Tuneful Good Luck - The Sequel . . . . . . .

Good morning everyone. What a beautiful spell of weather we are having.

I have to be careful sitting out in the Sun, due to one of my tablets having a possibility of making my skin photosensitive, but I have managed to warm the old bones.

Have had some indoor time though, getting some samples done for Mr Lockwood for this week. Hopefully, they will pass muster.

Have also been having to sort out little pressies Lily has been bringing us. Since last Thursday, we have had 1 bird, 1 live mouse (which soon became a dead one) and 3 other dead mice. Molly, on the other hand, bought me.........................a cooked pork sausage!!!

That was at the weekend so I don't know if some poor neighbour was missing part of their weekend fry up lol!!!

Now, today's creation is the recent good luck card I sent to Kate. The last blog card was for her concert last November and today's was for her April event.

Kate had mentioned that they were performing a section of Handel's Alexander's Feast so I managed to find a free download of the music score and printed it off on some pretty floral vellum that I have.

Ingredients

Cream and pink card

Papermania Confetti Vellum

Foamiran rose made with SB Carnation die and leaves from SB Bitty Blossoms

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder

CE gold satin ribbon

Black pearlage

Its always pleasing when a card comes out just as you wanted it and thankfully, Kate liked it.

Well, time for a little wisty teasing.

I'm not sure what Maureen was incinerating from her comment on my last post. I was quite shocked (more so by the fact she reads the Daily Mail.........its Horse and Hounds and The Telegraph in this house) that she may be suggesting that our wisty was not up to scratch.

In fact, when I told Lily, this was her reaction..................

Obviously, it could have just been a cunning ruse to make me think that WART had diverted their attentions elsewhere! So, Molly is doing longer security shifts. . . . . 

June S please feel free to replicate any of my designs. I feel flattered that folk would think they are good enough to reproduce.

Sandy, tomato pie sounds interesting and Stephanie, I will definitely post snaps of the tomatoes when they fruit.

Karen, I need to know why you can't eat citrus. I can't have grapefruit as it reacts with some of my tablets but didn't know citrus in general can be bad for you.

June F, I'll be interested to see what you attach the bells to.

Back at the hospital again today for the eye appointment. Haven't a clue what they will be doing (perhaps I don't want to know) though I guess that they will re-do the puffer test (don't know the technical term for it) and hopefully it will be normal this time so there is no other poking and prodding required, not that there are many areas left of me that haven't been poked and prodded.

On that note, I will bid you adieu for now.

Enjoy the rest of the sunshine.

TTFN

Ang x

Memories of Mauritius. . . . . . . . . . . .

Good morning folks. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Sorry I have been missing again but have had another few rough days. I suppose the body occasionally decides to remind me that it is not 100%.

Before I forget, if LaVonne is viewing this, I have tried replying to your email but your server is blocking me. I will pop a couple of explanation photos on my next blog post for you.

Now, today I am back with a card from my annals (Lord, I do hope that I have spelt that correctly lol!!!) as its been lurking from when I did some samples for John when he was still demoing for CE. I have a few in this folder so its time for them to have their day in the spotlight.

Ingredients

Cream card

Rich Plum foundation card

SW Mauritius dies

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder

SB Bitty Blossoms

Plum satin ribbon

Pearlage

I left it sentiment free until I have decided where its going (yes, I still have the card in my card box lol!!!)

I thought that you may like to see how the Kitty Ninja training is going, With the camouflage photo on the previous post, if you look very closely, you can just see two green specks for Molly's eyes. Having black leather furniture has posed problems of an evening if she has decided to park herself on our chairs and only the table lamp is on. We have to double check before we sit down.

Above is Lily practising a half nelson on Molly.

A chickenwing over the shoulder crossface manoeuvre I believe.

Stephanie, its the Wisteria that I am worried about being stolen by the WART brigade which is why Molly is on patrol lol!!! Barbara, if you can come up with a camouflage idea for Lily, that would be great.

Maureen, thank you for your kind offer to come and nurse me but Mr D is stepping up to the plate. The Girls are managing to keep flies, bees and pigeons off the Wisty so your silk bloomers will pose no threat to them. I have been waving Mr D's undies at them to put them on scent (metaphorically speaking, thank goodness)

We have to be on alert as June, hopefully feeling better now, has tried to lull me into a false sense of security saying Mr F has now planted his own wisteria but I know that it takes 7 years for a young wisty to establish and flower for the first time (as happened with my white one).

Well, that's me for now. Hopefully we will be getting this mini heatwave..........June S, get your bikini ready!!!

TTFN

Ang x

Butterflies, Dragonflies & Exciting News . . . . . . . .

Good morning everyone. Hope all is fine and dandy with you and yours.

I have been pacing myself with the housework and Suzzie that's a good idea about the sliders. I've tried to look at it as free exercise lol!!!
Thank you for your comments on my losing weight. I've had to put a belt on my jeans but Maureen I can assure you I am anything but skinny, See that total eclipse in America the other day, It wasn't the moon, I bent over to put my trainers on hahaha!!!

I have some exciting news that I will share at the end of the post..........Well, exciting for me anyway, but don't be naughty and scroll down there without looking at the prurrrrty card first lol!!!

Now, I've still got a few samples I made for John to show so I hope you're not getting fed up with them.......speak if you are, I'm thick skinned (not in a medical sense, unless there's something else wrong with me lol!!!)

This one was actually one of John's favourites and is another that can be used for any occasion.

Ingredients
Cream, black and orange card
CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder
John Next Door Butterfly Frames stamps
Memento Dewdrop inks

As I don't have a stamping platform, I used the dib dab technique to get the graduated colours on the insects but if you have a stamping platform, you can layer up the colours easily.

It reminded me of on of those pinned insect displays in frames but without having to touch a dead insect lol!!!

Nowwwwwwwww, onto the news...........

Having been stuck at home for over a year, with not much hope of anyone wanting to give me a job with my verruca, glass eye, wooden leg and other ailments, I have been thinking for sometime about what I can do to start earning an income in a self employed capacity that I could do from home (I want no rude suggestions on that front, thank you ll!!!)

So, I have decided to take the plunge and build a website to sell craft products on line. I'm just starting small to see how it goes but hope that it do well as I intend to have very competitive pricing.

Its pretty much ready to go but I am waiting for a stock delivery and then I shall launch. I'm hoping it will be in the next couple of weeks.

I shall be mainly stocking John Next Door products to start with as I know they are popular and they are products I would use myself.

I am doing this by myself but John has kindly designed my logo for me (so if you don't like it, blame him lol!!!). Its surprising how much work is involved in creating a website and loading it with products.

So, I apologise for any tardiness in visiting anyone's blogs. 

Phew, its out............. I hope you don't all thinking I'm barking mad but I just want to be a productive working person again and have some sort of normality.

Some of you may know that I have been in charge of John's diary/bookings for the past 10 months so that has kept me reasonably busy but I wanted to do something for me.

I will keep you posted of developments and the go live date. 

Meantime, enjoy your weekend...........myself, Jackie and Wendy will as its live F1 from Belgium after a month Summer break. I've been getting withdrawal symptoms lol!!!

TTFN

Ang x

When in Doubt . . . . . . .

Good morning mon petit pois. Hope your fettles are fine?

A little behind (if only, lol!!!) again as I have had a good few days and when I'm feeling funky, I like to gadd about, not manic gadding but gadding nonetheless. 

Thank you, as always for your concern. I have a cardiology consultant appointment at the end of the month.

Have found out this week through a recent blood test that my haemoglobin has dropped further so I am slightly anaemic. This may be causing some of my issues. So if anyone has any good chicken liver recipes, where they don't actually smell or taste like liver, I'd be very grateful.

Been on a microwave hunt too, which yielded a very nice Breville combi from Tesco with £25 off, hurrah!!!

I promise, I will catch up visiting over the next day or so to see what those who blog have been up to.

Now, I was rooting through my folders and realised there were some cards I hadn't shown from last Autumn. They were samples I made for John's shows in October, I think. I'm guessing they got forgotten as I had my first Cardioversion at the beginning of November. They were showcasing John's stamps and dies from the Indian Ocean Collection.

Ingredients

White, sky blue and cobalt card

John Lockwood Fern Frames Elements sentiment

SW Indian Ocean Background die set

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder

Memento Dew Drop Nautical Blue ink

Navy and white ribbons

Pearlage

I think you could get away with this for a male, even with the pearlage.

Wendy, I don't mind the odd food item from Lidl. They have a nice bakery, good continental meat selection and we get our cheese from there. Also, their flowers are very good value.

Maria, hope it won't be too long before you find a new job but enjoy a bit of a break first.

Elaine, I've told you, I'll drive the removal van, you make the tea.

Jackie, some exciting incidents in the race. Felt sorry for poor Max after his amazing start.

Maureen, you'll have to let me know how to say "bog off" in Geordie. Is it as simple as "wai eye bog off" lol??? Glad you are up and about without the sedan chair and winch.

Nursey Harrop, there are easier ways to get down the stairs. Have you thought of a Stannah?

Darnell, you make me blush lol!!! 

Sue, glad not to see any BBC News bulletins from Doncaster lol!!!

Well, time for me to go and put my feet up as made mushroom soup and some feta and sundried tomato scones today, so I'm flagging a bit.

Hopefully meeting Mr Lockwood for breakfast today and then have a flower arrangement to do for our friends funeral on Friday (the lovely chap who passed away a month ago).

Enjoy the rest of your week.

TTFN

Ang x

P.s. . . . . . . . a couple of gratuitous wisteria shots to see if June and Maureen are awake (and hopefully another nice memory for Jan too).

Language of Flowers 5. . . . . . . .

Good morning everyone. Hope everyone is well and best wishes to those who are not so good.

The weather has certainly taken a turn. We may have to fire up the heating again. I had hoped to get a potter in the garden bit I'll wait until its warm and dry again.

Bridget, your Paddle Prize is on its way. Hope you enjoy it. I will offer another one when the followers number gets to 150.

Now, just a quickie today as I'm scheduling this and I've got about 3 hours of TV viewing ahead (I do love my Real Housewives and there's a new series of South Park too, hurrah!!! Just thrown a late tea of Quorntage Pie down my neck (Cottage Pie but using Quorn) so I can prise the the remote control from the grasp of Mr D who wants to watch Bear Grylls (I don't know why, as the nearest he gets to survival techniques is when I've been away with the girls for a weekend and he has to heat something in the microwave lol!!!).

Anyhoo, a tryptich using the honeysuckle stamp.

Ingredients

Cream, orange and yellow card

John Lockwood Honeysuckle stamp

John Lockwood sentiment (double stamped for a shadow effect)

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder (on the de-bossed side)

Spectrum Noir alcohol markers

I know that honeysuckle come in different colours but mine is yellow and pink which is why I've gone with that colour scheme.

I also know that I've got a long way to go with my colouring lol!!!

That's me for today. I will be back on Thursday with my DT card for MAWTT so you all take care and be good.

TTFN

Ang x

Glitter Doodles . . . . . . . .

Good morning everyone. Hope you are all fine and well and that Storm Angus hasn't done any damage in your area.

I'm plodding along, a few rough days and not so bad days but trying to keep positive. 

A little shout out for MAWTT. Wendy is looking for a couple of new folk for our DT. We're a friendly bunch and you would only need to make one card per month for the challenge blog. If you are interested in joining our happy band, please leave a comment on here and I'll pass it on to Wendy or please get in touch with Wendy via MAWTT.

Now, I still have a couple of cards to show from John's last shows. This one is the Doodle Rose Wreath cut out 4 times, including a double sided sticky layer and polished silk glitters brushed into the flowers and leaves. . . . . yes, I did have to do each flower and leaf individually - time consuming but therapeutic lol!!! 

Ingredients

Ivory, raspberry and brunswick green Foundation card

Sue Wilson Doodle Rose Wreath die set

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder (used the debossed side)

John Lockwood sentiment stamp

Rose Copper and Dark Emerald Polished Silk Glitters

Cottage Ivy Memento Dew Drop ink

Pink Pearlage

I've still got cards to show for the shows before last with the Mauritius dies lol!!!

A short post today but I hope that you are all enjoying your weekend and that the coming week is kind to each and everyone of you.

Be good.

TTFN

Ang x

Number 392 From John's May Shows. . . . . . . . .

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Hope this finds all well with you. 

Another splashy welcome to The Pond to June. Thank you so much for joining our merry throng (that's throng Maureen before you get excited lol!!!)

Well, the beautiful warm sunny days we have had disappeared with a vengeance today and its been persisting down. Still, the garden could do with the rain. . . . . . . .Lord, I'm turning into my Mother lol!!!

I braved the elements to put grapes out for Mr and Mrs B as he was chirruping away outside the kitchen window and trying to put on his pitiful dishevelled look for effect.

I managed to pick a tub of blackberries a couple of days ago, surprised that the birds hadn't been having a chomp on them but obviously, they prefer something a bit more exotic.

Some brave insect had chewed its way into one of fat chillies (they are mega hot) on one of my plants. I'm guessing it may have been its last meal or it was now in search of an Imodium plant lol!!!

Anyhoo, today shows yet another of my collection of samples from John's May shows (I told you I had done lots lol!!!). I hope John hasn't lost them in his move as I haven't had them back from him yet.

Ingredients

Cream and lilac card

Presscut Square dies

SB Fancy Postage Stamp die (small one)

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder (emboss on cream, deboss on the lilac)

John Lockwood Peony Elements stamp

John Lockwood Summers Child stamp (sentiment)

CS mica powders (to colour the peony)

CS Clear embossing powder

CS Graceful Lilac PVA Pearls

CE jelly tot dazzler

Mei Flower thin lilac ribbon 

Dusty Concord DI

There's only a couple more left to show now (was that a sigh of relief I heard lol???)

Here's hoping you all have a fabulous weekend and good weather.

Thank you as always for your visit and your kind comments.

TTFN

Ang x

Update 

Thank you for all your suggestions. I decided to emal the consultant's secretary (couldn't get through on phone) and not had a reply as yet so have also followed it up with a letter). Watch this space. . . . .

MAWTT July Challenge . . . . . . . . .

Good morning all you lovely blogging folk. Only a couple of days gap since my last offering as its time for another challenge for Team A over at MAWTT.

This month's challenge has been set by by the lovely Janice T  and is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No design papers

Please pop over and see what the other gals have done for your inspiration and delectation. And, why not have a go and enter the challenge as there is lots of scope with Janice's theme.

Now, my card was a commission, if you will, from my pal Davey (he who is the Phileas Fogg of Coventry). He, himself, celebrated his 70th last month (I've yet to feature his card) and he asked me if I would make a card for his lovely sister in law, who was also approaching 70. I was happy to oblige, as I was fast becoming an expert on making 70th birthday cards by that point lol!!!

The colour choice was David's but you all know I love a bit of purple action.

Ingredients

Cream card

Lilac card (Lidl)

SB Bitty Blossoms (it had to be lol!!!)

SB Butterfly Circles die

Docrafts circle dies

CE Stitched Bunting Numbers stamps

CE Jacobean Floral embossing folder (Had to have it as soon as I saw it)

Cadbury (other chocolate is available) purple ribbon (Mei Flower)

Bling butterfly from a pack that was a present from Wendywoo (Spanish Crafter)

Dusty Concord DI

Docrafts teeny bling

The card was enjoyed by it's recipient so all's good.

I hope that you can join in with us at MAWTT as it would be lovely to see some of your wonderful creations entered into the challenge.

Ended up back in hospital Tuesday night.........I'm thinking of getting a season ticket! 

I'm still keeping everything crossed for Sunday and getting to Silverstone. Much to Jenson Buttons relief, I probably won't have the energy to throw my underwear (clean, before you ask) at him lol!!!

Until next time, you all take care and smile............it makes people wonder what you've been up to lol!!!

TTFN

Ang x