It's Friday and Challenge #60 at Friday Sketch Challenge Blog

Morning all

Hope you have had a good holiday and eat loads and enjoyed being with family.

Today is the first post for the New Year here at Friday Sketch Challenge and we have a sketch for you from the lovely Claudia

  

Our Sponsor this fortnight is


Meljen Designs


and the prize for the lucky winner is

$5 Gift Certificate

Here is my card which I made for my dear blogging buddy Annie's Dad and should be winging it's way to Australia as I type.

Why not pop over and see what the rest of the design team have designed
and you never know if you enter you might just be picked as a winner

Love Alison xx

Evening all

Hi how is everybody?

I have been fairly busy today, trying to make a box for my soap to go into cut it out on cameo but still not big enough using A4 sheet don't really want to go into a 12 x 12 if I can help it.

So I cut it out by hand and it's perfect will show it to you once a few bits of tweaking has been done.  This is what I have been up to over the last couple of days

Made a couple of pillar candles the red one is apple and the two white ones are White Musk

Middle block is honey and oats this will lighten slightly as it cures this was made in my new mould which I hope will eventually replace the moulds I have been using and which I made the other bars in.  The other bars are two of Marjoram, Fennel and Avocado and then two of Rose Geranium 

I am nearly up and running on my website can't be ordered from yet as I have not linked my paypal account to it yet thought I would wait until everything was on it but if you want to check it out then click here 

Will be back later to do a bit of blog hopping 

Love Alison xx

Had a lovely day

Hi All

Hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday, Alan is still off work and as I am getting back into my soap making I placed an order with The Soap Kitchen and instead of having it posted out to me we collected it.  Martin and Kate at the Soap Kitchen were brilliant and really helpful.  We then went to the Asda in Clovelly, Devon as they sell the Pomace Olive Oil that I use in my soap, its the only Asda I know of that sells this particular type of olive oil unless I travel all the way to Bristol and I don't fancy that.

On the way home we stopped for a pub lunch and arrived home around 3.30 just in time to say goodbye to Sarah who is travelling to London to spend the New Year with friends, she will be home on Thursday.

My new website is coming along although not actually put any products on it yet will be doing that once I have sorted my new packaging out for my soap as I want to box it rather than wrapping so will be playing tomorrow with sorting that out as well as making some Honey and Oats Soap, made some Rose Geranium yesterday now it has to cure for around 4-6 weeks the longer you leave it the better the soap is.  I also make some pillar candles and perfumed them with White Musk, now just need to make some more container candles as I sold out of those over the Christmas period.

I am highlighting today a project I started on before Christmas but have only just finished it over 100 flowers on this ball but it's so pretty am going to make smaller ones for weddings along with getting some wedding stationery set up for my new web site.

I have bought some fat squares to make a makeup bag and when the shops in Tavistock are open again am going to get some more material to make myself a sewing machine cover as the one that came with my sewing machine has split as it was made of thin plastic.    Loads of ideas swimming around in my head, I would love to set myself up in business running a soap/candle making workshop and also showing people how to make talc, bath bombs and body lotion, but know this is not going to happen because of my health problems as I could not guarantee that I would be fit enough on any given day so I can dream.

Am off to do a bit of blog hopping now 

Happy New Year to Everybody

See you in 2014

Love Alison 

xxx

Nearly New Year

Hi All

Hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year, we are having a quiet one as usual, don't really celebrate now, just have a glass of wine really.  Not sure what Sarah is doing she may be going to London to be with friends or may contact a couple here in Plymouth and go and stay with them.

We had a lovely day on boxing day we went over to Nicole and Dean's where she put on a lovely spread and met Dean's family and got an order for a personalised candle whilst there which was good.
Had lots of lovely presents for Christmas, earrings, kindle fire, new sewing box which has put me in the mood to do a little sewing project, also a voucher for Hobbycraft already spent lol, slippers, bailey's fudge, etc etc, spoilt rotten.

I have not made a card but wanted to show you a little decoupatch cat I have made really enjoyed doing this:

and here is Toby all tired out after his Christmas Lunch lol 

Not quite sure what he was up to here 

I have started making some soap again I have run out and as it takes 6 weeks to cure thought I had better get a move on and get some made the concoction I have brewed this time is Avocado, Fennel and Marjoram which smells gorgeous.  I will be making some Lemon and Orange tomorrow and then on Wednesday will make some Grapefruit, then Lavender, then Bergamot and Patchouli, will also make some Rose Geranium and Honey and Oats hope I have enough of the oils I use.  i.e. Coconut, Palm and Olive Oil otherwise a trip to the Soap Kitchen will be called for.

I have also decided to try and set up a web page to sell my wares not sure yet if I will be able to afford this every month but shall wait and see hopefully the thing should pay for itself.  I am about a quarter of the way through setting it up but now need some help which I will sort out tomorrow hopefully.  

Anyway am off to bed just now its around 12.30 am, and I am shattered. 

Love to all

Alison xx

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my blogging buddies 

Hope you all have a great holiday

I will finish catching up with you all later

But wanted to wish you all

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year

Lots of love 

Alison & Family 

Sorry being AWOL

Morning Everybody

Sorry about being AWOL for the last couple of days but my migraine got the better of me so stayed away from computer and bright lights.  Feeling much better now just tired, as Sarah and I had the brainwave of doing the shopping for Christmas food plus my usual monthly shop at midnight last night am shattered now, we left home at around 12.15am and got back at 2.15am, poor old Sarah has work today.  I still have a few bits to get but they can wait until later today.

As I was waiting for the shop to open last night decided I would make Nicole's altered bag and two Gift Card Holders which turned out quite well, here they are:

Nicole and Dean's Christmas Bag of Goodies

Made two of these gift card holders

one in gold and one in blue for Jessica and Nicole 

I have quite a bit to do today as I need to get the meat we bought last night into the freezer but stupid me did not buy freezer bags so these are on my list, need to tidy up and strip our bed as I have been lying in it for a couple of days trying to get rid of my headache.  Alan and Sarah will make the bed when they get home tonight as that winter quilt is just too heavy for me to manage. 

I then have to go to the wool shop and buy another ball of wool to finish Jessica's scarf off that I started knitting on Friday and sort out dinner for tonight am thinking shepherds pie which is easy to make and quite filling for my workers when they get home.  

Well am off to do my jobs will be back to try and catch up on everybody when I have finished all my jobs.  Take care.  

Love Alison xxx

Morning all

Hello everybody

Can anyone help my blog is jumping up and down not by much but makes me feel a bit sick when I am trying to do things does anyone know why it does this?

Had a bad night, headache with sickness obviously the start of a migraine don't get them very often but have been eating a lot of chocolate over the past couple of days so must desist.

Alan and Sarah have gone into town to get presents both of them leave things until the last minute, I started on a quick scarf for our granddaughter Jessica yesterday but did not buy enough wool so will have to go back and get another ball but my hands and fingers are really sore today, arthritis is not good for knitting.

Took the car down to the garage yesterday insurance is going to pay for the damage but I have to pay my excess which is £75.00 the damage is around £900.00 worth wow didn't think I had hit the wall that hard.   So it is booked in for the 9th January, also need to go and get it serviced will ring up about that on Monday and book it in for after Christmas now.

Thought I would show you another card I made from when I first started crafting as only DT cards are being made at the moment as I have rather a large amount of cards that need selling before I can make any more as I have nowhere to store them.

Again this image came from a CD which now I have looked can't find so must have given it away the card is gold embossed and card layered onto miri card.

Must go now need to finish sorting the house out before my shower and get down to the shop before the paracetamol painkillers wear off as I will not be able to drive once I have taken my migraine tablets.

Will be by a bit later on to do a spot of blog hopping. 

 Love to All.  

Alison xx