T on Tuesday and the new unit is here!

You can't see it but I had fruit tea with a healthy lunch of melon and cottage cheese with nuts and cinnamon. I'm showing you this because it is time for T on Tuesday at Elizabeth and Bleubeard's gaff!

Last Friday was a sad day but a relief too, my husband's ashes (and 4 dogs ashes) were interred into his father's grave with a small family ceremony. It brought back sadness but relief his wishes had been carried out. There is a new gravestone to sort out as a final thing to do.

Today I had a phone call from one of Shaun's friends who ( very generously together with his 90 year old mother who didn't know Shaun) wants to donate some money to Dorothy House via my Just Giving page, and the badminton club that Shaun belonged to also want to donate. The page link is in the sidebar at the top, and another page for the RUH forever Friends cancer care appeal.

New squishyness.

Gorgeous hand dyed gradient squishyness!

Two little "helpers".

Surrounded by  Really Useful Boxes, ready to go in the new unit.

The big box of hanging files is not for the unit but now holds my crochet patterns.

YAY! The unit arrived at last!

WIP, I put some of the castors on and my son did the rest.

The shelf pegs were really tricky to get in the middle section which is under the overhanging desk, you really need a 4 year old to do it! This went quite well until he declared his head was too big and went on strike!

Nearly finished, just a few more shelves to go in.

Here is the finished unit, I haven't finished filling the boxes yet! The Salcombe Petite unit is from Storage4Crafts, and comes in different finishes. I went for maple and plain doors. I think this is going to be really really useful! It takes less room than the old big desk when closed, and is going to be able to hold so much stuff! It is on castors so can be moved about, the two side sections roll open when needed and it has a soft notice board that takes velcro and has elastic to put things in to keep to hand.

I will be able to sew and papercraft on it, and I am sure I will get the papercrafting bug back once I sort more of my stash into it.

Happy Post and birthday gifts

 This gorgeous envelope arrived today, I didn't open it for ages and when I did I was careful to not damage the artwork by Bibi of Rubber Dance Art Stamps in the Netherlands, and inside....

Lots of lovely rubber! These are all the stamps I won in a recent celebratory giveaway on the Rubber Dance blog, WOW if I hadn't been so tired today I would have already got stuck into stamping with these babies! Thank you Bibi, now I need to enter the July challenge!

 I also won a challenge at Cute Card Thursday and got a £10 Bunny Zoe's voucher, Bunny Zoe's is having a 60% off sale so I got even more than I would have done normally, and at these prices I did add a little more to my order which arrived yesterday - thanks Nikki!

These are all of my 60th birthday cards and two ruby anniversary cards, which just goes to show that if you don't throw a party you don't get many cards! These are lovely and much appreciated though. The second from the left is hand made by Myriam - see below, the third was made by my Mum, the sixth is made by Marg - see below, and the eighth is made by Mum for Hubby to give me.

Today I decided to take them down and put them in a keepsake box, which is when I found I had so many more for my 50th, and even for subsequent birthdays but since I took early retirement I don't get any from work colleagues, and my remaining family members have all sorts of problems and haven't remembered I guess. Other friends who did know clearly only give if there is a party going on that they are invited to!

The keepsake box was slightly overflowing, I found some old photos in there and some keepsakes from the holiday to Prague that I had for my 50th - which I had forgotten were in there. I looked at another little keepsake box thinking there might be space in it, only to find it was full of embellishments I forgot I had. So another surprise today!

 Hubby's family didn't know about my birthday or our anniversary either, as the lynchpin of the family - mother in law who knows all the birthdays and dates to remember - has been ill and in hospital then a home for weeks and only returned to her home this week, so the news would not have got round to anyone, although she doesn't see much of the family these days so it might not have made much difference. MIL is the reason I am so tired today, after two good nights and days home she had a bad one and we were called out in the early hours, and she has continued to have a bad day so I had to call the doctors and get a home visit for her, but let's hope tonight will be better and she will settle down again.

 This sweet little card was made by Quirky team mate Myriam and came all the way from Costa Rica with the little gifts shown, Myriam I love it all - thank you so much! It even arrived just in time.

 This very elegant and opulent card was made by another crafting buddy, Marg Byatt, Thank you so much Marg, Hubby was much impressed with this one.

 These were little gifts on the day from Hubby, who is going to put money towards a new camera for me when I decide which one to go for, which could take me some time!

 My son Richard and his girlfriend Julie bought me a gorgeous rainbow seaglass bracelet by Seaham Waves, I have wanted one of these for a few years since I first saw them, I love it thank you.

I also had money from the parents, and my other son Chris and his wife Vanessa and little Kenny and bump, or I will have toward that camera - I really need to decide but so many things have taken up my time in the last few weeks and months I have been to the camera shop to try the weight of the ones I have thought about, but do I change to a CSC, big decisions!

I don't normally grow sunflowers, well not deliberately - the birds have planted the odd one in the past. This year I did, and these survived the onslaught of the moluscs, when this dark red beauty showed it's face I was quite surprised because I can't remember the seeds I bought being anything special, but they probably were as I got them from Thompson and Morgan. I will take a better photo of it soon.

This is another view of it. I have normal yellow ones growing too.

Finally - a while ago I bought The Cinch to replace the Bind it All, I am talking months ago too. I had not used it yet until I made this. Richard asked me for a list of birthdays and dates and I thought why not make a little birthday book. There are downloadable pages for this and instructions on the WR Memory Keepers blog. It was so easy, I am in love with The Cinch and think I will be making many more books. The Bind it All was a good little machine, and took up less room in it's pretty matching tote but I never managed to get the pages and covers quite lined up, or the right number of holes just where I wanted them but The Cinch has changed all of that. I covered the greyboard that I used for the covers with paper from a Sara Book, and I used a free balloon die from Simply Cards and Papercrafts magazine, part of set of two dies which are this month's cover gift. I added strings and birds in the sky with a Souffle pen and the birds, and die cut Birthday with a Spellbinders die and book with Quickutz dies. 

I have actually entered a challenge or two with this book:

Crafting from the Heart - #68 anything goes (Sun)

Papertake Weekly - don't be square (Tues)

Creative Fingers - #87 Anything goes (Fri)

Bunny Zoe's challenge blog - Summer breeze (Aug 9th)

Die Cut Divas - Summer (July)

Challenges won:

Incy Wincy - doodle what? 

Published in  Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine issue 140

WOYWW #313 Wells

I bought Shaun a bargain ticket to go into The Bishops Palace and Gardens at Wells and it expired this month, so today we went and it was lovely. This is a photo of the cathedral from inside the palace grounds.

Here is Angel Shaun...

and Angel Carol lol.

There once was an ugly duckling, with feathers all stubby and brown.... couldn't stop singing that sone when I saw these cuties! 

I took over 100 photos today, but better not put them all on here or it will be a long and maybe boring post for some.

I've somehow not had the heart to join in WOYWW lately, every week I take the photos then don't do it, but last week I really wanted to join in the anniversary celebrations and even make an ATC, unfortunately MIL had other ideas, she had 3 falls, and we got called out 4 times, had to get paramedics twice, and the doctor once, and she ended up in hospital, and Wednesday evening we spent 5 hours waiting for the doctor after the paramedic called out of hours, then the ambulance. MIL was tucked up in bed - we were not! So I was far too tired to do a thing - and I hadn't managed to make my first ever ATC. I know it is Thursday now, just, but I thought I would pop in this week and explain. I seem to have become an occasional WOYWWer when I used to be regular so to speak!

This is what I started on last night, a dog sweater for Alfie. I trimmed the dogs short ready for Summer a couple of weeks ago when we had a few really warm days, but then we had a lot of really cold days and poor Alfie was suffering with his arthritis. I've been meaning to do this for ages, and today it was so hot he doesn't need it. This one I tried on him and it is too tight but I think I will finish it anyway, it might be ok for next door's Dachshunds if they want it and if I lengthen the body. Now this is the right way up, the holes are for the front legs and there are cuffs to do, and the instructions say to join it from the neck to the start of the shaping, so just past the leg openings. Poor old Alfie is way to stiff in the legs to get this on over his head and legs, so I have decided I better redesign the pattern so that the seam is along the back, the reverse of how it is here, and then work a button band so I can pop him into it and button it up - then it will be easy to put on. Alfie may object strongly to wearing clothes, he never has been keen on his waterproof coat! 

Oh well I better show you the desk, looks pretty messy but I have made a lot of progess putting away stamps. There is a bit of stamping going on here, I have good intentions to enter challenges with real stamps as well as some digis, I keep finding they have closed by the time I get round to actually making something!

The only problem is more stamps are on the way, and some have arrived:

The sad reason is that many shops are closing down, like Whiff of Joy and these beauties were up to 90% off, most of the stamps were less than one Euro each! How could I resist! Quixotic Paperie closed, I had to buy some Kraftin Kimmies, and I was going to buy more but left it too late. Clare Curd had a closing down sale, I bought a couple of things there. CraftsULove have their weekly bargains that you have to grab quick and they have the WR Memory Keepers flower punch board for just £9.99 and there was free postage on the bank holiday weekend - hrmmmp, yes it came my way! Then I won a Kraftin Kimmie $10 voucher, more than $10 of stamps fell into my basket and there is postage on top, and I wondered if I should have chosen my first choice but the ones I chose were in the Frugal Friday sale!

Now I need a load more EZ mount, and haven't finished putting away the stamps I have, and I have a load of stamps I have had years and not used or used a long time ago and think maybe I need to clear them out. Well I did start doing that, but the awful events of this year put a stop to sorting out and selling stuff cheap, and tidying really. I have only just got back to it.

Also I am coming up to our 40th wedding anniversary, and my 60th birthday which the family will combine into one celebration, we don't normally remember our wedding anniversary or celebrate it, but I guess we will have to this year, so maybe a giveaway is in order, if I can get round to it!

To find out what this is all about and join in hop over to The Stamping Ground now, where the legendary Julia Dunnit will explain all!

WOYWW #308 D for do something!

I've not joined in for a couple of weeks, not since just before Shaun had his surgery. The operation was sucessful, he is home recovering and they tell us they got it all.

Last week I went to the Shepton Mallet craft show and I wasn't intending to buy any craft goodies - honest! Well this is what happened mwah mwah mwah!

So I have pick and mix card, buttons, lots of glue, triple thick glaze, sprays, Inky Doodle stamps, Stampendous stamps and dies, some cute flying things dies that will be used soon, a couple of bargain Marianne dies, stencils, beads, stickles and at the front is a small pot of Treasure Gold. I cannot get that pot open, I have tried and tried, so if anyone can tell me what I am doing wrong I would appreciate it!

 

This is my newly finished crochet project, a cardigan for me in cotton. I had a few problems with the pattern but not as many as the last one, here the buttons aren't stitched on.

Here the buttons are stitched on, it looks a lot more blue than it is, the photo above looks truer to colour than this one does. Looks a little tight, but the pattern was designed with "negative ease" - really!! I debated which size to make and am glad I went for this and not the next one down, at least I can wear it this Summer.

This handsome chap is the cat who teases the dogs. He normally sits beneath the conifers he is sitting above - until the dogs go chase him away! He is right beneath my bird feeder usually! There is another cat who also gets chased, is black and white and likes to walk across the pond cover. The grey and white used to look in our patio window until the dogs saw him and went crazy then he would hop up onto the patio table and sit watching the results!

OK I'v been putting it off, but here is the desk. I have had enough of this chaos - something has to change! See my new yarn tubs full up beneath the desk? I hoped to get a lot more in than they will hold.

Birds eye view, on the back of the desk is some material I found in the offcuts box of the local haberdashery shop, are they called that these days? Anyway it is the only shop in town selling material now, as well as yarn, and all the bits. I was heading for the art and craft shop, but found it had closed down. I thought I could make a new back cloth for my mini photo studio with the pink, and the other piece is has peace symbols all over it and the word "peace" and is a much smaller offcut. I liked the colours, just need to use it now - I have some pink left over which goes with it.

The trellis die cut and die - I bought the die at the last show in January then misplaced it until this week (see what I mean, something has to change). In the only space in the middle I am actually using some of my new stamps. The rest - just wants putting away somewhere!

Why am I showing you this? Well it is Wednesday, and on this day crafters of the world show and tell about their spaces and desks. To join in and go see just hop over to The Stamping Ground, home of the lovely Julia Dunnit who started it all.

WOYWW #296 After Craft4Crafters Westpoint

We took a really needed break and headed for Torquay at the weekend, via Craft4Crafters at Westpoint. We stopped at the Donkey Sanctuary for lunch before this but due to a certain someone wearing his nearly best watch and mine being in the repair shop we thought we had a lot less time than we did, due to said watch still being set to British Summertime, so didn't have time to go find my new donkey for the year who is called Teddy. Once at the show I found Ali Crafts, and the lovely Ali is giving up her crafting business to work in Tesco, so lots of bargains to be had and most of my retail therapy happened on her stall. Here are the stencils I bought, lovely lovely stencils.

 Then of course there were stamps, all sorts of lovely stamps, some were only £1 each.

I went back again and bought the Speedball brayer, and treasure gold, everything else was in the bargain bin.

 I could easily have bought a lot more on this stall, had to restrain myself a little!

 From Oyster Crafts I bought these dinky little jars full of pretties! I thought for £1 a pack they are a lot cheaper than the TH ones.
 I love these buttons found on a whole display of wooden buttons on a stall which maybe had beads too, but maybe I should have bought more than 3 of each in case I need them for a cardigan. 6 packs for £5.

 I found some yarn that is the yarn I am using for my cardigan, and worried I will run out I bought 4 balls even though it is a different dye lot and I can see the difference. I might not need it, the cardigan will get a whole post to itself but it has been growing (and shrinking as I unpick constantly to correct mistakes), and the latest problem is the total lace of neck shaping instructions so I will have to unravel the fronts a little and try and work out how to best shape the neckline. While on that stall I spotted ripple scarf yarn for £1 a ball and I want to try this so bought two. I also bought some stainless steel pins, long ones with beads. I am hoping they will be glue proof.

This was in the Ali Craft bargain bin for £1, I think it is a flower mould.

The embossing folder was an Ali Craft bargain, the die was offered to me at £9 by Spike the Punch Magician and it would have been rude to say no!

I had forgotten I ordered this before we left, how about that lighthouse then! I went to order EZ mount from Sticky Tiger only to find they had a sale on, and some stamps and the lighthouse fell into my basket along with some crackle paint. I have some crackle paint bought as unused, or hardly used which seems to have dried up so was a foolish purchase, and this is to make up for it! Oh I have plans for the lighthouse, it is so big! I have so many other things I should alter first....

Anyway most of this is photographed on the floor as the desk is full!

Mother in Law had a nightdress that she wanted shortened before she would wear it, and my "big" machine would not stitch correctly today. The more I adjusted the tension the worse it got, so I got the diddy pink one out and used that. Do you think I should buy a new "big" one? Mine is around 40 years old after all! (Now even the cheapest budget machine has more stitches than mine, even this diddy one has a stitch that the "big" one doesn't!).

I didn't take any photos the whole weekend, apart from a couple with my phone from the hotel lounge before we left. 

The sun was out but it was very cold.

 One of my main courses, a trio of fish. It was expensive, and incurred a supplement on top of the inclusive bill.

This was my scallop starter, which should have come with chicken wings but I asked not to have them, again this was a more expensive dish and incurred a supplement.

I haven't felt like making anything since Mother in Law went into hospital, and later the home where she waits to be released home. We are visiting nearly every day and sorting things out in between and everything seems dominated by the situation - why is it affecting me so badly? When we were away I slept really well, but I was suffering from an allergic reaction to a brand of prescription medication and taking antihistamine tablets which can make you sleepy.

Anyway it is that day when everyone goes for a nosy around other people's desks, and the fun all happens at The Stamping Ground!