From a friend

The weather here is very chilly and windy, winter is definately here. November also brings Birthday's it was Kath's on the 7th and mine on the 8th, and this is what came in the post today a beautiful card from the lovely Kath and a pair of Timmie scissors and can't wait to play with them, according to Kath they are amazing, we need these scissors when we go to play along at the Tim Holtz workshop and I know Kath is as excited as I am, only 107 more sleeps.

Birthday Girl

It is my birthday today, and although I decided years ago I didn't want to get any older the inevitable happens. We went for lunch yesterday with my daughter and her family and little Grace bought the angel for my Pandora bracelet, which is just perfect and then Brian took me to Milton Keynes and bought me the pink opal drop the heart mother of pearl and the safety chain, he bought me the bracelet for Our 40th Wedding Anniversary in June and it is now filling up nicely.
He has taken the day off work today and he is taking me out for lunch again to day and then we are having afternoon tea with my favourite little girl Grace.

Sweet Sunday Sketch 91

Can't stop playing with these fabulous papers and these super stamps from Waltzingmouse another Xmas card I'm afraid, can't have too many. I need to have a sort out and see which ones I am willing to give up for the Christmas Bazzar later this month, I have made about 70 so far. Isn't it a shame you cant't send them to yourself, I love them all and don't think I can bear to part with them.

The sketch challenge today is for

  Sweet Sketch Sunday

The Compliments of the Season-SSS80

Another Sketch Challenge this time for The Sweet Stop, and another Xmas Card, well I couldn't wait to use some of that new pad of Papers,from MME called O Christmas Tree, they are the sort of papers that you buy just to stroke, but I got over that and just cut, and the colours just Compliment, (pun intended) the cardstock from Stampin Up, and the stamps are from Waltzing mouse

WOYWW

Every morning I check out Kath's blog and every Wednesday she has a picture of her desk which I must day is very very tidy, I thought I can't match that but looking over the WOYWW blog at Julia's blog I thought why not have a go so this is the first picture of my desk for WOYWW.. My craft room is on the 3rd floor of my house and you can see it's not very tidy. I bought some fabulous papers at hobbycraft on Saturday, MME O Christmas Tree, did I need these NO did I want them YES, you will see some of these papers later this week. And the snowflakes ornaments I made for Grace's Christmas Bazzarr.lots of glitter.

Edited to Add: Sorry! Here is the link for the tutorial for the snowflakes. HERE

Clean and Simple

The sketch this week is from Clean and Simple challenge blog, it's certainly simple but I don't know about clean, there is a blob of ink on the bottom of the card. But I love the colour of this ink, it is such a fabulous shade of red from Stampin Up Cherry Cobbler. The stamp is from Waltzingmouse Stamps, Big Blooms Poinsettia.

Halloween

Whilst Brian was in Devon golfing I spent the weekend at my daughter Nicola's house and what a lovely weekend I had with Grace, we made Halloween cookies on Saturday and on Sunday Grace got so excited and couldn't wait to for it to go darker so she could go trick or treating, most of the houses on Nicola's street really get into the Spirit of Halloween, we had so much fun and some really spooky moments. Even he build a bear Curly had her own outfit and collection bucket, Grace gave her all the sweets she didn't like, she is a bit of a chocoholic.

Carol's Stampin Up workshop

We had such a wonderful evening with Carol. I have been a bloggy friend of Carol's for ages and last night we finally got to meet, we had a wonderful evening and I think the evening was a success all the ladies said what an enjoyable time they had. We got to make a wonderful Christmas card, and learn a few new technique, but I think my bow needs a little practice.

Let it Snow- Waltzingmouse challenge 20

 
Wow this is the 2nd challenge I have managed to do this week, and its another Christmas Card. This one is for the Waltzingmouse challenge sketch blog. I used Holidays labels no14 and Compliments of the Season. I turned the sketch.

Big Blooms Poinsettia-Card patterns 87

At last I found the time to make a challenge card for Card Patterns using the new stamps from Walzingmouse Stamps, I used the small and medium flowers, stamped and embossed with silver pearl embossing powder.
Still making stuff for Grace's School Christmas Bazzarr, I,ve also been making calendars today and I promise to show you photos of everything when I have finished them all.

All I want for Cristmas is .... Notebooks

 

Just a few notepads I made for a Cancer research  Evening my daughter Nicola is attending, she had some Jamie At Home notepads and when I saw them I knew just what to do with them. Nicola has just become a consultant for Jamie At Home which has the most amazing Homeware and all Jamie Oliver, just hoping he come to a party here soon.

I was inspired by Michelle at Mish Mash, hop on over she has the most blog and so much inspiration.

Joyeux Noel

What a bad blogger I am, just realized I haven't blogged for a week so sorry anyway here's another Christmas Card, I love this one, I subscribe to the US mag Papercrafts, and when I saw this I know I just had to make it, as I already had the Stamp which is by Pink Paislee, I changed the punched border using the Martha Stewart snowflakes one instead and the flower is sheet music which I sprayed with glimmer mist and then crunched up and dried with my heat gun all held together with a mother of pearl button and twine.

Hope you all have a great weekend, I'm being trawled out this evening for a dinner at the golf club, as Brian is vice captain, they only want you there when it suits. anyway it has cost him a new dress.

Jet'aime - Mojo Monday 159

Bet this will surprise the bloggers who visit my blog on a regular basis, it's not a Xmas card.  Well I had just received this stamp which is from the KOTM form The Unity stamp Co, and couldn't resist this Eiffel Tower stamp. I love Paris having been a few times, it is just magical. Brian and I celebrated our Silver wedding anniversary there and I can hardly believe that we have just celebrated our Ruby anniversary, where have the years gone. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday most weeks there isn't a prize except on the first Monday of the month, so just had to play along and anyway they are such inspirational sketches. and who knows I might just get lucky this time.

Anyway back to Xmas, but not a card, I have made my Xmas cake this morning and it is in the oven as I write this, filling the house with all the lovely smell of Xmas. I love Jamie Oliver and I buy all his cookbooks and he also has a monthly mag and this month there is one for Xmas cake. I always used to make my own cake at Xmas but as there is only the 2 of us now and we are eating it well into the New Year, I stopped making one, and bought a small one, but this year after seeing his recipe decided to make one, so off to Tesco I went yesterday and bought all the ingredients, soaked the fruit over night in brandy and mixed it this morning and it was in the oven by 8.30am. actually it made two as my cake tin wasn't big enough so I will have one to give away.

Hope you alll have a good weekend.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 87

I've not had a lot of time to play this week but managed a little challenge at Sweet Sunday Challenge Blog and quess what it's another Xmas card.

Happy 60th Birthday

As promised here is the card that I made for my hubby's birthday which was on Saturday. We had a super weekend visitors started arriving Saturday Lunch time and from then on it was super hectic but so much fun, it was great to see all the family and friends, we are scattered across the UK and it is great when we can all get together, and although on Thursday last week it didn't seem right to be celebrating and having a good time, but life goes on, and thank goodness it does else where would we all be.

The party was brilliant and I'm sure everyone had a good time, I know we did. Our friend Jon Kendall sang for us, the future is looking very bright for Jon he is a great singer and songwriter and I think he will go far in the music business. If we have him for my 60th in 3yrs time I don't think we will be able to afford him. One of our best friends Letty and her fiance Tim also played for us Letty has the most amazing voice, and if you read this Letty I love you.
...and not forgetting Brian, the Birthday Boy, I'm so pleased that everything went well and he had a brilliant weekend. He doesn't look 60 and I think he look 10years younger not a wrinkle or grey hair in sight, the hair bits a joke. He just wishes the rest of him was holding so well too.

Mojo Monday

I had some new stash from Stampin Up come on Tues so had a little play with the sketch at Mojo Monday. You can make the round or square sketch so decided to make the round of course it's round you can see that for yourself. I used to hate doing round, but what a difference it makes when you have the right tools for the job.  I cut out the scalloped circle using the largest of the nestabilities in by big shot, wasn't sure if it would cut though both layers of card but it did.
Papers and felt flower: Sweet Pea.

I was supossed to have posted this last night but spent most of the evening on the phone to various people, so as I couldn't sleep due to stress levels decided to post it now,4am, have to leave at 6.30pm to get to Manchester, the funeral is at 10.30pm and who nows what it will be like when we get to the bottleneck that is Birmingham and there are always always lots of road works. Hopefully I can nod off in the car, Brian is driving of course. Thank you to Kath and Lynda for your kind words, Love You.

Card Patterns 83

A quick post, have lots to do today, more about that later. Although I'm busy had to make time to have a play. made this card using the sketch at Card Patterns. Papers by MME Colorful Christmas.

I need a new Black Coat one of those black coats that will be OK for any occasion. We have a funeral to go to tomorrow and I don't have a black coat that fits, yeah more weight lose, only 2 1/2 lbs to go now to get to my goal, my brother-in-law and his wife lost there baby one week before she was due to be born, can't imagine what they are going though, so its off to Manchester tomorrow, so an early start in the morning. Although we are 200miles or so away, we are a close family and as you get older family becomes more important, so we need to be there for each other at these sad times.

But its not all sad times, there have been 2 weddings this year, and we are all getting together again on Saturday as it is Brian's my hubby's 60th birthday, we are having a big party with about 80 guests, and lots of relations staying over.

Corner Bookmarks

I need to make more items for Grace's school Christmas bazzarr, and thought these would make nice gift items. I found the tutorial at Splitcoaststampers

Christmas cracker box

 

Had a little play this weekend, and found the template for this Cracker box over on the waltzingmouse website you can download it for free.HERE. Thought these would look great on the dinner table on Christmas Day, with maybe choccies or sweets in.