A Lovely Short Break

The Doctor said that Paul was allowed to fly now he's made such great progress but only a maximum of an hour and provided he was full of asprin and wearing flight socks:) So we headed off to Scotland for a few days, After touring around the Highlands we stayed with my great friend Lorry on the Isle of Skye. Paul had a blast fishing in all the rivers and managed a couple of little brown trout for his efforts! It was the first time we have been away together on our own for a long time.

This is Plockton - a beautiful little village at the end of a Loch - I could move here tomorrow - it was so pretty and peaceful. No sirens or aircraft overhead, just great views (even though I missed the castle nestling in the forest on the hillside).

I spent a lot of time sitting besides rivers like these while Paul dibbed his rod - I wish I'd taken some stamping with me though :)

I'm not sure who was most frightened here - me being faced with those horns or the cow seeing me and my droppy boobs :) The Highland cattle are so huge and pretty - a shame they were all laying down because of the weather.















Whilst with Lorry I had a wonderful day crafting with her and her lovely friend Polly. While Lorry and Polly were busy knitting with wire and beads and making earings for a craft fair I stamped out a couple of sets of 3x3" card sets.

What do you do when your DH is ill?

Buy new stamps!

I thought I would try some stamps other than flowers ;) This card uses a set called Say Charge by My Favourite Things and coloured in with SU water colour crayons and blending pens.

Another new big background stamp that I used in this pink card came from Unity Stamps - it's called Doily and I love it! It just called out to be cut up and raised up. I used the sentiment from another Unity set that I haven't had chance to play with much as yet. The cardstock is Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush by Papertrey Ink.

I couldn't resist getting a new flower stamp and as iris are among my most favourite flowers I had to have this Siberian Iris set from Flourishes. It stamps so beautifully and I spent a good few hours sitting with Paul and colouring it in with different combinations. This is one with a sentiment by Papertrey from the trusty Out on a Limb set.

Back in the Blogging Business!

It's so good that life is finally calming down and I have a chance to catch up with things just for myself.
The last few months have been the most challenging for many years but we have come out the other side now.
Paul had his hip replaced in May after many months of not knowing where his pain was originating from and he is doing brilliantly well :) He is down to just the occasional use of a stick to aid him getting about and physio is keeping him supple.
A huge thank you to all our friends at home, work and overseas for all your good wishes to him. Check out two of the wonderful cards Paul received from Penny and Lana. Also to Deb and Linda - they were all very special {hugs} and he has been showing them off to all his visitors/District Nurses/Physiotherapists.
All the while Paul was ill, Fliss was doing her GCSE's and she coped really well with having her Daddy at home the whole time. We are keeping our fingers crossed for August and that she gets the results she wants to go into 6th form.
And me? Well I have a new job to look forward to in a couple of weeks - more about that another time :) I didn't totally clear my crafting space away of late so I do have a few bits and bobs to post. Watch this space!

Toy's Sketch Challenge

Holly has a great blog - please go check it out here - and I saw her sketch which I just had to have a go at last week (all be it a little late!). I used my Petal Prints and Hodgepodge Hardware again and combined this with another forum weekend challenge to use harlequins - my harlequin script stamp is by My Sentiments Exactly.

Out On A Limb

My set from Papertrey Ink eventually arrived after some delay from across the pond and I made this for it's first outing. The card has gone back to a friend in the US and only took 4 days to arrive!

The little flowers have some stickles on them to give it a bit of a lift.

Unfortunately Papertrey have decided to put up their international postage to a whopping $23 so it may be the last set I have for a while :(

Year after Year

I thought it was about time I blew off the dust and had a play with my demo kit from Stampin Up. I signed up as a demo last November but as the day job has taken over my life I have not planned in any workshops to date!

This card was made using a set called Year After Year. I just need someone to have a baby, graduate or fall in love to use some of the others in the set :)

Petal Prints

It's very rare that I have to make a sympathy card, but a colleague I work with lost her Mum last week and I made this for her from all the girls who work with me.

It uses a retired set from Stampin Up called Petal Prints and is a great set to reach for when looking for a pretty image that's not too over the top.

Time Flies!

Well it does when you are working hard both at home and work :) But Spring is on the way, Easter is around the corner to look forward to and I have a few days off to celebrate my big '50' with friends and family over the next couple of weeks.


It was Mothering Sunday recently and so I made this for my wonderful Mum, using Doodle This from SU and the last of my stash of these pretty papers. SU have some lovely new hardware out in the US and I traded a big tin of it for a stamp set not available over there yet.

Wild Rose

I have neglected this stamp set since I bought it - it's a really tricky set to stamp with as lining up the two steps takes some practice. I'm pleased with how it came out though - I just kept it simple and let the rose pop out.

Carte Postale

This stamp set is actually in the UK Stampin Up catalogue so I thought I would use it for a birthday card for Seona, and then make a second for when I actually get around to holding some workshops! The card was inspired by a fellow SCS'er.

Sketch Challenge 1

I love looking at the sketch challenges on SplitCoastStampers and this one leapt out at me for a birthday card for Burnice. I just can't put this PapertreyInk stamp set down! I think the cuttlebug background goes well with the flowers of the stamps.

It's Been A While!

I can't believe that I have been so tied up with my new job that I haven't updated my blog since mid-December so here are just a few of my latest bits and bobs since then:)

There were two forum friends birthdays last month - this first one is for Sharon using my new Papertrey Ink stamps called Spiral Bouquet

And this one was for Jenni using one of my favourite Paperbag Studios stamp - an oldie but goodie :)