New Stampin' Up! Catalogue

EDITED - I've just seen that my blog is ranked higher than it has been in aaaaages so as a little celebration, the first person to email me gets a brand new SU! catalogue for free!!!

They've done it again! A brand new catalogue from Stampin' Up!, full of yummy scrummy card making and scrapbooking goodies.

If you would like to place an order please contact me anytime, I am offering free P&P at the moment too!!

Click the image to see the online catalogue!

A Crafting Weekend

I've had a great weekend. I spent all day Saturday on the Stampin' Up! stand at the SECC in Glasgow, met some great ladies who ohh'd and ahh'd at the lovely samples our talented team of demos had made.

I did 7 half hour "make and takes" in three and a half hours -phew!

Here's Paula, the UK Manager of SU!


Here's some of the lovely samples on the display board

I've even done some crafting myself this weekend. About three years ago I taught at a retreat which was organised by Sarah Davis of Sarahs Cards. Her retreats and crops are AMAZING, such attention to detail and she makes everything just perfect. Check out her online shop and blog, she always has the best stash in stock and her kits are scrummy!

Anyway, during the retreat I was given a couple of kits which were taught in the other classes. I dug them out and made them up yesterday afternoon.

Here is a mini book in a cigar tin, designed by the fabbo, Anita Mundt.


Here is a Christmas star book which was designed by Jan Dolan, who now lives "Down Under". I've never made a star book before, it was really nice to make.



Both projects use American Crafts papers, one of my favourites


Last but not least, I made a card this morning inspired by a card I saw on the Papertrey Ink site, so it's a total "case". I used Hero Arts stamps and a Stampin' Up! punch

Text In A Circle

Just a quick video for your delectation! I've published this on an earlier blog post as a step by step type thang, but I thought I would try it as a video, it's my first attempt at using Screenr so I hope you like it.

It's probably going to get "Twittered" too. Oh and if you click the button next to the Screenr Logo at the bottom of the window you'll see the video in full screen which makes it a whole lot easier to see (press ESC on your keyboard to come back to normal).

Cover Gal

OHHH Looky Looky, my Christmas cards are on the front cover of the Dec issue of Crafts Beautiful, I haven't posted any pictures of my stuff for aaaages, basically because I don't get chance to craft for myself at ALL, woe is me eh?

Hoping to rectify that, since I have so much stash, talking of which I had a MAJOR craft room de-clutter last week and my friend Steph will be on the receiving end of some nice goodies soon!

Meanwhile I am really chuffed to be on the front cover!!

I am off to the SECC this Saturday, I will be on the Stampin' Up! stand, should be fun, if you are there please come and say helooooo.

Thank You Alan xxxx

A year ago today I heard the words no-one ever wants to hear, "you've got cancer". I can't believe how fast this year has gone, I'm out the other side now, a little older, fatter and I hope, wiser.

See, my cancer was a bit sneaky. It couldn't be felt by me or the 3 doctors that examined me, which is a very sobering fact. It was found when I had a mammogram, I was only 41, and the only reason I had it was because Alan had been for a company medical, a proper MOT from BUPA. He felt it unfair that he should have the benefit of a good looking over whilst I didn't. So he booked me in on the spot. The terrifying fact is that the lady who booked me in, asked if the mammogram was required since it was optional because of my age.............thank GOD he said yes to it.

I also had had this unshakeable belief that I was going to get cancer, don't ask me why, I just KNEW.

I was phoned a few days after the medical to get the mammogram re-done and at that point I knew I had cancer, this was my wake up call. The waiting was horrendous, even worse than the diagnosis really, since I was already convinced I had it.

My overriding thought was for my little boy, he was six years old at the time and all I could think of was that I would not see him grow up and become a teenager, a man. The fear I felt about this literally gripped my heart and paralysed me. I spent a night literally staring into space hardly daring to breathe I was so scared.

The diagnosis, surgery and treatment all happened very quickly. I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiotherapy, and to be honest it was all very bearable. My cancer was small, it was whipped out and hadn't spread to my nodes, so VERY lucky call indeed.

I lost my hair, but didn't spend months with my head down the bog. I gained weight, and I am now in menopause. BUT who cares? I am one of the lucky ones, I am still here to tell the tale, and hope to be for many many years to come.

So, one year on, my life is different, I do have a genuine lust for life that I've never had before. I have amazing friends and family and every day really is a gift.

Thanks for sticking with me over the last year, many of you have posted lovely comments which I really appreciate. But now it's time to move on, time to put this behind me, cancer had nearly 12 months of my life and it ain't getting any more........................all I need to say is "thank you Alan, you pretty much did save my life xxxxxx"

A Funny Old Week

I feel so bad I haven't blogged in ages, but life has mainly just been rumbling along nicely with no major things going on.

This week, has been a bit more eventful, I went to Oslo on Monday, for a quick overnight trip, it was definitely a case of planes (2), trains (1) and automobiles (2). Alan was out there on business and had been invited to dinner at the home of a guy he does business with in Oslo, I was invited along too, which was fab and we were joined by a couple from Finland who we have met before.

Our hosts live in a lovely apartment and they took us all up to the roof with frozen Margueritas to see the view of the Fjords - It was stunning



We sat down to dinner and our starter was something very unusual and we had to guess what it was. Now I have a cheese phobia so was worried I was going to get cheese, but I wasn't prepared for the starter. It was......................wait for it....................raw whale meat!!!

Well apparently this is a great delicacy in Norway and it is a real honour to be served with it. It wasn't the nicest thing I have ever tasted, but we were very honoured to be given it to eat as it is only served on special occasions.

Our hosts were just lovely, very welcoming and we all rolled off into the night full of alcohol and whale meat.

I had travelled to Oslo on my own and had to travel back to Edinburgh several hours before Alan. On the first plane from Oslo to Heathrow I was sitting next to a guy who spent the whole journey reading aloud from the Koran and switching his mobile phone on and off, now I don't wish to be racist etc but I was crapping myself. I was convinced he was up to no good, especially since he had a bag on his lap with a compass on it which he wouldn't let go of. Of course being English I sat there and said nothing, the fear of embarrassment over being mistaken about it obviously outweighed my suspicions that he was up to no good -gah!!! Poor guy was totally harmless..................doh!

The drama continued on the next leg of my journey, flying from Heathrow to Edinburgh. We were coming into land and suddenly the pilot pulled the plane back up into a steep descent. The engines were making that high pitched "impending doom" noise and I almost wet myself with fear.............arggh!!

The pilot comes over the tannoy and says "ladies and gentlemen, as you can see we've just had to abort our landing into Edinburgh, we shall give you an update in a few minutes"

OH MY GOD, I'm thinking, bloody hell are they counting the wings?The engines? Has the landing gear jammed/ fallen off? I'm going to have to adopt the brace position and probably die in some hideous fireball and be on the 6 O'Clock News!!!!

It was the longest 2 minutes of my life and again we all sat in our seats being terribly calm reading our books (well I was bargaining with God at the time I think).

Anyway the captain came back on and re-assured us that we'd hit a bank of cloud and he couldn't see properly to land, its very common apparently and we'd be OK and were heading back down again.

I have NEVER been so glad to land in my life.

So after all that drama, I went to a fundraising "Pamper Night" for the Maggies Cancer Centre at Le Monde in George St. It was organised by my lovely friend Fiona and compared by the gorgeous camp comedian Craig Hill , he's a hoot.

Being me, I had offered to stand up and say a few words about the centre, since I used it when I was having treatment and it's fab.

I thought long and hard about what I was going to say, but it all went out of my head, I was faced with about 150 ladies and a microphone (oh good, Karaoke!!! hee hee!)

So I just told a little bit of my experiences at the centre and how re-assuring it is to visit, and there were a couple of ladies who shed a wee tear. Afterwards a few came over to thank me, it was very humbling and after a few glasses of wine I was boring everyone to tears with my "cancer story" - what am I like?

Yesterday, I went to have my hair cut and coloured for the first time in a year. EEEKK!! I now have this kinda "burgundy" hair colour, I don't think Alan is keen, but I am going to live with it for now...................only me eh?