19th October 2017 Mailer

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Old Fashion Doll by Helen Howell

How many of you remember the dolls we use to cuddle that were soft and didnt speak, not like todays counterparts that are hard or made of slicon etc. Well, I decided for my little granddaughters 2nd Birthday that I would make her an old fashion rag doll, something she can hold and drag around with her, something to love and be a best friend. I set too and got busy making this doll, at times I wondered why I had started it, especially when it came to doing the hair and making the clothes. The finished result however, was worth all the effort and I cant wait to give her this on her birthday later this month.

cup918654_37881 by Helen Howell

cup918655_37881 by Helen Howell

Turkey time by Judith Henry

Ive never seen a real turkey with its feathers spread fanned out. This spring I captured this photo. Now this summer I asked if anyone had seen baby turkeys. We were driving out to moms and what did we see but a mom and her three babies. They were not very pretty or cute. Our Canadian geese have these fluffy chicks but the turkey babies are scrawny ND THIN.

cup910329_2228 by Judith Henry

cup908317_2228 by Judith Henry

Mills and Boon by Susan Powell-Barton

After reading Vicis mail in the last news I just had to reply. What a wonderful couple, your husband is handsome enough to be a Mills & Boon hero, loving, kind generous and caring. I have know doubt there are a million more husbands the same out there, you fortunate ladies. I love the way you write your story, catches and keeps my attention completely. So thank you for all the mail you send and I am sure there are many people out there that feel the way I do. I have not been around much these past few months, it has been one thing after another. You have always been in my thoughts. So many excellent designers and crafters many new to me,but a delight to follow. Last but not least, your pound shop Crafty Bob is wonderful, I know I will be diving in periodically, so many bits and bobs to tempt me. Thank you.

Lovely Spring Day by Joan King

Today is the 18th October and we are half way through Spring. The wind has dropped and the tide was low although coming in again so a perfect opportunity for me to go out for a nice walk on the beach. I was rather surprised to see that there was no one else around on a such a beautiful day. The temperature is 21 degrees not bad for the time of year. Got my shorts on for the first time so hopefully I can wear them again fairly soon. Also attached is a photo of my grand daughter Brooklyn who is 3 now and she had just come back from a birthday party and of course had her face painted as a butterfly. Didnt envy mums job of trying to get the paint off though.

Here are two of my latest designs one for Christmas and general one for any occasion. Happy Crafting.

cup920431_1716 by Joan King

cup919862_1716 by Joan King

A Great Achievement by Janice McFarlane

My grandson Alfie had an awards assembly this week. His mum knew he was getting an award but didnt know what for. The parents are always invited and it is a formal occasion so to speak. The children go and collect their certificates of achievement and the teacher gives them a congratulationary handshake. Alfies certificate read - This Achievement Award is presented to Alfie Crawley for excellent identification of the features of instructions and for giving great verbal instructions. Well done we are really proud of you. Whilst this may seem a little strange to some in subject matter, (it did to me at first) Listening to instructions and being able to give them is important and obviously part of the curriculum. It is even more of an achievement for Alfie as he has a hearing problem, so sometimes doesnt quite hear correctly. I am so proud of him as this must have been a difficult task. Well done Alfie!

Two new kits which are Christmas themed with beautiful seasonal birds and co-ordinate with each other. Thank you for looking.

cup920330_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup920553_905 by Janice McFarlane

Concert by Diane Hannah

My special needs grandson is turning 21 years old next week. He is super excited. So a while back I asked him what he wanted for this landmark birthday. His answer was I want to go to a concert. I thought, YIKES! I totally do not like crowds, and loud music even less. I really wanted this to happen for him, but had no idea how it would come about. I mentioned it to my super great sister-in-law...and she said, I would love to take him! Now he had his birthday wish, and also had dinner with her, got to spend the night at her house, and went to work with her the next day. He was besides himself with joy.t hank you Vicky for being the great person you are! You are the best...

cup920505_874 by Diane Hannah

cup916719_874 by Diane Hannah

Quail Island, Lyttleton, New Zealand

by Sandie Burchell

My Son, Steve, is now in New Zealand touring with his Band: Michael Jackson - The Legacy. He has found time to visit this lovely place, Quail Island, Lyttleton, NZ. He is on the last leg of the tour now and should be back in Las Vegas at the end of the month. He is looking forward to coming back to warmer weather! He will be home for the rest of the year, so doubt he will be performing with Bands in Las Vegas for the rest of the year. Then early next year he will be touring China for two months. I have missed him and I'm looking forward to having him home again for a while!

These are two of my latest Shaped Card Mini Kits, which I have on SPECIAL OFFER today. I hope that you like them as much as I like designing them and thank you for looking! x

cup920987_425 by Sandie Burchell

cup920699_425 by Sandie Burchell

Rock Painting by Carol Clarke

You may have heard of the latest craze children have of painting rocks and hiding them (mostly in plain sight! lol) for others to find. I have painted a few rocks recently for our youngest two grandchildren to hide. Predictably six year old Olivia wanted to create some of her own so I prepared some rocks for her and she spent a happy hour creating her designs. Ive brought them home to seal and varnish them and it remains to be seen if she can bring herself to part with them .... or if theyll be going in her treasure box! lol Below are 2 of my newest designs ... Watch out for more ... COMING SOON!!

cup816564_359 by Carol Clarke

cup816566_359 by Carol Clarke

My Amazing Daughter

by Deloraine Neubauer

My crafting has taken a backseat in my life for the last month or so. A lot of my time has been spent coaching and taking my daughter to training. Life has recently been a bit of a roller-coaster with Cate being named Captain of the Queensland Under 21 Open Girls team to compete against Victoria and New South Wales in the East Coast Challenge Cup, which is a tenpin bowling tournament. Its only her second year competing in this tournament, and she certainly stepped up to the role of Captain, doing her best to motivate and help her team mates deal with the lanes in Sydney last week.The week in Sydney was full of ups and downs. Cate finished 1st in the Open Girls singles event, and have a mini breakdown due to one of the chants from another team bringing back memories of a friend she lost in a car accident. She finished the week competing in the Open Girls Masters tournament, going in as the second highest qualifier. After five games, she was named the 2018 ECCC Open Girls Master, with the Shield being awarded to her at the presentation dinner, where she was also named as part of the 2018 Open Girls All star team.As if all the highs from Sydney werent enough, during her league yesterday, she managed to bowl the Perfect 300 game. For those who dont know much about Tenpin Bowling, the perfect game is Strikes in every frame, closing with three in the 10th frame. She has been so close to this on many occasions, quite a few of them this year, but always seems to either let nerves get to her or psyche herself out.

cup919700_44316 by Deloraine Neubauer

cup919694_44316 by Deloraine Neubauer

A Birthday to remember by Joyce Watson

In September this year I celebrated my 80th Birthday. For this birthday my children sent me on a train trip around America! I flew out from Edinburgh to Chicago and met up with one of my daughters - Susan - who lives in Missouri. We pent the first night in a hotel and then the next day got on an Amtrak train to Seattle, a journey which lasted 44 hours! Luckily we had a bedroom on the train, Double Decker trains. Such beautiful scenery on the way, its a pity it gets dark at night and we have to sleep. Had two days in Seattle, went on a boat trip and saw a glass garden, then back on the train to Los Angeles. Had to break the journey and spend the first night on a bus! The train track had been destroyed by the forest fires! Back on the train again another night on the train and 2 days in Los Angeles. open bus city tour, walked on the stars pavement, and walked down Rodeo Drive amongst the stars shops. Train again to New Orleans French Quarter - my birthday - felt like a queen! Another city bus tour, Walked amongst the streets, soaking up the music. Champagne for breakfast, cocktails before dinner and wine and special birthday cake for dinner. Unknown man [who had been smiling at me] in the restaurant paid the bill for our dinner! Back on the train again to Chicago for 4 days. Saw so many wonderful sights, another boat trip, and a further surprise, my school-friend of 66 years met up with me for lunch - and I didnt recognise her! Both of our daughters had planned the visit. So after 4 trains, 4 hotels in 4 different cities, over 10,500 miles am now back to earth, and crafting again.

cup899086_750 by Eva Cano

cup896512_359 by Carol Clarke

Tornado by Vicki Avcin

We hear of many tornadoes in the US and the devastation they cause but only occasionally do we hear any storm referred to as a tornado here in Australia. Usually the word supercell is used and where they hit the damage is massive. Waterspouts that make landfall are more common. On Thursday 11th October, there were storms forecast, some severe with the chance of supercells, but never did anyone see what was coming. About lunchtime, BOM was tracking several storms but 2 showed signs of being very bad. We watched the radar and saw them moving over towns as they tracked to the north east. Most were of the impression that the closer to the coast they got the more theyd die out with only heavy rain coming through. But no these storms just kept going, even intensifying, and continuing on their path. Reports started to come in about a small community, Tansey, having been hit hard, people trapped in cars, big hail and a lot of damage. As we kept watching the radar, these storms just keep going. Listening to the radio (fire service) we became aware that something really big was happening and at around 4pm all our phones get a text message (Gov message) with a warning about the storm for Hervey Bay and Maryborough. We knew we were going to get a storm, just wasnt sure what was in store so all precautions had already been made, cars undercover, loose items secured etc and we waited. Next the house phone rang with the warning with the emergency warning siren usually only heard when there is a cyclone. We watched as the radar showed it getting past Maryborough and just about at River Heads and then fortunately the radar went from black to orange and we dodged a bullet. What we didnt know at that point is that the community of Yengarie (west of Maryborough) had also been decimated with the 2nd tornado. People were injured, wildlife injured and killed, trees over cars, houses and buildings flattened. Not something we are used to but the forecasters are saying tornadoes are not uncommon in Australia, we are just hearing about them more as a lot already occur in areas where there is no population. So 2 weeks ago we are fighting fires and now doing storm cleanups. Life isnt dull. The cockatoo in the pictures is alive and doing great after a few days of TLC.

cup462467_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup832933_543 by Vicki Avcin

Corfu by Carol Dunne

Recently returned from a fabulous holiday on the Greek Island of Corfu. We stayed just outside the main town which is now a World Unesco site. We spent many evenings just wandering around the cafe jammed streets finding somewhere nice to eat for our evening meal and to buy locally made goods. Everywhere we ate was great and I treated myself to some handmade sandals.. At one point the island it is only 2 miles across to Albania so we took a boat trip there one day. We had a wonderful time.

cup920663_173 by Carol Dunne

cup920666_173 by Carol Dunne

Another Comparison Picture by Sue Way

I love watching how my puppy Billy is growing and changing every day. He is now 5 1/2 months old and is getting very big. He is going to be a big boy! When he came home at 8 weeks old, he loved laying next to an old rusty weight that we have in the garden to hold the back gate open. He did a lot of teething on that weight as well as falling asleep cuddled up to it. He still takes anything precious to that spot. So, of course, I had to do a new comparison picture. Oh my goodness he is growing like a weed! This week I have added lots of cute bears and penguins on my popular Scalloped Round Easel design. Perfect for Christmas. http://www.craftsuprint.com/sue-way/?r=968387

cup920371_38 by Sue Way

cup919165_38 by Sue Way

The Mystery of Somerleyton Hall

by Valerie Dawes

With some friends, we visited Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk this summer, a beautiful country house which has stood there in one or other of its many guises since 1240.As we approached, myself and another friend began to experience a strange sense of deja-vu. We decided that the house was built in exactly the same style as another house we had visited in Sussex and this sense of familiarity increased with each room we visited....Yes, youve guessed it, we had been there before, several years previously! It was a very strange sensation though and to this day, one of our group is still convinced that it was the first time theyd ever been there. Stephen King would be proud of us!

cup920930_203 by Valerie Dawes

cup920349_203 by Valerie Dawes