BALLET EXTRAVAGANZA

Lil G has been taking ballet classes for nearly 2 years now and this weekend the whole dance school is putting on a show.

Couldn't photograph the actual dancing, but I managed to get a couple of pictures of her in her costumes, firstly as a flower for the "English Country Garden" and then as a clown for the "Circus" routine.

The show lasts for 2 1/2 hours - a long time for the little ones - but she did really well and we're very very proud of her xxxx

A CARD FOR A SAD LITTLE GIRL

One of my Docrafts chums had some sad news this week. Her little granddaughter's house went up in flames a couple of days ago and she lost all of her toys and everything. She's only 5 and is quite obviously upset by it all. Luckily, everyone got out and no one was hurt.

I told Lil G and she was very upset for her and asked if we could send her one of Lil G's teddies and a card. So this is the card we made for little Brooke, which was sent off with a teddy. Hope she likes it! TFL xx

SCRAP METAL BLOG CANDY!!

No, not blog candy made up of scrap metal, you ninny!! My mate over at ScrapMetalsRetreat is celebrating her birthday soon and is offering some really yummy scrummy blog candy. So pop over, drool over her cards and creations, leave her a message and you'll be in with a chance!

SIMPLE WEDDING CARD

Got an order for a wedding card. The brief was that they were plain, no-nonsense people, so no 'frills' and the colour scheme was teal. So I made this.

The idea for the roses topper came from an anniversary card that Zoe over at A Personal Touch had made. It was a lot fiddlier than I expected!

I hope they like it. x

CARD FOR NANNA

O/h's grandmother will be 80 in a couple of weeks, so I made this for her. The image is one that I won in Cass's blog candy. I used watercolour pencils to 'distress' the image and inked with gold around the whole thing. Added some Glamour Dust (where would we be without our Glamour Dust??) and some pearls. The paper is from the Paper Mania 'Simply Elegant' collection. It looks a whole lot better in real life!! TFL x

UH-OH, TAGGED AGAIN....

The very talented Manda has kindly tagged me and I have to share some facts about me. So if you really have nothing better to do, read on!

WHAT WAS HAPPENING 10 YEARS AGO?
Not a very happy time. My marriage had fallen apart and I was just about to start a new life in sunny Bristol!

NAME 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY
Nothing very exciting, actually. Well it's Sunday, so obviously I'll be cooking Sunday roast! I've got some commissions to work on so I might get to try those. Washing - boo. Walking the dog. The most important thing I have to do today is watch the new series of Top Gear that starts tonight!!

SNACKS I ENJOY
Cheese and crackers. Spicy nuts. Cadbury chocolate fingers. Apples. I'm actually trying to cut out those pesky little snacks, but then I just end up with headache from drinking too much tea!!

THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
Pay off the mortgage and buy a great big house with a pool and a craft room! And an Aston Martin. Go on holiday. Share the dosh with my closest friends.

PLACES I HAVE LIVED
Oh, you're going to wish you hadn't asked!! Ready? Ok, here goes.... Oxford, Gibraltar, Barrow-in-Furness, Tiverton, Saxilby, Welton, Bristol, London, France, New Zealand, Germany, Uxbridge, Plymouth, Lincoln (4 different addresses) , Hackthorn, Scampton, Nottingham, and back to Lincolnshire again. I think this is my 46th address in 40 years.

Right then, if you're still awake, I have to pass this on to 5 others!! So I think that will have to be Vicky, Tara, Gina, Ruth and Jennifer - sorry guys!! xxx

CONGRATULATIONS, EMMA!!

My very lovely and talented friend, Emma, is celebrating. She has lost a whole load of weight, despite difficult circumstances (and has had a really tough time of it lately), dropped A WHOLE DRESS SIZE - I know!!! - and is celebrating by very kindly offering blog candy.
Pop over to her blog, tell her your greatest achievement and she'll add your name to the draw. It's that easy. Emma, well done, babe xxx

"THE SUN'LL COME OUT TOMORROW"

Got a set of curling tongs the other day for me. Lil G hasn't stopped nagging me about them since, so after her shower tonight, I curled her hair for her. She wanted me to share this new 'do' with you, so here it is!! Cute, or what??? TFL x

COPYRIGHT ELF CREATIONS!!!!

You saw the beautiful wallets that my lovely friend Emma made for me and Lil G? Well I was so impressed with them that I really wanted a go at making one myself. And here it is - totally poached from Emma's design (but not as good!) - my first attempt. I made it for my other lovely friend, Vicky, cos I thought she might like it and I wanted to send her something.

I don't have a corner rounder (yet, LOL!) so I left it squared off and the pockets are horizontal inside, where Emma's were vertical. I really enjoyed making it - so thanks to Emma for the inspiration (as always, hun!) and Vicky, I hope you like it! xxx

A BUDDING ACTOR???

Then you get to the end when the Prince and Cinderella marry. What a fabulous show Lil G put on!

We even got popcorn at the interval! It's a brilliant present and a great toy. She had to sit and carefully pop out the die cuts - with help from Daddy, of course - and then fold them where it said to and put the whole thing together.

Great afternoon we've had, despite the shocking weather!

THE UGLY SISTERS.... BOO!

You even get a whole script with direction so you can put on a really good show!

LIL G THE MAGNIFICENT PROUDLY PRESENTS...

... Cinderella! Some very dear friends of ours bought Lil G this incredible 'theatre'. It's called MR JACKSON'S PANTOMIME THEATRE. It's like a huge book with die cut sections that you pop out and fold together to make this amazing scene. It also has all the characters on 'sticks' so you slide them across the stage during their scenes. You can change the backdrop so that you are in the kitchen or at the palace and there's even a fairy coach! Just brilliant!

This is the start, with the curtain down...

WOW, WHAT A STORM!

Just had the most horrendous storm here. Not for long, mind, but really really noisy. And Lil G doesn't like thunder. Here she is, sitting at the back door, waiting for the rain.... holding onto to her teddy bear for dear life, bless her!!!

NEW BABY CARD

My cousin had a son last week. I made this for him. TFL x

WE'VE BEEN BUSY!

These are two cards that Lil G and I made for Daddy's Day! The purple one - obviously! - is from Lil G. She chose the colours and papers, stuck on the letters (Cuttlebug) and coloured in the image. Daddy loves it best!! The suit one came from an idea on DoCrafts. The buttons are real and I wrote on the shirt. You can't really see the stitching we did all around, but it looks quite effective. TFL x

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I just wanted to join in with Emma's wishes for Father's Day to those serving overseas who can't be with their children today.

And I want to also add my wishes to those of us who can't be with their Dads today, for whatever reason. This day makes me sad because I can't be with mine. It will be four years at the end of this month since he was killed and I find certain occasions, like today, very difficult. I know I'm not alone, so hugs to all those in the same position. xxxx

On a lighter note, Happy Father's Day to Lil G's Daddy, Andy. We love you!!! xxx

"DON'T YOU EVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN!"

Well Fidgit was starting to look less like a Westie and more like her Uncle T-Bag, who is westie-cairn cross and brindle!, and she whiffed a bit, what with all the ferreting about in the long grass around the fields, so we took the opportunity to make the most of today's very warm weather and - please make sure no other dogs are listening - BATH her!!! I know. And she isn't very flippin' happy about it!! Look at the face on that!!

We are not amused, I can tell you. She hates getting wet and so is not too chuffed with me at the moment.

But she smells a whole lot better!!!

BLACK & WHITE WEDDING CARD

Been commissioned to make a few wedding cards. This one is for a couple whose wedding colour scheme is black and white. I find this colour

scheme quite difficult to use for weddings as I think they can come out quite severe if you're not careful. So I used Swiss Dots, pearls and a swirly font to try to soften it and I think it works quite well.

Inside I stamped the flowery bits and added a couple of pearls again. I think I just about got away with it, but I'm not 100% sure! I just hope MIL likes it, cos she's ordered it LOL!! TFL x

LIL G'S BEEN BUSY...

I ordered a load of craft stuff to keep her amused during the half-term holidays.. but she was so busy playing she only got around to doing these this weekend. She had some alterable bags, pencil cases and purses and a whole load of stick-on flowers, bugs and gems.

So she did these - without any assistance from us - and she's very proud of them.

Doesn't show up too well on the photo, but the line of flowers and butterflies on the bag is DEAD straight - no idea how she did that LOL!!

She asked me to take a picture of them to show you all, so here it is..... x

AND ANOTHER ONE...

I made this one from the stamped images I bought, too. Ended up as an A5 card, which was actually quite a happy accident as it's for an aged aunt, so the bigger the better!! Wasn't too sure about this particular image, but I quite like how it turned out. I've added good old Glamour Dust to the flowers and stars, but it doesn't really show up on the photo. I hope she likes it! x

BOUGHT SOME NEW STAMPED IMAGES...

... and thought I would use one to make a card for my cousin whose birthday is today, but because of her religion, she doesn't celebrate. So I watercoloured and decoupaged the image and then used the Cuttlebug to make the letters. I think it looks quite funky. x

OOHH! LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!!

Turned up in the post today - a real treat, this, cos it's from my good mate Emma over at Elf Creations.

I won't tell you why, but we know, and shows that, even though we've never actually met, we're good friends.

It's beautiful, don't you think?

Thank you Emma! xxx