Getting into this crochet...

It was our Wedding Anniversary last Friday and following a strong hint from me (lol) my husband bought me these baskets to organise my yarns and current project. They were a nest of 4 from Wilkinsons and the colours are just delicious. I added an Ikea plastic cup in pink (of course!) which serves as a bin for my 'ends' when I'm finishing a project. I also had the project folder which helps keep my instructions tidy and sits on top of the smaller basket if I need to keep Bryn's nose out! I've been treating myself to the Wendy Supreme Cotton DK yarn from eBay so I now have a lovely selection of colours to go at for little projects. As the smaller basket has room for the yarn I'm using I just have to grab that one and my iPod to go and spend a happy hour hooking in the garden!

So what have I been up to?

 I've become an avid follower of Attic 24 as Lucy explains things so wonderfully with loads of pictures. She made these as Christmas decorations but I fancied trying them now so I chose 4 ice cream colours and have an idea about finding the perfect twiggy branch to bring inside and hang them on! I copied the entire tutorial, including the photos into Word and edited it as I needed- removing some photos to save on ink and reducing the size of others- then printed out all 14 pages of what remained!!! But I am so glad I did because, as a beginner, I could keep going back to the instructions to check things. I have stuck to the 4 colours but each decoration will be different. I plan to make 8 altogether- but so far have finished 3 and have 3 ready to make up.

Here are the finished ones hanging in my baby apple tree.

(A Mothers' Day present from earlier this year, which I don't think will bear any fruit this year- so here's it's moment of glory!)

I could start a circle before, but I now know how to:-

• join colours and carry on
• increase the stitches to make a flat circle
• make the long DC into the previous circle for the outer decorative ring
• crochet two pieces together

They aren't perfect but I'm really rather proud of them and of what I'm learning as I go along!

What else have I been up to?...

Now that I'm feeling better I have been doing quite a few cards- you may have noticed that the frequency of my blogging has increased.

I'm starting to be able to do more around the house too, which is beginning to lift the strain off my husband, mum-in-law and son. Plus I think I have learned to 'chill' a bit more about the housework which will hopefully give me a bit more 'me' time in future.

I haven't been able to drive- but I have treated myself to a bit of online shopping so have had some 'happy mail'! I'm hoping to try driving again at the weekend, if my car hasn't completely seized up, which I'm looking forward to.

Our poor, energetic Welsh Sheepdog pup, Bryn, has just had to calm down a bit! Otherwise we would have struggled to live in the same house. Last weekend we decided that I was sufficiently healed to allow him to sit with me on the sofa, so all he wants to do now is sit ON me and he is rather large to be a lap-dog! I think he missed some 'mummy' time! I haven't been able to walk him either, which we have both missed, but I'm going to see if I can start again next week- so long as he wears his Halti as he pulls like a train without it.

The other thing I have been doing is trying to crochet again. Last summer I persuaded a lady from my church to get me started. I am not a natural and it took her two afternoons to get me going! After that I found a really clear picture-heavy tutorial for some simple little flowers and I learned how to do them and made quite a few. But then we got Bryn at the end of last August and that was the end of crocheting for a while! I decided to try again now he is older- although I have still had soggy wool a couple of times, but I think he is learning that that is a no-no now! I had a frustrating few hours before I got it again but have now made some more of the little flowers that I am planning to use on my cards.

I found the blog with the tutorial again and her stuff is so inspiring- I would love to try some of the bigger stuff but am not quite brave enough yet! However she recently posted another flower tutorial for May Roses and I decided to give them a go. I did one first time- although my husband kindly pointed out that it must have taken lots of concentration as I had my tongue out lots!!! They are too 3D for cards but I love doing them so thought I may make a brooch or something with them.

We have our hands full at the moment...

We have been keeping an eye out for a new puppy for a couple of months now and while visiting Mum and Dad we found this little beauty who we have called Bryn. Dad likes to go to the same cafe for a latte every morning and we saw a poster with pictures of a beautiful litter of puppies ready for new homes. I immediately got on the phone and we went to visit that afternoon. To save Mum and Dad from puddles on their carpets the lady said it was no problem to hang on to him for us until we were going home.
He is now settling in nicely with us here and we love him to bits but it is like having a baby all over again! Toilet training is still a bit hit and miss, he crys and howls a few times a night and if I had a pound for every time I have said, "What are you eating  now Bryn?!" I would be very rich!
My craft stuff has had to be whisked out of the way to save it from chewing and my time is rather taken up at the moment so I may go a bit quiet in blogland. I will have to become a nap-time crafter and blogger again for a little while!

Note cards...

I wanted some little cards to send to a couple of people from our church to let them know we are keeping them in our prayers.

They are all A6 in size but on their side. As I was making lots I kept them very simple, using Summer Driggs kits for all of them. The toppers are all embellishments from the kits and I have added the sentiment from TLC in Photoshop. The tags just have a couple of little bits of ribbon from my stash in and other cards have had the topper printed out twice so I could layer them.

I would like to enter these cards in the Paper Sundaes challenge 'just saying hi'. I know these aren't quite 'hi' but they are about keeping in touch and letting people know they are remembered, so I hope they will still count.
I would also like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

• Shabby tea room- polkadots ( 3 of these cards are dotty)
• Paper playtime- anything goes
• Make it Monday- always anything goes

A question for you...

I really like the Whimsey Stamps pennants die but as far as I can tell I can only get it from them in the United States. I have always bought my crafting stuff from UK companies and only bought digi stuff from abroad before.
I have heard horror stories about import taxes being charged in the UK and the Post Office adding another admin. charge for collecting them. This is putting me off a bit- has anybody got any experience of ordering from the US?

Some sad news...

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our beautiful but very old dog, Teg. He was fourteen and a half and had had very few health problems until the end but we had noticed he wasn't quite himself, then last week he seemed worse so we girded our loins for a trip to the vets- Teg liked everyone except vets, who he held a particular dislike for! Blood tests showed that his kidneys had stopped working and at his age treatment would have been awful for him and would not have been a cure so we had to make the awful decision that it was his time.
We got him when he was two from Dog Helpline rescue in North Wales where my parents live. He was mainly collie and I'm not sure what else he was crossed with, but he was a one off and we fell in love with him. He has been amazing and we all love him to bits. The house does not feel right without him and so many things remind us of him. We know we did the right thing and that he had a lovely life but it does not make missing him any easier right now.

A nice surprise..

I got a lovely surprise late last night when I was checking the challenges- I made the Top 3 for my HOOT! card. Thank you so much to the DT for picking my card.

Hoping to have something to show you soon- I may be able to get some crafting time in tonight or tomorrow while I wait in for a delivery. Was hoping for some yesterday but after a lovely lie in my husband and son went off to make some pancakes for breakfast and while getting out the flour managed to knock a pot of those "edible ball bearing" things out of the cupboard where they opened on the worktop and bounced everywhere in a mesmerising fashion- lol. Cue a big tidy of the cupboards because they were rather precariously placed so I could hardly be cross. I think we will be finding those for a while yet! I then let my son have a friend over in the afternoon so other than printing off a few digis that was that for crafting yesterday!

Happy Yorkshire Day!..

August 1st is the 25th Yorkshire Day so I thought I would share a little something that made me smile...

An American tourist comes to England to visit. He tours around the major cities and, being a great lover of cathedrals and churches, he visits many - starting in St. Pauls Cathedral in London. Whilst in there he is admiring the great architecture and amazing fittings when he notices a golden telephone behind the altar. He asks someone what the golden phone is...and gets the answer, "That's a direct line to God! But it costs 50 million British pounds to use it !"
Amazed, he snaps some photos, and moves on for his next visit.
In Lincoln Cathedral he is again loooking around at the majesty of the interior, when he sees another golden telephone behind the altar. Again, he asks someone what it is...."a direct line to God mate! But its 50 million British Pounds to use it!"
Again, amazed, he snaps some photos, and moves on for his next visit.
He visits great cathedrals and churches the length and breadth of Britain - Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol etc etc....and all have these golden phones behind the altar - £50million pounds a call.
Finally he arrives in Yorkshire and calls in York Cathedral. He is taking photos and taking it all in when he notices that there is a sign next to the golden phone which reads, "All calls 10pence".
Aghast, he asks the Vicar about it, "I have seen these golden phones in all the places I have visited, but they are £50million to call God...how come this one has that sign on it?"
The Vicar replies "This is Yorkshire lad...its a local call from here!"

Happy Yorkshire Day from God's own county!

Teacher cards and gifts...

I needed to make 3 thank you cards for my son to give to his teachers- one for his classteacher, one for the PPA teacher who teaches him french and one for the classroom support. I was pushed for time because I also had a few other projects that I needed to make. For this reason I kept it simple and went for some purple gingham printed card that I had in my stash and I knew I had the purple pearlised card for matting and the silver mirri. The image is such a handy little bunch of flowers and so easy to colour quickly with my promarkers. I computer generated the greeting for each teacher for that personal touch and used my nesties to cut them- it is so easy to make multiple mounts with them in no time. I tend to use them with my old Sizzix Sidekick and an adapter for speed when I'm only using the small nesties.

I got each teacher one of the little citronella candle holders you can see quite a while ago because I saw them on offer! I wrapped them in tissue and celophane bundles and used curling ribbon to decorate.

I am entering these for the My time to Craft challenge as they have 'Check it out'- use checks on your project.

Sad news...

I discovered Elzybells Stamps quite a while ago and love them, but now Elizabeth has, with regret, decided to close down the company. This is such a shame but I'm letting you know because she has reduced all her stamps by 50% so it is a great last chance to pick up any you have been admiring from afar! Here are a few of my cards made with her stamps:

Exciting news...

... I entered a Design Team call at Cards for Men and I was one of the three ladies chosen to join the team! I realised how it was going to be soon after my, now 8 year old, son was born- I couldn't sleep and I had my husband happily snoring on one side of me, my son in his crib snoring on the other side and our male dog snoring at the bottom of the bed! I was surrounded by blokes! So as you can see I have quite a few occasions to make male cards and, I know there are often groans at the mention of men's cards, but I enjoy making them. Why not pop over to the blog and take a look at the latest challenge and make a card for one of the men in your life?!

A new look...

It's all change here! Firstly I was tired of how my blog was looking but didn't just want to pick a new background from a site- I wanted something that was just mine and all coordinated! I loved the colours of the Stuff to Scrap April Blog Train 'Spring Picnic' papers and elements so have used them to create this all by myself! I used Photoshop and lots of tutorials from Kevin and Amanda, Cutest Blog on the Block and Shabby Blogs. Even with the tutorials I was hugely out of my comfort zone with computers- I am not the IT bod in our family and he isn't interested if it relates to my blog! It has taken alot of time and much head scratching, but I'm really pleased with the result and I have learned loads.
I created the background first because I wanted it to be really clean and simple and if I couldn't get that to work there was no point. I had trouble getting it to look right at first because it wouldn't fill the screen- I'm not sure what I did but it seems to be working now! Please leave me a comment if it looks wrong on your computer so I can have another go- I'm a perfectionist!!
Next came the post dividers which wasn't too bad because I did one before during my first scary attempt at changing my blog.
Encouraged by what I had done so far I tackled the header next. I like the way it turned out and especially that I managed to remove the box that Blogger always puts around it.
Blogger was only giving me quite pale colours for the post titles, links etc so I found out how to add custom colours using hex codes.
Finally I followed a really complicated tutorial to change the fonts on my titles- this was where I nearly gave up!
So what do you think?

Another change is that I am going back to part-time teaching- yay!!!
I love my class so it will be hard to hand them back to my colleague, who is now much better, but I am really looking forward to having more time and may even manage a card or two now- It has been soooo long!

How do you like the new look? {Look what I managed to make- and it isn't a card!}

My blog has looked the same for nearly a year and I thought it was about time for a change. To be honest I was afraid to mess with it, based on the 'If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it!' principle.

Anyway, I took the bull between the horns earlier this week and tried a new background and added a header for the first time. After a few panics with the header I had it all on and looking right! I lived with it for a few days and then decided it wasn't quite what I was after!

So I looked again and found another design, made from a Summertime Designs kit that I love. (I have got really into downloading Digi Scrapping kits lately, but all I do with them is resize and print the papers for my cards. I have ambitions to try digi scrapping but I don't really know where to start.) With more confidence this time I put it on my blog and I like it.

Don't know what happened to me last night, but I started looking around the internet and admiring the really co-ordinated blogs with signatures and post dividers etc. and found a few tutorials. I had a go at making a post divider using Photoshop but could not figure out a few things. After a few questions to my very computer literate husband, who seemed amused that I was trying to have a conversation about transparent backgrounds and PNG files, I had another go this morning. I managed to create the post divider and saved it!

That was only half the battle! Now I had to get it onto my blog after each post! According to the tutorial I had to alter the HTML code of my blog to do this which was really scary, especially for someone who had been afraid to change the background only a week ago! So I backed up the template, as instructed, and began- I don't think I breathed again until I previewed it and there it was! I was so excited when I went through to tell my husband and all he could say was "See, it wasn't hard was it!"

I know this might not be rocket science for some of you out there but this was huge for me, so I just thought I would tell you about it!

Alter Something- Matthew's Photo Tin.

Stampin' For the weekend have 'Alter Something' as their challenge for this week. I have been intending to do something with these cigar tins for ages. My husband gave up smoking over seven years ago, just after our son was born, but just before he did he got into these tiny cigars and I have a stack of tins in the cellar. I even bought a can of spray paint for them over a year ago!

So here's what I did. I have never scrapbooked but thought I might try one of these hangings. To display some of my favourite photos of my son.
The pictures are all matted onto various papers printed from Summertime Designs free download 'Fathers and Fedoras'. I was able to size the papers before printing to scale down the designs for these 8cm by 7cm panels. Everything in sight has had the corners rounded off! The stars and hearts decorating the inside of the lid and base have been cut from the same papers with a Sizzlits die.

I wanted a little embellishment on most of the pictures so I have used either some silver shaped brads or some tiny white brads.

The back of each panel is decorated with a letter cut from the design papers and a few tiny peel off stars to add silver detail but not bulk. I don't have large alphabet dies or a Cricut so I printed out the papers, then used an old program I have to take a font from my computer and just give it a very fine outline, then put the papers back through my printer to give me the letters which I then cut out.

Sorry no cards yet.....It's been a rubbish week and it's only Wednesday!

Just thought I would post to say that I'm still here and ok but I haven't made any cards because I'm having a rubbish week!

First my bank called on Sunday morning to check some transactions and the last two weren't me so my card had been cloned and had to be cancelled. I was really glad they spotted it so quickly and contacted me as it could have been much worse, but it is such a hassle not having a card as it is my only one. I had to go into town on Monday with my passport for ID to get some cash to see me through and have still not had my replacement card.

When I came out of work today I noticed that someone had hit the back of my car, scratching the bumper behind the back wheel. It probably didn't happen today as I would like to think my collegues would have owned up. It was probably last night outside my house or at the supermarket yesterday. So annoying to just find that and for nobody to have owned up- probably too small to go to the insurance but I don't want to just leave it so will have to pay for it myself. My car isn't anything fancy or new (except for the floral decoration I have added!)but I love it and like it to look smart. Much to the amusement of my neighbours, I wash it by hand!


On a less serious note I was teaching in a reception class yesterday and when I went to put on my trousers this morning I had green Play-doh dried onto the bum- Lovely!!


And while I'm having a moan this weather is driving me bonkers! Lovely sun- so we let our halltime go to a class that needed to rehearse their assembly and took the two year 2 classes out for PE, 10 minutes later it is bucketing down with rain and we have to dash in, only for the sun to come out again about 10 minutes later. It chucked it down again just as we were coming in again at the end but was dry by the time they had changed!

Anyway, I feel better now I have got these moans off my chest! Hopefully my new card will come tomorrow, my car won't cost too much to put right and I will get my Mojo back soon!
Thanks for listening!!!!

A totally different craft project!

Last week I finally managed to get a photo of my latest craft project without it being covered with snow or filthy! I got the decals from Hippy Motors and spent a day arranging and applying them. It is similar on both sides. I love it and so do lots of others- including most of the girls at my son's school! My husband thinks I'm having a mid life crisis and my son hates it. My son now tells me where and how I should park to try to hide them!

This gecko is the only bit of the car that my son likes because he chose it! I said I would get one but it had to be pink, orange or yellow! Orange was the lesser of the 3 evils for him.