Naomi's Creation

I have been too busy to do any crafting this week, but Naomi wanted to make a card for her friend at school ... whose name also happens to be Naomi ... and I was once again very impressed with what she created.
I have some serious competition methinks!
The stamp is "Cuddly Buddly Charley with Willow" and was a surprise gift from a special online friend Jules.
She coloured it with my Whispers Brush Markers and then mounted it onto turquoise and brown card from my stash, which was cut with scalloped scissors.
The base card and the letter stickers came from a DCWV card kit.
I have no doubt that her schoolfriend is going to be delighted when she receives this beauty.

Blog Candy Alert!

My friend Jude from Crafts International is celebrating 3000 hits and has some luvverly blog candy up for grabs which looks really scrummylicious.

I'm hoping that you'll all be far too busy with your Christmas preparations to add your name to the list which will be brilliant for me 'cos I'll have a better chance of winning LOL!

New Header

Thought I'd get into the spirit of Chrimbo' and pop some decorations up. OK ... a decoration LOL!
Many thanks to Martine at Blogskin Boutique who allows use of her Headers and Blogskins ... she has a few more colour options on offer and all for free. Just let her know if you're using one of her creations so she can pop by to see it.

Another Award

I feel very privileged to have been given this pretty award by three of my blogger buddies.

Thank you so much Chris, Ann and Irene.

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!

These blogs are exceedingly charming.

These kind blogger's aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers! "

The following people are all more than worthy of my nomination and I hope they will accept this award in return for the friendship and kindness they have shown to me combined with the inspiration they offer to others by sharing their wonderful creativity.

Tiggertastic

Rachel

Martine

Lauren

Natalie

PinkPuppy

Special Friends

There are some very special people in the world ... and I am blessed to know a few of them.

Yesterday I was all alone in the house doing the latest batch of card orders and, to be honest, was feeling a little bit lonely and a lot fed up.

Naomi was at school and hubby was yet again in Aberdeen on yet another 2 day course, so the house was really quiet.

The doorbell rang and I was surprised to be handed a box and just look what was inside ...

Thank you Joyce ... your kind gift really cheered me up just when I needed it.

There's A Moose Loose Aboot This House!

I took some time off from card orders to have a little play on Saturday afternoon.

After doing over 100 cards and boxes for work I reckon I deserved a wee break.

My good friend Maggie50, from CB forum, recently stamped me a couple of wee Crafter's Companion 'meeces' and also kindly gave me some of the matching backing papers that she had already decoupaged ... ('cos she knows I haven't the patience for it) ... cheers Maggie!

So I coloured them with Whispers Brush Markers and popped them where I thought they should go on the papers.

Naomi's colouring skills are evident on the handsome chappie in green.

Went a bit mad with the Glistening Snow Writer at first, but hey ... we all love a bit of winter sparkle, (and in fairness it wasn't properly dry in the first photo, so the white glue looks quite obvious).

The 2nd photograph shows much better how wonderful it looks when it is fully dry ... all twinkly and sparkly.

Anyway, I think I have perfected the technique now so future efforts should be much less "splodgy".

The day after I got these wee 'meeces' I received the same ones as a freebie from a magazine offer, so now I can stamp and colour these cuties to my hearts content.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 12

Am posting this now as I have another busy weekend ahead and I just know I'm probably going to miss a couple of days.

Sally's stamp giveaway over at Bootiful Stampz is on Day 12 already.
She is offering one lucky visitor a free stamp EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the comment list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp. It's getting busier by the day and there's only 9 days left ... so hurry hurry!!

** UPDATE**
I won Day 11 draw ... how cool is that?

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 11

Oooooh My Giddy Aunt!
Almost missed Day 11 ... where does the time go?

Sally's stamp giveaway over at Bootiful Stampz is still running.
She is offering one lucky visitor a free stamp EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the comment list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp.
You've got to be 'Innit To Winnit'.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 10

Just a quick flyby today but can't pass without reminding you all about Sally's amazingly kind giveaway over at Bootiful Stampz

She is offering one lucky visitor a free stamp EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the comment list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp.
I keep hoping and keep trying and so should you.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 9

Oh Poop!
I missed Day 8 ... but never mind today's another day and another chance to win.

Sally over at Bootiful Stampz is offering a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the comment list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp.
Here's hoping!!

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 7

Another day ... another chance to win.
Gosh Sally has been running her Stamp Giveaway for a week now, doesn't time fly when you're having fun?

Sally over at Bootiful Stampz is offering a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the comment list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp.

Fingers are crossed that between now and the end of the month I'll get lucky and be picked as a winner ... you've got to be 'innit to winnit.

Revealed

I recently posted a 'Sneaky Peek' and I can now reveal the whole card as it was safely delivered last week ... better late than never.

Lovely K. & Co. papers and letter tiles, scalloped edges and a touch of ribbon helped to make this pretty card for my good friend and fellow blogger Tiggertastic.
Her gift was a photo cube kit which I know she will enjoy making, although she may prefer to use prettier papers than those included with the kit.
She had already told me that she was getting a new sewing machine for her birthday, so I sent her a bundle of fabric to play around with, not for her birthday ... just to get her started.
I know she'll make better use of it than me as my machine only ever sees the light of day when hubby needs to turn up his jeans.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 6

Hooray ... I managed 2 days in a row! Still plenty of chances to win a free stamp from Sally at Bootiful Stampz

She is very kindly offering everyone the chance to win a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the list and post her blog link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp a day.
You'd be daft to miss it really.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 5

Once again I have missed a day ... I ask you where does the time go? ... so am definitely making sure I'm in for today's draw.
Here are the details in case you missed them earlier.

Sally over at Bootiful Stampz is offering a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp a day.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway! Day 3

Well not quite sure what happened yesterday but I didn't get around to blogging ... and so missed Day 2 of the free stamp giveaway.
However I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen again.
It's Day 3
Sally over at Bootiful Stampz is offering a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp a day.
How generous is that?
Maybe if I join in I'll get lucky ... like one of my friends did yesterday.
By the way Ann ... you needed a new stamp like you need a hole in the head ... but well done anyway.

Sally's Stamp Giveaway!

Pre ~ Christmas Madness or what? ... well I don't know what's going on but what I do know is that you should get yourself over to Sally's blog 'cos Santa has come early!!
Sally over at Bootiful Stampz is offering a free stamp EVERY DAY ... yes I'll repeat that ... EVERY DAY until the end of November!
All you have to do is add your name to the list and post her link on your blog every day to go in the daily draw and qualify for a chance to win a stamp a day. That's some kind've blog candy and I'm in!
So what are hanging around for ??

Manic Monday!

Seems like I'm destined to get no work done today.
Why is it when you really need to get your head down and put on a productive spurt, that's when the naughty little Gremlins and their partners in crime are deermined to throw a spanner in the works?

It's been a morning of constant interruptions ... phone calls, deliveries, more phone calls ... another delivery .... arrrrrrgggggghhhhh! Wouldn't be so bad but none of them were for me!
Then when I finally got as far as getting the paper out, the paper trimmer disintegrated ... fell to bits with the first swipe!
So not a good start to the week and I've achieved 'diddly squat' today ... but it's almost lunchtime so will try again after I've filled my face with something tasty.
Then I think I'll unplug the phone and ignore the doorbell for the rest of the day.
Now .... where will I get a decent paper trimmer?

Grab'n'Go

I decided to take a break from the Xmas card orders and make another couple of cards for the Grab'n'Go box.

Again I used the Papermania Spring Life paper stack and added no greeting for the moment as it makes them more versatile.

Really like the yellow, blue and brown colour combination as it looks so fresh.

Scallop punches and a piercing tool add a touch of detail to textured blue card.

Thank You Card

While the router in the attic was having a hissy fit, making it impossible to get online, I made a wee 'Thank You' for my MSN buddy Carole who did me a huge favour last week.

Nothing too fancy ... just a wee show of appreciation.
As you can see I'm still enjoying using the scallop punch but also tried making a larger scallop using a mini circle punch and placing the punched shapes behind a circle of scrap card. Not too sure whether mirri card was the right choice but the technique is going to be handy, especially if you want a scalloped edge on an irregular shape.

Bursting With Pride

Have just got to tell you all ...

Despite the bowling disappointment at the weekend it turns out that things were not as bad as we thought. Naomi and her doubles partner actually scooped the Gold Medals on Sunday! So everyone else must've been playing badly too ... needless to say she is absolutely delighted and is smiling once more!

However, the icing on the cake is that we found out last night that our wee Naomi (and her fellow teammate Nicola who is only 12!) have both made the U16's Scottish Squad 2009 .... WHOO HOO!!!!
Not only did she make the Top 10 (which is what she wanted to achieve), but her final ranking place was 6th!!
Everyone is so chuffed for her ... can't wait for hubby to call so she can tell him.
She will have to formally accept her place and then will begin training with the top UK coaches with the opportunity to represent Scotland in International events next year.
I'm so proud I think I'm going to burst!


Here's her Congratulations card ... it was the least I could do.

A Wee Flurry & Other Stuff

It's been another busy week with lots of tail chasing going on in an effort to complete the 1st batch of Xmas card orders for my boss.
There are 60 completed cards so far and I have an order for another 20 to fill. I really enjoy making them but being gate fold cards, they are quite time consuming to make, especially as they all need gold or silver tissue lined boxes.
Needless to say the floor space comes in handy when I have a batch of boxes and lids piled up waiting for the glue to dry.
(A wee tip I have learned is not to stack them too high or the ones on the bottom buckle!)

I wonder whether it was wise to offer 9 different patterns ... hmmmmm .... hindsight is a wonderful thing and maybe in future I should offer a more limited choice.

Monday of last week was a nightmare for my wee girl as she was up all night being violently ill. Not sure if it was a 24 hour tummy bug or food poisoning ... not my cooking I hasten to add! The house smelled strongly of bleach and Dettol all day Tuesday and I was tripping round like a half shut knife all day! By Thursday she was bright as a button again ... aren't kids powers of recovery amazing?

Today was spent at Hollywood Bowl at Bargeddie, near Glasgow, where Naomi was ten pin bowling in the final Ranking Tournament of the season. Unfortunately, she didn't play very well and was too upset to stay for the presentation. She's always been very competitive and consequently too hard on herself sometimes. Hopefully her previous tournament scores will be enough to keep her in the Top 10, which will mean she may get an opportunity to play for Scotland in the U16's Scottish Squad 2009 ... but if not then there's always next year as she is only 13. Will let you know when the final rankings are announced.

I did manage a little crafting other than the Xmas orders in the form of a birthday card for a very special friend (but as I know she reads my blog I can't show that yet) ... sorry!

I can offer a wee sneaky peek though and when the card is safely delivered I shall do a full reveal.

Something I can show in it's entirety, is a little pack of cards I made for the 'Grab'n'Go box.

I haven't added sentiments on them yet but an appropriate message can be popped on as I use them.

The papers are from the Papermania Spring Life stack .... yes I know it's Autumn now but hey ho ... they're pretty and I like them.

For those who managed to read this far ... 'Thank You for persevering' ... hope I haven't bored you witless with my ramblings.

Sunderland This Weekend

Just to let you know I will be MIA this weekend as my daughter is competing in a ten pin bowling tournament in Sunderland.
We have been going there for many years but this will be the first time with just 'us girls' so looking forward to some giggles and maybe even a midnight feast ... or 2 ... tee hee.

As an added bonus we will be meeting up with a fellow member of the MSN cardmaking group I belong to.
The arrangements were all a bit last minute but that just makes it all the more exciting ... oooooooohhhhhhh and a wee bitty scary ... can't wait! Hope you're ready Irene !!

See you all when I get back and if I'm feeling brave there may be some photos.
Hope you all enjoy a Wonderful Weekend.

1st Birthday

I can't believe my nephew's baby boy celebrates his 1st birthday on Friday ... where has the year gone?

I discovered a pack of Baby Bee Collection designer paper, from Crate Paper, in my stash which was perfect for the look I wanted and with the addition of a few bits'n'bobs from a Poundland embellishment pack, here is what I came up with.

Will pop it in the post tomorrow morning with his prezzie and fingers crossed it lands in Aberdeen in time for his BIG Day.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #3

I was blog browsing this evening ... as you do ... and while hopping about through various links ... as you do ... I came across Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge blog.

It's still in it's infancy, but judging from the number of comments posted it is already quite popular, so ... being a nosy kinda' gal ... I thought I'd have a wee snoop about and suss it out.

Coincidently, I had been playing around with snowflake patterned paper earlier tonight, pootling about making some cards for my Chrimbo stash, and that fit in perfectly with their Challenge #3 ... the theme of 'Blue, White and a little bit of snowflake!'

So I thought I'd have a bash and enter one of tonights MaxMakes ... do you think there's too much snowflake?

Ingredients are :

A4 silver mirri to make a gatefold card
snowflake paper
snowflake embellishment
xmas ribbon
adhesive gems.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Oh almost forgot to mention the removeable snowflake tree decoration on the inside.

Blog Candy

Julie at Scrapping Away has some fabbylicious blog candy on offer .... and is willing to post worldwide so get on over there and leave your mark.

Work In Progress !

Phase 1 of the mighty stash move is completed ... but I have to ask myself whether there's going to be room for Phases 2 and 3?

Hmmmmm .... it's looking doubtful but I'll certainly give it a try LOL!

Comment Moderation Activated

Following advice from fellow bloggers I removed word verification from my blog and have to say I'm glad as it really is very time consuming.
However, I have recently noticed the occasional strange comment posted which appear to be spamlike.
So I have decided to activate comment moderation as a precaution, which means that comments will now not show until I have cleared them. Thank you for understanding and apologies for any inconvenience.

MCC ~ Max's Craft Corner

I am sooooo excited ...

I'd like to proudly present my new craft workstation custom built by my long suffering craft widower hubby.

Amazing what can he can achieve with a bit of breakfast bar and table legs.

Thank you sooooooo much Jimi. Can't wait to move all my stash in !

Now the family can have the dining table back ... maybe even in time for Christmas LOL!

More Numbers

It was my Dad's 70th birthday this week and I used burgundy leather effect card to hold the Book A Trix card I made for him.

I have made a similar card before but this time I added the gold peel off numbers to the red wine bottle ... to show his 'vintage.'

I'm very proud to say that ... like a good red wine, my precious dad just gets better with age!

We had a lovely surprise family meal at a local hotel and he was in his element enjoying good food, good wine, (red of course LOL), surrounded by his precious family.

What more does any man need?

Anniversary Card & Numbers

It is my wee brother's and sister~in~law's 11th Anniversary today, so I thought I'd show the card I made for them.

I used some gorgeous turquoise foiled tissue paper, (it really is beautiful paper), mounted onto silver mirri card, then matted onto turquoise coloured card before adding a message tag decorated with matching ribbon and silver punched hearts.
I unearthed a fancy heart shaped corner punch the other day ... when looking for something else ... which was perfect for decorating the corners of the white card blank.

Another of this week's projects was to make a 60th birthday card and I relied on one of my favourite K. & Co. papers for this one.

I created a ribbon rosette from some non fray floral ribbon and added gold number peel offs to a scalloped circle, punched from the same paper, before mounting it on the front.

Simple but pretty I think.

I still have my dad's 70th card to make before Monday.

Another Award

Ultramum (aka Eve) has kindly nominated me for this pretty award ... thank you for the gesture, it really is much appreciated.

There are a few rules to having this award but, as is becoming the norm for me, I am going to bottle out of selecting specific blogs to pass it on to because I find it so difficult. So any visitors who wish to display it on their own blogs, feel free to take it and show it with pride:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog

2. Link the person you received the award from

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

Blog Candy At Susie's

Can't believe that Susie at White Ribbon Cards is offering more scrummylicious blog candy .... but she is !! HONEST INJUN !!!
So much as it pains me ... ('cos it lessens my chances of winning LOL) ... pop over and join in by leaving a comment and a link on your blog.

Javablu Award

I'm really not sure I merit being selected by my talented craft friend Ann for another award, but I shall accept it with a smile and a heartfelt thank you.

The rules to follow on being given this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo in her/his blog.
2. Put a link back to the person who gave you the award.
3. Nominate at least 5 persons with a blog, but first you have to tell why you want to give it to those persons.
4. Put a link to those you have nominated.
5. Visit the blogs to the nominees and tell them you gave them an award!

To my extreme embarrassment, I always struggle when it comes to nominating others as there are so many talented, bloggers out there, all of whom are more than worthy of this award.

Consequently, (I know I'm kind've breaking the rules but ... ) ... I will be offering it to all who visit MCC and are kind enough to leave wee comments which brighten my day and make me feel good about myself.

Xmas Cards Set ~ Blues

Managed a wee set of Xmas cards yesterday using a little snowman stamp and some of the lovely blue Xmas papers sent by Tiggertastic last week.

After colouring the stamped images with blue Whispers Brush Markers, I just needed to add ribbons, a smidgeon of silver mirri card and a little glitter.
I think I may do sets of different colours as they were really easy to make ... and easy is good right now.

After a trip to the doctor yesterday I discovered why my cold isn't shifting ... I have blocked sinuses, a throat infection and a chest infection ... so more antibiotics were prescribed and hopefully they will help to sort me out.

More Kit Cards

As the LMC Issue 18 Kit was still sitting on my workspace ... (yep ... I'm afraid I don't come anywhere close to being a tidy crafter)... I made a few more cards with it this afternoon.

I really liked the luxury paper samples in the kit and my only complaint would be that they were quite small pieces and there weren't enough of them LOL! However, using my faithful punches, I was able to combine several of them to make this Best Wishes card which stretched them a wee bit further. It's quite bright isn't it?

I also made this Birthday card which is more along the lines of the Vintage Theme of the kit.

I sacrificed a couple of card blanks for matting and layering and used a small circle punch to create scallops. A clear border stamp and black Stazon ink were ideal to decorate the scalloped edges.

There are lots of vintage images which haven't even been touched yet, but I'll probably combine them with vintage papers from other collections in my stash ... I have loads of papers which would work really well.

Busy Weekend

Despite being busy this weekend, I managed to finally open the Let's Make Cards Issue 18 kit and make something with the contents.

I used the packaging to provide the white card blank, and created 3 apertures with a scalloped circle punch on the front face.
I then used a small circle punch to create a scallop edge to a section of pink spotty paper and this was then glued to the left hand edge.
A few of these punched circles were then used to decorate the front and I drew 'faux stitching' with a green fineline pen. Another section of this paper was used to line the inside, showing through the apertures.
Using green floral paper, (also from the kit), I punched 2 flowers with a daisy squeeze punch, mounted them onto silver mirri card circles and placed them in the middle of the top and bottom apertures, adding a small green gem to the centre of each.
A small section of white braid ribbon was threaded through the Happy Birthday sentiment tag and this was mounted to the front, over the central aperture.
Additional green gems were glued to the spotty circles, as a finishing touch, using Diamond Glaze because it dries clear.

There's loads of kit left wih some fabbylicious papers and vintage images, so hope to get a chance this week to make some more cards for my Grab'n'Go box.

I must also show you the beautiful Anniversary card and gorgeous RAK received last Friday from my very special CB friend Tiggertastic (aka Sarah).
Look at all these luvverlies ... can't wait for a chance to play with them all.

The fabulous wall hanging is for my horse mad daughter who was, yet again, blown away at the time and effort put into making something especially for her.
You are so very kind and generous Sarah ... huge thank you hugs from us both xxx

xxx 21 Years xxx

Today my husband and I celebrate our 21st Wedding Anniversary ... who would've believed it?
I was only 16 years old when we met over 30 years ago .... sigh .... and I don't think either my parents, nor indeed his, thought our relationship was going to last given the age difference. How wrong were they?
We were married 9 years later...







... and the rest, as they say, is history.

Unfortunately, he is currently working a couple of hundred miles away and won't be back home until 9th October so we'll have to wait to celebrate properly.

However, out of sight is not out of mind.

Look what arrived this morning.


Just want to say "Thank You Jimi"
... for loving me & wanting to share your life with me xxx

Making Up For Lost Time

I've been busy today ... busy making cards no less!
Don't fall off your seats with excitement 'cos the enthusiasm may not last but as all crafters know, you have to go with the urge when it grabs you LOL!

So ... Do you want to see what I made? Really ?? You Sure ?? .................. ok then.

The first card uses my favourite silhouette stamp, which seems to be the one I reach for when a condolence card is needed.

The background paper is from Dovecraft and the flower was stamped (with black Stazon) onto white card, then matted onto black card. The sentiment is part of a wooden stamp set, but I can't remember where it came from.

On to happier events ... and a birthday card for a family friend.
She is the proud 'mum' to a little white Scottie Dog called "Archie" so a doggie theme was called for.
My daughter and I had spotted a cute Scottie keyring whilst browsing through a local garden centre so I added it to her card.
The DCWV 'All Dressed Up' stack provided the card base and after folding the sheet in half, the front face was trimmed to reveal the inside which is some green marbled paper matted onto black card.

The cute image was part of a QVC kit and black velvet ribbon was used to attach the keyring.

My final offering today was a quick and easy Anniversary card.
A tall white blank was wrapped with some gorgeous pink foiled tissue paper, (part of a pack picked up in The Works a while ago).
Isn't that foiling just scrummy?

I didn't want to cover up this beautiful paper with too many embellishments, so a simple white ribbon and silver tag were all the decoration needed.

A peel off message was coloured pink with permanent markers and then added to the tag .... voila!! All done.

Quick MaxMakes

I've been really busy getting a Xmas Card order completed and, because I haven't been too well recently it seems to have taken forever. Sadly I can't show them to you without permission, but I can show a couple of other cards I've made in between.

The first is a birthday card for my younger sister whose special day was 15th September.
The gold foiled card is actually pink, but the camera didn't pick this up very well.

This black and white card was a wee 'Thank You' card made for the surprise send to CB Towers organised by PinkPuppy (aka Louise) on the Crafts Beautiful forum.

By all accounts I think CB Towers Staff had a fabulous start to the week when a deluge of Thank You cards, created by forum members, were all delivered at the same time. Fantastic!

Blog Candy

Take a trip across to my MSN group buddy Jude's blog, Crafts International, for the chance to win a set of scrummy Laura Ashley stamps. They will go perfectly with the matching papers which are waiting in my stash LOL!

At Last ! Some Activity ...

Despite all my good intentions, ill health has meant I was unable to fulfill my promise to be a better blogging buddy.
The last 3 weeks have been a trial to say the least following a really nasty flare up of HS .... BUT ... I'm back online now and hopefully the new medication will enable me to return to make regular visits to all my favourite Blogland places again.

I have a few things to show that I managed to make despite being 'no weel'

I've really missed my crafting and hope that if I keep taking the 'Tartan Tablets' I can be more productive.







Firstly, some cards for hubby's birthday way back in August.
Nothing very adventurous or exciting but there's love in every stick'n'paste'n'peel off LOL!
I know he really appreciated my efforts 'cos I got a gentle hug in return.

My nephew celebrated his 7th birthday in August too ... so another simple offering was all I could manage at the time.

The latest copy of Papercraft Essentials provided the free papers to make a couple of fairy birthday cards ... one of which was sent to a CB forum friend last week.
Hope it arrived ok.
The other is in my 'Grab'n'Go box ready for the next birthday.

Finally ... I made a Good Luck card using Basic Grey paper from my stash and a wee bit of faux stitching.
This will do nicely for this month's MSN group challenge. Do you like the genuine, authentic, squinty bit on the top left front panel?

I thought I might send it to my son who's due to leave for University next weekend.

The scallop on the front reads ...
"Always Believe. If you can dream it, you can achieve it" ... and the inside quote says ... "it may not BE EASY but it will ALWAYS be worth it"

Says it all really.