And yet another blog award.....with even more conditions!!

Today seems to be blog award day, now I have been given an award from Alma, who got it from Debbie. There are strings attached again - this time I must list ten things that make me happy and pass it onto 5 other bloggers and link to their blogs.
First the ten things that make me happy;
1: Drinking coffee
2: Drinking coffee, & eating chocolate
3: Drinking coffee, eating chocolate & crafting
4: Drinking coffee, eating chocolate, reading and crafting.
5: Crafting, drinking coffee and eating chocolate
6: Crafting, drinking coffee, eating chocolate, & reading
7: Crafting, drinking coffee, eating chocolate, 12" Subways and reading
8: Smoked salmon sandwiches
9: Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon
10: Sleeping

I could name a lot of other things, but I don't want you to think I am being greedy.
Anyway, they are all very healthy things - chocolate and coffee are made from beans. And what are beans? Yes, right, vegetables! The body needs lots of fluids - mine gets plenty! Healthy again! Chocolate is also known to be good for depressions because it raises the serotonin levels in your brain (if you have one, of course). If you don't, you won't be worrying anyway! Reading broadens your horizons and your vocabulary. I read nearly everything that falls into my ink & chocolate stained fingers. In the meantime I swear fluently in many different languages and dialects, an advantage which is not to be overseen in today's multi-cultural society. Fish - such as salmon, is full of poly-unsaturated fats which are good for you. Sleeping is good for you. Subways contain loads of salads - healthy again! That leaves the bread, bagels and cream cheese. Well, you have to do something just for pleasure, don't you??
I want to give this award to *Sue creating memories* because she has just started to blog, to Suzie Boo, to Gina, to Sue from "This is my World" and to Doodles from *Welcome to my world*, 'cause she is always giving awards to others. The links to their blogs are all here on the left side. So, here you go girls, over to you!

More distressed tags, stress with a neighbour and a blog award....

So, let's start with the good news. I got a blog award from Gill aka Drumcloggirl over at the Scrapbooking forum on DC. Here it is:


There are, as always, strings (conditions) attached - I must tell again three things I would /should never do. OK, you asked for it:
1. - I would never call my downstairs neighbour an old goat out loud. I just think it. She loves boiling cabbage - very healthy - and so I open the little window(about 6" square) in the stair-case to let a little of the cabbage steam reach the outside world before it arrives in my bedroom. This causes her to start screaming about *fools who don't know that it is winter*. She always starts cooking at about 7a.m. so it will be ready when her son comes home at 7p.m. I am one of those strange people who do not take kindly to being woken by clouds of boiled cabbage. After having written this, I am hoping that neither she nor her son ever get to read this blog.
2.- I should never start making more distressed tags before I have cleaned up the mess from the day before. (Please note the use of *should* instead of *would* in this case.
3.- I would never be so rude to show my middle finger in public. Even when provoked, I just gently push my glasses a little higher on my nose. I can't help it that my middle finger is longer than the others and therefore my fave digit.
Thanks for the award, Gill, I will start thinking about the three recipients as soon as I have cleared up my kitchen.....




And for those who are interested, the technical details:
It was such fun making these tags that I coudn`t stop! My favourite is the last one with the quote from *Macbeth*. Used recycled card again, and as colours crushed sage, tumbled glass, forest moss, rusty hinge and wild honey. All by T.H. - what else? The forest moss is really like a dark pine forest, looks almost black, just gorgeous! Decorated the cards with stamped skulls, flourishes, dragonflies, ferns and butterflies. And of course, the quote from *Macbeth* -By the pricking of my thumbs, somwthing wicked this way comes*,(Used to be thinking of my Aunty P. when I said that!) On one I cut out a larger skull, painted it with crackle varnish and then fixed it with foam pads. Some of the other motives have been embossed and /or glimmered with stickles and painted with crackle varnish. Used ribbons, die-cut dragon flies, transparent butterflies, mini prima flowers, bits and bobs of old costume jewelry,(Well I hope it was costume jewelry after I have ripped it apart!!) and on one a TH film-strip which I sewed on - wonders never cease! Thanks for looking!!

Another BIA Album

On Saturday I did a workshop at *Bettypepper*, our theme was recycling - this time, loo-rolls. We had a nice afternoon flattening them, then covering them, decorating them, cutting tags and other decorations with the Big-Shot etc. Although the basic materials were the same - each participant got a *goody-bag* with paper, embellies etc - the albums all looked different at the end. The 4 hours went by very quickly, was nice to scrap in company, and Bettina supplied us with doughnuts (because it's carnival) and coffee galore, so all were happy. All in all a pleasant workshop with plenty of work while talking shop!

Some distressed and altered tags.

These tags have all been cut from cardboard packaging, which is always much too good to throw away! I have distressed them using Tim Holtz inks in some of the new colours, wild honey, broken glass, victorian velvet, crushed sage and rusty hinge. The names alone sound yummy! Then they have been stamped, and some partly embossed with plants, a skull, flourishes, flowers etc. Some of them have been brushed with perfect pearls in interference blue, which has a lovely sheen like oil on water. Some of the motives have been varnished with crackle varnish and /or decorated with stickles. Added some textile flowers, some transparent butterflies, some dragonfly die-cuts. The ones with the skull and cross-bones have been decorated with little skull charms, as in the style of the *memento mori* paintings, which I always love looking at.. Thanks for looking!

Fat Book Pages and *tin* album from Lesley AKA Dragonlady

Yesterday I received these wonderful works of art from Lesley, after they had been in the post for 4 weeks. I know we have had bad weather, but perhaps somebody could explain why an airmail letter in the year 2010 needs 4 weeks to get from England to Germany. Now I know why it is called *snail-mail*. Lesley's pages speak for themselves, they are the most beautiful pages I have ever received. Thank you, Lesley!

A baby album in a satchel for Pia.

Made this little album so that Pia`s Mum can put lots of the new baby photos into it. The *satchel* is made of cardboard, covered with pretty paper from the *Sascha Collection* by Anna Griffin for Prima. The concertina album has been covered with a coordinating paper from the same collection. I punched eyelets it the front part of the bag, and threaded a pink ribbon through so it is done up like a bodice. Added a butterfly gromlet to the top of the flap, sewed a button to the bottom part so that it can be closed quickly by winding the ribbon round it. Used more pink ribbon for the straps, and added a bunny wrist-rattle. Used some foam alphas for the name, and some peel offs for the first page of the concertine album. Was fun making something for a baby (who`s one week old now). This was definately something different for me, neither distressed nor stamped with skulls and crossbones, but sometimes we have to leave our *comfortable* paths....

Distressed valentine mini-book

Aftrer TH had taken leave of us on Saturday, we had a little workshop at Bettypepper with Wendy Morris, a lovely gal from Alabama. She gave us a wonderful selection of papers from Graphics 45 and lots of ephemera and embellishments to go with it. we didn't have enough time to finish it there, but I managed to get it done the past 2 evenings at home, adding a few photos and bits and bobs that I have here in my various *treasure* tins. Was fun making it, distressing the papers, stamping the tags etc. As nobody loves me - big sob, please - I have decided to keep the album myself! Was fun making it, thanks for looking!