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Wednesday 30 June 2010

Baroque Motif coordinated gift set

Regular readers of this blog will know that I just love matching gift sets! When I bought this little pampering vanity case it gave me the inspiration for a coordinating card:


Don't these hot orange colours make you think of sun sea and sand... (Sigh. Only three weeks to go until the end of term!)

To make the card I stamped the flourish from Baroque Motifs in Whisper White craft ink on Pumpkin Pie card stock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. The flower stamp from Touch of Nature was given the same treatment and just the flower head cut out - I made three of these. They were arranged on the flourish, adhered with dimensionals and finished with pearls from my Pretties kit. I rounded the corners of the Pumpkin Pie panel and matted it onto Only Orange card stock with its corners rounded too. It was then adhered to a Pumpkin Pie card base.

Supplies
Stamps: Touch of Nature, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Whisper White craft ink
Card stock: Pumpkin Pie, Only Orange
Other: White embossing powder, heat tool, corner rounder, pearls from the Pretties kit

I thought this made rather a pretty little gift - but there was something missing... I know! How about a box to put it in? When you have one of the Fiskars trimmers and a scoring blade, it's easy to rustle up a box in whatever size you need!


I used Whisper White card stock for the base of the box and this scrumptious orange dots designer paper from the Sweet Pea stack for the lid. Using Sticky Strip ensures that my boxes stay firmly stuck together.  I used the 3/4" circle punch for the sides of the lid.


Here's the finished box, tied up with 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Pumpkin Pie. I made a tag using the It's Beautiful wheel on a scrap of Whisper White card stock and stamping a sentiment on top. That was punched out with the small tag punch and matted onto Pumpkin Pie card stock punched out with the large tag punch. I pierced a hole through the tag and tied it to the ribbon with silver elastic cord.

I think we all struggle for ideas sometimes but I hope these coordinating gift sets show that there is a wealth of inspiration out there. Next time you lose your mojo why not pop out to your high street and take a look at the fantastic packaging on those shelves!

I'll be showing you some more gift boxes tomorrow.
See you then!


Tuesday 29 June 2010

Strawberry lollipops

When I held a stall at my son's school fair on Saturday, I wanted to sell a few handcrafted items as well as telling everyone about the fabulousness of Stampin' Up products! One of the things I came up with was this strawberry lollipop:


Just LOOK at it! I got so excited about these! My daughter did point out that she had not previously seen a striped or a floral strawberry, forcing me to deliver a lecture about artistic licence. She drifted off halfway through my monologue but the cat seemed interested...


These strawberries contain a lollipop but wouldn't it be lovely to pop a strawberry truffle inside? Instead of a lolly stick poking out, you could just tie the little box with ribbon. Perfect for a dinner party or as a little thank you!

I used this template by Sherrie Brickey, which I adapted to make my strawberries, and used the 5 petal punch with a hole punched in the centre for leaves. A piece of Always Artichoke 1/4" grosgrain ribbon gave a finishing touch.

Thank you for dropping in to visit me today.
I'll be back tomorrow with a coordinated gift set.
Hope to see you then!

Monday 28 June 2010

SPECIAL OFFER!

You may have noticed that I've been happily using the Autumn Meadows designer paper for the last week or so. I've found the paper to be perfect for male projects and also for ladies (like me!) that love earthy colours and the natural look.

Do you remember this card?


Or how about these?


Or these?

An what about these bookmarks?


I have really enjoyed making these projects and now it's your turn! I am pleased to offer my UK readers this special Autumn Meadows pack.


Each pack contains:
  • 12 sheets of 6"x6" double sided Autumn Meadows designer papers
  • 5 colours of A4 card stock - a sheet each of Real Rust, More Mustard, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla
  • 3 colours of 1/4" grosgrain ribbon  -  a metre each of Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard and Chocolate Chip
  • A classic ink pad in the colour of your choice.
All these items will be posted first class, directly to your door, for just £10 including postage and packing. Simply click here to email your order or call me on 01280 820593. Don't forget to let me know which colour ink pad you'd like!

Payment can be made with cash or cheque or via bank transfer or paypal. Please note, these packs are available only while stocks last.

Looking forward to hearing from you!





PS. Why not treat yourself to a new stamp set too? This pack works perfectly with the Autumn Splendor stamp set (£16.95 for a set of four gorgeous stamps) and the Autumn Days set (19.95 for a set of six).

Sunday 27 June 2010

Summer fair stall

Just a quick post to say I really enjoyed the summer fair yesterday. We basked in glorious sunshine and I think adults and children alike had a lovely time.

I meant to show you the poster I made for the fair. I liked the bunting so much that I used it for my blog banner! (You knew you'd seen it somewhere before...!)


I sponged a sky with Bashful Blue ink and added leaves from Touch of Nature. The bunting is made by drawing a freehand wavy line with a Chocolate Chip marker and added flags cut from scraps of designer paper. The trees were stamped in Chocolate Chip and sponged with Garden Green and Old Olive and the grass is sponged with Certainly Celery. I added flowers and leaves from the Itty Bitty Buds hostess set (Don't forget you can earn these hostess sets free when you host a stamping party OR place an order for £150 or more!)

I forgot to take a photo of the stall when I was at the fair as I was a bit busy! But here's a photo of a practice run at home:



Yes - more bunting! I'm quite a fan - I always think it looks so festive and it's so easy to make. I rustled this up with a length of Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, a stapler and the Sweet Pea designer papers.

Well, this family had a restful day in the sunshine today after the excitement of yesterday. But it's Monday tomorrow and I have a fabulous special offer to bring you. Later in the week I'll be showing you some of the items I made to sell at yesterday's fair. Hope you can join me!

Friday 25 June 2010

FTL 96 Challenge with Autumn Meadows

I have been beavering away on my stall for tomorrow's fair but I saw Natasha's sketch and thought  it would only take a few minutes to make a card. And it's true - it literally did take minutes!




Here's my card:


Whenever you need to make a card in a hurry, designer paper is often the answer. I used two of my favourite papers from the Autumn Meadows pack here. The woodgrain one was adhered to a Very Vanilla card base. The edge of the blue leaf print was sponged with Bashful Blue ink before matting it onto Chocolate Chip card stock. I added the panel to the card with dimensionals and stamped the sentiment using my stamp-a-majig. Very speedy.

Supplies
Stamps: Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
Other:

You may be forgiven for thinking I may have mislaid all the rest of my designer paper! I do really love this pack (in fact it may just be my favourite of all time!) but I have been making things with other papers for the fair tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the fair. Last year my youngest son told me it was better than Christmas! (Slightly worrying considering I put a great deal of effort into our festive season!) Anyway, I'll show you photos of my stall next week.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Thursday 24 June 2010

Autumn Meadows and Autumn Days book marks

I've been making bookmarks for my stall at the fair on Saturday and I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of these Autumn Meadows ones.


I love these colours and the nature motifs on them. (I guess I'm just Nature Girl at heart!) And of course the designs can easily be adapted to make matching cards. They'd make a lovely addition to a gift of a book.

Supplies
Striped bookmark
Stamps: Autumn Days
Ink: More Mustard, Pumpkin pie, Creamy Caramel
Card stock: Really Rust, Taken With Teal, Very Vanilla
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper, 3/4" circle punch, More Mustard grosgrain ribbon

Dogtooth bookmark
Stamps: Autumn Days
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Garden Green
Card stock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper, 1/2" circle punch, Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon

Leaf print bookmark
Stamps: None used
Ink: None used
Card stock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper, 1/2" circle punch, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon

My youngest son was off school today, feeling a bit under the weather, so I can't stay chatting as I'm on cuddle duty! 
Hope to see you tomorrow.



Wednesday 23 June 2010

Autumn Meadows birthday

Yesterday I went scampering off to carry out an idea I had for my new Crystal Effects. Well, I hope you weren't holding your breath because I have to tell you it didn't work! I'm going to show you the card anyway because although I didn't like the Crystal Effects bit, I liked the card without it.


I've stamped two of this image from the Seeing Spots set in More Mustard, cut them out and mounted them on dimensionals with 'stems' made from thin strips of Old Olive card stock. I thought they looked rather like those retro seed head images that are popular now. The idea was to fill the middle with Crystal Effects to give them a shiny domed centre but they ended up looking more like those space ship sweets - NOT the look I was after!!! I ADORE these Autumn Meadows papers - the distressed one on the right hand side of the card makes me want to swoon! (I know - it's only paper...)

Supplies
Stamps: Seeing Spots, Basic Phrases
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper

I've been as busy as a bee making little items for a stall at my youngest son's school fair but I haven't forgotten I promised you a special offer pack with that gorgeous Autumn Meadows designer paper. Keep an eye out for it - coming soon!

Thanks for visiting my blog today.
I appreciate you spending the time with me.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

More Autumn Meadows cards

One of the things I adore about my job as a Stampin' Up demonstrator is experimenting with new products. I do this so that my customers don't have to buy products without knowing anything about them but there's no denying it's great fun! I've been seeing what I can do with the Autumn Meadows designer paper for the last week and I'm in heaven! Here are a couple more cards I've made using it:


Don't you just love the subtle woodgrain effect of this paper? And those colours! I kept this card quite masculine - perfect for the old fox in your life!

The next card uses similar colours.


I love this leaf print - there's so much movement in it. The card is very simple - I tore and distressed a piece of Really Rust card stock, wheeled it with Sandy Speckles and positioned it on the DP. The sentiment was cut out using the word window punch and the leaf stamped and cut out. But my favourite bit of this card is the 'brad'. Here's a close-up:


It's a bit blurry but I think you can see it. The 'brad' is made with 1/4" circles punched from kraft card stock, stuck together with Tombow glue and topped with a 1/4" circle of striped DP. I finished it with a blob of Crystal Effects which is a strong glue that dries clear and very shiny. It's quite 3D too which is why it's made this dome-like brad shape. What do you think?

Supplies for the fox card.
Stamps: Fox and Friends, Sincere Salutations, Basic Phrases
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip, word window punch

Supplies for the leaf card.
Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Vintage Labels
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Taken With Teal
Card stock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Other: Sandy Speckles wheel, Autumn Meadows designer paper, Crystal Effects, word window punch, corner rounder

Ooooh - I've just had another idea for the Crystal Effects! I'll just go off and see if it works... I'll post it tomorrow if it does.
Hope to see you then!

Monday 21 June 2010

Itty Bitty Buds scrapbook page

I'm currently having a big Autumn Meadows moment but I'm so excited about my new scrapbook page I thought I'd show you that today.


It's a picture of my lovely husband smiling patiently at me while I witter on about something on the last day of our holiday last year! But that's not why I'm excited - no, I'm excited about the car. It's a great idea to scrapbook your car because it is such a big part of your life without seeming to be. Have you ever looked at photos of your family car when you were a child? Cars date really quickly so you really feel the passage of time. Here, I used a photo of our family car, reduced in size, cut out carefully, and mounted using dimensionals.

But you're probably looking at the gorgeous flowers. Yes it's that Itty Bitty Buds hostess set again - I use it all the time! There are fourteen stamps in the set and you can do so much with it.

It's one of those stamp sets you can't buy but you can earn it FREE by holding a stamping party. Click HERE for details - and don't forget to check out the SPECIAL DEAL when you hold a party in June or July (scroll down to the bottom of the link)!

Supplies
Stamps: Just Perfect Alphabet, Itty Bitty Buds
Ink: Pink Passion
Card stock: Whisper White, Handsome Hunter, Tempting Turquoise, Always Artichoke
Other: 1/4" circle punch, White gel pen, DP (retired)

I thoroughly enjoy my scrapbooking classes. The ladies that come to it are such a talented bunch and we all have great fun. Their first albums are nearly completed and are looking fantastic. It never fails to amaze me that the ladies all work from the same sketch but their pages are all quite different.

Thanks for dropping by today.
I'm already having Autumn Meadows withdrawal symptoms so I'll be back tomorrow with some more projects showcasing that dramatic designer paper.
Hope to see you then.

Friday 18 June 2010

FTL 95 Challenge with Autumn Splendor

It's Friday and that means it's time for the FTL Challenge over on the Clean and Simple Stamping site. Here's Natasha's sketch this week...





 and here is my version:


Have I got over my excitement about the Autumn Meadows designer paper? Er... no, I haven't as you can see! Here's another beautiful paper from the pack, all distressed and gorgeous! I sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink, just to give it a bit of definition, and added some torn and distressed Really Rust card stock wrapped with some Chocolate Chip stitched ribbon that I pinched in with a piece of knotted linen thread. The leaf is from the coordinating stamp set Autumn Splendor, and it's layered on a couple of punched circles with dimensionals. A finishing sentiment, positioned with my stamp-a-majig and there we have it!

Supplies
Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Really Rust
Other: Autumn Meadows designer paper, stitched grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip, linen thread, 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches

I'm having so much fun with this designer paper and there are plenty of other designs up my sleeve! In fact, watch this space because there may be a special offer pack coming soon...

It's another birthday weekend for us this weekend and we'll be having a picnic-in-the-park party, so fingers crossed for the weather. Fingers also crossed for the England football team to astonish us with an impressive performance! Right, I think that's enough crossed fingers for the time being.
Have a fantastic weekend, wherever you are.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Autumn Splendor fathers' day

I can't tell you how excited I am - a little package has arrived for me containing a pack of Autumn Meadows designer paper! I KNOW it's only paper but this one really could have been designed for me - I LOVE the colours and the leaf designs and it coordinates perfectly with my favourite Autumn Splendor stamp set. I had my fathers' day card to make and it would have seemed rude not to use my new paper. Here's what I came up with:


My dad is an outdoors kind of man, his eyes are a blue-ish grey and he had russet coloured hair as a younger man, so these colours remind me of him. Creamy Caramel is the base for the card, with a strip of Really Rust across the centre to anchor the striped and herringbone papers. I stamped the letters d-a-d in Taken With Teal onto Creamy Caramel card stock, cut them out and positioned them and added the 'to my' tag above it. I tied a piece of twine around the Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon before adhering it to the rust card stock and sponged all the papers and card stock with Chocolate Chip ink. The finishing touch was the oak leaf from Autumn Splendor, which I stamped onto Very Vanilla card stock, coloured with Really Rust and Chocolate Chip inks using a blender pen and popped up on dimensionals.

Supplies
Stamps: Basic Phrases, Schoolbook Serif Alphabet, Autumn Splendor
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Taken With Teal
Card stock: Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Very Vanilla
Other: Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, linen thread, 1 3/4 circle punch

You know, with hindsight, I would have stamped the letters onto Very Vanilla card stock and heat embossed them to give them more definition... just a thought! These alphabet stamp sets can seem a bit expensive but I've found them to be a great investment. You can personalise with names and monograms or make whatever words you like; the letters are easy to cut out and you can give them all sorts of different looks with glitter, crimping, heat embossing, colouring, punching them out with circle or square punches... the possibilities are endless! The large Schoolbook Serif alphabet I've used today costs £38.95 (and I've certainly had my money's worth) while the smaller Just Perfect Alphabet I used yesterday costs £17.95. It's easy to order supplies from me - click here for more information.

I've just realised that this is quite a long post so, if you're still with me, thank you! I'm impressed with your staying power! I shall trot off now but you can be sure that I'll be back soon with more creations using those fabulous designer papers.
Have a lovely evening.

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Scrapbooking card using Itty Bitty Buds

How many times have I heard people say they don't make cards because they're a scrapbooker or that they couldn't possibly scrapbook as they only make cards?  I always say why not do both? It's twice the fun! I've made a scrapbooking kind of a card today:


I have discovered that it is surprisingly easy to cut out the letters of the Just Perfect Alphabet set (just THINK of the possibilities!) The flower is from the Itty Bitty Buds hostess set, cut out with the 3/4" circle punch - it matches this Sweet Pea designer paper perfectly! I sponged the edges of the dp and added some faux stitching to give it some definition.


I made a little tag to slip in the side of the photo with some scraps of card stock, ribbon and a circle punch. Is it scrapbooking? Not really. Is it card making? Well sort of... Actually it's a bit of both and I think it works!

Supplies
Stamps: Just Perfect Alphabet, Itty Bitty Buds (hostess set)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Passion Pink, Chocolate Chip (for sponging)
Card stock: Whisper White, Rose Red
Other: 1 1/4" circle punch, Sweet Pea designer paper, grosgrain ribbon in pumpkin Pie, paper piercer, a staple

Do you remember me telling you that my three children were in a dance show at a theatre last weekend? Well, this card was made for the lady who made that possible for them. She is a great friend of mine and is one of the kindest, most generous people you could ever meet as well as being stylish, talented, funny and... well there isn't enough space here for all the lovely things she is! Check out the Desperate 2 Dance website to find out more about her wonderful dance company. The children spent the weekend in a stagestruck whirl of excitement and I was too mesmerised by their amazing performances to need any tissues!

I hope you've enjoyed the 'scardmaking' here today!
Thank you for coming to visit.



Tuesday 15 June 2010

Bottle tag using Studio Sketches

It's a lovely gesture to bring flowers and wine to a party or when you're invited to dinner and it doesn't take long to dress them up to make them a little bit more special. This bottle tag is easy to make and there's room to write a message to add that personal touch. Here's how:

1. Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock 6 cm wide x 24 cm long, then score and fold it at 6 cm. You will get a square section on one side of the fold.

2. Cut a piece of designer paper 5.5 cm wide x 23.5 cm long, then score and fold at 5.75 cm. Again you will get a square section on one side of the fold.

3. First adhere only the square section of the designer paper to the Whisper White card stock. Fold it and then adhere the longer part - this ensures that the bottle tag sits nicely and doesn't buckle.

4. Punch out a hole in the square section using a 1 1/4" circle punch.

5. Cut another piece of Whisper White card stock 5 cm wide x 12 cm high. Stamp a sentiment at the top and an appropriate image on the bottom. Colour in if necessary.

6. Adhere the label to the bottle tag. It's now ready for your personalised message! I made a mistake while writing my message so I turned it into a star shape with a Ruby Red marker... No-one would ever know!

I used designer series paper in Old Olive, a sentiment from Sincere Salutations and an image from the Studio Sketches hostess set which I coloured with Earth Elements markers and a blender pen. Don't forget to book your party ladies - you KNOW you need this hostess set!!!

I've used my bottle tag to turn a bottle of wine into a teacher appreciation gift - and that goes for this little basket of flowers too:


This is an inexpensive flower arrangement from a supermarket but it looks pretty classy embellished with the stunning Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon and a tag made with Cottage Wall designer paper and the butterfly from Touch of Nature.

Hope you've enjoyed these little gift ideas today.
I've just realised what the date is - I think there'd better be a Fathers' Day card coming up this week or I'm going to be in big trouble!
Hope to see you soon.

Monday 14 June 2010

Sorry with Punches Three

Every year I look forward to the summer months. Everyone is happy in warm weather - it's the season of eating al fresco and relaxing outside... The reality, of course, is that everyone takes advantage of the weather to organise every fair, fete, show and sporting fixture known to man! My normally busy life becomes totally frantic and sometimes things don't go according to plan. Well that's when this kind of card comes in handy!


I love the colour combination of So Saffron and Not Quite Navy. Here, one of the stamps from the Punches Three hostess set was coloured with a Not Quite Navy marker, omitting the sentiment, and stamped onto Whisper White card stock. I added the Sorry using my stamp-a-majig for placement and then cut the whole thing out with the scallop square punch which fits perfectly. It was mounted with a dimensional onto a piece of So Saffron designer series paper and then onto a piece of Not Quite Navy card stock that I'd scalloped at the bottom with the scallop border punch. I wanted a piece of ribbon to bring the two colours together, so I used a trick that my upline Michelle taught me - using a ruler and drawing a line with my Not Quite Navy marker straight onto my So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon. Love this trick!

Supplies
Stamps: Punches Three, Basic Phrases
Ink: So Saffron
Card stock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Other: Scallop border and scallop square punches, So Saffron 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon, Not Quite Navy marker, Designer series paper in So Saffron

Punches Three has to be one of my favourite hostess sets because of its versatility - I love the shaped tags you can make with it, I love that the scallop square punch makes quick work of cutting them out and I love that you can use any sentiment with the stamps. Hostess sets, for those that don't know, are not for sale but are given free to those that host stamping parties, depending on orders. If you're planning on booking a party with me, try to catch me in June or July as you could earn £45 worth of free goodies during these months! Click here for more details.

Thanks for spending time with me today.
I'll be back tomorrow with some gift ideas.
Hope to see you then.

Friday 11 June 2010

FTL 94 challenge and teachers' appreciation gifts

The FTL challenge on the Clean and Simple Stamping site this week is a favourite style of mine and, since my head is currently full of apples, it took no time at all to work out what I was going to make.


It was very speedy to produce this card...


... and  whip up a matching notepad and pen to make a little teacher appreciation gift. This paper, from the Sweet Pea designer paper stack in the mini catalogue, has to be one of my all-time favourites. I think it looks great with that pop of black. Yes, that's the apple from the Tart and Tangy set - I know, I'm obsessed with it! But they're such graphic images, I love them! (And you get four fruits for £10.95 so it's pretty well rude not to!)

Supplies
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Ink: Basic Black
Card stock: Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: Earth Elements and Basic Black markers, 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" punches, Sweet Pea DP stack

While I'm here I thought I'd show you some simple, one-layer notelets made with Tart and Tangy.


I used Real Red and Old Olive on Whisper White card stock for these. Doesn't the cherry look fabulous with the Sincere Salutations sentiments! I think the invitation would be perfect for summer barbecues and parties and it would be easy to produce lots of them in a short time.

I won't be going to any barbecues or parties this weekend because it's the weekend of the Desperate 2 Dance show. All three of my children belong to this brilliant street dance company which offers the annual opportunity to perform in a real theatre. The children each have their four costumes ready, they're practising their moves and they are so excited! Me too - I know they'll be sensational and I'll need loads of tissues to hand!

Thanks for popping in today. Sorry about all the apples. I promise I've got it out of my system now and the next post will be an apple-free zone!
Have a wonderful weekend!



Thursday 10 June 2010

Blog award!

I am thrilled to have been nominated for this blog award by the lovely Loraine - thank you!

I'm supposed to tell you ten things about myself, so here goes:

1. My number one special thing in my life is my family - I love them so much and feel really, really lucky to have them.

2. I have some fabulous, supportive, gorgeous, fun friends too and I can't tell you how much I appreciate them.

3. I love being a Stampin' Up demonstrator. It's great getting up in the morning and knowing that I MUST do some crafting... and it's fun doing stamping parties - meeting loads of interesting people and helping people enjoy themselves: what's not to like?!

4. I hate being cold and get quite emotional about it! In the winter I wander about clutching hot water bottles and blankets!

5. My favourite food is anything spicy, especially Mexican and Indian food. I love ice-cream too especially if it's got chunks of chocolate in it and/or fudge sauce! Yum... feeling peckish again!

6. Talking of peckish (!), I have a thing about birds. My house is full of beautifully carved wooden birds - well not totally full, there's room for a few more!

7. My favourite colours are greens and browns (don't tell me you hadn't noticed!)

8. I am a big fan of the Lord of the Rings books and read them every few years or so. My daughter is always telling me off for "speaking elvish". I always reply "What? Elvish Preshley?"

9. I once helped Princess Diana choose a leotard when I worked in a dance shop in Covent Garden.

10. I love crafting... did I mention that?

Now I'm going to nominate some other deserving people for the award - Gem, for example, Lynne and Emma.

Thanks for reading my nonsense!
See you tomorrow.