More Mistletoe!

Hello Crafty Folk, how are you today?? We have a right cold day here and our local mountain is plastered with snow, and it may well snow down here tomorrow, so it's wrap up warmly time again.

Thank you all so much for your welcome back and the interest and comments about the latest health issues. Thank you too for the lovely remarks about my card.

Over the holiday I spent time yet again upgrading to Windows 10, all well and good, though it too an age to do it, but again I found that I'd lost my printer.  I did all this a couple of months ago and then uninstalled the upgrade as I couldn't print.What a palaver it was to get it all up and running again, but I did it, although I ended up with a corker of a headache for my trouble, but new drivers installed for the printer and it's good to go.  Alistair keeps saying he does'nt know how I've got the patience to do these techie things.  I don't know either, but I was darned if I was going to buy a new printer, so it was needs must.

Anyway, here is my card share for today;

I've shown a card with this wonderful CB stamp before, but this time it is in different colours.
Spectrum Noir pens, First Edition Papers, Black card and Woodware Sentiment Stamps, a few pearls.

This was made before Christmas to send, I've not really got back into my cards yet, I've been concentrating on my knitting as I've got so many projects on the go but not getting completed.
I did manage a pair of socks for hubby, but for some reason they ended up to big, so unbeknown to me he thought he would boil them as he thought they would shrink, well, he obviously didn't know that it's only pure wool that can do that and this yarn was a mixture, so in the end the socks would have fitted "Bigfoot".  Poor man had to own up then, and the socks went into the bin. A pity, and he didn't want to upset me after the time and effort of knitting them, I just thought it was funny and said thankgoodness for M&S.

Well Folks that's me for today, hoping to get around your blogs after dinner.
I hope yo have a great weekend whatever your plans, we are painting the kitchen and we don't do well working together, different ideas about cleaning up and getting rid of paint mistakes as you go along, I do Alistair doesn't, I'm a preparer, he's not, it will be an interesting couple of days.

Take care and keep cosy,

The Art of Chess!

Hello Everyone and a very Happy New Year to One and All.  I hope you all had a lovely Festive time and are now looking forward to what the new year will bring.

I've had a good old rest from blogging and it was just what I needed, I felt as if my life was being taken over by it and FB too, but I did scroll through my dashboard to see what you were all creating and saw beautiful cards and other projects too. Some of you were really busy.

We had a lovely, lovely time over Christmas and the New Year, spent with Moreen and Damian, then friends at their house to welcome 2016. However, I am glad to get back to normal, whatever that might be.

Thank to everyone who sent us gorgeous cards, I'll have to start a new gallery, and for the fabulous ecards too.

Has anyone made resolutions?, I don't anymore, never kept to them, but one the health front, I have no choice but to do better as I have discovered that I am dairy intolerant, and have too much yeast in my system.  You may remember, those who have been followers for a time that I've had various oscopies, with nothing showing up, good in one way, but not in terms of I was still feeling really unwell. So I decided to go and have some allergy testing done, at my own expense, these things are just not available on the NHS, however, I've been trying to get my head around having no dairy products, and this is so hard as I love butter, have cream in coffee and my morning isn't the same without a bowl of cereal and cold milk. And to compound it all there seams to be yeast in just about everything.  So I might not have been blogging but I've been researching the web in order to find recipes, and substitutes for the things I can't eat.  I think I'm winning though,even through Christmas and I'm beginning to feel better. Of course I have to keep on top of the diabetes too.  Thankfully, dairy intolerance is very common, and there is loads of info, and it's no bad thing scrutinising food labels and being careful about cooking, just takes a little longer to do it all.

Anyway, that's enough about me, on to my card, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, this is Damian's birthday card and my entry to the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge No. 18;

Using CB The Art of Chess Stamp set and coloured with Kuretake Gansai Watercolour paints (got them for Christmas, lucky me!) WOS and some Card Candy in the challenge colours.

So that's my first post of 2016, and I will be getting back into the swing of things again and visiting your blogs.

I'll leave you with a couple of photos of the Choral Society's Carolthon from December, we will find out the amount raised next week when we return for rehearsals;

Can you spot me singing my heart out, I really enjoyed the singing this year.

Take care and see you soon,

  I would like to enter my card into:
http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/challenge-eighteen.html

Merry Christmas One and All!

Hello Everyone, here I am with my last post for this year, and  hoping you are well today and coping with all the Christmas preparations.
I thought I would be putting up the decorations today, but Alistair has come down with a nasty cold and is keeping to his bed. I've trying to explain to him that there is a difference between the cold and the flu as he can't understand why when he has had the flu injection that he should have a cold, oh I sometimes need the patience of a saint, and I am certainly not one of those. Anyway, I need a bit of help with the deccies, so they will have to wait until he feels a bit better.

Thank you all so much for your kind comments on my previous card.

Damian has just popped in with Moreen's gifts for me to wrap, she's a lucky lady I can tell you, I rather fancy the new dressing gown myself. Thankfully, he has brought the wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, and it's a purple theme this year.

Alistair and I decided to not do the gift thing in a big way this year, well what do we need, and I think we will try to get a holiday deal after the year instead, just a few days in a nice hotel, just to recharge the batteries. We usually find somewhere that's offering a DBB three nights for two sort of thing.


Here is my final card;

Photo is not good, It's an Indigo Blue image and inked in green, not showing well though, and gold WOS. LC Sentiment and a snowflake embossed background.
It's for our neighbour who works in forests so we thought a card with trees would be appropriate for him. The real life one is much better.

For many folks this time of year can be so difficult and sad, Christmas is portrayed as a family time and for many people that is just not the case, and for others it's a time where loved ones are missed, for many reasons, I always think it's good to keep that in mind and count our blessings.

I thought I would  leave you  with our new Christmas decoration that Alistair  made for the garden, 

Isn't he lovely, I tried to photograph him in the dark so that the lights in his antlers lit up, but the camera wasn't playing ball. A local garden centre wanted £55 for one very similar, get on yer bike my hubby said I can make that, and so he did.

Wishing You All a Very Merry Christmas and Health and Happiness in the coming New Year, and one that doesn't go quite so fast as this one has, look after yourselves and I'll see you in 2016

Mistletoe for Colour Challenge17 at Chocolate Baroque

Good Afternoon One and All, I hope you are all fine and dandy and keeping calm in the run up to the Big Day.

We had snow overnight, but I don't think it will lie too long but oh what a murky day it's been, I'm just hoping that it doesn't freeze later as I have to go out for choral rehearsal and I'm not confident driving in those sorts of conditions. It's our last reheasrsal for the Carolthon which is this coming Saturday, so I feel I have to go, besides I do enjoy singing the Christmas songs and carols.

Thank to everyone who left comments on my last card, I do enjoy reading them and appreciate the time you all take to visit me.

Here is what I've made for the CB Colour Challenge;

The photo is a wee bit fuzzy so sorry about that;
I've inked up CB December's AYOS stamp and tried to interperate the colours by using WOW Red EP and Wink of Stella Gold, SN pens and paper from Papermainia, Centura Gold Card, Liquid pearls in Opal White.


Well I've managed to get all my cards written except one which I still have to make , but as it is for our neighbour that isn't a problem, it was so good to see them off into the postbox.
I'm going to have a real break from card making after this one and also a break from blogging over the next few weeks, I'm spending way too much time on the computer, so I will be back tomorrow to post my last card, I will be having a quick scroll through your blogs, but won't be commenting, hopfully you'll understand, in fact many of you might be having a break too.

So I will say cheerio for now and catch up tomorrow

I would like to enter my card into;
http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/challenge-seventeen.html 

Christmas Deer for the CCC!

Hello Crafting Buddies, and how are you all this Saturday, well I hope.

Well, has your week been as hectic as mine?? I just don't know where the time has gone, and I don't know really what I've done.  I' have managed to get almost all of the Christmas cards written, a job I hate, love making them, but not writing or addressing them, but all but a couple are done and posted.

Now I'm here to post the Christmas Card Club's last card of the year and this time the choice was from Zoe and it's Anything Goes, so easy peasy;

Using an Imagination Crafts Stencil and their Glitter Paste, DI and paper from LOTV, I whipped up this little scene. only added a little Liquid Pearls to give the impression of snow felt it didn't need anything else.

I'm going to schedule this post for tomorrow Sunday when the CCC goes live, when the other members will be sharing their cards.  Being a part of the CCC is a great way to keep ahead of Christmas card making, so why not join us next year. All you need to do is click on any of the members blog and get some info.

Off now to do some ironing, while Columbo is on, I just love him.
Thank you all so much for your kind comments on my last card, I will have to try and catch up on your blogs.
Enjoy your weekend whatever your doing, and see you next week, take care everyone

12 Days of Christmas!

Hello to you all, and I hope you are all safe and well and coping with these dreadful floods that are happening around the UK. Cumbria is in a bad way, and it's just heartbreaking for all those folks who have had their homes ruined, can't even imagine what that would be like.

We had torrential rain on Saturday, so the craft fair was a washout, honestly if you didn't need to go out, well you just wouldn't.  It was such a shame as Dale and Stewart put some real work into all the organisation of it.

Our journey down to Livingston wasn't too bad except for the rain, and it was so dark, it felt as if we were travelling through the night, however, for me it was a chance to spend some time with Dale and Amanda.  We had a super few days, and laughed our way through it.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last card, you are all very kind.  I've been trying to catch up with commenting and I think I've managed to get around most of your blogs, but forgive if I've missed you out.

Here is my card for today;

I've used a wonderful stamp set created by John Lockwood of Creative Expressions, and I've stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW EP.  The sentiment is also by John.  It took me ages to do the embossing as sometimes my embossing just didn't look right, but I eventually got there. 

Sorry that the photo isn't too good, I think I was trying to take it in too much of a hurry.

That's me for now, enjoy your evening and see you soon,

Fun with the Snowman!

Hello Everyone, I hope you are all well and surviving some of this dreadful weather that's been going around.

I've been very busy over the last few days getting cards made for yet another craft fair organised by my friend Dale down in Livingstone.  I hope that the Forth Road Bridge is fixed by then, it's been under repair yesterday and today and traffic is having to find alternative routes, but as we are not away until Friday I'm hopeful that it will be alright.  Unfortunately we couldn't get booked on a bus, so we have to drive and Alistair now hates long journeys.

Here is one of the cards I've made for the fair;

I realised that I didn't have many Children's Christmas cards, so I've made a few with the wonderful LOTV images, I do love them especially the Christmas ones. To save time I used a pre coloured image and added lots of sparkle.

Off to bed now, it's been a long day, keep well everyone and be back next week to see you,