Mojo

I went 'dark' last Wednesday and my computer was restored yesterday which explains why I have not been in blogland for a while. What it doesn't explain is why I can't seem to get going again designing and making cards. I couldn't even bring myself to update my blog yesterday in case I lost the computer again. It was not a virus according to the repair shop and the bloke gave my husband an explanation which really amounts to "just one of those things". Well, just call me Jonah but I hate the thought that I cannot prevent this from happening again. And the panic and anxiety I felt when I thought I may have lost all my files was disproportionate so now I'm in 'protestant' mode - 'stop doing it, even if it gives you so much pleasure, because having it inexplicably snatched away is too hard; wouldn't want that to happen again!' I cannot get my mojo to engage and there is a roiling pit in my tum when I try. It's an odd feeling to say the least - I tried to explain to Mr H but he does not have the same martyr's mindset as me and cannot see the problem.

My friend and generous crafting buddy Bernadette sent me some lovely stash yesterday and a Tilda magazine. I should have realised that Magnolia's Tilda was a phenom but I did not know how big a phenom it is. I have only just started to engage with Tilda and in my present frame of mind just thought negatively about being able to attain the level of beauty achieved in the work in the mag. I don't usually allow those kinds of feelings to detract from my enjoyment but now....... Can't wait for the snap to snap me out of this funk.

As if anyone needed to know! Middle-age is not as high profile as teen-age but it is just as hormone driven and anxious so where are the pop songs and the trendy clothes for our age? Is it just that we have been deemed to be grown up and capable? I want it recognised that I am emotional and dangerous and likely to wear a hoodie! (for the cold, mind!) Blooming 'eck, hormones are such tiny things with such a powerful hold, especially on women.

On the grounds that I am going off on a tangent I'm going to finish this post here and go and have a look for my mojo. I'm sure it has just been misplaced rather than lost altogether so maybe I'll locate it soon; wish me luck!

xxHazelxx

Forgot....doh!

I forgot to say that Brenda has the Floral Fantasies blog and there is a link on here to her latest offer of blog candy!

Middle age!

How a day turns from dark to bright!

Well I could be talking about the dawn but at this time of the year.....no, I'm talking about feeling rough and bunged up and then the postman pops a wee package through your door and voila! Your day is brighter already. I won a prize in the first ever Blog Candy I entered for within a couple of days of starting blogging. It did my confidence no end of good. So a big thank you to Brenda and I have just taken a photo of the prize and here goes

A lot to play with and a lovely card too. And the realisation that I can take a picture and upload it to my computer and onto here in less than 5 mins also lends itself to the feelings of excitement and achievement. It's going to be a good day.

Mr H has called a plumber because I could not fix the wc. My limited skills were insufficient and believe me it has been so exhausting flushing with buckets of water that I nearly wept with relief when he caved in! By this time tomorrow I'll be flushed with relief!

I have entered a docrafts challenge to make a  christmas card each day following the letters of the alphabet. These are the A and B efforts.

A for Angel is a LOTV stamp which unfortunately didn't stamp too well but I've ordered some EZ mount because the glue on block thing just doen't work for me - I kept getting worse so I just used the best one and went over it in fineliner. I should have just gone in another direction but no, I wanted this! B for Boy, Blue and Beads is a digi stamp whose provinence I cannot remember (if you see it and you know please let me know). The photo isn't brilliant but I was getting glare on the auto setting on my camera so I changed it with the above results! Well 24 to go!

I've also agreed to host two challenges at docrafts in the coming week so I must get my thinking cap on for themes. Should be fun at any rate!

Had some lovely and scary tricksters on Sunday night and managed to nearly give all my Haribo away but there are still one or two wee packets left.

Fireworks soon too - love the smell at night of cold and damp and gunpowder; it is the scent of November.

xxHazelxx

Sunday Gloomy Sunday

Weather wise, anyway. I've been up for ages because the cold and arthritis combo had conspired to make a long sleep impossible. Also, and he will deny it, my husband broke the flush on the WC last night so it'll be a day of flushing with  buckets of water. The fun will come tomorrow if him indoors decides to get someone in to fix it or decides to have a go. If he thinks he can fix it then I'm in for a treat listening to him cursing and then having to fix it for him with the help of my DIY book. He had free access to this info but as with driving, men do not take direction well and prefer to get lost in spectacular style. My late mother-in-law warned me you could lead a Hopkins to water but they'd die of thirst unless they thought drinking was their own idea.

I was expecting trick or treaters yesterday, it being Saturday but maybe they are sticking with tradition and guising tonight; Bonfire Night seems to be the more movable feast now that personal firework displays and bonfires are replaced by public ones usually to be held at weekends. I used to love it when my dad would make bonfire and light a box of Standard Fireworks one by one.If you looked down the back gardens of Weavers Knowe Crescent you could see all the other dads doing the same.

Its a male celebration really; Mr H has his very own brazier so he can burn things to his hearts content - mainly receipts and old bills admittedly (he fears identity theft so much he shreds and burns!) but I never see him more cheerier than when he is making fire. My cousin.Phillip used to make his own fireworks (in the good old days when you could by chemicals from your chem teacher to top up your chem set no questions asked) and I was delighted when one year he filled our whole back garden with spectacular green and smelly smoke for at least half an hour. No one called the fire brigade but the neighbours poked gentle fun at my shamefaced pa for weeks after, as if his fire making skills were somehow diminished. I think that the competitiveness about bigger and better has led to the discouragement of personal fireworks. Hey, that's my Big Bang Theory!

Made a card yesterday but have not uploaded it yet so no photo of a card. So here is one of my two most wonderful creations, in fancy dress as befits the day; I give you the Misses Hopkins, Sian and Morgan.

Sian was Rainbow Brite and Moogs was Jessica Rabbit; the pout is their fathers and the keen intelligence shining forth from their eyes they got from me.

The dawn has broken but the sun has not appeared so I guess it will remain grey for a while. Happy Hallow'een.

Hazel x

Christmas Lanterns

If there is one card-maker that I seek to emulate it is Sally Atkins. Her crafting is pure elegance. I just like to have a go and so I made a Christmas lantern using her template and the Pink Cat Studio digi stamps. I will be doing at least one more as the pre-printed card I had was too thick to go through the printer, to take the template of the lid, so I fell back on my white card and coloured it red! Anyway, not quite as elegant as Sally's but I like it.

It is great when lit, with LED night lights (£1.99 for 4 at Hobbycraft) but my photo of it was not good!

It was very theraputic to make after I got back from lunch with my Mum. We go to the same place every Friday because she loves it. Seasons Cafe at Fir Tree Farm in Kings Moss, in case you live locally. The food is good and fresh and there is an added opportunity to shop for locally sourced produce. You can also buy wool from their two alpacas! They also have a monthly farmers market and at November's farmers market ( 20 th) they are running the World Pheasant Plucking Championships - try saying that fast - you'll shock your mum, take my word for it! Personally I am going just for the comedy value of pheasant pluckers and pheasant pluckers mates. John and Lucy do a lovely breakfast barm and hot drink ; wonderful if the early morning is nippy.

My cold was not served well by going out and I was sweaty and achy by the time I got home so making the lantern was just a nice way to get comfy again. Mr H was full of "I told you not to go with that cold" when I got home but shut up very quickly when he realised that I had treated him to some of Alan's home reared beef for Sunday - rib eye steak, and some sultana loaf, specially made for Fir Tree farm. Food, the way to stop a man's nagging!

I'm off to look for a suitable black and white fillum to watch while snuggling into a woolly throw - whatever happened to Film Matinees on a Saturday afternoon on BBC2? What man though sport was a better alternative?

Cheery-bye, Hazel x

Hallowe'en

All Hallows Eve is nearly upon us and I have bought a big tub of Haribo's and am hoping I get no takers! Growing up in Scotland meant that we celebrated Halloween with kids parties; dooking for apples and nuts, trying to get a bite out of a dangling, dripping treacle scone and being blindfolded and having your fingers touch eyeballs (peeled grapes) and guts (cold, cooked, spaghetti). There were even cakes in the shops with marshmallow noses covered in icing. We went guising round the neighbours houses carrying turnip lanterns; no softy pumpkins in them days, we scooped out a big turnip, which was painful for wee hands, (swede, to the Sassenachs) and cut scary face out the front and threaded string through it and the lid which had a hole for a chimney. Night lights lit it up and all night there would be the comforting smell of burning turnip as you went from house to house, manhandling giddy sisters.
"A penny for the guisers, the guisers, the guisers, a penny for the guisers and we'll sing you a bonnie wee song"
There was no trick but treats, for us, sweeties or nuts or even a penny after you performed - "Tonight is the night of Hallowe'en when all the witches are to be seen, some in red and some in green and some dressed like a Turkey Queen!" We capered like wee monkeys and it was innocent fun.
Once we moved to England, there was no celebrating - Mum would throw the odd party but most of our new pals were bemused by the ritual. We were definately not allowed to go guising, in case the neighbours thought we were begging! I have thrown Hallowe'en parties for my own children and we dress up even now on occasion and send cards or favours. I dislike the American intensity about Hallowe'en and how it has crept into our nations conciousness with no fun attached and just retail revenue. I don't mind the wee kids coming to the door but the bigger ones are more menacing when they demand money with "Trick or Treat" - they don't make the effort to entertain like we did.
These are the cards I made this year from digital stamps - I don't know if they now mass market cards for the occasion but I wouldn't buy one in any case.

The batcat and Patrick in the pumkin patch are from Mo's Digital Two and Ginger is from Pollycraft,Witch Hazel( my name for her - original, eh?) was a freebie but I can't remember from where and I got the pumpkin way back in September and can't remember from where. If anyone knows, please let me know and I can acknowledge properly. All coloured with promarkers and I just love the autumn colours. October nights;  the smell of cold and damp leaves, gunpowder and burnt turnip. Nostalgia is grand and I'm glad that my thoughts turned this way 'cos I nearly forgot to send the cards - I made them weeks ago and put them away. They are all addressed and stamped ready to go. See, I have a vivid memory of the past and nearly forget the present.

My flamin' cold lingers on but my hubby ran my errands yesterday and made my tea so I was indeed a successful blagger. My ma is back from Lanzarote and hopefully we can go out for lunch if she feels like it and doesn't mind a snottery daughter. We go to a lovely place but this blog is going on a bit so I'll leave off now and go and make one of Sally Atkins' lanterns.

Make yourselves wonderful, love Hazel x

Feeling Flumpy

I am full to the brim with a cold (thanks to my hubby for sharing - damn you, wedding vows!) However, I did have a nice surprise when I started up my computer; I had won a gift from Brenda at the Stamping-fantasies blog. I've just been blogging for a few days too so I count myself very lucky indeed. Well they say that fools and idiots are touched by luck! I have added a link for Novembers candy at the site so if you drop by, enter, it can happen for you too. If that implies that you are fools then it wasn't meant to -I am editing this blod!

I am uploading two card I made for Christmas.

I used my Sizzix Texture Boutique, a bit of sticky and a bit of red glittery fabric and I'm ridiculously pleased with the result. I have entered it in this weeks Clares Challenge on the Docrafts site but I am hopeless at photography, especially anything shiny and the card really does look better in real life.

New ways to fold cards really float my boat and I am always trying new folds when I see them. This one, and the free papers come courtesy of the latest edition of Creative Card making. I love this mag and not only for the papers but because it shows you 'how to' and uses a selection of different crafting products.

Although this is not a blog for advertisments or endorsements I would like to say a bit about Hobbycrafts. Me and my sister Morag went there on Tuesday (Warrington branch) and Morag, who had never been before, was enthralled by the number of hobbies covered and the sheer amount of stuff. I bought some bits, mainly from the clearance lines admittedly, but they have missed a trick. Who goes to craft shops mostly - women and mostly women who have had children or are more mature? What do those women need - toilets! For two mature women with bladder related weakness me and Morag exited the shop doing the 'needing a wee desperately' dance. And before you even think it, we had gone before we left the house - Chrissie Murchison trained her girls well - but we went on a prolonged mooch in a huge shop, what can you expect but the bladder fairy comes a-tapping. So come on Hobbycraft, provide some relief for us gals! I can't afford to buy a pizza  every time just 'cos I need the toilet. (it was either the Hut or the Colonel & I'd had chicken for tea the night before))

Rant over and I am away to nurse my cold and persuade Typhoid Mary (hubby) that I am too sick to go down town with him so he'll have to collect my prescription, post a parcel to Fairysue and do the shopping on his lonesome. I'll be so weak by the end of that he might even have to cook tea!

Have a fun day, love  Hazel x