WHAT A DIFFERENCE

A day makes

Last night was one of the most horrendous - weather wise - I've ever had.

Being away in the motorhome - with an awning up - in the middle of some of the worse gales for a very long time, was for me, a nightmare.

I honestly never slept a wink. 

I had my phone by my side and kept posting on FB how I felt and received support from my fellow FB pals. Thank you for keeping me going through the night you made me retain my sanity.

Thank goodness the worse has passed and it's reasonably quiet, so coupled with a few tipples I hope to sleep well tonight and make up for the lost hours.

I hope you are all safe because really the weather has been an 'ass' all over the country. 

ITS CHRISTMAS

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

To my family, friends and acquaintances all over the world.

I wish you all a wonderful time and the best 2014 you could ever dream of.

Xx

4 DAYS ON

It's 4 days now into our 2 weeks away. 

Lots of window shopping, a bit of buying too, a rather lot if drinking - well it is the festive season!!! - and a birthday - oh dear!!

We walked the few yards down the lane to the Rake on Friday for a meal which was delish and I was given a bottle of wine as it was MY day. How lovely was that. 

Most of our shopping had been over the road at Chester Oaks which this year boasts this

An outside and inside photo there of the massive tree on display for charity.

We also had the enviable treat of stroking these

WOW EH!

Having a lovely time so far

We are well battoned down incase the weather turns - expected storms - so will shop for fresh veg etc tomorrow then stay put.  Hopefully our web access remains. 

So far so good but I want to have a go at the crafty project I brought with me. It may work but then again may not!

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!!

Yes, I've managed another year which means today is my birthday.

I have received THE most gorgeous cards and presents and I think by posting a photo on my blog is the best way I can thank you all plus let the world see the amazing works of art you have produced.

Being away in the motorhome means a nice lazy day but after this I must get ready and venture out me thinks. Here goes for the photo

Can you spot the amazing quilted table runner? SYLVIA this is incredible. I will not be able to put it away so you may see this on my table all year round. Thank you for the crafted card too because I know you haven't made many this year so to take the time for me is very special. THANK YOU

Notice the incredible canvas? GEZ how fabulous, you know I adore Stampotique so to receive this plus a crafted card too made this extra special and to have taken the time for me whilst all the things you have going on is even more special.

THANK YOU

See that little Tim Holtz binder? SONIA how could you ever part with anything Tim? How special do I feel and it's filled with Timmy papers, pockets, tags etc ready for me to complete. The crafted card is perfect too just like all your amazing work.

THANK YOU

Notice the 2 little girls on a swing card? HAZEL this brought a lump to my throat because the Matt says friends as does the rope holding their swing. Considering we have never met and the fact you won't give me your puppy (LOL) I am over the moon with it. 

THANK YOU

You cannot miss the box of top class toiletries nor the tea light lanterns and the adorable card. PAULA & QUENTIN I am so happy and excited with these. The lanterns will always remind me of a special and fun filled day out plus I know they will be part of extra fun when you design and make my new garden - kidding - not!!!!!!

THANK YOU

The tag card looks hand made but isn't. SUSI you are my pal and I didn't expect to receive anything from you so this card is special because it shows you care and I love you lots.

THANK YOU

The big card at the back is from my hubby.  He knows how I feel XXXXXX

To everyone wishing me a Happy Birthday on Facebook, THANK YOU so much. 

WOYWW LAST BEFORE XMAS DAY

Good morning all. I hope you are all done with the prepping for your Christmas festivities. How about you Julia?? I'm all done but not dusted, that horrid task is set aside for today after the ironing - yak! I hate both those chores. Got to be done today because we are off in the motorhome tomorrow for 2 weeks. Christmas and New Year just don't happen where we live and it's like living on a desert island without the lovely warm sunshine. So it will be away to do battle with the elements and watch all the caravanners running back and forth for fresh water, dumping their waste water and trudging to the toilet block in their pj's come rain or shine. Never ceases to amaze me why they bother when they've probably spent over £20k on their van and it has every amenity conceivable in it. Oh dear can you tell I'm not a lover of Xmas? I miss my kids too much. So, desk time. Not much going on today but it has been quite a sight to see of late.

My patchwork Eclectic Elements curtain in the corner, now waiting the New Year to arrive before I can do some more to it, my star Framelits prize from Ellison FB page which arrived this week, a pile of thread when a bobbin fill went wrong and all the usual inks, pens etc.. So I must away and get on with these chores and some present deliveries, but before I go. Please take a moment to have a look at my blog background. My lovely SiL, Quentin has worked his magic once more and re-done it using my 12 tags of 2013 and changing the colour to pale blue. THANK YOU once again. Right, I'm really going this time. Happy WOYWW.

5 YEARS HAVE FLOWN

I really cannot believe that it's the 17th of December again. 5 years have gone by since we said goodbye to our Toby. It still hurts like you wouldn't know. I can still hear him saying 'hello' as he charged in the front door and he continued until you said 'hello' back - honestly. I can hear his loud purring and feel his velvety coat, and I'm sure his 'dadi' can still feel his freezing cold feet on his back as Toby tried his best to push him out of bed!! Any one who has had a wonderful pet will know exactly what I mean when I say there is a massive gap where he once was. So this year's scrapbook page is this:

I took inspiration from a gorgeous page in Scrap 365 magazine dated Aug/Sept 2013.

What an ingenious way to use thin dies. The #5 is appropriate for this year.

When I re-sized Toby's photo it took on the look of having been drawn. I think it's quite different and makes him look 'cheeky', which he was. Thanks for looking. I'd also like to dedicate this page to a dear lady who has never forgotten Toby's anniversary and who helped me get through the pain all those years ago. She is going through her own personal pain at the moment and I'm sending her the warmest of wishes and gentle cuddles. I won't tell you who she is but she means a lot to me and our internet friendship is one of the best.

A BIT MORE SEWN

In between doing other things - nothing very exciting but necessary, I've managed to sew a bit more curtain.

I tacked all the pieces together then carefully machined them. 

It's about time my trusty machine was used again instead of sitting in the lobby hole. 

Once that was done and the seams pressed I removed all the tacking.

That bit went on for ever.

I had some advice from the girls in our FB group - Hels Warriers from the Frozen North - who suggested putting black bands between the rows to make the material stand out more, but as getting the measurements right took me an age and a half I decided to use stitching instead. Black was a good idea so I bought more thread but when I looked at the curtain as a whole, brown seemed the better colour so off I went to buy brown thread instead.

I've just finished the fancy stitching along all the seams and am now ready for the next bit of embellishing.

There is a really tricky bit to come, not quite yet though, the lining. My pal Sylvia has told me how to go about it but it really does need to be perfect. I may wait 'til the New Year to do that.

AGAIN!!

You just don't know what each day will bring.

Late this afternoon I heard that I had won a set of star framelit dies from Sizzix. I am a follower on Twitter and Facebook and it was a social network prize offered to followers I won.

Thank you you lovely and talented die designers. 

One happy crafter here.

THE STORY SO FAR

I bought some of Tim's Eclectic Elements half fat quarters from AFTH a couple of months ago with intention of making a patchwork curtain for my craft room window to replace the old verticle blind. Never having made anything patchwork before except a duvet cover years ago, this was going to be a big challenge.

My friend Sylvia in Devon is a master at patchwork so I began by asking her a bit of advice about sorting out where to start first. 

I then made a graph paper plan which became Plan A 

Unfortunately I just couldn't make it work so quickly moved to Plan B which meant ironing the pieces which is something I should have done in the first place because the sizes were different once the creases were out!!

On to Plan C then because wanting to use every last inch of material meant increasing my layout.

Hubby came in useful by cutting 24 pieces of paper all exactly the same size which I then pinned to my 8 gorgeous pieces of material. The dreaded bit was next - cutting.

The first 2 cuts were a doddle but the 3rd was a disaster taking off most of the seam allowance - don't cry I said to myself so I carried on after abandoning the rotary cutter for my trusty Fiskars scissors (now at least 47yrs old).

Yay! All cut. I then laid them out on the floor and began to shuffle them into a decent arrangement.

For some reason the last photo is upside down!

I pinned 4 pieces together for each if the 6 rows and have just finished tacking them.

I now need to machine those before pinning and tacking the rows together.

I may be some time.

12 TAGS OF 2013 - DECEMBER

Oh my! have you seen Tim's December tag? It is so gorgeous. The effect of the frosted film is magical and a technique I shall use over and over. I've been making my tag whilst watching our Hels on C&C and she has been using lots of Distress products plus lots of Wendy Vecchi goodies.

I really love this tag and want to make more now. Another year of 12 tags is over and I've enjoyed making every single one. The November tag was made even more special because Tim picked my entry out as a winner - yippee! I won a $25 SSS voucher which I have happily spent this morning. So another great big THANK YOU for that to everyone involved. I am now eagerly awaiting the announcement from Tim that he will continue this exciting crafty adventure next year. Oh Happy Days.............