Testing Testing One Two ???...

Hello Fellow Bloggers

First of all, maybe I should explain my post title today - I dropped my camera down the toilet wilst we were out on Friday afternoon (please don't ask if I had flushed the chain before the little mishap, because I really don't want to answer that question ha ha ha!!!). So I wanted to test that it was still working properly - all the photos in this post have been taken since the camera's little swim, so yes it's working - yayyy!!!

Today is Andrew's birthday, and he says he's had a good day despite having to go to school on his birthday! He didn't want anyone to know it was his birthday today, but one of his friends knew and told their teacher, so Andrew had to stand up at the front of the room during Assembly for everyone to sing Penblwydd Hapus to him (he was very embarassed apparently - aawww!).

Eleri had a good birthday on Friday - we decided to go to a forest centre for a few hours, with the intention of having some fresh air followed by some nice food in the cafe. But as we were nearing the place the mist was coming down and the rain was starting - by the time we got there we could hardly see anything in front of us. But we had some good food! Thing is, the weather was quite nice at home before we left, and it was still good when we got home LOL!

Anyway, Eleri is very happy for people to know it was her birthday, and she wanted some cakes to take in for her classmates today. I was going to make some cake pops on lollipop sticks like last year, but I saw a similar idea but for cupcake bites instead - they are sort of a cross between cakes and truffles - very rich and sweet. I found the recipe and instructions here.







If I'm honest, I preferred the chocolate ones I made last year - I think I should not have used a rich vanilla buttercream to mix in with the cake this time - much too sweet for me, but then they weren't for me LOL!

Now on to the cards I made for Andrew:

This is the one from Eleri:



The image is a High Hopes stamp, the papers are the Crafts Beautiful magazine freebie this month, and the sentiment is from TLC creations.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Stampin for the Weekend - Photo inspiration/colour combo
Card Crafters Circle - To die for (use dies or punches) - my plain and scalloped circle spellbinders dies
Kaboodle Doodles - Lets get cooking - I would like to enter my cupcake bites into this challenge too, but not sure if they will count?

This next card is from Richard and I. The image is a Kenny K digi, coloured with promarkers. The spotty paper and sentiment is again from CB magazine. I tried to keep this simple but I'm not sure it worked very well - may have looked better if I'd layered the image onto plain card rather than the spotty paper, his foot coming out of the frame would have shown up better.



I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

CES Challenge - Spots and dots
One Stitch at a Time - Use a digi
Kenny K Challenge - Emboss it

Well, if you've made it here to the end, thank you very much.

I'll see you soon.

Love, Andrea xx

For Our Little Princess

Good evening people - the evening before Eleri's 7th birthday - wow!

So I'm going to show you the cards I've made her.



I just loved the way this first card was coming together. The papers and the matching brad are Princess Fairytale from Dovecraft, and the border punch is an X-cut punch, and I bought them all last week from The Range - I love them. The image is from Saturated Canary - I am so falling in love with these images at the moment! I've realised from looking at the way other people have coloured this image that she actually has a hairband in with a leaf next to the flower, but I thought it was part of her hair!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Do You Stack Up - Layers
CES Challenges - Lots of layers
One Stitch at a Time - Anything goes

And the second card is from Andrew



This time the image is from Little Miss Muffett stamps. The papers are from a free paper pack with Crafts Beautiful last spring. I intended to enter this week's challenge at Craft Your Days Away, so I used my WRMK Sew Easy tool to sew a scallop on the strip of paper across the middle (but darn it, I didn't get on the computer in time to enter the challenge :{). I also put some little stitches at the corners of the image.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Digital Tuesday - Use your stash - last year's papers and Sew Easy tool
Crafters Companion - Anything goes
Drunken Stampers - Texture - the stitching and the stickles

Well that's enough from me - I need to wrap Eleri's pressie - I hope she likes it! I did tell her this evening that I'd forgotten to get her anything, so she said I'll have to get her something when I buy her new bed! LOL! She also hasn't realised that my sister brought the present over from my Mum and Dad this afternoon. I think she will be a very happy little girl in the morning LOL!

Now I've got to get my thinking cap on to make some cards for Andrew, who will be 11 on Monday! And I've promised to make Eleri some cake pops for her to take to school for her classmates on Monday. I just hope I start to feel better and get some energy (a nasty cold caught up with me last weekend - I normally manage to fight them off, but not this one!)

See you soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello All

Well I hope you've had a lovely day today. I received a lovely delivery of flowers at work today - a very nice surprise! I feel a bit bad to be honest, because all I gave to Richard was a card (the one I made below), a Chelsea Bun, and a tiny box of chocolate truffles! He always manages to outdo me - I really must make more effort to be a romantic LOL!

Anyway, here's Richard's card:



The Be Mine swirl is a digi from TLC creations, and I ran it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The hearts are an Xcut die, and I ran the large one through the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Black and white and red all over
Do You Stack Up - Love
Fab n Funky - Love is in the air
Simon Says - Love is in the air
Card Crafter's Circle - Valentine
Secret Crafter - Red white and black with texture

That's all from me this evening - I hope to be back soon.

Love, Andrea xx

It's My Birthday - Yaayyyy!

Hello Everyone! It's my birthday today, and I've had a lovely day so far - Richard and I both had the day off work and we've been into town and went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Sooooo scrumptious!

My sister has spoiled me, and made me a gorgeous cowl scarf, and crocheted some lovely flowers, and also given me some wooden circular knitting needles. I really want to photograph them for you all to see, but will have to wait for some daylight.

My Mum has given me a new suitcase (and she's got a matching one for Eleri for her birthday next week too!), and a nice new thick cardigan, which is just what I need for cold evenings at home!

And we've bought me a new handbag today, and I bought some fit flops in a sale the other day as part of my present too.

I also did a little bit of papercraft shopping today - bought some lovely looking papers and matching brads from the Range - well you can't go past a craft display without buying something can you? LOL!

So that's all good.

Not sure what I'm doing this evening - there is a pile of ironing and I have some minutes to do from work - but I'm not doing any of that on my birthday!

Be back soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Happy Birthday For a Special Friend

Oooo I tell you what, its bloomin cold here tonight - I have 4 layers of clothes on, and have had to put my dressing gown on top and an extra pair of socks - I'm just starting to get warm! I've even been right round the house checking that all the radiators are working, and they are!!!

I've just had a text from my hubby to say that he's on his way back from football but he's calling in the pub for 1! The last time he did that, he didn't get home til about 2.30am. I said to him before he left that if he wasn't home before I went to bed I'm going to lock the door and pull the curtain so he can't get in. Am I a meanie or what??? Trouble is he knows that I won't really carry out my threat LOL! Oh well, we'll see what time he turns up!

Enough waffle. Here's what I want to show you tonight - I think my mojo popped back for a while!



I've used the Wags n Whiskers digi, Snuzzle Love, again, coloured with promarkers - I think she's perfect for 6-7 year old girls. The papers are from a pad which was free with this month's Crafts Beautiful magazine. The sentiment is from Sentiments 4 You.

And this is the gift - another shamballa style bracelet of course - this time with rainbow quartz and one rose quartz bead in the centre. Don't those rainbow quartz beads look like little bubbles - I love them, so much so that I bought another strand last week and wish I'd got 2!



I would like to enter these into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - the sketch I followed
Kaboodle Doodles - Its All About Girls (Make It Girly)
Do You Stack Up - Anything Goes
Fab n Funky - Use a digi image

There you go. Not sure when I'll be back, but I must make cards for both my children whose birthdays are coming up in February - I'm struggling with ideas at the moment.

Love, Andrea xx