Happy New Year (well nearly)

Edited as blogger is being a pain in the ass and wont upload the pics.where i want them so they are all at the top

I know I've been a very bad blogger over Christmas but I've been very busy and haven't had a moment to myself, It seems like ages ago that we were at the school nativity play but here is a picture of my Sam (the sheep) and my nephew Evan (the Shepherd)

the rush even saw me card making and gift box making on Christmas eve, but these last few days I've had a little time to myself. What a good job it was too i called in my card boxes from a couple of outlets and they were almost empty so i spent Monday and Tuesday making up a few cards well 21 to be exact nothing too fancy just enough to fill them out a bit until i get back into a normal crafting routine again.
We had a fantastic Christmas, the kids loved everything they got, the whole family was together and we were all happy, because we have had to really cut back this year the kids got everything they wanted but it meant i couldn't get my dream machine cricut that Ive been after so i will just have to save hard so i can get it, hopefully with some money i get for my birthday on Friday i wont have to much saving to do.
Here are some of the cards i made the last 2 days

We have also had some very sad news today, a very close family friend died sudenly this morning aged 66 his birthday was christmas eve so its a very sad time and my heart goes out to his immediate family RIP Alan.
Tonight the whole family are meeting in my aunty's house for the new years celebrations so I'm sure it will be a good night to remember the old and in with the new and we will raise a glass to remember friends old and new it will be a great night and a very merry one at that. so on that note i will leave you wishing you a happy new year for tomorrow.

more cards and inspiration

First of all the inspiration, there is a great new blog that Helena has set up where there are lots of inspiration for all advent/Christmas related goodies, if your stuck for ideas or just want to see all the fab creations check this out, also if you've got something to share give her a shout and it may be placed on the blog.

The cards I've made are for martins work colleagues, he took one in for his mate and then i received an influx of orders, and i thought i was going to be able to start my own personal cards, i can see me making mine on Christmas eve at this rate.

Ive got many more to share too, i will blog again tomorrow after my shopping trip, i need to catch up on all my Christmas shopping and hopefully i will finish it on Saturday when I'm at Leeds for the day. That means i can then concentrate on the wrapping and the food shop nearer the time without having to look for last minute pressies.

Updated advent calendar and Paper decorations

Here is a glimpse of the revamped advent calendar, i was having real difficulty in opening the drawers, i didn't get back to the shops for more boxes so decided to take them out and be a little different from all the rest, i painted the inside of the cases and this is where the little sweets will fit (on this occasion mingles) As it was for Dylan i decided to make it more child like as it will be his first Christmas so i added little Santa's etc. i have painted the numbers and wording as after i added the embellishments there was no room for rub ons or stickers so a little on the wobbly side but hey so what, I'm sure he wont mind or criticize. sorry there's not too many pics.

Then last night i had my 2 nephews staying over as their Dad is now home from hospital but he needs lots of rest so i volunteered for a overnights stay at my house for them. We had such fun making paper decorations and it kept them occupied for hours, the pictures show how my floral twigs took shape into a make shift Christmas tree as the glitter and glue dried, we made baubles and trees and even had a go at the large snowflake (which Evan has said its a star and he wants it for the top of his tree at home) and the paper cine tree. I can recommend doing this with your kids as i know we had so much fun, ready for round 2 today.

Advent calendar - half finished.

After seeing many of these advent calendars on various blogs i decided to give it a go myself, i painted and papered it all but after assembling it realised because of the coats of paints the inner matchboxes are too tight a fit to open freely, I wonder if anyone else has had this problem?

so i will pop down to the shops tomorrow and purchase another 24 boxes of matches only this time im only going to coat the front of the inner matchbox then it should be a perfect fit, whilst im waiting for the paint to dry i will add a topper and various otheer items and post the totally revamped finished item here tomorrow.

Out of the woods

Its good news Craig was taken off the ventilator yesterday afternoon as he regained conciousness and is now doing really well, he will still be in hospital for a while for treatment of pneumonia, other infection and stabilising his diabetes but we know he will now make a full recovery (inserts a big sigh of relief). now im in a better frame of mind i will be able to make a few cards in between the hospital visits and childminding.
i will leave you with a few cards i made last week before the drama.

Not good news

Its not good news regarding my post on Tuesday, they have tried several times to wake craig but each time he is not responding so we are awaiting more tests to see what or where the problem lies.
My time is tied at the moment taking care of my sisters children so appologies for not sharing more cards, i hope to have a more positive post in a couple of days. please keep us in your thoughts.

back to the oldies

Whilst having a friend round on monday to do a little crafting i got a few of my older stamps out and came up with the above creations, (except for the Forever friends) Whilst buying new stash my older stuff always gets neglected so it was good to have a rummage through everything and use some of the oldies for a change.

There has also been a drama in the family, my sister (who is 6 1/2 months pregnant) has a partner who is diabetic and he felt unwell yeaterday and went to the doctors had blood tests and was told to return on wednesday, only he didnt make it till wednesday as this morning he was rushed to hospital and is now in intensive care in an induced coma as he has had a very severe case of keto acidosis and was lucky to of got him in hospital when we did other wise this post might of been a different story all together, so lots of prayers and get well wishes goes out to craig, and i know my sister needs extra care from us all as this stress is taking its toll on her.

Wedding vows

I was aked to make a card for a couple renewing their wedding vows and the customer loved it, but of course all of us in the crafting world knows what a simple card this is, its only the cloud 9 paper thats makes it look so lovely.

And of course more christmas cards.

Productive weekend

Ive had a great crafting weekend, I've managed to get no fewer than 21 cards completed although i wont share them all here all at once, ill save some for those days when i manage to create nothing. LOL.

A few of them are very simple quick but elegant looking, slight variations on each one as i hate making 2 cards the same.

Ive also been using my versamark with mica powders a lot, Ive had these powders for around 4 years but have hardly used them so i decided to experiment again and i love the dazzling, shimmering effect you get when it hits the lights, i know it doesn't show up very well for the camera but you know what i mean.

The 3 cards below i have used mica on the snowflake back ground and the black one has the tree stamped in silver mica.

Tomorrow I'm having another crafting day as i don't look after Dylan on a Monday I'm also having a friend round (Hi Susan if you re reading this) to share some stamping and card making tips and techniques, I'm really looking forward to crafting with another like minded friend.

Must go martin is calling me for a game of tennis on the Wii

magnolia cards

ive a couple of cards to share with you tonight, these wre made using the new magnolia christmas stamps and coloured with promarkers, the black background card was stamped with gold snowflakes and covered in lots of stickles, the circle one was cut using nestabilities in the cuttlebug, again coloured with pro markers and lots of bling added with stickles.

Christmas Shopping

Time is ticking by and the way the months are flying past i thought i'd better get started on my christmas shopping, so ive had a successful couple of days, a few bargains and not much more to buy now. So as i was in a festive mood i made a few more christmas cards up, i am slowly working my way through my order list, i want everything completed by the end of november so i can then concentrate on my own cards and craft items.

this card is a hanglar & Stanglar image coloured in promarkers the swirl was a gift from a friend Tracy (link in my side bar) flowers are prima, and the cards stock and circle snow village are embossed with the cuttlebug.

snowman stamp by Judi kins, paper was last years so cant remember (sorry), cuttle bug embossing and lots of stickles.

Stamp same as above this time it has been covered in dazzling diamonds by stamping up. snowflakes are prima, paper id DCWV since taking this picture ive also added a heart button in the bottom left corner and added bling around the sentiment.

Ive Cheated a little on this card, the santa is a 3D gift tag from the pound shop, ive covered the To and From with liquid pearls. you get around 7 or 8 images on one sheet so for only a pound they are a bargain and make very quick cards.

Ugly Sisters!

Ive got no news to share, just lots of creations. I had a very odd request this week somebody asked for a picture of the ugly sisters with the greeting saying "Merry christmas Sis' from the better looking one" i searched the internet and couldnt find anything suitable so i drew my own ugly sisters, i hope she likes it.

Christmas part 2

more christmas cards to show you today, and another christening card. (sorry for the blurry pics)

The lilac button tree card looks very flat and boring on the pic but IRL its very 3D and blinging.

Ive just had an order for 22 christmas cards, thats on top of what i already had to do so will be burried in cardstock and glitter for the next couple of weeks its a good job im able to stay at home during the day and get some crafting done else i would be up until 2am each evening.

I forgot to mention My days at home are not boring i am kept very busy with my Cousins 5 month old Baby, Dylan. His Mum has returned to work so i have become a childminder but its not like a job because i love him to pieces and dont mind looking after him one bit, in fact when im not looking after him i usually call her to ask if she wants me to mind him while she goes out shopping or spends a little time on her own.

karen x

Christmas cards

Just a short post to show some christmas cards

Karen x