Sale-a-bration Samples

Hi there - here are a couple of samples that I have made using the fabulous new FREE stampsets - don't you just love them!
This one uses the Sweet Summer stampset inked with Whisper White on Black and matted onto Wild Wasabi cardstock then inked over using a marker pen and highlighted with a White Signo Gel pen.






















Here's another card made using the Bliss stampset embossed in White EP, the sentiment is from the Punch Bunch set and the background uses Whisper white ink on Black cardstock using one of the Artistic Etchings stamps. Still like to do monochrome cards.

Allelujah!

Central heating engineer arrived about 3:00 p.m. today and within minutes he had fixed it - didn't need any parts, didn't need any tools! £50 plus VAT - not bad is it for a few seconds work!
Just glad that we now have the heating again. How did we survive winter without central heating? It makes you wonder.
Anyhow, here's hoping that normal servcie can now be resumed.
Watch this space!!

Happy Anniversary!

Christmas Eve is my Wedding Anniversary and what a day it turned out to be.
Simon, Kerry and the kids were coming for the evening as were my two sisters with their respective hubby/partner and my nephew with his fiance were expected.
I found out about 5:45 that the central heating wasn't working and that I had no hot water. Barry spoke to someone on the telephone helpline, and after some testing, he was advised that our 2 year old condensing boiler needed a part AND that they would not be able to get a part until Wednesday because of the holiday. I was mortified to say the least - what else can possibly go wrong this year?
Not to be defeated, we set up a couple of oil filled radiators and a fan heater and made the best of the evening. We had a great time playing on the Wii doing the dancing games and Lexie and Lucas wren't the only ones who had a funfilled evening!
Yesterday morning we had a lie in, opened pressies and after going to see the grandkids, took ourselves and Janice over to Christine's for Christmas dinner. We met new great niece Eva Lily for the first time too and spent a pleasant few hours there. Back home we sat in the lounge with the heater turned up high and sat and watched soaps, then off to bed. At least it was warm in there.
Today we have spent most of the day huddled up in the lounge in our jim-jams and dressing gowns, watching old films.
What will tomorrow bring I wonder?

See ya all soon!

Marina Mist and Early Espresso Wreath

Here is the Christmas card that I have done for my good friend Nicky, I think the colours are a nice change from the Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive. As you can see I have used Marina Mist with Early Espresso and am quite pleased with the result- he likes it anyway.
Enjoy

Let festivities commence!

Well ..... today I have bought the last 3 Christmas presents and posted the last of the Christmas cards that had to be posted. I have just a few left to hand deliver. I have just helped Barry get the tree and the decorations down from the loft and I have left him in peace to get on with decorating the tree. (I'm just having a cuppa and a mince pie).
The electricity has been on continuously for a week now, and the workmen have filled in all three of the holes that they have dug in the village, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we have a trouble free Christmas and no more power cuts.
All the decorating has been done, new doors fitted and the new carpets fitted downstairs so we can sit back and relax and enjoy them.
I have just got to wrap all the presents over the next two days and get them to father Christmas to deliver on Christmas Eve.
The washing is all done and tomorrow I have the ironing to do, then I can sit and craft for a couple of hours in the afternoon - I have a couple of birthdays next week.

Here's one of the last few cards that I have made, I will post a few more piccies tomorrow - after the ironing!
This one uses the Fine flourish stamp again and i have used night of navy cardstock and ink

Light at the end of the tunnel at last

Well - after 30hours with no electricity, therefore no heating, lighting, hot water, and most serious of all - no internet and no telephone, we now have power restored. Its been back on fully for about 15 minutes now and I am sat here in dressing gown and slippers, waiting for the house to warm up. Even now we don't know whether the fault has been found, or whether we are merely connected to a generator, in fact as I have tried to write this the power has been cutting after only a few minutes at a time. I am keeping my fingers crossed
Yesterday evening Barry and I dined out, then spent the rest of the evening at sister's (Maggie's) house with her and Gerald and we had a very pleasant evening. At 11 o'clock when we came home, we asked the workmen how things were progressing, only to be told that they had not yet found the fault - afterthat we just went home to bed.
I spent my time quite industriously this morning til the power has come back on and made 20 Christmas cards, I will post a piccie when I have stuck the ribbons on.

Oh well - had better make the most of the power whilst we have it. Talk to you all soon.

And there's more.........

Woe is me!!
You know that I have got the decorators in at the moment. Well I had a nightmare day on Wednesday when the joiner came and fitted 7 doors. I had a house covered in sawdust!
The joiner didn't put a single dustsheet down and was merrily planing doors everywhere and I had wood shavings and sawdust on my lovely new carpets which had only been fitted last Tuesday and this Monday! I wept after he had gone home. Yesterday I spent hours sweeping up all the sawdust - there must have been 6" of sawdust on the conservatory floor where he had done most of the cutting. There was also the same amount of sawdust outside the front door which was being walked in every time he came in.
Anyway that was another day.
This morning I awoke bright and early - well it was still dark - about 6:20 - only to find that we had a power cut! Luckily I have a gas hob, so i was able to have a hot drink. The decorators came at 8:30 and have done their best working in the hall without light - but at 2:00 I phoned to check when the power would be back on. I had to use the decorator's mobile, cos my mobile battery was flat! I was told that if we were lucky we might get the power on at 4:00 p.m. today, otherwise it would be 8 o'clock tonight.
At this moment in time I am sat at baby sisters house, where it's lovely and warm, drinking her coffee, using her electricity to charge up my mobile phone, and using her internet to send emails and update my blog!!
Think I must have inadvertently killed a robin!
Hey ho!

Craft Room Blues

Just as I thought everything was going so well.......
I have had my dining room redecorated and a new carpet fitted - the carpet fitters made it on Tuesday through the snow and it looks a treat. Got the new curtains up yesterday.
I have had my lounge redecorated and the carpet should be fitted tomorrow - weather permitting.
Also tomorrow I am having the hall stairs and landing measured for new carpet which I hope will be fitted late next week.
On Tuesday B&Q should deliver seven new internal doors for downstairs and on Wednesday a joiner is coming to fit them.
Also on Wednesday the decorators are coming to redecorate the hall stairs and landing. They will be with me for 3 days, possibly 4 as they are also painting the ceilings for me in the kitchen and bathroom and decorating the lobby.
Yesterday I did the gloss on the skirting in the Conservatory and the first coat of emulsion on the walls. Today I was going to carry on when I discovered that the wall in the craftroom was wet again!! The same one that I had the problem with at the beginning of the year when it snowed. I could have cried. Well I did actually. So I had to shift all the stuff from the units on that wall and start mopping up operations. Its certainly not as bad as last time but has caused chaos nonetheless.
Barry had done a couple of trips to the tip with the old dining room and lounge carpets and underlay plus a few sacks of domestic rubbish. (Our wheelie bin was full and was not emptied this week cos of the weather)
We had emptied the lounge of everything except the two settees- most of the stuff has been put into my beautiful dining room and once again the house is in turmoil.
I had just been thinking how well things were going as well.
Anyhow, not to be too depressed about the whole thing, we went out and bought new curtains and cushions for the lounge and that cheered me up a little. We picked up baby sis Anne-Marie on the way home, to help us move a settee out of the lounge, then I made dinner whilst Barry took her back home.
I am now sat in bed, updating my blog and watching tele - as the lounge is not very welcoming with just the settee in it and bare floors!
Tomorrow evening at this time, hopefully order will be restored in the dining room, conservatory and lounge. The craft room will still be a mess, but I will have to wait for that to be dealt with later as we have a full schedule for the rest of this week.
I will have to cancel this weeks classes as there is no way we can have a class as things are.
I have however just read Becki's blog and my problems seem quite trivial as I read about the traumas that Becki had yesterday on her birthday no less!!. I can empathise with you and hope that you get everything sorted Becki.
Meantime, I am going to play silly games on the laptop and watch a little television before turning in for the night. Things should get better tomorrow - fingers crossed.