Almost forgot!

to blog my Daring card this week. Doh!
only it is not actually a card.
the theme is

Traditional Gold and Silver

and I decided to make name cards for Christmas Dins. we are never so posh usually! The paper tablecloth and the cracker are from Wilkinsons and I based the colour scheme of my cards on them. Bazzill bling cardstock in silver formed the base, covered in inked BG Figgy Pudding paper. I only bought a 6x6 pad and hardly touched it last year but I love it now! the letter is from a Costco set, with additional silver penwork. ONly it is not a stable surface so we will have to be very careful handling them as the silver smudges really easily :(. The snowflake is a punch I have had forever using more bling cardstock and a gem. the name is finished off with Making Memories tiny alphas. They could not be had for love nor money in the UK for a few years so imagine my glee when they appeared.

I have now made 7 of these tags and they do look cute all lined up ready to go on the Christmas table!

I have a very busy couple of days and my craft space has become a bedroom, so I won't have much to share for a while. I do hope you have a Christmas full of love and joy!

Its beginning to feel a lot

like Christmas!

OK so the house is still a mess and almost no presents are wrapped. But I am getting there with my Christmas services. that means I have to sit down and think about the angels and shepherds and the amazing news that God was born among us as a baby.

the weeks before Christmas I just hate all the build up and all the overwhelming sense of a train thundering towards me. but it is getting close to the stage where none of that matters and all I can do is worship in awe and wonder...
and then later on have presents and food and chocolate (which is not a food it is a medicine)

All this is why I set the Salt challenge this week as

O Holy Night

it is almost here.
the most wonderful time of the year.
not just because of the presents and the food and the family time - fun though they are.
but because, on this most holy of nights, God comes to us as one of us.
Amazing love.

I went with using a version of a Christmas card that I cased from Papercrafts a couple of years ago. I knew I wanted something quite plain.
but sparkly.
(bit like me really!)
Bazzill kraft cardstock and 3 other Bazzill's to make the stable and Little Baby Jesus. the circles are punched and the star is a QK die. the yellow cardstock had glitter glue added and so did the Thickers for the title
and here is the close up of the journalling. I just let my thoughts develop and to my great pleasure I have realised that I can turn this into the short address for the Midnight Communion service. Result!
Right, back to the choirs of angels.... Got a parade service to do for Sunday (where we have lots of kids and no sermon) and I haven't a clue what to do as yet. Except that Little Baby Jesus will figure somewhere

Oh my

Can I just say that this has been a secret dream of mine and I am a little overwhelmed at actually being mentioned?
Thank you so much Jo and the team at Inspirational.
Sadly I have nothing crafty to show - only things ready for later this week.
I have however done... being a proud mum at lil' C's assembly when she won three awards; started writing meditations about the angels for Sunday's carol service(s); gone to morning prayers; delivered church Christmas cards to one street; led a carol service for a women's group; did a funeral visit and after tea chaired a rather difficult meeting.
Oh it is funny writing it all down as I would have said I did nothing today!

Quick!!!!!

that was our challenge on Daring Cards this week

10 Minute Christmas Card
We want to see cards that take only a few minutes, but of course don't look it!

I thought I had done well until I saw Kathy's bountiful crop! Anyway I managed 4 in about an hour and some are a bit fiddly so there!
But first, my pressie from Sue. It is a mini book featuring the 12 days of Christmas. there are so many fabby details, here is just a sample.
thanks sooooooo much I really appreciate it!

And my cards...
A version of this one might just end up being my Christmas card next year!
a blue pearlescent card base (haven't got many coloured ones left. I fins the colours of card blanks either too pastelly or too bright if you know what I mean. If anyone knows where you can buy Bazzill type coloured card blanks I would love to know!)
some lovely off white glitter card. Most of my glitter card has gone to church craft club now but I kept this one as I love the colour. Of course I only have a little scrap left and no idea where I bought it. I cut a Sizzix star, cutting off the edge. as you will see I am on an off the edge kick at the moment. BG Figgy Pudding paper, distress ink edging and some doodling and it was all done.

this one is based on a card from a Card Inspirations christmas special and is dead easy. Same set of paper for all my cards (Figgy Pudding) Stars cut with a QK die. Doodling, blinging and foam padding followed!

This one took longest just to get it all ok. Nestie frame, handcutting and doodling and that was that. So dunno why I had to fuss so much!
I think this one is my favourite! Journalling spot cut using the Robo - I made a few a couple of days ago and they are handy to have around. QK heart, lots of inking and doodling and apart from a gem "and that (said John) is that" (from one of my favourite poems. It is really, really deep you know)

Now this is a bit of a long shot but a few weeks ago I thought I read somewhere of a font that created journal tags - it was just using the numbers, no letters. I thought that I had saved it and that it was good to go, until I went to use it. I can't find it! I even downloaded a font manager and have sent ages trawling through. Now I am sadly beginning to think that the whole thing was a dream. Was it? If so how sad am I that I dream about fonts and craft robos!

Pubic Service Announcement

If you fall over in Tesco car park and cut your knee taking a fair bit of skin off, don't be a cheapskate and think - the shop can give me a plaster. No, just suck it up and buy your own antiseptic wipes and plasters and sort it out yourself. That will avoid having to wait for 20 minutes for a first aider to appear (who was more injured than me. His arm was in a sling which meant giving first aid was a bit tricky...) and the embarrassment of having to fill out a long form in triplicate for a grazed knee.... I was ever so lucky - having got to the age when falling can mean breaking something. I can't afford that so near Christmas! I just have a lot of aching bits and a bruised ego!

The last week has gone by in a bit of a blur with card club, services aplenty, a trip to see my DCM pal Sue for a gift exchange (yay!) including the most spiffing present which wasn't wrapped that I can have for now. Which I need to photograph so will do that for tomorrow. It is amazing! (Just a big build up so you will come and visit tomorrow) OK back to the list - doing work for next term's Imagine That class (see below), MA work in Cambridge, writing Christmas cards (I know! I usually get round to this the day before last second class posting!), serving soup and cheese at the Church lunch, visiting - and falling over.

Anyway I thought I would show my Imagine That doodling class. This is number 2 in a series which is great fun - only I am now at the end of my own doodling comfort zone and the next class will involve doodling proper shapes direct onto a layout (eeek!). Still, that will be in a few months time. This time we will be looking at doodling in shapes. I chose a photo of my dear Sister in law Erica, not a brill photo but she looks radiant I think. And it is of an event where she was the belle of the ball, which was just what she needed.
I'm not going to give it all away - you will have to book a class! But I used the lovely Crate Paper Mia collection (which is weird because you wouldn't think all the patterns and colours would go together but they do), a Heidi Swapp butterfly mask (guess who has discovered that they can't draw butterflies unless they look rather fat?) , tall timbers letters by Technique Tuesday and Sakura Glitter pens. It is a funny old photo because I asked Phil to photograph it in daylight and he forgot so this is taken in the shop and I had no chance of getting it straight really! It is even more sparkly in real life!

Emma asked how I made the scallop card with the fold. The easiest way is to show you. If you have a big shot and big shaped dies you can make, well, bigger cards this way! I have a cuttlebug and nestability dies which means that the cards are on the petite side, about 10 cms high I reckon.
As you can see you first fold over your cardstock and then make sure the die goes slightly over the edge. I've used a plain circle this time. NB if you are using nesties don't forget to add other paper underneath as, if you do own any nesties I am sure you know how well they like to sink into the cuttlebug plates ! You end up with something like this
only hopefully more in focus!

Just a quick one!

Trying to fit in everything I have to do in the next few days and I've also got the untidy house blues. I know the answer. Less fun time on the 'puter. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!

Kathy came up with a fab dare for DCM this week!

Be Inspired at Home
The idea is that you look around your home and find a pattern, design, motif etc - or just part of one that you can replicate and use as the inspiration for your card design

I decided to go with a feature that won't be around much longer...
After Christmas our conservatory is going to be painted and the funky squares - which don't seem so funky any more - are going to be painted over. We don't have any plain white walls in the house so I am looking forward to having some - mostly to take photos against! I may just have some vinyl word art instead - we'll see.
Anyway that is the inspiration and here is the card
the lighting is off. This time of year drives me mad! Optimum time is late morning/afternoon but that is not the time I need to take photos. Lovely and simple this one. Yellow square punch, the SR Sonoma papers still on my table from yesterday, yellow and green distress inks, foam pads and an Imaginesce stamp.

I used the same papers to make a sample card for Church card club tomorrow. I wanted to make a fun shaped card and used my Nesties to make this one
It isn't a big card as I only have the petite scallops! And I think I ought to have cut further up the scallop. But it makes a cute thankyou card for after Christmas I think. I added a few Auntie Sarah's Bloomers, various brads and jumbo ric rac.

Right back to Church work. This stage of life is the busiest as services need to be prepared in advance in order to get readers etc. By 21st it settles down a bit!

Oh what have I done?

Little C had one thing on her Christmas list. A kitten. And I suddenly realised that although I like other people's cats, I only like other people's cats in other people's houses. The thought of living with a cat made me feel quite ill. So I said that she had a choice. A cat or me. Which didn't go down too well. But better than it might have done as she is a very loving and understanding girl. Which made me feel even more guilty. She was still mulling it all over obviously as, on Saturday she suggested that maybe she could have a hamster instead. Now, I had been wondering about a similar compromise, so it made sense. But the one thing I know about hamsters is that they are very nocturnal so do not always make brilliant pets.
So I said something which seemed like a good idea but in hindsight I wish I had done some research before opening my big mouth.
What I said was this
"what about a Guinea Pig instead?"
BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG smiles from Carys.
BUT
within a few hours I discovered that apparently

• GP's are social animals and you have to have two.
• They need a hutch/cage more like a rabbits than a hamsters (I was hoping that the GP would live in a little cage in her room and I would never have to see it).
• They like to be around people so the best place for them to live is in the sitting room.

Oh my.
they will be coming in the new year once my parents have gone home. To fit in with the rest of the pet household they will be rescue pigs. It is quite a trauma you know to be a really rather non animal person in an animal loving family.
Big H really wants a snake...

It is Salt day today with a great theme from Kimberley.

God is good

I was still thinking about the anniversary of my ordination.
Told you I looked young! We have had problems with our scanner so I had to use an original photo. Eeek! Actually it was a spare one so that is ok. I am standing behind the communion table of my first church. The organ is behind me and advent candles in front. It was a wood heavy building.
The scrap details are these - all the papers are Scenic Route Sonoma, title cut with the craft robo and mounted on foam pads. Added bling and dots with Stickles and Liquid pearls.
Here is the jouranlling made easier to read
and some details including my cheeky chops
those glasses were v. fashionable at the time I tell you.
Do have a look at what the Salt girsl have prduced this time round as every entry has something great to say about how good God is.

16 years ago today

I was ordained as a Minister! Its an odd time of year as most people are ordained in June or July. I was later because I had a baby in August. We had my ordination and his dedication on the same day.
I'll try and scan in a photo later on as if you think I look young now - I think I looked about 12 then! (27 actually). Its gone by in a flash - although there have been times when I have felt like giving up and working in a shop. I don't know why that is my default of what I would do if I took off my dog collar but it is... But I'm still here and I think God has more work for me to do. I celebrated by going to a meeting in St Albans and in a mo' going to do a hospital visit. Life is never dull!

It was a huge squeeze to find time for DCM this week. It was not helped by the fact that the card kept going wrong. Honestly I had to throw away so many pieces! And it is not that fancy at all...
I loved the theme

we are dreaming of a WHITE (and splash of pink Christmas!) I would love you to design a card which includes white mostly (ie: snow, snowmen etc ) and also a little splash of pink somewhere on the card. :)

and had a clear idea what I wanted to do. So why was it so hard?
I think it is down to my stamping and embossing. I stamped this image so many times and found it hard to get a clean image. I embossed with a tinsel white and then smooshed over an opera pink chalk ink. (Hint: if you want to use some sponge for this use a clean but and not the clean end of a used piece otherwise you will get an orangey hue and have to start again). I layered two ornaments together, used nesties to frame it, then my fave cuttlebug embossing folder. The word "Christmas" is also an embossing folder, inked and cut around. "Happy" is a PUrple Onion stamp and the two brads were embossed with tinsel embossing powder. Poundland bling finished it off. And what nearly finished me off was trying to get a decent photo. Still not brill. Grrrr.

I have an awfully busy weekend and pretty busy week so if I don't manage to comment on your DCM contribution I do hope you won't be offended. We do love each and every one of you who play along with us - it is what makes being part of the team so much fun.

Production line

Today I have been mostly doing this
about 50 done - about another 40 to go!
I used the craft robo to cut the crowns thanks to my DCM buddy Kathy B. I have used a variety of papers - Piggy Tales, Crate Paper and Junkitz to stop me getting bored of the same design

Christmas card making was interspersed with more pages of the Aachen mini book. Actually I don't think mini book will be the right word when it is done! Here's hoping I don't bosh it up when it comes to Binding it all!
I'm still loving those Ambrosia papers. Just as well as I still have many photos to go!
I've also done some boring home stuff too but I've enjoyed crafting as I will have very little time for it later this week. Its Advent Sunday this Sunday and once more has caught me by surprise - despite me knowing that Advent usually begins in November. Friday is also the 16th anniversary of my Ordination (becoming a Minister). It always amuses me when I throw that into a conversation as people reckon I am only about 25 now. (Its creeping up thanks to the odd few gray hairs and the odd many lines)

I did squeeze in making a card for a Church Member in hospital
It features more of the papers from Fridays dare. I'm trying to make more than one card out of papers and even (gasp!) use them up. Sadly I still have enough left for another one or two cards, from this kit, but I'm getting there!

Its coffee time

at Daring Card Makers.
But not for me - can't stand the stuff! Wish I did as coffee drinking now is so sophisticated - "I'll have a grande skinny pumpkin latte" sounds so much better than "cuppa please mate". But no. It is still awful.

But as this is Vanessa's first dare I am not being churlish but stepped up to it!

Cafe Chic!
I want to see lots of cards inspired by coffee!! Coffee colours, cup shaped cards, card inspired by a coffee jar label, using coffee beans on your card, coffee shop logos on your cards etc etc.....

I decided to take my inspiration from a coffee jar.
We do have coffee in the house - but only fairtrade! I used the label and the colours as inspiration. The colours I chose were in the end slightly more muted than the jar.
The papers are from an old Self Addressed kit. They are thick and double sided and lovely but I can't remember who makes them. I have to be honest and say that the navy blue square is actually dark brown in real life but the photo makes it match the jar better! The centre piece is made using 10 Second Studio metal and alcohol and distress inks. And a cuttlebug embossing folder. I watched a demo using these at Imagine That where Emma makes the most wonderful Christmas cards with this teqhnique. I, however, have not got it quite right so will go back for another demo. It looks quite nice - but not as nice as hers!
The stamp is from the Stampendous Window Box set. The embossed circle and the square are raised up so this is quite a dimensional card. For hand delivering then...

If you like the card design here is my very first sketch to try out
You can tell I took ages over it (sarcastic laugh). And possibly that the sketch came after the card as it was only then I thought about the little side pieces from the label. Still, if you do find it even a tad inspiring I would love to see what you do with the sketch.

Right I am now going to stare pathetically at Phil who is on his computer opposite me until he makes me a cup of TEA.


(It usually works)

I've got a new glue pen

and I know how to use it.

I went to Imagine That's birthday weekend for a while on Saturday (after my church fair. Yup it will be a clash every. single. year. No fair. Well actually yes fair, no to spending all day in my fave craft shop. And to be fair, the Church is my paying job...). Anyhoo I did a Slice demo - its a fab machine if you don't have an electric cutter or if you have arthritis and find punching painful. Sadly I have one and not the other but I may just book a crop every now and then and use the shop one! I also did a make and take using fab craftwork cards goodies and - even better - a glue pen that really works (I've had bad experiences in the past). So one came home with me. And now I am gluing crazy.

Which brings me to this weeks Salt challenge. It is a really profound subject which got me thinking hard...

Comfort in Suffering

Recently, I (Kim) came across a heading in my Bible that made me read further, “Comfort in Suffering.” Suffering? Doesn’t sound very appealing, does it? No one likes to suffer and yet everyone has suffered to some degree in their lives, affected by sickness, death, divorce, disappointment…the list goes on. What good thing can be gained by suffering?

So what sort of a photo could convey that I asked myself? Of the ones that I still have online (due to losing many on hard drives that should have been backed up) Actually it was a good thing because I had to go deeper. And came up with an unlikely choice of shot. My feet in a pair of crocs
I realised that I do gain some comfort from my own suffering in that it gives me more understanding of other people's lives. Experiences of bereavement, family problems, serious illness do help me in my ministry. Not to play "oooh I have had that too" although there are times when that can be helpful, but just to know what to say, what not to say and when to shut up, hug and pray. SO that is what the layout is about.

I thought it was Letter size until I put it in the album yesterday. I think it is actually A4! (Why do we have to have different standard size papers here and in the US? makes no sense to me)
I found some Crate Paper Samantha papers that matched beautifully. The flower paper is one of those I love so much it is hard to cut into. But I did it! The quote from Romans is computer printed using my fave Journalling Hand font. The circles were cut with nestabilities. I have had this lace in my stash for years and never used it. And the half flower was left over from another layout. The title is made with MM glitter stickers. What you can't really see is just how bonkers I have gone with the glue pen. I added sparkly sequin flowers to the top of the layout and added glitter to quite a lot of the flower centres on the bottom. The journalling blocks also have glitter round the outside, and the flower is not unscathed either. Oh and there is a touch of stickles on the corners too!

Here is a close up of the journalling (and glitter)
Who says you can't be deep and sparkly at the same time?

Boy racer

Mid life crisis anyone?
OK only half a one as a moped is only half a motor bike...

My seminar went ok I think. It doesn't help that my tutor is kind of an expert on these things. The advantage of going first is that there is no-one to compare it too. And my work is done :)

I've even managed to fit in a teeny bit of crafting this week. Suddenly realised I needed some time off and could take it so I spent yesterday morning mostly washing and putting away washing and the afternoon making some cards. Not many, but a few more for the old Church fair on Saturday. Not sure the notebooks are going to happen though!
I've gone old school with the cards. Pre printed on the computer, lots of white space. The image on the first card has been knocking round for about 3 years - painted and ready to go! The other two are wood mounted stamps coloured with prismas. All the papers used are Basic Grey - trying to use up my paper pads. Long way to go though... I made other similar cards as well but there are only so many I can show you without your eyes glazing over...

And then this weeks DCM card. I LOVE everyone else's cards. Not so keen on mine. Rein gave us a great challenge.

Bird, Birds and More Birds

I love birds so I'd like you all to make a card featuring birds this week

......a bird in the snow, a birds nest, a carrier pigeon, a white stork or birds in the sky, or...,or... even big bird!

I decided to try something a bit different for me after finding some great vintage images images on a free site.
UPDATE: found it - but not where I followed the link from!
Click here for some fab images.
I apologize to Eleanor who is still rubbing her eyes after trying to help me...
I googled vintage images free daily and that was all tasteful. There are a whole host of lovely free image sites to be found!

I went for a baby on a stork as I needed more baby cards! I think this card would have worked better without a pre printed bottom. But there we are.
The image was printed onto cardstock and mounted on Daisy D papers. I added glitter glue to the clouds and the baby's hair and nappy. Which turned from white to gold! the image is raised and I also added a few other details.
Phil thinks it stinks. Hence the quips about the bike.
We're even.

Ever wanted to match your clothes to scrap product?

I can't capture the photo but look here

(its even better in this weeks Bella not that I would admit to buying such a mag to read with my tea. Oh no)

Do you think the designer is a scrapper? It is such a match for Ambrosia!

Right back to a powerpoint on the Desert Fathers and their passions...

Going Dotty

My family would say "going?" I'm feeling the pressure a bit at the moment! I have loads to do and very little time to do it all in.
Some of it is work related - I have my service for Sunday to finish today, and the Youth Alpha session for Sunday afternoon and a powerpoint for Guides Youth Praise on Monday evening. (We find it hard to get our uniformed kids and families to come to Church Parade on Sundays. We still have 4 a year but also offer short fun worship on the nights that they meet. Church members attend too. These are really successful and relationships with parents are so much better!)

This is in order to free up Monday for me to write my seminar for Tuesday when I have to talk to my MA class on how the desert fathers help modern Christians with the control of the passions. The subject is actually a lot more interesting than the title sounds. The desert fathers lived as hermits in Egypt in 3-5CE. Their sayings and stories are recorded and they are a wonderfully human lot. Here is one of my fave stories - just makes me laugh!

Two brothers had lived together for many  years and  they had never fought with 
one another.
The first said to the other, "Let us also have a fight like other men."
The other replied, "I do not know how to fight." 
And the first monk said, "I'll explain. Do you see this brick?
I'll take this brick and put it between us.
And I will say it is my brick, and you will say 'no it is my brick'
and we will argue whose brick it really is."         
So the first monk took the brick and put it between them
and said, "Brother, this is my brick."
The second monk looked at him and said, "If you say so, brother."

Here's another one 

The story tells about Abba Macarius speaking to another monk, asking how he is going. The monk replies, ‘I’m great.’ Abba Macarius replies, ‘I sometimes have trouble with sexual temptation.’ The monk, relaxes, saying ‘ I, too, sometimes have trouble with sexual temptation. How can I be helped?’.

Actually it goes on further with Abba Macarius confessing lots of things which the other monk is finally able to say troubles him too.

I am sooooooo nervous about the seminar. So much so that it is giving me font burps! (no actually I don't know why when I cut and paste text I can never get it all to look the same. Even when I fiddle around with sizes etc in Blogger. )

I also have to sort out the conservatory/craft room. I had a shelf of stuff in the kitchen but we have just had the flooring redone in there so Phil took my shelves down and we decided the kitchen is better off without them. BUT there are now boxes all over the place with no home to go to in the conservatory and it is SUCH a mess. Also the guest room (I know, how la di da are we...) is in a total mess - some of it stuff that needs putting away from the summer hols (blush) , my mum is coming to stay for a few days on Wednesday and Phil and I have very little time when we are both home at the same time in order to make it look presentable. Aaaargh.I won't even talk about regular chores piling up.

Oh and its church fair weekend after next and I really need to have made more stuff. This Saturday is taken up with a larger Church meeting in London and a quiz at one of the churches.

So I better get on with my post and get my nose down to sermonising then.
I'm really going Dottie today as our DCM challenge is

Sparkle and Bling

We are sponsored this week by Louise Brigden (the designer of Dottie and George plus a whole host of other fabulous images) and Charmed cards and Crafts (the shop who sell the downloadable images) and there are prizes to be won with a random draw!.
Here's my card. I chose to colour in Dottie myself using prisma pencils. I printed up three images and layered them, just subtly. I find it helps when I don't keep within the lines! I did my usual thing of colouring first and then hunting out paper that matches. I remembered that I had been saving up these Dreamstreet papers that I actually wish I had used straight away as I am not AS keen on them now for some reason! Found them eventually. "relax" speech bubble is also from one of the papers, I just added a few etra words. There is some obvious Prima bling but I also used a fair bit of glitter glue on the bubbles. See?
I can't cope with the font changes that won't do what I want any more so I am going to stop now!
Have a great weekend

Hope

this is the challenge on Salt this week. It has come at a good time for me because I was really pushed for craft time this week but I had a half finished layout on Hope from the Church faith scrapping study. For some reason at that time I just couldn't fill in the journalling and add a few finishing touches. Now I know why - because I needed to do it now. I love it when God does stuff life that. Also when Hazel chose the theme a while ago she did not know that "hope" would be a part of Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Whether you wanted him to win or not (and whether you could vote or not) it felt like the world was full of hope in a different way. I was also moved by John McCain's speech. I do hope that the tenor of their words is a good sign for the future.

We talked about hope at my elders meeting last night - and focused on this reading Colossians 1:3-14
It is one that I want to keep reading when I start to feel grumpy and /or down which I am very good at doing at this time of year!

Anyway, here is the layout. The papers are from a Costco kit . The butterfly is cut from vellum from Papermania. I used a Crafters Template to do many of the doodles. I'm not sure if you can see but some of then have stickles on to add extra sparkle.

Phil took two of the photos and I took the one of the rose :)

Here is the promised start of the Aachen book. It will get bound at the end. Almost everything is Basic Grey Ambrosia. The pages are 6x6

Some of the pages I have cut using a Technique Tuesday tile as a template
Most of them are pretty simple with a little paper, a paper punch and the odd stickles
I won't bore you with them all!

Karma bites.

Not that I believe in it I hasten to add. Still...

Last year I had a layout published in Scrapbook Inspirations. When it arrived back instead of the one herma I was expecting I got two! Go me. Did I tell them I had been sent too many? No I did not. I fell in love with this easy way of adding adhesive. I fell out of love with the price and ended up getting an ATG gun. I love that too but it is a bit unwieldy for carting around so I was looking forward to getting the layout featured in last month's SI back along with my brand new Herma. It arrived back really promptly. BUT there was a hole in the box. No Herma at all... There is a sermon in there somewhere.

Actually there is a sermon in most things if you look hard enough.

I've decided it was about time I blogged again otherwise there was a risk that I never would. (Hear the world cry Noooooooo. I don't think) I've actually done quite a lot of crafty stuff but it is either something I can't show or it is rather boring and repetitive. So I'll show a couple of photos from half term and then be boring and repetitive.

We had a half a half term as I had to go to Cambridge on Tuesday and Phil had a meeting he couldn't change on Wednesday. The traffic from here to Hereford was appalling Wedsday afternoon. But even the short break was worth it. We visited Hereford cathedral for the first time. That is shocking considering Phil's mum has lived near it for 13 years. She hadn't visited either. No offense cathedral but we were a tad underwhelmed. However I use Durham Cathedral as my yardstick which is the most holy, amazing and beautiful space so you have to be brilliant to match it.
We went on long country walks and to Bodenham Arboretum which was beautiful (and muddy)
BTW you know how men are supposed to marry women who remind them of their mothers? It works with us at least from a back view!

I read some philosophy (snore) for my course and did lots of vegging too. I'm back to crafting for the church fair. Yet more SR surprise cards
and oodles of black and cream with a hint of colour ones
this is my fave one
I can't beleive I made a card that looks so sophisticated!

I've made a start on my October 2007 mini (ish) album but as blogger is playing up I shall save them for another day.

Proud Momma

That's me!
Last night Hywel had to go back to his old school to receive three awards. ICT Achievement, GSCE Excellence and the much coveted Library prize (family joke. H and his mates all helped out in the library for their 5 years at school. It was a way of keeping out of the line of sight of those who thought them just to nerdy to exist. Every year one of them would get the prize and it was never H. I like to think they saved the best til last. The librarian has said that she misses him!)

It was for this that H had to have a suit. He is still quite small - about 5' 8 I reckon and stick thin, so I was surprised that it was so easy to get one that just about fits. I think he looks quite smart in a long haired geeky kind of way!
We are standing in front of his English coursework. He got the second highest score, losing out to his "rival" NW who was at primary school with him. (for many years in the Juniors they were secret loves. She is really nice and clever and pretty so I would be happy for the love to continue. H would not. She did get more prizes than he did but he claims it doesn't bother him. I suppose 16 is a bit young to settle down. She goes to a different sixth form anyway. So I better stop looking at hats)
And here he is at home in full length glory. I'm so proud of him!

Onto things crafty then!
The theme of Daring Cardmakers this week is ...
WARNING here, if you are of a certain age (early 40's ish) then these two words may get a certain song going round your head. Every time I read them a flute going "do, do, do, do , do, do, do do, do, do, do, do , do, do, do do,whhheeeeeee oooo" starts playing in my head. I do love the song - and the whole of War of the Worlds but it is driving me nuts now!

I blame Sue who chose the theme because she heard the song on the radio.

Forever Autumn.
make a card that depicts Autumn.
It can be an Autumn scene or it can be something completely different but using a palette of Autumn colours……the choice is yours!

The trees along the M11 towards Cambridge are glorious at this time of year - makes the tedious journey there and back just a bit better. So I tried to get some rich autumn colours going

The papers and ribbon, including the card base are from an old Self Addressed kit. I took some brown Bazzill and ran it through the cuttlebug with a Fiskars tree bark plate. The effect is more subtle than an embossing folder - but it is also easier than trying to hand emboss with the plate!The hero arts birdie has been hanging round, coloured in on my desk for months so I slapped her on with a little extra inking round the edge. The leaves are QK - yes those dies again! I also used my threading water punch and stick on pearls. The greeting was done on the computer and inked to death.

This weekend is a little easier than the last one. And then it is half term and we are half on holiday (I have to go to Cambridge for an MA seminar on Tues.) So I hope I have time for crafting, sleeping and family. Perhaps not in that order!

That was quick

Where did the week go?

Saturday - did the gardening at church. I hate weeding. Especially pulling weeds up through cracks in gravel. The Open Doors evening was really interesting. We heard something about life in North Korea. It is grim. The person who gave the talk was there in a group of 6. They were put up on the 43rd floor (out of 46) in the tourist hotel in the capital. They were the only guests... At night, in the capital there are no bright lights, no cars, everyone is at home. The visit was very strictly regulated.

Sunday - the Salvation Army farewell service was FAB! I really enjoyed marching from our church to their newly refurbished one. I was at the front behind the flag. If it wasn't for the fact that female officers have to wear skirts and heels I'd be tempted... their building looks amazing and is v. high tech. There are cameras everywhere to help record services and the boys in the AV room were having fun zooming in on unsuspecting people!

Monday - a tiny bit of crafting but more of it spent with DS1 buying a suit in Lakeside. I love Lakeside. Not. But we had a bit of chat time and managed to get him an el cheapo Primark one which ALMOST fits. In the evening we watched "Oceans 12". There was a tricky moment as the film gives away the twist in the Sixth Sense - which Emrys was to watch in school as a GSCE assignment (when did English get to be THAT much fun, shouldn't be allowed). Fortunately he had already seen the first half and like me (smug) had guessed the twist straight away. I enjoyed Oceans 12. The fact that the plot was good was a bonus but quite frankly Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon in a film together and I don't really care about anything else.

And then it has been mostly work since. I did sneak in time to make a few cards like this using my new stamps. The corner stamp did come out a tad smudged but I wanted to send the card off and so decided to leave it like that (oh the shame!)
I have stamped and cut out loads of the flowers like this so I can make some quick cards for the church fair. I think black and cream is quite sophsiticated, n'est pas?

And I managed my layout for Salt.

GIVE THANKS

(with a grateful heart)

Isn't there an abundance of things that we can be grateful to God for?! For starters - sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin, so that whoever believes in him will not perish eternally in hell, but live with Him forever and ever and ever in heaven- praise God!

Ok so it might not be easy to thank God in the hard times, but lets not forget all the blessings he has given to us and be thankful for them! Amen?!

After wondering what to do I decided that the thing I most had to give thanks for was the cross - everything else comes from that - my life, my family, my hopes and dreams, everything.
The photo is from Scripture Pics. The papers all from my MME pad. I love the colours and becasue the papers are quite thin they are so easy to distress. I used a Technique Tuesday tile as a template then got messy with Making Memories paint and Heidi Swapp masks. The butterflies are to symbolise freedom and new life. The layout also features a Heidi Swapp stamp embossed with white emb. powder, a Rhona Farrer stamp coloured with distress ink, some brads from a Costco kit, flowers cut with punches, nesties and a Quickutz die (hello old friends), another QK die was used to cut some grungeboard which BROKE my cuttlebug B plate!!!! American Crafts thickers, a peel off(!), lots of different stickles and doodles and I wrote on some self adhesive lace tape which is rather hard to read from a photo!

The blurb says
"I could write of my thanks for my family
or for all the gifts you have given me
but my grateful heart knows that even they are as nothing
compared to my thanks for your cross"

Sadly this week we have had to announce the loss from our team of Gillian and Casey who have been - and will continue to be so inspirational. May God keep blessing all that you do!