So excited ..

4 weeks today my gorgeous hubby is due home and 1 week tomorrow my Bryony is coming to stay for 10 days! After the week I have had it was a great moment this morning when I realised! I am feeling blessed today.

I have had THE busiest week, on top of having an absess in my gum high above a wisdom tooth and have been in lots of pain, even my cheekbone and skin hurt! I am on highest strength painkillers and antibiotics, then my psoriasis has flared up due to pain, stress and being run down.
But I am feeling much better this morning and even had about 5 hours sleep last night, which for me at the moment is amazing.

I have also had some news which shows how Karma works - I can't share I am afraid, but I do believe in and LOVE karma - its why I try and be as nice as I can be, helpful and honest. I have Girlguiding is in my life - so I can share good values and voluntarily running the Craft Club (ok, I say voluntarily - Gill has a lot to answer for in that dept!! With her double pronged begging attack, lol) - Craft Club has changed my life and grown my friendships in a way I never believed possible. A reward in return for giving a little that I certainly wasn't expecting!

Treat others how you would like to be treated cos life has a funny way of jumping up and biting you in the ass!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Christmas and Lola!

Well these are cutesy little drawings aren't they? Once again - Pink Petticoat! From the Doodle-icious selection, coloured, layered up and popped onto A6 coloured card and folded in half, add a few embellishments and a bit of glitter and voila! Simple but sweet :)
This Lola card is made from leftovers of a TLC project I have been working on these past few days for my hubby Steve's birthday gift when he gets back from Afghanistan. We have found out that he actually leaves Camp Bastion to begin his journey home on his actual birthday!! How exciting! We are sending cards ahead for him to open but his birthday gifts etc will be delayed a few days for when he actually gets back around 4 days later! I will show the project once he has received it! Don't want to give too much away!
Anyway this is Lola Rose from Pink Petticoat, the papers are from the TLC Family kit, with stash ribbon, inks and papermania elements.

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Here are a few more...

That I have made recently using various techniques, with the emphasis being on being simple and easy to make a load of while still regaining suitability and loveliness!! This is the simple 'pop out' decoupage, I was dubious as I am used to cutting it out myself, but its turned out just lovely!
A stitched card I was playing with, this is a free template and you can find more here and here.

Aperture/acetate card, this is actually a rub on from Craft Club we found when routing thru an old box of stuff!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Colour Challenge #22

It's Colour Challenge time again over at Kristina's blog!

This was the inspiration photo:
and here is my go:

The colours don't look the same in the pic!! Ahhh!! Never mind, just rest assured they are in real life! Anyway! I thought I'd kill two bird with one stone here - I wanted to make a special card for Liza who won my candy to put in with her prize for when I post it on Friday (can't get to the PO before then! Sorry Liza!) and also enter the challenge!

I used Pink Petticoat Lola Rose Jeans image on plain white card, coloured in with basic kids crayola pencils and also stabilo pencils (the latter bought from Carrefour in Spain today while we were escaping Gib!!), I lightly dabbed a Whispers ink pad over the image and laid it onto papers from My Little Shoebox, which had been edged with Pretty Color Ink. The letters added for LIZA is Papermania diecut sticker letters and I used white ribbon and staples from my stash. The flower and brad are also Papermania.
I hope you like it when it arrives Liza!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Morning!

Had a great Craft Club last night and welcomed another new lady - Hayley! Welcome to our group!

Its National Day here in Gib so we are heading off the rock to Decathlon in Spain instead as it is CHAOS all day here!

Have a few things we need and as there will be very few Gibraltarians leaving here today and all the Spanish kids are in school.... we thought we'd make the most of the opportunity! My kids start back Stagecoach again next week and they've all grown out of their dance kit!?!?! Big sighs...

Its a bonus that there is also a HUGE Toy's R Us over there ;) might be gone a while, hehe.......

I am soooooooooo looking forward to a couple of weeks time when BRYONY!!!!! (HI BIRD!) is coming over to stay for a little (10 day!) holibobs with her two little monkeys!!

Then after that its just a couple of short weeks and my gorgeous hero of a hubby is gonna be home from Afghanistan! :) and OH I cannot wait! Gets me all excited to think about it! Only 5ish weeks to go!

Steve on the radar he keeps tiptop shape!! And yup - big deserty thing behind!

Both of these things almost make me want to do housework in preparation! Almost but not quite - yet! Lol, I am a last minute girl when these things happen!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Lovely award

I have been given this lovely award from Cathy, isn't it beautiful? I would like to pass it onto Deb at Paper, Ink, Scissors and Stamps, who I subscribed to and never fails to inspire me and keep me giggling with her witty craft blog. She is also braving out Hurricane Ike at the moment so BIG keep safe vibes heading your way x.
Also to Allison at Stampin' When I can who seems to be on a permanent hunt for fabby craft blogs! And to make it easier for us mere mortals - she lists them! Yeh!! Alongside this she makes great cards which I adore.
And Amanda at Inkspirations as I enjoy visiting there when I can to soak up her lovely creative vibes and marvel at her lovely work I can only aspire to.

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Drum roll please........!

Wow we had sooooo many entries! So many more than I imagined! Thank you all so much for taking part and I hope that you will join inthe next one that will be up soon!

Anyway, after scribbling on tonnes of tiny bits of paper, my girls got the easy part of drawing the name! From our trusty cornish ice cream tub!

The winner is..................

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!!LIZA!!

An English lady who lives in Valencia, Spain! You can find her fab blog PINK CANDY STRIPES here! She is new to crafting and blogging so a pleasant surprise will be winging its way to her as soon as she sends me her address!! (Post it in a message to this post Liza and I will not put it on the blog as I have to moderate my comments.)

Once again HUGE thanks ladies!!! Its been great fun, the kids have been asking daily how many we have had enter, so they have been excited too and at the time of posting this, I have way more than 10,000 hits, I have 12,914!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

!!BLOG CANDY!! This will stay up top until the draw, please scroll down for new posts!

Here it is! Finally! What a chaotic few days we have had, but I have finally assembled my papers and flowers for the Candy give away!! I cannot believe that we are nearly at 11,000 by the time I have posted this (*edited! Make that nearly 12,ooo!) my profound apologies, but if you knew what my life was like at the moment then you would all understand!

OK, for the 60 item giveaway I have the following for you! Big breath.....

11 paperflowers, some put together in co-ordinating colours by my daughter Rachel!

13, 6 x 6 Laura Ashley Papers

7, 8 x 8 'Retro Floral' Papers from Papermania

4, 8 x 8 'Love' Papers from Papermania

5, 8 x 8 'Yellows' Papers from Papermania

8, 8 x 8 'For Him' Papers from Papermania

and the best ones...

12, 8.5 x 8.5 double sided light cards, gorgeous and scrumptious from K & Co and the Berry Sweet collection!! My personal favourite!

*I will post worldwide.

*Closing time: Sunday the 7th September at 7pm CET.

*Leave a message in THIS ENTRY'S COMMENT box & a link on your blog promoting the candy.

*Double chances of entry has now ended!

I am already working on my next blog candy giveaway so keep popping by!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

Basic Grey Challenge Blog!

I came across this in my travels! I know how so many of us love Basic Grey, so how about this?

Basic Grey Challenge Blog.

The first challenge is buttons, but they need not be Basic Grey as long as something on your page is! I am going to submit one I have already made and posted here a couple of weeks ago - Fynns 'birth' day card.
Now obviously the buttons and everything are not Basic Grey but it fits the bill as the Rub Ons are Two Scoops!!
Hope you like it over at the challenge!


Creatively Yours
Sally x

My first 12 x 12 Page!

This week we changed days to Tuesdays nights and Thursday mornings for Craft Club which suit most people much better than what it was, and we have decided to do Demo Nights on the first Wednesday of each month (straight after payday!).

This months demo was a 12 by 12 scrapbooking layout. This is my first attempt ever at a 12 by 12 page having only ever made 2 (yes a whole 2!) 8 by 8's before now! Wow, daunting for a beginner!

Anyway this is my attempt and various closer aspects.
Here is the whole page, I have left space for journalling as I haven't decided what to write yet!
This is the top right corner, and my 2 eldest girls!

The is the bottom right with my 2 youngest girls!

Some of the embellishments, the beach bag and flipflops dome stickers, I bought especially for when I scrapped the beach pics. They are Papermania. The big bite was put into use with the eyelets and the chipboard star is TLC, as is the background card and red card.

The 'sun' showing all four girls together.Creatively Yours
Sally x

We Wish You A Merry Christmas.... a little bit more!

Well it is closer now than the last time I posted a Christmas Card! These are one of my many sessions aiming to make, easy, fast, attractive Christmas cards.

I shall make as many as I can and send some to my hubby in Afghanistan straight through the BFPO system, as the people taking over from him when he leaves will be there over the Christmas period and will need some to send home! I can send then directly to where they are needed, ensuring they get there in one piece, in time to be written and sent back!

This first card is a Printable Heaven copy with minor alterations.

This is 'leftovers' so I chopped a slim tall card in two and made two little cards.

This witty turkey card below is another Printable Heaven copy, and I absolutely adore it! Especially being a vegetarian!

If you haven't come across Printable Heaven yet, it the new 'arm' of Madaboutcards, which specialises in solely downloads. You can buy every download for £30, all 28 sets, instead of £70 at the moment! It has free downloads and free project ideas too!

Creatively Yours
Sally x

The Silent Rank

The Silent Rank

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens.
But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders. salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.

I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I cannot forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough. I am the one that's left behind.

My husband is a patriot, a brave prideful man
and the call to serve his country, not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me.

I love the man I married.
Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Military Wife.


Annette (my favourite friend and fellow crafty RAF wife) sent me this today, substitute all the army/soldier/greens references for RAF/Airman and the greens for blues/desert combats and we are there!

Thanks bird x

Creatively Yours
Sally x