Happy Christmas!!

Happy Christmas to all my lovely followers and blogging friends, hope Santa is good to you and my very best wishes for 2012!!

XXXX

Little Jumpers and Tilda!!

Hello again everyone...... hope you are all well and apologies for my absence for such a long while........ just been so busy, busy busy!! .........but then we all are...... its the time of year and so much going on at home at the moment.... running around like a headless chicken!!!  There is still so much to do and only 2 weeks left to Christmas !! eeeek!!  Just about managed to finish all my Christmas cards and I will try and post them sometime this week...... and these little jumpers.... well, I am addicted to knitting them.... they knit up really quick and they are so cute, especially with their little matching beanie hats!!   If you saw my earlier post (from ages ago!) you will know I am knitting these little jumpers for HIV babies in Africa and I have been overhwelmed by the response I have had with regards to people requesting the pattern and wishing to knit for this very worthy cause ... and it uses up all those oddments of wool you may have lying around!  I have the pattern for anyone who would like a copy, just let me know and I will email it to you.

This is one of the cards I did manage to make this week.... I fell in love with this little lady as soon as I saw her, she is so sweet. She is coloured with Promarkers with lots of Star Dust glitter. The papers are also Magnolia,  "Sweet Christmas Dreams - Holly Christmas Song" - honestly I was soooo reluctant to cut into this beautiful paper!

The gorgeous glittery ribbon and the lovely twinkly button are from The Ribbon Girl 

Sentiment is Lili of the Valley

Snowflake is Marianne

I will try not to leave it so long before my next post ....I have a couple of projects I have been working on to show you so watch this space!!

Thanks for looking and bye for now!

Hugs

Fish and Chip babies

Good afternoon everyone, just realised how long its been since my last blogpost!  Been really busy with lots of things going on at the mo and cardmaking has been put on the back burner a bit although I have managed to make a few christmas cards....as it will soon be upon us..... 6 weeks to go aarrghhh!!..... will post them sometime this week.  Meantime I wanted to show you what has been taking up my time the past couple of weeks....fish and chip baby jumpers!!!!  I am a member of a craft group at our local Age UK and the knitters amongst us have decided to make as many of these little jumpers as we can using oddments of double knitting wool.  If you have never heard of fish and chip babies......they are for the little HIV babies in Africa, these infants are known as the “fish and chip babies” because of the poverty and Aids that is rife throughout that area. A young mother-to-be goes into the local hospital to have her baby and succumbs to the inevitable, leaving the child with nothing whatsoever in this world. The child, when able or old enough to leave the hospital, is wrapped in newspaper and taken, if lucky enough, to live with relatives or at worst to an orphanage hence the name “fish and chip babies”.  The pattern is really easy and only takes a few hours to make, the only stipulation is that they must be knitted in darker colours, not pastels or white as they are unlikely to be washed very often. 

I havent knitted for years.... used to love knitting little matinee jackets and bonnets when my girls were babies and then when they were older I always knitted their school jumpers and cardies......sadly no-one seems to like hand knitted garments these days.  I am also learning to crochet at the craft group..... and rag rugging!! I remember when my mum used to make rag rugs, she would cut up little squares of old material and pull them through a large piece of hessian with a special tool.  We are making them in exactly the same way and I have to say they are really trendy!

Well I will be back again soon with some cards to show you, so enjoy the rest of your evening!

Hugs

XXXX

Lili of the Valley Challenge # 117 - BINGO!

Good afternoon everyone, hope you are all well on this rather windy day... at least its not raining.... at least here in Cheshire its not!  Its a lovely autumnal day here.... the sun is shining and the leaves are blowing around in the strong gusts of wind.

Well my card today is for this weeks Lili of the Valley Challenge # 117 - BINGO!!

I have chosen gems, flowers and ribbon and lace.

The card was inspired by the very talented Bev Rochester.... if you haven't visited Bev's blog please do take a look at her amazing work........ Bev has been my biggest inspiration ever since I started card making..... she is a lovely lady and produces the most amazing creations........I can always rely on Bev's work to inspire me if my mojo goes walkabout ...... which it does.... fairly regularly!!

The image is of course Lili of the Valley, coloured with Copics and Promarkers.

Paper is Kaisercraft - December 25th

Sentiment - Lili of the Valley

Roses, Poinsettia, brad and Stamens - Wild Orchid Crafts

Snowflake - Marianne Die

Ribbon and lace from my stash

As well as amazing creations Bev also has some fabulous video tutorials... I have used 2 of them on this card..... colouring blonde hair with Copics and covering poinsettia flowers with Twinklets.

I have added little dots of Liquid Pearls White Opal around the little angels to represent snow and you cant see it very clearly from the photo but there is Stickles Gold on the angels wings and around the edges.

Well I am off to peg some washing out to make the most of this lovely sunshine and breeze, enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for your visit today.

Hugs

xxx

Twinkling Star

Good evening everyone, hope you are all well, just realised how long its been since my last post, I am a naughty blogger!!  The days just whizz by so fast, they are gone in the blink of an eye ....... at least the weather has been a bit more decent the latter part of the week but alas its not to last.... apparently its going to get colder and wetter next week....... !!

My card for today and its an easel card.... I really struggle to take photos of easel cards..... do you??  I  seem to take hundreds of photos and none of them seem right somehow.... there must be a better way ...... if anyone has any tips I would love to know.

The image is of course Lili of the Valley 'Twinkling Star'

 coloured with Promarkers with lots of Star Dust and Silver Stickles.

Delish paper is a digi download from Nitwits - Joyful Hearts

Sentiments are Lili of the Valley

Snowflake and Star are Marianne Dies

Label is Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Tags

I am entering this card for this weeks challenge # 116 at Lili of the Valley where the theme is 'Warm and Cozy' - I think she looks as warm as toast in her little boots, gloves and furry coat, don't you!!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, thank you so much for dropping by, I really appreciate it!

Hugs

XXX

Let it Snow - LOTV Challenge #115

Hello again everyone.........hope  you are all well and managing to avoid the dreaded cold virus I had over the last few days ......... feeling much better than I was but whenever I have a cold it goes straight to my sinuses... so painful, usually it only clears up with a course of antibiotics..... I want to try and do without them if I possibly can this time... we shall see....and so far OH is clear of it!!  Well its blowing a gale here today, we have had wind, rain and sunshine and its freezing!  This time last week we were basking in lovely warm sunshine, bizzare british weather!

Onto my card today ....... thought I would try something different using the Martha Stewart Doily punch .... I quite like the effect.

  Image is Lili of the Valley Milly Winter Window coloured with Promarkers.... with lots of glitter added.

Paper is from my bits box from last Christmas so dont know the make ... sorry.... it could be Bo Bunny... but not sure!

Snowflake is Marianne and the brad is a pink moonstone from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The ticket sentiment is part of a Christmas set from Whimsy Stamps

I am entering this card for the the new challenge at Lili of the Valley this week which is Let it Snow.

Today is my birthday...... not telling you how old I am today..... but put it this way...... I now dread the birthdays..... time is whizzing by far too fast!!  I am being thoroughly spoilt though and the family are meeting us for tea at a local hostelry..... so looking forward to that.

Enjoy the rest of your day and hopefully catch up again very soon!

Hugs,

XXX

Emma and Flowerpot

Hello everyone, hope you are all well........ hope you all managed to enjoy some of the gorgeous sunshine we have had this week .... looks like its over now though ..... its pouring down here... it was nice while it lasted and so unusual for October.  I am feeling a bit poorly today, have a cold virus and its knocked me for six.... it crept up on me very quickly ..... I was fine in the morning but as the day wore on I began to feel really achy and fluey.... sore throat, headache and runny nose...... yesterday I felt so bad I took myself off to bed for a couple of hours...... very reluctantly as it was glorious sunshine and I wanted to make the most of it but my head felt like it was going to explode.  Today I dont feel much better ..... but have to get on with it... it will go on its own ..... meantime I am dosing myself up with Day and Night Nurse capsules, just hope hubby doesnt catch it.... a man with man flu ...... groan!!!!

This is my DT card for the Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #75 which is a fab sketch by Maggie. 

The gorgeous paper is from Nitwits Affection Collection 

Image is Emma with Flower Pot by Lili of the Valley, coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment is a digi download from Lili of the Valley

Raffia is from Wild Orchid Crafts

Doily die is Marianne

Leaves are Martha Stewart Punch

Crochet flower made by me! (my first attempt!)

I am entering this card for the Lili of the Valley Challenge # 114 - Button it!

Enjoy the rest of your evening and thanks for dropping by

Hugs

XXXX

Three Little Angels Easel Card

Hello my lovely friends... hope you all had a good weekend, did you do anything exciting......they go far too quick though don't they?  At least the weather wasn't too bad.... and we are said to be in for a heatwave this week......... have you noticed we have had some lovely Indian Summers the last few years? 

Well onto my card today and its the adorable three little angels image from Lili of the Valley... coloured with Promarkers and Prisma pencils, I think this stamp is my fave of this years Christmas releases. 

The shape cut with Go Create XL Frames Frilly #3

The paper - Kaisercraft December 25th

 Star and snowflakes - Marianne Dies

Sentiment - Lili of the Valley

Anyways this is a very quick post as I am off to watch Downton Abbey .... so catch up again soon and thank you so much for your visit.

Hugs

xxx

Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #73 and a pass!

Good evening everyone, hope you are all well ..... I am thrilled to tell you all that Katie has PASSED her maths exam!! woop woop!!  Cant tell you how relieved we all are and as you can imagine, Katie is over the moon, she got 58%!!  She also took 3 skills exams today and passed those as well!!  We didnt expect to hear so quickly, she was told it could take up to 4 weeks so to hear after 4 days.... we can now eat and sleep again!! LOL!

This card is my DT for Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #73which is a fab sketch by Gry ......

The prize offered this week is from Robyn's Fetish so pop across to Sunday Sketch and Stamp, we would love to see you there!

The image is Lili of the Valley Chrsitmas Angels Praying coloured with Promarkers

Lush paper is December 25th by Kaisercraft

Thanks for dropping by, see you all again soon!

Hugs

XXX

Christmas Angels

Hello there everyone, hope you are all well and enjoyed a good weekend, they go far too quickly though don't they??  On Saturday I took my youngest daughter Katie to Ormskirk, which is about an hour's drive away, to take a Maths exam as part of her (GTP) Graduate Teacher Programme training, she was very nervous as she struggles with her maths plus she only had 4 days notice for taking the exam!........ and if she doesnt pass she will lose her place on the teacher training course which seems totally unfair to us.  She has been a TA in a Resource base for special needs children at the local school but has always wanted to teach so when the opportunity came along she applied and was successful, she was delighted as you can imagine.  She left the Resource base at the end of July and started her teacher training when the new term started in September, she was only in the job a week when the GTP dropped the bombshell that she needed the maths, despite the fact she had the required qualifications at interview........!!!  She gets just the one chance and if she fails thats it, she is off the course!! ... she is worried sick she will fail and lose her job and she has up to 4 weeks before she gets her results..... seems so unfair that the GTP can move the goalposts to suit.... anyway... rant over .... we can only wait and hope she gets the 50% pass she needs... so fingers and toes crossed! Will let you know when she gets her results!!

Onto my card for today and its another christmas card.... I am really into the chrissy cards at the moment, dont know how long it will last though.... so while the mojo is there I will make the most of it!  This is of course one of the new LOTV Christmas releases and I think its one of my favourite ones ..... just love the angels little faces!  Coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers with lots of Star Dust Stickles on the wings.

Paper is Dovecraft Christmas Fancy

The poinsettia is from Wild Orchid Crafts..... I followed a brilliant tutorial by Bev Rochester here that shows how to cover these lovely little flowers with Twinklets.

Leaves are a Martha Stewart punch

Dies are Spellbinders and Marianne.

The cute sentiment I thought was perfect for this image, I did this on the PC ... I saw this on a card on Bev's lovely blog and really liked it.

Thanks for your visit to my blog today, enjoy the rest of your day!!

Hugs

XXXX

LOTV Challenge #112 Red, Green and White

Good afternoon everyone, how are we all on the gorgeous September day..... the sun is shining and I actually managed to get a bit of gardening done this morning .... sweeping all those leaves away after the high winds we have had recently.

A quickie post today as I have loads to do and so little time to do it .... my card for today is for the LOTV Challenge #112 which is Red, Green and White.... perfect traditional Christmas colours!!

This cute little miss is coloured with Promarkers with lots of stickles and liquid pearls.

Paper is Pepper Christmas

Sentiment - Whimsy Stamps

Fab Holly Punch - X-Cut

Right ho I am off to get some more work done and outa the way, then I can do some crafting without feeling guilty!!

Enjoy the rest of your day whatever you are up to.

Hugs

XXX

Milly and her cat

Good morning everyone, hope you are all well and weren't too badly affected by the storms we have had for the past few days....... its been very blowy here but not much rain fortunately .... you watch now I said that it will pickle down for the rest of the week!

Well onto my card for today and yay its another Chrissy card... not a fan of the festive season myself but I do love making Christmas cards!  Isn't she just sooo cute .....sat waiting for Santa to fly by!  I have coloured her with Prismas and Copics with sprinklings of Glamour Dust.  Image is of course Lili of the Valley.....Papers are Dovecraft Christmas Fancy.... ribbon is from Wild Orchid.......... snowflake is a Marianne Die....... punch is Martha Stewart.

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for dropping by, I have more to show you so call in again soon!

Hugs

xxx

Baubles on Kraft Card

Hello everyone..... hope you are all well and not been affected too badly by the forecasted 'tropical storm Katia' ........ so far we are okay, in fact today has been beautiful sunshine and quite warm..... a bit blowy but nothing too drastic... maybe the quiet before the storm??

Just realised how long its been since my last post ... been so busy..... still trying to sort stuff in drawers and cupboards .......... made a few trips to the charity shop and the rubbish dump this week and managed to sell a few bits on Ebay too so quite a productive week.... love selling stuff on Ebay but hate the packaging  and posting ... the lady at the post office positvely groans when she sees me with my arms full of little packets!! 

Surprisingly though I managed to make a few Christmas cards this week and this is one of them and the inspiration for this one came from the very talented Bev Rochester..... I tell you Bev's cards are soooo gorgeous and inspirational and she has some fab tutorials...........she makes them so easy to follow too. The video tutorials are on the Ideas to Inspire blog by Lili of the Valley.  This one shows how to colour on Kraft card and how to do highlighting on the baubles with a white prisma pencil.... so very easy but effective.... if you have never seen Bev's work do pop across to her blog...... I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!!

Image is Lili of the Valley

Coloured with Promarkers and white Prisma pencil

Fiskars Holly border punch

Ribbon and red dots from stash.

Thats it from me for today, thanks for dropping by and enjoy the

rest of your evening

XXX

        

A card and a clear out!!

Hello again everyone...........hope you are all well.... I know its been a while since I last posted but had a really busy but very productive one..... not craftwise but sorting out wise!  We will possibly have to move house within the next few months.... its a long story but basically because of the injuries hubby suffered in the accident almost 3 years ago now he is struggling with the stairs and the shower, so we have to move into a bungalow.  We have lived here in this house for 42 years so you can imagine the stuff we have accumulated over those years!!  I have been putting it off for as long as I can..... but it needs to be done and once I got going I was like a woman possessed!!  Had to be really ruthless though, bags of stuff to take to the charity shop and the tip!  Its amazing what you keep and find, cards made by the girls when they were little, can't bring myself to throw them away so put them all in a little memory box.... they will have to go with us, wherever we go!  One place I am really dreading going into is the attic, OMG!! ...... I have no idea whats up there and what I will do with it!!  I dont like going up there, I have a terrible fear of spiders and I imagine them lurking in dark corners waiting to jump out at me............ ewwww..... I would have a heart attack I can tell you!  We had a nest of squirrels up there a few years ago and we had to get the pest control in to get rid of them, there was a nest of babies, I felt really bad that they had to be destroyed but we had no choice.

Anyhows, onto my card for tonight and its my 2nd Christmas card for this year I amd really behind with them, I usually try to get started them in July but with one thing an another just not had the time. The image, music and sentiment are Lili of the Valley, image coloured with Promarkers. The star border is a Marianne die which I have had for a while but could never manage to actually get the card out from the die once it had been through the bug. I tried everything, every time I ended up ripping the card into pieces, then I tried rubbing the die over with a tea light candle, then burnished with a soft cloth, viola!! success, it works, peels out no problem, so if you are having the same problem give the candle tip a try. 

Poinsettia is Wild Orchid Crafts and paper not sure, will have a look and repost when I find it!

I am off the the Creative Crafts and Stitch show at Eventcity tomorrow, lots of dosh will be spent I am sure but I am so excited, will be back tomorrow to show you my spoils!!

Thanks for your visit and enjoy the rest of your evening and if you are going to the show during the next 3 days, enjoy!! oh and if you see me there, say hello!

Hugs,

Easel Wedding Card

This is the matching box for the card

Hello everyone, hope you are all well and not missed me too much, its been a while since my last post...............just realised how long its been........... but I do have a good excuse (a few actually lol!) ... pull up a chair and grab a coffee......  well we had a wonderful break in Blackpool, lovely hotel, delicious food, fabulous entertainment and good company, what more could you ask for?  We needed that break for the challenges of the week ahead ........... Tuesday we travelled to Wrightington Hospital near Wigan........ Don had to have an injection into his shoulder ............ Wednesday and Thursday morning I spent at car dealerships trying to organise a new car...... doesnt half take some time with all the flippin paperwork!..... but worth it, I now have a lovely 1 year old Peugot 207!!  Thursday afternoon Don had an appointment at Manchester Royal Infiirmary, Friday I was working and Saturday Don had an appointment with a Neuropsychologist in Liverpool, we left at 9am and didnt get home until 5pm..... shattered!!!!  Walked through the door, Don needed the loo desperately and on his way up the stairs he tripped and fell!!  I ran upstairs fearing the worst, he was okay, said he hadn't hurt himself, just shaken up.  4.30am he woke me to say he didnt feel very well, he had pains in his chest and as he has had two heart attacks in the past and suffers with angina I phoned for an ambulance............ he was taken into hospital within minutes, Morphine, ECG's, X-Rays, Blood tests and then waiting for 5 hours in A&E for a bed.  Luckily all the tests came back negative, it wasn't a heart attack........ such a relief!   He was kept in for the day for observation and discharged at 8pm on Sunday evening...... they think it was bruising from the fall on the stairs.  So that was my week, where did it go?????  This week has been a little less hectic....... are you losing the will to live now.............?? ..... LOL, nearly finished!!!

Amongst all this mayhem I managed to make this card for my daughter for her friends wedding last Saturday...............I love this Marianne Die........... flowers are Wild Orchid, sentiments done on PC.

That's it from me for tonight, hopefully I will be back over the weekend with my DT card for Sunday Sketch and Stamp............... thanks for dropping by!

xxxx

Lili of the Valley Challenge 108 - Roses

+
Hello everone, just a quick post to say I haven't gone AWOL..... just had a few things to catch up on and we are off to Blackpool tomorrow for a few days break.... so been trying to get stuff organised before we go.  The dog is going to our granddaughters, hope he will be okay, we have never left him before......... he is an old man now at 14......... and then theres Honey the parrot..... daughter is coming in to see to her so hope they both behave!!


Lots of you kind people have enquired about hubby and the little procedure he had last week..... he is okay... he had a colonoscopy and everything looked fine, they took some biopsies the results of which will take a few weeks but nothing to worry about.  He was very nervous of having it done but he was sedated and when I collected him he said he didnt know whey he was worried and he was thrilled to bits because they gave him toast and jam with his coffee, he's easily pleased!! lol!


Well onto my card....... the challenge at Lili of the Valley this week is 'Roses' - an easel card made with a Marianne die......... I love this die, I think its my fave one .... at the moment anyway!  The image has been coloured with Prismas........ lace is from stash, image and sentiment both Lili of the Valley.  Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts, of course!  Apologies for the quality of my photos, I think I need a new camera, they look a bit fuzzy to me but then the light wasnt too good today, it was grey and drizzling.


Thats if from me for now, will be back after our well earned weekend break! Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend whatever you are up to.


Hugs,

Love is in the little things

Good afternoon everyone, hope you all had a good weekend and still enjoying some nice sunny weather.  Hubby is off to hospital very shortly for a little procedure to be done, so I thought I would post this before I take him as I could be there for hours (groan!!!) ....... but it has to be done and I think he will be glad to get it over with............ he will be sedated so shouldnt be too bad for him.

My card for today is intended as an anniversary card for my daughter and SIL and as soon as I saw this gorgeous new die from Marianne I just had to have it (as you do!!).

The flowers are Wild Orchid and the sentiments are both Lili of the Valley.

Well better dash as its almost time, thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your day

Hugs,

Sunday Sketch and Stamp #65

Happy Sunday everyone, its a lovely day here in Cheshire..... been sat in the garden, could feel myself starting to burn so thought I better come inside...... and as promised here is my DT card for todays Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #65 which is a fab sketch by Uma. First time ever I have used bunting on a card!!  I am also entering this card into the Lili of the Valley Challenge 106 this week which is 'Fun and Games' so it fits perfectly.

The papers are Masculine by Dovecraft 

Image -  Lili of the Valley No 7 Bear coloured with Prismas

Sentiment -  Lili of the Valley

Well thats it from me for today, I will be back tomorrow with another creation!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hugs,

Easel Drawer Card

 Hello there everyone, hope you are all well this fab sunny weekend, hope wherever you live you have had some sunshine.  Sorry about the lack of posts this week, had a couple of family problems, its been a bit difficult to concentrate and my mojo went AWOL.  Things are a little better but still not resolved but I won't bore you any longer...... onto my card today and its yet another easel drawer card, really loving this style at the moment!   For this card I used 300gsm watercolour card....... its a bit sturdier than normal card  and I quite like the effect of it.  I have used a Martha Stewart punch around the page..... sorry, forgot the name of it! ........ The edges have been distressed with Frayed Burlap DI........  The papers are Nitwits Thimbles n Threads..... Image is Lili of the Valley coloured using Distress Inks................. Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts as is the small metal corner which has been painted and embossed to give it a shabby vintage look............ sentiment is Lili of the Valley and tag is Spellbinders.... little leaves are Marianne.

I will be back tomorrow to show you my DT card for this weeks Challenge #65 over at Sunday Sketch and Stamp which is a fab sketch by Uma.

Hugs