A Happy New Year - A New Personal Challenge!

I got to thinking about 2011 and my general opinion was...

just what the hell did I do all year?! LOL

So in an effort to make sense of what happens around here...

and believe me it is not going to be earth shattering stuff, some days it's challenging enough just to get by and I can foresee some of my entries will be along the lines of got up, went to work, fell asleep on settee!

But then again it could go something like got up, met RA, dot, dot, dot!!!! HOL

(In my dreams.......sigh)

...I'm taking the plunge and joining in with the fabulous Kate Crane and her Journal Your Year Calendar.

I like to pop over there and admire her pages and Gez and Anesha have also inspired me to have a go ;) Thanks girls.

I'll confess I am not good at sticking to stuff like this......but I'm going to give it a go.....if only to see what fun stuff I really get up to ;) HOL

I bought a little sketch book from Paperchase when I went to Bristol for my birthday at the beginning of December. Sorry about the glare, the cover is plastic, I'll be covering it at some point.

I hope to take this with me wherever I go as it is so portable and then there can be no excuse for not making a scribble in it every day!!!

Here are the pages for January......the squares are inchies and because the journal is so small (5 and 7/8th inch by 4 and 1/8th inch) I thought I'd make an additional flap over element to hold some extra days and be a place for a stamped image. (Paperartsy, T!m Holtz).

Thanks for looking

HAPPY

NEW

YEAR

xoxo Sioux
P.S. Come back tomorrow for The Artistic Stamper new monthly challenge....see you there....after I recover from the midnight Cava LOL!!!

Must be Santa! for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a card today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Balancing Act! for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a journal page today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Diet Watch suspended due to Feasting!!

This is the last diet watch in December as there will be too  much feasting going on to have any hope of reducing the weight but the good news is today my weight is 72 kilo.

Can't help but be awe struck that it has stayed the same this week as I've had a weekend away crafting with two fabulous craft mates Sue and Laura.

Not only did we have fun crafting but we took in Bath Christmas market on Friday night with the most glorious meal at Jamie's (Oliver) place.....3 courses....well it would be rude not to!

It was a scrummy meal...but I forgot my camera!!! What a dill weed!

...and what a contrast to that disaaaaaaaaster of a meal I had last Saturday!!! LOL

Then there was the wine of course...oh! Let's not forget the GG's (gin and ginger beer ;) ) and the mince pies and clotted cream whilst crafting on Saturday.....and the super meal Sue made for us....with pud!!!

Well you get my drift don't you....it was such fun and we all did some canvas work on the Saturday........my brain was refusing to work and this was the only thing I could think to do to start with...

......it's texture paste applied free hand and through a T!m tree mask of grunge.....I had to leave it to dry for the rest of the day (and night!!) and now I like the minimal look so much I'm scared to add any colour to it in case I spoil it!!! HOL

Eventually it took me all day to finish this very, very small canvas....only 4 inches square!!!!

Just wait till you see what Sue and Laura post.....gorgeous. :)

But it made me very happy cutting the deer from cork....

(sticky backed from The Works if you are interested)

...and on Sunday we all made three of T!m's tags :)......as Laura and I had to drive home late afternoon we did not finish ours and will have to put the final touches to them at home...there was just too much drying time on a couple of them!!! ;)

Thanks for looking and thanks to Sue for being a fabulous host again and to both Sue and Laura for sharing a great weekend of fun, laughter and craft :)

xoxo Sioux

Light an Advent Candle for The Artistic Stamper

Following on from the group monthly challenge post I'm sharing another piece that is destined for my Christmas dinner table over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Festive Trio Setting for The Artistic Stamper

Thanks for giving us all such a lot of  beautiful "Background Creations" to look at for last months challenge :)
So..... how do you feel about this one?

"Christmas"

Yes it's a seasonal challenge for December over at The Artistic Stamper Creative Team ;)

I thought I'd do something a little different and make a place setting trio for a festive meal.

The design team were additionally asked to use icy blues and some of the new stamps being released and I chose to use this snowflake pattern.
You can be the lucky owner of this snowflake stamp (you have the choice of an icicle stamp too) as they will be given away free.....yes FREE to customers who make a purchase at The Artistic Stamper this month.
Cool :)
I stamped the snowflakes in Distress Ink tumbled glass onto a plain white napkin and overstamped the Seasons greetings in Archival Black...

...a little tip....remember to fully unfold the napkin to stamp and don't overink it or the ink will seep through the layers and/or bleed the image ;)
...just think of all the co-ordinating looks for your decor that you could achieve for a special dinner party and not have to spend a fortune on!

Then I made a little place name just by folding an oblong piece of card...

...then cutting an oblong mask for the centre and stamping the snowflakes over it.
The picture below shows one not stamped yet with a mask in the middle and one with the stamping done and the mask removed.

...I then added little touches of glue and some festive sparkle with irridescent glitter ;)
To finish the little trio I made a menu holder using the same masking principle as the place name...

...instead of permanently sticking the menu insert inside I held it in place with some ribbon...
...that way you can easily change the menu inside at the next dinner party ;)

...the Seasons Greetings from mini Christmas is one of my favourite festive motifs and was stamped using Archival black.

You really must take a look at the "It's Christmas" creations the rest of the team have made and here are the DT member links for you.

Alison, Hels, Jennie, Kat, and Emma

So don't forget.............the monthly challenge is "It's Christmas"

The rules are simple... all you need to do is make a piece of art, be it a card, ATC, wall art, altered art, an altered napkin! ;)... just remember that it must include some rubber stamping and the theme... and... if you use Artistic Stamper stamps on your entry you will be entered into the draw twice! The prize is £15 worth of stamps from the Artistic Stamper shop... along with the KlingOn to mount them onto.

I hope you get chance to play at the challenge... it is open until December 31st and the winner will be chosen by Random.org shortly after :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux

Diet Watch Monday

I was out on Saturday night for the switch on of the Christmas lights/firework display and after for a meal with some friends....

...the first of many calorie rich outings that's happening between now and January!!!

However the meal in the restaurant on the quay (the Market House) turned into a bit of a shambles and did not turn out to be quite so calorie rich after all!! LOL

Two other couples with us had already arrived and ordered their wine and us three sat down and tried to order ours but they had run out!!!

Now when I tell you that there is only a limited wine menu with only 4 white wines (it's not that cheap either....well not compared to Wetherspoons LOL) I think you will agree with me that that is quite inexcusable!!! We are talking a chain here not an owner operator! (St Austell brewery's by the way)

I had been before and was not that impressed than and I'm even less impressed now! The waiter is really nice...he has served us before...but when he suggested the Sauvignon Blanc instead my friend nearly went ballistic and said something like I don't think so it's a lot dearer...that is unless you are going to give it us for the same price....the answer to that was a no from the floor manager!! Anyway the wine we eventually got was O.K. but it was not exactly what we had hoped for so we only had the one bottle between us.

I had already planned not to have a starter 'cos quite frankly these days I can't managed three courses comfortably and I really wanted to have a pudding.....we all did! :)

So the mains arrived and I have to say I did enjoy my veggie lasagne with garlic bread.....bliss after so many weeks without bread/pasta....there were little niggles with some of the other meals though.....the crab linguine was decidedly lacking in crab.....it's cheap from Brixham market too!......and the fish and chips with the catch of the day...which makes it sound like something nice from Brixham market turned out to be pollack......now that is really cheap too but their charges are not!!! They said it was tasty but the rip off factor sort of added to my negative thoughts on the meal.

Now for the puds that we all were looking forward to...........sorry we have sold out of nearly everything was what we heard...only apple pie and apple and blackberry pie left not even any ice cream....oh they had cheese and biscuits but only one person was even vaguely interested in that!!!.....I was not interested in any pastry based pud and neither as it turned out was anyone else so we paid the bill and left!!!

Went back to a couples house not far from the harbour and had a glass of wine/coffee and biscuits and cheese there....well I had one biscuit and one bit of cheese LOL ;)

So long story short.....my evening was now not as calorific as I had thought it would be and now for the weight...

I'm STILL 73 kilo!

Oh well....if I can manage to at least stay the same through the festive season I'll be happy :)

xoxo Sioux

Advent Sunday

It's the first Sunday in Advent so it's time to light the candle.

My hearth at the moment looks like this...

...Christmas decorations don't go up in my house till after my birthday later in December but to celebrate Advent I like to bring out my much loved angel and light a candle.

I bought the poinsettia on Thursday in Sainsbury's......I thought it was very reasonably priced at £3.50 and looks very festive sitting in my log basket...

...not that I've got any logs 'cos the fire is electric!! :) LOL

Have a peaceful Advent.

xoxo Sioux

T!m is doing it again!

Great news folks T!m is doing the 12 tags of Christmas again this year :)

See all the details here.

Also you won't have to miss out on hopping around to see others creations 'cos it turns out he is doing it himself this year!!!

Phew....that's my gilt trip over LOL...

...but just remember where that little thought all started!!! ROFL

I'll be back on the 1st of December with the group challange for The Artistic Stamper so do come back for that ;)

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Marathon Sunday in Paradise!

...I bought more bark and manure on Saturday morning before going for my yearly eye test...nothing has changed....phew no need to spend more money on new glasses!

It was grey and very overcast and quite frankly my heart (and my back) was just not into doing yet more digging!
I knew that I really should be doing something in the garden though and decided that cleaning the plastic furniture was the lesser of two evils! HOL

...and on Sunday?....even if I do say so myself....I excelled all my expectations!
Perhaps because the sun was shining it put me in a better mood to crack on and get everything done!!! ;)

...I planted the bamboo (I split the one plant up in the hope that this stimulates a bit of vigorous growth)...I'm amazed how much more there seems to be of it already!

.......planted the Mahonia...

...and Aucuba.

I decided I wanted a Cornus yesterday and bought this red stemmed one and planted that...

...I also decided I wanted another currant bush yesterday and bought this blackcurrant and planted that...

...dug up the redcurrant from the veggie patch and planted that in the large border...

...dug up the pink poppy from the veggie patch and planted that in the small border...

...found the other poppy I bought in the summer (a red one) just about hanging on! So moved that near the cornus...

...moved the carnation....Alan Titchmarsh...
...I could have done with him helping with the planting I can tell you! HOL

...started laying the bark (3 bags) but quickly discovered I needed more so off I went to the garden centre yet again!
That poor lad who loads the cars must be sick to death of me right now!!!

...stopped for a quick bowl of soup and emptied another 3 bags of bark on the large border but left a few patches where the roses are destined to go if they ever get here...
...yes I still have bags of bark still to put on!!!!

...my back was beginning to tell me I ought to have a rest but time was pressing and I needed to get the veggie patch dug and the manure spread over that too, as I am running out of weekends in which to do any gardening before Christmas!!!

The veggie patch really needed the manure as it has been neglected these past couple of years! What a bonus I had whilst doing this...as there has been the remains of an old tree stump of some sort slowly rotting away and being generally in the way since we moved here 7 years ago but it has always refused to budge.....
...well today Supersonic Sioux managed to get it out!!!!

RESULT :)
It can rot away to it's heart content in the wild wood patch now ;)
Why I did not loose weight this week is beyond me!!!

Now whilst at the garden centre yet again I saw these topiary box pyramids...

...and I found that I really, really, really needed three!!...

...they were reduced in price by 50 per cent so it would have been silly not to don't ya think?! ;)
Now I must put a hold on the spending and let my paradise garden grow on through the winter :)

Thanks for looking at the mammoth post today and popping round to visit during the make over....I've enjoyed your company ;)

There will be a paradise party at some point next year...to which you will all be invited....I hope to see you there...bottle of Cava in hand ;)

xoxo Sioux

Diet Watch Monday

You would think with the extra walking I've managed to fit in this week not to mention all the garden work I got through on Sunday ;) that I could announce I had lost another kilo.

But no......I'm 72 kilo...admittedly I'm slap bang in the middle of the mark and not slightly over it like last week so I suppose I've possibly lost half a pound!!!

Heck....I've not even strayed and been naughty!!! HOL

At this rate I'm not going to hit my target of 67 kilo by 14th December!!!!

One thing I will not do though is give up....I'm not a quitter...

...perhaps I'll do 3 protein days in a row like I had to at the very start and hope that speeds up the process!

I so much wanted to be 67 kilo by that date and just know it won't be happening now as I have a number of probably quite calorific trips and evenings out in the run up to Christmas! :)

Hey ho......I refuse to stop enjoying myself ;)

xoxo Sioux

Imagine Picket Fence for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing two tags today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog !

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Gordon Bennett SCD!

What are you doing to me SCD?

Yesterday was a very special Strictly from Wembley was it not?

Great spectacle.....such a great bunch of people too sharing their dancing journey.

It was emotional......I cried!

Tonight Il Divo......Pip always bought me any new album from them for my Birthday or Christmas...

...I cried!

Russell going.....it was his time!.....but bless him...

...I cried!

I can only think that I'm so emotional 'cos I'm tired...

...I'm tired but I've finished the planting...well all but the roses but you can't plant what has not arrived yet can you?!!!

I'll update you on the progress when I can take some pictures....It was too dark by the time I finished...I kept egging myself on all day to finish and promised myself a sit down with a nice coffee in the garden if there was still a bit of daylight left...

...there was...

...I sat and looked at all I'd done...

...I cried! ;)

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Gated at last!

Thursday was a lovely day here and when I came home for lunch the man that can was here putting the finishing touches to the garden :)

He made and fitted the gate...had to as it is an awkward situation and size and he wanted to make the opening as large as possible...

...now no one can walk straight into my back garden like before.....and it makes it just that bit more secure in my own mind ;)

...I do like the door hardware :) :)...Gary's choice as I could not know what would have been needed size wise.

He made and fitted the lid to the old coal bunker...

...great that he used a matching handle don't you think? :)

I'll be painting this and the gate green to match the sheds in the New Year when the weather is drier!

He placed the breeze blocks to make the containing bit for the bamboo filling it with some more topsoil...

...he's done a grand job and even complimented me on the design I asked him to work to...
...I am thrilled beyond belief....it is all I imagined and more!!!

The weather is looking fine for Saturday and Sunday so I'll plod on with getting more bark and planting the last few plants.....but I'm still waiting for those roses so I'm not going to be actually fully complete yet.....but then when is a garden ever complete?!
Thanks for looking
xoxo Sioux

12 days of Christmas Announcement

An announcement today about my "splinter" group for the 12 tags of Christmas...

...that is if T!m decides to do it again this year!

Seeing as I don't know him I'm not party to his intentions ;)

I've been thinking about this a lot...........but I'm sorry....this year I cannot host the splinter group where we can all get to hop around and see each others creations......I know this will be a disappointment to you but I have so many things going on at just the same time that I will not be able to join in and make any tags myself never mind have enough time to do all the posts and attend to the "splinter" group postings as well.

Just thought I would warn you. Have fun with the 12 tags if it happens...I'll be with you in spirit :)

Happy stamping!

xoxo Sioux

ATC Zettiology

Only just noticed I never posted this....only nearly 12 months since I typed it up!!!
Seeing as I have not shared much arty stuff recently here is an ATC.

Not too sure this is as zettified as it should to be!! LOL Still not quite got the Zetti vibe yet!!

The houses, funny person and sentiment down the side "Wherever I lay my hat that's my home" are stamps from Home Impressions

Thanks for looking and happy stamping :)

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch Bulb and Bark Day!

Saturday dawned bright and fine and it was off to the hairdresser for my cut first thing.

Walked to town and back....part of the diet and trying to be healthy thing plus it also saves on the petrol and parking!!! LOL It takes about 25 minutes each way.

Got home and sorted my lunch ready for later and started with the task of planting the rest of the stuff I did not get round to last weekend.....and the even bigger task of planting all my bulbs!!!

I laid the bulbs (and the bare root plants that luckily came in the post that morning) on the ground in their packets for starters to get an idea of colour combo's ;)

I had what I thought was lots of bulbs...they certainly took me ages to plant!! But again looking a little sparse when laid on the soil ready to go!

I managed to totally finish the smaller bed by the end of Saturday including putting down the bark....heavens those bags are heavy...the sack truck helped but they are still heavy!

By the end of Sunday I had run out of bark.....

and run out of patience....but finished all I could at this precise moment as I need to make a trip to the garden centre next weekend for some more bark......you always need far more than you think!!!

....one more good day will see the end of the planting but I have to hope that the three roses and a peony still to arrive do so soon and also hope the weather will be O.K. for the man who can to finish off the bamboo bed so I can totally finish the planting.....

Then I really need to have a while off this planting malarkey!!! HOL

BTW.......my weight last week was 73 kilo and this week it's hovering just slightly past the 72 kilo mark so that's good.

Thank for looking

xoxo Sioux

Happy Card for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a card today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Garden Watch - Day 14

Day 14 Sunday

Lots of holes.....lots of compost and long life feed in all the holes!!

.....shrub compost on top too...this Oleander was the first to be planted :)

...I ran out of time to do all I really wanted :(
I've left the canes in till the rest of the plants arrive to remind me of the eventual heights.

There were quite a lot of big holes to dig and although the soil is fairly easy to work...those back ache rests came into play! LOL
I got nowhere close to attempting the bulbs and I was working from 9.30 till 5!!!

The phormium had to be dug up from the veggie patch/nursery bed ;)...
...where it has been for the past two/three years waiting for the make over to happen! It's a great size though and would have cost me quite a bit if I'd bought it this big!

Still to move the carnations, the poppy and the redcurrant.

Still to plant this evergreen winter flowering clematis to clad the wall behind the veggie patch

Still to plant these as the man who can still needs access to the wall to finish off the bamboo bed yet and I can't quite make up my mind if they are in the right place till my other plants turn up ;)

All in all I'm pleased that I got as much done as I did ;)

I'll just have to be patient and hope this Saturday and Sunday will be as forgiving weather wise!

Garden Watch will be tailing off now......I'll post about my gate when it's done I'm sure....and when I plant the bulbs and the roses etc....so until then....

...."enjoy your garden" as dear old Percy Thrower used to say...
...yep I started watched Gardening Club/Gardeners World way back when in the 60's with my Dad...
...and all these years later I've been able to tap into some of the knowledge I've gleaned and create my very own little oasis (with great help from the man that can of course!) that will be easy to maintain now I'm on my own.
Happy Days ;)
Thanks for sharing my garden make over.....it's been great fun having you along :)

xoxo Sioux
P.S. I can feel my back today but it's not as bad as I expected it to be :)