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Friday 27 December 2013

Mistletoe Kiss


May I present to you the card that I made for my hubby for Christmas using this gorgeous image Mistletoe Kiss from Delicious Doodles. This is the first Image I have coloured since July. Unfortunately late December lighting has meant that my photography skills were non too clever so you can’t really see the subtle shading on her skin. I coloured her with Promarkers and added a layer of black card underneath.

I used Glossy Accents on her eyes, lips, nails and the berries on the mistletoe. I used stickles glitter glue on the fur trim of her coat so it really sparkles.

The paper I used is from K & Co and the snowflake paper was a wonderful find in a gift shop. It is handmade wrapping paper which has so much glitter on the snowflakes. It is a lovely quality and far too nice to use as wrapping paper.

The sentiment is a freebie from Netty’s Cards coloured with Promarkers and mounted onto some black card. The ribbon is a bargain from one of the poundshops.

Materials Used in this Project are as follows:-
Card size – 8” Square
Paper –  K & Co and sparkly snowflake wrapping paper
Sentiment – Freebie from Netty’s Cards 
Tools – Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, 3d foam for mounting
Embellishments – Glitter glue, Glossy Accents, ribbon

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-


Sunday 1 December 2013

Remember Me?

Hello peeps, remember me?

I used to make cards and be on Design Teams and blog. It all seems like such a long time ago as my life has had to change due to some health issues.

I did not feel able to disclose what the reason was before due to a mixture of emotions, which I will explain below but basically I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

We went on holiday to South Africa and had an amazing time. However when we came back I was so tired. No matter how much sleep I had it wasn't enough, I was literally exhausted and having trouble getting through the day.

Before I went on holiday I was having trouble with my neck and shoulders and a fabulous new doctor  at our surgery had arranged for me to have a scan at the hospital. She also arranged for me to have a 24 hour blood pressure monitor as I have 'White Coat Syndrome' which makes my blood pressure rise massively when I have it taken by a professional. The goon news from having this monitor is that despite being treated for high blood pressure for over 20 years I now do not have high BP. Finally I feel like I have a doctor who is willing to listen to me and not treat me like an imbecile.

I bite the bullet and mention to her that I have had a yeast infection all year that I just have been unable to get rid of. I have tried all the over the counter stuff, all the old wives tales and ph balanced cleansing products but just nothing had worked. She suspects I may be glucose intolerant and arranges for me to have a fasting blood test.

After a couple of weeks of medical appointments and tests it now appears that I have Diabetes with further complications of kidney failure and high cholesterol. It is likely that I have had it for 3 to 4 years before it started to show itself. The 13th September is the day my life completely changed. The specialist diabetes doctor was telling me I what I needed to do and who to see, appointment for this and that and inside I was screaming. I remember getting to my car and it was torrential rain and I was crying so hard, it was like the earth was crying with me. I phoned my hubby and just could not stop crying. 

My Mum had died 4 years earlier and we had a strained relationship  so hadn't spoken for the last few years. Her GP had told me that a major factor of her dying was developing diabetes when she turned 50 so I had made so many changes to my own health and diet in an effort to prevent it developing in me. The irony is that I probably already had it all that time. I had told my GP when she died so they knew it was in my family. I do not know my birth father but it turns out he had diabetes too so I had a 75% chance of developing it. I felt very sorry for myself initially and then this turned to anger. I have had a rotten few years with mental heath issues and just when things are looking up this goes and happens. I was feeling very low but really really proud that I didn't slip into depression. I just took stock of the situation, pulled on my boxing gloves and stared to fight.

Basically the original plan was through diet and lifestyle changes to try that for 3 months and see how the numbers reduced. The kidney failure means that I am already under a lot of strain and unable to add further risk so I have had to go on diabetes tablets and a statin to reduce the heart risk. (Mum died of a massive heart attack so very real risk!)

I need to lose 45KG (100 lbs or 7.5stones) for the doctor to consider taking me off the tablets. I have a work colleague that weighs this so it seems and insurmountable amount of weigh to lose. I also need to do exercise every day (that was a dirty word to me....)

The good news is that since my diagnosis I have lost a stone in weight, I walk to work and back each day (1.5 miles each way), personal trainer at the gym twice a week. Portion sizes on food half what they were. I was fortunate that I was eating the right things just too much in one go so the changes I had made before have made it easier in the long run although I just didn't see it that way at the time.

I had my first set of blood tests on Friday and await the results. This will show how the last 3 months have affected my numbers. I had my retinopathy scan for my eyes and that came back clear. I am very grateful for that as one of my hubby's work colleagues who has been newly diagnosed too was not so lucky and has had laser surgery on his eyes.

This whole situation has made me put my health first. Diet and exercise have had to be a major focus as I need to get the diabetes under control. At the moment it feels like it is controlling me and I know it is early days. I am grateful for all the help I have been given from the professionals, all the support I have had from my friends and family and the internal strength to keep fighting. 

I am unable at present to do crafting at the same level as I did before, I simply do not have the time at the moment. I do however have some projects that I made that have not been blogged so I will add those over the next month. I have switched from PC to Mac and am doing some housekeeping and trying to get used to using different program and doing things a different way.

Also my good friend and DT colleague at OSAAT Choccy has started doing Stampin' Up demos and I have been to the 2 she has done. Initially to see my buddy and give her support but also to coax me gently into making some cards again. In the meantime Hubby is panicking that I have a craft room full of stuff that isn't being used......

My good friend Lisa has a challenge blog at The Path of Positivity and the theme this month is Thankfulness. Now it may seem strange to say I am thankful for having diabetes but let me explain. I am thankful for the diagnosis, I am thankful that I was brave enough to mention to the doctor that I had a problem 'down there'. If I hadn't felt comfortable enough to say something to her I would still not know now.

I have been overweight all my adult life. I have dieted on and off, I have exercised on and off but never stuck to it. There have been numerous reasons, I have had mental health issues and it took a lot to admit that I binged on chocolate and rubbish, thud making me fatter and in my eyes more unattractive because I absolutely hated myself. I went on a cruise some years ago. I was able to fit into the smallest size I have as and adult and have some lovely clothes that I want to slim back into.

In preparation I dieted and went to the gym and then developed sciatica and they would not have me back. Now the doctor has sent me to the gym for medical reasons so they cannot refuse to have me which keeps me motivated too. I have the best reason of all to diet and keep this up as literally my life depends on it. I am 42, hopefully still young enough to get this under control and thankful that this has happened now rather than later in life. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Despite dark days and even darker times in my life I have always hung on to this. It has got me through before and it will again!

Friday 13 September 2013

Taking a Break

It is with a heavy heart that I am taking a break from crafting to a schedule on Design Teams.

I have some issues with my health that I need to concentrate on and my crafty mojo has completely disappeared. It is unfair to keep the teams I am on dangling on a string so I have taken the decision to stand down. My health is my ultimate priority and I am hoping that I may be tempted into my craft room of my own volition and not feel the pressure of looming deadlines.

I've got a little room full of crafty stuff so I will be back :)

I want to take this opportunity to thank the following people for bearing with me over the last month

Choccy at OSAAT
Kris at Imagine That!
Janey at Janey's Digi Designs
and Jules at Daisy Doodles

I will still be the Sponsor Co-Ordinator at Stitchy Bear Digi Outlet so if there are any challenges looking for sponsorship for 2014 please get in touch with me at mandy(at)cruxton(dot)net


Sunday 4 August 2013

OSAAT #175 Summer


There's a new challenge today at One Stitch At  A Time 
Summer

Our sponsor this week has a fabulous prize for the lucky winner who uses a Stitchy Bears Store image

Please head on over to the NEW LOOK  & REBRANDED Stitchy Bear’s Digi Outlet to check out all the lovely digis on offer from our great designers. There are some freebies available and there is a selection of cut price Monthly Specials that change often, there really is so much to choose from thanks to our very talented designers.


Also, to keep ahead of all the latest news you can sign up to the newsletter & become a follower at the



You must use a store image to win the main prizes and all other entries will be in a draw to win $3 to spend in the store

* * * * * * * * * * *

For my card this week I am using quite a racy image called Hot Pants from Barbara Jensen. There is quite a lot flesh on show and I opted to colour the bra and pants rather than make them fishnet see through stylee, I wasn’t quite brave enough to do that……

I coloured her using Promarkers and Flexmarkers then used a due from X-Cut  to shape the image and matting layer. The card is covered with beach paper from a summer themed drawer set by DCWV that I had from QVC years ago. Both the sentiments are cardstock stickers from the same set. I have used 3d foam squares on the image layer and then on the hot sticker which I thought was particularly appropriate for the image.

* * * * * * * * * * *
 Please pop over to OSAAT to see the fab cards from my colleagues on the DT. I look forward to seeing your entries for this challenge

Materials Used in this Project are as follows:-
Card size – A6
Paper – DCWV
Tools – Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, 3d foam pads, X-Cut die
Embellishments – Cardstock sentiment stickers DCWV

Sunday 28 July 2013

OSAAT #174 Anything Goes

There's a new challenge today at One Stitch At  A Time 

Anything Goes

Our sponsor this week is Stitchy Bear’s Digi Outlet and there is a fabulous prize of all the images used by the DT on Challenge #172 for the lucky winner who uses a Store image.

Please head on over to the NEW LOOK  & REBRANDED Stitchy Bear’s Digi Outlet to check out all the lovely digis on offer from our great designers. There are some freebies available and there is a selection of cut price Monthly Specials that change often, there really is so much to choose from thanks to our very talented designers.

Also, to keep ahead of all the latest news you can sign up to the newsletter & become a follower at the


You must use a store image to win the main prizes and all other entries will be in a draw to win $3 to spend in the store

* * * * * * * * * * *


It was my turn to choose this week and we are using an image from Floppy Latte Designs called Simple Framed Flowers. It is such a very elegant design and great for any occasion. In this instance I chose to make a Thank You card for a friend’s Mother in South Africa as she will be playing host to us all for 2 weeks.

As this post goes live I will be in Johannesburg having spent 5 nights at the Kruger National Park in South Africa (as long as I haven’t been eaten by a lion or something!). I found out what Hester’s favourite colours are and have coloured this up using them.

I created a second layer of just the flowers on their own and these are mounted with 3d foam and have glossy accents on them. The image has been matted on Kraft paper and then added to glittery paper from a First Edition pad. The trim is metallic with small sequins on it and is the perfect match to the colours. I used a glittery fabric butterfly sticker and added it to some scrap red card. I trimmed around it adding some gems to the body and mounted on 3d foam.

The sentiment is rub on’s from K & Co that I have had in my stash for at least 8 years. I am really trying to use things that I haven’t even see for a good many years as you tend to use what you can see more easily don’t you?

* * * * * * * * * * *
 Please pop over to OSAAT to see the fab cards from my colleagues on the DT. I look forward to seeing your entries for this challenge

Materials Used in this Project are as follows:-
Card size – A6
Paper – Blank Canvas First Edition Pad
Tools – Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, 3d foam pads
Embellishments – Glossy Accents, gems from Dovecraft, Fabric butterfly sticker Hobbycraft, K & Co Rub-ons, sequin braid

Monday 22 July 2013

Imagine That Skipper's Pocket


It’s Flashback time at Imagine That! and today I bring you a card made using an older design from the store.

I have used the image Skipper’s Pocket. You get both the outline image and the coloured version in the same pack.


I also used the matching digi papers Frog In My Pocket


And a sentiment from Hedgie Friends 


I used the 2 digi papers to crate my base element and then added the plain jeans pocket over the papers. This was then printed onto glossy photo paper and it really has excellent print quality.

I used the pocket with flowers and printed onto my normal digi paper, I wanted it to create a layered effect, almost like a patch pocket that Skipper would be peeking out from. I coloured with Promarkers, cut it out and mounted with 3d foam.

I added embellishments in the form of gems and pearls and then the sentiment has faux stitches on it to emulate the stitching on the jeans.

Please pop along to the blog to see the other projects my team mates have done. They really are very talented and Kris’ amazing designs makes it so easy to be creative.


Materials Used in this Project are as follows:-
Card size – A6
Image – Skipper’s Pocket from Imagine That!
Sentiment – Hedgie Friends from Imagine That!
Embellishments – assorted gems and pearls

Sunday 21 July 2013

OSAAT #173 Favourite Things

There's a new challenge today at One Stitch At  A Time 

Favourite Things


Our sponsor this week is CREATIVE CRAFT WORLD and there is a fabulous prize of 3 Promarkers of their choice for the lucky winner who uses a Stitchy Bears Store image.


Please head on over to the NEW LOOK  & REBRANDED Stitchy Bear’s Digi Outlet to check out all the lovely digis on offer from our great designers. There are some freebies available and there is a selection of cut price Monthly Specials that change often, there really is so much to choose from thanks to our very talented designers.


Also, to keep ahead of all the latest news you can sign up to the newsletter & become a follower at the



You must use a store image to win the main prizes and all other entries will be in a draw to win $3 to spend in the store

* * * * * * * * * * *


This week we are creating using the theme of Favourite Things. I used this gorgeous image of Winter Robin from IkeSart. My favourite things are pretty papers, flowers, twinkly things and Christmas so this little robin red breast was perfect. We are very lucky that we get robins visiting our garden quite regularly and they are very inquisitive little birds that come right up to me sometimes if I stay still. I love animals and nature and it is always a complete honour to see such things especially living in a big city. Sometimes you just need to stop for a while, stay still and watch all the wonderful things that happen around you.

My little robin is coloured with Promarkers and then cut out with an Oval Fiskars shape template. I then cut some matting layers from gold and green cardstock and added foam squares to lift off the paper.

The papers are from a magazine supplement that came free with a magazine. I really liked the shaped of the green patterned panel that was part of a multi patterned sheet so layered this on a plainer polka dot and grid pattern paper. The sentiment is from the same pack mounted onto green card and used a corner rounder punch to trim.

Finally I actually USED some of my favouritest Prima flowers that are twinkly fabric poinsettias with a holly leaf and an American Crafts gem brad to hold it all together.

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 Please pop over to OSAAT to see the fab cards from my colleagues on the DT. I look forward to seeing your entries for this challenge

Materials Used in this Project are as follows:-
Card size – A6
Image – Winter Robin by IkeSart
Paper & Sentiment – Magazine Freebie
Tools – Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, 3d foam pads
Embellishments – Prima flowers, American Crafts Gem Brad




Friday 19 July 2013

Imagine That Winner


Thankyou to the people who visited my blog and comments on my post using this fab image Beach Boy from Imagine That! Digi's by Kris
The lucky winner of this set is Jerusha Borden with this comment:-

Blogger Jerusha Borden said...
That is sooooo cute! I really like this set. So fun! Your card is fabulous! I find it challenging to follow a sketch at times, but you've done a fantastic job! Great card!
15 July 2013 13:08
 Delete


Jerusha, watch out for happy mail from Kris and congratulations on your win.