Handsome Boy

This card was made using one of those fabric squares.  I seem to have many of them and forget to use them. I finished this card off with a little fabric bow tie.

Where does the time go?  Just when I want to be crafting, there always seems to be things which need my attention.  My garden has been the priority recently, along with household chores and I often wonder how I fitted in everything before I gave up work.  I still have some more bedding plants to put in the front garden and each night I go on 'Slug Watch'. Please don't ask how I dispose of them.  One day the garden looks nice and the next it has become a jungle.
Poor old Taffy has become quite slow and often loses his balance.  (A bit like me) We walked with Molly and Charles yesterday and their owner Nicki.  We haven't seen Benson since Friday. I took Taffy up to Epsom Downs today and they are preparing for the Derby next week. I had coffee with Pam, one of my Cinnamon Trust ladies - although her dog has died - and then we went to Cranleigh to see relatives.  So, no crafting today either.  I have a couple of orders to make, so I will have to find some time.  A new series of Biggest Loser has also started - and you know how I love that show.  I was watching the latest episode whilst eating a Milky Bar dessert  (177 calories) and felt very guilty.  If you haven't tried one - you really must! I think they are for children really but they are too good for kids!!  Low fat yoghurt tomorrow.

Here comes the rain....

This monochrome cat card was made using the Hobby Art cat collection of clear stamps.

No posts for a couple of days, as I have been busy gardening.  I have bought all my bedding plants and have been tidying the garden and filling pots.  Isn't it expensive every May? I have a favourite place to buy my plants, a well kept secret nursery in the grounds of Ewell Court House.  And they now have a lovely cafe.  Latte and an Eccles cake were the order of the day and then Mike and I went out to buy some new garden furniture.  Mike had the day off and we walked Taffy and Benson together, having coffee in the park.  Yes, there is a coffee theme going on. I watered my parched garden all evening (yes, we have a water meter!) and then it rained overnight!  More to do later after the whist drive.

'ecky thump it's 'ot . . . .

Wow - we've had another scorching hot day. I had to take my lace parasol out with me to protect me from the harmful rays of the sun. Which is why I am always lily white! I walked the dogs in the woods to keep them cool. I then had my chores to do - a trip to the tip with the grass cuttings etc and then a food shop. A few chores for Benson's owner. I couldn't wait to get my jobs done, so that I could have a play with the Silkies that I saw demonstrated at the weekend.

This card I made today, using the Silkies as a brayered background. Then I used a stamp, which I must have owned for at least ten years and have never used. It's an old Judikins one and it looks much like a rolling pin. I hummed and ha-ed about putting ribbon or other embellishments on but this is it bare. I am open to suggestions!

Biggin Hill Show

I went to the Biggin Hill craft show today. I saw Anna, Sharon, June and her Mum from Lavender Lane but not Kim! I enjoyed the show but it was SO hot in the hall that it soon emptied out after lunch time. Considering I didn't really need anything, I still managed to bring home a few bits and pieces. We did a Stampin Up make and take, with which we were pleased.

I haven't 'blogged' for a couple of days, as I have been so busy. I went to a wedding in Weybridge on Friday. The ceremony was held where Mike & I got married, so it brought back many happy memories. The reception was in Shepperton and the weather was superb.

Yesterday, after walking Taffy and Benson in the woods on Epsom Downs, I did a lot of gardening. I'm a bit late this year but I had to prepare the pots for my bedding plants.

I made this card when I got home from the show. I bought the stamp when I was in the USA a while ago. I also bought some of the little raffia hats but had run out, until I spotted some at Ally Pally earlier this year.

This is my friend Linda, who came with me to the show today. She has only recently begun card making and this was her first papercraft show. I think she was in awe of all the products on sale. When she's broke, having spent her life savings on crafting stuff, she'll have me to thank :)

Football

This card was made using a Pink Gem Design stamp. As you can see, great for a little fella of your acquaintance. Not bad for me, since I consider myself to be a sport-free zone. I understand it's a few days too late, after a big sporting event last weekend. Don't ask me.....

My sister Carol and her husband Martin came home from an eight week holiday in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore at 07.45 hrs yesterday morning. They stayed only long enough for breakfast, as Carol had arranged to meet friends in Sidmouth at lunch time. They certainly pack it all into their busy life. It seems they had a wonderful jaunt and have 400 photographs to prove it.

The rest of the day saw me doing the usual - dogwalking, Sainsbury's shopping and I hired a DVD - Nowhere Boy. Martin had watched it on the aeroplane home and I had wanted to see it when it was on general release. It's about the teenage years of John Lennon. I enjoyed it. Then it was off to play whist in the evening.

Mike was home today and joy of joy, got the Sky box working again and wait for it - without losing the stuff on the hard drive - which we'd been warned we'd lose. So we were able to view The Biggest Loser finale on a proper TV screen and not my laptop. We were happy to see Bob win. What a change in his appearance.

More Gardens

This is another card I made in Kim's class last Saturday at Lavender Lane. I have used one of the Hobby Art stamps, designed by my talented friend Anna. I made the background with inks and then stamped upon it. I sent it to my sister Marilyn for her birthday yesterday.

Today, after walking Taffy and Benson in the sunshine, my friend Viv and I drove down to Leonardslee Gardens near Horsham. This was our last chance to visit, as they will not be open to the public after June of this year. The colours were astounding and the walks by the lakes super. The only problem was the enormous queues for any refreshment and the lack of public conveniences. If it were not closing soon, I would have been moved to complain. What a shame we won't be able to enjoy the gardens after this year.

Isabella Plantation

Today I went with my friend Dawn to The Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park. Taffy and Benson came too. We saw deer in the distance but fortunately the dogs didn't. At this time of the year, it's absolutely glorious. All the rhododendrons and azaleas are in full bloom. There were even some camelias still flowering. We saw ducklings and all manner of wild fowl on the ponds. A coffee and cupcake in the car park and then it was time to go home.

This is another example of a spotlight card. I made this along with the first one last Saturday in class. I 'blinged' it up when I got home. My mentor suggested the first photograph did not showcase the spotlight effect well enough, so hopefully this is better Kim!

Lavender Lane

Good Morning.

Thank goodness Mike cut the lawn yesterday - it looks a bit 'iffy' today. Whilst he was toiling in the garden, I was with friends at Lavender Lane, Stoneleigh, at two of Kim Reygate's classes. This is the first card I made in the morning. Using a Hobby Art stamp, which is so versatile, we all made a Spotlight card. It's amazing how everyone is using the same or similar materials, yet all the cards look totally different. That's what I enjoy about the classes. Even if you have attended the same class before, it's always different and you ALWAYS learn something new. Apart from that, my memory is so bad, that I ususally forget how to do what I've learned unless I go home and make lots of similar cards using the new techniques. And I just like to be with like minded craft people.

We always have a laugh and yesterday was no exception and I was the cause. I sometimes suffer with Hives - which is an allergy - and an outbreak can manifest itself by giving me raised itchy weals all over my body or I can wake up in the morning with a swollen eye or, as was the case yesterday, a huge swollen top lip. It looked like a botched Botox job and I knew how Amanda Holden felt with her trout pout. You'll be pleased to hear it has now gone. I'm sure if the new ladies who attended ever remember the day, they'll recall the woman with the fat lip.

So much TV, so little time....

This card was made using a lovely Hobby Art stamp.

What a lovely day to walk Taffy & Benson on Epsom Downs. I took the dogs to visit an old lady called Pam, whose dog died recently. Benson let the side down again and had a wee in her kitchen. We may not be invited back. Pam hinted that her freezer was empty and so I offered to take her food shopping. I took the dogs home first, then drove back. Took her to Asda in Burgh Heath. Left her there. Drove back home for half an hour (Asda has not reached modernity yet, and has no coffee shop!) Drove back to Asda with Taffy and then took her home for tea and a biscuit - or two. (But who's counting?) So that was my day really. I should have been making Jill an Anniversary card and Sharon a birthday card.

Since we got home from the cruise, the Sky box has broken. We cannot view much of what we recorded whilst away. Nor can we save it to disc. Of course those of you who know me, will appreciate the sheer panic of not being able to see The Biggest Loser Australia, final episodes and grand finale. We have been on the 'phone to Sky (India) for hours but we will have to re-boot the Sky box and lose everything we have recorded.

Therefore, today should have seen me glued to the TV to view whatever I can before we lose the lot. I have - happily - found that I can see Biggest Loser on YouTube. Sadly I have missed the new series of Modern Family but I guess they'll repeat it. I usually tell people that I don't watch much TV but you don't believe me now do you dear reader?

Scrummy Sundae

Happy Thursday!
This card was made using a stencil and black stencil paste. I was at the Craft Barn in Lingfield and got the idea from one of the ladies who were doing the demos.
What a lovely morning to be dog walking with Taffy and Benson. Taffy went to the groomer yesterday and looks so smart now. Yesterday he walked with Molly and Charlie and their owner Nicki. They wouldn't recognise him today.
The birds in my garden are eating me out of house and home right now. It's great to see the little baby birds learning to feed and being fed by their parents. I'm just praying the local cats stay away.

Back to the real world . . .

It was back to reality today. Having been on the ship for two weeks - there was much laundry to be done. Taffy & Benson were walked in the park and it was good to get back into the routine of exercise again. It has been quite cold today and I longed for the warmer weather we enjoyed on holiday. Some places in the UK may have sleet and snow tonight, so I shouldn't complain.

This card was made using the new Hobby Art dog stamp set and a dog bone punch. I love these cute hounds.

I'm back!

Hello - I have returned from cruising the high seas and am ready to start crafting again. We sailed to The Canaries on the new P&O vessel - Azura. She is a truly lovely ship. A little big for our taste possibly but she has so many fabulous facilities and entertainments that it's hard to fit in everything you want to do.

There were even card making classes. I attended a few and although it was really back to basics, it was good to be with like-minded carfters for a while.

We made some new friends and even booked our next cruise for 2011 to America. It's something to look forward to. (And something for which to save!)

The card above was rubber stamped, using a Little Claire stamp and coloured in with Marvy pens. I only have a few Copic pens as yet but the collection is slowly building. Ta ra for now!