February Giveaway Winner

Hello Everyone,

Many thanks to those who said they would like to be in with a chance to win the giveaway. Only six of you put your name forward so it didn't take long to write up your names and put them in the pot for the draw which was carried out, with all due ceremony, by the EM.

And the winner is ...

Tina Z

Congratulations Tina. Please contact me by email, ellie.worthington@sky.com, with your full postal address so that I can get the giveaway off to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Sorry you couldn't all be winners but I'm planning another giveaway in a couple of weeks time so do look out for details then - it could be your chance to win then.

Winner of the Celebrating 1000 Posts Giveaway

Hello Everyone,

Many thanks to everyone (there was 37 comments in all) who entered for my 1000 post celebration. You are all wonderful and I wish you could all be winners but it's just not possible.

So without further delay, I'm delighted to announce the winner of the gift vouchers from The Craft Barn!

First out of the hat was No. 4:

Sandra H

Congratulations Sandra, you win the £30 voucher! Please send me an email - at ellie.worthington@sky.com - so that I can arrange for you to receive it.

And winning the £10 voucher very kindly donated by Sandy at the Craft Barn is No. 34

Hettie

Congratulations Hettie. Please email me - see address above - so that I can let Sandy know you're details.

Congratulations to both ladies. I hope you enjoy spending the vouchers.

Once again, thanks to everyone who commented and thanks too for your continuing support - it's much appreciated, believe me!

Happy Crafting,

Saturday Book Give Away #7 ... and announcing the winner of Week #6'

Welcome back to another Saturday Book Give Away – Week #7.

Front Cover

This week the topic of the book on offer, Country Living Scrapbooks, is all about making scrapbooks. This book is for those of you who like to make scrapbooks, albums, journals, and even keepsake/memory boxes, from scratch rather than buy them ready-made. It offers “a wealth of ideas and solutions on organizing, preserving, and displaying these special documents of our lives.” 

Back Cover

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course! 

Week #6

Four folk were keen to own book #6, Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression by Sharon Soneff, but, sadly, there’s only one copy, and so there can be only one winner. 

The EM, as usual, was pressed into service, and again he performed the task with his usual aplomb!


So with no more ado, the winner is:

Craftychris 

Congratulations Chris ... if you will kindly email me at ellie.worthington@sky.com, giving your postal details, I will send it out to you as soon as possible.

Chris says, “ooh I would love to win this fabulous book, I am just getting into Art Journaling so this book would be so perfect!”

Well, Chris, this book is full of ideas to incorporate into your art journaling ... I hope you find it very useful.

The draw for this week's giveaway book and the next giveaway, #8, will be announced next Saturday, 18th May.

Hope you are all having a great Saturday wherever you are.

Take care and happy crafting,

Saturday Book Give Away – #6 ... and Week #5's winner

Welcome back to another Saturday Book Give Away – Week #6.

This week the book on offer is this fabulous book entitled Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression by Sharon Soneff. This book is for those of you who are either already into or  would like to get into art journaling, particularly if interested in it as a form of therapy. It explores how the process of journaling can be an aid in dealing with some of the more difficult, stressful and challenging periods in life.

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course!

Nothing to it, really :)

Week #5

Three peeps were keen to own book #5, The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking but, sadly, I have only one copy and so there can be only one  winner – I wish it were not so.  

The EM was pressed into service again, and as usual he performed the task with his usual grace and flair:

 So with no more ado, the winner is:

Sara Mcmillon

Congratulations Sara ... if you will kindly email me at ellie.worthington@sky.com, giving your postal details, I will send it out to you as soon as possible. 

Sara says that she ‘has collected all sorts of paper, layouts, embellishments and other stuff for scrapbooking’ and has ‘NEVER done’ anything with it! Well, hopefully, Sara, this book will be just the thing to get you
started.

There will be another book to giveaway next Saturday, 11th May.

Looking out on our garden I can see that there is a bit of breeze building and there's the promise of rain too so any plans for trip out into the country tomorrow may just have to be cancelled. Either that or we don our waterproofs and boots and get out there anyway ... we shall see. Though I did hear the EM muttering something about fancying a Costa tomorrow and I could be tempted to a latte especially as the coffee shop is inside Waterstones, the book shop ... love any excuse to browse and it is always warm and dry in the coffee shop :)

Hope you have all had a great Saturday, doing things you enjoy.

Take care and happy crafting,

Just saying hi! ... and catching up

Hi Folks,

Well, after a bad week or so, I'm back and over the worst. I'll be taking it easy for a wee while but hope to resume normal service in time.

I hope you are all well and, indeed, been having a great crafting time while I've been out of action :)

So there's a bit of housekeeping to be done ... I mean on this blog, of course. But, there again, you should see the layer of dust here in Worthington Towers! For those of you who have not tested the theory that dust displaces itself if left long enough, you will probably not be entirely surprised to hear there's no truth in it ... the layer just keeps building :(

First thing for me to do is to at long last answer that little teaser I left you all with way back in this post here. I asked if any of you could guess what this was.

Lots of clever suggestions - a boardwalk, a pallet, a bridge, etc. - all wrong, though. Only Lynn, Lynn's Crafty Corner, got it spot on:

It's a very modern beach bench! Clearly maintenance free and stylish. But, I think it would be singularly unpleasant to sit your sit-upon down on it after the sun has been blazing down on it for a couple hours ... particularly in a bikini. Ouch!

The other pressing item that needs to be attended to is the book giveaway, #4, Artist Trading Cards.

Without further prevarication ... only because while I was feeling so grim I forgot to photograph the proceedings ... the winner is:

Dormouse

Congratulations Dormouse ... if you will kindly email me at ellie.worthington@sky.com, giving your postal details, I will send it out to you as soon as possible. 

Dormouse mentioned in her comment that she is just getting into ATCs ... I think this little book is the perfect starting off point so should suit perfectly :)

I'll post another book giveaway this coming Saturday, #5 ... one with a scrapbooking theme this time. So if you are interested in scrapping be sure to look out for it.

I haven't crafted a single thing for over a week and my desk is cluttered high with a mix of various projects I was working on, mail that has come in and not been put away and anything else that the EM could find a home for. 

Talking of the EM, he has been an absolutely brilliant carer - I don't know what I'd have done without him ... oh, and the Boss is eternally grateful to him too :)

I'll leave you with this photograph taken of the Kerria, Golden Guinea, growing in our garden ...

... the bright and cheerful yellow flowers certainly light up a dark corner. I could almost believe that spring has sprung :)

Take care everyone and keep crafting,

Winner of the Saturday Book Giveaway #3 - Outstanding Mini Albums

Hello Everyone,

And happy Saturday to you all - I hope you are all enjoying the weekend so far.

Time to show the draw and announce the winner of this week's book giveaway (week #3) - Outstanding Mini Albums by Jessica Acs.

Eight folk thought they might find this book useful so, in time-honoured fashion, here's the EM doing his stuff.

Names printed out and cut into strips, folded and secreted in the ceremonial jug and there's his hand emerging holding the comment from the winner.

so with all due ceremony the name of the winner is ...

drum roll please ...

Janet, aka Fairy Thoughts

Congratulations Janet... do drop me an email, giving me your full postal address and I'll post the book at the earliest opportunity.

Janet said ... this looks an interesting little book and what a great idea to share through a giveway

It's a book full of creative ideas so I'm sure you will find the book of interest, Janet. 

Someone did ask where I got the books - did I have a supplier? No, unfortunately, I don't have a generous source handing out lots of lovely crafting books. I wish! They are all from my personal and extensive library ... as well as being a ribbonaholic, I am a bookaholic too :)) And the collection is now too extensive so, with some regret, I'm giving them away. However, knowing they are going to a good home is making it easier to part with them. 

Sadly, there can only be one winner in any week but I have another book giveaway coming up, Week #4, in a separate post ... which will be uploaded just as soon as I've written it up :)

Happy crafting,

Scrapbook Winner ... and ... Making Birthday Cards Book Giveaway

Hello Everyone,

And happy Saturday to you all - I hope your Easter holiday is in full swing and you are having fun.

After I put this book, Creative Scrapbooking, up as a giveaway last week, I'm delighted to say that five brave crafters thought they would like to take the plunge and try some scrapbooking.

So, today, as promised, the draw for the book took place with as much pomp and ceremony as the EM could muster and here's the photographic evidence that it was made with all due regard to fairness.

Names printed out and cut into strips, folded and secreted in the only jug I have with a large enough neck to take the EM's man sized hands. It worked and his hand emerged holding a tiny wee screwed scrap of paper.

And the winner is ...

drum roll please ...

Sandra H

Congratulations Sandra ... drop me an email, if you please, and let me know your full postal address and I'll post the book off to you  ... after the Easter break, of course :)

Sandra said '... a lot of us are into cardmarking but to try something new like Scrapbooking would be lovely ... l too would like to try my hand at this sort of crafting'

So, now's your chance to have a go ... I hope the book helps you make a start :)

Sadly, there can only be one winner this week but don't be too down-hearted because I have another book giveaway coming up in a separate post ... just give me a minute to write it up :)

Happy crafting,

Fab Wallhanging Win ... Cindy at Plantslist August Draw

Hi Folks

My name the one drawn in Cindy's August draw over on her blog, Plant's List. And here is the prize, this stunning wallhanging.

How lucky can I get. I love it. The colours are perfect and that rose is fabulous - check out Cindy's blog here for her tutorial on how to make faux metal flowers.

Enclosed with the hanging was a lovely card too.

Thank you Cindy, I'm delighted to have won such a super work of art - without a doubt it will be a treasured possession from now on.

Needless to say, it now has pride of place hanging in the newly decorated lounge ... the timing was perfect :)

See how well it looks against the pale mocha wall - strangely, in this photo the wall colour looks grey rather than the milky coffee shade is in real life.

From one happy winner, happy crafting,

Round-Up of Queries and Book Giveaway Winner

Good Evening Everyone.

It was 88°F/31°C in our back garden this afternoon - for me that's melting point.  I hope you are all enduring enjoying equally hot weather wherever you are.

Of course, it's too nice to be indoors for too long ... got to soak up those vitamin D enriched rays whilst we can ... I just hope it lasts through to the end of our upcoming holiday. All this heat does mean one thing for sure, there's not a lot going on in the craft space, so I thought I'd do something different today.

I've had a few comments recently that have included a query on something I've posted. Usually I try to answer any questions directly to the person concerned, but today I thought I'd round up a few here instead, working on the principle that if it interests one person it may well interest others too.

So, in no particular order, here we go:

Q1.  Concerns these poppies that appeared on a Country Diary card on 6th May.

Mrs A of It's an Alien Life, asked, "Did you make the poppies yourself?

Sadly, no. I don't think I could - they are so beautiful! They were left over from a Remembrance Day project made last year and were purchased from Wild Orchid Crafts - you can find them here.

Q2. came from Kay, 505whimsygirl when she saw this collage of flowers, using snaps of flowers and plants that are blooming in my garden at the moment.

Kay's question is, "Is that a columbine that I see? If so, that is the Colorado state flower."

Well, as you can see from the above photos, Kay, you definitely saw columbines in the collage, two different varieties. The blue and white one is an Alpine variety, Aquilegia flabellata Ministar, so it doesn't grow more than about 6" in height, and the other is Lime Frost - a gorgeous tall purple flowering plant with striking lime green leaves - a real favourite.

Q3 was not so much a question as an observation and request made by Mrs A on seeing the tent card below:

Here's what Mrs A said, "Every time I make a tent card shape it slips down! Must be doing something wrong. Any tips?

Now, I don't really have any tips beyond always using a good weight of cardstock for the base and using a bone folder on the crease but Sandra H, Nanagramps Craft Design, had a very helpful suggestion:

"a little tip, bend both ends about 1/4" ... is effective."

That rounds off the queries for now.

Now to the book giveaway. You may remember that I wanted to pass on my copy of Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh in a recent post.

There were four folk interested and in time honoured tradition I put each name on a strip of paper, screwed it up before dropping it into one of my favourite cream jugs, empty of course, then asked the EM if he would kindly do the honours - here's the draw in photo form:

And the name out of the jug is:

Asia King (aka Joanna K), Under a Creative Spell.

Joanna, please contact me by email - ellie.worthington@sky.com - with a note of your snail mail details, and I'll be delighted to post the book to you as soon as possible. Happy reading :)

Joanna said that, once she has read the book, she will be happy to pass it on to anyone who is interested ... I can see this being a book that does the rounds of blogland before it ends up in a charity shop :))

I wonder how many of you have been watching the coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show. I've been to a few flower shows over the years but never to Chelsea, much as I would have loved to - came close to it one year, but for a reason that now escapes me had to give it a miss, sigh.

However, I've thoroughly enjoyed watching  the BBC coverage ... so many beautiful gardens this year and plenty of gold medal winners. The 1950s style The Caravan Club garden, Celebration of Caravanning; the Muum, Korean Air, The Dowager Viscountess Rothermere, gardenlink, Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden; and Chris Beardshaw's, Furzey Gardens are among my favourites.

Okay, that's me done for this evening. I think it's cool enough to wander through to the craft space and maybe create a little something :)

Happy crafting,

.

Celebrating 100 Followers Giveaway Winner Announcement

Hello Everyone,

Many thanks to all who left a comment on the giveaway post. There were 23 comments in all to go into the draw and, as I just cannot get to grips with the Random.org thing, I decided to do it the old-fashioned way. I printed off all 23 comments and folded the strips into itty bitty pieces and dropped them into the largest jug in our collection, stirred them about a bit, and pressed the recovering EM into service to make the draw - in fact, I think he was quite chuffed to be asked :)

Much as I would love to be able to reward all you lovely followers, it just isn't possible, so there could only be one winner drawn from the jug and that is ...

 drum roll ..............................................................................

...............................ta da, ta da ..................................

...............ta da..................

Yes ... that's you ..........................  

Shaz

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards

Congratulations Shaz - please e-mail me with a note of your postal address so I can get the prize of to you as soon as possible - I'm hoping to beat the Christmas post :)

Once again, many thanks to all my followers and encouragers, you are what makes blogging the pleasure that it is. I appreciate you all, your comments are a delight and I enjoy participating in blogland - the hints, tips and exchange of ideas makes it a fabulous learning ground and I have benefited enormously from the friendship and camaraderie I've experienced - long may it continue :))

CHEERS!

My best wishes to you all and happy crafting,