The last couple of days

I've been working hard making up for the down-time when I was so empty.
Yesterday morning as well as teaching a class of children and serving in the shop - with help from the lovely Yaa - I made four Christmas cards for my immediate family - 3 children and Mum - all very similar but all different and using the lovely Autumn limited edition colour Distress Inks - we have just a couple still in stock at the shop ladies - the ripe persimmon colour really brings the tattered floral die into life as a poinsettiaIn Friday morning's class the ladies made three of my twelve Christmas tags - here's one of them...very bright and cheery...6 happy ladies showing their tags...Mu, Maxine, Ruth, Pat, Shirley and Rena...I love the colours on this one... this looks so pale but it's just a bad photo...

Well, the washing and ironing is done, Craig has been voted off the X-factor - boohoo! and now I am going to snuggle up in bed with my kindle and find a new book to read - just finished The Winner by David Baldacci about a lottery scandal - very interesting

Bye for now

Sue

my mojo has returned...

Woohoo - it seems that painting the wooden boxes worked as my mojo is back - the ideas are now tumbling fast as ever - faster than I can make the samples.
With teaching classes and working in the shop - there are just not enough hours in the day now.
I found a Maya Rd accordian album that I had attached Basic Grey kraft papers to in a drawer and as soon as I saw it I knew what I wanted to do with it - strange as it had sat there unloved for absolutely ages!
Fast as you like I unclipped the jump rings and started by distressing all the edges with a new favourite Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs - one of the limited edition for autumn range.
This is the front of the album with a grunge stamped man - glossy accented later -
a bit of stamping and a bit more die cutting,a shrink plastic dangly and a metal star.The inside pages came together really well with more stamping, die cutting, a few bits ' n'
bobs and some Broken China and Shabby Shutters to liven it all upLast night I had three very quietbut very giggly girls to class. They were making Christmas cards using Wet Look Markers.

Here are Arlette, Alice and Celine showing the zillions of cards they made...
and here they are giggling again as Alice dropped hers.....

and here's the sample board they were using to make their cards...... loads of quick and easy and light to post Christmas cards- just what you need.....

Mum has hurt her back and Colin has gone to sort her out so I need to give the littlies their dinner so

Bye for now

Sue

Hoping for a bit of inspiration...

I have been going through a complete brain melt down since my holiday. I haven't been able to rouse any ideas or inspiration which is so unlike me - my brain normally travels faster than my hands can write down the ideas or process them - so I thought that if I bought a couple of plain wooden boxes from the local Chino bazaar - like pound shops - and painted them it might kick start my mojo or at least awaken it. I have loads of assorted sewing items and buttons scattered around so I thought if I gave them a home in one place that would be a good start so this is what I made...
A distressed sewing bits n bobs box...
and a button box... in a funky urban style...very Barbie pink and bright...with grungeboard letters and rub-ons...
Will have to see on Monday if the therapy worked but I am generally pleased with the way they turned out and if nothing else they will be useful and help me be a bit more organised.At the start of the week I made this little book with sticky back canvas covers, alcohol inked letters and spray inks for Inga as I had forgotten her birthday - to give her due credit Tanya originally made one for me - although I used templates with the spray inks...as my mojo was still somewhere over the USA I decided I could lift the idea and I know Tanya wouldn't mind...after all it was a personal gift for a friend and not a class.

Right, I have loads of ironing still to do - 16 days away sounds good but when you come home to bad weather and can't dry the washing and the clothes you are wearing in the meantime also need washing it mounts up to 3 and a half weeks worth - anyway, I am now wafffling so I will say

Bye for now

Sue

Jon and Jodie's Wedding - 27th October 2011

I promised a few snapshots of the wedding so here they are...

Here come the girls..... daughter Victoria is 3rd from left in the frilly pink number and Granddaughter Abigail is in front...

and the boys - well most of them...what's Lucy doing there??My lovely eldest son Lee and grandson Joshua...
The Announcement...plus Jean, Jodie's Mum looking on...
The waiting is almost over...

Jodie on her Dad's arm... They are pronounced husband and wife...A very proud Mum... Jon having a bit of fun with his nephew Joshua... There was smiles all day...

Colin and I had ordered the cake and it was a complete surprise to them - this followed a lovely meal in the Paris restaurant in the Eiffel Tower ...and more smiles...

It was a fabulous day all told and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Jon phoned last night from Sandals in St Lucia to say they are having a really good time in a beachfront room, they have been sailing and Jodie is having a golf lesson today.

Today is the first day I have felt anything like normal??? but I have been advised that epsom salts are good for swollen aching feet so I am off to buy some and then open the shop

so Bye for now

Sue