Spiral Whispers New Stamps

Over at Spiral Whisper they are preparing for the release of some really cute little stamps designed by Kate Smith, they are also offering one lucky person the chance of winning some of these too, so why not pop over and take a look, your going to love them.

Which Paper Trimmer/ Cutter?

Jenny would love to know what is your favourite paper trimmer/cutter and she is going to give some lovely blog candy to one lucky person that helps her out by leaving their suggestion on her blog. I too would love to know what the best one is as I have wasted so much money on these things and have always gone back to my simple little x cut paper trimmer. So why not pop over to Jenny's blog and help her out, I'm sure there are a lot of us wanting to know what comes out on top.

The Crafty Pad Challenge.

Well, I managed to get a card made at long last, I really didn't have much to do to this as I had the image already coloured before Christmas, the stamp is called 'Faith looks Coy' and I have made this for the Crafty Pad Challenge, the theme this week is 'Bling'. I have threaded some blingy beads through pink organza ribbon, added some pink pearl stick on's to the image (might have just gone over the top with these lol) and the image is coloured using prisma pencils and marvey pens. Oh I'm so glad to get away from making Christmas cards lol. This card will be for my Daughter, Natasha, from her siblings, she will be 23 on the 15th of this month, think she'll like it.

Hi bloggers.

Hi everyone, seems so long from my last post, hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got lots of nice presents. I was a very lucky girl and was spoilt rotten, it was great. Got some nestie's too, yay, haven't had time to play with them yet, everyday is still like Christmas day here so we're not quite back to normal yet. But I came back to blogland to a lovely surprise, I was a winner of last weeks Crafty Pad Challenge which has now got me all motivated to get some more cards done, Its been about a week from I've made any, a record for me I think. But first, I have so many e mails to reply to and so many blogs to visit so i'm going to try and catch up with you all tonight. x

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Hi everyone, Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, I haven't been a good blogger lately due to the Christmas preparations and I really have missed visiting you all, chatting and e mailing. I have all my Christmas shopping done now except for the groceries which will be done tonight but the next few days will be spent visiting family and friends so there won't be much time for the computer. So, have a great Christmas, hope santa is good to you all and look forward to catching up with you all after the holidays. x

3 Is the Magic Number

Hi everyone, are you getting excited about 'santa' coming? Only 5 more sleeps, well to help you pass the time to the big day how about entering our challenge. This weeks One Stop Craft Challenge is being hosted by fellow dt member Sharon, her theme is '3 is the magic number', which means she would love to see 3 of something on your project and as usual we have a wonderful prize for the winner, donated by the One Stop Card Craft Online Shop.
This is my sample card for the challenge, I recieved these fab stamps this week and just couldn't wait to play with this cheeky little chappy, he is from a set called 'Little Lovins Kids' set 1. Included in the set are 3 boys, 2 girls, some great sentiments and extra's, perfect for children and adults alike. I have coloured mine with prisma pencils and sansador, with a touch of sakura glaze pen. I added 3 football buttons which go perfect with this image and sentiment then matt and layered onto two shades of blue paper. All products used can be found on the One Stop Card Craft Shop.
Hope you can join us this week, the challenge will last for two weeks due to the christmas holidays which means you will get to use all your crafty stuff that santa brings. x

Linda's Fabulous Blog Candy

One of my lovely friends, Linda, has an amazing package of blog candy to give to one lucky winner. I couldn't even start to tell you what is on offer but there will be one very happy crafter in blog land when her blog hits reach 10,000. Thank you so much Linda for giving us all a chance to win this fabulous stash. xx

Faith Looks Coy

Hi everyone, Sorry I haven't been about, I haven't been well but starting to feel a bit better now, looking forward to my partner coming home on Friday so I can get a proper rest, hopefully lol. Anyway I couldn't miss out on Debbie's new challenge and showing off one of her fabulous stamps, this is 'Faith Looks Coy' and I love it, modern, chic, just like myself lol. The new challenge blog is The Crafty Pad and this week's theme is a sketch, if you pop over you will see samples of Debbie's lovely stamps and she has a fabulous prize of a bundle of ribbon which we could all do with, you can NEVER have enough ribbon can you?

I have coloured the image using, prisma pencils and sansador and then shaded some more with marvy pens and 'Cut and Dry' pen nibs, check out Maddy's Tutorial using these.

One Stop Craft Challenge. Buttons and Bells.

Oh my goodness, how quick are the weeks flying in? Hope your all coping with the Christmas Preparations, I seem to be going two steps forward, one step back and on top of it all I'm doing it half blind lol, I must have an eye infection of some sort and i can hardly see out of one of my eye's as its that sore and watering, I'll have to get something tomorrow, so typing this with one eye shut lol. Well, I've come on to tell you about this weeks One Stop Craft Challenge which has been set this week by our wonderful guest designer Claire, her theme is 'Buttons and Bells'. As usual we have a fantastic prize on offer for the lucky winner, which has been sponsered by the One Stop Card Craft Online Shop, check out the challenge blog and see for yourself.

Here is my Card

I have used a forever friends image and coloured it with marvey pens and water, I embossed the bottom half of my card with 'swiss dot's' embossing folder, added some lilac buttons, ribbon and a little jingle bell. Easy peasy, hope you can join us.

A Special Christmas Message.

I found this on Linda's blog today, it would be lovely if you could put it on your own blog. There will be an empty chair at our dinner table this year but I am very lucky that I will get a phone call from my son, my thought's go out to those families that will not recieve a phone call this year. Love to you all. x

A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE,

MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY,

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO,

IN THIS HOME, DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES,

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT,CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR,IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

THE ROOM IN DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED,

AN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO,OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES,

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS,

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE,

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM,

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER,

HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE,

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT,A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES,AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED,

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

"SANTA DON'T CRY,THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD,MY COUNTRY, MY LAW."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,SO SILENT AND STILL,

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED,FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE,ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR,SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,WHISPERED,

"CARRY ON SANTA,IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.

"This poem was written by an AustralianPeacekeeping soldier stationed overseas.The following is His request.I think it is reasonable"
'PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favour of Sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will beComing soon and some credit is due to all of the service men And women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we Owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and Dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.Please, do your small part to plant this small seed. Regardless of our political persuasions, regardless of our colour, creed or religion, regardless of our age or our sex, we undoubtedly owe our freedom and safety to our heroes in the forces, I for one spent some quiet time today thinking of those brave men and women in foreign lands, far from home.'

For all you Mum's.

Its a busy time of year for all us Mum's, well for everybody really, isn't it? I was sent this link today by a friend and it just summed up how I feel my life is at the minute. Do you feel like this too? Check it out.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw

Beautiful Blog Candy.

Paula is celebrating 1000 hits to her blog and is giving away some fabulous blog candy, so why not check out her beautiful cards and enter to win yourself some goodies. Ends boxing day. x

One Stop Craft Challenge. Something Blue

Hi everyone, Just wanted to let you know about this weeks One Stop Craft Challenge, the theme has been set by Paula and she would like to see 'Something Blue' on your crafts. This is my DT card for this week and I have used the Cute Companions Christmas Collection cd and a little mouse from the Cute Companions 'Christmas Wishes' stamp set. All of which can be found on the One Stop Card Crafts Shop with fantastic discount. I hope you can join us this week as there is a great prize on offer and we also have our guest designer, Claire, joining us for a couple of weeks. Pop over and see all the design teams fabulous creations which will help to inspire you. Wishing you all a great weekend. xx

Santa Cards

I made these two cards over the weekend but haven't had time to put them on my blog, been busy getting parcels wrapped, weighed and posted to my son and his friends in Iraq. Doesn't sound like a big job does it? Well thats what my mum and I thought, HOURS it took us, trying to keep the weight under 2 kilo's is not easy, I was up to 1 am this morning and then finished them off today, phew. I also made them great military christmas cards but forgot to take a photo of them lol. Oh well. Anyway, luckily my black santa card fits in with this weeks Stamp Something Challenge which is 'Black Somethings'.

Hello's and Thank You's.

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been a good blogger lately, no more awards for me from now on lol. I'm struggling to keep on top of things, its very difficult with Gary away around this time but I'll get there in the end. Last week I was sent these gorgeous presents from two beautiful blogging buddies, Emma and Linda, thank you soooooo much ladies, I was so touched by these lovely gifts. The card from Linda had this fabulous stamp tucked inside the card, even the paper it was wrapped in was stunning, tried to open it without ripping it lol. Then after a very worrying e mail from Emma lol (thought she'd been at the Christmas Sherry when she asked what colours I like to wear) I got this amazing bracelet, which i'm wearing at the minute cause I love it so much.