Busy day :)

Wow, what an amazingly busy day I have had today. I've used 1/4 of a tank of petrol running around.

First I went to Dudley and took back my depot keys etc from the job I lost on Wednesday. I then went to Birmingham Rag Market to look for some curtain fabric. I could only get the linings and some nice card making trims so I popped to Perry Barr to get the voile panels I saw yesterday and then went to Beggars Bush to get the wallpaper for the hallway and finally to Erdington to get the curtain fabric. It is a lovely thick chocolate brown suede and I needed 7.5 - 8 metres and there was 8.5 metres on the roll !!! RESULT :) Guess what I will be doing next week ?

I have just finished packing up the crafty items I am taking to Welwyn Bowling Club tomorrow and can't wait to see the girls for a crafty session :)

I am absolutely shattered now so off to beddy bies. Night Night xx

News

Unfortunately I am out of work again !!

I had a phone call yesterday morning to say that they had terminated my contract with the agecny as they've had to make cutbacks and then on the radio today I heard that E'on have had to cut 440 jobs and I was one of them :( Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best job in the world - it was really frustrating at the best of times, the hours were long but the days went REALLY quick and the money was appalling for the responsibility you had, but if I was going to leave I wanted it to me on my terms and not someone elses !!! It was supposed to be a Temp to Perm contract and I was due to find out in February or March if it had gone permanent, but from very early on I was convinced that when the time came I was going to be told there was no proper job so I am not that surprised really. So that's me job hunting again and with Paul out of work the pressure is on. He doesn't seem to be that bothered and has told me not to worry as something will come up soon.

On a happier note we are in the middle of decorating and the wallpaper man has finished in the lounge and done a fantastic job. We have been to B & Q to get some wallpaper for the Hall Stairs and Landing and we whittled it down to 3, but there wasn't enough rolls in any of them so walked away empty handed. I did however get some fantastic samples so watch out for cards featuring those soon. Think Paul was a but embarrased as he was getting fed up of me ripping bits off the rolls :) He should be pleased, it's free stash LOL

Also went to Allied Carpets where I worked for 11 years until 2002 and it has changed ever such a lot since my last visit 18 months ago. There are only 2 people there who I used to work with, things have changed such a lot and it looked like not for the better. They don't even sell beds any more !!! Where the beloved curtain department I managed was has been completely changed, even Paul was a bit shocked. It was so quiet when I went in there today there is no way I could still work there. I would have been climbing the walls with boredom ! My old colleague Carl said I did right leaving when I did as it's definitely gone downhill and not the same place to work for.

Going into work for last time tomorrow to take back depot keys and phone etc and pick up personal effects and then going into Birmingham rag market to look at fabrics for curtains. Seen a lovely thick chocolate brown suede in Dunelm Mills today and if I cannot find anything similar in Birmingham I will be going to buy that. I was really pleased as Paul liked it too. He also liked the voile panels I saw in Perry Barr (took a photo with my phone....sneaky old me) I would rather buy the fabric if I can and make from scratch but if I can't get it in town tomorrow I will buy the panels and alter them. Either way I will be busy sewing soon. I haven't done any for ages so it will make a change and at least I've got lots of time to do it :)

Card Sketch A Day Designer Card # 151

Today over at Card Sketch a Day I have these 2 cards which I submitted for the sketch challenge.

The first card was for a good friend to wish her luck following a knee operation.

The patterned paper used is from HOTP, as is the shimmer bronze. The terracotta ovals and strip are from a Papermania Vintage shapes caddy. The flowers are Prima baubles and the flower shaped brad is Papermania. The sentiment is recycled from an old greetings card.



The pink one is also HOTP papers. The circles are from a pastel Papermania caddy and these have been edged with a pearlescent Brilliance ink pad to add definition.

The ribbon is from a QVC Brenda Pinnick kit and the flower is a Royal Langnickel domed sticker. The sentiment is again recycled.

These are quite sophisticated for me, probably because of the more subdued colouring in the background paper I think.

Happy Chinese New Year

To celebrate the Chinese New Year Paul and I have just enjoyed a home made Turkey stir fry in Sweet & Sour sauce with noodles. It was very yummy indeed.

I have not had a very good year so far :( I have been plagued by two colds, am just getting over a horrible chest infection and have had blocked drains from the kitchen waste pipe (urgh very smelly)

I have therefore decided that I am celebrating the Chinese New Year as a way of starting MY new year all over again !!

Onwards and upwards :)

2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan # 18

What with holidays and being really busy I have been unable to make cards in time to fit the challenges for 2 Sketches 4 You, but I am happy to report that other than suffering from a stinking cold and chest infection, things are getting back to normal now.

Kazan's sketch 18 was used to form the basis of this card. I have recently subscribed to a magazine and the freebie pack was from Papermania Sweet Nothings collection and it had a pack of printed acetate in it which I have never used before. I have seen many lovely cards made my fellow bloggers and I know the main thing to be careful of was to not make the adhesive used obvious.



The ribbon hides the join where the front of the card is attached to the acetate. The inside of the card was lined with paper from HOTP. The star ribbon is self adhesive from Papermania and the birdy is a freebie digital scrapbook downloadable from Imagine by Fran

Until now, I hadn't appreciated just how awkward these are to photograph as it is difficult to see the design and the colours don't appear as strong so I have also scanned it in.

I have enjoyed the challenge of making this card and have more sheets of acetate to use so will be making other cards. I may need to brush up on my photography skills though LOL

Eyelet Challenge

Chocoholic's Friday Challenge was to make a card using eyelets.

This card is a collage style, the whole idea stemmed from a card I saw on a blog where it was a huge tree with loads of eyelets. I thought it might work with my Sizzix die on a smaller scale and look like apples.

So, the tree and the house are a Doodlebug design Sizzix die, the 'sky' is a printed paper I bought in a sale ages ago. The grass is a handmade paper which has got real grass in it. The butterflies and stickers are various 3d ones from a box I have collated from various packs over the years and the sentiment is a rubber stamp.

I realy enjoyed making this card as it reminded me of making collages from boxes of Fuzzy Felt as a kid. I just loved having a box of tactile shapes and making pretty pictures from it.

Di Hickman December # 2

I made this card for a double challenge, one for a forum challenge set by my great crafty mate Chocoholic and also using a Di Hickman Sketch December #2

The blank is from a LMC pack, the papers are Papermania Scrumptious. The ribbon is a Papermania felt ric-rac. The sentiment is a vellum with gold print from Lakeland and the butterfly is a layered sticker from a magazine freebie. A liberal amount of clear Sakura glitter pen has been applied to the hearts and butterfly.

I haven't made many cards yet this year but looking at the ones I have made I seem to be in a pretty pink phase at the moment.

CPS Sketch #94

Trying to catch up with some of the card sketches and this card is made using CPS 94 as a guide.

The papers are from the Papermania Scrumptious pack which is just yummy :)

I had used my favourite Martha Stewart punch to cut the edge of the card and placed the checked paper inside to provide a contrast. The spotty patterned paper I also trimmed with the punch and used a black gel pen to highlight the punched spots in the top layer.

The sentiment is from a pack of 4 sheets that I had from Lakeland (RIP their crafty section is no longer) Each sheet has loads of sentimens on them in 4 colours and they are a translucent vellum with gold embossed writing on them. I placed this on white card edged with a Marvy Le Plume pen and layered this on the checked paper which was also edged.

I am resisting the urge to put something on either side of the sentiment as it looks like there is too much empty space !!!!

CPS 100 - Pick Your own

Wow, its 100 weeks of CPS sketches and this week we are to pick our favourite from the last 99 so plenty to choose from there!

This card is made using sketch 95 which I was originally going to do for a Christmas card, but this one has worked out really well.

I absolutely love butterflies, I even have one tattooed on my shoulder. This 3d element was a freebie from the latest Docrafts Creativity magazine. How lush are they?

The patterned paper'a are from the new Scrumptious range from Papermania and I have accented the hearts with a clear Sakura glitter pen. The glitter circle and flowers are from Papercellar

Back from the Lakes

I have had a brilliant weekend celebrating the wedding of a very good friend.

He got married at Kendal Registry office an Saturday and we stayed in a wooden lodge in the Lake District with another couple for 2 nights. It was in the middle of 3 acres of woodland and was just so quiet and peaceful. It was so nice we would like to go back when the weather is better as it would be a great base to do a lot of sightseeing in such a lovely part of the country.

On the way back today we popped in to Lancaster and saw a friend of ours who moved up there just over a year ago. It was really nice to see him and I couldn't believe it was over a more than a year since we last saw him.

It's been really nice to get out and about and I am looking forward to doing more of the same during this year.

Card Sketch A Day # 124 & Wedding Card

Tomorrow we are going up to the Lake Distrist as very good friends of ours from Louth are getting married on Saturday at Kendal Registry Office.

I made their card using sketch 124 from Card Sketch a Day as they wanted a 3rd card for it yesterday. However I have just gone to the site to find that I have been beaten to it ! Never mind, it was a perfect layout for the card I needed to make anyhoo.

The base cardstock was covered with a patterned paper from the Dovecraft Wedding pack. 2 tone mirrored card from Kanban was used for the central panel. The cake is a felt embellishment from a themed pack I bought from Poundland. The ribbon is the wonderful bobble trim I like to use at every opportunity. The sentiment is a rub on from DCWV.

The gift envelope is from a wonderful Linda Bernstien box that I got from QVC which has got cards that have been pre-planned for you and all the bits are in bags ready to go. I don't generally make the cards up as they are intended, but they are great for cards in a hurry. I do like to either use the embellishments another way or as in this case embellish the card a little more. I simply placed a pink sticker from MAMBI on the card as a further message and to link it with the pink on the main card.

So I've got a nice drive up th M6 to look forward to tomorrow. I have never been to the Lakes before and I'm looking forward to it very much. Then on the way back down on Sunday we are going to pop and see a friend who has moved to Lancaster and kill 2 birds with one stone.

One of the things I want to do more this year is get out and about in the car so this is a good start!

RIP Beverley Todd

Upon going though a tremendous amount of email on my return I was very, very sad to learn that Beverley was suddenly taken ill on 23rd December and died the following day.

I did not personally know Beverley but we stalked a lot of the same card sketch sites and I was aware of her fab cards and inspired by her creativity.

She will be greatly missed by the crafty community and I know her passing has affected a lot of people, myself included.

Death is never a good thing, but it is a great leveller and makes you look at yourself and your own life. It has made me tremendously grateful for the life I have and made me think long and hard about my happiness and personal fulfilment.

Happy New Year !

Sorry it's a bit late but I've been on holiday and brought back a stinking cold :(

We flew to Spain on the 27th and stopped at a friends timeshare apartment. The place was freezing and took 2 days to get warm. It rained a lot, but when it was sunny it was lovely and about 16 - 18C which was nice.

We went to Gibraltar for a day trip and saw the apes, have got some nice piccies which I need to get off the camera.

The wierdest thing though was celebrating 2 New Years, the Spanish one was at 11pm UK time, and the of course our time. We found the BBC tv station and watched the fireworks in London which were spectacular.

The worst part of the holiday though was how expensive things are to buy. The exchange rate from Euro to the £ was 1:1, we took some money from the bank whilst we were there are at one point got less that £ per euro. The basics were really expensive - £3.85 for a 4 pint carton of milk, £1.50 for a loaf of bread, £0.89 for a tin of beans, just unbelievable really. We spent £750 in a week and I promise you there were no luxuuries in that!

But, it was a rest. We had a nice time with our friends and it was certainly an exciting start to the New Year.

Let's hope 2009 is a better year for us than last year.