Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Well it will all soon be over, but what ever you are doing this Christmas have a wonderful time and enjoy yourselves. I know my posts have been few and far between this year but I am going to try and update more often as I do like sharing with you all.
My dining room has a floor now and my Christmas tree is up so it does finally feel like Christmas, I am ready for it, I think.......

Missing my crafting...

I am still awaiting my floor to be finished off, I think I have been forgotten about and just cast to one side...that is the problem with renting, what the landlord says goes! Anyway the thing I miss the most is the dining table....strange I hear you say but I do all of my crafting on that table and it is tucked away in the garage, I am itching to get it out and get crafting, maybe I should just do it as I really need to make a start on my Christmas cards, I have already had some wonderful ones given to me. That's it I'm going to go and get it now and spend all day, except when I have to go to work! making my Christmas cards.
Be back soon, hopefully with some pictures.

Awaiting a floor ?????

I'm sorry for lack of posts just lately but that is because of lack of craft room, well dining room really! There was a problem with the floor, we only noticed it when the fridge started to tilt to one side (not a good thing) so it had to be moved into the living room!!! then the rest of the room had to be cleared to make way for the workmen so they could come and see what was really going on with the floor, it all had to go into the garage (boohoo) I think I am having withdrawal symptoms. Anyway the workman came and took some of the floor up and saw that the floorboards were rotten, apparently there was no ventilation. So I had to live with a hole in the floor for a week until they then came to take it all up and fill with cement, it was like a sauna in there in there for a day, the water was running down the walls, that was last week and yesterday the man who is going to put the laminate down cannot come till next week if i'm lucky! Half of me is glad it is a rented property but the other half of me thinks that if it was my own house it would be sorted by now!! So I am still without a craft/dining room till next week, fingers crossed it will get done soon as I need to crack on with Christmas projects. Bear with me until this is fixed then I will get back on track.

Helping a friend...

Stepper Box using new SU In Colors

 Hello, well what can I say.................sorry, maybe?....................I think my mojo had well and truly gone AWOL but it resurfaced so I could help a friend out with some samples at the PaperMax show at Moorways a couple of weekends ago. Tracey, my friend over here was kind enough to let me have a play with a new Stampin Up Hostess Set called Simply Soft from the 2011-2012 Catalogue and some of the new In Color card Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo, see the stepper box. Here are some of the samples I made....

Baby Blossoms Stamp Set

Baby Blossoms Stamp Set

Simply Soft Hostess Stamp Set

Simply Soft Hostess Stamp Set

Baby Blossoms Stamp Set

Simply Soft Hostess Stamp Set

Baby Blossoms Stamp Set

Simply Soft Hostess Stamp Set

Birthday Card

Another stamp set from the United States via ebay, it is called Wild Rose

and yes you have guessed it, it's Stampin Up. I saw it and just needed it.

I'm sure you crafters can understand that feeling!

Here is the first card I made using the stamp set and also using the top note die

and a roses cuttlebug embossing folder, cherry cobbler card and ink 

and old olive ink for the leaves

The greeting stamp was a free one from along time ago.

I love how it turned out so I sent it to a

friend for her birthday.

inside view

Some inspiration....Maybe?

I have really been lacking in inspiration just lately it is really frustrating

but today I went to a workshop all the way over in Newhall it was lovely, 

the lady who ran it was a new friend I met at a stamping event a couple of weeks ago,

her name is Elizabeth. Thanks for a great morning Elizabeth you have given my

inspiration a much needed boost. Here are the cards we made we 

using a shaving brush, sorry Ink Duster! to apply the ink for a different effect.      

I really had a great time and I hope you like them.

 I have even found out how to put a watermark on my photos

and here is my new signature, my I have been busy.

Another Birthday Card

Another friends birthday last week and then another one this week
but you will have to wait till later in the week to see that one, she hasn't seen it yet!
but here is the one from last week.

 Everything is Stampin Up except the greeting that one was a freebie
from a magazine ages ago. The stamp set is an old two step set I got off
ebay and is supposed to be a rose, it looks more like a cabbage to me but it is still very nice.

I have also used my new Stampin Up Top Note Die which came in the week
and I used for the very first time on this card.
I love it.

 

Bye for now

Anne x

Not Stampin Up

I can't believe it, I didn't use a Stampin Up stamp for this birthday card for a friend, it was a Penny Black one instead. Can you believe it. The rest of the card is made with, yes you've guessed it, Stampin up card (Whisper White, Rose Red and Not Quite Navy) Rose Red ink and White ribbon, I thought I would start using some of the many clear stamps I have got (only because I re-discovered them, they were hiding in a cupboard) I had forgotten all about them. Why do I do that, I even found out that I had bought a set twice! I must really of liked them, so why have I not used them?

Here is the card I made, I love doing the masking technique, I must buy shares in Post it Notes!

Bye for now

Anne x

An Altered Birthday Pressie

This is a notelet holder that I altered for a good friend as a present for her birthday, when I bought it, it was a funny grey colour and the paper in it was off white so I spiced it up a bit by painting it cream and chocolate then added some fresh ribbon and a button and also cut some cream paper into squares to fit inside.

Hope you like it because I know Kim did.

Bye for now.

Anne x

An award

I have received this lovely award from my new found friend Buffy over at Buffy's Place

To officially accept this award, I must do the following:

1. Make a post linking back to the person who gave you the award - done
2. Share 7 random things about yourself - done
3. Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award - well the ones I know will have to do
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won the award -as best I can

Random things about myself

1. I love rubber stamping.
2. I am a chocoholic.
3. I am eagerly awaiting Harry Potter part 2 to come out at the cinema.
4. I am an early bird, up at 6am nearly every day, a lie in is till 7am.
5. I am trying to arrange a Stamping Sunday at Spondon Village Hall for 29th May but didn't realise it is a Bank Holiday Weekend!
6. I want to do some more scrapbooking
7. I  am waiting for a sample of new more natural dog food for my Oscar (doggie) which hopefully he will like.

Now to pass on this award to seven other bloggers:

1. Karen - Karen's Cards from the Heart
2. Tracey - My own little corner of the web
3. Sue - Sue's crafty card making blog
4. Lesley - Lesley's Bit of Everything
5. Michelle - The Amethyst Angel's Blog
6. Kylie - Kylie's Cards and Things
7. Helen - All Things Stampy

May already?

I can't believe how much I have missed the silence, the boys went back to school yesterday and even the dog looked less stressed he made the most of the free seats on the sofa as soon as they had stepped out the door, those two weeks have been so long! 

Anyway here is a card I made for my sister in laws birthday yesterday.

As usual it is all Stampin Up materials except the embossing folder
that is a Crafts Too one.

I had my very first and will no way be my last Stampin up party on the 29th April
and it was wonderful, thank you to Tracey you are a star, though I am annoyed
that I didn't take my camera so I took photos of what we had made when I got home.

Are they not just adorable?

I made everyone who came a little thank you box with a treat inside to take home with them and they proved to be a hit with a couple of people wanting the template, no doubt I will be demoing them some time soon.

 All were different colours but again all were made using Stampin Up materials

Can you tell I love Stampin Up?

and these beautiful flowers were a gift from Tracey.

Bye for now

Anne x

Baking with Bob

Cheese scones

Blueberry scones

Cherry scones

 

Baking with my son Robert was rather enjoyable, anything to stop the dreaded "Mum, I'm bored!" line but we did do well, my favourite ones were the cherry ones. No doubt I will have to bake with James later in the week, I have some bananas going soft at the moment so I feel banana bread coming on!

More cheese scones

Cheesy grin or what!

Robert, one of the few I got of him he is very camera shy (I wonder who he gets that from!)

Bye for now

Anne x

Wanna Play Mum?

I let Oscar out this morning as normal but he found an old football in the garden and that is all he wants to do now.

Do you think he is asking to play?

How can I resist?

That face just says it all!

Love you Oscar x

Another Shrink Plastic Bracelet

I can't belive it has been so long since I have posted and I'd promised to keep on top of my posts and keep them regular, I hope you can forgive me....

Here is another shrink plastic bracelet using cream shrink plastic that I had stamped onto with brown Stazon then punched out using my 1 1/2" circle punch, then put onto a copper coloured chain using a jump ring.

Hope you like it

I have also missed doing the creative challenge and swap with my friend Michelle, I have been so busy I just forgot all about it. I'm so sorry Michelle, I will make it up to you next month...x

Bye for now

Anne x

Christmas Card and Dichroic Glass

Only one Christmas card to show you today I was rather busy helping a friend out so only managed a quick one but that is better than nothing.

Last year I went on a Dichroic Glass course at a workshop in Kegworth called In The Studio, although I didn't particularly enjoy the course, plus it was so expensive, I did enjoy making the glass pendants so it wasn't entirely wasted.

I had forgotten all the pieces I had made until I found them tucked away in a cupboard so I thought I would share them with you.

This piece is my favourite

I will just have to wear it now.

Bye for now

Anne x

I Create, Therefore I Am....Swap

This time for our Creative Challenge we decided to make a swap item, you can see what I did over on Michelle's blog. This is what her Mum, Sally did for me

I love it, Thankyou Sally.

Bye for now

Anne x

Adi's Twisted

I made this for my brother in law for his birthday as he let on at Christmas that he loved the twisted chocolates that you get in Heroes but never gets any as they all go before he gets a chance, so I bought a couple of boxes of Heroes, took out all the twisted ones and put them in a cello bag with a fancy top ( along the lines of the snowman soup that has been going around ) I made the scalloped circle greeting look like a fried egg which I though was a good touch but went unoticed by others.

Hope you like it.

Bye for now

Anne x

I Create, Therefore I Am....

Well here is my first project for our Creative Challenge.

A shrink plastic stretch magic bracelet.

There are over 80 hearts that have all been punched out from plain white and patterned black shrink plastic using my SU heart punch then I punched a hole with my cropodile and set about shrinking them with my heat gun. Once shrunk I put them onto a jump ring and fastened them to a link of a chain, alternating the colours. Then I threaded the stretch magic through all the links in the chain and tied a knot where I needed it to sit on my wrist.

It was hard work but worth it in the end.

Bye for now.

Anne x