What a nice crafty suprise!

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Who doesn't love receiving post through the letterbox that isn't a bill? Well today i had the nicest of surprises when i opened a letter to find a beautiful handmade card from the children at Kids Company. Some of you may remember i knitted some scarves for the kids last winter, and this was a lovely thank you from them. :)
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They'd obviously put a lot of work into the card, a gorgeous seascape theme to it and lots of little details that outshine my cards lol. I love this spray they've used on the gold card, it would also look good in a snow scene...
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The little sailing boat is just great! Almost makes you think you are there under that blue sunny sky with the big white clouds...
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On the back of the card it says, "Dear Calvin, thank you so very much for knitting warm wears for our children, you made them very happy last winter."
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Makes all those years of me getting stressed whilst trying to learn to knit worthwhile doesn't it?
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So a huge thank you to the children at Kids Company (and of course the staff too) for sending this, it really has made my day. :)
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For anyone else that is interested in making or sending donations or items for the kids, my friend Nicki's website explains it all in great detail.
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Bye for now...

Peeks around the door...

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Hi everyone. :)

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I thought it was high time i showed my ugly mug around here, i've had one of my longer than average breaks from crafty life but as usual i am feeling the tug of blog land again.

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Not that i have much in the way of makes to show, but i have a couple of pics you might like....first one being Maddy above being throttled! I did try myself but she punches harder than me so the job was left to the Ghost Walk tour guide Dan who entertained us on a lovely trip to York recently.

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It's been pretty quiet round here otherwise, Rotty's house is being painted at the moment, i messed up the initial colour, so i'm now re-doing it. Don't worry, it will be done this century!!! Not that he's fussed though, last i heard he was putting on a proper cake belly at Calvin Mouse's house.

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I do have a couple of new visitors here....

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Yes i have a few frogs now in the garden pond thanks to my kids. They rescued a load of tadpoles from a dried up ditch in the forest, so back to the pond they came and are thriving now.

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Curious little things they are too....no sooner had i got the camera out.....

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Also the Bee & Bee is filling up nicely, theres about twelve in there now....here's the newest arrival arriving back home after a night on the honey!

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So now you're all asleep i'll say goodbye for now, and pop off to look around your blogs. I apologise for not being around, sometimes real life events get in the way....as they say, "Excuses are like backsides....everyone's got one!" :)

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Take care all, i hope you are all ok and i look forward to catching up with everyone.

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See ya...

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Calv.

Blog candy shout out.

Hi everyone. :)

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Been a bit busy lately, hence the lack of makes here, however i just wanted to give a heads up for a great blog candy that Karen is doing over at Crafty Goings On.

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As usual Karen has put together a lovely bundle of goodies for you, including the new Tim Holtz book which i can thoroughly recommend for beginners and experienced crafters alike.

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So pop on over to Karen's and try your luck! Thanks Karen. :)

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Hopefully i'll be back soon with something nice to share with you, the weathers just too nice to miss out on with the kids at the moment though. Need to get my night time crafty head on maybe? :)

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Take care all.

A double suprise for the absent Rotty!

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Trust Rotty to do a dissapearing act just when he gets some goodies through the letterbox!

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Yes bloggers whilst Rotty is off on his travels to lands unknown, i had two fantastic presents arrive today. First was a huge box of Easter eggs from Maddy's daughter Sophia. Now Sophia never does anything by half, so i had a wonderfull suprise when i opened the box to find an egg for me AND Rotty!!!

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I have to say my half didn't last long, well i had to make sure it didn't melt....you know how it is? Do not panic though, i have kept Rotty's half for whenever he decides to return from his travels. A big thank you to Sophia for the eggs, we all loved opening them and of course, making them dissapear! :)

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Meanwhile over at the house build, i spent the afternoon making him a couple of beds for his room, one for him, and one for any friends he has sleeping over....they are a bit covered in glue and still need a little fancying up, but you get the idea...

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The only thing i have to sort out for him is bed linen. Being a hardened rat from the rough end of the sewer, he wouldn't be seen dead in the kind of girly stuff Calvin Mouse sleeps in (pink satin nightie, hair curlers etc), so i wondered what i could get for Rotty? I needed something that showed off his tough exterior, coupled with his love of adventure and travel?

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Now i did say i had a couple of suprises through the post today, my good friend Nicki from Switzerland who is an absoloute diamond with a needle and thread, send a little gift for Rotty...

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How cool is THAT!!! A gift just doesn't get more fitting than that! Two sets of miniature duvets and matching pillows. Camofladge one side, and a gorgeous map of the world fabric on the other.

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I made the beds to fit the duvets...i can just see Rotty and a mate snuggled up under these with thier torches, planning their next mission against Calvin "big girls blouse" Mouse!

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So the biggest thank you going out to Nicki in far off Switzerland for these, you are total star and i know that when Rotty gets his furry little backside back here, he will fall in love with them for sure!

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Have a great Easter everyone, eat lots of chocloate and don't forget to tell Rotty he has some here if you see him.....where on earth can he have gotten to?

Rotty's in the news!

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Would you believe it folks! Rotty appears to have hit the local rodent headlines again, this time with his silly antics....by that i mean walking out in a huff! He's almost as big a drama queen as Calvin Mouse!!!

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I did try and tell him i was making him a house, but he is so stubborn, i wonder where he'll end up with his so-called "streetwise survival skills?

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"Ah look who we have here....Rotty....what are you up to?....are you telling me you've only got as far as my rubbish bag in the garden?"

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"Yeah well it's better than false promises of houses...and the foods not too bad either!"

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"Rotty my old mate, why don't you come on in, i'll show you how i'm getting on with your house."

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"Likely story, actually i only stopped here for a quick nap, then i have to get some things together and i'm off!"

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"Oh really Rotty, and where might that be eh? Next door's garden bin? Quite the adventurer aren't we Captain Scott!"

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"Very funny, i have somewhere in mind, don't you worry about that".

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Hmmm i don't like the sound of this, i'd better follw him....

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" Rotty what are you doing here at the train station? These are dangerous places you know."

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"I told you, i'm off to stay somewhere, i have contacts up north."

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"Oh really Rotty, you have friends nationwide now do you?"

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"Yep, well kind of....now if you don't mind i have to catch a train..."

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"Oh Rotty, i really wish you wouldn't go, you have to be carefull on trains, there are lots of big people around that might step on you....see that police lady just missed you!"

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"It's ok, i gave her the slip...ah here's my train now....byeeeeee!"

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Well folks, that looks like he's really gone this time, i just wish i knew what he was up to, that train goes half the way up the country....who on earth would take in a stray rat?
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Rats it!...I'm off!!!

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Hi folks, tonight i wanted to show you a couple of new additions to Calv's residence.....well the garden anyway. My new birdhouse, which i bought.....and my new beehive which i made.

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I love the birds coming into the garden, so do the kids, so i thought i'd treat them to a nice box i'd seen on the net, they are going to love this little beauty...

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Some of you may remember that last year i bought a solitary beehive for my garden. It's for the bees that live on their own so you don't end up with a huge nest and swarms. Anyway i wanted to get another one, then when i looked at my other one i did what any crafter would do and said, "I could make one of those!"

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So i did...

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The individual bees make tiny nests inside the holes, it just gives them somewhere to stay. What with all the decline of bees going on in the world, i thought it would be a nice gesture. The hive is not finished yet, i want to decorate it a bit more, but i'll show you when it's done.

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Uh Oh! Look what the cat dragged in.....and he doesn't look too happy! "Hi Rotty, hows things?"

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"UNBELIEVABLE!!! What the heck do you call these then?"

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"What? The bird house and the bee hive? Yes they are pretty fantastic aren't they? What do you think of them Rotty?"
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"I'll tell you exactly what i think boss! I think you have gone too far this time! You buy a house for those flippin flappin things, all they do is flap about and eat things...and i'm sure they purposely aim for me sometimes yanno!"

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"But Rotty, i can explain."

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"Then theres the bee hive!!! You must have spent ages making that, when all they do is sting me on the backside all the time!!! Then theres Rotty here who has waited what seems like a lifetime for a certain house that i was promised!!!"

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"Oh come on now Rotty me old mate, it takes a little while to make a house good enough for the likes of you".

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"Yeah yeah, i've heard it before boss..well thats it.....I'm OFF!!!

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"Rotty don't be silly mate, let's talk about this, i have started the house i promise."

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"Boss, it's too late for words and idle promises, i've seen your handy work, let's just say i'm not entirely convinced you've even thought of my comfort lately have you? I'd have probably ended up in a cardboard box like all the other rats!"
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"But Rotty....where will you go.....it's a big wide world out there".

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"Bye boss....I'm a sewer rat remember, streetwise and tough as old boots, you just think about who is going to look after your stash now!"
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Oh well folks, that's him gone..for now. Yet another over reaction from the drama queen that is Rotty, i'm sure he'll be back when he gets too hungry. If he had shut up for five minutes and let me get a word in, i might have given him a peek at a certain "residence in progress"...

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I'm sure when his little toes get cold, i'll have something here to warm him up again some day soon :)
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Thanks for stopping by, and if you see a struggling rat down your way starving and pretending to be streetwise....give him some food please. :)

Stunned once again!

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Just a quick post to say you have to pop over to Maddy's blog and check out her new creation...Cupcake Cottage!!!

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Above is just a glimpse of what she's made, there is so much more to see, and what's inside the box will surely make you smile. :)

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Just to add, when Maddy makes something like this, she often mentions that she's been locked away in her craft room for hours, sometimes days..finally emerging like some kind of cave woman. Well for those who doubt this, she's just said to me, "I need to go and have a wash, get dressed....and what day is it?"!!!

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Honestly, it's like some bedraggled hermit type figure of a woman, crawling outside, blinded by daylight...with fimo and paper bits all over her!

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Great job once again Maddy xxx

A rare sight...a card from me!

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Yes folks, shock horror it's a card from me!

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I say that like it's an infrequent thing because it is compared to most of you, although they end up ok, the proccess is rather a stressfull one for me lol. Nothing matches in my eyes, i haven't a clue what to make....so i'm kind of a "throw it on and eventualy something will come together" kind of guy.

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Maddy's always a good influence for me, so thats what got me going on this one. To help me with the layout i followed this weeks Sketch Saturday challenge, always a big help for someone like me.

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I enjoyed this sketch, easy enough not to be daunted, but enough room to jazz the card up as you wish...i used a Maya Road key stamp set for the main image...

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I did some hand stitching around the oval, very time consuming but one of my fave additions to a card. I also gave the oval a very thin dusting of Distress Crackle Paint, it gave it the finest, almost invisible crackle effect...

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I punched some small holes along the edge of the card and laced the sides with ribbon...

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I added a custom made stamp that the lovely Nikki made me over at Dewdrop Craftz. ( For the record, i just got permission off of Maddy to call Nikki lovely...no black eyes for Calv tonight!)
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A bit of lace and a tassle....you can't go wrong with those two can you?
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So thats my yearly card making session over! I need a bath and a cuppa! :)

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Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

Easter elegance.

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Yes i know it's a little early, but i finished Maddy's Easter prezzy today and couldn't wait to blog it. Click on the pics for a better look.
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This lovely little egg trinket box started off as a delapilated mess on a charity shop shelf. It was bare apart from some of the beads going around it, it was scuffed, scratched and had the remains of a terrible paint job on it..... So i bought it with an Easter project in mind.
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I've used Distress Crackle Paint on the egg itself, i mean eggs do crack now and again don't they? Painted with a thin coat, the crackles are lovely and fine. I also added a few little things to fancy it up a bit.
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First i punched a simple heart out, distressed it a little and hand stitched around the edge.
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A few fabric flowers and more beading dotted around the place...doesn't that crackle paint look great close up?
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The little butterflies are lazer cut, and with a coat of antique cotton paint and a stamped text pattern on them, they really come to life on the project. I was able to enter this into the Charisma Cardz Challenges this week as they are ofter something with Beautiful Butterflies.
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This pendant/charm was a great find, it originaly came as part of a belt, but in true Calv style i wrecked the belt and used the only bit that was left intact! I can also enter it in the Creative Inspirations "charms" challenge this week.
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I know what you are thinking though, yes Calv that's fine but what about the choccy!!! Have i ever let you down yet? :)
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Filled with mini easter eggs, Maddy has the choice of white, plain and dark choccy to indulge herself in.
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What would this kind of project be without some reference to Alice in Wonderland? It gave me a chance to compliment the box with something nice, whilst using one of my fave stamps, an Alice in Wonderland quote...
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This handmade scroll was made on patterned paper, wrapped around a couple of dowelling rods i chopped up this afternoon. Painted again with crackle paint and finished off with tiny brass knobs.
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A dainty button and some ribbon later.....and Mr Carroll would have been proud of me! :)
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I love these butterflies...
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A close up of the wonderfull quote...
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So there you have it, one Easter prezzy for my partner in crime. :) Hopefully Maddy will forgive me for spoiling the suprise, she'll just have to wait for the choccy now.....i'm sure i'll take good care of it. :)
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Thanks for looking everyone.....and Happy early Easter!!!
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