Its a very Happy Birthday Season to me......!

Hi all, if Im quick I might just get a blog post squeezed in on my actual birthday which would be rather nice, but as many of you know....I quite some time ago now invented the concept of 'birthday seasons'...oh for so many wonderful reasons! I think firstly it was simply a ploy to get me out of a pickle if I had forgotten to send someone a card...so my card turning up two weeks late was no longer late at all, I was in fact doing a friend a favour by extending their birthday season during which they could celebrate all the more, whether this be by partaking of their favourite tipple for a few days (weeks, months) longer without ones loved ones even thinking about suggesting contacting AA, better still...one could buy more stash...as we should ALL know by now...buying stash on ones birthday is an actual law lol! But why limit such pleasures to just one day when you could have a whole week, or fortnight...or even....as I think I managed last year or maybe the year before...a couple of months...hey why not!


I do have quite a lot of birthday treats to tell you about, which is a good thing as I kind of owe my readers some entertainment after such a long absence...for which I apologise...once again! I will however, feed you my birthday celebrations in installments - hence discovering yet another benefit of such a concept...it will give me plenty of things to fill my blog up with when the actual crafty aspects of my 'crafty world' are a bit thin on the ground..he he!


So here we are, episode one begins with last Tuesday and my visit to the Ideal Home Exhibition and as it was brothers birthday on this day, I thought it would be appropriate to start my birthday season on this day too.


To explain why I had even contemplated attending such an event in my current state of health, the reason I simply had to go was that my youngest son Tom was to have his garden showing at the exhibition. He attends a horticultual college in the town and he and a group of his fellow students had been chosen to present a garden at the show...such a huge honour and one that we were oh so proud of. Knowing that I wouldnt exactly be up to trudging round looking at the usual offerings - mop demonstrations, being accosted my the various salespersons for ventian blinds, jacuzzis or indeed 'do I wish to adopt blind dog'...and I dont mean a seeing-eye dog as the Americans so fondly put it, I mean a dog that is actually blind (but thats all by the by).....my plan was to instruct Tom to ensure that he had a comfy deckchair placed in his garden and I would take root there for the day like the Queen of Sheba being a very proud Mummy!



I persuaded my brother and his wife that they simply had to go to the show...therefore bagging myself a lift there and back, and all was well until Toms ruddy college decided to call the whole thing off...the swines! Evidently it suddenly occurred to them that they couldnt afford to let staff be absent from the college to go along and supervise the students at the show....WHAT! This was about two weeks before the show was due to begin, and after Tom and his friends had spent many hours designing their garden (which was very beautiful if I say so myself!), getting it started...and in the process missing a significant number of 'proper' lessons and therefore falling behind with their normal work. He was fuming, I was fuming for him...but hey what can you do. The tickets had been bought and my transport arranged so i decided I would still attempt this mad day out, and on arrival would seek out the comfiest bed display to head to should it be needed as the day progressed.


However, the day threw up a huge treat as by chance we were passing the Rovers Return (as you do) when we accosted my a nice young man who asked if we would like to take part in a pub quiz a bit later on, and not just any old pub quiz, but one officiated by none other than the Pub Landlord himself - Al Murray! 'Would we?' - you bet we would, oh and it was such fun! He was wonderful guy, we had lots of laughs and when the official business of the quiz was over (it was being filmed for something or other)...Al was so generous with his time and most patient with us taking photos and giving me his autograph....free I might add, as opposed to John Virgo - you may or may not remember him from the snookering world and that scintillating (not) programme 'The Big Break' from many many moons ago who was charging TEN QUID no less for his autograph! Here are a few snaps from our fun time at the Rovers Return and with big Al:

...and you will spot Keith here as he takes part in a crisp eat-off...and won!



...and Anne & Sue, just going for a quick tipple in the Rovers...



Now that is just a taster of our day...I have more to share, not least all of my gorgeous purchases of course - as yet to be photographed.....SO many things to be photo'd this week, and you will be delighted to learn that quite a lot of it WILL be stash glorious stash YAY! But I want to make sure I get this posted on my birthday....one minute to go yikes!

Episode two of my birthday season to follow shortly....

I hope you are all well - sending hugs and sparkles all round!
Sue x

The wanderer returns with the downs and ups of my jippy leg...and a bit of crafting!

Hello girls, I return after what seems a lifetime and some very strange goings-on!

A quick scan of my last post tells me that I left you as I was about to undergo further scans and I was being fed copious amounts of morphine. Well, I have to say that that little lot led me down a very dark alley, where I found my legs swelling up to 'Norah Batty with her stockings on' proportions, only without the excuse of stockings, and a nasty habit of nodding off mid-sip of tea, puff of ciggie (I know....BAD BAD BAD!) or mid-spoon full of soup (messy) - and this concerned my sister particularly who witnessed these events and commented...'and they let you DRIVE???' At least I had to good sense NOT to actually drive - Im not sure I would have been able to locate the darned car, let alone navigate myself to any desired destination! And worse still, while all this was going on the additional pain relief - which was the point of it all - was pretty much zero...sigh! I think I just about hit rock bottom at this point, believing that this was my lot now - foggy head and pain, and that nought more could be done, although to be honest I didnt really realise just how grim I felt until I came out the other end of it all. And come out I did when my lovely Macmillan consultant finally decided that perhaps morphine was not quite the thing for me...you dont say!!! We've only been at it six months - one would have thought someone might have twigged a while back that things werent 'progressing' quite as they should be!?!

Anyway, a couple of weeks or so ago, it was out with the morphine altogether and lets try something new, the something new being Oxycontin which I gather is quite popular with American film stars and the like...you know, when they are found over-dosed on 'prescription drugs' in some New York apartment - this is often the medication of choice involved. Good stuff then I thought..lol...but of course not wishing to make the headlines of the local rag - well, the Chronical & Echo doesnt have quite the same ring to it as The New York Times does it, I do not take more than I should, and I have to say that this wonder-drug has led to somewhat of a miracle and one that I continue to build upon! Within less than a week my legs had returned to 'normal' (well, lets just say normal for me), my head was clear.....AND I can on occasions walk from one room to another WITHOUT the walking stick...WOW! I feel like a completely different person and as I say, coming out of the abyss is the point when you look back and think...OMG did I feel crap or what...but thats over now and Im definitely on the up!!!

The body scan was a little less reassuring it has to be said - they did indeed find a little bit more nasty, not in my leg as expected, but in my neck....good grief! I gather its just a small 'hot spot' as they call it and unless it causes me any pain, nothing will be done specifically to treat it. I did find this quite alarming to be honest, but once I absorbed the information (it always takes a couple of days to come to terms with something new), I realised that yes, it is being treated indirectly with the tummy jab I have once a month, the (anti)hormone treatment I take every day, AND the infusion that I have every three weeks - all designed to keep things under control within my whole body, so fingers crossed that they continue to do their magic! The GOOD news was that there was nothing suspicious anywhere else....thank goodness for some good news at last!

I would like to say at this point, a huge hooray for the Macmillan team, for without those lovely ladies I would still be languishing in a morphine fog getting nowhere fast (or even slowly). One or other of the team ring me very regularly, daily sometimes, just to see how things are going and to make minor adjustments to the treatment along the way so that I reach the best possible outcome in the shortest possible time. They are amazing people, and while I was very nervous when their help was first mentioned...my understanding being that they were there only to help 'at the end', I now know that they do so much more and are truly wonderful ladies!

Anyway, that is my kind of 'sick-note' to explain my absence on my little blog, and Im glad to report that stash buying and even stash using has resumed quite nicely. Well, in truth, the stash buying didnt really fall by the wayside so much - Im not sure what state I would have to be in to interfere with that, although I was quite obvivious to what I was buying half the time - only realising what I had been up to in the wee small hours when I spotted the 'confirmation of order' emails in the mornings...ha ha ha...thats my excuse and Im sticking to it lol!

However, my most favourite recent purchase is NOT stash believe it or not. Persuaded by Gina that they were a wonderful thing, I treated myself to a Kindle...woohoo! I absolutely love it, and the addition of the LUSH hot pink cover with in-built light makes my snuggling under the duvet having a good read such a nice experience...no more do I have to endure all that exhausting page turning...ha ha ha! Here is my Kindle, complete with cover...and flippy up light, it is a thing of beauty...

The leather cover was pure indulgence, but it just had to be had!



..and the flippy up light...



...and as Gina promised, it is very easy to use and downloads books in seconds, so I am currently enjoying my first Kindle purchase - Thanks for Nothing by Jack Dee...a few giggles to get to sleep by, just the ticket!

But now time for 'the crafty world of sue-bubbles' to get a bit crafty!

Firstly, Alma's birthday season lasted so long, by the time I got around to sending her some birthday goodies, I just had to make another little card to go with it. With Alma being a huge fan of a brew and a nice cake, I thought these Kanban clear stamps were the perfect goodies to use to make it....



I used regular coloured pencils to colour in the stamped images, but blinged things up with lots of irridescent stickles and a spot of glossy accents and pearly accents here and there.

While I was busy making Alma's card, I persuaded Carol to dig deep for some crafting mojo to make a thank you card for Gina as she had sent Carol a beautiful scarf that she had knitted for Crimble...to thank her for being such a lovely sister and looking after me...bless! Here is Carols lovely blingy card...



I loved the way she layered up the two 'thanks' die-cuts, and she thought of that all by herself! As an apprentice, she is hard work but Im getting there lol!

Whats next.....ah yes, I can show you this as Rachel, to whom this tag is heading, is away for a few days so should not be looking in here! The tag is part of a tag swap organised by Margaret over on Docrafts, with the theme being 'new beginnings'. I have to confess to struggling with the theme, but then settled on Spring time as kind of fitting. Whatever...I figured with enough bling and pretty stuff on it, Rachel will like it anyway lol...here it is...

It should currently be somewhere over the Atlantic heading for Canada...I hope you like it Rachel!

And finally, Valentines Day brought my sisters 30th wedding anniversary...and her husbands of course, not that you'd notice as he is not big on cards or gifts...tut tut! Way back in the day it was he in fact who suggested that they get married on St Valentines Day as it would mean just the one bunch of flowers per year (such a romantic), so today I asked my sister...how has that panned out then, just how many bouquets HAVE you received from him in the last THIRTY years...........her reply..........'eeerrr...maybe two, just maybe mind'! Anyway, I broke all recent records, making her card in less than two whole days lol!

For this I used my new Martha Stewart 'vintage dove' birdie punch which I simply adore, another of Martha's punches for a flowery border across the bottom, a few K&Company embellies, and sizzlits dies for the wording. The backing paper is from a small Prima pad...so pretty! Carol liked it anyway...now to catch up make a store of birthday cards as I just know there a few creeping up to take me by surprise next month!

Well there you go, I might keep you waiting, but I think I give you your moneys worth once I do get going lol!

Hugs and sparkles to all my friends, and hang on in there, its so nearly Spring!

Sue x

Retail therapy....the BEST therapy in the world!

Dont fall off your chairs, here I am again...3 posts in about a week - welldone me lol!

I do love blogging, and blog-hopping too, as its lovely to share ideas and thoughts with like-minded folk, and its a nice way of keeping in touch with people I might otherwise lose touch with very easily. I have to apologise for my slackness in the blogging department of late but sometimes it can be a bit tricky. Its now coming up to 6 months that I have been off work and pretty much immobile - thank goodness for online shopping I say - groceries, stash, Christmas and birthday gifts - the web is surely a godsend eh! But a regular dose of my online shopping activity would rapidly become rather boring I feel, and as its been virtually my only activity for the last 6 months (cant be bad eh! lol!), it has left me with very little to waffle on about in my own little corner of the web.

Inbetween buying random stuff, my time has been taken up with my various treatments - another line of converation that has the potential to bore the pants off you all....well, it does me, and Im on the front line 'enjoying' it all (not!) But as I seem to be a bit stuck in a rut treatment (or rather recovery) wise, I thought to myself, Im just going to have to put a bit more thought into this blogging malarky to make it more interesting......and then my mind went blank lol!

So then, while I continue to ponder on the thought of how to liven this place up, I will share with you...guess what - my latest retail activity and a little bit about where I am with my treatment lol!

Firstly let me show you this sweet little cushion that literally did fall into my basket this week at Tescos....

...aint that cute, cupcakes, they are everywhere now arent they!

...here's Bubbles trying to snaffle the cherry off the top!



I simply couldnt resist it, and if & when I can finally reach my crafty room chair, it will look a treat sitting on there!

My next purchase is a natty festive outfit ready for next year. I found this on QVC reduced from £56 down to £11! A bargain...what can one do!





I absolutely adore jackets that shout at you and I own quite a few, so was so pleased to trip over this one, and it has a lovely sparkly Christmas tree on the back too...they wont miss me coming when HOPEFULLY come next year I am out doing some real festive shopping!

No stash do I hear you say? Well, of course I have purchased a little bit (or maybe that should read 'a small mountain') of stash, but mostly I try to spirit it up the stairs and blend it in with all the rest before Dad notices its arrival! All that huffing and puffing in exasperation cant do him any good eh! However, I do have a little bit to show you - this is a ribbon kit I subscribe to from Angel Crafts - its a montly kit and as you can see, it includes lots of lovely extras as well as pretty ribbons...



Its a lovely little treat each month, wondering what the colour scheme will be, and what extra goodies will be in the bag - they are always gorgeous and I highly recommend them lol!

I will try to get a few more stash photos in the next week as it was Craft Day on QVC last week and somehow or other, a few little parcels will have found themselves addressed to me...sorry Dad lol!

There is a bloke who lives round the back here in one of the elderly peoples bungalows. I was speaking to him out the front earlier and it seems he and his wife are moving out this week - they are not going far, but need a warden controlled place now. I know his bungalow is gorgeous as I have been in there once or twice...so when I came back indoors I said to Dad..hey, perhaps I could put in for his bungalow as he is moving out - I could have it (the entire bungalow) as my crafty space... Dad just grumbled - 'it wouldnt be big enough, you would need next doors aswell' - ooops lol! He cant complain, he is the worlds worst hoarder of the most ridiculous junk that one would never ever use...and lets face it, I have his genes so its all his fault, I cant possibly help myself!

Right, a little update on where I am treatment-wise. Well, things started to go very well leading up to Christmas as I had been given a new tablet to add to all the others and it really did make such a difference. I was much more comfy, and although still needing the stick to get about, I was a lot less limpy and a bit less slow. However, since Christmas the pain has rapdily crept up on me again which is very disappointing. I have my own nurse now who I can see whenever needed, and she has increased my pain meds significantly which make me more sleepy rather than address the pain to be honest. But she did refer me to a different consultant who I saw this week, and it is her opinion that maybe there is bit more Mr Nasty down my leg that they havent identified yet. It does make me mad as from the outset I complained about pain down one leg yet they have never scanned this area. SO...next week I will have a bone scan, and as this is a top to toe job, we will at last have a fuller picture of what is going on. This may sound scary but it isnt really - as long as any further disease they find is away from the area that has already been radiated, I can have more radiation and that will solve the problem. They cannot zap the same place twice as I believe it weakens the area and you risk breakage of bones, but as I say...I feel that they will find a seperate area in my leg...which of course could have been zapped along with the rest if they had bothered to scan me more fully in the beginning! The most positive thing about seeing this new consultant though was, she was very good at explaining what is happening and why the pain occurs. She was so reassuring and optimistic for me that I felt really good after seeing her, despite the thought that there is likely to be more disease to deal with. But hey, its going to be dealt with properly now so all is good! How I long to discard the blooming stick - the kitties have too much fun kicking it out from under me, or I get in a right tizzy in shops struggling with shopping, handbag, stick all in one go - its a bit of a nuisance and I will be happy to be rid of it! It will be lovely to get back to work too! I didnt think I would ever hear myself say that as the thought of retiring and crafting all day long sounds very attractive, but I miss my friends..and strangely - my zap gun! lol! But hopefully I will be turning the rights corners very soon and at last can get back to normal and on with my life!

Oh well, there you are - plenty of waffle for you to be getting on with, and I promise I will ponder as I said on how I can make this all a bit more interesting lol! Thank you for the comments that you leave, I do so appreciate them not least because it lets me know I am still connecting with you all. Now for a bit of blog-hopping myself to see if I can pick up a few tips!

Have a good week everyone!
Hugs & sparkles, Sue x

Thank goodness for BIRTHDAY SEASONS....

....making it entirely acceptable for the birthday girl to be enjoying her special day today in sunny (?) Manchester, while her card is still sitting on the side here waiting to be posted lol!



Thank goodness for blogs too, making it possible for me to wish you A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALMA, and to show you your card before it sets off on its journey.....







..and a little close-up that flower, created using a variety of Tim Holtz delights, grunge board, inks, rock candy stickles...plus the addition of a pretty button!



Our wonderful Alma has been missing in action today as she was heading for Dawn Bibbys crafty store - where I do hope you filled your bags to overflowing with delicious stash my lovely! I will be looking forward to seeing photographic evidence of you following the birthday law - buying stash! But of course, birthday SEASONS mean days and days of stash buying, until the coffers run dry...lol....who needs food anyway!!!

I have a little bit of goody buying to show you myself, stash and otherwise...but that will be another day. For it is Almas special day, and I hope you had a great one missus!

Hugs, Sue xxx

A new year, a fresh start....and starting as one means to go on.....

by buying plenty of STASH - yay!

When I think about it, I suppose 2011 for me has been dominated by this particular activity thus far....with the Sizzix sale beginning on Boxing Day, and promptly doing its best to empty my bank account lol! Its always a hot sale, and although there werent as many items on offer as usual, there were plenty of real bargains to satisfy the NEED....well, eventually....as I did return to make three seperate orders! I havent photographed those yet - they would need a slide-show all by themselves, but I have actually USED one of my new dies to craft a new baby card for my very good friend Gina's son and girlfriend....and that I did photograph...







Cute isnt it...Im loving that nappy pin die, and it makes for a nice quick and easy card. The sparkly scallop is made using a die too - hooray for sizzix I say!

I have to say that crafting isnt quite as easy as it should be....as just look at the state of my craft room...



lol! What a pigsty eh! That comes from having a big clear up downstairs before Crimble - all the stash and other junk that had accumulated around the kitchen/diner had to head upstairs...and there certainly wasnt room in my bedroom for it! Not least because I made a very special purchase for myself and had to make a big space for it....oooo how exciting, look what Ive got....



Only a big fat 32" tele for my room...yay! And while I was about it, I popped a canva of NYC up on the wall that my sister had bought me the previous Christmas..about time too, and also a little cross-stitched 'home sweet home' hanger that I made some years ago. I rather like it and Im glad it now has somewhere to live! Here is a bit of a close-up of that...



Those photos are a little dull as the curtains in my bedroom are closed...I cant get to them to open them (with an Everest of stash in the way) so they stay that way day in day out lol!

Anyway, many parcels have arrived from sizzix and cuttingedge crafts...I cant let them down as Im sure I must be one of their very best customers, but on Saturday I actually got off my bum and went to buy some stash in person! The lovely Lesley came to pick me up and off we went to Colemans - bliss! They had had their sale the weekend before but neither of us were up to going then, but we figured it was worth a look this week as they were bound to have plenty of sale stuff left...and indeed they did. Also, there werent many people in there, so it was much easier to get around and look at everything (and I mean EVERYTHING, as you dont want to miss a bargain!), whereas by all accounts the previous weekend it had been bedlam. With me still hobbling around with my stick, I think I would have struggled, so it worked out really well.

Here we are with very happy faces....and nearly full baskets!



I was very pleased with my purchases as I found some interesting bits and bobs...and here they are...

Some lovely fancy die-cut frames, followed by die-cut houses...






Then we have a random collection...a brown stazon pad, rainbow buttons (for a certain daughter-in-law to be!), tacky glue, a fancy stamp set with acrylic block (only £2.49!), a baby feet punch (thats a hint to my boys lol!), and an x-cut prick and stitch template...only 99p and I dont have any of those so I thought at that price I would give them a go....



and theres more...a Martha Stewart punch (half price), another prick & stitch template, some pretty brads, and two packs of buttons - one being baby themed (hinting again lol!)...followed by a range of sparkly paper which is fab when die-cut!





Thats the lot...not a bad days haul eh! Now where to put it?????

I have to thank Lesley for taking me, and keeping an eye on me as unfortunately I have somewhat gone backwards in the recovery stakes which is a blooming nuisance! Im once again floating around with regular morphine, but having met up with my Macmillan nurse last week, she has instigated an appointment with one of their consultants this week who will order more scans and things. They will be the first since I had my intensive treatments, so we will see how that has all gone and what further treatment is needed to knock this pain on the head. I have to admit that it can all get rather scary at times, but I do feel very well in myself so Im optimistic that it will be something of nothing - maybe a little stubborn spot that needs a bit more zapping. Meanwhile I will float through the days on copious meds lol!

Craft-wise, I have started to stamp up and colour in some cupcakes...they are destined for cards, but its slowly but surely as always with me lol! I would like to think that I will be scrapping again soon as I have some nice photos from Christmas which would make a nice layout or three. Just in case I found myself short (ha ha ha) I did order some festive themed papers and embellies from QVC just before Christmas so Im all set to go.....as soon as I make myself some space that is!

Anyway, thats my year so far - plodding along nicely. I do hope all my visitors are well and havent suffered too much with the flu that is doing the rounds. I will be pleased to hear about your stash purchases as always, there's nothing better than sharing the joy!

Take care all, and I hope to not leave it so long until the next time!
Hugs, Sue x

Our Christmas in pictures.....

Hi all...Im back!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas...doesnt it seem like ages ago now!?! Ive made a little slide-show with all the very random photos that were taken over the festive period....featuring my lovely boys Joe Jamie & Tom, and their girls Kate Casey & Roz, my Dad...and his yummy Christmas dinner, the pooches Ruby and Marley, with a brief visit from my sister Carol (Im not sure she actually made it into a photo?) and her OH Russ and their triplets Jack Ben and Sam...Ben is the one with the RED hair (he had to sort THAT out before returning to school!!!), a few of my lovely gifts including the most fabulous phone - the lips - WOW, and Santa - made by a very patient Roz - I adore him! There are just a few of the gorgeous handmade cards I received which I will treasure always, my pink tree, my weather worm from my wonderful friend Alma, and scenes of chaos...just what Christmas is all about! I will post this then return with my New Year news....

Note: if you do not see my slide-show below, it is likely that you have accessed my blog by clicking on the title of this individual post. If you go to the top and click on 'the crafty world of sue-bubbles', you will then see all of my blog including my festive slide-show.

Enjoy, and a very very happy new year to one and all!

Sue x