What I've been up to!

Well with no Mac to make uploading easy, my images stayed on my camera, but have now found their way into IPhoto and so here goes: the first card was for a friend, Shamsi (meaning sunshine) the DP is Stampin up, Penny Black Flower Sticker, sentiment from Craftwork Cards, MS Edge Punch.

2nd Card: Congrats card for my Son Sam for his GCSE success. Monkey Stamps CC Designs, coloured with Pro Markers, DP DCWV retro stack.

3rd An ATC Card made for a swap, I have been joining the swaps on BubblyFunk for the last couple of months, ATC's are very new to me. I've had some lovely ones come back. This is a Digi-stamp and I have to admit to loving these at the moment, they are instant crafting, which sometimes for me makes this hobby more possible!! She is from The Digi Stamp Boutique and she's called Marissa. I coloured her with water colour pencils a touch of stickles. For the main card I used some of Livvy's play sand (thanks babe!) and used sponged on distress ink (faded jeans) for the sky. THe shell was a 'firework' stamp from a Banana Frog set and I used a CM journalling pen to extend some of the circle lines to make a little shell. Added some small beads onto the water and voila!

4th and last one for now (more later, see I do make things!!) a card made for a neighbour's new home Owls from CC Designs (love these!) A NEW HOME made using my Karen Foster Snap stamps (these are my best ever purchase) the rest of the sentiment is by Elzybells.

I have been creating a poster today to advertise some Seasonal Classes that I will be running here in Bristol. It looks great on my screen, but when I attempt to print it then it's horrid, what was I saying about loving Macs????? Am of to try to sort it out, here's hoping.

Belinda

A Dead Mac

What is the worst thing that can happen to you? You are lucky enough to own a lovely little Macbook, white, shiny and all around fun to use. Now I wasn't always a fan, but I became converted to the Mac-side with a little time and patience and will never again return to the Microsoft - side! Anyway one evening you are playing oops I mean working on the said lovely white machine balanced elegantly on the arm of your leather armchair, when the magnetic catch gives way on the cabinet door above you bashes the top of said beautiful white workhorse, and also takes the large cup of lovely earl grey over carpet and splashy liquid into lovely shiny white machine! Aaaaarrrrggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

She is no more, she served me so well, I miss her dreadfully, I truly did love her in a needy sort of a way! The Mac repair man said we would need to replace her logic board to possibly get her to work again, but we called it, she had suffered enough!

Thank heaven for our House policy, and I now have a replacement, a Mac but not white & shiny, but matt silver. In time I will hopefully love her as much as my little shiny white one, I am warming to her already!

I am just so pleased that I am back live again!!!

Did do some Digi Stamp purchasing (used the IMac) and made this card with one of them.

Belinda x

Oops Kelly's Prom!

For some reason blogger didn't show this photo of the very posh Prom version of Kelly! A dress that was made espesh for her too in her fave colour!

I heard she had a great night! (minus the

silver clips that I used to hold the ringlet curls obviously!!)

Catching Up

My, I have sooo much catching up to do! Right here goes back in June I had a little jaunt away for a scrapping weekend with some friends. We were heading off to Bideford in Devon to stayin an old manor house and I had been warned that Helen the

lady that ran this B&B was a fab cook, famous for her puddings, well

I loves me puds, so..............I was

gonna be happy scrapping and puds, who

could resist!!

However the day before was School Prom Day for two special people, Neil's

eldest Son Tom and my Friend Tracey's Daughter Kelly, so I did a do on

Kelly's hair in my ex hair stylist status, and she looked tres glam! Tom looked very dapper too in his Tux!!! They were at different schools but as

GCSE's came to an end around then I guess most schools had them that night! My Son Sam had

chosen not to go to his School Prom but decided not to mention this to me until after the ticket

deadline.................! Apparently it wasn't his scene!! A right of passage I think but then I'm just an OLD, what do I know eh?? I was rather disappointed.

Got to Bideford on the Saturday and the manor house was just frozen in time, amazing really, although a couple of the girls didn't share my enthusiasm and were extremely freaked out, and scared. Although we had a room each 3 of them slept in one room it was hilarious to see them so spooked - I shouldn't have laughed at them but it was one of those moments I wished I had joined the Tena Lady movement!!!!!!! They were thinking their room was haunted by the china dolls around the house!!!!! Anyway I slept great!!

Food was gorgeous, puds first night an amazing layered flaky pastry, mousse and fresh strawberry ensemble, and a monster sized Treacle Sponge a large jug of custard and 2 huge dishes of Devon Clotted Cream! The best Clotted Cream I have ever tasted btw! Wow a little too stuffed to scrap for the first hour after but I managed 6 lay outs between Saturday evening and Sunday Lunch (1pm) that was very good for me!!!!! Sunday Lunch well that was another roast dinner followed by two more puds, Rice Pudding (one I really can't touch!) did taste yum according to the others, and Bread and Butter Pudding along with more custard and bowls full of Clotted Cream. Now if I could have I would have pinched one of those bowls of cream and brought it home, Helen told us where she gets it from so I will be searching the web to see if they deliver, but perhaps not because...................something else that happened recently I did a routine trip to the Health Centre hopped on the scales and nearly passed out with the shock!!!! That's the thing about loving puds and Clotted Cream there is a always a price to pay boo, hoo! Well I am totally and utterly determined to balloon no more!! Gosh I may even join a slimming club!! Why do things that taste so yummy make us fat and diet stuff taste like cardboard I wonder???????

I am thinking that positive thinking would be good so I am closing my eyes and imagining me a curvy size 12 (could require boob job 2 complete this look) and will borrow mum's exercise bike while she's away and rescue my stepper from Incy Wincey and his friends in the garage, to start the new healthy me!!

Back soon with my Cornwall Hols pics, got back last week with webbed feet if you know what I mean?! :-)

Back so soon....

Gosh don't pass out with the shock, but.........I had another card that I forgot to upload yesterday, shame as I love this one, even though I say so myself!!

Just wanted to mention that as A Creative Memories Consultant I, along with all the other UK (and International) Consultants have adopted the Make a Wish Foundation as our Charity for this year. What a fabulous Charity it is, they do amazing work and grant so many dreams come true to seriously ill children. I cannot read a single one of these amazing granted wishes with out a box of tissues at hand. They make a huge difference to Children and their Families at difficult times, when life can offer little or no fun and very little to look forward to they offer a fulfillment of a dream come true, some magic, I believe that every child deserves to have that especially when they have to endure such difficult obstacles. I would love to see a day when there isn't a selection process, but where every wish that is made by a 'Life Limited' child can have that wish granted, and most importantly it happens before it as too late!

Creative Memories is a perfect partner for Make a Wish, after all the albums we make are to tell our stories, to record our memories, and to make these memories last for ever. For some of the Parents of these children memories will be all they have in the future, but what perfect memories recorded forever of their precious Child's dream come true!!!!!!

You can visit the Make a Wish Site here, have the tissues ready, but, you it will I'm sure make you think about how important it is to record those events big or small in your Families too.

On that point I just wanted to share an email I received on Monday from my Leader in CM

Hi team,

I am writing to let you all know some difficult news. Sue, who many of you know, has a team in Abingdon and one of her team was a lovely lady called Kate. She has attended workshops in Bath and has been on 2 of my album weekends as well as being part of the workshops in Oxfordshire.

Tragically Kate died very suddenly last Sunday, suffering an annurism and of course this has been an incredible shock to all who knew her. Kate was always chatty and friendly and one of those people who would do anything for anyone. We will miss her dreadfully. She leaves behind twin girls of 9 and Sue has already spent time with them. She will have the immense privilege of working on albums with the girls in time ahead.

Kate is an inspiration to us all in that amazingly, she was up to date with her albums and so the reality of albums that last a lifetime, full of Kate's recording of times together and how she felt about her girls, are there for them....That is the power of what we do.

So please can Kate be an inspiration to you this week. Let us not be Consultants for the income we earn or for the flexibiltiy of our work, but because we never know who we may meet who needs albums like Kate's girls do now. I for one, will be on the phone this week to Customers to encourage them to complete albums, hold parties and of course I am making time to do more in my own children's albums, in honour of her.

Be inspired this week and remember, what we do makes a difference.

Belinda x

Lots to share.........!

Well so much for the back soon..........? Where does the time go? I think as I get older the time seems to get away from me more!! Gosh, I sound like a Granny now!

2 Weeks since I last blogged (shame on me!!), but at least I have things to show, and hey, you have escaped my waffle so that could be a good thing!!

In my last post I used the new Digi CC Designs, and there are more here, I am seriously in love with these! I also bought some great Greeting Farm Stamps from Dies to Die For, and as ever Tracie's customer service was excellent! I even had some lovely MS Butterflies and some label shapes in my package and it arrived so quickly, very reasonable p&p too!

The Door hangers I cut out from some thick card and used my Creative Memories Circle Shape to cut out the hole, Lilac Gingham paper from Funky Fairy Downloadable papers, Green Stars paper from Pink Petticoat, patterned paper on the card from Stampin Up, the label shape on the card was my new Sizzix Label Die (love this!).

Have been to a training day today in Exeter for Creative Memories, very good, but a long day (I left home at 7:15 am) so will blog hop for a short while then zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

Belinda x

Heatwave!!

Gosh where does the time go??  It has been really hot in our part of the world, and we decided to do the obligatory paddling pool purchase!  

There have been a few Births & Birthdays since my last post too!!  Baby Card is for a new baby Boy who has been called LEO , so seemed very appropriate and soooo cute!!! The Lion is by Hero Arts, embossing is Cuttlebug Swiss dots and one of their borders, ribbon recycled from a chocolate box! Mum card is using  English Paper Company Papers stamped and cut out from the Dimension Fourth  Alphabet. This set is fab and becoming one of my faves as it's great for so many occasions. Again used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. This was for N's Mum's Birthday 81 years young and amazing for her age!

I love these new images from CC Designs they are so very cute, once more used emboss folders and Stampin Up papers and Fiskars threading water border punch.  This was for Yasmine one of Livvy's friends their Birthdays are 4 months to the day apart. There was a lovely little party on the Green with all the children and Birthday tea too very sweet!! I promise to post soon.................!!

Belinda x