Resolution

Only one - and only one word, the word by which I will make all my decisions and choices for the coming year hopefully.

CHERISH

It encompasses everything that matters I think,

• family - always
• friendships - which I WILL take more time to nurture this year, other issues got in the way this year and please realise that this is only a reason not an excuse
• health
• spirit

Thanks to all who have visited this year, your support means a lot. I wish all of you and your families a Happy Ne'er Day - lang may yer lum reek!

Hope everyone has had a fabulous Christmas and that you are all enjoying the festive season. It is just so nice to catch up with friends and family and to kick back and take it easy now - lol it was a good idea to do all OUR entertaining in the Christmas week - I can now relax and enjoy what's to come.

Thanks to some inspiration from the talented Joanne, I made my Thank you cards from selected pieces of last year's cards. This is the second year of doing this and I love it as an idea, so much so that I made up a few packs of 10 for hostess gifts for over the holidays and those have gone down a treat. Here are some of this year's cards.




Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Christmas meme

I haven't done one of these for a long time but this one caught my eye with its mix of statements so what the heck here goes.

Items in bold I have done and those in italic I would like to!

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped - no thanks
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning (and it was terrible!)
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise (people who know me know that will NEVER happen)
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language - already got 4 but would love to learn Greek
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant (I would if I felt I should)
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie (I did get a part in a movie when I was 12 but the filming schedule didn’t work with family holidays)
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business (hand having worked in finance never will – don’t need that kind of pressure)
58. taken a martial arts class (judo once)
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the alamo in person.
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

It's an interesting one - feel free to copy it onto your own blog and have some fun with it! I'm off to a Carol concert now, feeling very festive!

Christmas cards

So there's not been much time for crafting at the moment but I thought I would share what little there has been. Time being what it is all my cards so far this year have been made from my Anna Griffin kit. I love this anyway so I was quite happy working away. Sorry for the less than great pictures but these need written and posted sooner rather than later lol.

Proud Mama

Stuart on his way out to his school prom. Where did my wee boy go???

A Date Day

What a lovely day I've had. My wonderful husband suggested a day out today just the two of us (DS was working - it wasn't abandonnment lol). After a bit of light shopping in the morning (DIY store, craft shop, wool shop) we went to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and museum. We had seen one half on our visit last year and it had taken us this long to get organised to get back there. We had a great afternoon and then went for an amazing curry on the way home. It was a lot of fun, but now I'm off for a sit down and a read.

A Family Tradition

Albeit a fairly new one. I made this a few years ago for my son. It was time consuming to sew all the beads and sequins on but as a Christmas fanatic I feel it was time well spent. In fact I have started another one - this time with individual stitched toys for each pocket. Well I figure that someday when he leaves to set up his own home we will still need something to hang up - almost sounds feasible doesn't it ;o)

Just checking in

This was the magnificent view that met me as I turned the brow of the hill across the River Clyde Estuary this morning. Fabulous isn't it!

Happy Advent

Cold and crispy here today and it's the first Sunday in Advent already! So excited that Christmas preparations can start in earnest now. I find myself surrounded by my Anna Griffin Christmas box, as usual I have left it late so now need to make a lot of cards in a short space of time. At least with this I don't need to skimp on quality.

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

Another first

Here is my first entry for Sunday Postcard Art where the challenge was joker.

I also had a go at the split negative technique for Saturday Workout, using distress inks and a favourite paisley background stamp from Stampers' Anonymous, which was unfortunately just a bit too small to accommodate the size, hence the matting and layering.

This was quite absorbing although it was quite quick to do too, just taxing enough for a Monday night lol.

Honeycomb heaven

I cannot wait for this to be finished. I love the pattern and the Debbie Bliss yarn is so soft and comfy. In some ways I wish it was for a sweater rather than a vest but there you go. Back to the pins

Magical

You know ever since I was little I have been fascinated by the moon - the different colours and the changing shapes so it seemed like an obvious choice for the theme of Magic over at Craftaway-a-Sunday. I also love working on stampbord too.

Cards for little people

Two of the most adorable people will be a big 4 years old this week. Both are gorgeous, full of mischief and full of fun and we love them very much.

Happy Birthday Megan and Fraser!

Thank Crunchie...

it's Friday! Although I guess you would need to be my age or older to remember that commercial lol!

You know there are many things only heard in a primary school - thank goodness and doesn't the nativity season just bring out the best in everyone. At least at this time you can legitimately hear someone shout "you are a DONKEY!!!!!" to the 5 year old who wants to be a monkey in the show. Baby Jesus will have a mild concussion this weekend - since he took a tumble down the stage steps. Ah the joys!

Have a great weekend - will definitely need to make something to restore the sanity this weekend.

What type of person are you?

Why are these things so spookily accurate!
Give it a go and see what kind of person you are, go on I dare you!

Personality quiz

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

Not moo-ed for a while...

...if you know what I mean. The challenge over at Make a Moo or Two this week was to try something new and as if fate were smiling on me I wandered over to Saturday workout where Sandy had set the challenge of the Thread technique which I hadn't used before. Here is my entry for both. I thought it ended up looking like a little hillside path so thought the little hiker was apt. The artificial light is shocking so I will change the picture when we get some daylight. Now changed - this looks better now. Hopefully that will let you see the shimmer of the silver bells glimmer mist too which hasn't shown up at all on these pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Edited to change the photo :o)

Let it Snow

and weirdly enough the forecast for here today is for snow showers although I don't see it happening....... hopefully

The theme over at Craftaway-a-Sunday this week is Let it Snow and here is my entry.

5 things I'm loving right now

1) Cool autumn air and crisp walks in the sunshine. After the deluges of last weekend and the start of the week, a couple of days like this were more than welcome!

2) Listening to podcasts on the journey to work. Just discovered these and love a mixture of craft ones, "Creative Mom", "Stash and Burn" and "Lime and Violet" especially and some of the short story ones, particularly "The Moth" and the E!Entertainment "Answer B***h!"

3) Curling up in front of the fire on a cold afternoon with a good book - reading Sam Bourne's The Final Reckoning. I love a thriller and have read a couple of Sam Bourne's books - this is by far my favourite so far.

4) Fabric - particulary in love with some of the Timeless Treasures patterned fabric and Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Collections

5) Just taking the time to stop and take stock. This one is usually reserved for December but since I have had such a mixed year healthwise and now feel so much better I am taking the time now to appreciate what I am blessed enough to have.

Enjoy your weekend!

Seona x

Sweet

I had a great day out with Kaz yesterday at the Craft Show at the SECC. We always have such a laugh - same warped sense of humour I guess. I was going to say it is so nice to have a craft buddy nearby to get together with but over time we have become real friends who just happen to craft too, it's great!

Yesterday we were quite restrained and only really bought necessities (honest guv!). I got some gorgeous new Christmas stamps that I will start working with this week and also picked up the little dancer that I have used on my card for this week's Craftaway-a-Sunday's challenge. Sarah set us the theme of sweet and I have been looking for the right moment to use these sweet wrappers from some chocolate I brought home from Paris in the summer. They fitted in well with the concept. Hope you like it.

New books

Last couple of weeks I have been trawling the web somewhat and have stumbled on and purchased the following 3 books, in the pursuit of domestic goddessness - lol!
All very fabulous and all very different.

Blankets and Throws to Knit - next big project for us in here is to completely makeover our bedroom and I would love to have a quilt or throw for over the foot of the bed that I have made. Originally I was going with the the quilting idea but that was far too scary so was delighted to purchase this book. All the balnkets are knitted in squares and then pieced together so it is really manageable as projects go. They are all very different - I particulary love the shape of this one - although I don't think it will be the one I go for.

The instructions are great so clear and a mixture of charts and patterns with lots of diagrams and photos. It's a really pretty book just to look through

In Stitches - I really want to make more use of fabric and my sewing machine and having seen some great home projects via some of the blogs listed at the side here I came across Amy Butler's book. Still a bit nervous about starting anything from this although it seems so well explained - I think the biggest issue for me will be making the right fabric choices.

I really liked the look of this organiser for the side of the bed or the side of a chair and think I could make really good use of a couple of these so will definitely try this in time.

Cupcakes - I love cooking and am actually a reasonable good and intuitive cook but I'm not a great baker, although my son is. I love cupcakes and follow a couple of good foody blogs - I will try to remember to post the links. In this amazing book you have everything from the simple to the completely decadent and I can't wait to give them a go.

All of these books are beautifully photographed and great to just read as well as seeming to have great instructions although this isn't tested yet. I love nice books! If anyone has any recommendations for additions to the library please let me know.

Happy Friday tomorrow when it gets here!

Old Shale

Finally finished the Old Shale Scarf. It still needs a light blocking and the ends sewing in but I couldn't wait. I love this feather and fan type pattern. I used Indigo Moon Merino in crabapple - it's a gorgeous tomato red, the camera sadly drains a bit of the colour from it. One Christmas present down , far too many to go....

Craftaway a Sunday

The theme on Craftaway a Sunday this week was butterflies and although I had lots of stamps to choose from I wanted to push myself away from the prettier look and go outside my comfort zone a wee bit. Finding this side of crafting really difficult at the moment, since rediscovering my love of fabric and wool. Hopefully a trip to the craft show will help re inspire me- first stop the mojo stand!

the close up shows the added dimension and also the gold leaf distressing that didn't show up well on the main image.

Family night out

Flying through today - off for a family night out at the rugby to see these guys in the Heineken Cup, Glasgow Warriors vs Toulouse

Years since I've been to the rugby but looking forward to it. Go the Warriors! Now can I move with 3 jackets on, the downside to watching sports outside in Scotland at night in October...

A quiet one

Today has just been a day of taking stock. Oh my word how did I end up with so many half finished projects, just the few I found before I started hyperventilating....

Knitting
1 mitten to finish for my Aunt - the other one is done
Lacy scarf - supposedly for a Christmas present mmmm we'll see
honeycomb vest/tank - for me for work
short sleeved Cherry top - again for me for the summer

Papercrafting
2 canvases started and not completed - backgrounds done
6 birthday cards for October/November
Christmas cards - ongoing
Wedding invitations - don't ask
3 Family recipe books - for gifts

Sewing
Christmas Advent decoration
and several half completed cross stitch kits - honestly I was too scared to open the bag to see!

Now I am not complaining - I love my job I truly do - but I could seriously not go out to work. Between all of these ongoing projects and the list of ones I want to start I could easily have very full days and still never be bored.

I know many many crafters share this feeling too, anyway back to the pins. Will add some pics tomorrow, need to update my Ravelry projects in any event.

Have a good evening,

I'm a lucky girl

Look at all these wonderful goodies that came from Scrappelise, all thanks to the lovely Audrey B, who nominated me to receive this parcel.

Such beautiful papers and great bits and bobs - I'm going to have no excuses now for not getting on with the scrapbook!

A big thank you to both ladies, much appreciated. I'll be passing on these good wishes to others soon so watch this space.......

Autumn

Well today has been a day of organising - why is it these things always seem like a good idea when we start. Any way job well done - Stuart had wanted to move things round in his room for a bit so the sleeves were rolled up and we both got stuck in. Thank goodness he is fairly tidy so it wasn't that big a job really!

Managed to make a wee something for Craftaway-a-Sunday's autumn challenge, been a while so dug out some favourite stamps to play with!

Looking forward to a day up in town tomorrow and a nice lunch out with our fine young son, feeling very blessed this week, good health, good family and a few good friends...

Ah the holidays!

So how did I spend my first day in this week off?

It was bliss and started something like this

All whilst listening to the piano tuner make the piano sing in a way it never has in this house - well not yet anyway, come back in 20 years.

It's a beautiful day here now, love it when the trees are starting to turn so took a little walk with the camera in hand. The village looks so pretty with the afternoon sun on it don't you think

The hedgerows are bursting too, especially the hawthorns so lots of chirpy little fat robins bobbing about.

Off for a bit of crafting to round off this near perfect day......

Welcome to a new home

Ok so I give in - it's too hard to find time to post once never mind maintain 2 blogs. And even then they were too specific. There were times when I would happily have blogged some event or other but it didn't fit with the other two. I am leaving them open - primarily for me so I don't lose photos or links. If you are looking for a link it may be there

Seona's stamping - mixed media and papercraft
Sho knits - knitting

I am doing this for me, my family and friends, so make no promises as to what or when I blog. All visitors are very very welcome (please say if you have the time). Ihope that you find something to catch your eye as we go forward.

Have a great weekend one and all!