A Year Older and a Busy Week!

Have had a busy one but a fantastic week. Have some pics to share with you as it was my Birthday on Monday (38, aarrgghh!!!). My Birthday kind of started last weekend as went out Saturday with Martin and we hung out and had lunch, then went on to meet my Sister, Nephew and Niece in Eastbourne. Did a bit of retail therapy then home to a huge chocolate cake my Niece Rebecca had made and some pressies.

I know, my Birthday was not until Monday but my Nephew Jack had come home for the weekend from Uni and knew i would not get to see them on the day (it would be rude not to as well!!!).

I was up at the hospital Sat and Sun afternoon to see Wendy but she forbade me to go up there on my Birthday but i was happy as i knew she would be home Tuesday.

I have been very spoilt this year and received some lovely gifts. The most amazing pressie i received was from the beautiful KERYN!!!

This exploding box card is amazing and the pics just cannot do it justice im afraid. Keryn is so amazingly talented and i feel so lucky to have received it.

Keryn also sent me all of this wonderful crafty stash!!!!.Thankyou so much my friend you are so so kind. Just want to send a get well wish to Keryn this week as she has been very poorly with a chest infection xxx

I also received some other lovely pressies. Bert & Simone got me Adelle's two CD's (19 & 21) and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" single. I received some Pandora gift voucher's, "Open Season 2" DVD, £100 and some kitchen goodies. This year i am decorating my bungalow and i have started collecting bits and pieces for my kitchen (which will be the first room to have a makeover!). I absolutely love red & white polka dot, vintage and shabby chic style which i am going for.

The milk jug and sugar bowl was from my lovely niece Rebecca. As soon as she saw it in a Cambridge shop she thought of Auntie Clare!!!. The cutlery sets and tea towels were what i brought from NEXT on Saturday with some money i had already received.

I am having a lot of fun on-line looking at all of the gorgeous polka dot and red accessories etc. I am being sensible and looking for the best deals, especially on EBAY and Amazon. I have managed to get a dinner set buy one and get one half price by investigating. Im in red & white polka dot heaven at the moment lol!!!.

I had my Niece Rebecca to stay for a few days this week over the holidays which was fantasic. She came on Tuesday and we had plenty of fun and lots of crafting. I am just adding a lovely card which she made for her Mum for Mother's Day;

I am so proud of her as she made the whole card from start to finish on her own without any input. She started making her Dad a Birthday card but did not get it finished so she is going to come stay over the Easter holidays and finish it off and some other bits she had started. I love encouraging kids to get into crafting.

I would like to thank everyone for your lovely cards, emails, FB messages and texts this week it means so much. I am one lucky girl.

Will be back tomorrow with cards.

Big hugs Clare xxx

So Proud of my Friend!!!

Sorry i have not posted this week but been a very busy one. I am going to start my post by letting you all know that my beautiful friend Wendy is now at home recuperating.
She had the operation to remove the bowel cancer a week ago yesterday and she came home on Tuesday having had key-hole surgery.
She is a true inspiration to so many and stunned the doctors and nursing staff by her recovery. Wendy is one of the most positive people i know and i am sure this has got her through.
She has got to go back in 2 weeks time to see her surgeon and he will be able to tell her more about the op and whether she will need to undergo any chemo.

Wendy has decided that she is going on a mission when she is feeling better to make more people aware of free testing for bowel cancer, this is how she was diagnosed. Wendy was sent a testing kit through the post as in the UK they send these out when you are over 60.
Wendy had no symptoms at all and was suprised when an appointment came through to attend a follow up from the testing kit. She had to undergo tests and a biopsy where the bowel cancer was discovered. From start to finish it has been about 7 weeks from diagnosis to the operation.
Wendy has been looking into the origin of the testing as some of her friends have and some have not received these kits. She has had some friends who didn't go through with the test although they were sent the kits, needless to say they have now. This has saved Wendy's life and had she not been sent this information, well it would have been too late, they say that bowel cancer can be a silent killer and by the time it has been found it is too late.
I am so proud of Wendy and i will do all that i can to get the message out there for her.

Thankyou to everyone for your lovely messages and emails of support.

Godbless
Clare xxx

A set of Florals, my Beautiful Friend & a Cheeky Pic!

Hi all!!!. I have been working so far this week on a set of cards.

Im sure a few of you know that i absolutely love fussy cutting!. Sometimes when im feeling a bit icky but fancy doing something crafty which does not require too much thought i usually get the tiny scissors out and some cuttable (is that even a word?) papers & cards and start snipping away. I made some cards up a few posts back using up the last bits of a 12x12 BoBunny range called Petal Pushers Doodles. If i fall in love with a 12x12 with lots of potential i usually have to get 2 or 3 sheets!!!. I know they will not get wasted and i won't feel so bad if the urge to cut the sheet overcomes me.
I made a resolution to try to make atleast 2 (hopefully more) of the same card each time i create. With all of the doodles from the gorgeous sheet i have made 8 cards but still have enough to make more. Here they are;

I am really into sentiments and wanted to keep them fairly simple. The sentiments are a combination of rub-on's and stamps. I just added a bit of bling to the florals and some coloured layers to the base. Although the cutting out can take me some time the cards took no time at all.

One of the cards i duplicated is going to my beautiful friend who has gone in today for a major operation. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer 6 weeks ago and the doctors were going to cut the bastard cancer out of her and get rid of it. She is in a lot of pain but the op went according to plan and she is in high dependency for the night where they can look after her. I am praying that all of the cancer is gone and that is it. She may need chemo but won't know until she is able to see the surgeon.

I cannot stop thinking of her and am praying that she is ok and that her pain subsides soon. Just feeling pretty helpless and wish i could take the last few terrible weeks away from her. She's a tough bird though and know she will be fine. Love you my beautiful friend xxx

On a funny note i snapped this pic of Simone yesterday!!!. Does she looked chiiled out or what?. Sorry it is blurry but she was so close to the lense.

And not forgetting Mr.B, he was a bit grumpy as he was tired!!!

Ok darlins, need to sleep now. Have a great day tomorrow and i will be back real soon.

Godbless. Love Clare xxx

A NEW ANIMAL ORIENTATED BLOG!!!!

Just wanted to spread the word about this so cute new blog started up today by Joanne at Crafting Pets Blogspot. It is a place that we can post pics of our perfect pets, wildlife or any creature which we happen to have in our lives. Go visit the site and show your support!!!!

Going to add these pics;

Simone on my crafty tote bag and Bert on my craft table. By the way, that nice purple bag now has no handle as Simone took it upon herself to chew, dribble and demolish it making it thread bare!!!! think she was using it as a teething ring, lol!!!.

I love my babies so can never get cross with them.

Take care all & have a great day!!!

FORTNIGHTLY CHRISTMAS SKETCH!!!

The Beautiful Claire has set the next 2 weekly challenge with a fantastic sketch!!!!. The next deadline will be Sunday 27th Feb so why not come join me, Claire, Keryn, Crafty Chris and Pinky and make a start on those Christmas cards so time doesn't creep up quickly!!!!.

Just give one of us an email or comment on our blog and you will be included in the fortnighly email and have your turn to make up the criteria for a forthcoming challenge. Remember we have set this challenge up for fun and inspiration, there is no pressure, we are a fun and friendly group of gals and there for support and a few laughs along the way. Hopefully by the end of the year you should have atleast 20 cards towards your Christmas stash, even more if you decide to make a couple the same as you go.

Have fun, we are!!!.

Love Clare xxx

MY BABIES!!!

Just wanted to add some pics of Bert & Simone!!!

Simone is such a Mother hen with Bert. Gotta say though folks, after this last picture Bert lost his rag and got Simone into a headlock and started kicking her!. Well she did wake him up after all and he did tolerate her licking him to death for quite a while!!!.

They have been so good with me being sick this week. They are always good anyway and know when im poorly. They curl up with me on the bed and give me fusses which is so so nice. I reckon animals have such a way of making you feel better.

I love you Mr.B and Moo xxx

A CHRISTMAS CARD!!!!

Me and a few of my bloggy friends have decided that we want to get ahead with our Christmas cards this year and have decided to set each other a fortnightly challenge. We are going to take it in turns to set the challenge and this week was CRAFTY CHRIS' turn. Our challenge was to use Chris' card sketch.

Here is Chris' card!!!

So far in our group we have me, Keryn, Claire, Pinky and Chris. There are no hard or fast rules, just a group of friends wanting to encourage each other to get ahead with Christmas cards. We will take it in turns to set the fortnightly challenge to give us a theme to work to whether it be a sketch, colour, certain materials etc.

This coming fortnight will be the lovely CLAIRE'S turn so stayed tuned to her blog over the next couple of days. Please pop over to the girls blogs and leave a comment and remember anyone is welcome to play along at anytime, it is a bit of encouragement and a bit of fun.

So here is my card;

INGREDIENTS

WHITE & RED LINEN CARD STOCK
DREAM STREET PAPERS "MERRY & BRIGHT" CELEBRATE PP
NELLIES SCALLOP FRAMES
MARTHA STEWART BUBBLE BATH PUNCH
PRIMA FLOWER
PRIMA JEWELL
BUTTONS FROM STASH
KAISER RUB-ON
RED TWINE
RED STICKLES


Come and join us when you can!!!!

Lots of love Clare xxx

Scrap Therapy Home Alone Card Challenge - Week 3

Due to the dreaded virus on my lappie i was late submitting last weeks challenge but i have entered it anyway to keep my mojo going!!!.

The card challenge for week 3 was to use only old or scrap stash which was set by the lovely ALLIE.

Here's my effort;

INGREDIENTS

BOBUNNY PETAL PUSHERS DOODLES PP

WHITE & LIME CARD

MSE RUB ON SENTIMENTS

BLACK RIBBON

BLING

Thanks for stopping by my lovelies!!! xxx

IF YOU FANCY PLAYING ALONG CLICK HERE!!!

An Update

So sorry i have not been around for a bit. As many of you know i started a new drug just over a month ago for my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I had my second round last Tuesday and unfortunately i have had to be taken off the trial as it has made me really poorly. When i had the first session i had about 3 days of feeling icky and had not noticed any relief. When i went for my second session Tuesday my Biologics nurse told me that most patients notice some sort of relief from treatment one, but not uncommon. After Tuesdays treatment i felt really poorly and am only just getting back on my feet today. My Rheumatologist has taken me off the trial as he said that i should not continue if i am getting this reaction and is obviously not suited to me.

I am having a break from trials for now and feel like my body needs a break. This week has been one of the worst with this disease for me and scarey especially not even having the energy to get out of bed which is just not me. Hopefully there will be something else out there in the future.

To make the week even worse some A-hole in cyberland decided they would send a virus to my beloved laptop, grrr!!!!. Not that i was well enough to even pick up my lappie this week, last Saturday evening a warning came up from "Security Shield" a so called anti-virus programme telling me that i had deadly viruses, trojans etc working it's way through my computer and there were hackers trying to access my password and card info, to get rid of them i had to pay $$$$$ to get rid of them. Yeah im not that gullible but i was unable to rid the screen of this annoying attatchment. I was really scared too as i worried they could access my card info. I could not do anything and i had a challenge i had pics ready to update and there was not a thing i could do.

Luckily i now have my beautiful pink lappie fixed so am ready to update!!!.

Hope all of my friends out there are well and keeping warm on this dull and miserable Sunday afternoon.

Bi hugs Clare xxx

Scrap Therapy Card Sketch Challenge Week Two

Hello my lovelies, hoping this post finds you all well on this cold and freezing Monday morning in the UK.

Here is my card for this weeks SCRAP THERAPY card sketch challenge by the beautiful MARGI.

I am loving these card sketches and challenges as they are making me create to a particular theme. I just love seeing what all of the other girls come up with in the gallery.

Will be back real soon with more creations.

Godbless, love Clare xxxx

INGREDIENTS

WHITE & LIME BAZZILL CARD

DOODLEBUG "NATURE WALK" PP'S AND ACCENTS

CARD CANDY

MEMORY ACCENT RUB-ON SENTIMENTS

NELLIE MULTI FRAMES (SCALLOP & OVAL SET)

COME JOIN US FOR THIS WEEKS CHALLENGES!!!

Two New Blog Awards!!!

Wow i have been a lucky girl!!! i have been given 2 blog awards lately. Both awards are from the beautiful KERYN. The first being;

Click here to Keryn's Post!

Thankyou very much Keryn for thinking of me hun!!!. Now the hard bit is thinking of 8 things about myself, so here goes!!!.

1. My very first childhood memories are sitting in my highchair and lobbing my bottle

across the kitchen floor (haven't changed much) and on another occasion sitting in my highchair at the tea table and my Brother Mark was being naughty so i called

him a "sod" (definitely haven't changed much). I personally blame the highchair for

my actions as there seems to be a pattern going on there!!!.

2. I love crime and investigation. Love watching things about mass murderers etc.

Hoping that doesn't make me too weird!!.

3. At the moment i am really into red and white polka dot things and wanting to

transform my kitchen in this style. Seen some gorgeous stuff on Amazon!!!

4. I feel so happy and content in my life. I always look at the good in my life if im     

not feeling great or having an off day with my Rheumatoid.

I have just started on a new drug trial which means going in to hospital for one

morning a month. I am keeping everything crossed that it works. I am very lucky

to be getting this treatment.

5. I am a vegetarian.

6. Things i dislike are cheese, milk, sprouts, cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, tea,

coffee, salad cream, coconut and anything without the V sign on products (oh

that's vegetarian!). Bad eating and table manners, rude people, mouthy people,

bullies, two-faced stirrers, bitching and sometimes losing my mojo!!!.

7. I will not have anything in my household which has been tested on animals. I

get all of my cleaning and washing products from CO-OP and all bath, body and

make-up from the BodyShop and other ethical companies.

8. Things i love in my life are my cats, family, friends, animals, crafting, my craft

room, my bungalow, chocolate, rice milk, fruit tea, rice cakes, all vegie stuff,

the smell of fresh cut grass, petrol and fresh bread, sunshine, snow, a warm

summers evening in the garden listening to the birds flying above, the sounds of

a distant plane while laying in bed at night, colours, happiness & laughter.

   

There i think that may give you a bit more of an insight into my life!!!. And now to the best bit is passing it on to 5 of my beautiful friends;

HEATHER

TRACEY

PAULA

MARELIZE

SUSIE

All of these gorgeous ladies have beautiful blogs and their own unique style which i think everyone needs to go check out. Now it is your turn girls to pass on to 5 of your friends and to add 8 things about you!!!!.

Now the second award arrived today from KERYN which The Love Blog Award. Thankyou again my beautiful friend for thinking of me. Below is a note describing the purpose of this lovely award.

Dear bloggers:

The aim of this action is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would ask you not to blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers. As always, the hardest part is to pick who to pass this on to, there are so many bloggers I could give it to but I pick these...

The conditions are that you must display the award on your blog if you are chosen and link your post back to the person who gave you the award and your acceptance. You can choose 3-5 blogs that you would like to give the award to linking their blogs to your post so people can go check them out. Hope that is all clear!!!.

Here are my five choices;

HELEN

SQUIRREL

MARG

DEB

MELINDA

Each and every one of you girls deserve the love. Just wish i could give it to all of my followers, that's the difficult part!!!.

Well guess i had better get back to card making.

Godbless, love & hugs

Clare xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scrap Therapy Challenge

I am entering this card in to a Scrap Therapy Challenge. They will be running a weekly card and layout sketch while Lee-Anne is away touring American CHA!!!.

This card is for my friend going through tough times and she has a hospital appointment tomorrow so wanting her to know i am thinking of her.

INGREDIENTS

PRIMA "JACK N JILL" PATTERNED PAPERS
PRIMA FLOWERS
PRIMA JEWELLS
RED RAFFIA LACE RIBBON
DREAMWEAVER HAT PIN
WHITE CARDSTOCK
LABELS ONE
CRUSHED OLIVE DISTRESSED INK PAD


Thanks for popping by and hope you are all having a super weekend!!!
Godbless Clare xxx

Go Get Some Therapy & Play Along!!!

Friendship

Would just like to share one of my creations which i have been working on. It is a chipboard keepsake for one of my beautiful friends who is going through very tough times at the moment.

I just want her to know how much i love her and just how much she means to everyone. I just wish i could go through this battle for her but as i can't i am going to do everything in my power to be a positive friend in her life and make this journey as easy as possible for her. She has become somewhat of a surrogate Mum to me since i lost my beautiful Mum 2 years ago. I know my own Mum will be looking out for her.

Godbless you my dear friend xxxxx

INGREDIENTS

CHIPBOARD CUT BY THE BIGSHOT AND NESTIES LABELS

WHITE LINEN CARD

MY MINDS EYE PAPERS "PLAYFUL POSIES"

ALL PRIMA FLOWERS

KAISER BLING AND PEARLS

NESTIES LABELS ONE

RIBBON, BUTTONS AND CHARM FROM STASH

KAISER AND MSI SENTIMENTS

Australian Flood Devistation - Lets Help!!!!!

I would like to appeal to all of my blog buddies!!!!

As im sure you are all well aware, the devastating floods in Australia have not only affected the citizens but also the animals, whether it be pets, cattle or wildlife. So many have lost their lives over the past few days and many have been injured or left homeless.

Guess you all know by now, i am the biggest animal lover and i would really love to do something to help as i do feel totally helpless seeing these images and speaking to all of my Aussie friends and also Helen my sister who lives in Queensland (luckily she was not in the affected areas).

I have added a link to one of the many animal charities that i support and 100% of all of the donations will go to the appeal.

THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE

There are many more charities out there collecting for the welfare of animals for the Australian floods and i am sure each one is as good as the other and at the end of the day as long as all of the funds go to the cause to help, that is all we want.

So what am i going to do???? as many of you know i had my first round of the drug trial for my Rheumatoid on Tuesday (all went well by the way) and as a treat my friend said that we should both go have a pampering and get our nails done this coming Wednesday. It is going to cost £30 which is a lot of money to me but thought "bugger it, i deserve a treat!!!".

But NO!!! there is absolutely no way that i could sit there being pampered now knowing about all of this devistation going on out there. I am going to donate the £30 i would be spending to the THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE which will help pay towards rescue, food, shelter, vetinary costs...........etc.

So my blogger friends, are you prepared to sacrifice something in your life for this needed cause??? even if it is £2.00 or £5.00 or £100 im sure that we can do without something which, lets face it, do we really need????.

Here are some pictures which may help you to decide;

Please, please, please help these beautiful creatures!!!

Thankyou for listening friends xxxx