Got all my Encaustic Art stuff out

yep at nearly 2 am, but enjoyed doing these simple cards - great for backgrounds and I think they'll die cut easily too - well that's my intention anyway.

Jane Nesterenko has a lot to answer for!

12 months ago Jane Nesterenko (think thats how you spell her name) was demo'ing treasure boxes on Create and Craft TV - the large stamp (in the pic) is about 8"x4" and she made it look very easy to stamp - it isn't difficult just a very large stamp - and unless you are going to make a lot of boxes - bit of a large outlay, I think the stamp was about £14. Jane's creations are beautiful. I made this box (coloured with twinkling H2o's) for a necklace I have bought DD for christmas.

Came out OK.

Really down in the dumps today - Saturday 29th November, 2008.

I think the impact of what happened to Keir keeps coming back to haunt me every few minutes, I have to try and forget that it was such a close call. He's really down about it all too. Hopefully, it won't be a hasstle getting his bike repaired. We are going through insurance as his excess is £700 and we reckon it's going to be 'double that' ouch. Poor Keir, nothing ever seems to work out good for him. BUT we are just happy that he was OK in the accident.

Still no inspiration to do any scrapping. Just messing about with the 365 (which I now wish was over) - I MIGHT just do December as my Christmas Journal rather than following 365 prompts. I must admit that I haven't enjoyed doing the 365 the last month or so - it's become a chore. So doing Journal My Christmas for December will be the same really, a LO per day - albeit it'll be only 6x6 instead of 12x12.

THATS if I keep up scrapping. I am just NOT into it - in a big way at the moment. Maybe I've scrapped every day for too long. Maybe I sholdn't have done the 365 as it seems to have numbed me doing LO's this year???

I don't know. Maybe it's just the bad year we have had and I'm just tired. This flu has really knocked me for a six too.

Loving the alcohol inks and my aluminium duck tape - Keir said 'how many of those are you going to do'?

Right, get back to my alcohol inks then.

I am so tired.

12 midnight you rang Keir to tell me that you were lying in a 5' ditch in the pitch black you had come off your bike.

My heart hit my boots - but thank God you are OK - your bike isn't (again) probably another £500 repair but that is immaterial, what is important is that you are OK apart from being broken hearted and so upset.

It has taken me all day to clean the mud from your boots and gloves and wash your jeans and new jacket ( your Christmas present - all but ruined ) . I felt so sorry for you all alone on that dark country road - I don't think I've ever seen anyone so covered in mud as you were.

The hospital confirmed you were OK - apart from your pride. The police were good too. And the recovery chap today - not charging us for the 'winching' of your bike out of the ditch.

I hope you give up motorcycling.....................but I don't think you will. You had a lucky escape with your life last night. We love you. I hope God keeps you safe.

I seem to be blogging daily - 'whats wrong with me'

Had a few wins on ebay - got a couple of rubber stamps.

Got some more alcohol inks.

Got some aluminium duck tape - like how that came out made a little book for Korin - and a decoration for the front of my address book.

DH had his first appraisal - it went well - in fact it went really well, and IF all goes as they say it is going, it's only good news - can't dare to think too positively tho after such a bad bad year (financially) - fingers crossed....................he deserves it tho as he's a very hard worker gives his job 100%.

Scrap your day today

take photo's !! OF WHAT? my SYD is becoming so boring - I didn't do last months until last night and only then so I didn't have two SYD's to do, IYKWIM.

Anyway, I will continue it on for a year - but really finding it so boring.

Still have Journal to do of a 'book of my home/area' which was set with teamies Ready Steady Scrap - but I've left that group now - will still finish my book - I hope - EVENTUALLY.

I have an eclectic mix book of ME - lots of different size papers and tags and covered CD's etc - to finish.

I am still doing 365 Challenge, but will be glad when that finishes too - as I haven't enjoyed the last month or so of prompts - some are very samey too - Think it was a great idea tho.

NOW, of course, also doing Journal My Christmas - I must be bloody mad as I did it last year and remember thinking - Gosh when does this stop.

Come January I should have EVERYTHING finished - well I hope so anyway, then what do I do. Get back to scrapping LO's???? Or pack up scrapping??? depends on how busy my job is, whether I'm continuing with reflexology etc etc.

Don't you think life is strange

............. as I walked the dog today, I thought 'it would be very nice now to sell the house and downsize and have a lot more money in our pockets'. I got home and there was a message on my mobile answermachine - from the estate agent, still had a woman with him who hasn't yet put her house on the market but wants a house as big as ours - but dreads the thought of putting her house on the market and wondered if we'd consider part exchange ! - Her house price is exactly what we are looking for........................could this be coincidence? Strange eh.

I will miss my house if and when we sell, and everything has to be right - I'm not giving up my house for something that I'm not going to be happy with, we aren't desperate to sell.

Key got home, no way would he go live where this woman wants to part exchange so he rang estate agents and said NO straight away - no viewing tomorrow, but at least I haven't got to clean, clean, clean.

Journal My Christmas - front cover

I don't know if I shall keep this up this year, shame IF I don't but starting work soon and don't know if I shall get the time to scrap much.

However have been doing so much more scrapping since I dropped out the team - not saying they held me back, cos they didn't, and they were only EVER encouraging, but I think I spent so much time looking over past threads and what everyone was up to etc, I stopped scrapping. So enjoying my scrapping at the mo, hope I continue to do so, although STILL not really into scrapping LO's.

Saturday 22nd November, 2008.

Already. huh.

Went to vets to collect cats tablets.

Went to post office to send back the camera pod.

Home - collected dog to take him for his walk. ITis freezing outta there.

Home - collected DD to take to work (well to meet her mates and then work).

Shopping at Netto. Not really impressed with this shop - lots of gaps in my shopping.

Home - put all shopping away.

Tackled Kitchen which was like a bomb had gone off (really don't like that expression).

Lay on Sofa - slept for an hour - feel lousy with this cold.

Put pork joint in oven

Came up to do some scrapping.

Don't feel like doing any scrapping.

Going down for another lie down.

Very tired and my head still thumping - 7 days I've had this now.

made this tag to - glimmer misted - looks nice and shimmery and I got a bargain with the paper clips 99p.

My new boss lady rang me today

and is trying to bring my start date forward quite a bit - as apparently the lady whom I shall be working with goes on holdiays for 3 weeks end of December - oh dear, looks like I'm in for a bit of a bumpy ride! No doubt I shall take it all in my stride.

I HOPE at Good Hope. Tee hee.

Can't worry about it. Got lots to do before I start my job tho and Christmas is very fast approaching.

All in 2 hours - a beer mat book - OK it is only basic

A little better today -

certainly didn't feel as poorly as yesterday and thankfully NO headache. Was going to cinema with Keir but I don't think I feel I can sit through a 2.5 hour film (BOND?) - and I've got to fill in all the forms for my job which I didn't feel like doing yesterday because I felt so poorly. Getting ready early (8am) and taking dog for a long walkies - he suffers when I'm ill cos no one else will take him for his walkies.......................poor thing.

making a beer mat book - random (picked photo's from 1992 when kids were little) - and I was young. Can't believe that it was all that long long time ago, remember as if it were yesterday.

Got up with the worst headache and sore throat I have EVER had !

got up at 7 and then 8.30 and then 10'ish - then 12 and finally got out of bed at 3 pm - my head was thumping. Sore throat is so awful - although I feel so much better tonight than I did this morning.

pic is my 365 for today - I have found that the prompts are being interpreted by me - very quickly and not really scrapping anymore - I can't wait to finish now - it's been great but doing a LO per day for 365 + 1 day's has been a challenge BIG TIME. But not long to go now and it's all over and done with. I'll probably find that I'm at a loss come January when I don't have to do it anymore. Tee Hee.

Here are my finished flowers - really pleased with the end result.

I used plain vellum and an 'ink it up' clear embossing ink - with large flower stamps and Sea Foam White embossing powder. Heat to emboss. Cut round flowers and use brads to hold them together and then coloured on the back of the vellum flowers with colouring pencils - mine were the water colour type (but I used no water) as the vellum may pucker and look very wrinkled.

Make in minutes - DS asked for this Golden Vegetable rice - the inside was very nice (the packaging) that is! and so I made some flowers on the cuttlebug with it - along with using the inside of the Capri-Sun drinks container too ! Waste not, want not - I suppose. (OK I know they're not archival safe, but I aint gonna be around in 50 years time to worry about me photo's!

have been making a few flowers from embossed vellum and they come out rather scrummy

I made a few of these today - just embossing powder onto vellum but I LOVE how they have come out. Coloured the one orange - will try a lot of different colours too and use them on a LO shortly - just LOVE crafting again - don't love doing LO's just love messing about with things - keeps me outatrouble.

Tra - Laaaaaaaaa (my more than inches - complete) Except for covers which I will upload later!

Just waiting for a treatment to come

did a few more 'more than inches' last night and calculate that I probably only have about 14 to do now to complete the 'coin' holders which will be the pages of my book. Really enjoyed doing these again as I haven' thad much inclination to do much 'as I would call' proper scrapping. So may finish them tonight after 8 pm treatment and MIGHT get the covers done tomorrow night.

Been at shop all day - very quiet today - until I left and apparently two customers with sales of over £2000! Typical. That means that I now have to go over in the morning to do the banking - tut tut - but money needs to be in the bank as early as possible.

PLUS I have two treatments over Brownhills way between 10 & 1 pm - then home and take DS to cinema as I promised all week! Collect DD at 5 pm from her work to take her to her mates house for them to get ready for McFly Concert in Birmingham - DH picking them up at 10 pm ?? 11 pm??

I'm exhausted thinking about what needs to be done. STILL no letter re job. IF I don't get anything tomorrow (Friday) or Monday morning, I shall have to ring her again as I don't know if it's still 5 weeks from filling in forms for the CRB or whether they can do a check on me from the information from my application form? Not stressing as I have loads of stuff to do before I start working 4 days a week - plus shop on Fridays 11 - 3 and maybe 5 treatments of reflexology a week (maybe 6) !

I thought life got easier as you got older?

Yet another update - I can't keep up with myself these days - tee hee

these are my 'More Than Inches' - I've really enjoyed messing about with these bits of card, especially as I don't seem to have much mojo recently - going to make them into a book..

i decided to do the Christmas Journal on UKS (again)

I can't spend a lot - and don't feel I want to cos the last one was a very elaborate journal - this year I have decided to do something very basic, very plain (as much as possible) and so have decided to wrap each page in ordinary parcel paper - maybe a bit of stamping, bit of glittering, and use up some embellishments from last year. Have only bought the paper, christmas tags, and glittery string today (total about £3) - now that's my kinda crafting. Tee Hee.

we have about 6 weeks to christmas

Crikey. I have done NOTHING.

BUT ........................ we only have to buy for Keir and Korin - and send £10 each to Christophers girls. Nip up to see Aunt Lil and take her a little something. Not a lot really.

Think Keir will have his leather biker jacket - and haven't got a clue what Korin may want? Then theres the food shopping.

I also have all my accounts to get done before Christmas, start this new job and help Key with his business accounts too - I don't know where I'm going to find the time, but I am NOT going to stress about it at all.

Busy day tomorrow - 6 treatments of reflexology (phew) haven't done 6 treatments in a long time (in one day that is !).

Speak soonest.

Here's one I made earlier !

Very simple LO as the background is material and I just embellished it a bit with stickles and gems - love the embroidery on this material.

Want to use more textiles and paint on LO's so will have a go when I next get time.

Although new job may soon be looming and then I probably won't have time to do much at all - JUST as my mojo seems to be returning. Never mind eh.

Such a feelings coming over me ! (old carpenters song, which I loved)

I feel really strange ....................... it's clear out time. I've just deleted MOST of my gallery on UKS too - very strange for me to do this - but I felt a lot of my 'stuff' was rubbish anyway. Have been through albums and scrapped (in the rubbished sense of the word) lots of LO's, all stuff that I didn't really like. It's very therapeutic, I must say.

Done a few more 'more than inches' - but looking through them as to which ones to scrap too. Feel I want to get up to date now on my 365 too - hopefully my mojo is returning, maybe I just needed a change.

Monday's prompt for 365 was 'Monday morning blues, or the start of a fresh new week', well I started of very much in the 'monday morning blues' state of mind, but by Friday (NOW) I am thinking - this is the start of something new? as I said, very strange.

I pulled out the Ready Steady Scrap Team

I've been feeling very OFF since Viv died. Very stale and low. I'm not depressed - just finding that every day blends into one another. I have noticed that I haven't really contributed much to the team over the last 4 - 5 months or so - wasn't interested in a Christmas swap - or the Secret Santa etc and thought - GILL you've become boring boring boring. So I decided on a whim just to pull out the team. Will miss them on there as I've been talking daily since July 2007 - but I haven't met up with them (my fault again) so think it's probably the best thing to do AS OF NOW.

I should start my job in the next couple of weeks and it's busier at the shop and Christmas is coming - and like everyone else in this country time will whizz by and it shall be upon us before we know it.

So I'm going to chill as much as I can - and just do what I have to do and hopefully my scrapping enthusiasm will come back to me in abundance ! HOPEFULLY !

(Did do Linda's lad, ben a 16th birthday book this week, so I'm not NOT scrapping at all - did do some more than inches and only about a week behind on my 365 - so it's not so bad really)

Sad realisation...............

whilst doing a reflexology treatment this afternoon - and then booking the lady in for 6 weeks time, by THAT time I shall (hopefully) be in my new job. The sad realisation is that I don't think, having to work 28 hours a week, that I shall have the time or energy to keep my good, regular customers. It's really sad, as some of these people have been having reflexology with me for up to 12 years! It's a long time. I'll see how I go and maybe keep 5 customers per week - those people who have been very loyal to me, who refer to me as a friend rather than just their reflexologist..........................everything has to end I suppose.

Driving the Jaguar !

Keys been going on to me about driving the new Jag - I've never driven a Jag before - IF MY MOM COULD SEE ME NOW - she'd be telling the family - our Gilly's driving a Jag. Tee hee. Seriously though, it's a lovely car to drive. I've never been one to want to drive nice cars, be seen in nice cars etc, but I can see what people mean when they say how nice it is to drive a really nice car - the Jag is a nice car - and it's lovely to drive.