My Pressie from Lorraine

For those of you who have visited my blog in the past you will know
that I created a canvas for my bedroom here at the Villa with an Indian theme.
Lorraine my dear friend created this back in the Summer and lucky me - I received it off her for Christmas.
It is gorgeous, colors are so rich, perfect for my bedroom.
I also recevied a really gorgeous green satin bag with embroidery on it from my friend Sam and Natalie gave me a green cuff and earrings
- has anyone twigged that I have a thing about green! lol
THANK YOU my friends for your wonderful pressies.
My wonderful mum gave me some Betty Boop nightwear and some Cinammon lozenges (sent over from Ireland)
mmmm delish...

Today I received a package that I have been waiting for with bated breathe.
My ARTCHIX Charm Swap.
I shall take some photos and post pictures of the wonderful Charms I received, tomorrow with a little luck.
That is it for this post
Nearly a new year and resolutions to be thought about and an ATC to make before Sunday, fingers crossed I shall get it done.

I won.....

How happy is this picture, this is me with my in laws - they have just presented me with a prize - for what you may ask.
Well this was taken on Boxing Day and we had had a guessing game to see what we would be having for lunch at their villa on said day.
Whilst they were at our villa on Christmas day we all had to guess what we would be having, because traditionally we always have bubble and squeak at theirs Boxing Day. When we arrived I noticed this fabulous looking present at my place setting with a label on saying "You won"!!
And my guess - curry. My mother in law Trish is a fabulous cook and she made a lamb curry with poppadoms, nan breads, rice, bombay potatoes and lots of different dips etc.
So even though we had been disappointed at the thought of not having the traditional dinner this was alleviated by the wonderful lunch that we did have.
And inside that wonderful box - the most scrumptious Valor chocolates.
Valor chocolates are from Spain, there is a chocolate museum in Villajoyosa and lots of Valor chocolate bars - if bars is the right word. Basically the menu is all things chocolate and one of the favourites is a cup of thick chocolate with churros (like a doughnut but long and thin) to dunk into the chocolate - very rich and mucho calorias!!!!
If you love chocolate you will love Valor...

Twas the night before Christmas

And I just wanted to share with you all a very special card I received this year from 5 year old Rhosie - she did a picture of Mary and Joseph as you can see, and for a 5 year old I think it is wonderful. It is what Christmas is all about so I saved it for todays post.

I want to say to all the wonderful people who I have met in bloglandia, on yahoo groups HAPPY CHRISTMAS to you all.

Christmas wishes also go out to Gabby and John down in New Zealand, visiting their daughter Nic and her hubby Ryan as they celebrate the birth of Kade- 1st grandson - much love to them from me, sure I will have lots of pictures to look at when Gabby gets back.

My girlfriends - Natalie, Lorraine, Sam, Carol and Charline - all the best to you all; each and every one of you is in my life to keep me sane and I THANK YOU all for that!! You all have such individual special qualities that light up my life - so stay just the way you are all of you....

This Christmas I have been feeling quite melancholy - certain things make you stop and think about life....maybe it is the time of year.

Anyway the table is set, ready for tomorrow (minus the food of course - lol) the veg is prepared, I have beside me a small tipple of Plaisir d'oro (which translates to Gold Pleasure - appropriate) it is a delightfully, delicious blackberry drink - creamy like baileys and probably as many calories - but hey it is Christmas Eve.
Presents wrapped, all under the tree ready for the excitement in the morning - Samantha and Lorraine wondering what it is you have given me...not long to wait now.
My darling husband asked me what I wanted...so I told him my craft stuff i.e. paints etc. waiting for me when I get back to England so that I do not have to cart them back and forth anymore - my wish has been granted, the order has been placed - see you can have what you wish for sometimes...
Anyway MERRY XMAS to one and all HAVE A PEACEFUL AND JOYFUL XMAS and eat as much as you like ( I have profiteroles and pavlova for desert [homemade] so I just know that the calories are NOT being counted tomorrow lol
till next time
much love from me to you xxxx

Betty on the tree

Well I have had a bit of fun today, I decorated the tree, which is generally the 1st thing I do when I get here for Christmas - get me in the mood and all that.

Anyway the tree did have a traditional angel on the top but I changed it today! Check the photos - my daughter was sooooooooooo not impressed, lol, thinks it looks tacky! BETTY tacky!!! how dare she.......

I may take her down or I may leave her up, who knows - why not let me know what YOU think. Maybe I should have a poll.

The weather has been a bit cloudy today, but not as cold as England 18 degrees so I shouldn't complain...

I am going up to see my mates Rob and Tom at Cha Cha Muebles whilst here this time as they have had a new delivery since my last visit.

Christmas shopping still has to be done, important things got (what's that you ask) christmas crackers and cranberry sauce; turkey next thing to be purchased.

Yesterday went to the Carrefour (large supermarket like Walmart) and bought the best olives - they were plump ones stuffed with pimento and wrapped in a fresh anchovy (my little treat to me) extortionate price 27 euros a kilo!!! FOR OLIVES what is the world coming to?

needless to say I didn't buy a kilo just 7 euros worth.

What could you not live without over the festive period? Come on, tell me - it can be our secret lol.

That's it for now, going to disappear into art room to work on that Coffee table chunky book.

Later I am going to share with you all what the PW banner looks like with all three elements together, Carol has posted a picture so I shall blog it.

Dreaming of sunshine

Oh the weather outside is freezing, Jack Frost was busy last night and the evidence of his work lasted all day. It was really slippery when I was walking Stamford my dog, thought I was going to go over but I didn't.
The sunshine is beckoning, countdown to Spain begins here!!
I was trying to sort out what craft stuff to take with me, essentials are the pages for my coffee table chunky book. But after that anything goes, and boy you should see what I have to take because "I just might need it!!!!" This holiday my darling husband has decided he has stuff he wants to take, and they are LARGE!!!! items, so I am trying hard to condense....no mean task.
Decided I needed a break so checked out blogs and came across this new blog (well new to me) by Linda in Oklahoma I love looking at blogs and enjoyed Linda's - I shall put it on my blog list soon.
That's it for today, catch you all tomorrow - or next day time permitting x

PW Fairy Journal Page

My gorgeous Paper Whimsy Fairy arrived here in England from Peggy Gatto
She was carefully boxed and wrapped in this beautiful paper which is like a patchwork quilt.
I wanted to keep it so decided to incorporate her story into my journal and decorated the page with the paper.
P.G. as I have called my delightful fairy came in this wonderful watering can (2" high) and P.G. has the cutest acorn wings. She is standing
in a snail shell decorated with smaller shells.
P.G. will grace my window still in my art room, she can watch me and inspire me as I work.
Thank you so much to Peggy for this delightful fairy and to Paper Whimsy for organising this Anniversary Fairy project.
Oh and my "Bling Fairy" has a new home in Southern California - there have been fairies flying all over the world this last couple of weeks.

3 down 1 to go!!!

The end is in sight,only my personal Y in FLY to go. Posted off the other 2 to American participants today so can exhale now!!!
Lorraine has hers as she is a neighbour and really good friend, her banner to me is absolutely divine. I shall post a picture when the L joins it (Lorraine did F)
No peace for the wicked got to get on with my other projects, may not get much done this week, Christmas shopping needs to be done and packing for Spain but I shall see how I go.
Ciao or should I be practising my Spanish and saying Adios.

101 Posts

101 Posts! Unbelievable really that I have done so many posts. Who would have thought it. I love my blog, I wish I managed to write on it everyday but sometimes other things take over and before you know it the day is over...
I am amazed when I look at my neo counter and see how many people pop by and look at the blog and the diverse areas that they come from.
I get quite a few e mails from people who make remarks about something that I have shared on my blog, the tend to think that as they do not have a google account that they cannot leave a message.
This is not the case, when you go to "post a comment" you may choose the google account option, nickname (put in a nickname) or anonymous button and hey presto you may leave a comment.
I have started to copy and paste the body of e mails that I receive on posts and then to put them in their relevant place on my blog - the reason for this is that I cannot keep all my e mails on my computer so hey ho put them where they belong.

Bloglandia allows us all to communicate and share with people all over the world and it allows us to use our brains as we write about our lives, thoughts and ideas - Long may it continue...

The countdown to Christmas is here and the excitement is starting to mount, I have slowed down with most of my projects, mainly because I have to pack my things up soon - but I have lots going on.
Paper Whimsy Banner I have completed 2 out of 4 the other 2 should be completed this week - that said the 2 that are done shall be in the post to the States on Monday.
I have a Coffee Table Chunky to carry on with and a Gothic Arch book so excited about this.
Also attempting to make a couple of arty Christmas Presents.
Whilst in Spain I should manage to complete the 3 Pay if forward pieces and to do a piece for Pauline who left a comment on my 100th post.
That's it for today. Well just to say that I am happy cos Real Madrid one, as did Amir Khan - now keeping fingers crossed that Ricky Hatton will win his boxing match in America against Mayweather

MMM - WINGS

The theme for this weeks MixedMediaMonday is Wings. It is the time of year for Angels but I didn't go with this for my ATC I decided to incorporate it into my other love which is books.

I love to read, always have done. I hate it when I see books with corners turned down on pages to mark the place (buy a bookmark or better yet make one) and oh to see a book with a broken back breaks my heart.

Since getting into altered art I find that it is difficult for me to rip pages out of books, even to alter them, but now I am learning to tell myself that I am giving the books a new lease of life!!

Anyway Thank you for dropping by to look at my ATC hope you like it x

PAY IT FORWARD

Pay It Forward
Belinda, Jo, Janine,Nat and a number of other talented ladies have posted this on their site recently. Now it is my turn!I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF (Pay it forward) exchange.I'm not sure what that gift will be, so if you have any preferences, let me know.The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.So basically, if you’re one of the first 3 comments, I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make!Once you sign up, copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work.Pay it Forward!
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE GIFT WILL BE DONE AND POSTED IN THE NEW YEAR BUT IT WILL BE DONE, YOU HAVE MY WORD!

Coffee Table Chunky Book - Travel Theme

I signed up with Cathy Johnson on Treasurearttrends yahoo group to participate in a Coffee Table Chunky book (dimensions 11"x8") - quite a large book. The theme is travel and I have to do 15 pages; my pages will have slight variations but on the whole will have the elements shown in the picture - a few surprises will be added, don't want to give it all away before the other participants receive it!

I thought that I could add a layout of the page in my journal and so that is what the second picture shows.

The reverse of the book page will be the Spanish flag - simple but effective I think, and as I think there will be lots of Paris pages and possibly Asian I thought I would go with Spain as I spend so much time there.

Today I have also been working on some Christmas Cards for a swap with another girl called Dawn, I am not going to post pictures at this moment in time as it will spoil her surprise.

That's all for now, Thank you for dropping by xx

2nd Banner Completed

I got busy with the second banner and completed it, subtlely different from the 1st one - different Whimsy girl on this one and the back fabric painted slightly differently too. The crystals really catch the light when they are hanging, very effective. I know now that I shall have them completed before I head of to Spain so one less thing to pack. I shall leave them in the capable hands of Lorraine to post for me.