Back online

Finally my phone & internet are now back up and running... Shame it didn't happen a bit earlier in the day right enough. Have a challenge card ready to go but am gonna hold off until tomorrow in the hopes of getting a half decent picture. Thankfully my day wasn't a complete waste of time as I managed to get a new hairdo and I had a mini skip delivered this morning so I could tidy the back garden ready for autumn & winter... Needless to say the skip is almost full now as I had nothing else better to do today... A good job done I think ! Well gonna sign off now as I'm in the middle of making my FIL's birthday card and it needs to go in the post tomorrow.

Catch you all tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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Unhappy bunny

Well not only do I have no internet access... I also have no phone !!! Xxx
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Penny Black Challenge

Happy Monday to all out there in blogland and hope it's going to be a wonderful week for us all... plenty of challenges along the way combined with fun and laughter... nothing better for the soul is there than a good old banter and nosey into everyone else's workspace..

This is my card for this week's Penny Black challenge and in reality it should have been posted yesterday instead of just sitting on my desk... but... it turned into lazy Sunday instead... lol. Weekly shop at Tesco then a lovely stroll down Strathclyde park having a good laugh at the ducks and swans when they were all going bottoms up looking for food... back home for dinner then feet up watching tv... well it was Sunday afterall.. that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

So for this weeks' challenge at Penny Black we have to produce a card with the theme 'Summer Lovin' so out came my beloved stamp to be inked and coloured... then for the rest of the card, all of my elements came from my new Duck Pond kit which I received on Saturday.. oh and the little flourishes were made using my new 'Words Like Honey' stamps.

Well, I suppose that I won't manage to achieve much else with my day if I just sit here typing away on my keyboard will I.... so it's time to bid you all a fond farewell for the moment and I'll catch you all again later... well... it is a beautiful sunny day outside so perfect for doing some work in the garden.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

OMG... Yummy Duck Pond Kit....

Well Mr Postie arrived this morning with a normal looking brown box secured with brown parcel tape... Oh I was excited as I new what it contained (my kit from Duck Pond Crafts) but when I opened the box I got such a surprise... no goodies to be seen... that's because I had to unravel the gorgeous yellow tissue paper that it was all wrapped up in first... I was so shocked... can't remember the last time I received a parcel that was so beautifully presented... it certainly made me pay attention before I even got to unravel it... lol... then when I did... lots and lots of yummy goodies inside for me to pull out of the bag.. oh yes... forgot to say that the contents were also all contained within a big plastic bag so there was no rummaging around to make sure I had pulled everything out of the box before binning it. How wonderful !

There was so much contained within the parcel that I've had to break it down into several photo shots so I hope you don't mind... this first one here let's you see the 10 cards that you receive in the kit... 3 each of 3 different sizes plus 1 other of a different size again... all complete with envelopes... then there are some truly to die for papers by fancy pants and bazzill papers too... nice part I like about this is that all the hard colour combo work has been done for you in advance... all you need do is play.. no hunting around for matches.

Then comes the part we all love.... oh yes... the embellishments.... yummy, yummy... we all know that's the point in time when the saliva starts to flow that little bit quicker don't we..... lol

Well my photo just doesn't do it justice at all... but there is so much in here.... including a doillie, 4 strips of ribbon 18" in length, a full reel of ribbon from American Crafts, a beautiful glittered border from fancy pants, a gorgeous rose and leaves.. you still all with me here as I've still got a bit to go... then there is the die cut ducks and giraffes, a selection of buttons to go with your creations, 2 sparkly pins so you can look posh (lol), tons of dew drops in 3 different colours... think it's 24 of each so that's 72 drops in total and finally there are 2 of the most gorgeous charms... so gorgeous infact that I had to do a close up of them..

Here are my little buddy charms... ain't they just adorable... what's even better is that they are infact double sided charms... oh yes... no more not being able to use the charm because it's facing the wrong direction.... with these... you simply turn them around and voila... problem solved in an instance..

Phew... are you still all with me after that rather lengthy post... lol... can you tell I'm excited and really cannot wait to get my grubby little mitts on them to play away to my hearts content... and no doubt you will all get to see the finished creations when I post them on here at a later date..

Now it is Saturday, mega shopping to do with hubby so must bid you all a fond farewell for the moment being as the sooner I leave, the sooner I can return and dive into my new toys... hope you all have a fab day and I'll catch you all again soon.

Oh and remember if you fancy owning one of these delightful kits then pop over and drop an email to Karen here.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Mr Postie brought goodies.... :-)

Tree Branch

Classic Flourishes

Trees


Christian Text

Stylized Tree

Now does anyone really have to ask just how happy I was this morning when Mr Postie arrived at the door with not one but two delicious packages for me... sure was a great way to start the weekend... a huge smile suddenly appeared on my face and all traces of sleep dispersed into the atmosphere rather quickly... lol

My first package was a lovely padded envelope from Emma at Words Like Honey... 5 packs of gorgeous clear stamps... now I can't wait to start playing with this lot as there are so many possibilities to what can be achieved with them... watch this space as I have a feeling you will be seeing rather a lot of them in the future..

If any of these take your fancy or you fancy having a browse at what all else Emma has on offer then simply pop over to Words Like Honey and have a nosey for yourself.

Right I'm off to start uploading pics of my 2nd goody package that arrived this morning.

Toodles for now

Lorraine xxx

The Sugar Bowl Challenge

Now I'm never happier than when I have time to join in the fun at The Sugar Bowl Challenge... and what a lovely sketch to work with... right enough... I did forget to play along with the additional optional theme of using pearls... must have been too carried away with all the excitement eh... lol

Anyway, I decided to use my Peek A Bunny stamp which I so adore.. well I do have 7 bunnies of my own... and combined it with some Daisy Bucket 'In the meadow' papers, core-dinations paper and some lace & ribbon from my stash.

Now all I need do is decide who's birthday I'm gonna save it for...

Hope as many of you as possible get to join in the fun this week as it's a massive prize up for grabs by one lucky random winner.

Toodles for now

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Details of Santa Stamp

Hi folks... rather a few of you have made lovely remarks on my santa which has been seen in several pictures lately so thought I'd share his details with you just incase anyone is looking to make a new purchase for christmas....

Manufacturer is Stamps Happen Inc and the stamp is called Jolly Santa.

He costs £10.99 and can be purchased HERE

If anyone goes ahead and buys him... you'll fall in love when he arrives... I've had mine for several years now and there's never a year goes by that he doesn't get inked up.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Christmas time again

This is another little card for me to add to my christmas collection.. kept it rather basic as I think the characters are just soooo cute, it wouldn't be fair to detract from them...

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Cute Card Thursday challenge

Phew... this is my last challenge entry for the day... and yet another new challenge for me... this time it's Cute Card Thursday... guess I only managed to make this weeks entry with just a little time to spare... lol

Think that now I've managed to make 5 cards and make 6 postings today, that I've earned a nice little wander out to the shops or something seeing as it's dry at the moment, then I have get organised for a 6pm meeting, before perhaps starting on another challenge card later tonight.


Well I hope you all have a fab day filled with nothing but fun and laughter... life's too short !!!


Toodles for now and catch you all soon


Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Truly Scrumptious Challenge

Phew... think this is my 4th or 5th challenge entry for the day and this time it's another new challenge for me... Truly Scrumptious....

This was a very fun basic sketch to work with and there was an additional option of using 'brads, buttons and bows'... well I managed to squeeze that in too... lol

If you've never joined in the fun before then why not follow me and try it this week for the first ever time... sometimes there's nothing better in life than conquering a new challenge...

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

WOYWW

OMG... can you believe that yet another week has gone by... don't know if it's due to the ageing process or not but it seems like only yesterday I was doing last weeks entry...

Anyway, it's another Wednesday and another chance to join in the fun at WOYWW... well we do all like a little nosey around one another's work area's don't we... lol

Mine looks rather neat here but that's only because I've finished the cards I was working on yesterday and this is my simple prep for the next batch...

Well... hope you're all joining in whether your work space is tidy or not...

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Penny Black challenge

Oh am I on a roll today or what.... here's number 3 of today's challenge entries... this time it's for the Penny Black challenge... and I just had to use my all time favourite stamp for this one...

Hope that you're all joining in the challenge fun this week too.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Sunday sketch and stamp challenge

Okay folks... here's the 2nd of today's challenge entries... this time it's for the Sunday sketch and stamp challenge... a new one for me but it won't be the last time I enter... well... one can never enter too many challenges can they... lol

Why not join in the fun just like me... at Sunday Sketch and Stamp.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

The Pink Elephant Challenge

Sorry this posting is short & brief but I have numerous postings to do just now and I'm running a little short on time... no change there then I gues... lol.

Here is my entry for this weeks Pink Elephant challenge.... if you've never joined in the challenge before then why not pop over and give it a go...

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Current location

Afternoon everyone and hope you're all enjoying another relaxed and lazy Sunday. I'm currently parked out the gym waiting on hubby to finish his workout... After that we're off down the park for a pre dinner stroll.

Have a couple more christmas cards made so will get them uploaded to my blog in the next few hours.

Enjoy what's left of your day.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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Xmas card 1

Yes I'm a little behind... Got on FB then lost in time, as well as ordering a few goodies to add to my stash and a visit from mum.

Anyway, I'm now underway making my mock samples for christmas... Make them all up then decide which I want to go with.

This is my first, with many more to follow.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx



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It's christmas....

Okay well it's not quite that time already... but I decided to make an early start this year... so not like me, but I'm all caught up with housework so have now locked myself away in my craft room and am busy busy busy making a start on some christmas cards... soon as I have a few ready I'll get them posted... hopefully it won't be long as I'm trying to stick to some clean simple designs so I can get them off the production line quickly... lol

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Penny Black Challenge

Now I know that it's a little late in the week and the new challenge is due in a matter of days again... but hey ho... the show ain't over till the fat lady sings... as they say in show business.

The challenge this week over at Penny Black is to create something relating to "feeling fruity"... so I decided to create a little shopping pad.... this was so much fun to make and was just the ticket to make whilst relaxing on the sofa last night watching tv.

Image is obviously Penny Black and papers are MME... rub on's believe it or not, I picked up in Tesco last year... bargain price of about £1 if I remember correctly. Gems are from my stash and border made using Martha Stewart punch.

It's not too late so if you haven't yet joined in the fun there's still time to before closing... barring that... new challenge is due to be released on Saturday.

Have a wonderful crafty day.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Still distressing

Seeing as I had my distress inks out today, I decided that I'd be just as well playing with my house a little more, so pulled it out of the pile of partially completed projects and started adding some more colour to it via my distress inks being applied mostly with a cotton bud... Lol

Xxx


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WOYWW

Well... I can't believe I almost forgot that this is Wednesday... sitting at my table playing away when it suddenly dawned on me so thought I better take action right away... well I can't not join in the fun at WOYWW can I.... that would lead to a disaster I think... lol

Now I really didn't feel the best yesterday and then slept for the best part of 12 hours... with the exception of waking up numerous times... around 1am, 3am, 6am then finally 11am... obviously the old body felt in need of recuperation else it wouldn't have floored me the way it did... then I had the typical groggy feeling this morning when I did finally awake... know that when you've slept like a log yet you feel like you haven't had any sleep what so ever.

Can't be having that linger around I though, so what can I pull out onto my workdesk to help me feel better and a little more motivated... hhhmmmmm..... some good old grunge paper should do the trick I think... oh yes, out came the grunge and a flower template from Craftwork Cards... drew around my selection, cut them out and now I'm onto the decoration... did it work... oh yes... my eyes suddenly started to open up rather quickly... must make sure I remember that one for future too.

Unfortunately I do have to make a supermarket run today as well as a pile of ironing but I'm sure that all that can be fit in somewhere, somehow around my grungy flower day... lol.

Right.... off to get on with things now and I'll catch up with you all again later... oh, and if you've never joined in the fun at WOYWW why not give it a go... it's so much fun and you never quite know what you're going to find on your own or someone else's desk to give you a little inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by....

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Sorry

Evening folks and my sincere apologies for not having posted any earlier today... My sinus have been flared up for most of the day which led to me having a glorious migraine which was very resilient to pain killers and really did not want to leave me in a hurry.

Needless to say I haven't felt much like doing anything today, not even crafting so afraid I have nothing new to post tonight. I am however making an attempt now in the hopes that I have something ready for the morning.

Hope everyone else has had a fab day and I'll catch you all tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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Sugar Bowl Challenge

Yippee.... 2 challenges in 2 days... not managed that in a while... lol

Today's card is my entry in the Sugar Bowl challenge and worked out perfect as it's my friend's little boys birthday in a few weeks (the brother of yesterday's birthday girl)... so at least I'm well enough organised there.

This posting has to be rather brief I'm afraid as I'm dashing around right now getting ready to meet old school friends for lunch at 2pm... haven't seen them in almost 20 years so we've got a lot to catch up on.

Hope you all have a fab day & I'll catch you all again soon.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Stampavie challenge

Well this is my first time ever entering the Stampavie challenge... probably due to the fact that I only have 1 Sarah Kay image at the moment but hope to increase it over the coming months as they really are so sweet...

Now the challenge was to design a card around Bev's sketch and seeing as it's my friend's daughters birthday tomorrow, I decided to make her birthday card for the challenge.

Worked to the sketch using Basic Grey papers and a flower from Craftwork Cards... image was coloured using Pro-markers, and a few litte gems to finish.

Would love to stay and chat more but the sun is shining & my garden chair is calling... lol

Catch you all again soon.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Where am I ....

Morning folks... Well I've been up with the lark this morning, most of the housework is done, bed has been stripped, washed & is drying in the sunshine now.

Where am I right now... I'm currently sat in a car park in Milngavie, eating hula hoops, drinking coffee and enjoying a little sunshine myself... Hubby had an appointment here and I came along for the ride.

I do have a card all ready to post so will do that once I get back home.

Hope you've all got a little bit of sunshine today ;-)

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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WOYWW

Now here's a sight you don't see very often in my craft room.... the aftermath of kiddy attack... and trust it to happen yesterday, just in time for WOYWW

For 9 hours yesterday I was running around with my friend trying to sort out her car... followed her up to put her car in for a service (£210) and before we knew what was happening we were on the go again as the garage asked her to go back up again due to the volume of problems with her car... long story short... after a lot of running around, phone calls etc.... her final bill.... just under £1200... shocking.

Needless to say, during the phonecalls that she had to make, dear old Aunt Lorraine had to entertain the kids... now I'm not used to having kids in my craft room, so that was a real shock to the system... manage to survive right enough.... Well we ended up playing with Stickles & Pearlidoodles to write our names... side kick for cutting out shapes to stick to things... versamark & mica powders... but I have to say... the all time favourite of the day was the quickie glue & glitter.... Not sure how long it will take for mummy to forgive me right enough as they went home with a big bag of goodies to play with whilst being covered from head to toe in inks & glitters... well... what else are true friends for... lol

Well, I'm off now to have a tidy up so I can get on with some constructive crafting today... so I'll say toodles for now and catch you all later.

Mind to pop over & join in the fun at WOYWW...

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Final one of the day

Well... This my final card post for today and it's another wee quickie for a kid in the neighbourhood...

They all love getting wee cards and hopefully it encourages them to do more crafting than they otherwise would do.

Step daughter has just left so off to grab a few things for a wee hour of crafting before bedtime... Catch you all tomorrow.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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Kiddie card

Here's another of the cards that I've made for some of the kids in my estate...

Xxx


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Just a weebie...

This is a wee quick card for one of my neighbourhood children... For some strange reason they all adopt me like a big sister...

I forever have faces peeking through the window and chaps at the door wanting to know what I'm making... So, I decided to make a few cards to give to them just for fun.

Here's the first of them. More to follow.

Right, off to finish the housework and then get crafty... Catch you all soon.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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On the go...

Many thanks to everyone who offered me assistance yesterday regarding my background & I will see what I can sort when I have a minute.

I do have a few cards to upload later today but at the moment we're off to mum's to try & fix her gate... Apparently it needs to be removed & re-hung... According to her anyway... So we'll see what the reality turns out to be...

Anyway, off out the door now so will catch you all in a few hours again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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HELP NEEDED....

Ok folks... here's the score... my blog is so out of date and badly in need of a facelift...

Need to change my background etc to liven things up a little but I've encountered a problem before I've even really begun... you see... I'm hopeless with computers...

All of the sites like Cutest Blog on the Block... advise me to click on the layout button on my dashboard... thus begins my problem... my layout button has disappeared from my dashboard...

Can any of you forever changing background whizkids out there help me by telling me what I need to do... PLEASE.......

I'm so desperate to get something bright and colourful on the go and don't know what to do...

Thank you my lovelies...

Lorraine xxx

GIVEAWAY !!!!!

Now for anyone who is already a big Magnolia fan or for those of you more like me... (I've only managed to get one so far) but will be adding to my collection over time... here is a great opportunity to win this beautiful stamp to add to your stamp collection... and it couldn't be easier to enter the competition.

To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is pop over to Bev's blog and complete your entry via Mr. Linky....

Perhaps whilst you are there you could leave a small comment for Bev too as her husband is currently in intensive coronary care.... thankfully in a stable condition... but it would be nice for Bev to see just how much we care.

Well I'm off to make my own entry in the comp now so will catch you all later again.

Love 'n' hugs

Lorraine xxx

Have just returned home from a funeral to have a quick change of clothes, then back to the same church to see an old friends daughter getting married.

Xxx


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My time...

Well... I got my work all done, enjoyed cheese & crackers for lunch... Washing out on the line etc and then... Friends arrived with a lovely bunch of flowers for me as a thank you and mum came to visit too... Suddenly I'm at teatime... A few phone calls then quality time with hubby who has now taken himself off to bed... Tomorrow sadly starts at 9.30am with the funeral of an old family friend then back to the same church at 2pm to see an old friends daughter getting married.

Don't think I'll manage any crafting during the day tomorrow so I'm taking the opportunity now whilst I have the living room to myself to do a little something... Just hope I've retrieved what I need from my craft room!!!

Well... Time to love you & leave you as my papers etc are crying out to me... Lol

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx
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WOYWW

Good day everyone... and can you believe that it's that time of the week again.... WOYWW.....

Is it just me or does everyone feel like this year is just flying by in the blink of an eye... doesn't seem that long ago since we were making the christmas cards and hey... it's almost time to start all over again!!!

Well... I know that my desk was rather clean & tidy last week but the same cannot be said for today's appearance. Scraps lying on the right hand side from the card I just finished along with the beginnings of my next card... got the image done and now choosing the papers etc to go along with it... I know... most folks do it the other way around but sometimes I like to be different... lol

Right, it's time get a move on as I've still got some housework to do, washing & ironing then I've got a meeting at 6pm and a card to deliver after that...

Catch you all later but in the meantime... love 'n' hugs to you all.

Lorraine xxx

Happy birthday

Now my challenge was to make a birthday card which represented basketball !!!

I decided upon a hoop stand and for the net I actually ended up using part of the bag that my mini Babybel came in... Some foam pads have been used to create a little dimension and just had to put a few gems on...

Catch you all later for WOYWW.

Lorraine xxx


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Working away

Oh yes... I'm up in my craft room working away hard trying to produce a basketball themed birthday card...

Doesn't look like much just now so let's hope it ends up a darn sight better... Time will tell.

Xxx


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Evening all

Sorry I haven't posted today and sadly no update pic of my wee house tonight... To be honest... Too tired... Was up most of last night just incase mum needed me. Thankfully she didn't and has been fine all day today, so hopefully it's just been one of those weird pains that went as quickly as it came.

Well I'm sat here near to dozing off so I'm off to have a big glass of milk and it's up the stairs to bed.

A good night's sleep and I'll be back to normal tomorrow.

Huge thanks to all who contacted me about mum... Much appreciated :-)

Right, I'm off now so nighty night, I'm going quick so the bed bugs don't bite.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx


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Wind and water tight

Well... A very good morning to you all...

I had hoped to have been a bit further on tonight but got thrown out the window earlier as my wee mammy wasn't well. Ended up having to call NHS24 for advice. Thankfully the pain now seems to be under control so she has taken herself off to bed to see if she can get a sleep. I'm hoping we don't have to make a middle of the night run to A&E and that she feels much better by the time morning arrives.

Anyway... Here's a pic of my wee house at the moment and I'm just about to get out the old paints again to touch up the corners etc then we'll see how it's looking after that.

Catch you all tomorrow again
Xxx
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