MORE PICS...

WE WENT TO LAPLAND!!

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post!! Sorry, everyone. This has mainly been for two reasons: 1) I've had nothing really to show and 2) the police are investigating the person who left the rather unsavoury comment about my daughter and it put me off a bit.

However, we're just back from Lapland and I wanted to share some pics with you. Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! XXX

AND LIL G MADE THIS!

Also for our friend, Lil G sat and painstakingly stuck the sparkles on the paper flowers' middles! She also designed it and stuck on the ribbon and the topper. The papers and images are from one of those kits that you can buy and she loved the Papermania pink cards.

Hope you like it! xxx

WE MADE SOMETHING - YAY!!!

No, we haven't forgotten how to make cards, just haven't had a lot of time lately! So, it's our dear friend's birthday on Wednesday and we thought we'd make a little something for her. This is mine (apologies for the dodgy picture, but I was running out of light and the landing window is the only place left at this time of the day that I get to show it in its true colours!!). The papers are from funkyfairys [sic], the flowers are from the stash and the 'How to Know the Butterflies' bits are from the very talented and generous Fairy Davies.

Thanks for looking. xxxx

ANOTHER OF HUBBY'S PICS...

.. taken yesterday. He's tweaked it on the pc to leave only the wreaths in colour. Brilliant, isn't it? xxx

PLEASE SPARE A THOUGHT...

.. for my neighbours. It's his birthday today and it's coming up to the anniversary of the death of her father.. so a mixed sort of time. And there's six weeks to go until their first baby is due.

Except they found out yesterday that their precious little baby has died.

And she still has to deliver him. I have no clue how you cope with something like this and I have no idea what to say to her. I think we'll send flowers.

Will there be a funeral? Does the birth and death have to be registered?

Is there anything more cruel in the world?

So, please spare a thought (or say a prayer if you do) for them.

Thanks for reading xxxx

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The cutest witch!

NO CARD, JUST SOME EXCITING NEWS!

We've gone and done it... we've booked to go with some friends on a 3-day trip to Lapland in December!! We get to ride in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, have tea with Mrs Claus, help out in the elves' workshop, go husky-sledging, snow tubing and all sorts of things!!

It's costing more than our honeymoon did, but it's a once in a lifetime trip and G will be beside herself with excitement, particularly cos we're going with friends and their little girl.

Just had to share!!! xxx

LOVELY SHABBY CARD

Hi all. Hope you're well? I got asked to make a purple birthday card for a colleague's Mum. So I used Pink Petticoat's papers in 'Lovely' and I think it works! xxx

FORGOT THE BOX!!

Silly billy! Uploaded the card but forgot to show you the box - senior moment!

A BABY GIRL!

One of the chaps I work with is now a proud Daddy to Charlotte Olivia, so I made this for him and his partner.

The papers are from FunkyFairys "Gorgeous Ginghams", the flowers are from my stash and the stork image is a rub-on from Melissa Frances.

I'm hoping to decorate a candle to match! TFL xx

A VERY QUICK BIRTHDAY CARD!

Needed some mojo and fast! Made it for a friend at work and I thought I had another day to do it, but then I realised she's on leave for her birthday - eek!! Hope she likes it. The papers are FunkyFairys, sentiment is Melissa Frances and the lovely postcards are downloads from Fairy Davis. TFL xxx

LIL G MADE THIS, TOO

She made this from a kit we found. I cut the bits out for her - not too keen on letting her loose with a guillotine just yet - and then left her to it.

I tied the string onto the tag, but she chose where to put it. I think we have another budding crafter among us! I hope you like it. I'm very proud of her and she's very proud of it!

Well, we had to find something to do this weekend cos we've been stuck in the house for two days. Hubby's car gave up the ghost in a HUGE way on Friday night (head gasket blew) and he's working all weekend so he had to take my car.

Frantically trying to find a set of wheels before Tuesday, when we are both at work, in totally opposite directions (and about 20 miles in either direction from our house)!

So crafting seemed like a good way to keep her amused for a couple of days. We've also painted another of those laundry

tablet boxes and we're waiting for that to dry before we cover it in paper, like the one I made with Pink Petticoat papers a while back.

TFL xxx

TRIED SOMETHING NEW.... ERM......

No pearls or blooms or ribbon - thought I'd try a different style. The flower is from Melissa Frances (some things are just too hard to give up! LOL) but apart from that, just plain and simple papers and string. And I don't like it.... xxx

NIECE'S 18TH BIRTHDAY CARD

Well, still not too sure I've found me mojo.. they're all starting to look a bit same-y to me, but I needed to get this made today and in the post, so I hope she likes it! TFL xxx

HHMMMM, MOJO'S DEFINITELY FADED...

Well, it's been a while again.. where does the time go? Nearly August Bank Holiday already!! Got to get the sprouts on for Christmas soon!!!
Anyway, made this, but really not sure if I like it. I think I do, cos the colours are lovely, but don't think I'll send it. What do you think? xxx

LIL G MADE THIS!

It's for our cousin's birthday. I cut them out and she did the rest.... She was getting very fed up of the little foam pads but I let her do them all before mentioning my foam tape!! I'm a bad parent.... x

I BELIEVE...

... who's with me?

I MADE SOMETHING!! AND ABOUT TIME TOO!

Hi all! Only got about two days' notice for this one; it's needed for this Friday and I'm on leave after tomorrow, so I had to get it done sharpish. Apologies for the pic - quite late at night now!
I was asked to make it by someone at work who is going to a wedding (obviously!) and I hope she likes it... bit out of practise!! Hugs xx

.. the box...

PS. Hubby helped me make the box, cos I never seem to get the corners straight! x

NO, I HAVEN'T DISAPPEARED!

OMG I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I blogged!! Had a rotten time lately; deaths, illness, legal battles, etc. One bit of good news is that I have a new baby cousin, Lilly May, which is brilliant news!!
Seem to have totally lost me mojo, too. Need to make a couple of wedding cards and some birthday cards, but I keep walking into the craft room, looking at it all and walking back out again. Nothing. Rien. Nada. Not a hint of inspiration!
So I'm off to visit all your blogs to see if I can glean some sort of spark to make something.
Oh, I heard back from the Road Safety people too. Waste of space. Just told me that with all the extra vehicles on the road, it's now national good practise to teach this stuff. Yeah, I get that, but only as a last resort. Not as the safest thing to do. He kindly sent me some evaluation forms of the lady who did the training - how marvellous is she?? Well, not very in my book.
So I made my point, but it won't change anything.
Hugs xxx

GOBSMACKED, I AM! PLEASE READ THIS

Apologies for the length of this post, but please read it, 'cos your input is valuable.
Been a heck of a week - 1st July was the 5th anniversary of Dad dying after the car crash, always a rubbish date for us - but it was really topped off on Friday.
G's school has been taking part in a Road Safety scheme, set up by what I believe to be our local Road Safety Partnership. We thought it was a good idea so we gave our permission for her to be taken out of school with the rest of her class and learn about being safe on the roads (I must confess that I am more than a little psychotic about this topic, having had 2 serious RTAs myself, which left me partially disabled, and having lost my Dad - all through other people's lousy driving).
So when she came back on Thursday, I asked her what she'd been learning.

To cut a longer story a little bit shorter, she has been taught to cross the road behind parked cars because they act like a "second pavement and give you more protection". Yes, you read that right.

You stick your head out around the car to see if there's anything coming. If there is, you can jump back.

(I know.)

She can't have been paying attention, we thought. She's not understood the point.
Which made me a bit cross 'cos if you're going to teach a bunch of 6-yr olds anything this important, you flippin' well make sure they're paying attention, but hey ho.

But she was adamant that that's what had been said.

So hubby took her to school on Friday morning and collared her teacher. He told her what G had said and asked her to clarify this.
We were both fully expecting her to say that G had got it all wrong and to confirm that she would make sure she put it right.

Imagine our surprise when the teacher told us that it was in fact correct. (Keep reading; I can hear you swearing from here!LOL)

The bit G had got wrong was that she is supposed to check if there's anyone in the car and ALSO TO CHECK FOR REVERSING LIGHTS!!!!!!! She's 6!

Apparently, it's the new policy due to the increased amount of traffic on the roads these days.

I nearly passed out.
We've always taught her that you keep walking until you find a safe place to cross, away from parked cars, preferably a crossing of some sort. All the TV adverts and the Green Cross Code, etc, all say the same.
I understand that in big cities, there is not always a crossing immediately in front of you, so you keep going until there's a sensible place, surely? Besides, at 6, she isn't crossing any roads by herself.
There was no supporting literature given to her for us; all that was issued was a plastic reflector for her book bag.
I cannot express how furious I am about this.
Luckily, G herself thinks it's a rubbish idea, cos she can't see me from behind my car and I can't see her, so she doesn't get how it's safe to cross when neither one can see the other.

I am speaking with - or do I mean speaking at? - the Partnership tomorrow. Can't wait.

Your thoughts, please?
xxx

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY, DAD

Left us on 1 July 2004

Wish you were still here cos I've found loads of stuff I could have bought you for Fathers' Day! You were always so flippin' difficult to buy for!

And Georgia would have made you the bestest card.

Love you loads,

Debbie-Doodrop x

BIRTHDAY BUTTERFLY

Made this for my friend's birthday.. and only used ONE - yes 1! - Melissa Frances thing!! I must be ill!! Hope she likes it....

I stamped the butterfly and used clear embossing powder on the patterned wings. I put little drops of dew on the flowers with Glossy Accents.

The papers are Pink Petticoat's new range called 'Elegant' - it's gorgeous.

TFL xx

ANYONE FOR CAKE??

Well, we've done it. Sat and rolled up 40 nappies and facecloths, baby-grows and socks and made them into this!
It has 3 feeding bottles, a brush, a comb, 3 pairs of socks, 3 facecloths, baby powder, 40 nappies, 2 fleece blankets, 4 nappy pins, 2 bottle brushes, two dummies and a purple hippo!
It was easy enough but a bit fiddly.
We took a feeding bottle and put 5 rolled nappies around it. Then we put another layer around that and tied it with ribbon.
Then we put another layer around that one and wrapped one of the fleece blankets around the edge and secured it with a pin.
The top of the bottle was sticking up so we put 5 rolled nappies around it and the second fleece blanket.
Then it was a question of slotting in bits and pieces. The facecloths were folded to look like candles (with the middle pulled up to be the wick) and the socks were folded to look like roses.
There are loads of tutorials on YouTube for making these, but they all seemed to use a whole lot of nappies - we used 40 and seems to work quite well over two layers.
Hope they like it!! TFL x

ANOTHER BABY CARD

This is based on the first Welsh wedding card I did with the hearts punched out. All I did was stick some Pink Petticoat "Pretty Doodles" behind the punched out shapes.
The edges are done with a lovely silver pen and I added the bow charm.
The sentiment is, of course, Melissa Frances.
Going to try the nappy cake now! xxx

FIRST BABY BOY CARD

So, did I mention that my next-door-neighbour had a baby boy yesterday? Here's the first of the baby cards I need to make.
I found the template on http://www.apathofpaper.blogspot.com/ and just HAD to have a go. Thanks Deneen!
It's so easy to make and I love the effect.
I used Pink Petticoat Mini Big Dots in Lovely, cut out the straps and added the buttons.
The 'J' is from American Thickers and I added the pins.
Off to make something else now.... xxx

BAD NEWS, GREAT NEWS AND A CARD!

Hi all.. sorry it's been so long. I'm off with yet another bout of lurgy and a chest infection - yippeee! Not. But at least I have time to play with all my new stuff.... That's the bad news out of the way.

Good news is that my next-door neighbour has just had a baby boy today - Jake, weighing in at 8 lb 10 oz. So big congrats to them... going to try a nappy cake!!

And here's the card. It's for some friends who have just moved to a bigger house in the next village. I don't usually make A5, especially gate-fold, but I quite like how this one turned out.

Hugs xxx

WHAT A PROUD MUMMY I AM!!!

No, still no cardage, I'm afraid... hoping to get some done over the next few days, BUT... I got home tonight to find a letter from the Young Writers, who tell us that Lil G's school entered an acrostic poem she wrote into a competition and ...... (drum roll please!)...

.... they think it's brill and they're publishing it in their Young Writers' Anthology!!!


WOO-HOOO!!!!

BIRTHDAY PRESSIES - WOO-HOO!!!

You may remember that I went on a bit of a bender on 22 May at a couple of online craft stores? Well it's all arrived!! Look:

I may be gone for some time..... LOL! xxx

BIRTHDAY CARDS FROM MY LOVELY CHUMS!

From the very talented Rosie!

From my good friend and super-talented bag lady, Vicky!

From another very lovely and talented crafter, Alex.

How very spoilt am I?? xxxx

MY BABY...

Just LOVE this pic of Lil G.... it wasn't posed, just caught her as she was trying to sort out her armbands to go back into the pool.... Perfect.

WE'RE BACK!!

Hi all. Got back from the sunny Dordogne yester-day and I really wish we'd stayed. So much so, that we're now seriously considering going again and not coming back, but that's for another time....

Took a LOT of photos, but I wanted to share a couple with you that my very clever hubby took:

Great pictures, aren't they? I'll upload some more of the fabulous places we visited... xxx