In Lurve...

...nay and thrice indeedily!!! Jerry's visit yesterday was a roaring - or should that be woofing - success. AlfieCat was happy curled up on our bed (his usual daytime position) and he had a hoooge dish of fishy food that kept him purring. I needed to keep Alf away from Jerry the Gorgeous Springer because he has been known to be a bit...erm... savage with anything that has four legs and isn't his reflection. He isn't a savage puss normally but I didn't want to take a chance. Anyways, I was fully expecting Jerry to come bouncing in and promptly swish anything in his range onto the floor. Nope, I was totes wrong, he was a lovely little sausage and was so good! He even curled up and had a kip whilst we were eating... I fully expected to see a little nose popping up over the edge of the table. His Mummy Mary and Daddy Richard have him very well trained.


Apart from when it comes to socks. Oh yes, he has a sock fetish bless him and decided that he fancied a gnash at mine - not while they were on my feet I hasten to add lol I have several pairs of chunky socks (I have perpetually cold feet) and there was a pair rolled up in the living room... they were clean before you start calling the RSPCA lol Jerry loves a ball... so he had my socks to chomp on and he found a little kitty ball to play with too but that rolled under the sofa never to be seen again.


Look at that photo, see, that is why I is in lurves... he is the most intelligent dog in the world (said in my best Jeremy Clarkson voice) and I have been reliably informed that the bone I got for him had to be confiscated during the night because he was thumping around the house with it... next time I shall buy him a squeaky toy methinks rofl You know those Glade airfreshener pumpy things that puff out when it senses movement? Tis that grey thingy on the table... well, that was very interesting for Jerry... he was hilarious, he walked past it, it puffed out its smelly stuff and he looked at it as if he was mad... bless him, like I said... he is a little sausage! Oh and you will be relieved to learn that I had nothing to do with the custard... Grim took the helm for that one... phew! The crumble was ok, a bit sour for my liking but the others all liked it so it can't have been that bad. I think next time I shall just buy a cheesecake though rofl



Anyways... gratuitious pics of my fave pooch aside, I have not done much today... I think I have done another disc, pain has been awful and my meds just aren't doing the trick at the moment. I am refusing to give in to it though... well, if I sat around feeling sorry for myself I would still be in pain right? So, instead I shall sit around and make some stuff. This here pic is a WIP from my Skypey sesh with Ellen on Sunday... another of our recipe challenges. I will be posting the finished piece on Thursday.


Oh and whilst I think on... please CLICK HERE... you gotta see what Ellen made... Here's a tempter... seriously folks, she pulled out all the stops for this one.... it is ... TOTES-AMAZEBALLS indeedily....


Right, I shall away... I have stuff to do, paper to paint, embellies to ink and all that. Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Give A Girl A Camera...

And... Guess what??? I have done some video! Oh yesh, Grim is rueing the day he said "did you know you can do video on that camera?" Which, no, I didn't know... and erm... I do now... to the point that I actually flattened the battery with all the videoing that I did. I did a little running commentary on them too... well, they are there...preserved for posterity... the only problem is, and you will hear for youselves if you click on them, I do talk a lot of twaddle when left to my own devices. I thought that I was being quite informative and a bit "David Attenborough" about the whole thing but... erm... I wasn't, I didn't and... well, it is a laugh. The first video is actually the second one I did, the first one being a bit of a pigs ear, so the less said about that the better. Now, I have been trying valiantly to upload said video's to this post and Mr Blogger is having none of it... so, I have popped them onto my YouTube channel... CLICK HERE for Video 1 CLICK HERE for Video 2 and CLICK HERE for Video 3 Please do have a click and listen - ooh, and check out the graphics at the start and finish of each one... I did those myself, I know!!! I used a thingywotsit that Grim popped onto my laptop... there's no stopping me now you know lol Oh and don't worry, each one is only a couple of minutes long...
Oh and my YouTube channel is HERE :O))

On Top of the World...

I promise I won't turn into one of those peeps that as soon as they have an opportunity to show you their holiday pics they jump at it... well, maybe just a smidge today but that is only because I am bursting with excitement because, even if I do say so myself, the photo's are rather good! Instead of adding a load of waffle inbetween each photo, I will just give them a label... and maybe the odd word or two... (ahem) I see lots of photo's on the t'internet that peeps have taken of their shoes... so I took one of my sensible shoes. Wearing sensible shoes is a first for me. I actually bought these about 281 years ago and finally had a use for them. I rather like them... and very comfy!

Sensible shoes!

You can see the edge of the cloud, totesamazeballs!

We went over the Buttertubs Pass - mainly to see the Buttertubs but also to have a drive of the road as it is pretty spectackerler... and, did you know, Jeremy Clarkson reckons it is the best driving road in the UK? Here's a little linky to the clip on YouTube so you can see what it looks like....

Shame about the weather!

AND... thank you all for doing your sun-dances... whilst the sun didn't come out, it did make sure that the clouds stayed high enough up for us to actually see the Ribblehead Viaduct... oohlalalaaa... it is mahooosive! There was a cracking storm thundering away in the valley and the noise of the thunder was reverberating off the mountains behind the viaduct... I did my usual witchy thing and started cackling... something about thunder storms brings out the witch in me (there are so many things I could say about that, but I shalln't lol)

Ribblehead Viaduct

So. We are home. We had an amazing time - the weather was baaaad, but... we were very lucky because we seemed to miss all of the nasty hailstones/storms etc that had been raging around the North and Midlands on Thursday. It was rainy, misty and windy but... so what... you know, sometimes the scenery is so breathtaking that whether it be rain or shine, it doesn't really matter. Actually, the whole misty/cloudy look has made the photo's appear more rugged, well, I think so lol

Little newborn fella, so cute!

The journey home was amazing, I have to say. We set off at about 10.30am after a little nip into Art From The Heart (thank you Grim for my pressies!!!) and I fell asleep at about 11am... and, erm... woke up just as we were pulling onto our drive. So, my journey took half an hour... poor old Grim was all on his ownsome for the trip back... mind you, he probably was enjoy a bit of peace and quiet lol. Here he is... I love this photo - taken on Thursday... he looks so handsome :O)



Right, I shall loves ya and leaves ya... I am doing the catch-up with emails and blogs etc rounds, so if you entered the Sunday Stamper, I haven't forgotten you, I will be by later to visit. There's a new Sunday Stamper theme this weekend... I have yet to think of the theme and make something, I am sure I will come up with something though. Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Milestones...

...Cor blimey and thrice, I am scraping in by the skin of my teef here because the t'internet has been wonky all day!!! Anyways... as promised, pics of my gift for Grim for our 10th anniversary. But first, a few words... indulge me do :O)) Ten years ago today I married Grim. The man of my dreams. The love of my life. My very best friend. My better half. It took me a fair few years to find him, I admit that a few frogs were cast aside before I found my Handsome Prince, but I endeavoured... and I found him....


We have had some amazing times... and we have had our fair share of crappy times too during the past 10 years... but one thing that has seen us through all of that is our ability to do exactly what my dear old Dad said during his speech at our wedding. He said "May you live, laugh and love". Which is more or less what we have done (yes, for once, I did as my Dad said!) Wise words that have stood us in good stead for all that life has chucked at us. So. This is my little message to Grim; thank you for being YOU, for being with me for the past 13 years, 10 of which married. For being a constant source of support, love and laughter - I know, without you beside me, I would have not coped during the hard times nor would I have enjoyed the good times as much. I love you Grim... you are my all and everything.


I was Skyping with Ellen on Sunday and we decided to do an "I Challenge Thee" because we haven't had a good old crafty sesh together for a yonk and a half. The rules were pretty simples: Shadow Box, mini canvas, paper blocking technique, Texture paste, paint, stamps, stencils and embellishments to include Corked Vials, Screw Eyes and whatever else we fancied. I had a plan in my noddle that I was going to make something for Grim for our anniversary but wasn't sure what. As I went on with the making of this piece it became more apparent to me that it was actually what I was making for him. There are some special bits n bobs on the piece that make it more special for us... and he has told me that he loves it... that's the main thing eh? To see Ellen's finished project, CLICK HERE, it is ... totes-amazeballs.... LUSH, is what it is!!!


Of course, as well as the pressie, I needed a card... so I used the same papers etc to make a card, adding on the little phrases (HOW CUTE!!!) - the papers are Prima BTW, I LURVES them... and then I added some Embellish Your Art bits to add a bit of specialness (word? made up word? whatever lol) to the finished look.



Well, I shall love ya and leaves ya, I am fair pooped with all this excitement - plus we have had another lovely day out in the Dales, the weather was a smidge better - and we have just had THE most amazing meal in the hotel... oooohlalalaaaa... we had a trifle for pud and NEVER have I had such a wonderous pudding... the fact that I can hardly move is neither here nor there. A couple of pics of us... I have more but they are on Grim's camera so I will need to nab that and faff with the pics (in need of photo-shopping methinks lol) I have tonnes of pics from our adventures today so I will try to get those on tomorrow... don't worry, I won't become a holiday-photo-bore... much hahahaaaaa




Thanks for looking... I am off to bed now... up early for our trip home, of course, a little stop off at Art From the Heart might be in order, well, it would be rude not to wouldn't it? Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

PS... THANK YOU For all the lovely comments too... I haven't had chance to reply yet, I will do that when I get home and have a quicker internet connection :O))

Spoiled Rotten...

Yep... that is moi... spoiled totally rotten this weekend and I have had THE BEST birthday ever!!! Grim and I headed off for our favest place in the whole world on Saturday morning... so where is this place huh? North Yorkshire... near to Whitby but inland and it is a small little hamlet with a B&B, a pub and a beck... this will be our 8th time up there and 6th time staying at the same B&B but is is just perfection, as soon as we get there, the shoulders drop and the happiness just floods in... *and... guess what??? on the way there, we stopped off in Pickering and got proper Northern fish n chips, then drove up the Moors, sat in the car and stuffed our faces, you should have seen me, covered in grease afterwards but heck, it was worth it!!*




THANK YOU everyone for the lovely birthday messages, comments and emails...sorry I haven't been able to reply to you yet, we haven't been home long and a certain little black n white furball wanted cuddles big style.. our neighbour came in to feed him so he didn't have to go to the Cattery... he was pleased about that too :O))




I can honestly say this... I LOVE being 40!!!! Seriously, I sat there yesterday morning opening my heaven pressies and cards.. blimey, I mean I was spoiled daft... thank you everyone who sent me a card - I really loved them all and so appreciate it... I have made some wonderful pals in Blogland... *can you tell I am a bit euphoric at the moment??? LOL*




So, Grim bought me a beautiful silver pendant, it has Whitby Jet and Mother of Pearl in a checker pattern (matches Ferdy's roof - and you all know black n white is my fave) and the other side of the pendant is inlaid with pink mother of pearl... I got tonnes of stash - seriously big stylee happy dancing going on with the stash I got!!! And.. Grim bought me the pub that we go to when we are up there.. it is called the Birch Hall Inn, click the name, you can see it... yes, he bought me a pub!!! Actually, it is a scale model of the pub and cos it is my favest place in the world, he planned it all out and managed to actually get it without me sussing it out!!! Here's a pic of my birthday goodies...told ya, I was spoiled!!!




I got some CD's - the Lady GaGa one I have been wanting for yonks, I love GaGa and her voice is just beautiful... then I got a divine pen and pencil which are engraved with my name and the date, that is all I had asked for but Grim pushed the boat out for me bless him! And.. finally, I got the last hare for my collection, he is a dude, I will take a photo of them all together later and blog it.. they are beautiful...




So, between the insane ramblings of a very excited 40 year old bat, there are some pics of the North Yorkshire Moors... Grim took them, that is why they are good ROFL I have to go now though... cos... on the way home, we called back at Pickering and bought more fish n chips, brought them home and I am going to pop them into the oven and reheat them... we do that when my Dad visits (he lives next to the best chippy ever and brings 'em down for us!) So, tis time for me to eat again, I have stuffed my face this weekend... diet starts...erm...tomorrow LOL Thanks again EVERYONE... and for the Sunday Stamper comments too.. will pop by your blogs later to see what you have been up to... TTFN....

Hels x (a very happy Hels at that!!)

Sunday Stamper - Week 46 - Wishing (If I Had A Photograph of You)

Morning Stampers,

First of all, thank you to all of you who joined in with the Sunday Stamper last - yet again, some divine creations were made and I loved visiting you all to see what you made.




The theme I have chosen is Photograph - but if you would like to add the Wishing bit in too then that is fine :O)) I love this song by The Flock of Seagulls, takes me right back to school disco's and bad 80's haircuts LOL




So, simply incorporate a photo with your project this week - and remember, you don't have to use a real photo either, how about dusting off a photographic stamp you have got lurking in your stash, or downloading an image and printing that off and including it with your other stamping? The choice is yours and I hope that you have fun with your project. Once completed, please pop back and leave me a message with a link to the place you are showing your entry.




I have used a real photo for my project this week. Actually, this is a photo of me that was taken last year, on a train, on the way from Brugge to Brussels Midi station. We had had a couple of days in Brugge, gentle walks sight-seeing and rather less gentle stuffing of the face with chocolate....oh, the chocolate!!! I had the best time in Brugge and I think that the photo here actually reflects that - which is why I love it so much :O))




Anyways, I digress :O)) For my project, I took an 8" x 6" deep edged canvas and painted the back of it with Gesso - applying two coats to cover the surface completely. I then used Golden Texture Gel and popped this all over the surface and a little bit onto the edges too to blend them in. The beauty of using the Texture Gel is that it covers the join between the canvas and the wood and gives a nice medium to apply paint to.



Once this coat had dried I painted over the top with Cream acrylic paint - again, giving this two coats so it was covered completely. Once dried, I used a stipple brush and dragged a teensy bit of Ranger Black acrylic paint over the surface. This made the texture show up more as the black paint collected on the peaks of the Gel.



Next, I used a variety of my Stitchels stamps and the Avenue Collection by Crate Paper to make the embellishments. I stamped lots of images of flowers and butterflies and then cut them out, layered them and added gems and pearls for the centres.




I added a Twidley Bits chipboard corner, which I had prepped in the same way as the canvas, added Mini Mini Stitchels butterflies to it and then decorated with more pearls and gems.




Finally, to give a little extra bling, I made some little wirey beady pieces which I added to the frame, sticking them down under the flowers with silicone glue.


I have to admit something now....I started this frame two weeks ago but hadn't finished it - and then last week it took a different turn...and the reason was.....over on the Lots To Do Challenge Blog, the theme two weeks ago was Frames....then last week it was Stitches - see where this is going....so I am also entering this canvas for both of those challenges and being a total cheat LOL Well you can't blame a girl for trying ;O))


Thank you for looking and I hope that you enjoy the challenge this week.

Hels x

Choo Choo.....Again!!

Evening!

Following on from yesterday and the piccie of me at work, I have got two more photo's to share. These were taken by Grim (my OH) as I was leaving St Pancras yesterday afternoon. Just look at all that smoke LOL

I love driving these old ladies, they are over 30 years old now and still turn heads and people stop and wave.....which is a fab feeling :O))

I am having probs uploading pics at the mo, so here is one of them for the time being!!



I will try to get the other one on later....think Blogger is having a teabreak LOL

Hels x

Finally got here to upload the other one!!