Tag It!

Hello friends

I recently received some enquiries regarding the little tags that

I tend to use on my cards and projects.

I admit I did not realise how much I used them until I started to browse my

project photos!

They do make a nice little finishing touch with ribbon and twine and useful if you 

have run out of room to stamp a larger sentiment!

The main die set I use to create them is Back to Basics Tags.

When I have managed to bury this die set on my craft desk I often turn to 

Framed Tags One or Charmed I'm Sure.

(The links will take you to them on my website if technology has been kind to me!)

Always feel free to get in touch with questions and I will do my very best to answer them.

Enjoy your weekend dear friends, it is my nephew's 18th Birthday 

so some special celebrating to do!

Take care.

November Charity Kit Winner!

Hello friends

Back today with nice news... announcing the lucky number 

for the November Charity Add-On Kit.

If you ordered a kit it is time to check those numbers :)

The winning ticket is......

If you are the lucky owner it is time to zip over to Waltzing Mouse Stamps 

and select six stamp sets of your choice (just make sure they are in stock).

Once you have chosen your six, pop the details on an email to me

christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk

don't forget to include your address and I will ask the very kind Claire at

Waltzing Mouse to send the stamps directly to you.

Claire has been amazingly generous in supporting the Charity Kits,

she has given away stamps three months in a row!

December kits are nearly finished (thank you Mum!) 

Details will be posted here very soon.  The winning ticket prize for December

will be a lovely combo of dies, stamps and pretty paper!

The 'something crafty' today is a project I have shared before...

a French inspired plaque featuring Keepsake Envelopes from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™ 

The backing is a piece of cardboard box! Hessian-look paper, tickets, butterflies

and glitter encrusted 3D Foam Hearts.

I was thrilled to discover that Scrapbook Adhesives have used my project on their new packaging!

The envelopes really are useful for holding sentimental objects like tickets,

buttons, photos, babies teeth(!) and more.

By the way if you like my little brass stand, they are available here.

Sorry out of stock now but more on their way! :)

Other news: the radiotherapy is still proceeding well,  Elliott is doing brilliantly

although I think the tiredness is beginning to kick in a little.

I'm rather looking forward to a weekend of not driving around the M25!

Take care friends - enjoy your weekend.

Anyone putting up their Christmas decorations?? 

McNeed!

Hello friends

Glad to report yesterday's radiotherapy went very well too - so much so Elliott was definitely 

in the mood for McDonalds as soon as we left the hospital.

We stopped off at the services on the M25, not the nicest place but if you are

in needs of McDonalds urgently .....!

The hospital have joked that they are making me an honorary Radiographer,

this is because I get to set Elliott up in the treatment room, see everything on the screens

and chat to Elliott through the microphone,

(and probably ask too many questions!)  I did wonder if I would get a badge...

Elliott then opened his lovely Day 2 gift from Anne which was chocolate coins,

I got to see them briefly before they were eaten up!

Yesterday I featured Ned, Elliott's mascot dog.  There was a request to see him

without his mask and here he is...he does have eyes, they are obscured by fur.

I still have some craft projects to share.  Again, an item that is being featured 

in this month's edition of Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine.

A table favour box.

I think this design has 'me' written all over it, much more my style.

The box is Square Petal Top Box and the flower is much loved Layered Poinsettia.

A rhinestone brad to the middle gives a nice finishing touch.

A little tag is featured - please stop by in a day or two as I have information

about all the tags I like to use on projects.

Already Wednesday, this week is rushing by and I am pleased, I am marking the 

next six weeks off the calendar and wishing away 2013.

2014 is going to be a fantastic year! 

Oh yes...before I forget, my first website newsletter went out last night -
if you would like to subscribe please visit the site and click on the newsletter tab.
It will be monthly and contains news, info and special offers :)

I will keep checking back for new subscribers and make sure you get the newsletter -
I don't want you missing out!

Take care friends - thank you so much for your comments and for your

amazing support.

A Good Start!

Hello friends

All your good wishes certainly paid off - thank you. 

Elliott sailed through his first radiotherapy treatment yesterday.

We have been warned that later it does get more difficult but we are happy right now,

he has coped with his mask and is feeling confident.

Heading off to the hospital again today feeling a lot more positive.

Here is a photo that I forgot to share with you.  When Elliott was having brain

surgery in King's, the staff gave him a soft toy dog. 

(Elliott chose to name him Ned - short for needles!)  He has become a sort of mascot.

When Elliott attended the Marsden to have his mask moulded the staff automatically

made one for Ned and here he is wearing it.

As you can see it does have a sort of Hannibal Lecter look about it! 

Everyone's kindness has totally overwhelmed us and another amazing gesture is from

blog follower, Anne Riley Davies. A parcel arrived and we discovered it was a 

Radiotherapy Calendar for Elliott.  A gift for every day of his treatment!

Anne is sending them in batches and this is numbers 1-5. 

As soon as he finished his treatment yesterday he opened gift number 1 and

he was very pleased to discover chocolate teddies.

I was very touched that he instantly gave one to Mitchell! 

Thank you so much for your kindness Anne.

Today a very different card to share with you....it isn't my usual style at all!

I was asked to use this owl stamp - Christmas Hoot by Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine and

I turned my hand to a bit of colouring.  It truly was a first attempt but I think he looks

quite a happy festive owl!  I'm pretty sure my creative niche remains in die cutting but

sometimes it is good to step outside of our comfort zones.

Thanks again everyone and I will be back soon.

Just in case you missed it.....

Hello friends

Yesterday's blog post went up a little later than usual so just in case you missed it....

my new website has finally arrived!

You can view it here.

Some more info regarding ordering, navigating around the site etc can be found in

yesterday's blog post too.

And, talking of the new website - thank you for all the comments and messages - 

you all like it, yippee!

My Amazon shop will be closing shortly as I want to concentrate fully on the 

website.  Elliott is going to be my assistant through all of this, health permitting - 

I thought it would be nice for him to have something else to focus on.  

He is going to design some new sliders/banners, something festive is on order I believe!

Yesterday, knowing we were starting the six weeks of treatment today I thought

it would be good for all of us to get out, take in the fresh air and walk...it was very cold though!

Greenwich Park, London at twilight.  Canary Wharf and the 02 in the background.

We all had to wrap up warm including Bella!

I like to think this is her country tweeds look....it is my clever Mum that knits her jumpers.

Now how about something crafty!

In this month's edition of Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine the cover gift is festive metal charms, they are really nice and I got to make some cards using them.

Here is one card using the 2013 Snowflake Pendant and I've placed a metal snowflake 

charm to the middle.

The papers are Kaisercraft - Christmas Carol collection.

I intend to still blog as much as I can - so keep your eyes peeled!

Take care friends, keep warm and wishing you all a good week.

It's here!

Hello friends

The day has arrived when I can finally say it's here!!!

The NEW website - queue fanfare please!
You can click on the picture below to take you there....

My web designer man - Stuart Gibbins has worked hard to make a site that I love,

a tall order believe me, especially as most of this was organised by emailing
from hospital waiting rooms!

Like all new websites there may be a little tweaking needed but I am hoping it will

run smoothly.  I didn't realise just how much goes into it all but I'm learning fast!

Purchasing is organised under the a main tab 'Shop', a drop-down menu appears with sub-tabs across for items e.g. for Spellbinders™ it will list: Nestabilities®, Die D-Lites® etc -
I think that makes all the lovely goodies easier to locate.

There is also there is a search button in the top right hand corner - handy!

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™ have their own little home - I am proud to say

that I think I'm the only UK retailer that has nearly their entire range,

(and more exciting sticky new releases arriving soon!)

I've got some special sale launch items across the entire range of dies, adhesives and paper.

Paying for your items is bang up to date too - you can use debit cards, credit cards 

and PayPal.

There is a gallery section - some of my favourite projects there. When you click on the images
they open in a light box so you get to see all the detail.
My Advent Frame is featured and all the items are available -
the Square Bracket Edge Box die, the wooden frame and the numbers!

Other areas include FAQs and the boring but necessary legal stuff!

There is a link to my blog, I've decided my blog will stay here - it seemed a lot of work
to move it across somewhere else and here you all know where to find me!

There is also the option to subscribe to a monthly newsletter and book classes.
The classes tab is empty right now as the one Christmas class is fully booked
and with the logistics of hospital daily for six weeks new classes are not starting until January.
But keep checking back...I promise there will be lots more - New Year - New Start!

I hope you enjoy having a little roam around - I wanted to make it clear and easy to use

so fingers crossed!

Take care friends - I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

The Full Tour!

Hello friends

Apologies straight away...a photo heavy blog post and, if you are not a 

Harry Potter fan, this may not mean a great deal to you!

As mentioned, for my birthday the boys and I took a trip to 

Harry Potter Studios (near Watford).  

Elliott and I have been before but it was Mitchell's first trip.

I am huge fan and more so recently as I've been listening to the audio books

expertly read by Stephen Fry.  I cannot begin to tell you how many sleepless nights I have 

had since Elliott was diagnosed but a good friend recommended audio books to help induce sleep 

and I am very thankful.  I go to bed each night with Stephen Fry ....reading to me!

So here we go..it's like those times when friends offer to show you their holiday snaps!

The boys in front of the HUGE Christmas tree in the foyer.

A Christmas feast in the Great Hall, fully prepared by house elves.

I want a house elf!!

 One table was laden with savoury, the other with sweet...

 Ice cream anyone? 

Keeping score with the house points.

 The door to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Elliott and I.

 No 4 Privet Drive in the rain.

 An empty Diagon Alley - being on the first tour we had the place to ourselves.

Mitchell captured Elliott and I deep in talk outside Flourish and Blotts!

It's us again!

And again....!!  The Hogwarts model - it is incredible.

Finally it is Mitchell!  Wearing the Sorting Hat.

And this is Hermione's Bag, during the Deathly Hallows she used an Undetectable 

Extension Charm so she could fill the bag with everything needed - clothes, books, a tent! 

You can purchase this bag, I must admit I'm really quite partial to it ..although I doubt if

the charm is included, shame - I could do with it for storing all my craft stuff!

I hope you enjoyed all the photos.  

I will be back soon to announce the winning number for November's Charity Add-On Kit and, 

of course, announcing the news of the special December kit very soon.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend - keep warm and take care friends.

Just one pic....or maybe two!

Hello friends

Speedily stopping by this morning to say huge thanks for all your birthday messages,

here, on Facebook and emails - all so very lovely.  I'm a lucky girl!

I want to share with you just one pic from yesterday's trip to the Harry Potter Studios.

(many MANY more on their way...!)

Had a fantastic time despite the horrible weather.

And it appears adverse weather has reached Hogwarts, the entire model has been sprinkled

with snow - it looks amazing. 

Heading off to my London job today and tomorrow - my final days before

taking six weeks off for Elliott's treatment. Trying to get organised and do lots of

planning and Christmas shopping beforehand...luckily everything I need is 

readily available and not obscure items like...

Thank you again dear friends.

I will be back very soon.

A Walk in the Woods Kind of Day!

Hello friends

Yesterday was a cold, bright and sunny day - a perfect day for visiting Bella Woods.  

Flowery wellies were the order of the day!

 Autumn has certainly arrived, so much so Bella blends in!

She is sporting her new collar - she has a tendency to lose them in the woods when

chasing squirrels, bunnies and green parrots - yes, they are nesting in these woods!

The sunlight peeking through the trees.

Sadly, the recent storm inflicted some damage.

This tree had split in half ...

and here is the top section of it now laying in the farmer's field.

This is where we exit the woods and venture back into the sunlight across land....

This is the exact same spot back in August (minus a Bella in the photo!)

I love seeing how the seasons change our surroundings.

Thank you for your lovely supportive comments yesterday.

It is always a tonic to take a good walk and another nice thing is...

today is my birthday!  The boys and I are off to the Harry Potter Studios...

yes again.  I'm not sure who is the biggest fan, I think it might be me!

I promise photos to follow.

Take care friends.

Making Christmas Cards

Hello friends

Do you recall recently that I purchased some bits and bobs from ....

and I created this card.....

Well, because I had quite a lot of stuff left over I decided to make another card and
here it is.... very similar, just some slight variations.

DotComGiftShop liked it and asked if I would put together a simple guide.
I agreed and it is now being featured on their blog - here.
A speedy simple design - it is so easy and can be produced in stages -
why not get the family to help.

Talking of family - Elliott was at King's College Hospital in London yesterday
having his eyes checked.  Sadly his sight in his right eye is getting steadily worse.
We are hoping that the radiotherapy will work its magic and his optic nerves may recover.

We were encouraged by the consultant who said it is perfectly fine to live with sight
in just one eye, you can drive, play sports etc.  We did laugh at this because Elliott and
sport really do not go together - he is a computer geek!
Interestingly the consultant reassured us that there is no proof that sitting in front
of a computer screen for hours on end is harmful to the eyes.
I smiled just as much as Elliott with this news seeing as we both are guilty of sitting and tapping away at our computers for most of the day!

Hope you are all having a good start to the week, heating on full here and I promise
to get a photo of Bella sporting one of her new jumpers -
she does look cute but then I am just a little bit biased!

Take care friends.

The One Class!

Hello friends

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend - Bella is now sporting a warm doggy jumper - brhhhh!

As time is speeding by I thought I should get organised and let you know the details of my one class that I am going to be able to offer before the end of this year.  I haven't been able to host a class since way back in July so I'm really looking forward to opening up the studio for just one special festive day.  As well as the traditional homemade cake there will be some Christmassy treats too!

I've mentioned the project briefly before - it is a tree entirely made from Spiral Blossoms, I'm thinking it would look lovely on your Christmas dining table or as a decoration for your home.

All the class details are listed in the document below - it is an embedded link PDF thingybob!  It may take a moment to appear but it is there and if you scroll down within the document you can read all the info.

If you experience any problems viewing the document just drop me an email.




Here are a few more pictures and a glimpse of the papers we will be using.

My Mind's Eye - Vintage Christmas 12 x 12 papers.

I have just six spaces available, so if you would like to come along please email christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk   Apologies to all those that live too far away but news of the December Add-On Kit will be here very soon.

Take care friends.