Candy ending tonight or tomorrow

I just found this candy from Fran and thought I would share, but you must be quick as it ends tonight.

This one is from Julie, at Julie's japes, and ends on 1st November, nice stamp set and papers.

Larissa has stamps to celebrate her over 60 thousand hits. Closes 1st November.

Kim Dellow has this WoJ stamp to give away, enter by 1st November.

Quirky Crafts Weekly Challenge 15

I still haven't got my photo programs sorted out but I grabbed this from Quirky Crafts Forum thanks to Fe who put it on there for me. The challenge this week is set by Anne and is a recipe: two shades of pink, one ribbon and three eyelets. I used dark and light pearlescent card cut using the Sizzix XL mover and shaper die with a tree shape, and I used the darker colour tree which is stuck to the inside so it shows through the aperture. The tree is decorated with gems, and a star which is on the outside. I stamped a greeting with my new Just Rite stamps (won in the Christmas blog hop) and the circle Nestabilities, and some ribbon I recieved as a RAK from Deanne, thanks Deanne for that and the rest especially the little choccy bar, yum! Finally I added three pink star eyelets. A pretty quick card to make really.

 I was trying to clear a space to make this, and find a box for the Just Rite stamps to live in and I knocked over a tub full of bits, you know the kind, you just pop odd eyelets, stamped images, spare die cut shapes etc in it, well there was a lot and it went everywhere!  I did find things I had forgotten were there though.

Should be showing you my DT card but....

Last week Windows 7 arrived despite the postal strike - hooray (I think).

Friday evening I decided to install it, had to do a back up first, and I had to locate and download a backup program for Firefox and in particular Thunderbird as I didn't want to lose all my emails yet again! So I managed that, and backed up then started the install process. I had no idea it would take so long, was it because I chose full install over upgrade?
Well I sat there into the early hours waiting to put in the key, did that then got told after it rebooted again that I had a fake copy of Windows, and would I like to register online, buy a licence or re-enter the key? I re-entered and all seemed well, left it and went to bed.
Yesterday I found that all my files and programs had been moved to a folder called "Windows Old", I did see a warning that it would move old windows program files to this folder, and my simple brain assumed it meant actual Windows files not everything!
The warning also mentioned something about being able to see them but not to use them. This means that many of my programs do not work, and even if I copy them into the right place again they still do not work.
I tried re-installing my internet security program and got an error message saying there was a file that would make my PC unstable so it wouldn't be installed, but luckily I found I could download the latest version which according to Kapersky is the only compatible version, and use it with my existing licence key. Phew.
Now onto the DT card for this week, I cannot get the Cannon Zoombrowser software to work, I am now having to resort to installing an XP version from disk and hoping it will install so I can update it, as the full program no longer seems to be available from Cannon online. I know I must have a download of the Vista version somewhere in my old files, but I can't find it - unless it is on one of the back up disks prior to Friday, deep joy!
So that is the program that grabs my photos from the memory card or camera, then I need a photo editing program and that means I need to try and get Serif working which I haven't yet got to.

Sooooo, to get to the point, I had to email my photos to Fe from the memory card and she has got them onto Quirky Crafts forum for Challenge 15, in fact I might be able to grab a copy from there to show you here......

Scaredy cats

I'm in the mood for magic! Well it is nearly Halloween. These two very different cats are looking very spooky too. I found I had the gold embossed spiders web card which I had forgotten about so decided to use it, I also had a little heap of Halloween brads. Cat in a Hat is Penny Black, and he is coloured with Pro Markers and Trias, and some Stickles Ice glitter glue. The shapes are cut with two different Nestabilities label sets. The spooky edges are cut with my Fiskars rotary trimmer. Ribbon is Papermania.

Card two features fluffles as a vampire! same card, edge punched with a Martha Stewart punch, Nesties again, and bat sequins.  The Happy Halloween on both cards is from a Sizzix stamp set, and I stamped inside the second card too but forgot to take a photo.

Whiff of Joy blog candy

Whiff of Joy Winter stamp set is ready for pre-order now, and if you go over to Katharina's blog before 23rd of October you could win the whole set and some metal embellishments which are also new to the shop. You can see a sneak peak in the picture above.

Quirky Crafts Weekly Challenge 14

Look at this great prize which you could win if you enter Challenge 14. 

Challenge 14 over on Quirky Crafts Forum is to create a project with a Halloween or autumn theme. This is my attempt! I used Annie by Charmed Delectable Stamps (in fact this stamp is called elegant Annie), gave her a die cut witches hat and pumpkin, and the leaves, ghost eyelets, Papermania ribbon, Hero Arts Boo and spider and web stamps from the Owloween set, and the bats are sequins. Black blooms, and Making Memories swirly brad, with glitter paper in the background, and grey paper. Does Annie look spooky?

Sneaky peek of Challenge 12

Sneaky peek of my creation for the Quirky Crafts Forum weekly challenge that will be revealed in full tomorrow.  Can you guess what it is yet? You still have time to enter the Out and About challenge that ends tomorrow and you could win a nice little surprise if your creation is picked as the best.

Winnings arrived today

This is what I got from the lovely Caz over on A Load of Old Blogrocks blog, I wasn't expecting to get so many lovely things, charms, ribbons, papers, heart pins and a lovely card too.  A big thanks to Caz. I am so lucky!

Whoo Hooo I won candy!

I have just found out that I won these stamps all from  A Load of Old Blogrocks!  Thanks Caz. The stamps are by Squiggle Stamps. Aren't the elves just the cutest thing ever!

I might have collected a few things from the Cardiff Show!

So what did I collect in the spotty stash collector at the Cardiff show? 

I was being ever so environmentally friendly refusing bags, but when I saw this bag I couldn't refuse it! However I did put it and its contents inside the Spotty Stash Collector which I took to wheeling ahead of me so I could see who I might be going to run over rather than tripping people from behind! Also I got in cheaper than expected as the gorgeous young lady on the front desk made an assumption wrongly and without even asking issued me with a senior ticket!  Now I did briefly feel outraged (and wondered if I looked particularly awful that day after being frozen - see later) but then had to decide whether to protest or take it as a blessing and go in for less, though the chap taking the tickets gave me a strange look.

So what is in the gorgeous bag?  Here it is, Voila, Movers and Shakers dies: I wasn't going to buy anything honest,but they were at a very good price, the smaller card and envelope duo were at £35, the movers inserts were 2 for £12, and the single C6 card was £21.50 which I think is cheaper than I have seen it, I hope so! I also got a loyalty card and points. I resisted the electric Big Shot - for now! (I won't mention the pile of cheap dies I bought from Ellison earlier this week too, or the ones I am eyeing up this week).

I also bought these embossing folders which I thought were Cuttlebug but now I see they are by Crafts Too.  I paid £11 for 3 and £3.90 for one, but I did see them cheaper singly later on.

 

I bought these from Spike Lee (punch magician) and Sam, though I have this horrible nagging feeling I have bought the template on the right before, must look for it just in case. The shapes and attachment in the pack are to punch scalloped shapes and stars with your Kreaxions punches, was less than £3 so I thought I would try it.

  

Finally I couldn't resist these little mouse stamps from The Craft Fairy Yvonne.  Had a chat with Yvonne about shows and challenges. I also bought some more of the wire and net elephants, they are decorated with sequins and beads and I made a lovely card using one a while ago, still have three left but bought 4 more just in case!

 

Now although I clearly had a good time at the show and got round in about three hours including stopping to eat my lunch, I got so cold waiting on Pontpool station for the train, then at Cardiff station for another train, and I had messed up the times in my head (then was told a certain train stopped at Pontypool but when the announcements went up it clearly didn't and the next train that did stop there was another 30 minutes at least) so had a long wait then got a train to Cwmbran instead and had to wait there for my brother to pick me up (another 20 minutes in the freezing cold). Today I am determined to be very warm, so I have been in my winter coat and drinking lots of hot drinks. I put the heating on too.

Off to Cardiff show tomorrow

After my disappointment about the Exeter show I am actually going to Cardiff all being well, going to go partly by car and partly by train.

I don't actually want need anything but I am taking my nice new wheeled shopping trolley just so I can carry my lunch you understand!

Check list:
Cheques,
Cards,
Cash,
Lunch,
Drink,
Wheeled shopper - I refuse to believe it is an old lady shopper, it is red and black with polka dots after all...

I have had two days off work, I had planned to do so much but it didn't all happen.  I have had two gorgeous sunny days though, better than August and it is hard to believe it is October apart from the fact the nights are chillier.

Now a week ago we had to get a new kettle, the one we bought in January still worked but the lid mechanism jammed.  So off to Sainsburys who refunded us, then we looked for a new kettle and they didn't have the same one which was a Russell Hobbs and you would expect quality from them.  We found a £20 kettle which had apparently been reduced several times but it was a pull off lid and Hubby didn't trust me not to burn myself, so we ended up with the most expensive kettle in the store which is  Breville Lightning at £40.  The old kettle just lit up blue when it was put on to boil, the new kettle lights up blue when the power is on, red when put on to boil (when it vibrates furiously) and it has a keep warm feature.  Can anyone tell me why you need a keep warm feature on a kettle?

I looked out of my front door this morning and saw a hot air balloon, grabbed the camera and changed lenses and got a good shot of it. I was too slow to get the heron that the dogs scared away, or the yellow wagtail, another day perhaps.