Santa's Prayer

The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed
but Santa still knelt by the side of his bed

'Dear Father,' he prayed, "Be with me tonight,
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.

My sack will hold toys to grant all kid's wishes.
The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.

I can do all these things, Lord, only through you.
I just need your blessing ,then it's easy to do.

I do this only to honor the birth of the one,
that was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.

So to all of my friends, lest your glory I rob,
please, Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

(Author Unknown)

I admit it I believe in Father Christmas, or at least in the spirit of Christmas which is what Father Christmas means to me. However, I do not think that he is the reason for Cristmas which is why this Kneeling Santa is one of my most favouite images this time of the year. For me it sums up what Christmas should be about with Father Christmas representing the comercial side taking second place to the religeous because when all is said and done without that side of it the holiday would not exist.

The image is from CowTown stamps,coloured with promarkers. The holly paper is from K&Co and the red script paper is from Craftwork cards. The sentiment and gems are from my stash.

Little Claire Club

For 7.50 a month plus a pound p&p you can join what is, in my opinion, a great Club. Little Claire club members receive a project pack each month containing a new stamp or set of stamps, pre-cut materials to make a card plus colour idea sheets for other projects. On top of that you get a 10% discount on all your purchases either online, by phone or at shows and a monthly newsletter. You only have to commit to 6 months at a time but once you are a member I am sure you will want to continue. I have been a member for some time and I have never been disappointed. The staff are so friendly and helpful; they make you feel like you are part of a family rather than a stamping club.

 This month’s stamp is ‘A little bird told me…’ and when it dropped through my letterbox Ijust has to stat using it immediately. I love the little bird but it would be easy to leave it out of the stamped image if you wanted to, just don’t put ink on it. The stamp came with the sentiment ‘A little bird told me……’ ‘That it’s your birthday…..’ making the stamp perfect for winter birthdays but I used the stamp for Christmas cards as you can see.

Although these three cards are all the same image and two use the same paper, I made them different by the use of colour, embelishments and even the shape.

In the first card I used a snowflake to back a white Poinsettia which I had given more glitz by covering with crystal stickles. The gem swirl is part of a larger one that was in my stash and the paper is from the K&Co 'Christmas Cheer' pad.

The second card I used a blue Sekura pen to highlight the blue swirls that were already on the paper and them added gems of the same colour. I also used a silver pen to add highlights to the holly leaves and  put 'Glossy Accents' on the holly berries to make them stand out. The paper is also from the K&Co 'Christmas Cheer' pad and the red chiffon ribbon was from my stash.

The last card is much the same using the K&Co 'Christmas Cheer' paper and a gem swirl and braid from my stash. All three images were coloured using promarkers.

The Christmas Rush

Why do I do it? Every year I promise myself I am going to be more organised and get my Christmas cards made early and every year I am rushing at the last moment trying to get them finished. This year is no exception, here we are 50 days away from Christmas and I still have nowhere near enough cards made but I thought I would show you one that I have finished.





The image is another from Whiff of Joy and of course I coloured it with Promarkers. It is matted onto silver mirriboard and the paper by Kars has glittered swirls so that saved me some time which I really need. The muff, earmuffs and boot bobbles I covered with stickles and the flowers and crystal stems are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Thanksgiving

For those of you who don't know, Thanksgiving is a Harvest Festival celebrated in the USA on the fourth Thursday of November. The story goes that the Pilgrims started the Thanksgiving tradition when they held their Harvest festival and invited the Indians to share their feast and the Indians brought a Turkey to share. Today it is fondly known as 'Turkey Day' and it heralds the start of the Holiday season The famous 'Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade' with its marching bands and huge helium balloons brings Santa Claus to the New York store. The parade was the centre piece of my favourite Christmas film 'Miracle on 34th Street', the 1947 version although the 1994 version is good as well.

I know Thanksgiving is not celebrated in England but I spent 6 years of my married life in the States and I still have some relatives there so I have a couple of Thanksgiving cards to make each year.







The backing paper is printed from an Artylicious CD 'Essence of Nature’, which I printed out onto a pearlescent paper. This was my first venture into using CD's for backing papers and I was really pleased with the result so I will be looking into using the media more. The image is a stamp from Whiff of Joy which I coloured with Promarkers. The flowers are from Orchard Crafts and the ribbons are from my stash. The greeting I stamped using an Inkadinkado stamp and a powder from WOW! who are bringing out some nice colours. I like to make a co-ordinating box for my cards rather than an envelope or boxelope so that the flowers do not get crushed, but as this has to make it to the USA I will be wrapping it in bubble wrap as well.

The New Man in My Life

I have just realised how long it has been since I posted anything on here, I blame the new man in my life for taking up too much of my time!

Please say hello to the newest addition to our household, Brodie.

Brodie is a 10 year old Liver and White Springer Spaniel that we have adopted from the 'Dogs Trust'. He came to them as a stray found somewhere in Ireland so we do not have any history on him before he was taken into the care of the Trust. When he was examined by one of the Trust's vets it was found that Brodie had a damaged kidney and appalling teeth problems. It was decided that the best course of action was to remove the damaged kidney and while he was under anaesthetic to do what they could in the way of dental treatment.

You may remember that our previous dog, Brian, had also come to us from the Dog's Trust so that made the process of adopting Brodie much easier as we did not have to wait for a home check or Vet check. I went for another older dog because I cannot walk very far or very fast so I needed a dog who did not need more exercise than I could give him and one that would not be running around my feet and tripping me up.

When we brought Brodie home he had only had his big operation 3 weeks previously and he needed to put some weight on but apart from that he is a lovely dog. He is very well behaved and has been trained well. We think he may have been trained as a gun dog as he loves to retrieve a thrown toy but we have yet to find the command to make him give up the toy once he brings it back to you!

Our cat Oscar is still not too sure of Brodie, I am sure it will be alright but it is just taking a bit of time for them both to get used to each other. Oscar is still a bit frightened of the dog whilst Brodie can get a bit jealous of the cat.

So that’s my excuse and now I will get back to crafting.

100 Days Until Christmas

That's right, just 100 days until Christmas and that being so I thought I had better kick myself into gear and get down to making Christmas cards. So here is the first of my cards for 2010.

This is one of Lilli of the Valley's new stamps, she is called 'All Wrapped up'. Of course I have coloured her using Promarkers although I have used a couple of Sekura pens for 'Special' effects that have not been caught by the camera. I used a Souffle pen on her muff to give the impression of fur (fake fur of course because we would never use real fur) and a Gloss pen on the toes of her boots to make them look like patent leather. The papers are K&Co Tim Coffey Christmas and the embellishments are from my stash.

I have gone back to using miri board for matting which is really appropriate for Christmas but I also like it for other cards. I also used stickles on the flowers to give them some extra sparkle.

Back To School

My Nephew and Niece are both starting their last year at their respective schools so I wanted to make them a card each to mark the occasion. These new stamps from Lilli of the Valley fit the bill perfectly.




Back to Schoool Girl


Back to School Boy

I have coloured the images with Promarkers based on their school uniform colours. I used a bit of 'Artistic Licence' with my Nephews card and combined his P.E. kit and his Uniform to make the card more colourful. The charms on both cards are removable and can be used on a mobile phone or on a pencil case zip or anything else they can think of.

Wild Orchid Challenge

The Wild Orchid Challenge 4 is 'Make it Sparkle' so this card has sparkle all over from the glitterd paper to the tinsel in the flower bouqet.



The image is 'For Someone Special' form 'Ladybug and Friends' coloured with Promarkers. The papers are 'Linen Closet' by DCWV and I used mirri board for mounting to bring in more shine. The flowers are from Wild Orchid with some Diamond Stickles added for sparkle; the Sparkle Gems, Crystal Stems and Ribbon are from my stash.The flower bouquet is Ivory Flower Soft and some Tinsel Glitter from Martha Stewart. This will be my first challenge entry so fingers crossed.

Hope Believe Trust

I made this card for a friend who sadly is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. Unforunately with this disease it is not the cancer that make's you feel like death warmed up it is the treatment. For that reason I wanted to stay away from the usual 'Get well soon' sentiment and make it a bright card. I put Hope and Trust on the outside of the card and inside I put 'Hope for a cure, Believe it will happen, Trust in God' I plan on making a card for my friend every 2 or 3 weeks so that she knows that I have not forgotten about her and that I am here if she needs me.

The stamp is 'Little Nurse' from 'Whiff of Joy' which I coloured with promarkers, the papers are DCWV Citrus,the gems and flowers are from my stash and the decorative punch was Martha Stewart Floral vine.

My reason for living

Recently someone asked me what I had to live for. At the time the question gave me pause for thought, especially as that someone was my Doctor, but I soon realised that my reason for living was my Husband. I know most Women would say their Children but our one and only child is almost a stranger to us and has caused us so much pain in the past few years that I am not sure how I feel about her at the moment.

But back to my husband, and before you ask NO you can't have him. As you have probably guessed crafting is my main hobby and the support I get from my DH (Darling Husband) is second to none. When I stopped working it was not by choice but because of medical reasons and I felt like I had been thrown onto life's scrap heap. So my DH encouraged me to think of my crafting as a job. We have an agreement that when he is at work I should use my time crafting or in craft related activities, although he never checks up on me. He bought lots of storage units for me and we set up my crafting area in the TV room.

I have heard ladies say that they have to hide their purchases when they go to craft shows or shop's but I have the opposite problem. I have to limit the amount of craft shows we go to because he spends more money than I do. Where I may pick one or two items from a range he will buy the lot. He loves going to the shows and talking to the stall holders. He likes to see if he can get a discount or something for free and it is amazing how often he is successful. Some of the retailers have come to know him and spend a lot of time chatting with him which astonishes me considering how cheeky he is with them. He is almost as bad in craft shops. I pick up the things I need and when we get home I have lots of fun going through our purchases to see what extras he has bought me as well.

Recently I was ill with this Noro virus and he came home with a carrier bag containing 4 Martha Stewart punches. Other men would bring their sick wives flowers but he knows what will cheer me up the fastest. He loves to see the things I make and is always telling me that things I make are much better than things that can be bought in the shops.

My DH is really one in a million. I am sure that when he said 'In sickness and in health' he did not realise how much of a burden I would turn out to be but he tells me that he does not see me that way. I know it sounds corny but I really don't know what I have done to deserve him but I am glad that I have him and I am holding on to him with both hands.

New Baby Card

This is my latest card made with a stamp from 'Whiff of Joy' called 'Willow Holding Baby'. This is a lovely stamp that can be used for either a new girl or boy, birth announcement, birth congratulations or for a Christening. I coloured the image with Promarkers and tried not to make it prety but not too frilly. I think it came out well.

Big Yellow Taxi

'Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone' words sung by Joni Mitchell and more recently by the Counting Crows. These words were brought home to me this past week when our dog lost his fight for life.

Although Bryan had been with us barely 2 years our vet put his age at about 14. We don't know what his life had been like before he came to us because he had been found wandering the streets in Scotland and had wound up in the care of the Dogs Trust which is where we found him. We had suspicion's that he was not always treated well as he was frightened of men in certain situations and he was forever scrounging for food even though he was fed regularly. He was a lovely old boy and everyone who met him fell in love with him, even other dogs and our cat Oscar!

What I did not realise was just how much he meant to me. I know he was company while my Husband was at work but I now realise he was much more. Bryan was my courage, he made me face the world again, to go out walking and to talk to people I did not know. He gave me the confidence to open the door without worrying who was on the other side. He helped my general health as with the introduction of more exercise I was able to shed 60lbs. He gave me someone else to think about other than myself, I know I have other pets but a dog will keep pestering you until you do what they want. He gave me unconditional love, something I thought I had from family but it turned out that it was not so. I only got that from Bryan, my Husband and Brother.

When we adopted Bryan from the Dogs Trust we were told we had done a good thing and we had, We had done a good thing for me. Bryan was what I needed and we were what Bryan needed so it was a good match except that I needed him for longer than he had to give me and now I miss him so much that I don't know what to do. Even the cat misses him and walks around the house calling to him. We have talked about getting another dog but we have not decided on that yet, it is too soon.

So, thank you Bryan. Thank you for all you did for me, for the happiness you brought to us even for a short while. See you at the Rainbow Bridge boy, wait for me.

Well, it is another sunny day here in Suffolk. We did have some rain early this morning but just a short shower. We could really do with a good downpour to help the farmers around here.

I can hardly believe it is July already and the craft supliers are getting their Christmas ranges out. It may sound mad but if you have a lot of Christmas Cards to make then you need to get a head start on it. I have bought some new Christmas stamps from the Whiff of Joy range and of course I will be colouring them with my Promarkers. I can hardly believe that I only have one more pen to get before I have all the promarker pens and that one is on order. I am considering getting the aqua markers as well but I would like to see them in action first.

Happy Crafting

Elaina

A card for a friends Birthday.

Magic Moments

A card made using a stamp by A Whiff of Joy

I Hate Monday's and Especially This One

Our dog Bryan has not been well lately, it was nothing I could put my finger on I just knew he was not right. Thankfully our Vet takes my hunches seriously so Friday we took him into the Surgery and the Vet did a thorough examination of Bryan including blood tests. The blood results did not look good so they x-rayed Bryan and even used ultrasound to examine his stomach. The vet thinks he has a growth on his spleen so he gave him some shots to boost his immune system and appetite in order build him up as much as possible over the weekend in preparation for possible surgery today.

I felt awful taking Bryan to the Vet's this morning and leaving him there but I know this is best for him. The Surgery has just called and told me that the pre-op x-ray showed no secondary’s or any reason not to operate so I gave my permission for them to go ahead with the exploratory and possible removal of his spleen. As you can imagine I am a bag of nerves and to make it worse I am home alone. Even Oscar the cat knows that something is not right and keeps walking around the house when he would usually be asleep.

Sunday Morning

Good Morning all you fellow Crafters. Well its Sunday again and it is warm and dry but the sun is hidden behind all the clouds

I have recently discovered the 'Whiff of Joy' stamps' and I spent more than my months crafting budget on them, I just could not help my self. If you have not seen them yet pop along to their web site at and have a look at their gallery and I am sure you will be hooked too.