New CJ

I didn't get the chance to blog yesterday as we had no internet connection all day. It finally came back at about 11 pm. We have cable broadband and apparently it was something to do with the flooding in the area. Bit of a pain in the bum really, especially when you run an internet based business from home!
I just thought I would add photos of my new Circle Journal which has now started doing it's rounds in the groups on the Just Bex forum I just love doing these. There are some awesome crafters out there and it is wonderfuls to see all the different interpretations on your subject. We have also done another one on the CBC forum That one actually comes home next week and I'm really looking forward to getting it back

Front and back coversMy welcome page and rules

My DLO
and finally my sign in pages.

Here are a couple of ordered cards from last week.

Bye for now.

I just got tagged

............by Cheryl. I've never done this before!

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their 7 things and post the rules as well. At the end of your blog you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!!

1. I always have my first dose of internet browsing whilst drinking my first cup of coffee of the day. Once that's out of the way, I become human!!

2. I have the most appalling memory. If I don't write it down , I forget it. If you've looked at the photos on my blog you will see post it notes across my shelves-that is my memory. LOL

3. I absolutely hate winter and could quite easily hibernate from October till March.

4. I am just getting into scrapbooking thanks to various forum challenges and am buying pretty papers in far larger quantities than I am actually using. I'm sure that is quite normal though.

5. I don't drink tea!

6. I love beads and have far too many. I always take them on holiday with me when we stay in this country as I can slip a couple of decent sized boxes under my seat an no-one notices. :)

7.I can't draw to save my life and bless the day I found rubber stamps!


I tag..................Jo, Rach, Sue, Kathy, Sheila, Angelnorth, Lythan

Sorted!

It took me 2 hours yesterday morning to get my room back to this stage. LOL I meant to post the pics last night but was too tired!
At least I can see what I'm doing again. :)

My wonderful postie has just brought me some fab ribbons from Ribbon Oasis I got Peaches and Cream and Sunny Daze and they are just gorgeous.

Aren't they just lovely? He also brought my new Cuttlebug dies from Top Topper Shop Yet another online shop which offers quality good and the most fantastic service. I ordered the dies yesterday and they arrived this morning.

Right I am now off to find the new midweek dare on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

Back later.

I'm back............and I have just done my 'Little Extra'.


We hope you'll enjoy having a bit of fun with Lythan's fab idea for the Little Extra challenge this week:
We'd like you to have a go at making a cartoon inspired card! You could use the colours and patterns (eg Minnie Mouse's dress would mean a black, white and red spotty card; Winnie the Pooh red and um, honey coloured) or symbolic (eg using an anchor inspired by Popeye).Please take care not to infringe the copyright rules - you might need to think a bit more laterally with this one.

This is what I came up with

Totally inspired by one of DH's heroes..................................Dennis the Menace!! LOL

I didn't have any red card blanks so I made my own. Both red and black card from a DCWV 12 x 12 card pack. Daisies are made from ready frilled quilling papers bought from Lakeland (in a rash moment, as you do) and held onto the card with red mini brads from stash. Black card is punched with the new X-Cut border punches and I can't remember where the red gingham ribbon is from.

That's not a mess ....

........this is a mess! Est posted a pic of her 'untidy' craft space last night after the challenges on Just Bex had finished and it put mine to shame before I started. See for yourselves (I'm sure she won't mind me sharing) This is her space

and this is mine!!

Not much difference there then! :))

Challenge 13

I have done challenge 13 but am too late for the challenge as the time is now 3 minutes past 12 :(( I have had to scan it in 2 halves too as the camera isn't charged, so will redo it tomorrow.

Challenge 13 - LO using a song title

And here is the complete picture :))

JB Challenge part 2

Finally finished so here goes.

Challenge 2-Fab Blooms

Challenge 3 - Die Cut Dreams

Challenge 4 - Simply Stamping Challenge 5 - Remember To......

Challenge 6 - Paper Roses
Challenge 7 - Something To Wear
Challenge 8 - Flowers To Die For
Challenge 9 - Born on the 4th July

Challenge 10 - Doodle Doodle Doo

Challenge 11 - Using Your ScrapsAnd last but not least

Challenge 12 - Tavelling Trails

Slave drivers

.................is exactly what they are on the JB forum I turned my back for 5 minutes and 8 more challenges appeared! This is just what I need as we are now sandbagged in the house unable to leave the village except in an emergency and it is raining steadily. Just what we don't need!

So far I have managed 3 so here goes.

These are the final 3 dividers for my folder......

I've used Cuttlebug flowers and Rhonna Farrer Swirls 2 stamps, both favourites at the mo.

Est26 set this challenge and here are her instructions:

Your challenge should you choose to accept it is to create a LAYOUT with an animal theme. This could be of an actual animal, a child (or adult...!) dressed as an animal or feature somebody who has an animal nickname!!! The only stipulation is that an animal word MUST appear on your page
And here are my puddytats!!

and my template challenge by Bex

and this is my page-floodwater just behind where we live!

NB I'm not trying to make light of this situation as a lot of my dear friends live there and have lost everything. I have had ties with the village for over 13 years as two od my kids went to school there and I worked in the school for 7 years. One of DD's dear friends lives in the house next door to the shop with the red crosses on the windows. My mum remembers the last time Toll Bar flooded in 1947. I just wanted to preserve this memory as (hopefully) we will be lucky enough to escape this horror.

I feel very guilty over the fact that we are dry and they have had to move out. I desperately want to help but we can't leave. I shall be there though to help them clean up and if I can supply things like curtains we don't use then I will. A lot of the residents are single parents too and have no house insurance. As well as household possessions, the kids will have lost toys and books etc so at least I can help to replace those.

I will be back later with more of the challenges.

DCM beady challenge

This week it's Saffa's turn to set the dare on the Daring Cardmaker's blog and she said

"Well this week is my dare (Saffa). Its quite a simple challenge really. All I ask is that you make use of beads on your cards. They can be seed beads, big chunky beads or little sequins, whatever takes your fancy."

My one card turned into 3 for some reason :)
This card was embossed with the Big Shot Embossing Plates and after using the Cuttlebug embossing folders, I don't like these. They aren't deep enough. I coloured the background and the tag with chalk and threaded beads onto pale pink organza ribbon. The flower is cut from a sheet of paper from the 6 x 6 Young Girls pad by K & Co.

These letters were hand cut from the Tutti Frutti papers and card from Craftwork Cards. I tied a piece of cream ribbon onto the 'm', the 'l' is wrapped with pink and green seed beads threaded onto silver coloured wire and the 'i' is dotted with a Prima flower finished with a spotty brad from my stash.

and finally the butterfly on this card is again cut from the Young Girl pad (it's actually from the same page as the flower above. The body of the butterfly is made from pink and clear beads threaded onto silver wire. The small butterflies are cut with the new X-Cut border punch.
And now for the exploding boxes. I made one and a half yesterday and have finished the order off today-3 in total but for 2 different people.



Update on the flood is that we are still completely cut off from the rest of the world, no traffic except emergency vehicles is allowed in or out of Bentley. They have been pumping the High Street since last night but the water is still rising. They are pumping from there so that they can start pumping Toll Bar! It looks as though we are going to get it from one side or another. We have our sandbags at the ready and our chins are still up LOL

Take care and stay dry and happy wherever you are.

Flood watch

Well we are now like a little island. We are sat in the middle of all the flood water. So far we have been lucky in that the water hasn't reached us yet but we have had sandbags delivered and the council workers are still delivering so they are expecting something to happen.

These are a few pictures my daughter took on her mobile phone this morning.

This is just over the back from us.......the village I worked in for 7 years. This water is about half a mile from us in one direction.

The new local water taxi!

This was our only exit from the village but it has just been announced on the radio that we will only be allowed in or out in an emergancy as the flood water is rising!! We are officially stranded. The positive about this situation is that we have been advised not to use washing machines so no ir**ing, the downside is having to wash the dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher.

Today we have taken photos, my tiaras and jewellery and the camping stoves upstairs. Tomorrow I will start shifting my craft stuff as I have received 2 civil ceremony stationery orders this evening!

And now the good bit.........last week I ordered the scrummy Twirl collection papers from this fabby web site, A Card 4 You and it came the next day so yesterday I placed another order and it came this morning. So I got

Crate Paper Baby Bee

Doodlebug Colour Coordinates-Basically Black

Doodlebug- Let's Kit Together Baby Boy andDoodlebug Colour Coordinates Pretty Pink Kit

I have been making exploding boxes all day so will get them photographed and added tomorrow. Night night. x

Midweek dare

I have just finished a quick card for a customer and made it with the midweek dare in mind. This is what they had to say :

So what Little Extra treat have we dreamed up for you to play with this week?
Well, there's a lot of wedding talk around on the design team with two weddings coming up soon. So inspired by this we'd like you to put some LOVE into your cards this week. Wedding, Anniversary, Engagement or simply to say "I love You" - there are lots of opportunities to get lovey-dovey and slushy, so get out all the romantic stash out and show us what you can do. After all, you know what they say;"All you need is Love, Love, Love"

This is the card I made.

The little squares were embossed with the super Cuttlebug embossing folders, dusted with I'Kan Dee shimmer chalks and edged with lilac ink.They were then mounted onto silver card (although it has scanned black!). I finished it off with a piece of silver organza ribbon. The greeting was done on the pc.

My first scraplift

I have been a little slow off the mark with these to challenges but have finally done them. The scraplift was announced by Nicky on Friday evening on the Just Bex Forum

This is Nicky's fabulous page, and the one below is mine

The next page is for a competition announced by Samm a few days ago and here are the instructions. Or should that be here is the instruction!

Teeheehee, I want you to complete a layout using only one photo, the catch is, the photo must be cut in at least 3 pieces.

And again, this is mine.

I just love that photo. He didn't realise that, although we were basking in a heatwave of over 40 degrees, the water could still be freezing. He soon found out though. LOL

I shall now finish the DCM midweek challenge and post it in the morning. Oh and I will get into the habit of writing down which goodies I use too. :))

Thanks for reading.

TTFN

Water, water

Well what a day!

We have been on flood alert all day after all yesterday's rain but seem to have escaped unscathed. DD was sent home from school yesterday lunch time as the school was being used as an evacuation centre as the River Don burst it's banks. Hubby got in from work yesterday tea time and said they were closing roads behind him.

The A19 has been closed all day at the end of our road as it is under about a foot of water but we seem to be on a slight hill so it ran from our garden straight down the road. DH and DD have been at home all day as they couldn't get past the end of the road. The phone was off this morning and we couldn't use the mobiles either as the networks were busy. We will remain on flood alert until after the weekend as more rain is expected.

My heart goes out to the people who have lost loved ones in this terrible weather. Also to the people who have had their homes and possessions wrecked or lost. I just cannot begin to understand how they must be feeling.