Summer again?

Hi all!
How have you all been? Well, I hope. I'm not too bad at the mo - have been to see the podiatrist and the ortho consultant and it's not all bad news! So, that's a bit of a relief but I can't get too excited as there are still medical appointments to attend yet.
Anyhow, where has this last week gone? And this weather!!! We are definitely having an Indian summer here in the old NW of England. Ok, so it's not St.Tropez or the Amazon jungle (!) but we are having such beautiful sunny days and the temperatures have risen to our 'heatwave' of 17 degrees F (61C). I have been washing anything I can lay my hands on just so I can hang it out on the washing line in the fresh air!!! Wonderful!
I have also had time to do a little crafting! I made one of my favourite items - a hot-air balloon from the Crafters Companion template,
I decorated it with the Rare Oddities collection by Graphic 45 and used stamps by Papermania and dies by Spellbinders.
I like making the flowers look metallic with the use of an embossing folder and gilding waxes!
The cobwebby, wispy stuff is coconut fibre from Paper Pizzazz and most of the remaining items were already in my stash and I can't remember where everythiing came from!!!

Ok, so let me know what you think.

My second project is a little trinket box I made using black chipboard which I designed myself. I had no pattern or template for the box shape so I made it from my imagination. I used Graphic 45 Gilded Lily collection to decorate and embellish it. I used my stash for the key, ribbon flowers etc.

1. 
   

TTFN
L x

Home again!

Hi all!
Just a quick post to update you all on my hollibobs and, of course, my no-crafting week!
It was HOT.
VERY HOT.
We did alot of travelling around and a bit of the old sunbathing and swimming. The water was warm so it was like walking into a bath -----that's if you bathe in sandy water with little fishes pootling around in it!
Lots of boozing went on I'm afraid.......I only did it to keep the others company..........
We did meet up with some friends who hadn't told us they were also going to be there so that was a lovely surprise (the rotten sods!!!).
We also had so many people to see that we didn't quite get around to all of them so we will just have to go back to do it all again!
Oh, and "He Who Works" has a sister who was holidaying on Kefalonia - the next island to ours - so she, and her boyfriend, came over on the ferry for the night! When we were at the airport ready to leave, I got a text from another of his sisters' who had landed at Zakynthos airport and was in the arrivals hall as we were in departures! Fancy that eh?!!!
So, back to earth with a bump. I've, obviously, not been making anything at all for the last week and, as luck would have it, I haven't done anything since landing on Friday as I've had a tummy bug today and was too tired yesterday!
I hope I find my mojo tomorrow as some lovely goodies arrived whilst I was away and it will be fun to begin playing again!
So, that's it in a nutshell! I'm going back to watching the World Rugby on TV (cos I love it!) and an early night beckons.
I thought I'd pop a quick piccie or two of my hols for you to ogle!

TTFN
L x

Goats in the road? why not....!!!

Jay, Shellbell, Bettyspaghettilegs,me and him!!!

Oops! and uh oh!!!

Hi all,
I totally forgot to post my blog yesterday - Ooops!
I've made one or two bits n bobs this last week but mainly I've been concentrating on packing for my hollibobs to Zante on Friday!!! Can't wait to walk off the plane into an oven! It's always boiling hot because the plane's always quite cool so when the exit door first opens......whoosh!!! Oven baked!!!
And, it always feels like I'm 'home'! So, a good week ahead!
I had an appointment with the rheumatologist on Thrusday, so, I'm hoping that the new round of blood tests come back ok, as the doctor doesn't want them to be what she thinks they might be!!!! For now I'm waiting for an ultrasound scan on my hands. More news when I get some!

I've made a 40th birthday card this week - I had loads and loads of time to make it too.....NOT.
The daughter remembered to ask me on Thursday for the card Friday!!! Started it on Thursday afternoon after the rheumatology appointment and finished it Friday morning because I kept being distracted by something I was watching on Netflix!!!
I also had to make it about 3 times before I was happy with the shape!

It had to be suitable for both a man and a woman because it was for my daughters friend and her husband! They were both 40 within days of each other and they had a joint birthday party on a canal boat! The pictures my daughter posted on Facebook looked great! Her friends hubby was the first man overboard into the canal - along with his pockets full of money, mobile, keys etc.....Lol! I bet there was trouble in their house that night!!!

This is the card :

Materials used : Docrafts more or less paper pad
                           Gus and Stella digital image from Bugaboo Stamps.
                           Spellbinders flower die.
                           Bunting and balloon dies from ??? (Can't remember!)

I've also posted a picture of the inside. It's the first time I've made a shaped card so I hope i've done it right!

I'll have been on my hols the next time I blog so, have a fab and crafty week or so and see you all on the other side!!!


TTFN
L x

Goodies!

Hi all.
As promised, I am updating the old blog with my latest creations.
I did mention, in my last post, that I had been working on some commissions and I couldn't display them until my friend had received them - which she has now!

So, the first is a "memories" picture which was mainly designed using the Docrafts Digital Designer software - I don't have one of the all singing all dancing programmes......yet!!!
It took quite a while as I had to measure it up then fanny around with fonts, types etc so alot of card and ink was wasted until I eventually printed one which I liked!!!
Sorry about the photography! I was trying to show the embossing and some details!

The next picture is another family tree.
I have made these many times now and it doesn't get easier trying to think up new styles in which to make them so, this one became bright and cheerful and not over fussy.

This last one I've made twice - because I couldn't decide which one was best so I gave them both away!!!

The quote made me laugh - Mum's Rules! - and I had the perfect paper kit in Graphic 45's home sweet home collection to use on it.

The first one is in a frame and the second is attached to MDF shapes which I bought from Dreamees.

Again, I used The Docrafts Digital Designer package to print the text and, again, it took ages!!!

Still, my friend was very pleased with them and that's all that matters.

Did you all have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend? I did zilch! 

"He who works" came home Friday night, quite late, and left again on sunday afternoon so we didn't really have much time to do anything. Add in the fact that the poor love was totally knackered! Still, while he had a good sleep, I got to crafting in my lovely room and watched the athletics on the laptop! Then friends came round for drinks and nibbles on Saturday night which left me with a fluffy head on sunday morning!)

Several things to look forward to now (Christmas being one of them!) and I'll fill you in as and when they happen!!!

TTFN

L x