Finally we are UK bound

Its been a long old process but finally we are headed back to the UK to sort out our visa's and get to see family and friends too.

The whole process of getting our new visa's has taken up the best part of 2 years with 3 cancelled appointments and lots of frustration. Now we have our new appointment on the 14th July we are busy getting things ready to fly to England on Wednesday. Lots to do and not much time to do it in.

I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone back home as its been over 2 years since I was home last. It will be great to catch up with everyone and also to indulge in a few UK favourites that we don't get out here which include fish and chips and a curry!

Hopefully the heat wave that the UK has been having will continue but just slightly cooler as with no air conditioning its pretty brutal as we've been spoiled with the AC over here.

Going to do some sight seeing in London while we're there so will post some photos on our return. I wonder if the Queen is free for a cup of tea?

Its a Baby Boom, baby Announcements

So far this week I've heard from three of my friends who are all pregnant and are all due in December and January....spooky. With all this baby talk going on I thought it perfect timing to get creative and make up some baby announcements.

I've made up two sets so far, one for baby boys, one for baby girls and have listed them on my Etsy store. I'm planning on making up a couple other sets and also some Baby Shower invitations and thank you card sets.

Scrapbook Embellishments

I like to make embellishments for my handmade cards and so I thought I would package some of them up to sell on my Etsy site for other fellow scrapbookers to use on their album and other crafts.

They are made from assorted cardstock and paper using 4 different sized flower paper punches. It was fun coming up with the different color combintations.

I'm hoping to make other items too so check out the store at http://www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com/

Jelly and his friends

Yesterday I was down at my friend Sandra's house as I was helping her to get packed up for a move to Germany in the summer. When I got to her house I always take my dog Jelly along as he is good friends with Sandra's little pack of three Border Collies and they have a great time together.

While Sandra & I were busy getting things packed up all of the dogs were busy wearing each other out playing. There were five dogs in all as a nieghbors dog was being looked after too so it was a real house full. They are all such lovely dogs and I'm really going to miss them when they move to Germany and I know that Jelly will too.

When it came time to leave I opened up the trunk of my car for Jelly to hop into and all of the other dogs decided to hop in too. It was such a funny site and I happened to have my camera on me and captured some photos of the motely crew in the back of my car.

Unfortunately the others had to stay at Sandra's and I brought home a very tired looking Jelly on his own.

It took a couple of shots to get them all looking the same dircetion!

Meet the crew - Taran, Darcy, Jelly, Tess and Mardie

Flowers from my garden

I love being outside and I love gardening. I get my green fingers from my Mum who also loves to garden and has a beautiful garden back in England. When we moved into our house in 2004 there wasn't much of a garden or 'yard' as its known on this side of the pond.

Once the house had been renovated it was time to get the garden sorted and I've enjoyed designing and developing it over the years and still enjoy changing it and adding new items. I've created wide flowing flower borders and filled them with all my favourite plants like hostas, lillies, daisys, cone flowers, heucheras and lots more.

I'm just making up some containers for the front porch to brighten it up and I'm looking forward to the giant lillies finally opening as they are so beautiful and spectacular.

When my Mum came over for a visit this spring we spent lots of time in the garden and added a new flower bed in the front lawn...just an excuse to go and buy some more plants really!!

In my back garden I have my vegetable garden where I have tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, brocolli, corn, radish, lettuce, beets, onions, beans, peas, spinach, strawberrys, raspberries and blue berries. I'm just about to add some sweet potatoes, water melon and summer squash so I should have a plentiful harvest theoughout the summer of fresh fruit & veg.

Each day there is something new to look at and of course more than one weed to pull out so I can spend a lot of time just 'pottering' in my garden taking in its beauty and seeing the new flowers or plants.

My Jelly Boy

This is my dog Jelly who is almost three years old now. We got him from an animal rescue in February 2007 and we love him so much. He is a Border Collie and Springer Spaniel cross and certainly has the nutty parts of both breeds in him.

As he has beautiful long hair he just gets so hot in the summer and so its off to the petsmart groomers to have a full doggy pampering and have his hair shaved. He's in there longer than I am in the hair salon and comes out looking all lovely and smelling divine.

The first time I had him shaved it was quite a suprise to see him afterwards and rather amusing too, I must admit as he did look funny.

At least now he'll stay cooler and be easier to keep clean during the summer months, and there will be less hair around the house too which is good too.

Cards for those little boys in our lives

I love making cards for children as they are so much fun. I've made some new birthday cards for those special little boys which I think are so cute.

Whether they like aeroplanes, trains or cars, these cards will bring a smile to their little faces. I made three special cards for a lady who has triplet boys and personalized each card with their name to make them extra special.

Check them out along with other cards at www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com