Nothing new.....

Well I have nothing at all new to show as the majority of my time has been spent at the bungalow. In view of this I am cheating by showing a mini acordion book I created in my more 'grungy' style a good few years ago now.

Wierd or what? The theme was eyes and art........ the eye image was on stampboard, oh how I loved this stuff! I need to get back into it .......when and if I ever get time.

This is one side, opened out....

and this is the other.

a few close ups now

Oh and more

And now onto a BIGGER project I am working on, the bungalow....

We are getting on really well considering it is not even 3 weeks since we got the keys and Paul is working too. We managed to knock the wall out which joins the kitchen and dining room, and it gives us a more workable area. The lintel will be put in place hopefully over the weekend.

We have also got the massive eucalyptus tree down, a shame, but it was so big it was preventing any other plants and trees from growing. We are still left with the stump which is a good 7ft tall by 4 ft wide. We could do with someone carving it into something????

This was the view before the tree came down.....

and this was after.....

We were left to clear away the branches and tree trunks, and the garden was FULL!!!! but not for long. Our good friends Polly and Steve turned up just at the right time and soon grabbed the tools and mucked in. Also Gina and Steve came for an hour to lend a hand.

Steve made a barrow up for us and started moving the massive stumps.

If you scroll through the next lot of photo's you will see the process of cutting the tree down.

I was amazed at how they did it.

Trimming it so precisely.

They made it look so easy.

I mean, come on, how scary is this????????

Anyway, falling back to the inside, we have taken the firplace out to reveal this opening which we are going to make bigger to house the fridge/freezer, and make a feature of it.

and finally this is the space we have now we have knocked the wall down between the kitchen and dining room, not massive but much more workable.

Well that's it for now, I have a night off from the muck and rubble tonight, so really must get some tea sorted.

Sue x

Altered mirror and hand made flowers

This frame started life as a mirror but when I had added the paint changed my mind as I thought it might be nice as a picture. Anyway here's the result, although the colours and paint effects don't look too good on this photo. (Wish I knew more about how to take better photo's).

There is a bit of a collage going on, some swirly die cuts by Tim Holtz, lace, ric-rac, chippy heart, crackle paint, punches, liquid pearls, embossing on the cuttlebug and hand made flowers. The sentiment is by Hero Arts.

Here's a bit of a closer view.

And here's some of the family 'roughin it' at lunchtime yesterday at the bungalow. The forecast was blak, but surprise surprise, they got it wrong!!!!!!! It's a blessing as we hired a mini digger for the weekend and managed to get loads done.........

Sue x

A bargain, a bungalow and a class.......

At last I have managed to prepare a class........... Here's a little neb......... It's a 'book' on the theme of butterflies and is made using the large 81/2" x 4" manilla tags. They are really great to work with.

This gives you an idea of the layers involved, using punches, stamps, lace etc etc etc.......

If you are in and aroud Sainsbury's have a browse in the stationery section. They have all sorts of bargains. I picked up this A3 book today it is so heavy and sturdy, for the bargain price of £4.49!!!!!!!!! Just have to see if I ever use it??????? They also had canvasses, canvas pads etc, well worth a look....

The bungalow is now taking up all of our spare time. We are concentrating on the garden while the days are warmer, brighter and longer. There will be plenty of days over the Autumn and Winter to get on inside. The garden was so overgrown with 'self set' trees and plants, it's gonna be a long job. We have a mini digger over the weekend to get all the tree stumps out, which will be a good job out of the way.

We have been able to get rid of the branches of the trees to the tip as it is re-cyclable, and have had a bonfire each night to get rid of the smaller stuff. I love it!

Ash has been giving Paul a hand to fell the conifers and Steve dismantled the greenhouse for us yesterday. I am looking forward to finding a nice spot for it so I can try my hand at growing my own plants etc.

A week on Saturday will see the removal of this MASSIVE eucalyptus tree. It seems a shame but as it is not a native to our country it has to go. It is preventing some gorgeous trees and plants from reaching their potential, including a lovely oak tree.

I will take some more pics so we can see the difference it makes. Well gotta dash, be back soon.

Sue x

Broken Heart

I love working with clay, the only problem is it's so fragile. I made a few hearts a while ago and have used them in lots of projects, and found a broken one the other day. It reminded me a Jimmy Ruffin balad, 'What becomes of the broken hearted'? which took me back to years gone by. This is a journal page prompted by the lyrics.

I broke another heart to add as extra embellishments.The faces were stamped on tissue, stuck on then chalked. I ripped pages and added accent beads to the ripped border.

This is another background in preparation........

I've got loads of stuff sorted out to sell before I move into the bungalow, (I must learn how to use Ebay), and while I was sorting I came across a couple of real old Basic Grey collection packs, Sweetpea Jack and Sweetpae Alyssa. I used 'Jack' for a 'card' for Josh, would you believe he is ONE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made an accordian style card, it simply ties at the side with a broad ribbon.

and opens up to reveal just a few photo's of his growth from the day he was born till today. I have left a space on the last page for a photo of him on his first birthday, so we can compare.

We will be calling round to Faye and Ash's tonight to take his presents and grab a cuppa and a bit of cake with them all.

Just look at him on these next few photo's, he has just shot up.

He loves sitting with his books and turning the pages.

And something tells me Paul enjoys it too.......

I will be back later hopefully, with some photo's of the Birthday Boy!!!!!

Sue x