Mr & Mrs Claus

I have finally finished knitting Mrs Claus and couldn't wait to get the Christmas tree up and sit them underneath it together ( my children think I am mad).

The LO is the sketch Challenge on Sarahscards blog.

I have used MME the Merry Days of Christmas and Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. I distressed and inked the edges of the paper, used glossy accents and glitter on the tree embellishment, added a prima flower, ribbon and finally used stickles to doodle around the edge of the cardstock.

UKS Cybercrop Mystery Kit

I received the Mystery Kit from Sarahs cards and was at first stuck for ideas on how to use it. My granddaughter had recently done a riding week at the local stables and I did have quite a few photos being the proud Grandma that I am. So I started with the LO putting grass skirts on the chipboard and fringing some of the green cardstock the match the grass skirts in the photo

I then made the rosette by cutting a circle of cardstock and then pleating strips of paper around the edges - got quite messy with the glue at this stage. Then added the photo on top

Made a frame and stand and added another rosette

And finally a minibook. The front is covered with felt

UKS Cybercrop

I've had a fab weekend doing the UKS cybercrop and I have to say its been the best of the 3 I have taken part in. The classes were fab. A huge thankyou to all the organisers
This is my entry for the pre crop challenge - Home is where the Heart is. I used a Sarahs cards kit and cut the photos into heart shapes on photoshop elements ( another learning curve for me). The title was cut on the Cricut as was the heart. I distressed the edges of the heart and inked and curled them. The flowers were hand cut and depth added with foam pads

I was very pleased to come 2nd with this LO.

Tomorrow I'll show you what i made with the mystery kit

Beautiful Fireplaces

Only a day late but as promised some of the fireplaces in Armathwaite Hall. Didn't manage to get any photos of them lit I'm afraid. I love real fires and fireplaces - they make a place feel so homely and are lovely to sit in front of on a cold winter night

I did manage to get the UKS pre crop challenge done before we went away and have been working on the Mystery Kit today, not as successfully as I had hoped. I will have to wait until after the weekend before I can show them here.

I've had my swine flu jab today and my arm hurts like crazy - I can hardly lift it. I didn't have this problem with the ordinary flu jab

Lake District

Have had a lovely weekend staying in the Lake District. Its rained for most of the weekend but we decided to have a short walk in Whinlatter Forest. As I'm recovering from a recent operation chose to do a short easy route thought the Forest - the blue walk according to hubby ( he had the map).
As we headed through the forest following the blue markers it was getting steeper and steeper but as we had been walking for over an hour I slowed down and thought we must be nearly at the end. How wrong I was, dear hubby realised he had been looking at the wrong side of the map and was actually following the blue walk in a different wood ( Dodd Woods ) and the Blue walk in Whinlatter Forest was a couple of hours and steep.


I will have to take charge of the map next time.
Anyway the scenery even though it was very wet and raining was beautiful and I would go again when I am fitter
This is the view from our hotel room over Lake Bassenthwaite. I will post some pictures of the hotel tomorrow

What a Day

You know when you have lots of plans for the day and before you get out of bed you just know its all going to go wrong. Well that's the day I've had today.
Lovely hubby was catching an early flight and had to be up at 04:00 - did he get his bags ready the night before? No. Did he use the main bathroom shower instead of the en suite? No. -Lights on in the bedroom and make as much noise as possible-. So I didn't get back to sleep until 7 am only to be woken at 07:45 by the scaffolders (having a new roof) wanting me to move my car which I did in nightie, slippers and dressing gown much to the amusement of the roofers and scaffolders. Went back to the bedroom with a coffee and to have a shower to find them at my bedroom window. Quickly shut the curtains but there's something a little unnerving about having a shower knowing there are strange men just outside your bedroom window. Anyway half way through the shower it went off - don't know why - leaving me covered on soap and having to rinse it off in cold water in the sink. And all before 08:30

And what were my plans - to have a leisurely morning and then go and help my mother with her shopping and then do the pre crop challenge for the UKS cybercrop. The only part I have managed so far is to help my mother with her shopping

Moving on and learning a little more

Moving on to having photos on here. Its all a huge learning curve for me. Anyway I've been off work after an operation so have had time on my hands to start knitting and crochet again. This is the first toy I have ever knit and is from Jean Greenhowe's Christmas Special . I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this and am now knitting Mrs Claus hoping that I will finish in time for them both to sit unde the Christmas tree. There are so many lovely things to knit in this book including a nativity scene. Will I find the time to go back to work.
Have managed to order some bits an pieces I needed ( well not really) for the UKS cybercrop and have sorted my photos for the pre crop challenge

New to blogging

Today I have managed the basics of blogging - no fancy pictures or titles - they will have to wait for another day as I dont know where to start. I'm doing Shimelles class Scrapbooking for bloggers in the hope that I will learn how to blog.
Apart from that I've been helping a friend with some cutting on my Cricut for a scrapbook she is doing as a present, taken my granddaughter for a horse riding lesson.
I had wanted to get the kits for the UKS cybercrop but missed them all, but then looking at the class supply lists I can probably make them up from my current stash