Of Punches And Paddington

Bob found me a brilliant bargain in a CS recently- a Martha Stewart Punch for £3, which produces beautiful lilies. It punches, and embosses, and there is a ring of 7 holes in the centre. I made a birthday card and a thankyou card. For Ruth's card, I actually stitched the centres in contrasting thread, and also stitched a circle of card with her name. Some flowers went flat onto the card, others were slightly raised with foam stickers, to give a 'dimensional feel' 

I found a square card in my box, but not the envelope - so I made one using my WRMK punch board
which I bought cheaply 2nd hand in Ferndown. It was for someone who was leaving a secretarial job, so the typewriter paper seemed appropriate, and I cut a circle of pink for the label [it was hand delivered]

I had problems with Robin and Gillian's wedding card - I could not find my folder of large dies anywhere. After much hunting**, I gave up and made a card with a star shaped pinwheel on the front, using smaller dies **I had a nasty shock when I was on my knees searching the bottom shelf of a deep cupboard. I took out a large box and saw...

The cardboard Queen mask, which Rosie had at the village Jubilee picnic in June. Very Spooky! 

On the subject of Royal Spooks..

I don't want to offend anyone - but honestly, what is it with all these pictures of our late Queen and Paddington which continue to show up on Social Media?

Drawn at the time of the Jubilee, it went viral within days of her death, Is this the bear taking HM to the Pearly Gates? Is he St Peter's little helper? 

Worse still, we drove through a quiet Norfolk village last Sunday and were confronted with a large representation of this image [rather in the manner of those Silent Soldier Silhouettes showing WW1 troops in tin helmets, who lurk in churchyards and on roundabouts]

But on the artwork we saw, Paddington was in his usual cheerful red and blue - and the Queen was painted entirely in a spectral sort of shimmering white. 

Ghostly, and ghastly, imho.