HAMBA KAHLE

Which I hope means "go safely" in Swazi. Or I may have just wished her a thousand fleas in her pants! It's for my cousin, who's off to Swaziland next week to run a school for three years.

Papers are, again!, Kaisercraft. I think I'm addicted. TFL x

WHEN A CHILD IS BORN...

... so too are grandmothers. How fab is that sentiment? This card is for my friend who has just become a grandma for the first time. Papers are 'Capella' from Basic Grey, flowers from WildOrchidCrafts and pearls from my stash. Flowers and pearls!! Yay! I'm back!! Actually, it's just a bit of an indulgence - got a Bon Voyage card to do and I think it may be a CAS style card.

Thanks for looking x

SOME GOOD NEWS!

You may remember a while ago I told you about my neighbour whose unborn child died very suddenly? Well, I am now very happy to tell you that they had a baby boy, Oliver John, on Thursday! He was delivered by c-section at 33 weeks and weighed in at 4lb 5oz, but he's holding his own and Mum's doing fine. So I made this for them. I hope they like it.

The papers are Kaisercraft's 'Up, up and away' again (I LOVE this stuff) and the sentiment is a rub-on from Melissa Frances. TFL xx

GLAD YOU'RE IN MY CORNER

Another card using the 'Up,up and away' set from Kaisercraft. Honestly, these papers are so fab, the cards make themselves! Sentiment stamp is, of course, Waltzing Mouse. TFL x

UP,UP AND AWAY!

FINALLY got my hands on the Kaisercraft "Up up and away" set!! The sentiment stamp was free on the latest issue of 'Craft Stamper' magazine. Thought this could be one of those 'men' type cards but I like the paper too much to let a boy have it!!TFL x

A DROP OF RED WINE...

Apologies for the wonky pic - I promise I haven't tested these bottles!!! The sentiment, thought up by my Lil G, says "I whine a lot, now you can wine a little", which I thought was clever!

MIDNIGHT INSPIRATION!

I've been wanting to have a go at a wine label for a while and for some reason, tonight was the night to do it. Don't know why. Feeling a bit under the weather, so I suppose it will take my mind off it!! It's a half-bottle of champers and the sentiment says "To return some of the sparkle you bring to my life". The wording is done on my pc but the gold flourishes are, of course, Waltzing Mouse. It's for my Mum. TFL x (PS Off to bed now!)

CAN YOU SPOT MY DELIBERATE MISTAKE?

I love this set from Waltzing Mouse, but I really can't do it justice for some reason. I quite like the overall effect of this card - it's a whole new style for me, not a pearl in sight! The whole thing is a bit of a disaster movie in the making, but the main -oops!- is that I embossed around the edges of each of the card squares and then used the WRONG SIDE!! D'oh!! Oh well. I still like it. TFL x

ANOTHER DAY OFF AND A FREEBIE STAMP

No idea which craft magazine this came from, but I think it was 'Craft Stamper' or something. I printed Pink Petticoat's 'Ocean' paper onto cream card and used this as the base. And I can't tell you where I got the sentiment stamp from, either, but it may have been a See D's. This card just sort of came together by itself, sticking with the 'CAS' style. I think I'm going to send it to my mate, but for now, I'll keep walking past it and decide what to do with it when I love it. Hugs x

HEADING BACK TO MY COMFORT ZONE...

That's better... feels more like home! x

OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE.. BY A MILE!

Surprisingly - and thanks largely to o/h offering to do the shopping! - I got a chance to play a bit more with my new Waltzing Mouse stamps. This set is called Asian Garden and I love it. But I didn't get on too well. Not the stamps' fault, but mine!
Partly because this is not my usual style of card at all. But if you don't try, you don't know, do you? And I love the 'clean and simple' style of folks like Kerry but it's not really 'me'.
I had a vision of how they should look but they've just not turned out the same I've seen the very talented Claire (of Waltzing Mouse) doing clever stuff with ink and I thought I'd have a go. I tried this ruddy tree about four times before I managed to get it somewhere near what I wanted. I don't know if this card needs any other sort of embellishment? Given its sentiment, I suppose not. What do you think?

Love the idea of this card, but again, I managed to make a lousy job of it! I have tendonitis in my thumb and the painkillers I take for my back make my hands a little unsteady, so I didn't do the best job.
But as a first attempt, what do you think? Hugs xxx

A SWEET TREAT

Got a jar of lovely St Dalfour marmalade and had a go at a 'gift' label. What do you think? TFL x

MOTHER MCCARTHY'S POWDERS

Get me!! Three cards in one day! I KNOW!! Another one made with Basic Grey's 'Capella' papers and another Vintage Label from Waltzing Mouse. Oh, and a bit of bling. Not sure why I made it or who it's for, but I'm having fun!! TFL xx PS, I have to mention my clever hubby who takes all these photos. Check out his blog (link on the right) cos he's a very talented photographer.

FOR MY BALMY FRIEND!

On a bit of a roll, I think! Made this one quite quickly and I think it's very effective and 'warm'. Used 'Capella' papers from Basic Grey - I only bought the 6x6 pad and I really wish I'd got the bigger one, cos they're fabulous. The label is another of the amazing stamps from Waltzing Mouse. TFL xx

MONOCHROME VINTAGE BIRTHDAY

This is not the first card I made today... oh no. The first card was lovely, really pretty, dead chuffed with it. Right up until I dropped an ink pad on the top of it. Why, oh why do the laws of gravity team up with the laws of Sod and make the ink pad land face down? Not fair. So after a quick spot of lunch and half-an-hour of James Bond tracking the fiendish Scaramanga, I made this.
Pink Petticoat have got some wonderful 'Vintage Rose' papers; this is made using the 'Ocean' colour scheme. The frame on the label is from one of my AMAZING new sets of stamps from Waltzing Mouse. It's for my friend's birthday.
I finally got my mini sewing machine to work, too, which is great as long as I only use white cotton cos I've no idea how to change the bobbin! xxx

YAY! TIME TO CRAFT!!

At last, a day when I've 'booked' myself as unavailable so that I can play with my new toys.. I've received my stamp sets from the amazing WaltzingMouse and my nesties to go with them...!! Just need a drop of mojo and I'm off!
Besides, there's nothing much else to do cos it's pouring down here.. So WATCH THIS SPACE!! xxx

TOLD YOU!! COUSIN'S BIRTHDAY CARD

Taken me all morning (most of which was spent fiddling around with the sewing machine!) but I think I like it. The papers are all from Pink Petticoat's new Vintage Rose collection and I love it. Hope you're all well xxx

THERE'S A CARD ON IT'S WAY....

... oh yes there is. I've finally got a couple of hours to play!! Watch this space!! xx

A LITTLE GIGGLE...

.. Still no card, I'm afraid, but I'm really hoping to get some free time this weekend to make something.. anything!! Just wanted to share a little gem from my baby girl..
Daddy was working all weekend, so I decided to take her across to our local pub, who do a really good carvery on a Sunday. I hadn't realised quite how often we go there until we walked in and the landlady said "Hi Debs, what can I get you both?". I answered that I would just have a coke. But you should have seen the look on her face when Georgia said "I'll just have my usual, please, Sandra"....

We both collapsed in giggles, and, before you all call Child Services on me, I should explain that Georgia's 'usual' is actually a glass of chilled milk with a straw!!

Out of the mouths of babes... x

GOOD NEWS.. NO, VERY GOOD NEWS!!

Hi all. I've been absent for a while, sorry. No card this time either, but I do have some very good news - well, for me anyway.
My car started making some odd noises. I had her checked out by a local garage and he said she was fine. That night, she started making some very odd noises. So the lovely people at Lexus Assist came and got her, took her away and arranged a courtesy car for me. Not happy.
Even less happy when they rang me to say that the head gasket had blown and it had caused a lot of damage to the engine. BIG money to get it fixed. And she's out of warranty - typical.
BUT, after 5 days of stressing over a possible £4,500 repair bill, the lovely man at the Lexus garage has just rung to say that they don't feel she should be like that after only four years so they're PAYING FOR IT to be fixed!! How good is that???
I've spoken to friends and colleagues who drive similar cars and they can't believe it. They've all had trouble with their cars which have been 'just out of warranty' and been told 'tough'.
I'm blown away.
I have to say that the customer service has been excellent - truly remarkable in this day and age - and I'm hugely impressed.
So I thought I'd share xxx