Happy 90th birthday you wonderful woman!!

Today my mother is ninety, 90, nine oh. Whichever way you put it it's an achievement. Do you know what she's been doing for the last couple of weeks?  DIGGING THE GARDEN !!  She won't wait for us "kids" to turn up to do it for her, it's done when we get there.Mother doesn't do cameras and neither do i so i wouldn't dream of unnerving her by taking mine today.

This is the best i can come up with. It was my wedding day 10 years ago and she still looks the same now, dad is no longer  with us but , oh look there's Speedy !!! Non of us are camera lovers, lol, but these pics have to be done and there were about 5 cameras all saying "look here".This is a pic taken from a pic so it's not vey clear.

Anyway . Happy Birthday mum, and many more.  Next birthday is Speedy on Saturday, then mine and my twin next friday and Speedy's son Neil on the 13th. It's almost like Christmas in July.

 No cards today as i showed you mums last week. Oh,and the bloke didn't come for his cards yesterday. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Sex change.(!!).

Here is the female version of yesterdays card.

The papers are Papermania Creative Tones. Looking at it now i reckon i should have swapped the papers ie the one with the bigger pattern should have gone to the back and the plainer one at the front so the pots and trowel showed up better, never mind, too late now, i'm past caring anyway lol.

 I'm taking these to work to be collected, he'd best turn up, it wouldn't be the first time i've rushed only to find i could have had a couple more days. Men !!

Two down, Two to go.

As i said yesterday i have an order for 4 cards. The prospect of the stash money is great but i hate making cards to order unless the person wanting them gives me about 2 weeks notice. Of course this never happens does it. The first ones are needed by tomorrow, one for a man who loves gardening and another for a lady who's just got an allotment.I tried to start them yesterday but it was just too hot and the windows in my room have been painted shut from the outside and we live three floors up so we just have to live with it.

I thought i'd just make a male and female version of the same card with my "emergency layout" to make life easy. The watering can is by Magnolia and the wellies and pots etc were from Lakeland a few years ago. They were in Lakelands own packaging but i think they could be made by Woodware, i'm not sure. Edit, they are woodware clear magic available from sir stampalot.

I just need the finish the one for the lady now. He also wants one for his daughter and luckily i've found one suitable in my box, i just need to put her name on it, then he wants one for his son who's birthday is next week so he can wait until friday for that one.

    Thanks for visiting.  Di.xx

Stinkin' hot & stinkin' cute.

No cards today as it's like an oven in my den so i'll give you a link to a sweet video save you coming all this way for nothing!  I'm not really into babies and kids which is why i never had any but i thought this was quite cute.
I need to get my act together tomorrow because my ex boss rang last night wanting 4 personalised cards for tuesday. Typical bloke, i've got loads of ready made cards but he has to have the little woman make them up specially for him. Not good for the mojo is it? Never mind, tomorrow is another day. Enjoy your sunday and if you're a fan (which i'm not) enjoy the footie.    Di.xx

Oh boy.

Oh bless!! My third Lilli of the Valley stamp has been inked up and what a sweetie he is.

That dog looks a bit ferocious though, good job he's glued to the cart! Maybe he's just seen the postman.

The card base is 6"x6" and the buttons and paper are from my stash. I think i'll save this card for when my stepson and his girlfriend have their baby which will be in the next couple of weeks.

 As usual on a satuday it's work until 1.30 then a few drinkies with my bessie mate(Speedy)

New quickie layout.

On wednesday i was stalking the galleries at SCS and noticed a simple but effective little layout for the latest clean and simple challenge. As my main challenge is my missing mojo this was just what i needed. "A new serving suggestion" as they say on that irritating Philadelphia advert.

Ain't that simple? Th stamp is my new one from Lily of the Valley. There was a set of 4 but i was very good and only ordered one.

I put some liquid pearls on the mistletoe and some glitter glue on the snow.The card base is 5"x5". I reckon i'll be making quite a few more from this little layout. If you want more inspiration there's plenty HERE.

     Off to get ready for work now. See you soon. Di. XX

Friday weigh in. 9st 8lbs. That stubborn pound is off making a total of 8lbs. Happier this week, i won't be quite so horrified if Patrick makes me eat a cake.

Edit for Sarah. Most of my cards are blank inside. Chrismas ones have merry christmas and a happy new year, which i print onto an insert an i'll do one for specials like mums 90th. Not easy to get these centered but when done they can be saved fo future use.

Oh Sweeeeeet!!

As usual, i'm always the last to get the latest stamp, papers etc and just as everyone else is getting bored with theirs ,i receive mine through the post.This is my latest example. This little Lilli of the Valley baby girl stamp. I also ordered the boy which i'll have a play with later.

I used my fiskars border punch after forgetting i had it for ages.The buttons were a bit too pale so i coloured them with promarkers. The paper is from my DCWV stack number 6, not getting fed up with it yet as it has so many styles. The card base is 6"x6".

Before i can play with the little boy stamp i've go to make 10 more wedding invites as the bride and groom miscounted. Luckily i thought this may happen and have got some ready to assemble, i think i'll make a few extra just in case.

     Thanks for looking in. Di. xx

Have i got any hair left???

I've been tearing my hair out all morning trying to make this card. I thought I'd just go and make mums birthday card, then I can play with my new Lili of the Valley baby stamps. no such thing!! You see i made the mistake of colouring it in on Sunday before choosing a backing paper. I've got so many chopped up sheets of pink papers it's unbelievable, nice ones at that too. They all looked wrong, so i had to change my card size and shape and eventually came up with this.

Her birthday's not until Wednesday but I wanted to get it done today. I've been hankering after this stamp for ages and finally sent for it a couple of weeks ago. I thought a bit of frivolity was just the ticket for a 90th birthday girl.

Here's a close up so you can see all the splodges of glitter glue which isn't dry yet. I'm not proud, lol. The image is Penny Black by the way. The card base is 5"x7".

 I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten anything yet today and I've only just noticed. I'm doing well on the treadmill by the way, 3 miles this morning brisk walking, it seems to be getting easier. Oh here's a laugh for you!! It has 3 quick speed settings which just take you straight to 3, 6, and 9 miles an hour. Well as i was on 5 anyway I thought, I wonder how fast 6 is and pressed it. Oh my giddy aunt, i had to break into a run and it took me ages to dare to let go of the handles to put it back to 3! I won't be doing that again i tell ya. I'd best go and get something to eat now before i eat mother's card.  Di.xx

The nights are drawing in !!

A quick post today before i get ready for work.I'm trying to get as many christmas cards done as possible while there's still plenty of daylight.I also remember how cold it was in my den last year.Another Penny Black i'm afraid but i have 2 new lili of the valley stamps to play with tomorrow.

I'm not sure what the paper is but it's either Papermania or one of the Docraft ones.I'm not that enthralled as the mojo isn't back yet but it will do for one of Speedy's greasy mates. He's a mechanic by the way.
Right best get a move on or i'll be late.    See you soon . Di.x

Birthday hedgie.

Mornin' all. Another sunny one. I've been for a little stroll on my treadmill this morning. It's in the kitchen window which overlooks the canal so i've been watching everyone walking to work with that monday morning look on their faces.When i started my job in the paper shop i had a choice of which days to work, my brain quickly kicked in and i chose not to do mondays as i would cop for all the bank holidays.I may be soft but i ain't stupid.

Todays card is yet another Penny Black one. The paper is from DCWV stack 6.

I did the happy birthday on the computer and added a few buttons and a bit of stickles.

I'm going to mums with my sister today. We take her food shopping to Tesco and Aldi which is lovely but quite stressful. He brain doesn't work like it used to, she has a list and works her way down it but the first item will be in the dairy aisle,the next in the cleaning aisle and the next back in the dairy aisle and so on. I don't think i really needed to go on the treadmill this morning lol. I'd best go and get ready.

   Thanks for visiting.   Di.xx

Guess what i've got!!??

A treadmill ,yes, a treadmill !! About 2 years ago i mentioned to Speedy that i was going to save up for one because every time i go out of the house i have to carry shopping as i don't drive and i like to cook from scratch and go through loads of veg.  So there wasn't much chance of going for walks as such,Speedy's idea of a walk is a pub crawl. So within a week or so he came home mighty pleased with himself with this monstrosity of a cross trainer built for a hefty bloke. Someone had given it to him.I tried to get on with it for ages but i just couldn't go on it for long enough to get any real benefit, it was just too stiff even on the lowest setting, so it has sat in the bedroom since then .Last week i had a rant and said that the ***** thing has got to go and a treadmill has got to come. You can imagine my cautiousness when he came home next night and said a mate had one to sell for £120. No way, i want a new one not some heap of junk that someone has ran the hell out of. Then i stated to get curious, hmm, i could save myself a bit of stash money here, so i said i would give it a weeks trial before parting with any cash.I got home yesterday and it was in the kitchen. I had a little go but i'd been boozing so i thought i'd best get off it (you could conjure up all sorts of funny images here). This morning i went for a 2 mile brisk "walk" and then another 1 mile.It's brill just what i wanted, no shopping to carry, no aching feet etc so i decided to keep it. I was going to put the cash in an envelope but then i had a little idea. I didn't have much time as the bloke was coming round but i literally threw this together for him.

Funny hey? I wrote inside "I'll soon be a size 0 now." The little card is 4"x4" and the stamp is a Dimensions clear mini stamp. See you soon . Di.xx

Edit, thanks for your support girls but let me say one thing...... i've got no intentions of actually running on this thing !! A brisk walk is what i want it for, running is for athletes! Brisk walking is for people who've got stuck with their diets through sitting around making cards.Hopefully if i walk more i won't have to eat less. That's the idea anyway, lol. xxxx

Happy fathers day dads.......

.......wherever you are, i hope you've got a great big cake, and a massive pot of tea, and plenty of  "serving wenches" to fuss over you.You and mum taught me everything i need to know, thank you so much. Mum is 90 on the 30th of this month, you always said she'd live till she was 100. I think you're right. She doesn't know yet but we're taking her to Moel  Fammau on her birthday to be near you as that was your favourite place and your ashes are there.

There you were dad, at 68, most men were queuing at the Post Office for their pension. You were more concerned with how fast you could get up that mountain. You went on your own most times because it used to irritate you how slow the "younger ones" used to walk.

Derek " Del Boy", Speedy's dad, what a carpenter you were. There is a pub in Chester which was your last "job" before you had your stroke at 63. Speedy looks at carpentry in other places and says "my dad would cringe if he saw that". The pub is The Falcon in bridge st, Chester, All the beams and decorative wood panels are hand carved and jointed and admired by visitors from near and far.

GEORGIE BOY AND DEL BOY,   HAPPY FATHER'S DAY,WE MISS YOU BOTH.

  Love to all dads. xxxxx Wherever they are.

Yippee !

I seem to be having a Penny Black moment, All my cards from this weeks crafting sessions seem to have their images on them.

These are some more of the papers from my new  DCWV stack.

I'm very short of finishing touches that aren't flowers. I'm going to have to invest in some unisex/masculine buttons and large brads etc, perhaps i could make some ribbon rosettes with buttons in the centres while i'm watching telly.

 Shorty post today as i'm working this morning. Oh, and yes Patrick did buy me a cake yesterday, little sod.

He's such a sweetie pie for a young lad, i didn't have the heart to say i told you no so i'm not going to eat it.No doubt i'll be boozing with speedy this afternoon too as he's another one who gets his own way by being a sweetie pie! Oh, me and my big mouth told him i'd treat him to a bar meal tomorrow as it's father's day. It's not looking good for next week is it?

Come back, i need you !

Mr Mojo has gone and left me again. Apparently there's a few more gone missing lately,i reckon they've been planning this for weeks. I've struggled with the last few cards and only just managed to scrape a few together today. Funny isn't it how some days they just flow and others you end up tearing your hair out.Well time is a great healer, we'll just have to wait

.Meanwhile, this is todays offering. Little Penny Black hedgie and a few punched scraps. Card base is 5"x5" hessian look.
 All these missing mojos, they aren't all into football by any chance are they? If they all come back with a tan and traces of red paint on their faces we'll know where they've been! Now there's a thought, my red lippy's missing too................

Friday weigh in, i'm stuck!!! still 9st 9lb. I must have hit that stage where i need to eat even less......or move about more. The hobby doesn't help does it, sitting making cards or looking at other peoples. I'm with Patrick today as well he always buys me a cake on a friday no matter how many times i tell him not to, young lads don't understand the word diet do they. Oh well , as the school report always said,  "must try harder".

Playing with my new papers.

Speedy was working late last night so i had a chance to have a little play with my new DCWV papers, and blow me if the mojo didn't start playing hard to get. That's my comeuppance for spending no doubt.

I thought this paper was so sweet with the little bones and thought, there's a perfect stamp for this.My favourite little Penny Black dog. So far so good but then i started to struggle a bit. Not for long though and i eventually came up with this. The sentiment was done on the computer and i used 2 of my new buttons. The card base is 5"x5".
Thanks for visiting.   Di.xx

Oops!! Oh well..............

Oh dear i've been shopping. When i was in WHS on monday i spotted this DCWV paper stack.

There was one partly opened so i had a quick peek,fell in love and put it back as i was supposed to be scouting for bargains and at £21.99 this was definitely not .

Well like a lovesick teenager i pined for it all day yesterday so this morning i decided as i had enough money in my card sales pot i should go and invest.

I'm glad i did, there's loads of different styles.

There's pages for youngsters, oldies, men, women and babies.

Some of the colours are even suitable for Christmas.

That's just a few of the pages there's loads more. Excuse camera shake on some of them,i was holding the pages open with one hand. So there i was walking home past Abakhan and this arm came out and dragged me in!! I thought well i may as well look at the ribbons while i'm here and spotted a whole reel of braid type stuff for £2.  Add to that some more ribbon and some buttons and gems and there's another £8 down the swanny.

Needless to say i'm not going through the door tomorrow !    Di.xx

Wedding card.

When i was tidying my den the other week i found this tin of trashy bits and bobs.

One of the good things about working in a paper shop is that the mags are all sale or return and when we send them back to be recycled we can keep the free gifts. The drawback is we only used to get a couple of each craft mag and as they always went back unsold they stopped sending them. These were all from crafts beautiful mag and i think i should at least make a few cards to sell to top up my stash fund so here's the first one.

The card is 5"x5" hessian look and i did the sentiment on the computer. The little heart and dots are peel offs.

If i do another on i think i'll do the sentiment in Grey as the black is a bit " in yer face".

Thats me for today as i'm off to get ready for work. Thanks for visiting. Di.x

PS. i found a big river trout in the freezer yesterday and i had enough bits and bobs to make a salad so we didn't have to starve after all.

 

Well we'll just have to starve then won't we!!!

I've just been into town. I bought a couple of things from Wilkinsons then ambled down to WHS to see if there was any bargains downstairs. I wasn't in there for long but when i came out the street had been cordoned off and there where police cars and fire engines. I couldn't get through to go to Tesco so i went up onto the walls to go around the other way. I dropped down from the walls (via the steps of course) to be told that all the shops were closing. Apparently the pavement had exploded outside M&S and everywhere was being evacuated in case it was gas. So tea tonight will have to be a right mish mash of whatever i can find in the kitchen.
 Anyway, here's a card.

 Nasty dark day today so the pic isn't too good. Both stamps are by Art Impressions and the paper is Papermania retro florals.

I paper pieced the dress with a bit of scrap paper and the flower is a sizzix emboslits die i've had for ages. I've got a Wizard die cutter and i'm very lazy with it, i hardly ever use it. I need to cut a load of nestie circles to stamp on so they'll be there all ready done but then i'll probably be too lazy to cut the scalloped circles to go with them. I should spend an afternoon cutting loads out in different colours, it seems so much hassle to get it out to do just one.
Right, first stop is the kitchen in search of tonights concoction then i'm off into my den.  See you soon. Di.xx

Edit. Someone has left a comment asking how i do my sentiments to print off the computer.Well, when i first got my lappy i decided to dump everything off it that i didn't need to make more space for photo's, i have thousands from SCS and such like. The first things to be dumped were the games and music programmes and as i didn't know where to start with them the "word" type stuff had to go too.So all i'm left with is My Craft Studio.I'm so technically challenged that this is just about all i can manage to use anyway, and it suits my needs for now.

Notecard gift bag tutorial.

I've just spent ages looking for a tutorial for this little bag on the net but couldn't find one the same so I've  thrown a few photos together.

You'll need a piece of card 71/2" x 101/2" to fit 4"x4" note cards. If you're going to alter the size learn from me and measure the envelopes, not the cards!

Place card in landscape position and score at 41/2" and 6".

Turn and score at 11/2" and 6". Fold all score lines.

Glue A to B on both sides as shown , then glue C to A.

Easy peasy! now you can decorate your bag, if you're going to do lots of matting etc it's easier to do it before gluing while it's still flat.

I've used grossgrain ribbon for the handles as it's slightly stiffer than ordinary ribbon. the stamp is by Inkadinkado. I cut my own 4"x4" cards and get the envies from the papermill shop.
For more inspiration check out the SCS gallery here. There is a link to how to make the flower under "tutorials" in my sidebar.

Happy 60th birthday sis!!

My sister Nat is 60 today. She is a single "mother"  (i joke not ) to a schnautzer called Bruk. She loves him to bits so this digi image by Mo Manning fits the bill perfectly.

The papers are My Minds Eye and DCWV.  I did the greeting on the computer and added a couple of buttons and a bit of lace.

A few flat backed gems on the hearts and a bit of glitter glue on the frock and we're done.

 She's like me ,our Nat, she didn't want a party and loads of fuss so she's having a few close friends round and ordering a take away. Now Speedy on the other hand he'll probably want a major "do" for his 60th. Well he'd better get saving hadn't he!!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAT, ENJOY YOUR DAY. xxxxxx.

Golfers card.

It's my brother in laws birthday next week so i made his card yesterday while i was off in case i forget. He's as obsessed with the golf course as i am with my craft den! Luckily so is his wife and she beats him loads.

The stamp is by Inkaddinkado.I don't know anything about golf so i've probably coloured the clubs all wrong. I got the backing paper from C&C a couple of years ago, it's made by The English Paper Co. It looked a bit unfinished so the old peel offs came to the rescue.The card base is 6"x6". I've decided i'm a bit short of finishing touches and phrase stamps but i suppose i could make my own sayings up and print them out. Now there's something to think about during my eleven hours at work today, i bet Patrick, my boss, could come up with a few corkers him being 22 and a right little comedian! Watch this space !!   Di.xx

Friday weigh in, 9st 9lb,  1lb off so i'm back to what i was before i went away. total loss 7lb.

      

Little gift bag tutorial.

First let me give you a link to where i got the idea for these little bags from. Carrie has used a big shot die for her bag but they are easy enough to make without one. You don't really need a scorepal either it just makes it a bit easier.

You will need a piece of A5 card, printed or plain.

Place in landscape position and score at 1", 4",5" and 8".

 Turn and score at 11/2"  and 5".

With the small margin to the left cut where I've drawn bold lines then fold and crease along the dotted lines.

If I'm a good enough teacher this is what it should look like.

Put double sided tape where shown (you will need the narrow stuff for the side) and stick down to make a basic box shape.

Excuse the camera shake, not easy taking pics with one hand. Pinch both sides in at the top and crease about three quarters of the way down the bag. All measurements can be adjusted to make bigger bags but I was being greedy and wanted to get 2 out of an A4 sheet.

And here's the finished bag. I made mine from the music printed card i got from Payperbox while i was away. A bit of inking round the edges to make it look old and a circular greeting from a papemania clear set. I made the paper flower out of a plain 1" circle punch as i didn't have a small scalloped one, worked out O.K. though. I used a bit of self adhesive velcro to keep it closed.  This size of bag is perfect for giving a bracelet or necklace wrapped in tissue paper. I used to make jewellery in another life and have still got loads of beads left so I think I may have a play with them before Crimbo.

 Phew, that took ages I hope I haven't missed any bits out (!) if I have let me know.  Di.xx