Mothers Day Tulips

I've been looking forward to using this gorgeous tulip stamp from Papertrey's Friendship Jar Spring Fillers set and saved it for my Mum's Mothers Day card. Not a very original design but I think this lovely image looks good on its own. I've coloured the flowers to match my favourite dark and delicious garden tulips. Of course they aren't out yet but here they are in bloom last year.

Mum has started to enjoy a bit of simple embroidery recently so I've bought her this lovely old chocolate box containing a half finished embroidery project from long ago. I really love browsing the vintage sewing sections on ebay and have developed a bit of an obsession with old embroidery transfers lately. I've already amassed a small collection without even trying, so I really enjoyed Lucy's post here about her latest ebay obsession - and YES! it is so easy to get carried away! Makes me think what on earth I spent my money on before on-line auctions existed!

Census Day 2011

Today is Census Day in the UK and for the first time we have been able to fill in the census form on line. I wonder if family historians 100 years from now will find this census as fascinating as the one that took place on Sunday 2nd April 1911. As a keen family historian myself I was excited when the census records were partly released early last year. However when I found out the exact date of the census I was just a bit disappointed as I had been hoping to see my Father listed with his family in Llanrwst - Dad was born just 11 days later, on 13th April. Here he is with his parents (aged about 4 and dressed in his Sunday best) on a day out at Llandudno.

You can search for your own family on the 1911 Census website and download images of the actual document filled in by a member of your family 100 years ago. Today we take this service entirely for granted but I don't know how I would explain this amazing resource to my Father, let alone to the Grandfather I never met but whose handwriting I'm so delighted to see today.

Perfect packaging from Papertrey

I was so looking forward to my latest Papertrey Ink purchase arriving as I had decided the new Button Boutique set would be just perfect for carding up the brooches and clips I have been making lately. The cards came together very easily as I also bought the matching dies. Can't wait to make some more.
Another new purchase was this little Floral Fusion set designed by Melissa Bickford - a real bargain at just £3.10 ($5). These gift tags are my version of the lovely tags Melissa made for the release.

Late afternoon walking

It always seems to be late afternoon by the time I'm ready to go for my walk down the lane and at this time of year dusk is falling by the time I get home. But this does mean that the setting sun lights up little places here and there, making beautiful pictures - this bramble leaf being one I spied last week.


















I'm very fond of the countryside in winter and early spring when the trees are still bare. Everything seems to look orderly and well kept - albeit a bit muddy. And did you know that here in Wales there are more sheep than people? At this time of year the sheep population explodes as the lambs arrive. One of my favourite occupations is lamb watching - they seem to revel in their short lives even when the temperatures are below freezing.

1st March - St David's Day

Today is our patron saint's day in Wales - St David's Day (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant). And here are some of the little Welsh girls I have collected over the years celebrating their day. When I was at school we celebrated with an Eisteddfod - a day of music, singing, dancing and recitation competitions in the school hall. We didn't go to school dressed in traditional Welsh costume as children do these days, but I think my Mum did - here she is in about 1932 posing in the garden for her father's camera.



And here's a little card I made for Mum today. Realising I didn't have any daffodil stamps I put together a couple of Papertrey flower images stamped in the appropriate colours and hey presto! I added a little grass stamp for the leaves and now I think these could easily pass for daffodils - the national flower of Wales.