Happy Mother's Day

Hello

What a glorious day we have had here in Sunny Wales.  Quite warm too!

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers whether you be "mother" to people or the fur and feather kind.  I had some lovely flowers in a jug, a new Boofle and a card from Dobby and the Girls.  Funny, not sure who wrote the card, but the writing looked familiar!  I popped down to see my Mum and Dad today along with my homemade "card".  Not exactly a card but a box.  A match box recycled....

And here is a close up.....

I well and truly hit the Snippets Box to make this.  The large white flowers and the small "peony/roses" were made using Sizzix dies. I don't mind telling you that the roses were a bit of a PITA!  Each petal is cut individually and has to be shaped and attached individually!  

And a longways shot.

I also made one for MIL who just rung me to say thanks.  I had to giggle as she asked why Mr Hettie was going to work so early.  I then reminded her that she ought to put her clock forward!  

The butterflies are K&Co and the little paper flowers with yellow dots are all Hero Arts and are VOS indeed.  I used Tonic dies as well as Signature Dies - Ivy.  Some Snippets of lace, a Papermania stamp, Liquid Pearls and Cordinations card, Tim Holtz Adore ticket and knob for the drawer. 

  

As I mentioned earlier this contains Snippets so I am popping into the Snippets Playground.  The Butterfly Challenge this week is for Yellow so I am fluttering by there too!

Thanks for calling by.  I am hoping now the pressure is off to get my quilt finished I can get around to seeing you more often now.

Hugs

Hettie

Friday Funny

At the end of the tax year, the Tax Office sent an inspector to audit the books of a local hospital.  While the agent was checking the books, he turned to the executive of the hospital and said 

"I notice you buy a lot of bandages.  What do you do with the end of the roll when there's too little left to be of any use?"

"Good question," noted the executive.

"We save them up and send them back to the bandage company and every once in a while, they send us a free roll."

"Oh," replied the auditor, somewhat disappointed that his unusual question had a practical answer.

But on he went, in his obnoxious way.

"What about all these plaster purchases?  What do you do with what's left over after setting a cast on a patient?"

"Ah, yes," replied the executive, realizing that the Inspector was trying to trap him with an unanswerable question.

"We save it and send it back to the manufacturer and every so often they send us a free bag of plaster."

"I see," replied the auditor, thinking hard about how he could fluster the know-it-all executive. 

"Well, what do you do with all the remains from the circumcision surgeries?"

"Here, too, we do not waste," answered the executive.

"What we do is save all the little foreskins and send them to the tax office, and about once a year they send us a complete p***k."

T on Tuesday......T is for QuilT! Scrapbooking of sorts!

Hello there

Tuesday again?  What!!!!  I am sure weeks are going quicker now than ever!

As it is Tuesday I am going to share my cup of tea with you Elizabeth and Bleubeard, as well as my latest project.

As some of you may know from my mentioning it on previous posts, I am desperately trying to finish a quilt by Saturday - THIS Saturday.  Well last night I managed to tack the quilt to some backing fabric I found - no doubt bought for some project I have long forgotten about many many MANY moons ago, as well as finding just enough cotton wadding to use without joining bits together.  Fate or what? So I ironed the fabric and the quilt top to within an inch of its life and tacked all three layers together. 

Now I remember from a workshop/get together many years ago that you should let the fabrics "rest" overnight before starting to quilt them.  So this I did.  I will start quilting in earnest tonight.   Whilst looking for fabric to back this quilt I also found another quilt top which I made in around 2000, I found the actual fabric I bought for the backing and I ironed those pieces and put them together, so hopefully I will have another quilt for our Quilt Exhibition in June!!  As well as that, this means that I have managed to empty more stash from my overflowing boxes!  Wahoo!

Now the photos I am sharing with you today are all little Snippets of the quilt.  I thought I would tease you all a little and I could also prove that I am working on something.  

The whole quilt, which is a wall hanging measures 32" x 42".  Some of the fabrics I bought in Praha when Mr and I last went and I managed to find similarly coloured ones to make up the collection I am using here at the Quilter's Guild AGM last year.  I have also used some Snippets of fabrics too so I shall taunt the Snippets Playground too!  We won't even mention the snippets of fabric, bondaweb, stitch and tear, and threads that are currently littering my craft room floor! 

Have any of you recognised some of the tools I have used to make this yet?  The clock below must be the most recognisable one!!   Yep!  I have used a mixture of Tim Holtz, Sizzix and Spellbinders dies, as well as some electronic dies on my Silhouette!  Don't you love it when different hobbies collide?  

Below is this week's cuppa.  It is my first cup of the day so is Glengettie and in one of my favourite Sophie Allerton Chicken mugs.   I didn't dare have my cuppa too close to my quilt!!!  

In case you are wondering where the scrapbooking element of today's post is, the quilt is a reminder of last year's AGM where some of us went to a large House near to Nottingham.  The blocks are each elements of things that were at the House.  All will be revealed when it is finished!  It WILL be finished on Friday night.  Why Friday?  We have a Group Area Day on Saturday where some of us who went to the House will be meeting up and doing a Show 'n Tell of our challenge quilts!  

Thanks for popping over.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my quilt so far.  I shall pop back to see you, though it may be a little late!

Hettie

Friday Funny

On a bitterly cold winter morning a husband and wife in Dublin were listening to the radio during breakfast. They heard the announcer say, "We are going to have 8 to 10 inches of snow today. You
must park your car on the even-numbered side of the street, so the Snow ploughs can get through. "So the good wife went out and moved her car.

A week later while they are eating breakfast again, the radio announcer said, "We are expecting 10 to 12 inches of snow today.  You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the street, so the snow ploughs can get through. "The good wife went out and moved her car again.

The next week they are again having breakfast, when the radio announcer says, "We are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today.  You must park...." Then the electric power went out. The good wife was very upset, and with a worried look on her face she said, "I don't know what to do. Which side of the street do I need to park on so the snow ploughs can get through?"

Then with the love and understanding in his voice that all men who are married to blondes exhibit, the husband replied,

"Why don't you just leave the bloody car in the garage this time."


I didn't see it coming either

Thank You

Hello there!

Having returned from a very fun filled dancing lesson I thought I would share a card I made earlier this week which I know has been received....

I wanted to say a special Thank You to someone very special to me.  

I took a Snippet of card approx 2" x 8" and inked it with DIs, Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar, Tattered Rose and Picked Raspberry.  I then did a spritz and flick, dried it with my heat gun before ironing it between two sheets of oven liner.  

Yes you did read correctly.  I did say IRON it!  The only ironing, other than when quilt making, that I don't mind! Having chopped it to size, I then stamped it using Memento ink and embossed with sparkly embossing powder, as well as the 2" piece.  I inked the edges of the piece before adhering it to the card.  I took the odd piece and diecut it with my MB butterfly die.  

A NBIS by Inkadinkadoo of TY, I adhered the stamped strip, butterfly and some arora borealis sparkly spots and chomped the corners and my card was finished.

The recipient liked it, the colour is a big clue as to who it was for!  I hope you like it too.  I am taking this down to the Snippets Playground for all to see.

Hettie

Scrapbook Tuesday - T is for.....Mini Album!

Hello There

Let me start by apologising for being "off the radar" a little at the moment.  I have a big quilting project on the go at the moment which needs to be finished by the 29th!!  Unfortunately due to being poorly last month it has put me behind schedule a little!  Don't fret, I will be sharing it once it is finished!

Well today is Tuesday.  Time to share a scrapbooking project with you as well as join in with Elizabeth and Bleubeard with a cuppa, or in my case a glass of squash.

On Saturday my Buddy and I had our monthly Scrapping Day so, true to my aim this year, I finished a project which I am sharing with you today.  Yeay!!!

Here it is....

Today I am drinking some blackberry and apple squash.  It was dinner time when I took the photos, hence they are not very good as I had to use the flash. Apologies for that.

I made this mini album for my Mum in Law for her 80th Birthday.  We were planning to take her to Longleat as her present.  I made her a "ticket", album and we bought her a digital camera.  Unfortunately soon after her birthday her sister died and a few bouts of ill health, so we only got to take her to Longleat last August, on her 83rd birthday.

As far as she knew it was only Hubby, myself and her that were going.  However I had managed to arrange for her niece, her hubby and daughter to meet us at Longleat, which was a lovely surprise for her.

Luckily we were all able to fit into Helen's car rather than ours.  It would have been a tight squeeze!  Poor Mia sat in the rumble seat in the boot!

The weather was glorious and altogether we had a lovely day.  

It took some time to locate the album for me to have back to put the photos in (none of which MIL took!  Anyone want a brand new unused 14 megapixel camera?) and the album has been waiting for me to print photos and put this together.  

Ta dah!  Finished.  I shall let MIL have it back now and another job done and dusted out of my room.   

So then. Why not pop over with a cuppa to Elizabeth's blog and share what you are up to today?  I am also popping over to the Snippets Playground as I most probably used snippets at the time I made the album, though it was before I was blogging.  I certainly used Snippets to mount the photos on before adhering them into the album.

Thanks for calling by and I will visit you if you call by as soon as I can.

Hugs

Hettie

Friday Funny

A Catholic Priest, a Baptist Preacher and a Rabbi all served as Chaplains to the students of Northern Michigan University at Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 
  
They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop.
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard, a real challenge would be to preach to a bear. 
  
One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it to their religion.. 
  
Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experiences. 
  
Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first.  'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism. 
  
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.' 
  
Reverend Billy Bob the Baptist spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip. In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he exclaimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. 
  
So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus. Hallelujah! 
  
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape. 
  
The Rabbi looked up and said: "Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the way to start." 

I am joining this in with Friday Smiles over at Annie's place!
  

Another Leaving Book...

Hello There

Wow!  Day 6 of no wet stuff!  Hose pipe by the weekend do you think?

Do you recall that I made a couple of leaving books last year?  Well I made a third but have not shown it until now.  (Mainly because I forgot it was in my "draft" list!) So I am sharing it with you today.

I used my lovely Grist Mill stamps from Artistic Outpost as well as Think and Wonder sayings.  Each one of these books has featured AO stamps in and they are my stamp of choice for olde worlde projects.

The book itself was made using a Sizzix card die and chopping it at the fold.  I covered it with TH papers and stamped, inked and attached a clock to the front and a key made with Martha Stewart paper clay and mould which I then inked and applied wax on.

Inside pages on which I stamped using Archival ink.  This allows for people with oily or sweaty hands not to rub the ink off when they are writing their messages in.

The pencil and button stamps were brought over from my lovely friend Kim last year.  Aren't they adorable?  This was their first inking.

All the sayings are from the Think and Wonder collection of AO.  I haven't shared all the pages where I used some more of the sayings as it would make my post seem too long.

The recipient was very impressed and surprised when he got his book.  He had never realised until then that all the cards I have made him over the years were handmade!  and so was truly delighted that I had made his book for him.

I am going to share this with the Artistic Outpost Referral for March which is anything goes.  I am also going to share with the Snippets Playground as there are lots of snippets in there.   Put the kettle on someone! 

Thanks for calling by.

Hettie

T stands for ..... My Dad Scrapbook Tuesday

Hello there Peeps

OK!  Who stole the big round yellow shiny thing that was in the sky yesterday?  It IS still dry but it is a tad chillier here today.  

So today is Tuesday.  Day 4 of no-rain-since-October-phenomonon!  That means it is time for me to share a layout and a cuppa with my friend Elizabeth and Bleubeard.  

So here goes.....

This photo was taken on Christmas Eve.  Yes it is my Dad!  The cup one of my favourites which portrays a picture of a poster that was around on railways in times gone past.  Hubby bought it for me on one of our trips to York Railway Museum.  It was not the last trip so must be around 7 1/2 years old now.  And no chips!  I cannot bear chips in cups and if I find one the cup has to go!  No sentimentalities about it - out it goes.  If a handle goes I move them upstairs in my craft room for water or brushes, if it is a special one! No chips though!  Got that?  The tea is good ole' Glengettie - a Welsh brew!

This picture below is a better representation of the colours.  The background piece is a VOS sheet of Kaisercraft I bought a while ago and have not used.  Tut Tut!  I just love Nutcrackers.  I had a rummage in my Snippets box as well as the box with my Guernsey album in and found lots of long strips of plain cardstock, as well as the cream piece (second from left) which was left on my desk from the mini ATC album I shared last week.

I stamped the background sheet with two Crafty Individuals stamps and inked around the edge.  I punched the purple/red TH strip with my EK Success punch and sanded it to show the core, likewise I sanded the orange and green strips too.  

The tiny rosettes are VOS from K&Company bought many MANY moons ago and the little stars are off the same sheet too.  The wooden DAD is from a pack bought in The Works a long time ago.  There is something new on here though - the die I cut the star from.  The star paper is a Snippet though, and once attached I stickled around the star using a black stickle.

I added the string on the photo 'cos my Dad always has string in his pocket, as well as some rubber bands.  A star, well, that is my Dad! and a tag with the date on.  The "Full of Joy" is from Cosmo Cricket.

Dobby insisted on standing still (for once) and having his photo taken so he could say "Hi" to my friends and especially Bleubeard!

Thank you for popping in.  I hope you like my layout.  I shall find out if Dad does on the weekend!  Off to join my friends over at Elizabeth's with my cuppa.  I am also taking the layout over to the Snippets Playground as there was a plethora of Snippets used on this layout, including the string which came from a the tag on my new shopping bag!

Hugs

Hettie

Christmas Poinsettia Cards

Hello there.  Happy Sunshiney Monday to you all.

I hope you had a great weekend in all this Spring sunshine?  

On Saturday I went with my dancing teacher to Swansea for a Day School of Scottish Dancing and then a Tea Dance.  It was lovely and we ended up having to open the doors and windows. It was a great day and I learnt lots of hints and tips as well as a few new dances. 

Sunday I spent outside actually hanging washing out and letting my Girls have a good romp around in the grass. 

Today I am going to share some cards with you.  All made using die cut vellum and creating poinsettia which I moulded, scored and coloured with Copic pens. I used darker reds and greens than I did last time so that they didn't look quite so pink!  

I would hate to try and guess how old some of the brads are.  I have even used a NBUS on here.  I am always looking for small shapes on which to stamp sentiments and I saw a Spellbinders sign die going for a song so I snapped it up.  Just the right size for this and some other stamps.  Much better than wonky cuts!

One of my favourite MB die cuts here.  Love the bow and star.  I have looked at other versions but still love this one.

A change of "ribbon" below.  I used my EK Success punch and added little stickles for embellishment.

So that is all from me today.  A little bit of Christmas on a sunny day.  More to add to my box - yippee!

Have a great day.  I shall hopefully be able to call by later when I get home.  I am taking this down to the Snippets Playground as there are a plethora of snippets in these cards.

Hettie

Friday Funny

CHINESE SICK LEAVE

Wong Chow calls into work and says, 'I no come work today, I really sick. Got headache, stomach ache and legs hurt, I no come work..'

The boss says, 'You know something, Wong Chow, I really need you today. When I feel sick like you do, I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes everything better and I go to work.. You try that.

Two hours later Wong Chow calls again. 'I do what you say and I feel great... I be at work soon.....You got nice house.'

Silhouette Mat Replacing Tutorial, Home Made Stencils and Cards......

Hello Friends

Before I start I would like to thank my latest followers Denise and Princess Judy.  Thank you both for following me and I hope you enjoy the ride!  You might want to get yourselves a cuppa before reading today's post.

This is a project I was doing just before I fell ill but haven't got round to sharing it with you.  I joined an online class for stencilling - something which I have dabbled in but I don't use them a lot.  The online class is available after the class finishes so I can dip in and out of the course when I feel like (just as well as I fell ill at the start) and it is kept there ad infinitum.  

My choice of stencils is limited, hence why I don't use them an awful lot and I had a brainwave! (Yes it hurt!) I have template plastic (VOS) for creating quilting stencils.  Would it cut on my Silhouette?  Sounds simple doesn't it?  However my cutting mat for my stencil was naff not very good and I wanted to do this there and then.  Also, the mats have become very hard to source and very expensive since I first had my Silhouette.

                                    

So I took a sheet of laminating plastic and laminated it.  Took another sheet of laminating plastic and laminated it with the first laminated sheet inside it.  Are you with me?  Then I placed some masking tape down the long edges of the "mat" about 1/4" in.   

Then I took my Crafters Companion Stick and Spray Temporary glue. (We don't want it sticking there forever do we?)  Something else I bought ages ago and have not used much!  

I then sprayed the mat lightly, covering the surrounding area first, with about 5 thin coats.  I then removed the masking tape and replaced it.  These are where the wheels move the mat along the cutter, so you don't want them tacky.

To protect the mat between uses I took some freezer paper and cut a piece to fit and use it shiny side down.

Then I downloaded a design from Silhouette, placed some template plastic on the mat and watched with baited breath to see if the plastic would cut.

I need not have worried.  It cut like a hot knife through butter and the mat did it's job perfectly.  This design is called "Kite".

Here are some samples I made using just three colours of DI.

And some finished cards....

I used some Snippets of vellum, cut some tags (the snippets dictated that some of the tags are shorter than others), tied some twine and adhered them to the card using a teeny bit of glue behind the twine and another behind the butterfly.

Overall I was extremely pleased with the mat and the stencil.  So much so I went online to a very well known auction site and ordered some A4 template plastic so I could make some larger stencils.  All this came with a bonus - all the materials were already in my craft room.  I love it when two crafts collide (template plastic and freezer paper both being quilting tools).

Whilst I don't suppose Silhouette would advocate making your own mats, when they are getting like hen's teeth to get hold of then what are we supposed to do?  If you decide to try this, do so with caution.  I am no expert and will not be held responsible for any mishaps.

Thanks for calling by.  Sorry it is a little long today but I wanted to show you how I created these stencils. Please let me know what you think!

Hettie    

Scrapbook Tuesday - T is for.....Anticipation

Hello there!  

Is it me or are Tuesdays coming round quicker this year?  Here we are again on a Tuesday and I have another scrapbook page to share with you whilst you have a slurp of your tea.  As usual I am playing along with Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T on Tuesday.

This layout shows my niece and nephew on Christmas Eve at my parent's home.  The colours are not good and the second photo is more like the original.  My sister and I arranged to meet there to have a bit of a get together and pressie swap.  The last fews years one or more of us have been too poorly to go so it was nice to all make it there this year!

Why "Anticipation" you may be asking?  Rhys and his wife were expecting their first child as its anticipated due date was approaching.  Megan.  Well she just likes pressies and wine!  I splashed a little paint and swooshed some on the patterned paper.  Then stamped with a star.

I am sharing some Dorset Tea with you in a Sophie Alport chicken mug.  The tea was brought back by my neighbours in a gorgeous tin with chickens on it.  My neighbour knew I would like the tin!

A close up of some of the elements on my layout.  I used the TH lace die and some Snippets of paper to create a lace effect. The little piece of ribbon was cut for something else a while back so glad to be able to use it rather than lose it.   The date stamp was sent to me by a very dear friend and is a Theresa Collins stamp. 

I cannot believe how long ago I bought these reindeer.  I think they were supposed to be table decorations but I knew they would look good as scrapbook embellishments.  I was trying to pick out the reindeer in Megan's jumper.

I used some old brads and eyelets on the page.  Great to use up old stash isn't it?  The star stamp was a freebie with Craft Stamper.  I cut the title out using my Cricut.

You can see the little word beads I used, again bought many moons ago.  In fact the only new thing is the owl!  It is rare to see Megan without a smile, but being a professional ballet dancer it is no surprise.  Oh to be able to do what you love for a living!

Thanks for popping over.  Please call by the Teahouse to meet other tea drinkers.  Other beverages are available!  Also feel free to join us at the Snippets Playground.  New playmates are always welcome.

Hettie