed to get in the craft room, did I really leave it in such a mess?  I will be cleaning it later today and setting it up for tomorrow nights first pen club get together.  6 ladies are buying the whole set of pens, including the in colours too over the next 6 months.  Every other month we are having a get together on different ways to use the pens, I am really looking forward to it.

So I managed to get hold of the SU boxes of goodies, phew.  I shall be sorting them out today and these will be ready for collection when you are.  If you  have something you would like to pick up, please do let me know when is best for you.  The thank you cards this month are a bit of a mixture.

 

FOR SALE

I have this brand new stamp set for sale at the cost of £10 including p+p or £8 if collected.
 
 If anyone would like to purchase this, please let me know.

Here are the cards I made with my set


Thank you for having a read, I hope you have a lovely day x

Merry Monday 27

Good morning and here I am, back from my holidays. I am still on Cyprus time so this is being written very early in the morning.

We have had a wonderful time being with the girls and my Cypriot family.  It was hot, and I mean hot.  I cant remember the last time it was over 40 degrees so a lot of time was spent in-doors with the air conditioning.  You just dont go out in that heat.
 
The graduation was fantastic, so proud of Sophia. So now it is a new chapter in her life.  At the moment she is working whilst deciding on the next step as she has a couple of choices.

So its back home and I do hope that I managed to bring a bit of sunshine back with me.  Everything in the garden has grown and my greenhouse, wow is all I can say.  Thank you to everyone that has been and looked after my plants.


Here is another Christmas card that I received from Julie H.  Its a lovely card, thank you.

Paul is home today but I must go to work for a few hours this morning, which is fine by me. I  hope that when I get home he will have sorted out where my SU order has gone to as it isnt where it should be.

My body clock is still on Cyprus time so if we meet up this week, I apologise in advance for my yawns.

Have a smashing Monday and thanks for having a read

Monday in the sun

Good morning. Well the blog is not playing ball and i have been advised that the programme i do my blog in is rather old and its best to start a new one......gasp. So for  the rest of my holiday i will get by the best i can.

We have had a smashing time so far, spent most of it by the pool due to the heat and have relaxed best that i can. Visitors coming and going all the time and out eating wonderful food.  Today paul and i are hoping to get to the beach for a few hours.

The stamperettes order has been placed and that should be waiting for me when i get back. The pen club order went through and i hope all the ladies can join me on Wednesday 13th July at 7pm for a couple of hours to play with the pens. Then on Friday 15th July it is Christmas Card and chatter club.

Here is a card i made some time ago and the photo has sat here on my blog for a while.


Thanks for having a read and i hope you have a lovely monday x

Test

To see if photo gets added

Balloon Builders

Good morning, a cooler day is forcast today, which is good. The plans for the day are, urmmmm, oh there arent any. I must admit that i am struggling slightly with this, not doing anything, it is just so alien to me.

We went out for a drive yesterday and had a wander around Ayia Napa. Amazed at how many signs, posters, advertising etc. are all in Russian and not so much English. The scenery of the cosst line and the views are still amazing though.

Here are a few cards from the baloon builders stamp set on page 60 of the catalogue. Anither set on my wish list.

I hope to catch up with all my friends blogs today,  send a few emails and update the blog.....if the internet allows me to as it isnt very good here.  Not  a complaint though as a few years ago we had to purchase internet access.

Thanks for having a read and wishing you a lovely day x

Tuesdays twitter

Good morning, up early today as the birds twittering woke me.
The girls drove down last night to watch the match with Paul. We booked a nice taverna to sit and eat and then thought we would watch the game. Paul and i got there early, had a drink, waiting for girls and i looked outside to see millions, and i mean millions of moths, insects, mosquitos. Then the smell....the owner and staff were spraying insect killer, cans of it everywhere so then we started chocking. We couldnt stay there so paul and i left and we went to a favourite place of ours and met the girls there. A shame that England didnt play better to go through to the next round.
I am placing Stampin' Up! Orders today. The new stamperette group orders are also due.  If there is anything you would like me to get for you, please get in touch. There are lots of wonderful things in the new catalogue.
There are a couple of days left for you to sign up with me too.  For £99 you not only get £130 worth of SU kit that you choose, you also get an additional 2 free stamp sets so this is a great offer.  Please let me know if you would like a little more information.
Here is a card using one if the new stamps

Thanks for having a read and wishing you a great day x