Thank You …… Lost Photos ….. And Other Developments ….

What a to do!  Thank you sooooooooo much for all your help and advice and e-mails re: my lost photos!!

I shall attempt to explain the problem ….. I use Livewriter to create a blog post because it is much easier to manipulate pictures and text than Blogger.  When a post is complete I then send it “magically” to either one of my blogs to said Blogger, where, more or  less all I need to do is schedule a date for the post to be published.

But connected to the Livewriter programme is Picasa where all the pictures I have used are stored.  I don’t often look at Picasa, and goodness knows what made me look on Sunday, but when I saw I had albums containing 1000’s of old pictures I decided to have a “clean up” ….. not realising how everything was intrinsically linked! Not “only” did I delete two albums into the Trash Can, but despite the warning I also then went on to empty the Trash Can and that is when they all disappeared for good!!!!

I have never backed up my blog pictures ….. there are so many, once a story or project is over I don’t really need them, and like I said there were/are thousands of them after 5 years of writing two blogs.

I think I can salvage “Mums Monkey” in time, from what I can see I have lost six months of photos …… I can do this by retrieving the blog posts one at a time from Blogger, because, goodness knows why/how, the pictures, though they don’t appear in Blogger in any shape or form, still exist in Livewriter when retrieved, if that makes sense.  So by copying the pictures and then saving them again as a jpeg I can reinsert them back into the post …. and as before, return it to Blogger, talk about a Fiddle Fart!  However, I am a little mystified by the fact that few odd pictures remain, but never mind.

As I said, I think I may be able to do this very slowly for “The Boys”, but I think too much has been lost with Fiddle Fart ……. when I looked yesterday, there are pages and pages and pages without pictures …….. and that is my conundrum …… I think the days of Fiddle Fart were drawing nigh …. I craft so little these days …… and life, once more, if changing big time for me ….. not only do I have the most wonderful baby granddaughter Iris Amelia Geddes, who arrived on 20th June, and will be taking up an awful lot of weekends from now on ……….

BUT, redundancy has reared it’s ugly head at the school where I work, and I have “opted” to take voluntary redundancy ….. although with less than three weeks left before the end of term this has yet to be confirmed!  My old job no longer fits the new structure, and although there were jobs that were “ring fenced”, without going into too much detail, most jobs have been down graded, hours cut and responsibilities added to …….. so I have decided, foolishly or otherwise, to jump ship and not apply for any of the new positions. 

I have rambled on enough for one day  …… but I have more to add, so I will “divulge” again tomorrow

Patchwork Christmas Card

This card measures 14.5cms x 14.5cms and is made using a hand cut blank using a white linen effect card.

It’s time for me to make a new crafty resolution ….. to make sure that when I buy something in a great flurry of inspiration, I try to use them as soon as I possibly can afterwards and not put it them away …… for the inspiration and the ideas to disappear …..

…… because that’s what happened when I found these Kaisercraft die cut shapes,  reduced to £2.75 from £5.50 in Paperchase, on the way home I was full of ideas ….. but when I re-looked at them a few weeks later  …… I thought ….. what was I thinking? And that’s money down the pan …. unless I can rekindle those ideas …. 

So, determined not to throw my money away, I did me some Googling and decided that patchwork was the way to go, using scraps of Christmas papers and faux stitching. The finished card has got a retro feel about it ….

I have to admit I am not 100% sure about it ….. but perhaps things I’ll be more convinced and confident as I work my way through the rest of the pack!

RetroTag Christmas Card

This card measures approximately 15cms x 10cms made using a hand cut blank using an untextured red card.
I like the idea of tags on cards, but it’s something I don’t think I have tried before ….. so I took one of the tags I posted the other day, not sure if it would work …. but ended up very pleasantly surprised.

Marc’s Primark Doorstop(s)

Animal door stops are so on trend this season (hark at me!!!!!!) and absolutely everywhere ….. but the prices!!!  Oh my goodness!  This tale goes back to February when I was staying with Marc and he took me to Hammersmith, he knows how to treat a girl! We did all the charity shops and Primark which is where Marc spotted these door stops for, can you believe it ….. £5 each?

We were very impressed and ohhhhed and ahhhhhed,  but at the time didn’t make a considered purchase, because Marc also had his eye on a particularly snazzy pair boots and I was snapping up candles and London embellished souvenirs like their bags, purses, socks and  wallets for presents ….. and to be honest the doorstops were heavy …… but it wasn’t long before Marc started to regret it as they had artistic potential … and after I had gone he bought in bulk …… because they were a blank canvas to “do up”……..

This is the one he saved for me on my next visit …… where  he simply added a ribbon ruff and very, very lovely and sparkly lead ….. which Marc tells me was once one of the belts from a “Material Girl’s” costume during one of her tours and Marc was designing some of her outfits…. but who are we to name drop!

Just a couple of simple touches and my pooch has taken on a completely new persona. From what I can remember Marc added various other neckerchiefs and ruffles to others and created a couple of pirates and clowns ……

Such a simple idea, but once you let your imagination loose the possibilities are endless … if you were giving one as a present you could match them to occupations, hobbies or occasions……

I have to add here that my “Rufus” isn’t allowed to sit by the door, he might get hurt, so he sits safe and sound beside the fireplace,  with his lead very artistically arranged!

Christmas Cards 2014 - Retro Feel Snowman Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut plain red card blank.I found several of these packs of canvas toppers in The Range sale for just 50p a pack, bargaintastic! But, what I am going do when I find any early Christmas “bargains” is to try to use them as soon as I can, otherwise they will just get put away and are then forgotten (well, they do in my case!).  This will also help me build up a good stock of cards way before I really need them.I’ve married the stickers up with some rather retro looking 8ins x 8ins  papers that I have had for so long I can’t even remember who made them.  There is a lot of mat and layering going on as you can see, with an equally amount of faux stitching.  The only thing that I really shouldn’t have added are the pearls ….. ugh!!!!  They really should be snowflakes …. but stuck so quickly that the card would have been ruined if I had tried to remove them, lesson learned!

Marc And I “Do” Crafting Together For The First Time …… Continued ….

This card is A5 in size ……..

Marc wanted me to make him a card that incorporated an old sixpence to give to the bride whose wedding we had been working on ….

I had an inkling of an idea on the Saturday, but it took me until late Monday evening to put all together ……..

I wanted it to take all the ideas and die cuts we had used on all the other bits and pieces we had done so that the theme flowed, but it took a couple of days because we were constantly throwing new ideas at each other, and trying things that sometimes didn’t quite work out.

I wish you could have heard us ….. debating, trying one idea, erming and ahhing, trying something else, and then more often as not going back to our original idea ……

I lined the card with a thin, plain, white paper and then added a red velum insert that Marc had punched a while ago for another project, and then a bit of loopy writing and a few tiny red flat backed gems finished the whole thing off,  done and dusted!

Marc And I “Do” Crafting Together For The First Time …… Continued ….

This is the pile of booty that Marc and I put together during my visit, and I think Marc has since added a few more things……… what is he like????

The matchboxes (below) are to put small pieces of jewellery or keyrings in made by Marc ……

……. but they proved to be the most frustrating and difficult things to put together ever, despite our using the Stampin’ Up matchbox die my son Tom managed to get from America ….. they look lovely when put together, but believe me, they would try the patience of a saint, and Marc said that for the first time he realised how impatient I can be!!  Needless to say, I left ALL the matchboxes to Marc, who fortunately does have the patience of a saint!!!

After Marc had worked out how to put the insides together he then went on to emboss the outsides ….. and cutting even more blue glitter birds out (Sizzix Sizzlits Singles Die - Bird Swallow Patch Embellishment Item #: 12786329), which I believe may now be discontinued.

On it’s own the bird didn’t look right, so we added the flower, but had to fiddle fart with them because the stem was white and needed to be coloured green, and they were soooooo tiny ….. aghhhh,

But something was still missing ….. first Marc added a plain flourish and then a silver flourish and then a glittered glittered ….. before finally wondering out aloud how they would look with a bit of writing and a doodle or two on  …….. and since he says I can write on a pinhead, guess who got that job ???????

My template and guide is at the bottom, marked so that I could compare and write the real thing in around about the same place each time!

Marc then followed the idea through again with the fridge magnets he made, seen here backed on contrasting presentation cards.

There were also packs of tattoos to put together and since I have got home I have made a card to go with some wish bracelets ………….

That’s one thing about Marc ……. he knows how to make a woman work for her keep, but we had such a wonderful, wonderful time and there were huge hugs and a few tears when it was time for me to leave ………. BUT here’s an even more WONDERFUL thing …….. we are now busy making plans for Marc to stay with me for a week in the summer ……. he has a bucket list and visiting the delights of Wolverhampton is on there ………. now how brilliant will that be?????

Marc And I “Do” Crafting Together For The First Time …… Continued ….

These are the place settings Marc and I put together for the wedding he is “doing” ……. I think they measure about 4.5 ins x 4.5ins. They are made using a pack of card blanks which we scored about half and inch either side of the fold so that they would stand up. 

We then spent most of the morning die cutting all the shapes we needed, plus extra’s for other things,  Marc on his Cuttlebug and me on his BigShot.

I typed and printed out a pile of pin poems, cut them to size and stuck them down using foam pads at the top of the inside of the card and used matching ready made toppers that Marc already had to fill in the space at the bottom. We then built up the scored bottom, using two layers of foam tape, plus another shorter one in the middle which was further embellished with a length of self adhesive ribbon to accommodate three of Marc’s beautiful pins.

The final touch was a red ribbon tied through a single hole punched at the top and bottom of the card to bring it all together and help them stand up.

Et voila, a place setting and wedding favour all in one!

Working On A Project With Marc ….. For The Very First Time!

I didn’t see Marc at Easter because of my Icelandic trip, but it felt so awful and so strange, I was pining big time ….. so when I found out that Virgin were offering train tickets to London for just £5.50 at half term, well it would have been most rude not too make a considered purchase, wouldn’t it?

So, I arrived at 7.30 just in time for supper and for us to watch Gogglebox, our Friday night programme of choice together for the first time  …… and enjoy an aperitif or two ……….. well, neither of us know how we did it, and I am not sure I should really be telling you this for fear of you feeling ill of me and Marc and our habits  ….. BUT these are our empties …… OMG ….  and I don’t even drink, except for high days and holidays, by rights I think we should both be dead ….. but we didn’t even walk funny, talk stupid, pass out or get into a fight ……. the room didn’t even spin, we just talked and talked and talked until it became light and then it wasn’t really worth going to bed!!  …. We had our last drink at 8.30 on Saturday morning and then started to work…..  because despite this awful, awful tale of debauchery we were on a mission and had much work to get through ……. Marc had a wedding to “do” and I was there to help.  He really didn’t have much of a theme/idea to go on ….. just the title Roman Holiday …. which Marc decided to link in with 1950’s style tattoos.

My first job was to embellish a pile of white lunch bags that were to be filled with favours (also to be made by Marc) with tattoo designs that Marc had drawn up. The idea had been to simply print them out on his printer, but erm….. the ink was running low ….. and we were stuck, until I suggested that if I could find somewhere in Notting Hill that had a copier all would not be lost ……

……. and that’s when Marc and I started bouncing ideas off each other that would continue for the rest of my visit! The colours were pretty flat and faded then Marc suggested that I went over them with ProMarkers before having them copied …… a genius idea, because when they were copied the paper took on a glossy texture and the colours became so much deeper and richer with what appeared to be a crude but perfect rough shading to them ……

Each tattoo design, one for the front and back of each bag, then had to be mat and layered on red, glittered using translucent diamond dust which went everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and the names of the bride and groom and guests written in my best loopy writing!

In the end it looked like as if a whole herd of fairies had partaken in a wild and wanton party where fairy dust had been scattered with unbridled abandon  ….. my eyes were so sore, I was coughing up glitter and Marc and I were twinkling for England!

At Ar first I thought the bags might be a little over the top or not quite as precise as I would have liked …..

….. but sometimes when you are working up close to something for a long time you can’t see the whole picture anymore and leave them for a while and then go back to them …….. and when I did I was soooooooo pleased …….. but there was more work to be done, as you will see tomorrow.

Christmas Cards for 2014 – Snowflake Design

The hand cut card blank for this card measure 5ins x 5ins and is made using a linen effect cardstock.

I was able to make four cards of this design by making toppers from the red and silver foil snowflake gift tags from the packs below and using papers from the 6” x 6” Christmas paper pack from Wilkinsons Christmas 2013 range.

I There is also a lot of mat and layering going on with a smattering of red flat backed gems and just a touch of faux stitching!

Halogen Bulb Lens Christmas Bauble.

This idea is just a bit of stuff and nonsense!  I hate halogen bulbs, they are a nightmare to put in and a nightmare to take out with that flipping sucker thing and I can guarantee that when I attempt to take a bulb out, the lens comes off on the sucker and the bulb remains firmly in place, aghhhhhh !!!!!

Anyway,  after this happened to me twice in one evening,  I took closer look at the two lens that had come away and wondered if I could make a Christmas bauble using them …. what planet am I on?????

I took some plain blue card, some glitter paper, two penguins from a pack of stickers I bought in Michaels in Las Vegas, some tiny foam pellets and the flipping lenses.

I drew round one lens to make two card circles, cut them out and created two “scenes” using the white glitter paper, two penguins and a bit of doodling.

I put a few of the foam pellets in each of the lenses …..

……. and then put a small amount of glue round the edge of each circle ….. carefully turning the lens over and sticking it on top, praying it wouldn’t get all gunged up ….. it did ……. so I cleaned the lenses up and started again.

Next, I stuck the backs of the two scenes together, putting a loop of ribbon in the middle to act as a hanger. 

Then I glued a small length of pearl bead trim round the edge of the now two sided bauble to cover the join, and a bow on either side, at the top of each bauble over the ribbon …….

……. et voila! A mad experiment that went surprisingly well, and all from the lens of a couple of bulbs, who would have thought it?

My “New” Decopatch Radio

I covered my original “Decopatch radio” a couple of years ago, but sadly, it shuffled off its mortal coil a while ago ….. I have replaced it, but left it as it was…. however since my kitchen has undergone a major overhaul, the radio’s plain wood finish has come under scrutiny …… until, I finally succumbed and gave it the Decopatch treatment!

As the kitchen is predominately black and white with a splash of red … I ordered about ten assorted Decopatch papers in these colours ….

….. but when they arrived I decided that I would only use the red based ones with my very favourite being the red and black lace effect one (code 436).

It probably only took me about 30/45 minutes to cover, I even thought I would have a go at doing the knob, (if you’ll pardon the expression!). The worst part for me is waiting for it to dry, especially as it tends to go a little wrinkly before it dries perfectly flat, and that’s the danger time, when I tend to poke at it!  I finally got to varnish it using Wilkinson's clear, quick drying varnish, which really does dry quickly, perfect for me as I am sooooo impatient. Anyway, four/five coats did it ……

And now it’s sitting resplendent in my kitchen, looking like a very expensive, bespoke model, tuned to Radio 4!