Heavenly Crafts

Well, it is a wet and windy Sunday afternoon, so what better way to spend it than crafting?  I'm sat here at my computer, Jasmine tea in the pot next to me, a film on the screen and blogger open!

So, what have I been up to recently?  Well the main thing that has happened recently is the trip to Manchester to see Coldplay and oh, were they amazing!  Firstly, Etihad Stadium was just sooo big!  I've never been in anything that size, not being a football fan, so was amazed at just how big it was:

Pretty impressive, huh?

We missed the support acts due to having some wonderful Italian food at Carluccio's  (their spaghetti carbonara is to die for!) so we didn't have to wait long for Coldplay to come on.



So, as you can see from the first photo, we were some way away from the stage (and there were masses of people higher than us as well!).  This obviously called for my zoom lens, and oh, boy, I took some photos! A lot of them were just slightly off, a little but blurry as, to be honest, my zoom lens weighs a ton and without a tripod, it is so easy to move the camera whilst taking a shot.  However, here is one of the better shots:



Not bad, eh?  Mind you, since you don't know how many photos I took, you can't see how many rubbish ones there were ;)!



And the previous day, I actually managed to work out how to use the video on my camera.  I've only had my camera a couple of years, so it's not taken me long!  So, this is Coldplay in action:






You will have to excuse the shaking, like I said, that zoom lens is heavy!  Mind you, the practice  did me good as look what I managed to capture last Sunday flying over Cosford:


















I think the Red Arrows are amazing and it is wonderful to be able to see them.  Just look at how close they get:










There were only 7 planes there instead of the usual 9, but they were a joy to watch. then look at what came later:



And yes, that photo is the right way round, the helicopter was flying upside down!  Don't ask me what type is was (Apache?) - when my youngest son asked me what one of the earlier helicopters was, my answer was "a yellow one"!

Then this has to be an amazing shot (modesty is one of my gifts!):


I mean, how fast was that flying? Just look at the whatever it is, the slipstream or whatever (I'm sure there must be some technical term or other for it!) on the wings, amazing, eh?!!!

Well, that was how I spent last Sunday and the weekend before.  Yesterday I was crafting, and I will be back shortly with a tutorial to show you what I made.

It's a big today today....I'm off to Manchester in a couple of hours to see Coldplay in concert at the Etihad Stadium tonight!!!!  This is a combined Christmas and birthday present from my eldest son, who has spoiled me rotten!  to say I am excited is a definite understatement.  Unfortunately, before I go, I do have to run a payroll....no rest for the wicked, eh?  Here's a little taster of what I am looking forward to:

Mind you, I can't see anything like that actually happening on stage tonight!


My daughter and I went to see Coldplay at the NIA a couple of years ago - that time it was a Christmas present from her!  I didn't take my camera then, but I am definitely taking it now so watch this space as I shall post some photos when I get back (provided Coldplay are more than just blurry ants as we have seats really high up)!  


Sadly, we have had two deaths in our church recently, one was a lovely man who had a fall and was too weak to recover, and the other was the mother of our treasurer.  These are the cards I made for the families:


I used the Stampin' Up! Just Believe stamp set and the "with sympthay" is actually a stamp from Design Objectives Ltd which matched the SU stamp set really well.  The insert was computer generated and the text was copied from a Stampin' Up! card I saw elsewhere.








Really simple cards but very effective, don't you think?


Oh well, time for me to go pack now as want to get to the hotel early this afternoon and meet up with my son before we go out for a meal and then Coldplay!!!!


I have my camera ready, I have actually worked out how to use the video function on it (I'm planning on making video tutorials soon ;) and have already had a trial run last night).  My main worries are whether the band will be too far away for me to see properly and even with my telephoto lens, I may end up with blurry photos :(.  Plus, most importantly of all, will my camera batteries last out?  I'm taking  the spare, just in case, but taking video eats the camera battery and space on the SD card....


Oh well, I know it will be good, whether I get any decent photos or not.


Whatever you are doing this weekend, have a good one!