FREE Poppy Backing Sheet For CARD MAKING & SCRAPBOOKING

Hello Crafters,

I just popped in quickly to say that I have one of my free backing sheets for you today, this sheet is not available anywhere else and is Copyright to me.  I used one of my watercolour paintings of poppies to create it. I hope you like it. Happy card making and scrapbooking to you all and if you would like to see more of my card sheets, crafts kits that you can download and print off just go to http://www.craftsuprint.com/elaine-sheldrake/

3D Giant Card Kits & Pop up Card Kits

First of all I must say how sorry I am for not keeping up to date with my blog. I was never any good at keeping a diary either!. Ever since I can remember I bought or was given a new diary nearly every year. With good intentions I made the first entry on the 1st January and went through it, adding birth dates and things to do for the coming year. The 2nd January not much happened, or I could not think of anything to say! The 3rd January my diary lay un-opened. The 31st December it went in the bin!. But I digress and a lot has happened this year. In July I had another operation, caught an infection and the wound would not heal up for 12 weeks. Since then I have been very busy trying to catch up with my designing for Craftsuprint, mainly 3D kits, which have proved very popular so I will add a few photos of some of my kits so that you can see them. If you like them, please would you go to Craftsuprints via the links given and click onto the red heart which is in the bar of links on each page. This will give me a HUG and I will be able to HUG you back. In the meantime, gentle hugs from Katy and I.

http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/kits/easel-cards-animals/christmas-in-nitwit-village-giant-a4-3d-easel-card-kit.cfm?r=122796 

 http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/kits/a4-animals/a-crafters-rhyme-giant-a4-decoupage-christmas-mice-card-kit.cfm?r=122796

 http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/kits/easel-cards-animals/249117-black-cat-pink-roses-3d-a4-giant-easel-card-kit.cfm?r=122796

http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/kits/3d-pop-out-cards/mr-and-mrs-christmas-loading-the-sleigh-3d-pop-up-card-kit.cfm?r=122796

I will try not to take so long to come back and update things but with our daughter's wedding in December, our Grandson's 18th Birthday and Christmas and work too I know you will understand if I am later rather than sooner :-)

Pets Photo Competiton Second Round

Last chance to get those photographs of your pets, past or present to me for entry to Round Two. We are looking for any kind of pets, not just cats and dogs. If you want to enter and have the chance of having a greetings card designed using your pets photograph then PM me on my Facebook page, just look for me Elaine Sheldrake on Facebook and message me for details on how to enter. You can see the winning entries from Round one on my last Blog. Have a great day and stay safe.

HONEY & CINNAMON

Honey & Cinnamon

This is an email that was sent to me by a friend. We all know that honey has been used for hundreds of years to cure all sorts of problems. I for one firmly believe that Nature knows best so I am off for my morning toast, honey and cinnamon now. I hope you too will give it a go. Have a good day and enjoy the honey!

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. It will do what some call turning to sugar. In reality honey is always honey. However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will do what I rather call "crystallizing" When this happens I loosen the lid, boil some water, and sit the honey container in the hot water, turn off the heat and let it liquefy. It is then as good as it ever was.. Never boil honey or put it in a microwave. To do so will kill the enzymes in the honey.  

Cinnamon and Honey
Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around. Facts on Honey and Cinnamon: It is found that a mixture of honey and Cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada , in its issue dated 17 January,1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:  
HEART DISEASES:  
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also, those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack.. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins. 
ARTHRITIS:  
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.  
BLADDER INFECTIONS:  
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder..  

CHOLESTEROL:  
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.
COLDS: 
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses. 
UPSET STOMACH:  
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root. 

GAS :
According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas. 
IMMUNE SYSTEM:  
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacterial and viral diseases. 
INDIGESTION:  
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals. 

INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ' Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu. 

LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increase and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old..

PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.. 

SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections. 

WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet..  
CANCER: 
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily tak e one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.  

FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.  

BAD BREATH:
People of South America , first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day. 
HEARING LOSS:  
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it! 

You might want to share this information with a friend, kinfolks and loved ones. Everyone needs healthy help information ~ what they do with it is up to them ~ share with your e-mail buddies!!!!!

Katy The Cat - Woodgreen Animal Shelters & Playbags

Back in the 80's when I was involved with Cat rescue work we often had cats and kittens that had been treated at the vets for swallowing bits of so called safe cat toys. Eyes with sharp pins that could puncture their stomachs, knitting wool that could strangulate their intestine. So with the help of vets, herbalist and a great deal of research to ensure that the various herbs were not only safe and non-toxic, but that they would appeal to the cats and kittens as well. Then there were three years of trials and Playbags was born. Real velvet is used as it is strong enough to prevent teeth and claws from ripping them to pieces and they are stuffed with a selection of carefully chosen herbs.  Not only do they stimulate play as they have Catnip in them, but if they are placed under the cat or kitten while it sleeps or while they are in transit to the vets or a cat show, the other herbs in them will soothe and relax them.
Woodgreen Animal Shelters have used them on cats in their care for many years now and they also sell them in their shop at Godmanchester, helping them to raise much needed funds.
So if you want a SAFE toy for your cat or kitten, try Playbags, your cat will love you for it! Any problems getting supplies, just message me for details.
Serious Warning....If you have more than one cat, you will need a Playbag for each of them, they can be very possessive with their Playbag as can be seen in the photograph of our Katy!

Plate Cards & Pets Photo Competition

Please forgive Katy and I for not keeping you up to date, she was busy getting shut in a shed, yes it is that time of year again, so if any of your feline family goes missing, the first thing to do is to check sheds and garages in your area....not forgetting your own!... which is exactly where Katy was! Yes my husband had been out to his workshop and Katy must have follwed him. Then of course my hubby, bless him, forgot that he had opened the shed for a minute or two, so ours was the one shed that we did not check out, or open to look in until much later, but at least we found her and she is safe and well.

In the meantime I have been very busy with designs for my Plate cards. Each plate card and plate stand comes with a selection of Sentiments and some even have a matching Gift tag, these are proving to be very popular. The photograph is of card using my Poppies & Daisies Plate Card and Stand and this lovely card was made by Audrey Clifford using my design sheet which you can find at Craftsuprint, here is the link to it. http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/plate-sheets/birthday/poppies-daisies-in-a-jug-plate-card-stand-sentiments.cfm I painted the poppies and daisies in a blue and white Spode type jug and then added a border of the poppies and daisies to finish it off. No good you collectors of Spode or blue and white china looking for this pattern though as the only place you will find it is my head.

As well as designing lots of Plate Card sheets I have also been very busy sorting through the photographs that have been sent to me for the Pets Photographs Competion that I am running in conjuction with Craftsuprint and also on Facebook. Winning entries will have their pets photo incorporated into one of my design sheets for a Greetings Card which they will receive as a Download and then be able to print off as many times as they wish, the design sheets will also be available for purchase on Craftsuprint. There is no limit to amount of times you can enter, or the type of pets, we are looking for anything from a pet mouse to a pet lion, a canary to a parrot, if you get my drift. As long as it is a pet, past or present and you have taken the photograph and agree to allow me to use it in one of my designs, so if you would like to enter, simply message me with your email address and I will send you the details.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I hope to catch up with you again very soon. Gentle hugs, Elaine xx

Warning -Cats & Roller Blinds - Oh What A night!

It is not only children that you need to watch with roller blinds. At 2 pm this morning I was woken by Katy the Cat, screaming,swearing and shouting. My first thought was that it was the 'Big Black Bully Boy' from up the road and they were having a fight at the landing window. Katy safely on the inside and him on the other side of the glass. Then there was an almighty thud as a box of card went flying and really anguished screams. I shot out of bed as fast as an ageing geriatric riddled with arthritis can and as soon as I reached the landing I could see Katy hanging upside down in mid air with the roller blind's very strong beaded cord wedged firmly around her middle and tucked in under her hips, preventing her from sliding out. I scooped her up to take the weight off the cord and managed to untangle her. Poor Katy she was shaking with fright and stayed in my arms for a cuddle before I gentle put her down to see how she walked. Fortunately she was ok and this morning she seems fine...but oh how easily this could have ended in tragedy if that blessed cord had been around her neck. So first job today is to find those plastic picture hooks with the little silver pins in that you bang into the wall, or in my case get my hubby to bang them in, so that the cords can be hooked up high, well out of harms way!  So please if you have roller or venetion blinds, make sure that the cords are well up out of harms way.