New Year's Eve already - what are you doing now?

I wish you all a very Happy 2009. If you are out celebrating or at home celebrating I hope you have a great time!

My boys are both out but we are staying quiet though my Mum nearly sent us as substitutes to a dinner dance they are supposed to be attending, my Dad is quite ill still having had the flu or a virus for two weeks now. Mum is on the village hall committee (a fairly new appointment) and was supposed to be in charge of clearing one table, also she had to make a dessert.

I refused, it was too short notice, not my crowd, don't have anything suitable to wear and couldn't eat the food in any case.

I have been happily sorting out my unmounted stamps this afternoon and evening, a job long overdue.

I am painting the totally naked rubber with Stampendous Ultimate Adhesive, acrylic mounting block adhesive. This is a new product to me fairly recently, and you paint it on let it dry and then cut out your stam,ps if on a sheet.

I have quite a few singles and they are more fiddly to paint, and as I have some sort of membrane on each of my burnt fingers which is supposed to stay put for 7 days (my thumb is on the third one already) and I don't think that getting glue on them is ideal.

At least I can use my fingers without pain today, well most of the time!

So I am stamping images onto a sheet which I am then laminating, added a filing strip and filing, but also stamping another sheet so I can catalogue the UMs in a display folder with built in poly pockets that I bought for the purpose at least a year ago.

I have a folder and a half of UMs already mounted on cling mount which I haven't catalogued yet so this could take some time especially as I also started stamping a few extra of each and heat embossing, and for the catalogue I coloured some of the images on the first sheet - well they are my new Whiff of Joy stamps so how could I not.

I am going to catalogue all the loose stamps first, will get to the already mounted UMs afterwards (could be a long time afterwards).

I still haven't placed an order for my new computer so I am working on my son's old one, which I haven't loaded any photos on. I hope my back up works but the old hard drive should still be acessible as I think the motherboard died.

I made an 8oth birthday card but it was a bit wonky with my heavily bandaged fingers at the time, much better with the membrane if only they will stay on. They are costly. I will show you the card when I can - it isn't the best but is pretty.

The stamp cataloguing, glueing, laminating etc will keep me going at least all evening. Tomorrow we are going out for a meal with the boys and the parents and family of my son's fiancee. Mum and Dad are invited but I am not sure Dad is up to it.

Computer broke, fingers burnt

Sorry I haven't been around but my PC isn't working, using my son's PC with difficulty due to three bandaged burnt fingers, burnt on Christmas day!

I hope to resume normal service soon.

Happy Winter Birthday

I made this crisscross card today for my son who's birthday is today, finished it just before he arrived for the Christmas break.

I used my own method for the crisscross card, I took a piece of A4 card and with my scoring board I scored the lines for a tri-fold A4 card first one side, then turning it round so the score was the same way round I scored the other line.

Then I cut the card down to 10cm high so it was square (so you can get two cards from one piece of card), then cut the fronts diagonally. I cut two pieces of patterned winter paper for the fronts, then used DST to stick the flaps down.

I punched a piece of card in burgandy to go across using my Martha Steward scalloped dots border punch then the lettering was done with green tape and the Dymo. This was mounted onto holographic card and adhered with DST.

I cut the insert piece out of the burgandy card, rounded the corners and then I stamped the Penny Black skating boy called Swirls and Curves in Stazon ink and coloured it with water colour pencils. I cut out the image with a scalloped blade in my rotary trimmer, added more words with the Dymo and added a ribbon through a punched hole and finished that with a ribbon tag.

The back of the insert was finished with the same paper as one of the front flaps.

Have I missed anything I should have done?

Vintage Christmas card and cod factory

Here is the Christmas Cod production line.






Now that she has it I can show you the card I made for my friend Linda, which I attempted to distress.

There is a pretty ribbon inside that shows through the holly punched holes. I also used the Holly stamp, and the lace Linda gave me, and the background to the stamp is done with alcohol inks. I sprayed the image and the card with glimmer mist in bronze too.

Christmas Cod

I finished all my Christmas Cods - have you?

Now I had to make about 20 for my work colleagues, I saw the stamps and had to have them. I think they are great but I am not sure everyone got it! I think you have to say it in an American accent maybe to get it!

Some of them were stamped in gold and some black, and coloured in different things until I found that mica paints were best. Some have glitter added too.

I have been asked where I got the stamps. They are a half sheet and there are a lot more sentiments, like "fishing you a very merry Christmas", and "I stamped this cod for you" among a few. The stamps are by Victorine Originals and I got them on Ebay from the USA from bjstampstore, you have to go onto ebay USA to see her store though and she doesn't have them at the moment.

Talking about getting it - I am glad you got your PIF Sally and that you liked it. I hope Jenni got hers too.

I have spent all my spare time making the Christmas cods, I only started Sunday night, and have been at it ever since, late nights, not enough sleep - I hope they appreciate it!

All I have to do tonight is write all my cards for posting and find some bits for some crafting buddies, then write all the rest of the cards. Oh and wrap some more presents, and see if I can book Tesco for next week - not much chance I think.

We were to have a Christmas lunchtime party today at work, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. I do have a Christmas lunch on Friday but it is at 2:30 in the afternoon, and I have another meal in the evening!

My colleagues are talking about dressing up really smart for the meal, I said no chance I am wearing my jeans. Also we have a secret Santa that is something to wear from the neck up that we are to wear at the meal, no names and unisex and you could end up picking your own gift (suits me, I am dreading some of the things I could pick!).

Here are some of the pages I recieved

These are pages in my fat book, not all of them but these are from Deanne, Dawn, Flee, and Chooks (Gaye).

Thanks ladies.
I got extra goodies too, the tag is from Deanne. I had chocolate, stamped images, ribbons, bits and pieces, fibres, bits of maps - lots of stuff!

Fat book and fat pages reveal

At last I can reveal the fat pages that I made and sent off for the swap, and my finished book with my received pages.

The fairy on the front (or is she an angel?) was made by the talented Sabina who lives in Australia.

I coloured the covers with alcohol inks in the style of Tim Holtz on his 2nd I think of the 12 tags of Christmas but my efforts look nothing like the great Tim's!

It was time consuming and stressful to get them done on time, and I was the last to post, but I love my finished book of pages from my PCJ buddies.

Here are the pages I made and sent off.

Pay it Forward winner

This didn't go as well as Dawn's cat for picking a winner as you can see. However Alfie looked at the same one that Sooty and Winnie the Pooh decided to stop by and the winner is: Sally. Sally this is your third thing!

Also I got my son to pick a name and I am giving a little something to Jenni also!

Please leave a comment with your details which I won't post, and I will send you your goodies ladies.

Scuse the mucky hands, he has a mucky job! He won't be packing the goodies!

Now here is a frosty morning photo, just look at that sky! It was so cold and icy but is pouring with rain now.