A Walk in the Woods Kind of Day!

Hello friends

Yesterday was a cold, bright and sunny day - a perfect day for visiting Bella Woods.  

Flowery wellies were the order of the day!

 Autumn has certainly arrived, so much so Bella blends in!

She is sporting her new collar - she has a tendency to lose them in the woods when

chasing squirrels, bunnies and green parrots - yes, they are nesting in these woods!

The sunlight peeking through the trees.

Sadly, the recent storm inflicted some damage.

This tree had split in half ...

and here is the top section of it now laying in the farmer's field.

This is where we exit the woods and venture back into the sunlight across land....

This is the exact same spot back in August (minus a Bella in the photo!)

I love seeing how the seasons change our surroundings.

Thank you for your lovely supportive comments yesterday.

It is always a tonic to take a good walk and another nice thing is...

today is my birthday!  The boys and I are off to the Harry Potter Studios...

yes again.  I'm not sure who is the biggest fan, I think it might be me!

I promise photos to follow.

Take care friends.

Making Christmas Cards

Hello friends

Do you recall recently that I purchased some bits and bobs from ....

and I created this card.....

Well, because I had quite a lot of stuff left over I decided to make another card and
here it is.... very similar, just some slight variations.

DotComGiftShop liked it and asked if I would put together a simple guide.
I agreed and it is now being featured on their blog - here.
A speedy simple design - it is so easy and can be produced in stages -
why not get the family to help.

Talking of family - Elliott was at King's College Hospital in London yesterday
having his eyes checked.  Sadly his sight in his right eye is getting steadily worse.
We are hoping that the radiotherapy will work its magic and his optic nerves may recover.

We were encouraged by the consultant who said it is perfectly fine to live with sight
in just one eye, you can drive, play sports etc.  We did laugh at this because Elliott and
sport really do not go together - he is a computer geek!
Interestingly the consultant reassured us that there is no proof that sitting in front
of a computer screen for hours on end is harmful to the eyes.
I smiled just as much as Elliott with this news seeing as we both are guilty of sitting and tapping away at our computers for most of the day!

Hope you are all having a good start to the week, heating on full here and I promise
to get a photo of Bella sporting one of her new jumpers -
she does look cute but then I am just a little bit biased!

Take care friends.

The One Class!

Hello friends

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend - Bella is now sporting a warm doggy jumper - brhhhh!

As time is speeding by I thought I should get organised and let you know the details of my one class that I am going to be able to offer before the end of this year.  I haven't been able to host a class since way back in July so I'm really looking forward to opening up the studio for just one special festive day.  As well as the traditional homemade cake there will be some Christmassy treats too!

I've mentioned the project briefly before - it is a tree entirely made from Spiral Blossoms, I'm thinking it would look lovely on your Christmas dining table or as a decoration for your home.

All the class details are listed in the document below - it is an embedded link PDF thingybob!  It may take a moment to appear but it is there and if you scroll down within the document you can read all the info.

If you experience any problems viewing the document just drop me an email.




Here are a few more pictures and a glimpse of the papers we will be using.

My Mind's Eye - Vintage Christmas 12 x 12 papers.

I have just six spaces available, so if you would like to come along please email christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk   Apologies to all those that live too far away but news of the December Add-On Kit will be here very soon.

Take care friends.

Friday!

Hello friends

Happy Friday to you all - there is something about Fridays that feels

special, perhaps it is the anticipation of the weekend ahead or that we feel

it is time for a treat - rewarding ourselves after a working week.

Perhaps you are going to indulge in some craft...??

Well, this Friday I am bringing to you some news that Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

has a brand new website.  

It has gone all pretty, arty and lovely!

I am very proud to be on their Design Team, all our profiles have been updated

and you can find out a few new facts about me .....! :)

I have made many projects using their wonderful products and I

had a real problem deciding which one I like best.  In fact I couldn't decide 

but thought this one ranked fairly high so featuring it again today.

A very vintage notebook.

 Pretty Rose Creations.

 Photo corners need not just be for photos.

All the instructions and details of this project can be found here.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - weather is definitely wintry now,

get those mittens and scarves out! 

Take care.

Lovely!

Hello friends

The winner of the October Charity Kit lucky number was Lynn and she

was able to select six Waltzing Mouse stamp sets.  

As soon as they arrived, she got very busy creating and has kindly sent some photos 

of her beautiful creations using both the stamps and Spellbinders®.

The stamps featured here are Cameo To Go and the dies are Floral Ovals.

The blue and ivory work so well together.

 And a very festive creation featuring Big Blooms - Poinsettia.

Truly lovely Lynn, thank you so much for sharing.

There has been a slight delay if you did go back to order an October Kit, 

apologies - this was due to some printing issues but all resolved now and they are on their way. 

On the home front - I spent a lovely morning yesterday with a lady that has a son

who has been through a very similar experience to Elliott.  

It was pure luck that we met but I like to think fate has a hand in many things.

It was so helpful to discuss things and ask many questions. 

I feel a little more equipped now to take on the step of radiotherapy and beyond.

On Monday I mentioned that I got distracted when sorting out a pile of 

scrapbook pages, well I then got totally wrapped up in looking through a box of tags!

Here is one I had completely forgotten about....

I've used a die-cut reindeer as a mask and sprayed lightly with glimmer mist.

A festive flower to one corner and then a tiny bit of twine with a tag and heart.

Speedy really!

Take care friends.

Who stole the weekend?

Hello friends

Whoosh!  

That's how fast the weekend went by - did it feel like that for you?

I am pleased to say I tackled one of my many lists of jobs to do.

It was the home list, clean oven (groan!), sort cupboards, organise papers etc - 

those things you keep meaning to do but never quite get around to it.

I'm typing this blog post looking at a very tidy desk, I'm not sure it will last...

So what else??

Well, a big shout out for Carolyn H 

the winner for the 500 follower status.  

Haven't heard from you so hopefully you will see this post and drop me an email christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk

I have your prizes waiting for you.

During one of my sorting jobs as the weekend I became totally distracted by a pile of 

scrapbook layouts and I discovered this one.  I cannot recall if I have already shared it with so I thought I would pop it on today's blog post. 

It features that man of the moment...Elliott and a part of my face!

The background is created with some light misting, scattered Labels One,

a glittery sticker, dotty ribbon, silk flowers and layered buttons.

This is what I call a 'rummage' layout.  If I don't have too many matching papers

to hand, I rummage around to find toning papers, I use a neutral background and pick

out one strong colour in the photo - in this case the blue from Elliott's hoodie.

I then find embellishments in the blue to bring the whole page together.

My crafting journey started with scrapbooking and I still have a huge fondness for it.

I will be back soon - take care friends.