Final entry

Hi all,
I am expecting my children for late lunch today and so I have little time to blog I am sorry to say.  However this may be rushed but it is still very important.  It is a final entry for the Almost White Challenge from our own lovely Christine Hussey.  So without further ado, here is her  stunning creation.

Isn't this beautifully done, that smattering of red just in the center really pops what was already a perfect creation.
I think the reason I love this so  much is that Christine has used the 'waste' pieces from cutting the Spellbinders Damask Accents border.  If we didn't know better, we could easily have assumed they were diecuts from a die in their own right.  I don't know about you but lately I have found alot of the 'waste' pieces from my dies are more useful than I first thought.  It's great to just sit and play sometimes, you'll be surprised what you find!  Thank you so much Christine, you've done it again, stunning!
Please forgive me rushing off like this.  I will have time to myself later so I will load up the Challenge results and post it for tomorrow morning, AND I have actually finished the Notebook that I started a while back;  I can't wait to see what you think. It's been hard to create something fairly simple when all I wanted to do was something very different indeed! I do hope you can stop by and give me your honest opinions.
Have a great evening all.  Big hugs Linda x

Another Challenge entry

Hello all
I am so sorry to have been away so long, but as I am sure you know,  life gets in the way sometimes and becomes so much of a juggling act we have to take stock.  The casualties for me were the blog and crafting I'm sorry to say, but I am slowly getting sorted and hope to blog a few times a week now.   To top it all off my Android phone then started to play up.  This meant I was unable to do my emails and follow all your blogs when I wasn't able to get to the laptop.  I was totally against having a 'smart phone' at first, I didn't need one......, withing a few weeks I changed my mind; I can't live without it!!  Anyway, I took it into the Vodafone shop and they have said it will be about a week...... don't they understand we need our phones.  I am now wandering around with a battered old phone that does nothing but ring and text.  Ah........!!!

Today I have a non blogger entry for the Almost White Challenge, it is a beautiful card in white and aqua (not sure of the exact colour sorry) with silver as the third colour.  It is by the talented Helen Mitchell.
So without further ado,  here is the pretty card for your delectation:-

The beautiful border die Helen has used at the bottom of her card is the 'Decorative Lace Border'  from Hearfelt Creation (made by Spellbinders) and the delightful flowers 'Prim Poppy' are from Memory Box Dies. You can get these dies from most online craft suppliers.  Helen has used the crinkle edged ribbon and pearly embellishment from Creative Expressions and the coordinating decorative pin Helen has made herself.  Just lovely Helen.

Here you can see how Helen decorated the inside edge using Spellbinders Damask Accents border (still one of my favourite borders, I love it hooked over the edge of a matt/layer.  It is also beautiful if you cut several and glue them together to form a deep lacey border (you can see ideas of this in my Tutorial).

I think you will all agree this card is very elegant and a perfect entry for the Challenge.  Thank you so much Helen.

Well that's almost it for today,  however I would like to end with a Daily Thought by Patience Strong.  I found this while tidying my craft room yesterday and I thought it would be nice to share it with you.  I hope you will bear with me.

NO GOING BACK

The path of daily life is strewn with opportunities passed by _ with beauty trodden underfoot and flowers of friendship left to die.  Good intentions, lofty aims and high resolves that faded out _  in the dust of disappointment, fear, frustration, failure, doubt...... Oh, if we could only turn and go back just a mile or two _ To say the things we should have said, and do the things we meant to do!

                                                                                               (Patience Strong-Thoughts for Everyday)

True?  Definitely!!

Have a wonderful day and remember someone special along the way today.

Biggest Hugs Linda xx

Non Blogger Challenge entry

Good afternoon all,

Sorry I couldn't be here this morning but I was so tired yesterday I fell asleep before I could schedule a post and then slept late today.   So without further ado, here is our first Non-blogger entry for the Almost White Challenge.

It is a classy and very pretty box by our lovely Christine Hussey.  I am so impressed with the standard of entries.  Considering that so little colour was allowed, you have all created such beauty.   

I have included Christines own description for the entry.

 

 

Description:

1) I cut my box from white card using a pillow box design from one of my CD-Roms as a template extending it a little as I wanted it slightly bigger.

2) I then embossed my shape using Spellbinders M-bossability 'Imperial' Design B and made up my pillow box.

3) I criss crossed some yellow ribbon to one side of my box and added a double bow. Either side of this bow I added some pearl daisies that I made myself..

4) I made a wreath design out of cosmos daisies from WOC and stamped my sentiment onto white card using Ink It Up in French Blue, added clear embossing

    power and heat set it. I then placed my sentiment in the middle of the wreath.

5) I decorated the corners of the box with flat backed pearls from my stash.

 

Thank you Christine, I am sure everyone will be as  impressed as I am.  It is lovely to see another box, especially as the boxes are so different.

Ok, now to our.............. 

Challenge Prize Surprise!

 

As I stated in the Almost White Challenge post, every week I will be adding more prizes to the Candy pot.  Last week the lovely Sue chose a £4.50 stamp from Lili of the Valley to be our second prize.  So what for this week.  Well I decided you had to work for this one,  just a little bit of fun for us all.  So what do you have to do?

 

1.  Starting in todays post (in the section below) and in every post until Saturday, I will be placing a word among the text that doesn't seem to fit.  Find those words and save them up.  There will never be more than two words to find in any one post.

2.  When you have found the final word(s) on Saturday, make up the sentence.  I will give you a clue to the sentence in Saturdays post.  

3.  DO NOT enter the sentence in your comment for Saturdays post.  It must be entered ONLY after 00.00 midnight Saturday/Sunday.  I will put up a special post for that time and all the entries should be on that post only.

4.  On Sunday afternoon I will reveal the winner and also the prize they have won for the pot.

Does that all make sense.  I do so hope you will all play along and help to get another lovely prize for the Candy pot.  

(pssst... there may even be another surprise for all the players on Sunday, so please, please play along). It's just a bit of fun and add to the Candy too.  

Thanks everyone!!

Well I had a wonderful day yesterday with my grandson Jake, he spent ages in the garden showing off his football prowess.  He is only 3 but has been going to weekly football classes for a few months now and he loves it.  He's now showing that he has been paying attention to his coach and also his dad (my son) who also plays football.  He was bouncing the ball and doing high kicks (I apologise for not knowing football terminology..Lol!) and also tackled me when I tried to stop the ball (I can't do much else unfortunately.).  Even though I am unable to join in with the football it doesn't stop him and he giggles and plays must happily as I watch and praise him, giving him lots of encouragement.  As a matter of fact when I praise him for playing well he gives me the biggest, proudest smile and says 'Thank you Nannie' or 'Thanks! in that slow really proud tone'.   

I know I am biased because he is my grandson, but I swear to you he is adorably sweet and almost edible.  He is finding his feet now and can be a little rambunctious at times, as all children, but when he is corrected he looks so sad and says 'I'm sorry Nannie, I won't do it again'.  How could anyone stay cross with a child as gorgeous and as sweet as he ..... I sure can't.  Two seconds of  'Jake you musn't do that' is all I can manage and then I have to turn away because he makes me laugh with the words that come out of his mouth or I fill up as I see his bottom lip quiver.  I then have to  breath deeply and compose myself so he doesn't think Nannie is a push over.  

Grandchildren can make the best times of our lives.  

As a mother I was always busy and didn't prioritise properly (wish to goodness I had!) but now as a nannie (grandmother) I have learned my lessons and will to drop almost everything for my grandchildren.  Oh dear I have just realised I have done nothing but ramble on about my grandson.  I hope you will forgive me but I do so love being a Nannie! 

Ok that's it for today.  I am going to be crafting this evening so hopefully there is a card for tomorrows post.  Don't worry I haven't forgotten the crochet patterns, just had trouble reading my own writing (now don't laugh, I was trying to write the pattern as I was crocheting it!)

Have a great evening.  Hugs Linda