I'm Having a Break

Hello Everyone...just popping in to say that I am enjoying a break from cardmaking and a lot of other things too. It is great not to have the pressure of working to deadlines for a short time. Lots of folks have been disappointed about cards but I drew a line on the calendar on 17th August and had orders to complete which I managed to do around 3rd September. Now I am having time to organise things I've not had time for recently plus I need to pack two cases for a get-away in Croatia....the former Yugoslavia and we are both looking forward to seeing somewhere different.
I apologise about the lack of blogging and lack of camera work.....dull days anyhow so not much opportunity to snap anything.
I trust those of you who are sweltering still in high temps will soon get relief from searing heat.....we are trusting we will find some real summer in Croatia.
Take care everyone until I talk again.

One of the many cards I've made recently

Here is a card for a 1 year old - or as I was told...'it's a card for the Mother really'!! So it was a mix of young and old....the box has a Tilda on it and the card is a little more elegant for Mum. The dp is Echo Park.(love it!!)..the number is PTI with stickles on it. There are two suede pale green leaves from Sharon Johnson's site. The roses are made from double faced satin ribbon. It's one of those cards I particularly like and don't actually feel like parting with ...but it has to go tomorrow!

Another day out

One good day last week we headed off to visit Londonderry....first we walked over the newly opened Peace bridge which is a decorative bit of engineering but very costly....I loved the sweep it had over the river Foyle.
On the walls of the city my husband came across these young girls highland dancing accompanied by a piper...sorry I can't bring you the haunting Scottish melody. We travelled by bus and train and on our return journey the train was crowded and we were joined by a German couple who were travelling in Ireland, we had a lovely time chatting and telling them of our local dialect...sorry we don't have any names but he was a Colin Firth/Mr Darcy look alike and she was very sweet too. We waved them goodbye as they left us at Central Station to catch the Dublin train. The mother in me was concerned that they would arrive in Dublin after 10 at night with no reserved accommodation....
The flowers in the city were a sight to behold and all credit has to go to the City Council for such a tremendous show of flowers....this is the hanging baskets at the bus station no less...

What is this life, if full of care.......

.....we have no time to stand and stare...indeed....here I am...... it serves to remind us all that some staring is necessary once in a while....one of the photos is also of the woodland walk...and I kept saying to my husband...'it's so quiet here!'...while unknown to us in another woodland not that far distant over two strips of water something utterly sinister was taking place...what a shock we got to hear of this when we got home...there we were walking in a peaceful woodland and ...well, I've already said it all. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Norwegian nation at the moment.

Summer came - a day out.

When the forecasters said last Friday was going to be the best day of the week we headed off...and en route I managed to replenish the cardstock and dp supplies. We visited Rowallane Garden where there is a beautiful walled garden full of a plants to charm any gardener's heart. There are lots of old stone walls bursting with little ferns seeking the light of day. Rowallane is one of the old houses and estates owned (mostly but not exclusively) by the National Trust.

A Couple of things I made today.....

Well, I made these after spending some time making the templates last night....I know you can get templates on the web but sometimes the things available to us in the U.K. are not American sizes so sometimes they don't work...for instance....a certain stamp company has their own notepads and I ain't going to pay postage for them so, we have perfectly good alternatives at Tesco.....and one of the photos shows my attempt to cover one up for a little gift....the paper is Washi paper attached to thick cardstock. I bought this so long ago at The Paper Ya on Granville Island, Vancouver...what a shop....www.paperya.ca - I've also managed to include the flap inside the cover which can hold receipts or something else you need to keep alongside it. This was the last piece of this paper in my possession.
The other photo is the cover on the 100 size post-it notes - some felt flowers and a leaf (both Papertrey) and a couple of petals off a corsage I bought a long time ago - coupled with a ric rac and an edger panel as well. You know we see these things on the net all the time....I may be slower than some but don't underestimate the time it takes to come up with even the simplest little offering. All this when I should be making some of the 15 cards on order....so I better get back to that.
Kind regards from a wet Northern Ireland where the weather has been glorious for a few days and now we get more rain to make the grass grow again!! It's endless!

At Last A Card!!

Life is so busy at the moment but in the nick of time for this Engagement Card came a little package from Claire holding little beauties in the form of Cameos and Ovals compatible with Spellbinders....oh my!!
Managed to get a photo in half decent light as it is not a bright day hereabouts.
Hope you like!!