Award

Hey look at this award! It's from my talented blogging friend Anita. Please pop over and check out her blog and all her beautiful work. Many thanks Anita.

So here are some rules I need to follow:-

* Thank the person who gave it to you. Thanks again Anita :) x

* Tell seven things about yourself. See below.

* Pass the award of to five other bloggers who you think are fantastic...... see below!

1. I plucked up the courage to go back to Slimming World again last night and get restarted on a diet. I have let things slip this last year!

2. I am in the process of starting a new blog as a monthly challenge / inspiration blog for scrappers. I hope my scrapping blogging friends will all enjoy this and take part and that it will appeal to lots of friends I don't know yet too. So watch this space.

3. I shall be doing make and take sessions at Jill's Cardinal Colours Retreat in September. Using the Cricut.
Which has got to be my favourite cutting tool. Take a look at Jill's Website. If you are not already booked in, I think there may be a few places left.

4. This is a big year for my family as I was 50 in May and our triplets were 18 in march.

5. My son Andrew and daughters Emily and Catherine, are all waiting to hear if they got the A level grades needed for University. I have lost count of how many universities we have looked at over the last 12 months, most of them are featured on my blog.

6. I used to be obsessed by cross stitch. When the babies were born and I was at home more, it was an ideal hobby. Guess all the walls are full now and everyone has had enough of my cross stitch gifts! Back in 1993 I started a cross stitch club called Stitching Friends, who still meet in Crayford every other week on a Tuesday night.

7. My favourite scrap booking papers (if I could only ever use one) are from the Basic Grey range.

Passing this on to other bloggers.
Anita sent this award to me, she also set it to Linda, Karen, Liz and Jill so she has pinched some of my talented firends. I chose to send the award to five more talented people Claire, Alison, Lynn, Elaine and Gabrielle. Please take a moment or two to look at their blogs and all the clever things they have made.

Stockings

Day 23 JYC - Stockings

Today's prompt is all about Christmas stockings.

I recently found this photo of two stockings I made for Deborah and Richard's daughters, about fifteen years ago. I reversed the charted images so the stockings could hang either side of the fireplace.

My page from two years ago showing some velvet stockings I made from the same pattern as the two above. I used silk, lace and some cross stitch angel designs. The angels were free Christmas Angel charts from Lavender and Lace.

Close up photo of the first of the cross stitch stockings. I have a third angel stitched and am searching for a remnant of dark green velvet to make another stocking.

Old Favourite

Going through my stash, I came across these Marjolein Bastine stickers the other day. I knew I had them somewhere and spent some time looking for them a while back. I wanted to use them on a layout and make some more cards like these:

Some of the stickers come from a craft shop in Rochester called Frances Isles, others are from Cardinal Colours and more recently from Pinnacle Crafts at Barleylands.

The first picture shows (L to R) card for new baby, birthday, Anniversary and another birthday card. I just love those pencils and brushes.

Most of the card blanks are from Craftwork Cards, but some I made myself but cutting and folding watercolour paper into standard card sizes.



I used some old K and Co. papers and in some places the stickers are added to acetate and stuck to the card with 3D foam pads. The borders are pieced together from the sticker sheet outlines.


I have always admired the art work of Marjolein Bastine and when I used to do cross stitch made several of her kits up, they were produced by Lanarte and somewhere I have two UFO's (unfinished objects).

Here are my finished, framed cross stitch pictures.

I have a watering can which is nearly finished and another smaller sampler which has a lot more work needed on it. Think it would be good to dig these out and have another go at getting them finished.

... And because I have liked these designs for some time, my friend Barbara in America often sends me Hallmark cards and other things with the drawings on.