Wednesday 28 December 2011

WOYWW - Wednesday Again Already!!!

Hello! Not a lot of crafting has been attempted over the last few days ...mainly because my craft table is in fact the dining table, so needed to be cleared for Christmas dinner!!! So here's a photo of Santa arriving at our village instead ...


  ... and here he is when we went to a special 'Breakfast with Santa' on Christmas Eve ... we all had a lovely cooked breakfast whilst Santa went from table to table and spoke to all the children. We then sang a few Christmas songs before Santa read a couple of stories ... It was a lovely morning, and my children (age 10, 9 and 7) really enjoyed it!

And finally here are the cards I made in a hurry just before we went to Santa's breakfast - they're still not quite finished at this stage ...! And these were the last things I made before today, except I've just remembered I started knitting another scarf last night and haven't taken any photos of it yet though ...

Christmas Day was absolutely wonderful, but I sort of covered that in my previous posts ... The time is going sooooo fast, and its hard to believe next Wednesday all will be back to the normal routine with Christmas just a pleasant memory ...

Now I'm off to have a nose at desks around the world ... care to join me? The best place to start is WOYWW Creator Julia's blog here ! Go on, race you there ...!

Monday 26 December 2011

All Dolled Up at the Dolly Spa

*Warning* loads of photos - you have been warned!!

Today was spent giving the Pippa dolls I recieved yesterday a bit of a spruce up. The hair was a little tangled, especially on the Princess one, and the dolls had a vague aroma of eau de loft ...


Soft toothbrushes and baby shampoo are good for gentle cleaning. The dolls are about 40 years old so are in pretty good condition for their age ..



The hair on the Princess doll is very good, just in need of a gentle wash and brush .. Many dolls had their hair chopped by children playing hairdressers ... This Princess is a Dancing Princess because when you move her left arm, her head and waist turn as if she's dancing the twist! How clever!

 Having a hair treatment ... fabric conditioner works best.

 Fruit Shoot tops are perfect for holding the hair in place whilst drying ...

The clothes the Pippas came in were lovely clothes, but not what they would have originally been sold in ... and there's no way of telling which issue the dolls were either, so I've made a guess ... From left to right we have 2nd edition Marie, 3rd edition Pippa and I believe Dancing Princess Pippa was only ever sold in the green sparkly dress ...

That's all for today ... I'll bore you with more Pippa-related stuff another time!

Sunday 25 December 2011

Merry Christmas!!!

Its here!!! Todays the day!!!!! Its Christmas!!!!!!!!!! Oh gosh I'm so excited I just HAD to share - so excuse me while I gush - some of you may not know that I collect Pippa dolls (little dolls from the 1970's) so I was totally thrilled to find these lovely ladies from Mother-In-Law under the tree this morning!! *squeal*



From left to right there's Dancing Princess Pippa, Pippa and Marie. And I'm really chuffed 'cos its so incredibly rare that I have these bought for me (actually this is the first time!) as they're getting harder to find now ... Sorry for gushing but I really am utterly totally thrilled!! Thank you MIL!!! xxx

Merry Christmas!! xx

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Update ...

I got bored so just made this cheeky little alien ...



Not brilliant but the kids like him ... now I really must make that robin ...!

WOYWW Knitting with Nancy...!

Here is this weeks humble offering for the global phenominum that is Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday where bloggers around the world unite to share - it says it all in the title really - what is on their workdesks! If you haven't stumbled across WOYWW before then please visit Julia's blog here ! Julia is the creator of WOYWW and there are literally hundreds of bloggers taking part in this weekly nose around the globe ...

This week I have been playing with yarn and fibers ...



I am a member of a yahoo spool knitters group and someone posted a link to a rather fabby mug cozy idea, so of course I had to have a go at one of those! The knitting is done on a Knitting Nancy (also known as a spool knitter, dolly bobbin or a corker). I call these little knitters 'knitting nancys', however the actual one I used is a 'Knifty Knitter Spool Knitter'. First I knitted a very long cord, then stitched it around the mug to create the cozy ... it just unbuttons for easy washing ... Please note: it is best to use a mug with a small high handle like the ones from Ikea, as it fits the button loop better than a mug with a low handle and keeps the cozy in place ... if you see what I mean. I also had a go at needle felting. This is my first attempt (its supposed to be an owl ...) Yes more practice is needed but it was fun to make ... I'd like to have a go at something Christmas related next, maybe a robin! And on that note I'd like to wish everyone who visits here a wonderful Christmas and hope to see you again in the new year ...!

Thursday 8 December 2011

Spool is Cool!

Just a quick post as I want to show you a lovely spool knitter I won made by the talented Janet Sorel - look, there it is, the purple one in the middle! (Thank you Janet!) Janet makes these and sells them in her Etsy shop here , and is featured in Vogue Knitting Holiday 2011. I think this magazine is only available across the pond, which is a shame as I wouldn't have minded having a read ...!



Wednesday 30 November 2011

WOYWW New Storage!

I know its not exactly a desk, but I had to show off my new storage! I just need some more boxes, baskets and tubs to make it all look tickety-boo ...!


And this is what I'm currently working on:


 I'm knitting a scarf on my little Knifty Knitter. I really like the way using a figure-of-eight stitch on the loom gives a nice open finish and shows of the yarn texture at its best.

And whats WOYWW? Well its What On Your Workdesk Wednesday, and to join in the fun (and have a nosey at desks around the blogosphere) please visit the wonderful Julia Dunnit's blog here !

Sunday 20 November 2011

Clickety Click

I got bored of watching tripe on the tellybox, so I knitted a hat for my lovely Takara Blythe (French Trench) instead ...



Isn't she gorgeous? The hat's not bad either ...!

Monday 7 November 2011

Looming Heck!!

Papercrafting and rubber stamping have taken a bit of a back seat lately as I've found a new 'thing' to play with ...! In my house we've been dabbling with that good old favourite timeless pastime French Knitting, on Knitting Nancys ... you know, those knitting bobbins that you use to make yards and yards or knitted cord then wonder what on earth to make with all the cord ...! Well ... we might be a bit behind the time here as we (me and the kids) have just discovered some wonderful knitting gadgets called knitting looms ... in this case Knifty Knitters!! I can knit with needles but veeery slooooooooooowly ... and this is so much more fun!



As you can see, me and the kids have been busy making hats and scarves! And my goodness its soooo easy! There is a hat in progress on the red loom, being made by one of the children.  I finished the speckled hat yesterday ... So far I have the round loom set and the flower loom, but have also ordered a long loom, the spool loom and the adult hat loom. I think what pleases me most though is the kids enjoy this activity as much as I do!

Wednesday 12 October 2011

WOYWW - well a bit of a mess actually ...

I haven't posted on my blog for a couple of weeks nowas I lent my camera to the kids (for a school project) and since they returned my camer it hasn't worked ... not like I'm saying they broke it, just it hasn't worked since they had it ...! And I don't like posting without photos ... But now I have I nice shiney brand spanking new camera!! Yippeee!!! And here's a photo to prove it ...!



Yes, that is my current crafting area ... somewhere on there you can see my lovely new cuttlebug I got for my birthday a couple of days ago, and on the blue tray is a Pippa doll head I'm rerooting for a friend. There's also a child-friendly needle-felting thingy, my Sidekick,  and my Xcut Impress (which I'm selling as I really don't need three die cutting machines ...)

Why am I showing you this? Well head on over to Julias blog here and join in the fun! Go on, race you there ...!

Wednesday 21 September 2011

WOYWW 120 Squeak Squeak!

Not a lot of work on my desk this week, mainly because I'm supposed to be having a major sort-out of all the stuff that is clogging all the cupboards, shelfs and other hidey places that are full to bursting of, well, stuff! I will however show you who shares my desk ... please meet Coco, aka Captain Kellog of the Cereal Division!



He is a Harvest mouse and is the only one left (we originally had three ...) and he loves to sit and watch as I make a mess with paper and ink ... and I love to sit and watch him as he is so so cute (no, he wasn't ever a wild mouse, he was bought from a local pet shop who got him and his brothers from a breeder!).

We also have four rabbits, two hamsters and a tortoise. I won't bore you with details of them all, however can you spot the tortoise? She's called Ruby and is a one years old Hermanns.



Please visit Julia Dunnit, creator of WOYWW and Queen of Desks blog here to have a glance at what other people have been up to ...!

p.s. an apology - when I visit a blog to view a desk I do like to leave a comment to show I've visited, but alas there are some blogs that just won't let me! Bad blogger! Hopefully I'll figure it out at some point ...  TTFN!

Friday 16 September 2011

Major wardrobe clearout!

Well, you know how it is ... or maybe you don't if you are very organised and have a tidy wardrobe! ... There I was, trying to get dressed yesterday and just couldn't find anything to wear! Tops wouldn't go with bottoms, clothes sizes were all over the place (I still keep my skinny clothes for when I lose this extra weight that has appeared ..) ... gah!! Eventually (well, a nano-second really as I have a very short attention span) I got really fed up and just emptied the entire contents of the wardrobe on the floor with a view to having a jolly good sort out! Why does sorting out take sooooo very long? So far I have hung up 29 skirts (well, 28 as I'm currently wearing one..) sorted a laundry basket full of clothes to bin, a small pile to stick on ebay, and I still have a huge mountain of clothes on the floor!! I think I shall have to be more ruthless, certainly whittle down the skirts to no more than a  dozen ...

So here it is for your amusement, the horror that is my wardrobe ...


Scary, isn't it!

Wednesday 14 September 2011

WOYWW!!!!

This is my desk today ...


As you can see there's not a lot on it, but I have had time for a little play! Somewhere, perhaps on a blog, I read about stamping with Perfect Pearls so I thought I'd give it a go ... You can't quite see in the photograph, but I don't think I did it right at all! I just ended up with sparkly blobs instead of shimmery leaves ... too much Perfect Pearl on the stamp? Ah well - better keep playing ...!

To have a lookie at other desks please visit the wonderful Julia Dunnits blog here and be amazed!

Sunday 4 September 2011

A new member of the family ...

Just a very quick and short post from me today as I've been a little bit busy with the latest member of our household ... let me introduce Ruby, our lovely Hermanns tortoise!



She is just a year old, and is teeny tiny! We collected her from the breeder this morning, and after a bit of exploring Ruby decided to spend the rest of the time sulking out of sight ... she'll soon settle!

Wednesday 31 August 2011

WOYWW ... My lovely new crafting area!

Hello! Welcome to another WOYWW!! This weekly event was created by the talented Julia Dunnit. To read her blog and join in visiting lots of busy desks (and generally have a good nosey, like me heehee!) please click here! But before you disappear off into Blogland I'd like to show you my humble offering ...

A couple of weeks ago I found a lovely little shelf/storage thing. I could show you any earlier as I left it at my parents (I was visiting them you see ...) and didn't get to bring it home until a couple of days ago ... I was originally going to use it to store and display my Stampotique stamps ... but they wouldn't all fit, so for now they're still in a plastic tub ...  Instead I decided to create a small crafting area in my kitchen! It probably sounds a bit daft, but sometimes I get bored when boiling potatoes (gas hob - I won't leave it unattended ...) so am now able to do some creating at the same time (sad or what lol!)! Anyway, here it is ...



I'm rather pleased with it! Inside are stamps, acrylic blocks, paper, etc and a small cutting mat fits neatly underneath...

Thats all from me today! Have a great WOYWW!!!


Tuesday 30 August 2011

A hidden gem ...!

Just a very quick post from me today ... I just wanted to recommend a lovely arty crafty shop in Trowbridge, Wiltshire! Here it is ... (photo nicked from Google ...)

This shop is crammed with stamps and lots of arty things and I'll certainly go again there next time I'm in the area! (I'm not connected to this shop in any way - just recommending this hidden little gem!) I just wish I'd had more time to browse ...

Sunday 28 August 2011

A rather pleasing car boot find ...

This morning I went to a car boot sale and was rather pleased to find this set of old educational wooden stamps!


The person I bought them off told me his wife was given these when their local school closed (I've forgotten the name of the school already ...), and that she remembers using them herself when she attended the school! I reckon she looked about my age (no I'm not telling haha!) so suppose this makes them somewhen around the mid 1970's, maybe very early 1980's ... back when 'G for Gun' was still allowed! There's a complete alphabet with pictures, a smaller complete alphabet of lower case letters (one's just off the bottom of the photo - sorry!), some animals and a circle - there may have been other animals and shapes at some point, I'm just pleased all the letters are there! All the stamps look very well used, and the wooden handles look a little worn, but I think these stamps are really charming and a great find! I wonder if any of you have had any great car boot/charity shop finds? Please tell, I'd love to know ...!

p.s. - I just realised the i that looks like a bottle of medicine (i for ill? iodine? iron?) is actually i for ink ... so now you know!


Wednesday 17 August 2011

WOYWW - a bit of wood ...

Yes - a piece of wood. Actually its the bit of wood that was used as packaging, supporting six lovely bottles of Cosmic Shimmer Chalk Misty stuff that came free with purchasing a years subscription to Craft Stamper magazine ... yes I finally got around to it! Anyway, I used the chalk mist on the wood and thought it turned out rather pretty, so stamped a couple of Stampotique images using Stazon, did a little bit of painting too ... Its not finished yet as I want to add text and some more texture. And I really neeeeed a harlequin stamp! How come I haven't got a harlequin stamp when I need  one ...!? Gah!! And some turquoise paint too. Actually I can probably raid the kids paint and mix some turquoise, but I still can't use it until I get the right stamp ... so I see a bit of internet browsing in my immediate future!



I had really wanted to show you a lovely little shelf/drawer unit I purchased whilst on holiday last week. Its a charity shop find and the perfect size for displaying and storing my Stampotique stamps and I can't believe how lucky I was to find it! Except I can't take a photo as I havn't got it here to take a photo of (its been left behind at my parents house) ... ah well! It'll have to be featured in a future WOYWW!

To join in and see what other people are up to on WOYWW please visit Julia Dunnit's blog by clicking here ! Go on ... race you there...!

Monday 15 August 2011

I'm back - anyone miss me?

You may have noticed its been a little bit quiet on my blog the last couple of weeks ... I have been on holiday! The first week was spent at a holiday cottage on the outskirts of Bournemouth that was ten minutes walk from the nearest beach. Bournemouth center and Boscombe were both an easy walk away, and Mother Nature was extremely kind with the weather.

The second week was spent visiting family ...

Anyway, I've been unable to access the internet for so long I was getting rather jittery!!! Does that mean I'm addicted to being online??? Eek! At least my first scheduled blog post actually worked when I was away, isn't Blogger clever!

Here is some of the stamping I was able to produce throughout the hols ...


As you can see I managed to sneak in a few of my Stampotique stamps into my 'takeaway' box! I just couldn't leave them behind ...! This is my favourite one ...


But don't look too close as Gog's hat isn't stuck down properly - I forgot to take glue!

Wednesday 3 August 2011

WOYWW - Not a very tidy desk ...

Welcome to another WOYWW! To join in the blog tour please go to Julias blog here . As you can see, my desk has been taken over by the kids and their cardmaking leftovers ... so its just a little bit more cluttered than usual! Ah well ..... 


We have a harvest mouse (bought from a pet shop, not a wild one!!) who lives in the bottom tank on the right. Captain Kellogg (aka Shreddie - the last one left out of three) has been temporarily moved into the smaller plastic tank on top so I can give the bigger tank a good clean. Also on my desk is my Sizzix Sidekick and my Xcut Impress (bought from a car boot!), and on the shelf above is all my dies and embossing folders - I don't have many and only ever use one or two ... my favourite being the Tim Holtz Mini Rosettes. And then there's my daylight lamp, which I love! The desk is away from a window and can be quite dark even on a bright day. You won't see much more of 'my' stuff on the desk as I have to keep it all tidied away ...

Happy WOYWW-ing!

Wednesday 27 July 2011

WOYWW - Thought it was about time I joined in ...!

I've been following WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday) for a little while now, so though it only polite that I share mine too ... This wonderful idea was created by the extremely talented Julia Dunnit, whose blog can be found here !

So here is is, this is what's currently on my table:


I'm trying to create a take-away box of tricks, so when I go away anywhere I can just pick up and go .. However as I am still deeply in love with wood mounted stamps this is proving rather difficult. So I'm going slightly out of my comfort zone and packing the box with things I wouldn't always reach for first! And of course I managed to sneak in a few bits and bobs I absolutely cannot do without lol! (paint dabbers, a couple of wood mounted stamps, two or three Distress Stains, Jenni Bowlin and Archival ink pads, ... etc) My main loss is Distress Inks ... but I'm sure I will manage - its not like I haven't got any other ink pads to use! At the moment the box just about closes ... hmmm!


Anyway, enjoy WOYWW!!

Sunday 24 July 2011

Goodness - a card AND a tag in one day ...!

At the beginning of last week I hooked out a blank tag and placed it on my worktop. There it stayed for the whole of last week and everytime I passed it and had a couple of minutes to spare, I splodged a bit of paint here, dolloped a bit of ink there ...  and eventually a picture of a garden fence formed:


The photo doesn't do it justice at all ... a lot of the detail and colour just don't show up in the photo ... ah well! I found it rather interesting to play and produce something more dimensional than what I usually do ... Although I did need to do a card in a hurry earlier so kept everything very simple and produced this, which took less than two minutes ...


The colours are pastels and kept very subtle. The stamp is from an older Stampin Up set that I absolutely HAD to get 'cos its soooo pretty ...! I hope the reciprient likes it!

Sunday 3 July 2011

Bird Tag

Yesterday I finally had a little time to play - hooray! I lined up a few blank tags on my desk, got out my new stamps and some old favourites, my new Stampin Up bird punch and just threw on Distress Stains, Distress Inks, paint, etc and ended up concentrating on just the one tag ... here it is ...



If I remember correctly - and I apologise if I leave anything out as I was too busy just playing to really take note of what I was using - I used: distress stains (fired brick, wild  honey), Distress inks in various colours, Claudine Helmuth Studio paint (Trad tan), paper from a Costco pack, Bird Punch from Stampin Up, text stamp (Aspects of Design), bubble wrap, Jenni Bowlin paint dabber (Brown Sugar), Stampotique stamps, (Carols Flower small, Splatter Blobs, Splatter Blobs long), Artifacts leaf stamp, Judikins Diamond Glaze, ribbon from stampin Up, and my Dymo!

I still have a couple of tags with half-done backgrounds to play with when I get time ... not today though ... DD has got her Musical Theatre exam, DS1 needs picking up from cub camp, DS2 needs to do his homework ... etc ...

Thursday 23 June 2011

Oh dear ... something else I neeeed!

I have to admit that I have totally fallen for these stamps! I didn't realise how much I liked them until I chanced across the Stampotique Designers Blog and followed a blog-hop, found here ! I am in total awe at how pretty and amazing these 'freaky' figures can look! I just HAVE to get me some of these stamps to play with and have a go! I have one - Girl with a heart purse - and have about half a dozen more on my wish-list ...  a new obsession starting?? We shall see ...

Monday 20 June 2011

Where has the time gone!?

Here we are halfway through June already and I've no idea where the time has gone since my last post! I'd been looking at hosting a Stampin Up workshop and finally took the plunge. The demonstrator was a lovely lady called Sara and her blog can be found here ! I invited some friends around and Sara demonstrated a couple of projects before letting us loose with stamps and inks to make a card. We were all levels of ability, some hadn't stamped before, some may never stamp again, but I think we all enjoyed the evening. Needless to say I ordered a few bits and pieces - I think my favourite has to be the 'Woodland Friends' stamp set as its so versatile. Then I managed to attend another SU workshop hosted by a friend and have ordered more goodies which will arrive very soon! Anyhow, I shall post photos when I've had a chance to play!

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Stamp Man Closing Down Sale ...

I suppose all good things must come to an end at some point ... I just didn't expect my favourite shop to close so soon after I first found it! At least they will still be trading online ...

Again, as soon as I entered the shop the owner was so welcoming, offering coffee and a chat. Where else could you sup coffee as you browsed! The sale room was full to bursting with stamps, paper, magazines, peel-offs, etc... where to start!? My aim was to buy a few stamps for myself, a few for my not-so-little girl, and a few for the children I mind (I won't let them use "my" stuff lol!) I succeeded on all counts and bought lots of extras too ... how did that happen!! Well, most of the stamps were only 50p or £1, chalks were reduced to £3, ink pads from 50p ... the photo shows a very small selection of the stamps purchased! Not shown are the stamps/pens/etc my daughter had, and the four childrens stamp sets (all came with stamps, ink pads, two sets came with pencils too!). I've kept three of the stamp sets to put in the present cupboard to use as gifts, and one set to use with the minded children, along with a small selection of dye inks. I find dye inks are better to use with some of the children as they dry quickly and therefore have less chance of smudging ...

Anyway, I recommend going to The Stamp Man in Skipton soon as they won't be open for long ... This was probably my last visit as its a bit of a distance .... ah well!

Sunday 22 May 2011

Bottles in production ... for those who don't know the story: Juliet took a sleeping draught in order to appear dead, Romeo thought she was really dead and killed himself, then Juliet awoke and seeing Romeo was dead then killed herself ... what a nice story! These bottles are the sleeping draught.






A closer view ...










The convention doll 2011 ... Juliet! Isn't she just gorgeous? She was created by a few very talented creative people ...












And I won 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' from the prize table. She is the convo doll from Liverpool 2008! I didn't go to this convention as it happened just before I discovered the Pippa Club, but have always thought she was a beautiful doll ... I am sooo very lucky! There is still so much to go through and photograph ... It was a wonderful day and I can't wait for the next one!!

Pippa convo 2011!

This years Pippa convention was held in Stratford-Upon-Avon which is rather famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Its a gorgeous town and I love shopping there ... ! Anyway back to Pippa lol! I travelled down to Stratford on Friday evening with a lovely Pippa friend who doesn't live too far from me! There was time for a bit of shopping first thing on Saturday (and Fat Face had a sale on heehee!) as the convo wasn't until 10:30. People came from across the world (America and Holland) to celebrate Pippa, the small plastic doll from the '70s! The theme for this years convention was 'All the World's a Stage'. As usual I forgot to take my camera so I have borrowed a couple of photos that have been publicly shared elsewhere ...

The second photo shows a little bit of the bulging prize table! My goodness!

As usual there were some beautiful prizes on offer! There were dolls that had been customised especially for the prize table, someone had donated previous convention dolls, there were outfits (both original and handmade), pippa-size accessories, storage, Dawn dolls (Pippa size doll from across the pond), other collectable dolls, loads of prizes! You can see one of the prizes I had - the plastic container with the purple lid - it was full of tiny trimmings (ribbon, bows, fabric flowers, etc) and fabric to be used to make Pippa clothes! Gorgeous!! You can also see a chair I won - its in the little red box! I also won a previous convention doll from 2008 - 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' from Liverpool! The lady who donated her was very generous and donated lots of beautiful things. I love Lucy to bits and shall take a photo later ... and one of this years convention doll! This year Pippa starred as 'Juliet' and the box was her balcony ... aahh so lovely!

Everyone who attends the convention makes or buys a gift for 33 goody boxes, so everyone comes away with a box full of goodies! Party bags for grown ups! Fab!! I shall have to go through this in detail later too, as this post is getting incredibly long!

Monday 16 May 2011

Then there were three ...

The rabbit man came  today and took away four of the baby bunnies.... we ended up keeping a lovely black and white one we have named Smudge! Here are a couple of photos ...


The top one is a rare photo of all the babies together, and the bottom photo is Smudge!

Friday 13 May 2011

Guess who's been reading this months Craft Stamper lol! I love this effect ... I might do some more ...!

Tuesday 10 May 2011

All quiet on the western front ...

I've been really busy getting goodies ready for the Pippa Convention being held in a couple of weeks! I can't post any photos until after the convo - mustn't spoilt the surprise! Unfortunately this means no updated photos of anything crafty darn it!! There is however some news regarding the second batch of baby bunnies ... the chap who adopted two of the previous batch is coming back sometime over the coming weekend to adopt a few more. He did mention three when he came last time, so he might end up adopting all of them! The kiddies really really want to keep one but I'm still unsure if any are girls. I shall have to try and find out pretty soon!

Last week I invited a few friends around for drinkies and a Stampin Up workshop/party, held by a lovely lady called Sara, who demonstrated a couple of items then let us all loose on making a card. It was only a simple card but I found it quite challanging to stay to the format - I like to just throw the ink on and see what happens! I have ordered a few items and was delighted to be given a free set of stamps on the night of the workshop as well as being able to order another set of free stamps and some products from the brochure! (More details when they arrive!) I must say the hostess package is most generous! A friend who attended the workshop has booked another workshop for in a couple of weeks and I've been invited to that too - which is great as I've already compiled a list ... ! I want some SU ink pads to play with my new SU stamps ... In the meantime lets hope my first order arrives soon as I want to get playing!

Monday 25 April 2011

Feeling rotten ...

I have been feeling thoroughly rotten for the last few days ... just a summer cold though so should be better very soon! In the meantime I finally got around to mounting my gorgeous 'Aspects of Design' stamps from The Stamp Man onto EZmount. Now I'm going to attempt a wall-hanging using one of the stamps featuring text and a bee. I still need to get a few bits (calico, beads, etc) but each bit got is a little step nearer!

Tuesday 19 April 2011

What a beautiful day!

There was great excitement as the postman sauntered up the drive today - he was carrying two parcels for me! Yay! One was my order from Artful Splodger. A beautiful Stampotique stamp. Now a lot of the Stampotique stamps don't appeal to me, but this one - girl with a heart purse - certainly did! She looks so sweet ... And I can't wait to get playing when I've got more time, hopefully tomorrow....  The second package contained some Sculpey texture plates. I have some air drying clay that's begging to be played with. Whether anything good will result I don't know, we shall have to see!

Monday 18 April 2011

Tiny bundles of fluff ...

Here is what's happening in the nest today ... this photo was taken just a few minutes ago. Sooo adorable! Its going to be really hard when this lot have to be rehomed ... I might just have to keep  one! The lot of babies are a real mixture of colours! Two black and white, a sort of grey dapple, a light brown/dark brown/white mix, and the sweetest light brown and white.   aaaaawwwwwwww!

Sunday 17 April 2011

Bye Bye Baby Bunnies ...

The two remaining big baby bunnies went off to their new home today. We're all sad they've gone but its a relief they've gone to such a good home... A local hobby breeder is restarting rabbit breeding and was very impressed by my rabbits! He has mentioned he might be back in six weeks to look at the next batch of babies, of which there's five. If he does adopt some more I'll be very happy as it was proving quite difficult to give baby rabbits away! If somethings free people always assume there's a catch ...

Poor mummy bunny is looking a bit lost without her boys. The next batch are on the verge of opening their eyes and wandering from the nest so the hutch won't seem empty for long!

Thank you for allowing me a glimpse...

Now I'm new to all this blogging malarky and have started following some really interesting blogs by hugely talented people! I hope they don't mind me following what they do, or joining in with giveaways...  its lovely to see what other people do and I'm amazed and inspired by all the wonderful creations out there in blogland!

Saturday 16 April 2011

There's a new online shop!

I've just placed my first order at a fab-looking new online shop, Artful Splodger. To have a lookie click here ! There's 10% off your first order too...  I had to be VERY restrained after all the shopping I've done this last week ... oops!

Thursday 14 April 2011

More baby rabbit news!

A lovely man came and looked at the two black baby lops and after giving them a check-over, watching them play, and seeing both mummy bunny and daddy bunny, he has decided to take both and might take some of the tiny babies too when they're ready! Phew!!! What a relief! The guy used to be a breeder and is restarting his hobby - good luck to him, though personally I've had enough of baby rabbits for a while! He's getting his rabbit accommodation ready so will return in a couple of days. Apparently the lops I've got are dwarf lops, so there, I did learn something new today! Anyhow, here's a glimpse of whats lurking in mummy bunny's second nest ....

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Wednesday ...

One of my greatest loves is collecting Pippa dolls. I currently have about 50ish dolls, so not a huge collection but I love every single one of them! Every year there is a Pippa convention where members of the Pippa club can meet and exchange items, ideas and play dolls for a day... There's always a goody bag for every single attendee, and I have been very busy making gifts for the goody bags! I really can't say any more or post a photo in case a Pippa pal stumbles across my blog between now and the convo, and I don't want to spoil the surprise! All I can say is - its a totally genius idea which hasn't (to my knowledge) been done before! The convo isn't until 21 May, so be sure to look out for some photos then... In the meantime here is a photo of some Pippas...!



Tuesday 12 April 2011

My Goodness .. a third post for today!


Okay, I did find time for a couple of quick tags ...

Second post.


Now my camera is working I thought I'd better post a photo of what I bought on Saturday when I went to The Stamp Man shop in Skipton ... mmmmm loooove those Aspects of Design stamps! I got some emblies and a Tim Holtz mask too, but I forgot to add them when I took the photo...

Tuesday and another shopping trip...


A friend of mine asked me out on a shopping trip this morning to Samual Taylors in Brighouse. What a fab shop! I've not been there before and will certainly be going back ... Here's a photo of todays haul. The scissors and the christmas stamp are for the kids - honest! I think my favourites are the viva decor botanical silhouette stamps, and the dress form stamp, and the wrought iron flourish stamp ... ahh I love all of it and shall have fun playing for a while...