Happy New Year!

I just popped in to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I will be back in a few days with a FABULOUS special offer and some interesting news for you all...

HAPPY 2009!

C xx

Its Here!

Well at last the long awaited day is almost here! Are you tracking Santas progress? Click HERE to see how far the old man has got on his travels...

Heres the last few photos of the gifts and cards I have been busy making. The teachers gifts are all home-made vanilla and cherry fudge. Yummy!

If you are curious about the box in a bag then follow this link HERE for all the instructions with lovely photos to help!


These cards were cased from a few people but mostly StampinAbi who is a lovely girl and if you take a look at her site you will see alot of fabo ideas. This set (A tree for all seasons) is really simple and can be used year round, and its cheap too! I made 30 of these in one evening in many different colours too!


This vase was made for a Great Aunt of mine for a Christmas pressie... Ive used the Cherished Memories rub-ons to decorate what was a (very - think Woolies closing down sale!) inexpensive plain vase. Just make sure you give your surface a good wash in warm soapy water before trying this. I didnt do this first and struggled to get them to stick properly. In each pack of rub-ons you get either brown & white or black & white sheets of the same designs. There are two different packs to choose from. I love them!


Well thats it from me for a few days... I hope you are all well and have a lovely Christmas with those you love. Please remember those who are not able to be with their families this time of year and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Were off to Christdingle Service later... Should be interesting with my sneezing and coughing! Wish me luck...!

Stay safe & have a merry one.

C xx

PHEW!

I think I need a stiff drink (or two)!
Why is the last week of term always such a frenzy? Ive not had a minute to stop and think this week...

My son has done the Annual St Felix Middle School Show at the Tattersalls sale ring (Very funny... Picture my 12yr old son dressed in jockey silks and green wellies playing 'Stinky' - Dwarf number 14 out of 17...!) So between rehearsals and performances and picking up/dropping off friends & watching the show, then Certificate Assembly for my Daughter (she did a speech - 1 sentence - and played the flute) then a birthday party tonight... My head is spinning! Im quite contented though as I still managed to make 3 batches of fudge for 4 teachers and our retiring dinner lady, AND made the bags to put them in, AND made ALL my Christmas Cards, AND got them (nearly) all delivered on time, AND finished my Christmas shopping, AND made 2 birthday cards, AND had the builder in (MESSY!)... P H E W!!!

That drink is sounding better by the minute!
I took photos of the gift bags for you and will post them here as soon as I find the link to the instructions I worked from...

Have a great weekend... I know I will!

TTFN
C xx

In Love With Stamping.

Are you sitting comfortably? The I shall begin...
Once upon a time a little band of friends had a website... It grew and grew and grew until it was too big for its home. Mummy and Daddy (Karin and Dave) found a lovely new home for this fabulous group with loads more space for people to come and visit, chat and have a good time!

Now this is not just a Stampin' Up! site. You can pop over and browse through the gallery or upload some of your own projects to share. If you are looking for inspiration its a fab place to start. There are regular challenges for when you lose your mojo! If you need advice on a product or cant remember where to find the instructions for that special project come and post a question. You can even come and chat about Strictly or X Factor... We are a friendly bunch of crafters from all over the world... and we dont bite!

Heres the challenge... We have just loaded a counter (a bit like the one on my website...) which tells us our ranking in the 'Top 50 crafting sites'. In the space of a week our ranking has gone up from 184 up to 56! Pretty good going huh?!?!

We would like to get InLoveWithStamping in the top 10 before Christmas. Just for the heck of it! Click above or on the link on the right hand side of this page and take a look. Maybe add the site to your favourites and when you do your daily 'blog surf' (please tell me Im not the only person that does this?) pop over for a look.

Lets see the power of the mouse finger, yes?

TTFN

C xx
By the way if you worry about my mental health... come over, you aint seen nuthin yet!!!

Holiday spirit by the bucket!

Found this over on YouTube...! Heres a link to the Holdman Family website. Take a look at the video clips they are amazing! Bet their lekkie bill is sky high in January!!!

My fave is Amazing Grace...

Another Christmassy link is this one Here. Listen carefully to the words all the way through if you can. Gave me goosebumps!

Back with more cards later.
Enjoy!

TTFN

C xx

Next Installment

OK, heres the next load of photos for you. This time I have used the Hung Up on the Holidays set (106770), which is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine! Its only £13.95and you get 6 stamps in the set. You will need to use your Stamp-a-ma-jig with this one (unless you have a VERY steady hand!) For a tutorial on the Stamp-a-ma-jig there's a link over on the side...

I think I have also found a colour scheme for my cards this year... Im liking the Bashful Blue... What do you think?


If you look closely at the second card you will notice that 2 of the ornaments overlap each other... This was not intentional but gives me the chance to talk about 'masking'. Its very simple - just stamp the image you want to be in the foreground. Stamp this image again onto a piece of post-it note or scrap paper and cut it out. Place this 'mask' over the 1st image and then stamp your next image overlapping this 'mask'. The end result will look like one is behind the other... Easy peasy huh?

More in a couple of days...

TTFN
C xx

OK, Its Christmas soon right...?

I know you all are super organised and probably already done with your shopping but (unusually for me) I have just started thinking about this years holiday... YIKES!

I have started my cards and although not everyone will get a handmade card from me, most will. Please dont be cross if you get a horrid shop bought one, its not because I dont care - its just because I have run out of time! (oooo the shame!!)

Anyway, I wanted to share with you over the next few days some ideas for Christmas Card designs, some traditional, some not so much... and to show you how easy Stampin' Up! makes things with everything coordinating - the hard work is already done for you!

Heres the first installment,
Perfect Presents stamp set Number 111272, only £21.95 for 11 stamps!



As you can see the colours are very traditional, red and green, but the Stampin' Up! colours coordinate so beautifully that I have mixed Real Red with Sage Shadow and a dash of Certainly Celery. Ive also used very simple layouts and added a little Designer Series Paper (Wintergreen and Rose Red). I have also only used a few of the stamps in this set!

Heres a few more not so traditional colours...


You could go completely wild with your colours! Ive tried to stay a little conservative as I need to use these for family & friends, but look out over the next few posts for some soft pastel cards...

TTFN!

C xx

Best Laid Plans...

Firstly, an apology...
For those waiting with baited breath for news and photos of my tricky project... its not done yet!

Secondly, the reason...
Ive been a bit under the weather for the last week. Then my daughter got the lurgy too! But bless her heart, she managed to keep it together long enough to do her second ballet exam on Monday. Talk about 'true grit!'
Im really proud of her, she looked decidedly dodgy, very pale and had dark circles under her eyes. But she slapped on a smile and did her best (which is all I ask of her). The show must go on huh?

Anyway we are all better now. Daughter back to school tomorrow (fingers crossed!) and I might be able to scrape off the layer of crud that accumulates in the house when Mums get ill... All that and then moving furniture and shelving ready for 2 new windows to be installed on Friday.

And you can all tell me off but I need to start my Christmas shopping this week too! AARGH! HELP! Exactly HOW many days till Christmas?

I promise to have LOADS of photos later this week, Ive taken dozens...

TTFN

C xx