Happy New Year!

I thought I'd look back through my photos and select the best of what I've created this year. I feel I've come a long way creatively, particularly with stamping. I have taken inspiration from Michelle Zindorf, Glenda Waterworth, Jean Hardy, Deby at Just add Love and of course my good friend Lynne. I'm not sure about New Year resolutions - I'd like to get fitter, lose a bit of weight, create more, spend less... I'd also like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone who reads my blog. I'm always thrilled when people leave comments or rate my entries. It is so good to get feedback. Blog-wise I've had help and inspiration from Guzziesue and Biker Ted - many thanks!

Shopping

Today Meg and I went out to do a bit of shopping. We went to Craft Central at Derby Garden Centre, only to find they have called in the recievers and are selling off stock before they close. Very, very sad - a recent discovery hit by the recession. We came home via Hobbycraft and Range, where I found out about the Create a Card for Cancer Care campaign. It is being run by Do Crafts and Marie Curie. I got my bags from Range at Lady Bay retail park, but there are more details here. I intend to make quite a few.

January Birthdays

Whilst I had the Cuttlebug out I decided to try a brass stencil in it using the rubber mat I have and came up with this. The stencil is from Lasting Impressions and I have used it alot. Then I turned my thoughts to my brother's birthday on 7th January. Knowing how much he admired Megan's Christmas card I decided to do him a wolf too, but not in snow this time. I'm quite pleased with him. The Wolf/ husky is a Clarity Stamp, the leaves are Lavinia and the bracken Crafty Individuals. The small fir tree is by Making tracks, inc.

Finally I moved onto a card for my mother-in-law. Her birthday is on the 4th January. I came up with this initially, but on second thoughts it might be a bit modern for her taste. The stamp is from Stamp to your Arts Content, but I'm not sure how clear the Clematis image will be to an 84 year old, so I might just have another go.

I feel very positive about today. The cooker is fixed, Meg has been out on her new bike, I've made cards, done the shopping and had some R'n' R. Planning for next term is looming now!

Wild Meadow background

I've been playing with a few stamps (Wild Meadow and Autumn table from graphicus) I started off stamping the bracken in versamark onto slightly shiny white card. I then sponged over it using Distress inks in broken china and peeled paint. It was okay, but needed something else, so I stamped some leaves and stems over it. In a bid to get the ink off the versamark images I used a damp sponge that softened and blended the colours a little more. I quite like this background now, but don't know what to do with it, so I'll put it on one side till I get some more inspiration!

Santa was very generous!

Well, I have finally managed to get round to playing with a few of the lovely gifts I recieved from Santa. My Christmas had a distinct Graphicus flavour, with Wild meadow, arboretum and the triple birds plate, and Nature's table and Autumn hedgerow thrown in for good measure! I also got a proper cuttlebug. A few years ago - just before they brought out the cuttlebug I bought a zip-e-mate, and although I have had my money's worth out of it the cuttlebug takes up a lot less space and is more suited to my needs. The bird stamp (Graphicus) is stamped onto shiny card and sponged over with butterscotch and stonewashed Adirondak inks. I inked the Cuttlebug embossing folder with silver brilliance ink before putting it through.

There's an Angel by the name of Julie that lives up my road

There I was on Christmas Day cooking a fairly simple dinner ( just the 3 of us to cater for ) when a fuse blew and the cooker and Microwave went off. We went to the fuse box and switched everything back on one at a time and all seemed well... until I realised the oven was no longer steaming up my glasses and I couldn't hear the Duck portions sizzling any more. I have a cooker with a small top oven as well as a main oven, so I quickly got that going and transferred the duck. The problem that was causing me to panic was the fact that I was cooking Christmas dinner for seven on Boxing Day, and was staring at a huge Turkey that would fit into my top oven about as easily as Dawn French would fit into a size 8. I could cook everything else - roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, brussels, broccoli, gravy, bread sauce, and stuffing, but not that one vital ingredient. I even looked at saws in the garage, wondering whether to chop it up and just roast a bit of it, or stew it in a big pan!

Anyway, after lunch I got a text from my friend Julie thanking me for their presents. I rang her back to see if she would be around on Boxing Day, and she immediately said she would cook my Turkey for me! I took it up there at 9am and Steve fetched it, swathed in towels to keep it warm at one o'clock. I think that must be the sign of a true friend - someone who would cook your turkey for you, and to perfection too! So, on Boxing Day our whole house toasted Julie, for saving our Turkey (or should that be Bacon)!
Thanks is such a small word, but means such a lot!

Merry Christmas!

Meet Tufty! This beautiful little robin spent his juvenile days hoping around our garden in the summer of 2007. He was very bold and regularly landed a few feet away. As he got his adult plumage he followed us around the garden and we nearly put our hands on him when he kept settling on the spade handle!

I spotted him on Tuesday (really murky day, so bad picture!) with a little gift... for this young lady...

Steve's Card

This year I wanted Steve's card to feature ducks. He really likes ducks and I have bought several stamps with him in mind over the years. The skating ducks stamp was the first I bought specifically for making his Christmas card (1997)and is a Stamporium stamp.The Duck Noel is a penny black stamp bought last year. Whilst you are reading this you might want to spare a thought for Guzziesue, currently nursing a badly broken wrist after falling whilst ice skating. Check out her blog for some fabulous lace making, quilting and embriodery. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Sue! I thought of you when I saw this stamp!!!

A couple of years ago, about this time we had a few hard frosts and Meg and I popped to Rufford Mill to watch the ducks skating for real!

A Card for Meg

Meg has been a fan of 'Due South' for a few years now, and has watched every episode. She loves Diefenbaker the Wolf so much that he is the screen saver on her phone! When I spotted this Husky stamp by Clarity Stamps I thought it was just the ticket. The other stamps used are Lovely as a tree by stampin' up!, fir branch by All Night Media, and fir tree group by Clarity stamps.

It's amazing what you find on an untidy craft table!

There I was, trying to put some stuff away when I found the 'In the bleak mid-winter tree' image (Graphicus). At the time I stamped and coloured it I thought I didn't have any background papers to go with it. A week or two later I found two sheets of Magenta Gingerbread collection.This one is called 'Soft Mistletoe' which is a bit strange as it looks more like Holly to me!

Only 3 left to go!

Here are 3 more christmas cards. The first uses a set of clear stamps by Stampendous called Winter trees. This set will definitely stay out all year and won't be confined to the christmas box as they are so versatile. The middle card has another Nellie Snellen Snowman, and the last features the teddy by Hero Arts. The Teddy card has a winter text stamp (also Hero Arts) that has been embossed using cinnamon scented embossing powder...mmmm! We need smellyvision!

Inky Fingers

I went to bed last night with blue fingers! This card started off life as a smooth white piece of card that I embossed snowflakes onto (2 from crafty individuals, one from Stamporium, one from clear choice stamps and one unknown) with clear embossing powder. I then sponged a mixture of 'stonewashed' and 'denim' adirondak inks over the top, along with some metallic rub-ons in silver. the Let it Snow stamp is also Crafty individuals. The large snowflake is a chipboard piece painted with white acrylic and sprayed with silver creative colour sprays. there are a few dots of glitter glue on both the chipboard and stamped images.