Merry Christmas x

Whenever you get a chance to read this I do hope that you and your family have had/will be having a very Merry Christmas full of love, laughter, presents and lots of yummy food.

I send you much love from myself and my family

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas................. x

OK I know Christmas is still 2 months away or as my iphone app says 66 sleeps but for those of us who like to Journal or decorate our homes DIY style it is not that far away.


Like many people I do a yearly Christmas Journal with Shimelle Laine called Journal your Christmas. You start on December 1st and finish on 6th January, or 12th night. I have done this for about 5 years now and love documenting the things I do with my friends and family, and by myself. It gives something else to focus on and celebrate the time itself. Since I have been diagnosed I have found December time a real struggle so journalling helps me remember what I am meant to be enjoying. The really special thing about this class is that you buy it the first year and the following years are sent to your inbox free. It is a wonderful class to take part in with loads of ideas and support. Shimelle will be posting the latest information about this year class next month.


There is also Ali Edward's December Daily project which is a short duration but thousands of people complete the daily pages every year. There is loads of information and tips on that link page about the project and I know alot of scrapbookers who blog and teach take part every year so again there is a great community spirit and alot of support and inspiration.


 I have already begun collecting my Christmas scrapbooking supplies together to make my album for this year and will share those nearer the time.


For today I wanted to highlight to great blog events happening next month which should help you get in the mood for journalling, DIYing, crafting and generally having a great time for free.

Firstly, Jeniffer Grace is hosting ''Frosty Festivities'' on the weekend of 8th -10th November.

Here is what Jennifer says about what she has planned......................

Over the weekend there will be posts every hour from 4pm-10pm Friday, and 10am-10pm Saturday and Sunday (GMT), including crafts, tutorials, challenges, tips, a blog hop (with a mix of old and new faces in the hop), and many, many giveaways! It will all be on the theme of Winter and Christmas, so we can get nicely in the festive spirit and share lots of ideas to see us through colder days.


Secondly  Kristin Tweedale is having a blog weekend running the last weekend of November 29th and 30th called ''Holiday Extravaganza''

Here is Kristin's description of her plans for that weekend of fun....................

What is it?

An awesome holiday-themed blog party with challenges, games, tutorials and giveaways. It’s a great alternative to Black Friday/Small Business Saturday shopping with a fun crafty twist. So hang out with us and get your craft on!

How it works:

Starting on Friday, November 29th @ Midnight EST there will be a new blog post each hour — continuing through Saturday (Small Business Saturday). Among the posts will be challenges, tutorials, games, and more.

Kristin is also looking out for inspiring guest posts so if you would like to inspire Kristin with your proposal the details can be found on this post. Having worked with Kristin's class Find Your Voice as a blogger and crafter, Kristin is very supportive and professional. She would love to hear from as many people as possible with great ideas. Go be brave and pitch your idea.


If you want any Christmas inspiration already then head on over to Pinterest, there are pins flying everywhere for just that as we speak.

Glitter Girl challenge 2013 number 4 - Some spacious speculation.

Hi everyone and a belated upload of the latest Glitter Girl adventure. This was partly due to the Bipolar and also cos I got stuck on my embellishments and couldn't decide where I was going with it all. Anyway, this weeks challenge was all about White space and how to use it effectively. Glitter girl's video includes an excellent tutorial on how and why we need to consider the use of white space in scrapbook design. Enjoy.


I already had my photographs in mind when I watched the video, they are ones from 2011 when my girlfriends and I went on a jaunt to London. As it was Christmas time, part of our trip involved walking around the West End looking at and admiring the Xmas lights. I had 3 pictures in mind which wanted to use as a main feature across the page but as the pictures were quite dark and because I wanted to write a fair bit of journalling, I was getting worried about how to fit everything in. So I had a brain wave and decided to put one of the pictures onto a hinged paper block and have this as an opening surprise.

So above is the completed layout. I added some glimmer mist spritzing in gold at the top right and bottom left hand corners then simply added the photographs on top. I then used 2 inch wide strips of red and cream patterned paper and a strip of ticket paper underneath to ground the photographs.

Here is a close up of the title and journalling spot with an embellishment too. he title black glittery letters are some I have used previously by Thickers and the small Scrabble style stickers are from the ''This and that'' paper range by Echo Park. In fact the majority of pieces are all from that range. I found some stickers with the words ''lights'' on to highlight what the story was all about and used three different elements of banners 2 as key embellishment spots and one one a sticker which said ''Tradition''.

This is a close up of the photos and the middle section of the layout which is tidied together with a thin red dotted ribbon I bought in my local sewing shop.

And this is what the opened flap hides, three pictures taken in Carnaby Street, Covent Garden and Soho.

Storytelling Sunday: It's Christmas.

Good evening and welcome to a belated Storytelling Sunday in association with Sian.

Today is a special day in the Christmas calendar because we welcome the Reindeer Parade to Wells. Yep real reindeer, real Santa and real freezing cold! I have been going every year since I moved here, not only cos it's the way my Christmas begins but because y dad is part of the team organising the event. Usually my mum and I are doing mulled wine but this year we were simply in the crowd.  So without further ado, here are some pictures of the parade and the 2 cute baby reindeer.

 The town crier gets it all started......................

 I told you they were real reindeer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 My good friends Steve and Libby...............

 Me and the mother xxxxxx

 one little baby reindeer.....................

and the second cute little reindeer...


So now we are off and I will be back with some Journal your Christmas 2012 adventures very soon xxxx

Frosty Festivities Bloghop.

 

Hello and welcome to Frosty Festivities Bloghop which was the brainchild of Jennifer. So glad you could join us as we celebrate a variety of posts all linked to the idea of Winter and all it's amazing aspects. You should have arrived here from Jo B over at Buckingham's Palace, hope you were on your best behaviour and patted the corgis. If you've joined here then don't worry you won't miss a thing as the list of all the blogs taking part are at the end. There are also giveaways so make sure you go right to the end and see what Jennifer has to offer. The pictures are below:

If you comment on all the blogs in the hop, finishing at www.jennifersjumbles.blogspot.com to let Jennifer know you've been all the way around, then you'll be in with a chance to win a spectacular seasonal prize of Basic Grey Aspen Frost and Carta Bella Winter Fun items, worth over £25! All entries must be received by Monday the 19th of November at 10.59pm GMT.



OK so I decided for my blog post I would like to try something I have never made before so I have made some Salt Dough Ornaments. I have seen some lovely ideas in magazines and books over the years but still no tried it so here goes. I got the recipe and instructions from Katy's blog here. She clearly describes how to make the salt dough so I won't go into that part. Suffice to say if you a mixer it's easy, then you knead for all you're worth for 5-10 minutes and then go for the cutting out part. I decided to make a star shaped garland and then several Christmassy shapes including an angel, reindeer, bell etc. I made extras as I wasn't too sure how the shapes would turn out.

While they were cooking, I checked to make sure they weren't cremating in there and found that several of the holes I'd made had closed up. I tried re-making the holes but they still closed off so next time I will have to make them bigger I think. Also some of the shapes went puffy which I think gives them character but if you want them perfectly flat, making thinner shapes seemed to work best.

Anyway once they wer dried, I chose to try two finishes on the shapes: decopatch and paint.

Decopatch is brilliant as you use a special glue/sealer and that saves you having to use any varnish. I found a red Christmas design in my local shop and cut up the paper into tiny squares. Then you just glue and add shapes until the ornament is covered. And here are the five decorations which just need the hangers adding which will be gold ribbon. The material is from my fave fabric store Millie Moon.

The other shapes I firstly painted with white gesso. As the shapes are quite water absorbent I thought having a primed layer would help the paint adhere and also make the shapes more durable.Here they are all ready for the next stage...........................

And the next stage involves some of this..................

Sadly, the finished version will involve a second blog post as my local shops had no metallic paint intil today and there is no time to complete the project. Safe to say I hope it will be lovely once complete. The shapes will be painted gold and red and then the next part involves gold ribbons and a hoop plus some bells. So do come back for the second installment.

Next stop on the hop is Manchester, Tennessee where Julie is waiting to show you something exciting. Have a safe trip.


Here is the full list of blogs should you get a little lost....................

Jennifer: www.jennifersjumbles.blogspot.com

Abi: www.creatingpaperdreams.blogspot.co.uk

Daphne: www.dapfniedesign.wordpress.com

Jacky: www.scrappyjackylive.blogspot.co.uk

Jemma: www.just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk

Jenny: www.dragonllew.blogspot.co.uk

Jo B: www.buckinghamspalace.blogspot.co.uk

Jo S: www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.co.uk

Julie: www.icreatepurtythangs.blogspot.co.uk

Kirsty: www.journalofcuriousthings.co.uk

Lisa-Jane: www.comeinsidemycrazyhead.blogspot.co.uk

Lizzie: www.lizziemade.blogspot.co.uk

Louise: www.scrapbook-me.blogspot.co.uk

Mel: www.ispeakmelsh.co.uk

Rinda: www.gallorganico.blogspot.co.uk

Sarah: www.maisiemaycrafts.blogspot.co.uk

Sian: www.fromhighinthesky.blogspot.co.uk

Jennifer: www.jennifersjumbles.blogspot.com

Storytelling Sunday...........................a Christmas tradition.

For the last Storytelling Sunday of 2011 I am going to talk about a tradition................
What is it about Christmas lights which make the days and nights so magical as we prepare for the big day? For me it brings back childhood memories of Christmas trees, town displays, Advent candles, Angel chimes and just the overall magic of Christmas.
As children, my sister and I always went to Cheltenham to see our grandparents and one of the main events was when my dad and grandad drove us around the town centre to see the lights on display. It was always beautiful and colourful. We also had a game we would play when driving home. The game involved counting the number of Christmas trees we could see on our side of the car as we drove. Invariably, one of us would cheat at some stage and we were rather competitive at times. I still do this with my sister if we're in the car and with little people it has also become a new tradition.

Yesterday I spent the day in London with 3 girlfriends and we walked to Regent Street to see the lights there. The huge stars hung across the street like enormous cobwebs. We also walked through Carnaby Street and Covent Garden where they had  an enormous tree decorated in red and silver and huge silver and red baubles hung from the ceilings. In Trafalgar Square was the traditional tree sent to the UK from Sweden.

Closer to my home, the other night, they turned on the lights in Manning Close where each home is decorated outside with the most amazing displays and the money raised goes to charity.

As for me, I will put up my tree when I get home from my week away and light the Advent candle each night as we count down to Christmas Day. I will also remember those people who do not celebrate Christmas but use light to celebrate other faith traditions. For Christmas can also mean Hannukah where specials candles are lit each night a week in memory of a miracle which happened for the Jewish people thousands of years ago? How will your traditions be celebrated?

Guest tutorial with Miss Abi...........................

Today , for a change, Miss Abi and I decided we would do a swap and guest post on each other's blogs. Abi is a fabulous scrapbooker and we met over the blogosphere doing Shimelle's blogging class. She is still at school but about to move onto University in the next 9 months, so doesnt get as much time to craft as she would like. She is a beautiful young woman..................

For fun we have each swapped some facts about each other so here are Abi's.......................

1. I am terrified of Moths
2. I get so excited about christmas that last year I woke up at 5am on christmas morning!
3. I met the Queen when I was five but was too scared to speak to her! She did like my hat though!
4. I want to be teacher
5. My favourite christmas carol is "Shephards Pipe carol" by John Rutter!

So thanx Abi and here is her fab post.......................

Hi, It's lovely to be in a different place!

Today I'm guest posting from the lovely Jo's blog! If you don't know me, i'm Abi, I'm 18 years old and an avid crafter. Please stop along at some point and say hi at my blog where Jo is posting!

So..today I wanted to share a little bit of crafting love and share how to make this..

I got a lot of ideas from different sites and used them to create one design. The first step to making the wreath is to make the base.

1. I'm afraid in this tutorial you are going to get very bored of cutting out circles. The little trumpet like shapes around the wreath are made from circles cut from an old book. It doesn't matter what paper you use. It just has to be double sided. I used a jam jar lid as my template and cut out lots of these circles! Then take one side wrap it round to create a mini funnel and stick with a blob of P.VA. Simple as that.

2. After you have made lots of these find a nice piece of cardstock or cardboard. I used a small plate as a template and drew round it . I then drew another circle about 3 inches inside the big one. Cut this out so you have a wreath shape as your base.

3. Stick the little trumpet funnels on the cardstock base. You will need pretty strong glue for this. The best effect I think is to stick the funnels in a circular pattern as you can see from the pictures. Very simple. Don't be afraid to layer them up, place them in each other or slightly under each other. You are trying to create as much texture as possible.

The inspiration for this was taken from this site.

4. You now have the basis for your wreath.

5. The next step is to make the golden flower at the bottom. Again cut out five circles from a double sided material. I drew around a selloptape ring to get my template! It is best here if you use thin paper, tissue paper or material.

6. fold the circle in half, half again and half once more. till you have a triangle. Now sew the bottom (the open end) in long running stiches. Pull the cotton taught until  the end gathers and sew in place. You now have one petal. repeat on all five circles until you have five petals. Attach together either with glue or by sewing then add a brad through the middle.

You will proabably have noticed the paper chain around the wreath. My tutorial for this can be found here.

Make it as long as you like, I used about 30 circles and whatever size circles you like. Wrap it around the wreath and secure at the back with glue. Then attach the flower at the bottom of the wreath.

Finally to create the cloth bauble hanging in the middle I followed a tutorial on this site. The wreath looks lovely without it though so it can just be an added extra!

And voila! A simple christmas wreath that looks lovely hanging on a door!

Thanks for stopping by

Loves Abi xxxxx

A sad blogpost......................

I decided quite a while ago that I wanted to write a post about something which is very hard to talk about at this time of year but which has such a huge impact on many of my friends and family and probably yours as well. Warning, then this will be abit emotional and if you have gone through a recent bereavement you may not want to read any further.

So this blogpost is about the sadness which many of us experience around Christmas as well as the joy. This was brought home to me personally especially this week, when I found out my best friend's mum was dying, that a relative who I hadnt been in touch with for some time had lost her father in the summer and that my god daughter's parents had seperated and are going through a court battle at the moment. It reminded of the hardships we face as human beings and that for many of us Christmas can be bittersweet.

I have wanted to tell my personal story for along time but I feel this year is the right time. It all began in 1985 January when I was a student nurse on my second ward. It was a haematology ward, ie blood conditions, and dealt primarily with patients who had differing forms of leukaemia. I had seen one young patient die on my first ward, but the young person I am going to tell you about has stayed with me to this day. He was younger than me and was a champion athlete when he was diagnosed. He came into the ward for treatment and I spent a bit of time with him but it was after I left the ward we became friends.

I remember the day very well. I was working on the orthopaedic ward by then and I was walking back from theatres after taking a patient down, when a trolley went past, I think I heard my name but I didnt immediately recognise the person cos he was bald. But what I do remember is his saying ''I know that nurse''. As I walked back to the ward, it suddenly pinged in my head who it was and so after my shift I went round to visit him. He'd had a Hickman line inserted and was awaiting further chemotherapy. That was the start of a friendship which even though it was brief has stayed with me over the last 25 years or so. We would listen to music, Jon and Vangelis as I remember, watch The Young Ones and talk about life, the universe and everything. I remember the last visit I made which must have been Christmas time 2006. He was looking tired but nothing he couldnt handle he said.

I found out that he had died in the worst way I can imagine, we were on study weeks in block and were discussing euthanasia of all things and a couple of my fellow students mentioned his name. I asked them what they meant and they explained he had died in pain. I was beside myself, in those days we werent meant to show emotion about our patients, it wasnt the done thing, but I had lost a friend.

I didnt really have a chance to contact his family as in those days going to the funerals of patients wasnt common either so it wasnt until 1987 that I met his mother again for the last time. It was December 22nd 1987 and I was taking another patient up in the lift to theatres, when a lady walked in whom I recognised as his mum. She also recognised me and we had a brief chat. She explained she was visiting the old ward in memory of him as it was a year since he had died. I told her how sad I was and gave her my very belated condolences. Since that day, I have thought about him often and even though it was a long time ago I shed a few tears and light a candle on the 22nd. 

Tonight, I am also thinking about my friends and family who are going through this experience themselves, and I send them my love and also to those of you reading who need support and love. I pray their Christmases will have both joy and peace.

I will finish this with a sad event which happened while I was writing, my dear friend has just phoned me to tell me her mother died this evening so I will keep her and her family in my thoughts and prayers now and over the coming days and weeks as they grieve for a much loved mother, wife and nanny. 

Christmas club part 4..............................

Todays post has it's inspiration from Nancy, hey girl.This amazing crafty woman lives with her hubbie Dan and the kitten, who is just too cute, in the USA and she designs and works for loads of fab scrapbooking people too. Anyway the other week she asked me what a Christmas pudding was. I was aghast, what is a Christmas pudding, I thought the whole world had it on Christmas day. Jusy goes to show doesn't it. Anyway, I wrote a little screed about what it included and she and Dan think it sounds interesting so I thought I'd look up it's history.

 So this is the traditional appearance of a Christmas pudding we know so well in the UK. But what of it's origins?

“The plum pudding is a national dish, and is despised by foreign nations because they never can make it fit to eat. In almost every family there is a recipe for it, which has been handed down from mother to daughter through two or three generations, and which never has been and never will be equalled, much less surpassed, by any other… It is usual, before sending the Christmas Pudding or Plum Pudding to the table, to make a little hole in the top and fill it with brandy, then light it, and serve it in a blaze. In olden time a sprig of arbutus, with a red berry on it, was stuck in the middle, and a twig of variegated holly, with berries, placed on each side … If well made, Christmas plum pudding will be good for twelve months.” From, ‘Dictionary of Cookery‘, by Peter Cassell, published 1875.

 Although it is primarily reaching it's final appearance as we see today in Victorian times, it's history goes way back to the 15th century when it was a means of preserving fruits and also meats. The meat was mixed with bread crumbs, sandalwood and currants and by Elizabethen times prunes were being added. By which time it was known as Pottage pudding or Plum pudding. Over the years, as meat preservation has improved, the pudding has become primarily a fruit consistency and the final pudding we commonly enjoy on Christmas day was born.
The pudding improves with age and if homemade can last for a number of years if well stored,.............we ate a year old one last year and it was truly yummy. The picture below shows it resplendent with flaming liquor, normally brandy. I love lighting the brandy, darkening the room and waiting for the flames to diminish.

We used to add sixpences which my grandad gave us. We also had lucky charms as well which were placed in the pudding by a grown up, of course.Nowadays, we add whatever money we can lay our hands on and u have to be careful not to bite them or u might chip ur teeth.

I remember very clearly, and the sister will back me up cos we probably had our mouths so open the Blackwall tunnel could fit in it. We were all at my grandad and grandmas for xmas and my uncle and cousins were also staying. After a slapup turkey roast grandma brought out the pudding and appropriate extras. The scene which followed has gone down in family history. My cousins when asked what they would like for pudding said''Everything!'' They therefore had xmas pudd with brandy butter, cream, icecream, custard and any number of extra toppings. My sister and I sat astounded at this amazing feet of gluttony and the fact that they didn't go ''pop'' was an acheivement in itself. To this day on the xmas dessert, we all laugh at what we eat and remember their pudding extravaganza.

I hope I have helped you learn a little about this small part of UK history at Christmas time.


Now a couple of little events.......................If you are making things this year as presents, hop over to Abi's lovely blog as she is having a little bloghop on Wednesday.


Finally, a BIG thankyou to Sian our wonderful club organiser who has given us so many wonderful things to chat about and remember on these Advent sundays. Hiphip, hooray, hiphip hooray, HIPHIP HOORAY!

A big awwww and a little hint.

There I was merrily checking what the postie had brought me and in with the usual bills and bits for recycling immediately, were 1 box and an interesting envelope.
The envelope came from Seattle, USA and there I am thinking ''I don't know anyone who would write to me from there!'' So I open said envelope and this was what was inside...............

Remember me telling you all about the amazing project that Melissa had been developing called Project Team Ewan which I blogged about here? Well when the tutorials and digital work became available I bought it and made my donation to the research cardiology unit at Seattle Children's hospital. I must admit the little letter brought a tear to my eyes. It was such a lovely surprise to be thanked for such a small thing which I hope will make some difference to the future children who need cardiac interventions. That's the big awwwwwww.

In the box was some supplies I had ordered for the next big project which is JYC 2010............... I had ordered some things from The Craftz Boutique only yesterday and here they were not only swift service but beautifully packaged, I felt like I'd been Christmassed.............

 Isnt this just the cutest reindeer tissue paper ever?

 My lil tag put a big smile on my face

 Some of the transparencies I purchased.............

 and the other bits including some tule and Jenni Bowlin bingo cards.

I have also spent today printing out and chopping up these.................

 ...............Ali Edward's 6 x 8 December Daily pages which you can purchase as a digital file and pdf from Designer Digitals.

 I have also bought the traditional new decorations this year. Above are a new glittery bauble and jingle bells plus a red traditional wooden heart all by Gisela Graham. I love her stuff. Also some red spotty ribbon and some cute lil christmas tree pegs. I bought the Spode serviettes as they match some Christmas china I have.The red and brown felt is for another project.

We also went to Lakeland on Monday and I managed to get some gr8 cutters for biscuits and some edible gold stars for cupcakes. More on that another time. So all in all the flat is starting to feel like Christmas is coming. Also Leonora's new Create 10 class which for Christmas is now live and at £5.00 I am having fun already.