back home!

Back home from our shopping trip, just off to the hairdressers and tomorrow to Denmark for the weekend and my husbands Christmas do!!! No time for much more blogging but will just say a huge thank you to Linda for helping me with my background problems!! Only the banner to change now..................!!!! cheers, Suzanne x

Sara's snowman!!!

Our neighbour's little girl made her first snowman this morning! Here is the finished result, and then the photos show how she got on with it!! I think he is rather cute, don't you?!!!

I took this photo through our fence when she wasn't aware that I was watching her.

I like this one a lot - carefully preparing the first lump of snow for its body.............. I still adore watching THE SNOWMAN by Rayond Briggs. Lights down low, early evening and some crumpets by the fire - perfect! Takes me right back to when the children were small enough to love it too.This afternoon the sun is shining a bit but it remains cold enough to snow again so I hope it does!! There is nothing quite like 'the sound of falling snow", is there?!!!!

Sue x

help!

Hi everyone, is there a very clever blogger out there who can tell me why I can't change my background into a christmassy one please??? AS far as I can tell, I am doing everything right but it still doesn't change and I am getting very frustrated I can tell you!! It would be super if someone could tell me what I am doing wrong...................cheer me up no end!! thanks, sue x

First snow!!

At the moment we are enjoying the first snow of the winter! It is more like small hailstones to be honest but every now and then it is REAL snow! Nice really - gives one hope for a white Christmas! Not much else to say - just wanted to share the snow! Sue

I've been busy!!

This first card is for my husband this Christmas - an exploding card! They are fun to make but do require accurate cutting and folding!

This one is quite sweet too. I am LOVING using my new Threading Water punch!! You just have to get one! The silver star is one I got from Xenos last year and have embossed with silver powder.

Aah, I have made this one for my son to give his girlfriend!!!

Wanted to do something different so have used the trees and the stamp to get this 'forest' on a card!

The name cards for our Christmas dinner table!!!

Since the weather is so dreadful today there is nothing else to do but scrap! With the pain in my shoulder any larger activities are excruciatingly painful, so dusting/hoovering/ironing/polishing are ALL OUT OF THE QUESTION!!!! Aren't I the lucky one?! I am off to start my physio shortly so just getting this on the blog before I go!

What ever happened to a good cuppa?????

Yesterday Loes and I treated ourselves to a HIGH TEA in a town local to us ( which shall not be named here). We went to a Tea Rooms, which boasted the fact that it was English. Well, there is little to be said other than don't go there yourselves! It was not good, very expensive and absolutely NOT english!!! My view is that we were not the only dis-satisfied customers and that if things don't improve, they will soon close. Yes, it was that poor. Unfortunately the owner was not too happy with our comments and didn't seem to want any tips from someone who is actually English....but I feel that if you are going to do something like that, you had better do it well and get a great reputation for excellence than bother at all! So don't be surprised if you hear that Loes and Ann and I are offering a 'Scrap-a-tea' day next spring!!!!!

He's quit!!!

Ok, so that is rather shocking news! John has decided to go before he was shoved........but do I agree? Yes, and no. I do understand his point of view but I also believe that he would never have won, and now he has set it up for only TWO couples to get to the final instead of THREE which is terribly disappointing for them. I watched the hour long special just now, and it was so machiavellian!!! Judges and dancers alike were voicing their opinions and neither were really honest as far as I could see. So, John, we enjoyed your dancing, it was fun. We are sad that you made this decision for us instead of trusting us to do the right thing in the end, but we do understand. After all....... 'we're british'!!!!!!

John Sargeant - a dancing pig?!!!

What did I read in the Telegraph this morning?!! An item about our beloved John? So, Strictly has caught the attention of the Dutch newspapers at last! Since it is all that is being talked about in the UK at the moment I feel I must add my own view here. And that is complex to say the least! I am in two minds really. Ann and I both love watching the show as many of you know, and we enjoy the better dancers to be sure. However, and this is where it gets complicated, we adore John and Cristina too! We brits are reknowned for our love of an underdog, and we absolutely detest being TOLD WHAT TO DO by anyone, so having judges telling us how to vote will only send us the opposite way! That is what it says in the paper this morning: half the votes are for John only to irritate the judges now. Whether that is true or not, no-one is going to stop us voting for Winnie the Pooh and his lovely partner!! I would love to see Vincent and Rachel win - and I think that Christine and Matthew; Austin and Erin and then Camilla and Tom are the best of the lot. So who knows this weekend...we'll be glued to the set to find out!!!!!!!! It seeems I have got an infection in my shoulder joint and hence all the pain and discomfort I am experiencing. I am having physio this week and it has been suggested that swimming might also help so I will give it a go! With enough painkillers it is better at night, but I am not sleeping well at all. Apparently it is not something that goes away quickly............. Still waiting for our threading water punch......made some cards for the Scrapfever stall at the craft fairs etc. and read a bit..pottered, trying not to overdo it at all.....life is steady to say the least!!! But hey, thanks to the person who helped me solve the problem with publishing the blog! One flick of the switch and I have got it all back again! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

I'm so pleased with my efforts!!!

Just had to show you this!! I was sitting fiddling around with ideas this morning, and decided I wanted to make a menu card for our Christmas Dinner!! Yes, so soon!! So this is what I have made so far - still have to do the inside etc but the front was successful I think. I have stamped the cutlery and embossed it to make it look like a silver canteen set, and then wrapped them with little stars and fixed them on top of a small paper serviette I made using some gorgeous paper! Then I have made a christmas cracker and popped it inside the serviette!! We English love our crackers y'know!! Then I used my nesties to make a sort of frame, stamped the calender on green card and just fused it all together. I have also embossed and stamped the words CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS onto the card front and added a few gems and the 25. I hope you like it as much as I do!!! Suzannexx

the Margriet Fair was..

enjoyable. We had a lovely day out and bought several Christmas presents etc which was the general idea, but also some things we wanted for ourselves! It was not overly crowded - I was prepared for more of a crush, but we got around easily with out shopping trolley ( alias my scrap trolley!) and stuffed our goodies in there no problem! Now I have to unpack my bag and see what is for who and then rest...it was a long day, and my arm is very painful. Ann was wonderful and carted the trolley all day, but I still am having a lot of problems with the pain. I did get Peter a massage cushion so I am hoping that he will use it in his chair and get some relief from his bad back. A lovely sunny day out there - showing all the dust in here of course, but hey! I am going to relax and scrap a while now 'cos I have already ironed and hoovered and the rest can wait until tomorrow! have a great day yourselvess, Suzannex

Margriet Winter Fair

Ann and I are off to the Margriet Winter Fair today! Well, shortly in fact. I have to make my lunch next and then she is coming to call for me around 8.20am We are going by train as it is easier than driving in and out of Utrecht I think, and we got the great deal from Blokker - 2 for the price of 1!!! I went a few years ago with Hillie and given that we went to the Kreadoe last year, we wanted to do something different this time around. Hoping to find lots of Christmas presents too - so much take some bags!! Apart from that, Strictly is proving interesting - almost all the pairs are terrific and no-one deserves to go, but what about VINCENT AND RACHEL???? Absoultely sizzling rumba! It was fantastic and I would love to see them win. They are my favourites, along with Erin and Austin and Matthew and Christine. Tom and Camilla are great too, but I don't connect with Tom for some reason so he is not my fave for the title. Doesn't mean I don't think he might win; there is a strong possibility but not with my vote. WOnder who will be in the dreaded dance-off tonight?... Well, I ought to get moving so bye for now and a great Sunday to one and all!! Suex

the promised cards!

Here are all the cards I have made this week! I am eagerly awaiting the new tool so until then I am holding off from making any more so that I can use that on the next set!! Let me know whether you like these cards please - feedback is moer than welcome!!! Suex

Lots of card-making, only one good photo!!

I have been busy making Christmas cards and wanted to add them here but I had got awful light in the room, and only one came out looking reasonable! So here it is! I am loving using the new magnolias! So cute, and in combi with the nesties and Falala papers it is so easy to create lovely cards! On the matter of my shoulders; went to see GP and now have to have physio starting Tuesday. I am totally stiff and tight and it is very painful when I try to lift or carry or get dressed! I think it is just overworked muscles but even the hint of 'you will need an injection in your shoulder' was enough to scare me! I am not brave when it comes to needles and pain. Anyway, I am back off to try and take better lit photos, have a great evening where ever you are! Suzannex

post-workshop update!

It did all go smoothly and everybody loved our project and even said we could come back again next year!!! SO, another few converts to Scrapping!! It was hard work getting everything cut and the kits made but we did it, and the evening went fast. Dreadful weather and we were so worried that it would stop some ladies attending but we had 30 in total so excellent turnout! My shoulders are killing me of course so it is off to my GP to get some pain relief I feel. To much for me now that I can hardly raise the left one up anymore. And what are we going to do with our luvverly jubbly??? Buy more scrap materials of course! Loes and I went over to Paulines and bought the oh so wonderful Fa la la line and immediately started on more cards. Time is pressing now! And Ann and I are off to the Margriet Winter Fair this weekend so I am hoping to find nice pressies there too. Loes and I have also ordered the amazing THREADING WATER PUNCH from the USA. We wanted to have it to make those nice borders on our cards so sitting at the computer on Monday we managed to find it at this store: www.CraftTownHobbyLandUSA.com and it is a good price too - 15dollars. They have already posted them to us so we are eagerly awaiting the mailman!!! But now I am off to the shops for bread etc and then its raining so what is a girl to do???? SCRAP!!! bye, Suzannex

nightmares have started!!

Ok, so I have had a really bad nights sleep - or rather lack of!! I was dreaming about the workshop and that they hated it and wouldn't do anything, and made all kinds of other things out of the kits than what we had planned!! It was awful!! And now I am shattered and the day is just starting........and somehow my blog type has changed over night and it feels different.......am I lost in another dimension?!!! What is happening to me - HELP!!!! I have discovered this week that I am old-fashioned with old-fashioned manners and love of proper etiquette! I also know that I do not respond to being pushed into a corner, and that I have a strong sense of fairplay. I am wrestling with a few things right now, ones that upset and annoy me intensely, and cause many 'inthebrain' storms for me!!! My creed of 'do as you would be done by' is sometimes hard to stand by, but I find it is very important to me to make a stand when this happens and remain true to what I believe in. I also feel my homesickness period approaching fast, and that also has the habit of making me more stubborn and intrenched in these matters! I am probably turning into a "grumpy old woman" but if we start to ignore these rules of society and friendship where will it all end? What will the youth of today actually learn from us? What is our legacy going to be to them? "Take what you want and hang the consequences"? My daughter was given some lovely things by my friend Loes recently and another friend was asking for her address to send Christmas presents to etc, so I gave her their email addresses and when she got her laptop she wrote to thank them. What made me so happy was hearing their pleasure that Becci had corresponded directly with them and sent her own message of how she is doing etc. This in turn made me feel proud that I have a daughter who also thinks these things are important too. Sending even a little bit of happiness is worth so much I think. So, Thank you to all of you that visit this blog and hopefully find something worth reading every now and again!!!!

post -weekend blogging

Catching up with blogs and writing my own is good therapy for a cold!! That is decided, as today it is cold and damp and very nice being indoors with a hot cup of coffee and a CD playing in the kitchen. No-one is going to persuade me to venture outside today!! I have been very diligent and got the ironing out of the way first thing this morning so the rest of the day is mine!! I have to continue cutting out the carton templates for the workshop but it kills my arm after a while so I have to do it in sittings. Roll on next Monday when it is over and I can relax again! I have sent for the new Magnolia stamps - a bit naughty of me but they are SO cute!!! I did it via the magnolia site so goodness only knows how long they will take to arrive. I am going to use them for some christmas cards and other projects once this workshop is over with. And I got my SCRAPKIT from Chantal at the weekend with perfect Webster's Pages paper!! I love their stuff and was delighted that this was the choice this time. Chantal had told me it would be right up my street and she was right! I am starting the annual hunt for my christmas recipe books!!! Why I never can remember where I put them during the year I don't know but it is all part of the process!! Iwant to make the Irish Whiskey cakes as I am going to give them away as presents this year. I am having a HOMEMADE YEAR!!! I think it is what christmas is all about.........but anyone know how to make an Xbox 360????? Tim might have to be the one exception! He is finding all the offers and the lowest price for me but I want to wait a little longer and hope for a last minute offer once Sinterklaas is over. We don't do that here but Tim is going to Alicia's so that he can experience it for himself. Oh, it is so nice thinking about CHRISTMAS!!