Ohhh heck! I've done it now!

Okidokee, well, I've done it now!
I put some cards in a box, with my contact details, took them to the art cafe and handed them in. I only did a scribbled note, maybe I should have typed something up, a bit more professional. But if I had waited to do that I'd have talked myself out of it.... I had to write it quickly, shove the cards in a box and get out of here :)

Anyway, she said that it's a group decision and that she'd let me know. I left them with her. These are the ones I handed in................

Click on any to see bigger.....


I think these are the best ones, but as you see, I erm, didn't quite get it down to six :)

I was so nervous, after I'd handed them in, I rushed out and straight to the public Ladies' toilets, where I promptly threw up. Good job Boots is right next door. Ha!

Knock, knock...... or, please tell me this is valuable.

Latest creation, with a new stamp, from Whiff Of Joy. I made it Wednesday night for my brother's partner. Her birthday is tomorrow. I plan to buy her a gift card from Boots. So I made this little folder to put it in, too:-front view

-back view

inside- I'll put the gift card in the pocket on the right.

Not sure if I will use it. Tempted to just chuck it in the bin!

Also made this modern Xmas card. It's a take on the "3 Wise Men" do you see?!

I'm feeling pretty low and ratty but fear not, I checked the calendar at my first Grrrrrrrr and ah, yes, it appears I am hormonal. I'll be feeling better in a few days, I hope!

I think some of this is sleep deprivation, too, as my back has been keeping me awake. Hey ho. Only another TEN DAYS to my X-ray.

I don't feel like doing any more cards, and I hope this feeling passes.

*My partner did make a comment that the cards are nice an' all, but not as good a thing to be doing with my talents as the pictures and paintings I've done in the past*.

Me, I've been seeing them as just another form of craft, another expression of an arty streak. There is no better or worse, no less or more worthy. What's more, it takes a lot out of you to do a painting or even a drawing. People think you're just sitting and drawing, so what could possibly be tiring about that? But it is, it drains you. All that concentration. All that head work. All that eye work, precision, decisions, focus, perspective. It exhausts you. I haven't had that in me for a while, and this papercraft stuff is a great way to be getting my creativity out of me in another way.

I know he didn't mean anything bad, it's the way it came out. The trouble with me is, once it's in my head, there it is. So, deep down I know he didn't mean to belittle the enormous pile of cards I now have- I've made about 50 since the end of July- but that's in my head. In my heart I feel I've been knocked right down. I look at my cards, and the huge stash of materials I've acquired, and I feel, "What's the point?" I feel I've been judged in my own home, *and in my own space*.

I did ask in an Art Cafe last Friday if they would take some of my cards to sell. She was enthusiastic. Gave me her email. Asked me to email about 6 samples to her. I still haven't......

This week's layout challenge

Clicking on the logo will take you to the Sketch Saturday blog where you'll find lots of examples of this layout:
Here's mine:
Here's a close up of the wee mousie. He's a Penny Black rubber stamp which I've coloured with water-colour pencils and a water-brush. You can just about see some tiny snowflake stickers.
The papers are from a 12 x 12 DCWV "Christmas Scrap Pad". This is usually £19.99 but I bought it recently from ArtyMiss for £5.99.

ArtyMiss are good for bargains. One drawback of theirs, though, is that their "search" facility is so poor; it can take a very long time to find something; and the way things are filed, you can easily miss something. So if you are interested in this paper pack, here is a direct link to it for you. They have a minimum order rule of £10 and delivery is £3.95. Be prepared to wait at least a week for delivery!

Ahh, if only.... :-)

Hope it made you smile...

Pootling about... well, as much as I can!

Taken in May, in Beaulieu, New Forest.

I've had a weird shift in my existence lately.
Normally I'd be OK physically and my only real pains would be of the mental variety. But for the last few weeks this has been the other way round :)

My back is still giving me bad pain (Xray appointment not for another 3 weeks!), my complexion, since I'm unable to get out much, has put me into Spotty Muldoon territory, and the copious codeine has left me as bloated as a barrage balloon. But inside my head it's Springtime and daisies. Even in between codeine doses :)

I think I would actually prefer it this way round, if it were not for the frustration- wanting to do things and being unable. Even washing my hair is a big event to be planned, it is so painful to stretch or bend. SO going for walks to the park to feed the squirrels, or walking to the shops even for the most basic of grocery trips, all these are ruled out completely.

I've had to watch, from the window, the weeds spread in the garden and mildew-type mould swallow up the mahonia. I can just about refill the bird feeders in the morning, though I've had to move one of them.

I have renewed respect for two of my friends in particular: Jacky, in Canterbury, who has ME, and is in a wheelchair and exhausted for much of the time; and Donna, in Missouri, who has MS.

It would be wonderful to have neither mental ill health nor physical pain, and I urge you, if this is the case with you, please appreciate it!!! -Just focus on it for a minute or two, so that you are aware of it and therefore not taking it for granted. Then perhaps look around and see if there is a friend who could use your help with something, or a phone call just to see how they are.

This week's layout challenge

Here is this week's layout:
And here is my attempt!
This is another Penny Black stamp, coloured with my water-colour pencils and a little water.
Re. the layout, I changed the squares a wee bit: I did have the middle one at an angle at first, but it just didn't look right on my design because I hadn't left enough room.


If you click on the pictures, you should get them to come up larger.


Unfortunately this close-up came out blurred, but you can just see that the snow on the Post Box is 3D- I used my DecoArt Snow Writer again. When it was dry I went over it with a Lacquer pen so that it is shiny.

The robin's breast is fluffy- I used some deep red Flower Soft (yep, I got some at last!!).

I liked this layout, although I don't use large cards and do use large images, so it was a challenge to fit it all in :)

*** *** *** *** ***

And now...

Here's my first card using my new stamp from Little Claire!
Putting glitter on a halo felt like being about 7 years old again :)


And here's one I made with the intention of making a more "boyish" card than usual:
The "Noel" stamp was just 99p, at The Range.


I like these ones!!! Hope they made you smile.

The Secret Santa Draw!

Well, the draw has been done!

I have scoured emails and comments boxes and come up with a final list of participants. Can I just say that I am SOOO SOOO sorry if you told me along the way that you'd like to take part and then find your name missing from the list. I promise you, if this is the case then it is NOT anything personal, it is just a failure on the part of my brain! So huge apologies if this has happened. If it has, please don't abandon me! Keep an eye on how it all goes and then maybe next year we could do an Easter one, and you can be in on that!

So here we are-

• Amy
• Chewy
• Sally in Norfolk
• Stardust
• Lorianna
• Blue
• Debbie from Debbie's Blog of Life
• Debbie from Passion for Crafts
• Freebird
• i.beati (Sandy)
• Miss Peach
• Rachelle
• Mousie from Plumpiemousie
• Mrs Nesbitt
• Chalky
• Me

My trusty assistant, Dilly, did the draw last night:......and I am now in the process of emailling you all to tell you who you are making something for. I'm not, of course, telling you who is going to be making yours. That's all part of the surprise!

Have fun!!!!

Secret Santa Update

OK here we go!
I'm a little behind because my back is slowing me right down. Still hobbling about and making sudden "Aaaarrreeeeeehhhhhhhh" noises as it all jars. But getting a bit more mobile.

Might even attack the laundry today- hurray, hey wow and cockadoodle-doo! (Can you detect a wee bit of sarcasm there?)

But I'll start a wee notebook today, of peeps taking part in the card swap, their emails and snail-mail addresses, then do the lucky dip and get to letting you all know who you're making for.

Meanwhile....

In my unable-to-sleep much, not-able-to-be-doing-much state, I went cyber shopping.... Oh Lor! And I have ordered a new Xmas stamp (very cute) from Little Claire Designs:
Ahhh! Couldn't resist, as, unlike a lot of the Xmas stamps I've seen, this one didn't cost the earth. I also ordered some bargain new papers and glittery stuff, bits and pieces, and some more crochet flowers.

Now look, my mum said she was interested in taking up crochet again (after many decades) and so I bought her a book on it and needles and wool and stuff..... but still no crochet flower factory on tap. What's going on here? LOL!

This week's layout challenge

Here is this week's layout:
and, thanks to copious codeine and diazepam (see last post!!!) I have managed to have a go!

• The green paper is from a 6x6 K & Co pad. The other papers were in a freebie stash with Crafts Beautiful magazine out this month.
• The circle is watercolour card. I drew around a pot for the shape, then drew a wiggly line and cut it out.
  
• Then I stabbed it all around with a needle which was very therapeutic :^)
• I've rubbed a gold stamp-pad round the edges of it, too.

• I doodled the red flowers then scanned them in and printed them out on thick paper, cut out and coloured with water-colour pencils and water.
• The snowflakes are white peel-offs with stick-on pearls in the middle.
• "Happy Christmas" is from a sheet of white peel-offs too.

• The robin is a Penny Black stamp which I've coloured with water-colour pencils and a wee wash of water.
• Then I've used a new toy, a DecoArt Snow Writer, which sets solid. I bought it for adding a bit of snow here and there to things, but used it here on the robin's fur hat. I'd prefer to use something like Flower Soft for this, but I've yet to see this anywhere but online with a large postage fee. So I'm holding out for a special offer somewhere :)

I enjoyed making this one. It's also a wee bit larger than I've made before.

Back break!

The back pain that's been on and off for a few months now has really kicked in. -That's just how it feels! -Like someone has kicked me at the base of my spine. I've been on the look-out for elephants escaped from Colchester zoo, I'm so convinced it must have been one of them that did it.

Anyway, I saw a doc this evening who has prescribed me codeine and diazepam, in an attempt to relieve pain, I can only guess, by (1) strong painkiller and (2) knocking me out completely if all else fails.

The muscle spasms in my back have also caused stomach aches and necessitated sudden rushes to the loo- NOT easy when you can't stand upright! I hope the diazepam stops the spasms, and the sudden 'jarring' of the hip/spine area. Grrrrr. We have a couple of long metal poles for opening the roof windows in the conservatory. I've been using them as walking sticks.

I'm feeling pretty frustrated as I'm completely useless at the moment! I can't clear up or go for a walk or do the garden- and these few nice sunny days aren't here for much longer, I suspect. Grrr... I want to walk into town and feed the squirrels! I want to sprawl across the floor and do some pictures! I want to do the laundry... ok that one isn't so exciting.

I've just taken my first dose and the zombie-fying affects are just starting to creep up my spine and over my skull and...yep, there it is- sleepy eyeball syndrome already. Ahhh....

All this waffle is just an eleborate apology for absence, as blogging is going to be difficult, as is crafting. So, I might not be around for a wee bit now.....

The Secret Santa is still going ahead! On Thursday night I'll check the list of people who want to join in. I'll check the comments sections on my last few posts + my email. I hope I son't miss anybody. Then I'll do the draw and email you all to let you know who you're making something for. Exciting, sin't it? Hehehe!

Meanwhile, one thing I have been doing is looking into Etsy and Folksy (the UK equivalent) websites, with a view to setting up a shop front for my cards and pictures.

I'm not wanting to make a big profit or anything, just to have an outlet that pays for my hobby, really. And perhaps now and then I will be able to say, "this month all money goes to the cat home up the road" or something like that. I have 40+ cards now so that is a good start, I just need to be able to photograph them better. Dang back!! Even this is beyond my capability at the moment.

I've also acquired a couple of books from Amazon secondhand, on making books, albums, and needle-felted decorations and animals. It's so frustrating not to be able to launch into all this stuff!!! I hope, when I'm better, I'll not take being able to move without pain for granted!

Long-term, I may have spondylolisthesis, something my mother has in her lower spine. We've been comparing symptoms. Doc has sent off a form for an Xray request today. Gone are the days when she could have given me the form and told me to report to the Outpatients Dept at the hospital a.s.a.p. to get it done. Now she has to fill in a form and send it off. Eventually, someone behind a desk will review the form and decide whether I really do need an xray. If so, I'll be sent a letter with an appointment date. I hope it comes before my back has righted itself, otherwise it might not pick up what the problem was. Then if it happens again (and if it's what mum's got, it will) I'll have to start the whole paperwork process again.

Grrr.... some progress in other areas- my blood test results came back at last, and I have slightly low iron and thyroid. This might explain the sleep olympics I do from time to time, and also some of the low mood periods. Once I'm able, I'll wander into town and pick up some sea kelp supplement and see if that helps this.

OoooOOoooooOooooOOoooOOoooOooooo getting into the "feels-like-I've-had-a-large-brandy" stage now. Time to log off and go and help Bob T Bear (esq) with his blog while I can.

See you around, peeps! And please, sit up straight, don't slouch, and don't carry the toddler/shopping/ironing board/lawn mower on one hip. Believe me. It isn't worth it.