WARNING A VERY LONG CUP OF TEA POST!!!

I am so sorry that I have not done an update in a while on the spikey babies. I have been so incredibly busy with them all and have been hand feeding some babies which has taken up heaps of my day & eve. 

Starting with baby Mo. She had to go stay with Monica for a while as she was not weaning and would not come off her milk. Monica having way more experience took over her care for a little while as she has plenty of weaning tricks up her sleeve!!!. Finally she was weaned. She is not a very big meat eater (I had no influence over that one I promise lol!). She loves her biccies and meal worms atleast and I know once she gets out there in the big wide world she will get into the insects and slug eating naturally (eeewww!). So Mo came back to me last weekend and I nearly fell off the chair when I saw her!!!. She is massive and is now weighing in at 520g. Going to share some pic's of her.

These pictures were taken by my friends beautiful talented Daughter Ellie when Mo was a few days old. 

This is our big girl today!!!!. Hasn't she grown!!!. I have done a video of her tonight which I just need to sort out and will get it posted over the weekend for you. I will take some better pic's too. It's been great as I have been getting her out in the garden in a big cage this week. Have had to wait till late afternoon though as it's been too hot. She is starting to adopt hoggy ways as I made her a cardboard box house stuffed with shredded newspaper and while she is out there she curls up and sleeps in there so she knows the sleep at day awake at night routine already lol!!!. Eventually I will keep her out there in the cage over night to get her used to that. You have to do it all in stages that she is comfortable with as she will not survive if you just dumped her out there. That would break my heart. It is so going to be hard anyway letting her go but really hoping she will stick around. I have got to handle her less and less as soon as she is out in the garden full time as she needs to get wild. Really don't think you would be human if you did not get attached. She still sucks on my fingers and all her quirky little ways I am so going to miss. Not so much the sucking fingers thing now as her teeth are getting sharp!!!. 

Feeling sad today as the two babies I have been looking after have contracted ringworm. It flared up 48 hours ago and I have had to give them back to Monica. They need treating but unfortunately they are too young and tiny to have the proper treatment yet. They are having antibiotics and will be bathed in natural things that their little bodies can tolerate. I feel bad as because of the treatment I am on for my RA my whole immune system is compromised so Monica will not put me at risk. Even when I cut myself now within hours it gets infected. Mostly I can treat it myself at home but sometimes I have to go on antibiotics. The risk of septicaemia is really high too which I definitely will not be wanting. 

So I am keeping everything crossed for them as they have had such a sad start to life. They were found in someone's garden and in the nest Mum had two dead babies and these two and the nest had been built on top of an ant nest so poor things were being bitten alive. Mum is in at the centre being treated and is doing good but far to weak to look after the babies. They all had puncture marks on them when they were taken in poor things. Monica named the babies HUFFY and PUFFY!!! this has been so appropriate as they continuously make huffy puffy noises and always curling up in a tight ball, very uncooperative little things!!! I am guessing now though that as they were being bitten by ants that was their protective mode and each time they are touched they think they are being attacked. I will keep you updated on these little babies. I have lots of photo's which my Mother in Law took in the week but she needs to download and email them to me so will post those too when they arrive.

So sorry for such a long post but I know many of you love reading about them and have received quite a few emails asking after them all. Bert & Simone are good, a little ratty with all of this hot weather though. I will leave you with a photo of the furbabies.

Ok so I left three!!!. They love to sit on the bench, Simone loves to watch the pigeons and clearly Bert loves sniffing the camera. 

Thanks for dropping in and for your support and interest in my animal antics.

Hugs Clare, Bert, Simone and Mo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CATTUS LIBRUM

Hiya folks! hope everyone is well on this very muggy Friday night. Phew it's been a stinker today, even baby Mo has been too hot and has been stretched out flat on her tummy with front and rear legs in front and behind her!!!. 

I have made a card for my lovely niece who had to have surgery this week. I went to see her today and wanted to make her something to cheer her up. She absolutely loves cats and had not yet used my gorgeous Stampendous cat stamp called Cattus Librum. I adore this stamp it is so cool!!!.

I thought I would have a go at one of these bows on a card. I have seen this style on gifts and wondered what it would be like to make one and I am quite happy with how it turned out. 


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


PAPERTAKE WEEKLY - Make your own (I made my bow)
SIMON SAYS - Anything goes
CRAFTY CREATIONS - Buttons
CHARIZMA CARDS - Monochrome
JOANNA SHEEN - Animal crackers
CUTE CARD THURSDAY - Distressing
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE VINTAGE - Anything goes
CRAFTS & ME - Anything goes
TRULY, MADLY, CRAFTY CHALLENGES - Animals
CRAFTING WHEN WE CAN CHALLENGES - Monochrome

I hope that everyone is looking forward to the weekend and whatever plans you have make it a good one!!!. I am busy in the craft room with cards and DT work. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Clare xxx

HERE COMES CHRISTMAS!!!

Hello everyone, wow another beautiful day!!!. I think it's set to be lovely all week and what a start to the kiddies holiday's. 

Sorry i've been absent for a couple of days as I know I had promised to show you my second Polka Doodle sample from the show on Saturday BUT I have another two baby hoglets which arrived on Sunday as did my baby Mo!!!. Mo is not quite such a baby now, she's a big girl and I have her for keeps now!!!. Going to take some pic's later when it cools down and do an update post for you all.

Ok so here is the card that I did for the launch of the brand new HERE COMES CHRISTMAS CD from POLKA DOODLES.

I absolutely love this CD. Digi crafting is totally new to me but I can definitely confirm I have been converted!!!. It is so easy and there is so much that you can do. Don't get me wrong I will never stop loving my stamps and they will remain a massive part of my crafting but I now have the bonus of CD's too!!!. 

Thank you for all of your lovely comments and emails regarding my recipe box in the last post. When I get the chance I am planning to do a tutorial as I know a few of you asked how to make it so bear with me folks.

Thanks for stopping by today!.

Big hugs Clare xxx

"HERE COMES CHRISTMAS" NEW POLKA DOODLES CD!!!!

Hope everyone is having a happy Saturday!!!. Well I am very excitable today as Nikky  at POLKA DOODLES has just been on the first show of the day at Create & Craft to launch the brilliant new Christmas CD "HERE COMES CHRISTMAS". 

The boss lady has been keeping us all busy hard working on samples for the show and I got very excitable seeing all of our creations!!! I even got a mention!!! this is all new to me not being on a DT before so I made sure I stocked up with the Tenna lady before the show came on lol. 

The new Christmas CD is amazing and so easy to work with. I am going to show you one of my samples today from the show so that you can see the gorgeous papers and images. 

I decided to make an accordian style recipe box. I was so excited as Nikky had printed and laminated some recipe sheets to put in the box for the show. I just did not get enough time to do that so was well chuffed. 

There is another show on at 4pm today so go check it out. I know I am going to be glued to the box again!!!. 

Thanks for stopping by today guys and have a great day.

Big hugs Clare xxx

LETS GO GREEN & RECYCLE!!!!

That is the challenge for this week over at POLKA DOODLES!!!. Really enjoyed this challenge as it really gets you looking around the house searching for those things to use. Here are my makes;

You all know how much I love my furbabies and a regular treat for them is a box of cat grass. The box is made of a good thick card and comes apart to good sized piece which can be used to alter. I had enough to make these three bookmarks. I cut them to size and covered the card with this yummy polka dot card from the Polka Doodles PRETTY TUFF CD. I used the three gorgeous images from EMMA CANNING which are Paige, Millie & Summer. The sentiment is from STUDIO 12 PICKNIX COLLECTION 1 CD. I coloured the images with PROMARKERS and distressed edges with Tim Holtz BRUSHED CORDUROY INK PAD. The pretty red beads are DOODLE DEWDROPS. All of these above items can be purchased from the Polka Doodles shop HERE.

The ribbon was from my stash and the gorgeous ribbon border punch is by Stampin Up.

I would love it if all of my friends would play along this week. Remember you do not have to use Polka Doodles items to play along. Just follow the challenge to win some awesome prizes!!!. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Big hugs Clare xxx

POLKA DOODLES OLYMPICS CHALLENGE & BLOG HOG HOP!!!

Well it's my very first challenge at POLKA DOODLES being part of the design team and I am soooooo excited!!!!. Not only a fantastic challenge but also a "BLOG HOP" where you can win some special prizes. You will need to participate in both the challenge and the blog hop to be in with a chance of winning. 

The challenge is Red/White/Blue and to add something to your project that denotes Britain to you for the olympics. The hop will finish at 12 noon on Sunday 22nd July. The prizes are as follows;

First prize - Studio 12 Picknix Collection 1 CD

Second & third prize - an Emma Canning download

So if you have arrived at me from KITTY then you are in the right place and I am at the end of the line, well done!!!!. As long as you have been to all of the girls on the list HERE and left us all a comment at each blog then you will be in with a chance of winning those amazing prizes!!!. 

Here is my card that I have made for the challenge;

I have used one of the gorgeous downloads by Emma Canning and she is the Paige Wedding Day image which you can purchase HERE at the Polka Doodles shop. I have paper pieced Paige's dress with the union jack papers. Emma Canning's downloads are so versatile that I have been able to change the wedding dress to suit this occasion. All papers and other images are by Nikky from her Britannia collection which you can find on POLKA DOODLE DANDIES Facebook page.  

Ok guys good luck with the hop and don't forget to leave a comment!!!.

Hope my lovely friends will pop in at Polka Doodles and take part. Thank you for all of your lovely comments in the last post, it really does mean so much to me.


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


CRAFTY CATZ - Get ready for the olympics
FAT PAGES WITH ATTITUDE - Anything goes
JOYFUL STAMPER - Anything goes
THE POODLES PARLOUR - Use a digi
RAISE THE BAR - Red, white & blue
WAGS N WHISKERS - Red, white & blue
SJ PAPER CRAFTS - Red, White & blue
CRAFTY CREATIONS - Free for all
SCRAPALICIOUS - Red, white & blue
PAPER & SUCH - Red, white & blue
TIDDLY INKS - Red, white & blue
CD SUNDAY CHALLENGE - Best of British

Big hugs Clare xxx

SOME EXCITING NEW TO SHARE!!!!

Well I promised you all some happy news that I would like to share and I am now able to tell you all. 

You have probably noticed I have not been around as much and as you all know that is partly down to the many animal visitors I have!!!. I have been really busy creating too because Nikky Hall from Polka Doodles has asked me on to her design team!!!. I am so excited and have been itching to tell you all. I applied for the DT about 3 weeks ago and a week later I had an email from Nikky asking me to join her design team. I have been busy getting challenge projects done and with the launch of new products coming up I have been beavering away making samples for upcoming shows.

I am taking part in my first challenge on Friday (14th) and would be really excited if you could pop over and check it out. I will be blogging it Friday too with details.

Thank you for letting me share this news with you.

Big hugs Clare xxx

BIZZY BEE!!!

Hello my lovely friends. So sorry I have not been around this week but as the title suggests I have been a bizzy bee!!!. It's been one of those weeks of appointments and getting those neglected jobs finished. I am flagging a lot at the moment and thinking it could be a combination of tiredness and my treatment is due on Sunday. 

I have just found out that baby Mo will be getting a teeny play mate this weekend. Yes we have another little orphan on it's way to the bungalow and he is half the size of Mo!!!. I am going to write about the hedgies in my next post with photo's so don't despair my friends.

I have a card that I have been working on this week in between being busy. It is a different style and my inspiration came from a very talented lady Mariannes Papirverden and there is a tutorial on how to make the card. 

INGREDIENTS

WHITE LINEN CARD

BROWN, BLUE & PINK BAZZILL CARD

THERESE COLLINS SHABBY CHIC CARD

LOTV IMAGE & SENTIMENT

WILD ORCHID ROSES

PEARLS FROM STASH

MARTHA STEWART LACE BORDER PUNCH

SPELLBINDERS CIRCLES & DOILY MOTIVES

PROMARKERS

I am entering the card into the following challenges;

PAPERTAKE WEEKLY  - Anything goes

LILI OF THE VALLEY - Anything goes
READY TEDDY GO - Up, up and away
FAT PAGES & CARDS WITH ATTITUDE - Anything goes
FUSSY & FANCY CHALLENGE - Fancy folds
PAPERPLAY CHALLENGES - Happy Birthday
SOUTHERN GIRLS CHALLENGE - Use pearls
WHIMSY INSPIRES - Anything goes
CREATALICIOUS CHALLENGES - Anything goes
TUESDAY THROWDOWN - Summertime
TWISTED TUESDAY CHALLENGES - Old stripes
CRAFTY BLOGGERS NETWORK - Anything goes
MAKE IT MONDAY - Anything goes

Hope you are all looking forward to the weekend and lets hope the weather is going to 
improve. The sun has been shining brightly in Eastbourne all afternoon after a wet start. What a crappy Summer it has been so far!!!!.

I will be back very soon and I will have some exciting news to share!!!!.

Take care & big hugs

Clare xxx

SANTA IN BLUE!!!

Goodmorning everyone!!! hope you are all having a great Sunday. It's nice and sunny in Eastbourne but so windy, enough to blow your barnet off!!!. 

Well I am actually up to day with the Christmas Card Club challenges now and this fortnight it was Chris' turn. She has chosen "Santa in blue" as the theme. Admittedly I did a double take when I saw this which goes to show what a smutty mind I have lol. Shamefully this is the only Santa stamp that I have. I have lots of animals dressed up as Santa but not a traditional Santa stamp. So this one had to do. Thought it would make a good kiddy card. This is what I came up with.

INGREDIENTS

WHITE LINEN CARD

DO CRAFTS BLUE POLKA DOT/BAUBLE CARD

FUN STAMPS SANTA WITH GIFT STAMP

MAGENTA TREE STAMP

STICKLES (DIAMOND AND BLACK DIAMOND)

PROMARKERS (BLACK, IVORY, BLUSH, BERRY RED, FOREST GREEN & DUCK EGG)

SENTIMENT PEEL OFF FROM STASH

If anyone is interested in joining a group of us girls every fortnight to make a Christmas card to top up your stash just email me or any of the other ladies in the group. You can find them all on my side bar. Go pop over and check out their lovely creations. 

I'm off to the rescue centre this afternoon which I am looking forward to. Baby Mo is going great guns. She is with her second Mummy until tomorrow to give me a bit of a break. Will be back with more pics and the video I promised next week.

Take care everyone and big hugs to all.

Love Clare xxx