A quick catch up ......... (or not so quick as it turns out!)

Happy Wednesday!

What a gorgeous few days we're having here on the island ....... and the forecast is looking good towards the weekend too!

As it's such a lovely day we've decided to get out in the motorhome (again!), and make the most of the sunshine. We've been parked in a great little spot, not far from the beach, up in the north of the island in a place called Smeale.

Hubby's been working from the van (isn't the interent wonderful!), we had a nice walk along the beach after lunch, and we've decided to stay the night. 

It's so quiet and peaceful here, the locals look friendly enough ........

and apart from the odd dog walker or two, we've had the place to ourselves all day.  It's given me the perfect opportunity to catch up with you all.

It's been a while since I've posted regularly on here, and there's a few reasons for that.

1 ..... I haven't been doing much in the craft room ..... well nothing productive anyway!

2 ..... the CAS Mix Up challenge is taking a break ....... so no DT stuff to do there

3 ..... it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and the celebrations just seem to be going on and on for that!

and 4 ...... we've been off island in the motorhome.

So, as you can see it's been a little busy around here. 

My rather large birthday, that I wasn't really looking forward to if truth were known, was actually lots of fun  ........ turning 60 isn't that bad after all!

Celebrations started early with a whole day planned by Lauren.  Lunch out at the Little Fish ...... yum!

The food was amazing as always, and there were gifts and flowers waiting for me at the restaurant bless her! (Sorry forgot to take photos)

We spent the afternoon shopping in all of my favourite shops, and finished the day off at Brightlife for a massage and an evening in the Spa ........... just heaven!

Chris's partner Myra joined us up there too which was a lovely surprise  ...... and oooh! look ...... we had bubbly!

It really was a lovely day 💓

My actual birthday was just as much fun ........ family and friends round during the day (more bubbles!) a lovely meal out in the evening ....... mmmmm Lobster, my favourite!

A birthday chocolate fondant ......... I don't usually do dessert!

And ........  more bubbly from the staff at the restaurant

There was even dancing going on ........ once I got back home! 

60 ........ no problem!!

Then it was off to the UK.
We had to take the motorhome over for its service and habitation checks so we thought we might as well make a trip of it and do a bit of exploring, and try a couple of campsites.

We had a pleasant trip across on the ferry, not bumpy at all.  And after a quick overnight stop to see family and friends, our next destination was Knaresborough in North Yorkshire.

What a lovely place.  We only stayed the one night on a Caravan & Motorhome Club campsite which was lovely.  We'll definitely be going back there.  

In fact, the whole of North Yorkshire looks very inviting so we're already planning another trip there.

The campsite was just a short walk from the town and as it was such a lovely day, off we went.

We had a stroll around the town, with a cheeky coffee and cake stop off, then walked back along the river before heading back to the campsite.

It was a lovely walk but, I'll bet it's stunning along there when all the leaves are on the trees ...... we will definitley go back at some point!

The next couple of nights were spent in Nottingham at the motorhome dealers for the service ..... the night before and the night after!  Not much to report there ...... the service was fine.  Remi was all good, and they fixed all the little annoying things that had cropped up over the months. 

We did have a day out though whilst Remi was in the workshop.  We hired a car and spent the day at the Denby Pottery.  Well, we were so close it would have been rude not to go.   And who doesn't need new crockery every now and then!

Our next little stop was a place called Monach Lakeside Park in Lincolnshire ..... a certified location for the Caravan & Motorhome Club.

  

Why here? ......well, it wasn't very far from a favourite farm shop/butchers we found on one of our Norfolk trips.  Again, we were so close, we just had to visit.

We only one night spent here but, it was a great little stop over.   Very peaceful, very clean and tidy, and the facilities were brilliant.  We were the only van there so, apart from the guys fishing around the lakes, we had the place to oursleves ....... bit like today really.   It's definitely been marked as a future stopover.

From there we headed back up to Lancashire for one more night seeing family and then it was back to the Isle of Man.

Well done if you're still with me, it's been a long post.  I think I'm all caught up now though.  

I am trying to get back into the craft room, so hopefully I'll have more to share with you soon.

  

It's time for a cold beer now I think ....  Cheers!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day, and the sunshine if it's nice where you are.

Cheerio until next time ......

Spring has Sprung .........

Happy Monday!

I hope you've had a lovely weekend.  Spring is finally here - yeah!! 

And speaking of Spring, that's the theme for this month's Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook Challenge.

It's a monthly challenge, which runs on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page.  

As with all challenges there's a few rules to follow, a new theme new each month and, a monthly prize of a mahoosive £40 voucher for the Sweet Poppy website for one lucky winner. 

The challenge runs from the 1st of each month right up until the 29th, so there's plenty of time to play along.

Spring has Sprung is this month's theme so why not get those stencils out and join in the fun.

Here's a little bit of inspiration for  you .........

This pretty Magnolia stencil is one of my favourites from Sweet Poppy and is perfect for this month's challenge.

I've kept things really simple, used Distress Oxide inks through the stencil, and then added a few highlights to the petals using a while coloured pencil over the top 

A few splatters of gold ink here and there ......

And finished off with a small sentiment on the bottom

How about a cute little hare to welcome the beginning of Spring .......

Pretty Spring colours of Distress Oxide inks, to colour through this cute little Hare Circle stencil.  

I decided to take the design off the edge of my card for a slightly different look ..... 

I added a few ink splatters onto the background using watered down Distress Oxide ink, and used a Stardust sparkly gel pen to add highlights around the circle 

Finishing it all off with a simple sentiment.

So, if you fancy being in with a chance of winning that £40 voucher, then get those stencils out!

Remember to follow the challenge rules ......... there's not that many.  Use ONLY Sweet Poppy Stencils, keep your stamping to one small sentiment, and upload your creations to the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page.

Hopefully, I'll see you in the gallery!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day.

Who doesn't love a bargain ........

Happy Wednesday .......

And it's a day late but ......... welcome to March!  

I know February is a short month but really ....... is it over with already!!!?!

The first day of the month was beautiful here.  We had lovely blue skies and it really felt like Spring was on it's way.  Today however is a very different story .......  we're back to cold, wet and windy again!  

Oh well, the sun was nice while it lasted ........ I won't pack the winter woolies away just yet!

A new month means a new Star Buy for all you Sweet Poppy fans out there.  

For one week, at the start of each month, Sweet Poppy have one of their amazing stencils at a special Star Buy Price.  

This month it's the gorgeous Single Rose design

It's such a pretty stencil, and like all the Sweet Poppy designs, there's so many ways to use it.

Simply as is with your favourite inks, paints, stencil mediums, whatever takes your fancy.  

Here it is with Distress Oxide Inks ........ a sinlge red rose, sent with love

 Or why not try black ink onto Kraft card ...... I love this look

I used the stencil twice with Versafine Clair ink (Nocturne), buildoing up the depth of colour gradually, applying the ink with a sponge

A few black ink splatters and a touch of gold embossing gives a nice, classic look

Or, go the other way, and use a whole mix of colours to create a pretty all over design .......

By simply masking off the stem and the leaves, I used just the head of the rose from the stencil along with different colours of Distress Inks to cover a piece of white cardstock

I added in some leaves here and there, to fill in any gaps and a few splatters of gold ink over the top for added interest.

A simple sentiment and some gold thread add the finishing touches

I had to cut the piece of card down a little to fit on the front of my cardblank but, you know me. I don't like to waste anything so, I made a matching gift tag!

I also used the same stencil to create a frame .......

Same as before, I used just the head of the rose, and stenciled around the egde of a piece of cardstock.  Added in a few leaves here and there, and then fussy cut out the centre

I attached this over an inked background using foam pads to raise it up a little, and stamped my sentiment in the centre.  You could, if you wanted to, make this into a shaker card ..... how cool would that be!

If you would like to get your hands on this stencil for that amazing Star Buy price, you need to be quick, the offer is only available until the 8th March!  

Happy stenciling!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day.

March is going to be a busy month here I think. 

We've got our first trip of the year in the motorhome coming up next week ...... looking forward to that, although the van's not quite ready yet!  Let's hope the weather's kind to us.

We've got Mother's Day towards the end of the the month ....... the first one for Chris's partner Myra (Arthur's mum) so that should be a nice day.

And ........ it's my birthday soon! 

You may have noticed that I'm not counting down to this one ......... it's a BIG one ......... a REALLY BIG one!!!!  and I'm not ready for it!  

But, it'll be here on Saturday (the 5th) and there's nothing I can do about it!  ........ so bring it on!  

Apparently the celebrations are starting tomorrow.  Lauren has the day all planned ...... she's working on Saturday so we're starting early with a girlie day, just the two of us.  I have no idea what she has planned except that lunch is at 12.30.  Oh, and hubby needs to collect Alex from school!!  

I just hope that it's stopped raining!

Cheerio until next time ........