My Winner Is ……. (Plus A Little Update)

Hi there peeps and hope that you are all OK today.

I don’t have a card to share – more in  a sec – but I do have a winner from last week’s Papertake Weekly 5 Year Bash and that lucky girlie is ……..

… you Stephanie W

So what did I have as my giveaway then?

My giveaway was sponsored by the sweetness that is Sue over at

Craftwork Cards

and the prize is …

… one of the gorgeous Memory Lane Project of the Month kits :)

Please can you email me at dawnyp123@hotmail.co.uk along with your deets and I will pass them on to Sue who will send out your prize.

Thank you to Sue and everybody at Craftwork Cards for sponsoring  us and to everybody who joined in last week xxx

Now you may have noticed that  I’ve been a bit quiet on here recently and the cardage has been very hit and miss.

The reason has been that my aunty has been really ill. She has cancer and has had the worse time if it these last 18 months. You may remember that I said that my uncle had died suddenly (the post is here). Since then, her health has gone downhill. She was told back in early 2011 that she had bladder cancer but it had been successfully treated. Then just before he died in the May 2011 she was told that they thought it had returned, and all the worry of it caused my uncle’s ulcer to bleed which is why he died. Well following his death, they told her that it wasn't cancer after all, but residual scarring from previous treatments. Then she began to get really unwell and they admitted to hospital and they discovered that it was in fact the cancer after all. So they operated and although it was thought that the cancer had been dealt with, she ended up not being able to walk for months and months because of an after effect of the epidural.

Eventually after nearly 3 months in there, she got home but had to use sticks and a frame to get about (she was very active before all this). But after a very short time at home, she started being unwell again. They could not make up their minds what her problems were but had done scans etc and she was reassured that there was no sign of any cancer. Well in June this year, she was re-admitted again and has suffered in the most awful way ever since. Again they did all kinds of tests but once again we were told that there were no signs of cancer. But she has been so ill and we have just been doing what we could to make her life a bit more bearable, which in truth has not been that much.

In truth, as a society we would not allow an animal to suffer like she has but that’s another issue.

So this has been going on in the background but I could not say anything because she was still reading my blog. Then on September 20th we were told that this residual scarring was in fact cancer after all and that they could do no more for her. How I got through the demoing at Rosemary's I don’t know but I did, and hope that nobody noticed anything untoward. Some people would have been bitter  about all the messing about, but she hasn't been. She just said that there wasn’t anything she could do but to just get on with it, but she aged 20 years overnight.  The one thing she wanted was to just go home to die in her own 4 walls and we have been fighting for this to happen. On Saturday she got her wish and was so upset when she got back because I think she thought she would never see her home again.

The Macmillan nurses have been in – they are amazing – and the family have been with her 24/7 – we are doing a rota and taking it in turns.  She looks desperately unwell but for all that, the stress and worry that was in her face when she in hospital has gone and I think she is finding some peace from being at home. The end for her isn't far away now,  the nurses think days at the most - so all we can do now is make sure she is as comfy at she can be under the circumstances, and hope that  she goes peacefully. It’s also so sad when we take the kids to see her, because as frail as she is, she gives them extra hugs – as much as she can - because I think she is wondering if that will be the last time she sees them. I am dreading it because this lady has had my back from the day I was born and she is  the last link I have to my Mum (she is her only sister) and my beloved Grandparents. But that said, it has been hell watching her go through all of this so it will be a blessing that at last, her suffering will be over.

So the old mojo has taken a bit of a battering and I can’t really think about making cards right now  and to be honest it’s been a struggle for a few weeks.   I’m sure it will come back but for now, I have to just have to concentrate on what’s going on elsewhere.

I’ll be back soon as soon but I don't know when that is likely to be right now. My teamies have been fab, and I have to say a huge thank you to Lols because she has been there with the moral support and offers of practical help for the last few months xxx

I want to end this post with a smile because life is all about balance and there is always something to smile about. So I’ll  leave you with a pic done recently of  Thea who is nearly 5 months old now

Check out that punky hair do and cheeky smile :)  Not the  best pic of her perhaps, but it is cute I think.

Take care sweet peeps and huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Looking For Papertake Weekly’s Birthday Bash Blog Hop Post (There’s a Giveaway!!)

… then please click here and all will be revealed xxx

Whiter Than White, That’s Me Today!!!

Hi lovely peeps and I’m back again!!.

It’s that time of the week when we head across the water and catch up with our friends over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

So this week our challenge is ….

Glimmer & Sparkle

The design team have created some awesome projects for your inspiration, and this week we are all featuring Lindy's Stamp Gang Products (if you have never used them then you are in for a treat - they are gorgeous !!! :-)

You don't have to use them to join in but we would love to see them used if you have them :-)

We have an extra prize this week !! the lovely people over at Lindy's Stamp Gang will also be giving a lucky winner this fabulous parcel of Haunted Halloween products !!

My fave is Hag Wort’s Orange – LOVE the name :)

And of course, our lovely Heidi is giving away a fabulous …

… for one lucky winner to spend …

…right here.

So …..

.. this is what I did and as always, on Simon Says Stamp challenge days, I like to do something a little bit different.

So just basically a white card with a touch of silver here – easy peasy top do but it look really stylish (IRL it’s really pretty but I could not get a decent pic of it - I cannot photograph white for some reason!!)

I’ll list the shop proddies that I used at the end and leave you to enjoy the (not very good) pics lol!!

A curly swirly thing made with wire, pva glue and some glitter

 

Ok peeps, here’s what I used -

 

Lindy's Stamp Gang SCINTILLATING SILVER Glitz Spritz GLITZ-13 which I spritzed onto a

Memory Box BIANCA SNOWFLAKE Craft Die 98193

Magnolia LEAF & SWIRL Doohickeys Cutting Die

Martha Stewart ARCTIC SNOWFLAKE Craft Punch M283007

Krylon SILVER Leafing Pen which I used around the edges of the card

Ranger WHITE OPAL Liquid Pearls

So that’s me done for today and please excuse my mad dash again.

I’ll be back soon as soon with some more cardage but until then, take care and don't forget to enter the Papertake Weekly 5 Year Bash which you can read about right here.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

A Day Late & A Dollar Short :(

Hi there sweet peeps and hope you are all OK today.

I am a tad on the late side with this for reasons I won't bore you with (basically we have somebody very ill in the family) but we are here now and apols to anybody who came over here yesterday looking for the post only to find that it wasn't there :(

So, well as you all know by now, Papertake Weekly is 5 – wowwza I can’t believe that we have been going for that long – and we have had a bit of a doo :)

So we have our usual beginning of the month

Anything Goes

theme but this week our option is to do something ‘celebrat-ee ‘on your card or projects, but of course this is only an option and you don’t have to if you don’t want do (I didn't!!)

We have oodles of lovely sponsors and oodles of fab prizes up for grabs and there is a prize at every stop, but of course it’s a secret as to who has what, so please be sure to stop by everybody (you can read all about it here if you haven’t already done so).

So ….

 

.. this is what I did.

I coloured the image in a few weeks ago so apols peeps but I don’t have the list of colours but it was done with Copics :)

The image is of course Winter Skate Tilda which I got from Sir Stampalot and the papers are from the Lili Of The Valley paper pads. These are Bonnets And Bowties by the brilliant Nitwits :)

The dies I’ve used here are Memory Box Classic Scallop and Cheery Lynn Corners Deco J and I got both of these from the Lili of The Valley shop. The snowflake die on the edge which you can just about see is a Tim Holtz Sizzix Die SNOW FLURRIES On The Edge Winter Alterations die from Simon Says Stamp.

 

Some Ribbon Girl gorgeousness here :)

15mm Shocking Pink No 72 Small Check Gingham, natural button twine, 38mm Silver Glitter Mesh and some 10mm jingle bells

 

 

So that’s my card done and here’s the list of everybody taking part in alphabetical order  -

Andrea

Claudia

Dawny P (moi!!)

Debi

Jacqui

Jane

Jill

Katharina

Lisa

Lols

Mandy

Mary

Sharon

I just have to say a big thank you to everybody who has taken part over the last 5 years, to the past DT and Mummy Fairy for joining us, the wonderful sponsors who support us week in and week out and to the lovely DT who I am honoured to work with. They are just the nicest girls in the world :)xxx

So if you want to be in with a shot of winning the prize hidden on my blog peeps, then here’s what you have to do -

1 - You have to have made a card for the challenge

2 - Then leave me a comment

3 - Then leave your name with Linky (please don’t forget that bit because I use that to get the winner from Mr Random Thing so if you leave a comment and don't do that bit then your name wont go into the draw which will make me verrry sad xxx)

And that’s it!!

Good luck to everyone who enters and I’ll be back later with some more cardage (ooh twice in one day!!)

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx