Hello my friends. I trust this finds you well, and raring to go after the party last week. Firstly – thank you SO much to the folk who swapped ATCs with me. The ones I have received are simply lovely – so much creativity has gone into the making of them – and the thoughtfulness in putting together the little envelopes and gifts. Zsuzsa passed forward to me – a gorgeous package of gifts. THANK YOU! So, a little collage of all I have been blessed to receive thus far. In no particular order:

They are lovely. Thank you.

And what chaos is on my desk this morning?? It is simply groaning under the weight of everything as I have been having a massive card-making-fest!

What have we here? On the cutting mat are a couple of unfinished symphonies… the larger of the two is supposed to be for my friend here in Llandudno – but it isn’t working.. so not sure yet where to go from here. On the glass mat are die-cuts, scissors, blade, ink, babywipe, and DST. Further back is my scrap paper pile for leaning on when I stamp an image – the paper you always comment on and tell me to use… and beyond that is the card-fest finished pile – around 25 cards ready for the hotel and local charity shop. Ready apart from bagging them. Beyond that – my diary with mobile phone and a pile of little pieces of paper – the result of a lot of time spent on said phone trying to arrange for Velux window people to come  and tell me what is possible above my desk space. Then I have absolutely no idea what a cardigan is doing slung over the back of my rapidly dying computer chair – the temperatures are well up in the 20s here – so I certainly don’t need to be wearing it! Apart from all that, there’s the usual clutter of inks, DST, perfect pearls, glitter glues and some recently acquired washi tapes up on the shelf, and the glue, scissors etc down on the surface. Note to self – Must tidy up as I have visitors this weekend and then am spending time with family. My eldest grandie has her AS level art exhibition – and the presence of Nain (a Welsh grandma) is cordially invited! So I’ll be MIA next Wednesday!

So that’s me this week folks – I’ll be around to visit throughout the next couple of days – I have to be in and out a bit today – but I’ll get there.

Take care. God bless.

Margaret

Happy 9th WOYWW Anniversary everyone!!!

Can we believe this fun get together has been going for nine years? I know I wasn’t in at the beginning – but I remember sending out my first ATCs to my PIF and a few others in 2013 – so I must have been around since 2012 some time. Goodness!!! And what a lot of fun we have – gazing at one another’s space, looking to see what we have each been up to in the previous week. Surely there cannot be another blog group like it??

So, what is on my desk on this auspicious occasion?

Not a lot. I’ve just had a tidy up after finishing ATCs and cards to go with them, before setting off again to make more cards, this time for the hotel and local charity shop. Just peeking out is the last of my ATCs awaiting my PIF partner. The rest have all been posted today – so some may arrive on the day, although the American one will take a bit longer… sorry Kelly!

So, in between visiting lots of folks tomorrow I need to make a 90th birthday card, a second birthday card, and then an assortment of cards for others. One day soon I may even start on my Christmas cards!

That’s me done, folks. Short and hopefully sweet, as there will, I’m sure be lots of blog posts for us all to read this week.

Take care. God bless.

Margaret

Hello my friends.

I do trust this finds you well, and enjoying good health, good weather, and good craft time. Having been away for ten days, I confess this post is a bit of a photo-fest – but I think you will understand why when you look through…

So, without further ado, my desk this week

To be honest – at the start of last Wednesday, my workdesk was the top of the boxes, and only became the top of the sideboard at the weekend!… yes, I’ve been with Mr and Mrs D helping them move into their new home. We managed the kitchen, utility room and half of the lounge before strength, energy and everything else, ran out!

The kitchen diner is enormous – so was the best place to work. We didn’t even find a tablecloth for the dining table, just a packing blanket – and as you can see, the cooker didn’t work – that was delivered at 11pm one day! So… meals were cooked…

… down on Essence – the canal boat. Then carried up to the house. Almost like cooking on a campfire, out there in the glorious countryside.

It wasn’t TOO far to carry everything! And outside the door are the remnants of our hard work – just a few of the cartons, now filled with sufficient paper to set up our own fish and chip shop serving everyone in the village!, or folded boxes or even bubblewrap! Adrian had already done one tip run with around 8 or 9 boxes!

On Monday I came home – calling in on friends on the way… to be given…

And inside these lovely boxes?

31 bags for Bibles, ready to go out to Uganda… and…

25 glorious knitted dolls for the children

Can you guess who I found in the house with these goodies??

Our very own Annie and Jo. I know you don’t do these things to be given thanks, girls… but you are going to receive a HUGE, public thank you from me, on behalf of Parental Care Ministries. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Annie had also made these lovely monster bags, with shorter straps. We decided that the children wouldn’t understand the motif… so Annie has given them to be sold and the money go out to Uganda instead. Any takers? Let me know and I will get them out to you. How much do you think folk will pay for these fun bags??

So that’s been my week folks! Busy, messy, fun, meals out with Adrian and Chris, and lots of blobbing in front of the TV in the late evenings – once we had found it and the remote!

Before I went away I suddenly, one night, woke up, knowing exactly what my ATCs were going to be… so I set to and have made 18. 6 are spoken for – but if anyone would still like to swap with me… I know I made a comment on Neet and Shazsilverwolf’s blogs about the possibility of swapping – if you would still like to swap ladies, I can do it (Not included you in the 6 already spoken for, as I couldn’t at that time commit)

That’s me done this week. Sorry about all the pics – the only way to show I had actually done things.

Take care all. God bless you.

Margaret

Good morning my friends. Honestly, I have no idea where the time has gone – I must have blinked, because suddenly it is two weeks since I last posted! Well, never the less – here goes – my desk (lousy photo!)!

The aftermath of a bit of a card-fest! You can see my pile of paper I use as a softer base when stamping; my white basket with important bits; a pile of cards all bagged and ready for either the hotel or local charity shop; my handcream, near the front of the desk so I must have just used it; the diary, open and ready for the manic events of the next week and a half; the computer has an image of an azalea taken last year on a visit to Bodnant Gardens; and the little book Neet gave me a couple of years ago. Yes, the boxes and baskets are still under the desk and no, there is still nothing in them as the craft event in June has been postponed until nearer Christmas – phew!

But I have actually done work on my desk this past two weeks – and I have also been receiving bits and pieces ready for the team to take out to Uganda.

A lovely parcel of bags from our Jan (LLJ) arrived one day. Got home to discover a note telling me there was a parcel in the greenhouse! Thank you SO much – they are gorgeous! I know Annie (Wipso) and Jo (Twiglet) have been busy, too, but I’ve not been that way to visit yet and pick everything up.

So, here’s a little of what I have been up to…

A bit of a mixed bag, as it were. More Pollyanna Pickering, a gorgeous balloon image Shazsilverwolf gave me, and a stamped image of the serenity prayer.

More Pollyanna, two of my own photos (Windermere and Dovedale), two tags, an embossed card, a Thomas Kinkade image, and one try at a real fancy easel card! This last one was only possible because when I was away with the family and out looking for wallpaper, I discovered a Gemini machine on VERY special offer. Cuts beautifully – yippetty-do-da! Yes, I’ve been having fun with it!

Then I played a little with stencils, pastels, and shimmery watercolours, and another tag.

And last, but not least… When pottering around Llandudno the other day I found some craft things in one of the charity shops. Well, as you know, it’s against the rules not to look… and I found a bag stuffed full of kit pieces, cards, envelopes, fancy shaped cut-outs… so I played! Added a few of my own bits as well, just to make them more “me” and less “Create and Craft”…

So that’s me this week folks. Chris and Adrian (Mr and Mrs D will be moored up outside their potential new home by Wednesday evening (I’m writing this late Tuesday evening). They have made it right across country, and complete on the purchase next Tuesday. I will be missing in action next week, as they have asked me if I would help with some unpacking of boxes. I’m sure they will have forgotten what they possess! I’ve seen the internet pictures of their new home, but it will be good to see it in real life, and see them established in it!!

Take care folks. God bless.

Margaret