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Tuesday 28 June 2011

Small And Sweet Christmas!!!

Teeny tiny cards made using printed images from Pink Petticoat. They have been coloured with ProMarkers.......I think I need to get some of the new fine nibs as these are so tiny that I kept going over the edges.
Images have been embellished with Viva Pearl Pen and Viva Gloss Gel Pen.........my new favourite must have crafting things. They are fabulous with a capital fuh and if I ever run out I will cry. The red gloss pen makes the most fabulous berries and tree lights and the pearl pen made beautiful mistletoe berries. I never ever got on with Liquid Pearls but the slightly looser consistency of the Viva pearls gives lovely neat little mounds that dry smoothly.
The paper is Basic Grey.

Miss Doodle has been in fine form today. She has had me dancing around the kitchen floor with us both in fits of giggles. We've read all of her books......again and I am a tad fed up of Little Kitten and the bl**dy noisy nose. It's her favourite and we read it over and over and over again. Still we've had a smashing day and I can't wait to see her tomorrow.

Not had much time up in my room tonight. By the time Ruby went home and I had fed and watered Mr Manic and DD all there was time for was to take my new card stash up and sort it and cut a few more blanks.

The stamps from the giveaway will be posted tomorrow. I'm sorry for the delay but I've not had anyone available to take me up to the post office. The one day I did........I forgot to give them the parcels....numpty!!!

Right......I'm going for a bit of a browse with a nice mug of coffee and then I had best get to bed and get some sleep.......I may have to dance again tomorrow.....lol!!!

Thanks for your visit.
Sheila-x-

Monday 27 June 2011

Quick, Quick!!!

 You know.......we say quick and easy cards and they are.....if you've spent several hours doing all the diecuts beforehand....lol!!!
A simple Good Luck card using up more of the bright spotty paper and a free stamp from Craft Stamper.
Embellishments are a flower gem and some Magenta corner peeloffs.
I had a bagful of these Prima flowers so I had a good sort out and used up what I could. The rest went in the bin as they were either a bit chewed up or they were strange colours that didn't colour very well with Promarkers.
The circles took me hours.........the card......five minutes.

Well I've been that flippin' hot today I think me mojo was in a puddle on the floor so I have spent pretty much all day sorting out card blanks and envelopes ready for my mega delivery of card from The Paper Mill tomorrow. One big box of cream, one big box of white, a box of A3 creams and whites, a box of black and a box of cream felt mark. Gawd only knows where it will go but I am so short of of everything that it had to be ordered.
Took a break for an hour to look after Princess Doodle while her daddy went for a check up at the docs. I think we looked at every book in her collection and she must have about fifty here. My nice tidy living room looked like a bomb had hit it when she went home.

Mr Manic is back from work and has been fed and watered and DD has gone off to work so I think I'll go back to my card sorting for an hour or so. After that it will be a cool bath and a session on the sofa watching some more Bones.........I am so hooked.

Tara for now and thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Sunday 26 June 2011

Cupcake!!!

A Sizzix cupcake using My Minds Eye glittered papers on a background of K & Co spotty paper.
The scalloped border is one I cut from a 12 x 12 sheet of scalloped card by DCWV.
Sentiment is Hero Arts.
I've made twelve of these for the shop box so it's filling up nicely now.

Just waiting for the builder to arrive and then I am off upstairs to craft with the fan on full blast. Dinner can wait until later today.....it's just too hot to have the oven on so we'll have as tea so it's fresh when Mr Manic gets home from work.

Enjoy the sunshine.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Saturday 25 June 2011

Bright!!!

Back to the everyday cards today.
I wanted to use up a small stash of this very bright spotty Doodlebug paper so I made several of this simple card for the shop box.
The foliage stamp is Hero Arts and I used an Anna Griffin punch for the small flower and an unknown punch for the larger one. Brads for the centres and then I embellished with a punched butterfly (Martha Stewart).
The sentiment is from a Papermania set.

No heatwave here today. It's been grey and drizzly all day. The builder was rained off so he's hoping for a better day tomorrow.
I've just spent the day upstairs sorting and condensing and now I am just waiting for the potatoes to cook for the Cheese and Potato pie I am making for tea...yum yum.
Had a quick visit from Miss Doodle when she and her mummy came to pick up DD to go shopping. She was thrilled with a present I gave her........a pair of rubber gloves. I had to buy her some of her own as she loves mine but keeps biting holes in them....lol!!!

Right well I shall go and poke the spuds and see if they are cooked.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Friday 24 June 2011

Ding Dong Merrily On High!!!

.......and so it begins. Flamin' June.....yeah right and here we are back at the Christmas cards. I started off very gently by using some of the diecuts I did the other day and I have to say I love this card. It is just the sort I would buy myself. Good job I do like it as I have made twelve. Six in white with gingham ribbon and six in cream with tartan ribbon.
The foliage used to make the wreath is a from the Tim Holtz Alterations die that's got the shield thingy and banner on it. The bird is from the Caged Bird die.....with his legs chopped off.

Today I have managed to make another twelve everyday cards. All the same design but in different colourways. I'm cooking on gas me you know. I've even put all the inserts in and bagged up all of the cards I have made over the last few days. It has helped that Mr Manic has been at home and helped out with the cooking and stuff. He is an angel.

Went and babysat Miss Doodle last night. She was a bit crotchety but only to be expected as she has had a little accident. She loves playing chase but when she was playing the other day she fell and skidded along the carpet on her nose. She now has a lovely carpet burn from the tip of her nose to her forehead. I could cry when I look at her....it breaks my heart.
Talking of hearts.....mine nearly gave out last night while we were at the cottage. Sitting reading my book and minding my own business I saw something shoot across the carpet out of the corner of my eye. It was a mouse. Oh my gawd I nearly died. I'm not over fond of mices...have you seen how quick they move? I couldn't wait for DS and DDIL to get back so I could get home. Then to cap it all I had forgotten that DD had parked the car by a tree and I walked into a branch that was hanging down. Pity there was nobody about looking for people to scream in horror films.....I'd have got the job....lol!!! Oh the joys of living in the country.

Well I think I deserve a bit of snuggle time with DD now. We're watching a series on DVD called Bones and it's rather good.

Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Wednesday 22 June 2011

......And She Has Finally Flipped!!!

OK.....so yesterday I cleaned the cooker. Now normally a one big job like that is enough for me in a week but there must be something in the water round here as today I have only gone and finished.....yes I say finished......papering the stairs. All that remains to be done now is the painting and for the first time in.....ooooh years.....I shan't be ashamed to open the front door to anyone. How fab!!! This weekend the builder is coming to repair the rendering and sort out the ridge tiles. We booked the job ages ago but another huge job came along for him which he couldn't turn down. Anyway he is also bringing us the bathroom brochures to look at and once we have sorted out what we want I am hoping he will be able to get that done. Gawd we shan't know ourselves soon....lol!!! Mr Manic says I can have it gutted and whatever I want done so the word is going to be streamlined. It's a very small bathroom and difficult to clean so I want a tiled floor and walls, I want pipes hidden and a sink without a pedestal. Oooooh I am so excited.

After finishing the papering this morning I decided that I deserved a treat so DD took me up to the garden centre where they had had a new delivery of Viva stamps. Well three sets of Christmas ones sort of attached themselves to me plus a set of Go Kreate dies and two reels of some rather nice grey striped ribbon. That little lot filled up my loyalty card so I got another set of dies for free.
This afternoon I have sat doing some diecutting ready for Christmas cards and reduced my bags of red card offcuts from two to about three quarters of a bag so that's a job well done.

A message for Sue C........I love your pirate card and did try to leave a comment but for some reason I can't....sorry. Google won't let me sign in even though I can sign in to my own blog.

I'll get the draw stamps packed and posted in the next couple of days to the ladies who have let me have their details.

Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Mad Morning!!!

This morning in a mad burst of late onset spring cleaning I decided to tackle the cleaning of the cooker before it choked us all to death.
It was disgusting and I was totally ashamed but two hours and much aching of arms and shoulders later the job is done and I feel extremely virtuous.
My reward was a lovely couple of hours or so up in the workroom where I made six cards to fill up the box for the shop. Things then went a bit downhill with the start of a migraine. I went and had a lie down and it seems to be on it's way out now. I just feel like my head is falling off when I look down. Another dose of painkillers should sort that out and then I'm back off to do some more crafting.
As you may be able to tell.....Ruby isn't here this week. Her daddy has booked the week off as it's his birthday on Thursday. They did pop in for a cuppa yesterday after a morning at the park and I am babysitting on Thursday night while DS and DDIL go out for a meal so at least there have been some and more to come cuddles from my little angel.

Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Sunday 19 June 2011

Stamp Giveaway!!!

As there were only seven entries for the stamp draw I am going to send something to all seven ladies who entered.
So could you all e mail me your addresses.....including Lisa who left her comment on the wrong post.
Thanks
Sheila-x-

Saturday 18 June 2011

Long Day!!!

For some unknown reason I was up at the crack of a sparrows doo dah yesterday and despite having time to do some crafting all I managed was four measley cards.........and all the same at that.
Did however manage to reduce a huge box of cream and white offcuts into usable pieces by diecutting and paper trimming plus I sorted out a bag of Prima flowers and finally chucked out all the manky ones.
Just need to do something with the box of coloured card offcuts and the humungous box of paper offcuts now and then I shall feel all tidy and virtuous......lol!!!

I think Mr Manic could do with a bit of sorting out. He came home yesterday with another two oil lamps that don't work to add to his collection. I wouldn't mind if they at least looked nice but they are the tattiest old things you ever did see.........and he won't let me paint them.....mean old thing. I can just see them painted, one in a lovely dark red and one in dark green to have on the mantle piece at Christmas. Oh well at least he did get me to go online and track down a mantle and some lamp oil to see if he can get at least one of them working.

Well I'm off to bed. It's going to be a bit busy tomorrow as we are having Father's Day a day early. Mr Manic has had his shift changed and is now doing twelve hour day shifts.....starting Sunday so we are having Sunday lunch tomorrow.......and I still have to make his card.

Bye for now and thanks for your visit.
Sheila-x-

Thursday 16 June 2011

Day Off......What Day Off?!!!

 Just look at this gorgeous poppy. No sign of it yesterday. It was peeping out of it's bud when I got up this morning and by the time I had had a cuppa this is what it looked like. Loads more buds to break open yet so it's going to look pretty awesome when they do.
Not bad for a few seeds scattered randomly at the end of last year.
Another card made with the Provo Craft chipboards plus some letter stickers.
I have had the chipboards for at least five years......maybe longer and the same with the stickers so I think it's fair to say that they have been stroked for long enough and need to get out and earn their keep.

Well today I was going to do wonders upstairs as it was my day off from having Ruby. DS called with her at 9:30 am to borrow a pack of baby wipes to take with him to playschool because he'd forgotten to pack some. Then they called again at lunchtime to borrow the pushchair as DDIL had got theirs in her car and she was at work. Then to cap it all tonight after I had seen Mr Manic and DD off to work and cleaned up DS phoned to say he was coming round with a load of washing for the tumble drier and he was here until about 9:00pm. I finally got upstairs just after ten........to sink into a nice hot bath.......bah!!!
I told Mr Manic when he phoned me tonight that if I don't get some decent crafting time in from Friday onwards that I am leaving home and going to live under a hedge on the motorway. It's got to be more peaceful than our house is at times.......lol!!!

Anyway.....thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Tuesday 14 June 2011

A Last Minute Card!!!

A card for my DDIL's stepdad which had to be made last night to post this morning. I don't know him well enough to know his hobbies or interests so I just printed the font out into two inch squares using JFR Ringmaster at size ninety. Not sure if you can tell on this picture but I filled in the letters with Powder Blue ProMarker. I grunged around the edges of the letters with a StazOn ink pad and added self adhesive nail heads to finish it off.
Have to say that in real life it was quite a striking card with it being on an 8x8 blank.

Loved being down at the cottage today although the delivery men did have some trouble finding us. We got there in the end though and the new sofa and chair are installed.
I could so live down there. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the wildlife was out in force with squirrels  playing on the lawn. It was beautiful and I feel like I have had a day's holiday.
No Ruby tomorrow so I aim to be making cards all day.

Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Monday 13 June 2011

Well Finally!!!

A card made just because I wanted to. It seems like forever since I did that.
I have used some offcuts of Graphic 45 papers. The punched side is done with a Fiskars punch.
The Eiffel Tower, lady and ooh la la are from a set of chipboards by Provo Craft but I removed the tower from it's board backing so that it would lie flat on the background.
Stamped tag is from a set by Royal and Langnickel.

Today has been a lovely day with Ruby. She is just at that really interesting stage and learning new things all the time......although I will be quite glad when she learns to eat without covering grandma. Today my jeans carried a rather fetching smear or two of hummous and she would insist on stroking my hair which ended up looking like I had never heard of shampoo......lol!!!

As I post in the future you will probably notice that the room in the background is somewhat different to what it has been. I am now in a new room. DD and I have exchanged rooms for the time being. It is way smaller than the attic and at the moment rather overcrowded until I get everything sorted properly. Poor old DD ended up doing most of the work as I had Ruby four days last week and didn't have much time to help.

Tomorrow I will be looking after Ruby down at the cottage as there is a furniture delivery expected. I am looking forward to the peace and quiet.

Don't forget to add your name to the post below if you want to be in with a chance for a free set of Paper Artsy stamps.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Sunday 12 June 2011

Sharing The Love!!!

This draw is now closed.

My good friend Meryl sent me a box of stamps that she no longer needed and amongst them were four sets that I already had so I thought I would share the love and pass them on.
If you would like to recieve one of the above sets for free please leave a comment on this post and I will do a draw next Sunday.

Bye for now
Sheila-x-

Friday 10 June 2011

Nasty Cold!!!

Hooey......well the cold didn't last too long thank goodness but boy was it nasty. My head felt about three times it's normal size and every bone in my body ached. So what with that and Miss Doodle being here for four days to say that I am knackered would be quite an understatement. She chose yesterday, when I was at my lowest, to act up for the whole day......squealing, whingy and cranky. Then half an hour before she was to be collected her mood changed to the complete opposite and she was giggly, smily and cheeky. You wouldn't have thought she was the same child.
Today I have caught up with some jobs that were desperate to be done and then I've spent the afternoon just pottering about and sorting out cards that need finishing off and cards that need packing. Fingers crossed I shall actually get some crafting time in tomorrow.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Sunday 5 June 2011

A #%$$?£ Cold!!!

Well I have managed to get some cards made but can I find the gig stick thingy to put the pictures on? No I can't. I've looked everywhere. I'll have to have another look tomorrow after Miss Doodle has gone home.
While I've been up there I have been feeling more and more grotty as the day went on and now I have a rotten cold or some kind of flu. My ribs ache like anything and my head feels like it's stuffed full of cotton wool. I thought something was on it's way when we went out last night as I had a slightly sore throat and runny nose. Anyway I am off to soak in a hot bath which always makes me feel better......topped off by a nice hot cuppa before bed.
Sheila-x-

And Relax!!!

The end of another busy few days at Manic Towers.....and none of the busyness was being crafty.
We had a fabulous meal out last night cooked by DS and DDIL at the cottage. Very, very relaxing and I have slept like a log.
Today I need to pay a quick visit to the garden centre and then Mr Manic is cooking dinner while I go upstairs and do my own thing. Can't be bad eh?
Hope to be back with pics of stuff later.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Thursday 2 June 2011

The Best Laid Plans!!!

I had my evening all planned out last night. Tidy up after Miss Doodle (you wouldn't believe how far a 100 piece kitchen play set can spread...lol!!!), tidy the kitchen and then get upstairs to start designing some Christmas cards......I have had an order enquiry already. Managed all of an hour before DS was banging on the door wanting to use the tumble drier and by the time he was done all I had time for was to go up and turn off the lights. It does put me in a grump when things don't go to plan so I ain't making any plans for tonight....we'll just see how it goes.
Looks like we might have some sunshine today so I think Doodle and I might spend some time in the garden.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-