Birthday Card

Today is Vix's Birthday (Queen  of Promarkers - link to her blog on my sidebar) and silly me tried to make her a birthday card using my Promarkers.  Now who in their right mind would make a card using Promarkers to the Queen  of them?  Not a clue where my head was but here it is:

And yes, I know, I could have used this as a Christmas Card but thought this image was quite appropriate for someone with a birthday in December.  At least Vix will see that I am trying (some would say VERY trying) and whilst I am a long way off I do follow her tutorials as carefully as I can.

Happy Birthday Vix!

PS Lotta is out of intensive care now - thank you for all your prayers.  Still a long way to go but at least she is going the right way.

Lots to Do

Over on Lots to Do the Challenge is to upload a favourite card you have done over the year.  I did struggle a bit with this and realised how different my styles can be.  However, I chose this one which is the card I sent to my dear friend Mary in America as it reminded me of holidays we have had at Ventura Beach with her.

How I miss her and her extended family - not to mention the lack of snow and the sunshine (although we always please them and take some rain over with us LOL).

It's Christmas Day

I hope your day is filled with Joy and Laughter with an ample sprinkling of Love.

I am scheduling this post (it is Christmas Eve and I have only to ice the cake - guess what?  It's going to be peaked up snow!)  I have now finished my Tim Tags - well done my own final bit on them, got them strung up (what a load of mess and bother that was) and I am ready to go.

Here are the missing ones - much improvisation:

Used a Spellbinders deer and one of the lace flowers Dot taught me how to do.  I think it looks very much like a snowflake this one.

Had to cut my own Grungepaper again for the row of houses, enjoyed curling the wire which you cannot see (click on it for a larger picture) and had to use a stencil thingie that I had.

Again used Spellbinders die - this time because it was so small I put three baubles on mine.  Did the Rock Candy with the Fired Brick though.  Yes, there is a hole at the bottom - when you look at the picture below you will see why.  I worked it out that if I attached letters (Dimension Fourth) spelling "Joyeaux Noel" and included a couple of spaces between the two words I could make a nice hanging for the hallway.

Here they all are, in the correct order as Sir Tim did them.  Think I made a lot of work for myself at the last minute with those letters (stamped and utee'd) which are attached with jump rings at the bottom of each tag.  Now to find last year's and get them up on the door!

Stay Safe!

Added at a later date:  Just realised they are not all there - here are the ones spelling "Noel".  Oops!

To All My Lovely Friends (plus Advent House done)

To those of you who saw my previous post regarding Lotta - she is making some improvement - just heard from her Grannie that she is out of intensive care - thank you so very very much for all the prayers.  I do believe in the power of prayer.

Yes, at last, the Advent House is finished.  Typical "S" Law - the buttons arrived yesterday so I have used some of them but not all. Moved a couple of things around so I could use some.  Now want to make another one - wonder if Andy and Sam would like one next year?

So here are my last windows:

Number 20 has a Distress Background spritzed with water to give those lovely dots (managed to stamp a candle so a big dot surrounded the flame).

Number 21 is Wrinkle Free Distress with the Bandana technique and my lovely Santa in a sleigh which is another Jo one.  (Check her blog for some candy)

22 - is Resist and there's one of my new buttons - a cute penguin.

23 - Shattered Glass for this one with the third German Mouse musician.

24 - Brayered background and the number from a peg which I got in Germany.

Got to show you one or two changes since my buttons arrived (hope I am not boring you)

She replaced the caroller

This window was looking bare

These cuties took over from the little angel

This needed something - candy canes anyone?

This was looking bare

And now the whole thing - you will see I did manage to put some of my new buttons in and I moved one or two things (angel and caroller) to another slot.  I love my little Santa in the chimney (thanks to the German market) which him indoors was not sure about but now thinks it is "perfick".

Some close up views (although you can click on the pictures and get a bigger one in another window)

Still got to make a Christmas card for my son and dil and one for the better half.  Got to ice Andy's and Sam's cake as well (we will just leave ours a plain fruit cake I think), make some decorations for the table for tomorrow but all presents wrapped up, cards displayed at last and I am sure there will be other things (like finish my Timmie Tags), yap on the phone etc.

Well, it's almost here so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Thank you so much to all of you who have left comments over the year, they mean so much - and a special big thank you to all my lovely followers.  It warms my heart to see when someone has linked to me.  May you all stay safe and well, I love you all.

WOYWW

Cannot believe I typed all this out and then must have caught something and the whole thing disappeared.  Spent ages trying to retrieve it/find it - to no avail - so here goes - second attempt.

Cannot believe it is WOYWW again and I am bearing my soul to the world of Ms Dunnit and her followers all over the world.  Only three more days to go and it will be time to put away those Christmas stamps but this next year they are not staying away until November.  Famous last words eh?  Here is the aftermath of my trying to get on with my Advent House (will post on Friday when I do the last door) and my Timmie Tags (one to go and then I can reveal the whole lot).

In the meantime I still have a couple of cards to make and was going to do something with some corrugated card and these flowers I made, courtesty of fab instructions from Lin B.

Will leave it there folks as it is 6.45 am and time I got this show on the road.  For all you lovely peeps who pop by for a nose - Have a Lovely Christmas and My Very Best Wishes for the New Year.  Stay Safe and Happy and remember that little girl I mentioned in my previous posting.  Please.

More Advent House Windows

Have been busy playing catch up with the Advent House and using some of the tiny decorations I brought back from Germany.  I do prefer the flat wooden ones Jo got me but as I didn't find any, and as my order of buttons has no chance of arriving, I have used what I got.  We left the last posting at 14 so here is the next one:

The background is Heated Pearls

You cannot really see this background technique - it is the one Tim Holtz featured on his Tags this year where he used a piece of clear packaging material.  It does look good in real life - shame it does not show up here at 16.

This one has a UTEE background which has been stamped into.  it really is a lovely background and I am so peeved it does not show up. The little bird is stamped on a travel domino.

This one is metal embossed with the Winter House folder.

This final one for today is Serendipity

Now, before you leave check out the Blog Candy that is shown in my sidebar - Lin (LB Crafts Lin) is offering a stash of Tim Holtz Goodies. You can either click on her name above or on the candy picture on my sidebar.

Next - some more blog candy.  Angeldrummer (Victoria) is offering three stamps from her sponsor so you must pop along and join in. Just click on the name above and you will get to her blog.

Finally, I want you all to include a little girl in your prayers tonight (and during the day if you can spare a minute).  She is the grand-daughter of a friend of mine and she is in intensive care at the moment.  Her name is Lotta and I am sure the big guy upstairs will respond to our prayers so please, spare a moment to ask for her to be out of danger and back home with her mummy and daddy as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Stranded in Dusseldorf

Well, I was going to show you some pictures of  "the white stuff" that caused us to be stranded at Dusseldorf Airport rather than journeying home but as most of the UK is now covered in it there seems little point.

We had a super time in Dusseldorf - a day trip to Dortmund proving to be a highlight - and an extra night thanks to the snow!  When we arrived on Tuesday it had snowed the night before so everywhere was white although pavements were, in most cases, cleared (German law apparently - to clear your pavement in front of your property) so it was easy to walk about.

Me, wrapped up, by The Rhine
(in my flowered beret)

with my newly bought decs

(see below)

Wet backside?

Tuesday we spent revisiting the markets we had seen two years ago, doing our favourite things - eating Reibekuchen and Bratwursts and drinking Gluhwein.  (My dil remarked on the photographs of us two years ago and said we were either eating or drinking on all of them.)  I made sure I went to Kathe Wohlfahrt's little wooden hut, in Schadowplatz, which is full of the most amazing decorations and sure enough, I bought some tiny figures for my Advent House.  Didn't find any like the ones Jo brought me back - drat!

I love the stalls they have in the markets.

This one is in the Engelchenmarkt

(Angel Market)

Love those stars in the Sterchenmarkt

(Little Star Market)

 

Bird Houses

Jo saw some of these on her trip to Lunenburg and I told her there had been some in Schadowplatz a couple of years ago - they were there again!

I love these decorations

This is in the Flingerstrasse

By the tree at Alt Markt

(note different headwear)

And I always enjoy looking at the breads and pastries in this shop - but this animated display is my favourite - it's so cute

Wednesday we caught the train to Dortmund and as we rode along it began snowing - until it was a whiteout.

Never having been to Dortmund before it was a pleasant surprise to hear that you could walk the city centre in no time - north to south in 10 minutes, east to west in 15 minutes (according to tourist information).

Dortmund boasts the largest tree at 45 metres tall, made up of 1,700 individual fir trees and with 13,000 lights on it.  We didn't get to see it lit up but it was imposing anyway.  Here I am stood beneath it - (little figure to the right leaning against the wooden side of the stand with different headgear again).  Apparently you can walk inside it but the lady who told us thought it was only for dignatories and not for the likes of me.

What do I like about the German Christmas markets?  I just love the way they decorate the stalls.  Here's a selection from Dortmund:

At one point we went into a wooden building to see what was going on and it was lovely to see some children making biscuits.  Parents/grandparents were sitting around eating and drinking whilst these little boys got on with enjoying themselves, under supervision of course.

Dil does not read my blog so it is ok to show you this - me with my half a metre Bratwurst

Thoroughly enjoyed Dortmund, will definitely visit again, some nice interesting churches which need further investigating and a marvellous place to shop.

This one's for Jo - Dortmund's Flying Rhino's for their European Capital of Culture

Thursday it began snowing, my dil had wanted snow on her trip the week before to Munich but I would rather not have had it - gosh, it was real wet stuff!

Me, (different hat) in the snow

So, several Gluhwein's later we made our way to the airport, went through passport control etc only to be told an hour or so later that our flight had been cancelled.  Not just OUR flight - but the airport was now closed!

You can see the snow ploughs

We were ushered back through passport control and told to go to AHS who would reschedule us on a plane the next day.  Two hours we stood in a queue!  One airline was offering refunds (guess they had the option to buy a flight from someone else) or the offer of going on standby the next day but nothing from Flybe.  Then "PING" we were about sixth from the front when someone asked if there was anyone from Flybe.  They did us proud!  Booked us on a flight the next day and gave us the address of an hotel where we had a room for the night.  We travelled with two ladies to the hotel where a meal was ready for us, a room and breakfast the next day (all complimentary).  Well done Flybe!  Not bad for a budget airline - must write and thank them!

So that is why we returned home a day late.  Now to catch up on some crafting!

WOYWW

Well, to be honest all that is on my workdesk today is my Advent House.  Windows done up to yesterday, the 14th and, because I am busy looking for more wooden figures to put inside, I am hoping someone will upload me to the wonderful Ms Dunnit's blog so that I can take part before I head back home.

The figures Jo got me in Lunenburg were fabulous (my favourite is the Santa I added to window 5 (which is why I have uploaded it again) and so here I am in Dusseldorf seeing if I can get any more.  If my quest fails I have ordered some over the internet but as I had to send a cheque and they say orders can take 10 days to process I don't hold out much hope of getting them in time.  Check out the wonderful laser cut buttons they do anyway - be warned you will find you NEED some - http://www.customlaser.co.uk  Enough chatter - here are my windows to date:

Number nine was the Spatter Technique (I use an old toothbrush) and I added Cinderella's Golden Slipper to the window.

Ten was Twinkling H2o's on Mulbery paper and the little angel was a button which I placed on a travel domino.

Number 11 was Dry Embossing (recognise the Swiss Dots Folder) and here is another of Jo's little gifts to me.  Isn't that a lovely little tree?

Twelve was my son's favourite when he came yesterday.  Shooting stars which I covered with Rock Candy to make them glisten.  The background is where you crumple paper and then smoosh an inkpad over, recrumple and then put another over and then iron afterwards (encaustic iron obviously).

Thirteen is a bit dark.  You might just about be able to see the number - it is the Joseph's Coat technique and I was surprised at how good my brayering was.  Thought I couldn't brayer but did well with this.  Another of Jo's little figures.

One of my favourite techniques - Caught in Crystal.  Just used a buckle and put one of those sticky dome things over the number for the dimensional bit on this one.

And now for a repeat of number 5 from last post but this time with the Santa on - isn't he just great?

Hope you are enjoying the windows - also that I get some good wooden figures for the other windows.