The best laid plans...................

Well the weather has altered our plans 
completely. Today hubby had an appointment at Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield, so we left home at 7.30 just as it was beginning to snow. We got 5 miles from home and it was clear that at 5 miles an hour on a single icy lane on A55 it would take us 24 hours to do what is normally a 2 hour journey, So we turned around at the first opportunity and came home. I'd made the effort to go out to get some answers from the docs in Sheffield, but once we got home, my cold floored me and I went back to bed. 
And as the weather promises to remain awful we have had to postpone our holiday until a) the weather is better and b) my cold is better, because I am not going to go and do locks, in the snow, feeling this grotty. Feel so rough I don't even want to make cards so I will just show you  a few I made a while back.

It is amazing how cards I thought were so special when I made them look so simple and unexciting when I look back at them, but I think these have stood the test of time.The one with the green ribbon was very hastily made for a friend when her husband died but I do think it is very effective and worth repeating in different colours,and the black and white one was just playing with dies and borders.

WOYWW

Well this is going to be a brief entry because I am feeling really rough, but if I don't post today everyone might think I am deserting WOYWW.We're going to be away for 3 weeks on our narrowboat Bendithion. Although I will try to take some craft stuff with me I might not be able to upload pictures on a limited link.
We are hoping to go down the river Severn to Tewkesbury and then up the Avon and through Birmingham to near Chester where our boat is moored.
So my worktop today has just a few half made cards on it that I may or may not feel up to finishing, when my sore throat is better. I was up half the night coughing and inspiration is not strong in my persona at present.

I will just spend a short time looking at other people's WOYWWs and then retire to sit in front of the fire with a good book and a hot drink.

Yesterday evening I felt I really had to finish some of the cards on my worktop, so I had a very busy time trying to stamp sentiments and work out what die cuts to use to make the card elements harmonise. The black and white one took the most time as I couldn't stamp the sentiment on the white shimmery card. The ink just bled horribly and I tried at least 4 different inks, Papermania, Stazon, Whispers and Momento, and none of them produced a sharp image on the card. I have no idea what the card is, pulled it out of the drawer when I started making the card and thought 'that looks nice'. So then I had to colour some silver peeloff to get something that would fit on the piece I had cut out for it to go on. Why is nothing ever simple?

For those who like to know these things, the black shaped card came from Create and craft and were called Silk art cards and are no longer available, the black and white paper is from Pink Petticoat, Grannie's wallpaper, the white square was cut with Spellbinders ornate squares and the flower with Spellbinders poinsettia.  The sentiment panel I believe is Labels 8.


And if anyone can tell me how to crop pictures on here to get rid of the scenery behind, I'd appreciate it.

My next creation was far simpler but just as effective, I think and I can tell you nothing at all about any of the makings since everything came out of my stash. 

 This one was a fun one to make, but very fiddly, cutting out all the flowers. It was virtually a straight copy of a card I saw in a magazine, but not using their papers or colourways.

 Again the paper is pink petticoat, Pointy poinsettias in various toning colours. I do love their papers and the fact that they all available in 50 different colours and, as long as you print all you need at the same time, you can be certain that your colours will all match.

The final one was also on my worktop on Wednesday. Again the ornate squares die cutter and silver peel offs coloured black.

And finally, since I took a picture of them to send to her, these are the flowers my daughter sent me for Mothering Sunday, still looking as fresh as ever on their diet of Sprite lemonade. I had heard of this idea before, of putting fresh flowers in lemonade, must have sugar in it, but have not had such wonderful results with it before. They have been in a warm living room since they arrived 11 days ago but have not dropped anything or suffered at all from the hear or age.
Well I have things to do so must stop,
Blessings to you all
Chris

Following my comment on Julia's blog about crochet, I thought I'd post a picture of one of the many blankets I have made over the past few years.

This one is on the spare bed, I have another one that I made for the bed on the boat, but don't have a picture of it, although I am certain I took one.







Three sets of camera batteries later I have laid it on the bedroom floor and taken a picture of it.I would have put it on the spare bed, but that is full of stuff to go in the attic and don't feel inspired to do that at the moments.

Started trying to finish card I showed on WOYWW but my efforts at stamping do not seem to be going well so it might have to wait until Monday.
Feeling a bit frustrated at present with making cards, I bought two discs from Docrafts, with the Digital designer and found that they were so not-user friendly that I got very cross, and cross is not the right frame of mind to do any crafting. the images are lovely but the programme is so substandard compared to Craft Artist that I feel cheated. I don't do a huge amount of stuff with the computer, prefer using 'real' bits, but just occasionally I need to do something in a hurry and if necessary I can produce a presentable card in 15 minutes with Craft Artist. If I want to make it that little bit better I can do some decoupage.
Well I have visitors coming to supper in about 40 minutes so I'd better to something towards that.
Chris

Woyww

 Another week has gone by and you can see from my picture that the bits that were on my worktop last week have nearly become a card. I just need to cut out the stamped images and decide which one make the best card and then find the matching card to stamp the final thing as the paper I used is clearly not as close in colour as I thought.

The black and white card is another one that has been around for a while and needs completing.

This is the card I made following viewing someone else's site, but can't remember who so can't give her credit.

And this is one I have just finished for a friend's birthday. 

Can't do anymore, the man wants to go out and I have to go with him.

Blessings to you all

Chris

Morning all.
Last night I sat and surfed for about 20 minutes and found a brill idea on someone's blog. Oooohhh, I thought, I could use that idea myself. Not completely copy but put my twist on the idea, so this morning I thought I would find out where I had seen the idea so that when I made my version of her idea I could give her credit for the idea, only I can't find what I saw last night anywhere. Spent longer looking for it this morning that I did last night just browsing.
However, when I put up a couple of picture of what I have done, in a couple of days time, I can at least refer back to this and prove I tried. And when I post, if anyone thnnks they know who's idea it was they can let me know.
Must go an vacuum the stairs now, before I dare start crafting or the divorce courts might get mentioned!!!
Blessings
Chris

Just before I go, I thought I would upload the card I have made for my grandson who will be in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical later this month.
I think it is a bit busy, but it needs to be posted today so can't change it now.

Today, I turned on my email and was so thrilled to receive a Liebster blog award from Shaz in oz.  

Many , many thanks Shaz.  I need lots of encouragement because I am so easily discouraged by life's little disappointments. I struggle with  knowing the Father's love, (Lots of history, which I am working through) so encouragement like this brightens my whole day and reminds me that He uses others to reassure me of His love.

This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. Once you've been nominated, you can award it to five blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers, to encourage new visitors to visit these blogs. Just thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. 

ABOUT THE AWARD

This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. Once you've been nominated, you award it to five blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers, to encourage new visitors to visit these blogs.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE 

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this lovely award!

PAY IT FORWARD

I just want to make it clear, if I have awarded this award to anyone who does not wish to receive it,  please let me know and will simply remove your name - as not everyone loves to have these.

My chosen bloggers to pass this award on to start with a wonderful encourager, who apart from being a blogger, is also a close friend. There is not much recent on her blog because life has just got in the way for her. Margaret
My second award is to aother friend and encourager with the most beautiful Christian love on her blog.Iggandfriends
My third asked to be removed so have done, but her blog is still wonderful card stuff with lots of information about how to make cards like hers. Nothing precious about her.
Fourth is Jill at ribbonchallenged Just super cards and such an encourager when she 
Fifth is Gibby. She has such wonderful designs on her page, and explains how to make them. Very helpful

My sixth, which I am not allowed to do because she has more than 200 followers is Create with Joy. Just a beautiful site that you'll have to find for yourselves from Stamping ground.
I hope this all make sense
Blessing to all Chris

Frustrations

Why do computer software nerds always want to update and change stuff. I only wanted to edit a picture I had taken before uploading it to here. As always I opened Picasa to edit it and not being able to do all I wanted I tried to upload to Picnik for further editing. That wonderful programme Picnik has been gobbled up by Google and apparently I can edit my pictures in Google+ but they don't speak English on Google+ but Jargonese or just plain rubbish. I have been round and round the help menus trying to work out how I upload my picture, just to dampened down the fact that my kind hubby took the picture with the flash on so the silver peel off is very reflective. However no matter how I try to follow Google's information I come unstuck when I says 'Open the light box, and use the navigation tools to.....'  and its explanation of what the light box is, makes absolutely no sense at all. 
The reason I have a picture taken by hubby with the flash on is also down to technical problems. 
It all started on Thursday evening when I rang a friend to ask if I could pop in on Friday to give her some craft stuff. At that point I discovered that her hubby had been admitted to hospital as an emergency that day and was still in. I arranged to see her the next day and rummaged through my store of cards for a Get Well Soon card for him. Nothing there at all, so Friday morning saw me hastily creating one and I took a couple of photos of it and then delivered the card, had a lovely couple of hours with my friend, which included a trip to Craft shop in Llandudno, just to buy glue!!!! Well and a little bit more..£18 more!!!

I got home and connected my camera to the computer, no pictures. Just not there. So today we visited him in hospital and took pictures of the card, but it was too dark to take it without the flash.
I must give credit to Amy for the idea of joining bits of paper to make a back ground and then embossing it.
Anyway I must now go and cook pizza.

WOYWW

Good morning all. 
Had a very busy day yesterday, actually earned some money. I have one of those appointments where I sit on a panel and  we look at whether some person or organisation has slipped up in their professional role, and then I get paid money for it. as a result I did not get near my worktop until yesterday evening and spent a few minutes cutting out bits with my latest die cutter.

You can see some on the guillotine, black die cuts on brown card.












 Looking the other way you can see a finished card, hastily made for a friend who has just lost his father, and a pink and black one, half done, that I have pushed around and around for days trying to decide what to do with it.
 And the desk, as usual, is one big mess.
Today I must finish a card for my grandson.  His birthday isn't for a few days, but I keep putting it off and will soon be doing it in a rush. He is going to be playing Charlie Bucket in a school performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so I have based his card on that. Will post it when it is finished.
Well it is nearly 10 o'clock and I haven't had any breakfast yet, so better go and get some.

Well another weekend has gone by and I have had very little time for any craft. Not sure where the time goes, but not in crafting.
Little bit of sad news today, our visiting pussy, who ate up all the food that Max wouldn't, is no more. On Friday, a week ago, he came in and just lay on the floor, at the foot of the stairs. We though this was a little unusual, but left him there for a little while. Finished getting supper, and then he suddenly wailed and started vomiting blood. I put him in our carrier and took him to his home and his owner whisked him off to the vet. When she brought the carrier back she said the vet thought he had got a blood clot. We went away the following day and this morning was the first time I could get to see her and she confirmed that he hadn't made it. He had so much character, and was so friendly, whilst maintaining his Independence. We are going to miss him.

This morning however, I managed to snatch a little time, before tackling Sainsbury's to make an earring. Why only one? Because a couple of years ago I made a pair and then a few weeks ago I lost one of them, so today I made another one. Not perfect, but it will do.

 

So while I was at it, I made another pair.












Then when I got back from Sainsbury's I managed the time to make a quick card, from recycled bits, for my lovely neighbour who feeds the cat when we are away. Picture and ribbon are recycled as is the dark green backing card.

Well I'd better go and earn my keep by doing the vacuuming in the caravan.
May God's blessings be with you today.

Yesterday was an interesting day. Went to craft club at lunchtime, then on to get my glasses, got home and the day began to fall apart. The central heating packed up and hubby managed to get it working from an extension cable across the kitchen. Then just as I was serving up supper for the two of us, we remembered that a friend was coming to supper and what I had cooked was not suitable for her. Baked potato in the microwave and then oven very quickly followed by quick creation of chicken and mushroom dish for her whilst we had the macaroni cheese that she couldn't eat.

 

Then today has been spent putting in new power supply for central heating and some plumbing bits as well. Barely had time to finish a card for my nephew and his wife who are having a real hard time.