Congratulations Card

Good evening

I made this card for the lady who is treating Neil within the physio department over at Spire in Hull, she's been a real gem and has been working hard  for a couple of months now to try and relieve some of Neil's symptoms and pain

The lady in question got married last week so Neil wanted to send her, and her new hubby, a congratulations card. I was more than happy to oblige as she has been worth her weight in gold, so if you are reading this Lesley, thankyou so much, from both of us xxx

Love and wedded bliss

Tracey

xxx

UFO Friday

Good evening

I am on a mission to complete some of my unfinished objects - UFO's

This gorgeous box was Jan's class last month and I completed most of it in the class but didn't quite manage to stick all the components together, nor had my embellishments been added

I improvised a little as I forgot to die cut the flourishes, so I added some pearls, a vintage button and extra flowers

Thankyou for another exceptionally good class Jan, you can find more of Jan's inspiring ideas and beautiful craftiness on her blog HERE

Who knows I may even have another UFO to share next week !

and ...........................

1 more sleep until I see my baby girl !!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy weekend

Love and little boxes

Tracey 

xxx

Cardio christmas

Good evening

I have been busy with my lovely Majestix stamps by Cardio

I have another christmas card towards my target, I have to be honest and admit to the 'one card a week' not being met, but I definitely have made a much better effort than last year

Four thankyou's to say today

Angela, thankyou for the beautiful bouquet of roses, you are so kind  xxx

Dawn, thankyou so much for the set of stamps, you are so thoughtful and I will love using them xxx

Pat and Ann, thankyou so much for all you have both done to help in the shop and personally too and especially for the giggles this week, you are both angels xxx

and .............

2 sleeps until I see my baby girl - eeeeeeek, so excited

Love and gratefulness

Tracey

xxx 

If friends were flowers

If friends were flowers, I'd pick you  - Carole !

I made another of these gorgeous Kusudama flower bouquets for my lovely friend Carole

Carole has been through a rough few weeks and I wanted to make something for her to let her know I am always thinking of her even if I am not there

I wrangled out of her that her lounge is in shades of green and cream so made the flowers to co-ordinate

It was an absolute pleasure to make her them as she is always the one thinking of and caring for other people, hope things continue to get better for you Carole, love ya xxx

We have had another busy week at home, we have now completely finished decorating Amy's room, all I need to do now is add some new curtains and I am in the process of altering some photo frames and making some art to put in them

We have also finished the hallway, kitchen, utility room and lounge.

It has been an interesting week, we are painting everywhere white and we have the 'joy' of Bruce, big, black, hairy Bruce, needing to be with us at every moment, he is so loving and sweet it is hard to tell him to go away, so we are painting around him and dealing with stray hairs as we need to. He had that many white spots on him last week he was in danger of looking like a dalmation ( would have made a good halloween costume !)

Talking of Bruce, this is his usual routine when AJ leaves for school, he cheekily steps onto the coffee table and tucks his head under the curtains so he can watch him set off for school, I am sure we had a 'no dogs on the furniture rule' !!!

One last thing before I bid you all goodnight, if any of my local friends haven't yet tried the new Beechwood Farm restaurant on the Europark at Great Coates, we can highly recommend it

Neil and I enjoyed a fantastic carvery, gorgeous tender meat and too many variations of vegetables and side dishes to name, all utterly delish. But unless you actually want to be able to move afterwards I suggest you don't get the largest plate, we were totally stuffed . It was really busy, and the atmosphere was lovely - word has spread fast. All the dishes leaving the kitchen looked fab and really, really generous portion sizes.

Love, friends, flowers and feasts

Tracey

xxx

Simply Stamping

I was a very lucky girl this month, getting to go to two craft shows, one weekend after the other

Thankyou Jan xxx

Neil gave me a few spondoolies to spend as a little treat and one of the first things I bought was a stamp with a twig on it - why you may ask was I in dire need of a stamp with a twig on it ?

Because, my lovely readers, I spied a fabulous display of gorgeous samples all using the humble twig

Jan and I got a fabulous demonstration from a very lovely lady on the cardio stall, who made it look like the easiest stamping on the planet

And she didn't lie

Here is my version using the twig I bought along with a couple of stamps I already had in my stash

There was also a very cheeky chappy with an outstanding array of hugely discounted dies who also persuaded me to part with some of my cash ( or should I say Neil's cash), and I also bought a few sheets of some stunning Maja designer patterned papers and vintage images, all to finish of the extra special cards for close friends and family, all of which I should be sharing on my blog soon.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please note that the opening times for the shop are a little different

As you are all aware Neil is not well at the moment, I have decided to take a little step back from the shop on the days when I don't have classes

I will be closing on thursdays and saturdays unless I have a pre-booked class, all Jan's and Linda's saturday workshops will still go ahead, and so will the die-cutting classes on the third thursday each month, as will all my regular classes and crops - they will remain the same, but I do want to spend a little extra time at home with my loved ones

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause and thankyou so much for your support and understanding

Love and twiggy branches

Tracey 

xxx

Happy birthday Beryl

Good evening

Yesterday was my lovely friend Beryl's birthday

I just had to use my brand new stamps and papers for my very special friend

I used an 8in base for the card

The sentiment is Stampin' Up

I used Craft Creations and Tilda papers

The stamps are by The House of Zandra and were a bargain with four quid off the usual price at last weeks show

I coloured the images in with my copic pens

I hope you had a fantastic birthday Beryl, love you lots xxx

Love and fabulous fashion

Tracey

xxx

Engagement commission

Good evening

I am feeling more than a little blurry tonight

Our new baby is literally a new baby

Bruce was neutered yesterday and boy is he making us feel guilty

I don't think I have ever seen a dog look quite so pathetic, he truly is feeling incredibly sorry for himself

He has the obligatory cone on his head, which he has no comprehension of steering yet

He refuses to walk anywhere and instead does this ridiculous bunny hop type shuffle across the floor on his bottom

He has been an angel up to now and been as good as gold at night going to bed in the kitchen on his own and not waking us up too early in the morning, but, last night, there was no way on earth he was going to be left alone

If I moved more than an inch away from his head he cried and did those huge puppy dog eyes

And so I slept ( that term I use loosely as sleep I did not !) I laid next to him on the lounge carpet all night with my hand on his back soothing him to sleep

I honestly think it would be easier to have another baby !

So I apologise for those of my friends who popped in to the shop today, if I was less than bubbly, it was all Bruce's fault

Anyway - moving on

I was asked by one of my lovely scrapbookers to make her son and his new fiancee a card to celebrate their engagement

I came up with a very romantic and softly hued design on an 8in card base

I am sorry the lighting was a little off, it was dull this morning when I took the photo, the one below shows a more accurate idea of the colours

Love and lost sleep

Tracey

xxx

Happy birthday Glynn

Good evening

Here is a card I made for a lovely friend who celebrated her birthday last week

I used pearlescent card in white and lilac

The flowers are retro daisies by EK success

Butterfly is a die by Cheery Lynn

Scalloped circle die is Nellie Snellen

Flower centres are a punch by Kars

Sentiment and sentiment plate are Stampin' Up

Hope you had a lovely day Glynn, thankyou so much for all the yummy cake you brought in, it was delish !!!

Love and lilac wishes

Tracey 

xxx

Paws for thought

Good evening

My lovely friend Beryl ( everyone should have a friend like Beryl - she warms the heart in every way) brought into the shop a very special gift for the new addition to my family

Beryl gave me a lovely big bed for Bruce and he instantly fell in love with it, we weren't sure if he would settle as he came with the bed he has had since being a teeny tiny puppy but he loved it from the start and gets himself all comfy snuggled up in it

So from Bruce and me and Neil too  - thankyou mum 2 xxx

I paper pieced the doggy, and he does look a lot like Bruce, using punches, they were all Stampin' Up punches and you can probably guess which ones I used from the photo

Love and tail wags

Tracey and Bruce

xxx

Nice day in Newark

Good evening

I have had such a fabulous sunday today

Jan invited me to join her and Margaret to a papercraft show in Newark and I jumped at the chance, I have not been to one for a little while so had a few stalls on my list to visit.

Here is my little crafty haul, not included in the picture are the boring tools, adhesives and envelopes, but here are the fun things I picked up

The little house at the back is a money box which I am going to transform into a beach hut

The MDF squares I bought in three variations which will be transformed into a wall hanging ( I just can't resist hearts in any form !)

I succumbed to the sparkly wonder of glamour dust - well Chrimbo is just around the corner and we all need a little sparkle then !

The magpie in me failed to resist the lovely little sparkly and pearly embellishments for the centres of flowers and poinsettias

I bought a few stamps as they were all on sale, extra special offers which would have been rude to ignore

And as if I don't have enough papers I found some designs that I have never had in the shop so they kind of fell into my basket too

Jan and I were both taken with the 6in paper pads so we bought one each and will be splitting them to share out all the designs

We had a fair few giggles and lots of inspiration, I can't believe how long we stayed there, we enjoyed it so much we didn't want to leave - thank goodness I got all organised and put the slow cooker on before we left, I worked up quite an appetite.

Thankyou so much to Jan and Margaret who made it such a lovely day

Love and crafty goodness

Tracey 

xxx

Pyramid cards

Good evening

We have been making pyramid cards in class this week

This is the one I taught, actually really quick and easy and they fold flat for easy posting, this size fits into a C6 envelope once it has been folded

And just for fun I rummaged through all my punches and cobbled together this cheerful Santa, so he counts for my 'christmas card a week' for this week

Some of the friday girls had a go at making snowman versions of this card - and I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time

We had a snowman that looked drunk, one that looked a little demented and mine looked vaguely sinister, we decided it was all in the eye placement !! ! And I am not sharing my attempt on here as it might just give you nightmares !

Thanks girls what a lovely afternoon, we definitely did more laughing than crafting this week

Thankyou also to Linda, who taught the Christmas Frame this morning, what a lovely class, great company, fab teacher and a beautiful finished project - and yes !!!  I did actually finish a project - wonders will never cease.

Happy weekend to you all

Love and lopsided snowpeople

Tracey

xxx

Get well soon

Good evening all

I am sharing a card tonight made for a gent, who has been a little under the weather

AS some of you know Mrgaret's hubby Brian has been a little poorly and I wanted to let him ( and Margaret) that Neil and I were thinking of them both

I used a Henry mouse stamped image, coloured with Distress inks

The papers are Nitwits

Ribbon, hessian and twine from my shop

I hope you are feeling much better now Brian

Love and healing hugs

Tracey

xxx

Linda's Stampin Up class

Good evening

I am back tonight to share Linda's new Stampin' Up class

Linda will be making this stunning wall art contained within the glass fronted box frame this coming Saturday - 11th October 10am - 12pm

£12.00 to include all you need to finish this project including the frame

It will make a fab gift, or addition to your own christmas decorations - what an extra special alternative to a christmas card too !

Please contact Linda through her blog here or contact me if you require a place, the class is filling up fast !

Love and stamped delights

Tracey 

xxx

Christmas wishes

Hello

I have another christmas card to share

I am woefully behind on my intended target of one a week but I am much further on than I was last year - slow and steady and all that !

I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder for the background

Sentiment is a Stampin' Up stamp

Window die is by Cheery Lynn

Flower punches are Stampin' Up 

Poinsettia dies are Marianne design

How are you all getting along with your Christmas cards ? I bet there are at least a couple of you that have finished !

Love and mistletoe kisses

Tracey

xxx

Birthday, Branston and Bruce

Hello

Tonight I am sharing a birthday card I made this week for a very special person, who turned 80 on wednesday

Happy birthday Mary, I hope you were well and truly spoiled, you deserve it !

I used a Crafters Companion embossing folder, Tim Holtz die for the numbers - used with Stampin' Up glitter paper,  Marianne dies for the butterfly, flourish and flowers

I have had a really good day to day, it all started with a day spent with my lovely friend Carole

We put the world to rights, we confided and shared, laughed and crafted - and we ate !

Carole had said she would bring in lunch so I was expecting maybe a sarnie and crisps, but oh no, as usual Carole ( who never does anything in half measures) prepared me this gorgeous ploughmans lunch - yum yum

Thankyou so much Carole for bringing a little bit of sunshine in an otherwise dull and rainy day, we must do it more often - my treat next time xxx

And in other news - meet Bruce

I came home from work to be greeted by this little cutie

Bruce is a collie/ german shepherd cross, he is 6 months old and still has a bit of growing to do

He is gorgeous and so loving and has followed me around since I got home, we have played football in the garden, been for a walk and generally got to know each other

His left ear is floppy and his right ear stands to attention, he is very wary of other dogs although he was brought up with cats and a lab and he wants to make friends with EVERYONE he meets on his walks !

I think he loves his daddy already, here he is trying to persuade Neil to put down his newspaper and play ( and yes Bruce won, Neil gave up !)

Love and puppy kisses

Tracey

xxx

Happy retirement

Good evening

I am sharing a retirement card tonight, one I crafted for Neil and his shift to give to their retiring day shift supervisor

The card is an 8in x 8in size, giving plenty of room inside for all the guys to sign

I used a Crafters Companion stamp, the image was coloured using Distress Inks and the sentiment was computer generated

Love and lazy days

Tracey

xxx

Birthday wishes

Good evening

I have just been sorting and editing photos and have found a few items that have not yet been shared on here or the shop site

So I will be along over the next few days to share my last couple of weeks crafty projects

Tonight I am sharing a birthday card

I used dies by Cheery Lynn, a Tim Holtz Embossing folder, sentiment stamp is Stampin' Up as are the flower stamps and punches, papers were all out of my scraps box

I must say a massive thankyou to two very special people this week

Ann, you have been an absolute rock over the last few weeks, you know why, thankyou so much xxx

Jan, I could not have managed on wednesday without you, thankyou so much for taking the class, locking up, tidying up and all the other little things, far too numerous to list but every single one appreciated xxx

I also need to thank all my lovely friends who have sent me emails, texts and messages, all the lovely kind words spoken in person and the flowers and cards, and especially the hugs ( I even receive a hug all the way from Sweden, thankyou Inga-lil) xxx

As most of you know, our family has been through a  hard few weeks, no worse than anyone else, but sad none-the-less, we have had such a lot of support, genuine heartfelt kindness, thankyou so much, I am so blessed to have so many thoughtful people in my life, bless you all xxx

Love and heartfelt hugs

Tracey 

xxx

Jan's Box Class

Good morning

I think that's a first, me blogging in the morning ! Unless of course we are talking early hours 

Anyway just a fly by post today, I am well aware my blog has been neglected, my friends and regular readers know that as a family we have had an incredibly difficult month, I have had time to blog, but not the heart if I am honest, I will update soon but for now I am keeping all the emotional stuff in check and stopping by to share with you all the new box class Jan will be teaching this saturday

We do still have a couple of places so if you fancy making this stunning box please telephone the shop or pop in to book your place, spaces are limited and we do need to know by close of business on friday as Jan will be preparing your kits at home

Here are all the details from Jan herself :

September Box Class

Hi Everyone

I'm back again with this month's box making class. This time we're making a traditional chocolate box (though it would be good for all sorts of small pressies, or you could just keep it yourself).

It's in gorgeous brown and aqua, one of my favourite colour combinations, and it's quite easy to do, though you may learn some new tips and tricks along the way.

It's this Saturday, the 27th of September

from 10.00 till 1.00

and costs £7.

I do hope you can join us

Love and craftiness

Jan

Waterfall card and gift box

Good evening

As promised I am here tonight to share the gorgeous butterfly inspired waterfall card and giftbox we all made with Linda on saturday

The box is a drawer style box and is approximately 2.5inches square so would be perfect for a little selection of chocolates or maybe some jewellery

I have had a lovely relaxing sunday, spent with mum and dad, chatting, putting the world to rights and lots of laughs too

Neil has his appointment through finally to see the surgeon regarding all his back problems, his referral was back in April so we seem to have been waiting a long time, hopefully we should get some answers, he will be seeing a guy at Spire in Leeds on monday. Thankyou for all your help and advice Trish, we are seeing Rob so please thank Pete too xxx

We had some fantastic news this week, Robbie attained three A stars in his exams and ended up with triple the number of UCAS points required for his place at Uni - very, very proud mum and dad here !

There are some very special people who have been particularly kind and supportive this last week, you all know who you are, THANKYOU xxx

Love and little boxes

Tracey 

xxx

Beryl's box

Good evening

We had a fab day at the shop today, it was Linda's monthly Stampin' Up class, we made a beautiful waterfall card and matching gift box, we also had a couple of new ladies, lovely to spend time with you Sarah and Hazel.  I didn't get time to photograph mine before the light faded so I shall share my finished pieces tomorrow, as always thankyou Linda for your inspiration and patience xxx

Tonight I am sharing the project us 'tuesday afternoon' ladies made last week

Beryl very kindly offered to show us how to make this great little note block box

The lid opens and houses one of those square blocks of notes, thankyou Beryl, I loved making this and have a very special person in mind as the recipient. It was quite quick and easy to make so I think I may be making a few as stocking fillers at christmas time.

Love and love notes

Tracey 

xxx

Bags, boxes and more

Good evening

These next projects are from a couple of weeks ago

We had a really fab friday afternoon, brill people as always and an impromptu box making session

Pat and her lovely daughter Trudi joined me too and they also made all three of these in the couple of hours we had together

First up a small  gift bag/box, made form a 6 inch square of paper, the finished article measures approximately 3.5inches square and would be perfect for a little jewellery box or chocolates

Then we made a gift bag, this one was a bit bigger measuring approximately 7inches tall and again is folded from a single sheet of paper

Finally we made this teeny tiny tab topped folder type thingy perfectly sized for the smallest size of post-it note, or those infamous after dinner mints

It's a wonder we got one finished let along three with all the chatting and giggling ! Thankyou for a really good afternoon ladies - much fun ! ( and Trudi if you are reading this - I will make you into a bona fide crafter if it kills me !)

Finally before I head out for a very special event that is being held this evening I would like to thank Carole W for the gorgeous bouquet of pink blooms last week xxx

And a big thankyou to June C for this fantastic box full of homegrown fruit and veggies she brought in for me last week, she also brought in a large selection for the class to share and the oh so pretty sweet peas you can see below - thankyou xxx

Love and sweetness

Tracey

xxx

Wedding book

Hello

It's been an utterly dreadful weekend

My youngest son lost one of his best friends in truly tragic circumstances on saturday and to be honest my mind can't settle on anything other than the all consuming sadness that must have fallen on the poor souls family

14 is too young to be taken - full stop

Rest in peace Will, you are very much loved by all who knew you and you will be missed every single day xxx

I do have something crafty to share tonight 

I made this book for my mum and dad to give as a wedding present, the couple have had a house together for a while and mum was stuck for something 'different' to get them

There are four pages in total with eight sides decorated and the book has been cut out of heavy chipboard and covered with Bo Bunny papers, all the edges have been inked with chalk ink

The front cover - I heat embossed a die cut clock face and used antiquing wax to tone down the colours

Inside front cover - I added some photo mats and kept them blank so the girls can add a couple of their own favourite photos to the book

Page 1 - Die cut hearts are Nellie Snellen, chipboard letter are Tim Holtz and flowers are K and Co

Page 1 (back) I kept all the colours similar throughout the book and kept decoration quite minimal as it is already quite a 'chunky' book

Page 2 - I 'borrowed' a couple of photos from the girls' facebook pages so as to keep the whole thing a secret

Page 2 (back) - The chipboard flourishes and flowers are by K and Co

Final page - the girls names are created with Tim Holtz die cut letters and the quote is a stamp

And the back of the final page with another stamped quote

This book is also my entry into the RWS monthly 'Take three things' challenge

You can catch up with what everyone else has been up to on the shop website HERE

Love and angels

Tracey

xxx

Prettifying Pringles

Good evening

Phewwww just conquered the mountainous ironing pile, I have been putting it off, not wanting to stand for hours whilst the temperature has been so high, but finally gave in today, with no sign of any let up in the heat and three boys in the house getting very low on t-shirts ! Feels good to get it done though.

So just a quick blog from me tonight as I have a cool bubble bath awaiting me

I created this gift holder for one of my lovely friends Joan who's birthday it was on thursday

We repurposed or upcycled these pringle tubes in Jan's class last saturday and I actually managed to get mine finished - must be a first !

We made new lids and discarded the old plastic ones and I threw a handful of flowers on top of mine to really pretty the box up

I made a card to match

So big thanks to Jan for her inspiration.

Thankyou also to Joan and Alan who invited me to join them and a few other lovely ladies for Joan's birthday meal around at their house on monday and thankyou to Alan for my lift home on thursday ( I didn't stay that long - it was a separate incident lol)

Love and pringles

Tracey

xxx

Thankyou

Hello

It has been a couple of weeks of many thankyou's, I have received two bunches of flowers, thankyou to both Carol W and Ann E xxx

We had some fabulous veggies brought into the shop to share - thankyou June C

Two separate thankyou's to Joan and Alan, the first for the fabulous day out on monday and the second for the utterly scrummy lemon and almond cake today

Thankyou to Linda and Jan for their fantastic classes over the last two weeks

Thankyou to Pat S for my little 'gift' this week, so good to see you back on your feet and up and about, we missed you lots xxx

  Thankyou also to Margaret

I made this card to give her last week, to thank her for her running the dictionary challenge last year

Finally

The biggest thankyou goes to every single one of you who took the time to message, email or enquire about Neil, we appreciate your kindness and support, it is times like this when you realise there are some truly special people out there, we both thankyou all so much, it does make a difference

Bless you all

Much love 

Tracey

xxx