I'm On My Way....

Just a quick announcement to let you, my Gentle Reader, know that I am nearly ready to start posting again. I have been away for over a year and during that time I have had quite a few health problems to deal with and as a result, I found myself to be in a very low spot mentally. 

It turns out that this hasn't proven to be my biggest hurdle so far, I have also been struggling with the worst bout of insomnia I have ever had. I have never really been one for long lie-ins and I usually get up with Jo every morning, who gets up at sparrow's toot in order to feed the cats. Just lately though, I have been getting between 0 and 3 or 4 hrs a night and what sleep I do manage to grab is fragmented and quite simply, rubbish! This has turned me into a Nacoleptic who can fall asleep mid-sentence and I get the trippiest hallucinations ever. For some bizarre reason, my mind has decided that in times of extreme weariness I will see a large black cat, floating upside down in my peripheral vision!!! I have also been know to bring Jo into my conversations with Thora Hurd or rows with Janet Street-Porter. She takes it all in her stride, bless her (she really deserves a medal for what she has had to put up with over the last 12 months). I have learnt to distinguish between real and tired life though and can usually managed to let her know I am talking gibberish.

So as you see, I am learning to live with it and I have even started doing things during the day to fill my time. I just finished making a 1/12 size model of C3-PO (from Star Trek Wars) and am about to start making me very own Stormtrooper too. I also love the grown-up colouring books and we both got a really lovely bake-off book from ASDA this week along with the weekly shop.

I have also been tasked with the job of making my son's wedding invites. I am just waiting for the final details and should have something ready this week, so will definitely be posting those when they are ready.

I will be seeing you again real soon, just check back every 2 or 3 days and I hope you will be happy with what I have done.

Take Care,

Andy

XoXo

"We're Going To The Chapel..."

It had to be done didn't it? The week where the most adored bachelor on earth finally 'put a ring on it', a sigh rang around the earth loud enough to be heard in outer-space.

Luckily for me Jo doesn't see the attraction so I don't have anything to worry about really. besides which I am so gorgeous maybe she's the one who should be worried!! (tongue very firmly in cheek before anyone decides to pick on me).

I have had this Kenny K image forever and thought it would end it's days dusty and unloved but when I saw how much fuss was being made over their simple little private service I couldn't resist giving it a go!

I wanted to keep it quite simple, so after colouring Dr. Doug with my Copics, I used my new set of star dies (which came free with a brand new magazine on the market - Diecutting Essentials), I then used Kraft card stock, core'dinations card stock in light blue, dark blue and cream, the title was cut from a Sizzix alphabet set and the whole thing was finished with a few gems for that bit of star bling! George is attached with double-sided foam pads and I think I achieved my goal of 'clean and simple' which is something I rarely manage to achieve given that I have an overwhelming desire to throw the kitchen sink et al at my cards.

Well what a week we've had eh? Other than George, we have had to deal with Ebola spreading like wild fire in Africa (so get ready for CNN to start spreading fear and neurosis in your neighbourhood real soon!!!), Wonga having to return a load of money to it's borrowers because they shouldn't have lent it in the first place (I will be rushing around town taking out £500 loans with as many dodgy dealers as I can find as of  9am tomorrow morning!!), Children running of to join IS (Islamic State) when they should be in school learning maths and stuff and not planning the most insidious acts known to man, There was a bit of good news for the Disabled though, they learnt that while the 'Con'servatives are freezing raises in benefits, they are not touching Disability Living Allowance, so a small bone gets thrown for the Disabled community!

So good to end on a bit of good news for a change, it almost never happens in real life eh!

Hope you have all had a good week too, Jo and I are gearing up for a Craft Fayre on the 12th October at Newark Showground so if you are going I hope we can say Hi to each other! I will be the man with the walking stick whose wife has a walking frame, yes we ARE the fittest people in Lincoln!

So have a great weekend and I will see you again soon,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

xx

"You've Got To Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight For This Love..."

Another week in the L-B house and not much to report really.

I had a visit with the dietitian, which was mandatory really if I want to go ahead with having a Gastric Band. There was nothing she could tell me that I didn't already know regarding food and dieting, my issue is more of a low self-esteem one. I have been on a diet for about 33 years now (on and off obviously!!) and I know exactly what I should be doing, it's just a lot harder in practise! I lost well over 5 stone with Slimming World (a diet I can highly recommend and one I still (sort of) follow today) but I was the only one who couldn't see any change in me. I saw the same person looking back at me at the end as was there at the start, I didn't feel any different (I had been told my back problems would get better the more weight I lost and I felt no change at all!!) and as a result I ended up putting it all back on, plus the obligatory extra weight that goes along with it. 

But for the first time in a long, long time I finally feel ready to make the changes I need to make in order to live a longer, healthier life. My depression is being managed and thanks to my CPAP machine I am finally able to sleep at night, which gives me a major boost every day. As a result of the sleep being sorted out, I now get up early in the mornings and I'm ready to face the day with a smile and a chipper mood.

I have to see my GP next in order to get her referral to Derby, who are the specialists in this type of surgery. So fingers crossed and I will keep you all updated on my progress.

As for my new card, I have coloured this image in before (it's a Kenny K) but nowhere near as good I don't think. I used an M'bossabilities folder for the pink background (the other side is tyre tracks - a very funky folder indeed), the charm. bow, dots and the expression stamp were all purchased at a local craft fayre. The base cardstock is a really old Basic Grey and I used a Spellbinders die behind my image. Any further questions, please don't be afraid to ask!

As for today - a little bit of crafting is required as I have some new Tattered Lace dies I need to give a road test to.So for now, Ta Ta,

Take Care,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

xx

Entered Into
2 Cute Ink Challenges #114 - Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations Challenge #108 - Anything Goes and/or Round and Round
Crafting From The Heart Challenge #35 - Anything Goes
Craft It Up & Link It Up Challenges By Craftin' Desert Divas Challenge - Anything Goes
The Crafty Bloggers Network Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers And More Challenge #122 - Make An Impression (Dry Embossing)
Allsorts Challenges #275 - Pretty In Pink
Catch The Bug September Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafting At The Weekend Challenge 5 - Anything Goes
Operation Write Home Challenge - Create Your Own Background
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge #45 - Anything Goes
Treasured Times Stamps Challenge #24 - Anything Goes
Vandicrafts Artistry Challenge #7 - Anything Goes
A Creative Need Challenge - Textures and/or Patterns
Fitztown Challenge #52 - Anything Goes
Melonheadz Friends Challenge - 2 Or More Dies
My Craft Creations Challenge - 1 -13/9/2014 Anything Goes

And The Winner Is....

After a very short drumroll, it can be announced across the land that the above card was chosen by my Son and (future) Daughter-In-Law as their official Save The Date card.

After giving them a fairly large selection to choose from, I am so pleased that their final decision was the one card I made that involved absolutely no colouring!!

They liked that it was a simple card but that it had a flash of colour (added using a superb little Washi tape which I think I got from Crafts U Love), they also liked the writing being a bit classier than the image, they thought it made it jump out.

So, all I have to do now is start a little production line.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho,.......

"Hello, Is It Me You're Looking For?..."

Hello again! Yes, I am back after a somewhat fractious hiatus.

I have had to deal with my depression and that now seems to be firmly under wraps as my meds have been raised and then dropped to get the balance right.

I was also diagnosed with Chronic Sleep Apnoea and after a brief test overnight with an oxygen mask it was revealed to me that while the average 'good nights sleep' may include up to 15 - 20 interruptions an hour, I was averaging 99 which finally explained why I would get up in the morning after sleeping for 9 or 10 hours and within an hour I was back asleep, a pattern that went on for month after month. It was only thanks to Jo getting a bit forceful with my GP that I was finally put forward to even speak to the sleep analysis team at Newark.

After the first full night with my wonderful little oxygen mask (which actually manages to fit over my bulbous hooter!) I woke up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. If I fall asleep now during the day, it's because I'm bored - NOT tired! A good night's sleep should never be underestimated, it is the most important thing with regards to making a person function properly. I finally feel like a part of the Human Race again.

Our final hurdle was the tragic loss of Jo's sister Maureen, who died from an emphysema related illness a couple of weeks ago. She was a lovely woman with a fantastic sense of humour, we shared quite few laughs at the cost of several Big Brother contestants. Jo misses her terribly and is going to take a very long time for the pain to subside.

R.I.P. Maureen, deeply missed.

Now you may have noticed several superhero themed cards above. These are not greetings cards but Save The Day/Date cards for my Son and (future) Daughter-In-Law's wedding. They want a Superhero themed day (they are a massive pair of nerds and I love 'em for it!!) and so the first thing I did was offer my services. I am lucky enough to own all of Kenny K's images and couldn't resist using these particular ones. My particular favourite is the very bottom one, the DL shaped card which came out really well. I have posted them for the kids to look at and to choose which one they (hopefully) want. When they finally decide, I will let you all know on this blog.

Until then, look after yourselves,

take care,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

xxx

Entered Into:  613 Avenue Create Challenge #85 - Anything Goes with No Twist

Fairytale Stamper Challenge #43 - Everything Goes!

Kenny K  Krafty Krew Challenge #178 - Kids!

Outlawz Sunday Challenge - CAS (Clean & Simple) with A Wave
Scrappyhands Challenge #19 - Red!
Scibble and Scrap Challenge #25 - Anything Goes
The Squirrel and The Fox Challenge #25 - Anything Goes
Through The Purple Haze Challenge #55 - Photo Inspiration (I used the colours of the feathers)
Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #215 - Carole's Sketch (I am using 2nd image from top)

"Call Me Any Any Time..."

Or as an absolutely last resort you can always try Skype!

Good Morning Gentle Reader, it's time for a quick rage against the machine again but this one is more tongue-in-cheek than my usual rants!

Now I'm sure there are millions of users of Skype out there that are very happy with the service that they provide, I myself was one of those happy people a couple of weeks back when I had to Skype Jo from Blackpool but at least once a week or so, Jo (my darling wife) Skype's her sister in Jersey and it has started to become the Maureen and Jo comedy hour!

To call the connection intermittent would be an insult to the word intermittent, each burst of conversation can last up to ONE whole minute sometimes before the connection drops, the picture freezes or you lose sight but still retain picture or vice versa.

Each call starts with my wife giving lighting directions to her sister quickly followed by a briefing on how to hold the tablet so that she can see all of her sister's face and not just from the nose up!!

Having gone through this routine (EVERY call!!) all I then hear is one or the other saying "Can you hear me?", "Can you hear me?" "I can hear you but I can't see you, can you hear me?" "I Can see you, I just can't hear you as the sound keeps dropping out, no wait, I can see you now, turn the tablet so I can see all of you, I've only got the top of your head here!" and so the conversation goes for the next hour or so or until one of them gives up in an exhausted heap on the sofa!

Now I don't really blame Skype for this, not 100% anyway, I have to take into account that her sister's signal is provided by a dongle (never come across one yet that has a strong enough signal for anything other than checking e-mails!), plus neither end-user is exactly a tech-head! but I do feel Skype could help their users by making the software a little more user-friendly and if they are allowing people to use dongles to connect then surely they could help with the signal strength too.

So, rant over and just enough time to tell you about the new challenge over at the Kenny K Krafty Krew blog. As per usual the theme is Anything Goes, but this fortnights twist is Male cards.

You can enter with any Kenny K image you like and if you win you will receive 3 Kenny K images absolutely free, but if you follow the twist and win then you get an extra two Kenny images.

Just imagine the possibilities with five of the best digi stamps on the market, go on, have a go, it's well worth a punt.

Anyhoo Gentle Reader, it's time for me to split, it's nearly lunch time and haven't had breakfast yet!!

See you again soon,

take care,

hugs 'n stuff,

Andy.

xx

Entered Into:

"Found Myself In A Strange Town..."

Hey Hey Hey!

Look who's back and with a brand fire new outlook on life. I have not been in the right headspace for a while now and consequently, doing my blog was among the first things to fall by the wayside but with some proper care and attention - I'm back!

Why am I back on the first of the month? Well that would be mainly down to The Kenny K Krafty Krew and their latest challenge which starts today. The theme for the next two weeks is Anything Goes (as always) with a twist of 'Femme Fatale'.

Please remember, you MUST use a Kenny K image - available from Kenny K Downloads.com, as there still seems to be some confusion over whether or not you have to use Kenny's brilliant artwork or not (and let's be honest, a quick look around his site and you'll be hooked, talk about something for everyone!!).

My image is called Socialite (available here) and I think that because you can't see her eyes, she looks like a character from a 'The Third Man' movie, she is definitely up to no good, skulking in the shadows and so I thought I would go black and white. Colouring the image though took every shade of grey I own in my Copics but I am quite happy with the finished image. The Die behind her is a Spellbinders and all the others are Tattered Lace (my current faves!)

So there you have it;

I'm back,

there's a new Challenge with the Krafty Krew

and the sun is shining again!

Hope you are keeping well Gentle Reader, I will be back soon with some more things made during my absence.

Take Care,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

xxx

P.S. As the last post was done for Mothering Sunday, the lyrics were from A Song For Mama by Boyz II Men. The ones for this post shouldn't stump too many people!!