Hope you all had a good Christmas!

Wow! I can't believe it's a month since my last post. I've not been well, which some of you know. I've had a really bad cold, and asthma, aggravated by the sawdust and smells from the extension, which is now finished, thank goodness. I still have a bit of a cold, but it's manageable. We ate our Christmas dinner in the new room, which was such a treat, and really enjoyed the experience after the months of muddle and mess. We've put all of that behind us now, and are putting the house in order again. My craft room is still in a mess, but I'm getting there slowly.

I didn't make as many Christmas cards as I would have liked this year, because I wasn't well. I left posting them until now, as I wanted the recipients to receive them first. The first card is a card I made for the Graphicus Guild card swap, using a large embossed reindeer, which I then masked, and stamped a tree stamp to appear behind it. I used Distress Inks to watercolour everything. I made an easel card, using Artylicious papers as my backing paper. I stamped a sentiment on a Nestie shape which became the stopper for the card.

The second card was for one of my nieces who has a cupcake blog, so I used a Mo's Digital Pencil image coloured with Coloursoft pencils. I punched out some snowflakes and added some blingy gems.

The third card was for my niece Holly, so I had to use Mo's Holly fairy of course! I used Coloursoft pencils again, with some Holly punched out and some flat backed pearls this time.

The fourth card was for Ryan, using a Tim Holtz reindeer, Trees and snowflakes on some grungy blue paper.  embossed the reindeer to make it stand out, and used white Stazon for the snowflakes.

I used this lovely Whiff of Joy image to make a few cards; the first one was for Michelle, using a lovely music paper fpr the background. I have coloured the image with Coloursoft pencils again. I have used a holly punch and flat backed pearls for the berries. The second card used gems for the berries as I didn't have enough pearls. I loves the paper on this one, but I can't remember what it was! My good old Nesties have been brilliant this year, but I had to start using a new cutting mat through my Big Shot, as the old one just stopped working through overuse.                                

Well that's all for now, I really must get on. I hope you've all had a good Christmas, that you've been safe in this awful weather, and that you have a Happy New Year. I'm off to my Mum's on New Year's Day in Darlington. Hopefully we won't get any more bad weather in between now and then. Bye for now, Judith x

My first Easel Card

For the card making class this week, I decided that we'd have a go at making an easel card. Everyone seems to be making them in Blogland, and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon too. My Mum, who is a little hard of hearing, thought that I was making an 'eagle' card, but that's another matter. Maybe we could have a go at one of those next week! Anyway, I followed the instructions from the Whiff of Joy Tutorial Blog which was really helpful. I used a Whiff of Joy stamp for my main image, and a little Whiff of Joy sentiment to prop the card open too. The scrapbook paper that I have used was from a huge Christmas stack that I bought last year at a greatly reduced price. I have tons left, so I am using it up gradually. I love these little gnome stamps from Whiff of Joy, I bought the whole lot, as I thought that they were so cute. This is the first one that I have used, but I shall certainly be inking the others up pretty soon.

It's my birthday on Tuesday, so Megan is coming home on Sunday for a flying visit, which is lovely. She is bringing all of her washing home which is not so lovely. She is also bringing her new boyfriend home to meet us. I'm practising my scary look! Terry will just act the way he always does, that will do the trick...

How is everyone else getting on with the Christmas Cards this year? I have a hard job really feeling like making any until I get my Birthday out of the way, and then it's a mad scramble to get them all done. Not really the best way of doing it I know, but I do the same thing every year. I do have a few, but only by default, because we're making them in the class, and I had a Craft Fair this week. I don't think that I can really count those as a real concerted effort.

I'm back in my craft room now, not completely unpacked, but getting there. Terry is helping me to make the room far more organised this time around. Before, you couldn't even see the floor for boxes and carefully orchestrated piles of stuff. I have more shelves this time, and am trying to get more dedicated storage, like an ink pad rack for example. Hopefully this will help keep me a little tidier, but I don't think Terry holds out much hope. I am a messy crafter, I'm afraid. Anyway, hope life is treating you well, back soon, Judith x

Still busy!

Just a quick post today, with a card to show you. I needed to make a card for a teenage boy, and this image fits the bill perfectly, it's from Mo's Digital Pencil Too, the link is in my sidebar. I've used Crate Paper backing paper, and my Nestabilities to cut out the image. I've coloured the image in with Coloursoft pencils and Zest it.

I'm still putting everything back into my Craft Room, working, and getting ready for a Craft Fair this week, so just a normal week really! Hopefully, life will slow down soon, Judith x

Christmas Cards

I've been a bit distracted this week; firstly, I came home from the Retreat on Monday, so I lost a day there. Then, the extension is keeping me busy, because the decorators are in, which has caused a bit of an upheaval. Lastly, Ryan had to go to hospital for an unpleasant procedure this week too. I'm not saying any more, I'll leave it to your imaginations. Poor boy had to be sedated, and was still so tired on Thursday, that he had a second day off school, because he was too sleepy to go. However, as today was 'Children in Need' day, he was dressing up as Batman, and energised himself into geting up and going in, which was good to see. Hopefully next week will be a bit calmer.
It's our wedding anniversary on Sunday, 23 years, and we're going out for a meal tomorrow night. We've been together 30 years, so we're not doing too badly. It's my birthday on 1st December, so we have lots happening at this end of the year. At least I don't have to make a card for that one! Terry has asked me to in the past, and said he'd buy it off me, what a cheek! He said at least I'd like the card I got!!!

I have finally started to make Christmas Cards, we made some at the card making class last night, and I'm posting one for you to see. It is using a Whiff of Joy stamp, and a monochrome scheme. I've embossed some off white pearlescent card, and then rubbed black soot Distress Ink over it to give a metal effect to the card, (an idea I picked up from this month's Craft Stamper magazine). I really like this effect and will use it again.
My Craft Room is painted now, and Terry very kindly put my desks together tonight. Hopefully tomorrow we can move my computer back downstairs, and I can start the long process of putting my craft stash back into my room where it belongs. I have felt so out of sorts these past few weeks, because it has been dotted all over the house. I will be so glad to have things back where they belong. That's all for now folks, back soon. Judith x

Unforgettable Weekend

Well, I've just come back from the Graphicus Paradise Retreat at Blackwell Grange in Darlington. There were 40 of us, and we had such an inspiring experience. The tutors and helpers were amazing, and the projects that we tackled were just everything we could have hoped for, and more.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, and had a session playing with textures and colours. We did a little bit of prep work for sessions to come. We had been advised that it might be nice to make some ATCs as an ice breaker to pass around with our details, so that we could get to know people at the Retreat during the breaks, and at mealtimes. This proved to be a great success, as it got us talking about ourselves, and the craft techniques that we had used on our ATCs. I used a lot of my favourite ideas and mediums, as I had never made ATCs before, but found the whole experience great fun. I also received some fantastic ATCs back, and am now a convert!
Our next class was a stitched book, which was the class that ran until 10 o'clock that night. We were all a bit tired, but we kept going, and completed the book, which has covered hard front and back, pockets with tags, stitched pages, and a strap to hold it all together. It is really special, and just need to be decorated to make it personal.

On Saturday, we made an arch shaped book, with hard covers. These were covered in tissue paper, and painted and gold leafed to look like aged Italian plaster. There was then an acetate overlay which we stuck tiny mosaic tiles onto. We scrunched and inked our inner pages to distress them, and again, we need to stamp and personalise them by putting photos and journalling into them. Such a beautiful piece of work.
The next class was a canvas wall hanging. This was made up of four 6x6 inch canvases which we coloured and then need to stamp and embellish to our hearts content. I have so much left to do on this one, that I do not have any pictures to show you. On Saturday evening, we had a relaxed card making class, doing a bit of stamping on acetate, and gold leafing.

Sunday morning saw us sitting a class with Jean Hardy from Crafty Individuals. This lady is so unassuming and down to earth. I had used some of her larger stamps before, but not used the miniature stuff . We made a little shrine box, which we painted and embellished, then stuck onto a back. I really enjoyed this, as I chose my favourite plummy colours, and managed to paint the gold embellishments silver (which I prefer). I also incorporated a picture of Megan into the little box.

On Sunday afternoon, we worked with Stampboard, which I really like. We were making a pencil box, and mine is still at the unassembled stage, but I want to show you the design. We inked the Stampboard, and then stamped the design onto the panels. All I have left to do, is to fold my paper flap inside, glue it, and then glue in my base.

We had such a great time, we shared lots of ideas, and it was so lovely to be with people who share the same interest for a while. I feel as though I have made new friends, and have come away with a warm glow inside, and happy memories.

Hallowe'en Birthday

It's Terry's Birthday tomorrow, we've always joked that I married a werewolf. He's not changed so far, so I think I'm fairly safe after 30 years, unless he's a slow developer... It's only a few days since Ryan's birthday, six weeks since Megan's, and my birthday is 1st December. We didn't plan that very well, did we? So, I don't feel very organised for Terry's special day. I've made a card using a free download from Artylicious, which is Hallowe'en themed. I have never made a Hallowe'en card for Terry before, but I liked this design, and I have just bought some gorgeous Tattered angels products from Graphicus which tie in nicely. I resized the paper to fit onto a square card, and stamped the flourishes at the end of the owl's tail all around the edge of the design. I used Distress Inks to colour a large ATC sized piece of Stampboard and stamped as much of the owl as possible onto it. I then stamped the flourishes onto any spaces on the Stampboard too. I painted the owl with Distress Inks in a mixture of browns. I matted and layered everything onto my card, and there you are. Terry will be underwhelmed as per usual, but I've tried. Hope you like, Judith x

Ryan's Birthday Blog Candy

*THIS POST IS PINNED, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS*

Well here is the blog candy as promised, sorry I didn't get it posted yesterday as promised, but we got back from the hospital later than I thought we would. The consultant thinks that Ryan probably has got IBS, but wants to do another ultrasound scan, and that it can be managed by diet, so he needs to see the dietician like Terry did. I'm going with him, taking my notebook, and I will be asking lots of questions. We eat terribly since Terry was diagnosed as he is on a low fibre diet, little veg, no fruit, he's lactose and wheat intolerant, he can't eat tomatoes, onions, mushrooms etc. So, no pasta sauces, and I just can't be bothered just for myself, and I've lost quite a lot of weight. Maybe a good thing, but I tend to see food as a real headache these days, because I don't know what to feed Terry or Ryan, who is a fussy vegetarian. The poor dietician won't know what's hit her when I go in there!

Anyway, back to the blog candy!!! It has come about for several reasons really, Ryan, my baby, is 18 on 27th October, (OMG). I don't feel old enough, where has the time gone? I also bought some Whiff of Joy Christmas stamps recently, and somehow bought two of one of the stamps, how did I do that? Lastly, I am emptying my craft room so that a window can be moved from one wall and put into another, which is a very messy job. It is a good opportunity to sort out any unwanted craft items which may be added to the blog candy as I go along.

Initially I am giving away the cute little WOJ stamp, and a huge 12 x 12 DCWV Christmas stack. I will be adding lots of other goodies to this as I empty my craft room over the next three to four days and will amend this post as I go along, so please check back and look at the bottom. I do not know how to use Mr. Linky, or anything fancy, so I am going to ask Ryan to pull numbers out of a bag to choose the winner, and because of the weight of this candy, I will only post to UK bloggers I'm afraid. I will close the candy on October 28th, the day after Ryan's birthday. Please mention my candy on your blog if you have one, and leave me a comment, or you won't get put in the draw! There will be lots more items added, as I'm going to be ruthless in my clearing out, I promise, so I think you'll like what you get. Judith x
****Additions to Candy!!!***
2 Sheets of Unmounted stamps (I don't know where they came from) Christmas themed
Hero Arts Fancy Flowers Boxed set of stamps New and still in plastic
Fancy Pants Big Board Paisley Pieces
Frill yellow alphabet brads
Christmas Tree brads
Sue Dreamer Seasons Page Bubbles
Heidi Swapp Rectangle Frames bling
Papermania Christmas Foam ribbon stickers
PSX creativity Christmas Stickers
Charlotte Lewis Festive Glitter Chipboard Shapes
Dovecraft Christms Traditional 8 x 8 Paper Pack
Dovecraft Fantasy 8 x 8 Paper pack
Dovecraft Fantasy Chipboard Shapes Tin
Dovecraft Fantasy Brads
Dovecraft Kato Knight Ribbon Stickers
Dovecraft Kato Knight Chipboards Tin
Dovecraft Kato Knight Brads

I can't take a photograph at the moment, because my camera battery is charging, but I don't know if I could fit it all in!

*****THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED*****

Blog Candy Winner

The winner of the blog candy was Marianne! She was drawn by Ryan out of a hat, because as I said before, I don't do Mr. Linky. Congratulations Marianne, especially as you got in right at the last minute!!! Please email me asap with your address details at judith@tnjsmith.fsnet.co.uk and I will send your parcel off to you. If I do not receive a reply by Saturday, I will draw another winner. Thank you everyone else for your response to the blog candy, and your kind wishes for Ryan, you are awesome. He is off for an ultrasound scan tomorrow, another step along the road to diagnosis.
I would be interested in swapping stamped images with other bloggers if anyone would like to get in touch. I had spoken to one person back in August, but circumstances overtook me, and we never got around to it. See my email address higher up this post, or send me a comment, and maybe we can sort something out. Judith x

Cake talk

No pictures to post today,  it's Ryan's birthday, and so we've tried to spend time with him to make his day feel special. I made his birthday cake, which was delicious, but way too calorific. Unfortunately we think it has upset Ryan's stomach, as he feels quite poorly this evening.
Talking of cakes, I'd like to tell you about my neice's blog http://toriliciouscupcakes.blogspot.com/ she's just left Uni this year having completed four years studying, and can't get a job. She's either too qualified, or not qualified enough. Rather than sit about moping, she is doing research, and teaching herself to make fabulous cakes. She has a growing following on Twitter and is just starting on Blogger. She's a lovely sunny young woman, and I hope that her fledgling enterprise takes off. She deserves a break.
I'm sorting through my stamps today and tomorrow to add to the blog candy, I'll be adding right up to the wire, and may have to do another one when I put everything back again as I have another sort through! I'm only putting brand new stamps in this time, maybe I'll get a mixed box of 'used once, then abandoned' stamps for another time. Back later, Judith x

Last Post for today!

Here are a couple of pics of Ryan's birthday card. I made the card with the Rock Star DCWV stack, and inked the edges of the paper with Distress Inks. I cut around the guitar to be able to put some money into the design. We have bought him some presents too, but it is his 18th, and so we are spoiling him a bit. I had a couple of plectrum shaped bubble stickers that went with this colour scheme quite well, and finished the card off by backing everything with silver and brown card. I'm off to cook tea now, and make his cake. He wants to go to the zoo tomorrow, and we said we'd do whatever he wanted. It beats his first choice of walking along the sea front at Felixstowe Brrr!!! Judith x

Emptying my Craft Room

I feel like a displaced person right now, having spent the weekend emptying my craft room. My desks are gone, and my computer is now sharing a desk with the family computer upstairs in the spare room. Ryan and I are jostling for the chair! My craft stuff is nearly all boxed up, apart from all of those bits that don't seem to have a home, where do they go? I'm going to make Ryan's birthday card this afternoon while he is out, yes I know, very last minute, it's his birthday tomorrow. However, it is a fairly simple card, because Michelle pinched all of the rubber stamps that I was going to use, and used them on a word book for him. Although they aren't going out any more, she had planned this word book a while ago, and decided to make it anyway. So I'm going to use the Rock Star DCWV stack and some plectrum bubble stickers to make Ryan's card, which is much easier anyway! Terry's birthday is on Saturday, yes, I married a werewolf, (October 31st, get it?) So I'll try to be a little more creative for him. I also have to make Ryan's cake today, he has requested a home made Black Forest Gateau, his favourite with lashings of double cream, and cherry pie filling oozing out of the middle. Ooops there goes all that hard work on the diet front.

I have updated the blog candy once, and I'm going to work through some of my stamps today, to add a little bit more. I will close the draw at approx 8.00 p.m. Wednesday evening, so there is still plenty of time to enter the blog candy. I am not adding just any old stuff, because I want it to be a pleasure to open the box for the winner, something that I would like to receive, so I hope that whoever wins feels that way too. Off to rummage a bit more. Here's a few pictures of the extension, which is what the upheaval is all about, bye for now! Judith x

I've died and gone to flower heaven

I went to my local craft shop Your Touch of Craft today to buy a few beads, (fatal). I wandered past the prima flower stand, (oh dear). I've seen these lovelies on the internet and thought how gorgeous they were and managed to refrain fron buying any of them, however, in the flesh, I succumbed big time. The big teal coloured flower is going to become a brooch to wear on my coat, as I love it so much! I think the creamy coloured flowers are wonderful as I can colour those to fit any color scheme with so many different mediums, awesome. I also bought a canvas scrapbook with a mixture of canvas pages and clear page protectors. The canvas can be sewn onto as a soft tactile page, or painted with gesso to make a 'canvas' background. How cool is that? Now I feel I have the green light to really jump into scrapbooking which I felt was missing before. I love card and paper, but fabric an messy stuff as well, that is just the icing on the cake. I may be trying to pick everyone's brains for lots of advice though!!!!

I have a couple of things to show you, but a really big apology, as I took the template for one of the items from someone's blog and can't remember who, so I can't credit you, so sorry. It is a get well card with a difference, you make a little folder 10 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches, score at 4 1/2 inches and 5 1/2 inches. Decorate the front, and on the inside, pop a packet of tissues, a lip balm, and a cough sweet. Perfect for someone with a cold! I then made one up, and substituted the lip balm and cough sweet with a mini Ripple, so it's great for a weepie movie! How many variations on this theme could we come up with?

I made these cards with my card class, in fact, Michelle made the blue version. I had just told them that we were making get well cards with a twist, and did not reveal the contents until the very end, which caused much laughter. Last week we made another card which enables them to insert a tag, money or a gift voucher onto the front of the card. We are making a handbag charm this week to match the card, using shrink plastic, and elementary jewellery making techniques.

I love this colour combination of burnt orange and turquoise/blue. The stamps are from Elusive Images and are stamped onto scrapbooking paper from my stash, (code for I don't know what they are!) I have coloured the shrink plastic with Coloursoft pencils after sanding it.

I am hoping to post a blog candy tomorrow, time permitting, in honour of Ryan, turning 18 next week. Fingers crossed, as I am so busy these days, I have another job at the school, more about that later. We think Ryan may have IBS, and he is seeing the consultant tomorrow to start, hopefully the diagnosis, but we'll see. Back soon, Judith x

Missing my little girl

Well, Megan is now at Stoke on Trent University, she has settled in well started her courses, and even been home for a weekend visit bringing all her dirty washing with her! She has been very good at keeping in touch through texts, phone calls and Facebook, so we have had good contact, but that first hug on Friday was lovely. The balance of the house is all wrong with just Terry, Ryan and I left here. Ryan is in his room all of the time, and Terry is a real wind up merchant, so I miss the female company. I know that I will get used to it in time, but I haven't yet. We went shopping together on Saturday, just the two of us, and had a bit of time out, so that was great, but the time went all too quickly, and off she went on Sunday morning for another few weeks. I am so pleased that this year is going well for her, as she had to defer last year due to ill health, and didn't even start her course. She has even managed to land a job a Alton Towers, so she'll get free day passes! She is a seasonal worker at Asda, so she gets 10% discount off her food shopping, and she has her car up there, currently, she is very popular!

Ryan looks like he probably has IBS, like his Dad, he is being referred to a Gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy (poor lad). He is a vegetarian, which makes life doubly difficult with diet, but we'll manage. I will have to see the dietician with him if that's what it turns out to be, as I already scratch my head over what to cook Terry. No veg, lactose and wheat intolerant, no tomatoes, no raw fruit, it's very hard. I'm hoping Ryan's will be different for his sake.

Megan and Ryan both broke up with their partners the week before last, so our house was not a good place to be. It has all been very sad, as they had been together about 16 months, both couples, and you get attached to the other halves. Michelle comes to my card class, and continues to do so when she feels able, but some weeks, she doesn't feel like coming, because it is too upsetting for her, which is fair enough. Niall plays football with Terry, but at least Megan is not around much. Both of the 'other halves' have looked to us for advice and that has been difficult as we have wanted to help but stay loyal to our own children at the same time. We have tried to do the best job that we could, but it has been an exhausting time mentally. I have had a migraine, and now have a rotten cold, and am sure that the last few weeks have taken theit toll on me. Not to mention Terry's broken foot, and getting ready to take Megan to Uni, plus the worry of Ryan in hospital, it all adds up.

On a lighter note, I'm posting a few pictures from our holiday in Sorrento, looking back the views are gorgeous, and we had a lovely time. The weather was to die for, and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Firstly there are a couple of views of the area in general, then a couple of pictures of Terry and I (yuck!), and lastly, a view of the hotel swimming pool, and a view from the swimming pool.

Finally, a card!!! I had to make a card for my nephew's birthday, so I thought that I would post it, or you wouldn't see a card at all. I've used one of the Manga stamps from Sugar Nellie, they're great, and I'm looking forward to making some Christmas cards with the Christmas versions. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to make any cards lately, and really want to get back into the groove. Hopefully life has settled a bit now, and I can get on with my crafting life a bit and feel better.

Life is a Rollercoaster

Just a quick post today, I'm afraid. Ryan is in hospital, he went in two days ago for tests with a suspected grumbling appendix. They are ruling that out, pretty much, but think he has some kind of infection, and need to test for what. Yesterday he was meant to have a scan, but someone forgot to book it! So he went without food from breakfast until teatime, because he needed an empty stomach, for no reason. He has to do the same thing all over again today. Tomorrow is Megan's birthday, and on Saturday, she goes to Uni. Understandably, this week is hectic in itself, without someone in hospital. We live 21 miles away from the hospital as well, so it's not a quick trip! Terry, my OH has a suspected broken foot, he had his x-ray yesterday, and has to wait 10 days for the results. He has to keep off his foot as much as possible. Hmmm!

We got back from Italy last Thursday evening, having had a lovely holiday, but a couple of the chicks were a bit poorly. Megan took one to the vets to get some medicine sorted out, because we have to treat the whole lot. The cat also brought a mouse in the house while we were away, and she phoned us in Italy for help!!! Fortunately, we were able to call the builder, who is still working on our extension (groan) and he came and got it out for her, after laughing at her for some considerable time!

So, no crafting done I'm afraid, we also went to the 'Thank you for the Music' concert in Hyde Park on Sunday, broadcast by Radio 2. There were 36,000 people there, and it was fantastic. Kylie, Jason Donovan, Elaine Paige, Jaimie Cullum, The Feeling, Marty Pellow, Bjorn and Benny, the Mamma Mia cast, etc. fireworks, awesome.

I probably won't post until next week, unless some miracle occurs, and everything just becomes less complicated overnight, (not really hopeful about that one). So please be patient with me, and I'll get back to crafting asap. Thanks guys, Judith x

Sugar Bowl challenge

I know that it's been ages since I last posted, but life has been so hectic. We've been on holiday to Center Parcs at Longleat, Wiltshire. Two days later, Terry and I went to see my Mum to celebrate her 70th birthday. I'd hardly had time to turn around, before we came home again. Now we are getting ready to go to Sorrento on Sunday, just the two of us, leaving the children at home. The extension is still being built, and Megan goes to Uni on 19th Sept, two days after her birthday. So life won't be slowing down for some time to come!

I needed to make a birthday card for my neice Rosie, who will be 11 on 10th Sept. I decided to enter the Sugar Bowl Challenge while I was at it, and so this is the card that I made. The sketch had to include buttons. Rosie is a bright bubbly little girl with a bit of the minx in her, so this Gorjuss Girl is perfect, as is the colour combo.

My little chicks are coming along nicely now. We still have eleven of them, ranging from a pale yellow, to chocolate brown, and finally black. They have wing feathers, little tufts for their tails, and fluffy heads still. Two adult Mums are looking after them until one gets fed up and goes back to hanging out with the grown ups, leaving the more solid carer to it. Zoe, the black hen is a brilliant Mum, and she has brought up about four or five lots now, including every single other chicken that we have. She was a surrogate Mum to some outside eggs a while back, as chickens will sit on anything really, even new potatoes if they think they are eggs!

These pictures aren't brilliant, but the chicks run around like little rockets, so trying to get a picture that is not blurry is almost impossible. It's too early to tell how many hens or cockerels we've got in the making, we'll have to wait a few more weeks, and then see. Aren't they cute? Well, I probably won't post now until I've been to Italy, I'm really looking forward to this trip, hopefully I'll feel a bit better, as I've been quite poorly for a few weeks. The warm weather will hopefully help anyway. Be back soon, Judith x

Phew!

Well, before anyone else says it, I know it's been a while since my last post! Things have just been really busy, I've been, here, there, and everywhere, and haven't really caught up with myself yet. So this will be a mammoth post and I hope that you will stick with it until the end.

Megan got on well in Stoke for her Uni taster session. I was too ill to drive up with her, so I went seperately the next day. I met up with Jo and Lesley, two blogging buddies, who I'd never seen before, but had met through the Graphicus Guild, and continued chatting to here in Blogland. We had a great time eating cake, swapping crafting tips, wandering around one of Jo's local craft shops, and having lunch together. I loved meeting you both, and I hope we can do it again. I then drove to Stoke to meet up with Megan, and had the night with her, before driving up to Darlington the following day to see my Dad on his birthday. I then came home, having driven 600 miles in three days, ugh! I suffer from sciatica, aggravated by driving, so although it was broken up a bit each day, it was 4 hours one day, 4 hours the next, and five hours the next, so it felt pretty constant.

The following week, very sadly, it was my friend's funeral. We all went as a family, as we all knew her very well. The church was packed, and it was an extremely moving service. My two were very affected, and they appreciate me a bit more now I think. I have another close friend who is suffering from Leukaemia, and I am making every effort to keep in touch now, as time goes so quickly, and regrets last a long time.

I went to Stamperama at Stevenage at the weekend, and bought way too much stuff! I got some Martha Stewart punches that I really wanted, and some Mcgill flower punches. I also bought some fab B Line Design stamps, which I really want to play with. I bought some clear Ticket sentiment stamps which I have seen used a lot on other people's cards , these ones are by Katie Pertiet and are really useful. I got some Nesties, some Whiff of Joy stamps, some dinky little canvases, Heidi Swapp clear stamps, Basic Grey clear stamps, Little Claire stamps, Quic Kutz embossing folder and frames etc., etc.! My justification is that I can't go to the shows at Harrogate or Doncaster this year as I'm too busy, so this was a one time blow out!

I saw Kay Carley and Bev Rochester at the show, and got to speak to them both. It was a pleasure to see both of them, as they recalled my saying on their blogs that I would go along to say Hi. How nice they both were. Bev was also recovering from a migraine, so it must have been hard for her to be sociable, and demo too, after being ill.

I have received two blog awards this week, don't I feel guilty for not blogging? The first is from Lynne K and it is the Circle of Friends award.

Thank you so much Lynne for awarding this to me, you are a great blog friend. I would like to forward this award to

1. Anne E
2. Penni
3. lilackat
4. Enfys
5. Lynne

I know that I am sending it back to Lynne, but she deserves it, so I hope that I can be allowed that indulgence.

The second award is The Kreativ Blogger Award which I have received from Lilackat again, I feel guilty as I haven't been blogging that much lately, but will try to do better!

Here are the instructions to accept this award

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog

3. Link the person who nominated you for this award

4. Name seven things about yourself that people might find interesting

5. Nominate seven Kreativ Bloggers

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate

7. Leave comments on all seven blogs letting them know you nominated them

I have already thanked Lilackat on her blog, but thank you again, it's such a thrill that someone thinks that I am worthy of a nomination like this. I can currently only nominate six people as Blogger is telling me that I am not following anyone, so I can't check out the html on nominee number seven until everything is back to normal. So here are the six:

1. Anne
2. Rowena
3. Judy
4. Sarita
5. Kat
6. Rach
7. Paula
Blogger has given me my list of who I follow back now!

These bloggers push the envelope a bit, and don't conform to the norm, therefore I believe they earn the title Kreativ Bloggers.

The seven facts about myself...

1. I speak French and Italian passably and I only took my GCSE Italian about four years ago getting an A*

2. I have always been a crafter, from knitting and cross stitch, to sewing, card making, and jewellery making. I like to draw and paint, but is it art? I'm not sure!

3. I have green eyes

4. I am tongue tied, but it does not affect my speech, so it was never operated on.

5. I hate housework

6. My craft room is a mess (you can't even see the floor)

7. My favourite colour is aubergine

So there you go, seven things about me!

I'm also posting a few cards today, just to show you that I have been crafting. They are a mixed bunch, using up old stash, new punches, and those ticket stamps I mentioned earlier. I have used a couple of Tilda stamps, and some Digital images from Mo's Digital Pencil Too. Hope you like!