Shhh don't tell my son.....

I sneaked these photos onto my son's PC, I hope he doesn't notice!

My first two Valentine's cards using the free stamp set with Card Making and Papercrafts, birds coloured with Prismacolor pencils which I read you could colour on dark card with so I wanted to try it, brown paper effect card blank, Nick Bantock red and brown ink, birds in Brilliance ink white with clear embossing powder. Nestabilities used to cut scalloped shapes, and finally ribbon and on the second card two beads.

Below is the Bookatrix card I made for MIL's 80th, don't laugh I had three badly burnt fingers bandaged with big bandages at the time, it wasn't easy to do!

Beware B&Q bamboo toilet seats

The highlight of my weekend has been shopping for toilet (john, dunny, loo) seats, and we found a lovely looking bamboo seat (made in China where they know a lot about bamboo) which we thought would be perfect.

I noticed the lid was different to normal but thought it was the design, so carpenter hubby fitted the seat and it looked nice.

Now I noticed something strange when I sat on it, it wasn't comfortable (too much detail?), but in the morning I had a good look at it and the whole thing was upside down. The curved edges were all on the bottom (of the seat, which you can tell is not good), and the edges were on the top.

In addition to this it looked like the hole was perfectly drilled in what should have been the lid. So I rang B&Q and was told to bring it in for exchange if they had one that was right, but I knew the display one was the same.

Help desk sent me to kitchens where I explained all over again to a bemused salesman, and when I showed him the display one he had to agree it was not right. So he opened every box, all the same, rang another store - same.

As we left clutching our refund he was emptying the shelves!

Now we are toilet seatless in the ensuite, will have to try and remember later on in the dark to go use the other bathroom.

Changing the subject completely I have actually made a card this evening, a Valentine's card. I used the lovely free stamp set I got with Card Making and Papercrafts and I might see if I can sneak it onto my son's PC so I can show you but not tonight.

Blog Award

I have only just come across this on Bumblebee Rhonda's blog. I have been awarded a blog award, thank you so much Rhonda.

This is a bit late due to my computer being broken still and not downloading emails as usual, so I must have missed this somewhere along the line.

The rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've nominated

Now I need to nominate 7 others - or is it too late as it says 2008?

1. Tassy

2. Linda

3. Fiona

4. Deanne

5. Tracey for her challenge work

6. Debbie

7. Michelle - check out the donkeys

Beautiful blog candy from a talented lady

The very talented Ewonne, who has recently been featured on Inspirational blog, has some truly beautiful blog candy up for grabs until the 25th Jan.

It is well worth visiting Ewonne's blog to see her wonderful creations.

I used to be indecisive - but now I can't make up my mind

It has taken me a month to choose my new upgrade mobile phone, so the computer stands no chance! I keep going onto sites and configuring a PC, don't need a screen etc, and they always end up around £1,000 and that is not with much on site support if any.

I think I will have to stop picking things I really won't use - I mean what use is a bluetooth recorder when I don't have a player and can you actually buy bluetooth blank disks? I quite like the fancy cases and the blue neon light and matching blue fans.

Lets just hope I like the phone as it is an 18th month contract though they have reduced it from £15 per month to £10 per month (plus VAT which they neglect to mention) which took it to about £17 per month will now be about £11.50 which I think is good even if I don't get any signal in the valley on the way to work which is where the car is bound to break down if it is going to, then I will have to walk up hill for a mile or two before I can ring for help, or go in the pub! (In fact the signal isn't great at home either.). This is for loads of anytime any network minutes and texts, which I never use many of (could be due to duff signal) so they are happy to lop loads of money off the bill to keep me.

While searching endlessly for reviews and reading and re-reading them I looked at a review of my current phone and to my amazement found that there is a little round mirror next to the camera flash which is to look in so you can take self portraits. I had to try it but the results were so awful I deleted them, starting with 5 chins, then scary woman!

There is also the matter of the last two bills, I rang and picked the I want to leave option when I got a bill for the full £27 with no discount. I apparently had reached the end of my contract but they hadn't warned me, in fact I had a text saying I was on the best contract! So a guy called Kevin said he would refund me the discount upgrade me to the new contract and phone and gave me a list of choices. I had his extension to ring back and if he wasn't there leave a message and he would ring me. I did this but he didn't ring. So by this time the next full price bill arrived. I finally made the decision on the phone now I am worrying I should have picked the other one of the two I narrowed it down to.

I asked the woman I spoke to today, as Kevin was once more not there, what about the refund I was promised, now I have two bills - she sounded sort of choked but agreed to it! Phone is on its way, should be here by Monday.

Once I get my new PC I will be back to loading photos and blogging properly, and visiting all the forums again and sorting out the candy!

I was gob smacked to find on each configuration of a PC you can pay extra to get them to build it quicker! What a cheek, another £30 to £50 to build something you are about to pay up to £1,000 for, and if you would like the cables tidied and fixed you can pay extra for that too.

I had a nice surprise parcel turn up today, some lovely sale goodies from Stamps.co.uk that I had forgotten I had ordered. Lovely brads, vellum, a punch, a snowboarder stamp to make my son's next birthday card next Dec, some tie brads, some Chinese coins and some Christmas light embellishments. Lovely. I also had a PB stamp arrive, to add the the stamp mountain. I need more Tuff boxes now.

I have got the numbers for the wedding invites we need to make so I can get the card, I have ordered a sample pack and a few sheets of card and envelopes from Inspire Me Papers, and I am looking at Craft Creations as they have the card that has been picked from my stash. I am looking for very pale green vellum for inserts, but I have found pale green card so maybe we can reverse the design and have green card and cream inserts. Will see what it looks like and maybe do some sample cards.

I am off to the craft show in Exeter this month so might find something there but I am not holding out a lot of hope as I often don't find what I want in the card department at shows now. This is one of my birthday treats, a few nights in a hotel, visit the show and visit the donkey sanctuary on the way home and see my new adopted donkey Timothy, also a Chrimbo pressie! Hope DH has lined up DS to dog sit, he doesn't always think of asking!

Does anyone know if 23cm width satin ribbon is likely to go though a punched hole without it being huge? I don't think so, we may have to arrive at a compromise here! Chiffon ribbon would do it, or narrower ribbon or the holes may be out and another method might have to be used, not sure what at this point in time.

Yesterday while shopping in Sainsburys I spotted a pair of sparkly denim jeans half price, one left in hopefully my size. I bought them and they fit so I wore them to work today, leaving glitter all over my office chair. When my hubby saw them he asked if I had been cardmaking (well I often end up accidently with the same effect).

I have a whole load of Debenhams sale jeans and trousers and skirts to try on tomorrow to see if any fits my fat bod, and what to send back. I ordered two different sizes of each thing where they had it in case one fits better, hopefully I will get some new work trousers out of it at least and not have to send everything back which would be very depressing. All the tops I liked were out of stock or at least in my size.

Blog candy

Wow, look at this great blog candy. Find it here at Ewonne's blog.

Back to normal now

Well what passes for normal. The trimmings are all down, the visitors are gone, and it is back to work tomorrow. Shame I was incapacitated for a lot of the holidays so didn't do all I wanted to do, it is still sitting here looking at me!

We have a decision on the wedding invites now so I just need to know the numbers and get some vellum samples.

I also need to either order a new PC or see if I can get the old one fixed, until then I am restricted and can't load photos, or do what I want. I need to get Robo going for one thing, and it won't work on this PC for sure, or a new one until I get Graphtec to sort it out. When the PC was "fixed" about a year ago it took ages to get Robo working again.

Blog candy extended

Katerina has extended her blog candy which is to celebrate her 10th Anniversary. The more posts the more she will add to the candy to be won. Hop on over here to find out more.

I will be posting some blog candy as soon as I get my PC working or a new one, and not have to use my Son's.

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.