HELLO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry this is short & brief but as you know I am still recovering from my op & this is only my 2nd day sitting at the computer. Boy do I wish I had one of those lush computer chairs instead of the basic hardly any padding ones that I infact have. Not much meat on my bones at the best of times but feeling it all just now....

What a huge thank you I owe to one & all of you for all the good wishes I have received....

THANK YOU ..... YOU'RE A WONDERFUL CROWD......

Haven't yet managed to get back to crafting yet but I am going to make an attempt today as Kath brought me such a delicious goody bag that temptation is becoming too much for me.... It does include Heidi Grace papers etc so boy is my heart going to break using them but hey it wold be such an insult if I just stared at & stroked my gorgeous gift....

Now I'm going to tell you a tale of two woes...... this proves what a true dedicated friend Kath truly is as she never shared this story but I have to as I feel so guilty over it & you will understand why....

My bestest crafting buddy comes to visit on Friday evening after a long hard days work at the SECC, and along with her brings a fantastic bag of goodies for me..... yummy yummy yummy and just what the doctor ordered... we ate our fish suppers & chatted away catching up on all the news & Kath was filing me on on Ann's progress after her operation... what a fab time I was having. Then came time for Kath to return to her hotel.... time for disaster to strike.... this was my first time out of the house & going in the car since I got out of hospital... Off to the car we went, me all wrapped up & Rob putting a cushion on the seat for me to sit on & another over my belly to keep the seat belt away from my wound... Now mother hen Kath is making sure I'm all strapped in safe & sitting comfortable before the journey begins.... The journey begins, with the first stop being the petrol station to fill up the tank.... Brrrmmmm goes the engine as we embark, out of the estate we drive, along the road we go, a left hand turn to the main road then a right hand turn to get to the garage..... boy it's getting hot in here me thinks so asks Rob to turn the heating down.... Gosh I'm sweating now (is it panic) not sure, take deep breaths me thinks & all will be okay.... Finally we reach the petrol station & Rob exits the car.... Big momma Kath rolls into action as always... "are you sure you're ok?????" "I feel really ill" I reply, "but don't want to panic Rob" I says.... Breath deep me thinks as Kath is trying to get me to tell her how to put the seat back so that I can be in a laid down position.... Too late me thinks as I throw open the car door feeling as though I am going to vomit. Beware the wound me thinks !!! Oh no what am I going to do I panics as I'm trying to roll out the car without hurting myself... out I pops with my poor hubby wondering what the hell is going on... next thing I know I'm doubled in two pain shooting through me, tears rolling down my face with Kath on one end & Rob on the other helping to support me so I don't hit the deck.... well what happened to me then.... I was successful in popping two of my internal stitches, thankfully not at the same place so should be ok..... they huckled me back into the car to get me home asap.... what happened to Kath well here goes.....

Poor Kath remained at the garage where the assistant said she would call her a taxi to get back to her hotel............

How mortified am I that my dearest friend who took time to visit & bring me gorgeous goodies, was left abandoned at a petrol station, in a town she doesnt' know, to get a taxi back to her hotel............. no-one will ever feel the pain I did over this......

Kath being Kath has not shared this on her blog with anyone but as part of my way of making amends to her I decided to give her a huge public apology via my blog.

Kath my darling, you know how very special you are to me. You have held my hand through many things over the last year & are only ever a phone call away.... for what happened on Friday night I am so deeply sorry & give you my solemn promise in front of everyone in blogland that I will make this up to you....

Thank you for being such a true friend........... I love you with all my heart......... Sorry......

Well folks, that's enough from me today, hell I can't burn the brain out on the first day with typing..... I have to keep something in the hopes I can get some creativity going today.

Will try to pop on tomorrow again & in the meantime, happy crafting to one & all...... it's good to be back even if it's limited.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Another Brief Farewell

Well folks, it's that time again when I need to bid you all a fond farewell for another brief period of time.

I have to be at hospital for 8am tomorrow morning & will hopefully be out of surgery by early afternoon. I've surprised myself today as I'm still relatively calm which is just not like me & is very unexpected. I have the happy pills on hand though just incase I need to take them....

Thank you all for all your well wishes that I have received over the last few weeks and they have done a lot to keep me going in my down periods. Although she doesn't know it yet I am going to ask Kath to put a bit on her blog to update you all on my behalf so you can pop over to her blog for more details over the coming weeks...

Well I had my final demo yesterday at the Hobbycraft store in Glasgow & what a shock I got whilst there... You will remember my good friend Ann who is currently awaiting surgery for breast cancer, well I turned around and who was standing right there in front of me but Ann & her fabulous hubby. How shocked was I, definately the last person I would have expected to see but no..... all the way from Glenrothes they came to visit me.

Ann herself goes into hospital this coming Wednesday 15th Oct for her surgery & she just thought it would be nice for both of us to see each other before our surgeries... I could have stood & cried in the middle of the shop. Now you all know just how much of an amazing lady she truly is.... Please send out special thoughts & prayers for her over the coming weeks & months as she still has a bit to go after surgery as it's more chemo or radio for her....

THANK YOU ANN........ YOU'RE WONDERFUL.

Best of luck Kath for the SECC & although I can't get in to see you during show time we will sort something out so Mum or Rob will come pick you up & bring you out to visit me... will sort this out with you over the phone.

Well off to get organised now & will try to blog later, if not be good till I'm back.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stamp Something

Yummy, the challenge this week over at Stamp Something is "Fancy Folds", hmmmm what to do!!!! Well here is the finished product. I've been doing so many spring cards etc of late that I wracked my brain for something else & decided upon this as it's a style I haven't done for about 2 years now & it's amazing how you forget & move on....

Because I went back to basics on this one I had loads of fun. The paper has been highlighted with stickles, some ribbon to hold the folds together & little water coloured image in the centre. Basic but pretty.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxx

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

The challenge this week over at Daring Cardmakers is "Scallops". Out came my trusty old Fiskars shapecutter & template & off I went.... There is detail to this card but at the same time it is a very simple & quick card to make. I have mounted the scalloped card on foam pads just to add an extra bit of depth to the card although it does not show very clear on the picture. some stitching, gems, dots on the flowers & buttons finish the whole thing off.. My favourite thing about the whole card is the brightness of the colours as they make me feel happy & with my operation quickly approaching I need all the cheering up I can get at the moment.

Thank goodness for blogging, sketches & challenges otherwise what else would a girl do !!!!!!

Thank you to everyone for all their kind words of support.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Sweet blog award

Yet another fabby award I received whilst in the depths of despair over my ill health, this time from the wonderful Chris . Now when I saw this award I immediately thought of one person and I think it was something to do with the colour combo... I would like to present this award to Gayle who like many of you has been a tower of strength to me over the last few weeks... I know she has already received this award but I simply must give it to her...

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxx

Smiley Award

Just wanted to share this delightful award with you all, which the fabulous Kath passed to me recently. Well a few weeks back now but I was too ill at the time to deal with it. It has made me smile today and I would like to pass it on to Holly for sharing all her creations with us...

Happy crafting.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny Black Challenge

The challenge this week over on Penny Black was to work from a sketch. I'm so appreciating these at the moment (more than normal) and I feel my mojo is starting to return a bit. Typical that eh, it's just coming back and I only a few days of posting left before the big surgery !!!!!!

Oh well, perhaps I'll stock pile some sketches this week & keep them till I'm recovering.

I absolutely adore these papers & really just didn't want to cut them but hey, what an excuse to buy some more..... some simple matting & layering combined with stamped image which has been water coloured using dual tip pens then some flowers, buttons & a gem to finish off....

Off now to see if I can achieve another card today which I will be every bit as happy with..

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tag You're It Challenge

Woohoo, yet another challenge achieved.... quite proud of myself now.

The challenge set this week by Tag You're It is that of "Altered Fabric Flowers". For this one I had a good old rummage in my bits & pieces. The tag was cut using my Fiskars shape cutter plus & template, this was then distressed with inks. On top of that I added some mesh just for added texture & depth. The leaves were cut from green foil and the flower were cut from pretty fabric that I got from Mei Flower. The brown cetres are cut from suede with some gold stickles rubbed over the top. The tiny green leaves were cut using Fiskars mini punches again from green foil & finished off with some hessian.

I truly enjoyed doing this challenge & the fact it made me rummage made it all the better.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxxxx

DATE OF OP !!!!!

Well I attend hospital today for my pre assessment.... and finally I have a date for my operation. The procedure will be carried out on Monday 13th October & I will be in hospital until the Thursday or Friday depending upon my recovery. Sadly I obviously won't be blogging that week & potentially the following one.



Will have to do as much as possible over the next week then MIA again for a week or two then business will resume as normal.... YIPPEE !!!!!



Happy crafting & thank you all again for all your wishes that have been sent to me. Each and every one of them is warmly appreciated.



Lorraine xxxxxxx

2 sketches 4 you

Woohoo my 2nd challenge in 2 days. Not bad going for me of late. Not exactly happy with the end result on this one but hey just need to keep working at getting the mojo back then I'll be fine. I decided to take the opportunity to use my new Fiskars christmas stamps which I received a few weeks back but had yet to use (decided I better get used to them as I have to demo them next Saturday). Moved away from the traditional Christmas colours as this year I am going for bright for a change so out came my cats eyes & off I went. Finished off with some Fiskars eyelets & gems. Once I've made a few more cards using these stamps I think they'll become one of my favourites as there is quite a variety in the pack to choose from.

Thank you to Kazan at 2sketches4you for providing me with this wonderful sketch to give me inspiration.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxxxxx

Paper take weekly

Yippee I've actually managed to create a card for my 1st challenge in about 6 weeks. Nothing exciting as my mojo hasn't exactly been working great with all that's been going on in my life but thought I'd try & do some challenges before I go missing again for my operation......

At least it gave me an excuse to make a christmas card & look to my recovery period & knowing that I'm going to be nice & fit again over the festive season.

Watch this space as hopefully there are more challenges to complete over the coming days.

Happy crafting one & all.

Lorraine xxx

Another Beauty

Just had to share this beautiful card with you all that I received from my partner in crime Ann. This is my very good friend who herself is going through the mill at the moment, much more so than me, yet still she took the time to create this beauty for me which I will treasure deeply forever.

This was very welcomed as I've had to cancel my Fiskars demo at the SECC as I will be in my recovery period at the time... however I will still be doing my demo at Hobbycraft on October 11th which is a small consolation to me.

Thank you Ann & happy crafting to everyone else.

Lorraine xxx

Keeping Busy

All I can say of late is thank goodness for the fabulous K&Co Christmas ornament book. I've had one of those weeks as one of my darling bunnies (Casper) had taken ill last week. I have nursed him for the whole week but sadly he did not recover & yesterday the vet had to send him off to play in bunny heaven. My heart is truly broken at this moment in time & with my hormones running wild at the moment I spent most of yesterday just crying. So much so that I gave myself a tension headache & you can imagine the state of my eyes. Hopefully little Casper will be happy where he is now & can play in the sun forever.

Due to my life of late I sometimes feel like crafting & sometimes not so my K&Co book has been a pure Godsend. Die cut ornaments ready to decorate. Here are some that have been partially done but still have the finishing touches to go on them. Haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with them as I have a very modern tree which does not allow for hanging anything on so will have to give them away or something.

Even gave me the excuse to get the big tub of Stickles out & play to my hearts content. I know these are nothing exciting but they have kept me going of late so I thought I'd share with you all so you know I haven't just been sitting back sipping coffee......

Well off to add another post. 3 in total today so pretty good going for me. The best day yet for about the last 6 weeks.

Happy crafting to one & all.

Lorraine xxx

Fantastic savings

Just a quick note to let everyone know that there are some amazing deals to be gotten over on the Cardology website including sets of CHRISTMAS rubber stamps with 50 cards & envelopes all this for only £9.99

www. cardology.net

As a Cardology consultant I can recommend these products to anyone & hold my head high as I know they are top quality. The stamps give amazingly clear images & are fantastic to use.

There are many bargains on offer including price reductions on brads etc.

Pop over now & see what you can grab.

You may not be aware of the Cardology but they do show on Create & Craft and almost monthly appear in craft magazines, sometimes being the kind donators of freebies.....

If anyone requires any more info on any of these products but doesn't want to ask the company direct I am more than happy to answer those questions for you.

Happy crafting & shopping
Lorraine xxxxxxx

Sorry for being MIA

So sorry for being MIA girls. It's been a busy week for me with friends visiting & I've made a pile of cards to be sent to the troops out in Iraq & Afghan.... still many more to go.

I do apologise for not having made any postings of late but everytime of late I have tried to log on or even look at other blogs I am not able to access anything. No ability to leave messages or even get a look at the challenges... I was thinking it was something to do with me until I heard that another blogger had too had problems with accessing the system.

Thankfully today I've managed to get in & had a quick look at some challenges. Now to make some creations & keep my fingers crossed that I can actually get logged back on again to download them.

As for my health, well, my pre assessment is booked for this coming Friday but due to girly things I won't be able to have the op until the following week Monday 13th so have to call the surgeons secretary tomorrow to see if pre assess will still be this Friday or switched to the following Friday. Things going well I should have my op in the next 2 weeks then 4 weeks recovery then I'll be fighting fit again.... Hip hip horray......................

Well nice to leave you all a message but I'm off to craft now. Hope to be back soon.

Happy crafting to one & all.
Lorraine xxxxx

Hello again

Sorry I've been a bad girl & not been online but actually had quite a busy week. Had a celebrity friend to stay at the weekend which was absolutely delightful & really cheered me up. Just what the doctor ordered me thinks....

Last week I attended the hospital & received the good news that going by all my results i.e. tumour markers, scans etc all evidence would indicate that it's begnine.. Hip hip horray. As a result of this & after discussion with the surgeon the decision has been made to forget the laparoscopy & just go straight to the operation. Thankfully I will only require my left ovary to be removed which means 4 weeks of rest afterwards. Hopefully the operation will be carried out some time in October (hoping to have the exact date confirmed at some point next week), thus I will be back on my feet before Christmas...

My step daughter also auditioned for Idol 2008 last Saturday in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow & she was delighted when she was informed that she has got a place in the final to be held on November 2nd.

Here is a recent interview she done with a local newspaper about the event.

http://www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk/videos-pics/

She is over the moon at the moment & as you can imagine both her dad & myself are very proud of her.

Hope to be able to do at least one challenge at some point over the next week so I may be back to haunt you all....

Take care my friends & happy crafting..

Lorraine xxxx

Quick Update

Nothing exciting been happening lately.. wonder why that is !!!!

Well the hospital called me on Wednesday to give me an update which is that I have now to go for a Laparoscopy. This means a small incision around my belly button through which they are going to take a better look around what is happening inside me & whilst there, they are going to take a sample for my biopsy which is good as I will at least know then what exactly they are dealing with. Hopefully after that they will be happy to come up with a plan of action for treatment & removal. I will do my best to keep you all posted on my progress....

Many thanks again for the lovely gifts I have received & messages of support which really do help me & put a smile on my face. You're a wonderful crowd & I'm glad I've got the chance to blog with you all....

Happy crafting...

Lorraine xxxxxxxx

From another special friend

Another card received and it means so much to me especially coming from a person who has had her fair shares of ups & downs over the last wee while. For this one I have to give a huge THANK YOU to the fab Chris.

I do apologise for the pic not being the best and there is a much better pic on Chris's blog. Colours chosen specially to cheer me up and may I add that the verse inside is truly from the heart & I will treasure the words forever.

Thank you Chris.....

Happy crafting to one & all

Lorraine xxxxx

Sunflower Power

Yet more goodies have arrived from lovely bloggers, just goes to prove what a lovely tight caring community us crafters have got going in the wonderful world of blogland.

Did I get a surprise when my doorbell rang the other morning & I was presented with these delightul sunflowers. Talk about waking up to happy smiling faces.... what more could I ask for.

Later the same day when the postman arrived he delivered this beautiful card for me which carries through the sunflower theme. What a perfect match, one of those you would class as having been made in heaven.

For both of these lovely gifts I have to send a huge thank you to my new found friend who thankfully lives not much more than a stones throw from me. A big HORRAY to Gayle....

How lucky am I......

As you know I'm not blogging at the moment, but just had to share a delightful surprise with you all. When I opened my mail, what a surprise I had when I received this absolutely gorgeous card from my bessie buddy Kath . She already knows that I simply adore her designs & to be the recipient of such a piece is simply heart lifting. Didn't think I was due to receive another one from her until Christmas but no no no, as though she doesn't have enough on her busy schedule she took time to make this special card for me which I will treasure forever.

Thank you so so much Kath, the bestest friend that anyone could ask for. I'm truly honoured.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxx