What have I been doing?....

....not a lot. It's only the last couple of days that I've managed to get out of bed before lunch time. The problem was caused by the doctor's surgery messing up my prescriptions....yet again!! I put in a request for 4 items but it was only when I'd had the prescription filled and arrived home that I realised that there was an item missing. The missing item was the one I needed most...painkillers. I take 2 types of painkillers but the secondary ones are only a top-up so to speak....I had run out of my main ones. I phoned the surgery but was told that nothing could be done at the time.....it was almost closing time. The result was 4 days without them!!! I phoned again Monday morning to be told that I would have to put in a new request for them, and as normal would have to wait 48 hours. Sleep does not come easy to me (extremely common as any M.E. sufferer will tell you) and being in pain for most of the day and night makes any sleep almost impossible. Anyway..I'm sorted now and another complaint has been sent to the practise manager.

I've not been totally idle craft wise though. I had a play with my new toy (as you do) and rummaged through my scrap bits..(got a lot of those)...and came up with these 4, very minimalistic, cards and another gift bag. I apologise about the quality of the pics..the light was terrible.

Stencils that were free run through the die cutter and embossed, then matted on to gold mirri card and then mounted onto white card with foam tape. The sentiment stamped with clear ink pad and gold embossed onto white card, gold ink pad run round the edge and then mounted with foam tape.

Another gift bag made the same way as the first one with a poinsettia..from Fred..mounted on to gold then red card cut out with my nestabilities. The paper used is a hand made one from my stash.

Word verification.

Unfortunately I have had to turn word verification on...hopefully for a short while. I don't like having to do it but I'm getting so much spam. I do have comment approval, and I can delete the spam comments, but I'm so fed up of them in my email box at the moment.

Will blogger let me...

..post the cards I've done?...YES!!! First up is the card I made for Anne..a new home card, but not a traditional one. The papers...Laura Ashley....were free from a magazine. The image is decoupaged and a little glitter glue added. The sentiment, again, free with a magazine, is mounted on a scalloped circle done with my new die-cutting machine and (one and only set) nestabilities. The edge of the card is punched with a friskars leaf border punch.

The following 2 cards I've used some more stamps, again, free with a magazine..and the little bear is called Bentley..isn't he cute! Coloured with watercolour pencils and an aqua brush (Think my colouring is getting better) and some stickles....used my nesties here again to matt and layer. The gorgeous papers are a free download from Martine.

This card I have cut out a circle aperture and attached a double sided hanging image

This shows the other side of the image circle.
Last ..a gift bag. I based this on a blog candy I won last year. I've added a charm (Free from a magazine...can you see a theme here....lol) with a blue gem in the middle of the charm and the stamped snowflake. I've matted and layered Bentley with a plain red card and a Christmas sentiment punchem from Ffunky Fairy's. I didn't know if this would work as I had trouble finding white gusseted bags. What I have used though is the bags that my prescriptions come in and just cut them down length wise. I've got a lot of these bags and I am loathe to throw anything away until I'm sure that I cant find a use for them. Might make few more of these...handy for those small gifts.

So there you are .....2 Christmas cards made. Better get a move on now and get some more made.

3 blog candies..

Debbie has some fantastic candy on offer...ends Monday 16th November.

Claire also has some gorgeous candy......ends Friday 20th November

Rach has fabulous candy ......ends Sunday 22nd November.

I've actually made a couple....

...of Christmas cards!! Only small ones but it's a start. Unfortunately I can't post them at the moment..... Google wont let me.
My week has been very tiring. Tuesday I went to town to meet my friend Anne. We didn't have a long as we usually do but i was shattered when I got home. Wednesday had to do the big shop as the buses were supposed to be on strike on the Thursday (usual day for shopping)..but the strike was called off Thursday lunch time...typical! Thursday I should have been able to have a bit of a lie in and recover.....but no. I had to pick up my prescription from the doctor's, and it was half day closing. Friday I got my lie in...didn't do me much good though..felt just as bad. Forced myself to get up this morning before lunchtime though...I need to get out of that particular rut I seem to be in at the moment. It doesn't help when the weather is cold and miserable..I just want to stay in bed where it's warm and dry!

Can you help....

...... Jak raise money for a very worthy cause? Please click HERE to go to Jak's blog and the relevant post.

I'm absolutely sick of those ....

...d***m firworks! Why do they have to be sooo loud, and at all times of the day and night?!! I remember as a girl that we used to "ooo" and "aahh" to a small ground based rainbow fountain. I shudder to think what the local wildlife is going through. As I live just across the road from a wood, I can only imagine what is happening to our local foxes, hedgehogs and squirrels and birds. Don't people think or care about the wildlife that we so selfishly share this planet with!!?? Ggrrrr!!

On a to a calmer note now that I've had my rant. I've still not got to actually making any Christmas cards yet. I will get there though. Got some images ready, and sorted out my card stock ready to cut to size etc. I've got a couple of orders to do and I don't want to leave them to the last minute and then panicking. I have got one Christmas card done though.....my entry for the Imag-e-nation forum challenge. The challenge could have been any sort of card as long as the focus was a tree.....so here's mine..pink and bling. Again the standard was very high and the voting was very close. Needless to say mine wasn't one of them. The image I used is from Craftsuprint.

I've been busy..and spending....

....got myself a set of nesties. I was going to buy a couple of big punches, but the nesties work out cheaper in the long run. I've been playing with them for the last couple of days. Last year I purchased some round birthday sentiment digi images...(I know I could have done them myself on the computer but it was easier this way!)...and I've got myself some Christmas ones as well now (Funky Fairy's). They look a lot neater being cut with the nesties than by hand...and great for a quick card, don't have to find the right stamp then the right ink.....etc. etc. Even managed to get a couple of cards done over the weekend as well. One for the Imag-e-nation challenge and one for my friend Anne...she's moved house today....at least I hope she has and there hasn't been any hitches. Started..only started mind...making some Christmas cards. Not got very far.....just stamped some images ready for colouring. I think I'll spend tomorrow afternoon doing that. Think I've got everything I need now to make them. Card stock...check. Images....check. Backing papers..check. Embellies (charms, gems, beads, flowers)..check. Glitter (got to have glitter at Christmas!)....check. Colouring mediums...check. Ribbon....err..need some more.....oh and some envelopes!
I must update my blog list some time this week....I've found a few more that I like and there are a couple that have moved...(Toni's being one of them).