Monday 24 December 2012

Merry Christmas

Just a short message from me to you and yours, wishing you a very Merry Christmas :) cheers!

Gayle

Saturday 15 December 2012

Christmas aaaargghhhh

Christmas is coming! Eeek!  I am being thoroughly freaked out by unexpected signs that say 'x more sleeps til Christmas'; it's gone from 'next month' to a mere matter of sleeps.

And I haven't done a thing!

I'm yet to find a Christmas where I haven't got four million other things unrelated to Christmas cards, Christmas shopping etc etc that keep me busy right up until the last few days before Christmas, when it's too late to mail anything out and you have to hope you see the important people in time :-D

This is my 2nd year of Journal Your Christmas; I have been keeping up only by taking a few photos and adding some text, so with all this time off between Christmas and New Year's (too late! could have done with it much earlier!) perhaps I will put together something resembling an album then :) I have plenty of Christmas supplies at least!

I have been posting away at The Scrappy Tree and The Stamp Attic, and do have a few projects to share :)






I love seeing it all together like this, makes me feel very productive LOL

Hoping your festive season is flourishing, and that you're not too far behind ;)

Gayle xx

Friday 23 November 2012

Friday catch-up

So today it's time for a crafting catch-up because as usual I've posted everywhere but here :-D

This is last week's and this week's posts at The Stamp Attic, here:-

...and here:-



...and also last week's post at The Scrappy Tree here:-

I've posted more details about making them at the respective blogs so won't bore you with that again here :) If you like them I would love some comments :) I've got another post to share at The Scrappy Tree this weekend but wanted to let the current very lovely Thanksgiving post stay up a little longer :)

So this week I have been writing a book review, collating information for a presentation, finishing up some craft projects, freezing my butt off and getting rained on!  Oh wait, I also catheterised a plastic dummy!  That was a first! I think the 'best' bit was getting video'ed and having to watch the playback to see everything we did wrong!  Happy days, don't you just love technology :-D

Well that's my week, hope you had a good one :) hoping to meet with my bestie tomorrow after her trip to Oz, and maybe accompanying my Mum to the craft shops for a browse while she spends her vouchers :-D

Plus another book review, more crafting, more research blah blah etc etc etc
See you next weekend!

Gayle xx

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Vegan food swap

So earlier this month I took part in the UK Vegan Food Swap for the first time; the idea is to package up a parcel of about £10 worth of vegan foods, add little notes saying why you like them, serving suggestions etc, and send off to your partner, who will be sending to someone else, who sends to someone else, etc etc etc, who sends to you!

Having not taken part before I'm not sure if I got everything right (I got the mailing date wrong for example, and may have leant heavily on naughty snack foods!) but I will know for next time ;)
The person I sent to is called Justine, and the person I received from is called Claire; here is a pic of Claire's lovely parcel!  Loved the coloured tags attached to each item.


It contained hazelnut waffles, a hemp Spacebar, curried kale crisps from Saf, gingko green tea, a raw chocolate Bliss bar, and a Clif chocolate protein bar.

Let me talk first about the hazelnut waffles - absolutely gorgeous with a cup of coffee! Excellent sat on top of the mug for a bit to warm them up too :)
Kale crisps I have tried before and liked; these curried ones from Saf (a vegan restaurant) were also yum :)
The hemp Spacebar I have never seen before but it had a smoked flavour that was right up my street, I do love my savoury stuff!  Never seen them around here but may look online.
I have more things yet to try, looking forward to tasting :)

Will definitely take part in this again, it was lovely to try some new vegan goodies - animal-free doesn't have to mean it's not tasty, you just sometimes have to work a little harder to seek out your treats!  Definitely worth the effort :)

Gayle xx

Saturday 10 November 2012

Ten things on the 10th - November

November is the month of thanksgiving so my ten things this month will be ten things I'm thankful for :) I've seen a lot of gratitude posts this month so it's time I joined in!

I am thankful for...
  1. Warm socks and a Slanket.
  2. My husband. Sometimes he really surprises me!
  3. My family - the family that I'm close to are some of my favourite people in the world.
  4. My friends - these make up the rest of my favourite people.  Some I've never met in person but have 'chatted' with online for years!  Others I met at school when we were kids a looooong time ago ;) Some are nursie friends who understand nursie things and giggles. lol
  5. My darling Kitty - she is my baby, loves to converse in miaow and loves cuddles, sometimes in bed. Aaaah.
  6. Having enough money.  Not for everything, but for the important things like food.
  7. Having a job that I love and I want to do well at.
  8. Being able to study and keep learning all the time.
  9. Wine, ink and paint.  Not all for drinking.  
  10. The internet.  Possibly google especially, for answering the forty plus questions that pop into my head everyday.
You can find ten things on the 10th with lots of links to other such list-y posts on Shimelle's blog here.  Thanks for visiting!

Gayle xx

Ooh, I did craft this week, I posted yesterday at The Stamp Attic:-
 ...and The Scrappy Tree...

This is my crafting proof for this week LOL! Posted more details over on the blogs themselves so won't share those here.  Have a good weekend! I am at work today but planning on crafty time when I get home :) happy days!

Saturday 3 November 2012

Saturday catch-up

Thank you to the recent commenters on my blog! So nice to see you here :)
I tend to repeat myself a little with the projects I post here and at The Scrappy Tree and Stamp Attic because I just don't produce enough to do something different for all three (plus it's nice for me to keep a record on my own blog too!) so thank you to those of you who managed to visit me at any of those three places, much appreciated :)

For today's post I'm sharing my Scrappy Tree piece:-
and my Stamp Attic piece:-
...from Halloween to Christmas in one short leap!  haha :-D
I've posted more details about what I used at the respective blogs, so I won't repeat here.  Have to admit I did rather miss Halloween as I had an assignment due this week followed by an exam, but I have been getting excited for Christmas already with my Christmas projects for The Stamp Attic, of course I have been listening to Christmas music to get me in the mood!  I found a rock version of Walking in the Air by a band called Nightwish - actually quite love it!

It's a bit of a slow Saturday for me today, I am beagle sitting this weekend (for four beagle babies), doing some chores and finding the answers for a workbook on catheterisation(!) before going to work for a long shift tomorrow.  Wahoo!  Now the deadlines are all passed I must get myself back to the gym, feeling weak from weeks of exercising only my mental muscle :-D

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend :) have a good one!

Gayle xx

Friday 26 October 2012

Signpost Friday

Just a quickie message today for signposting purposes!  I blogged my book cover from last week's Andy Skinner class over on The Scrappy Tree blog -

...and I've also posted my DT project at The Stamp Attic - here comes Christmas!
It's been a busy crafting week but a busy study week too - pleasure and pain!  I have an assignment due Monday and an exam Thursday so they're keeping us busy :) I'm looking forward to getting the assignment done so I can play some more with the goodies I had last weekend at The Stamp Attic! Plus I really want a bunch more stuff with that gesso carving technique on it ;) lol!

It's getting chilly here now ready for the traditional autumn celebrations at the end of the month :) it's not Halloween or Bonfire Night if you don't need to wear a scarf and gloves to go out, and you should be able to see your breath in the air!

I made pumpkin walnut loaf and a carrot cake in the past week, so there have definitely been autumn smells and flavours in our house :)

It's been very windy though, so the trees are already starting to look more like winter than autumn already!

I am going to crack on with this assignment so I can get my life back sooner rather than later ;)

Happy Friday! Have a good weekend

Gayle xx

Monday 22 October 2012

Monday catch-up

What a busy week! I'm not sure how many photos I can share but I'm feeling like waffling anyways so here I am :)

This week was my last at my current placement, and I worked an extra shift to compensate for some sick time on my previous placement - 4 long days? Ouch!  By the end of the week I didn't know if I was coming or going.

On Monday last week my stepdad's mother passed away, and Tuesday was his birthday so it's been a week of ups and downs for him especially.  I made him a birthday card steampunk style which I shared last Friday at The Scrappy Tree.  For his birthday gift we clubbed together and bought him a telescope; I have never in nearly 20 years of knowing him seen him so excited and happy about a gift!  I guess he really wanted one for a looooong time.  It was nice that he was able to enjoy something about his day during such a sad time.


On Saturday I went to The Stamp Attic for Andy Skinner's gesso carving class - SO enjoyed, but am blogging about it Friday at The Scrappy Tree so won't share that here now, except to say that I've found another technique that I adore and want to put on everything :)  thank you Wendy for a lovely day, hope to see you again soon!  This pic was at the start of our day before things got messy :)

The sky on our drive home was so beautiful, this picture really doesn't do it justice.
I already have my eye on my next Stamp Attic class at the beginning of December; if I could wangle going again so soon I would be there again next weekend for Hels' classes too!

I've been doing some knitting this week with some wool my mum was intending to turn into a scarf - I am getting there slowly!  It's very fluffy indeed and reminds me of the mome raths from Alice in Wonderland :)

I have worked on a few things this week that I can't share, most recently a DT project last night, but just to prove that I have been busy, here is a snap of my inky Smurf fingers :)
Have a great week :) 

Gayle xx

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Ten things on the 10th

So a lot of my time at the moment is being taken up by placement, so my ten things this month will be ten special moments :)

  1. Talking rubbish to my mentor on the drive home from night shift, and finding out later she got home and was wondering what I'd been talking about and what I was laughing at! (yes I really don't need anyone else to have a fun conversation LOL)
  2. I got to see the inside of a lung and a colon on the same day (via those very clever cameras on long bendy sticks, thank you nameless patients for letting the student come in too.).  Absolutely fascinating.
  3. I've learned what to do in some emergencies (believe me, this is a source of great comfort for us student nurses who worry that they will miss something important and not know what to do!)
  4. Seeing one of the staff shake a large bottle of milk of magnesium with the top not on properly (this has actually happened on quite a few of my placements, but still funny).
  5. Seeing a chest drain inserted, and watching what happens next (genuinely, it is AMAZING the things that can be done when someone is unwell).
  6. All the smiles and good wishes from wonderful patients who are really unwell, but are still cheering you on because you're a student and they want you to do well.  Very special people.
  7. The honour of looking after patients in their final days - this is such a privilege, and a humbling part of being in this profession.
  8. Being able to wave off the patients who got better and left us to go home :) such a sad feeling to say goodbye, but so very happy to see them get better :)
  9. Being told that my manner of being a bit hyper and full of beans when I'm working cheered someone up :)
  10. Last but by no means least - being slightly taken aback when an older chap told his neighbour 'I wouldn't kick her out of bed'.  Nice. But very very funny.
Can you tell I love my job :) happy days!

Ten things on the 10th is courtesy of Shimelle, who will be running a post today :) check it out at her blog here.

Gayle xx

Friday 5 October 2012

They go up tiddly up up...!!

So I've actually managed to do quite a few tags lately (I have a pile of about 10 from the past week!) but I can't share most of them because they're either Christmas themed (I refuse to start posting Christmas just yet) or they're for someone that hasn't received them yet!  I did make this tag to share at The Scrappy Tree - really love this balloon stamp :) must think up a project to have on my wall somewhere!
I'm working on a project for Halloween so I'm hoping to get it finished soon. I want to decorate our front room for Halloween and it would make a nice addition I think :) watch this space!  I'm looking forward to us having a 'grown-up' Halloween party again this year; last year it was all us adults carving pumpkins and playing games - lots of fun!  No children in our family so we just indulged ourselves instead with spooky sweets and cupcakes :-D

My weekend ahead is to be devoted to critiquing a research study, quite interesting really but it's always hard to keep yourself out of the craft room isn't it ;)  Am counting the days til my next Stamp Attic visit for the Andy Skinner workshop!  15 days to go :)  Woot!  Such amazing techniques, I can't wait to learn a new one.

Just wanted to mention that tomorrow is World Cardmaking Day - I'm not much of a card maker but The Scrappy Tree is inviting people to share their cards over at the TST Facebook group, so if you've got one to share or are looking for some card inspiration, call in there tomorrow :)

Have a great weekend!

Gayle xx

Sunday 30 September 2012

A few things...

Time for me to check in I think!  I have been AWOL for some time now what with holidays, study and placements, but I have been spending a little bit of time in the craft room so have a few things to share :) This is my most recent tag at The Scrappy Tree:-
 ...and these are my last two projects at the Stamp Attic, here...
 ...and here...


My mojo has been lacking a bit lately (those 12 hr shifts are killing me off!) but following a friend's advice I went into the scrappy room Friday night and just had a play, which was lovely fun :) At some point I should share some holiday photos, we did spend three weeks away!

I have been back and forth trying to write a blog post for some weeks now based on a prompt from a class, but for some reason it just wasn't flowing and it's stopped me posting(!) so I've abandoned that particular post for now, and thought I'd move forward with something else so at least I had something more recent up on my blog LOL

Halloween is fast approaching with the first day of October tomorrow, and although autumn isn't something we really celebrate in the UK, I love the US take on fall - pumpkins and cinnamon galore!  I brought some canned pumpkin back with me from our trip, so I'm looking forward to baking something pumpkin-flavoured very soon, perhaps for my next visit to The Stamp Attic for an Andy Skinner workshop in a couple of weeks :) happy days!  Really looking forward to that class, he has some amazing techniques.

On the subject of pumpkins, one of my favourite things about visiting the US around autumn is the very lovely Pumpkin Spice soya latte!  I was able to buy some of the Via sachets to bring back with me so I could enjoy it for a little longer at home, because up until now Starbucks didn't do Pumpkin Spice in the UK - until now!  They are starting it from Monday so you can bet I will be making a visit there very soon; am even more excited about this than I usually am about the red cups coming at Christmas LOL

And that's me for the moment!  I am on placement right now and learning so much, but no good for anything when I get home from a shift, but I need to fit in that scrappy time somewhere, so bear with me ;)

Happy scrapping

Gayle xxx



Friday 7 September 2012

Happy 1st anniversary my love!


Wishing my husband a very happy first wedding anniversary, this time last year we were going out of our minds(!) but it was a wonderful day, a wonderful time and we've been so lucky to revisit some of the places and experiences one year later to remember that time fondly.

Love you babya! x

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Wednesday waffle

At last at last I feel like things are getting back to normal :) I'm not sick, I don't feel rubbish and tired, I'm not on antibiotics, I'm not on placement, my assignment has been submitted....aaaaaah (big sigh of relief!)

And so this week I will be able to get some crafting done, which is awesome cos my stash of projects from my big burst of mojo is on the verge of running out :-O  Co-codamol and infections do that to you LOL

I was Beagle-sitting last week so ended up taking some photos to send to their (and my!) parents because they were missing them LOL
 (there are actually four but the other one was under a blanket in his bed and didn't want to pose)

And midweek we decided to have a BBQ because the weather was warm, but of course it didn't last long and the rain came in... but we didn't care so we finished our BBQ sat under the canopy on the swing seat LOL


We felt very British sat out having our BBQ in the rain LOL

So today I had some very happy mail indeed, how awesome is this!  Diana at The Scrappy Tree makes the most amazing mini-albums and this one here is now all mine :) so happy!  Can't wait to take some photos on our next holiday to put in it :)

Also my lovely friend Joyce sent me some orange cream sherbet dip from the US - I've never seen anything like it here before but I am sure my family will enjoy it :) now I just have to decide which of the serving suggestions to try!

So I'm posting on Friday at The Stamp Attic, but I'll have to post my sneak peek on Friday ;) don't want to give it away too soon!  I will have something to share at The Scrappy Tree too ;)

But for now I'm off to bed, ready for a workshop on ECG's tomorrow morning!  Spent today doing some revision on the heart in preparation so fingers crossed :)

Gayle xx

Saturday 23 June 2012

A picture-plenty blog post!

Oh blah!  Been so busy lately I have been posting elsewhere and not here.... oops!!

Anyhoo! In the past two weeks I have been posting at The Stamp Attic here and here :-

...and at The Scrappy Tree here and here:-

 ...mostly with tags (as is my wont) but also with something a bit different too :)

 The last piece above was from a workshop with Hels Sheridan at The Stamp Attic and as I've described all the projects above in their respective blog posts I just wanted to add some photos here of the workshop itself :)
Everyone hard at work
Coffee and all the pieces before they came together
Mum working hard
Mum's inky fingers! She couldn't get them clean LOL (horrors!)
We had a brilliant time :) Stopped for coffee with Wendy and Colin from The Stamp Attic afterwards and had a thoroughly good natter :) fab!  Can't wait to go again.

Sadly, this weekend I am working away at the assignment I have due on Monday, so I hope you're having a great weekend and getting some crafting in on my behalf  :) have a good one!

Gayle xx

Sunday 10 June 2012

Ten things on the 10th

Today my ten things on the 10th is going to be a quicky list about my favourite favourite crafty things at the moment! Been working long shifts for placement and fighting off an evil ear infection so been a little distracted (!!) but sat in my craft room right now this seemed the most obvious choice :-D  simply can't think about making something without having these sat out on my craft mat :)
  1. Picket fence Distress Ink
  2. Water spray
  3. Manila tags
  4. Glossy Accents
  5. Ink blender pads
  6. Cogs and gears
  7. Black posca pen
  8. Script stamp
  9. Inks inks inks (distress inks and stains and archival)
  10. Gold stickles
Don't forget to visit Shimelle, the originator of ten things on the 10th, for her list for today :) 

I've able to keep up with a bit of scrapping thankfully (keeps me sane!) and have posted at The Scrappy Tree today:-

Would love your comments if you make it over there :) 

I am off to The Stamp Attic for a class with the fabby Hels Sheridan next weekend and absolutely cannot wait :) already making plans as to which cake to make for lovely Wendy and co :-D  apparently I am known in certain circles as 'the cake lady' lol lol lol

Thanks for visiting!  Onwards and upwards people, here's to another week!

Gayle xx 

Friday 1 June 2012

Some exciting news...! eeeep!!

Eeeep!!  It's been very difficult keeping this to myself but I'm very happy to be able to tell you that I'm joining The Stamp Attic design team!  I'm absolutely thrilled to bits!!  There are some amazing crafty peeps designing for The Stamp Attic and it's a little intimidating(!) but it's such a great excuse to spend even more time messing about with crafty things galore :-D like I needed an excuse ;)

I'm really excited to share my first project for The Stamp Attic with you; I'm just showing a sneak peek here with a link to the post at The Stamp Attic blog - go check it out and if you like it, leave me some love in the comments there pretty please :)



Thank you! And... eeeeeep!!!!!
I've also posted a project at The Scrappy Tree today using some of my favourite colours (yep those sunset ones again) so you can find me there too today to say hi to :)


Happy weekend folks! xxx

Friday 18 May 2012

Spring Distress tag - TST


My post at The Scrappy Tree today :)  


Hello and happy Friday! I have a tag to share with you today using the new Spring Distress Inks - loving these colours!  I used all three on the tag, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feather and Shaded Lilac.  

I stamped the background image first from the Tim Holtz Remnants stamp set using black Archival Ink and then just added Distress Ink and water in layers on top.  I also added some ink splats with broken china and scattered straw Distress Stains, and shaded around the edges with aged mahogany Distress Ink to give it a border - I liked how this made it look almost rainbow coloured.
 I stamped the 5c stamp onto card and punched out the circle with a 1" circle punch, and then coloured these with each of the new Spring colours.  I outlined them with white Posca pen to make them stand out and then stuck them down with foam pads so they were raised.
I coloured some crumpled ribbon with broken china Distress Stain to match the tag, and the caption is a saying I found on the internet by Ralph Waldo Emerson which I printed out on my Dymo.

Thanks for visiting us today, hope you have a great weekend and get to have some creative fun :)

Gayle xx