eBay Frenzy

I'm having a bit of a clear out over the next wee while, starting with my stash - thought I'd be a bit ruthless and make room for stuff I will actually use :)

So if anyone is interested in some stashy bargains you'll find my stuff for sale here.

I'm a witch..... kinda!

You Are 60% Witch

You've got some pretty witchy stuff going on. Even if you're not a witch, you've got to admit that you're a little freaky. You have a strong independent streak - social norms be damned. More power to you. Luckily, the time when you would have been burned at the stake has passed!

Are You a Witch?

oh yeah.... I can make cards too!

It seems like ages since I have sat down and made a batch of cards - and NO, they weren't C word cards. (christmas for those of you unfamiliar with the C word)

I have a few birthdays coming up over the next couple of months, so I wanted to get them done before I get bogged down with the *whisper* C word. And sadly I had a sympathy card to make too.

Blog Candy

 Pop on over to Kreativ Kristin's blog for a chance to win a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp - Mar, I know you'll love this one. 

An Almighty Crush!

ok its time to come clean...

My name is Debbi and I'm a Ronon Dex addict!

 Isn't he just a big chunk of brooding manliness?? Yes, I know I need to get out more, but I just think he's lovely. For those who don't know, Ronon Dex is a character in Stargate Atlantis, played by the beautiful Jason Momoa. According to wikipedia.. "Jason Momoa, along with some of his fellow cast members, have said that they think of Ronon as the Atlantis version of Chewbacca" hence why John Sheppard frequently calls him Chewy

Sisters

Managed to get a bit of time yesterday to have a bash at a layout for Adrian and Shirley. Adrian had sent me some lovely b&w shots of his girls on Lunan Bay in Angus and they were  just perfect for scrapbooking.

I started out with a blue layout with red accents then realised I don't have any embellishments that would go with it, so started again with the chocolate and blue. I seem to be developing my own signature style now - keep it simple!

I keep trying to do the elaborate layouts, but they always end up looking really dreadful, so I'll stick with what I know and what's comfortable for now

I used:

papermania brown cardstock

papermania blue paper for the fold over corner detail, matting under the photo (fiskars threading water punch) , swirls (sizzix die cut), letters (cuttlekids fairy alphabet).

Brown Whispers pen for doodling the faux stitching detail round the scallop edges

Dress It Up blue buttons

papermania photo anchors and brads

Stamp It Up journalling stamp (Ink It Up brown ink)

HOTP blue ribbon

Shopping lists and autumn days

I've made a wee bit of a start on the C word!! Christmas I mean. I've ordered some bits and bobs from Boots and taken full advantage of their 3 for 2 offers and 600 extra points for spending 60 quid. I also spotted a great wee thing in Sainsbury's (yes the supermarket) gift range. Its a shopping gift set which includes a cute metal teapot key=ring, but more importantly a shopping list pad - which I think would be ideal for using as journalling spots. Even better because it doesn't have "shopping list" plastered all over the pages, the photo is a bit crap - but its a lovely pale mint green. There's 60 pages, and of course I bought 2 so I shouldnt run out in a hurry.

It was a lovely sunny day here yesterday, even if it was bloody freezing. So I let the girls out to play in the garden - Scott was too busy wii'ing. And cut both my buddleia's hard back so that they get off to a good start in the springtime.

Ziggy Posing! - isn't he handsome :)

Rusty Pickle October Challenge

Have had a bash at the Rusty pickle challenge using the Addams Family range of papers; Gomez, Morticia and Uncle Fester.

I cut 2 of the cobwebs from the green side of the Uncle fester paper with a craft knife (God that took ages) then used a quickie glue pen to apply glamour dust.

I used the Morticia paper as a background and the Gomez paper behind the wee pic. And some core'dinations card behind that (tearing the edges to reveal the contrasting core)

I made a wee spider using a black button and some black fibre and "suspended" him from one of the webs

I used white embossing powder on the chipboard letters to make the pop out and finally a white gelly roll sakura pen for the journalling.

Thanks again to Beckie for the papers!

MacDonald Bros do Portlethen

The lovely MacDonald Bros visited Asda in Porty this afternoon to sign their new album. And I don't care if its sad!!!

Mass hysteria in the crowd lol

Even baby Emma was singing along

And managed to make a couple of cards yesterday and made a start on the Rusty Pickle challenge with the Halloween papers Beckie sent me in her giveaway. 

Recipe for Debbi

The Recipe For Debbi

3 parts Mania 2 parts Prosperity 1 part Dignity Splash of Creativity Chug!

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Tattie Holidays, birthdays and the camera in the lavvy - argh!!

Well, that's us into the tattie holidays - if you're not from Scotland then you'll probably call it the October Mid Term or Autumn mid term holiday, but up here it's still the tattie holidays (for the uneducated its called that because it co-incides with the potato harvest and generations of kids used to gather potatoes in the fields - I did it and used to make a fortune!, well it was in those days :))

We had a great weekend, Saturday was spent with an old school friend of mine and his family. Adrian and I went to Aboyne Academy together and it must be 20 years since I last saw him. We've been in touch again for about 6 or 7 years but only really online, so it was lovely to catch up in person. His wife Shirley is lovely, they make a terrific team and she was quite happy to show me their local craft shop which I'll tell you all about in a minute. Adrian and Shirley have 2 beautiful little girls; Jess is a wee bit older than my Scott and their youngest, Emily is the same age as Faith. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so didn't get any pics.

I also managed to forget my handbag - dinna ask!!! so had to "borrow" Graham's debit card to go to the craft shop....so...... Letham Crafts - well what can I say! I thought i had died and gone to crafty heaven :) what a fantastic shop, its like a rabbit warren, loads of wee rooms leading off other rooms and each one crammed to the rafters with every possible crafty thing you could think of. If you are ever within travelling distance of Letham in Angus then it is well worth a visit. Adrian tells me they even have coach parties arrive at weekends. Now I will warn you, their website is pretty awful IMHO and according to it they only really stock embroidery thread and dolls house furniture, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In fact I can feel a bit of an adrenaline rush just talking about it. haha

Sunday was Willow's 4th birthday so we had a quieter day after she had opened all her parcels.... Until everyone arrived in the afternoon. My mum and dad arrived first, then Pamela and Michael with Daniel and Emma, and finally Cath and Kyle - so there was complete pandemonium for the rest of the afternoon. Willow had a great day and got thoroughly spoiled.

The weekend ended on a bit of a sour note however, when I discovered my camera down the toilet!!

Yes, Faith had done her latest party trick again and lobbed my poor camera down the pan. Graham managed to salvage the memory card - hence why I managed to post the above photo's, but it looks like my poor wee kodak has lost its life. I was going to ask for a new camera for my xmas from G and the kids so it looks like its now a necessity and not a luxury anymore. Any recommendations anyone? I'm looking for something around the £100-£150 mark, not too complicated but powerful enough to take nice sharp pics in most situations.

I recently took out subscriptions for Scrapbook Magazine (because WH Smith is the only stockist here and its not too handy for me) and Scrapbook Inspirations Magazine. SIM came with the Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie collection and SM came with the Ultimate Crafters Companion which I'm sure is a wonderful thing but I just didn't fancy it so I thought I'd flog it on eBay, which I have done.

Then I had the terribly hard job (:)) of spending the proceeds so I have stocked up on Dress It Up buttons and Cuttlebug embossing folders and dies from Sue Hallam. This woman runs a super shop on eBay and her service is second to none. If you have never bought anything on eBay before then she's the perfect seller to start off with, and if you have bought on eBay before then you have to try her out, highly recommended! I also purchased the Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste 12x12 paper pack, the Basic Grey Urban Prairie and Granola 12x12 paper collections and the Basic Grey precision file set from a lady called blondness73 in the states, so we'll see how long they take to arrive. I just love buying stuff from the states, for the 4 things I have ordered I am cheaper (even including the postage from the US) than I would be here - isn't the internet wonderful?!

Truly Great Friends

I managed to get a couple of hours peace yesterday to scrap the pics of Manda, Mar and myself that were taken the other weekend, firstly I played around with the 2  6x4 pics, but wasn't having much luck - I don't cope well with even numbers! So I decided to blow the better of the 2 photo's up to almost A4 size.
So I used:
Papermania 12 x 12 Heavyweight Cardstock Selection - brown, cream and blue
papermania silk flowers
stamps away journalling stamp
papermania ribbon -Cappuccino Floral
papermania mini brads - neutrals
papermania photo anchors - neutrals
cosmo cricket - honey pie brown scallop velvet ribbon
assorted buttons
letters from Pebbles inc kit

I received my freebie Rusty Pickle Halloween papers from Beckie this morning so I think I may have to dress the kids up in their Halloween outfits a bit early just so that I can go play with them - Thank you once again Beckie! And I got a huge surprise when I realised that Beckie had also included her Willow layout (see post below) in my parcel.

Beckie is my hero!

I emailed Beckie Dreyer a few months ago for some advice about that black and white pic of Willow, as I was a bit lacking inspiration. Anyway Beckie helped me immensely and I've been a fan of her work for a while, firstly via the Do-Crafts website and latterly via her blog. I just love her style, at first I tried too hard to mimic her style and failed miserably, but now have kind of settled into picking out one or two elements that I like and scrap-lifting and adapting them to be more in keeping with a simpler style of my own. 
My God, I'm off waffling again! My point though, is that Beckie was quite taken with the picture of Willow and asked if I would let her scrap it. Of course I said yes, it's an honour as far as I'm concerned. So Beckie emailed me last night to show me her finished layout. Isn't it fantabulous?? I think she has really captured the essence of Willow and done the picture proud.
So Beckie, if you're reading this - thankyou sooooo much, I am awfully chuffed :D

Beckie has the details of what she used here

Firstly - I've been tagged!

I've been tagged
Thanks to Mar for tagging me! :)
 
The Rules -
1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Facts About Me

1. I joined the RAF at 17 years old.
2. I'm the black sheep of the family
3. I need lots (and I mean lots) of mental stimulation
4. I don't make a very good nurse when anyone is ill
5. I love maths
6. I'm not scared of the dark, but I AM scared of what could be lurking in the dark.
7. I'm a complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel geek.

So now I'm tagging.......... Caroline, Dawn, Lori, Kerry, Angela, Crafty Alice, and Lynsey.
Happy Tagging everyone ;)

Anagrams

I was blog-trawling tonight and came across Caroline's mention of Wordsmith in her Whats in a name? post. So I thought I'd put my name into the anagram generator and see what it came up with.....
There were 854 results so I picked out the 2 worded results...
Dibble Engine - makes me think of Trumpton :)
Nibbled Genie - love that name, random enough to tickle me
Bible Needing -  not really me is it?? lol
Belied Benign - keep wanting to pronounce it Bellied
Edible Benign - and the benign makes me think of lumps
Bending Belie - again I want to pronounce it Belly

Anyway, crafting wise, I haven't done very much today. I modified a couple of photo's that Rory took 2 weekends ago while we were visiting Mar and family. They are 2 pics of Manda, Mar and myself while we were oohing and aahing our way through Mar's wedding album. I cropped one of the pics and converted both of them to sepia. Then printed them off along with a title and a quote. Now I just need to get some peace to do a layout. Am wondering whether to go with brown and an accent colour or maybe I could try out some more of my Bo Bunny Beau Jardin papers.

Catch Up

We've  had a hectic week, so I've completely neglected my blog. Last weekend we travelled down to West Lothian to visit Mar, Bobby and the boys - its been nearly a year since we were last down there. Scott and Rory went off to the craft club at Just Create on Saturday afternoon and both made fantastic seascapes on canvas, and they both thoroughly enjoyed themselves doing it. I was so proud of my wee boy when we picked them up and I was told that his manners were great and he was awfully polite. It has also made me think that a craft club would be a good thing to have here in Porty. 

So of course I had to buy a few wee bits and pieces while we were there! :D
On Saturday, we finally met Manda. Manda works for Signpost and is also an important part of Extra Special Parents, so it was lovely to finally meet her. And of course she is mad as a bag of mad things with MAD written on the side.
The wine was flowing quite freely all evening, although being designated driver, none of it was flowing my way - no bad thing really lol.
Manda had a go on Rory's brass instrument and also on his bagpipes which made for much hilarity.

Then on Sunday, we headed off to the Fort shopping centre near Glasgow so that I could finally get a nosey in a Hobbycraft store. Picked up quite a few bits and bobs including a great swirly sizzix die for the cuttlebug. Mar and I have also talked about starting to do ATC's. Its something neither of us have tried before but it looks like fun, so I invested in a pack of papermania's new ATC cards and envelopes for each of us.

My brother's girlfriend came in during the week with my wee nephew Kyle, he's growing up so fast and he gets more and more like my wee brother (his dad) every day.

He and Faith got on like a house on fire, playing in the playhouse.

Thursday was manic, with one appointment after another - Earlybird Plus workshop for me all morning, then running around with the kids to and from 2's group, nursery and school, Scott had the dentist (no treatment needed woohoo) and then parents night at Scott's school and Willow's nursery.

Pamela was round a couple times with Emma - she's 8 weeks old now and is starting to look like a wee person now

So thats me more or less up to date, just a quick wee pic of Scott and his new haircut....

Isn't he growing up fast! :(