Loo Rolls and Light Bulbs - oh my!

I guess you really don't want or need to see more photos of packing cases, but that is really all I have to share with you - unless you would like to see this photo of a perfectly bare and clean crafty cupboard, as never seen before

Yes, that's it, every last craft item has been packed, who knows when I will see it all again, and when I do, I will probably be pulling stuff out and saying 'why on earth did I pack this, I've never used it, and probably never will' - I can sense a bit of craft supply selling coming in the near future. I did unearth a few treasures that I thought were lost forever - stamps that had got stuck to the undersides of drawers or fallen into cracks in the floor!

So we wait................and wait............and wait...........while the solicitors barrage each other with a flurry of last minute questions, some of which sound quite ridiculous to us, but I suppose they are doing their job, you would think we were buying and selling ancient mansions instead of perfectly ordinary houses. In the meantime, three light bulbs failed last night, and I have packed all the new bulbs, so I was wandering around in a murky dusk, tripping over boxes as I tried to get to the loo. All the loo rolls have been packed as well, that could be awkward.....but there is a bright side, the oven is gleaming, and I have no intention of cooking anything and risking a spill, so I am having a break from the kitchen. Thank heavens for Marks and Spencer

The name that popped out of the hat for the surplus cardstock is:

Anne Jaques

Email me with your address Anne, and I will get your parcel in the mail

Freebies!

Who doesn't like free stuff! On one of my many recent visits to B & Q (DIY store for those of you who don't live in the UK) I found these sample sheets of woodgrain card in the laminate flooring aisle ......cut into strips, they made a realistic little fence on my card....

and to pretty it up a little, I punched flowers from some paint chips....

layered them up a bit, and cut a few petals from the green punched flowers to look like leaves...

Ta Da! one almost free card....

Max and Milo came up with a couple of corkers yesterday. Milo (6) had to be picked up from school yesterday morning because, as he announced to his mum, he had 'vominated'
Then Max (8) was anxious to explain to his mum on the way home from school how important 'profiterole vision' was when you play basketball....

Priceless!

See you tomorrow x 

Need Card?

I've been a very bad blogger just lately - I seem to have so much on my plate at the moment........

The trip to Ikea went well, Mike managed to stick around  for an hour, but got restless when I looked at the Expidit units for the twentieth time - incidentally Ikea have inexplicably changed the name of these iconic units, beloved of crafters all over the world,  to Kallax or some other hard to spell word, but I think they will be playing a big part in my life very soon...I really fancy having everything tucked away pretty much out of sight.  Packing up has made me realise just how much stuff I have, and also how long it is since I even looked at most of it, but I can't just dump it, I may need it someday.....

I also liked the look of this chair, and it's really comfy as well, I just love the colour...

So as it was just an exploratory visit, I didn't actually buy anything, but now I know exactly what I want when the time comes, my first priority will be to get my craft room sorted, needs must, it's my job!

In my sorting out I came across this great pile of 3 x 12" and 2 x 12" strips of cardstock in every colour under the sun - I cut them off 12 x 12 sheets ages ago so that the cardstock would fit into a cabinet I use for cardstock. When Jo-Ann's and Michaels had their cardstock on sale when I was in America, I used to dash there and buy cartloads of the stuff - well, at 5 sheets for a $ it would have been rude not to!  They are strips of Bazzil, Core-Dinations and DCWV

So does anyone want them? They would be perfect for punching borders and flowers, die-cutting or matting smaller images. Free to a good home, UK and Ireland only because of the cost of postage I'm afraid, they weigh a lot. Just leave a comment if you could use them. If more than one person would like them, I will draw a random name on Sunday.

I even managed to find the brown paper to wrap them in - look, the parcel is already to go.....

 See you tomorrow x

Getting a bit ahead of myself......

So my packing frenzy uncovered this blank blackboard, then the white vinyl showed up...................well, I had to do this didn't I? A quick fifteen minutes with my Cricut, and here's what I came up with.......nothing fancy, but as you know, I don't really do fancy.....

So now I have a sign for the shed that I don't actually own yet, with non existent furniture to work on, so today will see me dragging Mike along the dreaded Ikea outing, just to see what storage solutions I can find to tempt me. I have no intention of going down the route of hauling huge boxes into the car as I have found out that you can now get stuff delivered. So tomorrow is all about spotting what I think will fit the bill at the lowest possible price, then I will shop from the comfort of an armchair. Mike's attention span on such outings is limited to about ten minutes, so I will have to be pretty speedy following those yellow footprints you are forced to follow.......

I'll tell you how it went tomorrow, see you then x

Oh Dear, Oh Dear - and a winner.......

Sorting out stuff that hasn't seen the light of day for years does make you wonder exactly why you need it. I know with certainty that if I throw out some obscure paint/bottle of unidentified pink stuff/spray bottle containing something that looks like the contents of a newborn baby's nappy, that the minute that stuff reaches the black sack, all of a sudden someone will discover some clever new technique that sweeps through the craft world like a virus. All of a sudden, everyone is searching everywhere for bottles of pink stuff. You can't find it for love nor money, it fetches huge sums on Ebay.................yes, that's the stuff I just threw in the garbage. Happens to me all the time

I was obviously in some sort of craft buying frenzy at the NEC craft show when I bought these letters which were going to be beautifully and artistically altered, then displayed on the bedroom wall (except that I forgot I bought them - until now.......)

LONE? I thought in my feverish craft crazed brain when I battled the crowds at the MDF man's booth at the show that I was buying the letters to spell out LOVE! But no, LONE is not a sentiment many people would want on their bedroom wall I suppose. All is not lost,  I could do EN for my shed ! Or NOEL for Christmas.....or there again, they could just be put into a cupboard again for another few years

And I don't care if I'm boring you - I want you to feel my pain

On to the winner of the FlexMarkers. The name that came up on random.org
was:

Jane

who said:

 Thank you for the chance Enfys (I love your name by the way) have a great weekend too. Hope to craft a bit but jobs around the house need to be done, sad face! Love Jane x

Congrats Jane, email me with your address and they will be on their way - be quick before I pack them!

I hope all my friends from the USA had a great 4th July xx

Painting - and packing

Some boxes have arrived - the removal men are packing up the house for us, but I asked for a few boxes so that I can pack up my craft stuff - they bought two dozen large boxes. Surely I won't need all those.............or will I?

Then, as if I haven't got enough to do, I clambered up into the attic again and found this old chair that we have had for years. I know just the spot for it in the new house, so down it came, and the first coat of grey chalk paint is done, just a second coat then a wax and it will be ready to be used again after years of neglect

The problem is, that at an age when some of our friends are downsizing, we are upsizing a bit, the number of times over the past few days that I have thought 'why on earth did we get rid of that'............the truth is of course that this house has been perfect while we needed to lock-up-and-go during our years of owning a second home, but now that we are here in the UK full time it seems a bit cramped  - and I love moving! I love the planning, seeing rooms coming together, hunting down the perfect paint/blinds/accessories

See you tomorrow x

Ombre Butterflies...

Those of you who follow the Fiskarettes page on FB will have seen this, but I'm sharing it again for those of you who haven't seen it

First I took some paint chips, and a butterfly punch.....

I stamped some of the butterflies with background stamps to add interest....

Then just added a flight of ombre butterflies to a white background and framed in a simple frame

The house move is back on track, but the legal guys are taking their time, so instead of this Friday, we don't have a definite date yet, maybe two weeks? Maybe three? Who knows.....

But in the meantime, I have lists of lists - enough scraps of paper to wallpaper a room, and I am knee deep in paint colour charts and samples of curtain fabric. So in the near future, I reckon this blog will morph into a home decorating frenzy - there isn't going to be a whole lot of time for cardmaking that's for sure!

I will have a dedicated craft space though - in the new house there is a shed in the garden, one of those pretty sheds painted a pretty duck egg blue and with window boxes. It has light. It has lots of plugs (outlets), It is insulated. It measures 10' x 16' - it is perfect......I think I will make a sign for the door. Any ideas? I am thinking 
En's Den...............but one of you will have the perfect sign I'm sure

Ikea, here I come......

See you tomorrow x