Remind me never......

....to buy one of these scrapbook albums from the famous craft store in the UK!

When you get it home and open it you find that there are no plastic sleeves in there in which to put your layouts once completed.  Then you have to go on a 45 mile round trip to go and buy the said sleeves to put in.  When you get the sleeves they do not fit in the blasted album, despite being the same make as you can see from the photo below.

I then spent a happy hour or two faffing to punch the holes in the right place for the album only to find that the extension posts that are included in the sleeves do not fit the posts that are in the album.  To say the air was blue was an understatement.  

I also spent a few minutes trying to find any indication that the sleeves are not included only to find it in teeny tiny writing down the bottom of the back of the album.   My Hubby is an engineer but even he was tempted to throw the blasted thing out of the window.  It took both of us to get it sorted and complete posts with extension from another well known company to sort it.

Just a warning to you and a reminder for me NEVER to buy these again.  

Rant over.  Back to work now! Grrrrrrr!

Have a good day now!

Hettie

Funkie Junkie - Christmas Tag - Tag 3

Hello There!

Before this Challenge runs off without me I thought I had better share my third tag in this series with you.  As you know I am taking part in the Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas Challenge again, having taken part last year.  As last year it is being sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique stockists of my favourite stamps and the most exquisite lace!

Rightio.  Onto the Challenge.  If you want to see Linda's Tag click HERE.  I took her idea of stars and stencils for this tag.  I realised I did not have a stencil so I made my own using my trusty Silhouette.  However, it was a long job as I have now discovered that I need a new blade.  Hurrumpf! So I ended up cutting all the perishing stars by hand.  However, I do have a fabby stencil to use again so no problemo!

I first of all stenciled ink with Brushed Corduroy DI.  Wasn't quite sure what stamp I was going to use, but when I was rummaging through I came across this stamp.  A nearly NBIS.  I inked it once to see how it was and coloured the image in pre Distress Pen and not many Copic pens days and decided it was a PITA so never used it again.  However, I now have Distress Pens and more Copics so decided to give it another go.  This time I am much happier, but if I use it on a card, it will be a special person who I give it to let me tell you!

I then worked out roughly where I was going to stamp this image and then using my stencil with some Poppy Stencils embossing paste I added more stars on and left to dry over night. Once I knew the paste was dry I stamped the image with Archival ink and then set about colouring in the image. Not the easiest but I kinda like the rough and ready finish as it suits the tag generally. Well I think so!!

I then used a Lavinia stamp with teeny tiny stars and blue-grey Archival ink and randomly stamped the tag.  I used some Rock Candy Distress Stickles on the Santa, roughed up the edge of the tag and coloured the edge with bronze DS.  It does look better IRL. Then added some wooden stars with the little TH wordies.

Some ribbon and a Santa charm (VOS) and it was complete.  Yeay! a quarter of the way through and a stamp that I had put aside now in use!  (Note the stars on Santa's sack!  I only noticed them when I was colouring in!)

Thanks for popping in.  

Hugs

Hettie

Rudolph Day

Hello Peeps

Brrr!  Is it me or has it gone colder since the Storm?

Just dashing in to show you my C Cards for this month's Rudolph Day.  Isn't this a gorgeous stamp?  My lovely friend Kim gave it to me when she visited earlier this month and I just had to use it.  If anyone knows what make it is I would be grateful to know.

Very simply done.  I stamped it with embossing ink and then embossed it with Stampenduous silver embossing powder. I layered it with some silver cardstock onto a black background.  It looks kinda navy on the above photo but I assure you it is black!

You can just see the shimmer and detail here.  I decided no other elements were needed on this and got carried away and made 8 cards.  I rummaged through the Snippets drawer to find any black cardstock that was the right size with a little trimming in places. I shall pop it into the Snippets Playground too.

Don't forget if you wish to have a go at the Rudolph Day you have until Thursday night.  Don't leave it too late as you may forget when you are out on your broomsticks!

TTFN and thanks for calling by.

Hettie

Book Binding...

Hello Folks

I hope you have all had a good weekend and have battened down the hatches ready for this pending storm.  I have shut the Girls in so that they don't get blown away!

I want to share with you a little project I have been working on.  Ever since I made THIS  book with Neil Burley I have wanted to make another journal type book.  So here it is....

I bought some leather from Ebay, cut it to size and rounded the corners.  Then I adhered some paper to the inside.  I cut out some watercolour paper, folded it, marked out the holes in both the paper and leather and then sewed the paper signatures to the cover using waxed linen thread.

The inside paper was bought for me by a non-crafting friend.  Gorgeous isn't it?  It has a lovely shimmer to it.

Here are the inside of each signature of paper.

At the end I threaded some leather cord to tie the book closed.

I have not used my book yet but I am sure I soon will.  This is on I am DEFINITELY keeping!

Have a good week everyone and I truly hope the storm St Jude soon passes without too much upheaval for you all.

Hettie 

Friday Funny

The computer swallowed Grandma,

Yes, honestly  it’s true!

She pressed 'control and 'enter'

And disappeared  from view.

It devoured her completely,

The thought just makes  me squirm.

She must have caught a virus

Or been eaten by a  worm.

I've searched through the recycle bin

And files of every  kind;

I've even used the Internet,

But nothing did I  find.

In desperation, I asked Mr. Google

My searches to  refine.

The reply from him was negative,

Not a thing was found  'online.'

So, if inside your 'Inbox,'

My Grandma you should  see,

Please 'Copy, Scan' and 'Paste' her,

And send her back to  me.

This is a tribute to all the Grandmas &  Grandpas, Nannas & Pops, who

have been fearless and learned to  use the Computer.........

They are the  greatest!!!

I am linking this up with my mate Annie.  There are some super cute scary photos over there right now!

Snippets Card

Hello Friends

Sorry I have been MIA for the last day or two.  Feeling a bit sorry for myself with the treatment I am currently receiving and just too tired to do anything when I come in from work.  I am sure that when I am used to it all I will be back to my usual self!  Hope so anyhoo!

So on to my post today.  Just a simple Snippets card using a stamping I made ages ago made by inking the stamp with DIs and spritzing with water before stamping on to watercolour paper, double mounted on card out of the Snippets box, a gem leaf and a flower embellie which I layered with a punched Snippet.  I hate to think how long I have had those flower embellies so they are v VOS!

A little fluff and a stamped tag and hey presto a card for my box to use on a day when I have forgotten someone and need a card pronto.  I am taking this over to the Snippets Playground.  Tis about time the chooks were cleaned out and it is my turn on the rota!  Parsnip is a task master you know, just cos Miss is on her teacher training!

Hettie

Scrapbook Tuesday - Forget Me Not

Hello Friends

I don't know if it is me, but since I started the Scrapbook Tuesdays at the beginning of the year, Tuesdays seem to come round quicker?  Maybe not but it seems to for me.  Just as well I am enjoying my own little Challenge isn't it?  

So here is Tuesday and it is time for me to share this week's layout with you......

The photo is of a friend of mine who sadly passed away a few weeks ago.  I met Greta and her husband John, at the first Scottish Dance class I ever went to a loooong time ago.  Greta was born in Scotland and was a mother, grandmother as well as a very warm and kind hearted person, and I hope I have endorsed these attributes in my layout.  She was a sewer hence why I chose to use hexagons, which I cut on my Sizzix die all from my Snippets box, and laid on a red background to echo Greta's top.

The photograph was given to all who attended her funeral along with another photograph, of Forget Me Nots, with some personal details on, all in a cellophane pocket which contained Forget Me Not seeds.  I thought this was a lovely touch and I have echoed this with a blue ribbon and a punched flower at the top right corner of the layout. 

The Thistles were stamped with a NBIS which I have had for some years.  Shame on me!  The letters were from a Cosmo Cricket set, which again is VOS.  The red ribbon is a Snippet from my C Album last year.

The Piper was cut on my Silhouette along with the "thinking of you", using white cardstock then inked with DI.  I then brushed with Perfect Pearls and foam mounted.  You can see the top of the other photo that was included with the photo, which I have popped a punched tab on.

Thanks for calling by and please leave me a comment - we all love comments!  Of course I shall be taking this over the Snippets Playground just as soon as I have put my wellies on - there are plenty of puddles right now and some late mischief before Miss comes back from "Teacher Training".  Why not use some scraps on a project and join in with the fun and mayhem of the Snippets Playground?

Hettie

The Funkie Junkie - Christmas Tags - Tag 2

Hello There!  

Another weekend is drawing to a close and it is back to the grindstone in the morning!  I hope it has been a good weekend for you all and that you have managed to do some crafting over the weekend.  I have managed to have a few hours today which I will share with you during the week.  For now I want to share with you my latest Funkie Junkie tag.  Tag 2.  You can see Linda's tag HERE.  

I made a tag with my TH tag die using cardstock, then swooshed some Picket Fence DS on the mat.  I don't have any brown DS so I popped some Gathered Twigs reinker into a mister and topped it with water, shook it and then sprayed some on my mat and swooshed my tag through it.  I forgot to pop some perfect pearls in the mister so once the tag was dried I sprayed the tag with my Heirloom Gold spray.  Then I stamped the Artistic Post Grist Mill stamp with Archival ink and embossing it with clear powder.  

I then took a Sheena Douglass stamp and inked it with black Archival ink.  I took a Snippet of chipboard and cut a reindeer using a TH die, then embossed it with gold embossing powder before stamping it with my TH script, having inked it with embossing ink to prevent it getting too hot.

Then I took some wooden hearts I had recently bought and using my TH pine stamp I stamped both the top of the tag and hearts.  I took some ribbon and stapled it on the top of the tag and adhered the hearts.  Another bit of ribbon through the top of the tag and hey presto my tag was finished.

Why not join in on these 12 Tags of Christmas with the Funkie Junkie?  There is a chance to win some pennies to be spent in the sponsor's shop - The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  See HERE for further details and Tag 1.

See you soon and have a great week.

Hettie

All Aboard for the UK...

Hello Friends

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.  I am attending an Area Day with some Quilting Buddies today and then a Dance in Swansea so busy as usual.  

I thought I would share something with you that I made for my Buddy who visited us earlier this week......

Yep.  My Tim Holtz Suitcase die came out and I made a little Travel Journal for Kim to use when she came over, though I believe she is going to fill it in when she gets home in her bestest handwriting!  The main part of the book is chipboard covered in paper, inked and stamped.  The fittings are Snippets of Grungeboard.

I used a real maps of the UK which I took out of a book bought at the cheap book store.  A little pocket for bits n pieces.

Stamped pages...

Tabs and tags to fit in more pockets...

Most stamps are from Artistic Outpost....my goto stamps, as well as a few Tim Holtz ones.

The paper comes from two collections of Papermania.  

All bound with my Bind it all and decked with Snippets of ribbon in the chosen colour scheme of red, white and blue.  

Some lickle trinkets which I have collected over the years. I thought the brollie was apt for the British Weather!

I am hoping I can get under the wire at the Snippets Playground as there are a few small Snippets in there.  I am also entering it into the Artistic Outpost Referral - Anything Goes - wish me luck! 
Thanks for popping by.  Have a great weekend y'all.

Hettie

Friday Funny

Yeay!  My sink has been fixed at last!

WOYWW 228 - With a Special Friend!

Hello Friends

Yes it is Me joining you from a not so sunny Wales today.  I have a couple of days off from work so I thought I would share my desk with you today.  I also had a very Special Desk Mate joined me yesterday so I am sharing photos of her sat at my desk too.  In case you haven't been to my blog on a WOYWW Day click HERE for all the details.  

So without further ado, here is my desk as it is right now....

That is the cover of my next project there waiting to be run through the Big Shot and the stamps are waiting to be stamped on the inside pages.

And now for the Special Guest who was at my desk yesterday whilst on her visit to Wales....

This is my Blogging Friend Kim who is currently over from the States visiting Wales and the South.   Kim was my sender in the WOYWW Swap in 2011.  We became good friends and when I knew her and her Hubby were coming to the UK I offered for them to come and stay for a few nights.  We got on so well and it was sad to see them go yesterday.

But before Kim and her lovely Hubby went Kim just had to have a nosey in my Craft Room.  Here she is looking through some of my Artistic Outpost stamps that I will be using later.  We did raise a glass to you Julia to thank you for bringing us together!

Before I go I just want to share with you what I have done with my ATCs from this year's WOYWW PIF....

I used VOS K&Company paper for the main album and then white Snippets cardstock which I stamped for the tags.  I will later on today write the blogger name and the blog site where each ATC came from.  I may do the same for last year's now too!

That is is now.  I look forward to seeing you throughout the day. Don't forget to leave a comment when you leave and join the rest of the Blog Hop HERE.

Hettie  

Tickets Please.....

Hello Peeps

Tee Hee! I now know what "Peeps" are for my friends across the water - nom nom nom!

Some of you know that I went to London on Saturday with some friends to take part in a Day School for Scottish Dancing.  We went up by train so I made us little folders to put our tickets in and keep them safe.  All made from Snippets so I can join in the merriment of the Playground with these.  I got the idea and pattern from another Playground Buddy right HERE.

I have been on a bit of a rollercoaster the last few days so I have not been able to keep up with my blogging visits but I hope to rectify that over the next few days and play catch up.  

Firstly Mr Hettie and I were trying to finish decorating the Guest Room as we had some VIP Peeps coming to stay, then I went to London very early on Saturday and came home very late thanks to some kind children who I will throttle if I find out who they are having placed pebbles on the track made the train over two hours late and then it was down to Cardiff to meet with my Blogging Buddy Kim and Mr Kim!  We have got on like we have known each other for years and it was sad when Kim and Mr Kim left earlier today.

Thanks for calling by and see y'all very soon!

Hettie

The Funkie Junkie - Christmas Tags - Tag 1

Hello Friends

The Funkie Junkie star Linda has brought back the Twelve Tags of Christmas Challenge for 2013.  Some of you will remember I discovered Linda last year when she was on Week 9 quite by chance and I had a ball completing all twelve tags in time for Christmas.  This year I am determined not to get behind too far and so here I am to share Week 1.  Click HERE to see the challenge piece with all the rules.

So here is my take on Tag 1......

As last year this challenge is being sponsored by Funkie Junkie Boutique which has lots of goodies for you to buy including some fabulous lace and Artistic Outpost stamps.

A little close up of the bottom of the tag.  I just love the simplicity of black and white and I added a little musical theme of notes and music ribbon which was in my Snippet basket.  Snowflakes were cut using Spellbinders dies and the flourishes, holly and edge dies are Tim Holtz.  The Let it Snow stamp is a Docrafts NBUS!!  The snowflake ribbon was in my coat pocket so I am not quite sure what it came off!!

Another close up of the top half of the tag.

Thanks for popping over and I am looking forward to reading your comment.  For your information, I loved last year's tags so much they are still up in my Craft Room!  I use them for inspiration ideas when my mojo has wandered!! 

I shall be sharing this with the Snippets Playground as there are Snippets in there, including the ribbon and cardstock.  

Up with the sun tomorrow off to London to attend a dancing Day School then we have VIP arriving on Sunday so commenting will be a bit hit and miss, but I will catch up next week.

Have a great weekend y'all.

Hugs

Hettie

Friday Funny

New High School Exit Exam

 

New High School Exit Exam, you only need 4 correct out of 10 questions to pass.     (Passing requires only 4 correct answers)  1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last? 2) Which country makes  Panama  hats?  3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?  5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?  6) The  Canary Islandsin the Pacific are named after what animal?  7) What was King George VI's first name?  8) What color is a purple finch?  9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?  10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?   Remember, you need only 4 correct answers to pass.  Check your answers below ....

ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ 

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?  116 years  

2) Which country makes Panama hats?  Ecuador  

3) From which animal do we get cat gut?  Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November  

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?  Squirrel fur  

6) The  Canary Islands  in the Pacific are named after what animal?   Dogs 

7) What was King George VI's first name?  Albert   

8) What color is a purple finch?  Crimson 

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?  New Zealand 

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?   Orange (of course) 

What do you mean, you failed?       Me, too.

Mini Wedding Album...More Of...

Hello there Friends

Today is Tuesday so as part of my Scrapbook Tuesday I thought I would share some more of my Mini Wedding Album which I am desperately trying to finish so it can be another Done tick on my list!

As you may recall it was our Wedding Anniversary last week and I still struggle to think that our Wedding was sooooo long ago!  Eek!

Oh the joy of the confetti moment when it goes everywhere, including down your underwear!  I am saying nothing more on the subject!  

I love this photo.  This is Rhys my Nephew with my Sister.  We were at his Wedding earlier this year.  That makes me feel even older!  I even dug some of my peel offs on this page!  VOS!

And here are my In-Laws.  I still miss my Father-in-Law greatly.  I used to call him "Pops" as even now I cannot call my MIL by her Christian name.  Hubby feels the same about calling my parents by their Christian names too!

As these are full of Snippets I shall be taking these right down to the Snippets Playground, where we now have Parsnip in charge while Miss is on her "Teacher Training"!!  Yeah Right!

Thanks for calling by.

Hettie

Thank You Snippets and New Toy

Hello Friends

Whoosh!  Did you hear that?  It was the sound of the weekend flying past!  This weekend has gone very quick and very busy.  Back to work tomorrow but it is a short week for me as I have a few days off.  I have a very special Blogging Friend coming to visit.  Also, I am hoping I may get a crafting day in, just for some relaxation!

You will recall the other day I told you I found some photos of projects which I have not posted.  These were another two pics I came across.....

I made these Thank You cards just after my Birthday.  Glad I wasn't as tardy in actually sending them.  I made a few all in the same style using my new SU embossing folder which a Special Friend sent to me.  I have used it on other projects, but these were the first.  The cards VOS were more out of that kit which I find difficult to use, but determined to use them I am.  All the cardstock used on this were from my Snippets box so I shall be sharing these with the Snippets Playground.

Have a good week everyone.

Hettie