I don't believe it!!!

In the words of Victor Meldrew -I don't believe it!!! I've blogged twice in two days. Probably because I am avoiding work on the costings for my wedding stationery site. All those figures and no chocolate! It's all been put aside for Trick or Treating. Still I'm sure they won't miss just one fun-size pack of Maltesers.

This card was inspired by Dawn Wheeler in issue 34 of Papercraft Essentials. I didn't have a punch or Nestability die for the scalloped circle so I cut out small circles with a Woodware punch and glued them round the edge of the larger punched circle.

I stamped the image using a Penny Black stamp on watercolour paper and mounted it on a pearlescent card.

Well back to the costings. Now where did I hide those Maltesers.

Let The Wind Blow High

Had no time to blog recently, sorry!

This is the last of the cards I batch scanned earlier this month. I stamped one of my House Mouse stamps on watercolour paper and coloured it with Twinkling H2O's. It was mounted on a pearlescent card and finished with Sissix leaf die-cut in the corner.

I have spent the majority of this week catching up on work for the wedding stationery side of the business. I had to agree the proofs for an advert in a wedding brochure for Bamburgh Castle, work on long overdue costings for the http://www.announceitwithstyle.co.uk/ website and prepare a mini album of my designs, for the administrator of Bamburgh Castle to show to brides. Busy!Busy! Busy !

It's here already! My Cricut Create

Well, I ordered it yesterday morning and it was delivered by parcel post this morning. How quick was that! Its been sitting in the corner of the room ever since, however.
You know when you were a kid and you saved, what looked like, the best Christmas present, to open last and then when you open it, you are disappointed, because it's not what you thought it was. Well thats why I am frightened to open it! I am still really just a 54 year old kid.
I'll open it tomorrow....

I just went and did it!!!!!!

I managed to persuade my husband that I needed a Cricut Create for the business. So today I ordered it. There is a fantastic offer on the Pinnacle Crafts website. It cost £199 with free P+P.
I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it! Thats a song isn't it?

Under the weather!

This gatefold card was made for someone who may be feeling under the weather. One of the samples I used for a stamping class. The dog reminds me of our miniature daschund. Probably why I bought the set of stamp in the first place. I coloured the image with Sakura glaze pens

Sorry can't remember who the stamp manufacturers are but if anyone knows please leave a comment on my blog. Thanks.

Monday! Monday!

I seem to be going to bed earlier and earlier. Probably because Mondays are my most tiring day. Today I made Halloween mini coaster albums with my class of adults with learning disabilities. It seemed to be gluing and gluing with a little bit of gluing in between. We are going to use the albums to display photos of all the items we make between now and Halloween.
Most of the class have difficulty in manipulating scissors and so I am going to borrow a teacher friends Cuttlekids machine and see if they get on better with that. Punches are another problem so I thing it may be time to invest in a Punch-mate.
Well tomorrow's another day and a different class so it's goodnight from me and goodnight from him!

Saturday Morning blues

Well, I have a free Saturday morning and I don't know what to do with it. Normally I meet a good friend for coffee and we spend hours chatting over the events of the previous week. This week she is going to wedding and boy, am I missing my Saturday morning fix.
I am trying to be a lot more organised with the wedding stationery side of the business and have set hours to work on it. I think it's the only way I will make any inroads into the long " To Do" list I have.
I need to work on a new album of invitations to give to the administrator of Bamburgh Castle show to potential clients.
I am also working on the wording for an advert in a wedding brochure. I have changed it so many times and I am still not happy with it!
I know that's what I should be working on but the smell of coffee beckons.........

Paint Chips 2

This is another very simple card I made with paint chips. This time I used them as a backing paper behind punched images. I finished the card off with a Sissix die-cut.

Push-me Pull-You

Made this card for my cardmaking class tonight. I got the idea from the November 08 issue of the Craft Stamper. They call it a Secret Message card but I prefer the other name -a Push-me, Pull-you.

The stamps I used are the Art Nouveau Profile stamp by Inka and the Rhonna Farrer Swirl stamps.

I also used the Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder.

Using Paint Chips

I made this very simple card to demonstrate the use of paint chips ( available from any DIY shop). I used Quickutz and Double-Do diecuts for the yacht and palm tree. Remember- I don't do difficult.

Hats and handbags

I am planning to make handbag and hat cards, using the Wendy Stenton templates, with my Monday disabled class. Seem to have spent most of the day with scissors in my hand. Their cutting skills are poor but they are great at sticking and decorating things.
I love this class but it's very tiring. Probably because I walk miles round the craft table!
I really must upload some cards tomorrow. I have a few lying around so watch this space.

Friday Fiasco

Tis nearly eleven pm on a Friday night and I'm lying here, in my bed, mulling over my day. I was in no mood to get out of bed this morning but my class started at half nine so I had to. On the drive there we nearly had an accident! But for the Bills reactions and the cars excellent brakes we would have been in a head on collision with a BMW. The BMW pulled out behind a hedge cutting tractor, claiming that the tractor had waved him on. I don't think so!!!!!
After some shouting and swearing by my husband and some huffing by the other driver we drove on and made my class in plenty of time.

There are three new ladies in the class so I was teaching the basics of rubber stamping and watercolouring using House Mouse stamps, Twinkling H2O's and watercolour pencils. The scrapbooking class followed straight after and we discussed pulling together their first scrapbooking page on the subject of Christmas.

At home, after a quick coffee and a couple of thick slices of cinammon malt loaf with lashings of butter, we were off to the local hospital outpatient department for Bills appointment. Thank god the consultant wasn't running too late and we were home by about 3.45pm. Then his nurse called to give him his injection and before we know it two thirds of the day's almost gone.

So bags unpacked, teas made, a couple of hours TV and the days nearly over. Should have spent some quality time planning out the next steps in the wedding stationery business but tomorrows another day.

Night! Night!

I have just read this post back and today was truly boring.

Cash drain

Why is it that just when you seem to have a little money ( and I mean a little) in the bank, it all drains away again. Today I had to cough up £86 for Crafters Insurance and £30 for anti-virus software.
I could have bought a number of things that have been on my wish list for a while- a crop-a-dile, some of the recent Cuttlebug embossing folders, new Christmas dies, cuddly toy.........
Oh well tomorrows another working day. Oh no I forgot the rent is due at one of my teaching venues!!!!!!!!

So sorry!

Sorry, but for those of you who noticed I have not been around to blog for over two weeks. The reason? I tripped over the cable of my laptop. I'm fine but the laptop has been to computer hospital.
Thank goodness it was still under warranty! I knew it was just the cable but they refused to send me a replacement until they had checked over everything.
Have you ever tried to run a business from a computer in the local library. They will not allow access to any blogs!
At last the laptops back and I can blog again. There's a song in there somewhere!