Cosying up with a nice mug of cocoa...

The wintry feel has been lingering for what seems like FOREVER, with more snow earlier this week...so with that in mind, here's a sneak peek at a design I created a couple of days ago, to co-ordinate with my gingerbread designs:

 - what better way to warm up on a wintry day than donning the mittens and supping on a nice mug of cocoa; bliss! :D

Thinking of Madeira...

I was so sad to hear the news over the weekend that Madeira had suffered terrible flooding and mudslides, with devastating results - at last count 42 people have died, with the death toll expected to rise....one of the worst affected areas was the capital Funchal - I spent a lovely holiday here back in 2006; such a beautiful island with so much lush vegetation and colour; it's so sad to see the images on the news of the devastated town. My heart really goes out to all the families and people affected over there.

- looking over the capital, Funchal

...this picture was taken from the seafront, near to our hotel, looking back up towards the mountains. I think this was possibly one of the worst hit areas.

I hope they can get all the help they need to restore this beautiful town once again...

A curious phenomenon......

I had to share this with you as it's so bizarre.....we had a covering of snow again last night, and I woke up this morning and looked out of the window to check how much had fallen when I noticed something VERY strange....our car had a strange grid-like formation on top of it made up of dots!! There is nothing on the roof of the car; no sunroof, nothing, so what could have caused such a thing?!

Take a look and see what you think......

...so perfectly spaced.....WEIRD!!!

The Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Happy Pancake Day! :)

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmmmmm....oh, how I LOVE pancake day; I hope you'll all be getting out the frying pans this evening! ;)

Clowns, wolves(!?) and romance...

Hellooo...I trust you all had a fun-filled weekend; hope you all got spoilt by your loved ones yesterday! :) 

I headed off to see the Moscow State Circus on Friday night, which was lots of fun - even the clowns weren't scary (as they usually are); they were actually rather funny! There were some amazing acrobats and contortionists, as well as lots of other jaw-dropping acts...

On Saturday I was dragged to see possibly one of the worst films EVER....The Wolfman. If it was meant to be scary, then I'm sorry, but I don't consider something that resembles a cross between Chewbacca and Teenwolf to be scary AT ALL; I'm so shocked that it was a newly-created film...the effects were awful! I just sat there and laughed (not quite the effect they were after, I'm sure!)!!!

And on Sunday, it was Valentines Day of course...me and the hubby went for a nice walk and then he  prepared a lovely 3 course meal, complete with wine. We then cosied up on the sofa with a good ol' romcom....ahhhh, perfect! :)  

.....I think he's forgiven now for the 'Wolfman' blip... ;)

Love is in the air....

Happy Valentine Weekend everyone!

Whoop! Whoop!...I did it!! :)

Wow - what a week...it's certainly been non-stop, but I'm so pleased that I achieved my target and completed all the designs I set out to do in time for the Spring Fair at Birmingham's NEC this coming Sunday....here's one of the sets I've been busily working on which you will see on display at the show this year; an elegant snowflake theme with lots of pretty silver foiling.

Fingers crossed we won't see any real snowflakes this time round; last year it put a complete dampener on things and all the prospective visitors decided to cosy up at home instead...booooo! 

If you're planning a visit yourself, then look out for my work, as well as that of many others, in Hall 3 Stand G39 - our designer collective will be represented by Inspire By Design Ltd.

Hope to see you there! :)

Countdown to Spring Fair 2010....

As Spring Fair draws ever closer, it's full throttle for the rest of the week. I'm currently back on to Christmas, but this time focusing on the true meaning....

Here's a small taster of a new religious set I've been working on; I've quite enjoyed it - I think it's because it focuses heavily on pattern; my favourite thing! :)