Gas Street Moorings, Birmingham

The ice had almost gone by this evening and now it is snowing again. And really heavily. So back to square one. This is definitely the time of year I do not begrudge paying for the mooring and the umbilical cord to the electricity stanchion.

The Liverpool football team walked down the Worcester Bar today and I missed it! Out shopping in Solihull. As I write they are playing Villa in the snow and it is still 0-0.


This is a pre-snow and ice picture of the Ferris wheel in Centenary Square that went up in November. I reflections in the Hyatt Hotel and Symphony Hall are a photographer's paradise.

I was asked to make a card with lots of bling for a Brazillian lady. This is what a came up with. An A5 easel card.

I started with a sheet of hammered white A4 card and folded it in half and then folded the top half in half again. I cut a piece of yellow pearlescent card just smaller than A5 and stuck it to another piece of A5 hammered card. A length of gold ribbon and another white and gold one were wound around the bottom edge and it was then stuck to the outside edge of the top half of the folded piece so that the front of the card stands up, but sits on top of the bottom of the back of the card like a normal fold.

A lovely yellow and gold feather butterfly was stuck down in the right hand corner and three creamy yellow roses with green foliage stuck down behind them on the left hand side. Finally 5 gold gems were added on the top right and bottom left corners.

The inside of the card is in two sections. The back piece is hidden when the card is set up and only the panel in front of the little butterfly shows. I printed out the sentiment and name in a pretty font called Blossom which has hibiscus flowers on some of the letters. (I wish I could find a way to colour them before printing.) This I matted onto pearlescent yellow card and then onto the white hammered card and again onto the yellow pearlescent card and fixed it to the inside back of the card. Then I added two butterflies which look as though they have just landed onto the card and some more yellow gems.

The front panel was matted in the same way, adding another butterfly and yellow gems. The little yellow butterfly in the middle holds the card up when it is set up. It stops the card slipping closed. It came from some old jewellery.

Finally, the box. I added a panel of the yellow pearlescent card, some silver peel-offs, three yellow gems and another fluttery butterfly.

The guy who was buying it was overjoyed and insisted on giving me £20 for it. Wish I could sell all my cards for that sum.