In the blink of an eye....(posted by Judith)

Well, it seems an age since the girls came to stay for a few days, but I wanted to let you know how we all got on, and post one or two pictures of our time together.

The weather was absolutely atrocious for most of the few days that we spent together, so sadly, we didn't manage to spend our afternoons drinking tea outside in the garden. My OH had spent a considerable amount of time trying to get the garden looking just so, in time for the arrival of our VIP guests.

We have lots of little areas around the house for sitting and relaxing, but not in a downpour! So we stayed inside, and made the best of the bad weather. We still ate plenty of cakes......

Elaine was our cake maker extraordinaire for the trip and she made some Apple Scones. Chocolate and Orange cupcakes, and my personal favourite, Lemon Drizzle cake.

She got to grips with my range cooker and knew where everything was in the kitchen by the time she was ready to leave!
One of the days the girls were here, Linda Elbourne came to see us, and taught a class for us. We made a great project incorporating an altered suitcase and a mini book. It was lovely to see Linda, and to catch up with her. We took a class with her when we had our last holiday together, so this was a little bit of history repeating itself.

This is my suitcase all finished with its little labels and the paint job all done. My book is almost finished as well, but it need the holes for the book rings. My Big Bite just can't quite manage the job, so my OH is going to make the holes for me. Linda had a fabulous tool that makes holes in leather belts that made her holes. This is her book:

We spent far too much time chatting as per usual, and didn't get our project finished during the class. That's always the way I'm afraid! Linda was telling us that she is hanging up her crafting hat for a while, and becoming a pub landlady, you may have seen the announcement on her blog. She will be crafting again once she is settled, but she will be busy getting herself sorted out to start with. Happily for me, she will still be within driving distance of where I live, so I may have to stop in for a Pimm's!

We had another visitor the next day, Paula Whittaker. She lives not that far from me, and she came and had a crafting session with us as well. We were very honoured to see some of her fabulous creations that she had brought with her. It is lovely to get to know crafters online, but even more special when you get to meet them face to face.

So after all the weeks of planning, and emails flying backwards and forwards, our time together has been and gone. I hardly dare tell my OH that we'd like to do it all again next year......!

Judith xx

Four days to go! (posted by Judith)

Well, it's been a long time since there has been a post on our poor neglected blog, and we are sorry for that. Life has taken over recently, and we have all had our fair share of ups and downs.

Hopefully over the next week, you will see a few more posts from us, as the Craft Stamping Quartet are having a holiday together in Norfolk! The girls are coming to stay at my house, Poppy Cottage, and we hope to craft together and spend some quality time catching up with each other.

We have decided that we are going to try to do a bit of sightseeing while they are staying, but the most important thing on the agenda is afternoon tea, and cake every day.

To that end, I have been collecting new, borrowed, and charity shop bits and pieces ready for their arrival. My Mother in law has been a great help to me, as she has vast cupboards full of crockery, so she has lent me some treasures. The glass dish is a 1937 coronation dish, which will be great for strawberries to go with the cakes, don't you think? The teapot is one of my wedding presents, and only comes out for high days and holidays. The Cake stand is actually new from a Laura Ashley sale, it is enamel, and very pretty. Everything else came from charity shops, and cost very little. I have a few other bits that I haven't photographed, but today is a bit grey outside, and I think that it's going to rain.

Behind where I was standing when I took the photograph is this beauty at the moment:

I absolutely love wisteria, and we inherited this one when we moved here. I consider myself very lucky to have this treat every Spring.

Well, I'm sure we'll be back with more updates of our time together in a few days, thanks for stopping by, Judith xx