"Summer is a'comin' in....."

Well maybe it is! The sun is shining and the temperature is rising at last, so lets hope! Whatever the weather I am so enjoying the lush greenness of England again, the trees are breathtaking at the moment, the blossom last month was gorgeous and now there are lilacs and clematis blooming, such a treat!
Apologies for the long absence from blog land, I moved back to blighty in January and have had several stressful months of finding a home and settling into it. My family have so supportive and helpful and I am at last happily settled
I am now living in a lovely little flat in a sheltered housing complex in Croydon, near where I grew up. I have joined a lively Anglican church in South Croydon and belong to a homegroup locally where I am making friends and feeling part of a community again. I've also joined a local fun choir and started a knit and natter here in the flats and joined a Craft club.
Here are the first splash of colour at my window sill when I first moved in....

                                                 

Needless to say I have been crafting where ever and whenever I can! Firstly for my new granddaughter born on the 16th March. Here is the sleeping bag I knitted for her while in transit

and some little bunny bootees....

And a little crochet amigurumi bunny

A begonia that is flowering continously on my windowsill...

The gorgeous blossom in the park right next door to me...

One of the greatest joys of being home is spending lots of time with my gorgeous grandchildren, here is Noah using Nannie's stamps and loving it!

A little Olive chuckling on my sofa!

A birthday card for a little girl I know, made from the Angelina CD by Crafters Companion

Another joy of being on the outskirts of London is being able to go to shows etc, I visited the Kaffe Fassett exhibition in at the Fashion and Textile Museum near London Bridge, fabulous colours and textures in knitting and crochet, patchwork, tapestry and mosaics, would recommend a visit to anyone,

Cup caking making for a visit to friends (rhubarb and custard flavour) with new silicone moulds to make the flowers and leaves, so easy and  very pretty. Needless to say not a crumb left!

My latest creations from a CD called Fabulous Fashion by Katy Sue Designs.

My crafty skills were soon discovered at church and I was invited to help at Rendezvous, an outreach activity day for elderly and disabled people. I decided to do shaving foam marbling and it was a great hit, several people made book marks or cards from there inky creations and were very proud of their achievements. It was a very happy and satisfying day for all, to be repeated in the Summer.

I still have lots of WIP's (works in progress) around the place, but the priority is a little pinafore dress for little Olive, pics soon!

I hope to write much more regularly now, please send your comments and questions, I love to read them!

Bye for now and enjoy the weather!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Hello folks, another long gap, sorry! Life got very hectic last month with the lady I looked after being hospitalised and eventually taken home to the UK. Since then I have had a stall at a Christmas Fair for two days and then been suffering from a nasty cold I picked up there!

But cards continued to be made for Craft Club

and in the evenings I have making these cute little decorations for my grandson

I was given a new smart phone so of course I had to make a nice cover for it...

and I dragged out a project I started last Christmas, a lovely tablecloth that has four corners to cross stitch.  I have been feeling so rough, some gentle stitching was all I could manage. I have finished the first poinsettia....

and started the bells.....

so relaxing, the minutes just melt away when I'm engrossed in this! The whole thing will not ready to use for this Christmas, but it's not a problem, it's the process that is so enjoyable, more than the finished result for me.

Like many other families this year, we are all short of money so we are giving very small token gifts. I have raided my stash and been making a scarf for my eldest son, something mindless to knit while watching the TV. About 300 stitches on a large circular needle all in garter stitch. It helps with the tension when watching Stictly! I wonder who will go out tonight?

The garden is very bereft at this time of year, but there is a little colour, my crysanthamums from last year flowered again..

and my faithful old Iceberg rose just flowers and flowers....

We had a really cold snap at the beginning of December and Bobo started off hogging my lap blanket...

then progressed to the large furry blanket AND the lap blanket...

Cat's aren't stupid are they? Yes I did take one away from him, my legs get so cold in this old draughty house!

Sophie is content if she has a real bone from a serrano ham joint and often uses my feet as a 'bone platform'!

I am off to the UK on Thursday for a whirlwind of visits to family and friends, cooking Christmas dinner at my sons' house and collapsing back home on New Years day. It will be so good to be with my family this year. It will be worth the musical beds and layers of clothes! The cake and pudding are already wrapped and in the suitcase, the Sainsbury's order done, cards written, nearly all the gifts wrapped so it's roll on Christmas!

I leave you with the sentiment of my favourite card of the season and wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year!

J XXX

and suddenly its Autumn or is it Winter?

Yep the tempertures have dropped dramatically as they usually do here, one minute we are sweating in 30C and the next morning it's 10C! The jeans have been out for a couple of weeks and the gas fire on in the evenings but today I have to drag my winter woolies out.
On the cooler days I have been busy making samples and planning for the Craft club projects.

Two decoupage cards made from Debbi Moore CD's, the first is Garden Fairies and the second Art Deco Rome. Lots of glitter and glitz in these but it doesn't show in the pics. I rummaged in my bits and pieces drawer and found some lovely feathers to adorn the Art Deco lady, really finishes off the look! The white lacy matting is cut from Spellbinders grand ovals dies.
We revisited poppies too, always a favourite

The first card is made with Clarity stamp poppies and the second from Sheena Douglas's poppy stamp and a new music die from Marianne.
Of course we have had to start our Christmas cards, this week it was Snow Globes from Flower Soft's CD.

It's difficult to see in this pic, but there is fake snow in the globe to make it a shaker card, great fun!
I've been playing with Poinsettia stamps at home for a future club project too....

and this is made with die cuts with very delicate shading with distress inks on Kraft card.

I've been trying to get this photo to load the right way round but it just won't! Hope you get the general idea

Very pretty stamps from Chloe's Stamps.
Scrapbooking has taken a back seat for weeks, but I've been working on one today, with the heating on!
I loathe the Autumn, (well not quite), I never understand why people wax lyrical about it, it's the season of dying and decay, less sun and more cold and the prospect of a long Winter! (OK, the Autumn colours are spectacular, but I don't get those here in Spain)
But there are some little pleasures that make it more bearable....juicy sweet pomegranates...

And the gorgeous warm and aroma of this cooking.....

Dreaming of eating this with my family at Christmas this year, the first in the UK for a long time.

Yes, I DID have a wonderful time there in September catching up with family in Norfolk and London and going to Ally Pally for the stamping show, (saw lots of my heros there). Here is me and my little pickle in his newly knitted denim jacket, so cuddly I could squeeze him to bits!

That's all for now, keep warm and keep CRAFTING!