My Angel in Disguise

Oh pesky batteries are still in my mouse instead of in my camera...so until I get around to taking a piccy, I'll retype this little verse for you which was inside the card my baby bought for me whilst I was having my job interview on Friday

When everything seemed hopeless

You helped to pull me through

And nobody will ever know

How much I owe to you

My life was full of sadness

And I needed setting free

I was searching for a saviour

And you were there for me

The thought of everything you've been

Brings tears to my eyes

My strength, my truth, my wisdom

My angel in disguise

...until next time, I hope you're an angel for someone special too

Clocks forward

Have you all remembered? Spring forward, Fall back?

So as its (apparently?) Spring and tomorrow Summertime begins (????) dont forget to put your clocks forward tonight - well at 2am Sunday morning if you want to stay up really late and do it right

Dunno about you but I like to put mine forward before I go to bed, then I feel a bit "naughty" cos I've stayed up even later than usual - and I dont miss the lost hour next day

Out of batteries in my camera (had to steal them for my mouse!) so keep you posted on those piccies of my card and gift I got off my darling yesterday

...until next time, enjoy your last day of spring

Result

How's this for service?

I thought I'd consider doing some temp work for the first time as it could fit in so well with my plans for Keepsake Kollections, my craft fairs, my NLP articles (forgot to tell you about that yet!) and my Valley at Work commitments etc.

So off I trot yesterday morning for my agency appointment, did my tests, did very well, happy so far, trot off home - the same afternoon, the agency rang me to ask if I could attend an interview this morning.

So off I trot again this morning for my interview, lovely place, lovely people, I start on Monday!

Who managed this feat I hear you ask? Well with a little input from me (LOL) all this was accomplished by Justine at the Rochdale branch of http://www.mpeople-recruitment.com/index.html so thanks Justine!

...until next time when I'll share with you the congratulation card and present my baby bought for me whilst I was having my interview (yes, he has that kind of faith in me!)

Foiled again

Did I tell you about the instructions that came with my new Continuous Ink System kit?

No? Well, to me, they read and looked like Dr Jekyll's laboratory - bottles and caps and syringes and tubes all over the place! - and never having seen it set up in "real life" before I was stumped! - especially when it mentioned screwdrivers! - screwdrivers?!

So today our friends, who use the same system, very kindly visited to help install it - but the whole kit has to go back cos there are two "twiddly bits" broken off and, after much deliberation, the consensus of opinion was that these "twiddly bits" being intact could be pretty essential to the process...

...so for the time being we're still printer-less until further notice and our Velvet Andy Warhol inspired creation will need to wait just a little while longer to be born

All the more to look forward to when we're back up and running though!

...until next time, I just hope your twiddly bits are fine and dandy x

Craft Fair 12 April - Heywood, Lancashire

I just spoke with a lovely lady called Evelyn at the Heywood Civic Centre, Heywood in Lancashire and booked a stall with her for the Craft Fair theyre holding on Saturday 12 April 2008

So, as ever, I'd absolutely love it if you could come along and say hi!

Big thanks to my very nice stall-neighbour (Rae?) who mentioned this event to me whilst we were chatting at the Bacup Craft Fair on Saturday

...until next time, keep smiling

Missy Legs

So Missy Legs is Bonny Lad's sister and I thought I'd share some of her photos with you today. There are usually more of him cos, well, frankly he does more daft things than she does...err usually...

The bar is open!

I love you!

...well you did leave the door open

I can see it - why can't I get it?

Oh it's nice to have company when you're not well...

...until next time, if you suffer from insomnia, make like a cat!

Bacup Easter Fair

So here's a little piccy of my table at yesterday's Bacup Easter Fair and yes, the bar was open!
And so was the food bar where I got my lovely giant cheeseburger with onions & ketchup, yum. And in case he's reading this, I must apologise for teasing the guy who didnt get cheese on his cheeseburger....I subsequently wafted my cheese-ful burger under his nose on the way back to my stall, we did laugh!



If you're one of the lovely people I met yesterday and you're reading this, a BIG THANK YOU for popping along to my Blog too, I'm so pleased you dropped by. It's been running since Feb so please have a good look around cos each post will either show you some of my work or sometimes the work of another talented crafter but hopefully you'll find something to entertain you in one way or another

...and before I sign off, take a look at our snow today! Here's the view from the back bedroom

...and a couple of views from the front bedroom window

...until next time, Happy Easter Sunday!

Britannia Coconutters

Oh we've had a fine old time at our Bacup Craft Fair today! Met lots of lovely people, had a giant cheeseburger for my dinner and to round off a great day, the famous Britannia Coconutters danced right outside the hall where our fair was held. It's the first time I've seen them doing their stuff and it was brilliant, here are some photos - spot the airborne Coconutter!

...until next time, hope you're enjoying your Easter weekend!

Whether to heed weather reports

In the Valley yesterday we had rain, RAIN and more RAIN!

Yet just look at the spectacular view from my back window this morning...

How much do I love living here? Answers on a postcard please!

Dont forget to get to Bacup Leisure Hall tomorrow if you can, I'll be there and it'd be great to see you in real life

...until next time, hope the sun's shining on you today, wherever you are

Velvet Paper and other goodies

How pleased was I this morning when my latest craft supplies order was delivered? I havent ordered anything for ages but, when I saw printable, stampable, colourable, punchable, cut-able and draw-on-able Velvet Paper for sale, I just had to get some!...

...it also came with a bumper pack of beautiful beads and embellishments in a gorgeous range of colours...have a sneaky peek...

So tomorrow I will be making the first thing I envisaged when I saw those wonderful velvet papers - my photographic homage to Andy Warhol! - so watch this space for a photo when its done!

...until next time, what's keeping you out of mischief?!

Easter card & box

Oh its almost Easter weekend, how nice! Except I have a Craft Fair on Saturday and havent made a single easter-related item yet?! Oh well there's still tomorrow & Friday and for the time being, I thought I'd show you the matching card & box I made for my darling last Easter

The six-sided box was embossed and painted and had plenty of room to store the lovely chocolate mini eggs I put inside for him (although I did help him eat rather a lot of them!)

I then embossed and decorated two more panels for the matching feature on the greeting card but cut the top layer into four sections leaving small gaps so you could glimpse the layer beneath

See, I can make things that dont have photographs on them! Although I do love the ultimate personalisation using a photo brings, you just cant beat it

...until next time, enjoy your Easter preparations

Another before and after

Bumping into my good friend Pauline in Rawtenstall by chance today has prompted me to share her before and after with you...

...so here's the photo of Pol and her beautiful boy Aiden BEFORE
...and here's the AFTER

...this is one of the "kaleidescope" baubles, done in a pinwheel effect, and is double sided and has a blue ribbon to hang it....well, just about wherever you want to!

I actually made this as a sample piece for my Craft Fairs but, when Pol saw it, she had to have one! Next time she comes to trim my hair, an exact replica of this will await her!

...until next time, please report me to the Exclamation Mark Support Group, I need help!!!!!

Happy St Patricks Day

Hey up, I just remembered in time before the day is over!
Happy St Patricks Day everybody
Kiss that Blarney Stone, it'll do you good (although hanging around in this position for too long might not?!)
Blarney Stone
...until next time, be good

Easter Saturday Bacup Booty

Just thought I'd remind you I'll be at the Bacup indoor craft and collectables sale next Saturday and I'm so looking forward to it! I dont have the full postal address just yet but we'll be at the Bacup Leisure Hall from 10am-2pm and its easy to find - from the centre of Bacup, take the Burnley road and its not too far along there with plenty of parking. Hope to see you then!

Because its Easter we'll also have the famous Britannia Coconutters Boundary to Boundary Dance taking place, a great reason to visit if you havent seen them before. They're a traditional folk dance troupe with a history that some say comes from pagan or medieval backgrounds, their faces blackened to disguise them from being recognised by evil spirits afterwards!

You can read more of the Coconutters history and see their dance route and some photos here http://www.coconutters.co.uk/

...until next time, make a diary date to Come See Me & The Coconutters! x

Doggie Diet Card

So my sister and brother-in-law have had to put their two Yorkshire Terriers (Whiskey & Brandy!) on diets - they look like little brown barking barrels bless em! - and here's the birthday card I decided to make for my bro-in-laws birthday on Monday...

That's winging its way to him in the post, I think it'll make them both laugh when they get it!
...until next time, think about using your own photo on cards, the ultimate personalisation!

Remote control cat

I just had to show you this, my Bonny lad after a hard days TV surfing!

...until next time, have a great weekend! x

Halloween

Confused you there didnt I? You expected me to mention St Patricks Day or even Easter but, hey, I'm different! All the specialists tell me so...LOL

Because I've only just got around to photographing it, I wanted to show you the very first 3D picture I put together. It's a photo of me & my old workmates celebrating Halloween a few years ago (I'm the witch sat on the table at the front on the right!)

It's 7 layers deep and curved, which perfectly suited the curved table we were perched on!

...until next time, when we'll be back on the same timezone as everyone else!

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure!
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

...from "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson

...until next time, let your light shine bright x

Speciality Horseshoe Keepsakes

Before I settle down to make my brother and brother-in-law's birthday cards (two days apart!) I just wanted to share these wonderful celebratory horseshoes with you.

Made from real horseshoes, they're a beautiful gift for any occasion - not just weddings - the pink one is for a baby girl's christening, how lovely is that?

They are the work of my UK Craft Forum buddy Janice of ttp://www.freewebs.com/clipclophorseshoes/ and I hope you'll visit her to see her other photos and read a little about how she came up with the idea in the first place.

I'd love to think they'd fit into my Memory Boxes or even my large A3 recessed frames to make up a wonderful Keepsake Kollection special with a featured photograph!

...until next time, stop horsing about and buy HANDMADE! xx

Before and After

Well we've had "Now and Then" so I thought I'd show you a little "Before and After"...no doubt this subject will come up again in many future posts!

This is my beautiful neice Abbie, aged 6, although she wont thank me for fondly remembering her toilet training days when she insisted "no nanna, want auntie shawon take me!"

...and below you can see the close up of just one corner of my large (A3) framed Xmas Special where her photo has been turned into a flower shaped Kaleidescope...

Kids especially love seeing their image in a Kaleidescope, it amazes them. Mind you, I'm reported to be a grown up and I confess I love it too! See how her jean-clad knee has turned into a flower shape in the centre? And how the light reflecting off the fire surround has made its own interesting effect in the piece? And how you cant see the mess on the floor anymore!

The big picture is full of detail, like a giant framed scrapbook page, and can be seen in more detail here http://www.flickr.com/photos/23781019@N08/page2/ or by looking through my sample slideshow at the top right of this Blog page

There's a Pyramaged photo of Abbie's little sister Holly - and a 4-layered "3D" image of us all together - and the thing that makes the whole piece a Keepsake Kollection special - their little xmas present thank you letter to their Auntie Sharon!

...until next time, preserve your little ones in a stunning new way!

Missing Pets

I'm constantly proved there are no such things as coincidences in life!

At a meeting last Tuesday evening I was introduced to the guy who runs http://www.rossendaleonline.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2291 which is a great forum for anyone who lives in Rossendale, used to live in Rossendale or who just plain wants to know whats happening in the area.

Whilst having a look around the forum on Wednesday night, I found a post about a local missing dog (aw!) and discovered a brilliant website offering great help if you're in that situation.........

...........and the very next day, my babe's beautiful husky Jet escaped from the garden and went missing!

COINCIDENCE? Personally I think not.

Thankfully, just after I spoke with the lovely lady at DogLost, Jet was found by his 4 strong search party - but I do hope you'll take a look at their site (after checking out my work of course!) here http://www.doglost.co.uk/forum.asp?ID=11892

It's not only an invaluable service and support if your beloved pet is lost but you can register (FREE) to become a Helper - I'm one now! - and you'll receive an email when a dog living in your area has been reported missing so you can look out for them and even print Missing posters from online photos to aid the search

Fear not cat lovers (I have two feline companions as regular readers will know!). I also found this site which helps us too http://www.missingpetsuk.com/?gclid=CMnY8f6X-5ECFQ8gQgodyXUiyA

...until next time, I pray all these owners and their much loved pets are reunited soon x

Now and Then

Well its Friday and my boiler is having a personality-crisis! Currently thinks its a tap and is dripping water like mad. So the gasman cometh!

Thought I'd share this picture with you, its the same three boys when they were little dots (bless em!) and when theyre not-so-little (one is 6' 3" now!)

I've cut the backgrounds from each photo and replaced it with the same colour to bridge the 15 year gap and tie the two pictures together.

You can also see from the shadows that they've both been given the 3D technique for added effect

...but I do want to re-shoot the bottom photo again, methinks one or two of them had been on the tiles the night before so theyre not quite looking their handsome best!

This would look great in a 3 aperture recess frame if you have generational photos. Can you just imagine Gran & Grandad in the top recess, Parents in the second, Grandchildren in the bottom? What a personal and heartfelt gift for any member of the family, old or young

...until next time, have a lovely weekend x

Insomnia

Well I really, thoroughly enjoyed doing my NLP presentation last night. I've been focussing on Keepsake Kollections for such a long time now that I'd forgotten just how creative NLP is but in an entirely different, therapeutic arena - no wonder I love it so much!

I was asked about insomnia last night so thought I'd share a slightly unusual technique with you.

If you're a sufferer, friends & family will always be able to offer suggestions they've tried before or solutions they've heard about from other people or read in books - lets face it, there's no single solution that works for everyone, just like there's no single, miracle technique to stop smoking

But as a therapist, we're taught to help you find the answers from within yourself.

So let me ask you "what do you get from not sleeping?"
The first response to that question is usually "what do you mean? what do I get from it?"
So I'd respond "what do you gain from not being able to sleep? What does it give you?"

Now once you start focussing on the positives, just some possible answers are:
a) well I do get some good business ideas when I cant sleep
b) it does give me time to review the day to see if there's anything I've forgotten to do
c) I sometimes find the solution to a problem by having all that time to consider options
... and a very honest and enlightening one some people face is:
d) it gets me lots of sympathy from friends & fellow sufferers, we have a common problem to talk about, we help each other by trying out different remedies

Once you've exhausted your list of what insomnia does for you, then you can begin to "negotiate"

So for options a-c negotiate with yourself - if I make more effort to find time to come up with those business ideas or do my daily checklist or make a pro's and con's list during the day - then I'll be able to rest easier at night

For option d, once you've come to this realisation, the very first thing to do is not beat yourself up about it. In fact, congratulate yourself for being so honest, most people aren't that brave. After all it's nice to have a common subject to share with other people. It feels good to have people sympathise with you and want to help you. And just the way celebrities argue bad publicity is still publicity, getting attention because of something negative is still attention...but now you know what it is, you have the power to change it...or decide its no longer useful to you and discard it...or realise you have something positive to share with your friends instead of something negative...

I hope this sets you thinking...but hopefully not in the dead of night!!!

So you see I gained something from being awake until 2am this morning! My NLP Practitioner side reminded me that, had this been a client, you'd have had this technique pre-planned for their first appointment!

...until next time, make love, not sleeping tablet Company profits!

Angel

OK, so before I get busy typing up my notes for tonights NLP presentation I just thought I'd share my Angel with you!

This is my one & only tattoo! She means a lot to me, more so because I drew her - not on my own back of course! - the tattoo artist did that bit.

The only part he changed from my original drawing were her wings (and I think that was more to do with copyright than anything).

The artist was Louis Molloy http://www.tattoos.co.uk/ who is famous in his field and was done in his post-Beckham but pre-London Ink era at his studio in Middleton, Manchester close to where I used to live

...until next time, may your Guardian Angel always be with you too!

Busy busy busy

Oh I've got some lovely orders that are just waiting to be started! Thought I'd give you a preview:

A large navy veterans framed piece - I'm very excited as my customer has now chosen 3 war medals, a bosun's whistle and 2 B&W photos ready to go into her piece! And I've bought the frame so all systems go!

A Christmas themed Memory Box (yes, you heard right, christmas!) - I'm chuffed to bits cos this is my first order for the new Memory Boxes - the main element will be a 3D multi layered photo of 2 little tots sat on santa's knee, bless em!

And as a gift for one of my UK Crafts Forum buddies http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/index.php?referrerid=9261 , I'm very keen to start her "Pins & Needles" group card!

Sam from http://www.incywincytogs.co.uk/ makes gorgeous baby, toddler & nursery items and also runs a Flickr special interest group here http://www.flickr.com/groups/pinsandneedles/ and has sent me a selection of beautiful photographs of her colleagues' handcrafted items. As a thank you for letting me (a non-sewer!) join their group, I'm making a special card featuring their work and we've done a deal - Sam gets the electronic card and I get the original to display at my Craft Fairs!

...but I cant start work on any of them until Wednesday as I have the honour of doing a 20 minute presentation tomorrow evening to my http://valleyatwork.co.uk/default.aspx business network group and I havent got a thing set down on paper yet! It's on Neuro Linguistic Programming so not exactly the simplest of subjects to decide what to include in my agenda! I'm really looking forward to it though

So...until next time...its LOVELY to be so busy!

Happy Mothers Day

To all you mums out there!

....until next time, enjoy your special day!

Poppy Puss & Rossendale Radio

So did anyone propose to their unsuspecting men yesterday?! Tradition says that 29 February is the day for the female members of the population to break with stereotype and propose to their menfolk so I hope some of you went for it, be nice to imagine lots of gobsmacked gents stammering their replies!


Couple of things to share with you - firstly I want to thank Jayne from Poppy Puss Creations who's very kindly featured my work on her website!http://www.poppypusscreations.com/index.htm
Amongst other things, Jayne produces a lovely range of soaps & bath products made to order so I hope you'll visit her to to look around


Secondly, an update to my previous post, we've just heard that Tony from http://www.a1creative.net/ has been successful in his application to secure a new Rossendale Radio station licence! So now the work begins to get everything set up and, you never know, you may just hear my dulcet tones reading a radio advert or two...


...until next time Smashy & Nicey better watch out if Shaz comes to Rossendale Radio!