You are not alone & Chain of Kindness

Another encouragement card here- just in case you were feeling alone. Seriously though- I think the sentiment by Anna Griffin is spot on. Sometimes you need to hear that. Another one using up scraps. Someone recently described my card as having a ‘scrappy style’- well I guess it is! Love the feeling of space on this one. Using up papers from American Crafts ‘Gardenia’, & Pebbles ‘Hip Hip Hooray’.

Am just grabbing 5 mins while I wait for tea to cook. Heard a lovely true story today. One little boy took some money today for a school fair- he brought back 20 pence out his £1 and no books. His Mum wanted to know what had happened to the rest, ‘I gave it away to two friends who didn’t have any money for books so they could buy them’.
One of the little boys who’d been given the money came home with several books. His Mum asked him how come he’d got these books. He explained how another boy had given him money and he’d decided to buy an extra couple of books for his little brother. ‘It’s like a chain of kindness’ he explained.
I love that.
A chain of kindness!

Thinking about starting my own. Fancy joining with me? Wonder how far the chain could go?

Better go. One of my kids wants to play ‘Just Dance 2′ with me. In this weather?
If you see a something resembling a tomato jumping and wobbling around, chances are it will be me!
Back when I’ve had a shower!! x

Encouragement Card & Sunshine!

I think this computer might just melt! Love this weather. Have to say that I love it more from the inside with a door open and a breeze coming in. Being of the fair haired and ultra-light-burns-in-an-instant-skin-type, I shy away from too many rays.
This is a card I’ve popped into the ring for the PaperCrafts Gallery Idol. You’ve got until the end of Monday to enter. It’s any card with an ‘encouragement’ theme but not Birthday etc. For this round it can be an old card ( or new!!). Just join the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2012 Flickr group and upload a pic. Yes- you really should see the entries. I don’t know how they manage to whittle them down to 20. I don’t envy their job, but they always seem to pick the right people. I know, it’s unlikely; there are oodles and oodles of entries- but do enter; you just don’t know what might take their fancy.

I noticed that courage was in the
Middle of ‘encouragement’ so wanted to focus on that. It’s a simple design but just playing around with a few bits of supplies can give a bold design. The buttons were in my button box and just pulled out a few that matched. Making cards needn’t be complicated or have loads of products on.
I shan’t be holding my breath for a result but you know, I shall be popping on for some inspiration and why not leave some nice comments to ‘encourage‘ some of them. Go and see- you’ll be amazed!

Better dash- have another project in mind! Enjoy the weather..don’t forget the sun lotion! See you when I’ve slathered down 5 kids in the Factor 50 stuff! x

Jubilee Bunting & Essex

It is card-less Wednesday. Much crafting going on but nothing that I can show you!
I’ve some projects in the latest Simply Cards and Papercrafts magazine which is just out. It’s a take one stamp and do 6 things with it. To be honest, it’s more a papercrafting slant than a stamping one. There are oodles of things you could do with them. Anyhow- the info is there for those that ask when I’ve got projects in mags.
I thought therefore I’d post a picture of some bunting I made a little while back. It usefully happens to be in Jubilee colours and one is residing in my hall as a quick last ditch attempt to brighten up my hall when we had a recent kids party. My daughter said it should stay up for the Jubilee celebrations so remain, it has. I’ve made an identical one too so if any of you fancy it- email me with a reasonable offer!!

Essex has been the topic of several family conversations recently. I did happen to live there for a few years, and trust me, it’s nothing like the way it’s portrayed on TV.
I lived in Colchester from age 16-18 before I went to Uni and it was a really great experience. Once my fellow sixth formers got used to the idea that ..
1. I did not own a flat cap or whippet- and neither did my Dad.
2. I didn’t go t’ut pub every night.
3. I wasn’t overly fond of tripe, meatballs or stout.
4. I wasn’t entirely thick ( well, not completely !)…
then things seemed to go more smoothly. I had trouble acclimatising to Essex and then had some more when I came up to Liverpool. The long haired blonde girl supposedly from Essex simply typified all the Northerners stereotypes of a southerner.
Oh dear.
I’ve recovered now !

The reason I mention this is because of several amusing conversations recently.
One was during a brief & rare trip to Tesco ( my allegiance to them has waned over the last few months- mostly due to price!). On the way out, one of the younger kids saw a ‘missing’ poster. It’s so sad, makes my heart sink whenever I see it. They asked what it was about and I tried to explain. They looked at me and seriously announced ‘well I’m not surprised they’ve been taken if they’re in Essex’.
Not sure who’s shaping her viewpoint here. A week later she categorically announced out of the blue that ‘Essex is a really famous place and lots of really famous people come from there’. Maybe her friends have been watching ‘The Only Way is Essex’. I asked them where it was geographically. The blank look said it all.
I have a feeling that she’s not alone in misunderstanding the County. Ah well. They’re not all blonde, not all thick and having known a fair few of them- they do not talk like that TV programme.Guess its like the countries view that scousers all have brown fuzzy wigs, have comic moustaches, say ‘calm down, calm down’ a lot and wear oversized furry brows.
Stereotypes over. Enough said.
I’ll ‘shat ap’ now !

See you soon.. when I’ve walked home over the cobbles and fed my whippet! xx

Hi Card & Eating Frogs

It’s Friday- at last !! The week has been pretty full of lots of bitty stuff and you should see my list for today. This morning I’m gonna eat the frog! More about that later!
Continuing on with more Prima goodies and I loved making this one. I’m doing a different take again with Prima goodies- they are beautiful ! The jagged edge is made using one of their paintable stamps and I’ve just stamped in white-cut out and followed the edge to create the top part. I’ve raised the shorter piece and covered sections in Glossy Accents with another stamped image ( frame). Finished off with a simple epoxy domed sticker. Love the textured stickers- I’m going to paint some of these white next!

Back to the animal; I will not actually be consuming the frog- just getting rid of it. I’ve been reading a book about simplifying your life ( I know- it’s a desperate goal of mine!) and one of the chapters was talking about general organisation. Now I reckon most of us look at our lists and get rid of some of the worst jobs but she described the very very first thing to do is to eat the frog; tackle the most loathed item on your to-do. I like the phrase and the sentiment. ( sorry to the frogs- I do like them- Kermit is actually a real favourite, and I’ve never wanted to actually consume him!). So I’ve been taking in the frog as my prime priority. Sadly, today I have a whole box of frogs to get down- or is the phrase that I’m mad as a box of frogs??!!!

I went to visit blogging buddy Ros yesterday. Her house is full of her lovely projects and artistic touches . We had a complete giggle and if she’s not careful I’ll be dropping round more often for a latte! Spending time in her jaw droppingly beautiful craft room (& house) should have been inspiration plenty, but I spent hours stuck in my room last night making a pigs ear of every single project I attempted – oh , except the one I began at 11pm which came out nicely- which is fortunate really or I’d have been gulping frogs without any sleep!!

See you when I’ve finished planning my daughters brunch party for tomorrow morning ! xx

Layered Tag & Too Many Parcels!

Hey!
Have been spending a bit of time in my tidier and lighter craft room. You can almost hear a sigh from it. It seems much happier with its new streamlined look. I haven’t finished yet. There are 2 cupboards yet to face my ruthless slinging out!
This tag makes me happy just looking at it. Unusual colours for me and I’ve even managed to incorporate lace and not feel that it shouldn’t be there. It’s not shabby nor vintage but about as close as I’ll ever get! The beautiful products are from Prima. Now you might have preconceived ideas about the sort of look you get from Prima but think again- I do love all the fabric and paper flowers but there’s much more to Prima than that! Their stamps are really great quality, and surprisingly good value- check them out and you’ll see what I mean! This range of papers is from the North Country Collection and I’ve layered and stamped and added a few jewels.

Right now I’m in the middle of a Postman pat parcel game. It involves stacking lots of parcels onto a stationary Pat. At present he’s holding 11 parcels – add a few more and they’ll all fall off and the game then finishes. Reminds me of my current job in life!!! We’ve both just had a little chocolate and chilli cookie. Really? Whoever thought that sticking flakes ( and they are complete pieces!) of chilli would actually improve a delicious cookie? Maybe it was a way of using up ingredients. It’s one of those experiences that you’re not really sure about whilst you’re in the middle of it but upon reflection you conclude that it really wasn’t a good idea!

Did any of you go to the Port Sunlight Happy Stampers show on Saturday?What did you pick up? It amazes me just how much hard work goes into organising an event like that. I was the last of the big spenders- only bought £3.10 worth!. I was a little bit busy doing another bit of research – but more about that another time!!

Better go- Pat has dropped all his parcels; it was inevitable really. Try and do all that and something will have to give xx

Gardeners Tag & Not so short Posts

Just popping on with this little tag that would be great for a green-fingered loving person. I know I should have used a different stamp but I couldn’t. Sorry. It’s way too cute.

It will be a very quick post due to the following factors;
1. I’ve just had a hot drink spilled all over me by a very zealous 4 yr old who was insisting that there was in fact a nit on his back. There wasn’t. He didn’t believe me and became frustrated that I couldn’t find the said nit. Grateful not to find something for a change.
2. I’m in the middle of ironing. I know. I was shocked too. The bottom of the ironing basket has not been seen in a very long time. In fact, my kids discovered clothes they’d forgotten they possessed. I don’t like ironing- that’s why I avoid it. My ever-so-nearly 10 yr old wants me to teach her. That’s definitely a good idea.
3. I’m tidying again. We may have just sold our house – well on its way at least. The thought of packing everything turns me cold. In fact I feel faint at the mere mention. So, I’m beginning to be ruthless. It’s been a long time coming. If you live near me and fancy taking craft gear away with you- I will have a pile. Maybe a large pile. Possibly so large that I’ll be sad but don’t think there’ll be much room to do crafting in the next place. ( sobs internally at the thought).
4. Just playing arbitrator for more eensy squabbles. You wouldn’t have thought just a ‘look’ could cause such consternation. But it does, and it has. Need to get them to sing more Disney songs- it seems to have a profound uniting effect.

Hmm.. Wasn’t so short now was it!
I’ll see you when I’ve got my kids to cooperate and work together. ( I may be a while!) xx

Spots’n'Dots Cards & Laughter !

Thought I’d show you a card that I made with some friends last night. This was version 1 and I’ll show you version 2 at the end.
I’ve used a American Crafts stamp set called Fresh- that has all the stamps that I’ve used on the card. Paper is from Pebbles ‘Hip Hip Hooray’ range and the Kraft card was some I bought from the Aintree show- 1 of the 2 items I bought. This is a gorgeous colour- darker than the SU! stuff I usually use and with more texture to it. One side is slightly darker too so you can pick and choose. It is from a company called Anna Marie designs

I bought  A3 card for a change which is great as I can cut it to 12′x12 with some spare or 2 A4 sheets.

Think I like the red wellyboots or galoshes (isn’t that a yummy word) and the card is a celebration of spots, dots and polka dots! The dotted embossed piece is using the CuttleBug Swiss Dots embossing folder.

I raised certain sections and added glitter to the other. It’s not miserable rain (like in much of the UK)- it’s happy, shiny, fresh, go-and-run-jump and splash water!- that’s why there’s sparkle on it. I know not everyone likes wellies but it’s supposed to be fun! I’d happily wear a a pair of these babies despite not having high heels! 

This pic was supposed to have been rotated- but WordPress wasn’t cooperating- so it’s a peculiar angle- Sorry!

I had one of those evenings where I laughed and smiled for most of the evening. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how to laugh when you’re busy doing everything else. I think we redressed the balance last night- and I’ve a lot of laughter lines to prove it!! Even without any chocolate-fuel, Mara was on top form although Linda & I succumbed to some left-over-from Easter Maltesers!! You have to consume choc whilst crafting. Imagine not being able to make a card because you’ve run out of choc?

Better run, the taxi-service is due back in action.I’ m gaining muscles like Popeye from lugging the wheelchair in and out of the car – and it doesn’t even fit in the boot!

See you when I’ve tidied my craft room- it’s a really really bad mess xx