Monday Madness

So the BBQ madness has continued into Monday.  Today there were more burgers but also pork kebabs.  No walk today though, so I've done most of my steps in front of the TV.  Not going out has meant that I had time to make a couple of cards.

This first card was inspired by challenges at:

Cupcake Craft Challenges - summer delights

The Pink Elephant Challenge - bright fun colours

A Spoonful of Sugar - Celebrations

So with summery cherries and bright colours all round this Popcorn card fits the bill.

 

This second card was inspired by the challenge at:

The Secret Crafter - Buttons and Blooms

I have fun with this October Afternoon paper and my Slice - I love my Slice :)

Last but not least and a little less bright is this card inspired by the challenge at:

Allsorts challenge blog - black, white and 1 other colour

More cutting with my Slice for the butterfly, the shaped mat and the word, and yes it's cut through glitter card.  All of the card for this one was from DCWV - thank you Michelle x

So that's the weekend over.  But it was fabulous.  Thank you Joanna and Ian we had a lovely time - although I'm not sure about being sucked into Mafia Wars!!

Bank Holiday BBQ

I love Bank Holiday weekends.  It's a great for me to get together with my family.  So after working on Saturday I headed up to my sister's in North Wales.  Between her and her boyfriend Ian they'd got a great walk planned for Sunday.  We walked to Dyserth and then up the waterfall and all over the local hills before walking back - about an 11 mile walk.

We found a playground!

The Waterfall

 

On top of the hill - although the sun was out it was a bit blowy - I nearly got blown over!

 

Look if you find an unmanned dumper truck you have to climb on it and have your photograph taken!!

After we headed home it was then time for BBQ-fest.  We grazed for hours and had venison burgers, chicken, sweet potato wedges, special sausages from Ludlow and best of all homemade Ross-Ste burgers (named after the boys that made them!) - totally delicious.

So no card making today but lots of laughs.

Our True Hero

Today we said goodbye and paid our respects to a true hero.  But more than that Harvey was an amazing young man who loved life, his family and his friends.  He will be missed beyond comprehension.

The support from the local community and even further afield was clear to see.  Here's the report from the BBC:

Hundreds of people turned out to mourn a soldier from Greater Manchester who was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.

Corporal Harvey Holmes, 22, of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, died on 2 May in Sangin, Helmand province.

He was providing protection for his patrol when he suffered fatal injuries.

People lined the streets of Cpl Holmes' home town of Hyde, as his coffin was driven through the streets, before a service at St Mary's Church.

Shops, factories and pubs emptied and traffic came to a standstill. Mourners clapped and threw red roses on top of the hearse bearing Cpl Holmes' coffin, which was draped in the Union flag.

'Generous and true'

His mother, Beverley, stepfather David, sister Elizabeth and fiancee Claire walked behind the hearse. The coffin was carried into the church by six pallbearers from his regiment.

A guard of honour of old soldiers wearing their campaign medals lined the drive to the church.

About 500 mourners were inside with hundreds more outside listening to the service played through speakers.

The Rev Richard Lamey, who led the service, said: "Some of you are here because Harvey was at the very centre of your lives, constant and generous and true. Life will never be the same now."

Mourners heard about Cpl Holmes' passion for the outdoors, and that he wanted to be a soldier from the age of six.

Joining up at 16, he was promoted twice in quick succession, serving on operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in April.

It was at Astley High School, aged 15, that he met his childhood sweetheart Claire Nugent, who gave a tearful eulogy.

She said: "Harvey and I always said we would be together forever, or forever and a day."

Major Robin Barnbrook, of 1 Mercian (Cheshire) Regiment, said Cpl Holmes was "Army to the core". He said he was "the epitome of a soldier and a sniper".

The Last Post and The Reveille were sounded and a volley of shots fired over Cpl Holmes' coffin before it was laid into the ground in the church yard. 

Personally I'd like to thank all of my friends who've been so supportive over the last couple of weeks and for all the messages you've sent me.

 

Supreme Seaham

I've had a fabulous day.  You'd think that a meeting with your boss wasn't something to look forward to.  I knew it would be hard work but that we'd get lots out of the day and have some great plans for the rest of the year.  I also got a great lunch - how's this for a salad:

To top it off, after the meeting we went to Seaham Hall to use the spa facilities.  It was my birthday present but this is the first time we've had time to book it.  What a fabulous evening, we used all the facilities:

The twenty-metre pool is at the heart of the thermal baths area. Ozone cleansed, it's like swimming in Evian water, and no smells or stinging eyes.

Water jets, massage stations and woodland views complete the picture along with two outdoor hot tubs and:

Steam Room

A steam room with a real difference. The walls are fashioned from black granite and the ceiling is dotted with fibre optic lights, which subtly change colour. The steam is gently scented with a choice of exotic aromas.

Sauna and Sanarium

A large, curved Sauna & Sanarium in Canadian redwood. The sauna is set at around 90°C and the sanarium at a cooler 60°C. Sit back, relax and watch the pool activity through the glass door. No hard edges, the seats and backrests are contoured to fit for additional comfort. Subtle lighting and a coffered ceiling complete the picture.

Hammam

A Turkish steam room fashioned from limestone and incorporating two snail showers and a whirlpool bath. Stay for 15 to 20 minutes in the steam, watching the flickering fibre-optic lights over the whirlpool bath and then cool down.

Cool down or warm up in one of the aroma-infused snail showers. Sink into the whirlpool and watch the steam eddying in the half-light. Enjoy it on your own, with someone special or with a group of friends.

Hydrotherapy Bath

The Hydrotherapy Bath is a large heated spa bath with multiple massage stations using powerful water jets. Float on your back supported by bubbles or just move around the pool. Each station massages a different part of the body. Relaxing and refreshing!

Plunge Pools & Ice Fountain

An après sauna/sanarium/steam room experience. Plunge your hands into it and rub ice flakes over yourself. Then hurl yourself into one of our two adjacent Plunge Pools. Invigorating and then some!

 

After 3 hours enjoying the facilities we had dinner in the Ozone restaurant which was amazing.  The food was light but tasted fabulous.  Here's what I had:

Mini flat breads - sweet chili dipping sauce

Grilled goats cheese - parma ham - beetroot & chives

Asian mushroom lasagne - vegetable cream - truffle - thai basil

Pre-dessert - bubblegum surprise

Sticky toffee pudding - butterscotch sauce - vanilla ice cream (if you say it fast it has no calories in it!)  

 

So no crafting tonight, but it was definitely worth it.

Special Sunday

Every day is special but those spent with friends are those amongst the most special in my life.  So a big thank you to the girls I've spent the weekend with - Archi, I miss you too, the glittery one, lovely Katie-Pepper, Lou - the weasley one, Gwyneth my glorious road trip pal, my special Dougie, Jo - it's been too long, Auntie Janet, Mummy Gladys and super Suzanne.

I concentrated on making a mini book today (not yet finished) but here's a couple of cards I finished off.  This one was inspired by the challenge at:

Sweet Stampin Challenge - Sketch challenge

For this second card I took my inspiration from:

Pile it on challenge - out of the box - for me this was that I didn't use a stamp or ink on this card!!

I love this October Afternoon paper - it's totally lickable.

The journey home from Debden was a little longer than expected but nothing really exciting  So now to get ready for my trip up north as I'm off to the office tomorrow.

Smiley Saturday

How could you not smile?  It's a been a sunny day, I've been with great people, I've been fed and watered, got all my steps in with a jaunt around the campsite with lovely Jo and got to craft all day - perfect.

So what have I made, just a few little cards that I can share with you.

The first one was inspired by challenges at:

Get Sketchy - sketch 39

Allsorts challenge - tag/label

I'm loving Popcorn Kids so much and this is another of the rubber stamps.  This card was inspired by challenges at:

My time to craft - under the weather

One stop craft challenge - birthstone challenge - mine's aquamarine, hence the colour and the water theme

I found it!

Yes - I found the remote for my i-pod docking station!  Where?  Under the case for the said carrier of course!!  But that means I was all packed and on my way to Debden.  I remembered to pick up my good friend Gwyneth and leave enough room in the car for her stash too.

We took the scenic route down and avoided the motorways a lot of the way.  The great think about that is that we found a fabulous pub, but as Gwyneth very kindly treated me, I don't have a receipt to share with you where it was!  But I can tell you the belly pork was fabulous as was the whole meal and the service.  Could we ever find it again?  I doubt it!

So onto Debden to meet some other crafting buddies.  I love you girls xxx  We spent the evening crafting and some of the girls watched Ashes to Ashes.  I decided it was time to do some colouring and made a few little cards. 

This first one was inspired by the challenge at:
Stampin' for the weekend - post pals
This was a very special challenge in that as well as making a card for a friend you could also send it to one of the children on Post Pals.  I sent mine to Kirtsy A.  I hope it makes her smile xx

This 2nd card was inspired by:

Meljen's Designs - seeing spots

I love polka dots so this challenge was right up my street

Last but not least Biscuit the Dog decided to make an appearance with inspiration from:

C.R.A.F.T. challenge - birthday or celebration

Have a lovely weekend.

xxx

Still can't find it!

What can't I find you may ask?  The remote for my i-pod docking station.  I've spend far too long tonight looking for it.  I know I had it last week during the power outage as this was the only electronic device that was charged up, so it's likely to be in my craft room ... somewhere!!  As I'm definitely a glass half full girl the good news is that I found my other step counter that I lost last year.  So maybe in another 6 months the remote will resurface.  With that in mind I stopped looking and decided to make a couple of cards.

This first one was inspired by challenges at:

Quixotic Challenges - How Sentimental! - Make a sentiment/word art the focus of your card/project

Cute Card Thursday - sketch challenge
Charisma Cardz - 3D

This second card was inspired by challenges at:

Card patterns - sketch 64

Papertake Weekly - say it with flowers

Right I'd better pack up my crafting stuff as I'm off to spend the weekend crafting with some friends.  Debden here we come :)

Scumptious salad

What better way to spend a Wednesday evening than going for a walk, followed by a scrumptious Nicoise salad and then a night of TV - Holby City and American Idol.  I was really proud if my pretty salad and it tasted great too.  I know it's really sad but I do love Slimming World - a huge plate of food just makes me smile.  Even better I had a meringue nest filled with fruit and 0% Greek yogurt later on for dessert - yummy.

As I'm lucky enough to have a TV in my craft room/office I got to craft whilst I watched TV.  Just one little card as I spent most of the night trying to sort out the broadband - grrr!!

Any way back to happy things and this little card was inspired by lovely food and of course it's scrumptious.  It's little Popcorn the Bear snaffling some strawberries.

Tempting Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everybody.  I hope you're all enjoying the better weather.  In Manchester that's any day it doesn't rain!  I had to pop down to the Lowry centre this afternoon, it's a tough job you know!  As it was after work by the time I got there I also had to have a nosey in the Molton Brown shop.  I just love their products and their staff are always so lovely and as it's an outlet store you can get a bargain too.  So I did walk out with this lovely set - Heavenly Gingerlily :) 

I then had a walk around Salford Quays as the sun was still shining.  I was tempted to stop for some dinner but decided to head home and make salad topped with aspargus and char-grilled beef - very tasty.

So after all that luxury a little paper and glue was in order but still with a luxurious feel as this is an 8" scalloped card from Hunky Dory, topped with the lovely Jemima Puddleduck.  The inspiration for this card came from:

A Spoonful of Sugar - cute & girly

Popcorn Kids

Woo hoo, here's the brand new Popcorn Kids and the images on the CD and the stamp are just too cute.  Even though it's called kids there's lots of occasions that I'd use these for.  First up is poorly (to be said in a North East accent) Popcorn and doesn't he like he's on the mend all tucked up in bed.  The inspiration for this card came from challenges at:

Cupcake Craft Challenge - Blooms & charms

Saturday Challenge - metal  

I love the little bow on this card - it's made using the bow maker on the Ultimate Pro - you can make as many loops as you want.

This is a quick little card that I've made as a just in case card, so if I've got a friend that's under the weather this little diamond pop-up card will fit the bill.

Crop Day

Today was Altrincham crop day and as always I had a lovely day with my friends.  As we had a few birthdays to celebrate, Gwyneth, Valtina, Shirley & Elaine,  made little fairy cakes.  They're only 3 syns each on Slimming World, so not too naughty.

For some unknown reason my alarm went off at 6am this morning instead of 8am!  So being the positive little being I am I decided it was meant to be and got up and went for a walk.  At least that's my steps done for the day!

Other exciting news is that I actually got something made at crop today - 2 cards!  Don't laugh, it's better than normal.  I'm not the fastest crafter but as I was teaching the afternoon class getting anything done was an achievement.

The first card that I made was inspired by the challenge at:

Allsorts Challenge - Birthdays - happy 1st Birthday Allsorts Girls xx

All of the supplies for this card and the next one are October Afternoon.

I always like to have a couple of baby cards in the wings so I'm ready for when the happy day happens to any of my friends.  So this card was made, just because.

I was tempted to go to the cricket club on my way home but instead the pull of Dorothy and Britain's Got Talent was too much.  So I sat and did some cutting out and watched TV.

One for the Boys

Even at home there's always a little adventure around every corner.  Today it was a power outage!  I'm sitting doing some work when all of a sudden the phone goes dead (it's linked through the broadband), the computer goes a little dimmer and all the burglar alarms in the street go off!  A quick call (we have a normal phone too) to our electricity supplier to find out it's a high power voltage outage and will take until 9:30 pm to sort out - it's now 5:30pm.  I've decided I wouldn't like to live in olden days - no lights, no kettle, no microwave, no computer, no TV, no internet!  Sorry Leann but you'll have to go to Candleford on your own.  Crafting by candlelight is just too high risk for a messy creation like me.

So what to do with no electricity.  I went for a walk to get some matches so at least I could light the gas.  By the time I got back the electric was back on - phew, I could make my dinner and more importantly watch American Idol and do some crafting.

After the excitement some colouring in was called for, so out came Popcorn the Bear and my Copic Ciao markers.  I thought I'd get ahead and make some Father's Day cards.

This first card was inspired by challenges at:

Cute Card Thursday - Someone Special

Clean & Simples #89 - I turned this sketch 180 degrees

I coloured 2 images just in case but as I was happy with both I made a second card.  This time the inspiration came from:

A Spoonful of Sugar - recipe - 3 designer papers and 3 buttons

Stampin' for the weekend - a card for a male

Pretty Things

Having Monday off has completely thrown me, I have no idea what day it is!  Also Steve came home last night, which was a nice surprise but threw me as I though he wasn't home until Friday!  He's gone off to Bristol this morning, so I'm home alone tonight, which means I get to play with paper and glue.  What a lovely time I've had.

This card was inspired by challenges at:

The Secret Crafter - recipe challenge - 3 embellishments, 2 papers, 1 image

MelJen's Designs - Flower's and Blooms

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Buttons

I had great fun with this card playing with my new Silkies.  There's beautiful little paints with lots of cool properties.  They've got mica powders in so dry with a pearlised finish.  The flowers and birds were done with just dabbing the silkies over a template - very pretty.

This card was inspired by challenges at:

2 sketches for you - sketch challenge, I turned it on it's side

I love the colours on this card.  The yellow and grey colour scheme has been all over magazines lately and although I'm a little late to the table, I've started to get it!  It's so delicate.  In real life the yellow is more buttery - I'm so rubbish at this photography lark.  I really am a point and click girl.

This card was inspired by challenges at:

Quixotic Challenges - let your garden grow - use DIY flowers on your card/project

ABC Challenge - U is for Unused stash (I could have made hundreds of cards for this!)

The Pink Elephant - Yellow, Designer Paper and Buttons

I hope you've had a good Wednesday - I think it's Wednesday!!

Wedding Day Wishes

Now I'm home my fingers were starting to get itchy - it happens if I haven't crafted for a few days.  Don't laugh it's true!  So I decided to look at some challenge blogs and this card was inspired by the challenge at:

Charisma Cards Challenges - it's all about weddings

This card was inspired by challenges at:

Allsorts Challenge Blog - sketch challenge

Papertake Weekly - shiny, sparkly & special

I promise this card has sparkle in real life.  The background paper is spot glittered all over.

All of the paper is DCWV linen closet - it's a beautiful collection, so delicate and just perfect for wedding cards.  The birds are glimmer chips and are beautifully embossed.

I also made the top 5 at Cupcake Craft Challenges for the card I make for Gwyneth - thank you girls :)

Balboa on the Promenade

So I'm back from a weekend of dancing in the south of France.  Although lots of flights were cancelled I'm never lucky enough to be on one of them and get an extra day or two off!

I don't think I've ever danced as much on a dancing weekend as I just have.  I haven't danced (apart from practising my footwork alone in the kitchen) since December, so I was most definitely raring to go.  We had to audition to make sure we we're in the correct class level and woo hoo I was given a band to stay in level 5 (there were only 6 levels - 6 being the highest).  I think this gave my confidence a boost and I just kept dancing - 10 hours of workshops and 4 nights of parties.  I also got to meet lots of fabulous people from all over the world, plus eat great french food - a totally fabulous weekend.

The weather was a bit mixed but when you're inside dancing it doesn't really matter.  We did venture out in the sunshine on Friday morning before class.  Here's Big Pete (my fabulous travelling and dancing companion) and Michaela, on the beach on the way into Cannes.

It's not often you see a poster about swing dancing but the evening entertainment was big news and well supported by the local community.