HAPPY NEW YEAR Blogfriends

With love to you all - here's to a good 2012

Happy Christmas

                                    ♥   From me and mine- to you and yours..♥

Hello Blogland

Things have been extremely manic for me over the past couple of weeks,I feel like I have been away for years!
Dad had a hospital stay in London for two weeks while they sorted him out, so we were visiting him after work in the evenings-he came out last week so I have been staying over there being nurse. There has been lots of organising to do but hopefully things are sorting out a bit now. He is feeling much better  and needs to build his strength up so am trying to tempt him with different goodies here and there. He lives in a village and the internet on my phone is very hit and miss so haven't been able to keep up with any blogs or emails.
So I'd like to say sorry to you lovely friends out there who I wanted to send a card to- I managed to stamp the Christmas trees on the cards and that's it!
They are all sitting in a bag waiting for me to finish them. I've just popped home to sort a few bits out and want to wish all of you a really Happy Christmas and hope you have a wonderful time.
Luckily himself picked the turkey up this morning so i think we will have Christmas dinner tomorrow!
Have a great time
XXXX

Waking up the neighbours

or at least that was the title of a Bryan Adams album that was released 20 years ago,and the name of his latest tour.
We went off to the O2 arena Thursday evening- and as we walked from the massive car park it was absolutely ferreeeeeeezing -and there was suddenly a festive air when we saw this and heard 'All i want for Christmas is you' being blasted out by the singers beside the Coca Cola lorry

We got there a bit earlier than normal,met up with Brother and Sister  in law and our eldest son and his friend

 

Bryan didn't disappoint as always and put on a great show -It was a lovely evening and made a really nice change.

JYC- It's beginning to look ...

a bit like Christmas around here...
I'm just documenting December/Christmas as and when I can this year as I did last year
I went straight to my Dad's after work last night - and when I got home - two people had been very busy - what a lovely surprise..It looked very festive - wanna see ?
                                                                  The tree was up

                                                       Glitzy Santa - old but we love him..

This reindeer has to come out - he was always a real favourite when the boys were little and TY toys were all the rage- remember them ?

                                                                    and mr snowman

and we always have our little blue wooden tree with the tiny ornaments - we bought this in Germany two years ago when we went to Oberammergau- every shop window was choc-a-bloc with wooden decorations.

and he is affectionately known as 'arrr missmass ' the boys' name for father christmas when they were little..

and I just had to have a try at one of those - reflective bauble photos ...

hmmmm - not bad- not brilliant either !

There is such a thing then

As a man who cooks!
What a lovely surprise to come home from a busy day visiting Dad to see number one son doing pasta for him and himself..

and for anyone who would like a smile for this evening - a pic of yours truly when I was fourteen ........ years ago!

                                                                    tee hee..

An Eclectic day

I'm sitting here snuggled up in the armchair feeling very tired now- we had such a lovely day at the Christmas crop today.
We started the day with a great class from Debbie Jewell. She had designed a fab double layout class where we have the facility to go back and add our photos at a later date. Each number on the page is accompanied by a piece of acetate to the side or above or below, where we can put our photos under.

Karen had as always made some lovely cupcakes- mince pie ones and peppermint - they were both gorgeous...

Then it was on to my class (gulp) - a Christmas Tree card stamped and inked with some jewels and stickles to glitz it up a bit .I thought it would be nice to make an envelope that was a bit special just for something different.

We used the enveloper to make the envelope  and hopefully everyone enjoyed it.

Then, Karen called Deb and me to come outside as she had a surprise for us..How lovely- there was a package from the very lovely - kind- thoughtful- Deb Turtle. She had sent a parcel over from the States for us to open together when we were at the crop. Inside were some lovely goodies for us to eat and also a little note each.THANK YOU so much DEB - what a lovely thought.

we all had a 'bring and share' lunch- lots of nibbly bits and pieces. Cakes,quiche,sausages,crackers,sandwiches,and so much more..

Then we had a great CD calendar class by Ann Freeman, It's a really clever idea, I only managed to get the front cover done, am still working on the month pages

. It was such a lovely day and spent with some awesome company.

Are you ready ?

Nope- neither am I....

I don't think I have ever been so UNready ......I've got kit. ( I can hear my friend Deb tutting - yes I really did  need it honest ! ).I really want to document December - but can't make my mind up quite how to do it.
Things really are quite different this year - life is trotting by very very quickly at the moment...

I think I will probably try and make a small- ish booky journal - I really do think it's a good thing to have the pages ready so i'm going to get cracking tonight and make a start.

I've been busying myself with preparing my class for the Eclectic Keepsakes crop this weekend - and now i'm happy with that I can think about other stuff.
I might just make an envelope album actually- hmmm.' Anybody else out there doing JYC and what are you doing this time? Honestly - there is never a dull moment in our house,after number two son moved out a month ago - and thinking the house would be empty and boring - number one son has moved back home ! Love it !

Christmas Cropping - a couple of spaces left on 3rd December

If anyone fancies a day of scrapping,some great company, festive food-and three classes - taught by  the lovely  Debbie Jewell, Ann Freeman and little old me - there are a couple of places left. It is sure to be a friendly warm and all round fun festive day.

Ripple-icious

Life has been extremely busy for me lately,my Dad has been poorly for a quite a while now and we have been backwards and forwards to hospitals for tests,so crafting of the paper variety has taken a bit of a back seat.
Mind you -all this sitting and waiting at appointments has given me the chance to work on a bit of hooky stuff. I've made a couple of  Ripple blankets in the past and when I saw Lucy over at Attic24 was embarking on a new one - decided to join in. Hers is made with really  bright vibrant colours.I've got sooooooo many balls of wool which  I've only used a bit of- when I had a look through the massive pile   the few that are left,  I've luckily been able to follow her colours(ish) without having to buy any more.( Is that a bit of a worry that I have so much left I can make another whole new blanket???) lol 

Anyway, here's the progress so far -

This is it last week... folded over on itself a couple of times

and this is how it looks tonight - and oh look at all those ends that have to be sewn in just peeking out at the right hand side....

Will  be back with a bit of scrappy stuff soon.

A Spooky Gotta Craft Layout

I started this layout a couple of weeks ago - I loved the last kit that Sandra put together and thought it would be perfect for scrapping the photo of the moon I took in the garden. It's not the sort of  photo I would think to scrap normally, but I did like it and I was dead chuffed when  Deb Turtle asked if she could use it on one of her blog posts..so here we go,one spooky moon layout..Maybe I could use the rest of the kit on an 'Alice Cooper ' layout ....?hmmmmm

Shimelle's Christmas weekend

Shimelle is hosting a Christmas weekend on her blog this weekend and she asked us to blog a favourite  festive layout or project that we had previously made- I designed this one for my very first class I taught over at Eclectic Keepsakes last year. I love it as My Mind's Eye products are a particular favourite of mine and - of course it features my three boys (men)- all in their new Christmas jumpers.

Me? Sewing?......

Today was the monthly Eclectic Keepsakes crop.To say I was out of my comfort zone for the class would be an understatement...
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't do sewing - I can sew - but I really am not comfortable hand sewing and definitely not machine sewing. The last time I used a sewing  machine was back in the '70s when I was at school.
The class today was to make a 'scrap catcher'.My friend Jane had made one for each of us last year after seeing one at a crop and I must say that I would be lost without mine- It sits nicely at the side of me and collects all my scraps and bits- and it holds a lot too!
So anyway, the time came for the class and the ladies sat down at the machines with their kits and instructions that had been prepared by Jane,who was on hand to lend a hand as and when was needed.

Then it was my turn and yessssss... with a bit of guidance from Jane I made one! I'm so happy- job done!

 The butterfly material is Laura Ashley and we could choose from Blue,Yellow or Pink gingham for the inside.They are great to take to crops so you always have somewhere to put your scraps of rubbish in. I believe there are one or two kits left. If anyone is interested in one- please email me at dlh44(at)hotmail(dot)com for details.

I managed to finish another couple of layouts from the weekend retreat as well today.
This one was Suzanne Torr's class

and this one was designed by Mel..

So - it's been quite a productive day today!

Tales of a crafty weekend

Well,that was all over far too quickly.As always Mel and Jill had arranged a wonderful weekend.
I always love the moment we arrive walking through the lovely reception with the fire burning - saying hi to everyone then finding our place in the crop room...

Then checking in and seeing the lovely view from your room overlooking the golf course......

The first class of the weekend was with the lovely Ann who had made yummy Oreo cupcakes - what a great start

I have quite a few projects to finish and Ann's class is one of them- it was a lovely calendar.
Here are a couple of the classes I did manage to finish....
This was Mel's layout using Simple Stories Generations papers. It had a couple of interactive elements - the fold out part at the front and the family flap at the top had a magnetic snap so you could open it to reveal smaller tag photos..

 

Then another class was one of Karen's - another one of her stunners - using Authentique papers. I love the colour combinatons, We made the tags and decorated them first, then they were added to the layout..

I've got loads to finish - can't wait to get stuck in - it's always a tonic to spend time doing what you love in the company of like minded people and it's great to meet new friends too.