It's beginning to look a lot...

...like Christmas.
My friend Claire is giving away a Christmas Candy for her followers to celebrate 60+ folk now following her blog. If you are one of her followers don't forget to drop by and leave her a lovely comment and add your name to the 'linky' thing.

After all the Red/White/Blue that was filling the shops over the Summer (??? - we did have a Summer so they tell me) the Halloween goodies are starting to appear...lots of Black/Orange/Purple...but if you look closely, you'll see that there are also Christmassy bits creaping onto the shelves too.

The Christmas craft ranges are starting to take over from most of the general stuff and I'm really enjoying the mix of kraft with some of the more traditional colours.

Most of the magazines are now full of Autumn and Winter things, whether they be fashion mags or crafting ones...gosh how the seasons wizz by.

I have been rather bad this year with regard to my Christmas cards. I really haven't made that many **hangs head in shame** but I have been knitting so at least I've got a few presents made. I think I need to knuckle down and get some cards sorted before I suddenly realise that Christmas is just around the corner...................................

Oh Well...

...it didn't take them long to start putting things back to normal here in Stratford.

After all the fun & razamataz of two wonderful sporting events, it feels as if someone was waiting in the wings to pounce and make it seem as if it never happened.

The picture of Ellie Simmonds on the office block above the Westfield centre has been taken down (in double quick time might I add) and the posh brushed-steel sheeting that covered the hoarding around the building site next to my office has all disappeared.

The additional rail & tube services have been withdrawn so we are now back to 'cattle truck' conditions because folk can't afford to let a train go even though it is crowded because it is such a long wait for the next one...surely it would have been better to keep the frequency of trains just reduce the capacity slightly.

Trains are running late again (funny how they managed to keep to the timetables whilst the eyes of the World were upon them) and the 'feel-good' factor is starting to disappear as folk are starting to have to cope with overcrowded, poor public transport all over again.

Oh, and as we speak...the padlocks are going up on the Olympic Park - how frustrating for those who never had the chance to see it before the bulldozers move in and start on the new road networks etc.

The Olympics and Paralympics may be fading from the public view but there is something exciting to look forward to...
Kerryanne over at the Shabby Art Boutique will be holding another Simply Christmas event this year.
Running from the 1st November there will be lots of good things to look at and share so why not hop over there and find out more - then you can make a note in your diary so that you are all set for when the fun begins.......................................

That was a week...

...that was - and it certainly rocked.
Hop on over to Virginia's blog to see what WRYWF is all about. In brief; you take a few moments to look back at your week and pick out the positives/good stuff that made you happy...brought a smile to your lips...or just out & out "Rocked". You'll be surprised what you can find even if it seems to have been a pretty grotty week for one reason or another. There are a small group of lovely folk who do this on a regular basis and they hop over to Virginia's place to share the things they have found.

This has been my week...

On Sunday, I took my Mum for a brief visit to my sister's. These visits don't happen very often because my sister's house isn't easily accessible. We had a lovely natter and catch-up and then I took Mum shopping. On the way we stopped for lunch at a Pub (although near to where my sister lives, I hadn't been in there for years) and we had a delightful meal - def one to add to the list for future visits. Shopping was a success too - I picked up a new winter duvet (King-size) for under £10 and it is washable...so no more expensive visits to the cleaners.

Monday was a pretty grotty day at work but oh the lovely surprise when I got home and read my emails. I had won a Tim Holtz storage case in the Pinnacle Crafts Birthday draw. I was bouncing up & down on my chair and kept going back to read the email to make sure I hadn't imagined it **giggle** - even now it is making me smile thinking about it.

The Paralympics have been just awesome and when you see what these folk have overcome to achieve this level of success it is very humbling. In the Olympics Team GB came away with 65 fabulous medals - so far our Paralympic Team GB have 108 and there are still 3 days to go. Wowza!!!

A short while ago my friend Paula asked if I would do a guest spot on her blog. Paula is currently posting weekly ideas for organising & decluttering - each Monday she focuses on a specific thing (sorting your media/make-up/storage) and then on Friday she gives you crafty ideas linked to that topic.

This Monday Paula highlighted mug collections...she suggested we all take a look at what we had in our cupboards and she encouraged us to get rid of any broken/damaged ones or suggested we 'repurpose' them. This was also the week that she asked me to participate in.

Over on Paula's blog she has featured my Mug hugs as a way of sprucing up your mug collections...she has also been very kind and said some really lovely things **blush**
Anyone who visits me on a regular basis will know that I like to knit and that from time to time I make mug hugs/scarves/bits & bobs.
Do hop over to Paula's blog and see all the other ideas she has been sharing lately...I'm sure you'll find something that makes you think "now why didn't I think of that?". If for no other reason, drop in on her to see all her lovely photos - through her camera lens I have watched her children grow-up and I have seen a wonderful part of the world that I probably would never have seen - and Paula is a really lovely person...so that is good enough in itself.

All in all it has been a pretty super (if busy) week. Oh, and before I forget a big welcome to my latest follower...hope you enjoy visiting.

I'll be linking this up over at Virginia's place and dropping in to see what the other 'Rockers' have been up to this week. Have a good one.........................

Oh what a night...

...and the medal tally for GB reaches 108

31 Gold, 39 Silver and 38 Bronze.

The team total has now smashed the overall number achieved at beijing.

A night when a Peacock...
...strutted his stuff and set a new Paralympic record for the T44 100m...11.90sec...WOW!!!

A night when the "Weir-wolf" had London roaring...
...as he won the T54 800m to achieve his 3rd gold medal of these games.

What a day of fabulous achievements.

Keep going Paralympic Team GB - you are proof that extraordinary is possible.............................................

This was not the post...

...I intended this evening.

However, after spending a lovely evening yesterday colouring the latest image I had received from the CDAC Progressive Challenge and making it into a card - I realised I can't share it with you until 17th September...Drat!!!

So let me share some good news that I was saving for this Friday as it certainly rocked my world.

What is the news?

At the demo day on Saturday over at Pinnacle crafts they had a birthday draw for everyone who purchased something on the day. There were two winners and I was one of them.

This is what I have won...
...isn't that just fabulous. When I read the email on Monday I was bouncing around like a loon (good job there wasn't anyone to see me - they would have been dialling for the men in white coats **giggle**).

One of my crafting friends is also a work colleague (although she works in a different building) and I had cause to phone her boss today but she answered.

"Oh Hi Weasel, Chris not around?"

"Hi there, no he's at a meeting. Aren't you a jammy wotsit!" (This from a woman who won a Cricut Mini about 6 months ago).

**??????**

"Don't you read your emails?"

**Lightbulb moment**

"Oh you mean the 'Tim' thing."

"You know your pens won't fit in it."

"No...but all my Distress ink pads will."

**Big grin & plenty of giggles**

I think my staff were beginning to think I really had lost the plot - demented woman sat at her desk with silly grin on face...talking to a weasel...

In fairness, they do know who Weasel is (that's her user name on UK Scrappers) but I still think they are starting to wonder if I'm slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) losing my marbles.

Still, it's fun chatting to another crafter about such things. Especially when it's things like winning a Tim Holtz Ink Cargo case...........................

Stamping Demo Day...

...or 'numb bum Saturday' took place at Pinnacle Crafts at the weekend.

Andy was showing how to get the most out of your stamps and associated stash. Also, as it was Pinnacle's 9th Birthday on Saturday there was a discount on a lot of stamp related stuff by way of a celebration...well, of course I had to celebrate with them (it would have been very rude not to LOL) and a nice selection of goodies found their way home with me.

Having arrived in plenty of time for the opening, I seated myself and enjoyed a morning of some fabulous tips and ideas from Andy. In an effort to not block the view of the folk behind me I tried to keep low in my seat but it isn't the most comfortable ways of sitting (this was the numb bum part).

Andy has certainly been busy and many of the samples that he had prepared have been shown on his blog or will be over the coming weeks - do hop over there and take a look.

Saturday was also the launch day for the latest DoCraft promotion and as there are quite a few 'stampy' things...these also decided they were mine.
The Home for Christmas range is lovely (Red & White) and there are some fab Urban stamps - especially the 'Word' background stamp.
Stamped in white pigment ink onto kraft CS it looks very effective.
This is quite a big stamp at 6 x 6 inches so it needs a large acrylic block (yep, DoCrafts remembered to include one in their range).
This was the white pigment ink stamp pad - one of a range of new pads (also from DoCraft) and a pretty good price too at just £1.99.
I love this stamp but I did struggle with the size. I gave up with the block and just placed it face-up on a flat surface, inked it all over and then carefully placed the CS on top. I carefully smoothed the CS over the stamp and then lifted it up and away - taking care not to let it slip or drop back. If I hadn't been in such a rush to try it out I would probably have used my brayer to apply an even pressure all over (unfortunately, I seem to have put it away for safe keeping **giggle**).

Demo days are always good fun...you get to watch someone showing you new ideas...you get to meet up with friends...and you usually end up spending (oh what a surprise LOL).

Andy makes his demos 'real' and he doesn't try to hide things that haven't quite worked...he uses these things to show that things don't always work perfectly - no matter who you are.

Thank you Andy for another fabulous day of tips & ideas........................

WRYWF post...

...has another week really passed by?
For anyone who doesn't know what "WRYWF" is all about - a small group of craft minded folk take a look at their week and share the positives that they have found during their 'look back'. They could be mega things or just a little something that brought a smile to your face. The "Rockettes" then toddle over to Virginia's blog to leave a link to make it easy to share...why not hop over ther and have a look - better still, why not join in.

Last weekend was another long one because of Bank Holiday Monday - it's lovely having that extra day where you don't have to get up and go to work. However, it does tend to throw the rest of the week out of kilter. I seem to have spent most of the week trying to work out what day it was LOL.

Actually getting some reading done (first time in ages) although probably not the best written of works but I just had to read "50 Shades..." to see what all the hype was about. Just a few pages left of book 3 to finish off.

On the subject of "50 Shades..." - I received an email that made me giggle. The mens version of "50 Shades of grey"...
...and knowing the habits of the fellas in my life - this is probably about as much as they would read
**snigger**

Having a very pleasant evening at the Thursday crop - we were all making braided ribbons ready for use on LOs at the next session. There was a lot of silly giggling as some of the ladies got in a bit of a pickle with their ribbons but they got the hang of it in the end.

I hope you have all had a lovely week - I've been dipping in and out of the Paralympics on TV and have to say it is more than extraordinary seeing what these folk are achieving...such an inspiration. Here's hoping the coming week is fab too..............................................