Getting busy for Christmas!

OK.
On Tuesday it's 1st December and my preparations for Christmas amount to approximately '0'.
A big fat 'Nil'.
Apart from a selection of (too few) handmade cards and a few other handmade bits, I feel particularly un-ready for the arrival of the chubby man in the red suit.
Number of presents bought = 0.
Cards written =0.
Food bought or prepared =0.
I feel an official Christmas failure. Sigh.

I've been using a variety of excuses, ranging from being busy at work, getting things ready for a craft fair, new medication that the doctor has prescribed for me for my migraines that is seriously knocking me out (a genuine whinge there!), and probably a general lethargy/weariness associated with being a female of a certain age!  But I've decided I've got to put the excuses to one side, pull my big girl pants up and get on with 'Operation Christmas'.  I need to get back to my normal control-freaky behaviour of making lists, booking shopping slots, and getting everybody organised (even though the family usually ignore me anyway...!).

So, I've had a sort of spurt of energy this weekend(!) and made another half a dozen cards. I'm trying to get a surprise crochet project finished for someone that will be a special pressie (I can't really share pics of that yet - it'll have to be a post-Christmas post if you understand me!) - and even bought some food goodies for the freezer for when we have a house full over the festive period!

One of my cards is using the gorgeous trio stamps from LOTV

The images are coloured with copics and promarkers and the backing paper is from LOTV with some ribbon from stash. The sentiment is die cut using an All Occasions die. 

And thank you for all your good wishes about the craft fair - it was on Friday evening and was very busy despite the weather! And I was quite pleased to sell a few things - and had lots of nice chats with people too! 

I'll let you know how I get on with Christmas planning - wish me luck!  I'm always convinced every one else is more organised than me! 

Back soon,

Kim x

Keeping busy.... (very busy...!)

Hello all - and apologies for a bit of an absence! I don't know where the time flies to sometimes and I must also apologise for being a bit of a rubbish blogger! I will really try to make proper time to sit and have a browse at everyone's blogs and catch up with all your crafty makes.

It seems to have been a busy time at home and work - and with crafty things too.  I'm busy preparing for a Christmas craft fair on Friday this week - so all sorts of papercrafts and crochet bits are being gathered together. I've made quite a few of the crochet mini Christmas stockings that proved pretty popular at fairs last year (and buying chocolates and goodies to put in them!)

And I've also made a few more of the crochet garlands with the cute crochet 'stars' - these are the ones from last year that sold so I'll take some pics of the new ones for this year! 

And I've also kept busy making some orders for Knitted Knockers! It's so nice to use my yarn addiction to help other women! Catch up with their Facebook page HERE to find out more! 

I've also been trying to make a few Christmas cards for my own 'stash' - but I've a feeling that I'll be a bit behind with my own cards (& have to buy some!).  I did quite like this simple design using stamps I've had for ages from Chocolate Baroque and I love the sentiment on this one.  

I've used distress inks and added some gilding wax to give a slight sheen but sadly this doesn't show up on my pics! 

And there seems to be endless things to do at home! We've now sorted a little car as our youngest is learning to drive - can't believe my 'baby' is driving, another thing for me to worry about! And our daughter Lauren had an interview this week and has been offered her first teaching job at a lovely primary school in Sussex!  I'm so thrilled for her (even though I wish it was a bit nearer lol!). And of course we have our new addition to the family and we went for lovely baby cuddles last weekend with our new granddaughter who is just adorable! (But it's only natural that all new babies are adorable I suppose!).  And our son Jack enjoyed having cuddles with his new niece Isabella

Sorry for the rather long and rambling post - and I'll try and catch up with all your lovely blogs during the week! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

A new arrival!

Just a quick post to let you know that we are overjoyed that we became grandparents for the first time yesterday! Our lovely Lucy and Jon had a beautiful baby girl, Isabella Autumn, on 10th November 2015, weighing in at a petite 6lb 2oz - and I know I'm biased, but she is just adorable!

We're so excited and looking forward to having baby cuddles with this little beauty.

Apologies for the gushing granny post - but it's always nice to share happy news with friends!

Back soon,
Kim x

Stuck on the computer!

Hello all - I can't believe it's Friday again.  We've been back at school/work again this week and very busy (as always).  I hope that you enjoyed your Bonfire Night last night - despite the weather! - and have something nice planned for the weekend ahead.  My lovely old dog Tilly really didn't like fireworks and I used to have lots of toys and treats lined up to keep her mind off things. Grumpy Poppy the cat just lives up to her name though!  Last night one or two particularly loud "bangs" woke her up from her snooze on the sofa and she sat up and glared at us as if it was our fault! If looks could kill....

The majority of the cards I make tend to be either for family and friends' birthdays or by request/order and I was very pleased to receive an email recently from someone who said they'd seen my cards on my blog and wondered if I could make one - I was very flattered and very pleased to oblige!  She particularly liked the 'computer guy' image from Mo Manning - and I think it's a very good image for those teenage boys and men who love their computers (and I speak from experience here, living with a husband and son who love t'internet!).

I've coloured the image with copics and promarkers, and a mix of papers from stash. The sentiment stamp is from LOTV and the letter dies are from AllOccasions.

I used a brushed silver card for the base and decorated the inside to match

The lady who ordered it has received it now - and I'm hoping she likes it (and the recipient does!).

I'm hoping to get some crafting time in this weekend - still got quite a lot of Christmas cards to make and a craft fair in a few weeks so I'd better get a wiggle on! 

I hope you have a good weekend, whatever you have planned.

Back soon,

Kim x 

Christmas card production line....

Hello all - I hope that you've been having a good week? We've had quite a nice relaxing time on the half term break with our daughter here to stay for a few days. Sadly, she has now gone back south to Sussex and I always feel a bit down when she's gone again :(  but I have a husband and son (+ his entourage) still at home so I'm not exactly lonely! And I went out for a lovely lunch with one of my bestest friends yesterday to cheer myself up! And I've also managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting time - I'm busy with another Knitted Knocker order and a couple of cards made to order. I'm also doing a craft stall in a few weeks with another crafty friend so I've been busy making the mini crochet Christmas stockings that proved quite popular last year! (Not to mention the wedding invitations for my step-daughter's wedding!). There's never enough hours in a day really!

I've also tried to get going a bit more with the Christmas cards. I usually try to find some designs that are a bit more straightforward to put together as there are quite a few to make. I'm definitely allergic to making two cards the same, but as time is a bit limited there is also a need to make them fairly simple and easy!

I quite liked this design, using stamps I've had in my stash for ages from Chocolate Baroque

and 

I've used plenty of distress inks and the tree and sentiment stamp are from Chocolate Baroque. The papers, ribbon, twine and snowflake charms are from stash and I've used Spellbinder and Die-namics dies.

They are quite simple, but quite effective - and I love the wording on that sentiment! 

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments - and glad you liked the pics of the family on my last post! I'll let you know when our new family addition arrives! 

I hope you enjoy your weekend - whatever you have planned! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

Snuggly blanket time!

Hello all - it's definitely "Welcome to Autumn" time here! Clocks changed here in the UK over the weekend, and I've just had to close the curtains before 5pm! No likey! I love seeing the fabulous autumnal colours we've had on the trees, I can even cope with chilly mornings (thanks to central heating lol!) and love having my little candles lit.  But I really don't like it going so dark so early in the evening - well, afternoon really! And there's weeks and weeks of it ahead now.... Sigh.

On the bright side, it's half term so we're all on a lovely break from school - and, extra yippee! - our lovely daughter Lauren is here for a few days! She arrived late on Saturday night as we had a special day out yesterday - but more about that later.

And I've just finished an extra warm and snuggly blanket - just in time for chilly evenings!  I started this one a while ago (although doing other projects in between as I usually do!), using fabulous Stylecraft Special DK and a gorgeous corner-to-corner pattern that is on a fantastic blog 'Felted Button'. If you love colour and anything yarn-related, please do have a look at Susan's blog HERE.

So here's a heap of pics showing the growth of this blanket...

From the start, with a bag full of scrummy colours!  Thank you Wool Warehouse! 

As it got going, it was lovely to see the colourful stripes

I'm pleased with the colours - I think they work well together

And the finished blanket! Ta Dah! It measures nearly 1.5m square and is VERY warm and cosy - and I love the textured look and feel of the pattern. 

Hope you like it! 

And we had a lovely day yesterday as we all gathered for a surprise 'Baby Shower' for my gorgeous step-daughter Lucy!  The little Princess is due in a couple of weeks - and to say we're all excited is an understatement! This will be the first grandchild and I'm sure will be thoroughly spoilt with hugs and kisses!  And a couple of lovely pics of our 3 girls (youngest son didn't join us! I don't think all the pink and baby-themed things were designed for a 17-year old boy!) 

and with 2 of Lucy's friends (and Nikki's little baby Dougie!)

So sweet! 

Hope you managed to last through all the photos - and thanks for looking! 

Back soon,

Kim x

Birthday flowers

Hello all and I hope that you've had a good week? The usual sort of week here, busy at work and then busy at home too!  It seems to have been a very long term so far at school and I'll be doing a happy dance next Friday when we break up for our half term break!  And to make it an extra nice break, our lovely daughter Lauren is coming to spend a few days at home - I haven't seen her since we went to stay in August which seems a very long time ago!

Anyway, I was asked if I could make a card for someone for their mum, whose 70th birthday was approaching and I came up with this one

I just love this cute image from Mo Manning which I got a little while ago and hadn't used yet!  I spent quite a while colouring the gorgeous image with copics and graphits and a touch of pencil

The backing paper is from LOTV and I've used AllOccasions dies for the lettering and greeting. The flowers were made with a Britannia die. And I just think this little girl is so sweet!

I hope you like her too! 

And I had some lovely news from Knitted Knockers UK that my crocheting was at the standard they require and I'm honoured I've been able to join their orders board. So now I'm currently working on my first order for some 'knitted knockers' and hope that they can help bring some comfort as prosthesis for a woman who has had a mastectomy.  Please do follow the link HERE to the website and have a look - and do spread the word! 

I hope that you have a good weekend - whatever you have planned!

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Alphabet challenge - r is for ribbon

Mos Digital Challenge - anything goes

In the pink challenge - pink ribbon

4craftychicks - pearls