A Card....Now There's A Novelty!!!

After spending several days trying to avoid the pain of this flaming infection which is hanging about a bit I just had to do something so I went off upstairs and made some really simple Baptism cards.
Flourish stamp is from a Prima set.
Diecut cross is an old Ellison die.
Cross charm from The Works.
Sentiment ticket was made on the computer.

The wedding order is just about finished and once it's collected next week I can get back to making more cards........hurray. I couldn't make wedding stuff regularly. It drives me mad to make a half dozen of cards all the same let alone a hundred.

Miss Doodle has cheered this old mamma up no end today. She is such a little chatterbox and is asking questions all day long and amuses herself for quite long periods now with her little games.
Her favourite toy for Christmas was the cleaning trolley we got for her with it's mop and bucket and sweeping brushes etc. I hasten to add that she is not daft enough to offer her services as a Mrs Mop as mamma still has to clean up after she has gone home. She uses the trolley to push her two dolls around on or she will set out her teaset on it and give us all tea and pretend cake. She is such a joy.

Still waiting for the builder to come and start the bathroom and I am getting a bit annoyed now. I want to get it done and out of the way as I have several other large jobs that I would like to get done but daren't start as I don't want to spend the money earmarked for the bathroom. Soooo frustrating. I'm going to ring him again tomorrow I think and ask for a start date.

Just off to finish the tidying up and then I have some food I need to prepare for tomorrow night's meal. So no crafting for me tonight then.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Bleurgh!!!

What I thought was a cold turned into some sort of infection in my sinuses. Gawd I have never felt so ill in my life. I have managed to soldier through looking after Doodle and all the household stuff but my spare time has been spent huddled on the sofa feeling very sorry for myself indeed.
Seem to be on the road to recovery now. I can smell and taste a little and I have managed a bit of time upstairs this morning finishing off the Valentine cards which should have gone down to the shop last week. Never mind they are in now and I have started on Christening cards. It's one card that always gets forgotten and the only time I make them is to order........not no more...... I have loads part done which will get finished after I have fed the troops.

Miss Doodle will be turning two next month and I should think we will be having a party as we did last year. She loves parties so I expect it will be great fun and after the success of the 'mummy' cake I am thinking I will make a big cake this year instead of cupcakes.........if I am asked of course.

Right best go and check on dinner.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Oh My Word!!!

Well.....I am absolutely blown away by all the emails and messages asking me not to stop blogging. I would never have thought that people were interested much in my daily life. It was just something I was blogging for my own pleasure.
So I will leave the blog up and post as and when I can but it will probably become more of a life blog with crafty posts now and again. I will also try and keep my camera to hand more to take pics of things to make posts a bit more interesting for you.

I have had a couple of questions about potted cheese.
At family gatherings I like to have a good cheeseboard with a wide variety of different cheeses for people to try. This year I had some beautiful cheeses from Tesco including rum and raisin fudge, orange and biscotti, apricot, mango etc along with the usual cheddar, stilton, brie and camembert. The only bad choice I made was an ale and mustard cheese which was disgusting and got thrown out.
As always though there were leftovers which probably would have stayed in the fridge until they got binned so I decided to do something with them.
My potted cheese can be made with just about any combination of cheeses. Here's what I used-:

A chunk of cheddar
A chunk of Cotswold with chives and onions
A smaller chunk of stilton
1 small onion
Some double cream
Butter
Chop the cheese into small pieces and place in a food processor with the onion. Blitz until the cheese is broken down and the onion finely chopped.
Add cream a little at a time, blitzing after each addition, until you have a soft paste with no lumps of cheese visible.
Spoon into a container but don't fill right to the top.
Melt the butter and spoon over the top of the cheese to seal it.
Serve with crackers or french bread.......it's yummy.
I also made some with the sweet cheeses but added chopped dates instead of onion........it was gorgeous.

We are a bit of a sickly household here at the moment. DD has had a cough and a cold since last September and it just won't shift, Miss Doodle has something called Slapped Cheek Syndrome....who makes these names up......doesn't that sound awful. She looks very red and blotchy but she is not really poorly thank goodness. And me......just when I could do without it I have been side swiped by a rotten cold which is not surprising with all the germs relishing the mild weather we have been having.
I was quite pleased to wake up to a heavy frost this morning and stood outside breathing in the sharp, cold air.....bliss!!!
Anyway I am off to rustle up a tuna and pasta salad for DD to take to work tonight and then I am off upstairs to carry on with the prep of some wedding invites I am in the middle of making.
See you all soon.
Love
Sheila-x-

Sadly!!!

I have decided to stop blogging for a while and will be removing the blog from public view in a week.
Being called Manicstamper people expect to see stamping and I'm afraid at the moment I am not getting much time to do stamping as I used to do it and I think that readers are getting a poor deal visiting here to find a post telling that yesterday I did painting and potato printing with Ruby and made potted cheese and other such domestic stuff.
I am hoping that there will come a time when I can get back to doing what I love and start up the blog again but for now I'll just say goodbye and thanks so much to everyone who has visited regularly.
Love
Sheila-x-

Valentine!!!

 

Just a quick and easy Valentine card using embossing folders and a Martha Stewart punch.

From my heart stamp is Hero Arts I think but not sure who's the Valentine stamp is.

Thanks for dropping by.

Sheila-x- 

Ooooh Me Aching.......!!!

......everything. Arms, legs, back......you name it and it aches. It's my own fault because I had an attack of the domestics yesterday and did a thorough clean up job on the kitchen. Everything out, cupboards scrubbed.....yes even the tops of them. A shufty round and hey presto, a nice tidy kitchen and one completely crackered Manic. Ah well it won't need doing to quite that degree for a while now.
I did get a little time in the evening to make a few cards and I am hoping that Mr Manic is cooking today so that I can get a bit more time up there but it will only be until tea time as I am having an overnight guest tonight in the shape of a Miss Doodle. She has just gone into a big girl bed and her mummy and daddy are not getting much sleep so I am giving them a break.
Should be back later with some pics.......if things go to plan.
Thanks for your visit.
Sheila-x-

32?!!!

I am soooo dead in the morning when DD opens this card for her birthday......lol!!!
Can't quite get my head round the fact that she is 32.....how did that happen?
She has the lovely surprise of a Kindle for her pressie...not really my cup of tea. I prefer the real thing but it's what she had mentioned that she would like and these days it's getting harder to buy for her as she pretty much buys what she wants as she goes along.
There will also be a cake....which I should have been making tonight but me poor old limbs are aching after a busy day rushing around so it will get done first thing in the morning.
I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a messy play day as Doodle had lots of crafty things for Christmas so there could be glueing, painting and all sorts going on.
Well these achey old bones are headed for bed now. I've had so many late nights over the last week and now I have to get back into my routine of going a bit earlier to be able to get up for Doodle Bird. Can't wait to see her as I haven't seen her since last Sunday with DDIL's family being up visiting. I like to leave them to spend some time together seeing as I see her pretty much most days.

Products used for the card are-:
Dinosaur Safari download by Misty Cato from Sweet Shoppe Designs.
Flowers-Prima.
Numbers-Basic Grey. Colored with a permanent marker.
Buttons, brads and thread from stash.

Bye for now and thanks for visiting.
Sheila-x-

One Down!!!

Hi there........and a Happy New Year to you all.
I've spent today putting the finishing touches to the table plan I was supposed to finish on Boxing Day but didn't quite get finished. Too much distraction by domestic things.
It is actually quite huge. Those snowflakes are eight inches across and are cut and glittered by hand. I now have a blister the size of Staffordshire on my cutting finger.
I'm pretty chuffed with it and I hope the bride is too.
Just one more wedding to do now.

Oooh hey up......Mr Manic is calling me to go and watch a film with him and I had better obey as he has been good enough to cook and wash up today while I got on upstairs.

Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-