tunnel card

Love this little cutie ,.. made this card for one of the girls at work , it was her little girls birthday and she wanted somethin pink and girlie , saw the one I had made for Lou's birthday and asked me to do one similar ,.. rush job so I used a Kanban bear topper I had , instead of a stamped image , but it turned out ok I think , made the box to match as well but forgot to take a pic of it ,.. doh !!

Zoe Bunny's Bloghop

Wooo hooo my first Blog hop !!!!
not only have I posted twice today ,.. but I have completed my first Blog Hop .
couldnt resist it , theres a prize on every blog and some divine cards and inspiration on each site so get yourself over to Zoe's to get started

a few xmas cards

Just a couple of xmas cards that I made a few weeks ago ,...  these were done with watercolour pencils and have made heaps more since  I got my fabby pro markers , but havent uploadede any pics yet so will do so as soon as .. promise xx

Where do I start ???

Oh Dear . Has it really been that long since I posted , what ever happened to all the good intentions to post every day ,.. lol , well so much has happened .and know one would have known back in February what a crazy and challenging year it would turn out.
Right after my last post  , I found  a large lump and 2 weeks later had an appointment at the hospital where they gave me the devastating news that  I had breast cancer and  was shocked when they said I had to have  a radical mastectomy.
It was such a crazy time and   the whole family were stunned and shocked . I was supposed to be starting a new job the following day , and my  oldest daughter Lou was  putting the finishing touches to her Jamaican wedding ,
I dont think any of it really sunk in and to be hon est I just went along with everything the doctors told ne , because I just wanted to get rid of this awful thing.
I had surgery and recovered unbelievably quickly , mostly down to my stubborness me thinks , and the huge support from my family ... Tiggy was scared but was just amazing and I never lied to her , I told her everything and she was a real breath of fresh air ,.. felt  so devastated about the wedding , LOu and Ryan had to cancel the trip to Jamaica , cos the Docs said I would not be able to fly that far , so they rearranged the whole thing at a local church and venue here  with just a few months to go ,.. and i think fate plays a hand cos it was a truly amazing and very emotionaal day for everyone .
I went back to work after just 7 weeks and although its been hard , feel that it really helped maintain an element of normality even tho I've struggled with the tiredness at times .
So here I am 7 months on ,  still kicking and still trying to get a hold of this blogging thing....lol
Been doing plenty of crafting and cardmaking , fallen in love with stamping and trying lots of new things .
I hope to get some pics  posted  soon.
Have been visiting lots of blogs and have found lots of inspiration .
Love Zoe Bunnys blogspot and all the amazing stamps and goodies vailable in her shop ,  and Mags Little things ,,,just beautiful ...
Soooooo. another promise to try and post every  day ( or so) .  and hope that nothing  gets in the way this time , hugs  Lori xxxx

theres no place like home

 One of my promises to myself for this year is to surround myself with more of what i love ,..
so my very first little gift to me of 2010  were these cute little ruby slippers .
Wizard of oz is my all time fav film (sad I know but I love the whole story about going off on a journey to look for something thats already there ,... Paolo Coelho did the same thing with the Alchemist ) ...  these were an ebay find and are Salt and Pepper shakers ,.. cute or what ? 

I feel a collecting spree coming on ,..

Burns Supper

Tonight was Tiggy's School Burns' Supper. The kids have been working on it tirelessly for the last 3 weeks , practising  their songs poems  singing and dancing, and it all paid off, what a wonderful night we had with our kids entertaining us to some of Robert Burns best.

In her usual desire ro be different she didnt want to wear a white blouse and tarten sash so I ' adapted' and old bridesmaids dress that has been hanging around for  years and  I was loathed to get rid of cos its so beautifully made. It fitted her like a glove,  you would think it was made for her ,  and she added her own individual touch with a pair of black leather knee length pirate boots ( Where did she get this individual streak I wonder ? lol ) and she really was a Bonnie Lassie !!

She was really enrvous about getting up in front of people to sing , but manged it with out too many wobbles , and   had a couple of tunes on the recorder( thank goodness all that practising is finished, I thought she was killing a small animal in her room) .
Here's a pic of my gorgeous girl ,.. can't believe how grown up she looks ,.... sniff sniff

gave in to temptation

oh how weak willed am I!!! ..... Rediscovered Ruffle bars at the weekend ,... the bloke with the stall next to me at the market was selling chocolate and  as we kept each other  going , and made each other laugh throughout the day, he kindly gave me a whole load of these ,..I'd forgotten how good they are  until today , and had 2 in quick succession  mmmmmm ALL HAIL THE RUFFLE BAR

yippeeeee i sold all my stuff!!!

All i can say is wow!!!  Went to the car booty yesterday and all the odds and ends i bought at auctiion flew off the table yesterday and  i made enuff to cover what i bought at auction and buy some more  with a bit of profit as well ....
ohh this could be addictive ,
Since giving up work funds have been so very tight , sometimes non existant so  whenever i do a clearout i load everything up and head to  Glasgow to the car booty to recycle and  put some  pennies back in the big chicken ( i used to love watching the tv series bread and usually at the end all the family had to cough up what they'd made and they all put it  into a big ceramic hen in the middle of the table , so thats why we call our funds , the chicken, thought I had better explain, )
So the combined efforts of our preloved items and my auction buys made a  helpful sum , much needed as its Tiggys birthday  in under 2 weeks and as for any 11 year old there is an extensive list !!
One thing I was really pleasantly surprised abou,t I took a basket of cards with me and sold all but a  couple,.. so must make sure next time I go that I have a pile made up ,

fab finds and my new hobby !!

I went to my first auction last week and am now hooked .
What a wonderful  experience, only downer was that funds weren't as abundant as i would have liked, but maybe thats a good thing or i would have  bought half  lots in the saleroom!!! I settled for this little beauty,  a gorgeous vintage steamer trunk , not sure whether to leave it alone or alter it in some way.
I love the leather handles and the chunky metal lock , might refurb the inside somehow but not sure with what , might just sit and look at it for inspiration !

Oh and forgot to mention that i also bought another vintage suitcase and a box of odds and ends that turned out to have some stunning crystal pieces and a few other bits that i am gonna try and sell on and get some  funds for the next one, where i have my eye on a particularly gogeous vintage blanket box and  a cutesy  vintage oak sewing box  which the auctioneer told me that because they didnt sell this week will go back into the auction next week,.... have reserved my spot already!!!

 

The wedding plans

My oldest daughter Lou and her fiance Ryan are getting married this summer after 10 years and 2 kids later!

What started off as us all jetting off on our hols to Jamaica, somehow then  morphed into a wedding!  which has now turned into a wedding, a huuuuuge reception when we get back and a logistical  challenge to co-ordinate what feels like 2 seperate weddings , to get it to all come together and feel like one big special occasion,... but I think with Lou's imagination, Ryans' patience and  all the parents contributions to the day , we might just pull off  a spectacular wedding.

The new year has obviously set the wedding planning into hyperdrive as we've spent the last 48 hrs ticking lots of boxes and making more lists ...  everythings booked , save the date cards have already gone out , venues  sorted , band  catering,kilts , photographer all organised , right down to the favours only one really important thing seems to be undecided, THE DRESS!! 

So yesterday after endless searching , she found  THE ONE ,  and has made the very brave decision to order direct from China, to keep costs down. After  lots of ooohs and aaaahs and a few tears it was business as usual but for just a few moments it felt like she was 5 again and had just seen her party dress for the first time ... sniff sniff

wedding gazebo and the pool at night  at the sunset jamaica grande

ocho rios jamaica

 

new year new me?!!!!

Hey I have actually managed to fulfil my first new year resolution, by actually posting something in January!!

You'd think with all the horrible weather grounding us , that I'd find more time huh?
Not so like most days its dribbled thru my fingers, having a massive re shuffle round the house and decorating the lounge which I suppose is the real culprit but its getting there ,.. almost done just a few accessories and finishing touches , and VOILA   pics will be posted soon i promise .

Not done much crafting but  have been pleased with what i've done, and that i'm  getting better all the time ... lots of commissions just now and seems like every second card  is done with my trusty Penny Blacks , cant wait to get some new ones, but life on a  budget means that no  definately means no  till I've saved more pennies ) .

penny black 'uplifting' stamp coloured with watercolour pencils and some paper and flowers from my stash

update

probably about time i actually posted something ,. after creating this blog, never really had any idea what to do next.

Am determined to master this so am going to spend any free time trying to figure out how to improve things and make regular posts.

Am off to do some research on how to make it look better first ,.. sort out the layout and pretty it all up,.. oh and since my very first posting , I've done soooo much more crafting and I think my skills are improving in all areas.I've found a love of stamping and like alot of out there have become a stamp addict ... heres a couple of cards I made a little while ago will keep adding as io explore my addiction . Hope you like them

new cards for April

had a go at some bookatrix cards and haven't quite mastered the bend part yet.

Still, I enjoyed making these and will probably spend the rest of the week making loads till I get it right ...will be lost under piles of paper and card for quite some time me thinks

new - vintage boot cards

here are a couple of pics of the new cards I've been working on,... vintage style boot toppers either using the fabulous lace papers from Joanna Sheen or embossed using my bigshot,..love the luxury of the maribou feathers and the glittered flowers and am using the same technique on some corset themed cards as well.....watch this space