No WOYWW today.....

Well I finished sorting everything out, had it all organized as best I could. I sat at my desk and made some cards feeling very proud of myself.

I have a shelf above my desk that has been there for ages- I put my sprays, jars and cds on it. Yesterday evening I heard a huge crash, ran upstairs thinking my son had fallen out of bed, only to go in my bedroom and find that the shelf had fallen off the wall and my jars had smashed sending about 500 flowers and god knows how many pieces of card candy flying all over the bedroom!

So no WOYWW today as all I have done is pick everything up and put it on the desk......more sorting out to do now- will it ever end???

On a separate note, I found out yesterday that I am a candidate for a bone-anchored hearing aid. I've been deaf in one ear for as long as I can remember. As you can imagine its not particularly nice and causes big problems if I am somewhere with a lot of background noise so the chance of me being able to hear 'normally' makes me feel sooo excited! The op sounds pretty scary- when the consultant mentioned skull, bolt and drill in the same sentence I think I went a few shades lighter! Basically they drill a bolt into my skull behind my deaf ear which attaches to a small box on the side of my head which is the hearing aid and it picks up sounds from my good side and transfers them to the bad side. Now its just a waiting game for my appointment to be assessed....please let it come soon- I want to hear!!

Have a fab day everyone xx

A big ask....

As those of you who checked out my WOYWW will know, I am sorting out my craft space to try and make it more user-friendly. Storage is a problem as is budget. I am desparately searching for the Making Memories Desktop Carousel but as I understand it has been discontinued (why do they do that with popular items??). The closest match I have found is with Great Little Trading Company, but they are £40 each- I can't afford to pay that sort of money for one storage item- I don't even spend that much on food in a week!!!

Does anyone know where I could get one cheaper, or even better, if someone has one they no longer use that they would be willing to sell to me? I am doubtful that any avid crafter will be selling theirs but its worth a try- you don't ask you don't get and all that!

Here is a picture of said carousel- fingers crossed someone will know something!

Thanks for reading all xx

A christmas card....my first proper one!!!

As soon as my little one poodled off to bed I raced into my bedroom to make a card with this gorgeous stamp. Its the stamp of the month from Little Claire- isn't he gorgeous?  I grrrrd a lot while I was making this card because I have damaged the nozzle on my Glossy Accents, which meant that it was all squishing out of the sides. Its still useable, just a bit 'ahem' messy lol.

I have entered this card into the following challenges:

A Spoonful of Sugar- Sparkle & shine
I love Promarkers- Think Pink
Incy Wincy Designs- Sparkly Glitter
Just Inspirational- Make a Christmas card
Lothian Crafts- Make a Christmas card
Paper Sundaes- Something from your stash
Papertake Weekly Challenge-Choose a challenge from previous years- I chose Cool Yule


As I said the image is from Little Claire which I colored with Promarkers and touched up with Glamor Dust. I used my nesties for the layers and embossed one of the layers using a Little Claire embossing folder. The snowflakes are Quickutz covered in Glossy Accents and Glamor Dust. The backing paper is DCWV and the card is from Craftwork Cards.

Hope you like it xx

WOYWW

I am trying to reorganize my crafty stash to make it more easily accessible for me as I previously had everything shoved into a couple of drawers in no particular order and it would take me forever to find anything!

As you can see its a work in progress lol. I bought some storage boxes in Asda on Saturday- one set of clear tupperware ones and one set of spotty tins (cos I thought they were cute!) and am slowly allocating things to new homes....I have to keep going away and coming back to it cos its giving me brain ache!

Ok, on with the pictures:

Ok, so what have we got here. Lots of papers for a start! My file of magazines, one of the new Craftwork Cards shaped cards and just a general pile of 'stuff' I think!

This picture isn't much better is it! You can see a couple of my tubs of flowers, one of my MS punches, peel off & just general bits & pieces- its quite embarrassing really. The mess has spread out over my bedroom where I've been trying to sort out, and I've spent the past couple of nights on the sofa because I have stuff on my bed and don't want to move it till its organized lol. Its difficult to get anything done craft wise during the day, as I have a demanding toddler plus I have been spending a lot of time helping a friend who is poorly at the moment, so I have found that I only have the energy to do a bit in the evening once everything else is done- wish I could make crafting my priority but I can't.

I've picked up some wonderful organisation tips from other blogs, including storing your unmounted stamps in cd cases and putting ribbon on a hanger to keep it neat- I will definately be doing both of those things.

I hope you enjoyed looking round my bombsite xx

First challenge card in a while

I discovered a new craft shop near me today- its only been open 5 weeks. I am so happy as the previous shop near to me closed down a couple of months back. Ordering online is great, but nothing compares to being able to walk around and look at things, touch papers etc etc. I spent a good hour in there but only bought the new Craftwork Cards shaped card- its lush! I have tried making shaped cards with my nesties but they are always quite small- these are BIG cards and they are awesome.

I have entered this card into the Craftwork Cards blog challenge. I decided to be a bit different and make a card almost entirely in white, with just bits of silver and sparkle on it. The card and backing paper are Craftwork Cards, I embossed some pearl card with a Cuttlebug folder, cut a label with my nesties and added a couple of white flowers, spritzed with Crafters Companion Irridescent glitter spray and then embellished with some gems.

Hope you like it! xx

A friend in need....

I have made a really quick card for a good friend of mine who is a bit unwell and just generally feeling down at the moment. I just wanted to let her know that I'm here for her and that I care.

The backing paper is by Papermania, and I ran it through my Cuttlebug and sanded over the embossing to make it pop a little bit. The pearls, mirri card and butterfly are from my stash.

Going back to my roots....

I decided to ease myself back in slowly with a very simple card. I'm not overly keen on it, but I'm focusing on the fact that I actually made something as opposed to walking past my desk on my way to bed!

The image is a Milton stamp from Wild Rose Studio, backing papers are Dovecraft (I think), mirri card, gems & sentiment are from my stash.

I know Milton isn't traditionally grey, but I am somewhat limited to the colors I can use since I no longer have around 2/3 of my Promarkers since someone (naming no names) decided it would be fun to press all the nibs in as far as they would go. Not happy :(

I have an idea for another card I would like to do, but its late and I'm shattered. After a disappointing episode of X Factor I decided to have a sort out of my crafty stuff and work out what was salvageable and what wasn't. Lots of papers lost in the carnage sadly, along with several ink pads, pens, embellishments and stickers.

I will be looking for a decent lock for my door tomorrow!

Thanks for checking out my card, night all xx

Hanging my head in shame....

at how long it is, not only since I've blogged, but how long since I've actually done any crafting. I don't have a single Christmas card made, not even half a one-how awful is that.

I've had a lot of personal difficulties to deal with the past couple of months- a painful breakup, moving yet again and the ever-challenging behavior of my little boy who has become more and more challenging lately. Add to that, I need to get a lock for my bedroom door as he has had a whale of a time on several occasions emptying my craft drawers all over the floor, ruining loads of papers, stamps, ink pads and pens- I just haven't had the heart for any of it. I don't have a lot of space and am on a serious budget so storage is a big problem, hence why it is so easy for him to get hold of things.

Anyway I digress. I have had a bit of a sort out today and have tidied up my (now much depleted) stash and am hoping to have a play later, when my son goes to bed. I did attempt a few things earlier, but unfortunately said child was not pacified with a blank card, some glue and die cuts- he wanted to look in drawers, boxes and just generally be annoying so I gave up!

I have had a look around some of your blogs and you have all been really busy with some wonderful creations. This is why I love blogs- you can get to see the creations of some very talented people.

I think I've waffled enough now- time to venture out of the cupboard I have locked myself in and deal with my little whirlwind.

Till next time xx