Retirement card - Saturday 10th January 2015

Hello Friends!

I would first of all like to say "Wow" ...thank you for all your lovely comments about my Stampscapes card! I was really thrilled, so much so,  that one evening with my iPad on my lap I went through and gave all of you a thank you! The card took ages to make, but I was pleased with it and I have some more of their stamps, so as soon as I have the time I will be having another go!

I would also  like to welcome a new blog friend...Becca Cruger...I discovered Becca and her fab blog through Darnell, you really should check her out...http://damselofdistressedcards.blogspot.co.uk

I am up to 88 followers, hopefully some time this year I may reach 100 (I can hope!) and if so, there will be candy!!!

I hadn't meant to leave it so long between posts, but...well those of you who go out to work know what it's like the first week back, especially after a long break like Christmas when the office has been completely closed! We are still 'battling' with the new national volunteering website and the people who own it and have not designed(in many peoples' opinions) it with Volunteer Centres in mind at all! It's not just us, it's all of us (about 300 offices) and I won't even try to explain because unless you work in a Volunteer Centre it will mean nothing to you!

Te site all goes totally live on Monday, so I am in the office more next week as I have to make sure our office volunteers are okay using it..hey-ho!

Thus...not much crafting got done last week and I spent all of Friday making cards and crafts using  little calendars. We are going to be using them in our  first workshop of the year next week and I've been trying to decide which design to give my ladies to make...I  started out with using some stamps, the original intention and disliked them so much, they went in the bin...the one I like best uses just dies and embossing, with the merest hint of stamping and I'm thinking maybe they'd like a little change from stamping anyway?? I 

will be showing you the ones I've made over the course of next week, so by the end of the week you will be fed up with calendars! I'll also be sharing with you a very special one that was made for me by one of my dear blog friends..I received it last September and should have shown you before, it really is very special.

So, for today's card...I made this one a few months ago and it was for our lovely mobile library driver Sylvia, who retired. I did actually make her 'colleague' card as well, but forgot to photograph it. This was my own for her. Sylvia has a lovely sense of humour and I was going to try a cartoony one with the library bus on it, but for about 2 weeks before she left, when we had a little chat in the staff room, me filling my kettle and she her flask, we would do a count down to 'no more alarm clocks' for her, so I made this instead and I'm pleased to report she loved it (and the other one!)

Sylvia is a bit like me, not particularly 'girly' so I didn't want to make the card too fussy.  I used polka dot backing paper, slightly distressed at the edges, the Tim Holz Sizzix alarm clock die and flower & butterfly dies by Spellbinders. I didn't photograph the inside (no idea why!), but I followed through with the papers and the greeting read "No more alarm clock!"

I just liked the idea, as with the assemblage clocks (one of which I still have on my shelf to alter), of just reusing the redundant clock as a piece of art!

That's all for now, I am typing this with very cold hands...Tom seems to have the 'create something' bug (I should not have let him near Pinterest). Ever since we had the new kitchen we have wanted somewhere else to store our wellies and garden shoes (don't want to mess up the new floor, lol); I wear my wellies every day to see to the hens, so they can get muddy. He has wanted a boot shelf combined with a coat rack for the downstairs cloakroom, saw an idea on Pinterest and today we began making it (this is the problem, I have to help). As he made such a good design with the stamp rack, I could hardly not look enthusiastic and to be fair, it's looking good...my goodness I am going to have a mega Annie Sloan day when the weather gets warmer!

We only came in from the garage a short while ago and my hands haven't yet thawed out!  I am really tired too...fortunately it's the weekend so Tom does the cooking!

After we finish that tomorrow, we have to re-felt the roof on my craft barn. I've been saying all summer it needs doing and guess what?  Yes it came off with the gales last night...now that's one job I'm not looking forward too!

Thank you so much for stopping by, I really appreciate your visits and comments and please enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love and Hugs,
Carole X

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