New goodies

Say the word SALE, followed by Stamps and I am there!  So recently I have bought the entire set of Flippin Men stamps and some of the Flippin Women - there weren't many women left. These were only £1 each reduced from £9.99 per set so how could I not buy them from Imag-e-nation and I only went there for a free digi download.
Then I had an email from Elzybells announcing a 75% off closing down sale. Right there, right away! I spent "cough" rather a lot more than I anticipated but there was the lovely rubber and some other things I couldn't pass up on.

Now this is where the Royal Mail played a blinder. I had an email saying the goodies had been dispatched on Oct 4th, so when I got one of those cards saying a package is at the PO and too big for your letterbox (mailbox) I went right on line and asked for redelivery on Saturday 9th Oct. Postie came and delivered a parcel but not the one I expected. So I thought I must have been wrong, and waited, and waited.......Finally I had a hunch that the parcel that had arrived was nothing to do with the card, and that the redelivery may not have happened, the card didn't have any numbers on it to identify it, so how could the PO find it to redeliver I thought. So yesterday I popped in to the collection office to see if they had my goodies and after much searching they found them, not helped by me thinking the package must be smaller than it was! So Hooray I have my rubber and the other goodies.
Elizabeth who started Elybells to sell her stamp designs is not giving up completely, but she will be working for one of the big stamp manufacturers in future, Penny Black I think, so Good Luck to her and I am sure we will be seeing many of her designs soon.

The next lot of goodies which actually arrived first was from Crafty Ribbons.

When I saw this new gadget for making stunning bows I had to have one, after all it is under £10 (under £9 in fact) and my favourite ribbon people not only endorse it but are selling it and using it. I had to get some of these cute ribbons too, and got a freebie. The thing by the Bowdabra is my attempt at a bow with it.

Apart from these goodies I have been buying cute dog stamps, so watch out for cute dog cards coming soon. I have been on the lookout for a stamp of a dog that someone sent me in a swap but cannot find him, I found a smaller similar dog by Inkadinkadoo and bought him. The dog is sitting wagging his tail and holding a bone in his mouth, the original one is a scruffier one than the Inkadinkadoo version but very similar. I wish I could remember who made them so I could search for it, I am sure I knew once.

New goodies

This grab box was from Graphicus, what a lot I got!

Then this from Stamps.co.uk in the sale, and I sort of forgot what I ordered so it was a nice surprise,

and these from the USA, Hero Arts Clings, Penny Blank clings and a Penny Black retired stamp,

finally these from Sugar Nellie, the singles were half price in the New Year special deal,

 

What a lot I got, and today I bought a DoCrafts goody bag, I am trying to give them up but there is some yummy stuff in this one and it is the best I have seen, the darling mini buttons were the deciding factor. Will take a photo later when I have deleted some from my memory card which I keep filling up.

Here is my attempt at making fudge. It was very nice but you could have spread it as it didn't set enough.

Life is a rollercoaster...

What a week this has been! 1st I recieved the subs gift of Stamps away stamps with some acrylic blocks and an inkpad, and because of the mix up and the problems I had with my subs they said I could keep the package of goodies that I thought I had won a few weeks back, I did ask but nobody got back to me.

I chased up the stamps and they said I had been sent a Cardology gift according to the agents did I have it? I said I did and have been asking you why, even on the forum and I did get a reply telling me I had won it then another asking for details as it looked a bit like the subs gift but I didn't get any more from that person despite replying again.

So I have the stamps and the brads etc now. The stamps are quite small as you may be able to tell but there is quite a variety.

Then my brother rang to say his divorce absolute came through earlier than expected the day after he consulted a passing clairvoyent at a friends house who told him this would happen as well as a few other things. He is totally convinced.

Then my son got knocked off his bicycle cycling to work despite wearing a bright yellow jacket, my hubby was caught up in traffic and when he was driving past the police cars and ambulance and paramedic car he recognised the bike on the ground, so that was a shock.

Son was taken to A&E hubby was told before this to go on to work and he would be phoned if needed, I was totally oblivious until I got home that evening, A&E let son go telling him he needed to have someone with him all day (he bashed his head on the road, and hurt his leg, the bike was damaged too), so what did he do? Ring one of us? No, he went to catch the train home, I don't know if he walked the couple of miles to the station or got a bus.

Hubby took him and bought him a cycle helmet which we hope he will wear, he is far too old to wait for his parents to buy such things, but you can't tell them anything. I think we are all lucky he is still here to moan about his bike, could have been so much worse.

I had a fat page arrive from Australia from the lovely Sabina, it is part of the fat page swap I am taking part in on PCJs forum and I can't show you as we are not revealing any until we all have all of our pages so it will remain a surprise.

I have been busy cleaning the bathrooms today, I really should go food shopping but I found something to eat today so I will have to go tomorrow and not today now which somehow feels better to me, I don't know why!

I now have 11 blog followers, thank you all for following me!

I won new stash - I think and RAK from Linda

This is the package of goodies that turned up on Friday.
I don't yet know why but I know it was from Practical Publishing, could have been a give-away draw.

There are some lovely Cardology brads, cards with envelopes, sequins, wooden flowers with button middles and ribbons, more brads, mini clothes hangers, glitter, embossing powder (I think), and a sheet of greetings. So whatever the reason I am pleased with it but you would think they might have put a note in to give me a clue, it was only by googling the sender's address that I determined it must be Practical Publishing!


I also had a lovely RAK arrive from dear Linda, a gorgeous card and some lace and here they are:

Linda's Fairy card is just so lovely, love the dragon paper, and the lace is shown draped over the card. Linda's blog has many gorgeous creations on it and is well worth hopping over to.

More stash

I just had a pile of stamps arrive from the USA (all the House Mouse ones and the PB bicycles stamp). I have bought from this seller before but now she is not using Global Priority and told me she sent an email to that effect, which I probably read and promptly forgot. So I didn't check how much postage was going to be, usually in the Priority envelope it is about $12 which is around £7 right now, but I had to pay $21 for this lot so double and with the exchange rate going down not so many bargains about but I did get quite a lot of stamps.

The stamps are mostly still cheaper than over here despite the low exchange rate, but I will think twice about purchasing again, at least without checking postage! Recently I have been buying some stamps from the U.K. because I have found them as cheap as the USA and postage is less.

There is one USA seller (beecreativestamps) who packs in as many bubble envelopes as it takes whatever the size of your order but only charges around $15 tops and bears the cost herself of any extra postage, and she now gives me 5% off all purchases for buying so much from her! I don't know how she makes any money from this.

Yesterday I had my goodies arrive for featuring in the article in Quick Cards Made Easy about latest craft purchase, it was 16 sheets of 12"x12" paper and several sheets of 3d card stickers all by Karen Foster.

I have a package on the way as a swap too, I have to put up a parcel of stash to send back which shouldn't be hard.

Yesterday I bought a "few" more dies on the Ellison site, they are having a sale on many items, some were reduced from £13.50 to £3.50 - how could I resist! I know I can get them for around £10.99 from Cutting Edge Crafts but £3.50 is still a bargain, and some of the thin cuts were down to £1 or £1.79 each. I put it down to retail therapy as I wasn't feeling well, and when I finally managed to get out of bed, and dressed by the evening I was on the spend!

I did take a couple of dies out of the basket again, they were the less reduced ones and three that were to make small cards with windows and a matching envelope (I assumed it matched) but I figured I could do those without the aid of a die but I kept one of the £9.85 ones to make a Christmas hanging star.

I thought I would show you some of my recent purchases and the prize stash. I had to include the Big Shot, I know I bought her a while ago but she is so pretty! The BS is not that way round now, I am left handed so I have the flower side showing and no gems.

What about the Inkadinkado Inchie stamp sets then, I haven't done a lot of inchies but I love these sets and there are at least two more sets that they make.
I added a spider to the Halloween card but I had a lot of trouble making him stick, and in the end I had to use silicone glue which is showing in the photo. I added another leaf to the baby pumpkin too.








Here are a few of the topper cards I made from the Arty Miss mystery box, no skill required! I haven't been sleeping well lately so last night was sitting up late sorting Christmas bits into a Really Useful box with compartment tray, before that I kept catching the corner of the box they were balanced on and sending them flying all over the floor, will be picking up for months!

New stamps and Christmas cards

I have managed to take a few photos of new stamps and the Christmas cards so far. I have created a new slide show for Christmas photos, I think they tend to take over and many are just quick and sticky efforts and not a great deal of work. Oh and I put in a photo of the mystery box I bought from Arty Miss.
These cards are using up the stuff I have got in the mystery box (and Vanessa helped make them) and have accumulated over the past couple of years, I will get some stamped ones done eventually!

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.

Won a challenge

I have to point out I didn't win this stash for the tub, I bought it! The prize was a Papermania embellishment case/tote.

My altered brush pen tub won the DoCrafts challenge and I am to get a prize! It is chosen by random selection apparently!


The following stash was not a prize - I paid and with duty!

I had to go and collect a parcel from the PO and pay both duty and fees to the tune of £11. Ah well it had to happen sometime.

Here is what was in the parcel:

Fluffles stamps, wooden at the front and clear set behind. Gel-a-tins clear stamps of chocolates, and the jar is chocolate sented embossing powder - it really is gorgeous! (Primas were here already).


Now for the next parcel:

I got a corset stamp, shoe and sentiment, more fluffles,
but the Penny Black girl wasn't with this lot!
The stickers and tissue pack behind were all freebies from the sellers - Wasabi625 thanks guys!

I also got a Stampendous stamp tote, and I have ordered 5 more Tuff boxes, I feel another stamp reorganisation coming on!