Sunday Stamper - Week 178 - Bat Out Of Hell

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all. Thank you for all the gorgeous Autumnal coloured creations entered last week and it is great to see so many new peeps entering too. This week I am being boring and predictable and have chosen the theme to suit the date... well, tomorrow's date at least. And the theme is... HALLOWE'EN/BATS. How you interpret the theme is entirely up to you; you could use Hallowe'en colours, bats, skelingtons, ghosts... the choice is yours. To join in with the challenge all you need to do is make a little something, it can be anything you fancy, include the theme and some stamping and then hop back here and leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry... you can also email me a piccie if you haven't got a blog/Picassa/Flickr etc. The challenge will remain open until 23:00 Saturday November 5th 2011.




My entry this week is a shadow box that I altered by painting it with Traditional Tan paint, then once it was dry I sanded it back in patches and used Cut & dry to blend Rusty Hinge and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks to add some colour. I spritzed the frame lightly with water and heat dried it to give it a more mottled effect and then bashed it with a Texture Hammer to add some dents. Finally I used a Jet Black Archival pad, dragging it over the surface and using my fingertip to smudge the ink a bit.




The centre of the box is a 6" square piece of Hallowe'en paper from the Seasonal Paper Stash... dulled down with Traditional Tan which I swiped on with a piece of Cut & Dry foam... then I made a Wrinkle Free Distress of Rusty Hinge, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot Distress Inks and dipped the paper into it to add some colour. The spiders webs were stamped with Jet Black Archival and heat dried so I didn't make any smudgey mistakes :O))



The bats are stamped onto Grungepaper and cut out (fiddly!) and curled up, they are glued on with Multi Medium and they are supposed to look like a swarm but... erm... they don't, so the less said about them the better lol The skelington has a bat-bowtie and looks like he has had a hip replacement because I added brads to them. The bottles are Idea-ology Corked Vials which have had some "poison" put into them and little labels added to them, stamped onto copy paper and aged with Gathered Twigs DI. I used Memo Pins to add the Skull charm, a Tassel and a Plaquette. I then spent several yonks trying to behead a Fractured Doll... Tim's scissors are marvellous because they actually did cut right thru the doll... I blame my weak and feeble muscles for it taking so long. I added a bolt to the head and popped this into the corner of the box - because... ahem, I dropped it once I had added hot glue and it landed there.


Finally... because I was faffing about so much, my glue gun had started to leak ickle drips onto my craft sheet... well, these little bobbles look rather sweet, so I piled them all up together and made some cobweb from a cotton bud and made the glue bobbles into spiders egg... oooh nice huh? Anyways... that's me for today... thanks for looking... Happy Haunting.... TTFN

Hels x

Don't Throw It Away...

...it always pays to keep bits of inky cardstock... well, that is my excuse for having a room full of oddments (and I am not just talking about me lol) Well, when Gillian came to stay at The Room of Stash a few weeks ago, she asked me how I get my Wrinkle Free Distress technique to look dotty... so I showed her, using a few scraps of cardstock and both Stains and Inks. And... because I am a right lazy old moobag and hardly ever clear away my oddments, I found this little bit of card lurking under my desk the other night.




I was in one of those "can't sleep, need to craft" moods and crept into the Room of Stash to see what I could do... quietly, of course, although why is it when I need to be super quiet, I end up crashing about like a loon and dropping stuff all over the place? Anyways, I digress.. again... for a change...


So, the Wrinkle Free colours consisted of Seedless Preserves DI and Rusty Hinge Stain, with a smidge of Black Soot Stain thrown in... all smudged onto a craft sheet and spritzed with water... then the card was dippped and dragged through the inkiness... and then once I had the whole lot covered, I lightly tapped the card onto the ink so pick up little dotty bits. Simples :O)) I added some stamping - all Hallowe'en stamps from the Duke of Distress' collection... and made my own ickle pumpkins from Grungepaper, coloured with Spiced Marmalade DI and then drawn on black pencil.


Anyways... tis time for me to get moving and go and make the Sunday Stamper for tomorrow... I have the theme... am still working on finding a song title to go with it... I think I may have to cheat ever so slightly this week to work something into the theme though :O)) I have spent a lovely day mooching around Durham with Dan and Andrea... OMG, we found THE most HEAVENLY vintage shop... it is chock full of real proper vintage clobber... loads of clothes, shoes, bags, jewellry, coats, watches, cases - oh Lordy above, they had a huge pile of vintage suitcases and trunks... I wanted to bring them all home with me but I was good... and settled for a very small wisp of a scarf - black chiffon with white polka dots... for the princely sum of £3... result! Right... time to get that Sunday Stamper piece made... thanks for looking.... TTFN!

Hels x

One Colour???

....mmm, nomnomnom, I love Gingerbread... very lots... and when I made this T'Pouch I must have had that on my mind because I think the colours of this one are very ...erm... gingerbread-ish. Anyways... I have been playing with my favoured Studio 490 stamps again and have made a Tag and T'Pouch.




Now, I made this a few weeks ago and hadn't had chance to blog it, and then I saw the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge for this week and am thinking... could I get away with it if I entered this for the challenge?? Only one way to find out... the theme this week is ONE COLOUR. Mmm, I struggle to use just one colour... so this one actually has several colours but they are all the same shade/colour family... whatcha fink? **oh and ignore the green leaves... those aren't there really ;o))**


So, the T'Pouch was made in the usual fashion, a piece of cream card, cut, scored and folded... if you missed the Tut on how to make these, it is over THERE in the sidebar. I used Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye and Rusty Hinge Distress Stains to make a smooshiness on my craft sheet and dipped the card and tag directly into it... and then spritzed with water and dried with a heat gun.


The stamping was done using Coffee Archival and apart from the butterfly (and the leaves... ssshhh) all the Grungepaper flowers and embellies were coloured with the brown tones of the Distress Ink range. I did a bit of sewing... ahem, my sewing machine is wonky... it is!! It can't possibly be me that can't sew a straight line for toffee... I do try really hard but the machine just drags the card off in any old direction... but I have found that if I sew two lines then the wobbliness doesn't look too bad.




Anyways... the tag and pouch both had ickle tags/labels in little flappy things I added... am loving adding "little" things to my artwork at the moment... and I have the perfect thing to make them.. oh yes, the Tags and Tabs Alterations and the Labels Movers & Shapers... perfect indeedily!





Oh and before I forget... it is my day for The Stamp Attic DT today and I have blogged a little Studio 490 Art Part "label" I made for my old suitcase of Art Parts... all the deets are HERE and this is a little sneaky peek at the piece I made :O))



Right... I had better get a wiggle on... things to do and stuff... ooh, an update on the sorely foot... well, I listened to everyone and rested it yesterday, keeping it elevated and all that and spent a very lot of time resting on the sofa... I was well occupied though, I had several Spooks to watch... but haven't seen the very last one yet... eeek, I need to get that watched today... want to know what happened!! Right... am off, really, I am this time... thanks for looking!! TTFN

Hels x

WOYWW... Storage!!!

Aha! Another Wednesday is upon us and that can mean only one thing in Blogland... time for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday... now, if you haven't heard of this amazing phenomenon, hot foot it over to the very esteemed Leader of the Desk Hoppers, Julia Dunnit... where you will find all the details on how to join in this mammoth blog hop... taking in views of desks both tidy and messy and workspaces galore!




Today on my desk is some storage... namely for my ever expanding Art Parts collection... they used to live in one drawer... and then kind of spread over to the next drawer and now the time has come for them to move into their very own home. This is an old wooden suitcase that I have had for a few years and really, I have neglected it, bunging it under the computer desk, unloved and ignored. Time now for it to come into its own and really belong in the Room of Stash. Believe it or not, I haven't got the full collection of Art Parts... yet... but you can see how many of those lovely shapes I have living with me...




Which means... they are now more accessible (ok, I may have to rummage, but that is the fun part) and... I am now in the mood to go and make something. But first... news on the "broken" foot. Well, I don't think it is broken... it is still sore but heaps better than yesterday... the ache is still there but the swelling has gone down so methinks I have got away with it again... **whispers** still no broken bones... let's hope it stays that way, knowing my propensity for...erm... clumsiness lol Right... time to go and get inky... have a fab day... TTFN

Hels x

Oh Look... Moo-Cow's In A Field...

... yesh indeedily, those were the words that I uttered the other day... and found out very soon that they weren't moo-cows at all... oh no... they were... BULLS! More of that in a mo though.... So... last weekend my lovely Grim whisked me away for a weekend of "messing about on the river"... namely a whole weekend of relaxation on the Norfolk Broads. I love the Broads... and setting off on a boat with just a map and no other teckernical gadgets is my idea of bliss. Two and a half days of no internet & moby connections...well, ok, Grim has yonder t'internet on his phone but that doesn't count cos it wouldn't pick up a signal anyway lol

Our home for the weekend - Gold Gem 7

So... we collected the boat on Friday afternoon and poodled off to Salhouse Broad to moor over night... which, I have to say, is one of my favest Broads... not only is it chock full of watery wildlife, it also is near to a rather loverly pub called the Fur & Feather at Woodbastwick... where, if you are so inclined (oh yes, I am inclined) you can get a "Noggin Yorky"... which, put quite simply, is heaven on a plate. A giant Yorkshire Pudding, filled with the most tender beef that is swimming in Norfolk Nog (a delish Ale) grrravy.... mmmm, nomnomnom

Here I am, filling my chops - and no, I didn't eat it all lol

Saturday morning I took the helm (ahem) and off we tootled to the northern parts of the Broads that were, as yet, unchartered by us. Grim did all the heavy work, like mooring and rope tying whilst I turned into a domestic goddess and made bacon and eggs... ooooh alalallaaa... me cooking? I know, and ... I enjoyed it... just don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to think of.

Captain Grim

We went along a gorgeous little navigation towards Neatishead... and all the times I have been on the Broads I have said "I want to see a Kingfisher" And... all the times I have been... never seen a single flash... not so much as a smidge. Until Saturday... and I saw two, together, zooming about like loonies... they are sooooo beautiful. Grim was taking photo's at the time and one of them whizzed thru the shot. Freckles was on tour with us again and managed to get himself into plenty of the photo's... even driving the boat...




So... Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny again... with a little mist on the river so it looked perfect and still. We set off for Wayford Bridge, knowing there are three mooring spaces there... and it is quiet right? A Sunday? And quiet? Errrrrrm... wrrrong. We got there... and yes, all three spaces are taken. And one of the boats hasn't moored properly... so all these people are standing on the bank watching us try to turn the boat (which, by now, seemingly has lengthened thrice times) Finally, my hero Grim, got the now mahooosive boat (ok, it was the same size but it seemed to be longer, and fatter, and wider) turned around and off we set, in search of a place to moor. Well, we found a lovely patch of bank, just perfectly sized for the boat... and off Grim hops with the Rond Anchors and proceeds to step in a cowpat. Now, I am standing on the front of the boat, peeing my pants as you do when anyone ever steps in something unmentionable... Grim sorts the posts thingy's and is just getting back onto the boat when I say "oooh look, moo-cows in a field..." To which Grim replies... "they ain't cows... they are bulls" Oh dear. Well, they are all just standing about looking a bit bored... like we aren't bothering them at all.

Cows? No dear... they are bulls

I make another culinary delight (yep, bacon and eggs again, I really must broaden my repertoire) and we have just finished our lunch when all of a sudden there is a rustling noise outside the boat. Grim goes to look and tells me that there are bulls all around the bank... "yeh, yeh" I say... cos he is always winding me up about daft stuff. Oh nope, not this time... there are several bullocks... all looking immense... and then I see "Daddy" who has to be at least the size of large family car, nay and thrice, the size of a shed. And... they are chewing on the ropes... and staring at us. So, we take a few pics, being nice and all, saying "Hello" to them.

You looking at me???

After about 30mins the joke's wearing a little thin. They are still standing at the edge of the boat and still stoppping us from getting the Rond Anchors and clearing orf. So, we decides (ok, Grim's idea) to hide. Yes, if we hide, they will get bored and leave us alone. So, we tippytoes into the bedroom and shuts the door. After a few minutes of me laughing quietly (ok, snorting like a babboon) Grim opens the door just a crack. He is giving me the running commentary... and then says "He just looked at me.. through the crack in the door" Turns out that Daddy Bull fancies himself a bit of boating fun... and he was trying to get onto the boat!!! So, there was only one thing for it.... pull the Rond Anchors, wrap 'em up and get the chuff out of there... fast.


By now, I have done with the snorting... just a very occasional giggle... until I saw... another Kingfisher... oh yes, this time he was posing on a tree... and flying forward a bit... then posing some more. Grim managed to get some pics of him... oh what a beauty... so I have now seen three Kingfisher's! Sunday evening was nice and quiet... we moored along side some trees and Grim did all the tying up and stuff.... while I decided to try a little more cooking... this time I exceeded all expectations and cooked.... jacket potatoes!!! (please do not tell anyone about this... I mean it... people will think I am a chef or something)


One of the beauties of mooring up along a riverbank and away from proper "mooring places" is that there's very little light pollution... which means that amazing photo's can be taken of the stars. Grim is an expert photographer and set about rigging up a tripod and the camera and pointing it at the sky for a long exposure, that all sounds rather chilly to me but apparently, the longer the exposure, the better the starry pics come out... and here's just one of the amazing photo's he took.. it has had a 15 minute exposure and the lines are actually the stars as they have moved during the 15 minutes! Cool huh?



Yesterday morning it was time to take the boat back... so the plan was that I step off the boat at the back, hold the rope until Grim has sorted the front and then step back on... I mean, how hard can that be eh? Mmm??? Very hard... because, as I stepped off the boat, ok.... I didn't "step" off the boat, I decided that the ground looked a little bumpy, so "jumping off" both feet first would be the better option. Ahem... in heels? Ahem... nope! My stupid right leg decided to go a bit pins and needles and I lost my footing, twisted my ankle, turned my foot and ended up crashing into the bank, which was all muddy and mossy. Grim heard the shriek, felt the thud and bless him, he didn't laugh once. I on the other hand, now have a very sorely foot... it isn't too swollen but I can't put much weight through it... and it is blinking painful. I am just so thankful for two things... #1, no one else saw it, so pride is intact... and #2, I didn't fall in the water! Next time I will let Grim do it all... he is so much better at stuff like that... I will just stick to the Galley and make more bacon and eggs!

Right... on that bombshell I shall say... thanks for looking... and ... TTFN! Tis time to get inky... I have gone nearly a week without getting inky fingers...

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 177 - Forever Autumn

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all. Thank you for all the lovely leafy entries into last weeks challenge... this week I am sticking with the seasonal feel and have chosen a doubleheader theme... AUTUMN &/or COLOURS OF AUTUMN. To join in is simples... all you need to do is make a little something (it can be anything you fancy), include the theme and some stamping, hop back here to leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and then I can pop over to see you. If you don't have a blog, you can email me a piccie or leave a comment with a link to your photo-hosting place. The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 29th October 2011.




So... my entry this week incorporates both parts of the theme... the colours on the tag are what I think Autumn looks like and the word is... erm... Autumn... so that fits too lol I used Distress Inks to blend onto my tag base; Wild Honey, Crushed Olive, Rusty Hinge, Seedless Preserves and Gathered Twigs. I did a bit of spritzing with water to create a blotchy look and then over stamped the script using Monarch Orange Archival Ink.


The spider web was stamped in Coffee Archival, I wanted it to be there but not "in your face" there, if you know what I mean... and then the birds were stamped in Jet Black Archival so they pop off the tag a bit more. The flower was made by cutting the Autumnal papers from the Seasonal Stash and the spikey flower from the Tattered Florals die... I just scrunched them, glued them together and then added Seedless Preserves to the edges. The centre of the flower is actually made from Idea-ology Foliage which I painted with Traditional Tan paint and then added Distress Stains over the top once dried.



The leaves were cut from the same paper but the "plain" side... coloured with Rusty Hinge, Fired Brick and Forest Moss DI's... and I folded the leaves so they had "veins" and rubbed the Fired Brick pad onto them. We have some trees in the Spinney that have leaves with red veins, which is where the inspiration came from.



The Trim was coloured with Distress Stains... Crushed Olive and Rusty Hinge, as was the Seam Binding ribbons... and I added a Facet that I had popped onto some more of the Seasonal Paper to make a dangly embellie. Right then, time to get a move on get some tidying up done... believe it or not, before I went away I cleared the Room of Stash... it was spotless... **I even... ahem... dusted the shelves!** Now it looks like a bomb has gone off again... see, doesn't take me long to make a nice old mess! Thanks for looking... have a lovely Sunday... TTFN

Hels x

The Artists Collection Shelf....

...designed by the one and only Wonderful Wendy Vecchi.... and made by yours truly in the last of the classes last weekend. Can it be a whole week ago that I was sitting in the classroom with her? Cor blimey, where does time go to huh? Anyways... this is one of the most amazing classes... nay and thrice... it is THE most amazing class I have ever taken... and believe me, I have taken some pretty amazing classes in my time; double together the fact that Wendy can do no wrong, is THE most inspirational artist, along with being a mighty fine lady... well, you can probably hear the adoration in my words... and to be able to sit and make this spectacular piece in her presence... a dream come true indeedily!


All of the goodies on the shelf are made from Art Parts or Grunge... these two products are MADE for each other... and there's me saying "oh I don't think I will get that set of stamps" Ahahahaaa... that soon changed... now I have only a few more to get then ... erm... I have the whole collection. **that sentiment on the hand is just perfect!!** See, can't stop an addict... I am going to write a letter to Santa right this very minute and ask him if I can have the rest ... well, I will write it once I have stopped yakking here....




So... exciting as Sunday was, it had to come to an end :O(( Sad faces all around. However... when we got back to Ellen's in the evening the day got better again because... Ellen had heard me muttering to myself about letters, Santa and Studio 490 sets... and she had bought me another set! I am SO lucky... she is an awesome friend... and yes, I know I am very fortunate. And all of this is down to the wonder that is yonder t'internet... without me seeing Wendy's blog, I wouldn't have been introduced to the gorgeousness of 490, without Wendy popping a pic of my Rosey Heart Art onto her blog, Ellen would never have visited my blog... tis like it has come a full circle.





Anyways... enough waffling from me.. I am getting a little misty here... which means it is certainly time to say... thanks for looking and... TTFN!


Hels x



PS... Just remembered... I have put my new upcoming classes in my sidebar... all the deets are on The Stamp Attic website... oooops, I still need to get the pics to Wendy... am not lazy... honestly lol

So Forgetful!!!

...ah yes that is me!!! So caught up was I in all the things I have been doing the past week, I clean forgot to pick a winner for my taggy giveaway on last Wednesday post!!! How very remiss of me. As usual, I can't figure out how to get the screen pic onto here so I took a photo of the result from Random.org... which is #1 - which belongs to the comment from Helen from Stamping By H. Thank you ever so much everyone for the lovely comments :O)) Please can you email me your addy Helen and I will pop the tag in the post for you :O)) Here's a quick reminder of what the tag looks like :O))

Here's a quick reminder of what the tag looks like :O))

So... as promised, here's a piccie of the art we made in the first class on Saturday. It is called "Do NOT mess with the Queen" which is very appropriate cos we were actually WITH The Queen Patti of Inkn'Rubberland herself... I did do several rather clumsy curtsies in the hope that she would bestow a Princess-ness on me... thing is, never in a million years would I ever be mistaken for a Princess... and old Dame maybe... but never a princess lol



This class was like a taster for all things Art Parts... which I lurved already and now really LURVE, like totally LURVE... and me needs them all!!! Ok, I did bring *ahem* a few back with me but... there's still a few sets that need to come and live with me in the Room of Stash.




The next class was equally amazing... considering that Wendy and her lovely hubby Rick do ALL the kitting for these classes... and it isn't just like a square of Grunge here and a snip of card there... oh no, these kits are amazing... like reallllly amazing!!! I for one totally understand how convoluted kitting up classes can be.... and mine are on a small scale, these ones of Wendy's are mahooosive... and there wasn't a single thing missing from anyones kits... I said it before... she is, put quite simply.... amazingly awesome!




So... apart from being in awe of the kits and the finished piece, I did have rather a jolly time rootlling around on the floor under my desk! The old sausagey fingers had come to stay and I literally spent most of the class on my knees... which is just as well because Ellen got me GOOD and PROPER. Visualise this: there I am, sitting cutting things out... minding my own business, you know, being a very good girl... and then Ellen went and said three words that changed everything... now, they are a bit rude... so if I say them on here you may get offended... they aren't sweary rude... just funny rude... anyways... if you want to know them, email me lol So, she says these three words and I am GONE... like a huge snort outloud gone. Thankfully it was at this juncture that Wendy called a recess... so I shot off out of the shop like a bat out of a jam-jar... and let rip outside... mwhahaaaa... I am laughing here now thinking about it... **perhaps you had to be there lol**




The next class was called The Inspiration Station. A very clever idea combining an Art Parts Cover with an Idea-ology Ring Binder to make a little hangy uppy piece of art that can be added to with ideas etc. The page with the flower is actually a card envelope... and it also came with the cutest little cloth bag... which we were to alter but I love it so much as is, I have left mine plain... and I have also mislaid it... I have a feeling it is still in the bag of stash to be unpacked... anyways, this is an awesome project and... I LOVE IT!





Anyways... I thought I had defied the old jet-lag, I had an early night on Weds and a good long sleep... and Thursday was spent being very gentle and watching TV - oooh, Strictly, ooohlala... I love Robbie's dance!!! However, it is now gone 2am and I am wide awake ... so I thought I would come and do some blogging and maybe then I will be tired enough to get to sleep... either that or I will just do some more Art Part-ing. Thanks for looking... TTFN!


Hels x

Feet Back On The Ground...

...cor blimey and thrice alive... I am home! Actually, I was home yesterday but what with unpacking and stuff I neglected the old blog again. What a lovely time I had in sunny and warm Baltimore.. it went too quickly, as these things always do.. but I have a brain full of memories which I will forever cherish.

I have some more pics of my time there to share... starting with Day 1 when Ellen and I met THE Wonderful Wendy Vecchi at the airport... sporting signs that we made... Ellen's is the one Wendy is holding... and mine is the one I am holding... *huge apologies to Ellen, I took this photo and it is blurred... probably something to do with the fact that I was fair shaking after meeting Wendy... well, ok, I was shaking the whole weekend....*



Then we had a fabulous lunch with Queen Patti and Wendy... I even managed to go the whole lunch without dropping any food down me! I was very chuffed about that... you can usually tell what I have had to eat each day by the food medals I wear lol Here's Wendy holding Freckles and a book I made for her... Freckles says that his life is now complete, having had his photo taken with Tim, Claudine, Wendy and Patti... but he still holds a little place in his yearnings for a photo with THE Ellen Vargo... that is a good excuse for another meet up methinks :O))


On Friday evening I left Freckles in charge of keeping my place for the classes on Saturday... Janet, who is Patti's amazing Lady in Waiting, had made sure Freckles was all cosy for the night... she had wrapped him up in an Inky Binky to keep warm... here they are, having cuddles...


However, Freckles being a good boy didn't last long... after lunch on Sunday, this is how I found him... I think that Janet was really leading him astray... I had found him with a bottle of Malibu and a party hat on Sunday morning but me being the div that I am had forgotten my camera...




On Saturday lunchtime I got chatting a girl who said "I know you from somewhere...." Turns out... we were on Ranger U together! And neither of us knew that... because we had sat with our backs to each other the whole time... here's Terry and me... she's lovely and she also has the best job... she works AT Ranger! Cool huh! Anyways... we made sure that we made up for lost time and sat together for Sunday's classes...



On Saturday evening we went out for dinner with Ellen's BFF's, Matty and Connie... I was so excited to meet them both, having heard loads about them...Matty is a school-bus driver... I made a burk of myself asking if it was one of those big yellow ones... you know, that we see on films? Because we don't have special buses like that and all... and yes, it is one of the big yellow ones. Connie is so lovely too.. bless her, she sat next to me for the Saturday afternoon class... and still she stayed for dinner... she's a brave woman lol


I have loads of pics of the artwork that we made from the classes but I shall save those for tomorrow... today I am planning on a telly day... I have 3 EastEnders to watch, plus four Strictly It Takes Two's... and several thousand episodes of Corrie... oh and... the blinking flipping washing machine has packed up! I have all my holiday stuff to get done and the chuffing thing is dead as a dodo... so tis time for me to find a launderette.... wish me luck! Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy...

... but he carries the crown very well!!! Who am I talking about??? Well... he is Mr Chester Cheeto. Now, you all know how...erm... fond of Cheesy Chester Cheeto's I am? So... when I come to America I go a little...erm... mental with the scoffing of the said savoury snack. Imagine how chuffed I was when Ellen's lovely hubby Jack presented me with my very own Chester Cheeto to bring home with me! Here he is, sitting on the sofa, watching Dexter (yes, THE new season - sorry to all the Brits who love Dexter, I have seen two and have one to watch before I leave... then a verrrrry long wait til it gets screened in the UK) Anyways... where was I? Ah yes, Chester, sitting scoffing a packet of Cheesy Chester Cheeto's and watching the telly... isn't he JUST the coolest!!! THANK YOU to Jack for understanding lol



Anyways... with all the excitement of the weekend I have neglected blogging... and I know I said I would blog loads and haven't... but I am sure you can understand that I have been a bit waylaid. Well, here are some piccies I took yesterday when Ellen took me to Michael's, Chili's for lunch, AC Moore, Bath & Bodyworks and finally... GIANT... so I could get a stash of Cheesy Chester Cheeto's to bring home with me. Do you think 24 small packs and three big 'uns will be enough? Oh and because I love him, I got Grim some HOT ones... and some choccy of course... and Ellen bought me these... I have seen them on peeps' blogs but never had any... ohlalaaa, talk about instant sugar rush lol I have taken a photo because I am very doubtful they will make it back to the UK



I shall shut up for a few mins while you look at the pics....

Chili's forLunch

Check out the colour of the sky!!

Sad I know, but I loved the look of this

Public Art at The Avenue

And finally, you know my.. erm... dislike (ok, pathalogical hatred) of all things packing related... well, today the packing has gone a lot easier because I have had a very special helper. This is Joe Vargo, he is 7 months old and full of mischief... but also full of love and cuddles and has snuggled down with me every night, keeping me company... apparently, AlfieCat Skyped Joe and asked him to look after his Mummy... how sweet!


Right... I had better stop with the waffle... time to get a bit inky before I leave for the airport... hopefully it will be warm when I land because I hear it is chuffing chilly in the UK... and the weather over here has been amazing... warm and sunny... Thanks for looking... .TTFN!

Hels x