Sunday 30 December 2007

A Christmas Fairy... have you been tagged?

I was sent this little gift from Heaven..



Heaven didn't want her, so they sent her to me..

I didn't want her, so I sent her to you..



If you don't want her either, feel free to send her on to your friends.. but you can't send her back because I sent her to you first!!!



I'm sending this to anyone reading this! Feel free to add her to your blog. Consider yourself tagged! Especially Jackie, Katy, Emma, Nikki, Mand and Janice.

Happy New Year.

Hi everyone - - including my Sis who has just joined the wonders of cyberworld!

I haven't got too much to show., just some photos of Holly on her first Christmas, but I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!


Here are some photos of Holly opening her prezzies...



Sunday 23 December 2007

Blimey! Running out of time!

can't believe it's nearly christmas day... I still have a cake to marzipan, a cooker to clean, mince pies to make.. and what am I doing? Sat here on the computer taking photos of christmas trees! Why I hear you ask?? Because our darling little Elvin the Elf over at Bex's forum has set a challenge!!!! I was quite pleased with how they turned out.. so here they are! Oh, and a photo of the cat too taken with a new macro lens.



Monday 17 December 2007

Well done Martina!

Oh I am one proud mum this week!
At the weekend, we had an evening out at my daughter's presentation evening.. She does ballroom dancing, as you may remember, and she took her exams a few weeks ago.. Well, I have to say, she did very very well! She got no marks less than 85 out of 100, the highest was 92! How good is that! Highly commended in all of her grades. She did Gold Ballroom, and Bronze in Modern Sequence and Modern Ballroom. Very very well done Martina! Here are some photos.
I haven't had time to sort out the photos yet.. I will upload some pictures later.. I'm out doing some last minute hair cutting when hubby returns.. I hate being a hairdresser (my first profession!).

Well.. will be back later!
Jo xx

Some Christmas Cards..

I'm pretty sure these are the last ones I have to make... so thought I would upload them..

This one hopefully has reached its destination at the Docrafts office. I have made the card on an acetate background. The snowman and decoration snowflakes are all made with felt.. I thought I would make something a little special as our demo manager there is leaving to go to another job.. Bye Becca.... keep in touch, we'll miss you loads


This was another christmas card. The topper was one from the Range, the background paper is Papermania. The card is pearlescent PM.

Another quickie... The topper is another Range pretty! The paper again is PM.. I couldn't decide what to do with this card really... but think it turned out okay.


Now... didn't this one look soooo cute?? I love this card!!


This one was very easy.. using the PM designer cards for the strip on the front, and to cover where I punched the pattern in the card. The outline sticker was coloured with permanent marker..


At last!!! I've used some of the stamped images that were sent onto me! I made three cards for the kids.. Leyton had the boy of course, Carley and Martina had the pretty girlies! These images are just so cute! I am so going to have a spending spree.

Friday 14 December 2007

BRRRRR told you it was cold!!

I'm sure it's getting frostier.. however, it is lovely weather for walking Holly! She loves to bounce in the leaves which are laid on the floor to hear them crunch as she pounces.. she has such fun..
Here are a few snaps I took yesterday whilst out walking.. Haven't been out yet this morning, Holly just so doesn't do mornings!!! So she's fast asleep on the sofa next to me.


Wednesday 12 December 2007

Considered myself tagged!

Hi Katy.. and anyone reading this..
I considered myself tagged like you said.. here's my list..

Christmas questions...

As it's nearly christmas thought this might be fun... i've seen it on a few blogs recently.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, but some have gift bags
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial.. but it's very tall and looks great!
3. When do you put up the tree? usually beginning of December but was late this year
4. When do you take the tree down? as soon as possible after the new year!
5. Do you like eggnog? urgh no!
6. Favourite gift received as a child? Only one? my Yawnee Doll.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? yep afraid so!
8. Hardest person to buy for? my sister in law!
9. Easiest person to buy for? My little dog Holly, and the cats. lol
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? satin pj's - horrid
11. Mail or email Christmas card definately mail
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Annabelle's Wish - if only I could get it on dvd!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? this year I started in August
14. Have you ever recycled/regifted a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? christmas cake and marzipan!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? usually stay at home, but this could change in 2008...
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? yep.. every one!
20. Do you have an Angel on top of the tree or a star? star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I always open one at midnight on xmas eve
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? the amount of people doing the same thing as me
23. Best thing about Christmas? time off with the family and watching the kids open the prezzies


So.. who shall I tag? I think I'll tag Hazel, Jackie, in fact, anyone who reads it.. consider yourself tagged.. just leave me a note to read YOUR answers..

Brrrrrr.......... it's freezing!!!

Morning campers!
Just a quickie blog today.. and sorry I've no cards to show, but here's a great link which I found by looking at Emma's blog yesterday, and it has some fab projects on there.. My personal favourite has to be the advent calendar.. take a look here at the site and enjoy!

And there are also some new Sugar Nellie stamps out - if you haven't seen these, check them out.. they're really sweet! Thanks to all over at Bex's forum who sent me some of these images to have a play with.. I'm ordering some after the Christmas rush (did I say some? I really meant quite a few! lol).. They're just fab.. watch this space for some finished cards now I've had time to get some coloured in.

I had a really busy day yesterday. I finished off 53 Christmas cards for the local vets. They are having an open day on Sunday to raise money for some different animal charities, so I told them I would make them some cards to sell. I used alot of the Penny Black stamps which have been laying around since last year doing not alot, and it's taken me around 2 days to finish them off. All sealed and delivered yesterday - but I was in such a rush with other things, I forgot to take some photos of them before I took them down! Stupid me.. I will try to recreate some for my personal christmas cards (which I still haven't started!) and post them when I get chance.

Well, that's all from me for now folks.. off to check my emails now..

Tata for now!

Monday 10 December 2007

...........and finally some cards!!

At last! Here are some of the cards I have been trudging around in my demo bag as samples.. I hope you like them.
This one has to be my favourite card I've been making! It is using Dovecraft Christmas papers from the traditional 6x6 pack.


This is just a quick card using the Once upon a Time Stack from DCWV. Plus a dovecraft sticker and piece of gold organza ribbon to finish.. I think it was a template challenge card from Bex's forum..
This was made using the Christmas Stack DCWV, just pleated at the bottom and another piece of paper at the top.. Topper was Dovecraft and the button brad was dovecraft too. The poinsettia sheet is in the Christmas Traditional Dovecraft pack (6x6). I trimmed it down to fit on the card, which I had stamped using the mini stamp set and chalks. I layered up some of the flowers and glittered them with glamour dust. This is a little swing card made from one of the Dovecraft Christmas sets of papers.. not sure which one now.. The topper was cut out of the same pack, and I added some snow writer and glamour dust to add a bit of sparkle.
Just a quick and easy one.. the paper is DCWV Glitter Christmas Stack, cut to fit across the top, then ornaments cut from another sheet from the same stack, bows and brads added for decoration.


For this one, I backed the card with a sheet from the Glitter Stack, and then tied a ribbon around it before layering with the santa stamped images. Snow writer and glamour dust - again.. lol.

I love this card.. quite simple but classy. I folded the christmas tree, as on my gallery on Docrafts, the background was stamped with the little clear Dovecraft stamps and metallic silver inks, chalked over and border added. Both papers are from the DCWV Christmas Stack.

Well.. that's it for now.. Hope you like them, feel free to leave a comment if you want to.

Martina's Cake

Oh hasn't she done well with this.. they made a Yule Log at School the other day.. it looks amazing and believe me, it tasted even better!

Been out on a jolly!

.. I'm back and feelinga bit better today, so thought I would upload some photos from our evening at Lincoln Christmas Market on Friday..

It was brilliant! Spent a fortune on some wonderful bits and pieces and loved every minute of it! Everyone (more or less) was wearing Victorian style costumes, and there was a choir singing which was fab! The only bad thing was I lost my money! lol.. We went on the park and ride, and had to park on the showground. I had my mobile and wallet on my knee - complete with two bank cards and £100 in cash! I stood up out of the car and only realised I had lost it when I went to pay for the tickets for the coach! I raced back to the car with hubby and panicked because I couldn't find it!! I nearly died! Then I felt around the floor at the side of the car and it was there!!! I cannot tell you how relieved I was!

So.. what was my best buy? An orange wreath which smells absolutely lovely!!! Very Christmassy!
I absolutely love Russian Dolls.. I stood looking at this stall for ages!

This is the stall where I bought my orange wreath... it was lovely and smelly all around it!



HO HO HO!!!!



Sunday 9 December 2007

Moan time!

I am feeling all fed up and moany! We have been waiting for a homecheck for our little Winston, he's in rescue in Oxford, and we enquired about him a few weeks ago.. anyway, to cut a long story short, we had got him on the result of the homecheck - the homechecker never arrived even after rearranging a few times.. anyway, Paul has waited in all morning for the one today to turn up, who eventually (!!) rang at 12 to say they weren't coming! Unreliable! So, I just got in from work and he told me, so I've rang and told them I wasn't happy .

Anyway, the outcome is that little Winston isn't coming to live with us.. they are rehoming him in their area ( he was quite a distance from us), so.... I am feelinga bit fed up.. moany... and upset at the situation - but we'll keep on looking so watch this space......! We really wanted a rescue dog, to give it a new chance in life, to live in a loving home with Holly, but it just isn't working out!

yours depressingly..

Jo xx

Thursday 6 December 2007

Ahhhh isn't she cuddly.

The more I think about it.. the more I think having a Holly blog is a good idea! Especially when there are soon to be two to photograph (if everything works out okay!)

I would have loved to have blogged some cards that I have done over the past few days, but most of them are commissions for the magazine, so I can't. Sorry! I will get around to adding the 'Countdown to Christmas' I have done - inspired by Dolly Dimples blog.. mine looks nowhere near as nice as these ones she has on her blog.. but my daughter loved it! Apart from these little crafty sessions, I haven't done much else. I haven't felt very well for the last few days, still full of cold, and now it's gone onto my chest as it always does.


Anyway, here's just a quick shot of Holly having a snuggle with her daddy. She loves her bed time snugglies, usually head under the chin.. Doesn't she look cute?? Holly hasn't been too well either the last couple of days.. she ate a dahlia head (dead one) the other day before I noticed and has been sorta' sneezing ever since.. and she was sick a couple of times yesterday. I did mention it to the vet on Tuesday when she went for her KC vaccine and she said there was nothing to worry about - but you still do don't you!

Tuesday 4 December 2007

Docrafts Advent Calendar

.... is all up and running.... don't forget to take a look at the website, to see what new projects and ideas there are behind each door!

Monday 3 December 2007

My elf name!

Your Elf Name Is...

Twinkles Blinking Bum

feeling a bit bruised!

Oh dear! What a weekend!
It started off really well.. then Saturday evening, I had a bit of a fall.. (at my age??) I went flying into the wall next door, and this is the result... OUCH!!

It is a bit painful.. this is just my arm and wrist! I also banged my bonce and have a big bruise on my forehead and one just under my eye! Oh the joy!!


however.. we think we may have found alittle puppy friend for Holly. We are supposed to be being homechecked this next week... he is in rescue in Oxfordshire, 14 weeks oldish, and is in need of a home that will spoil him! Us? Oh I think so!!(keeping fingers crossed everything works out this time!) We went for a younger dog, so it would be more like Holly. He is apparantly quite laid back and peaceful - I'm sure Holly will sort that one out! lol.. He has Kennel Cough at the minute, so is staying where he is.. so hopefully we'll be able to fetch him in a couple of weeks.

Here's Winston..

Friday 30 November 2007

Advent calendar anyone?

Oooooh there's an advent calendar on Docrafts... what a great idea for inspiration! Don't forget to visit it tomorrow!!!! you know.. December 1st!

Thursday 29 November 2007

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.....

Oh isn't it great!! I went out to buy something for dinner today and came home with two packs of Babycham and some snowballs! Last week, I nipped into the shop to buy some milk and came away with Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies!!! Am I getting into the Christmas fever? I confess to already having some tinsel up - I found it upstairs the other day, so I hung it around my mirror.. lol.

I have been busy today making a few christmas cards.. they are all relevant to some of the challenges on Bex's forum.. but I can't remember which ones they were.. so here they are anyway.. I hope you like them - feel free to leave some comments. This one was using 'Chocolate' as the theme.. so I went for Mint Aero! My youngest daughter's favourite.. lol.. I used chocolate and mint papers from the Sarah Papers pack I have, the image is Penny black coloured with Whispers brush markers. Gems are papermania.

This was one for a template challenge.. I enjoy doing these, they're really great for ideas! The papers are from the DCWV Once upon a time pack, the topper is Dovecraft,.

This card was made to incorporate a christmas carol.. I went for 'Here comes Santa Claus'. The stamp is one of the very good value Dovecraft packs. I coloured him in with Glistening snow writer and pens. The edges were inked with Ranger Distress inks. The paper and ribbon is DCWV Christmas Glitter pack.

Now then.. I am so loving this stamp!!! It is one of my Dolly Mama's - Miss Behave. I coloured her in with brush markers and watercoloured it a little. The edges were inked in pink. I really haven't a clue what the papers were as I have had them for a lifetime! The prima flowers were decorated with irridescent gems from Papermania. Using another one of Bex's Challenges for this one.. the rules were to use Spotty/Dotty papers. The paper is from the DCWV Christmas pack. The bottom bit is pleated.The Santa is Dovecraft and so is the little button brad. Isn't it cute?? I might just make some more like this one..

This is a swing card - another Bex's challenge card... and one I have thoroughly enjoyed doing. The papers are from the DCWV Glitter pack, and I layered the centre with some red card to match. I went around the edge with the Dovecraft sticky ribbons and added a reindeer topper.. again, it's cute isn't it?
well that's all for today.. it was too cold to stay outside to make any more, which is a shame really because I was on a roll!
bye for now..

Bit of bad news..

Firstly, I would just like to say that it didn't work out with Mitzi.. After she had started to settle in on Monday, she was growling and didn't seem to like Holly too much.. then she growled at me in the car.. and then she just seemed to get quite grumpy. She didn't tolerate Holly too much at all on Tuesday and never even acknowledged that she was there.. so I had a word with Alison at the SYESSR and they said the best thing would be to take her back and try with a dog, rather than a bitch.. so we have taken her back sadly.. and I hope she'll find a home to settle in soon.. and we are keeping our eyes out for a younger dog friend for Holly.

Monday 26 November 2007

just having a nap..

ahhh don't they look sweet?? just like little angels.. lol.

Meet Mitzy..

here she is.. I've finally got my photoshop up and running on the new laptop, so here are some photos I took this morning of Mitzy. She seems to be doing okay.... still having a little grumble, but she is laid out on the sofa with Holly at the minute..



she loves to stand and stare at things... waiting for you to throw it, this gnome was just great for carrying about.. lol.

you can tell my garden is wearing well to dogs - not! lol.

And.. here are just a few of Holly..













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