We should be ...

... home by now from Doncaster but I've scheduled this post to give some breathing space :0) I just hope they've all played ball while we've been away.

Anyway, the last of my makings from the House Party weekend. This one was not a shoebox card but a jewellery project that Debs had for us.  She took us through some basic chain maille and this was my end result ... or perhaps not!  This is slightly different to what I bought home as I wasn't happy with the spacings of the beads on the necklace, or the length of it, so I changed it.  In photographing the items I've noticed a mistake with the bracelet so I think that will be corrected at some point - and I may put more beads on it.  Don't know but guess you could say that this is still a work in progress. 

Have to say, I like the chain maille bit so I'm thinking I could be looking into that in more depth, rather than go the bead route :0)

There is one more shoebox card that I made a start on but it isn't quite finished so can't show it. Of all the others .... they're not even started - *LOL!*

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Chris decided ...

... to go Christmas for her shoebox card. Another really pretty but simple card however it could have been even more simple if I'd read the instructions - *lol* I was going by the look of the sample card and cut all my green squares and then the embossed bits to matt and layer.  I matted them all up and then found the ribbon, which I thought was very long for just a tiny bow. Then I read the instructions - *oooops!* The green card should have been kept whole and the ribbon wrapped around it to make the squares. What I had thought was white card (remember, looking at sample card but from a distance) between each white embossed square was, in fact, the white ribbon.  Anyway, it was too late for me to do anything other than matt and layer and hope to get the spacing right.  It doesn't look it in the photo but it is in fact pretty good - *LOL* 

Some glitter glue was used on the roofs of the buildings to make the snow sparkle. Embossing done with Cuttlebug embossing folders and nestabilites used to cut the greeting plaques.

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Cally's quickie ...

... shoebox offering.  A neat little 4x4 inch 'gap' card. Easy peasy to do but so very effective. Punched edge of card and backing papers. A section cut out but leaving a small border and then the pieces joined together with the cut out section added to the back of the card to show through the gap. Craftwork cards products used, flower, greeting and card candi. I love this style of card 

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Kim's secret squirrel ...

... and shoebox contribution. Secret squirrel was given to me, Cally and Greta as we'd made the fish card, which was Kim's shoebox card, before when we had our playday at Greta's. This time, instead of stamping the 'water' I tore different blue papers to make the waves. The fish are made with SU ornament punch, 2 step bird punch, small heart and the blossom punch. Modern label and window slot (I think it's called) for the greeting. This card is so cute. 

Secret squirrel card was made using the SU 2 step bird punch and the same label punches as above. Craftwork Cards Card Candi used in the corners. Spellbinders Label die to layer the bird onto. Another really cute and simple card

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Susan's shoebox ...

... card contribution. Cream, pink, brown and ivory card stock, some of which was pearlescent.  Ivory card was used to make an A5 card blank. Stampin' Up butterfly stamps, butterfly punch and border punch. Lili of the Valley greeting. Nestibilities.  After I'd taken pot luck on the double stamping of the butterflies it was discovered that Kim had bought her SU Stamp-a-majig with her - doh! 

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Ironing ...

... pah! Hate it with a vengeance but sometimes it's a necessary evil and today was one of those times :0( I sometimes think it's putting all of  it away that's even worse. Anyway, it's up to date again, stowed away and I've packed my case for the weekend.  Not much needed so didn't take too long to do - which is more than can be said for that dratted ironing *lol*

I'm going to post one of the shoebox projects that I managed to complete at the House Party. I really didn't get many made at all but that was fine as I hadn't really planned on doing any. I might try to get some posts scheduled for when I'm away, if I get time :0). If I don't, then it will be back to catch up next week *LOL*

Anyway, the first one ... Greta's contribution. Hers was based around the memory wire bracelet as opposed to the card. The card is a little 3x3 inch card done as a gift card to go with the bracelet.  We had a choice of colours and Greta had matched the colours for the card with the colour of the beads in the packs. Very pretty and I love it!

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Well, that great idea ...

... didn't work! Spent all those hours ripping/converting CDs into MP3 format, burned a VERY large amount of files to a DVD (well over 1000) and .... the player wouldn't recognise it so .......... I started burning again. This time, thinking it was the DVD that was the problem, I burned to CD-Rs. I got to CD 4 (CD-Rs don't take anywhere near the amount of info that a DVD does) and thought I'd better try one in car which ...... recognised that there was MP3 there but spat the disc out at me every time. Paul tried one in his car. Same result. Now I'd burned another 4 CDs and still had 3 to go. Didn't bother with the last 3. Instead I visited Mr Google and, it seems that I need to use Audio CD blanks rather than Data CD blanks. Looks as though I can't just 'pop out' to buy some either as a search of the sites relating to places I could 'pop out' to has drawn a blank *groan - haha*  Anyways, I've now ordered some.  Unlikely to be here in time to burn so we've a good selection of moooooooosic to play on our road trip to Doncaster on Thursday so will have to gather together a selection of sing-along type CDs (aka 'oldies') and some chill-out ones as well as use the radio a bit *grin*

Doncaster?  Didn't I mention that me and Cally are off on a trip up to Donny this weekend?  We went to the inaugural Summer Crafting Show last year and liked it so much we're repeating the experience. The workshop on Friday is different. Last year there were 4 workshops with different demonstrators/tutors. This year it's a day long workshop with Stephanie Weightman and Nancy Watt. Last year they had separate classes, of which we did both. This year they've come together and we should end up with 8 projects made by the end of the day ..... yeah, right! Course we will ....... be very unlikely to have succeeded!  Anyway, as Donny is nearly t'other end of country for us we're going on Thursday and coming back on Sunday.  The trip should take around 4½ hours, providing no hold ups and that doesn't allow for any stops.  I've got tickets and hotel reservation confirmation printed, as well as any vouchers for cheap meals I could find and Boris has been programmed - well, the new one for the hotel 'cos we're staying in a different one this year. Not so plush but a helluva lot cheaper *LOL* Guess that means another few days of non-blogging and some catch-up to do afterwards :0) We're hoping to catch up with Toni and rescue her for a spot of afternoon tea. Will she need rescuing? She reckons she might. She's demoing for La Pashe, with some of the La Pashe guys so yep, she probably will.  Gonna be keeping an eye open for Susan as well. She'll be on a coach trip down from her neck of the woods with a few others we know from the forum - although never met. We know Susan, obviously, having spent many a weekend with her so my reckoning is that if we see her we're bound to meet some of those we've never physically met before. Looking foward to it, with or without loads of MP3 music - *LOL*

Today, being Tuesday, was a Dad day. Not a good visit.  I arrived to find a stranger in his flat with Dad telling them to go and leave him alone. That he just wanted things to stay as they were. The stranger turned out to be a very pleasant young lady from the Falls Team. She'd called the carers but nobody had answered so she got the flat's manager to let her into Dad's flat so she could talk to him. He, not expecting her, got very flustered and confused as well as very upset. He obviously hadn't listened to her properly or hadn't understood her as he thought she wanted to move his furniture around and change things in the flat. Anyway, I had a chat to her and she's going to come back with a physiotherapist but ... she's going to contact me first so I can be there. Dad doesn't cope well with people he doesn't know unless I'm there.  It took me ages to calm him down after she'd gone and I finally got him to listen to me so I could explain what it was all about. He's quite open to a physiotherapist calling, if they can help him, but he's not prepared to go to visit one, however they will do home visits so that's good! When I left him he was more settled but he still wasn't good. She had really thrown him although most of what he was worrying about was in his head and bore no relation to what she had been trying to tell him. Anyway, she now knows that she needs to contact me before visiting Dad - although he now reckons he might be dead by next week! She told me that he'd proudly told her how old he was. I asked her what he'd told her. In his 90s, apparently *LOL* Told her, not yet. He's 90 next birthday but I think it depends what week you ask him as I've known him tell people he's 86!

Anyway, enough of all that. Back to the House Party weekend. Here's a 360° video clip I took standing less than ¼ of the way down the access lane to the cottages, from the main road. I'd gone to look for a beautiful partridge and his lady that we'd seen on the side of the lane a couple of times, just on the bend ahead of where I was standing.  I was close enough to see that he wasn't in sight this day. It was soooo quiet and peaceful I just had to record the surroundings and the peacefulness.  It does sound, in places, as though it's quite windy but there was only a gentle breeze, as can be seen by the stillness of the crops. I guess I could have been doing some heavy breathing *LOL*

The occupants of the car told me that the partridge was right down by the gate when they came in - doh!  

There was going to be another clip here ... I've taken a soundtrack from another video clip I took as I'm not sure that the 'stars' of the video would appreciate it being shown but I wanted to give a totally opposite view of the 'sounds of silence' above. Unfortunately the site I've uploaded the soundtrack to to get a widget to post here isn't giving me the widget option it's supposed to. I've emailed and waiting a reply ....

Oh ... and, look at these beautiful flowers that Greta gave me. She gave both me and Cally the same bouquets and they are gorgeous. I say 'are' as, apart from the roses, they're still going strong, 2 weeks after she gave them to us - well, mine are anyway :o)

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Not a lot ...

... going on today.  Should have been but there wasn't!  Cleared away the loads of CDs I'd spread all over the lounge (yep, we used to take the Daily Mail - *lol*) 

then decided to sort out some more photos .... 

Sunday 26th June at the House Party weekend.

The microlight flights never happened.  We never got a phone call :0(  They were flying from early in the morning as I heard them before 8am but guess either they didn't think we were serious, the insurance etc. wouldn't allow or the person themselves had other things to do.  May be worth looking at arranging something in advance for future visits .... mmmmmmmm! Anyways, the weather was beautiful and, although I'm sure some crafting went on I can't find any evidence of it amongst the photos I took during the day :0) 

Think I'll let the photos do the talking for the rest of this one - *ROFL* 

He's still there - just a little bit less than before.  He's lost a little bit more every visit :0(

The access lane looking towards the main road - it's a long way, especially as I was about ¼ of the way down it.

 From the south, through the crop fields (cottages on right of photo)

One airstrip at bottom of the path above.  I saw no microlights :0( but I did see ...

... a plane!  I watched it taxi for some way, turn round and take off then ...

... I walked where I saw it taxi.

South-west cottage view ... from the runway.

Cottages from the west

Spent what seemed like hours trying to get a good photo of some of the many swallows and their nests - and failing miserably!

Sun worship ...

 ... and the end result - ooops!

Can you relax any more than this?

Sunday evening BBQ - excellent!

 The whole shebang, en masse!

l-r:  Lynn, Cal, Chris, Jennie, Debs, Cally, Pam (me), Toni, Greta, Kim (partially hidden), Cathy (doing her best to hide), Trace, Jackie, Nita and last, but by no means least, Susan.

SAD!

A visitor - Bella, who came to meet her Mum, Toni, who had to leave us Sunday evening.

I was told I wasn't to socialise *grin*

A sunset ...

 ... and a seranade?  Debs had gone to bed *LOL*

And so our weekend came to an end and we all packed up and were on our way by 10am the following morning.  Looking forward to the next one now but I think I really should get the unmade shoebox cards I bought home, made!

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