Mens' Card Candy

Saturday was our All Day Training Event in Leeds and it was absolutely great, Chris (sis-in-law) and myself had a fab day. I came home utterly inspired - so much so that I decided to do a Man's Card Candy - and here it is.
I have used Cherry Cobbler, Marine Mist and Pear Pizzazz cardstock and inkpads.
Stampsets used were "Cheers to you", "Party this way" and the Sale-a-bration "Punch Bunch".
Various SU punches were used.
Once again I am pretty impressed. My craft classes will be doing this card candy this week as they are always stuck for inspiration with mens' cards.

Ornate Flowers card candy

This is my first attempt at Card Candy and I am quite pleased with it. It will come in very handy when I need an ultra quick card that will have to be posted the same day.
Six of us took part in a Card Candy exchange yesterday so I have another 5 sets of Card Candy to savour - yum yum- good enough to eat.
I don't think you need a description other than the colours used are Regal Rose, Basic Black and Whisper White.

All day Training - my swap card

Hi all. Well we are back to normality again and I will try once again to get back into the habit of posting a little something each day for you.
(In case you didn't know , I have had two weeks in the Caribbean and its been hard coming back to temperatures of below freezing when I have had a fortnight of average 29 degrees!!)
Here goes then....today I have been up to Leeds for an all day training event held by my SU mummy Julie. I took along my latest recruit, my sister-in-law, Chris, who signed up as a demo yesterday - Woo woo!!
We have had a fabulous day and it was great meeting up with all our SU family that we haven't seen for a while.
We had a little training, did a couple of super projects, including a lovely little bag which fellow Jem Chris demonstrated. We had a fab lunch - including cupcakes - of course! We did Card swaps on the theme of love and 6 of us did a Card Candy swap.
Here's my "Just for you" card swap which I did in black, white and red, using the
"I (heart) heart" stampset.
Come back tomorrow and I'll post my card candy swap.


Nice to be back!

Open House!

Just a quick reminder to everyone that tomorrow afternoon is my Annual Sale-a-bration Open House and everyone is welcome to drop by and have some fun with the fabulous FREE Sale-a-bration stampsets.
The will be the usual demos, make and takes, raffle, door prizes and refreshments.
Come along, any time after 12:30 and before 5:30. Stay for a little, or stay for a while - but just come along and have a fab time.
Bring a friend - the more the merrier!
Have you sent your email reply in yet - remember all replies get put in the hat and the lucky peron whose name is dawn gets lovely Stampin Up Goodies!
See you tomorrow - be there or be square!

Punch Bunch - For you

It's still Sale-a-bration time and here is anoother card that we made at Julies.
This punch Bunch set is so versatile.

Sale-a-bration at Julie's Training

You will probably all have already seen this card that we made up in Leeds on Julie's Training evening - well here's mine!
The cute little owl from SAB Punch Bunch stampset. Can't wait to get my hands omn the punch when it appears in the mini-Catalogue in April.

Sale-a-bration at Julie's

We had a training night the other Tuesday at Julies, and I am sure you will all have seen this card on Julie's blog before now, but this is the one that I made - don't you just love it!!

Jane's 50th

If anyone tells Jane that I have put this card on my blog she will kill me - telling everyone that she is 50 today (She's just a baby!) So no telling!!

Blushing Bride DP (Hostess level 1 gift) and cardstock used here, dazz;ling diamonds round the numbers and a bit of bling with the sprinkling of rhinestones! Mmmmmmm!

Just Believe - With deepest sympathy

One of my crafting ladies and fellow golfer, Kath, sadly lost her mother on Christmas day. I hate doing sympathy cards, but thought that the Just Believe flower, stamped in black fitted the bill.

Punch Bunch Owl

What about this little beauty then - isn't he cute! I think that this card is suitable for either a bloke or a lady.
And... guess what - the punch that will punch him out will be available to purchase from the mini-catalogue thats due come 1st April!! Can't wait!!

Simon and Kerry's Anniversary card

New year's Eve marked the 10th Wedding Anniversary of my son Simon and his wife. They celebrated it in Malta - he too likes the Winter sunshine - they come home tomorrow. This is the card that I made for them - based on my SU mummy Julie's Mr and Mrs Wedding Card, using the now retired Bride and Groom Designer papers - they do look stunning don't they, shame they had to go, but I still keep some just for these special occasions.






















PS - it must have taken me three hours and at least a dozen attempts to get this picture to load - hope it was worth the effort - Phew!!

Tony's Sale-a-bration Birthday card

These sale-a-bration sets certainly come in handy for a fast and fabulous card. As I said earlier, I have quite a few cards to make before I go on my jollies, so I need to do quick cards that still look classy and I think this one fits the bill just fine. It uses the happy Birthday stamp from the Punch Bunch set, inked in Night of Navy and matted onto Night of Navy cardstock.

Sarah's Sale-a-bration Sweet Summer card

That sounds a right tongue twister doesn't it.
This month is a very busy month for birthdays, and as I go away very soon, I have to get myself organised and make sure that I get everyones cards made in good time.
On the 4th, it is my Nephew's wife, Sarah's birthday and I thought that this Sweet Summer card really suited her. Colours used were Pear Pizzaz, Melon Mambo and Peach Parfait inkpads, Melon Mambo and Whisper White cardstock. See the tiny pearls in the flower centres? They just finish it off nicely!
Will post the next one soon!

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!