Tixall Wide, Staffordshire and Worcester Canal

Another dead lock cottage? The doors were all locked and padlocked and there is no sign of the little old lady that used to live there.

The canal has been surprisingly busy considering the kids should all be back at school now. We did our usual and left at 0630, arriving at Tixall Wide by 0945. All day boats have been speeding past us - and I mean speeding. There was the occasional considerate boater who slowed. Do you not have to slow down past moored boats in Tixall Wide?

Also, there were lots of ignorant, rude people about on the boats, looking straight ahead and not acknowledging anyone while they sped off.

I walked into Great Heywood for the Post Office and there were queues of boats for the lock and the water point. Then I walked back to the farm shop by the bridge and spent a fortune on cakes, jams and goodies in general.

Then, around 1815 this evening, a hire boater arrived and wanted to moor in the only space left between us and the boat in front. There was not quite enough room, so we went out to move our boat back a bit. The man on the hire boat went to ask the people on the other boat (not a hire boat, of course) if he could move a bit too. He was told that it was 6.30, he was having his tea and he'd sorted out the satellite dish and he wasn't moving! Hope he needs some help some day. Hope he doesn't get it.

I made this card for a competition but didn't get it finished in time to catch the post. It is a square one for a change. Don't normally make them as they don't fit in my storage box or display rack.

Anyway, I put some patterned pink card at the back and a piece of Cuttlebugged pink card across the bottom. I added some lace paper using my new Martha Stewart punch across the bottom of the pink card and then cut out a circle and scalloped circle with Nestabillities. I stamped the girl several times onto watercolour paper and once onto some shiny pink paper. I coloured in the images with watercolours and cut bits out to decoupage the image, finally paper-piecing the pink onto the umbrella, coat and wellingtons. I put glitter onto the puddle and the raindrops.

Finally I added the flower and some foliage fixed with a pink pearl brad.

For my newest trick - decorating the inside of the card.

I cut out another white circle and pink scalloped circle and stuck it into the card. Then I stamped the wellies and umbrella, painted them and cut them out before adding them to the finished card.

AND FOR YOUR DELIGHT - this card is now for sale in my MisiMe shop! See the button on the top left column.