Inspiration strikes!

I haven't done much crafting through the week - weekends are my usual crafting times because of work and family commitments - but hey that's life and I wouldn't change it for anything.

I have been getting on really well with all the January cards done early and sent out and the February cards are almost finished.  Just as well since it seems that every man and his dog has a birthday in March including me!

For the February birthdays first is my great nephew Ethan's birthday.



Then it's his mum Nicole's birthday, she is 21 this year.

And finally my best buddy Mandy's birthday - I decided not to put her age on it since in a few weeks I will catch up to her and she will delight in mocking me.  I did use her favourite character so I hope she likes it.





I haven't done the Valentine card yet but I will get that done this week as my lovely hubby will be out working two evenings this week and I do like to craft when it's quite.

I really do miss my lovely Slice machine and would have used it for the numbers on the cards I made today instead of nearly breaking my wrist using my very old Sizzix -  but I had interesting news about a new Slice  Elite so I am hoping to follow that up this week and with any luck I will have a new one by next weekend.  A guy on Ebay said to make an offer that we had discussed by phone and so all I am waiting for now is for him to accept it on the site - he has excellent feedback so I am looking forward to doing business with him.  I also have my eyes on some other items he has on his shop page..... this could get expensive lol.

Yesterday I went along to Hillmount Nursery as there was a craft demonstration on.  I already have the goody bag and the Docrafts magazine for this month since I decided to subscribe to it, so I was just looking for a few more ideas.  I don't normally stay for the demonstrations because I usually can't sit still for that long.  I didn't stay for hours because hubby was off at football (as a referee) just a few minutes away from the Nursery so I thought it was a good opportunity to have a nosey and maybe treat myself to some gems I was looking for then I could go back and collect him.

So when I got there the lady demonstrating was at lunch and myself and another lady I met there were looking at the lovely cards and talking between ourselves about card making.  We found two seats together and sat down to watch.  I have to say Cliona was very interesting and she had some beautiful cards on display which have given me some good ideas.  I thought it was great that she uses a couple of little things I do to make crafting easier like only take a bit of the backing off the double sided tape until you get it positioned where you want it then pull it off fully and how she stores her stamps - although I aren't brave enough to take the rubber off my mounted stamps and I have 3 drawers full of them!  I also like the fact that I am not the only crafter who puts something down then can't find it again!  I am so pleased I am a normal crafter and crafting in chaos is perfectly fine .... I do tidy up now and again!

I did buy more than one item at Hillmount but they were giving 20% off so it would have been rude not to!  I got the Black and Gold gems which I used today and the Xcut flowers, which I actually didn't use today I used a punch and peel offs which I then cut out - oh boy I do love my dies for crafting - if only I was rich I would have more......

I started card making because I thought it would be cheaper and more fun than going into the shops to buy cards - I know that's how I felt 8 years ago in the beginning when hubby persuaded me to buy a card making kit in The Paper Mill Shop - now I know that truth that is can be very expensive and it is truly addictive!  I will stand up proudly and be counted as a card making addict - shame the shops closed down - their website is okay it's the delivery that kills ya!!  Thank goodness my addiction made sure I have tons of white and cream quality card that I can use for the foreseeable future!

Well I better sign off for tonight as I promised my dear son that I would hem his trousers for Air Cadets - he tried his uniform on today and looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself - although I can't figure out why I had to learn how to do a Windsor knot for him to do his own tie .......

I will leave you with this thought .....................

Opps I did it again!

So yet again I blogged with good intentions in 2011 and it fell by the wayside when life caught up with me.

So what's happened since last time....... in a nutshell - in May I broke my wrist so for 9 weeks I couldn't do anything (although I did still go to work and found a 1 handed secretary can do quite a bit!), I had an interview - which needed a typing test just 2 days after getting the splint off my wrist - I passed - then the interview for the job I have been doing for the last 2 years.  Luckily I managed to pass the interview even though I thought I was a gibbering wreck and was told a few days later that the job was mine - woo hoo!!! Just a few days later we jetted off (I say jetted but the plane had propellers!) to Glasgow so we could fly out to sunnier skies in Orlando.  Probably our last holiday as a family since my dear son is almost 16 and doesn't really want to go off on holiday with us.  While I was on holiday the building I had worked in for the last 8 years was closed down and we (they) moved into another office just around the corner.... such a shame I wasn't there to help with the packing.

Not my wrist in the picture - I managed to break my right scaphoid bone!

When we got home from our fantastic holiday in Orlando we (I) had to quickly decorate the bedroom as the new fitted bedroom furniture was ready to be installed.  It was whilst getting the bedroom prepared that I broke my wrist!  Then it was work, work, work.  A quick trip to England for a week so we could go to a family Christening, home, start preparing for the dreaded Christmas which means making lots of cards.  Another very quick trip home to England to support my best friend and go to her mum's funeral - a lovely lady who was a very talented card maker and someone I will sadly miss.

Christmas flew by with another injury to my weakened wrist so 2 weeks strapped up and not allowed to do housework or much of anything..... oh dear!  I really enjoyed the 2 weeks off work resting - maybe if I did that the first time my wrist wouldn't have been injured again - or maybe if I hadn't lifted the heavy box of card..... oops............

So now we are in January, my wrist is doing great and I am busy doing what I love best - making cards!

I got the January cards done quite quickly and was happy to get an order for a New Baby card - I went to use my favourite bit of card making equipment only to find that it had died - I was totally gutted.  I am in mourning for my lovely Making Memories Slice machine.  I searched the web for information and found that it seems to be a fault on the early machines.  I decided that since it was broken doing a post mortem couldn't do any more harm so I took it apart hoping for a miracle but sadly any attempt at resurrection failed and my Slice is now in Making Memories Heaven - RIP (Rest in Pieces) my beloved machine.  Thank goodness I have a birthday in around 7 weeks - not that I want to be a year older but my lovely family give me cash so I will be buying the new Slice Elite, better, stronger and faster.

I have now started on the February cards which I had planned to make with the aid of my Slice but had to do the cutting out by hand..... I know you can imagine the wobbly cutting out BUT I used my trusty pc to print the number the size I wanted it then cut it out in the silver card then I drew around that and hand enlarged it in pencil so I had a template for the backing then cut it out again AND it has turned out very well, thank you very much.  I didn't realise I was that good ;-)

So the January cards are here:

You will have to come back for the next thrilling installment to see if I managed not to cut myself with a scalpel whilst trying to cut out shapes without my lovely Slice machine and to see that I didn't actually do too bad with the start of the February cards.

Cya next time