ch ch ch chip and Dale!!

oooh I do love my hubby!!

My birthday pressie arrived today and even though its not my birthday til 2 weeks on Friday Col said I can open it and play now!! so WOOOHOOOO I got all those lovely disney Characters to make for my cards !! Here is my very first one and of course it has to be Chip, and a thank you card for Col. its a blatant scraplift from a friend on the cricut message board who posted a similar card a few weeks ago. It was so cute I just had to do my own version of it!


ooh I'm so excited now but Im gonna be good and resist mickey, minnie, donald, daisy, pluto and goofy until my new cutting mats arrive (I hope they come soon)


hmmm why did that come out underlined and in blue? I havent a clue how I did that or how to undo that! -- the mysteries of blogging!!

a very special project for some very special friends.

hi friends.

I have been working on this project for a while now, (not least cos I've been nagging Graham to find the photo since May) It's a Silver wedding anniversary card commissioned by my friend Graham for him to give to his wife Sylvia.

For those crafters reading this, its a "Bookatrix" card so if you've not seen them before you can google that to find the tools.

There are many parts to this card so a few photos

It has three pages each one a little smaller than the one behind. the top page is made of vellum (Translucent paper)

on the left are silver bells with three hearts on them and down the middle is a rope plaited with three cords. and of course on the right is that lovely photo (What a handsome couple they are).

behind the bells on the left is a scroll with the verse from Ecclesiastes 5:12 " A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" this was chosen by Graham and is the reason for the three hearts and the three stranded plait. It signifies the strength of their union with one another and with The Lord.

Behind the photo is another scroll. This one is blank for his own message.

The oval at the front is not actually part of the card. Its part of the stand which I made for them to display it on.

The fourth picture shows the box in which the whole thing is presented.

I wish Both Graham and Sylvia richest blessings for their anniversary on the 4th September and many more years to celebrate ahead of them.

Lazy Sunday - Awesome God!

Sitting here enjoying the warm sunshine on my back, thinking "Ain't life Grand" Had a wonderful worship service at church this morning. Thinking about how important it is to not just read and study Gods word but also to put it into practice and let it guide our every step.

Now resting in his presence and giving thanks for the safe return of my friends Harry and Viv who returned this week after a year on mission in Tanzania. Oh it was so good to see them again. Also giving thanks for the 5 babies that have safely arrived in this world in the last 2 months to add to the joy in our church family. We now have three little boys and two little girls to cuddle on a sunday morning.

One in particular is a testimony to the amazing power of prayer and the grace of God. He was found to have cysts growing on his lungs when he was in the womb. All through the pregnancy his Mum and Dad were anxiously praying and holding on to the hope of healing. They were told that his chances of survival were slim and even if he was born alive he would need an operation straight away. WELL ! he was born on 28th July this year and is fine he didnt even go into the special care unit. Our God is an AWESOME God !

This afternoon I am scrolling through the pages of my friends' blogs and found, on JM's blog, that he has a guy coming to his church in September that I worked with in beach missions many times back in my teen years.

I have to go to that event! It will be so good to catch up with Gus. not sure if JM will be back from USA by then, but I will go anyway (Good job it aint too far from me lol)

Ok so now Im gonna sign off and go spend some time outside in this beautiful sunshine.

God bless my friends
love you all.

GREAT Customer Services!

WOW Provocraft sure take customer services seriously !!

I told them about my problem with mats not lasting very well and that I have been through 12 mats since I got my cricut machine in March. They were fab and just said they can replace up to 6 of them but need a US address to send them to.

I gave them Listers address in VA a week ago and WOW! he has received them already!!

hopefully I should have them in time to get playing with my new Cartridge in September.

I'm absolutely gobsmacked at this Service! If that was a UK company they would have insisted on seeing receipts and asked me to return the faulty mats first- but no messing about with Provocraft.

WELL they have definitely won my loyalty!! I would recommend them to anyone.

They have me totally hooked on Cricut and Cuttlebug products!

What a beautiful day!!

sitting here enjoying a rest between attempts to tame my jungle that used to be a garden. Don't think I will get to make any cards today but that's ok.

I'm happy anyway cos last night Col ordered my birthday pressie and got confirmation that it was on its way. OOOOOHH I'm so excited I'm getting the Disney Mickey and friends cartridge to use on my cricut machine. So watch out this autumn there will probably be lots of Disney cards coming out here. Ony problem is I will have to wait til half way through september to play with it!! ggrrrr. I cant wait to see Chip and Dale making their way onto my cards I love those cute lil chipmunks.

tonight me and Col escape for a night out. We are going to see The Bourne Ultimatum at the cinema and then out for a meal. Really looking forward to that. Greg is gonna go play with his pal Josh for the evening. so we are Freee. Hope he has a fun time too cos he's working his socks off with me in the garden today.

Oh well that's enough rambling for today byee

Tear bear

not sure if I'm gonna actually get away for a holiday this year but I am enjoying being at home with the family and getting lots of time for crafting.

I even got to try a new technique today which turned out so cute. I have been contemplating making one of these for ages and saw the cutest one today and had to try it.

Here is my tear bear. he is made by simply tearing pieces of mulberry paper into appropriately shaped and sized pieces (Mostly just ovals).

I need more practice to get them right but Im quite pleased with this as my first attempt.

heres another slide show of cards

Exploding box album

I made this for my niece and her new husband. a little something special to showcase a few of their favourite wedding/honeymoon pics in. I left it empty but when they have chosen the pics they want in it. I will fill it and embellish the pics for them.

Each "page" inside can hold a photo 3"x3" or 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".
The shny surface on the lid and the gold surface with cream hearts inside was made from the balloons at their reception. I cut a piece of the balloon material. Stretched it across a square of card and stuck it on the other side. Then I heated it up with a hairdryer to make it shrink and pull tight and smooth.

my cards (Trying again lol)

some of my cards

- Get Your Own

here are a few more. I told you I was on a roll lol


hmm for some reason the card behind the "Its a boy" circle appears pink in the photo but it is actually a very pale lilac.

I've been busy making cards again, here are a few of the things Ive made. Today I have been on a roll using up pieces I had cut out ages ago and never got round to using. I restricted myself to making cards without cutting any new shapes out and every card had to use up at least one shape or embossed image from my stash.

Do And Mikes Wedding day

ok time to blog the wedding itself, lol

It was fantastic! Do looked Gorgeous, and Mike scrubbed up pretty well too. Litle Mikey was absolutely adorable and I shed a tear or two to see him formerly give his mum away in the service and even make a speech and propose the toast at the reception, so grown up for his 11 short years. Mikey is now so proud to be a Murphy!

The ceremony was perfect, so moving I nearly choked as I read 1 Corinthians 13 for them from "The Message" The service was lovely and the minister was very clear about how important the Christian aspect of marriage is. Rick who is also a minister and is a close friend of Do and Mike gave a wonderful address about the importance of unconditional love in a marriage.

The reception was lovely. The best part was that my son Greg, who is very difficult to understand when you dont know him, was able to order his own drinks all night and the bar staff took the time to listen properly and understand him. He was so proud that he was able to get things for himself.

We danced til the wee small hours and many took part in the karaoke too I was amazed when Do got up and sang her heart out even though she cant see the computer for the words. I danced so much I ached for 3 days afterwards. Here are some pics

wedding part 2

I also spent a very hectic week putting together 90 order of services for the ceremony. this was nerve wracking as it had to be perfect. Do and Mike were very pleased with the results. I also created some place settings for the top table which were an extra surprise for them.

hmm I just realised I didnt take pics of the monkey gift tags I made for her to attach to the pressies for the two tiny tots involved in the wedding.

The last thing was of course their wedding card from me and my family. this was extra special. All 3D. and Do cried when her husband read out the various elements of it out to her as she felt it.

the names "Dorothy and Mike" are embossed on the top, inside left the scroll contains the words of 1 Corinthians 13 which I read out at their wedding.the brass bookmark on the right has three hearts with the words "Love Never Fails" on it. In the centre are two wooden roses with the stems bound in a heart shape and a tag reading"Bound together in love".

On the back I added a greeting tag that said " We pray that today marks the beginning of a long and happy marriage where you both together with Mikey will be bound together in a love that is unconditional and eternal, have a fabulous wedding day you both deserve it so much"

This has special significance for Do as we have only recently rekindled our relationship after years of hardly ever seeing one another. We are from a very disfunctional family in which both of us have found that the love is far from unconditional. We have both been marginalised by the family for very different reasons. But from each other we have found the unconditional love that should mark all families. Being involved in Do's life this past year and especially in her wedding plans has made me feel part of a wider family again which I have not known for years.

what will I use this for?

ok so many of you have been nagging me to blog more. I did warn you that I would be useless at this so I,m thinking of using it as a forum to show off some of the things I am creating. Been mega busy with my nieces wedding lately so lots to show about that. First here is one of the invitations I made for her Months ago.

As my niece is blind everything I make for her is 3D so she can feel them and it helps her visualise it.

Here are the favour boxes I made for the women at the reception. I also made holders for lottery tickets which were given to all the men at the reception.