Me and my Bright Ideas ..........

Happy Wednesday,

Hi, my name's Linda and I'm a Craftaholic!  It's official ........ I have too much stash!!!!

What's brought all this on ....... me deciding to clear out and tidy the old craft room, that's what!  If you ever have the urge  DON'T DO IT!!!!!  Just keep putting stuff in there, it'll be fine.
'It won't take long' I said on Sunday afternoon - yeah right!   I'm STILL at it!!!!  And I still can't see my desk.

It all started with Hubby giving me a set of small drawers from his office.  I already had two sets, but he wasn't using the one in his office so I begged it off him.  I decided to sort out the ones I already had, get rid of anything I hadn't used in the last 6 months and fill the new ones.

Not bad eh ...... looks tidy, everything is labelled and to hand when I need it .........

Why oh why couldn't I leave it there ....... I had to go and start on the rest of the room didn't I.  Since then, I've gone through cardstock, cardblanks and envelopes, punches, ribbons, ink pads, the Christmas box.........you name it.  I've even started on the stamps (gulp!)
The positive side to all this is that my craft room is getting a good old, much needed, sort through and I've even managed to find new homes for a lot of the stuff I don't use.  Thanks to all the lovely ladies who have taken my 'haven't used in ages/forgotten I had' craft stash, I'm sure it will all be put to good use.

As you can imagine there hasn't been much 'crafting' going on over the weekend.  I did manage to make a card for today's IndigoBlu Blog post though - eventually!
Here's a little sneak peek for you.........

Pop over to the IndigoBlu DT Blog to see it in full.

Well, I suppose I'd better get back in there.  I've started, so I'll have to finish the job.  I need to find my desk again,  I've got cards to make ....... wish me luck!

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

What a Week it's been ........

Happy Friday folks,

Sorry I've been missing again for a few days, you know what it's like. 
I thought August was going to be a reasonably quiet month .......... chance would be a fine thing!!!  At least we have no trips planned (yet!) this month.  We do have visitors coming to us though - Lauren and my little bundle of grandson gorgeousness Alex will be here on the 15th, so I need to get the planner out, make a list of everything that needs doing this month, and get as much done as I can before they get here.  Well, it  sounds like a plan, let's see if it works shall we.

What have I been up to since we last spoke ........ let me see.  Wednesday got off to an early start, which wasn't good considering we were out the night before.  A bit too much wine and the bubbly stuff I think ..... but you don't have a Silver Wedding everyday do you.  We went to The Regency, a rather nice hotel down on the prom in Douglas.  Stephen had heard that the restaurant was very nice so we thought we'd give it a go.  We had a fabulous meal, and the Maitre D was lovely.  We'll definitely be going back there.

Stephen's been in Dublin since Wednesday, so it's been a bit quiet around here.  I've got loads done though which is good, and I've had 2 new little friends to keep me company ....... meet Stephen (I had to have this one didn't I), and Sprout ...... my new Charlie Bears

No guessing which one's which ........ Stephen's the big guy at the back.  Sprout was a little anniversary gift to myself, I couldn't resist him, he's sooo cute.

I also had a beautiful bouquet delivered .....

No, they're not from Stephen,  they're from my big brother and his family.

Our painting that we bought last weekend turned up .......

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.  I just have to decide where to hang it now.
And on top of all that my lovely Postie brought me some new craft goodies this morning too ....

Look at that little lot ....... another small treat to myself.  Well, I haven't had new stamps in such a lonnnng time  (yeah right!!)  I just need some time now to have a play.  That's not going to happen any time soon I don't think, my list of stuff to do in August is already mahoosive!!
I have finished one big project today though.  I can't say too much, hopefully all will be revealed in Simply Cards & Papercraft in the next couple of months (fingers crossed) - ooops did I just say that?!
Don't tell anyone, but here's a sneaky peek  ........

I'd better shut up now before I really get into trouble.

So, that's another week over.  Hubby is back on the island and in the office so he'll be home as usual tonight.  I hope he's not expecting anything fancy for tea, I've had no time to cook.  I think fish and chips is about as good as it gets tonight - homemade of course!

Have a lovely weekend whatever you're up to.  Let's hope the sun keeps shining, at least for a few more weeks.
I've just heard that the football season starts this weekend too - the lower leagues anyway.  The Premiership is not for another couple of weeks yet.  I'm looking forward to that - Jose Mourinho is back!!! (swoon)  Can he work his magic with my boys in blue again ........ we shall see.

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

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

25 years ...... and still going strong!

Morning everyone,

It's a bit of a landmark day today - I've done my Tim Tag with over 2 days to spare!!! ....... No,  that's not the reason ......... it's actually our Silver Wedding Anniversary.  I can't believe it's 25 years since we said 'I Do' 
After seeing each other for only 10 days, Stephen whisked me away to Scotland for the weekend and proposed.  I said Yes, (obviously) and the rest is history.

July 30th 1988 (he looks so young!)

It's been a fabulous 25 years of fun and laughter, always an adventure, there's been a few tears along the way too.  But, I wouldn't change a thing.  He's my best friend, he can always make me smile (well, nearly always), and I love him to bits!
We're certainly eeking out the celebrations - the holiday in Italy, weekend away in the Cotswolds, we're off out for a meal tonight (just the two of us) and we were going to spend the night in a hotel but, unfortunately Stephen is off on a business trip early tomorrow so we thought we'd save that for another time.

I must confess, I haven't made him an anniversary card - how bad am I?!  I am going to dedicate my July Tim Tag to the best husband ever though .........
Here's Tim's inspiration for this month

and this is my take on it ....... specially for hubby.

All the details on the techniques and products used can be found over on the Tim Holtz blog.  As usual, not all mine are the same. 
I kept to the colours (more or less), and did Tim's brayering technique to colour the tag.  Then I used stamps from Urban Chic (CMS086) and Shabby French (CMS087) to create the background.  I also added a few words from a sheet of the 'Words'  Remnant Rubs.

I went for the Heart Wings alterations die to create the focal point, cut from Grunge Board.  I think it's time I had a new pot of the Rock Candy Crackle paint though - mine was very thick when I applied it, you can see all the brush strokes.  I quite like the effect it's made though, it's still crackled ok and I love how it takes the colour  from the stains ......

I used Festive Berries Distress Stain on the heart, and Brushed Pewter on the wings.

The 25 was cut using the Wordplay die then coloured with Distress Paint

The words are from Tim's 'Simple Sayings' stamp set .......

and I finished it all off with some seam binding, coloured to match, and some metal embellies

There's even a tiny heart on there, encased in Glossy Accents, along with a lock and key.  Well hubby does have the key to my heart - aawwwww!

Thanks for popping by today.  Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday. 

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

Me and my big mouth .........!!!!

Hi everyone,

I'm home!!  It's nice to be back.  Suitcase is unpacked (again), washing is all done (again) and the craft room door is open - yeah!!

We've had a lovely weekend in the Cotswolds ....... what a beautiful part of the UK it is.  We're definitely going to be going back there, there's so much to see.  We crammed as much as we could into the 3 days we were there, but only skimmed the surface.

I had to go and say it, didn't I - that it was looking like we would have a good flight over to the UK.  Me and my BIG! mouth.  We had a delay of over 4 and a half hours ........ just after I'd blogged on Thursday, the blue skies and the sun disappeared and a thick mist came in over the island.  It sat there all flippin' afternoon, and we sat at the airport!! 
When the weather's like that, flights can't land on the island, our plane was actually circling overhead when we arrived at the airport at 4pm, but eventually it turned around and went back to Liverpool.  We finally got away at 9.40 in the evening.   After a long journey on the motorway, what with queues and then it was closed for two junctions so we had to take a detour, we finally arrived at our hotel about 2am.

We stayed in Cheltenham, at a lovely little hotel called The Wyastone.  Lydia was lovely and told us the best places to go and see.  One of her suggestions was that we took the Romantic Road - two specially researched car routes - A Road for Today and A Road for Tomorrow (aawww).  We took her advice and off we went. 
The routes take you through the most beautiful parts of the area, lots of little villages, full of beautiful honey-coloured stone cottages, very picturesque.    My favourite parts were Broadway, Stow on the Wold (great little Tea Rooms - Huffkins, they do fabulous cream teas!) Bourton on the Water (the Venice of the Cotswolds - cute little town, nice pubs along the water) and the Lavender Fields in Snowshill - simply beautiful! The tea rooms are very nice here too ....... we had some yummy lavender shortbread .......

And a rare picture indeed - I'm usually the other side of the camera ........

All in all we had a lovely relaxing weekend, stunning scenery, nice food and wine, and we even managed a spot of shopping.  No craft shops though, although we did buy a painting, I'm just waiting for it to be shipped.  It was hung in the hotel, done by a local artist, Katharine Dove, and it really caught my eye.  Luckily Stephen liked it too, an early anniversary pressie. 

Oh well, I'd better get on.  There's a chicken roasting in the oven, and the veg is cooking nicely, dinner won't be long. 
Thanks for popping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with some crafty stuff - my Tim Tag is finally done!!!

Have a lovely evening, it's beautiful here on the island (for now!)
Cheerio and I'll see you again tomorrow.

Linda

xx

Just before I go .......

Hellooo,

I've just got time for a quick blog post before I go and pack my suitcase (I'm getting quite good at it now, all the practice I've had recently!).
The sun's just come out, the clouds are clearing and there's blue skies out there.  Should have a good flight this afternoon. 

Before I dash off on my latest trip I need to get my entry in for this weeks Less is More Challenge.  Yes, I'm on a roll, two weeks on the trot - whoo hoo!!! Go Me! 
I couldn't not enter this week, could I, after being ShowCASed last week.  It is my favourite Blog Challenge, (it was the first one I ever entered) and to be chosen for the ShowCASe is always a thrill, there's so many fabulous entries every week.
  
I must say, I haven't got much else done this week though - too much TV watching.  Thank goodness it didn't take too long to name the royal baby.  Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge - has a nice ring to it I think.

Hopefull next week I can make a big dent in the To Do list.   My Timmie Tag's still outstanding.  Ah well, there's time when I get back, along with all the other stuff I need to do (gulp!)

This week over at LIM it's a Theme week ........ and the theme is ......

Hand Made Flowers

We can use any medium we like, card, fabric, embossing powder, you name it.

I've gone for coloured cardstock and one of my favourite flower dies ....... the delicate Prim Poppy from Memory Box (I love it!!)

This little die is sooo pretty, and looks fab whatever colour you use.  I've stuck with the traditional red poppies.  I've cut the die twice, one red, one green.  Cut the flower heads from the red one and attached them over the top of the green - simple.

I've stamped the lovely sentiment from the JOFY 14 set of rubber stamps, onto a piece of white card, added my poppies and mat onto a layer of the same red cardstock. The whole thing was then attached to a 7x5 cardblank (I love this size of card)  I think this qualifies as Hand Made Flowers don't you - hope so anyway.

Oh well, I suppose I'd better get a move on.  There's still a few jobs to do around the house before I jet off.  I've already conquered the mountain of ironing this morning, and every room has had a quick tidy.  Just the dishwasher and the bins to do -  I get all the good jobs around the house ....... in fact, I get ALL the jobs around the house come to think of it.  I deserve a break!!

Thanks for popping by.  Enjoy the weekend, I'm going to. And I'll see you again soon.

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx