January promise to myself

I am not setting myself targets this year, i am going to live each day as it comes and hope that at the end of it I can go to sleep with the thought that "today was a good day".

Yes I would like to lose more weight, yes I would like to get fit, yes I would like to go places, see people, make things, etc etc. But if I don't I will try not to stress. I will try to only worry about things that I need to worry about, let the little things that don't matter if I worry about them or not just pass me by (if I can). Let other people worry about their own problems, instead of me taking them on as my own problems.  Then maybe, just maybe, I can live in my own little zen like zone and appreciate the small things in life that actually mean so very much!

Carpe Diem everybody! That's what I am striving for this year!

Drop a pebble

Isn't there a saying about drop a pebble in the water and the ripples reach out so far that it can cause a tsunami the other side of the world?

Well I guess people must have been throwing boulders in recently! I just wish that before people acted in haste they would consider how their actions affect others. Wheyher it be a little girl in a playground calling some other child names, to a drink driver killing a mother, or a radcal thinking that Allah would reward him if he maims and kills innocents.

People who no matter how many times someone hels them, just kick out either physically or verbally. Hurting those who have cared enough to help them time and time again.

Acts such as all these make you lose faith in the decency of peole. It makes you no longer to want to interact with others, jst in case they hurt you in some way.  Some lies can be proven as such. Others due to their very nature never go away. They are always there blighting the life of those who they have been made about as well as the lives of those closest to them.

The children no longer with a parent, the mother who loses a son, a daughter. The person who can no longer walk.  The family who now have to live with the stigma of  lies made in haste.

As I said a small pebble but such large ripples.........

Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;  But there's half-a-hundred ripples Circling on and on and on,  Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.  And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.  Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,  But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's ripples circling yet,  And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;  You've disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.  Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute it is gone;   But there's half-a-hundred ripples     circling on and on and on.       They keep spreading, spreading, spreading         from the center as they go,           And there is no way to stop them,              once you've started them to flow.                Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute you forget;  But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's ripples circling yet,  And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you've stirred,  And disturbed a life was happy ere you dropped that unkind word.  Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;  But there's half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,  Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave  Till you wouldn't believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.  Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;   But there's gladness still a-swelling,     and there's joy circling yet,       And you've rolled a wave of comfort         whose sweet music can be heard           Over miles and miles of water              just by dropping one kind word.                ~By James W. Foley~

Presents for a very sick friend

i just added butterflies to this pretty tissue box!

 So a very good friend of ours had a freak accident a few weeks ago whilst on holiday. She got run over by her caravan as her husband drove off! She had a smashed pelvis three breaks in her back, damaged spleen and kidneys and other internal injuries!,

So far from home, which is Liverpool,mshe is in Southampton general hospital so only her husband is there to be able to visit her.

I sent flowers but she was unable to have them in the intensive care unit. So i put my mind to getting parcels of things that she can use now. I didnt want boring things like wet wipes to look boring so i spent some time making bags and boxes for the items.

Pootles Design Team July Week Four Just a Little Note

Well here we are at the fourth week of my time on the Pootles Design Team. i have really enjoyed stretching my creative muscles and would like to thank Sam for giving me this chance to show off my creative side!

This week I thought I would take advantage of the fact that all crafters are hoarders and are unable to throw away any paper or card no matter how small! With the small elements in the Every Occasion stamp set I thought I would blend these two things together.

Ok I know what I have done is nothing new, I cut old DS paper pieces into 2cm wide strips. Used my triple banner punch to notch out the ends and randomly stuck them to my cards.  Oh my cards only measure 3 1/4 x 4 1/2 inch, yet again used from left over pieces of my A4 cardstock!!

I used a black art liner pen to put faux stitching on the banners, just to make them a little more funky.

I stamped the star using Tangerine Tango ink and cut out using a small circle punch.  I then double heat embossed the circles and mounted them onto a slightly larger circle cut from some left over Old Olive card.

A strip of Old Olive card across the top of the banners.  Once again marked with faux stitching and the star fixed on using dimensional.

Just a note.... Stamped from the Better Together stamp set and the cards were done.

I made a box ( I need to make a second one as I produced so many cards lol), by randomly stamping the wreath image in Emerald Envy, putting a belly band using some leftover Hello Honey cardstock.

Whilst not all my papers are current items I think that I have proved that this stamp set can be one of those go to sets when you need to make a quick card for virtually any or should I say Every Occasion!!

To pass on the "love" I have two sets of these notecards that I would like to send out to two randomly picked people who post a comment.  So please post and I will get my grandaughter to draw out two names.

Thankyou for joining me and........Happy Crafting!!

Pootles Design Team July week three Thank You Sir

Well here we are and its week three already! Considering that I really didn't "get" the stamp set Every Occasion when I was first introduced to it, I have to admit that now it is growing on me.  If you want to make a BIG statement, then this stamp set is not really the one, but if you want a smallish card and to cover just about any occasion then this set ticks the boxes.  So far I have done easier themes but this week I chose to use the satchel.  My first thoughts were starting school.  But then I thought about the fact that all the children are getting ready to leave classes, and leave schools.  Well its always reasonably easy to get that gift for the female teachers but the male one, maybe not such an easy thing.

So here is my offering for an idea for the male teacher in your childs life!!

First of all I stamped the satchel image over some A4 card.  i used Early Expresso ink and stamped off three times thus getting different density of colours.

I scored my box using my Score board and put it together so that it has points as opposed to making a tidy box!  To see how I make this box please go to my youtube video where hopefully I can explain it to you!

A band of Soft Suede card around the box with a Thanks stamped using  the Crazy About You stamp set,  onto a punched circle and mounted onto a scalloped circle.  This box fitted a coffee mug quite happily into it, wrapped in plastic wrapping and tied off with some Linen Thread with a tag with a satchel stamped onto the circle and mounted once again on a scalloped circle, and the gift was complete.

With the card once again being for a man I knew it had to steer away from flowers etc, so I made my card base using my Soft Suede cardstock.  A border at the bottom using some of my stamped card and the word Thanks cut using my Hello You thinlets.  The only other thing I did wa draw some dashes above and below the stamped border, using a white gel pen.

There you have it a respectable pressie for that much loved male teacher!

Use up and catch up cards

So its that time in my craft room when i use up all those bits and pieces of paper and card thhat have been kept as you just can't throw them away when you are a crafter....right?
So when looking on Pinterest i came across a card making lolipop flowers, i liked the idea but decided to do it my way.
So using a selecyion of punches i got cutting. As i built up the flowers i drew dashes using a white del pen.
I like the finished items but which is better? The scalloped flowers or the circle ones?

Pootles Design Team July Week Two Goodbye and Goodluck

So its the second week of July and here I am again stretching the old grey matter and creating my offering from the Every Occasion stamp set.

Just like last week I am using the stamps to decorate my card so that I can use on my project.

When I was shopping the other day I found myself in the wine section, heavens only knows why, because we rarely drink wine. But anyway I saw these small bottles that hold a glass of wine, depending on the size of your glass! So I picked them up, thinking that they would make a nice little gift for someone. So with that idea in mind that is the idea i went along with.

I measured out a 2" strip of card and used 2 my Banner Triple punch to puch the bottom of it. A. 1 3/4 circle punch dor it to go over the neck of the bottle and the Decorative label punch with 2" circle punched and coloured with my Delightful Dijon ink pad.

I stamped over in the sam ink the sunflower image the banner, then stamped the glasses onto the circle. Plus "enjoy" from the Endless birthday wishes stamp set. A piece of ribbon threaded through the label to hold around the body of the bottle and the label fixed to the front using dimentionals and that part of my project was finished.

Finally a strip of dtamped card mounted onto a piece of Deligful Dijon cardsrock. The sentiment stamped from the Greatest Greetings set and final some petite petals punched out and mounted onto loops of linen thread.

Quite a simple project but a lovely gift for a work collegue who is moving on.