It's been a while.... so let's get this started again....

Oh dear... my poor, neglected little bloglet.

I didn't realise it was quite so long since I had been on here to do anything at all with it! So, for those who are still hanging on in the vague hope that I may one day post something again - here you are! And THANK YOU for staying and being faithful to my blog (even if I do feel like I abandoned it!)

As it's been quite a while, I guess there's lots to tell you - DD graduating from uni to become a fantastic nurse (if I say so myself - and she moved to Manchester *sad mummy*), my other DD becoming a besotted mummy to our latest little Grandfurry, Charlie the pupster. A wonderful holiday to Somerset, lots of furry playtimes and snuggles, lots of crafting *ahem* and new windows!

See, the list is never ending now!!!

So. Where to begin.

Well, as you may have guessed, I left my job at Tonic at the beginning of the month, so time has been my own since then. It's taken a little bit of getting used to - watching tv, playing researching on my phone for a new hobby, and having lots of cuddles with baby Charlie the pup. Here he is, looking adorable.



 This was taken in his garden, at home where he lives with mummy and daddy Austin - Lannon. He's well at home, apart from the fact that Daddy Lannon plants nice flowers and shrubs and little C decides to pull and chew at them... bad puppy!

But who could resist that cute little sweetie smile?!

He often goes around to see his Uncle Leyton and Aunty Carly... and also sees his Aunty Carley here when she comes back from Manchester. But his all time favourite pastime is being good and acting really cute to get treats for his big cousins!

He is such a little cutie. And he loves his nanna and grandaddy lots. Even if it is just for the water bowl after a long walk, and a few treats along the way!

Well... I think that's enough waffling from me for now... I will share a few things that I've been making, and try to update my blog layout so things are a little easier to find from now on. 

I'm on a roll I tell thee.... I'm on a roll!!!

Senna

......My sleepy boy......

Senna

 age 18

Goodnight Kiara

Today is a very sad day in the Austin Household. Today is the day we lost our little furbaby, Kiara cat.

She was a funny little character, always full of fun. Some days you didn't know how to take her - maybe she'd act like she wanted a love and a cuddle, but when you tried she would make it plain and simple that she absolutely did NOT! lol.

In her later years - she would've been 14 in June, Kiara had a habit of sitting in things, or on things, maybe part due to the fact that we found her at around two weeks old, dumped in a carrier bag with her siblings. She was raised by us, and the only person she really loved was her daddy Leyton. Anyone else... forget it!

Over the past year, she spent time outside, sitting out on the patio, or just outside the door. Never wanting to venture more than a few yards outside. Mainly to lick the concrete ( yes, told you she was a bit strange!) and to flop around. Here she is looking perfect, just like we should remember her.

And then this is the usual pose... flat on her back, tummy to the world.

One of Kiara's other loves was her daddy. Here she is, making it obvious that SHE is the most important thing to him... not college work.. just her! She became the most loving, perfect little cat. A far cry from the scratchy, clawy, little vindictive horror that she was when she was little.

RIP Kiara Puss... as Leyton said - You found each other, You loved each other, You'll always be together. Always.

Play nice over Rainbow Bridge my little darling. Run free and out of pain with all our furbabies up there. You were uniquely amazing. We will never forget you. Love you forever.

14th June 1999 - 30th January 2013

Poorly pupsters...

Awwww.... today my furbabies are not well... they're all feeling a little under the weather with a bit of a doggy-bug that seems to be going around. Truly has been up most of the night needing the toilet, bless her.

So, I'm going to share a few recent snaps of my lovable furballs here with you.

Here's Truly - yes, I know she looks sad. This is her doing the 'whites of the eyes' game. Everyone she does this to is putty in her hands, and she definately knows how to milk it!

My baby girl... this is little Holly... aka Hollypop / Lollypop.. She is always the one who hates her photo taken, always refusing the look in the direction of the camera. She is officially camera shy.. but I got her on this one - the new pointyshooty camera works wonders for some things!

And Mr Scoobs... the Scoobster! Here he is on his 6th birthday at the weekend.. he'd just woken up from his slumber (yes.. another one!! Very inactive, my springers don'tcha know!) and was looking a bit worse for wear.. but he's always happy to pose for the cameras.

So there we have it.. a little family of under the weather furbabies... Get well soon furry friends!

Couldn't resist...

Sorry.. but I had to include these two quick photos of my furbabies.

Firstly, a little snap of Truly looking quite sedate. And believe me, sedate is not a word she understands!

She is a little bit of a hyperactive lily... a typical red head you could say.. but she has so much character, she's adorable.

And my boy...

This is one wooflet who really loves his photo taken as you may guess. My Scooby doo.. you're such a poser!

I've coloured them both in black and white to add a difference.. love black and white photos.

Hope you like them too!

Mrs Wellington...

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

Today is a very special day.... after many changes, upsets and alterations, the Crafty Bloggers Network Challenge blog is back up and running. Me and Geraldine have taken over the running of the blog, and I must admit, it's going from strength to strength... We have a new Design Team who are absolutely fantastic.. Please go over to take a look at their fab work.. it's amazing!

here is my card for the first challenge, ANYTHING GOES..

I decided that I wanted to create a feminine card so opted to use the Lucy Cromwell papers and the Wellington topper. But to make it more feminine, I added a bow to Wellingtons head.. I think it looks abit cute!

The flowers were made from scraps of paper, just coiled around and stuck down.

so.. what else have I been upto this past week or so... well, working on magasine commissions and also trying to sort out the Crafty Bloggers Network to get it up and running, and making it stronger than it was before.. I've also been playing around with our new acquisition! It was decided that we needed a smaller camera to carry around when visiting places.. so we just bought a Fuji finepix... I must say... I'm suitably impressed!

Here is a couple of quick snaps taken on the supermacro setting.. they were really quick photos as it was chucking it down with rain..

These were a couple of petunias in my hanging basket. Love the vein-y contrast!

And this one is my two boys together - one son who has just returned from the Carribean, so is looking very nicely suntanned (and also a bit tired.. lol) ... and my woofer - who is such a poser whenever he sees a camera!

I will try to get back on more often to post more pictures - believe me.. I've alot to show you! I need more time me thinks.. lol.

Please check out the Crafty Bloggers Network Challenge though... you'll love to play along, I'm sure.

Until next time.. happy crafting!

Punches and Dies..

Hi everyone.

Sorry for the lateness of this post - and the others I meant to put up over the weekend! - but things have just been a bit hectic recently.

First things first, and yesterday was the day that the new My Time to Craft Challenge went live, and the theme this week was Punches and Dies.

Here was my card -

I've used the lovely papers from Docrafts - Forever friends Christmas Tale - and I layered the red onto the white card. I then took a 1.5 inch scallop square punch to cut the second layers. This was the punch section! My die section was the central circle and scallop circle. The toppers that were released a month or so ago finish the card off perfectly. These were layered up with 3D pads and then finished with gems.

Aren't these toppers lovely?? I managed to bag myself a few of the snowmen ones and a couple of packs of reindeers.. I think they're so cute.

In addition to making cards for the Challenge, I've also been busy doing some cards and things for the Creativity TV. I'm off down to Bath next week for shooting the next set of videos - and there are some great techniques going on!

Things in the house have also been rather hectic. Holly has had a few days where she's been generally off colour and a bit sicky.. but I think she seems alot better today. No sickies, and looking quite alert and raring to play. This is a quick pic that I snapped this morning whilst she was out in the garden.

My little pupster! Love you Hollypops!

Mr Scoobs has also got a poorly footsie, so he's off to the vets again later to check and see if it's able to be unbandaged. Does he look worried?? I don't think so! Here he is this morning.. the handsome thing!

My daughter was out with Truly last night on a quick evening walk, and came across a poor little hedgiehog who was a little out-of-sorts. He was circling around the field, not really knowing where he was going.. he was a teeny tiny little thing (around 200g, so really underweight to survive the cold), so we bought him home and made him comfortable and warm. He was fed and ate the lot.. he must've been hungry. Here's Harold (as we named him.. cos everyone knows that hedgies need a name!)

 This photo was taken around 10pm last night, when we were bedding him down for the night. He was quite a fiesty little thing.. very nosy, but oh so cute!

This morning, he was all snuggled up in his towel, all nice and comfortable, and fast asleep. His little belly and feet had warmed up toasty warm, and he rolled himself to a ball when I picked him up for a picture.
This is a really good sign that he can curl up... so he must've been feeling better.

Look at his tiny little nose..

I have a love for the little hedgies.. they're such a lovely creature. It's such a shame that they are in decline.

Harold has now gone off with the RSPCA man, to be overwintered in their Wildlife Centre. So good luck to him, and I hope he goes on to live a very happy life, much like our Hyacinth that we raised a few years ago.

Well.. that's it for now.. more posts will be here tomorrow if I get chance! I'm back to running up and down to the Hallamshire again this week, as my daughter got admitted yesterday. It's been a bit of a tough month for her, but hopefully after her second MRI scan in as many months, we will know a bit better to what's happening and what will be done.

Until then... happy crafting! And thank you for popping by!

What a lovely weekend!

It really has been a peaceful weekend here, the weather has been nice too which makes a change! I've had a very chilled out couple of days, and today was out in the garden fighting back the weeds with the help of my hubby and his sturdy strimmer!

The dogs loved their newly cut garden too.. as did I... and I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the ones I could catch (Truly.. you really must learn to sit still more! lol)

So.. here's my photos for today.. sorry, no cards, as I have a card-free couple of days when I can. Although this week, it seems that most of my time has been card free! Still.... as a photographer, I love taking my photos.. so that's an added bonus.

Here's my boy... destroying his toys as usual.. lol. Such a beautiful boy, and more so now his coat has been clipped. You can definately see his beautiful spots more.

Awww... and my beautiful girl. It makes a change for her to sit and happily have her photo taken, so this is a joy for me. Such a beauty.

So. That's all I've been up to this weekend really. It's my last weekend off for quite a few weeks, as I have plenty of demo's to keep me going right up to the middle / end of October.. and I'm also booked to go back down to Bath to do some more Creativity TV episodes, and I have magasine work too.. so all is good, and I'm looking forward to a very busy couple of months!

Check back soon - I'll upload a few cards this week, but if there is anything you're wanting to see (tutorials or ideas), then please let me know.

Until then. xxxx

Little lovely furry things...

Just a quick post for tonight, but I wanted to post a few photos - after all, that's what a blog is for right? lol.

The photos are of the little furbabies, taken the other day. I actually went out to take some photos of the birds, and nearly got wiped out by Scooby as he noticed I was going outside with my camera! Boy.. he likes the camera.

Anyway, here are a couple of shots I got.

Bless his little mush... he's such a cheeky boy. His teeth are a little worse for wear, mainly because he was obviously allowed to chew stones when he was with his 'other' family. It is a bad habit that nearly two years later, are still trying to get him to stop doing - mainly so he doesn't wear down his poor teeth any more than they are. Still a little stunner though.

Awww... mummy's little munchkin. Holly's been really lovely today, and this evening has not really left my side as I had a slight 'incident' in the woods whilst on our walk - needless to say it took me about 15 minutes to walk the last few yards to the car and I am now sat in agony with my foot in the air! She is such an affectionate little love, and loves nothing more than sitting for hours having her belly tickled! I wanted to share this photo because it's not that often you can get such a good photo of her.

Does this classify as furry? Well, I think so. Loving the bokeh on this photo too - nearly as much as I love this little weed.

There's something quite lovely about dandelion clocks, it must come back to my younger years.

Right.. must dash... well, not exactly dash (as that would be a physical impossibility this evening!!!)

Will be back tomorrow with a card or two.

a post full of photos..

It's been a while since I managed to upload some new photos of the furbabies, so I took advantage of the good weather that we've been having and treated the camera to a bit of fresh air. It was then a challenge to try and upload them onto this new computer to edit them. Still, I managed it and here they are. So grab a cuppa cos it's a looooooong post!

This lovely lilac is in our garden.

The colour of the lilac is beautiful against the clear blue sky, and it smells so lovely! I can't believe that when we first moved into the house I thought it was a weed and spent many years cutting it down! Well... you live and learn I guess.

And look what lurks in the undergrowth - a furbaby!

This one is Mr Scoobs.. our gentle giant. He's such a beautiful boy, and he loves his photo taken. When he sees you with a camera, he sits and smiles.. lol... then shuffles until he's in the right position. Such a wonderful boy and I honestly can't understand why someone didn't want him, but at least it gave us the opportunity to love him more!

Awwwwww... my lickle Lollyflop..

No. Lollyflop isn't her real name. She is actually Princess Holly of Tashasti.. or Holly for short! But she does get called Lollypops, lollyflop, Hollywolly.. lol. And yes, she answers to all. But alas, she doesn't like her photo taken, but she is a bit of a stunner if you can get her attention with a dandelion clock (which is what I did!!!)

No photos of little Truly today - she was too busy rooting around for any stray birds and beetles!

So this afternoon as it was still lovely and sunny, we took a walk upto a different woods to where we usually go - this one is fondly known as Bluebell Woods.. and it is!

This is just a small portion of the woods in one direction, but there are tons and tons of bluebells up there and it looks beautiful.

Aren't they just lovely?

And as Scooby tends to jump around when you point a camera, it suprises me that this little lady was still wondering about!

And lastly, I just had to share this little photo with you.

Now... when the woofers are playing with balls or pine cones (a definate favourite!), if you throw them and Holly gets to them first, she sits on them and refuses to let Scooby have one. At this point she is often called Grotbags, and Scoob has to just sit there waiting for us to get his ball as he won't take it off her, whilst she sits there looking around to make sure he's not near! So funny ...

So there you have it - a day in the life of the furbabies.. and a camera that doesn't come out too often! lol.

Hope you enjoyed it. I'm back tomorrow with a little card for you, so check back soon!

xxx

Fancy a cake?

And yes.. it's the full fat, squidgery type..

I had a bit of a baking day on Sunday, and this was the result.. they went down a treat too!

I also just wanted to share a couple of photos of the wooflets, taken by Martina the other week.

I love this one of Truly.. typical Truly.. laid on the floor, one eye open keeping an eye out for whatever may happen.

And this is just sooooo Holly. She is such a beauty, but refuses to look at you when you have a camera in your hand.. lol.

Whatever you're doing today, enjoy it!

How sweet is this little munchkin?? Meet Holly. She's one cute little girl, that's for sure and she is my friend Sharon's little girl.

She is a bit shy sometimes, a right little chatterbox and cuddlybud at others, and I think my photos show this quite well.. I hope you like!

Sharon has a blog here if you would like to pay her a visit.. I'm sure she'd love you too!

Dingle... dangle... bobbly bits..

Icicles...

Don't you just love them?

Well, I do when they're not hanging from my guttering! Next door had some amazing ones, absolutely loads, hanging down around 12 inches in length.. but this small one was hanging from my Studio roof.

And as for the Bobbly bits? Guess who they belong to?

Yes... you guessed. The Furballs. Here are a few quick shots of the wooflets playing in the snow. (Alas, none of Truly as she loves the snow so much she won't sit to have her piccie taken.. daft dog!)

Oh bless. The top pic is Scooby being a typical cheeky boy.. and the bottom is Holly - look at those lickle bobbles.. Looking more like a Poodle every minute! So cute.

Mummy, I'm camera shy.. tell me when you've finished and I'll pull my head out of the snow... !

Scooby has bobbly bits too - and such affectionate eyes, don't ya think? Beautiful.

And my favouritest photo of the day? This one -

Perfect for a Christmas card (watch this space!) Beautiful, Handsome Mr Scoobs..

Hope you like them. Promise a card or three is next on the agenda.

A snowdrop or two....

I LOVE SNOW! Well, I do when it's not as thick as it is at the moment... when everyday life stops and things are put on hold just because of the White Stuff. However would we cope if we lived in America, eh? Now they have 'real' snow don't they.. !

So, today, I have had the men go to work as usual (but thankfully a friend was playing taxi), and the girls are at home. Work has shut for the day for one, and no school for the other (so she's off playing igloo's!!)

And this is a lovely photo that Nikki sent onto me yesterday. One of a collection, but this is my favouritest!

And here are a few of the snowy pictures I took this morning as I was trying to dig my way out of the house!!!

This is the front garden - look at the snow on the bin! Blimey!

This view above, shows just how high the snow is at the front. The fencing is around 4 foot high.. and it's half way up it!

Cars? What cars??

And a few of the Furballs... don't you just love em?

Mr Scoobs... looking very beautiful.

Holly and Scooby - it's not very often that you can photograph them together.

What's your snow like? Leave me a comment and let me know.