Crafty Cow is pausing for the big Moo-ve across the Pond!

Hi folks!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently but with all the preparations for our big move across the pond, my crafting has had to take a back seat over other priorities ... such as updating passports, getting visas, finding schools and not least somewhere to live when we get there!  Add to that a de-cluttering of gigantic proportions and that pretty much sums up my life at the moment.  I am planning to continue with the One Crafty Cow blog once we are settled (and my crafty stash arrives safely!) but for now hope you will understand and bear with me.

Meanwhile, due to several requests from friends and family, I have started a separate blog to record our move and document our first year in Arizona. So, if you are interested and would like to join us on the next part of our journey, then it would be great to see you over there! Here's the link Barlow's Big Adventure

TTFN
Bev x

A Sheltering Tree Through the Seasons

Another quick one today as I continue to grapple with black bins bags and the darkest regions of Narnia (also known as the back of the spare room cupboard).

I think I have fallen in love with the new Sheltering Tree stamp set from the Stamping' Up Spring/Summer 2015 catalogue!  It is a gorgeous set and ideal to make a quick & easy card for any season as you can dress up the tree in any way you like ... quick & easy works for me though :)  I have had a play and created a set of notecards for all four seasons, although I think I like the Spring one the best as Cherry Blossom is my absolute favourite!  Oh, if I close my eyes I can almost smell the heavenly scent of those puffy pink clouds of blossom ...... delicious!  Hopefully it will cheer you up too and remind us all that whilst the rain is lashing against the window and the wind is howling like a banshee, Spring really won't be far away!

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Stay safe in this nasty weather folks and if I spot Mr Tumnus or Aslan I will be sure to report back next week!

Cheers

Bev x

Perpetual Birthdays ...!

Well ... Operation Clear Out continues this week in preparation for our move to Arizona.  Cupboards are being cleared, drawers tidied and an assortment of old hi-fi equipment, games consoles, and exercise paraphanalia have made their way on to that great virtual marketplace that is eBay.  (I don't why I EVER thought an Aero Pilates machine was going to change my life... I seem to recall sitting on it watching the accompanying DVD, with a glass of wine in hand and munching a bowl of crisps ... snort ).   And suffice to say, if I ever have to so much as look at a paper shredder again it will be too soon!  Why is it that no matter how carefully you empty the basket thingy (that incidentally fills up faster than the Magic Porridge Pot) you end up surrounded by shredded paper and dust .... grrrrr!

Anyway, I do have a crafty project to share with you this week ... huzzah!

This was one of my pre-order goodies from the new Stamping' Up! seasonal catalogue released earlier this week (if you have not seen it yet just click on the link on the right hand side  .... scroll down a bit ... there you go!) - The Perpetual Birthday Calendar kit is one of the fab new items this season and as well as the fun you will have creating it, it would also make a lovely gift as it comes in a sturdy kraft gift box which can also be decorated.  The kit comes with pre-cut calendar pages, printed 1 - 31,  ready for you to decorate and lots of embellishments (including sparkly glitter and sequins ... oooh shiny!).  There is also an accompanying stamp set which can then be used year after year to make your own versions.

This is how I chose to decorate mine ...

Here is the co-ordinating stamp set ...

If you want to have a go at making one for yourself, just click on the links above to go shopping!

Right ... back to clearing out cupboards  ... yawn ... or maybe I'll just have another cuppa first ... :)

       

Have a good week everyone!
Bev x

Capture the little moments ...

Happy New Year!

I hope you all survived the holiday season and enjoyed the festivities.  In the Crafty Cow household, cards have been taken down, glitter vacuumed up & decorations packed away for another year.  Whilst I was truly sad to say goodbye to all the colour and sparkle (I LOVE Christmas!), there is something quite satisfying about restoring order and calm to the household at the start of a brand new year.  When I say 'calm', I am talking metaphorically in this instance as currently I feel anything BUT calm!  Let me explain ...

A couple of weeks before Christmas, it was confirmed that Mr CC had been successful in securing a new job.  An exciting new role with his existing Company ... a promotion, no less ... in Arizona ... wait ... WHAT?!  Obviously we had discussed at great length when the possibility first arose and we had decided that it would be too good an opportunity to pass up and (hopefully) a wonderful experience for us as a family, but we never really believed it would actually happen! Now that the distraction of Christmas is over and the reality has well and truly sunk in, I am starting to slightly panic about how much there is to do and organise! I seem to be on an emotional see-saw .. one minute very excited and the next utterly terrified - especially at the thought of having to leave beloved friends & family behind.  Gulp!

Given all of the above, I have had little time to get any new projects together to share with you, so thought I would share a fun 'Photo A Day' challenge from an Autralian blogger called Fat Mum Slim that I recently came across.  You can read all about how it works on her blog post here but basically it is a series of daily prompts (provided a week at a time) to encourage you to capture a photo a day and record those little moments.  For example, the prompts for this coming week are

Mon 5th - Square
Tue 6th - Round
Wed 7th - Currently Reading
Thu 8th - Landscape
Fri 9th - Pattern
Sat 10th - Hello
Sun 11th - I see ...

Have a look at her latest blog post here for examples.  You can play along by sharing your photos on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #fmsphotoaday (and search on this tag to see what others have taken if you are nosey like me!) and if you are an iPhone or iPad user you can also download a handy little app called Little Moments which as well as providing you with the daily prompt reminders will also allow you to add fun text and graphics to your photos.  Not sure whether I will be able to commit to playing along every day, but will certainly be using the prompts to inspire me with my Project Life photos, which I will definitely be continuing throughout 2015 as we embark on our American Adventure!

Have a fun photo snapping week! I'm off to clear out the cupboard under the stairs (Harry Potter could be living in there for all I know, it's that long since I last looked!)
Bev x

A Crafty Christmas Candle ...

Just a quick post this week as the Big Day draws ever nearer and there seems to be a million and one things still to be done ... beds to change, last minute gifts to wrap, cake to decorate ... is it time to get those spouts on yet?

We had the first of our family Christmas get togethers yesterday and about 10 minutes before everyone was due to arrive I realised that I hadn't got a table decoration ... damn! Then I remembered something I had seen on the trusty Pinterest site (don't you just LOVE Pinterest?!) and with a few simple supplies, (adapting slightly to fit what I actually had in the house) had a pretty decoration in minutes!

Here's what you need:

• An old glass jar (everyone who knows me knows I am a Yankee Addict so I had plenty of empty jars stashed in the cupboard waiting for a recycling project!)
• A few trimmings from the Christmas tree or any other such greenery - I didn't have any trimmings but had some Rosemary in the fridge so just used that
• Cranberries (or you could use any red berries you might have in the garden)
• A floating tea light - again, I used Yankee Candle tea lights as I happened to have a few boxes in the cupboard ... ahem ... and as they are in plastic containers they float - bonus!  If you are using normal tea lights, just take them out of the silver container which will help them float.
• Piece of pretty ribbon

All you do is put your chosen greenery into the jar, top up with water, sprinkle the cranberries on the top, sit the tea light in the middle and tie the ribbon around the neck of the jar.  Ta da!  Simple, effective and made in a few minutes.  I made three to sit down the centre of the table.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.  See you on the other side!

Bev x

December Daily - Project Life

So ... how many of you are putting together or planning to put together a December Daily album?  I have never attempted one before as December is hardly a 'sit back and chill out' kind of month is it?  If you are anything like me, I expect you too are up to your ears in lists, wrapping paper & sellotape, never mind trying to keep up with a daily scrapbook layout!  This year though, since discovering the Project Life memory keeping system, I thought I would have a go.  So far, so good.  Not only has it  proved to be quick and easy to achieve, but it has also added to the festive mood and I have really looked forward to completing it each day.  With the Hello December card collection from Stampin' Up, all I have had to do is slot in my photo(s), write my journalling and add a few quick embellishments - done!

Those attending my January classes will be completing their own December Memory Albums (hope you are remembering to take those photos girls!), but in the meantime I promised to share a few of the completed pages from my album.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks - go off and make some memories!
TTFN
Bev x

White Christmas in a Flash!

December already ... how did that happen?!  Still, so far so good.  Presents all bought; cards made, and those for posting written and dropped into the mail box; home made mince pies & cranberry sauce safely tucked away in the freezer **smiles to self looking very smug** 

Just as I was patting myself on the back and congratulating myself for being on track with everything so early, I began to get that uneasy feeling ... you know the one ... when you are sure you have forgotten something but for the life of you you can't think what.  And then as I was just writing the last card I remembered.  Dammit.  I hadn't made any cards for Youngest to take to school for his classmates.

Never fear though, I had a crafty day planned this week with my lovely friend Louise so I would just have to make a conscious effort this time to actually get on and make something more than the one card or half a scrapbook page that I usually manage to achieve (due to the coffee that needs to be drunk, cakes that need eating and general catching up that invariable needs to be done when we see each other!)   With a few scraps of patterned paper, some 3x3" white card blanks and the White Christmas stamp set, I was able to whip up 15 mini cards in a flash enhanced with a bit of 'colouring in'.  Perfect!

In fact, in between drinking coffee, eating Nutty Apple Loaf (if you haven't tried the Hummingbird Bakery's recipe for this you are seriously missing out!) and munching our way through half a box of Milk Tray ... ahem ... we actually managed to be quite productive.  Here is Louise featuring some of the lovely cards she made with the Festival of Trees stamp set.... gorgeous!

Both of these stamp sets are available from my Stamping' Up shop (Click here ) and are great for creating quick and easy christmas cards in a flash.

I hope you have all remembered to start taking your December photos to include in your memory albums!  As I think I mentioned previously, I have decided to do a  'December Daily' Project Life album this year (although yours can be anything you want it to be) and have already made a start and am really pleased with the results so far.  So quick and easy to do and (so far) still up to date! I will share a few pics in next week's blog so you can see what I have been up to.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that there are lots of new items added to the Clearance Rack on the Stamping' Up site ... up to 80% discounts on some items too, so definitely worth a look. See you there!

Now ... I just fancy a mince pie ... oooh look, Delia says you can cook them straight from the freezer ... result!

TTFN
Bev x