HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND ME OF COURSE!!!!. HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING HOWEVER YOU WILL BE SEEING IN THE NEW YEAR. STAY SAFE AND HAVE A DRINK FOR ME. LOVE ALWAYS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

HURRY UP & ORDER YOUR "PEN & PAPER CIRCLE" ISSUE 6 MAGAZINE TODAY!!!!!

Yes today is the final day to pre-order the new Polka Doodles "Pen & Paper Circle" Issue 6 magazine. If you go over to the Polka Doodles shop it will tell you how to order the latest issue which is only available by pre-order. The magazine is packed with tutorials, tips & inspiration, an A6 stamp set and a CD with gorgeous papers & a co-ordinating alphabet all for an amazing price of just £12.99!!!!. 

I would like to share the napkin fold card that I made for the Pen & Paper Circle Issue 5 to give you an example of the types of amazing tutorials the magazine has to offer.

The magazine includes detailed step by step tutorials which are easy to follow using the gorgeous stamp set and papers. If you follow the link HERE you will get a peek of the gorgeous stamp set and papers that you will be getting!!!!.

Hope everyone is having a good day and whatever festivities you have going on tonight stay safe and enjoy!!!.

Love & hugs Clare xxxx

MY FAVOURITE 5 CARDS OF 2012

Hello my darling's. Hope everyone is well this Sunday evening. I'm still getting over this rotten cold and sore throat, hopefully it will be gone soon though.

Once again our lovely DEBBY is hosting "My Favourite 5 Cards of 2012" where you need to whittle down the 5 best cards of the year that you have made. This is not always an easy task but mine are as follows;

Our lovely Debby is very generously offering some of her favourite candy when you post and link your post to her blog. This will be drawn on 7th January 2013. I am really loving seeing everyone's favourites. Thank you for running this again Debby.

Take care everyone and I will be back again soon.

Hugs Clare xxxx

MY FAVOURITE 5 CHRISTMAS CARDS OF 2012

The lovely Debby 4000 is hostessing "My Favourite 5 Christmas Cards of 2012" and is offering some amazing candy. To enter you need to pick your fave 5 Christmas cards, blog them and link back to Debby's gorgeous blog.

Here are my favourites for 2012

I would love to see your favourites. Go pop over to Debby's blog HERE and check out her gorgeous selection.

Thank you for stopping by and hope that you have had a wonderful Boxing Day.

Hugs Clare xxxx

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS & A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS & THANKYOU FOR ALL OF YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT & ENCOURAGEMENT IN 2012

LETS HOPE THAT 2013 WILL BE AN AMAZING YEAR FOR US ALL

WITH LOTS OF LOVE CLARE, BERT, SIMONE,  BLACKIE & ALL OF THE WAIF'S & STRAYS THAT COME TO ME XXXX

HAPPY CHRISTMAS MUM

Happy Christmas to the best Mum in the world. Love and miss you each and every day xxxx

MAY NEED A CUPPA FOR THIS POST!!!

Hello my lovelies. I hope that everyone is ready for Christmas and not stressing too much. Up until Thursday I had not got one present as the last couple of weeks have been a bit full on to say the least. It was a family affair with my Sister, Niece & Nephew and my lovely Dad who became my bag bitch for the day!!!. I managed to get everything unbelievably and got all of the wrapping up done last night. I still have not got my decorations and tree up but that is my job for tomorrow as I have all the family coming on Christmas day. Normally my tradition is to put the tree up on 17th December which is my beautiful Mum's anniversary (4 years this year she has been gone). Unfortunately there has been a few life drama's and I never got to sort them out. Tomorrow being Christmas Eve is another significant day which is when we saw Mum off so I would like to make something positive of the day and get the decorations & tree up then. 

Ok what's been happening? I found a lump on Simone's back a couple of weeks ago. I got her to the vet's the following day and Mr.Dash examined my girl and he told me that she needed the lump removed as it was possibly a tumour. Within 2 days she was operated on and I had to wait a long hard week to get the results to find out if my baby had a malignant or benign tumour. In the meantime I checked Bert for lumps and hey ho I found a lump on his back. I really could not believe this was happening to my two furbabies. I took the pair of them in to the surgery on Friday and was told that Simone's tumour was an infection which had affected the fat and tissue causing the lump. So that was good news. Mr.Dash examined Bert's lump, which is on the opposite side to Simone's and he said that it feels very different to Simone's. He is giving him the benefit of the doubt for a week and treating him with antibiotics to see if there is a chance that it is the same problem. If the lump is still there this coming Friday he will be operated on there and then. The reason for these lumps is possibly from a couple of things. The pair of them had the flea programme which is by injection. It could be a flare up from that. We have also found out that they are both allergic to penicillin which they have both had in the last few weeks. The penicillin makes them break out in skin lesions. Bert was treated more recently for an abscess under his chin and I found a big lesion on his back. It is only just healing up and is just above the mystery lump. This is why we are trying the antibiotic route first as an operation for Bert is risky as he has epilepsy. I am praying that it is something simple and that by Friday it has improved as I know that if he is operated on there is going to be another long hard week of waiting for results. Also I am going to be worrying sick about him coping with the operation. Here is a pic of my beautiful girl. She has a large scar and her fur has been hacked to pieces but I know it will grow back.

It was beyond traumatic leaving my baby girl at the vets before her op. I went down to the  kennels at the surgery to get her settled and it was one of the worst feelings I have ever had. Simone was hysterical and she wouldn't let go of me. I just cried and cried and my Dad literally had to drag me away from her. I pray that this is not going to be the same with Bert on Friday. I was so relieved to see her later that day and although Simone was drugged up to the eye balls she was her usual fussy self with lots of affection. I can only hope that our furbabies understand that what we do for them is for the best. I will keep you all posted on Bert.

Meanwhile the Polka Doodles boss has been keeping us all very busy behind the scenes. Nikky has released a brand new CD so I have been busy making samples. At last I am able to show you all my sample work as the CD was launched recently on Create & Craft. I will be doing some posts over the forthcoming days I promise. I am also in the middle of doing a couple of tutorials for the Polka Doodles Pen & Paper Circle 6 magazine. On top of that I have been busy making challenge cards & Christmas cards. 

Healthwise hasn't been great but I put a lot of it down to stress and thinking the weather does not help. I am still in pain from my fall and seems to be affecting both sides of my ribs now. Again I do think a lot of it is probably down to my RA. 

Right i'm sure that you have all had enough of my waffle now so I will leave you with big hugs and lots of love from me. I will be back to wish my lovely friends a happy Christmas.

Love Clare xxxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!!!!

Is the challenge over at Polka Doodles this week!!!!. Infact it's quite a varied challenge this week as we are letting you interpret the theme in your own way. You can make a Happy New Year card/project, you can use the numbers 2013 or maybe make some thing with 1 image, 2 papers or 3 embellishments. I decided to throw the whole theme into the mix and made this;

The gorgeous red gingham paper is from the brand new Cherryblossom Lane CD which was released last Friday on Create & Craft and is only £14.99!!!. The images and sentiment are from the Here Comes Christmas CD and Picknix 2 Gingerbread Twist CD. Can I just add that these two CD's are only £10 each in the Polka Doodles shop at the moment!!!!. I added some Berry Red Doodle Dew Drops to the holly and Stickles Glitter Glue to the images. Ribbon, pearl embellishment and peel off numbers were from my stash.

There are heaps of new additions in the Polka Doodles Shop right now. Nikky has launched a new Instant Download Store which she is adding to daily. To find all of the gorgeous downloads click HERE.

Our Nikky also has an amazing offer on Gift Vouchers at the moment. Nikky is adding an extra £5 to vouchers to the value of £15, £20 and £25 and an extra £10 when you buy a £50 voucher!!!!. 

There are lots of New products in the shop too including some awesome new images by the lovely Emma Canning. Not Forgetting the brand new Cherryblossom Lane CD packed with gorgeous papers, images and sentiments.

I really hope that all of my lovely friends can join in with the Polka Doodles Challenge this week which is the final challenge for 2012. Can't believe how fast this year has gone!!!.

I hope that you are all ready for Christmas. This morning I had not got one prezzie but I went on a family Christmas shopping spree and I can very gladly say that I have got everyone sorted now!!!. 

I promise that I will do an update post over the weekend as I know that my blogging has been very scarce of late. I have had a few life dramas the last couple of weeks which has kept me away from my blog. 

Big hugs to all!!!!

Love Clare xxxx

PAPER PIECING AT POLKA DOODLES!!!!

Well who's had snow this week????. Sunny Eastbourne had snow for most of the morning on Wednesday but by afternoon everything had melted (boo!!!!). Since then we have had sleet and heavy rain. I do hope that all my friends are keeping warm and wrapping up well.

Ok it's Friday and we have another awesome challenge over at Polka Doodles. The theme is to paper piece and add some newspaper to your make. Here is what I made.

I have used the gorgeous Fairy Flutterfly rubber stamp set "Meechelle" and the papers and sentiment is from the Pretty Sweet CD. I have used Vanilla Doodle Dew Drops in the centres of the flowers and added Diamond Stickles to the images. The ribbon and buckles were from my stash. I cut a little heart out using newspaper and coloured it with Aniseed Flexmarker. 

Just wanted to let you know that there is so much going on in the Polka Doodles shop at the moment including a new Instant Download Store with new papers and digi's being added daily. Go check it out!!!!.

 Another bit of excitement is that Nikky will be on our screens on December 14th for the launch of some new goodies!!!!.

Don't forget to go check out the Polka Doodles Challenge Blog. There are some amazing cards from the DT and we would love you to all come play along with us. 

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend. Stay safe and keep warm!!!!.

Love and big hugs Clare xxxx

SNOWMEN!!!!

Hello everyone, hope you are all well on this Sunday afternoon. Wow it certainly is cold. The frost is still outside even though it has been a beautiful sunny day. 

Well another fortnight has passed and Margaret from the Christmas Card Club set the challenge this time and the theme was to make a creation with a snowman or snowmen on on it. This is my card;

INGREDIENTS

CARD FROM CRAFT WORK CARDS 

LOTV KRAFT PAPER'S

STAMP BY KODOMO INC

RIBBON, PEARL, SNOWFLAKE & PEEL OFF FROM STASH

ANTIQUE LINEN DISTRESS INK PAD

DIAMOND STICKLES

Can't believe there is only one more challenge to go for 2012 at the Christmas Card Club. This year seems to have flown by. If anyone is interested in joining the club for 2013 just let me know. We make one card a fortnight so we have a few made before December. We are a fun and friendly little group & welcome anyone who wishes to join. All the girls are listed on my side bar if you would like to go and visit everyone. 

Hope everyone has a good week.

Hugs Clare xxxx

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!!!

I am so sorry that I have been scarce of late and not blogging and commenting. A couple of weeks ago I had a fall outside in the garden. I thought I had broken my ribs but my GP said that I had muscular damage and bruising (still feels like they are bloody well broken!) as I also have the Rheumatoid Arthritis it has made everything flare up as well which doesn't help. Thankfully I have been able to schedule posts when I have felt good enough but not been able to get much creating done. 

Even my poor Bertie bear has been in the wars as I found an abscess under his chin last week. He was whizzed straight off to the vet and prescribed antibiotics and painkillers but poor sausage developed a lesion on his neck from the injections so I am also treating him for that. Thank fully the abscess burst (eewww!!!!) so he is much more comfortable and the lesion is healing. Back to the vet on Friday to hopefully give him the all clear. 

I made this card for one of my beautiful friends who's Birthday I was late for so thought I would share it. 

The gorgeous stamps and paper are from LOTV. Flowers from Wild Orchid and rose lace ribbon from Ebay.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

LILI OF THE VALLEY THURSDAY CHALLENGE - Anything goes
TUESDAY THROWDOWN - Layer's
MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES - Lets go dotty
CRAFT PUNKED - Best friends
JOANNA SHEEN - Anything goes excluding Christmas

Well I am wondering just how much more rain we are going to have. I feel so sorry for those poor people around the country who are flooded. My garden looks like a swinning pool but thankfully is not indoors. Hope everyone of my friends are safe and out of the danger zones.

Will be back very soon with more shares.

Big hugs Clare xxxx

ANY DIE WILL DO

Hello my lovelies, well it is Friday again and another week closer to Christmas. I have done no Christmas shopping as yet, even though I promise each year that I will start early!!!!. Thankfully one thing that I am doing fairly well with is Christmas cards. 

Over at Polka Doodles this week we have a brand new challenge with the theme "any die will do". Very happy with this as got to use my new Marianne poinsettia die!!!!. Here is what I made.

The scrummy paper's are from Studio 12 Picknix Collection 2 "Gingerbread Twist" CD. The gorgeous bear image is from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD. The sentiment is from the Here Comes Christmas CD. I have used Turquoise Doodle Dew Drops for the centre of the poinsettia and diamond Stickles on the petals. The poinsettia die is by Marianne Designs. I have used circle nestibilities and the scallop circle is by Craftwork Cards. The gorgeous ribbon is from one of my lovely friends ETSY shop which you can purchase here at The Little Boutique. Patricia has some beautiful stash to embellish your creations, go check it out!!!!.

Hope that you will all go pop over to the Polka Doodles blog and check out all of the girls DT makes and also take part in the challenge!!!!. 

Have a great and safe weekend everybody.

Love & hugs Clare xxxx

BRIGHT FESTIVE COLOURS!!!!

Hello everyone, hope you are all well on this cold Monday evening. I have finally got my Christmas Card Club challenge card done (was due Sunday, ooops!). It was the lovely Hazel's turn to pick the challenge this fortnight and her theme was to make a card using bright colours. 

And bright colours Hazel got!!!!. I brought this lovely funky Christmas tree paper from my local craft store. The only problem is there is nothing on the paper to indicate the company who made it. I have used blue, white & pink Bazzill card, an LOTV sentiment stamp, circle/scallop Nestabilities and ribbon, eyelets and bling from stash. 

I am really hating these dark early nights. It seems to make the day go so much faster. It's crap if you need to take a photo too!!!!. Ho hum, soon be Summer again!!!!.

Thank you for stopping by and big hugs to all.

Love Clare xxxx

EMMA CANNING FLAT FRIENDS CHALLENGE!!!!

My beautiful friend Emma Canning has started a new challenge BLOG featuring her wonderful Flat Friends digi images!!!!. You can buy Emma's images over at the Polka Doodles store HERE. There is an amazing assortment of these gorgeous digi's at only £1.25 each. 

This is the second challenge and this month the theme is "spots & stripes". This is what I made using the "Merry Maison" image.

The polka dot paper is from the Polka Doodles Here Comes Christmas CD. The sentiment is a Little Claire's stamp. The red Berry Dew Drops are also from the Polka Doodles store. Red and white linen card & red ribbon from stash. I have used Promarkers to colour in the image and finished off with diamond Stickles. 

Emma would love you to stop by for some inspiration and to have a play. There is still plenty of time to enter and Emma is offering her gorgeous digi's for prizes!!!!. 

Hope everyone is having a good day!!!

Big hugs Clare xxxx

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE MEECE!!!!

Hi all, hope you have all had a super weekend. Just got a card to share. It was for my lovely friend Wendy who's Birthday it was last week. 

Haven't played with my gorgeous meece for a little while so they have made an appearance. They are from the Ice Cream Birthday's set. I have used pink and brown Bazzill card, a Craftwork Cards sentiment and buttons and twine from my stash. The lovely ribbon trim is a Stampin Up punch. I used Promarkers to colour and aged mahogany Distressed Ink Pad. I used some brown glitter for the ice cream!!!!.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

DREAM VALLEY CHALLENGES - Anything goes
ROBYNS FETISH - Anything goes
SCRAPPERS DELIGHTS CHALLENGES - Anything Goes
ONE STOP CRAFT - Anything goes
SWEET STAMPIN CHALLENGE - Anything goes
CLEARLY INSPIRED - Critters
CRAFTY CATZ - Anything goes
PAPER CRAFTING JOURNEY - Anything Goes
LOVES RUBBER STAMPS - Anything goes
PAPELITOS STAMPS - Anything goes
PAPERTAKE WEEKLY - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Big hugs Clare xxxx

IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!

Hello my lovelies!!!!. Well it's Friday and that means another challenge over at Polka Doodles and we are in a party mood!!!. This weeks theme was to make a Christmas party invitation and here is what I made.

I have used images and paper's from the fabulous Here Come Christmas CD and Studio 12 Picknix 2 Gingerbread twist CD. The bunting is a Stampin Up punch. Everything else is from my stash.

It's been a big week at Polka Doodles as Nikky has recruited 11 new international member's to the design team. I am so looking forward to getting to know the new girls and seeing their creations. Make sure you stop over and meet them!!!!. 

Another bit of excitement is there is a mega sale over at the Polka Doodles shop running from Thursday 8th to Monday 12th with huge savings on CD's!!!!. 

Hope that you can go check it out and bag yourselves some bargains!!!!

Thank you for stopping by and make sure that you have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Big hugs Clare xxxx

SUGAR & SPICE & ALL THINGS NICE

Hi my lovelies, hope that all of my friends are well and keeping warm. I am finding it so cold and it's making my joints really painful. Never mind though as it is that time of year!!!!. 

I am a few days late in posting this card which was due on Sunday. The Christmas Card Club only has another three challenges left for the year. Cannot believe how quickly it has gone. This week it was the lovely Zoe's turn to choose the theme which was "sugar & spice & all things nice". I have been itching to use this gorgeous House Mouse stamp. Here is what I made. 

INGREDIENTS

CRAFTWORK CARDS 8X8 PLAIN WHITE CARDS

RED & WHITE BAZZILL CARD

PAPER MANIA PATTERNED PAPER & BOW "HOME FOR CHRISTMAS" RANGE

HOUSE MOUSE STAMPS FROM "GINGERBREAD HOUSE" SET

POLKA DOODLES RED DEW DROPS

WILD ORCHID HOLLY LEAVES & BERRIES

PEBBLES CHALKS

PROMARKERS

RIBBON FROM EBAY

I brought these rather large 8X8 cards ages ago and have a felt little bit intimidated by them worrying I would not be able to fill the card out!!!. Definitely needs a bit of layering and I think these lovely House Mouse stamps fill them out quite well. I am trying to make bigger cards for family as they will not need to be posted. I really hate having to think about the pennies when it comes to postage and get so narky with the increasing price rise of stamps. There that's my moan for the evening lol!!!!.

If you are interested in joining the Christmas Card Club either now or in the New Year just email me any time. We are just a small group of friends who make Christmas cards every fortnight to a challenge. Just helps to have a few cards made before December 1st!!!. The girls blogs are listed on my side bar and would love you to go check out their creations.

Right must try being a bit more creative before bed time, seriously can't believe we are in November.

Big hugs Clare xxxx

FRIENDSHIP & ANGELS

I recently made a card for one of my beautiful friends who is going through a rough time at the moment. She is a fellow Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer who I met through card making and blogging and I feel so happy to have met her as she knows exactly how I feel and what life is like living with this horrible disease. 

My friend has been suffering terribly lately and I just wanted her to know that I understand and she can count on me when things get tough.

INGREDIENTS

POLKA DOODLES STUDIO 12 "GINGERBREAD TWIST" PAPERS

POLKA DOODLES RED DEW DROPS

PAPER MAKEUP SENTIMENT STAMP

RED MESH TRIM FROM THE LITTLE BOUTIQUE ETSY

WILD ORCHID FLOWERS

RED GINGHAM BOW FROM STASH

Thank you for stopping by and hope everyone has had a good Halloween!!!!.

Big hugs Clare xxxx