Here he is ............... Charlie (Sunday name Charles) John Ebdon Stobbs

Hello lovely Blogging Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope 2012 will be a kind year to each and every one of you and my wish for all of us is that we can be happy, healthy and enjoy the little things in life because that is mostly what our lives are made up of.

I'd also like to thank all of you for visiting and especially those of you who take the time to leave such lovely comments.  This crafting and blogging lark has given me some wonderful really close friends (some of them virtual ones) and for that I am really grateful.  My love and a big hug to you all.

2011 hasn't been too great a year for many of us I know and my family included.  There have been several sad changes to our lives but ................ it could have been worse and I'm not going to dwell on them.  Instead I am going to remember my favourite bits, the main one being the birth of our first Grandson, our gorgeous little Charlie and now I have a new camera, here he is

 Isn't he beautiful!

Here he is with his very possessive big sister, lol!

and getting to know his Uncle Jamie!

and his cousin Alexa! (My three precious people)

and his Mamma (me, in case you didn't know, lol)!

He always seems to fall asleep on me ....... I guess

it's the cushioning that does it ;-)

Whilst I'm sort of seeing out the old year I have to tell you that because of the extra demands on my time at home, I very reluctantly took the decision to resign from the Chocolate Baroque DT a couple of months ago,  mainly because I felt that I wasn't able to give the 100% commitment that Glenda and her company deserves.  I was very proud to serve on the CB DT and considered myself very fortunate to get to play with their beautiful stamps before most other people did and I will really miss it I know.  I am still a member of the CB Guild, still consider Glenda and the rest of the team to be my friends and will look forward to receiving my newsletter every month filled amongst other things with the fabulous designs from my ex-Teamies.  I'll still be buying their lovely stamps (I already have a couple of sets on my wish list already) and when I have time I will be promoting them on here when I can.  Have a great 2012 Chocolate Baroque!!!

And to finish my last post of 2011, here is a hanging that I made for the CB DT earlier in the year and which I can't remember if it appeared anywhere.  I really liked this piece when I finished it and loved the colours.  Hope you like it too after all the Christmas stuff, lol!

The Grungepaper flowers came from the Chocolate Baroque Doodle Butterflies stamp set and the lovely leaf spray is a Marianne die.  I painted the background with Viva Precious Metal paint over Gesso (I think) and deliberately left brush marks to give texture.  Looking at it again now (it was made back in March) I think I'll have to make another one, lol!

Bye for now lovely friends and I'll see you in 2012 (probably with a sneaky peek at my next Snazzy's DT project)

Lots of love to you all.
 Lesley  Xx

The Happiest of News!

Hello Lovely Visitors,

First of all I must apologise to my blog buddies who I haven't visited for at least a week but I was finally summoned to dash up the A1 to go look after my gorgeous Isabella  when her new brother decided to finally make his appearance.  'Dashing' proved a little difficult as of course, it had to be rush hour didn't it, lol! Luckily our Daughter has some lovely friends up there, one of whom looked after Izzy for an hour or so until I could get there.  Mel, Jenna and I will be forever grateful you were there, mwah!  Anyway, at precisely 10.14 pm on 7th December Charles (to be known as Charlie) John Ebdon Stobbs was born weighing a hefty 9lb 5oz and he's absolutely gorgeous just like his big sister.

I didn't get to take loads of pics (did I hear someone say thank goodness, ;) ?) but my stupid camera has chosen this important occasion to go on the blink and is telling me there are no images on the card ?!**!!  I will be heartbroken if that's the case as he will obviously never be 1 day old again but he's here and he's healthy and my lovely Daughter is okay too so that's the main thing.  As soon as I get a photo I will show him off to you all.

In the meantime, while I was away I didn't get to show you a sneak peek at my projects this month for the Snazzys Design Team which were published last Friday.  Don and Val at Snazzys sent us some fabulous My Minds Eye products to work with which included a set of 12 x 12 double sided papers, some fun clear stamps and some great buttons and brads all from the same set.  They only arrived a few days before I went up to Harrogate but I managed to get a couple of cards made with them (would have liked more time to play) and here's a peek at one of them.

The basic card cut and fold idea for this particular design came from a recent issue of Making Cards mag.  If you get chance to pop over to Snazzys DT blog you will see some fabulous designs by my teamie, Paula which you will have to scroll through to get to my post but that won't be any hardship as she has made some wonderful projects again this month.

Well, I hope you are all much better prepared for Christmas than I am.  I haven't written on a single card yet (and they are all going to have to be bought ones this year which really goes against the grain) and I don't even have my Christmas tree up which is unheard of this late in December!  Today I am treating myself to a rest and recuperating day catching up in Blogland before diving back into the fray tomorrow.  I hope the day treats you all kindly and you get to do something nice if it's only for half an hour.

With a bit of luck I'll be back with some photos of some description very soon even if it means a new camera!

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

My Buddy's had another Celebration!

Hi Everyone,

After my friend Judith's Silver Wedding Anniversary a couple of weeks ago, she got to celebrate again last week because it was her birthday.  I would have shared the card I made for her before now but for the past 8 days we have had our Daughter Jenna and Granddaughter Isabella staying with us.  As quite a few of you will know Jenna is expecting our first Grandson who was due to be born yesterday but as we all know babies come in their own good time don't they and, inspite of a couple of false alarms this week, so far he's not deigned to join us.  However, as our Son-in-Law was away on a training course last week we thought it would be wise if Jenna and Izzy stayed here. 

Even though baby didn't arrive it turned out to be a wise decision because Jenna had a very scary episode on Wednesday with symptoms which appeared very like a stroke!!!  Our local hospital were excellent and after a chat to a midwife on the phone we were told to take her in for tests to make sure it was the migraine we suspected and not something sinister.  Luckily we were right and although Jenna felt very poorly for a couple of days I was able to look after Izzy and let her rest more than she would at home.  Her Hubby came back on Friday night and they were supposed to go home yesterday but Jenna ended up awake at 3 am convinced the birth was imminent ............................... wrong!!!!  The little monkey kept her awake all night only for everything to settle down again by lunchtime but they decided to delay going home for another day just in case.  As nothing else has happened and Jenna says she feels he's going to stay put for at least another week (hmmmm???) they went home after lunch today.  I now have to catch up on all my chores (nothing got done while they were here, lol) hopefully before I get a call to say baby is on his way for real.

Tonight though I am allowing myself a little playtime starting with showing you Judith's card.  I started with a white 21 cm square base card and adhered a slightly smaller square of purple pearlescent card.

Using a Heidi Swapp butterfly mask I blended Versamagic ink over a 19 cm square piece of white card moving the mask around at random.  I then stamped the beautiful Anemone corner from IndigoBlu in the bottom right and I used a lovely swirl from Chocolate Baroque (formerly Elusive Images) in the top left to create another corner image, using Archival ink.  Before adhering this square to the card base I stamped the quote using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  Using the Archival ink I stamped the Anemone Corner once more onto white card, coloured the anemones with Coloursoft pencils and then cut them out.  I shaped them a little before adhering them to the main image with Pinflair glue.  I  then put some Stickles onto my craft mat and used a damp brush to apply this to the anemones and highlights on the corner images.

Finally, I die cut and embossed two butterflies from old book pages using a Cuttlebug duo set, lightly inked the raised areas and then heat embossed with clear EP before adhering to the card leaving the wings free.

I really enjoyed making this card as, like Judith, I love anything with butterflies and anyway, it's always such a pleasure making something for a person who has become such a close and very dear friend as well as someone who you know will appreciate a handmade card.

Well that's my share for today and if I don't get to post anything or make any blog visits for a couple of weeks you'll know it's because my crafting activities have been severely curtailed by a little bundle of joy, lol!  I'm off to get my feet up for an hour (oooh, I have missed my l0 minute afternoon cat naps, he! he!) and then maybe I might get a Christmas card or two made ................. you've guessed it ........... I haven't made one yet.  I have a feeling most of my cards this year are going to be bought ones!

Take care all and I'll be back as soon as I can.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Congratulations to my Buddy and do you fancy a White Christmas?

 Hi Everyone,

I hope this morning finds everyone bright eyed and bushy tailed, lol!   I can't remember the last time I felt like that first thing in the morning.  I think I must have been about 12 years old ;0).  I'm at my best at night time not in the morning but I'm not grumpy in the morning, I just take a long time to get my head in gear.

Today is the 25th Wedding Anniversary of my lovely friend Judith and her Hubby Terry so I want to send them my congratulations and I hope they are spending a very special time together today.  I can now show you the card I made for them a couple  of weeks ago.

I started with a 21 cm square base card and covered it with a silver mirri slightly smaller square.  I then took another square of white card, slightly smaller still and blended a lovely blue Versamagic ink over one of the beautiful Prima masks I bought recently from Chocolate Baroque.   The main image is a My Sentiments Exactly stamp and one of the first stamps I ever bought.  I used it for the first card I handmade for my OH for our anniversary about 5 years ago so it has a kind of sentimental value to me, lol!  On this occasion I stamped it  onto vellum with Versamark ink and heat embossed with detail silver EP.  I trimmed it and then attached it to the centre of my card placing the adhesive just under the solid square.

I suppose this was a relatively simple card but I wanted something fairly simple in design but elegant as it was for a couple and I was quite happy with the result.  I just hope Judith and Terry like it too when they open it today.  All the best for another 25 years you guys!


AND now I have to tell you about a challenge from Glenda Waterworth (Mrs Chocolate Baroque) or rather Glenda does because I've actually pasted Glenda's own explanation for you.

How would you like the chance to win a £10 voucher to spend on Chocolate Baroque rubber stamps? Or would you prefer a £20 voucher or how about £50? I’ve managed to talk the owners of Chocolate Baroque into sponsoring a little challenge that I’m hosting here on my blog (they’re a pretty nice couple, so they didn’t take much persuading!) and the more people that play, the bigger the prize.

Basically, I will add £1.00 to the value of the gift voucher for each person who submits an entry to the challenge via the link form below. So if we only get five entries, the prize will be £5.00, but if we get 35 entries, the prize will be £35.00. I am setting a maximum prize fund of £50.00, and the winner will be drawn at random, so you have nothing to lose by having a go and a lot to gain by encouraging all your challenge-holic buddies to join in.

The theme is WHITE CHRISTMAS and how you interpret the theme and what kind of artwork you produce is entirely up to you – cards are obviously welcome but feel free to do anything from ATCs to jewellery, canvas to crochet.  As a bonus, any pieces which showcase Chocolate Baroque stamps particularly well will be featured in full on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team blog over Christmas with a link back to your blog.

The closing date is DECEMBER 15TH 2011 and the winner will be chosen at random from the list of entries.

If you want to check it out and/or add your entry click on the logo in my sidebar.  

As always, thank you so much for your visit and especially for leaving any much appreciated comments.

Have a good day all!

Hugs

Lesley  Xx

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - to us for yesterday, lol!!!

Happy Saturday Morning to you all today,

What do you have planned this weekend?  Christmas shopping maybe or catching up on a few chores and maybe catching a bit of R&R?  My OH and I are checking our Christmas Lights collection and probably going on a search to replace ones we had to throw out last year.  As visitors who have seen my blog posts around Christmas time over the past few years will know, I luuuuurrrve my Christmas lights and although my Hubby pretends to be a grumpy old Bah Humbug type of Grandad, he's worse than me really.

Anyway yesterday, the 18th November was our 39th Wedding Anniversary.  We rarely make a fuss over our Anniversaries except the real milestone ones (Hmmm, 40th - Ruby next year) except to marvel to each other how the time has flown, how much we've done through the years, the fact that we've weathered one or two storms life has thrown at us and recently to marvel over our beautiful Granddaughters and the fact that our first Grandson is due any day.  One thing we rarely miss though is to send each other special cards.  My Hubby did cheekily ask me last week if I could make him a card for 'someone'!  My reply was less than ladylike, lol, but I have to say he obviously took time to choose the card he got for me and the sentiments inside are lovely.  The card I made for him took me quite a while to come up with because I didn't want to use hearts ............again, lol!

So .................... I went all Steampunk!  I made a gold pearlescent 21 cm x 21 cm base card, matted black then pale gold pearlescent (looks grey or platignum on here) leaving a narrow border each time.  I then trimmed my final black layer smaller still before stamping the gorgeous Steampunk corners (Inkadinkado - Steampunk clear stamp set) and embossing them with Queen's Gold EP.  In the other two corners I repeat stamped a PaperArtsy mini stamp of cogs and gears using Versamagic Wheat and my final stamping was the hot air balloon from IndigoBlu's Grand Tour III which I stamped with Versamark and again embossed with Queen's Gold.

I stamped the balloon once again onto a sheet of designer paper from the Kaisercraft Vintage Timeless pad, again using the Queen's Gold EP and then I cut out just the balloon.  I shaped it slightly and adhered it to my original image with Pinflair glue.  I added a few pieces of Ideology cogs and gears and finally I cut the letters from a sheet of the Kaisercraft pad to spell 'Thanks for the journey' which I thought was quite approriate because the last 39 years have been a great journey for the most part.

I was really pleased because the card earned the best reaction I've ever got from Hubby for a card I've made him and he even enthused about it to our Daughter!

In a few day's time it's my lovely friend Judith and her OH's very special 25th Wedding Anniversary so I'll show you the card I sent to them once they've opened it.  As always thank you for your visit today and before I forget I'd like to say a big hello to my new followers.  Thank you so much for dropping by and for any comments you have time to leave.  I appreciate your encouragement so much.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

3rd November DT project for Snazzys

Good Morning again,

As my post is going to be scheduled I'm hoping as type that the week's weather will be ending on a much brighter note than it started, lol!  Fingers crossed!

Today I have a tiny sneaky peek of my 3rd and final project for Snazzys this month.  I've had great fun using the Kaisercraft products from my DT pack this month and hope you'll pop across to the DT blog to look at the whole thing and the 'how to' details.

Next week I'll be able to share a couple of the cards I've made recently for some very special friends.  Hope to see you then.

Oooh just realised as I was scheduling this post .................. today is a special day for my Hubby and I ........... it's our 39th Wedding Anniversary!  Where on earth does the time go I wonder?  I think I must be having too much fun because it's whizzing by me at breakneck speed, lol!

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

2nd November DT project for Snazzys

Good morning again lovely visitors,

Today I'm showing my second project using products from Snazzys over on the Snazzy DT blog so thought I'd share a sneak peek with you again.  I hope you have time to pop over for a look.

Unfortunately for my poor neglected blog, everything I've been making recently is for very special people in my life who have special events over the next few weeks so I can't show them on here yet but I will share them soon and speaking of 'Special Events', we are now getting rather excited about the impending arrival of our new Grandson.  He's actually due on the 3rd December but his Mummy (my lovely 'baby' Jenna) has been told it could be any time during the week before so as her hubby is away on a training course that week, she (and her bump) and our gorgeous Izzy are coming to stay with us for the week ............. just in case!  I do hope he's born while they're staying with us ....................... that way I can be on hand to help out and look after Izzy and still maybe get a few minutes in my craftroom now and then .............. maybe ............ do you think, lol!

BTW I've been meaning to ask, what do you think of the way photos come up in the black gallery now if you click for a closeup?  I really dislike it and find it pretty useless because the so-called 'zoom' is usually no bigger or closer than the original photos.  I like to be able to look at the details to see how people make their lovely projects and now I can't!  Total disappointment and I think Blogger has a blooming cheek foisting it upon us without so much as a by-your-leave.

Sorry about the little rant, lol! Hope you all have a pleasant, trouble free day and I'll be back with my final Snazzy November sneaky peek on Friday.

Hugs to all
Lesley  Xx