Journal Your Christmas Day 32 - 2009

For Day 32's prompt I looked at my resolutions for the year.  I gave up a number of years ago making resolutions as I can never keep them so they always feel such a waste of time.  After giving it a lot of thought throughout 2009 I had made the decision to pack up working at the school with the grand idea that it would give me more energy to focus on the house.

I did hand my notice in during February and finished work in August at the end of the school year.  I am still working on the domestic goddess bit LOL!!!!

So any resolutions for 2011?? - well I have mused with going on a stash diet - now come on pick yourself up off the floor - I know you are down there rolling round with laughter!!  Seriously I do need to rein in my craft spending as I don't have much storage space for my stash and for some time now it has been cluttering up every room of the house (apart from the bathroom LOL!!).  So 2011 will see a big decluttering of my stash and a big revamp of the boxroom that is supposed to be my craft storage area.  We are going to totally gut the room, re-decorate and then cram in as many expedit units as the room will take.  Early warning here - do not visit at the end of April or throughout May as we will be in utter chaos here.

I also don't want to waste a minute of this new year - recent family news has reaffirmed for me that life is short and not a dress rehearsal, we only get one shot at it.  So in 2011 I am going to try and do more of what I want to do and be my own person.  I have always tended to go along with the masses for a quiet life and not wanting to rock the boat - it is a comfortable place to be but I am finding more and more that I am not being true to myself by keeping everyone else happy and not considering my own needs.   This doesn't mean that I am suddenly going to become selfish and not help people anymore but I will be making decisions and choices based a lot more on what is good for me and my family. 

Journal Your Christmas Day 31 - 2009

For Day 31 I used some photographs from some of the many fancy dress parties that my sister Lucinda has hosted at her house for New Years Eve.

Favourite Five Cards of 2010

As well as taking part in the favourite five Christmas cards, I am also participating in Debby's Favourite Five Cards of 2010 challenge.

It was really difficult to choose out of all the cards that I have made this year which were my faves, but these are the ones that I chose in the end.

 

My most used stamp this year has been Penny Black Feline Count, so I have chosen this card that I made for Lisa's 40th birthday.  Lisa is one of my friends from the Twilight Addicts social group on UKS so a vampire kitty for her birthday card was most appropriate.

This card I gave to my dear niece Milly for her birthday.

This card I gave to my fellow Dizzy Dot Lynne on her birthday.

 This is the card that I made for my hubby Richard for his birthday

 And this is the card that I made him for Valentines Day.  I hadn't shown this one before as it was made before I had a blog.

I used a sweet Penny Black hedgie stamp and Basic Grey Blush papers.  The two sentiments were printed and Twilighters will recognise the second sentiment - one of my favourite quotes from the saga.  The hearts were punched from coredinations cardstock, embossed with the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder and then sanded to reveal the pink core.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my favourite five cards and I look forward to taking a peek at other people's favourite five.

Karen xxx

Journal Your Christmas Day 30 - 2009

For Day 30 I looked back over 2009 for a review of the year

I made a vellum pocket for the page and filled it with 12 small photographs about key events from the year

Highlights of the year had included monthly crops at Cardinal Colours, a family narrowboat holiday on the Kennet & Avon canal, a weekend in a log cabin on a farm in Hereford, an Arctic circle cruise, a spa break at Champneys, a weekend of scrapbooking at Debden House and a blissful week cruising with my parents on the Mon' & Brec' canal.

The last of 2010 Christmas Cards

This really is the last showing of this year's Christmas cards - I have just found two that I haven't blogged yet.

The snowman is one of two Sugar Nellie snowmen stamps that I have (you can get them from Funky Kits).  I only made a couple of cards using those stamps this year so must make more effort to get them out next year as they are really cute.  The background paper is from Craft Creations and the image was coloured with Promarkers (I borrowed some from a friend to see what they were like and I am happy to report that I prefer using my Derwent watercolour pencils - that is a big sigh of relief as I would hate to have a new addiction LOL!!)

This next one I made for a Penny Black Saturday Challenge for a sketch challenge but then I decided that I didn't like it, so didn't bother entering it LOL.

The background paper is Karen Foster and the paper ribbons were made using a See D sentiment stamp.  The snowflakes are two Martha Stewart punches.

Journal Your Christmas Day 29 - 2009

After Christmas we always get together with my youngest sister and her family and my parents for a tradition known as the silly presents.  Each year my niece and nephews are given a budget of £1 per adult to buy presents from the pound shop.  We get some very weird and wonderful things and each year we look forward to seeing what they have treated us to this time.

I did a fold out page so that I could use lots of photographs

And a close up of each page

You will be pleased to hear that I have not needed to take the wind relief tablets LOL!!!!!  Maybe I should donate them to a blogging friend of mine who loves sprouts!!!!!!!!!!!

Journal Your Christmas Day 28 - 2009

The prompt for Day 28 was about indulgences at Christmas time so I decided to document my guilty pleasures of icecream (it has to be Ben & Jerry's Baked Alaska or Cookie Dough) and Pringles.  They are both indulgences that once started cannot be put down until the tub or tube is empty.  I keep them out of the house as much as possible otherwise by now I would have (in the words of the Divine Comedy) an arse the size of a small country!!!!