I'm back with a bird mystery

I am not sure what these little beauties are, they were on Brixham Quay. I am thinking Plovers but I can't find any online photos that look like these birds.

Can anyone tell me what they are please?

I have lots to tell and lots of photos but not tonight!


Could this be the answer? Junvenile ringed plover picture from the RSPB site.

We're all going on a Summer Holiday, fun and laughter for a day or two

Well not quite Cliff Richard, but the two of us are off to Torquay tomorrow, got dog/house sitter son sorted, not packed, panicking about packing.......eeeek I have a headache and don't feel good.

It was only thought about Tuesday and booked yesterday, I messed up at work as I thought I needed to be there in the morning but have found it is the afternoon so may have to leave late - not sure yet, I am grouchy, DH is building a mountain to take in my little car so I can drive when he has a drink!

I have made a batch of very quick cards with some embellishments I wanted to use up, haven't used many yet but I will take a photo some time soon. That reminds me I will have to pack camera, battery recharger, new lens, tripod, crafty stuff? Book, mags? Will I have time to read??

I ordered a modular bag for the new lens so it doesn't get damaged only to find it doesn't really go with my old same make bag, a filter that is the wrong size and a cleaning kit, then I signed up for a subscription to a photo mag that is giving away a great camera rucksack worth £70 so I won't need the modular thing if it is as good as it looks! It won't arrive in time now, and I can't get the filter in time. Haven't cleared my memory card either, oh dear!

I am washing clothes, need them to take. Got to sort out more packing now!

I see I am coming up to 6000 visitors so will organise some more blog candy soon!

I know I will forget to take something, probably something important, I always do!

Back soon.

Look what I bought this week

I bought the special offer from Paperartsy that was offered with Crafts Beautiful magazine. The offer was for three free credit card size stamps (the set of three on the right of the photo numbers, woman and doodles), the other set of three and the 25 sheets of paper were another £12 plus £2 postage. Then I saw these Inkadinkado Far East foam backed rubber stamps on Ebay and got them for less than £5 including postage.

I became fascinated by the Puzzle Punch by Craft Too and had to get one, I have been playing with it and it is really interesting so far. I will show you some results soon.

I also bought two sets of Penny Black T for Transparent stamps that I have been wanting for a while.

Opposites attract challenge card

This is a card for This Thursday challenge blog, opposites attract and I thought this cat and fish stamp would fit the bill.

I am going to send it to my friend afterwards.

The photo is a bit crooked, I may take a better one.

Late birthday offerings and some new cards

First some graduation cards using a House Mouse stamp, coloured in by the lovely Vanessa.
Then the Paper Gator that I bought myself which arrived today, looks pretty I think.
















I also made some birthday cards with the Hero Arts antique map that is so popular and added some brass charms. I made them very quickly and I thought I had some good paper to use but I can't find it anywhere!
























Next here are my only crafty birthday gifts from Vanessa, a lovely antique looking French butterfly stamp set in a neat tin, and another tin of great travel stickers that have a mat finish and are good quality. Thanks V!


I had the two lovely birthday cards shown below (sent as RAKs) both with Tilda on them, the paddling Tilda is from Fiona Haig-Gannon - Fe-Fe, and the Tilda with bird is from Linda, of Linanna blog.

Fe Fe sent me a heap of Tilda images too, thanks very much - you might convert me yet!

Pregnancy and baby cards

Here are some new cards I made, two baby ones using Paper Box (I think) patterned card, some toppers I wanted to use up and stamped sentiments with some blue fabric stars added.

The congrats card is an Inkadinkado stamp, I layered it on DCWV papers, and added some ric rack and blooms, and a flower sticker.

I used my newly rediscovered scallop blade to cut round the image.

Clearly clever challenge

I know you have seen this a little while ago but I think it is perfect for the This Thursday challenge card, which had to use something clear and be clever. As the outer card is acetate it is clear and I think the puddle and raindrops I made are very clever, so I am going to enter it!

New toy

I am still home sick but I thought I would show you what my new lens can do.

First a shot through the patio glass of a sparrowhawk by the bird feeders with baby bird clamped down on the ground, and a trimmed image as good as I can get from the main shot.

Then, sadly not the sparrowhawk, but the greedy wood pigeon on the feeders from exactly the same spot through the glass and using my new lens. I think I am going to have fun with this!

Happy Birthday to ME! (Or not)

What a day, I haven't been well enough to go to work and have slept a lot and woken up disorientated, but I did get some nice presents, a couple of things I wanted and some nice surprise presents, well it was all a surprise as wanting and getting isn't always the same! No craft related presents so far, but I have so much already and I have a present to come yet, I did get money and vouchers to spend too.

I did get a new camera lens so I can shoot those birds! I missed a shot of a Sparrowhawk that had a baby bird in it's claws by the bird feeding station. Nature taking its course, and I wondered if the bird was still around as I haven't seen it for a while.

I hope to feel well enough to play with my new toys, particularly my new lens and my Actifry - way hay I can make 3% fat organic chips (fresh ones not horrid frozen ones) now! I wonder if I can make 3% fat kettle chips?

Stamped image swap PCJ

I like this image, I may have to get the stamp. Deanne sent it in for the PCJ stamped image swap number 2, florals.

The ink ran a little bit but I have used some embellishments from my blog candy that Heather sent me, and I think I got away with it!

I used Ric Rac from Crafts by Carolyn, and my Fiskars scallop blade, inked the edges with and punched the corners with a Dovecraft heart punch.

Penny Black challenge card

The Penny Black challenge for this week was to make a card using pink, brown and green and a Penny Black stamp of course!

This coincided with the need to make a birthday card for a young lady. So got this very cute stamp out and here it is!

Flower paper is by All My Memories, Queen and Co chipboard letters, ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, Bazzill flowers, Papermania gem.

I didn't use eyelets or brads for safety reasons.

Pre Christmas raid - eeeeek

I was browsing on one of the forums I belong to and read a post I hadn't read before called "The Pre Christmas Raid is going to be on...."

Then there is a whole post on how they are going to raid me and this plotting has been going on for some time! Seems my photo entered in the messy crafter comp sparked it off!"

I think I better batten down the hatches, get out the camouflage nets, can't cope with that many people!

I found it!

The only thing is I didn't notice the time, went to bed too late then couldn't sleep so have felt wrecked all day!

I had a surprise though - my new Craft Stamper magazine arrived today and I didn't recognise it at first.

It has had a makeover, now you don't get a rubber stamp but you get a polymer stamp and this month is is a strawberry stamp in red polymer!

I loved my old Craft Stamper so this takes a bit of getting used to but there are some good articles, one on alcohol inks use, one to create an antique notebook, and lots more.

I just treated myself to this Creativity Life offer.
Also I have treated myself to the special offer free stamps from Crafts Beautiful, and bought all the other special offers while I was there!

Well it is my birthday next week, so someone has to treat me, even if it is me!

Now where has that gone?

Do you ever lose your stash right in front of your eyes? I lost my MM grommet set (which I find too heavy to use so far), found it after weeks of looking on the shelf - I am sure I looked on the shelves before. Now it is back in the drawer.

Sunday evening I lost my Karen Foster eyelet setter which I knew was on my workbench the day before, but I looked everywhere on the bench and floor and the shelves - nothing. Never mind I used the Cropadile (which I think I would have a job to lose but time will tell)to finish the inchie card, .

Yesterday I found the eyelet setter exactly where I thought it was the previous day - weird!

I got quite excited yesterday when I realise I had a scallop blade for my rotary trimmer which I had forgotten about and is just what I want to do, so happily tried it out last night on some stamped images. I want to cut a straight sided mat to go with them and can I find where I put the blade when I swapped them?
No! The logical thing would be to put it in the little acetate box with all the other blades, not there (today anyway).
So I have checked the bench and the floor and the next thing would be to turn out all the things on the floor it could have fallen into! So annoying!

I do have a spare straight blade but I would really like to keep that until I need to change the existing one when it gets dull.