WOW.     

How time flies.   My last post was 2015 I had forgotten all about this blog.  

Let's have a go at reviving it.

I have recently signed up to Stampin Up, and will be feeling my way around how it all works, and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things.  If you are interested in making your own cards, scrapbooking or just want a nose around I will be posting the link to my page soon.  Just a few details to finalise. 

In the meantime here is a little taster of things to come. 

This pretty background created using 12 x 12 card stock and the lovely new layering masks

from stamping up.  Stay tuned if you would like to know more. 

MY OH MY!

Its official...I'm rubbish at keeping up with this blog thing 2015 was my last post.  Appalling.
Here is are a few projects I did for a weekend fundraising retreat.   My mad other half is walking the WW1 battlefields for charity - 100 Kilometres.   We raised just under 600 pounds, to go to the ABF Soldiers charity, a very worthwhile cause.

Love is? A many splendoured thing.................

Pretty Little Things.

 

Thought I would share this with you today.  I love this cute little stamp holder given to me for my birthday one year by a friend.  Its sterling silver and could do with a bit of a clean at the moment.  I think its adorable.  And is just one of the many treasures I hold dear.  I'm not sure the giver is aware just how much I love it.

 

 

 

 

'THAT' Project.......

 

 

Remember a while back I said I had something in mind for the lamp I bought for the bargain price of £1.00.    I thought it might be time to give you a little update.   The base has been transformed, and the shade is currently in progress, no sneak peaks yet.  Watch this space to see the finished item.  When I started this I thought what a mess, but I have played around with the finish and now have it where I want it.  Need to do a bit of cleaning up where I have paint on parts I don't want it other than that. Base has its base coat.

I have used Annie Sloane paint in Antoinette, and waxed in dark and light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty Things...

 

Don't you just love pretty things.   Back in October I very much enjoyed a class doing Chinese Brush Painting at a GOGO event.   When I saw this beautiful glass ink pot I just couldn't resist buying it.  I absolutely adore it.   All I need now is a lovely antique bureau to sit it on.   That may have to wait a while though as I have nowhere in my house that I could site one of those at the moment.   This also brings back memories of school, we had handwriting lessons every week using pen and ink.  The desks had the ink wells set in them.  Think I might be giving too much away about my age here.  So many traditions and crafts are disappearing with the need to do everything quickly, easily and without much thought or effort.  Generalising here as I know some people do still love older traditional things.   Take books.....I love reading.   For me the reading is just not about the words its about the feel and the smell of the books.   No e-readers for me.  No thank you.   And when I make notes, I use pen and paper. 

 

So here I sit dreaming of my antique bureau filled with paper, pens and displaying my gorgeous ink well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cakes, cakes and more cakes.

 

 

This week I have had the privilege of making a christening and birthday cake for my friends daughter.   As both were on the same day, some sort of merging of the two was needed, hence the flowers on both cakes are the same.   This was just two of the cakes I made last week along with a huge lot of cupcakes.  I am self taught, and don't usually make cakes for other people.  I do love to try to master new things though, and I think I can say I have mastered cake baking and decorating.  I may share a few I have made prior to these somewhere along the way.    Now I am off to Crochet club, to see if I can get anywhere near finished with the throw which I started some weeks ago, and shown in an earlier post.  Hope to share the finished item soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bargain - New Project.

Say Hello to my new project.  I purchased this oriental design Lamp for £1.00.  How could I resist.  Now to transform it into something unrecognisable, and completely over the top.   One of my Christmas gifts was a cordless glue gun, cant wait to put it to good use, think I might need to stock up on glue sticks.   I have several projects awaiting attention, and shall be working my way through them systematically over the coming weeks/months.  I warn you  they will all be experimental, as although I love craft, I am no expert, I like to cut corners and am a lazy crafter.    I will however, share both the successes and failures along the way.  

 

 

 

 

 

Oriental Design Lamp Bought for £1.00

awaiting transformation.

 

On the look our for interesting haberdashery now, although I am sure that in the abyss I call a craft room I can probably uncover a vast hoard.  But any excuse for a new purchase is a good one right? 

 I am a craft hoarder - there I have said it.  I do believe there is little help for this condition, but who wants help anyway - not me that's for sure.

 

Today, I am off to meet the ladies that lunch, so this little project is on hold for now.

Have a good day whatever you choose to do. xx.

Anyone for Crochet..

Received this gorgeous gift for Christmas, all the ingredients to make a throw.  Along with a pledge to teach me to crochet no matter how many lessons or how long it took.    Although this only required the knowledge of 2 stitches, I think I picked it up pretty well.  I started this 2 weeks ago, I am progressing well, enjoying this new craft I am learning.   I thought I might find it slightly stressful taking on such a large project for my first attempt at crochet, it is in fact very relaxing.

2015 is looking like a good year to learn new things. 

Workshops.

Loved doing this Make and Take from a recent craft show I attended.  It should be weather proof, and live happily outside.  Surprising what you can do with some plaster and a bit of old lace.   As yet I have to find the perfect place to hang it in the garden.  Winter is not the time to make these decisions with everything bare and stagnant.

I have attended a few workshops recently and hope to share them with you over the coming days/weeks.   I have a renewed zest for crafting, with so many new ideas and inspiration.

Prima style flowers revisited

Been ages since I used prima style flowers.  I think I used them to death at one point, but enjoyed revisiting them, on this layout.

The Craft Cupboard trilogy DT project.   And as always, simple is the key.

Monthly Photo Share day 12 - 14

So here we go again....

Day 12 - 4.00pm  - just home with the shopping

Day 13 - Stairs.   The scary stairs to the church cellar.  Beyond that door is............EUGH!

Day 14 - My Breakfast Today.    Cinnamon porridge with grated chocolate and strawberries and a Latte.  Yum Yum...

 

 

Monthly Photo Share Day 11 - Flowers.

I got carried away with this one....but here's a little selection of the photos taken on day 11.

 

 

 I love that spring is starting so show itself, such a pretty time of year.  Starting to think about clearing up the garden and planting up some new border plants.  Just waiting to be sure the frost is over.  

Monthly Photo Share days 5-10

Day 5 - Logo.  Yummy chocoholics logo. 

 

 

 

Day 6 - What's inside?  You may well ask.

 

Day 7 - Smile.  I couldn't find a willing party, but found this self portrait my daughter drew for the school year tea towel LOL she looks like Mr Potato Head.  She is far more beautiful in real life.

 

Day 8 - Sky.   The weather was awful this day, but I didn't cheat and attempted to take a photo of the sky.  Not brilliant, but I kinda like it.

Day 9 - A treasured Item...I have many treasures - my beautiful kids who I never thought I Would have, my parents who I am lucky to still have around, they celebrated 60 years of marriage 2 years ago. I have photographed my silver sixpence from the year I was born. To remind me to treasure every day, every blessing and all the people and lovely things that come into our lives. Nothing lasts forever.

Day 10 - Shadows.  The sun has been playing peek a boo today, so was really difficult to get shadow photos so I quickly took this shadow puppet with my ipad, when the sun quickly peeked out from behind a cloud and through my window.

I am enjoying the challenge of taking a photo a day, Didn't think I would make it to day 10, YAY me, so far so good.

 

Monthly Photo Share

So, I was asked to join a monthly photo share.  I am rubbish at photography and rubbish at keeping up with these things, so I thought why not.  Who Knows? my photography may improve and I may for once finish something that I started.  I also thought it might be a good idea to share those photos on my blog, which will remind me to visit daily, and who knows my blog entries may become a habit.
Here's hoping....

Day 1.  Something that is so you.

Stationary, I just love it.  Paper, Books, Journals Pens, You name it I love. I can not walk past a stationers, and more to the point I can not come out empty handed.  This photo is of the books closest to me at the time and my current favourites.  I can't begin to tell you how many I really have.

 

 

Day 2.  View from your window.

 

This reminds me my garden needs a good tidy, but with the frost still visiting that will have to wait.

 

 

 

 

Day 3.  The shoes you are wearing.  This was my housework day so I was wearing my comfy flossies.

 

 

 

Day 4.  Money.  Now if you were wondering why you don't see many 2 pounds coins, the answer is below.  I have them all.

 

Please check back tomorrow to see what day 5 will bring.  :). x

 



 

 

 

 

DT Layout for The Cupboard Trilogy March 2014 - Mothers.

Loved doing this one.  There was a day when I didn't think I would ever be a Mother, and here I am proudly posing with my two beautiful children.  I am so proud of them both.

As you probably all know by now, I am a woman of simple pleasures which is displayed in my work, or at least I hope it is.  Nothing too technical, some layering of items, little bit of building height on titles, seal and ribbon added.  Faux stitching on paper.

 

Thanks for looking.  And if you would like to leave a comment please do.

Random Items in an envelope.

Last week a few of us decided to challenge each other, by sending and envelope of oddments to each other.  The recipient must make something with the items and show before and after pictures.  So here is my items..

and here is what I did with it

Apologies for the bad photo, but I think you can see where and how I have used the items.

Love....Cupboard Trilogy Challenge DT

 

 

 

This Layout was done for the Cupboard Trilogy Challenge Blog.  The theme was Love and I wanted to do something which wasn't related to Valentines Day, which is usually what we associate February with.

 

I love my family, and my Dad who I am still lucky to have around at 81 years old is a central part of that family.   He has children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, all of who he has a great relationship with.  The  Grandchildren & great grandchildren although now16,  17, 18& 19 still regularly visit my parents on a weekend when they aren't working.  My dad  is a diamond.  Full of wisdom and good advice.

 

So back to the layout, created using stampin' up Papers and ribbon.  Hand cut hearts, layered, secret message.  With added diamante's for a bit of bling.

 

 

Entered into That Craft Place Challenge Blog.

thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.com/

 

 

And the winner......

Apologies for delay in Sorting this, have had houseguests, holidays and lots of other distractions. For some reason I can't post pictures or looks from my iPad, so will update this post with photo of random generator when I can suss  out the password on my daughters laptop.  She is In Spain enjoying herself right now.

So the lucky winner picked by random generator is..........

Sally Hodder.   Lucky no 7.

OMG. Blinked!

I blinked and it's August already.   Better get my finger out and with random generator for my big 50 giveaway.   Don't hold your breath , the announcement is not imminent but will be today.   And my apologies for lateness, another fish that got away...x

Not so scary....

Being 50!   Not so scary after all.   I don't feel any different.  Reflective? Yes.  But in my head I remain 29.   Why? I have no idea.    A quick look in the mirror reminds me of the years  since then, a road with many ups and downs, but a good road.  It has led me to where I am now.  With a beautiful family, and many precious friends.

This coming month,  the school holidays rate highly, we have no immediate plans as yet, other than my daughter turning 17, and being very excited about starting driving lessons.   The rather large garden pool has gone up, and has been host to the neighbourhood kids.   I love it!   House and garden full of laughter (and water, not so welcomed lol).   Although this also generates a mountain of towels for washing, luckily the weather is good for drying...remains to be seen if they remain white by the end of the holidays.