Crafty Odds and Ends

Have managed some crafty "me time" recently and here are the results.
First the three ATCs I made for the Jan. Swap - hopefully all received by now.

This is the birthday card I made using the new docrafts Goody Bag . Yellow is not my favourite colour but the capsule collection is yummy and the stamp is cute! Sentiment stamp (I've been waiting for the right image) is by High Hope.

And last but not least the outcome of Saturday's class at A Maze of Memories.

A simple and elegant wedding LO using faux embossing techniques and hand made flowers.

I really enjoyed the flower making (very therapeutic) and was able to not flatten them as this LO is now in a box frame - with scattered petals on the ledge.

Had a lovely afternoon. Thanks Christina!

Sue xx

A New Award!

Thanks to Gina for this lovely award!
The rules are that I  have to  list three things I must never do and pass it on to three people.
So, here we go - three things I must never do:
1.Support Man City or Liverpool
2.Serve meatless meals to OH
3.Forget to carry spare batteries for my hearing aids (they always fail at the most inopportune moments!)

I would like to pass this award on to the following people:
Dianne - who makes fabulous cards.
Sue  - who is an inspiration to us all and...
Diane - who also makes wonderful cards  (and understands about the batteries!lol)

ATC Swap - February

Thanks to Suzie B for the beautiful ATC she sent me (and the card it was in was lovely too!) for the January swap.
Hopefully you'll all have received your ATC's by now.
I gather you're all raring to go with next month and pestered Gina into setting the theme early!

OK! The theme for February is "Music the year you were born".
Having been born soooo long ago (thanks Gina!!) I had to do some research - did find a few songs  and actually recognised two of them to the extent that I knew the words. Result!!

This month's swap partners are:

SusieJ - to Alma
Gina to Carole
Alma to Jenni
Carole to Maria
Jenni to Donna
Maria to Bev
Donna to Tania
Bev to Val
Tania to Gill
Val to Sue-bubbles
Gill to SuzieB
Sue-bubbles to FionaK
SuzieB to Gina
FionaK to SusieJ

Please email me or post a message on here if you need to me to send your partner's postal address.

Remember - the commitment is only for one ATC but you are welcome to make more and send them to other participants.

Most of all - have fun!!

Sue xx
p.s. I don't have an email address for FionaK

Heritage LO (details)

Made the Heritage LO in the slideshow at AMOM on Saturday.
It was great to get back to scrapping and lovely to be with Pat, Jan and Diane again.
We used the Deja Views "Timeless" collection and everything on the LO was handmade (apart from the ribbons!).
Inside the envelope is a mini gatefold album (yes, we made them both ourselves) - great for using small photos and journalling - I haven't done my journalling yet as I need more info from my Dad - the subject of the LO.

Heritage LO using Deja Views "Timeless" Collection

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What is an ATC?

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art  2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (6cm X 9cm), small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland.
Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc).
The cards are  traded or exchanged rather than sold.

On the back of the card the following details are listed (can be handwritten or stamped):

Artist Trading Card
Handmade by......
Title... (eg. January Swap - Snow)
Number .....of.......
Date.......

Hope this helps those of you new to ATCs.

ATC Swap - An update.

Well girls - there are 11 of us so far - can we make it to 12 so there's a new person to choose the theme for each month of the year? Yay!! Sue-bubbles has joined us! And Suzie B is a late entrant - welcome!

I think it best if we keep it simple.

Each person has to make one ATC for another person on the list as assigned. That way we will all have 12 ATCs by the end of the year.
After that it's up to you if you want to make more on the same theme and send them to others on the list.   Just remember to number your ATCs accordingly e.g 1/6 , 2/6 etc if you make 6.

I've set the January theme (Snow).
February - Gina
March - Alma
April - Carole
May - Jenni
June - Maria
July - Donna
August - Bev
Sept. - Tania
Oct. - Val
Nov. - Gill
Dec. - Sue-bubbles
Jan2011 - SuzieB
Is this OK with everyone? If you need to change please let me know and I'll  amend the list.

For the first month please send your ATC to the person below you on the list (I'll send to Gina, she'll send to Alma and so on - Suzie will send to me).

For those of you who don't have my email address Gina will be able to pm it to you on docrafts.

Any questions? Any suggestions?
If we aim to post by 29th Jan we should have our first ATCs just in time for Gina to choose her theme!
Sue xx

ATC Swap

Gina and I would like to invite you all to take part in a monthly ATC swap.

ATC's are brilliant - small, don't take too much time and you get to use your scraps!

Please sign up  below.

The theme for January is (believe it or not!!) snow.

I'm willing to organise this  - will sort out who swaps with who each month  (and forward addresses) - will also choose who sets the theme for the month if that is OK with everyone (no way is Gina getting April!!lol).

Something new and happy for the New Year.

Blog Candy

This is my blog candy from ClarkyJ - it arrived this morning and really cheered me up. You've been more than generous Janet - many,many thanks!

So, how has 2010 been so far?

A mixed bag involving vampires, dentists, shattering glass, firemen......

Where do I start?

Crafting - have made a selection of tags for Christmas  by recycling last year's cards (not the handmade ones which are safely stored) and using up odd bits of ribbon. Feel very virtuous!lol

Dentist - recleaned my poorly tooth and slapped another temporary/antiseptic dressing on it - that has to stay for 3-4 weeks. Said I might get the "odd surge" of antiseptic in my mouth. Hah! Felt and tasted as though I was drinking neat TCP for three days. Tongue and roof of mouth both red raw so eating and drinking have been slow,painful and cold (I need my hot coffee to function!!).

DS made it back to Bristol on Thursday and I haven't heard from him since. I actually missed him more this time than in Sept. Felt quite bereft for the first two days - have now adjusted and like having my house back etc. etc.

Pat and I were supposed to go to a scrapbook class on Saturday (at AMOM) - a Christmas LO -  so I printed off all my photos. Unfortunately the rear window of her car exploded on Friday while she was driving home,showering her DS in shattered glass. No repair possible until Monday - sooo, no class.

And now comes the highlight of the year!
On Sunday I walked Max round to Audrey's for a couple of hours. We had a lovely chat and a couple of glasses of wine (it was def. no more due to TCP problems listed above).
On the way back I stopped at the grassy area behind our street to let Max off lead. I remember leaning down to take the lead off....next thing I'm lying face down in the snow with blankets over me, paramedics talking to me... put onto board and taken into a complete stranger's house and then the ambulance arrives and they do all sorts of tests. OH arrives ( I'd been able to tell them the address and my name .. but was more concerned about Max). Several hours later they decide that I don't need to go to hospital but can go home.

I finally meet the householders - apparently the wife had spotted Max out of the kitchen window (he was sitting beside me) and realised s'thing was wrong so she and her husband sprang into action. I can never thank them enough. No-one knows how long I'd been in the snow. OH rang Audrey and  I'd left her nearly two hours before.
On leaving the house I discovered that there wasn't just an ambulance there but a b****y great  fire engine with full crew. In no fit state to assess hunkiness of firemen though. Shame.

Still not sure what happened but I spent yesterday feeling very shivery and shaky.
Today I had my usual blood test and had to have my BP taken twice as it was high (normally very low). Paula (the vampire) insisted on taking the  ambulance report for my GP and he's been on the phone. They're going to monitor my blood pressure closely as that seems to be most likely culprit. Oh joy! Plus, my veins didn't want to give up their blood so both arms were used.. and now I have to inject my meds.

Hopefully my next post will be more cheerful (if less exciting and with a smaller cast of characters)
Hope 2010 is going well for all of you - despite the snow .

Let it snow!

DS panicked yeaterday on hearing the weather forecast - didn't want to get snowed in here as there's nothing to do during the day (unlike Bristol). He planned to travel back with a mate by bus and train. Only he didn't make it - OH couldn't even get him to the bus stop. Oh dear ,I'll have him at home for a while longer! I'm happy, Max is happy but DS isn't.
Took some photos of the snow last night and Max and I will venture out later for a doggy/snow photo shoot - just hope he cooperates!
And yes, it's still snowing this morning - yay!
You can tell I don't actually have to go anywhere!lol