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.