HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, better late than never! No cardage to display - sorry! just haven't had a lot of time - but wanted to send good wishes to all in Blogland.

Hope you all had a good festive celebration? We had a quiet one again. Don't do much now without Dad. But we make a bit of an effort for Lil G. We were hoping to go out for New Year's with her, but the weather was so bad we decided to stay home and watch the fireworks over at the pub.... but the weather was soooo bad they didn't have any! So we had a naughty midnight feast, turned all the lights off and watched the fireworks over the Thames on the telly!

Not much else to report, except for a trapped nerve which is really getting on my remaining nerve - drugged up on morphine most of the time, which is a hoot and much cheaper than Baileys LOL!

Will try to get some crafting done this weekend, if I'm lucky! Hugs xxxx

COUPLE OF SPECIAL THINGS FOR A COUPLE OF SPECIAL FOLKS

Managed to get a bit of time for crafting this weekend - yay! So I made these for two very special people in my life.... can't tell you who cos I haven't posted them yet! But they're CD wallets and I made them using the Pink Petticoat Little Swirls set.

I cut the card 5.1 x 10.2 inches and printed the pattern straight onto the card (bit of a cheat but hey!) in Willow and Quartz. Inside, I printed the opposite pattern, wrapped up a 5 x 5 inch card in the same solid colour and stuck it inside. Cuttlebug snowflake, with the obligatory GlamourDust!, some crystals and lovely shiny ribbon for effect.

I hope they like them! TFL xxx

THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF OUTRAGEOUS ...

...Nativity play! Lil G was already a bit fed up cos they were doing that "Mary and Joseph story AGAIN and we did that last year!!"
But it was fab. They all did so well and yes, there were tears.... from the parents!

There's a DVD of it coming our way, too.... Worryingly with "bonus footage"!! Not sure I want to know! Lil G was "Star #1". There was lots of singing, including a fabulous rendition of "While Shepherds Washed Their Socks By Night" (yes, really!) and some funky dancing by the shepherds, too.

Well, that's that one out the way for another year - yay! xxx

NO TIME FOR ANYTHING... BUT HERE ARE SOME CARDS!

Hi all. Done all your shopping? I have - I know! Cheated, though. None of us wants anything ('cept me, lots of craft stuff LOL!) so we've all bought each other gifts from World Vision. I've bought my friends a goat and a set of fruit trees. Confused? Well it's all from WV's MustHaveGifts. You buy them for people in Africa, etc. The goat, for example, will be used to provide milk for a family and then bred to enable the kids to go to another family... and so on. Great idea, innit?? Got school dinners for a whole year for 3 children in Africa for my other friends. Brilliant!!

Anyway, here are a few cards I've made recently:

Just got no time for anything much at the moment. Given up on the whole village shop idea cos I got offered a full-time job - what do you do, gotta pay for the craft stash somehow, eh? And I just couldn't turn down good money in the current climate. Fed up with no time to craft, though. Hope you're all well. Hugs xxx

AND MY ADVENT CALENDAR FOR LIL G

Nowhere near as exciting as hers, but I used bigger matchboxes so it holds more interesting treats! She loves it, luckily!!

xxx

LIL G'S ADVENT CALENDAR

So what can you do with a small child when it's sleeting outside and she's got a cold? You get 24 matchboxes and make an advent calendar, that's what!

She and Daddy raided my craft stash (I know - I've come out in a rash already!!) and stuck and glued and glittered and cut and stamped all afternoon. I think it's fab and I'm very proud of her - poor Fidgit is a bit red/green/sparkly as she tried to help, too!

TFL xxxx

ANOTHER LITTLE PEEK - SORRY!!

Just had to share this little bit with you cos I LOVE the image of the tall ship. Wanna know why? Cos my Mummy painted it!!!

She's flippin' clever, isn't she? I scanned it and made it sepia-coloured and I love the overall effect. Hope she's happy with what I've done to her masterpiece!!

TFL xxx

AND A BIT MORE...

You gotta love Poppicrafts embellies and GlamourDust, haven't you? xxx

MORE TEASERS....

... I promise I will share the whole pictures as soon as I can!!
They are more of the stuff for the Poppicrafts DT and Michelle has to see them before you do! But if you nip over there now you'll find that she has some bargains for today only!!! I know I'm biased but it really is a great place for embellies!
Don't take my word for it..... go see. xxxx

LONG OVERDUE THANKS AND ANOTHER AWARD!

Well, what a week it has been! More about that later when the ground stops spinning. For now, I need to say a HUGE thank you to Kirsten for passing on the Proximity award - so kind of you and I'm really touched that you thought of me xxxx

Also, a long overdue thank you to Vikki for passing me this award:

How spoilt am I? Thank you so much, Vikki. If you are not familiar with either Kirsten or Vikki's work - where you been??? Go see what they do cos they are both very talented crafters.

I have to pass this onto 5 other creative bloggers.... I think all the ones I want to nominate already have it but I'll hunt around and get back to you.

It's so cold here at the moment! I've had a shocking week, but at least it's Friday and I can chill (pardon the pun!) for a bit. Andy suggested nipping out Christmas shopping this weekend - he's now tied up under the stairs for being stupid - but I think I'll just open a bottle of Baileys and eat chocolate under a warm fleece and a hot water bottle. Am I the only one who thinks hibernation is a fabulous idea???? xxxx

LOVE IS....

... heart-shaped chocolate sprinkles! On this very VERY chilly Sunday morning, Andy made bacon butties and cappucino for breakfast. Not sure what he's after or what he's done, but mine looked like this...

.. Happy Sunday to you all xxx

A VERY NICE AWARD...

I've seen this one about and really love the sentiment behind it:

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

I then have to "deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I was passed this by the very talented Helen and I'm very touched to get it, thank you. I will pass this on to some folks who I've met through this wonderful place called Blogland and who at some point have shared more than just crafting tips with me - thank you all xxx - and I hope I can call you all friends.

There are probably a dozen more but I'm only allowed to pick eight :(

Here they are:

Vicky

Tracey

Dawny P

Tina

Ruth

Cass

Barbara

Gina

Enjoy, ladies xx

ANOTHER LITTLE TEASER...

A very tiny little peek at something I've been working on for Poppicrafts. The gold North Star and the poinsettias are from there - go see what else there is for Christmas!
TFL x

I INTERRUPT THE CRAFTING TO ISSUE THIS WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY CAUSE INVOLUNTARY NOISES SUCH AS 'AAAHH...'

I know!!

My mate Sarah (blogless!) just directed me to a site called CUTEOVERLOAD. If you don't know it, go see it from here. These are just a few of the cutest little diddlywiddly things I found.

Bless....

PHEW!

It seems like I just don't get time to craft much anymore.

But I've taken a quick break for lunch (yeah, at the laptop!!) and thought I would upload a little something I managed to make over the weekend.

It's for my cousin's birthday, so it's quite girly. I found the pearly lace at my local haberdasher's (don't you just LOVE that word - and doesn't it remind of Grace Bros LOL!! Showing my age!) and it's a lot cheaper than craft shops. No idea where the papers are from but the stamp is my trusty cake one, cos I've misplaced my 'Happy Birthday' stamp - think I have a rough idea who nicked it, though.... small, cute and very pretty... yep, the dog. Or Lil G.

TFL xxx

AN AWARD, A TAG AND A NEAR-MISS...

The very talented Gina G has given me this award - thank you very much, Gina! It's lovely that we crafty bloggers are so supportive of each other. I'll think about who to pass it onto later on. In the meantime, go see Gina's blog cos she's got some fabulous stuff. xxx

And I've been tagged by Lisa. I have to answer the following sets of 5 questions, tag 5 people by leaving their names as well as links to their blog and let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

THINGS I LOVE

1. Lil G and Andy

2. Fidgit

3. Sparkly stuff

4. Crafting

5. Travelling abroad

THINGS I HATE

1. Lil G and Andy - sometimes!!

2. Liars

3. Political Correctness

4. People who hunt foxes and ruddy followers

5. Bad admin

MUSIC ON MY IPOD (I dont have an Ipod but these are my favourite songs)

1. Pink - So What?

2. Orson - Ain't No Party

3. Bitch - Meredith Brooks

4. Anything by Def Leppard

5. Anything by Bond or Andrea Bocelli or Vanessa May

FAVE FOOD & DRINK

1. My Mum's roast dinners

2. Cadbury chocolate

3. Moules Mariniere

4. A good cup of tea!

5. Cadbury chocolate - oh, have I said that already?? Okay, Chinese Food.

I'll work out who to pass this to later on!

Now for the near-miss...

We very nearly ended up in a large ditch upside down in the car yesterday, me and Lil G.

"Oh no, Debs!! What happened?" I hear you cry!

Lil G happened, that's what.

She's always singing. All day. Even at school. Not even a song you know, but one she's made up, usually. And to any old tune she fancies.

But yesterday, I picked her up from school and headed out of the village back to our house. As we drove, we saw a large cock pheasant wandering along the grass verge. And she started:

"Oh there's a pretty coloured pheasant walking in the grass,

He sticks his head down for a drink, then sticks it up -"

... at which point I collapsed in hysterics. My brain was racing - she can't possibly be going to say what I think she's going to say!!! Can she? Surely not!!!!

.." - and down again for another drink and watches us drive past."

I had tears streaming down my face but was trying so hard not to let her see or I'd have had to explain what was funny!!! I nearly put us in the ditch at the next bend!

Were you thinking what I was thinking???

xxxxxx

LIL G'S CHRISTMAS WISH - YOU GOTTA LARF....

I know it's only November, but she's 5, what do you expect?
She told Daddy last night that:
"What I want for Christmas, no, NEED, for Christmas are three things. I need a thing to scratch my back, a thing to remind me to take my glasses home and a thing to tidy my bedroom for me. And if you can't find any of those things, you'll have to INVENT them, or I'll be really, really, really CROSS!!".
Right then.
I see.
Ideas on a postcard, please!!

xxxx

SOMETHING SPECIAL...

I made this card for my Mum's best friend's birthday. The backing paper is Shabby Princess, the pearls are from my trusty stash, the flowers are Prima... so what's special about that? Well the image in the middle was painted by my Mum. I love it and I hope I've done it justice. TFL xx

AND ANOTHER ONE!

More papers from Christine Renee Designs, ribbon/flower/button from Poppicrafts, stamp is the same freebie I used last time, sparkles/pearls from my stash of bling.
Made this for a friend's birthday - these are her favourite colours. Hope she likes it! xx

AT LAST! I MADE A CARD!!

Seems like ages since I had time to make something that I could show you...!! This is for my sister-in-law's birthday. The papers are from a fantastic US site called Christina Renee Designs, the lace is from our local haberdashery, the stamp was a freebie with a craft mag and the pearls are from my luvverly stash of sparkly stuff! The wording is a rub-on and there is GlamourDust on the cake and candle.

Oh, apologies for the crummy photo - the light in my craft room (aka the pantry!) is not great and I just couldn't wait for daylight!!LOL!

TFL xxx