Parchlets, Groovi, Silhouette Cameo, Birch Allergy & TFW Abingdon

Hello Friends,

Gosh, it's been almost a year since I posted something on here!  I'm going to refrain from the asking the question "have you missed me?", as the last time I asked that question to a group of ladies, I didn't like the answer one of them gave ;) ha ha!

My life has gone in a different direction, a direction totally opposite to crafting (TFW - Training for Warriors, Abingdon), that's for sure!  Although I have been crafting a little, because I've needed to - for my tutoring work at W.I. Denman and each time I finish a course there, I always did mean to blog and share what the ladies had made but somehow time never allowed - I apologise.

Anyway, why are you hearing from me today?  Well, I've been totally focused on only a couple of things for the last few months and I need to make some changes, to cut out some stress in my life and to get myself better.  Basically I want to do something for somebody but I can't, because what I was doing was making me really pretty sick.....I've been trying to help someone, which was fine during the winter but over the last few weeks my skin has gotten worse and worse and I was becoming more and more emotional and tired.  My husband worked it all out on Friday - the neighbourhood I'd been spending only an hour or two at,  3/4 times a week, where I was doing something lovely for someone who is really suffering right now, has a couple of Silver Birch trees - I'm 100% allergic to birch, not just the pollen but those trees release chemicals off their leaves that keep aphids away and it is that chemical that burns my skin and brings me out in huge horrible and very uncomfortable blotches!!!

So here I am, back to being perhaps almost house bound until the end of November, when those pesky trees stop bothering me!  I'm back to driving everywhere as I can't risk walking past one!

I was feeling really sorry for myself yesterday, wondering what on earth I was going to do now, when I had two 'signs' to get me crafting for pleasure again.  One was seeing on FB that the very talented and gorgeous Tina Cox was setting up a Parchment Twinchies page, which totally inspired me to try and make something to share on her page and the other was, that I've been contacted again by a lady asking if I still teach Cameo Silhouette lessons.

For me I've always felt that Parchment craft goes really well with my Silhouette Cameo.  After all trying to attach Vellum to cards has always been as pesky as birch trees are to me ;) and I can make all sorts of frames to hide glue on my Cameo ;)!

I'm hoping this is the start for me to getting back into some crafting for pleasure again, although I've been hampered greatly by greasy fingers - I need to plaster on the ointments to make my skin feel even slightly comfortable at the moment and even if I wash my hands thoroughly afterwards, I still find myself with greasy finger tips after a little itch here and there, on my face, neck and arms from those blasted tree blotches!

This little card has taken me ages because of the my greasy issue, but I hope you like it!

I made my own Silhouette Cameo file to create the card base and patterned paper mat, which has a two inch square aperture, which easily hides all the adhesive underneath :)!

I've used the Straight Border plate and diagonal grid plates from Clarity for the piercing and embossing, paper from Maja Designs and card stock and punches by Stampin' Up

Hope to blog again soon.

Happy crafting.

Carole x