Got my kitchen duties out of the way this morning. I thought with it being wet, windy and quite chilly that a pie would hit the spot for DD, who is back at work tonight after a three week holiday and Mr Manic, who can eat anything at anytime....lol!!! So I rustled up a Pork and Apple Pie and served it up with Jersey Royals and some veg.........it went down a treat.
Off then upstairs to make a start on the order and got three done before I had had enough......well they were men's cards......say no more.....lol!!! So I decided to take a break and make myself a little tool holder to sit on the desk as I am always losing stuff.......and here it is.........
.......it's made from one sheet of 11.75inch x 9inch mountboard scored into three 3 inch sections lengthways. I glued the dividers in next with some Glossy Accents and covered it with Basic Grey paper. I then cut two pieces of board 7inches x 3 inches and scored 2 inches from each edge. These made the end pieces to hold it together. The holes for the brads were punched before assembling which made it much easier. Just need to tidy the corners of the red board with some gilding paste now.
Mr Manic has been and fetched the paint today for the stairs. I just couldn't make my mind up on the colour so it was almost a 'stick a pin in a paint chart job'........lol!!! Anyway off he goes to Homebase where our chosen paint was three for the price of two.....and as you might guess they only had two cans.......bl**dy typical. Had to choose another colour while he hung on the phone so I hope it looks OK when it's done.
Ooops almost forgot the card. Paper....sorry unknown. I got it from a bargain bin ages ago. Stars are Spellbinders. Grommety thing came with my Big Bite.
Right......well I am off for a bath and a read which is well deserved today I think.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sheila-x-
Oh well........I thought I was at the end of my special orders for a while but checking my e mails I got another one in for six cards. That means no play time for me for another couple of days then.
Had a lovely lunch out with Mr Manic today. We went to The Swan aka The Mucky Duck at Fradley Junction. The meal as usual was fabulous and then we went for a walk along the canal. I love looking at the boats and peeking in at the tinyness of everything. I find it fascinating but I'm not sure it's something I fancy doing.
I've had three days of being spoiled by DD and Mr Manic but I'll be back to the grindstone tomorrow with kitchen duties in the morning and work upstairs in the afternoon.
Bye for now....and thanks for visiting.
Sheila-x-
Well I think this is the last of the cards I have 'had' to make and now I can get on and make some just for the fun of it. You watch my mojo go off on holiday now........I swear I will scream if it does....lol!!!
I've had a lovely day today. DD took me out for my monthly airing. We had a ride to Bridgemere and a squizz around Hobbycraft. Their stamp selection was abysmal and most of the other stuff was either uninspiring or over priced.
I had a quick drool over the stuff in the window of the new Lakeland branch that has opened there but I didn't go in as today was definitely for crafty shopping and not housey stuff.
After Bridgemere we headed off to Trentham Gardens. We had a walk around the shops and then DD treated me to a carvery lunch. Oh boy it was gorgeous. Couldn't manage all of it as it was a huge plateful. Then we had a walk around inside the garden centre and the gift areas. I think if I won the Lottery I would spend it all in there as they have some seriously amazing stuff.......none of it neccessary you understand but very 'I want......able'.....lol!!!
Sunday Mr Manic and I have a day to ourselves and he is taking me out for lunch. Am I spoilt or what? Hopefully I will get to do some crafting over the next few days as Ruby is away now until Wednesday showing off her walking and talking skills to her other grandma, grandad and aunty. They will be so excited to see her.
Anyway I am off to bed. I'm quite worn out with the excitement of having a day out and another to look forward to.....sad old bat...lol!!!
Night night.
Sheila-x-
I have just come downstairs after a very busy twelve and a half hour day assembling and packing some of the Father's Day cards. I managed fifty altogether with more to be done so they will have to go to the shop and office in two lots. It's a start anyway.
I am now very, very weary with sore fingers so I am off to make myself a cuppa and put my feet up with a book.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sheila-x-
Sorry for being such a bad blogger lately. As usual I'm not getting much time upstairs.....the Father's Day cards are still waiting to be put together.
I did manage this little card though using a stamp from a set by Prima.
First I used it to create the background which I then chalked and embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.
Then I stamped the main piece and coloured it using just a plain old HB pencil.......smudging it with my finger to create a shadow around the flower.
The sentiment is from a set by Personal Impressions.
Mr Manic has shocked the heck out of me and has already asked somebody about doing the bathroom. I expected to still be waiting in two years......lol!!! He has seen one that the person has done already and is very impressed.
The gorgeous Miss Doodle was here today. A little bit grizzly as she had a tummy ache and I think more teeth on the way. She did cheer up a bit though when she saw the present I send grandad out to get. We've bought her a play kitchen and a box of assorted foodstuff as she was very taken with the one at playgroup. She loves it and has been cooking up some horrible concoctions for us to eat. Sausage and gherkin stew, chicken and strawberry stir fry and fried oranges with crips (crisps).......lol!!! I would have loved something like this when I was little. It has running water, an oven and a grill and the hob makes cooking noises. It's fabulous.
Well I am away to do a bit of surfing round the web before bedtime though how long I shall last I do not know as it's quite windy here therefore draughty in this back room so I am quite cold.
Bye for now.
Sheila-x-
I have seen several versions of baby dressers around the web and I've had a fiddle about today making this one which is based on a tent fold 5 x 7. Because I don't keep A3 card in stock I have had to join two pieces with an overlap at the back.
So I have just used plain white card and inked around the edges of the card blank and drawers using a Versamagic ink pad.
The baby outfit and heart is PC Crafter.
Coat hanger is handmade from silver wire.
Drawer handles are large brads.
I finished off with just a touch of Stardust Stickles around the lace on both the outfit and heart.
Nothing much exciting going on around here at the moment but I don't mind a quiet life for a change. I've got a busy day tomorrow and then a bit of housey stuff on Saturday. I think Miss Doodle and Co will be coming for lunch on Sunday but I can't remember. Best get something in just in case.....lol!!!
Mr Manic has me looking around at bathroom stuff as he thinks we should turn ours into a shower room. I have to say I agree as it must be the smallest bathroom ever. We also have recurring problems with water occassionally leaking through the ceiling from our over bath shower so I think ripping it all out and starting from scratch is a pretty good idea. What I am not liking is the thought of the mess but I suppose I will deal with that when it comes.
Off to do a bit more looking then.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-
I am crafting........honestly I am. Right now though I don't have anything actually assembled.
Mostly my snatched time upstairs has been spent preparing card blanks, layers and embellishments for what seems like hundreds of Father's Day cards for the shop and DDIL's office. How I have sorted out so many designs is beyond me as cards for men are not my strong point.
Other than that I have been doing domestic stuff......mostly cooking, washing up and dealing with paperwork for Mr Manic. All time consuming stuff that keeps me from what I want to be doing.
I'm missing Miss Doodle and can't wait to see her little face at the weekend.
Oh hey up.....Mr Manic has just found another job for me to do.....cutting his hair. Best go and get it done.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-
I've had Jimminy Cricut out for the first time in absolutely ages as I needed some large numbers for this 8 x 8 twisted easel card.
The numbers are from Base Camp. 'Dad' is Sizzix Sizzlet Roundabout alphabet and papers are Basic Grey.
The large circles are Go Kreate and Cricut. Stars are Spellbinders.
All by myself tonight so heaven knows what mischief I shall get up to. Mr Manic is off to work and DD is staying over at her friends house and on nights like these I have been known to be cleaning the kitchen at stupid 'o' clock. Not tonight though as I am back off upstairs to cut some more stuff on Jim before he goes away again.
Tomorrow we have Miss Doodle paying us a visit with mummy and daddy in tow. I think she's coming to see if grandad has any pocket money for her to take on holiday........I'm sure he will have.
Well that's His Nibs on his way to work. Peace and quiet for me then.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-
Awwww.....Ruby has now gone solo and is walking by herself. She has been walking for quite a while but only if she could hold onto somebody's finger. It's funny but she was one day over fifteen months........exactly the same age as her daddy when he started to walk. DD was eleven months so it just shows how different kids are.
This may come as a shock but I have almost finished the wallpapering on the stairs. I would have finished the whole job but my back started playing up a bit so I stopped before it got worse. I have booked DD for Wednesday to put up the last three or four pieces in the hall.
I also got the shopping done and one of the cards I have on order at the moment so a pretty productive day today.
Right.....I am off to peruse some paint charts as I still haven't made up my mind on the colour for the walls.
Bye for now.
Sheila-x-
Oooooh my word. We have just had one heck of a storm here. Thunder, lightening and huge hail stones. The dog and I were frightened out of our wits and if I could have got in the cupboard under the stairs I would have.....except it's full of stuff waiting to be either dumped or moved to permanent storage places.
It's left me feeling rather twitchy and headachey so now that it's all calmed down I think I shall nip off to bed.
No crafty production tonight as we had quite a frantic day with Miss Doodle. She is becoming very hard to keep entertained although she is a good girl. I shall be glad when she is old enough to craft. Tomorrow we shall go to the play barn and then Wednesday we are off to the local playgroup for a couple of hours. After that I have a week off as the junior Manics are off on holiday. I have a list as long as my arm of jobs I want to tackle while I am free. Wonder how many will get ticked off......lol!!!
Bye for now
Sheila-x-
I love Sunday. I love Sunday when we have visitors but even more I love Sunday when we don't. Today has been just fabulous. Lots of pottering in the kitchen and a perfect sunny, blowy day for drying laundry. I've baked, done laundry, cooked lunch and blimey I even chucked the chicken carcass into a pan with some veg and water and made stock for tomorrow nights mushroom soup. Now that is organised.....for me anyway....lol!!!
After seeing hubby and DD off to work I got an hour or so upstairs and finished off the card up yonder which I started yesterday.
Papers are by Kelly Panacci from Sandylion. Star is cut with Nestabilities and the letters are a Sizzix Sizzlet alphabet called Roundabout. Greeting is done on the computer onto one of the papers from the collection. Buttons are from my humungous stash.
I've just had a lovely bath and am now sitting here in dried on the line jammies which smell divine and I aim to sit here for an hour having a browse before bedtime.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-
I cannot believe that it is nearly a week since I posted. Where has the time gone?
Anyway here I am.......and with a card too.......at last.
The spotty background is a large Kars stamp and is stamped onto kraft card using Warm Red Colorbox Chalk ink and edged with Vintage Photo.
The shaped edge is a Tim Holtz On The Edge die. This has been distressed with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo.
The flower image by Elusive Images has been stamped in Versafine and coloured using pencils with low odour thinners before being layered onto circles cut with various Sizzix and Quickutz dies.
Isn't the rain lovely? I can almost hear my garden gulping it down and everything is looking much healthier than it was a couple of day ago. We have heavy clay soil here and the lack of rain has caused huge cracks to appear all around the edges of the lawn. I do water with the hose but you can't beat a good downpour.
There has been some crafty activity upstairs today. I've not managed to get all day up there as there was shopping to be done (and a sneaky trip to the craft shop for some essentials) along with cooking and other domestic chores but I have made a good start on another pile of Father's Day cards and made a right old mess in the process. I do wish I was a tidy crafter but I'm not.
Next week Miss Doodle is here for three days and then Friday come hell or high water I am doing the last few bits of paper on the stairs and then starting the painting. I can't stand looking at it unfinished any longer..........and then Mr Manic will have to watch out as I will be after a new stair carpet as I hate the one we have with a passion. It was here when we moved in and its a horrible blue and grey sort of tiny check that shows every mark and dog hair. I desperately want something in red.
Tomorrow will be another domestic day as I have to bake and cook the lunch. I bought net of lemons today so I think a Drizzle cake will be the order of the day and maybe some scones.
Rightio.......I am off for a read with a nice cuppa.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-
........no not me.........the card.......there's planks on the card......lol!!!
I started off by scoring the planks on my ScorPal and then dragged a Memories Colonial Blue ink pad over the card. Once dry I dragged again with a ColorBox Alabaster chalk ink pad to give it a washed out, faded look. For the nail holes I just pressed with an embossing tool and then dotted with a pencil.
Stamped image is Rubbadubbadoo. Stamped in the Memories ink and then gently swirled with Distress Ink in Stormy Sky before being spritzed with a pearly Smooch spray.
Just a simple reef knot embellishment tied using parcel string.
I've been a right busy old Manic today. Started off upstairs tidying up then came down to cook something ready for Mr Manic's tea and decided to bake as well. I went for a blast from the past and made a Caraway Seed Cake which I have never had since I left home thirty six years ago. It turned out lovely and Mr Manic was impressed. Didn't know if DD would like it so I also knocked up a lemon sponge.
There is all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff in my new spice rack so I shall be looking up recipes on tinterweb to try out as some of it I've never used before.
DD went out for lunch yesterday with a friend and came back with a plant for the garden to replace one that Mr Manic mowed down three or four years ago. It was a Mrs Bradshaw Geum which I love and now I have one again......yay. I don't know what I did to deserve my angel.
There's a rotten draught in here again tonight and the house is cold as we didn't light the fire so I think once again that a warm bath is in order and then a snuggle under a blanket to read for a while.
No Ruby until Wednesday so I am off out to do the weekly shop tomorrow and then back home for more playing upstairs.
Night night....and thanks for your visit.
Sheila-x-
I've not done any of these folded shirt cards for a couple of years and they were a good seller down at the shop so I thought I'd give them another go this year. That's twelve Father's Day cards done.
Checked paper is HOTP and black paper is K & Co.
It's been a peaceful though somewhat windy day here at Manic Towers. Hubby kindly cooked the lunch and we had it early today for a change as there was just us two. Normally it's two or three 'o' clock before we get it depending on shifts and visitors so it was lovely to have a nice long afternoon.
DDIL and Ruby dropped by for a cuppa on their way home from delivering her sister to catch the coach back down south after her week's visit and they caught me without cake in the cake tin. I should have been baking but Mr Manic said not to bother today. I do hate being caught on the hop like that.
Sitting here with the wind whistling through the keyhole has made me right chilly so I think before I do anything else I shall have a soak in a nice hot bath and get me jammies on. Might watch a film with DD later as there is nothing on telly.
Thanks for your visit.
Sheila-x-
