12 Tags of Christmas 2008 - Part 3 ....

My obsession with Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of Christmas is still going strong but not as fast as I would like - why does life have to get in the way - lol. Here are Tags 8 and 9 ....
No. 9 is not as bright as I wanted it to be and No. 10 is missing the key (I don't have the Idea-ology word keys - yet - lol) but I just love them .....

A Letter From America .....

Ages ago, I took part in a Book Mark Swap in Kathryn's Soul Jounrnal Group - in fact so long ago I had almost forgotten about it ....
Today when I arrived home from work there was a packet laying on the doormat with loads of impresive US stamps and customs stuff all over it and inside were these ....Many thanks to Lay Hoon, Marci and Christy - they are all absolutely beautiful ....

Valentine's Day .....

Kathryn, the inspired leader of the Soul Journal Group, has arranged a Valentine's Day party ....

The day was originally a Saint's Day, particularly named after two Valentines - Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni but the day as we know it now, only really started in Victorian times, when handwritten love notes were exchanged.
Today, it is a booming industry. According to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, approximately one billion Valentine cards are ent each year - second only to Christmas.
And apparently, men spend twice as much money as women - lol.

I was in the car park next to where I work this afternoon, gossiping, as you do - lol, and three chaps walked past carying beautiful bouquets of flowers. I just couldn't resist saying 'Oh you shouldn't have', and all of them looked a tad sheepish and said that they would be in dead trouble if they didn't arrive home with flowers - lol. On the way home from work, in the laybys on either side of a busy dual carriageway, flower stalls had been set up by 'enterprising young men' selling a dozen red roses for £15 - it looked like they were making a killing - lol.
Anyways - back to the party ....here are two Valentine's postcards from my small collection ....This one was posted in 1906 in Surrey to Poppy in Bramley from Wilf, with all his love for ever ......
On the back of this one is written - 'With Grandma's Love' .....
As a final thought - how about this tradition in South Korea - women give chocolates to men on 14th February and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14th. On April 14th, those who didn't receive anything on either of those days go to a Chinese restaurant to eat black noodles and 'mourn' their single life - how sad is that .....
Whatever you're doing and whoever you are with - Happy Valentine's Day ....

More Inchies ....

I also found this afternoon Fiona's Inchy by Inch challenge, which this week is Winter ....I spelt out the word Winter and interspersed the letters with wintery stamps, including my favourite green wellies, from a Father Christmas on a Paper Artsy plate ....
Sorry about the appalling photo ....

Inchies and Twinchies ....

I spoke too soon earlier on today - the sun went in and the sky is very heavy, plus I have just had a look at the BBC News website. So on went another pair of socks and my favourite comfort cardigan and I settled down to play ....

I found a new Challenge - Small World of Inchies and Twinchies where the theme is Pink. I don't generally do small but I wanted to do something different and got a bit carried away - lol ....
The background of all the inchies and twinchies are pink - they really are, it just doesn't show up in the photo - it's Tattered Rose Distress Ink.The stamps used are from The Queen's Dresser Drawers, Paper Artsy and Invoke Arts; and the inks are Tattered Rose, Aged Mahogany and Black Soot Distress Inks. I've mounted them all on black card for effect. Hope you like them ....

Playing With Beeswax ....

I had a play with Beeswax ages ago when, quite frankly, I didn't have a clue what I was doing - lol - and all attempts were abandoned. Then a few weeks back, I discovered the Suze Weinberg and Milliande videos about it over on You Tube .... and then later that same day my friend Ed and I were chatting online about - guess what - beeswax - how spooky is that - lol.

I bought the Encaustic Stylus with all the attachments, including the flat irons, from my pal Sue (you all know her - she's the one who hasn't got a Blog but should have) and retrieved the Beeswax from the bottom of a cupboard, which I bought from a local bee farm.
So, first thing this morning there I am, in the kitchen, wondering if I would set the house alight - lol. While I was waiting for the wax to melt I made a cup of coffee and when I lifted the lid to see how it was going, I had to take a photo of what was inside - lucky the camera was in the kitchen with me - lol ...I couldn't take that photo again, if I tried ...
I Beeswaxed my TGIF entry this week - for which I was the Guest Designer - in case you missed that little snippet of information - lol) ....What do you think? ....

Spring Is On The Way? ....

Thinking about those people in the UK still in the grips of the snow and ice and on the opposite side of the coin and the world those poor people caught up in the dreadful fires in Australia, I feel just a tad guilty because the weather here in West Sussex this weekend has been really good, so much so that I spent yesterday out in the garden....

It was cold but quite sunny yesterday and I set to and tidied up the shed, swept it out and got rid of the cobwebs, oiled the lawn mower and had a general potter about in the garden. I also set up my new bird feeding station on the patio, near to my sitting room window .....

The birds are loving this and it's a vast improvement on the mish mash of delapidated feeders that were dotted around, where I couldn't really see them. I'm going to have to be strong and not let breakfast watching the birds make me late for work - lol.

Today it's even better and the sun is streaming down, so I might have another little potter around outside ......
Whereever you are - enjoy your day ....

TGIF Challenge .... Masked Ball

The TGIF Challenge this week is on the theme of a Masked Ball - and you will never believe it - but I am the Guest Designer ..... how about that then !!!! Thanks to Sandy for inviting me.
Here's my canvas ....

Something To Crow About ...

Rosie and Linda's Awfully Big Art Adventure this week is all about Crows. I don't have any images of Crows but I do have a plate of Blackbirds by Invoke Arts., and apart from anything else all I could hear in my head since reading the girls' Blog was that Nursery Rhyme - lol. I spent the whole afternoon, with an idea in my head and messing around with the stamps and making masks of birds and then - nothing, zero, zilch - the idea had completely come to nothing.

I wandered off and had some comfort food (two slices of sardines on toast, an apple and two strawberry filled mini rolls) and came back to it - and voila - that Nursery Rhyme. I am going to put this somewhere safe and at some stage, make a book of Nursery Rhymes for The Gorgeous One (aka Finley William) ....