Saturday 23 June 2018

Welcome to my week.....

It's been a busy old week, well nothing new there but something going on every day with hardly time to "turn the horse around" before I was off again so to speak.

Monday saw me doing all the mundane usual things, you know, house work & the highlight of the week the trip to Tesco. ARGHHH! I had my personal shopper with me this week in the form of Mr Frosty. That can be both a blessing & a hazard. The blessing comes at the packing stage as we have a good system going there but he does tend to inhibit browsing as he thinks I might be tempted to spend too much!! Hah! As if! So Monday usually passes in a blur of domestic bliss- not!!

Tuesday was the day for my first workshop day at Imagine Design Create Seaton. I was feeling nervous, excited &  with a little trepidation thrown in too. Have I packed everything? Get a grip you're going to be working in a craft shop!! Will they like me & my style of work? They've booked haven't they? And... breathe!
So, I set off early being reliably informed by my transport manager(Mr Frosty again) that it should take me no longer than 35-40 minutes to drive there. Hmmm! He hadn't factored in getting through Colaton Raleigh in the "rush hour". For those of you reading this (is there anyone reading this?!) CR is a small village on route to Seaton  (Seaton is a mere 20 miles further along the coast from Exmouth where I live) & a bit of a bottleneck.Traffic was at a stand still with people getting out of their cars & milling about. Stress levels went up a few more notches as I was convinced that there must have been a "major incident" up ahead & I was going to be late!  Turned out on enquiry to the local friendly postman, that it was no more than 2 large vehicles trying to inch their way past each other on the narrow country roads. Phew! Now calm down Deb! I was soon bowling along again.  
Well my day at Imagine Design  Create was a joy & I was made to feel very welcome & appreciated by the ladies participating in both my workshops. By the end of the day we were getting on like we'd all known each other for years, having a laugh & pulling each others legs. As it should be! I was so pleased that they had enjoyed it so much that they had all booked there & then for next month's workshop day on Tuesday 10th July.



Another day, another workshop as Wednesday saw me away to our regular monthly Wednesday morning workshop at the Pilgrim rooms Glenorchy church Exmouth. This week our project was "Paper Mosaics" in 2 very different forms. We were a small but very select group this time & as my crafty partner Jan had only just landed back on our shores after her hols in Turkey a matter of hours before I had volunteered to take the first class so that she could have a bit of a lie in. More chat, coffee & putting the world to rights went on as we worked diligently on my mosaic project which had a more traditional style to Jan's contemporary one-that's why we work so well together!. Boy was I glad to see Jan appear about 10.30 as I was having visions about her being stranded at a Turkish airport! I seemed like ages since I'd seen her, I do miss my crafty bestie when she's away! 



It was good to get out into the garden in the afternoon & have a bit of peace & quiet doing a bit of tidying & deadheading. I always find that really therapeutic especially after a hectic couple of days. My roses are particularly good this year & I'm wondering if "the beast from the east" did some good in killing off some diseases. Every cloud & all that.























I'm a regular member of our village church & was recently persuaded (against my better judgement) to join the team of flower arrangers who make the church look so beautiful. My reluctance stems from me not being any type of flower arranger not from a reluctance to help, may I add quickly. My idea of flower arranging is take 'em out of the wrapping & deposit in a vase of water, no fiddling about required. My fellow flower arrangers at last weeks meeting assured me that I'd soon pick it up & there was nothing to it......we'll see! So on Friday morning I set off for church for my first turn on the rota.I have to say that under the expert guidance of Sue (what patience!) I really got into it & thoroughly enjoyed myself. The results weren't half bad either!



So that about completes the week. I'm away to church in the morning to recharge my spiritual batteries & to restore order to the chaos of life. As a committed Christian my time in my Fathers house I liken to charging my mobile. I plug in, immerse myself in the fellowship of my church family & ask God to speak to me as I speak to Him. 


I hope you've enjoyed my week with me. I wish you a blessed & peaceful week ahead &  "May your God go with you".










Wednesday 13 June 2018

Talking of Fathers Day....

The Stix2 design team  were recently asked to come up with some sporty themed cards with the world cup looming (ugh!!). Sooo... I found myself forced to buy some suitable masculine dies. I've teamed my die cut images with some of Stix2 very versatile acetate products & backgrounds created with the spray paints.


For the first (let's get football out of the way!!) I've used some printable acetate to create the small happy birthday border on the left & for the large sentiment inside. The micro glue dots on a roll are fantastic for attaching acetate to card as they really don't show! The red gingham card is new from Stix2 & all the card blanks & card are from Stix2 of course.





For the sailing card I've simply placed the die cut onto a piece of background created with the spray paints. The motor bike design is mounted onto a piece of acetate which has had the spray paint treatment & then I've added a printable acetate sentiment to the bottom.






All of the dies I've used for these designs are from Printable Heaven  & if you haven't checked out this website you really should as they have some real treasures to be found (including a craft pound shop with fab embellishments) & some great cheap dies which cut like a dream. Just love this beach hut!