WELL DONE!

Dear Reader

Here's my entry for the Sugar Nellie Challenge which this week had to include flowers. I used up some of my lovely Martha Stewart paper which I do promise is now nearly at an end in case you are fed up with it! I'm not but you may be! There was quite a lot to the design so I kept some of the papers plain and just used two patterned ones. One has a lovely glittery texture to it but alas the photo doesn't show it in its full glory. I used the Leanne Ellis stamp coloured with Tim Holtz's new distress inks. Loving the new colours. I used paper flowers from Running With Scissors and a pearl brad from my stash. The background is punched with a Martha Stewart doilly punch. I thought we'd have some pink champagne to celebrate and I've highlighted the flowers (paper and the one in Annie's hair - which I've tried to echo) and the bubbles with icicle stickles.

It's been a very busy week again trying to cram three days work into five! Doesn't go! The Awards evening is really hotting up now. Marilyn who works with me has pulled all the stops out to get the right entries out to the right judges who will be deciding the winners on Monday and is now sending out tickets for the evening - as well as doing her normal work. I've been writing the evening programme and pulling together all the different strands for the evening. So it's all a bit hectic and manic but I'm sure it'll all come together. She says not all together convincingly - please keep your fingers xd! It's not helped putting the event on a whole month earlier - we're now wedged between the General Election and the World Cup instead of being during the World Cup!! But yesterday was a really nice day when I went to the opening of the ICHP Plant at ConocoPhillips. The plant is mindblowingly awesome and we were told that it has capability to provide 2 to 3% of the nation's power needs - and here's the really good news - works at 70% energy efficiency. If you think that a coal fired power station operates at 35% efficiency that's so much better for the environment. It was a really interesting lunch and tour and to commemorate the occasion we were given a small glass paperweight - a square with one corner sliced off, if you can imagine that. Inside was a 3D etched image of the new plant including chimneys that you felt you could peep down. I was really taken with it and have put it in my new craftroom as a keepsake.