Blog Facelift!!

I decided to give my blog a facelift and some major updating!! - I spent ages trying to find a background that I wanted, and there is just so much choice out there that it didn't prove to be an easy task at all - Anyway, good or bad, after trying out several I decided to settle with this one, I was going to change the header too, but in the end just stuck with the one I have and perhaps later on I'll change the header.

I thought I would also share with you some more piccies of the snow that kept us prisoners in our homes for the best part of almost two weeks!!!! -

On our way to the local shop for some essential provisions - with a few snowball fights along the way!

Somewhere under all that snow is a road!!!!!

My Big Boy turned 5 on 10th Jan - how time fly's!!!!

Snow!!!....Projects!!.....and a Winner!!

Firstly, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year to all!! - I must thank each and every one of you for looking on on my blog the comments you leave me, the emails you send me, the RAK's you send, etc etc THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

I do again find myself apologizing for being a bad blogger, but truth be told, I have been extremely busy, and it doesn't look to get any better in the weeks/months to come, so do bear with me........now today, has been my first chance to chatch up as we are completely snowed in!!....now I know that for some of you (especially those in other parts of the world!) this will probably be nothing and you deal with this day in day out and probably a few times worse - however, here in UK, Berkshire we have come to a stand still. Last night I had to abandon my car (well, actually my husbands car) down the road as it just wouldnt grip and I was just slipping and sliding. Today we are stuck in, been without internet connection for a good part of the day, no tv/satelite and kids home from school - and tomorrow doesn't look any better!!

Just a little glimpse of what its like!

Ok, moving on, here are two recent projects for you.

This is a four sided matchbox draw box - the stamped images on the top/swirls are from Creative Expressions.

This little project is a pop up-style card that easily flattens for posting. I have used the new jungle plate stamps which you can see here or here.

AND now.......for the winner of my megaliscious December blog candy

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Jenny's Crafty Hideaway (1st prize) - Sweeden

Congratulations Jenny!!

and winner of second prize is

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Elaine A (2nd prize) - New York

Congratulations Elaine!!

If you could both email me (email on sidebar) then I will get your candy out to you. I cannot link to either of your blogs to leave you a message as Jenny's link ia a deadend and Elaine doesnt seem to have a blog!! - so if anyone knows Jenny/Elaine perhaps you could let them know too!! - If neither acknowledge within next two weeks I will draw again.

As always I would just like to thank everybody that participated and to everyone who takes the time to visit my blog, become followers and for all your wonderful comments - and this time round your best crafting tips have been fantastic to read - I think that one of my most invaluable crafting tips is when mounting unmounted rubber stamps (and I do quite a lot!!) is cut them out first then place them of the umount/ezimount (whichever you use) dust with baby powder on the remaining sticky bits and then cut around with craft knife/or scissors whichever you prefer, I prefer craft knife and I find that it makes it so much easier as the knife doesnt keep getting so sticky!!.

Anyway - thats all for now - hopefully back shortly with more candy, projects and some of the tutorials that I am desperately trying to get finished in order to post on here (fingers crossed thats soon!!)

lol

Christmas Gifts...

Emma and I have been making Christmas gifts to hand out at school at the end of Christmas term, and what with the credit crunch this year it seems the right thing to do - and best of all they were really easy and great fun to do!

Emma attends a catholic school, so these candles, with tradional Christmas scene images along with a matchbox to match seemed just the thing.

We stamped and coloured our image - in this case a stamp scene from Joanna Sheen onto tissue paper to then be able to transfer the image onto the candle. When the image was transfered we just added some Twinkles glitter, and added a border to the candle which is actually a Martha Stewart design punch and some ribbon. The box is a template that I have used in various projects - anyone wanting dimensions - then, I will hopefully be putting up a tutorial for this with the dimensions and instructions!

Here is a close up of the image on the candles.

Megaliscious (if that's a word!) Blogcandy!!!

Yes...it's finally here, the long awaited "Mega blog candy" that I have been promising you all.....so, are you ready for it??!!.......

There are quite a few goodies to this one, if you click on the picture you can get a close up of the goodies. Not to mention that there will also be a second prize!!!!!

Goodies include: A brand new Spellbinders "Wizard" a wizard impressability plate, set of Joanna Sheen dvd's, paper lace rolls, distress crackle paints, umount, glitters, bling, design papers, 4 Sugar Nellie stamps, beads, grungeboard, hitch fastners, mixed ribbon, Fancy Pants ribbons, Spritzer bottles, Empty glitter bottles, Anti-static bag, twinkling H20's, 13 unmounted stamps of various images and 2 large background unmounted stamps....

And this is Prize #2

The goodies here are: Some mixed ribbons, a Joanna Sheen Messy Rabbit stamp and Joanna Sheen's Vintage Christmas dvd (which is fab!!)

I will be running this blog candy over December and drawing the winner just after the New Year and this time in order to win these fab goodies all you have to do is leave your answers to the following question in this post. Question: What is your top crafting tip that you have found to be invaluable to you? And as per usual, in order to get yourself a double entry just post about my blog on your blog and thats it!!...


Ok Goodluck and see you back here soon with some projects I have on the go.....

It's been way tooooo long!!!!

I can't believe how long it has been......I've been busy, I was just so wrapped up in it all that I didnt realise how busy and how long its been since my last blog!!.....Well, let me tell you, I AM STILL HERE, works are still ongoing in the new house (and probably will be for a while :-() Still been squeezing in the workshops, managed to get up to the NEC for the Hobbycraft show (my first time, and it was great fun!) Off to see NEW MOON with my daughter and friends tomorrow (yeaahh!! can't wait....I'm a kid!!!...yes I really am that excited about it!!!) and on Sunday leaving for Kettering to start my new job with Creative Expression along with my colleague Lynne!!.......Wooooof, I'm out of breath!!!!!

AND, just to let you know that next week I will be posting my last (and long overdue!) blog candy for the year, and as promised it's gonna be a wopper!!!!!...I have it ready, just need to take a photo and post about it....so, watch this space and by the end of next week IT WILL BE UP!

Thanks so much to everyone who has stuck by me and still visit my blog for your comments and emails lul xx however, I AM now back and will post that blog candy (super duper blog candy!!!) for you next week!

Thanks!
lol

Can you forgive me!!!

What can I say.........but please forgive me........................

I have been abscent a long time due to having moved house (on the 4th/09) and despite the usual upheaval that goes with moving house the biggest hurdle of all - which we are still awaiting...is getting our broadband set up. The only reason Im posting now is that I have gone out and bought a mobile broadband dongle. I wont bore you with the details but our telephone line and broadband changeover have been "challenging"!! Im also still living amongst boxes and boxes and more boxes and dont even ask about my craft stuff!!!!!!!

Anyway, all this and just to add a little more pressure to the pot its Ally Pally this weekend, so getting ready for that is top of list at the moment and as Im still living out of boxes its not proving to be an easy task at all!!....but if you happen to be going do stop by the Particraft booth and say hello!!!....that would be really fab!!

BUT.........more importantly now, I have a winner to announce from my very overdue August candy, I was hoping to have done this on the Monday just after having moved as I was assured that we would have connection and be able to be up and running...but alas!!!! Anyhow, the winner of my August blog candy is............................

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Evelyn at "Evy's Crafty Creations"
congratulations to Evy

If you could email me (email on my sidebar) then I will get your candy out to you asap.

I just want to thank everyone SO MUCH for sticking by me in my absense and your patience. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and for all your wondeful comments and words of support (about my move!!!). As we are so far into September now, I wont be doing a blog candy this month, BUT will be making October's blog candy SUPER DUPER SPECIAL, just by way of saying "sorry" and "thank you"!!

A little bit of Christmas in August!

Dont scream!!.....I know, it seems a little early to be thinking about Christmas and I have to admit it does take some effort to get in a Christmas creating mood, but I have already been asked to do some christmas workshops (in August) and Ive also some samples for Ally Pally in September to get ready!!....

The stamp image and the background images (snowflake & Holly) is from the new Christmas stamp plates from Particraft.

Im off to prepare for two more upcoming Christmas workshops and a Halloween workshop in between packing and getting ready for our house move in about 3 weeks...aaaggghhhhhh!!!!