Tuesday 15 December 2015

T(ea) on Tuesday

I am joining Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T on Tuesday with a cup of tea... nothing fancy, just plain old breakfast tea.
When I was shopping last week I found this black tin with the Keep Calm logo on it and picked it up to go with the one the one from Bridget in Australia.  The Christmas tree tin is a revolving music box shortbread biscuit tin I got in Marks and Spencers for half price... gotta love a bargain!
I made these two mug rugs for a friend for Crimbo... love that material, perfect for T on Tuesday!
Tree is up and I am ready for Christmas.... well, nearly ready for Christmas.... will be soon... sort of... mayb.... ;)
Will be around to visit the other T ladies after breakfast..... 

Tuesday 1 December 2015

T on Tuesday

I am joining Elizabeth for T on Tuesday and showing off my new toy.... a new Tassimo coffee machine and today I am enjoying a Costa caffe latte in my Keep Calm mug that Chris bought me when we were in Brisbane.
I sat last night and made a set of cards, just quick simple ones that can be adapted for lots of different occasions.  They are a present for a friends Mum for Christmas as she loves to send snail mail.
This is a new Sissix die I bought this week so I am giving it a good try out!
Shiny butterflies are very hard to photograph... this looks a lot nice in real life...
Another shiny version... it looks lovely when its sitting on the desk, honest! 
Cut these butterflies from a delicate see through paper and they look like lace now.
So that is me, now need to make them a box or a folder to keep them in... should keep me busy for an hour or two this morning!

Tuesday 10 November 2015

T(ea) on Tuesday

I am joining Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T on Tuesday two weeks in a row now!  Sitting have a cup of tea with a slice of cake (or two) and glancing through my Tea Wisdom book which has some pretty high falutin sayings about tea... I have to admit, I prefer the down to earth ones that don't tax my brain too much.  In honour of Armistice Day tomorrow I have my poppy and my candle holder with the Union Jacks on it.  We had Remembrance Day last Sunday with the laying of the poppy wreaths at the cenotaphs around the country. Cenotaph: noun
  1. a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war.


  2. This is the local memorial to where we live. It wasn't the nicest of weather on Sunday, blowing a houlie and raining which made a solemn event more than usual.

  3. On a crafty note, I have been busy making up scrapbook page kits! Yes, here I am putting together a page kit for the 20 retired ladies that meet up once a month and whom I joined when I came home from Australia.  They are a lovely bunch and we enjoy learning something new each month so I was asked if I could teach a scrapbook page.... oh boy.... this is going to be something!  I am trying to keep it simple by cutting to size all the various pieces of papers they will need... and diecut all the birdcages and cut all the ribbons... so it shouldn't be a disaster, should it?  ;)
  4. I will be about to see what everyone is up to this week....

Saturday 7 November 2015

The Little Book of Tea

I finished the first Little Book of Tea!  

It is a very simple little book made up of pockets that hold the tea bag sachet and a tag.

I printed lots of little saying about tea and attached them to the pages.


One of my favourite tea quotes from Robert Browning.

Pocket page with tea bag and tag.

and I made these little teabag tag bits for the tags... 

The variety of teas and their tags.

It didn't take me long once I made myself sit and get on with it and now I can refine it and make a couple more.






Tuesday 3 November 2015

T on Tuesday

I am trying to beat this mojo block.... it is so weird, I always used crafting and scrapping as a way to fill the time when we were overseas and Chris was at work.  Now we are home and Chris is retired it seems weird to go sit in the scraproom and play for hours... when there is a house to clean and jobs to be done! LOL
So, I am joining Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T on Tuesday....
a cup of chai tea in my new cup and saucer... Keep Calm in London!  

I have been sitting at my desk and making a little tea book, I have enough to make two, so if they turn out the way I think they should, I may make a few more as gifts seeing as how the big C word is looming over us.
I am thinking I need a challenge to get me playing again... 


Oh and my bedroom is painted and the new bedding is looking good, so that is another room ticked off the list!
and here is Pandora sitting on my little table with the sewing machine... just so that anything I make is covered in white cat fur,,,, as it should be! ;)
Looking forward to visiting and finding out what everyone is up to!

Thursday 29 October 2015

A Card for Dee

Have been sitting in the scraproom this morning with the rain hitting the windows and the wind blowing so thought it was the right time to sit and make a card for a lovely lady I met in Brisbane.  

Dee went into hospital on Tuesday for a double mastectomy and reconstruction work.  I told her I would make a card and pop it in the post to her for when she gets home.

I hope she likes it... and that her recovery goes smoothly, she has the right attitude and smiles all the time, so we are all rooting for her.
kind of spoilt it with my handwriting but she is such a sweety I am sure she will forgive me! :)
I used lots of little pink pearls and some embossing folders I bought in Oz and have not used till now! (Oops).  I saw a card on splitcoast stampers that I based this on but I cannot find it again now so will have another search so that I can credit the original design properly. OK, I found it! LOL

Tuesday 22 September 2015

T on Tuesday

As I actually have some crafting to show, the first for such a long time, I thought I would pop over and join Elizabeth for T on Tuesday! This is my desk with my cup of tea and a little photo album I am making for my Mum.... here's hoping the mojo is here to stay for a while!
These are the Christmas cards I made at the crop in Aberdeen on Saturday.  I had a lovely day with the group of crafties/scrapbookers and it was just what I needed to get me back to playing in my scraproom.  
This is card one and there was some fussy cutting and inking and stamping and I love the way it turned out .
This looks so much prettier in real life, little glitter shiny bits on the trees and snow, will definitely be making more like these if I can!
This is an easel card and I love that stamp with the sleigh and reindeer going across the moonlight.
This was such fun to make, acetate behind the window and a little cut out snowman peaking with stamped trees and some glitter in the background.

Now, don't be expecting this standard of Christmas card from me at home, I haven't the dies or stamps I got to use at the card class but at least I can use the ideas and have a go with things I do have.  Watch this space!





Wednesday 15 July 2015

WOYWW 319

I am not going to be linking up because I have no phone line or internet at the moment so wouldn't be able to return all the visits or leave comments... I am writing this piggybacking on a neighbours interwebs which makes for an entirely new experience in speed!!

I did want to say how sorry I was to read about the passing of Eliza last week, such a lovely lady and it has been a privilege to 'know' her and her cute little Yoda cat, from our desk visits with WOYWW and T on Tuesday.  She will be sadly missed by all and my heart goes out to her family and friends at this sad time.

I don't think there has ever been such a gap on my blog... the mojo has vanished into thin air with the invasion of painters and plumbers renovating the main bathroom.... a one week job that is now in week 3.... and with the phone line down too... but I will be back... and I will be playing at my desk soon.... its a promise.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

WOYWW 313

Good Morning!  It actually looks like it might be a lovely sunny day here in Bonnie Scotland, which would be great, because we haven't really started the spring and summer very well!  This is my desk on this bright June morning, you can see the ATC's I have received for the 6th Anniversary WOYWW Swap, with the lovely cards/folders and envelopes that they arrived in at the back.  

Jan's lovely hare, Jo's dumfling, Annie's embroidered, MaryAnne's popping up box and Neet's cute little piffy... they are so lovely and I am enjoying having them on the desk to sit and look at but think it is time to make a book to hold all the WOYWW swap ATC's for the last couple of years... that should keep me out of mischief for a while eh?
Looking forward to seeing all the desks this morning and this evening is a walk at Haddo House and meal afterwards with the ladies group I have joined.
Leave your number and I will be checking out the linky list at our Julia's to come by for a visit!


Wednesday 27 May 2015

WOYWW 312

It is the WOYWW 6th Anniversary Swap!!  This is my desk on this auspicious morning... and yes, it is 4.30 a.m. as I type this... 
these are the ATC's that I have managed to make... 12 of them and then the wrist said no more crazy lady, that's it.... the doctor says I have a ganglione pressing on the nerves in my wrist which needs operating on to remove it... 
So this is the ATC I have made to swap with my mystery person in linky list... to amke up for its lack of beauty on the outside I made it into a 'secret keeper' with the anniversary message on the inside when the top is slid upward!!
and you can see what a problem I have with the cats.... its 4.15 a.m. in this photo... and its daylight out there and the cats think that that means Mum should be out of bed and getting them breakfast!
Garden is looking nice though and I really appreciate the nice early morning view from my spot at the window... 
Congratulations to Julia and all the WOYWW deskers on the 6th Anniversary of visiting each other, I have been missing in action most of this year but couldn't not be here for this... I still have few ATC's to swap with peeps if anyone is interested!!
Thank you to NikkiC for the lovely button as always!!

Wednesday 13 May 2015

WOYWW 310

Yay! I am joining Julia for the Wednesday whirlwind dance through the desks of the world... and on my desk are a couple of cardboard inserts from new shoes I got in the post... 

they just look too much fun to throw in the recycle so I thought I would have a go at playing with them and see what happens...

I thought I would do a step back photo shot of the window and layout...it lets in so much light and makes it such a pleasure to work in there... will be glad when the new blinds arrive though, its fine during the day but at night I feel a bit like a goldfish in a bowl!

another pic of the new long shelf I had put up to home all the bits I have altered so they aren't using up good stash space on my units

and the new corner with my desk in place at last... its only taken 11 months but I got there in the end and now have a lovely computer area to waste my time on the interwebs! LOL
I am being a lady that lunches today but will be back later to visit everyone and then I must make a start on the ATC's for the 6th Anniversary of WOYWW... I cannot miss that!

Tuesday 12 May 2015

T on Tuesday

A frothy milky coffee on one side and the makings of a scrapbook page centre stage on my desk.  I am really enjoying being able to work in natural light from my new window and as I had mentioned some time ago, a need to use up some of my paper stash and actually get some of my photos printed and into scrapbooks. So, no, these papers are not the latest design and colours but I bought them because I liked them and that has not changed!!
Finished layout of my Granddaughter, Caitlyn taken last year when she was at the beach playing in the sand.  I have used a page from Titan333 that I found on Pinterest as my inspiration.
Close-up of the flowers and pin and pearls that decorate the page.
So that is one photo down.... just a few hundred to go but as I sorted my papers into colours and manufacturers last week I have a better idea of what I have to play with... some of them are a decade old or more so its use it or lose it time!!