2 blog candies...

...nearly forgot about these.

Bev... has some gorgeous pink candy..and a WOJ stamp.

Steph ..has pink candy as well!....must be something in the air.


Right..off to bed now...hope to be able to manage some swimming tomorrow...haven't been since before Christmas!

Not done any....

...blog challenges this week. I have done some cards though.....5 to be exact....4 birthday cards and a forum challenge card....so I can't show you that one yet.
The first one was for a customer who wanted a get well card for a lady who likes flowers on cards but she doesn't like fuss or frills. The image is from Pink Petticoat which I coloured with pearlescent chalks..added a narrow ribbon and 3 pearls. The sentiment is a rub-on.

The customer was pleased with it ..so she ordered another card. This time for a man who is a lifelong Sheffield United fan.....so I did it the teams colours. This card was a bit difficult to do....although I'm not a football fan...we are a Sheffield Wednesday household...sacrilege!!! She collected this yesterday and again was pleased ...(think I might have got a regular customer there). I coloured the stamped images using my ink pads with a damp brush. I'm not very good at water colouring ..but I'm quite pleased at the result.


The next card is for my middle grandson. He loves playing football and I thought this image fitted him to a T....scruffy! The image is a digi download, "Alfie" from grab-a-doodle-do. I chose to watercolour this one..but you do get a sheet of ready coloured images as well.

The last one is a card for my eldest's birthday.....which is today. It's a bit of a jokey one....he understands it. The words are the first verse of a Queen song....he's a big fan.

Hopefully I can get back to entering some challenges now...no family cards now until March.

Following on from my medication review that I had at the pharmacist, and the question of whether I should be taking calcium supplements....the surgery rang me up and said that they wanted me to book an appointment to see the GP. So it's booked for Monday at 5 pm. Will have to wait and see now what he has to say.

Bloomin' eck!!

Loads of blog candy about. Will be here all night!

Steph......4 sets of stamps....yes 4!

Mina........Loads of goodies!

Debby.... has candy coloured candy

Caryn..... has 2 lots of candy!

Paula ......from Pollycraft has some cute new not yet released stamps...9!!

Clare......is celebrating 3000 hits.

Jo...........is celebrating her blogoversary


Is that enough for you to be going on with?...

Some more...

.....blog candy. There is so much generosity out there I can hardly keep up! Here goes.


Lim ....has a Hanglar stamp, images, ribbon and flowers......Ends 24th Jan


Lorraine... has some cute JS stamps and sakura pens up for grabs. Ends 29th Jan

Jak....of La Pashe fame...and may I say, a lady who's work I very much admire... is offering some amazing "Flippin' Men" candy...get yourselves over there to be in with a chance.
Ends 30th January.

Oops!!..nearly forgot Sarah's.....she has yummy papers, buttons, ribbons...and more....was too busy drooling over her chocolate cake. Ends 8th Feb

Again.....

....1 card, 3 challenges. Hope so anyway. I know I'm in time for 2 challenges, but not sure about the first one.
ABC..Wallet card.
Dutch Dare #30...green, blue & brown.
PTWC....Shape Up!

I've used "Alfie" a digi download from Sally-Ann at grab-a-doodle-do....and coloured with water colour pencils. I know..I need more practise. The backing paper is a download from Summer Driggs. I've kept the "wallet" inside simple....boys don't like fussy things..just what's inside it!

1 card...3 challenges

Finally got a challenge card done. I made this card for a friend of son and DIL. He wanted A5, cute and romantic. This is the second one for the same person.....I did a Christmas card for him and he was pleased with it. That's OK .....but then my son said don't go overboard as he can't spend too much. I followed PTW Dawny's sketch #6.. then realized it covered Stamp Something "Birthday Something" and finally SCSC #15 which calls for hearts somewhere on the card.

Have you noticed? My counter is back!

Blog candy giveaways

Another lot of blog candy is up for grabs from the very generous crafting community that exist here in blog land.

Jackie has some gorgeous little charms up for grabs......ends 18th January(?)

Kadoodle are releasing 2 new stamps and giving someone the chance to win them.....ends 20th January

Julie has some SU goodies to be had....ends 22nd January.

Katharina has a whole set of WOJ stamps to give away........ends 25th January

Lulu is celebrating her birthday with some yummy candy......ends 28th January

Kim is celebrating lots of things with lots of paper, ribbons, buttons and more....ends 31st January.


...and my counter still isn't working....but it seems that I'm not the only one with this problem. The gremlins are having a good time.

Doh!!!!

There I was, thinking how organized I was today. Got up at a reasonable time so that I could do what needed to be done before going swimming.....then DIL phoned to say they weren't going. OK...that gives me time for a bit of crafting. Went to the surgery to pick up my prescription and called at the shops and post office on the way back. When I got home I realized that I hadn't got my prescription filled..so I had to trail back to the chemist for that. I'd managed to get my ATC's done earlier this week ready for posting....only to realize that yes..... I had remembered to post them...but I'd forgotten to take a photo of them. Didn't get any crafting done. So much for being organized.
Something good did happen today though. A cold weather payment of £25 was paid into my account by the DWP. That should help a little toward my heating bill this quarter.

It's been a funny....

...sort of week. I've lost track of time and days. I think it's because I haven't been in a routine since Christmas..but hopefully that will start to be remedied tomorrow when I hope to go swimming. I didn't go last week as I just felt too drained. I have done a bit of crafting though. 4 ATC's and a birthday card which I think fits one of this weeks crafting challenges. Today I've been to eldest son's for a play......because he's only gone and bought a Big Shot!...Yay!!! DIL hasn't had a chance to try it out..not that she seems bothered about it.....she's the same with computers...won't have anything to do with them. Son hasn't got many dies and such as yet, but I did take him my one and only cuttlebug folder....the divine swirls one... and we have been playing using up all those bits of card that you simply can't throw away, because you know that they will come in useful one day. I've come home with a bag of cut/embossed bits. Now I know what to buy him for his birthday, which is in 2 weeks...now what would I...ooops!..sorry..he like?

A week has gone.....

....by, and all I've managed to do craft wise is make my youngest grandson's birthday card and 2 ATC's. I have the mojo but I have felt so tired and drained. I have 3 birthday cards....eldest son, a friend for his girlfriend, middle grandson... and 2 ATC's to make next week. I haven't even done any of the challenges this year....perhaps if I make the supreme effort it might get me into the right gear....don't think I've got over the "fluey" bug I had a while back. Talking about health problems.....were we?...I went to have my prescription made up and the pharmacist asked if I would mind completing a questionnaire about my medication. Fire away I said...well she asked about my medication and how and when I took it etc...all fine she said....but then asked why I wasn't being prescribed calcium supplements by the doctor. I've wondered about that myself. Anyway.....she has sent a copy of this questionnaire to my GP and recommended the supplements. She did say though that sometimes if the osteoporosis is too advanced, doctors tend not to prescribe calcium because it does no good. Now that's got me worrying a bit more. On top of all this my eldest son went to the GP to ask about a bone scan. He has had a lot of breakages over the years and wondered with the family history if there was any need for him to worry...as he also has arthritic and rheumatic conditions The GP said that my son had saved him writing a letter. Apparently because of the family history the GP has already looked into it and is arranging an appointment for him anyway. It seems as though the NHS is finally getting it's finger out, and collating family medical histories where there is a need to keep a check on inherited conditions. It is comforting in a way to know that your GP is fully aware of these conditions and is actually doing something about it.



Well here is the card I mad for my youngest grandson....he will be 9....such an awkward age I think as far as boys go....well making or even buying a card for the male of the species is difficult at the best of times! The image is a free download from Pollycrafts Designs I've just discovered this online store and I love it....some lovey cute images and stamps.

Here are a couple of blog candies...

Sally has 2 humongous (sp?) lots of candy....Closes 13th January

Bev is offering some gorgeous candy.... Closes 17th January

Get yourselves over there...you won't be disappointed.

My hit counter isn't working...again! I will leave it a bit longer to see if it comes back of it's own accord ..if not I will have to get another new one....gggrrrrrr!!!

here are 4 blog candy ......

...giveaways for you.

Rach has some awesome candy to give away....ends 10th Jan

Pink Gem Designs have 2 stamps of your choice to give away to celebrate the release of new January designs....ends 11th Jan.

Michelle has 3 valentine stamps up for grabs...ends 15th Jan.

Emma has a mass of ribbons and paper to give away..ends 15th jan

It's freezing!!!.....

...and it's going to be another cold night. I've put the central heating on, even though I can't afford it....I'll worry about the bill later. It's that or risk having burst pipes, and I know which I prefer. Now I know I'm going to sound like a grumpy old scrooge here, but.....pensioners, working or not get a winter heating allowance, and my regional TV station is running a campaign to help pensioners through the cold weather. I applaud it...but what about the likes of me? I'm not a pensioner, I am semi-housebound with a medical condition, and I get less money than a pensioner. Do I get any help with my heating? No...only if the temperature stays at zero degrees or lower for 7 consecutive days. Grumpy moan over.

The Christmas tree came down at the weekend, and as I've had the house to myself today....the boys are both back at work.....I kept warm by giving the downstairs a thorough vacuum and polish...took me a long time with frequent stops. I haven't done any crafting, but I have tidied away all the Christmas stuff. The tree which is artificial will have to go in the bin I'm afraid. Theo has had a rare old time with it and has managed to damage a few of the branches....well I think it's time we had a new one.....this one I've had for 19 years. Luckily he didn't break any of the ornaments....but it wasn't through a lack of trying...but there are a couple of small wooden ones missing. They are probably lurking under the wall unit somewhere....that's for another day.