Things I've Loved - August 2011...........

Where did August go,where has the year gone,I can't believe it's September tomorrow,it will be Christmas before we know it,lol. Anyway, I've decided at the end of each month I will do a round up of my favourite things from the month. It maybe something I've seen or done,however small,just something that has made me smile. I'd love it if you joined me,leave me a comment if you do so I can check out your post.
August has been a good month for me,we've had a decent summer for the U.K. with some lovely, warm, sunny days and I've spent lots of time with my girls.

The rose bush in full bloom called Beautiful Bride that my Mom & Dad bought us for our Wedding Anniversary.

Been pampered at the new Beauty Rooms Spa

Tapas at Casa Ruiz,Bridgenorth.

Jon's 50th Birthday Party, he's famous for his moustache.

Bridgenorth Cliff Railway

Englands Oldest and Steepest Inland Funicular Railway
taken with Retro Camara on my phone.

My conservatory.

What has made you happy through the month of August,let me know.

xxxxDebxxxx

Crocheted Hook Holder Ta-Dah..............and a catch up on my week.

How's your weekend going ? I've had a very lazy morning in bed after a busy week and not feeling 100%. On Monday, Paige and I went to Birmingham shopping with the family. I had a voucher for Cath Kidston which I intended to spend but just couldn't make my mind up what to have with so many gorgeous things to chose from so I left with nothing !!!!
Tuesday was a day out to Shrewsbury with my card class friends,we have known each other for over 5 years now and have become very good friends. We had a great day just strolling around the shops,sitting down for coffee's and a late lunch,all very civilised well for the most part,lol. We found a wonderful old-fashioned haberdashery store where we spent ages looking at all the gorgeous fabrics,lace,ribbon and buttons,hence the late lunch.
I also found a fabulous wool shop where I bought some gorgeous wool to make the Springtime Throw from the Cute and Easy Crochet book.

I wanted to use similar colours as the pattern for this gorgeous blanket and a nice,soft merino wool ,I went with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK for as much as I could then mixed a few other brands of merino wool.I can't wait to get started.
On Wednesday I went to Worcester with my lovely friend Kerry and again had a stroll around this lovely old city. Once Kerry and I get together we don't stop for breath,we never stop talking,lol,we both love eating at Cafe Rouge and had a fabulous lunch ,sharing little bits of tapas style food,delicious !!!!
Yesterday was a more chilled day,Paige and I had lunch at Nando's and then when to the cinema to see The Inbetweeners which is probably not the best film to see with your 16 year old daughter. It was very rude but also very funny,I have a very loud laugh and I think Paige was more embarrassed about that than watching the film with me.After the film we went to get our first fish pedicure.

 This is where Garra Ruffa fish nibble away at your hard skin,I know gross but I wanted to try it,when I put my feet in the tank my first reaction was to pull them straight back out. It was such a strange feeling having all these little fish nibbling your feet,I did get used to it though and will have it done again,my feet were a lot softer.
After all my rambling here is my Ta-Dah moment,my hook holder is finished ready  to take to Cornwall with me next week,no more hooks rolling about loose at the bottom of my crochet bag.I have enough wool left over to make another one with reverse colours, two hook holders made with just two balls of wool,can't be bad.

 

This is also made from the book Cute and Easy Crochet 

Lastly, I would like to thank the lovely Stella who kindly sent me some of her gorgeous handmade pins all the way from the Netherlands. She also sent me some little gems and a beautiful handmade card,she's such a sweetie.

Summer has nearly come to an end,I've had a wonderful time and will be sad when it ends,I've enjoyed reading other blogs and seeing what you've all been up to over the summer,I'm so glad I decided to start blogging and getting the chance to know people through their blogs.I have made a lot of new friends,I may not of met you but through your blogs I feel as though I've got to know you.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and people in the U.K. have a good Bank Holiday.

xxxxDebxxxx

Sunny Days Out..............

I've had another lovely week,I just love the summer with lots going on,spending time with my girls,family and friends. On Saturday Mick,Paige and I went to Bridgenorth for the afternoon,it's a beautiful market town by the River Severn in Shropshire. We had some lunch at the Tapas bar,my favourite way to eat and then Paige and I had a stroll around the shops while Mick found a pub to watch the football,the first match of the season,boring !!!!We looked in the vintage shop where Paige tried on a couple of 1940's swimming costumes,she looked stunning but couldn't decide whether to buy one or spend her money on some new clothes and get more for her money,she decided on the latter and got some great bargains in the sales.

Monday, we went shopping at Telford with my Mom,Sister and Nieces,I treated myself to some new clothes this tim, then on Wednesday Paige and I went to Bewdley with Libby and her three young children,another pretty little town on the River Severn. The sun was shining and the first thing we did was to go and feed the ducks on the river.

We then had a stroll to Bewdley Mueseum,which is free to look around and has displays from the second world war and the local industry. They also have stunning gardens to sit in which Libby,Paige and I did while the children climbed trees and played hide and seek.We sat under this big tree that the kids were climbing and we kept feeling things falling on our head,when we looked up a squirrel was eating his lunch and spitting out what he didn't want at us,lol.

I love the picture above where you can see the fluffy white clouds reflecting in this pretty lily pond.
By this time it was time for our lunch,so we went to the award winning fish & chip shop in town and sat by the river with our bag of chips,they were yummy.We stopped there for quite a while soaking up the sun while the children splashed around in the river,they were absolutely filthy and wet by the time we left. They had so much fun out in the fresh air running around just been kids,I really miss my girls been that age,I suppose I'll have to wait for my grandchildren now,*sigh*.
Thursday afternoon my friend Pinda asked if I could teach her how to crochet so we had a pub lunch then headed to her house for the first lesson. She picked it up really quickly so we both sat there in her conservetory crocheting,I've finished my Mollie blanket and have just need to buy some fleece for the backing,so I started a crocheted hook holder for all my crochet hooks.Some of my friends have commented that I don't show many photo's of me on my blog,so here goes,here's one that Pinda took of me while crocheting,I wish I'd done my hair though !!!!!!!

and here's Pinda doing her thing.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I will be back soon to show you my finished crocheted projects.

xxxxDebxxxx

Some Cards to Show You.......at last

This morning I got to go in my craft room and make some cards,it's my friends birthday tomorrow,Happy Birthday Sophie, so I made her a card with some matching wrapping paper and tag. My inspiration is from this gorgeous picture over at CR84FN. This is one of my favourite colour combo's and I love the quote,I lead my life with this philosophy and try not to worry about things until it happens.

Here they are:

I ended up making another two cards with the leftovers.

The dotty paper is actually yellow I but just couldn't get a good photo this morning,I stamped the SU Medallion  with white ink onto kraft card and made some flowers using the diecut flowers that Linda B sent me from the vintage/atc swap and sprayed with TA.The sentiments are also SU which are called Curly Cute.I then stamped some brown kraft wrapping paper with the Medallion stamp to match the card and tag.
Have a great weekend,will be back tomorrow to tell you what I've been up to this week.

 xxxxDebxxxx

My First Published Book...........

Well I have had a book published but I've got the only copy,it sounds good though,doesn't it ? I've actually had all my blog posts from last year printed into a book,I'd had this idea for a while but wasn't sure where to get it done until my friend Linda told me about this website called Blog2Print.I would highly recommend them, I ordered it on the 3rd August and it arrived today all the way from the U.S.A. It arrived in pristine condition,with a hard backed cover and printed on good quality paper. It's format is like a real book with an index and a foreword written by me,lol. I don't tend to look back at my old posts so to see them all again in a book was great and some of the posts made my girls and I have a little chuckle,some things I'd even forgotten about until I saw them again in print.

This is why my blog as evolved from just about crafting to a snippet of my everyday life,I'm not very good with words and have never kept a diary so doing this I can look back on my life and some of those special memories and hopefully in years to come my grandchildren too, to say I am pleased with the end product is an understatement,it as exceeded my expectations.

xxxxDebxxxxx

A to Z Scrapbooking.....

Theresa and Lea were trying to think up new challenges to use up all their stash,there were lots of ideas been thrown around but eventually they came up with this one, the A to Z Challenge. On the 15th of every month over at Scrapbookers Anonymous we will be asking you to use up some of your stash using items from a manufacturer that begins with the letter for that month.
So obviously, we are kicking off this month with the letter A,you haven't got to use everything beginning with A,unless you want to of course, it could be the paper,embellishments or even the alpha's. Easy peasy,let's see what you come up with,I've gone for the obvious this month and gone with American Crafts papers and embellies,the alpha's are Adornit.

My good friend Libby gave me some American Crafts goodies that she didn't want anymore so I used them,the base is double-sided 12x12 AC Classics paper,it is patterned one side and a solid colour on the reverse, I misted it with some TA. The strips of pattern paper and Smile paper are AC Just Write journaling cards,there's a journaling card and a pattern paper on each 4x6 strip which is perforated so you can just tear them apart. I used four different patterns and then Smile which I used as part of a quote 'A smile should be shared with everyone'. The chipboard bunting and birds are also AC.
I hope you can join in with this fun challenge,it doesn't have to be a LO, you could make a card and it's a great way to use up some older stash and make room for all the new. I wonder how many different manufacturers beginning with A we get and don't forget the current challenge that's still running,using up your journaling cards. You have until the end of August to enter both challenges,the more times you enter the more chances you have of winning this month's fab prize of a $25 gift certificate to spend at Two Peas in a Bucket, which our very own Lynnda has donated.
Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to seeing your LO's and cards using the letter A.

xxxxDebxxxx

My Mollie Blanket Progress Report....................

Just popping in to show you how I'm progressing with my starburst crocheted blanket,which I've named my Mollie blanket after my favourite magazine Mollie Makes and where I got the pattern from (issue 2). I've made 42 squares so far and will probably need to do another 42 to get the size I want. I'm using Aran yarn so it's going to be so warm and snuggly and I think I might line it with fleece to make it extra snuggly. I hope to finish it by the beginning of September so I can take it to Cornwall with me to use on those cool evenings so watch this space.

Come back tomorrow and see the brand new monthly challenge that's starting over at Scrapbookers Anonymous,even more fun ways to use up all that stash.

xxxxDebxxxx

Rubbish Blogger and No Crafting.......................

I really am hopeless during the summer with blogging and crafting but my girls are at home a lot during the holidays and I like to spend time with them rather than by myself in my craft room. If we're not out somewhere we'll be in the in the garden or conservatory chatting and while they're still living at home I want to make the most of them,time passes by so quick and you can never get those missed moments back.
I went to Bromsgrove crop on Saturday and did one and a half LO's ,I was more interested in my friends newborn baby who came along (start them early,I say) than scrapping. My finished LO was using a sketch by Lisa.

I've also got my my finished bunting  to show you all,I've hung it in my garden and love seeing it blowing about in the breeze,I'm quite pleased with my first attempt.I think it would look fabulous in a kids room with their name on,I might give that a go.

I

Have you noticed the Cath Kidston Cowboy print fabric,it matches my teepee so I had to add that to the bunting.
On Tuesday I had some friends around for afternoon tea,which was really good fun.I met them all through a card class that I use to go to, I don't get to see them as often as I would like but we had a good ole' catch up and ate lots of cake. Jan dressed the part and bought some gorgeous homemade scones,filled with cream and strawberries from her garden,delicious!!!!!!

 Jan and Maria,

Maria found her floral skirt out especially for today,don't they both look pretty.

Best scones ever!!!!!

Here's a few more pics.............

 Lady Binda

 Jan enjoying a slice of cake.

Dee eating sarnies with the crusts cut off,lol.

I will catch up with everyone's blogs hopefully over the weekend,thanks for looking and hope you don't mind my lack of cards and LO's at the moment,I will get back to it soon.

 xxxxDebxxxx