Tweetie-pie

I think I'm starting to feel better at last. I think all the hassles,stresses, sad news and lack of sleep of the last few months caught up with me and said "Enough!"
I'm usually up and about as soon as I've waved Hubby off to work at 7, but this whole week I've been crawling back to bed unable to find the energy to get on with the day. I decided not to fight it and just to go with the flow. A couple of years ago I had a really bad dose of flu which threw all our Christmas plans into disarray and saw poor Hubby scouring the shelves of Tesco on Christmas Eve for food to see us through the holiday as we had been booked to fly over to Mils for Christmas and had nothing in the house! Not only that but it left me feeling really weak and feeble (or feak and weeble if you prefer) for ages - I was still not back to what passes for normal till the end of March. Ever since then I've been a bit wary whenever the tired-all-the-time thing rears it's ugly head.
So I've been trying to take it really easy this week. I've quite enjoyed sitting at my desk doing bits and pieces of craft stuff though - I'm trying not to think of the long list of things I have to do, but only of the one I'm actually doing now. I think I might try to keep that up actually as it makes each task much more enjoyable not to be always thinking "I need to get this finished and then get on with...."
I've done quite a few cards on the theme of Christmas Stockings, here's a trio of those made with BG and Crate Christmas papers, The stocking die is actually one I downloaded from the Bosskutz site to use with the Robo. I just love that I can make them any size I want - I must have a go at making a HUGE one some day.

I'll put some of the others on here later as I've forgotten to do the photos.
It's MILs birthday next week and I made this card for her. I made this when I was feeling really bad at the beginning of the week and it looks a bit sparse I think, though I'm not sure what I would have added. Never mind, eh? The lovely paper and card are from an SA kit of a few months back, the Ribbon Oasis ribbon is a perfect match (must buy some more...) Flowers are Prima Essentials and also the perfect colour match for the paper - how fab is it when you find such great matches in your accumulated stash? The corner thingie is one of the dies in the Cuttlebug Vintage set.

I've been out for the first time this week today. Met a friend I've not seen in ages and stood out in the street having a natter then I popped into M&S to buy some bits for the weekend - but I think I bought too much and the bags were a bit heavy, I had to put them down on the way home to rearrange the load and I think I've hurt my back a bit. I already had a backache and I don't think standing so long chatting in this cold weather helped one bit. Typical - just as I start getting over one thing, something else takes it's place. Such is life.

It's DCM Friday again and this week there's lots of news to share
It's been wonderful to have Louly working with us for the last couple of weeks (Thanks Lou...) but now it's time to say hi to our latest Guest Designer who is one of our most long-standing darers . So welcome Ros it's great to have you aboard, thank you for making time to join us at such a busy time of the year.
We're also welcoming two new DT members this week, The wonderfully talented Mel Goodsell from Australia and Stamper Extraordinaire Rachel Booth from the UK we are all so pleased they are joining the team and know their contribution to the DCN is going to be fantastic

This week it's Rhi daring us with this:

"........and the theme is to do with our feathered friends!

(Are you remembering to feed them now it's chilly out)
Robins, love birds, cartoon birds, stamped birds, paper pieced birds, dingbat birds. Its up to you. I dare you to make a card with a bird or birds on, it doesn't have to be a real species, the more weird and wonderful the better!"

Here's my card

I made this using my Robo Robin template, but vastly reduced in size. I think I had a moment of madness and thought it would be cute to have loads of lttile robins sitting on a wire singing....
Actually, doing something like this was quite good therapy when I felt too grotty to do anything else, there's a relaxing quality about doing something repetetive and mindless! Although all the bits were tiny and fiddly, this was something different for me and I rather enjoyed trying to give all the little robins their own "look"
Obviously I was not in my right mind because having spent hours sticking that lot together and cutting out all those fiddly beak shapes I then continued on the theme and made these two:

Will I make any more? I'll let you know!
Robins are Robo cut except the beaks, which were hand-cut,
Red Stickles Glitter-glue added for some Christmas bling,
wording was done on the pc other details are hand-drawn.
Papers used on all the cards are Basic Grey, from the Blitzen and Fruitcake ranges.

Well, if you've managed to get this far in this epic post, Congratulaions - you're nearly there. I'm just going to add the following as much as a reminder to myself as anything. Although it's a prayer, there's a lot of good advice in there, whether you are religious or not. Thanks Lythan for helping me find this, and for making me smile at the second verse, which I'd not come across before. We both liked the bit about being "reasonably happy in this life", when it comes down to it, of you can be reasonably happy with the life you have it's got to be a good thing, hasn't it?

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr