Following on from last week's housework

There was a positive result from last weeks housework. DH said he didn't mind if I got rid of a bunch of unreal (can't think what else they are called) flowers from the bedroom that I've been trying to dispose of for ages. Just before they went in the bin I remembered the great results my buddy Lynne got from something similar and had a closer look at them. Out came the Stanley knife and wallop -the bunch was deceased. I cleaned them with a damp cloth and tried to starch them with spray starch to stiffen them a bit but they have a sort of coating which also resists attempts to colour them with inks (some are white). This is what I've come up with so far. I've tickled the insides as well after seeing the beautiful cards Edna makes. Can't promise to do it every time but it does cut down on the need for inserts.

I supported this one at the back and it's on a Papermania scalloped card. £2.99 for 12 at Boundary Mill and I buy clothes there as well! Don't always go round in rags. I'm tempted when it's a toss up between craft goodies and fashion. The paper is from one of those colossal papermania packs. You know oodles for tuppence and then you don't know what to do with the umpteen sheets left over.

Last a more orangey one. The glitter in the middle is Tiara stickles. Yes I know I said yesterday that I used Tiara on that other card but it was Sequin. I'm not a reliable witness.

Just to be clear, apart from the contribution from Mr. Morrison (ie the flowers) -that's the bloke who sold a TWENTYFIVE MILLION POUNDS lottery ticket to somebody not too far from me in the supermarket DH does the shopping in every week- and the papermania products, all the rest is Craftwork Cards and nesties and swiss dots folder and Anita's acrylic paint.

I've still got a shoe box full of flowers from an ancient bunch that was on it's way to the dustbin.
DH doesn't like flowers with holes in 'cos they're not real. Somebody tell him. It's all in the imagination darling.

Blog Candy alert

Now this one you must check out and I don't mean the blog candy. Enfys makes wonderful cards. She designs for Papercraft Inspirations and is on various design teams so just think, all that experience, talent and inspiration and if you read her blog you'll be getting it for free. I keep saying I'm not going to do the blog candy thing 'cos I NEED to make cards but the stuff on offer here is fantastic. Now if I win Enfys there's one thing here that I don't need and that's the Swiss dots folder but I do know someone who can give it a good home so don't worry.

Today's haul

And here we have it, managed to get the inside on before the outside but what the heck? Found some more kraft type card in my fabled stash today and it's even better than the last lot. When I was diagnosed eight years ago or thereabouts I was so ill I could barely stay awake or walk or think-get the drift-DH said if you can't make cards why don't you go in your craft room and sort out your card. Eight years on I'm still glad it's what I did because I separated all the A4 into poly bags and labeled them with colour and sometimes added a comment like "lovely" or "thin" then I put them in order of colours of the rainbow plus neutrals. Every time I use any I put the bits back in the bags so that I don't always need to use a full sheet. Mind you, can't say the additions since then have been fitted in as well as they should be. Back to today. Now you know I've been a bit framey lately and I've been painting them with acrylic (79p at Boundary mill). Why not round ones? So I did, with my nesties, which I embossed with swiss dots folder. Then I remembered some thin mirri card my little sis gave me. I was going to mount it on card but oh wowee it's fab for punching with enough stiffness for some body. That lovely foiled paper is Craftwork Cards. It's so lush you don't need much.

Had a break and watched a bit of Dawny today. She was selling some nice cream and white embellies. There were little dresses and flowers so I hiked out a (you know what's coming next) -Craftwork Cards template from yonks ago and some more of those lovely foiled papers. The template is only a pound- that's a pound- in the sale and postage is £1.95 so it would still be less than I paid for it. The brads came from Arty Miss in their sale. They're making memories brads that I've fancied for ages but thought they were just too dear. Got 'em for 99p -and a few other bits 'n' pieces. Punched the little gold flowers out of a teeny weeny bit of the foiled paper I had left over.

Aha -the glitter glue I used on the pink thingummy jig is Tiara stickles. Was lucky enough to find an envelope in my envelope drawer (will post a piccy one day) that fitted that dress card but can't make any more unless I get -or make- some more envelopes. Tara folks.

What is she on about?

Oh crikey

What on earth did I mean? Didn't put the picture on of the orange one so here it is

Sorry to Spyder

Way back when Spyder left me an award on her blog but my life moves so slowly that I've just not posted anything about it.

This is how my brain works :-I've just looked at what she wrote and checked out her blog details so that I can create a link and 'cos I didn't write it down I'm going to have to check it out again. Oh flipperdy doodle! What's more I'm s'posed to award this to fifteen new to me blogs. Oh c'mon! Fifteen purleeze. So listen if you visit me and you've got a blog just collect the award for yourself and leave me a comment if you would like to. That way all you lovely people (getting to sound like Tommy Trinder) will know who you are and also how much I appreciate you all although the weight of the responsibility is getting a bit phhhhrrrrhhh (big sigh).

Getting back to yesterday. National Media Museum was wonderful as ever and Bradford has just been made the World's first UNESCO city of film. Noticed an ad for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for sometime in July with some scenes filmed in IMAX. Could be going again soon then if we can get tickets. If you decide to go there is also Saltaire not far away which is a World Heritage site. There you can see David Hockney originals (great if your kids are studying Art) and look at a wonderful church with the most incredible interior or just stroll by the water and wander into Shipley Glen.

Singing the praises of the North West instead of Yorkshire (ahhh, Yorkshire, sigh) have you heard of Gallery Oldham? They have some great exhibitions there and there's one on now which looks interesting called Fairies by Samantha Bryan. Looks like one for the kids or the kid in you which we all have lurking somewhere.

Promised I would show you what I'd been up to and if I don't hurry up I won't have time to develop another idea I had yesterday.

Quick details but if you'd like more just ask.

First thanks to Kath for several goodies she sent me a while back for the comments I made about her cards on Craftwork Cards blog. I'm busy trying to make cards for a small event at a group I attend to raise funds for Marie Curie cancer care and the goodies are coming in useful.

Second- I've gone diddy. I've loads of these little cards which came in a Craftwork Cards goody bag. I find these bags irresistable and consequently there's a large collection of blank cards to go at.

Third-see what I mean about that colour scheme I used the other day? Can you spot the way the little stamped flowers just pop out when they are coloured with white crayon. I've used Karisma ones but any high quality ones would give the same effect and I did remember I had some Generals chalk pencils so might try those as well.

There is some lovely foiled kraft paper from Craftwork cards and I've painted the little embossed frames with acrylic paint and rubbed some brilliance ink on them to give a lift. I used pink ink on the orange acrylic to make it zing a bit.

I used metallic crayons from crayola to colour the little japanese ladies but I'm going to try promarkers as I had a play last night and was impressed with the effect. They were silver embossed on the brown paper then coloured.

I also managed to slip in one for the lads with some leftover shabby princess paper I had.

Any questions you know where to find me? I'm just going for a lie down.

A Quickie

Not "care bears" no, I meant Forever Friends. Keep up with me and I'll try to keep up with myself. So, just a quick posting 'cos we're off to Bradford - the place of our honeymoon-to see an exhibition by Don McCullin at the National Media Museum. I crafted yesterday and if I've got time I'll put them on when I get home but it's Cardiff Singer of the Year on BBC2 tonight so we'll be back for that, quick meal, then an evening of culture. Here's a piccie of my worktop the other day to give you a flavour of what I've been messing with.

Determination is the buzz word

What do I mean by that? Every time I mean to do a posting I put the dashboard on and that's it. The good resolutions fly out the window and I'm immersed in the blog world and all the wonderful cards and everybody's news.

So what's new with me? Today we have mostly been doing HOUSEWORK!!!!

Before you get out the garlic I need to explain that as the ole condition has improved this year I've actually been able to do said..............housework without having to go to bed after one little bit and take pain killers. In fact I've been revelling in the novelty of being able to do it and having a brain and body left over at the end. No pushing though-just in case you FMS peeps out there are worried for me- I've left the bathroom for tomorrow. DH and I are feeling exceptionally virtuous so we are rewarding ourselves with playtime. So if you feel like popping in I won't have to do too much fast tidying up (unless you are thinking of popping into my craft room that is -which reminds me............

I've spent over two days searching for some stamps. Haha-must be some old ones you've put away and thought about using again Betty-no no no I say, just the opposite. I tidied up in my craftroom for a play day with little sis and Jeannette and it was sometime later that I remembered I'd got a do crafts goody bag with Daisy and Dandelion stamps in. Now I know I got those stamps, heck I made a card with one of them and now I wanted to make another one. The more determined I was to find them the more they eluded me. I tried all my favourite search techniques which are as follows:-

1 Look under your nose

2 Look under your nose again

3 Look in the place you would put them usually

4 Look under your nose

5 Have a cup of tea and make a card

6 Look where they definitely wouldn't be

7 Search every blasted box, shelf, drawer, file, in among the magazines.

8 Straighten the craft room and pretend you weren't looking for them anyway

9 In desperation empty the rubbish bins-just in case (which is why there are scraps all over the floor AGAIN)

10 I GAVE UP

Guess what, I saw a bit of blue poking out from under some fabric that hasn't moved for years, definitely, and underneath it was the goody bag just being goody goody and sitting right where I put it when I tidied up to make room for Jeannette and lil sis.

That took care of most of Saturday and Sunday morning

DH said "spose you want to craft then and not go out this afternoon"

I thought, "No I'm going out with my dearly beloved".

We went to the Haworth Art gallery which is just outside Accrington, not in Haworth as you would suppose. It has the largest collection of Tiffany glass in Europe. We didn't go for the glass though, we went to see an exhibition of prints produced by an artist called Agnes Miller Parker for a collection of Aesop's fables. She trained at The Glasgow School of Art and later in London and is famous for her beautiful book illustrations. I am lucky enough to own a book called Down River by H. E. Bates (Darling Buds of May fame) which was illustrated by her. I've given up collecting illustrated books since I couldn't work any more, I daren't even look at them in case I'm tempted but I can go to exhibitions.

Anyway it was a lovely afternoon out and I did pay homage to the Tiffany which I adore,especially a particular lava glass vase in purple and gold. If you've only seen Repro Tiffany lamps you'll be stunned by this collection and the complexity and variation of the work. The scale of some of the projects they undertook was mind boggling.

We are having more culture this week. It's Cardiff Singer of the World every night on BBC4. Yes I did watch Britain's Got Talent but Mozart, Handel and all the crew sung by the world's great up and coming (young and fit too!) singers, without buzzers to interrupt them, is breathtaking.

In between the culture, the cleaning and the searching I have made some cards

Number one is what I did AFTER I'd found Daisy and Dandelion. Weary but determined I managed something. He is stamped with chocolate SU ink on some great Papermill Shop paper from my stash (of more later)Number two is a stamp from Little Claire (must get this one in the post) mounted on some mirri then some Craftwork Cards papers and painted with Lyra Aquacolors. The lefthand tree has been lifted slightly but the others are glued on top to give a hint of dimension without compromising postage costs!Number three is another of the images I stamped with Jeannette's SU set. Coloured with chalks, bit of mirri then SU Bashful Blue textured card good ole Swiss Dots embossing folder and the little buttons on the back are a cuttlebug folder border set. The sentiment is some lettering from another stamp I scaled down (by guesswork) and used my hotfoil print wizard to do it. Should use it more often really 'cos when I make the effort I'm happy with it especially when I'm stuck for the right words. A bit of PVA and glitter too.Number four is all Craftwork Cards except the ink and the gold mirri card. The stamp is from the set called Misaki and I inked the leaves with Olympia Green Versafine stamped them, cleaned the stamp, masked the leaves with acetate inked the pot with toffee versafine and lined it up and stamped. This idea really excited me (go on -you use it all the time-well I just thought of it myself) and it worked first time. I love this stamp

Saved this one for last 'cos it's my favourite. Can't claim the colour scheme idea for myself. I saw it in the Stampin' Up catalogue and fell in love with it. Remember the first card? It's the same paper stamped with SU chocolate ink again. The stamp is called "girl in grass" by Stamps Happen and I've had it years. I used white and brown coloured pencils. If you use them on their side you get that chalk look and you can use the point to get the detail. I love this monochrome effect. The paper has a light texture to it. I'm sure you could do a bit of distressy type thingummy with this but I kept it simple as mine just look a mess when I try that. The colour scheme was from the SU catalogue too -cream, brown and the blue textured again.

Before you say eh oop you could use this idea with other stamps- I have tried it and it's brill. In fact I tried it on daisy, or was that dandelion? Anyway it looks great. I've tried it on a care bear too. What's that? You've not got any, well nip round and you can have a borrow!

Was going to put a piccy up of my test bits but it's tea time now and my man needs feeding so ta ta from the North of England (IT'S GRIN OOP 'ERE THA KNAWS)

One more thing

If you read my blog the other day you would know I was having a bit of a grumpy day and muttered about "dossers" around here. An interested party (my DH) has asked me to point out that dossers are actually people who live and sleep on the street and he has never come across any around here. Suppose that's because he's worried that my mutterings might affect the value of our house! If you're reading this sweetie pie tee hee hee, I know we won't be moving any time in the near future if you have anything to do with it.

Stampman has a blog!!!! AND BLOG CANDY

Where did I find out about it? From Jeannette, one of my latest crafty, bloggy buddies. This is ironic because The Stampman was where it all started for me.


Back in the day-which is becoming my catch phrase-I found a table in a craft centre in Ilkley. A couple were doing the old heat gun/embossing powder magic and rapidly got my attention. I bought a little bag with an embossing ink pad two little jars of powder, one silver and one gold, and a stamp with a dove on. I was told to use a toaster or an electric ring to emboss over and given some scraps of card to have a go on when I got home. They were friendly and helpful.





I progressed to a paint stripper to heat the powder but struggled dreadfully as I lived a long way from Ilkley and there were no magazines and no internet etc etc etc. to help with my problems.


They progressed to a tiny shop in Skipton which they called The Stampman and we progressed to a holiday static caravan which was (and still is) near Gisburn ( not far from Skipton -surprise surprise) and I was able to get my fix at least once a fortnight.


It's a long , long way from then to now and a great deal of money has been spent since then. I'll tell you some more later, perhaps. There was the trip to London with my sister and my nephew who was still being breastfed at the time-crafting in hotel rooms-chatting up demonstrators-spending on crafty stuff at the Commonwealth Institute which is where the Ally Pally do used to take place.


Get to the point Betty I hear you cry. Well this is the point -The Stampman has blog candy. I don't often do the blog candy thing but this is different. The Stampman is where it all started for me and so I think you should pop over and pay them a visit.


Now how do you do those linky things?

Naughty Naughty slappy handy

Who'se been a naughty girl then and not posted for ages? I've been doing some crafty things though and today I've been having a grumpy old woman day as well but I was cheered up by a little boy and made to realise I should chill a bit.

What's the story then?

First a crafting update

Last Saturday three of us had a crafty day. Jeanette brought my Stampin' Up order and little sis came over from Leeds so all three of us played all day. Jeanette brought quite a lot of her stamps and I stamped some images before she left as well as using one of the sentiment stamps to create a card which was promptly snaffled by little sis for a letter to Allison so if she's reading this and she hasn't got one yet.........

I did manage another card with one of the images yesterday and also fitted in a visit to one of my favourite haunts just around the corner from where I live. It's an Aladin's cave for crafters and browsers known as Nortex Mill. I try not to go too often as I can always find something to buy even if it's only rooted out of the 10p a metre ribbon bin -a massive tangle of all sorts of rubbish mixed with stuff you know you can find a use for. Measure it off against the side of the bin (roughly a metre) and snip it with the scissors attached to the side. Sort of economical , except.....3 metres of this and 3 metres of that..... before long it's a fiver......get home and then you have to find somewhere to put it where you''ll find it. It's the most fun I can have with a fiver.

Did this card when I got back. Stampin' Up wheel rolled on lime pastel chalk ink, Stampin' Up teddy chalked with pearlescent chalks and highlighted with glitter glue. Base card is paper mill shop and pink is craftwork cards softies. The tiny roses and lace are from Nortex Mill which is personal shoppers only and the sentiment is an Inca stamp I've had since back in the day. I know the wheel has missed in places but I quite liked the soft effect that created so decided not to scrap it.

Here's a pic of some of the goodies I brought back from the mill. Got plenty of those roses to go at

Just in case you're wondering-none of these were from the 10p a metre bin- more's the pity.

I did say I would tell you why I've been grumpy old woman today.......

well..... litter is one of my bugbears. I live in an area of large Edwardian houses which if they were in a posh area of London would make me a millionaire but they're not and there's not much garden either (which suits DH). Unfortunately although I do have some amazing neighbours who've lived round here for years I also have bedsit dwellers who come and go anonymously and don't care about the general environment because- well because. They have their reasons which sadly are in some cases drug and alcohol related. Twenty odd years ago when I first came to live around here I was friendly and outgoing with quite a few of the bedsit community but now I'm much more wary. Anyway-litter. It's the dustbins you see. If people don't take care they don't get emptied then black bags get dumped in the street which get dragged about by dogs, cats, pigeons and probably dossers looking for food. It spirals and litter gets blown all over the street. This week I cleared a lot and put it in my bin, tidied up someone elses bins etc etc.

Todays blog will grow and grow and a request has been made for fooooood so you'll have to wait for the next installment. Byeee