a little piece of me

Blog Candy

2012-01-27T20:58:00.002Z

Pam Blood is giving away some delicious Blog Candy. Go have a look an d be in with a chance to win some great goodies.

Sassy Cheryl light blue/brown challange

2012-01-26T12:31:00.003Z

First time to do a challenge. The theme is "light blue and brown". The image is, of course a Sassy Cheryl. I cut individual squares from a colorbok pad for the backing paper and the teddies patches. coloured with Pro-markers.

Wedding invitations

2012-01-25T21:53:00.007Z

A couple of samples of Wedding Invitations that I've made. The trend is still for "Simple in design and neutral colours".

Easel Golfing card with calendar

2010-06-11T22:17:00.003+01:00

one of the annual cards i make for Captains Day at Swords Golf club

2009-10-05T17:55:00.001+01:00

2009-05-24T16:19:00.002+01:00

Haven't been doing too much crafting lately, just trying to slow down or stop on orders, so I can grab some time to organise myself for holidays.But, typical, I got some new stamps so I spent a lot of time playing!

With the weather so dreary, it was lovely to get some colour into the house and see it in the garden. The bouquet was from hubby for our 24th anniversary and the Laburnum is in full bloom outside. My Mother grew this tree from a seed and I just love it.

I did get one card order done for a ladies 80th birthday. I don't think there are many 80 year olds who don't like roses. so, I used some Papermania Signature Blueberry Hill papers for this card. The Rose theme was carried on to the insert.

A Champion Son

2009-05-15T19:35:00.003+01:00

What a week. Robert's team "Dunshaughlin Youths" won the NDSL under 10's Championship and boy were they thrilled. They all got gorgeous medals and very importantly a CUP!!
They will be celebrating again when it's confirmed they've won the double. They still have matches to play but can't be beaten.
The proud team were brought on a noisy, horn tooting,flag waving tour of the village, and they loved it. Well done lads.

A few of this weeks makes

2009-05-01T13:47:00.003+01:00

I had a couple of 16th Birthdays to do, so, I went for the covered chipboard numbers again.Very handy...they cover a large space and it's a great way to use up smaller embellishments. the wooden guitar is Jolees Boutique, as are the tux and wedding dress (I snipped the straps off this one)!!

PaperPlay Week 15

2009-05-01T13:41:00.004+01:00

This weeks challange from Paperplay was set by Kate.
Rules: using real, drawn or stamped stitching.
I used mostly Making Memories Papers and frames, plus paper measuring tape from a travel sewing kit.
Thanks Kate - really enjoyed having a go.

Communion Cards

2009-04-24T17:45:00.002+01:00

I'm go glad these are done. I had just finished a card for a girl and then was asked to make 3 more for her. I had hardly any Communion stuff left and really wanted to make each card different.
So, that's it....no more Communion or Confirmation cards this year.

Paperplay Week 14

2009-04-24T17:38:00.003+01:00

This weeks challenge from Paperplay was set by Elisa.
The rules: Use contrasting/opposite colours from a colour wheel.
Taking a picture was a nightmare because everything reflected in the CD on the front.
The blue paper is PM Rich blue, and the orange is DCWD Retro Prints.
The clothes were cut using a free template from Simply Cards & Papercraft.

Paperplay Week 13

2009-04-18T14:20:00.003+01:00

I decided to give the Paperplay challenge a go.
The theme this week is "use 4".
The four seasons immediately came to mind so I've used 4 embossed panels of trees during the four seasons, plus 4 eyelets and a bit of kitchen string.

A digi challenge

2009-04-17T23:34:00.003+01:00

Another digi challenge from Elaine at Celtic Crafters.
I scratched my head over this one for a while.
In the end I printed the image twice, cut the bath off one image and re-mounted it on 3D pads. I covered over the towel with a piece of felt that I trimmed with ribbon. For the shower curtain, I used some vellum and the whole lots is coloured with Promarkers (of course) and some stickles added to the bubbles.
I love these digi makes...a great way to grab back your mojo before it runs out the door!

LO's for Alison

2009-04-17T19:40:00.003+01:00

Well, despite having a load of wedding invites to finish today...I totally diverted and made an LO for a challenge, then, if that wasn't bad enough...I did another.
both LO's are of my niece Alison (how lucky am I to have such a cutie subject!!)

I'm making a scrapbook for her and have about 13 LO's left to finish it.
In the meantime, I sent her a card making set and she has started already. So, Italy watch out...Miss Gussago is creating!!!

Bella - kissing couple - wedding & another huge card

2009-04-14T21:15:00.004+01:00

Another mammoth card with 4 faces..this one is for a lady who meets her friend twice a week for tea and a gossip, she loves bingo and drinks vodka, they both love shopping for bargains in the Euro Shop.The verse was added to the fifth page.
All the fronts are 3D and have a touch of stickles.

The engagement and wedding card need titles. Made for chairty so, they will both go towards the Irish Cancer society - just had to play with my new stamps!

thanks Elaine for the fab charm on the Bella card.

Covered numbers

2009-04-12T00:00:00.004+01:00

I'm not used to inking,altering distressing etc., but recently had a go at covering chipboard at Jackies class, so when I had to make these orders I decided to use the idea. I drew the No.18 free hand onto card and then transferred it to thick card (packing in card stock order I got)It's then covered in paper and sanded/colored at the edges with a touch of stickles.
This card looks kiddish, but the 18 year old recipient is a mad keen fan of Boots from Dora the Explorer, so this is a downloaded image, coloured with Pro Markers!

The same technique here. Mini Mouse was cut out on a Cricut.

2 unusual requests

2009-04-09T19:39:00.002+01:00

Two unusual orders to do for this week....a commitment ceremony in London. The buyer said 2 tuxedos on the front would be fine...but no matter how I place them, it didn't look right to me!! She was delighted and paid more than I asked.

This card is for a "gay, champange Charlie - party boy" No pressure then!!
I had this Jolees Boutique champagne sticker for ages and wondered if I'd ever use it. The front of the card is done like a book and open to reveal "party boy" on the inside! Thank You to "Mother" Yvonne on Celtic Crafters for the image, mmmmwwaahh

In loving Memory

2009-04-08T00:56:00.004+01:00

It's 7 years today since my darling Mam, Monica, passed away.
She hated memorials in the newspaper, but my Dad published one for a few years anyway.
But , Blog wasn't around then..so I can do my own little memorial on the sly.
If I said all I wanted to say, I'd fill several blogs....I miss her as much today as I did 7 years ago. She was wonderful, artistic, loving and fun to be with. A great cook, sociable, totally family oriented and an inspiration.
"Love you - love you too"

April Class

2009-04-06T13:35:00.006+01:00

Another fantastic Sunday - card-making and chatting at Jackie Mooney's April class

6 lovely projects completed and meringues consumed complimemnts of Lynda!
Thanks all for a great day; Here's what we were up to:

Another Bridal Invite Sample

2009-04-05T23:16:00.003+01:00

I don't know why, but always get the urge to make a sample wedding invite when I have a potential customer coming. This one has a sparkly vellum cover,embossed with a cuttlebug flower and finished with 3 gems, the second layer is pearlesant with the invite wording and the third layer is the same with a pocket for the RSVP and envelope.

All three layers a held together with ribbon.

Some recent makes

2009-04-03T19:24:00.003+01:00

been mad busy this week, with orders, wedding invite samples,swaps and charity cards.
This Retirement card is for an Executive at Coca Cola - retiring after over 30 years service.

got myself a new stamp - when i saw it, I loved it. it's from Stamps Happen and there is a lot of work involved - all the black section is coloured and the overall design is very detailed, but I thought it was ideal for engagement or anniversary cards for young couples. The frame is Cuttlebug embossed and the whole image is under acetate.

Let them Eat Cake!

2009-03-29T17:09:00.002+01:00

I spotted this new cake in the supermarket a while back and decided to give it ago.It's lemon and poppy seed. And the best bit.......no washing up!
You just peel the lid off, add milk, mix and bung it in the oven in the container it comes in. It's by Dr. Oetker and tastes very nice.

"An Elaborate Card Please"

2009-03-27T20:30:00.003Z

I got an order for a 70 year old, flower loving, gardening, baking woman. I was asked to make it "elaborate". After much mojo searching, I did an accordian card, each panel is A5. All the images are from the PC crafter "Senior Moments" 1&2 collection - printed twice and decoupaged for a bit of dimension. A few touches of stickles, ribbon and titles and thats it!

Communion / ConfirmationCards

2009-03-27T20:21:00.004Z

It's been an extremely busy month with the run up to communions and confirmations. all orders are now done!! Here's just a sample few.

Spring theme Competition

2009-03-20T00:42:00.005Z

Another month and another competition from Celtic Crafters, hosted by Dianne.
The theme is "Spring". To my surprise, I won (by a whisker).
Kiki sent me some gorgeous quilled cards for the charity appeal and seeing as I just bought some quilling tools, I just had to give it a go. I need a tutorial in quilling as these are far from good, but I really enjoyed the challenge.
The background is cuttlebug embossed and the fence is a Sizzix die.

Digi Image Challenge

2009-03-20T00:09:00.005Z

I enjoyed doing this digi image challenge of Lily. Thanks to Elaine at Celtic Crafters for organising it. And thank you too for the fab prize - I'll be watching for the postie!!
Lily came in black and white and the challenge was to "colour" her, use 3 brads and ribbon. I was ready to whip out the pro-markers, but opted to print Lily on white and again on dotty paper. On the white version, I coloured her face,hair, arms and legs and then cut out her dress and hair ribbon from the dotty print and layered it on. She's then cut out and mounted on 3D pads onto a nestibility oval.
I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border.

18th Card and a blog award

2009-03-17T18:19:00.009Z

Thank You Julie M for the blog award. I'll be dishing it out to 5 others as soon as I figure out who it goes to. After much thought, I'm sending the award to: Patricia,Elisa,Kiki,Neasa and Cailin.

it's been a while since I used Bella. I had this aleady coloured so she went on an order for an 18th birthday card.

Spring is here!

2009-03-17T18:08:00.006Z

Spring is here and brought a very welcomed splash of colour to the garden.
I'm no photographer, but I told Mrs. Mooney she had inspired me to get the camera out today! So I got these pics of daffodils, vinca and verbena and some pink potted plant I got for window boxes (dont' know the name of it)
The daffs were in abundance and reluctantly I cut some for a vase. They were almost tipping the ground anyway!

I Do

2009-03-13T23:01:00.007Z

I had a customer visit tonight to choose her wedding invites. One hour before she arrived, I decided to make a quickie sample. This one is done on pearlesant card stock, using cuttlebug embosser, score board and nestabilities scalloped ovals.
The ribbon was a gift from Jackie Mooney (thanks!!)
The bride didn't choose it, but almost did! Will show pics of her final choice, when she finally chooses!

Thank You Girls

2009-03-13T22:31:00.002Z

One week to go to Daffodil day and thanks to the girls on www.craftsupplies.ie and the girls of EBay Celtic Crafters,I have received (so far) 344 cards.
The response was so brilliant this year I decided to start selling the cards at the reception at work, and so far 199 euro has been raised.
Next Friday, will be the big sell day and no doubt, the Irish public will put their hands in their pockets and buy, buy, buy.

Saying "Thank You" seems so inadequate, I can never thank you enough for your contribution.Every drop in the ocean makes a difference.
So, on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society..Thank you all so much"

FACEinHOLE

2009-03-10T23:42:00.001Z

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Another Jackie Mooney Class

2009-03-08T14:41:00.007Z

Another surperb day of crafting, chat and laughter at Jackie Mooneys March Class.
I finally got to meet Karina, Jess, Neasa and Amanda, and despite them making fun of my flaps (on my origami shirt!!), I still like them!!
Lots of demos on the day too. Ann O'Kelly totally convinced me to buy the Making Memories slice - what a machine!!! I missed the girls grappling with a glue gun to make skittles. and thanks Lynda for the Cricut demo.
And thanks again to Jackie for another excellent day. See you all in April.
Here are the makes we did on the day.I enjoyed every one of them:

Elzybells cards

2009-02-22T18:36:00.003Z

Designer, Elaine Burnett (http://elainesden.blogspot.com/)is responsible for some of my latest addictions!!
First it was Pro-markers then it was Elzybells stamps. I bought four to try, and made these cards for charity - yep...they are coloured with Pro markers:

this is actually a christmas stamp but I HAD to try it, so the snow became grass and hopefully by giving Elzybell pink clothes instead of the traditional christmas red and white..I might just get away with it.

A busy crafting weekend

2009-02-22T18:27:00.003Z

I love this image and it has all my favourite colours,used my trusty buckle again and a Martha Stewart border punch.I thought it replicated her scarf, so once I punched it in white, I taped black card stock at the back for a check effect.

This card was done using images from the PC Crafter, Golfer set,and another Martha Stewart border/emboss punch.

This is a La Pashe decoupage set, from the "Remember When" range,

And i did two of these good ol' shaker cards - the "shaky" bits are balloon confetti,

I've caught up a lot on orders TG, just have to get stuck into confirmation cards for March.

Jackie Mooney inspired

2009-02-16T23:26:00.004Z

I totally enjoyed Jackie Mooneys class last month and as I had to do another card swap with the theme of "shoes" I decided to do a take on Jackies tutorial for a card I made for Claire. Claire wanted a red Jimmy Choo but she is getting Pink - I had no red... i made this from 12x12 paper, so the finished card is a slightly different shape.

inchies..twinchies

2009-02-16T23:19:00.002Z

Another swap involving inchies...there's a debate about if they should by inch x inch, square or whatever. But as long as they are a matching set and 2 x 2, square or round set, thats fine by the group that i trade with.This month the theme was a set for a mans card or a girlie,girlie set. I chose the girlie set and these are going to Karina - dying to see if you make a card with these:

An ATC Swap

2009-02-16T23:10:00.003Z

This theme was my own idea and when it came to the crunch, I drew a blank!!
the challenge was to create an ATC with a moving part. I had ideas in my head but couldn't find the images to match , so I did this one with flowers and bees. Where's the moving part..you ask... well,the bees are mounted on pleated acetate, so they "wobble".

More Invites

2009-02-12T17:20:00.005Z

Another sigh of relief to get these finised. Lisa, the bride was pleasure to work with. The wedding is in Grenada, so the palmtrees really suit.
I need to design and make about 80 invites for their party when they get back -but that's another days work

Wedding Invites and cards

2009-02-03T17:33:00.003Z

Thankfully, weddings don't seem to be going out of fashion.
I just finished and order for invitations - all in french!
It was much harder than normal and I found my self typing really slow and double checking the spellings on every one.
I'm now working on more for a wedding in Grenada, but at least they are in english.
These are some wedding cards - some need finishing with names n stuff and the french invites.

Jackie Mooneys Workshop

2009-02-03T17:19:00.006Z

Had blissful day at Jackies workshop last Sunday.
It was organised perfectly and in a great venue.
Got to meet some new and familiar faces from the CS forum, which was brilliant.
Here are just some of the cards we made.
Thanks everyone for a great day - see you all again in March.

Wedding invitations

2008-11-01T19:13:00.001Z

Special Cards

2008-10-30T16:08:00.002Z

Every now and then I'm asked to make a card and I'd love to see the recipients face. That was the case with this one. It's a lovely story with a happy ending.
A baby girl was left on the steps of a church and found by the Saristan. 4 years later, her adoption has been finalised and her family are having a mass and party to celebrate. This card is from the man who found her.
I didn't get to see her when she opened it - pity. But I'm sure she'll add it to her collection of newspaper clippings and everything else she has about her story.

I've been Tilda'ed!

2008-10-30T15:48:00.002Z

Over the last few weeks I've become addicted to Tilda and have been stamping like mad. So, far, I've just used pencils to colour but have just seen the amazing effects achieved with Promarkers by Elaine at Celtic Crafters. So, I'm going to give them a go. I ordered a set to start, then Elaine decided to have them as Blog Candy to celebrate her 40th birthday - so my name is in the hat!
Visit her fab blog and have a look http://elainesden.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, all my Tilda's have been given smiles - I prefer them with a mouth and as of this morning I have 8 new stamps!

catching up

2008-10-15T23:30:00.002+01:00

Can't believe I haven't updated since August!!!
Wedding invites and card orders are keeping me busy and I've done a few more LO's for Alisons scrapbook.
I love her eyes in this picture, but it really doesn't look like her - kind of spooky!

I got a huge Cosmo Cricket kit today and I had already started this " Love that smile" LO and changed everthing when the kit arrived. I love it - it is packed with so much goodies.

Card swap time on Celtic Crafters and this months theme was (my fav) chocolate.
Luckily I had a Jolees box of chocs sticker to hand and this was my card sent to Karina:

I went MAD buying stuff this month. Mainly from QVC, and Mad About Cards. I got a giant card kit from QVC. The kit comes with material to make 20 cards (but lots of stuff left over to make more) I just loved this kit. All the cards are 3D and I have just 4 more left to make. Just have to work out how much to sell them for.
They are HUGE. They start off at A3 and are half that when folded. Thankfully they come with envelopes - just have to find poly bags that big. This is one of them...the monkey is 3D and with adding a brad, he also swings.

Great news this month about Dad, his latest CT scans show that the cancer on his liver has lessened and his Docs are well pleased - as we all are. He got a welcomed break from chemo, but is now back on his treatment. So, fingers crossed, it will continue to bring the same great results.

Let the scrapbooking begin

2008-08-20T18:28:00.002+01:00

I've wanted to do scrapbooking for a while now. Over the past few months I've been gathering materials and albums in order to make a start. Sometimes, you need a boot up the butt to make you start, and I got that!
I have a few people I need to thank who gave the much needed boots! All are from the Cara Craft Supply forum. Lynda, both of us were LO virgins, and we "dared" each other to start. Lynda started with a fab LO of her twins and we did a materials swap, so I ended up with a fab album and papers and embellishments to start.
Kate then sent me more gorgeous papers and today, a massive package arrived from Niamh. It has gorgeous papers,metal embellishments and flowers.
The girls on the CS forum are so supportive and soooooooooo generous. Real pals.
So, I decided to start. I took a few pictures of my niece, Alison, while on holiday in Italy. We might only get to see her once or twice a year, so I was snap happy!
I did the first LO and then found I couldn't stop, so I immediately launched into a second one, and if I could have, I would have done a third, but alas, a family night out at the movies beckons.
I like this "scrapping" business. I'm planning a mini scrapbook for Rob's birth mother and some sort of family themed one.
Anyhooooo, these are my first 2 LO's

My niece Alison - cheesy feet!

2008-08-09T17:02:00.004+01:00

Not easy to get a photo of this cheeky monkey. She pulls faces if you ask her to smile.
She couldn't wait for us to visit. She had a birthday cake organised for Robert and did 3 pictures for us - all wrapped in ribbon.
Thankfully, she decided to speak english to us. She spoke only Italian when Dad was there a few weeks back.
We call her cheesy feet. She loves to play cheesy feet telephone. I pretend her foot is a phone and tell her ,her feet are cheesy smelly - she belly laughs at this.
This pic doesn't really look like her - don't know why - but I love it anyway.

Had to take 5 shots of her before I got one with a normal face.

This is her "say cheese" look!

A water baby if ever I saw one. She can't swim just yet, but has no fear of water.

She taught me how to say "Hello, how are you" and "Can I help you" in Italian, but only because we were playing a "McDonalds Game". We played it for hours. I never want to see plastic chips,a red and yellow bleeping cash-register or fake burgers again!
But really hoping we'll see her before her 5th birthday in December.

I'm planning to do some LO's with the pics I've taken. I got two new albums and lots of papers and stuff to make a start.

Italy - the holiday

2008-08-09T16:39:00.006+01:00

another view from the balcony.

The view from the Balcony (Lake Garda in the distance)

The house at Polpenazza

Just spent 8 glorious days with Annette, Piero and Alison in Italy. It's great having a sister who lives in one of my favourite places to holiday.

Things didn't get off to a great start. Robert broke his arm but we didn't realise it until we got there. So, it was hospital A&E for the 1st two days. His arm is now in plaster for 4 weeks. He couldn't use the swimming pool and our trip to Garda Land was cancelled. He wouldn't have been able to go on any of the rides. Gerry too ended up at the hospital with a nasty mossie bite. So he got tetenus shots and anti-biotics. Big thanks to Roberto for organising prompt attention at the hospital.

Alison has gotten so big and she spoke english to us all the time and taught me some Italian. For a four year old, I think she has been here before!

We got our usual invitation to Polpenazza for dinner. Angelo and Santina laid on a beautiful meal and we took a tour of his fantastic orchard and garden. It's hard to believe they just spend weekends and holidays here. Angelo did steak and ribs on a massive barbeque and Santina made her "to-die-for" lasagne.

More thanks go to Luigi (Gigi) for his running around from Pharmacy to Pharmacy.

The food as always was fantastic. I am forever jealous of the range they have on offer at the supermarkets. And the wine...............5.00 euro for 1.5 litres of Chianti !!! So, lots of that consumed. Brought back some rissotto and a lovely bean,porchini mushroom and onion mixture which Dad devoured half of when he came yesterday.And of course..shoes. Bought 4 pairs and got a pair from Annette - so not bad.

Didn't get to see Marino this trip. His mother is not in the best, so he doesn't visit as much.

Sad to leave behind the 30 degree heat and sunshine, expecially coming back to the dreary weather here.

We'll plan another holiday later in the year to make it up to Robert.

Hello Blog

2008-06-24T01:36:00.002+01:00

It's been almost two months since I updated my stuff. Where does the time go?
Just been so busy with this and that and what not!
The wedding invite side of things has just taken off like a greyhound. I got all organised, I registered my company name, ear-marked a web designer (who seems to have dissappeared, judging by the height of the grass in his front garden!) Did a load of samples and organised a fab photographer. But it's been so hectic, I haven't had the chance to even think about it. And yet, 2 more orders came in from referrals. The down side is....both weddings are on Sept 13th, so I will be up to my wobbly bits for most of July.
Myself and Gerry tried to organise a family holiday and to our horror, between our work committments, we can only squeeze in 9 days at the end of July. So, off to Italy, to visit my sister Annette and family. she had planned major work on her house, which was due to start in April, so a visit would have been out of the question. But now her builder can't start till september - yippee.
We haven't seen her for over 6 months, when she came here for christmas. Little Alison is refusing to speak English unless she wants to ask me to bring over some Tayto.
Robert is so looking forward to the trip and was even more excited when Annette phoned this evening to tell him she got a new swimming pool in.

On a sadder note...little Guppy is a gonner. Our huge goldfish guppy seems to have dissappeared from the garden pond. 2 cats have been lurking and it looks like one got lucky. Every time I look out into the garden, I get a horrible mental image of the poor fish gasping while in the clutches of a hungry moggie! The other eight fishies are now protected with a fine netting, and I've notched up another reason why I hate cats!
I was going to post up some pics but just realised it's 1.51 am - perhaps another day.

I'm having a blast from the past!

2008-04-19T21:06:00.002+01:00

The last few weeks have been trying to say the least. Having no broadband for two weeks didn't help, I could only get on-line for a few minutes every day from work. All sorted now - phew.

Dad has been staying here in between hospital visits. I don't know how he does it. I took him in for two appointments for 8am two days in a row and he went in himself for a third day. This is his routine....hospital 3 times one week, twice the next. It's a gruelling schedule even for a health person. BUT, it's been a blast from the past having him here. I've been dragged back to my childhood and all the things he made us do......can't leave the dinner table until you say "may I leave the table please". So now my son is doing that! Darling son somethings heads straight for his trampoline after eating and never listens to my advice. But Dad only had to tell him once, to wait an hour, so now he does! I got the same thing as a kid, but it was normally in relation to not swimming after eating and also about chewing your banana well!
Last night we watched the Late Late show and a lady was singing "Forget your troubles, come on get happy" and Dad did his backing vocals bit. I love when he does it..he can jump into any song and do a Chloe Lane type harmonising or whistle in perfect tune that actually suits the song. I can't believe the difference in him since a few weeks ago. But he is still terrified to have another attack if he is on his own.

The plans for my web site have been on the back burner for a bit. I've registered the company name and the domain name, but I've just got to many card orders to give it my 100%

I won a competition for a Lay Out. I'm just so delighted. The win was my hat-trick. Entered 3, won 3. I did enter for the card one two, but the winning card was brilliant and so deserved it. In fact, all the entries were fantastic.

Ladettes, sorry I missed the last get together, but thanks Niamhie for the text message at 5.30am!!! Hopefully we'll all be there on the 30th to bless the new dining room table.
I had a great night in A&E. Sat there in agony for 3 hours on a hard seat till and freezng waiting room till I finally decided to head home after finding out other people were still waiting who arrived 4 hours before me. Still don't know if is was appendicitis, will have to wait till it flares up
again.

Well, it's coffee time and a little phone call to sis in Itlay is in order. MMMwwwaaahhhh

Friday

2008-03-28T10:52:00.003Z

Still no news on Dad. He's had test after test and the Doctors still can't find the source of the infection. He looked a bit brighter yesterday and has managed to eat.He looked tired but that's to be expected - he got little or sleep with all the goings-on in the ward.

Niamh - I'm dying to hear all about Hong Kong, glad you decided to go in the end. Looks like the next full get together will be well into April. Like Jackie, I'm a bit pushed for time before that.

Glad to see weddings aren't going out of fashion. I still haven't finalised my wedding invite web-site, but haven't had to either. Another bride chose her invites this week and TG, she picked nice simple ones!

And finally, Thank You , to the Ladies and Gents of the Seniors Group. A took a group of them to and from church and to lunch on Good Friday and they sent me a gorgeous card. they are a fantastic bunch and have great fun and craic with each other.

Monday - it's a day off

2008-03-23T22:48:00.002Z

Hooray for Bank holidays.

I've had a busy weekend and an eventfull week.

Like most crafters, I am a member of a couple of forums, Cara Craft Supplies Group and an EBay group. Sadly, things fell apart in the EBay group, one day we were one happy family, the next splat!! I was a moderator in the group and myself and the group leader had a complaints issue to deal with. In the end, it turns out we could have handled things differently, so now we know....but it resulted in one member letting rip on me, and totally blaming me for everything. I can get over the likes of her no problem. The best part is, that myself and the "friendliest woman on the planet" have started our own EBay Group - Celtic Crafters - all new members welcome.
And the whole experience feels so refreshing. A new beginning, and leaving behind bitter women, with sewer mouths.
From a crafting point of view, I was busy stamping ..bride and groom images for wedding invites. Got to stamp and heat emoboss over 200 times...so it may take me a while. I also got some work done for a competition and played with my new craft robo for a bit to do some cards for charity.

I'm stuffed, with lamb and easter eggs - but can't think a nicer mix to be stuffed on.

Thanks for calling by - don't forget to leave your mark - all comments are taken with a light heart.
Enjoy your day of relaxation tomorrow.

Easter

2008-03-13T20:54:00.003Z

As a follow on from the ladettes night - yep, you guessed it - not the fittest the next day. More tired than hungover. Never actually got to bed and was luckily driven home the next morning. Gawd, can us lot talk.
Anyhoo, Easter is upon us and apart from too many chocolate eggs, it really doesn't have a major significance for me. but I did have a few card orders, here they are:

Note to any family members who read this : I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE!!! LOL

Ladies Night

2008-03-07T00:19:00.004Z

The ladettes get together tomorrow night (friday) well, all except Niamh (bottom r/h) gawd love her, she had to go to Hong Kong to accompany her in-laws half way to Australia.
So, for the other four of us, it's off to Lusk to chomp our way through 3 courses at Fionas (top L/H) all washed down with one or maybe two bottles of red heaven!
So, it'll be hangovers galore me thinks. We do start off with the best of intentions but by 3am we couldn't give a damn! And by 6am when the sun is leaping in the sky, we'll sit there blurry eyed still debating something we started at 12.30, and I will have consumed 8 espressos fooling myself into thinking I won't have a "head" on me the next day.
Anyway, buddy friend Nancy (bottom L/H) is collecting me at 7.30 and Jackie (midddle top) will meet us there.
I've a funny feeling that a drunken phone call to Hong Kong will happen at about 4 a.m.
Will someone record what happens on Saturday, because I'll probably have no memory of the day as I'll be catching up on hours of lost sleep. But it's so worth it - that's what friends are for.
This is one of the rare pics of all of us together. It was taken at "The SnowBall" - a charity event, aparrently held every year. Sadly, there were too many Tarquins, Jeremy's and Chantelles there for my liking, so won't be going again. It wasn't their false poshness that put me off - just their blatant rudeness. Despite the Tarquins having fat cigars in their mouths, they still could talk so loudly we couldn't hear a moving plea by the charity principal - Christina Noble. I'll shut up now otherwise I'll just rant about the horsey set and their "daddies" who paid for their tickets and frocks!

Mothers Day

2008-02-29T18:47:00.008Z

My Mother Monica - love you, miss you. Happy Mothers Day xxx

Mothers Day on Sunday and I think I shed a tear for every mothers day card I made for orders. My own darling mother Monica passed away almost 6 years ago and I miss her more today than I did yesterday. It doesn't get easier, you don't get over it - you get through it. I took up card making after she died and I know she would have been so interested and would have tried it herself. She, is where I get any artistic ability from. She was a fabulous knitter (I never could) . My Dad's relatives in Australia still brag about the Aran jumpers they have that she knit- not many of us had the pleasure of owning one of her creations because she knit them for a shop. She had a great interest in creating things and over the years we tried many ventures together. We did a floral arranging course and I went on to do more. We made "dolly" hair slide holders and I sold them in work - we made a fortune! Most of my family have an interest in my card making ventures but she would have loved it and I miss not being able to show her or to even ask her opinion. So, sadly none of these cards are for her, but I know that she knows, if she was still with us, she'd have received the most special of my efforts.

And here a few cards, some lucky people had the chance to send:

Cards for the Famous!

2008-02-27T13:14:00.004Z

It's not very often I get order for cards for "famous" people, then 3 orders came together.
A christening card for comedian, Tommy Tiernan's baby: For some stange reason I didn't take a photo of it. Some day, I hope to bump into him because there is a funny story about the card. I used a new "swirly" font on the card and it was only when I had the whole thing done that I realised the "swirls" where shadows of posing naked women!!! I had to use a lot of gems to cover them up!

Then a thank you card for childrens book author Judi Curtin:
I decided to go with a book style card. The verse is in Irish, and luckily a native Irish speaker spotted a typo before I handed it over (thanks Neasa) - phew

Then, I was asked to make a congratulaions card for hat designer Philip Tracey. It HAD to be in the Galway colours of maroon and white and feature a hat. I was so nervous making this. The hat is made from stripes of maroon velvet with a jewel embellishment. Apparently, he was quite impressed with it. I made similiar ones for his brother and other people at the G Hotel who were involved in his first solo hat show in Ireland.

Can't sleep

2008-02-27T01:59:00.004Z

Feeling tired, but can't sleep, so I've done some tidying up in my photobucket and have been fiddling round with some ideas for competitions. Not done too bad so far, entered two competions on the Cara Craft Supplies forum and won both! So, ya never know, could be third time lucky.
Thought I'd show the past entries

This one had to feature a CD and buttons (the CD is covered in ribbon)

And this one had a fashion theme

a card for Nancy

2008-02-19T01:08:00.003Z

This is a bit spooky. I made this card for my friend Nancy. There are 5 of us who get together for meals, week-ends, getting wasted and chatting up the drunks in Navan! and this image might as well be a picture of the five of us.

Having given the card to Nancy on Friday before we got wasted.... it's agreed that she is the one on the right , in green, I am in red, Jackie is in yellow - we just have to decide which is Fiona and which is Niamh.

So, for now - I'm just calling this one " 5 friends"

Monday again

2008-02-18T15:50:00.002Z

Where do the weekends go???
Spent most of mine sourcing products for wedding invites. Had some luck and some help from the girls at craftsupplies.ie - the bottomless pit of information!

Got one wedding order finished - collected and paid for, so that's another one off the list.

I've also added a counter to my blog - I'm getting so technical, I'm amazing myself. It will be interesting to see how many visitors swing by. Might even add music next, once I figure out how to!
Also have to add software from my new digital camera onto the computer. I took a load of shots during christmas and need to have them uploaded. Then, somewhere down the line, I'll need a course on how to use it properly - I've inflicted many injustices on mine and others peoples work by taking crap pictures, or just using the scanner.
Right, Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, it's off to work I go.

3D stand alone cards

2008-02-16T16:16:00.002Z

These are among my favourite design in cards. They are A5 in size and they don't open like traditional cards - just remove from the box and stand it up.
Most of these were made using brass stencils for the aperture, but you can just make one by cutting a square aperture window. They are ideal for placing decoupage images, which I do most of the time.

2008-02-16T16:14:00.000Z

2008-02-16T16:01:00.001Z

Valentines Day - bah humbug!

2008-02-13T18:26:00.002Z

Valentines day is a bit "Bah humbug" for me. And for lots of other Dubliner's it's a day we dread.
Not only is it a day for lovers, but it's also the anniversary of the Stardust fire. One of the blackest days our capital has seen.

My ex-boyfriend, but best friend David, was only 19 when he died trying to rescue some of his work mates. He did get out, but went back in for them and was killed when the roof collasped. He had asked me to go with them, but I couldn't and I'm forever haunted by what would have happened if I did go....would he be alive now....would I also be dead?
He had saved my life only 2 months before that, when he dragged me from the path of a speeding taxi.

I used to go to his grave every year but then felt it was unfair to my husband - so now I just have silent chats with him every now and then.

So, as I wade through all my valentine cards (not lol) I'll be thinking of him and all the others who perished and their families.

Wednesday 13th February

2008-02-13T18:20:00.000Z

wedding invites

2008-02-09T20:14:00.000Z

The orders for wedding invites are coming in thick and fast. Word seems to be spreading in the Garda workforce. Just got a nice order from the 4th Garda member - not complaining.

I really like this design, it's very weighty and "smacks" of expensive - but it's not. I'm planning on doing a load of sample based on this design:

Mondayitis

2008-02-04T18:50:00.000Z

Not sure if I have Mondayitis or still have that nagging feeling to take the card-making lark by the throat and decide whether to invest in a serious piece of kit and just concentrate on wedding invites.
I have orders for over 30 cards and the thought of tackling them is daunting. I think I put away my mojo with the christmas decorations.

I've taken loads of pictures of cards with my new digital camera but haven't yet loaded the software onto the computer. It involves crawling under the desk and just ain't in the mood.

2008-01-19T12:36:00.000Z

2008-01-19T12:33:00.000Z

First post

2008-01-19T12:23:00.000Z

It's Saturday 19th January 2008

Decided to start a blog - sometimes I have a lot to say.