Happy Mail

The start of another week - well, where did that weekend go? Mind you, when you are retired one day blends into another in a very pleasing sort of way. I had a nice bumper post on Saturday - these gorgeous new sentiment sheets and other lovely things from Craftwork Cards, and a BIG FedEx box from Heartfelt creations with some lovely products to work with for the next round of their design team selection process......

A few have you have asked to see the final project that I submitted for the design team call - I chose this one. I love the look of white ink on craft cardstock. If you haven't done so already, I would really appreciate you popping over there to vote for my blog on the Heartfelt Creations site - if you have the time and are in the mood for a bit of blog hopping, there are links to all the semi finalists blogs there.....



I spoke to Max and Milo on the phone yesterday. 'Max Rumley speaking' announced four year old Milo. 'No it's not, it's Milo!' I replied.  At the moment, he wants to be his big brother, when his new teacher did a home visit prior to him starting school, Milo said his name was Max. 'I am six' he stated. 'I don't think so' said the confused teacher 'you are four, can you point to the number that says how old you are in this book for me?' 'Yes' said the little monkey, pointing to the number six. Sigh....they are going to have their work cut out with that one......

See you tomorrow with the Metallic Marker winner x

Win a set of Metallic Markers

It's my turn to post over on the Letraset blog again today, and I have been playing with Metallic Markers - look how they cover even black cardstock with a gorgeous sheen and glimmer....

and, just in time for Christmas cards and projects, I have a set to give away to one of you. Pop over to the Letraset blog HERE leave a comment there, then come back here to leave your name. All those who have commented on both blogs will have their names thrown into the random hat, and I will pick a winner next Monday and announce it on Tuesday. Good luck



Another request for those of you who missed yesterday's post, a plea from me to you, I am applying for the Heartfelt Creations design team, and they are asking for people to vote for their favourite blogs, I would really appreciate it if you could spare a minute to go and put a check mark against my name. Those of you who read Going-Buggy via email, I am not sure if the link will work from your inbox, if it doesn't, click on the grey GOING BUGGY header at the top of your email and it will bring you right over here. You have to check five semi finalists, the only other one I know is Liz Walker, who is also on the Polkadoodles design team with me, and Lydia, both from the UK but they have a link to all the blogs HERE if you fancy a bit of blog browsing.... Everyone who does the survey will be in with a chance of winning a Heartfelt Creations gift voucher. The pink card is another one that I submitted for the design team call...

Thank you!

See you tomorrow x

Help please!

I love Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies, and when they put out a design team call, I decided to apply. Today I heard that I was a semi-finalist. See all the semi-finalists HERE They are asking folk to vote for their favourite blogs out of the semi-finalists, so I am calling on my troops, and  begging asking you to pop over and vote for me please- you have to vote for five people and you are in with a chance to win a Heartfelt Creations gift voucher 
The little box above was made with their products and was one of my design team submissions

Thank you x

Keep Calm.....

A simple little birthday card from me today, made with papers and image from the Sundae of Seasons CD from Polkadoodles - I love this paper, it looks just like a coarse linen fabric.......

There is quite a lot of machine stitching on the card, but because I chose white thread, it doesn't really show in the photo. I covered the cake stand with glossy accents to look like glass......

 I thought up this sentiment, it made me laugh, I can imagine sending this to a friend who is dreading another year on her age......

We had friends for lunch yesterday, the first time I have done any entertaining for AGES. Hard work, but the upside is that the house is now squeaky clean and shiny, a bit of a change from the inky mess of Monday, and the fridge is full of delicious leftovers.  Conversation flitted between comparing our genius grandchildren, showing photos of our genius grandchildren, musing about doctors and policemen who look about fourteen.....it was lovely, but when did we start having long lunches instead of long dinners that went on until 2 A.M? When did we get so (I'm going to whisper the next word, it can't be spoken out loud....) old? Max said to his daddy the other day 'when will Pops be one hundred Daddy?' 'A long long long time, you will be grown up and a daddy yourself by then probably......'
'Oh. I was going to make him a card'
Sigh
See you tomorrow x  

A Hot Mess......

No card from me today - I have been inundated with projects that are a work in progress. I have felt for some time that I need some 'me time', time to mess around and craft just for the joy of it, time to try all those cool techniques, time to try out that melt pot that has yet to be heated up, time to play around with different paints, and textures and colours. So, I bought a book. Now there are a lot of Art Journals around, it seems to be a new art form, but my book won't be posh enough, or clever enough to be called Art, it will be my messing around book - look, I have paint all over the cover already!

So I have decided, whenever possible, to set aside a day or afternoon a week just for my messing about book, and Sunday was my first messing about day, do you know, I really loved it. I had so much fun with acrylic paints.....

tearing up old books and using some little embellishments that I have had forever and never known what to do with....

I found that my main problem was that I just couldn't leave well alone, when something was looking good, I just had to add to it, and again, and again, so the pages ended up with about ten layers of paints as I tried to undo the damage! Will I share with you? Well yes, but not these first pages, I may have enjoyed myself, but I would lose all credibility as a serious crafter if I took photos of them. Wait for the next messing around book day - I can't wait, it was so relaxing....................

Before I started with the messing about, this was my desk after working on some projects for Letraset.  I was knee deep in markers, hardly an inch to be seen on my desk.....

and this little beauty keeps beckoning me as well, I found her in Hobbycraft the other day, I haven't quite decided what I am going to do with her yet, she may have to join me on my messing about day.......

But apart from the colouring, I have been busy, honestly. Six of these have been carefully wrapped and are on their way up to Yorkshire to the Craftwork Cards team.....

So there we are, I feel revitalized after my 'day off' and can't wait to get that hot mess book out again. let's hope that I have learnt a lesson and that 'less is best' will triumph next time.....

See you tomorrow x

A couple more blasts from the past....

I have really enjoyed looking through these long lost photo files that have resurfaced after a computer repair. It's been interesting to see how my style/techniques have evolved over the years, and also bought back happy memories... These cards may have been put on here way back in 2008/early 2009, but I wanted to share them

The first two were made with a shaped card file from the Cutting Cafe, owned by my fabulous crafty friend Regina Easter. She was the very first person to ask me to join a design team - Bitten by the Bug, all about the Cricut. I can't tell you how excited and honoured I felt to be asked. I stayed on BBTB for many years, eventually Regina left to start her Cutting Cafe venture, and I was on her start-up design team for that, leaving only when I started getting a lot of magazine commissions and something had to give - I still play Words with Friends with Regina though, and love seeing all her creations. Pop over there and bookmark her site, loads of inspiration over there.....

I used the lovebirds from Joys of the Season for the first card - back in the days when a new cartridge was such a huge event, I remember making loads of cards that were nothing to do with Christmas and posting them on the message board which whipped up a bit of a frenzy

This second one was also done with Regina's shaped template and one of her sentiment circles....I was just as much into black and white gingham ribbons then as I am now!

I'm posting this next one again because I was very proud of it, it was a truly original idea of mine, I hadn't seen it in a magazine, or on a message board, I wanted a card for my son who is in the mobile gaming industry, and up popped pacman - I have seen many variations on the theme since then, so I obviously wasn't the only person in the world to come up with a lightbulb moment, but I always FELT I was first!!! 

the inside of the card.......

This one bought back a lot of memories, it's one of the first Polkadoodles samples I made for a Create and Craft TV show - I think it may have been the first time Nikky ever appeared on Create and Craft, I remember the presenter was very amused by the little doggie hiding among the trees, and kept coming back to it. It was the All Around and Everywhere CD, (or was it Back to Nature, one of them....) I had got to know Nikky through the Cricut message board as well, and when she started designing her CD's, I was on her start-up design team, and I am still with her a few years down the line....

So I am wallowing in nostalgia here - I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!

Computer Problems.....

 Well, what a week! First of all the laptop stopped working, never mind we have the desktop. That stopped working the following day with a totally unrelated issue, what are the odds of that happening? Since I find it impossible to blog from my iPad (WHY don't apple and google like each other?) I have been very quiet this week waiting for the repairman to turn up, which he did yesterday. So now we have two working computers again...one of the upsides of all this is that I found some files with stuff I haven't shared with you.

Here is a series of double pocket cards I made for Papercraft Inspirations back in February 2009! HERE is the tutorial on how to make the card. I know I shared this first one with you back in the day, but I like it, so worth showing again.....

The idea behind this one is a little gift for a friend who sews - there is a wheel of pins tucked into a pocket, a little strip of safety pins and a pretty pair of scissors.......

This next one has a bar of chocolate and a gift card tucked into the pockets....

and this one has a sachet of face mask and a Body Shop gift card.....

It is quite funny looking back at past work - I think my colouring has improved a bit since those days, or at least I hope so

The computer guy was really nice, I was working in my crafty cupboard while he was working on the desktop, and he was very intrigued as to what I was doing. I explained. 'Do you make slippers?' he asked. Random! Well no, I work mainly with paper. He pulled out his phone and showed me photos of some cute felt slippers he wanted to get his wife for Christmas, they looked like badgers (I know, random again...), but they were £50. Maybe I should put the paper to one side and started on the felt, I think he would have bought a pair there and then if I had produced them. I was tempted to make him a paper pair while he waited for the computer to back up files.....

It's nice to be back, see you tomorrow when I may have dredged up more blasts from the past x 

More Mice - and a couple of winners

As promised, a couple more of my magazine mouse cards. I used Peachy Keen face stamps on both of these, the mice were all made with punches. I really like the punny sentiment I came up with for this first one - Merry Kissmouse

I hung the mouse on the edge of an aperture....

and hand cut the mistletoe.....

This next little mouse is peeping out at the snowmanmouse he made.....

the curtains were made from some self adhesive fabric stuff made by Papermania.....

Now for the latest winners, thanks to everyone who took part, I wish I could give a prize to everyone!

Winner of the Safmat and Limited Edition Promarkers is:

Marg (blog is craftycardsbyMarg)

and the winner of the Craftwork Cards Xmas wreath kit is:

Ang (blog is Ang'scraftycupboard)

That's me done for today - see you tomorrow x

Christmas Mice....

I don't think I shared with you the Christmas mice commission that I made for Papercraft Inspirations magazine last year, the one that caused me a lot of angst because I couldn't get my head around mice and Christmas. In the end, the cards were cute, I will share the others with you tomorrow. This is my favourite - the mice were done with punches and I messed around with their little choirboy robes and gave them a little scrap of sheet music to hold... 

Look what my very talented artist friend Anne has done for my kitchen - well, she didn't paint it for my kitchen exactly, but it sort of jumped into my car and came home with me. It hangs behind the dining table and looks perfect.  Isn't it fabulous? It's painted in ink on canvas and has the most alluring silver highlights. I so wish I could do this sort of thing, but as I can't, well it is very handy to have a very good friend who can! Thank you Anne x 

Overheard in town as I was walking along, a small child's voice piping 'please tell me we aren't going to go into that shop Mummy'. Amused, I turned around to see a worried looking little four year old - yes, it was a boy child, aversion to shopping must be in the male DNA!

See you tomorrow x 

Season of Mellow Fruitfulness and a harvest of coathangers......

Well after a very nice summer here in the UK, it suddenly changed overnight from warm sunshine to a distinct Autumn nip in the air. Definitely sweater weather......

So a chore for this weekend, has been to pack away the flip flops with a sigh and get out the winter stuff. Sigh.....

Now this is always a major undertaking. I pull stuff out with a snort of disbelief 'I can't believe I paid good money for that' or 'ooh, I remember wearing that to a party fifteen years ago'. Time for the charity sack to make an appearance. Delving into the pile of boots and winter shoes, wearing my brand new brown boots bought last week, I find the brand new brown boots that I bought in a sale at the end of the winter in March. Ooops

How can it be that all summer I have been double-hanging stuff, making tops share a hanger with a couple more tops because I just didn't have any spare hangers. So where did this lot come from then?

Could it be that they were quietly having a hanger orgy in the back of the wardrobe while I was reading a book in the sun? They must have had a good time - they have reproduced in a very prolific way....

And here is the end result. A depressing sea of grey, brown and black. Note to self: take the boots back and buy something BRIGHT. Mind you, now that I have spent a whole day doing this, we are guaranteed to have a late summer heatwave, which means I will be diving into various boxes looking for those flip flops...

and lastly, my new definition of true love is Mike going out to fill the car with petrol and coming back carrying this for me......

Back to the crafty stuff tomorrow, I just fancied a Sunday morning chat with you all....x

Christmas Post for Craftwork Cards

Here's a peek at the brand new Christmas Post collection from Craftwork Cards. It has the most yummy papers, sentiments, coordinating candy, die cut flowers, all with a vintage feel. It's my turn to post over on the Craftwork Cards blog today so hop over there to see what I have been up to...... 

If you aren't already a follower of Craftwork Cards, join up to follow, leave a little comment then come back here to leave your name. I will put the names in the hat on Tuesday, and Craftwork Cards will send the lucky winner a lovely Christmas Wreath kit - all you need to make this gorgeous Poinsettia wreath for Christmas



Have a lovely weekend. I am up to my eyes in top secret hush hush missions (I'll have a martini, shaken not stirred please....), but I will be back tomorrow as usual. See you then x

Win Safmat AND a Set of Limited Edition ProMarkers

It's my turn to post over on the Letraset blog today and it's all about using Safmat. Go HERE to see the post, leave a message there, then pop back here to leave your name and you could win a pack of Safmat AND twelve of the very latest Limited Edition Autumn/Winter ProMarkers that are only just arriving in the stores now. Please share this post on Facebook if you go there, or give a little shout on your blog (Don't worry if you don't visit FB or have a blog, you will still be in with an equal chance of winning) 

Set includes:

• Carry-case packaging
• 12 x Brand new, strictly limited ProMarker colours + 1 Blender pen
  • Winter Spruce
  • Solstice Blue
  • Fire Wood
  • Sugar Plum
  • Red Sweater
  • Frosted Jade
  • Pressed Leaf
  • Hearth-stone
  • Trick or Treat
  • Sleigh Bell
  • Frozen Lake
  • Iced Pearl
  • Blender Pen

A great prize for one of you. I will draw a winner from all the comments under this post on Sunday and announce the winner next Monday. Good luck

Halloween Magazine Cards....

I'm pretty sure I haven't shared all these Halloween cards with you - they were made for Papercraft Magazine last year, and by the time I could share them with you, Halloween had been and gone......

This first one was made using the Cricut, the letters were cut with Plantin Schoolbook, and the ghosts are from Paper Dolls....

This next one has a memory box bare tree, the bats were cut with the Cricut but I don't remember the cartridge...

For this next one, I used a large button as the body of the spider, and hand cut the legs. I also doodled the spider web, and the little spiders on the bottom. I thought the rather flirtatious googly eyes were a fun touch.....

This next one was made using Polkadoodles Halloween downloads

The cards were in the 'quick cards' section of the magazine, which means the readers must be able to reproduce them in about thirty minutes - always a challenge to come up with stuff for that section

I don't think my kids ever dressed up for Halloween, it just wasn't heard of in the UK back then. I did decide to have a Halloween party one year and spent the afternoon making a ghost (balloon under a sheet) that I hung in a corner of the kitchen, and scattered some black plastic spiders about. My then 5 year old daughter burst into tears, refused any tea, and blames me to this day for her arachnophobia! The party was one of my rare Martha Stewart-ideal-mum type moments, others being a couple of quite hideous home baked birthday cakes and an innovative party game when one of the children attending fell over and ended up in the emergency room. After that, I found a woman who made cakes that looked like castles or forts, and kept the games to 'pass the parcel'....My kids have grown into nice, normal, responsible people, so as far as I know, they don't have a great sense of having missed out on the Martha Stewart-ideal-mum. Who knows, I bet if they ever had therapy it would all surface.....(I hate the internet fashion for inserting LOL to show that you are amused, but I must admit to a little LOLLING as I write this...) 

See you tomorrow....

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Yes, it's that time of year again, when I will be turning my thoughts to jingle bells and holly, time to get started on the Christmas card list. For today's card, I used a memory box snowflake background stamp, stamped in white stazon, the bare tree, and the deer trio and star......The card base is 5 x 5

I added sparkle to the snow, and hand cut the snow banks at the bottom, they had a sprinkle of glitter as well.....

I do love making Christmas cards, but as I don't generally make Halloween cards unless it's for a magazine or design team, and of course we don't have Thanksgiving here, you may get a bit sick of looking at Santa by December. Thinking about it, I could make some Thanksgiving cards for some of my American friends, I do love those Autumn russets and golds, and it would make a change from ho ho ho in October!

By the way, the sentiment on today's card wasn't stamped, or typed onto the card via the computer. I used Safmat. Wait until Thursday and my Letraset post to hear a lot more about this fantastic product.....

See you tomorrow x

Special Delivery

I have been seeing these little caterpillars on Pinterest in the past few weeks, and thought it was such a cute idea, I adapted it a bit....

and made this card. I will send it to one of the children when they are being particularly sweet....

and the same design came in very useful when a new baby boy came into the world last week. Not a typical baby card, but he has a hungry caterpillar mural on his nursery wall, and hungry caterpillar curtains, so it's perfect......

The new baby boy, called William, is the first grandson of my very good friend Anne. His arrival gave me joy on many levels - she will now be able to compete with me in the 'most boring grandma in Britain' stakes, we will be able to try and outdo each other with what our infant geniuses are doing, and of course, we can each compete in the paparazzi granny stakes, cameras always on hand. Think of the added dimension to our shopping trips - now we can add baby shops to clothes, shoes and handbags. Brilliant. Welcome to the world little William, I can't wait to meet you

The winner of the scrapbook pages is:

DIANNE BELL

Congrats Dianne, email me with your address and I will get them in the mail
Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments you made about the pages

See you tomorrow x