Rocking My World

Right, I've remembered it is Friday and I am raring to go, I really think that Virginia at Celtic House, has the right idea. Friday starts my weekend and it is a good time to look back on the week and appreciate the positives.

As I write this there is steady soft summer rain giving the plants in my garden a much needed drink, I am so glad that I live in a part of the world where we have proper seasons and weather, where the grass is green and actually the sound of summer rain on the roof is quite soothing. The other bonus of this rain is that our newly planted trees don't need watering this evening.

I am happy to have the support of friends, helping me establish my fledgeling Stampin' Up! business, not only by buying from me directly but by getting their friends together to hold a workshop, I really appreciate your help and friendship, and the fun we have when we get together.

I am glad that Charles (my OH ) was able to leave work early today and start the weekend just a bit earlier than usual. He works really hard and it is good when he gets a bit more time to relax at home with the rest of us.

I really appreciate the regular special deals on Wine at Tescos, over the years I have become much fussier about the wines that I enjoy drinking and I am pleased to say that Tescos regularly drop the prices of the wines that I like, making them all the more enjoyable.

Finally, I really appreciate having this few minutes to sit and think about the good things in my life and realise that the best things in life are not things at all, but time with family and time to do the things I enjoy and rain on my trees.

Bee xx

Christmas In Wonderland.

This week at Tuesday Taggers my good friend and fellow teamie Emma chose the theme "Christmas" !!! In the middle of July......I don't think so. Now I do realise that there are a number of very organised crafters out there who start on their Christmas preparations nice and early, and I know that there are other crafters who need a Christmas Fix nearly every week but I am not one of them....In my household Christmas starts on the !st December, so this challenge is a real topsy turvy one for me, just like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland......that got me thinking....I wonder If they have Christmas in Wonderland? What would Christmas Dinner be like and how could they fit it in, in between all the tea parties.........so a journal page started to appear...a bit like the cheshire cat....lol and here it is.

I had great fun making these pages, I hope you enjoy them too.

Bee xx

Reasons to be Grateful

I really meant to get this post on my blogg on Friday so that I could link it to Friday Rocks, but as usual life got in the way, still, I am really grateful for the weekend retreat at Claxby last weekend with my lovely Crafty Friends, it has really recharged my batteries and I can't wait for the next time we all get together, at Beamsley in September. This past weekend has given me so much creatively and in other ways, that it has started me thinking about the things I have to be grateful for. Often it is the small things in life that we take for granted everyday that we realise are our true treasures when we have time to stand back and take a proper look.

So this week I am grateful for having such good friends, people I can truly be myself with and who love me for who I am, warts and all.

I am grateful for the inspiration that I get when crafting alongside my friends and for the ears that are willing to listen in the small hours of the morning.

I am grateful for my daughters who bring sunshine into my life and who are also becoming women who I will cherish as friends.

I am grateful that my eldest daughter came home to help look after our animals this weekend so that I could enjoy my crafting without worrying about them, and also for helping Bertie (our rescued Hound) sleep downstairs alone, so that I can sleep in my bed again instead of on the sofa.

I am grateful for having a real summer at last, after the past few wet and chilly years, being able to sit out in the sunshine and enjoy our garden, and finally I am grateful for my OH who supports me in my ventures and my need to spend time with my friends even though he really doesn't understand "Crafting" or "get" the weekend retreats at all.

Bee xx

What a wonderful weekend

Hi everybody, I have just spent a really wonderful and relaxed weekend with some of my most favourite people...... It was our Summer Craft Retreat at Claxby....we crafted,ate, laughed, crafted,slept, ate, laughed, crafted ....... and generally had a complete weekend of doing what we wanted to do when we wanted.......no pressure.......no phones, no deadlines, no rules. Andy cooked splendid meals for us, such a treat to have someone else take charge of the kitchen, Thanks Andy, and my fellow crafters were inspirational and great fun to be with as ever. I feel very fortunate to have such a group of friends, who I can truly relax with and be myself.

We had a few new participants this time, who fitted right in, and I hope they enjoyed themselves as much as the rest of us did and will join us again in the future.

Whilst at the retreat I completed my project for this week's Tuesday Taggers Challenge "Hang it all - It's Canvas" by creating this little 4 seasons wall hanging from 4 mini canvases. The Bird, Butterfly and Leaf embellishments have all been made from canvas too.

Enjoy.

Bee xx

Hi Folks

I'm a bit late getting my Tuesday Taggers contribution up on my own blog this week, life is a bit hectic at the moment what with the two newest additions to our family (Bertie and Yuki)claiming a lot of my time and attention, not to mention to fast approaching school summer holidays which always means extra music lessons to ferry my 15 year old daughter to - she always seems to have a music grade exam on the last day of term - this time it is Grade 6 Singing, school prize giving is this week too, and we are in the middle of the show jumping season ..... the same 15 year old is a really keen horsewoman..... and I am trying to get ready for a weekend craft retreat that I have organised with some really good friends and fellow crafters.....you all know who you are..... I think I will need the weekend to recover from this week....lol.... and next week isn't any quieter, looking at my diary.

To cap everything I got my themes muddled up and made a card for a theme that is comming up in a couple of weeks by mistake, and then had to set too and make this week's contribution.....lol.... on the upside, I do now have that other card ready and waiting.





Anyway to this weeks challenge at Tuesday Taggers, Teri chose Anniversaries as her theme as she and her OH are celebrating 21 years this week, so a huge congratulations are in order.





I decided to use Suede Brown and Cream as my theme colours and Stampin' Up! Fresh Cuts rubber stamp set and punches. I didn't have a stamp which actually said "Haappy Anniversary" so I combined two seperate stamps from the Fresh Cuts Set which said "Thank You" and "For You" to create a suitable sentiment.

In real life the colours of the card are much warmer and are complimented by the gold brads and ribbon.

Have fun everyone.

Bee xx

Making a scene !

Hi everyone.

This week at Tuesday Taggers the theme is to "Make a Scene" chosen by my good friend and fellow teamie Michelle. Whilst Michelle's inspiration related to film making (Lights, Camera, Action) my immediate thoughts were of places I'd been and sights I'd seen.

The inspiration for my harbour scene was the wonderful island of Burano in the Bay of Venice, all the cottages are painted with bright colours and no two seem to be the same.

I have stamped all the images except the seagull and post onto a trifold card, using masks where necessary, I then cut away the layers at the harbour wall level and the large house roof level, I then coloured in my images with watersoluble crayons. I then stuck down the free edge of the front two layers using 3d pads to add a little dimension and added my post and seagull the same way. I then used mats in blue and white to create an easel card.

My fellow Tuesday Taggers and our Guest Designer this week have also made some really inspirational pieces, you can see them all at Tuesday Taggers

Enjoy.

Bee xx