Happy New Year WOYWW'ers (239) - and Everyone Else

Happy New Year! 

from a fairly clean desk for a change.  I am all packed up and ready to go.  Have been sewing these patches of TH material on the front of my bag.  I have loads (read loads and loads) of handbags - a bit of a handbag fanatic really - but I always use my little canvas one.  Wanted to use one to hold my iPad but didn't want the heaviness of leather so I bought this canvas one in Germany.  It had a bulldog on the front with sparkly sunglasses and as I am not a sparkly person I removed it.  To find a drawing underneath of an incomplete bulldog!!!  A bit sticky too!

Then I remembered these little squares I had bought and so I set to and covered the front.  There's lots I would have done differently had I had the time (and inclination - full of a cold) with the fabric but who knows, I may still do it at a later date (I bet!!).  Had to show you something so here is the bag but what is that lurking at the side?

My lovely friend Jo came to see me before Christmas and she brought me this twizzy bin.  It folds completely flat.  It got used for all my bits of cotton when I was sewing and no waits to be twizzed down and put away.  Isn't it super!

Well, must get on, had four Pernod and Cokes last night and cannot believe they did not affect me - and I am a non-drinker.  It tasted like fizzy pop which is why I had so much - nearly all Coke though.  So that made for a good night's sleep, hope I get some tonight ready for my early morning ride.

Done a house swap for a few weeks so I will be writing to you next week from a  different location.  In the meantime you all take care and my very Best Wishes for a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy 2014.  (Am sure if all the Countries' Leaders and Presidents/PM's took up crafting we would be living in a much happier world)

WOYWW 238 Christmas Day Edition

I was so busy opening presents, chatting on the phone and then peeling veg that I almost forgot to check Julia's Blog.  Good to see some of you have posted - and now I am joining in.

Good news is my cardiologist says I CAN go to America to see my friend and family - I am scheduled for procedure as soon as I get back.  So I am taking things easy today and Sam and Andy are coming up and doing the cooking.

Here is the table, set by Chas, with the little place settings from a pattern from Jo.  I cut them out and then stuck orange tissue behind and made little pennants with names on - hope the kids (not really kids) like them.  Bet Sam waltzes them home for when she has friends round.

Now I sincerely hope you all have a Lovely Day today and all my Good Wishes for a Healthy, Peaceful New Year.

Hugs to all - Neet xxx

A Favourite Card of Mine

This is the theme for the Challenge over on Artful Times.  The card I was showing was one from my friend in America, Mary, which I fell in love with last year.  I thought it so cute and Mary had bought me the die and given me some of the fabulous glitter card for the pom pom so I was all set to go ahead with my batch of cards.

Oh no, when it came to it I could not find any red card with small white spots on.  What am I talking about?  Well, here is the card:

Is that cute or what?

As Von had not posted a card for this challenge I assumed she was not entering this one so I made a couple of cards - can't have just one card from a DT member can we.  Most of you know by now that I have had a problem with my health over the past month and it turns out that my heart has gone back, despite the Pacemaker,  out of rhythm which explains the breathlessness.  So in the small hours this morning I could feel it bumping along all irregular.  Couldn't get back to sleep as it was so annoying  so I got up and this is what I made:

Chloe's Card

and one for my son and his partner Sam(antha)

Hope they both like them.  Am sure Chloe will as she likes anything I do.

Now, can you pop along to Artful Times and see what Von and Chrissie did - and pop to their blogs as well for the low down - Chrissie's is no ordinary card!

Join in if you can - it's just a bit of fun!

Merry Christmas to you all 

and thanks for tuning in to my blog and to the Artful Times Challenge Blog.

WOYWW 237 and a few German Shots

Quite a lot!  A last minute attempt to send out some Christmas Cards resulted in my looking through the various diecuts I had in my tin brought home from the demonstrations I had done for Oyster Stamps.  Yes, they let me bring home what I have cut - unlike the people I used to work for - that meant that this year because I do not feel like stamping I could use all those lovely diecuts I had gathered.  So you see, my desk is littered with Christmas cards.

I mentioned last week that I was breathless well a new blood test has shown that my heart is not functioning properly.  I am hoping it is just my Pacemaker that wants refiguring or whatever it is they can do with it.  Beats are very erratic and I think that it is supposed to counteract that.  Later this morning I am going for an 'echocardiogram' which should show in detail what is wrong.  Fingers crossed they can sort me out and I can still go to America (on 2nd January - yep, cutting it fine).  I would never have imagined I could have anything wrong with my old ticker - afterall I was told it was "a swinging brick" - only joking, I am sweet really.

In the meantime here is the desk

the Christmas Cake made by a friend as a gift (totally gorgeous, you can taste the brandy and it is so lovely and moist - ask Jo(zart) she had some when she called.  Will show you my pressies next time.

and here are a couple of photos from Munich the other week

Manger Market - Crib scene - full size figures carved in wood - beautiful!

 

Your five a day?

Don't know if you can tell but this stall is full of cookie cutters - and I never thought to buy any for Polymer Clay - Dumb Blonde!

Small Market at The Residenz

Santa, biking it, caused great hilarity with all the tourists at Haidhausen

Sendlinger Tor market

Tollwood market had a chocolate kebab stall (yes, I said chocolate).  See that stack of different layers of chocolate?  Well it was pointed at the base and the guy just scraped and scraped chocolate off then they put loads of it into a cone shaped (well it looked like a warm crepe) thing and finished it off with what seemed to be a blob of cream.  Folks just walked away eating it all - imagine that runny chocolate.  Yum Yum (no I did not indulge)

Sorry I have delayed you so long with those photos - now pop over to Julia and see what delights she has on offer and link up with lots of friends on the way.  In the meantime hope you are all a lot more organised than I am.

WOYWW 236

Thought I had better show willing and show you the other canvasses that I did for the Oyster Retreat over the weekend before last.  After all I had been showing bits along the way for weeks whilst stressing about what I was doing.

Left undecorated for them to do to own sizes
Tree loops through so it stands like that

 Ali decorated the front of this one using Graphic 45 papers and the inside had papers, that were left over, forming the backdrop for a collection of Christmas items to go on one side as above.

Here's a lighter coloured one I did for Tracey (with added 'bling' as she and Martine love their BLING)

This one had compartments on the inside which I managed to decorate with a tree (from a very old mold I had back in my days working for someone else), a tiny canvas, a bottle cap and (sorry, a TH diecut) lamp-post.

Stamps and dies available from Oyster Stamps but paper is some I had left over from a year or so ago.  Canvas painted with Aqua Dabber.

As well as decorating the canvasses with me, Ali wanted me to use the other papers up and so I came up with this tag book

which opened up to reveal little pockets in which to put the tags.  The tags took me ages to do initially and I just hope the ladies manage to finish theirs for Christmas - they took pictures home with them to help see where I had cut the various bits from.

Odd numbered tags above

Even numbered tags below

Now where is my desk?

This is how it is - some stuff from Oyster Retreat
Some Christmas Decorations

Striped bag of goodies from Twisted Threads (yes really)
Brown/Turquoise bag from Oyster Retreat with
Ink pads etc to be put away

 After the Oyster Retreat
(brown box full of Oyster stuff for putting away)
Yes, another canvas to do

Sorry I have not got around to loading the Munich pictures, will try to do it this week.  Have had to go to doctors with this breathing problem.  No idea what it is, doubled up on heart tablets.  Not a single C Card made yet, well one for the doctor.

WOYWW 235

or should it be WOYWF in this case as I am two days late.  Hope it does not matter.  Could have uploaded on my iPad but I did not have the photo of my desk on there - doh!  Now realised why - I didn't have a photo of it at all.

Anyway, I hope Julia can forgive me by my uploading a photograph of one of the canvasses.  The poll as to which paper to use came out with the yellowish one on top - so here it is

this is the outside

Maybe I should explain, Ali wanted to decorate two canvasses which had been hinged together by another piece of canvas.  I wanted to decorate the outside as well as I thought it was like a card and would be sitting in a window somewhere therefore the outside needed something on it.

this is the inside

I used my "little things" up on the one I did for Oyster Stamps so this one is for me.  Our tree (if it goes up) is decorated in terra cotta, cream and gold hence the rusty look.  All dies are from Oyster Stamps, the background picture is from a catalogue from Italy that we buy the most gorgeous Balsamic Vinegar from.

Right, I will leave it there, will put the other two canvasses I did up next week when I know some WOYWW'ers will be looking. 

Got a bad chest at the moment so not sure when I will be blogging my adventures in Munich.  Watch this space.

WOYWW 234 (numbers please)

Thank you for all the numbers last week, was in a rush trying to get back to everyone because of the visit to the Textile Show (see post below) and numbers certainly did help. 

Well this week sees most of the canvasses in a state of near finish.  I am even letting you see what the back of them looks like

This pale blue one is an extra sample but there is not much given away is there.  You can see the images I have used as well if you peer closely.

Below is another one - now I want to enlist your help.  Should I use papers "red and green" or should I use the "yellow and brown" on this canvas?  Please help me as we have a difference of opinion in this household, and no suggestions for something else please as I am working to a tight budget (ie what I have handy).  It's an extra one as well - the actual is not here at the moment.  Heck, where did I put it?

Well, that's it from me today.  Hop along to the stamping-ground now and see what others have in store.  Bet there are some nice "C" cards around.  Lots of super ideas - I am still at the number two one - must get some sticking done - oh heck - it is my son's birthday next week - not got a card for that either.  Asda?  

Hallmark if I have time!

ps off to Munich for the Christmas Market next Monday so hopefully will blog from there but if you don't see me around I will be blogging Friday of next week.  Oh Heck!