P for Pleasure

P for Pleasure

Hello there.
So good of you to drop in! 

Tuesday’s blog roll back the hours and opens that Barbie’s business can of P’s. Well, today I want to broach the subject of 

P for PLEASURE.
A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.

Pleasure. Where do you find pleasure? My guess is that if you are reading this blog, you and I are from the same mould. You like reading, being creative, making arty crafty things. 

Simply put, I LOVE drawing, writing and reading. I love lots of other things, too, but for pleasure, send me to a good book, a great film, or give me a pad of paper and a pencil. 

Conversely, I HATE exerting myself physically! The thought of going to the gym fills me with dread, and even though I know I have to, it’s a necessary evil to be avoided wherever possible, never a source of pleasure. 
When I speak to Mark, my lad, he is totally into sport and sweating and pumping. 

I can’t think of anything more daunting. He keeps telling me to go swimming. 
If you look it up in the Barbaragray dictionary, Swimming says: 

Dress, undress, try and slide quickly into the COLD water without anybody seeing you, without too much water displacement, and without having a heart attack. Avoid being smacked in the mouth by some buff, budding triathlete, ( possibly Mark) whizzing up the outside and overtaking in the fast lane, or stay in the safe lane, and get kicked in the head by the even slower than you doggie paddler, who is not really swimming, but acting more as a wave breaker. When Chlorine has turned your eyes into itching tomatoes, dry off in a cubical, standing on the towel so you don’t develop athlete’s foot, then get back into clothes whilst hair is still dripping, get a good hot blast to the head from the dryer screwed to the wall for little people; this is in a vain attempt to avoid an unavoidable head cold. Leave pool looking like a complete wreck.

So the only question on my mind is shall I do this 
BEFORE or AFTER work? 

And here’s the irony of it! When I was a kid, a student, guess what my job was during the summers and inbetween terms. Yep. I was a Lifeguard at the Black Lion Swimming pool in Gillingham! And a blimming good one at that! Saved several kiddies from drowning, was a total mermaid, always in the water, and LOVED  my job.
Which just goes to prove that we can and do change as we get older!
But back to P for Pleasure. Drawing, writing and reading. And a Cadbury’s chocolate bar, washed down with a lovely cup of Yorkshire tea. Life is good.

So I made a decision many years ago, to draw, design and make Claritystamps. And if you have been following my Tuesday blog ramblings, you will know that I am no overnight sensation. 
I remember my brother told me many years ago, that he had never met anybody who could keep going so long, so relentlessly, for so little return. Ever the optimist, I am certain to have responded that things were sure to get better soon, but the reality of it was I was getting by, doing something I LOVED doing. 
Life is what’s happening while you’re busy making plans.
Often the challenge is in baking the cake, not eating it or selling it. Whilst Clarity wasn’t making us a million, it was certainly keeping a roof over our heads and shoes on our feet. So through all those years of financial struggle, there was a great deal of pleasure there, too. As I say, if an entrepreneur is what I am, then the challenge of making it work is key – not the financial reward; that becomes incidental.

I was listening to a farmer on TV last week being interviewed. He was asked why he was doing something which clearly wasn’t turning a profit, and his response was this:
“You’re not in it just because of the Buck you can get out of it; You’re in it because it’s your life.”
Well said that man!  That is it. It’s the life you make for yourself around something which gives you pleasure.
If somebody embarks on a career or follows a path solely for the money, the crock of gold, it will never work. It may pay the bills, but if there is any such thing as job fulfilment, nourishment for the soul, money may go a long way to softening the saddle, but it won’t make you love the horse, or the ride.
Me nowadays? There are plenty of things at Clarity that get me down. We don’t just draw pictures and make them into stamps and stencils. It’s a Jungle out there! The Industry is lean and mean, which does not come naturally to me, but now we number 20+, it’s my job to protect the company family, and sometimes I just have to get my business armour on and go into battle. But at the core of me is still the Pleasure I get from a cool piece of artwork, or a neat design.
Just now, I did some colour work on a new stencil by Mel, to see if it did the job. It was fabulous. So with great excitement I skipped around the room, to Jim, Ani, Katie, Claire and Dave, because each one of them was also involved in the creation of that stencil. And they all grinned and cooed and clapped. Pleasure all round. And if we never sell a single one of this stencil, we all got a lot of pleasure out of it anyway.  
Personally, I think it’s amazing! Want to see it? Then tomorrow, I could even do a step by step, to show you how I arrived at the shading.
We call it the Family Tree Stencil….easy to see why.

It comes with a set of 6 of the most beautiful Teardrop Filigraphy Stamps you could possibly imagine. Mel gets such a kick out of drawing for us all, too!

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, P for Pleasure. Another aspect of pleasure is not the selfish kind. I also really love smiling in the knowledge that you get pleasure out of our work, our collective efforts. That is one of my drivers for this daily blog, too. I get pleasure from writing it, quite simply because it appears you get pleasure from reading it. Cool. Long may it continue.

with love from
Barb
xx

Sent from my iPad

79 thoughts on “P for Pleasure

  1. This stencil is so adorable, so apt for me at this minute as I've been helping one of my daughters over the last year to do one side of the family tree! The things you find out about your ancestors! Riveting to say the least. I do love to read about you and your family and I always find some inspiration from what you say . X

  2. What a great blog. I to prefer sitting down with a book, some cross stitch, or making cards. I do think about taking swimming up again, but that's as far as it gets. Anyway I would need to buy a costume first. I live the new stencil and fan definitely see it being used on the Gelli Plate.

  3. Pleasure… Crafting rescued me from being very depressed…. Saved by the shear pleasure of stamping, colouring, brayering, but my main pleasure is sharing… And you've given me the opportunity to share that pleasure with more people than I could ever imagined. Thank you Barb, for so much! X

  4. Hi Barb, well that was sheer pleasure to read, you have an amazing outlook on life, which in itself is an inspiration. We all love something that just gives us pleasure, and yes for me, my crafting is one of those, just to sit and create something you are proud of makes the world seem a lot better. Thank you for inspiring us, and oh boy do I want that stencil. It is incredible, and would be so useful. Have a great day. Bx

  5. Hi Barb, yet another wonderful read, had to pace myself drinking my tea whilst I read so I didn't choke myself as I was laughing at the description of you and a public swimming pool! What a handsome lad you have there – mean, lean fitness machine! Swimming – well I have – and have had for some time – a card – for which I pay monthly – that allows me to go swimming as often as I wish over a range of swimming pools in a number of boroughs – for a while I went regularly, suffering the getting dry routine – ignoring the hair dryer in favour of a good rub with the towel, but got a nasty chest infection – and since then have hardly been – I won't tell you how long ago that was!!! I keep the card and pay monthly telling myself to go – but its a bit being like a child who does not want to go to school – the thought of going fills with dread – yet deep down I know I will enjoy the swim when I get there! Just need to combat the getting there bit! I looked at joining one of those hotel gym/swim ones – where the swimming pool is a bit more elite – but then I thought about the select few watching me get in and decided that the good old public pool was less personal – something to think about Barb – oh not to mention the investment in cheap flip flops which means my feet do not touch the floor! Any way I am warbling……that stencil – at first I saw the tree but then I saw a wave crashing and the surf splashing up in blues and greens – similar to what I saw on Christmas Eve down at Polperro in Cornwall – so I for one will look forward to seeing the stamps that go with it. Competative world?….. hey your testimony is the length of time you have been there, that you are bringing forward new products that compliment – your company is just brill – only yesterday I rang seeking assistance on the 'innis' for the heart stencil that I appear to have lost and getting a second one for a friend for our upcoming workshop with Sazz. I could not have wanted a nicer phone call, a friendly chat and a brilliant outcome all round – not many companies can boast that level of customer care – whether you are number 1 or 100 – to me does not matter – its the quality and attention to detail that does. So you continue to take pleasure from our pleasure and we will all just muddle along just fine xx

  6. P for Pleasure is getting out of a warm, snug bed on a cold January morning and diving into Barbara's (imaginary) swimming pool!! I love your 'ramblings'…..and that stencil is stunning!! A must-have!! xx

  7. This is the first time I've read your blog but I'll definitely be back. Your swimming description had me chucking away and matches my experiences completely. Plus, I adore watching you on create and craft so wanted to check out the blog. I'll definitely be back.

  8. Barbara, I know exactly what you mean about swimming! I am not naturally the artistic type, in fact I was rubbish at art, but I love colouring in. Probably a product of a childhood spent indoors or in and out of hospital. So when a friend introduced me to stamps so many years ago I was hooked. And even though I don't manage the fantastic art work that some of those clever people out there in blog land produce I do enjoy my 'crafty' moments. So thank you for being a part of it and enabling my enjoyment. 🙂

  9. Well written that lady! My sentiments exactly, I will never be a rich woman but I get pleasure from what I do and what I have.
    Love the family tree stencil what a lovely idea for a family member or birth of a new baby in the family.
    Keep up the good work and I enjoy your work and reading your blog.

  10. Well put me down on the list for a stencil, never sell one indeed! I think if you did something arty on a tissue people would buy it 😉 I totally agree about work. I work in a school as a TA and it certainly isn't a well paid job, but I love it. I know people who hate going to work, not me I am always filled with excitement about the day ahead. Sure I can't get everything I would like but loving what I do has always been more important. Thanks for writing your blog it is the first thing I click to every day. Xx

  11. Morning Barbara
    I have spluttered my cup of Yorkshire tea all over me, laughed till the tears are running what a great start to the day reading your description of Pleasure in the swimming pool, It almost describes me exactly spooky……I swam like a fish and lived at the pool as a child and until my 30's….now I react the same as you :)) . Love the new stencil can't wait to see what you do with it on the Gelli plate, love your creation and it definitely deserves a skip around the office. As always thanks for sharing and being you.

    MaggieH

  12. P for Pleasure of reading your blog every day, having a nice "cuppa", enjoying quality time with my daughter, going out with friends for a tea or a nice drink in town, and of course being on my own, in my craft room and create.
    Thanks for sharing Barbara.
    Laurence xx

  13. Fortunate are the people who earn enough cash for their needs, whilst doing what they love!

    I too was a waterbaby in my youth, but can't go swimming any more, as the exertion makes me breathless (but then just turning over in bed does the same, lol). Love the tree stencil, the tear drop leaves make me think of paisley designs too. I think this would look good used on the Geliplate. Now there's an idea for you.

  14. Love sitting with a cup of tea (Scottish blend rather than Yorkshire as I live just outside Glasgow) and reading your blog. It certainly is a pleasure to read. I love hearing your story and the journey you have been on to get where you are now. I can see that stencil being used for a new baby card with the family names in the leaves or in my kids scrapbook to show who they are within the family.
    I am looking forward to getting this stencil in the future.

  15. Great blog today Barb. I had to laugh as I can totally agree with your description of swimming. I can add to that – 8 verrucas too, put me off swimming pools for life!

    Love the stencil, I can see the cartoon bubble that comes from whales in it too. It reminds me of retro, 70s too. Keep doing what you ate doing we love it and appreciate it. X

  16. Love sitting with a cup of tea (Scottish blend rather than Yorkshire as I live just outside Glasgow) and reading your blog. It certainly is a pleasure to read. I love hearing your story and the journey you have been on to get where you are now. I can see that stencil being used for a new baby card with the family names in the leaves or in my kids scrapbook to show who they are within the family.
    I am looking forward to getting this stencil in the future.

  17. Love sitting with a cup of tea (Scottish blend rather than Yorkshire as I live just outside Glasgow) and reading your blog. It certainly is a pleasure to read. I love hearing your story and the journey you have been on to get where you are now. I can see that stencil being used for a new baby card with the family names in the leaves or in my kids scrapbook to show who they are within the family.
    I am looking forward to getting this stencil in the future.

  18. Thank you so much for replying to my e-mail at the weekend regarding my confession to being the 'mystery blue Christmas card maker' – it was very kind of you, it meant a lot to me especially as I know how busy you must be.
    You have completely summed up how I feel about swimming. I have all those thoughts which is why I still cannot swim!
    Just a thought why not try P for Pilates? I find it a brilliant way of keeping supple and reasonably toned and you do not have to get wet!

  19. Hi Barb,
    Fabulous blog today – I love reading about your experiences on a Tuesday. I can empathise with your feelings about swimming. Being an ex PE teacher, I still love sport but the body doesn't seem to want to do so much! The thought of getting into a pool being stared at by ( probably) ex pupils fills me with dread!!love the new stencil and the colour you have used is gorgeous. This will definitely be on my wish list. Thanks Barb. Love Alison xxx

  20. Morning Barbara…another pleasure is reading your blog…and yes I had my cup of tea whilst I read….I totally agree with you about swimming …I am the one who always had her head above the water…and never gets her hair wet…is always cold ….and can't wait to get out…..love the new stencil….I NEED it…..obviously for my Pleasure….have a good day and looking forward to your post tomorrow….Jo. X

  21. I have already checked the Clarity site to see if these stamps and stencils are there yet. They look great and remind me a bit of a peacock's tail too. I can imagine that if you take anything on, Barbara, it will be done right and to the best of your ability. I do have those same interests, reading, writing, drawing, and music. I would be lost without my music – all sorts, depending on what I am doing at the time. xx Maggie

    1. PS Both my children were competitive swimmers ( and my son is now a police diver) and we spent hours at the pool, helping to run the club, and even joining in with the Master's swimming training. I taught myself to swim front crawl, after years of teaching the children in lessons. I got several teaching and coaching qualifications too, so that I could do a better job.

  22. Barbara, I like many others love to read your ' ramblings ' as you call them, I look forward to my daily fix although the time varies to when I actually get to read it ! I like you used to love swimming and now will only go if I am nagged enough …. the appeal just isn't there any more I would much rather spend the time in my craft room playing with all my lovely goodies.

    The tree of life stencil is beautiful and I love it's far reaching roots as well as it's teardrops in fact more I think, it signifies to me that we all start somewhere and should never forget that.

    Have a great day and I hope you don't have to get your protective head out today and are able to just enjoy the sun if you get to go out.Thanks again for another lovely Tuesday blog it has been a pleasure xx

  23. Fabulous blog this morning, you always make me smile it starts my day!
    I also hate what swimming involves (the dressing to undress to get cold and wet to get into water I see as unclean to then get dressed again wet) not my cup of tea but, reading, crafting and running such pleasures!

    Lorna D

  24. As someone who is just embarking on a life of crafting after a soul destroying job in a bank, I know exactly what you mean about enjoying what you are doing being more important than financial return. I am nervous and excited about the road ahead but at least now I will be doing something I love.

  25. Fantastic blog today. So true that we should really love what we do. As you say money may pay the bills but it doesn't make your heart sing the way pleasure in what you do does. Love the new stencil and the new stamps that go with it. Oh dear my wish list continues to grow, if only my bank account would also!!! Thanks for sharing xx

  26. Love the blog today Barb,had a chuckle reading about the swimming. I too was a very good competetive swimmer when younger-never a lfe guard tho,hats off to you and all those out there. Nowadays tho I avoid water like the plague, dont like all those wanna – bes that dont care for the slower fish in the pond and couldnt agree more with the changing room fiasco!
    P for pleasure for me apart from my crafting always involved a good old game of netball which sadly cant do anymore due to a new knee. And they say sport is good for you?! So for now my P for pleasure definitely involves your blog and teachings. Long may your pleasure continue so mine and countless others get their dose of pleasure too. X

  27. The pleasure is all mine!! reading your daily blog with a panad( Welsh for a cuppa)… it really is about the simple things in life, I find. Then just at the end when we're lulled into a lovely ahhhhhhhhhhh moment you spring that super new stencil on us … what a tease BUT what a must have… my other passion in life is genealogy …unlocking the secrets (and horrors) of my ancestors, this stencil will be such a wonderful way of displaying photos and facts in a scrapbook type way whhhhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooooo I'm on a roll, I'm too old to get this excited xxx Annie

    ReplyDelete

    1. Just thought I'd take a peek to see if stencil was already on Clarity site…… IT IS …. so I ordered it and it would have been rude not to make up the order to make it worthwhile …. so hurry Mr Postie 🙂 xx

  28. Loved today's blog, swimming story so close to my youth. Did the swimming, club, school teams, races, the lot, Now my nearly 9 year old granddaughter wants to help me get dressed, making sure I'm dried because wants to go to the café for chocolate Freddos etc, so I'm always not quite dry! If we go for 8.30am the pool is full of dodderers like me with equally pushy old men. Best of the blog was the stencil, I'm off now to the website to buy it.

  29. Somehow your personal blog becomes a trip down memory lane for us all. I used to be a nurse in the good old days when you had time to care for people and talk to them and hold their hand. Then I moved up into research, then management to try to influence change, and eventually saw all my efforts stripped away with the financial cuts, and called it a day. Now I run a guest house – don't earn a lot of spare money as such an old house tends to eat it up, but we're happy, live in a beautiful home, in a beautiful city, and I have my crafting to keep me sane when I'm not sanding spindles and skirting boards and 13 doors and door frames!! Today's pleasure will be going for lunch with the local land-ladies for someone's 50th birthday, and P will be for Prosecco!!! Thanks for your ramblings and it seems only polite to reciprocate with my own X

  30. Oh my, I had a picture in my mind of you a la Pamela Anderson, it made me laugh. Sometimes, when you reveal things about your life, it's quite a surprise. I would never have imagined you as a lifeguard, isn't life funny how things turn out.
    Love the new stencil, I think you are on a fantastic roll at the mo, the things coming out of the Clarity consciousness are truly gorgeous and inspirational. X

  31. Love the new stencil and reading your blog everyday!
    Made me chuckle today, as the swimming rang so true.
    I love my job, as a childrens nurse there is nothing better than seeing a child go home, who came to the ward very ill. Despite what you may read there are many many hard working, dedicated nurses out there, who give their all everyday. Staying late, missing breaks, working short staffed, the NHS is run on goodwill. But you don't hear of these nurses in the press!
    Crafting is my way of relaxing and it keeps me sane! Keep up the good work Barbara xx
    Aileen xx

  32. P for Pleasure…Every time I get mail from Clarity Stamp. Every time I read your Blog. Every time I communicate with other Crafters. If it was not for you starting a challenge blog I would not have a blog. If it was not for you and your company and the quality you give us, I would not be such an avid stamper. The tales that you share, letting us into your life, make me feel part of a very large and unique family. I know I am not alone in how I feel. So returning the LOVE to everyone, especially you Barbara xxx

    p.s. I am trying to ignore the lovely stencil as I cannot purchase it right now as I am in the middle of a house move…would be gutted if it got lost in post…just please don't sell out of them. Trying so so hard not to take a trip to the website….this is hard xxxxxxxxxx

  33. Todays blog about swimming pools brought back so many memories, from nearly drowning as a child when someone jumped in on top of me, through my daughter learning to swim and travelling to pools up and down the country competing, to my getting over my fear of water by becoming a swimming teacher and coach. Loved it all at the time(except the nearly drowning bit) but only swim when on holiday now. Can't wait for the new stencil and stamps to be available, want them NOW

  34. Hi Barbara. Another wonderful post! It all rings so true to me too, and a lot of the other ladies judging by their comments : ) Thank you. Take care

  35. I do love your story Barbara and its all so true – for me I love the crafting – including cooking but I also love the exercise – although I'm not so fond of the swimming! Give me a good book and I'll probably put it down and go and craft – I have to go to the cinema to watch films – if I'm at home I can't sit that long! Lol!!!! I think you'll sell hundreds of that stencil its stunning – but I'll be back tomorrow to see how you've done the shading! Until then big Hugs! Rachel x

  36. I'm so pleased you get pleasure out of writing your blog each day Barbara as I certainly get lots of pleasure out of reading it and trying out some of the techniques you share. Long may it continue
    Jackie x

  37. Well you do bring a lot of pleasure with your blog. It's fun to read, inspiring to follow and there's always a chuckle to be found and finally to top it all you write every day. Thank you thank you.

  38. That stencil is one I NEED! I am a fairly cack-handed stamper but have always loved stencils (as all the walls in the house testified at one period!) and suddenly they're fashionable again – so that's a big P for Pleasure from me. I introduced a friend to crafting when she was laid low with a back injury. It kept her sane and she quickly discovered Clarity and is now one of your biggest fans, so that's another big P! Thank goodness for Barbara is all we have to say.

  39. Eee by gum lass thas dun a rite good job wi that Stencil! …….oops…… it must be the Yorkshire Tea! (or it could be cause I'm a Yorkshire lass lol), Your blog made me smile, the rendition of the swimming pool is just how I feel about it, but had to say it gave me soo much pleasure seeing your new stencil, its fab, can't wait to see the stamps that go with it. Cheers Barbara xxx

  40. love these tuesday blogs as they give an insight into your head. well i'm not a pool person but give me the sea anytime well maybe not the english beaches in winter though……. i'm with you on the gym. i shudder at the thought though my husband goes religiously 5 times a week at 6.30am
    and that new stencil is really cool. can see it working on scrapbooking pages with family pics in it….cool. whatever make sure you cont doing what gives you pleasure, otherwise nothing is worth doing as your heart won't be in it. hugs xx

  41. Have to say swimming isn't for me unless I'm on a white sand beach, baking in the hot sun. Then I don't mind taking a dip in between the cocktails. However, in the cold reality of the Northumberland weather I'll stick with the Yorkshire tea! Love the stencil & look forward to tomorrow's post. P for pleasure for me is watching you do your demos on C&C – thank you! Pat x

  42. Hi Barbara I love your blog and your work is just wonderful the tree is on my wish list too .i understand about the swimming I go to a hydro pool for arthritis and I don't like much.keep doing what you do so well Barbara love and hugs xxx

  43. Swimming, Yuk! I used to enjoy it , but I have a very swollen leg and I am afraid some people can make some hurtful comments. On doctors instructions I am about to try pilates, to help with arthritis. Well having checked it out on internet could be interesting. Watch this space! Youngest son into all sorts of sport, up and out this morning at half six to go to gym before work. Pleasure for me is definitely all sorts of craft, can sit for hours with some card and stamps, or some sewing. Love that stencil, look forward to seeing what else you do with it, as for selling it I bet it is already on most peoples wish lists. Certainly on mine. Just keep doing what you do Barb, you give pleasure to so many people. Lynne xx

  44. I agree about the swimming Barbara. Love the new stencil and I really love reading your blog on a Tuesday. I am glad you enjoy your job – I enjoy using the fruits of your labours. They give me lots of pleasure and a great way of relaxing from a stressful job. Thank you and keep it up.
    Lesley

  45. Here, here!!!! To your last sentence and your thoughts and feelings on swimming! Love the look of the new stencil and looking forward to your creation tomorrow, many thanks! x

  46. Afternoon Barbara! I read your blog this morning with my cuppa and tried to write a comment then but blogger wouldn't let me post it…so I'm doing it now I've come home!!!
    My p for pleasure has to be using your marvellous products to create lovely things! Well I think they're lovely! Being creative is my release from the stresses and frustrations my job can bring me and it's something I can lose myself in!… It's odd as going back a few years I was told by my art teacher not to do art as an option as I hadn't got a creative bone in my body….how I'd love to meet up with him now!!!
    Your blog especially Tuesday's always brings me pleasure and I find myself laughing out loud one minute, having my thoughts provoked the next!
    That new stencil looks fab and I can't wait to see the stamps that go with it!!!
    Right I'm off…love and hugs to you! Hope today was a better day. Xxxxx

  47. I always like forward to your Tuesday blog with huge Pleasure!,,, Barbara. You are a very gifted writer…ever thought of a book, it'd be a great read. I think there are many of us whose life is made so much brighter by being able to get creative and I'm definitely with you on the Yorkshire tea, can't function without a good brew! I howled at your description of a trip to the baths, but funnily enough, although I agree with you on most forms of physical exercise, swimming is the one I do get pleasure from!
    Love that stencil, it's gorgeous.
    Have a good week.
    Hugs Lisax

  48. Hi Barb, well what a fabulous blog today,thoroughly enjoyed reading it..I know where your coming from with the swimming thing, you described exactly how I feel about it..I love the new stencil I am sure it will be very popular x

  49. A pleasure to read and hilarious as always. I think you must also get a lot of pleasure from teaching too. The stencil is gorgeous and I am sure we will all get a huge amount of pleasure using it. X

  50. Hi Barb, love reading your blog, especially on Tuesday, you make me laugh so much and quite right about the swimming – too damn cold.
    Hope we can purchase the new stencil soon with the stamps as I think they will be fabulous.

  51. ha ha ha this post made me laugh out loud Barbara. Loved the swimming story, it is sooo true. Also love the wee picture. I am so glad that you do the job you love because I love what you do x

  52. I am so with you on the exercise thing, what is the matter with people who want to sweat a lot. Anyway, loving the stencil and want to see the stamps please

    Mx

  53. Yet another great blog, love your ramblings – they do make me smile. P is definitely for the pleasure that I get out of my craft. I know it will never make me a forture but I accept that, I just love creating things that I, and hopefuly others like. Love the stencil and as I was waiting for an order to arrive thought I would contact Clarity to see if I could add the stencil to it and as always they were extremely help and have added it to my order. Thanks again. J x

  54. Yes, I read your blog for pleasure, as well as inspiration. I'm new to papercrafting, am gathering the courage to try stamping and feel that I'm getting to know you through the blog, which will give me the confidence to try. Am looking forward to the next round of classes, which I will join. Keep on with the inspiration and thank you,
    Jan

  55. How true Barbara I love crafting one I loss myself in crafting love watching a piece paper card wool material eat change into something beautiful and seeing people faces when give them a gift . Thank you for helping us to be more creative

  56. Another entertaining read. I always wear flip flops pool side & in changing rooms as hate other people's hair (you decide which kind) between my toes, Yuk! Can't wait to see the stamps to match the tree. Your photo transfer technique would be good to create a family tree X

  57. So funny! Your blog and your designs are definitely one of my pleasures 🙂 spending the amount that I do on crafty stash is more of a guilty pleasure. Love the stencil too – it looks stunning.

  58. In my yoof I swam most days of the Summer Hols at an outside pool having walked over the fields and through woods to reach it, then back in time for dinner. Now, the mention of a pool fills me with dread unless it is in much warmer climes. Strange? I don't think so ;0)

  59. I think you have been spying on me on my rare trips to the pool lol! We are daft aren't we though? We really are old enough to not care about what others say but it still deters me.
    I love the P for pleasure – your stamps, your techniques and your blog all give me loads of pleasure! The first two have for a many a year and I love readying your blog – it's got personality just like you xx

  60. I went to the gym once and it was very, very scary! My friends husband is a gym instructor so between the two of them they persuaded me to go with them one Sunday morning to take a look around. Well, I can only say that the best thing about the whole experience was having coffee and cake and reading the Sunday paper while I waited for them to do their thing! I didn't bother going back!

  61. What a wonderful stencil going to order this one wait for 1st February for the monthly offers must look for the stamps too .I love to read your blog each day .my husband use to work on farm many years ago before getting multiple sclerosis and has now passed on people use to say why work for such poor wages he always said he loved the job and that ment more to him than do a job he hated and a happy husband made a happy family .thank you barbara for another wonderful blog .xxxx

  62. See how much thought you evoke in people, you will need a few cups of tea to read all these comments above. I did do try to post yesterday but it didn't work. I was just telling you what I great service the RNLI gave me when I signed up to give them a monthly donation. Within two days of this they had rescued me at Sea! It was at Perin Sands about 3 years ago. I never did like swimming pools but loved the sea? They Rescued 48 people that day because of some freak wave. So P for Pleasure yes Please may as well while we are here! X I can't wait to get my hands on this Stencil. Xxx

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