Flying Free

What is that well used phrase..the best laid plans..lol. Between feeling ill, bad internet connection and cats going walkabout...my plans for blogging daily went out of the window. For quite a few days I've had a horrendous pain but thankfully now it seems to be going. And I can only hope that it doesn't return. And as for the internet connection...well this last episode has been the end and I've decided to leave BT very soon. I'm thinking of trying Plusnet...yes I know that they are really BT in disguise but I've looked into it and they're a lot cheaper, have British call centres and they seem to be honest. For years BT have been telling me that I have over 8 speed. Never in my life have I ever been over 1.5 and most of the time I'm only 0.2..well plusnet admitted that at the moment I'm not going to be over 2 and mostly 1...now if they are part of BT and know this is the truth why on earth can't BT be honest.
My final moment of chaos was Gannie. He had discovered that his Mother was at the bottom of the village. I didn't mind this as he always came home but then all of a sudden he didn't and there was no word of him. Then I put the calls out around the village and kept getting messages that he had been seen but was very nervous. My friend the pa emailed her friend in the lower village and they said that he had been visiting Buster. So it was decided that I would go down on Saturday. Sparkle took me in the van and what a way to have to introduce yourself to new people...please excuse me whilst I sit on your steps and wait for my cat..lol. Busters Dad said they hadn't seen him for a couple of hours..so I decided to call him..and those that know me will accept that a voice of an angel I don't have..lol. Within a couple of seconds I said to Sparkle I think I can hear him and blow me Sparkle said here he comes. He sauntered along the road..talking as only Gannie can and promptly took himself under Sparkles van. And there he stayed...rolling and chirruping away. I had some food which I put down and there he came. I got hold of him and put him in a cat box before he had time to blink. He is now in a cat pen and is protesting most loudly. It turns out that he has been attacked which is probably why he didn't come home..I think that he had gotten himself so scared. He has had his wounds cleaned and checked over and now will have to be penned for a couple of weeks before he has to visit the vets for that most delicate of operations. I've decided that Simon will be having the same op and the same time...that way they can hate me together..lol. What I have also discovered is that Gannie had found himself a little fan club of ladies who had been feeding him..he was obviously visiting them all and getting about 8 breakfasts a day. He is complaining a little that his breakfast quantity has gone down since he came home..but he can just get on with it. At the moment he is fast asleep and quiet...thank goodness..between him and Twinkle..it's quite a noisy house..lol
The piece of work today is a canvas that I have made in the last fortnight. It features stamps from Clarity. I drew the hand shapes and then stamped them over with flower shapes and coloured them with my pencils. In the sky it has the words..flying free...which I created with peeloff waste..lots and lots of tiny flecks of gold. You should be able to see it properly if you enlarge the image. The butterflies are also from Clarity and have been decoupaged up. This entire thing was made on an A4 canvas and the background was created using both acrylic paint and H20s. As soon as it was finished it happily went to a new home. I would like to thank one of my followers who I consider to be a friend for the beautiful card that she sent to me. This lady has encouraged me so much during my blogger journey. With these terrible days of horror in our world, we all have to be strong and my blog has made me so aware that no matter what the press and others have to say..there are still wonderful people out there and I have faith that goodness will win out.
Well the coffee is calling and then I'm going to try and do some work. With the pain and the heat... I'm going to take it slowly...mind you I don't think that I've ever had any other speed..lol. So until next time..take care and happy crafting.

A mandala for summer

Today's card is one I made using  only Clarity stamps. I was feeling a bit summery and the weather made me think of the mandalas that the hippies wore in the 60's..so I went with the flow and created this card. I used an ivy stamp and a carnation stamp, stamping both a number of times and then coloured the images with my pencils. I then mounted them onto a card and created the middle. Groovy baby..lol.
As I'm sat here I'm thinking that I'm worn out...what a day and it's not over yet. It was delivery day today and I seem to have turned into a greengrocers. There is fruit coming out of my ears..hopefully it won't all ripen together..I've got peaches, apricots, nectarines and bananas. What I would like to know is what on each has happened to peaches. I can remember them as a child and they were huge and juicy and they would quickly ripen to a perfect fruit. In the last few years when I have bought peaches they have been hard bullets that don't ripen but just go bad. Now all of a sudden we have what they are calling donut or flat peaches..depending where you buy them depends what they are called. I had some a couple of weeks ago and for the first time in a decade they ripened and actually tasted wonderful..so I have just bought some more..but what has been going on and why are the consumers the last to know. 
And to add to all today..the fridge resembles a jenga game..lol. I didn't realise just how much you can balance onto a cabbage. There is officially no spare space in my fridge. The onions are just going to have to fight their own battles in the fruit basket..lol It's days like this that I wish I had an old fashioned pantry..cool and shady with plenty of space for your onions and root vegetables. In the houses I grew up in and also visited they all had pantries..some larger than my parlour today. I can remember the slate shelves and the bins for potatoes and root vegetables.There was always a bowl of eggs just waiting to be used and all the baking ingredients in their own bins.
As I'm writing this the computer keeps moving and it's Raven that is causing the problem. She has decided that she is not moving from me just in case I should decide to open the packet of crisps that are by my side. I was going to have them with my lunch but decided to have them later. Well Raven is crisp obsessed...the quickest way to get her is to shake a packet and she will come running. She is the same with wotsits..and is rather embarrassing as she can eat them quicker than a human...so goodness help anyone with a packet..lol
Well the coffee is calling and then I should do some work. I hope that the weather is being kind to you..the sun has fought it's way through and the mountains are looking at their best. So until tomorrow...take care and happy crafting.

A Snowflakes Promise....New Challenge

Today's card is a design team make for the wonderful team over at A Snowflakes Promise. My one remaining design team. I have been so lucky t work with many wonderful teams and fabulous designers. Today's card is from the wonderful artwork collection at A Day for Daisies . To me there is something so beautiful about the designs. As you all know I do have a passion for witches..as my parlour ceiling reveals...currently there are 6 flying around and 1 Irish fairy. There is another waiting to be returned..she fell down and donked a cat..Sprout thought that the sky was really falling..lol. I love it when it is windy and they really do look like they are flying in all different directions. Anyway back to today's design. She is called the Little Crow Witch. I loved the way that her little crow and her are looking at each other..are they daring each other to give this flying lark a go ? The background is made using Brushos and Pixie Powders..I love mixing the two and seeing what effects I can get. I have used my pencils to colour the witch. I'm thinking that she will be soon adorning the parlour wall.

The weather here today is trying to be fine but goodness knows how long it will last. According to what I have read the weather is supposed to be turning very hot...if that happens then the fan will be making it's appearance on my table..and that is guaranteed to drive the cats crazy..lol. If my table is clear they all think that it should be theirs..there is a certain spot that I call the ignorant spot..and if they can't get their own way over something..they sit in this certain spot so I can't see who I'm talking to. At this very moment Jeffrey is lay to my left..eyes closed and all stretched out and goodness me ..he takes up a lot of space.
I have to share with you the one thing that is slowly driving me insane..the letter o on the computer is not working properly and I have to tap it at least 3 times to get it to work. There seems to be nothing causing the problem..no cat biscuit remnants under the key..lol..it just continues to drive me mad. Sometimes I can be typing away, not really thinking about it and look back and realise that there are no os anywhere. There have been a few times when I've felt like slinging the computer out of the window..lol...mind you sometimes when I get an ignorant person talking to me through the window, I often feel like throwing something at them. There was man the other day who insisted talking to me as if I was thick..he nearly got it..but I held back..his wife nearly got it for patting me on the head when I was out in the wheelchair..so perhaps it's just something they do as a family..drive other people insane..lol
Well the coffee is calling and then I'll be doing some more painting.So if you hear about some madly coloured cats in Wales..you know they will be here. Nothing attracts them more than wet paint..lol. So until tomorrow...take care and happy crafting.

Time to return

Hello everyone..I hope that you are all well and will forgive me for going absent for such a while. Thank you all so much for all the messages, emails and notes...it has meant so much to me to realize how much you have enjoyed my blog. I felt that everything was changing..with most of my design teams closing and everything else that was going on..I just needed some time to think about what I needed and where I wanted to be. I can't say that I've managed to reach any fantastic conclusion but have realized that crafting is such a huge part of my life..I don't want to give it up and I also love to share what I do..so here I am back again on my journey...and hopefully you'll join me.
And now for my first make on my journey. The card above was one I made for a Clarity Worldwide Challenge on facebook. Even when I was supposed to be having a break..the need to craft often crept in. The challenge was in March and the theme was 'A man's world'. I began by thinking about what to do and remembered an elderly Uncle who had a thing for kipper ties. And the more I thought about it..the more I giggled and then just had to make a card that featured them..lol. I have to admit that my Uncle had some really risky ones but even I thought that they would be going a little far..even for me. So I made the ties using some of my Clarity stamps which was the rule of the challenge and I was so amazed when I won. I was so excited you would have laughed at me doing a happy chair dance..lol

I am so happy that today the sun is trying to shine here in the mountains today. We have had quite a few days of torrential rain, with the wind blowing a hooley. And I have had to live with a cottage full of sulking cats..lol. They all seem to blame me when the weather is anything but perfect. Most of them are outside today..in fact the only ones that are in are Tank and Nicademus. I have a collection of cuddly bears on the couch and Nicademus has made himself a nest among them. It can come as quite a shock to anyone sitting on the couch when he suddenly decides to move...you can't see him at first because he blends in so well.He has been the cause of quite a few exclamations..lol. Tankie is sat to my left..she has decided that it is her right to be by my side all the time. So far she has managed to get covered in coffee, glitter and acrylic paint but she doesn't seem to mind to much.
Well the coffee is calling and then I will be ding some painting...no doubt I will be sharing it in the next few weeks. Sparkle has just arrived...he must have heard the coffee alarm going off..lol. So until tomorrow...take care and happy crafting...it's lovely to be back.

The Crafting Musketeers...The Final Challenge

Here I am..the first post of 2017..and I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and thank you for all your friendship and support during the last year. Things are changing here so fast that I think it's time to bring you all up to speed. I have so enjoyed being a part of many design teams over the past few years and I am quite upset to share that a lot of them are closing down. The Gruffies and Guests closed first and in the last few weeks Left of Center has posted it's final challenge. Today is the final challenge of The Crafting Musketeers. I have so enjoyed working with all these wonderful crafters and have found them all to be a never ending source of inspiration. I can only wish them all the best for the future. So all this has left me with the big question..what am I going to do now. When I began this blog I was a total novice and the whole journey has been a steep learning curve and I have to say that I've loved every moment. With this in mind,I've decided to continue on my journey and see where it takes me..and I hope that you will continue to share this journey with me. The next couple of weeks, I intend to formulate a plan forward..so please bear with me..but the crafting happiness will continue.
So to the final challenge for The Crafting Musketeers. The theme is Party time and will run for the month of January. I chose to make a new year card. If you get the chance, please consider entering a card..the final prize is fantastic. If you are interested, pop over to the Crafting Musketeers blog and check out all the details. The prize is one that I would love..but as a design team member, we're not allowed to..lol..so I hope that one of you will enter for a chance to win.
I can't believe that in 3 days I will be taking down the decorations. I had a lovely quiet Christmas and felt that I was touched by it's magic. A time to remember the happy times and to be thankful for the years that I got to share with Henry.I am so blessed for my friends who visited and helped make the time extra special. All the cats had a fabulous time..they are definitely rounder than normal..it was amazing the amount of treats that they received. I am having to hide the Dreamies though..too many sends them all loopie..lol. I was so impressed that they didn't tackle the tree..it remains a thing of beauty..for the first year ever. I was so used to having to wire it to a wall and to lie in bed listening to the ping and smash of the baubles hitting the floor..but not this year. At the moment most of the furry beasts are outside enjoying a dry day. I feel as if I should get some paint out..just to tease them but I have some work to do.
Well the coffee is calling and then I must try and get my head together. I have had a scrapbook ordered and as of this moment..not a clue where I'm going with it..lol. A couple of days thought and planning will hopefully get me there. So until next time..take care and happy crafting