HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas and Santa bought you lots of lovely presents.

I have just been awarded this wonderful award by Sally Benson (thank you soooo much Sally)

Stitched Cards and Bookmarks

Im making a lot of stitched cards and bookmarks at the moment, I just love doing them. The bookmarks I put in with Christmas cards for family and close friends, some of my Christmas cards were stitched but now that they are finished I have started on a set of Art Nouveau Roses. These are the first three cards and a few of the bookmarks. I haven't put sentiments on two of the cards as I'm not sure what occasion they will be for. I get the patterns from Stitching Cards, they have some great designs and you get to download them there and then, no waiting for the Postie to deliver them.

Bring it on!

At last, I'm ready .... bring it on! Christmas that is. The freezer is bulging with mince pies, jam tarts, sausage rolls, cheesecakes, pizzas, bread sauce, cranberry sause ... you name it and it's in there. The cake is iced, the presents wrapped and the tree is up, this year I've gone for gold and silver, I've even made a little fantasy woodland scene to sit in the living room window ... let Christmas begin!

Cuttlebug Challenge

The last Cuttlebug Challenge for this year proved to be more difficult than I first thought. The challenge is to make an all white card with a black sentiment. For my card I embossed the front panel with the cuttlebug bubbles folder then cut an apature using my Nestabilities, the bauble is cut and embossed using another cuttlebug die and folder, the ribbon is the last of my white Anita's that I had and the greeting is by Funstamps again using a smaller Nestabilities.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 27

I've just finished my card for this weeks PB Saturday challenge, it was so nice to make something other than Christmas cards!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 26

I haven't had time to join in any challenges of late but I thought now that I had finished making my Christmas cards I would enter the Penny Black one, the card I have made is for my Son so I thought something a bit sophisticated rather that a cutie, what do you think?

Where's the time going?! Could someone slow it down a bit please? When I started this blog I intended to update it at least once a week but I've already failed miserably!! The reason I've not been here is .... Christmas ... well Christmas cards actually. I thought I would make an early start this year and began aroung August but last Saturday when I had written all the ones that needed posting I realised I was about 20 short ... AND ... I had forgotten to make one for himself. Well it is now Mission Accomplished, I've finished (I hope). These are the ones I made for my two Grandchildren, the problem is that in my rush to get them in the post I think I have forgotten to write in them!!!

You may remember a couple of weeks ago that a lady from the stitching club that I attend asked me to make a card for her "young Man's" 80th birthday using the Penny Black 'Snowy Park' stamp, but she wanted the stamp made bigger!! Well here are two examples I have made to show her, one is using the stamp (I entered this for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge), the other is using a photo I had taken here in the New Forest but printed it out in sepia, I'm not sure if that one shows up well enough though.

I have been given this lovely award by Sally, the sentiment behind it reads as follows:

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I will be sending it on but it takes me ages to put the links on here so I will do that later.

I'm in the doghouse!

Yes, I'm well and truly in the doghouse with the dog! Let me explain ... we were walking back across the fields above the beach when Bonnie found this old discarded ball, it used to be one of those squeaky things but this had long since lost its squeak and it was punctured so that when she picked it up it was squashed into half a ball, but no matter it was her find of the day. She couldn't wait to get back to the car with her treasure, no time now for sniffing at every blade of grass or chasing rabbits, she was well in front of me but when she looked round to see what was taking me so long I almost fell about laughing as the ball looked like a set of those false lips you can buy.

We arrived home and she was scratching at the front door in a flash, treasure still in her mouth, she was like a bank robber with police in hot pursuit. When she had her treasure safely indoors she started throwing it about and generally having a great time .... until I saw her chewing something, closer inspection revealed her treasure was perished and all the throwing around was making bits fall of it. Well I couldn't risk her choking so the ball had to be confiscated!

Bonnie was most put out, she hunted all around the house, in the large pot that is used as a walking stick stand, she was dancing around on her hind legs trying to see if I had put it on top of the chest of drawers, I was "frisked" and had to show her my hands to prove the ball wasn't there, then out into the garden, I think she sniffed every last inch looking for this blessed ball.

I now feel really guilty .... I'll have to buy her a new toy tomorrow when I go shopping, just to ease my conscience!!

Thanks Sally for your help and patience, I'm afraid I only managed to list 6 to Tag as the 7th wouldn't be accepted for some reason. Now all I have to do is let everyone know they have been tagged (I think). Anyone got a brain I could borrow?!

Oh crumbs ... I've been tagged twice, all I have to figure out now is how to pass on this "honour". Sally has very kindly sent me instructions so here goes ....

So far so good, now I have to tell you 7 things about myself, useless bits of information that I'm sure no one is in the least bit interested in but ...

1. I love crafting, especially card making and ATCs

2. I like the colour pink

3. I love walking on the beach early in the morning when no one is around.

4. I love Stilton cheese, whether it is in cooking or with biscuits or bread

5. For 2 years I provided recipes for a slot on the local Talking Tapes for the visually impaired

6. Every December my Grandchildren come over for a day of making chocolates for their friends and teachers

7. I love playing Hearts and Spider Solitaire on the computer.

Now for the difficult part, attempting to put a link to the people I am tagging.

Caro.

JulieH

Sally Bentham

Lazy Kay

Angelswings

Craftymumof3

Cuttlebug Challenge

This week's Cuttlebug challenge is altered art which is not usually my thing but when I saw the wonderful creations that the DT had made I thought "Why not?" The problem was (as I had never attempted anything like this before) what do I alter?

There sitting on my desk was the answer .... the boring old desk diary that I had taken for my Christmas card lists. Here are the before and after photos, I'm quite pleased with the end result, what do you think?

Check out pink glitter pig

Hi,

I want you to take a look at : pink glitter pig

Right, I've calmed down a little now after the excitement of finding out I had won last week's Penny Black Challenge. I am feeling extremely tired after a very hectic but enjoyable weekend. Our friends from Liverpool came down on Friday for the weekend, then on Saturday my Brother and his family came down from Oxford for the day, my eldest Son and his family unfortunately couldn't come so instead of the 15 I expected to be catering for there were 4 less, not that that made any difference to the noise levels!! I had forgotten how boisterous teenage boys could be when they get together!!

Our friends loved the stitched photo I made for Maureen's 60th birthday, this is a (not very flattering) photo of them with the picture, Jimmy's looking very serious (not like him at all!) and I think Maureen blinked! Maureen asked me to make a fun card for her boss who is Irish, this is what I've come up with, I hope she (and he) likes it.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 23

Wow .... I can't believe it, I won last week's Penny Black Saturday challenge, the theme for that was sentiments. This weeks theme is monochromatic. I was spoilt for choice, do I pick black and white, red and white, blue ... the choices are endless but I decided on shades of brown and cream. The base card is cream, the torn background paper is 7gypsies edged with sepia ink. The Penny Black image is stamped in sepia ink with the snow highlighted with frosted lace stickles, it is then matted and layered onto brown card, mat gold card then brown again. The ribbon is narrow brown satin and the greeting is a gold peel off on brown card.

What a difference a day makes .... oh I could burst into song there couldn't I? But don't worry I won't.... I mean with the weather, after yesterday's torrnetial rain and gale force winds today we have beautiful sunshine although it is bitterly cold.

I went to my stitching club yesterday and took along some cards I had made with my new stamps. This beautiful Thomas Kinkade stamp was much admired and one of the ladies asked me to make an identical one for her, no problem there.

The next request was for this Penny Black "Snowy Park" card, the lady in question wants one as a birthday card for her "young man" who will be 80 early next year!! So far so good, she then asked if I could do it in Sepia .... no problem, but now comes the difficult bit ..... could I make it bigger and perhaps with a few more trees?!! You try to explain to a seventy something lady that a stamp is a stamp and can't be enlarged!! Anyway I have offered to make a couple of cards up to show her, I thought perhaps a bit of matting and layering could give the impression of "bigger". I shall get the little grey cells working and see what I can come up with...... watch this space!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

I've decided to enter the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, this week the challenge is to use a sentiment only, no images.

I've decided to keep it simple and have embossed the flowers using my Cuttlebug (I hope that doesn't count as images) and put a red gem in the centre of each flower. I stamped the verse in silver and heat embossed, then mounted that onto red card. I finished it off with a red satin bow and a matching gem on the verse then inked around the base card with red ink.

What a horrible wet day it is! It was pouring with rain this morning when Bonnie and I went for our walk on the beach, thank goodness for waxed jackets, trousers and hats!! The sea looked steely grey and angry and it was so misty you could hardly see the Isle of Wight and it's only 3 miles across the water so it's usually very clear.

Well I've cleaned the oven and hob (usual Monday morning chore ... yuk!), and I've pickled the onions that I prepared yesterday so this afternoon I am off to my Village Stitchers, a stitching circle that I belong to, I must be mad going out again in this weather but I haven't been for the last two weeks so I feel I ought to show my face.

I've got a busy week this week, I have to get the house cleaned through and the freezer stocked up as we have friends coming for the weekend on Friday, my Brother and his family are coming down from Oxford for the day on Saturday and my eldest Son and his family may also come over, so all in all there could be 15 of us to feed on Saturday!

It was my friend's 60th Birthday at the end of last month so as a special present I stitched this for her, it's done in cross stitch taken from a photograph, I've had it framed and have to say I'm really pleased with the end result, I just hope my friend likes it.

Right I'm off now to brave the elements again.

I have decided that I quitel like cold wet Sundays. Think about it ...... it's too wet to work in the garden so what better time to concentrate on crafting. I'm guilt free this afternoon as this morning I made the bread rolls for tomorrows packed lunches, did the ironing, cleaned the kitchen and prepared the first of this years onions ready for pickling tomorrow, they should then be ready for Christmas. I must get some red peppers though to make lots of red pepper and chilli jelly for my Granddaughter, she loves it.



The preserves shelf is looking pretty good at the moment, there are still a couple of jars of Cognac and orange marmalade from earlier this year, together with this years Rosehip and apple jelly and Crab apple jelly and tomorrow will see the start of the ever increasing pickled onions. So now ..... on with some crafting!

More Cuttlebug cards

I just love my Cuttlebug and although I didn't think these cards quite met the Cuttlebug challenge criteria (where there are borders they are either ribbon or peel offs), I thought I would show them to you anyway, the dark one hasn't photographed very well but it looks quite effective, I've embossed it onto dark blue glossy card and highlighted with stickles. I'm really pleased with them .... what do you think?

Cuttlebug Challenge

This is the card I thought I would enter for the Cuttlebug Challenge, that's if I can figure out how to of course. Oh I do wish I was computer literate!! It will be the first time I have ever entered a challenge, wish me luck.

I'm having great fun playing with some of the stamps that I bought at the Craft Fair last Sunday, one in particular is proving to be very versatile. Here are three cards using the same stamp, the first one is my take on an idea from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. I stamped the image onto white card using Versamark ink then embossed it with white embossing powder, I then cut an oval from scrap card to use as a stencil which I placed over the stamped image and sponged with lilac ink. This was then matted and layered onto lilac and turquoise card before being placed onto a white base card. I finished it off with a greeting stamped in black ink with a small gem above the I in Christmas and crystal stickles on the end of the branches.

The second is again taken from a card in CM&P and the third

is a very simple red and white card (the red ribbon running along the bottom has Merry Christmas in gold running along it and I have added red stickles to the branch ends to give a bit of sparkle.

I've also made some cards using my Cuttlebug machine and I have just discovered a Cuttlebug Challenge I'm now trying to decide whether to enter one of them for that, the trouble is I can't make my mind up which one if any are good enough. Sigh!

I had the shock of my life this morning! I was cleaning upstairs when Bonnie came running up and almost attached herself to my ankle. Where I went, she went .... unheard of ... she thinks cleaning is boring (can't say I blame her). Anyway when I had finished upstairs I carried the vacuum cleaner down ready to do downstairs, Bonnie usually runs down in front of me but this morning she refused to come down. As I walked into the living room there on the floor was a dead bird! It was a collared dove which I think must have flown in through the open back door and as they are such nervous creatures I assume it died of fright (it's a wonder I didn't join it!). At this point my brave guard dog!!!! came down to see what was happening. I suppose this will remain one of life's little mysteries ..... The mystery of how a dead bird came to end up on my living room carpet! .... do you think I could make a best seller out of it? Maybe not.

My nephew and his partner have just had a baby boy, this is the stitched card that I have made to send to them.

I have also been playing with some of the stamps that I bought last Sunday at the Ringwood Craft Fair, I'll photograph those and show them to you next time.

I must now get on with the ATCs that I started to make yesterday. Each week two friends and I get together for an afternoon of crafting ... BLISS!... We try out new techniques and ideas and decided that ATCs were easier to make and swap than cards, we are currently going through the alphabet, it can be any subject in any medium as long as it is the letter of the week, this week it's 'O' so I'm off to get my thinking cap on.

I'm so excited as my friends on the CM&P forum that I belong to have found me (thank for all your help and lovely comments and thanks Sally for sorting it out for me.) I can now ramble away in the knowledge that I am not talking solely to myself! (as I usually do!!)

I had a fantastic day yesterday as I went with two crafting friends to a "Crafting Extravaganza" in Ringwood. It was great and as I had my birthday money with me I was able to buy lots and lots of goodies and I got some great ideas from some of the demonstrations.

I promised to introduce you to Bonnie, my beloved dog and constant companion, she is a 6 year old adorable Westie and as you can no doubt guess I love her to bits. My first job every morning Monday to Friday is to take her for a walk (Rob takes her Saturday and Sunday), the day can't begin until we have had our walk together. Here is a photograph of her (well it will appear somewhere but I can't guarantee where!). You see, I said it would appear somewhere ... I just didn't expect it to be up at the top there!! You never know, I may just get the hang of this blogging some day!!

Thanks for joinging me.

Friday 31 October 2008

Well I made it back again so it looks as though you could be reading my ramblings for a while yet.

It's a beautiful morning here in Hampshire, the sun is shining but there is an icy wind, it was bitterly cold down on the beach this morning as I walked Bonnie. I'm lucky enough to live in a lovely part of Hampshire, right on the edge of the New Forest and about 3 miles from the beach. I usually walk Bonnie on the beach especially during the winter as the Forest is very peaty and gets very boggy in places. This is a view from the car park above the beach ..... beautiful isn't it?

I was going to introduce you to Bonnie and show you a photo of her but the photo kept appearing next to the one above instead of here so I'll introduce you next time. There must be a way of putting the photos where you want them .... I'll persevere with that!

I'll be back again very soon, thanks for joining me.

Jan's Journal

Hi everyone (or indeed anyone!), this is my very first attempt at blogging so please bear with me as I fumble my way around. This may be my first and last entry in my blog depending on whether or not I can access it again!! As you can no doubt tell I am virtually computer illiterate!

Let me introduce myself, my name is Jan, I have been married for 42 years to my long suffering husband Rob, we have two grown up Sons, a lovely Daughter in law, two wonderful grandchildren and our beloved Westie called Bonnie.

My interests are card making, which I have been doing for a few years, making and swapping ATCs, cross stitch embroidery, gardening, cooking, walking Bonnie, spending time with the family .... the list is endless but I won't bore you any longer.

As I find out how to use my blog I hope to show you some of the cards and embroidery I have made.

Well I must now go and prepare dinner so I will say cheerio. If anyone reads this drivel please let me know.