SUch is life!

It's getting there

2012-02-28T09:14:00.002Z

I didn't get as much of the boxer stitched up last week as I had hoped, but in fairness I only really had Saturday afternoon to sit down and do any. The last puppy at least now has half a head which only really leaves the other half of his head and the grasses behind him.

I'm hoping that as I will be on an early shift for three days this week that I will get the chance when I get home to add a few more stitches each day.

Today I have a visit to the midwife - not for me - it's for Colette, I'm only going along to look after Logan and then the excitement of taking mum food shopping.

Crafters Heaven?

2012-02-27T18:41:00.006Z

What a lovely day I've had. Amazingly enough I was up reasonably early - even before DH left for work! I had a lasagne made ready for our tea by 9 o'clock and the small amount of ironing done by 10, with the washing machine and dishwasher loaded I even managed to get a few stitches done on the boxer project.

Then just after 11 I picked up my friend Jacqueline and we travelled down to Cowslips where they have the most gorgeous fabrics and a delightful coffee shop.

Inside the coffee shop they have a variety of quilts hung up and around the walls which I think I could only ever dream of creating.

The quilt above was hung on the wall near the table we sat at to have lunch - isn't it gorgeous? Behind Jacqueline there was a lovely little wall hanging, it was very dimensional with the washing hanging off the line.

The one below was huge and had such lovely tonal fabrics - so much to admire and this was only a small section of the quilt. Maybe one day I'll treat myself to one of the many lovely workshops they hold there. I did treat myself to some fat quarters, a pattern and a label to stitch into Colette's cardy (which I still have to complete this month). I also picked up a free leaflet for another quilt design.

While we were there we also picked up a leaflet with other art and craft outlets and one of them was Blacker yarns which was also in Launceston so we gave them a ring to find out exactly where they were. We managed to find them but I think they were a bit surprised to see us and it wasn't quite what we had expected either. They are mainly an online supplier so it was not as we expected a shop with wools and patterns displayed and I'm guessing they obviously don't get many 'off the street' customers like us just popping in (they are based on an industrial estate). Having said that they were very pleasant and were more than happy to show us the different types of wool they provide and showed us their website with details of patterns for the wool. If I had know what type of wool I wanted for my next particular knitting project they would have gladly packed up an order for me there and then. Since being home I have now worked out which type of yarn is required and I think an on-line order may be iminent.

Finally we called in at the arts and craft centre at Kelly Bray where I picked up one of the new Papermania embossing folders - a button embossing folder, a bag with loads of natural tone buttons and the latest Creativity magazine. A fantastic day!

So thankful

2012-02-26T19:48:00.003Z

that my working day is over - it was a long 10 1/2 hours! After seven days of work I now have two whole days off. Having said that I am thankful that I have a job which provides me with the money to do most of what we want to do.

I'm thankful for good friends. I think there is a naughty crafting trip taking place tomorrow with a crafting buddy who like me is very easily led by all things crafty - lunch is also on the menu so an enjoyable day will be had I am sure.

I'm also very thankful that my dear hubby cooks my tea for me most nights and has it waiting for me when I get home from work.

So sweet.

2012-02-25T13:18:00.002Z

Crafting I have found is a great way of making friends - I have made so many either through craft groups, demos, penpal requests and blogging. Through blogs I have made friends with Marja of Dutch Tulip blog and we recently exchanged gifts. I had a duplicate Unity stamp which I was pretty sure Marja would like and be able to make good use of and in exchange she kindly offered to make me a cupcake keychain. It is so sweet and so exquisitely crocheted - I just love it - thank you Marja.

Less is More - For You

2012-02-24T09:07:00.002Z

The challenge this week on the Less is More blog is too use punches or die cuts. I've used one of my Martha Stewart punches to create a decorative piece of background paper. The paper came from a Trimcraft paper pad called Song Bird. The centre stamp is from a retired SU Hostess set called Cute by the Inch and has been punched out using a CM square punch. This was then matted onto a nestie scallop square die which I've inked around the edge using SU's Certainly Celery ink pad.

Crafty Purple Frog - Use yellow and green

2012-02-23T09:02:00.009Z

This weeks prize for the winners is the beautiful Spring set of papers that Amy has created.

The challenge this time is to be inspired by Saint David's Day(Saint David's
Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1
March of each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death
of Saint David. Many people will wear a daffodil to celebrate Saint David)

I had to improvise this fortnight with my Crafty Purple Frog DT card as I'd forgotten that my printer had run out of one of the coloured inks. This meant that I could only print out in black and white so I have highlighted certain areas of the image with Copic pens in yellows and greens. The coloured version of this image can be found here.

The image is called Night Daffodil and despite my initial reservations I actually quite like the effect. I've used a small strip of paper from a gorgeous K&Co paper pad I have in my stash and just added some green ric rac to the edge. The sentiment came from a Whiff of Joy set I got back in 2010.

Other crafting news - I finally got round to picking up the knitting needles on Monday afternoon and managed to do the buttonhole border while I was sharing a crafting afternoon with a couple of friends. I then managed to stay awake long enough yesterday evening to do the button band border. All I have to do now is start stitching it together and then do the ribbing on the arm edges - fingers crossed I might even get it completed by the end of February! I can then put it away for Colette for this Christmas,even though it had been my intention to give it to her for the one that has just gone. I kept going wrong on the left front for some reason and decided not to put myself under pressure to get it completed for a Christmas present. It then seemed to go right, but I'd already bought Colette something else by then so I will now be ahead of the game this year instead.

Central heating has at last been fixed and we've had a new radiator put in the lounge - wow what a difference it has made. I know it's been milder the past couple of days, but our lounge has never really felt very warm but it certainly does now. I am one happy bunny - I hate being cold.

Ruth and Brandon Card Appeal

2012-02-21T15:24:00.003Z

You may remember that I posted an appeal to help raise funds for Ruth to have a major operation for cancer which was organised by my friend Karen. The good news is that Ruth has found a surgeon from the USA who is prepared to do the operation here in the UK. Further details can be found by pressing on the photo of Ruth and Brandon. What we'd like to do next is support Ruth and Brandon by sending them cards to keep their spirits up and wish them well as Ruth goes through this next phase in what will hopefully give her the opportunity to watch Brandon continue to grow up.

If you could help spread the word we would be extremely grateful, if you could post details on your blog for the card appeal or if you belong to any crafting groups share this story with them and ask if anyone would like to join in.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope that we can all help Ruth and Brandon through this.

Boxer update

2012-02-20T11:01:00.002Z

Now I'm not sure how much progress can actually be seen, but I did manage to complete the bottom page of the chart and make a start on the final part on the top sheet. I've put the backstitch in, although in some places it hardly makes any difference. The first photo of this project can be found here but here is this weeks photo.

Not sure how much time I'll get to work on it this week as I'm working a full seven days this week so time may be limited or just too tired when I do get home as it's a real mix of hours.

Now I know I said I wouldn't start any new projects, but on the train down to Camborne on Saturday I needed something to keep me occupied so I took along a small kit from one of my cross stitch magazines. The light isn't great to work on in the train so trying to follow the colour chart was a bit of a headache in itself, but I probably managed to get about a quarter of the little picture done. Will try and get this one done at work so you can see the finished article this year rather than in another ten or so!!!

I took my knitting along with me on Saturday evening when I went babysitting, but had forgotten just how difficult it is to knit with two young kittens so I ended up watching Benidorm DVD's instead. The knitting will have to be done another day.

Making washday fun

2012-02-18T12:00:00.004Z

It's been a while since I did any scrapbooking, but on Thursday evening I eventually got round to completing one of the two LO's I want to do with the photographs I took of Logan in January - need to get them done by the end of this month so that I don't start falling behind again.

When I was putting this LO together I wasn't sure on the blue background cardstock and all the scraps of paper that I had pulled out to use with it. This morning though I looked at it again in real daylight and I think it looks ok. I've used the sketch from Frosted Designs and only used scraps again from my box - it's getting harder now to make those scraps work but I will persevere for a little longer. I still can't bear to throw them away just yet.

I did have to improvise a little with the title as I didn't have any M's in the alphabet sheet I was going to use. I had to use a W instead - not altogether happy with that but it saved trying to hunt around for another alphabet set. One of the photos may look as if Logan isn't quite enjoying himself, but everytime Grandad took him out of the basket he wanted to go back in.

Having a short train ride down to Camborne today - Ian wants to check out the model shop down there (no doubt has something to pick up). I'll check to see if the craft shop is still down there while he is pottering around in there. Then this evening I will be babysitting Connor and Elisha - they will more than likely be in bed by the time we go round. I'm going to take my knitting along with me and I am setting myself the challenge of finishing the cardigan I started for Colette - I've only got to do the arm bands and edging of the fronts and as it's in chunky it shouldn't really take that long. That is of course providing I keep count of how many stitches I'm supposed to pick up. I would love to get it completed by the end of the weekend and then I can put it away and move onto something else.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and thanks for stopping by my blog.

Two more

2012-02-17T16:30:00.004Z

I made another two cards from the scraps of paper from the card I made in this post.

The first card all I've added is one of the rosette flowers that came with the Artful Delight kit and a sentiment from Inkylicious using SU's Early Espresso ink pad.

The second card I've used a couple of the stamps which also came with the kit - these are by Paper Smooches. I've coloured the image in using my Promarkers. The ribbon also came with the kit.

Very simple cards, but I'm really pleased that I managed to get 3 cards out of one piece of cardstock and three 6 x 6 pieces of paper,

You are amazing

2012-02-16T09:10:00.006Z

I made this card last night, it's not for any particular challenge, other than challenging myself to use the card,paper and embellishments that came with my February Artful Delight kit! Inspiration for the LO of the card came from the book A card a day which I'd bought before Christmas.

The flowers came in a packet and there were two varieties, the one I've used which just required me to fold along the creased lines to give them some depth and the others were rosettes. I've made up all the rosettes, just need to put them onto future cards. I put the pink paper, which obviously has a white core into an embossing folder to give it some texture and used a corner rounder and SU's spiral border punch on the brown paper. I've inked all the edges with SU's Early Espresso and stamped a Unity sentiment onto white cardstock using the same ink and inking the edges again. A bit busier than the cards I have been working on recently, but I love all the colours now they are together.

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours walking around Saltram yesterday with Colette, Logan and Max. Normally Max and I would have got round in about an hour, but Logan wants to walk everywhere now so obviously it took us a bit longer. Actually Logan is a very good walker, curious and wants to stop and look at everything which is wonderful. It really is a joy to be able to spend so much time with him and see him grow and his character develop - he really is quite a charmer at the moment!

How many WIP's/UFO's do you have?

2012-02-15T10:28:00.004Z

This was the question Jill asked me on Sunday at the Stitch and Bitch group at Just Tracy's. At the time I couldn't have said so I made a point yesterday of going through all my stitching hideaways and finding them all. The answer is 13! They are all at various stages, some only needing a little done to be completed and others that have only had a few stitches started.

I thought if I listed them here it might make me feel sufficiently guilty to finally get them completed as soon as possible now. So here we go:-
1) Boxer family - I have made progress on this one this week I now only have the top half in the left hand corner to complete, but before I do that I need to ensure I do the backstitch on the bottom corner first.
2) Picture of a Bride - all but complete but there is a problem that I can't find the pattern that goes with this one at the moment - it came from a magzine I believe so I will have to do some further searching.
3) Friends are Gifts - this only requires some backstitching and the sentiment to be stitched - think I might take this one to work and try and get it done in my breaks as it's not a large project.
4)Leaping dolphins - this one I inherited many years ago from an ex-girlfriend of Davids - she had started it but had gone wrong so I still have to work out exactly where it has gone wrong and at the moment that requires too much brain power.
5)Fishermans Lodge - I have almost completed the fishermans lodge but there is still the large border of fishes to be done on this one - a large project which needs to be done at home.
6)Winter Fairy - this is one of a set of four (I've already completed Spring and Summer and they are already hanging on my walls) - this is another one I could probably take into work at some stage.
7) Castle alphabet sampler - again the problem with this one is finding the pattern that goes with it.
8) Fisherman - now initially this is one that David started a long time ago, only a few stitches ever got done - I think he was probably about 14 at the time so it shows how long that one has been waiting around as he is now 25! This will probably be one of my last projects but once it is complete I will give it to him.
9) Four horses of Apocalypse - this is a mammoth stitch intensive project - it came in a booklet form with I think about 10 pages - I have actually completed about 6 or 7 pages, but I really need good light for this one so I will probably pick it up again in the summer months and sit in the conservatory to do this one.
10) The Lion Family - another one that was inherited from an old friend who I no longer see. He bought it when he split up with his wife in the hope that if he completed it and gave it to her it would bring them back together. He never got the hang of cross stitiching and they never got back together again. They have both since remarried so not a completely unhappy ending. Again this only has a few stitches done on about three different pieces of aida as he kept going wrong - bless him.
11) African angel - again in the early stages so will probably be one of the last projects to complete.
12) Christmas stocking decorations - in fairness I have actually completed all of the cross stitch - there may be a little backstitching required but I think really all I need to do now is get them made up and who knows they might appear on my Christmas tree this year.
13) Forever Friends Months of the year - this is another one I inheritied -well it was kindly donated to me to stitch while I was staying with our friends Karen and Phillip. I think I've completed three months and again the pattern and the kit have become detached so a thorough search of the house is required for three of my projects.

I will post an updated photo of the Boxer family on Sunday - if I make myself do a progress report each week it might just give me the added incentive to get more done each time.

Have a wonderful day - I'm off for a walk round Saltram with Colette, Logan and Max very soon - making the most of the last few days of my leave.

Stripes - Less is More challenge.

2012-02-13T22:07:00.002Z

It's taken me a couple of days to finally come up with the idea for my card for the Less is More challenge this week. I knew that somewhere in my stamp stash there should be something I could use as stripes.

I found a Unity Journalling strip stamp which I thought would fit perfectly with the challenge. I've also used the sentiment from SU's Big Bold Birthday stamp set and stamped this repeatedly into the journalling strips. I've used post it notes when required to fill up each area completely with the sentiment. I then coloured each box in with a different coloured Promarker and then used a retired SU Alphabet and Number set to complete the card. This is the first card I think I've done for the challenge that isn't monochromatic!

I think my cold is finally starting to clear up - haven't felt so bad today and managed to meet up with my friend Lisa and her dog Shadow and Max and I enjoyed a lovely walk around Stover Country Park. It was a lot milder today and the sun shone for the most part while we were out walking so a very pleasant couple of hours spent catching up with each others news.

Boxer Cross Stitch - UFO

2012-02-12T09:00:00.004Z

A little later than promised but here is a picture of my next cross stitch UFO that needs to be completed asap. The threads I needed arrived on Wednesday and I will be taking this along to the local Stitch and Bitch group being held at Just Tracy's today. It's the first time I'll have been to the group but am looking forward to catching up with a few old friends and hopefully meeting some new ones too.

We managed to get out for a lovely walk with Max yesterday, although the wind was a bit chilly out of it the sun was quite warm. We started our walk out at the old Harrowbeer airfield near Buckland Monochorum and followed some of Route 27 cycle track with the intention of going as far as Bedford Bridge. However we got so far and found we would have had to go down a country lane which with oncoming traffic and a dog that insists on walking nearer the centre of the road than the edge we took a detour and walked across the moorland instead. It is our aim now to start at Bedford Bridge and walk the other way to see where that road would have come out. It was a beautiful walk regardless - we are so lucky to live so near to such beautiful countryside.

All Buttoned Up with Jingle Belles challenge

2012-02-11T10:16:00.002Z

Thank goodness my crafting energy levels have returned. I managed to put together my six cards for this fortnights challenge on Jingle Belles. Their theme this fortnight is to use buttons on your cards.

I decided to use the word Joy from the SU Welcome Christmas stamp set and simply put a button where the 'o' goes. The embossed background card is SU's Bravo Burgandy with a strip of Old Olive designer paper and a ribbon down the side. The Joy sentiment was stamped onto a Nestie shape and I've used TH Forest Moss distress ink around the edges for it all to tie in.

Off now to take Max for a walk in the countryside and try and blow away a few more of those cobwebs that seem to be lingering around me this week!

Flower Power with Crafty Purple Frog

2012-02-10T14:27:00.003Z

Sorry I'm a day late with my posting - my cold which I thought was getting better, wasn't and so it has affected my energy levels greatly this week - not the best way to spend my first weeks leave! Anyway this morning I finally managed to put together a card for this fortnights challenge on the Crafty Purple Frog.

Here is what you could win this time.....1st prize is the new Valentines paper set and 2 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
2nd prize is the new Valentines paper set and 1 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
3rd prize is the new Valentines paper set from The Crafty Purple Frog
To win these prizes we want you to put some flowers on your creations. They can be in the image or on the papers or embellies.

I have used the lovely Dragonflies decoupage from Crafty Purple Frog along with two of the lovely papers that are on the new Valentine papers set. I've matted the image and papers onto SU's Taken with Teal and also used some Kaiser lace and a EK Success flower border punch to go across the card. The flourishes came from a spellbinders set I had and the flower was created using my new Nellie flower and emboss punch set and a few gems added from my stash.

I hope you'll take a look at what the rest of the DT have come up with for this challenge and welcome the new DT members too. I also hope you'll have a go at the challenge and give yourself the opportunity of winning such a great prize too.

Less is More - the colour is Aqua

2012-02-07T10:01:00.003Z

I am really enjoying the Less is More challenges, I'm not saying they are any easier for being 'simpler' but I am really beginning to embrace this style.

I have used one of the new stamps sets from the SU Spring mini catalouge called Borderlines to create the dotty border strip across the card. The flower came from a hostess set called Posy Punch and then I used the co-ordinating flower punch to punch it out and finally the sentiment came from a Sale-a-bration set from last year called So Happy for You. I've used SU's Baja Breeze ink pad and added some stickles to the centre of the flower to give a bit of sparkle.

It's a beautiful sunny day and I am feeling much better - would love to be out walking with Max but unfortunately I have to wait in for a delivery which could arrive anytime during the day. As you can imagine I am feeling a little frustrated at being hemmed in, but I have managed to do the ironing, hoovering and a few other chores while I'm waiting and I guess it's a good excuse to sit and do some crafting. Later today I am hoping that the threads I ordered for a cross stitch that I want to get finished will arrive. This is another one of those unfinished projects which I am determined to get completed - it's of a Boxer dog family and I've only got about a quarter of it left to do so I am setting myself a target to get it completed by the end of April (this allows me time for other crafting projects). I'll take a photo of what I have done later today to post on my blog tomorrow which will then give me the added incentive of getting it completed to show you all.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

2012-02-06T20:07:00.003Z

It was our dear friend Karen's birthday at the weekend and this is the card I made for her - I can now post it as I know it arrived safely and in time for her birthday. I hope you had a wonderful day Karen.

I used the of the new February Avocado Arts stamp set Wishes and Kind Thoughts - this is a stamp set I have subscribed to on a monthly basis and I have never been disappointed in either the quality or the designs. There are always so many lovely designs which can be used individually or together to create your own scene. The papers came from a Trimcraft 6 x6 paper pad called Bird Song which I was lucky enough to receive as part of a Secret Santa at the Exeter Scrapaholics crop in December. I've used a couple of nesties to place the images onto and some ribbon from my stash.

At midday on Friday I broke up from work with the delightful prospect of two weeks off - unfortunately I also woke up Friday morning with another sore throat and the sniffles, which proceeded to get worse throughout the day. This has meant I have spent most of the weekend curled up on the sofa with Max, blankets and hot water bottles feeling a little sorry for myself and no energy for much else.

Sunday was brightened up a little with a visit from David and his family, it was lovely to see Connor and Elisha and spend some time playing trains and dolls with them. In the evening I sat and watched the World Cup of Darts final which was England and Australia, initially England were winning 3 - 0 in the single matches and then lost the last singles match and the doubles match which evened the score out to 3-3 which meant a sudden death game had to be played. Amazingly it literally went down to the wire with both pairs missing doubles, but England finally getting the required double - a really enjoyable match to watch - lots of tension and twists and turns.

Today I felt quite a bit better and managed to take Max for a lovely walk around Saltram, although I probably walked further than I should have done, but it was just so nice to get out in the fresh air again - I did wrap up warm. I called into Just Tracy's craft shop on my way back and picked up a couple of stamping magazines before calling in to see Colette and Logan. I had been invited round a friends house for lunch and spent an enjoyable couple of hours catching up and seeing what crafting goodies had been purchased at the craft show at Westpoint.

I have this evening managed to create a simple card for the Less is More challenge which I will share tomorrow, but I think my energy levels are now beginning to drop - an early night is required I think.

Can you help?

2012-02-06T18:50:00.001Z

Daily posts below this appeal.

My dear friend Karen is trying to help a lady called Ruth who was recently on the Jeremy Vine radio show raise enough money to pay for an operation Ruth desparately needs to give her the chance to live and see her son Brandon grow up. Karen is giving people the chance to win some lovely prizes if they make a donation to Ruth's appeal. More details of what Karen is trying to do can be found here. Further details about Ruth and her story can also be found on Ruth's site Help Ruthie. If you would like to donate then please go to Ruth's site and you can find out the various ways in which you can do this. Once you have made a donation then go to Karen's blog and leave her a comment and Karen will enter you into the prize draw for your chance to win one of four prizes that have generously been donated. Hopefully if we can make enough people aware of Ruth's plight then we might be able to help save her life and bring so much joy to her son too.

Jingle Belles - a banner holiday

2012-02-01T10:11:00.003Z

The challenge this week on Jingle Belles is to use their blog banner as inspiration for your Christmas card. I have opted to go with the colours and used strips of patterned paper that came with an Artful Delight card kit. My base card is pearlescent although this doesn't really show in the photo it does give the card a slight shimmer. I also used the same cardstock to stamp my sentiment from the SU Sparkly & Bright stamp set which was then punched out using the SU frame punch. I've also used some SU Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon across the card and tied a bow. So another six cards to add to my Christmas collection thanks to the Jingle Belles challenge.

Just Tracy's Challenge

2012-02-01T09:38:00.003Z

Well January has gone (so quickly too) and we are now beginning the month of February which at least this year has an extra day for us. It also means it's time for another Just Tracy's challenge.

For this month's challenge we would like to see you make a project for a female and to include something flowing - lace, ribbon, tulle, etc.

Our prize is a £15 voucher for our winner to spend from Just Tracys.

I have created a card which would be suitable either as a Mother's Day card or for a birthday. The stamp set I've used is the retired SU A Rose is a Rose two step stamping set which I absolutely love. I've used SU's Wild Wasabi and Perfect Plum inks for the roses and leaves. I've used some black fringing which I had bought years ago when I took part in a swap and felt it lent itself to the flowing theme. The sentiments are a combination of part of a greeting stamp from SU and a Unity stamp. I've also added a lovely Pear Pizazz bow made from SU's seam binding adding a button and some linen thread to the bow for extra detail.

Do check out what the rest of the DT have created this month and why not take part this month and give yourself the chance of winning £15 to spend at Just Tracy's.

Less is More Week 52 - Sketch challenge

2012-01-31T14:53:00.002Z

Last night I was able to catch up on a few of the challenges I am trying to participate in on a regular basis. I managed to get the Less is More card completed and another six Christmas cards for the Jingle Belles challenge (which I will show later in the week). But for my Less is More card I knew I wanted to use ribbon as the band in the middle of the sketch. Looking through my ribbons I came across some lovely SU Bashful Blue stitched grosgrain ribbon and I picked a cute little baby image which came in the SU Very Punny stamp set (which I was kindly given) and was coloured in using Bashful Blue and Creamy Caramel . The image was punched out using the SU 1 3/8inch circle punch and then mounted onto a SU scallop circle punched piece of Bashful Blue cardstock. I added some white gel pen to the scallop circle to tie in with the stitching of the ribbon. Finally my sentiment came from an SU Hostess set.

It's cold here and to make it even worse our central heating has broken down - we can still get hot water, but the heating system keeps tripping as the boiler is overheating. I don't think we can complain too much as the boiler is almost 18 years old, but it's an expense we could have done without. Thankfully we have got a gas fire in our lounge so and we have an oil-fired electric heater which I have on in the craft area. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can get a new one fitted, but no doubt the really cold weather will be over by then. Perhaps I should ask my friend Wynneth to quickly run up a couple of chunky knit jumpers for me.

Nuts About Sketches Week 196

2012-01-30T14:24:00.003Z

I was working mainly afternoons last week and when I got home in the early evening I was distracted by the tennis so not a lot of crafting got done last week. I am hoping to make up for that this week though. I did manage to complete a LO for the Nuts about Sketches week 196 on Saturday evening and it's even got photos of me on it! The photos were taken last year when we went for a walk up the Dewerstone Rock ( I think Ian thought I was trying to kill him as we didn't take an easy route), it was hard going but well worth the effort as the views are amazing from there. We took the easier route on the way down following part of the old tramway line
.

I've used papers that came with one of my Scrapbook Circle kits, the papers are from MME Love Me and Everyday Fun range. I've also used quite a few different stamps on this page, the lovely sentiment is from a set I bought at Westpoint last year and are from Inkylicious, the sun stamp which I have stamped out twice and decoupaged is a Unity stamp. The alphabet and the circles are from SU and I've used SU's Cherry Cobbler ink pad. The cloud embellishments came from an Artful Delights kit and I think help to frame the sentiment. I've got just about half a sheet of one of the papers left so my next task is to make some simple cards to use it up - again it is not going into the scraps box.

Valentine's Day/ Love is in the air

2012-01-26T10:34:00.002Z

The challenge over on the Crafty Purple Frog challenge this fortnight is Valentine's Day/ Love is in the Air.

"Valentine's Day/Show us some love". Valentine's Day is 14 February and will soon be upon us. I realise not everyone sends Valentine's Day cards so there is the option to "show us some love".

For my DT card I have used the Red Hearts Pyramage from Crafty Purple Frog and matted the image onto three different sized hearts which I cut out using my Creative Memories cutting system. The card is from SU Cameo Coral, Ruby Red (both retired) and Basic Grey. I've used the SU En Francais background with Cameo Coral pad on one of the hearts and again on the base card using Basic Grey ink pad. The sentiment came from an Avacado Arts stamp set.

Don't forget if you enter the challenge you will have the chance of winning some of the lovely Crafty Purple Frog images for yourself.

A beautiful thing - Less is More challenge 51

2012-01-21T19:28:00.002Z

Yesterday evening I went and stayed at my friend Lisa's house for the night - it's been a long time since I've done that. It also meant it had been a long time since I had been spoilt and cooked a lovely English breakfast by her hubby Andy - delicious. This was then followed by a nice walk into Newton for a shopping trip. We picked up a couple of bargains in the craft sale section at Austin's and then went to the Craft Room where I picked up another flower punch and the Fall set of Tim Holtz distress inks. Once the shopping was over it was time for lunch before heading back to Lisa's for some 'playtime'.

We decided to check out this week Less is More challenge and I even got Lisa to complete a card for the challenge. Our cards are similar, but Lisa added hearts to her card to make it a Valentine's card for her hubby, whereas mine is a more general card. We used the SU Four Frames stamp set and stamped once onto the base card and then second stamped it onto a spare piece of card. The second stamped image was cut out using the co-ordinating SU frame punch and then we cut the oval aperture out of the stamped image to create the aperture for our LIM card. I cut two slits on the image on the card to slide the ribbon through and added foam pads to raise the aperture frame on top. The sentiment stamp is from a retired SU set Lisa had which I can't remember the name of so if anyone knows could they let me know please. I've gone for the monochromatic look again this week but used SU's Poppy Parade ink, ribbon and a scrap of card which I have punched a butterfly out of.

Subtle 40th Brithday card

2012-01-19T10:17:00.002Z

It's our friend Neil's 40th birthday on Saturday so I have made him this card. Rather than really emphasing the fact that he has now turned 40 - just in case it is a bit sensitive to him - I have used the bus image from one of the new Papermania urban stamp sets and added his age as if it was the No. of the bus. The bunting was created using one of the SU's Party This Way stamp set and a retired alphabet stamp set - I hand cut round them once stamped as I don't have the co-ordinating punch - yet! The other sentiment is also from SU and it was a hostess set.

No early morning for me today, although I've got to go into work later today. So I wasn't able to catch any of the Andy Murray match this morning, although I've set up the TV to record the replay this afternoon and I can watch his victory later ( I know he won as I checked on text - couldn't wait to find out). Enjoy your day whatever you may be doing.

3 Patterned Papers = 1 LO + 6 cards

2012-01-18T14:22:00.004Z

Well I managed to stay awake yesterday evening and not only completed the LO for the Sketches in Thyme challenge, but also made six cards with the left over pieces of paper. I was determined that the left overs were not going to go in the scrap box.

The papers are from We R Memory keepers, two of them were double sided and the other one was a sheet of different borders. I've used photos from our walk around Kit Hill on Saturday and I'm going to try and do a LO each month of the year when Ian and myself go out together. We even managed to get a silly photo of us, not the most flattering of looks but it was cold! The aim will be to try and somehow incorporate a photo of us each time too. The mini alphabets came with an Artful Delights kit I believe - love mini alphabets.

One of the border sheets had a lovely sentiment on which I decided to use to create my Valentines card for Ian this year - very non traditional colours but I think the sentiment was just perfect. I've also used the Happy Valentine stamp that came with one of my Avocado Arts stamp sets. This card also fits the challenge on Ruby's Rainbow challenge blog so am entering it for that.

Finally with the remaining scraps I created five simple cards and used an SU stamp set called Love Ya Bunches another set I got from America a couple of years ago. I also had some matching embossed stickers which I have used on two of the cards. I also used a Creative Memories fancy square punch for two of the cards.

Now this evening I should be making a 40th birthday card for our friend Neil whose birthday is on Saturday - again this all depends on whether I can stay awake long enough.

Tudor Lady

2012-01-17T16:18:00.003Z

Here is the Tudor Lady cross stitch picture that I picked up from being framed last week. It had been lying around on the back of a chair for quite a while after I had stitched it and I finally took it down to Kelly Bray before Christmas to get it framed. It's now taking up residence in our living room and being proudly displayed at long last. The trouble is I have a medieval lady cross stitch kit waiting to be started but I am trying to be very good and resist the temptation to do so. I need to complete some of those that I have already started first.

I've been on early mornings so far this week - it felt really strange this morning being able to watch some tennis before going to work. I went to work not very happy as Andy Murray had just lost the first set, thankfully I was able to watch the repeat this afternoon and he won in four sets which I am very happy about.

Hopefully if I can stay awake long enough this evening I want to finish off a LO which I started yesterday evening for the Sketches in Time blog - it's been nice getting back into my scrapbooking, alternating it with my other craft projects - crafting is just so relaxing.

Jingle Belles Sketching through the snow!

2012-01-16T10:42:00.004Z

This fortnight for the Jingle Belles challenge they have given us a sketch to work with - I love working with sketches. Again I have managed to complete six cards for the challenge and the design is another fairly clean and simple design - I think I might be getting the hang of these now.

I've used what I think is my favourite SU Christmas set Season of Joy, it's so versatile and not just for Christmas either. I've also combined it with an SU set I bought from America a couple of years ago called All Scallops. Ink colours I have used I am afraid are all retired SU colours (again I was too lazy to go downstairs and get the current ones) and they are Bordering Blue, Mellow Mose and Ruby Red. Cardstock was scraps of white and SU's Mellow Moss.

Less is More

2012-01-15T10:06:00.003Z

Carrying on with the clean and simple cards it was suggested by my friend Wynneth that I have a look at the Less is More challenge blog. Their challenge this week is to create a one layer card (not something I do at all) and incorporate birds into the card as well.

I have used a white card and used two SU stamp sets to create my one layer card. The sentiment is from a set called Heard from the Heart and the owl came from one of last years Sale-a-bration sets. They have both been stamped in SU's retired Close to Cocoa ink pad for no reason other than that was the nearest brown ink pad I had to hand - too lazy to go downstairs and look for a current SU ink pad!

Nuts about Sketches Week 195

2012-01-14T13:42:00.003Z

I'm trying very hard to keep my 8 x8 albums of Logan up to date this year and so during the week I managed to complete a DLO of his 2nd Christmas. My aim is to make sure I get at least one LO of each month in the album and only to ever be working on the previous months pictures - fingers crossed.

I've used the sketch for week 195 over on Nuts about Sketches and used the same set of Christmas papers as my DT LO submission - My Minds Eye Lost & Found - they really are gorgeous.

I've kept fairly close to the sketch although I haven't used as many photos as on the sketch suggests. The vellum quote came from an Anna Griffin pack and I've used some gold peel off borders to attach it to the LO. I've also stamped and embossed some gold stars and also added some gold edged clear peel offs too. The journalling is about Logan's Christmas outfit, last year we dressed him up in a Santa outfit but this year it was Santa's No1 Helper - the jeans came with red braces and he looked so sweet. It also asks in the journalling just how many more years can I get away with buying him silly outfits for Christmas.

This morning we took Max for a lovely walk around Kit Hill - very fresh and overcast but it was nice to be out in the fresh air and the cold wind certainly blew away the cobwebs! This afternoon I have got the joy of going through some paperwork which must be done by the end of the month and then hopefully if I can get that out of the way quickly I can get to 'play' while Ian freezes watching Argyle play.

Clean and Simple

2012-01-13T10:58:00.002Z

I decided to sign up for the online class for Clean & Simple cards which is being run by Kristina Werner, Jennifer Mcguire and Julie Ebersole and I have not been disappointed with their ideas each day. Clean and Simple is not something I normally do, but I wanted to try this as for those cards I need to post it will certainly help with costs.

Here is my first card using one of the ideas I was given on Day 1 of the class which started on Monday - lots of other crafting has been done this week so there is no surprise that I am already behind with the class. Having said that there is no rush to complete each day as you can download a PDF of each class for future reference.

I have used a card from a pack of Jenni Bowlin craft cards and envelopes and a couple of stamps from a Hero Arts set which co-ordinate with the Basic Grey Life of the Party collection - both of these came with my December Artful Delights card kit - love those kits! I've used SU Taken with Teal ink pad to stamp the spotty background and then the co-ordinating marker pen to create the dashed line border. The sentiment and the bunting came from the Hero Arts set and I've stamped the bunting onto the card and then again onto a scrap of card. The bunting was then cut out and decoupaged onto the card for a bit of dimension.

I've had a couple of early mornings this week and new hours - I started at 5am and finished at 9.30am - so just as my working day is ending most peoples is only just starting. Although it's not the best time to get up in the morning especially as I had to de-ice the car a little today but once I get going I really don't mind and it leaves me the rest of the day to do what I need/want to do. I have got the weekend off and I am hoping it will be dry so that I can go out and do some tidying up in the garden as well as give my car a good wash. Hope you have a good weekend whatever you may be doing.

Desk Calendar - Anything Goes at Crafty Purple Frog

2012-01-12T14:18:00.004Z

The challenge over at Crafty Purple Frog this week is a nice easy one to start the New Year off - Anything Goes. I decided to make a desk top calender using the lovely Glowing Dazzle decoupage sheet from Crafty Purple Frog.

I've simply used a C6 card and covered one side with papers from my scrap box and then printed out a calendar using one that was available online and decorated this with photo corners and gems. Very simple but something nice to look at during the month of January.

Crafty Purple Frog are also going to be having a DT call so if you want to try out for the DT then check out the post later today to find out all the details.

Happy 1st Birthday

2012-01-08T19:43:00.002Z

I've used the Artful Delights January sketch to create the 8 x 8 LO to start off Logan's 2nd album - I'm hoping to complete an album for every year, although it won't be entirely of Logan when their new baby arrives later in the year. Somehow I don't think I could keep two going, although I may well give it a try. I did flip the switch to make it work with the photos I wanted to use.

The colours of the papers which again are all from the scraps box are brighter than they are showing in the photo, unfortunately I had to take the picture this evening so the light isn't that brilliant and I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow before posting it on my blog.

I now have two days off work so I am hoping to catch up on a few more projects as well as some of the dreaded housework!

Nuts About Sketches

2012-01-07T10:17:00.002Z

Nuts About Sketches are having a DT call so last night I sat and created this LO and thought I'd submit it for the DT call. It also proves that I do have two other grandchildren other than just Logan. Unfortunately I don't get the opportunity to take photos of them as much as I do Logan. These photos of Connor and Elisha were taken on Christmas Day when we were lucky enough to see them open their presents from us and their Great Grandparents - it was lovely to see their excited faces.

I've obviously used the Nuts About Sketches DT sketch for the LO format. The lovely papers are from MME Lost & Found Christmas collection which is absolutely gorgeous and was the monthly Scrapaholics kit in December. The three bauble embellishments were created using a variety of SU stamps that were stamped with Versamark ink and then sprinkled with twinkling red and gold embossing powders. I then cut them out and added them to the page and used gold stickles to create the threads from which they are hanging, but not sure how well that shows up in the photo.

For You

2012-01-05T20:14:00.002Z

It's been a very mixed week for me this week - life is full of ups and downs and I'm a great believer in everything happens for a reason, even if I don't always know what that reason is at the time. To take my mind of certain issues I spent an enjoyable evening in my craft area making this card which is based on Day 2 from the Card a Day book.

Green is not one of my favourite colours, but I'm quite pleased with this card not only with the way it turned out but also because I used only papers and cards from the scraps box - it will be empty one day! I used a sentiment stamp from a retired SU Hostess set called Something to Celebrate to create my top border strip - I inked the stamp up with SU's Sahara Sand. The tag sentiment is SU's retired Welcoming Words set, the scallop circle is punched out after stamping one of the scalloped circle stamps from last years Sale-a-bration set called Punch Bunch. I also used one of their jumbo rollers called Friendly Words which is in their current catalogue. The soft coloured ribbon is from an Artful delights kit I believe, button, flower and pearl from stash.

New Home card

2012-01-04T14:25:00.002Z

My dear friend Karen's sister Louise moved into a new home at the end of last year so I thought I would make her a card and wish her happiness in their new home. Also at the end of last year I treated myself to a new book called A Card a Day which as you can imagine has a different card sample for each day of the year - a great source of inspiration and this is where I got the LO design for the New Home card.

I'm hoping to work my way through the book, although I won't be able to make a card everyday, but it should keep me inspired for a couple of years! The papers for the card came from an Artful Delights card kit, the circle stamp is from Unity, the little house stamp came from a SU set called Good Neighbours and I used SU's More Mustard and Chocolate Chip to stamp them with. The border punch is a Martha Stewart punch and the ribbon also came from Artful Delights, twine from SU and button from stash. The mini alphabets came from a Scrapbook Circle kit.

Happy New Year and Just Tracy's challenge

2012-01-01T11:23:00.004Z

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year - I hope 2012 proves to be a good one for all of you. Not only is it a new year we are into a new month which means there is another challenge over on the Just Tracy's challenge blog.

Tracy is sponsoring the challenge each month which means the lucky winner of the challenge will get a £15 voucher to spend in Just Tracy's shop.

The theme this month is Love is in the Air and can be interpreted in anyway you like using any form of crafting media. This month I have used one of Colette and Tim's wedding photos and created a 12 x 12 LO which I am going to get a nice frame for and give to them for the first wedding anniversary - how's that for forward planning!? I've used some lovely Anna Griffin paper as my main backing paper and cut out a heart shape with my Creative Memories cutting system. I've then cut some strips of dictionary pages which have had the edges inked and then ruffled them around the inside of the heart to create a 'frame' with the photo positioned behind. The flowers came from some that were left over from Colettes bridal bouquet and the alphabet is a Sizzlets which came out of hiding to be played with.

Do check out what the other DT members have come up with for this months challenge - some of our new DT members are playing along this month so give them a nice warm welcome.

No time like the present

2011-12-31T18:43:00.004Z

It was another early start for me today and it was supposed to have been a 10 1/2 hour shift, but thankfully as we were fairly quiet we had permission to close two hours early. This meant I got home at a reasonable time and while enjoying a much needed cup of tea I started browsing my favourite challenge blogs and found that the Jingle Belles challenges have started for 2012. As I needed to make sure I didn't fall asleep this afternoon as I have been prone to doing the past couple of weeks it provided me with the much needed mental stimulation to keep me awake.

Their first challenge is No Time Like The Present, hence the blog post title.

" Make a holiday card that incorporates GIFT WRAP: as a background, as an accent, or using motifs cut from your favorite wrapping paper
OR
Make a holiday card with an image of present(s) on it! "

I opted to use both, the wrapping paper had a nice holographic effect and I've used it as my backing paper. I then stamped one of the images from one of my Stamps for Life sets called Penguins 4 Christmas onto black cardstock and used silver embossing powder to tie in with the holographic background (the sentiment also came in the set). It was then a simple case of matting and layering onto black glitter card and white cardstock.

If I try to keep them relatively simple each time I may be able to keep up with the challenges this year. In my defence thought I did change jobs which meant I had to adjust to vary days/hours, our beautiful grandson Logan being such a wonderful part of our lives and Colette and Tim bringing their wedding forward a year which meant lots of invitations, favours and organisation. This year, other than another new arrival I don't think there are too many major events which will distract me as much.

An Alternative Christmas Dinner

2011-12-31T15:33:00.003Z

As our children are all grown up, two of them married with families of their own we didn't really know what to do for Christmas. Then one evening when Ian had met up with his brother Keith for a few drinks they came up with the idea of having a BBQ Christmas style dinner out on the moors. With a bit of forward planning all we had to do was warm up the meat and potatoes, cook the veg on the camp stove and sausages and bacon on the BBQ and hey presto!

Ian, Keith, Bryan, myself, Max and Charlie waiting for the BBQ to warm up so we can warm and cook our Christmas dinner.

Keith prepping the sausages and bacon with Max out of shot but hoping something might get dropped.

Christmas dinner all dished up and waiting to be eaten. We'd borrowed a gazebo which proved useful as it was just a little drizzly out on the moors that day.

Can't have a Christmas dinner without Christmas crackers - although some might think we were crackers anyway. We did get a few funny looks from people walking by, but who knows we might have started a whole new trend for next year!

Deck the Halls

2011-12-24T13:31:00.003Z

It's Christmas Eve and I guess this LO I did for Logan's album is the perfect one to highlight today. I took the photos when we went to Endsleigh garden centre to check out their Christmas trees and decorations. They always have such beautiful displays and Logan loved looking at them as much as his mum and I did.

The papers came from the My Minds Eye Lost & Found collection which was the Scrapaholics monthly kit and went perfectly I think. The alphabet stickers which I made to look hopefully like baubles are some a friend passed onto me.

Ian, Max and myself have already enjoyed a walk round Saltram today, it was lovely being out in the fresh air for a change instead of being stuck in work. Not much planned for this afternoon, but this evening we are going to David's house for a few Christmas Eve drinks which will hopefully be a nice evening.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas - have fun whatever you may be doing.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 12 Smeared Ink

2011-12-23T21:00:00.002Z

Today is the last day of the 12 Days of Christmas on Smeared Ink and todays card is the card I made to go with the gift I gave as part of the Secret Santa on Smeared Ink. I have fun playing along with this and hope you've enjoyed looking at my different creations and hope you also managed to get around to some of the other participants blogs too.

I've used scraps from my box, but the main image is Jenna, one of the gothic fairies from Smeared Ink. Ithought she lent herself well to be decorated like a Christmas tree and borrowed a stamp set from a friend for the tiny decorations. The sentiment is from Elusive Images and I've used the seasonal Tim Holtz distress inks around the edges. Jenna was coloured in using Copics.

Artful Delights Challenge #15

2011-12-23T09:00:00.001Z

It's been a while since I entered the Artful Delights sketch challenge, but after going to the aquarium with Logan on Sunday I had the perfect photo and idea to make the sketch work for me.

The papers came from a large K&Co paper stack I bought from Kelly Bray and shared with a friend. The 'seaweed' is from a sheet which is really tiny flowers and leaves but thought it lent itself to the seaweed look. The fish stamps came from Rainbow Studios and have just been stamped onto scraps of paper from the box. Very simple but I like it.

One more day at work before the Christmas holidays - so looking forward to the break and sharing it with family. My brother is hopefully coming down to stay with our parents so it will be nice to be able to see him again so soon. Lots of things planned in such a short space of time, but I am sure it will be fun.

Happy Christmas at the Crafty Purple Frog

2011-12-22T14:31:00.003Z

This week we are joining the crowds and going for the obvious with a Christmas theme :D.We on the DT want to thank all of you that are taking part in the Crafty Purple Frog challenges and wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year. There are going to be some changes planned for the new year and if you would like to be on the DT at the Crafty Purple Frog then be sure to check out the blog in January as we will be having a DT call.

Back to this weeks challenge here is what you could win this time.....

1st prize is a massive 5 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
2nd prize is 3 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
3rd prize is 2 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
4th prize is 1 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog

I have made a card using the lovely Merry Season decoupage which also turned out to be my hubby's card for this year.

The papers I have used are some retired SU Christmas papers and the sentiment stamps I think are from a Kanban Christmas set. I've also used a Nellies die to frame the decoupage and added some SU Chocolate Chip satin ribbon to finish off the design.

It's amazing how quick the mornings go at work - which is always nice as home time comes round quickly too. Not much planned for this afternoon, apart from maybe 40 winks! Having said that I would like to get a LO done for a challenge that I would like to enter - we'll see if inspiration hits before the sand man.

12 Days - Smeared Ink Day 11

2011-12-21T21:33:00.002Z

This is the penultimate day for the Smeared Ink 12 Days of Christmas, the last one will be on Christmas Eve! I've really enjoyed putting a wide range of styles together for this challenge and so pleased that it looks like I am actually going to complete a project.

I've used some stamps I bought from Snazzy's for this one. They are from a Victorian Christmas set by The Artistic Stamper and they were half price so a bargain too. Plainish papers from the scraps box and I've stamped the picture greeting onto one of the pieces of paper using Momentos ink and then just added a slight touch of colour with Copics. I don't use peel-offs very often but thought the border strips just lifted it a little and the finishing touch was some organza ribbon tied in a bow and then draped across and down the side of the card.

Just two more days at work and then I've got a three day break for Christmas, but lots of different shift patterns after Christmas. Another early start for me tomorrow so I suppose I'd better get an early night.

Fright Night

2011-12-20T22:01:00.003Z

I have to confess I broke into some new papers to create this LO for Logan's album as there just wasn't anything appropriate in the scrap box.

The papers came from a kit I got from Scrapbook Circle I think it was a limited edition kit, but just knew it would be useful as the grandchildren would be taking part in the Trick or Treating. I just loved Logan in his cute little pumpkin outfit - they can get away with those sort of outfits for a couple of years, but when he's a bit older I can't imagine him wanting to wear something like this.

12 Days - Smeared Ink Day 10

2011-12-19T22:40:00.002Z

For my card I have used a couple of the stamps from my monthly Myka Jelina kit from Queen Kat Designs. The papers and die cuts are from a retired SU scrapbook pack - they've nearly all gone now which is a pity as they were gorgeous. The main image has been coloured in using Copics again and I really enjoyed putting another alternative Christmas image together.

Another jam packed day - will be glad to get back to work for a rest - ha if only! First thing we collected a parcel from the sorting office and when I opened it what a lovely surprise it was. Terri, Tori and the DT from Smeared Ink had sent a large Christmas cracker, beautifully decorated and rattling with something inside which I will look forward to opening on Christmas Day - isn't that just fabulous and so unexpected.

Then it was off into town to finish the Christmas shopping (successful mission), back home for some lunch before heading off to pick up some bits of food and drink shopping ready for the big day. We then collected Max from my parents, delivering some cough mixture for my dad who has now got a nasty cough and then calling round to see Ian's mum to wish her a happy birthday and give her a present and card.

Back home for tea before going up to deliver Logan's present and card and see all his new toys. The birthday cake came out and although not a brilliant photo I got one of all three of them just about to blow the candle out. Just where that year has gone goodness knows, but we're all looking forward to many more.

Finally I called round my friend Moya's house this evening where she has kindly started me off on another project, this time a patchwork centred cushion - well hopefully it will be two. Moya kindly cut the fabric into three inch squares for me and I did manage to get four of them wrapped around paper squares ready to be stitched together. We have set a target of the 2nd January to get them into a block of 9 squares which is when we hope to meet up again. Then it will be a case of assembling the rest of the cushion cover.

Early start tomorrow so I better get off to bed now!

All dressed up

2011-12-18T21:39:00.003Z

Here's the first of three LO's I completed at the Exeter crop yesterday. The photos were taken on Colette and Tim's wedding day when Logan was all dressed up in his trousers, shirt, waistcoat and tie and looking totally adorable - almost upstaging the bride!

Again only papers from the scrap box were used, although I have to admit it is getting more difficult now and I might just have to say goodbye to the last of the scraps and start afresh in the New Year.

We had a wonderful time this morning/early afternoon when we went to the aquarium with Colette, Tim and Logan. We've now all got day passes so hopefully we will be visiting it a few more times during the next 12 months. Logan loved it and was fascinated by all the fish and other creatures swimming around in 'the sea'. It's amazing to see all the wildlife that lives beneath the water and always something new to learn and appreciate. The visit must have tired me out though as I fell asleep in front of the TV later in the afternoon.

This evening has been spent catching up on a few crafting projects that needed to be completed before the end of the week, including an ATC swap I'm involved in with Smeared Ink, Crafty Purple Frog DT card and a few other things. I should really have been wrapping up Christmas presents but I am leaving that for tomorrow when I should have completed the present shopping.

12 Days - Smeared Ink Day 9

2011-12-17T22:25:00.003Z

Another busy day this time spent mainly in the lovely company of the ladies at the Exeter Scrapaholics club. Lots of chat and a shared Christmas buffet and I have even managed to bring Logan's album up to date!

The early part of the evening was spent down my in laws celebrating my MIL's birthday a couple of days early with a Chinese take away shared with the company of my BIL and nephew too. A very enjoyable evening.

This meant I have only just got to complete the card for the 12 Days of Christmas on Smeared Ink. Today it was a Smeared Ink day and I have used the Star Tree Fairy - I don't believe it is for Christmas, but I just felt the way the garland leaf effect draped across the branches lent itself to being a Christmas card.

The papers are from my box and are Basic Grey and I have used an SU snowflake stamp and a Brilliance ink pad to add a winter feel to the background paper. The sentiment is a from a Kanban set of stamps and the image has once again been coloured in using Copics. The ribbon is from SU, a lovely satin and organza ribbon.

Tomorrow we are going to the aquarium with Colette, Tim and Logan (they are doing that instead of having a birthday party for him on Monday) - we had hoped to take Connor and Elisha with us but sadly Connor is coming down with a cold and isn't allowed out to play, which also means Elisha can't come either. It would have been nice to have had all three grandchildren together, but it obviously wasn't meant to me. Any photos that I take tomorrow will go into Logan's album and complete his 1st year. His 1st birthday will start a new year in his life and a new album which hopefully I will keep up to date a bit better!

12 Days Smeared Ink Day 8

2011-12-16T16:10:00.002Z

A day late, but yesterday was very busy for me and I didn't get to finish the card in time. I've been out again today, but have finally managed to complete the card for Day 8.

The main image is the Candy Cane Angel from Crafts and Me - don't think my colouring has really done the gorgeous stamp justice. I've stamped her onto Whisper White cardstock and coloured in using Copics. I've used an inverted corner punch to go with the design. The edges of the papers and the flowers have been inked using Brilliance dew drop ink pad in Red Gold. The sentiment came from an SU Hostess stamp set and punched using an SU label punch.

Today I went to Cotehele house to see the dried flower garden in the main entrance hall - it truly was beautiful. It wasn't easy to take a photo showing all of it at once as it is huge and stretches from one side of the room to the other. They do this every year and each year is different so I can see this becoming a tradition each year now.

Can you imagine the hours of work that must have gone into making this beautiful display?

This evening I really must get round to finishing off writing out my Christmas cards and wrapping up the presents I have already bought. The cards need to get posted tomorrow and then once the presents are wrapped up I will know how much more I have left to do on Monday - I will be dragging Ian into town to finish off the present shopping as I know he will enjoy it so much!

Hubby's birthday card

2011-12-14T21:20:00.004Z

Tomorrow it is Ian's birthday, initially he was going to be away for his birthday - work was taking him to the delights of Crewe, but that has now changed and he will be home after all so we will be able to go out and celebrate in some small way.

Here's the card I have made for his special day - once again no new papers have been broken into. The Unity stamp frame fitted almost perfectly on a Labels One Nestie, only a slight bit of trimming needed to be done. I've added some colour to the frame using Copics and the sentiment came from an SU hostess stamp set. Nothing fancy with this card but I know he'll love it all the same.

My back is still not quite right but thankfully at work I was able to do the stock take instead of being front of house and having to rush around like a mad thing. I've now got five days off to try and recover, but those days are rapidly being filled with fun things to do.

This evening my friend Sarah and her daughter Laura came round and we called up to see Colette and Logan for an hour - Tim was at work. Logan kept us entertained the whole time, chuckling away at his cleverness in walking. Managed to walk back home with Max without getting caught in one of the heavy downpours we seem to have been suffering from the past few days which was nice.

12 Days of Christmas Day 7 - Steampunk Reindeer

2011-12-13T21:56:00.002Z

It's been a long day - I was up before 4am this morning ready to start work for 5 o'clock. Did my shift, took mum shopping, when Ian came home we went and bought a new Christmas tree and then decorated it which meant I was very late starting my 12 Days of Christmas card. It's now nearly 10 o'clock and here is my offering using the cute Brass the Steampunk Reindeer.

I've used the same set of papers I used the other day to create the anniversary card. They came free with a craft magazine and have been in my scraps box for a while. Gone with an alternative colourway which goes with an alternative reindeer image. I've used Nesties to cut out the image and layers. The sentiment comes from the SU Contempo Christmas stamp set and was punched out using one of the SU label punches.

Life is strange - we thought Bryan was moving back home, but other than the carcass of his wardrobe arriving on Sunday afternoon he has not actually stayed at our house one night - ours is not to reason why!

My cold is pretty well cleared up apart from a few lingering sniffles, but while at work today my back began to twinge - hoping that a good nights rest will help it's recovery and nothing further will come of it. I haven't got to go into work until later in the morning so I may even treat myself to a lie in - having said that I still need to make a birthday card for Ian. After tomorrow I can look forward to 5 days off before the last few crazy days before Christmas.

Commando Crawl

2011-12-12T19:18:00.002Z

I've had a lazy day today - caught up on the weekends Strictly this morning while having breakfast, did a few household chores and then started on another LO for Logan's album. In the afternoon I enjoyed some crafting company - didn't do any crafting but enjoyed myself very much. In a moment I am going round to visit some more crafting buddies - this time I do have something planned to do, but before I went I wanted to complete the LO of Logan.

Another sketch LO from the Shimelle Laine class and more scraps used - I have to confess I am getting very tempted to open up some new papers, but I am resisting! Some of the photos aren't particularly great, but I think that captures the fact that there was no stopping him that day as he could do a fantastic Commando crawl and he was going to explore everywhere he could.

Popped in to see Colette and Logan on my way home this afternoon and now there is no stopping him at all as he is up and walking and trying to run everywhere. He chuckles away when he thinks you are chasing him - he is such a delight.

12 Days - Day 6 - cutting it fine!

2011-12-11T20:47:00.002Z

A quick card tonight as I didn't get back home until 6.30 this evening to find that No2 son has moved back home again - apparently his fiancee nags too much! They're still together but he has decided he can't quite live with her yet - young love!!

Anyway here is the card I made this evening for Day 6 of the Smeared Ink 12 Days of Christmas.

Papers once again from the scraps box and I've used an image from the SU Welcome Christmas stamp set and a Unity sentiment stamp. The ribbon is SU and the flowers I picked up at the craft show in September.

Had a lovely time visiting my brother and finding Snazzy's - went on one of Michael's mystery walks to get there but at least we did arrive before they closed. Michael thought he knew which trading estate it was and with the help of modern technology on his mobile phone we set off. Michael didn't know where he was going and while modern technology was able to show us frequently that we were off target I would say it wasn't really that helpful. But find it we did and it was certainly worth the extra mileage. Fantastic service and will definitely be somewhere I will visit again when staying with my brother.

Happy Anniversary card

2011-12-10T12:00:00.003Z

Here is the anniversary card that I made my in-laws for their anniversary on the 8th. I've used a Mo Manning stamp and some free papers and embellishments to make the card and coloured the image in using Copics.

I've scheduled this post as I should be in Swindon now visiting my brother and also trying to sneek in a visit to Snazzy's which I am led to believe is a stampers heaven - if this is correct then the bank balance could be in serious trouble!!! Hopefully while I am there I won't pass on my cold germs to my brother - it hasn't got any better, but then I suppose I've not really had the chance to slow down - work has been extremely busy and I've been keeping myself busy in the evenings with crafting projects. It's an early start for me to today - hoping to catch the 06.55 train so that I can spend as much time as I can with Michael as I don't get to see him as often these days. We're supposed to be going out in the evening to a Thai restaurant which will be nice and hopefully a lie in for me on the Sunday, although I hope to get out for a walk somewhere too at some stage before having to catch the train back home.

12 Days - Day 5

2011-12-09T10:09:00.002Z

For my 12 Days of Christmas card today I have used a stamp from a Personal Impressions stamp set by Lyndsay Mason which I picked up at Kelly Bray a while back.

I'm really pleased that at the moment I am managing to keep up with the 12 Days and that I am still only using papers and card from my scraps box. I've stamped the main image onto SU's Whisper White cardstock using Momentos ink pad and then coloured in using Copics. I used the same Nellie die to cut out both the white cardstock and backing paper, but with white oval I cut round the inside of the oval so that I could matt and layer it onto some co-ordinating paper. The sentiment came with the elf stamp set and for some added decoration I added the leaves and two tone ribbon.

It's cold outside

2011-12-08T15:00:00.002Z

That's the theme for the challenge on the Crafty Purple Frog blog this week. All you have to do is create a card based on the theme for a chance to win some lovely images. It can be the colours or more literal and be a snowy scene as long as we can see how you have been inspired.

And here is what you could win this time.....

I've used the lovely Northern Most Serenity image to create my card. I found some lovely cool coloured snowflake paper in my scraps box and added a few gems to the centre of some of the snowflakes. The flowers were a bright purple so I toned them down a bit using a Brilliance dewdrop ink pad and then added some snowflake brads to their centres. The sentiment came from a free stamp set from one of the craft magazines.

It's my in-laws anniversary today - 49 years - wow! I've made them a card, but I will share that with you another day. Off to work again soon :( but hopefully the time will go quickly and I will be back to crafting again this evening.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4 Smeared Ink day

2011-12-07T21:54:00.002Z

Just about scraping by to get this posted before Day 4 has actually come to an end. I've had quite a bit to do today including going to work and trying to ignore my worsening cold (or if I was a man it would probably be flu!) Something quick and simple was required this evening due to lack of time so I have opted to make a tag using another of the images from the Skelly Christmas set of stamps from Smeared Ink.

I've inked the image twice, once onto the base card and then again onto some scrap red paper and paper pieced the stocking, added the greeting to the top of the stocking and inked the edges. I've used an SU tag punch to angle the top corners and mounted it onto some glittery black cardstock.

Sitting Comfortable

2011-12-06T12:49:00.002Z

It's a grey day outside and I think I've got a cold coming so to cheer myself up a little I've been playing in my craft room and created another LO for Logan's album. This photo was taken on one of his many visits to our house, but was the first time I'd managed to capture him sitting up all by himself. Due to teething he was gnawing away at his fingers but at the same time engrossed in the childrens programmes that were on our TV - he was having a quiet moment - prior to this he had been keeping us busy crawling all around the house.

Papers once again from stash box - I do believe it is now only half full! I've used an Anna Griffin border punch on one of the patterned papers and a few chipboard embellishments from a kit along with mini alphabet stickers for the title.

Sadly I have a funeral to go to later today to add to the already grey day, Ian is also away overnight so I think cuddling up with a hot water bottle and Max and an early night could be on the cards for me this evening.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

2011-12-05T14:41:00.004Z

It's day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas over on the Smeared Ink group. After a long day at work yesterday I managed to relax and put together this card for my offering. Again it uses up scraps from the box, but the main image this time is a stamp from Queen Kat Designs called Peppermint Girl which I bought some time ago - the words on the bag were stamped on after the main image was stamped using SU's Stampamajig and words from a retired SU stamp set. The other sentiment is a freebie from one of the craft magazines.

I'm having fun trying to create a card for the 12 Days of Christmas, something mainly for myself which always adds to the enjoyment.

It was a very early start for me this morning but it was very busy at work so before I really knew it, it was time to come home! Bryan had a minor op on his toenail this afternoon so I'm just about to drop him back to his house as he can't drive at the moment - it means I get to drive his new car!

Other news this weekend is that we are going to be grandparents again - very early days but fingers crossed all will go well for Colette and we will eagerly await to see if it is a boy or a girl. I'd love for it to be a girl so mainly lovely clothes out there you can dress them in - but I'm racing away as I said it's very early days.

Recreation Time LO and another card from scraps

2011-12-04T10:00:00.002Z

More scraps used to create another LO for Logan's album. The photos were taken August bank holiday when we went to Decoy Country Park. It was a lovely sunny day and Logan really enjoyed playing on the swings and the rocking horses. As it was so nice Mum even let him paddle in the water features which he loved. Again I've used one of the sketches and ideas from the Shimelle Laine Pretty Paper class.

I've also managed to make one card at the moment from the scraps, there are a few scraps left which I will try and use up on other cards. The image is from the Huck Finn set of stamps from Artistic Outpost which I bought from the craft shop in Newton Abbot earlier in the year. Coloured in again using Copics and distressed around the edges with SU's Close to Cocoa ink pad. The ribbons came from one of my kit clubs.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 Smeared Ink

2011-12-03T15:00:00.002Z

Today is day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas with Smeared Ink. For todays card it had to include Smeared Ink images and so I've used one of the designs from their Very Skelly Christmas set.

I've used a sketch on the My Time Made Easy blog and so will enter it into their challenge. All the papers have once again come from the scraps box (still doesn't seem to be going down very quickly) and I've coloured in using Copics and distressed the edges using Tim Holtz Iced Spruce ink from the seasonal collection.

What to have for lunch?

2011-12-02T13:00:00.002Z

I've managed to get a couple more pages completed for Logan's 1st year album, again just using scraps from my box and a few simple embellishments. These photos were taken after one of the many shopping trips Logan seems to go on with his Mum and Grandma, which generally end up with either lunch or coffee thrown in. I just love the way it seems as if Logan is really studying the children's menu in the main photo and in the bottom small photo how it all just seems to much to make such an important decision on what to eat!

Some of the papers used are retired SU papers, a few of the stickers came from either Artful Delights card kit or Scrapbook Circle kits as I've mixed them up now I can't remember which is which. There are also a few Creative Memories stickers thrown in for good measure too.

Forgot to take cupcake photo and yesterday Bryan and Vicky came for dinner and I used them as guinea pigs as I tried out a recipe for a chocolate and raspberry torte - it was delicious - very rich and it couldn't have been that bad as Vicky had two portions!

Working lots over the next few days and we've got a 60th birthday party to go to, but hopefully I'll get a few minutes to do some crafting over the weekend too. Hope you all have a good one, whatever you may be doing.

12 Days of Christmas Smeared and Smudged

2011-12-01T18:00:00.004Z

The Smeared and Smudged team are holding a 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop - it's being held on alternate days from today 1st December. I'm hoping that I can make something for each day, but as I wasn't sure if I would actually get the chance to do something for each day I wasn't able to sign up this year to be part of the blog hop, but I will certainly be checking in to see what everyone else has been doing. If you want to follow then the hop starts with Tori.

I have made a card for the 1st day of the 12 days of Christmas using a lovely stamp from Sweet Pea Stamps which I recently bought from Crafts & Me. The stamp is called Neva and while it's not overly Christmas I felt it lent itself to a Christmas card. I've coloured her in using Copics and used some scrap papers from my box for the base card and matting and layering. The sentiment came from a free set of stamps from one of my craft magazines and all I've done is added some ribbon and glitter for a bit of sparkle.

Just Tracy's Monthly Challenge - Celebrations

2011-12-01T09:00:00.004Z

The challenge this month on Just Tracy's is all about Celebrations, special birthdays, special anniversary or any other special occasion you can think of. Just Tracy's craft shop is sponsoring this months challenge. It doesn't have to be a card to enter the challenge, anything you want to create will count providing you use the theme of special occasion - why not have a go and win yourself a prize from Just Tracy's.

Last Friday it was our youngest son's 21st birthday - can't believe he is that old already, just how did my baby grow up so quick? I made this card by creating a background using one of the stamps from the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set from SU and then stamped just the balloon onto different coloured scraps of paper. These were then cut out and stuck on the base card. I even used my neglected Cricut machine to cut out the numbers and the word today to add to the card using a retired SU designer paper. A simple card, but as it was an 8 x 8 inch card it still had enough impact to make it stand out on this special occasion - Bryan really liked it which is what really counts.

To celebrate his 21st birthday we all went for a nice meal but silly me, despite taking my camera with me forgot to take any photos - I can't believe I missed the photo opportunity for such a special occasion!

Last two from retreat

2011-11-30T14:46:00.002Z

Here are the last two LO's I managed to complete at the scrapbooking retreat. The first one was taken back in June on one of those lovely sunny days - unfortunately I was at work on this day when all the family got together for a BBQ, but Ian managed to get some lovely photos of the grandchildren for me to scrap.

The second LO, again I was at work when these were taken. We are lucky enough to live quite near to a childrens park which means Logan gets to play on the swings quite often. The park is literally just across the road from our house. Both the LO's were again made using papers from my scrap box with just the addition of some embellishments.

Since I have been back from the retreat I don't seem to have had much opportunity for crafting, although I did manage to complete another LO for Logan's album last night, along with making some orange cupcakes which also used butternut squash as one of the main ingredients. I've got this lovely baking book called Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache which uses all different types of vegetables instead of butter and while it might seem an odd concept, believe me they taste delicious. I will take a photo of them later if there are any left!

Logan's Christening LO and scrap card

2011-11-29T15:22:00.002Z

Here is the LO I completed for Logan's album of his Christening day way back in June. As you know I've been using up my scraps and I've also been following the LO's and ideas from the Shimelle Laine Pretty Paper class. The papers are mainly Basic Grey and make the LO look a bit festive to me but the colours went with the vicars outfit so I went with them!

The card is very similar to the one I did for the Queen Kat card I did a couple of weeks ago, but this time instead of an image I've simply gone for a Christmas sentiment. There were still a few of these scraps leftover so I have made a few of these simple cards. The sentiment comes from an SU set called Curly Cute.

Another LO, another card

2011-11-26T09:28:00.003Z

These photos were taken back in May when I had a week off work and we just planned several day trips. We took Colette and Logan for a walk from the sea front near Dawlish up through the grounds of Powderham Castle and stopped for refreshments at the coffee shop. We left Grandad in charge while we went for a wander around the shops near to the coffee shop.

Here's the card I made using the leftover scraps. I've used the SU Eyelet border and corner punch to create the blue background and the stamps come from the monthly Stamps of Life club - such a cute frog image and the little bug is cute too and such a tiny stamp too. I've stamped him with SU's Certainly Celery and then used the outline stamp in SU's Basic Black.

Back to last weekend

2011-11-25T14:40:00.003Z

Over the next few days I thought I would share some of the LO's and cards I made while I was away on my crafting retreat last weekend. Despite the copious amounts of stash I took with me I was determined to make the 8 x 8 LO's with primarily scraps from my bottomless scraps box. Once I'd made a LO any scraps that were left over I used to make a card and anything left over from that I very bravely threw away - did you hear that Heli? - I threw them away!

The first LO is a rare photo with me in it! Colette took this when we went to Buckfastleigh with Logan at Easter. Ian was driving the trains that day so we thought we would take Logan to see his Grandad driving them - unfortunately and typically the train was late so there was a lot of waiting around and by the time Ian turned up Logan was fast asleep.

I have no idea of paper manufacturers but I was just glad to be making a start on using up some of those scraps. The embellisments and alphabets came from kits I have subscribed to. Here is the card I made using the leftover scraps with the addition of one of the stamps I get each month from Little Claires - isn't he sweet? I've coloured him in using Copics and just added a few buttons with tiny strips of paper threaded through and wound round my pricking tool - this was an idea I copied from Jenny Moors a fabulous SU demo.

I will share some more LO's and cards over the next couple of days, but on the Monday I was extremely brave and went through the scraps box and ruthlessly threw out lots of bits of card and paper that I knew I would never ever use - yes I could have punched shapes out of them but I was determined to see the pile go down - I felt an amazing sense of liberation after I had done the deed.

For Someone Special

2011-11-24T13:31:00.002Z

The challenge this fortnight for the Crafty Purple Frog is to make something for Someone Special. I decided to make a box which I have made many times before and is the just the right size to fit a small tray of Hotel Chocolat selector chocolates inside.

I have used one of the lovely pyramage images and one of the backing papers, which I printed onto cardstock from the Flight of Fancy CD - Rom. There are also sentiment sheets, notelets, bookmarks and tags on this CD too. Just some decorative cord and gems added to give it a bit of sparkle and it's a perfect gift box to say thank you to those special friends, which I hope all of you have.

Why not enter this weeks challenge and give yourself the chance to win some lovely images from the Crafty Purple Frog.

Seasons Greetings with scraps

2011-11-21T08:36:00.003Z

I've just spent a lovely weekend at a crafting retreat with the Exeter Scrapaholics group, lots of time spent playing with my paper stash, photos and stamps as well as lots of chat and laughter. While I was there I made this card using the scraps from an 8 x 8 LO I completed and used the sweet Christmas with the Fairies stamp from Queen Kat Designs. There is currently 40% off selected stamps from QKD at the moment.

Some of the papers I know are from Basic Grey, but not sure about the others, but it's a simple design and a great way of using up those scraps. I've inked the edges of the papers to give a bit more definition and the main image has been coloured in using Copics. The mini alphabet set came with the 5th Anniversary Kit from Scrapbook Circle and is from the Girls Paperie Jubilee collection of stickers.

Warm Winter Wishes

2011-11-15T09:45:00.002Z

I'm a day late posting my Queen Kat this week, but I was lucky enough to be able to spend both the afternoon and evening with some crafting buddies and by the time I got back home it was too late to post this. Yes I know I could have scheduled it but I wasn't that organised!

Another of the new releases from Queen Kat this month is this really sweet mermaid stamp called Stay Warm by the artist Maryanne English - oh to be on that tropical island with her would be bliss. It just happens that we have friends who are lucky enough to be on a Caribbean crusie this Christmas so this image worked perfectly for their Christmas card.

The background paper is from SU's lovely Holly Berry Bouquet paper pack and I've used co-ordinating SU Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Old Olive cardstock and inks to complete the card. There is also the addition of some of their lovely scalloped dotty ribbon. I've used a Martha Stewart christmas border punch and created the greeting on the computer before punching out with SU punches.

Alter Something - Smudgy Antics challenge

2011-11-12T21:47:00.002Z

It was a bit of a rush to get this completed in time for the Smudgy Antics challenge, but I'm pleased I made the effort. The challenge this week was to alter something. Now a while back I saved some cardboard packaging that came with something or other and thought maybe I could make use of that one day - well that day came this week!

To start with I covered the packaging with a cream coloured acrylic paint which I'd bought from Just Tracy's craft shop a long time ago (initially to decorate my advent boxes - still to be done!) and then covered with a variety of Tim Holtz distress inks. I've used a heart background stamp from Unity and a freebie vine type stamp that came with a crafting magazine. The woodgrain circle is a Hero Arts stamp which I embossed with gold embossing powder before cutting out with a circle nestie and then using some more distress inks to give it some colour. Finally I added the fantastic Cornelius image from Smeared Ink - he's one of a set of gothic fairies - love them all and think I might find some more packaging and make a set of them (one day).

Orange with the Crafty Purple Frog

2011-11-10T09:00:00.003Z

This weeks theme on the Crafty Purple Frog challenge is orange - quite a challenge for me as it's not normally a colour I would go for other than when doing fall cards or LO's.

For my card I have used the lovely The Love is Gone decoupage sheet available from Crafty Purple Frog - not as many layers as usual, but it still looks fantastic - well I think so. I also got to play with the new Martha Stewart punches that I ordered from QVC last week when they were a TSV. I've used SU cardstock in Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and retired purple cardstock. The leaves came from an Artful Delights card kit, flowers from my stash and SU's Old Olive ribbon. The sentiment came from a set of stamps that came with Issue 2 of Creative Stamping which I picked up from Just Tracy's shop last week.

Why not challenge yourself this week to use orange in your creation and give yourself a chance of winning some beautiful images from the Crafty Purple Frog - remember you don't have to use their images to take part in the challenge, but you'll double your chance of winning if you do.

Quick and Simple

2011-11-09T09:51:00.003Z

On Saturday, Lisa came down to play and I managed to get a quick and simple card made using just my scraps and a new stamp set from The stamps of life. Last months set had this cute little penquin included which you could dress up with buttons and bows, etc.

Since then I have managed to make another two cards exactly the same to go towards my Christmas card collection. The papers were from a DCWV set and I've used SU's Basic Black and retired Ruby Red ink pads for the stamping. If I get the chance this evening I'm hoping to use up the last of the scraps I pulled out to play with on Saturday - my aim to use them up before I dig out some more from the never ending scrap pile!

Christmas with the fairies

2011-11-07T09:04:00.002Z

It's the first Monday of a new month which means I have some new Queen Kat Design stamps to share with you this month. My first offering is the stamp called Christmas with the fairies and is from the Phantom Rose collection and drawn by the artist Coriander Shea Detwiler.

I thought I would make a little gift card which holds a small bottle of (in this case) Vodka. The Vodka did actually come in it's own tin (which I will use for something else) but I wanted to incorporate it into the card. I've used SU's Old Olive as my base card and decorated it with some DCWV scraps of paper. The image was coloured in using my Copics and the sentiment I printed out on the computer. The only other additions were the brads and ribbon from my stash. I also used SU's scallop border punch. Hope you like it.

Feed Me

2011-11-05T17:34:00.004Z

I'm trying hard to get some more scrapbooking pages done and complete some challenges just for me - not always easy lately as time seems to be racing away. However, I've had a fun day with my friend Lisa who came down last night and we managed to get a few things made as well as enjoy a nice walk along the creek and catching up with each others news.

This week on the Smudgy Antics challenge blog they had the theme of Dark and Gruesome and as it was Halloween not long ago I thought I would scrap one of the photos I took of David dressed up. I've used one of the papers and some embellishments I got with a Scrapbook Circle Halloween kit which I believe is an Authentique paper range, digi images from Smeared Ink and stamps from Avocado Arts and coloured in with Copics. Hopefully it conveys the dark and gruesome side.

We're off now up to Colette and Tims to see some fireworks, David and his family are also there and apparently Connor wants to come down to our house as he doesn't like them, but hopefully I can persuade him to watch them from their house.

Just Tracy's challenge

2011-11-01T21:54:00.005Z

This month I got to draw a sketch for the Just Tracy's challenge blog which can be interpreted in anyway you like.

I'm also sponsoring this months challenge with the prize being a set of SU stamps that were only available for a short while at the beginning of this year.

And here is the card I made to go with the sketch - I've used some lovely Anna Griffin papers and a lovely sentiment from an Elusive Image set of stamps I bought last year. The ribbon, gems and SU co-ordinating cardstock added the finishing touches. The poinsettia was created using a Marianne die and I just love the traditional feel of this card.

I hope you'll join in with the challenge this month and good luck with winning the prize.

Sparkle with Crafty Purple Frog

2011-10-27T09:00:00.002+01:00

This weeks theme on the Crafty Purple Frog challenge blog is Sparkle and I thought I would make a Christmas card using the Poinsettia Fairy Decoupage. This was such a gorgeous image to work with and I loved all the layers - it really does give the image such great depth.

I've used some DCWV papers and some scraps from the scrap box to create the background. Marianne die cuts were used to create the poinsettias and they have been inked using Brilliance ink pads to give a bit of shimmer and also I added some ultra fine glitter for extra sparkle. I also added some glitter to certain areas of the main image too. Swirls came from a Sizzix die and the sentiment also came from the same DCWV set as the papers. I finished the card off with some ribbon from my stash.

Starting points by Shimelle Laine

2011-10-25T16:43:00.003+01:00

I've recently enrolled on a couple of Shimelle Laines on-line classes and although I haven't completed them yet they are a constant source of inspiration as is her blog where I found this post called Starting Points. Something a little different and a great way of getting me back into my scrapbooking - especially as I have so many photos of events, places visited and grandchildren to catch up with. You start off with just a couple of pieces of paper and a few strips cut from one of the papers and then you go from there in whichever direction you want.

I've used some My Minds Eye for the background paper and then a piece of paper that came from a huge K&Co paper pad that I shared with a friend. The pictures were taken when Colette, myself, Sarah and Laura went for a fish pedicure to start off her hen party celebrations. The various embellishments came from my forgotten stash as well as some elements from my Scrapbook Circle and Artful Delight kits so I have really mixed old stash with new stash to create a very simple LO, but one that captures an afternoon and evening of fun for us all.

Hello Friend

2011-10-24T13:03:00.002+01:00

I wouldn't particularly say I am a fan of the colour purple, but I do think it looks great when teamed with black - always dramatic. I've used this colour combination for my second offering with Terri by Myka Jelina, one of my favourite artists at Queen Kat Designs.

Everything came from my scrap boxes, I've had the purple glitter card years - it was one of the first things I ever bought from Create and Craft in the days when Alan and Barry were still around! The border punch is a Fiskars punch and the sentiment buttons I believe are 7Gypsie. The black cardstock is from SU. The image has been coloured in using shades of purple and grey with Promarkers.

Beware - Smeared Ink Challenge

2011-10-23T16:31:00.002+01:00

With the wedding now over I've finally got some time to do some crafting for myself. With this in mind I wanted to try and start doing some challenges again. Today's offering is for Smudgy Antics the Smeared Ink challenge blog - something different to cute for a change. Their challenge this week which I am just about submitting in time is entitled Skull Time, it can be anything you want so long as there is an image of a skull there and you have used one of their images to complete the challenge.

I've used some leftover Rusty Pickle scraps as my background to my card and then downloaded the Beware digi image from the Smeared Ink shop and coloured in using my Promarkers. I've also stamped out one of the images from the now retired SU Pirates Beware stamp set and cut out using a circle nestie. The edges have been inked using Tim Holtz distress inks and I've wrapped some net type ribbon around the circle which has helped to create a star or as Ian thought the points of a compass image - this was completely by chance.

Also today we had the pleasure of looking after Logan and we took him and Max for a lovely walk around Stover Country Park - the sun was shining and the wind had dropped so it really was a pleasant walk in the Autumn sunshine.

I love this time of year when the leaves are changing colour. We saw a couple of squirrels and lots of birds on the lake - not quite sure what Logan made of me making quacking noises every now and then, but it seemed to amuse him.

When we got back home we had lunch and then popped around to see both sets of great grandparents before taking him back home to mum and dad who had been busy putting up skirting boards, coving and painting a few walls in their lounge.

Lots of early starts for me this week, but we have a weekend away with our friends Karen and Phillip to look forward to at the end of it which will as usual be great fun.

Bridal Tresses

2011-10-20T16:58:00.002+01:00

This is the first no doubt of many LO's featuring Colette and Tim's wedding day. This one is of Colette having her hair done for the big day and I've used the sketch over at Artful Delights blog.

I've flipped the sketch 90 degrees to make it work for the photos I had. The papers are from the Anna Griffin Sierra range and seemed to tone in with Colette's vest top. The felt flowers, scalloped border and lettering came with the October Artful Delights card kit and the flowers with the hair pins are some that where left over after the bridemaids had had their hair done. The little pearls are from SU along with some Cajun Craze cardstock I used for the journalling around the edge.

Kuma Chan

2011-10-17T09:27:00.002+01:00

Here is another card I made with the recently released Kuma Chan cat stamp from Queen Kat Designs. I've gone with the monochromatic look this time and used some oriental background papers and embellishments which I have had in my stash. I've also kept the colouring of the image very simple using pale blues and greys. The artist is Che Gilson.

Later in the week I will share some wedding photos with you - thankfully the sun shone on Colette and Tim's wedding day and there was only one hiccup, otherwise the day went perfectly for them.

White Peacock Dryad by Crafty Purple Frog

2011-10-13T09:00:00.003+01:00

This weeks theme on the Crafty Purple Frog challenge blog is Thank You. I have made a little triangular treat holder using one of the images and some of the backing papers and sentiments that will soon be released by Amy at the Crafty Purple Frog shop.

The instructions for making this treat holder can be found on Splitcoaststampers, although I adapted the size so that the gorgeous image would fit. The height of my treat holder is 5 inches and I also lined the top of the box with a piece of co-ordinating cardstock to give it extra strength. I matted and layered the image and sentiments onto SU's Perfect Plum cardstock and retired green cardstock and added some roses from my stash.

All the gold in the world

2011-10-10T13:19:00.003+01:00

couldn't show you how much I care was one of the lovely sentiments that came with the September Myka monthly kit from QKD. I've combined the sentiment with one of the lovely new releases from QKD called Terri also by Myka Jelina.

I've made an ATC this time using some SU Melon Mambo and Night of Navy cardstock. Again using one of the stamps that came with Septembers Myka monthly kit I've created a background of gold embossed coins. Terri is the gorgeous main image which I believe I coloured in with Promarkers and then cut out and added to the ATC along with the sweet sentiment.

Wedding not far away now still a few things to finish off but I'm sure it will all be wonderful on the day - just hoping we get a dry day if nothing else for them so they can have lots of photos taken in a nearby park.

Busy week ahead once again - only a couple of early mornings this week, but tomorrow I have to have my car serviced, drop off the wedding favours and seating plan to the wedding venue as well as picking up the dresses from the lady making the alterations at the end of the week. So I think this is going to be another week where there will not be much crafting for myself going on.

All work and no play

2011-10-06T22:06:00.002+01:00

that's how it feels at the moment. I've been on early mornings this week - 5am starts!(in fact 6 out of the last 8 days I've started at 5) Not much crafting getting done other than finishing off a few things for the wedding on the 15th of this month. It really seems to be coming round quick now and the bride to be is getting nervous, I'm feeling a little stressed out trying to sort out the seating arrangement which isn't easy when Colette forgot to mention a couple of people who had said they would be coming, but when I put the list together she'd forgotten to add them!

Rather than not posting at all I thought I would share a photo of Logan who is now 9 1/2 months old, crawling around like mad, pulling himself up on everything and the proud owner of two teeth. I took this photo last month while he was glued to the TV watching one of the children's channels - he's such a cutie.

I actually get a lie in tomorrow as I don't have to start work until 11.30, but it's back to 5 on Saturday and then I get a whole day off.

A trip to see the Wizard of Oz is required I think....

2011-10-04T17:14:00.003+01:00

... because if I only had a brain I would have remembered that I was supposed to have posted my Just Tracy's Challenge blog post on Saturday 1st October. I can only blame it perhaps being preoccupied with final wedding arrangements, extra hours and training at work and early mornings - lots of them! Too many things to remember with my ever decreasing brain cells as I get nearer to another milestone age bracket!!!!

Anyway I guess it's better to be late than never to post it at all so here is my DT card for the Just Tracys challenge blog which this month is being sponsored by Whoopsi Daisy. The prize this month is 4 sheets of digi images and the challenge is a nice easy one this month - Anything Goes (a bit like my memory then really - ha!)

I used this gorgeous little girl stamp which went perfectly with some chipboard shapes that came with a kit recently.

The papers and the chipboard came from my September Artful Delights card kit. The image was coloured in using my Copics this time and placed onto nestie dies. The ribbon and brad came from my stash.

Oriental Delight

2011-10-03T09:00:00.002+01:00

This is the first of four projects with the new Queen Kat Designs I got to work with this month. This image is called Kuma Chan by the artist Che Gilson and I have teamed it up with some lovely papers I bought from QVC a while ago. The backing cardstock is SU's Bravo Burgandy and I have coloured the image in using Promarkers. The flowers, ribbon and gems came from my stash.

Artful Delights Tic Tac Toe challenge

2011-09-30T16:47:00.002+01:00

I finally got to complete another of the Artful Delights Birthday Blog Hop challenges. The challenge was a great Tic, Tac, Toe option - details can be found here. I opted to go with Make a Card, Use at least 1 button and a Border Punch.

I have used some retired SU papers - see I am using my stash! The main image is a Kanban stamp and I have coloured it in using SU inks and added some bling down the side. The border punch I used is a Martha Stewart punch. I've also used one of the stamps from an Inkylicious sentiment stamp set I bought at Westpoint and punched out using an SU punch. The cute purple button heart came from my ever increasing button stash. I think I will just be in time to enter this into their challenges.

I unfortunately haven't had time this week to complete their colour challenge which was pink, kraft and white, but I'm still going to do a project for it at some point over the weekend along with all the other 101 things I need to get done before the wedding.

The Silentness

2011-09-29T15:33:00.004+01:00

Today is the next challenge on the Crafty Purple Frog blog. This week the challenge should be nice and easy as all you need to do is use a Crafty Purple frog sheet in any way you like....we want you to show us lots of LAYERS on your creations. So yep decoupage/pyramage does count as lots of layers or you could uses lots of layers of different papers.

And here is what you could win this time...
1st prize is a massive 5 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
2nd prize is 3 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
3rd prize is 2 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog
4th prize is 1 downloads of your choice from The Crafty Purple Frog

This week I have used one of soon to be released new decoupage images called The Silentness. I also wanted to play with all the new Spellbinders I bought at the craft show last Thursday. I also played around with my distress inks and the gorgeous butterfly embossing folder from SU. The cardstock is all retired SU colours which have been inked with Scattered Straw, Dusty Concord and Shabby Shutters I think - my memory is useless and after a five o'clock start this morning I'm too lazy to walk downstairs and then back up again to check!

Who would be a mermaid fair

2011-09-26T19:08:00.002+01:00

Oops a little late posting my Queen Kat project for this week - been busy trying to sort out wedding bouquets and buying sugared almonds for the favours.

I've used the Porcelain image again this week by Terra Bidlespacher to create a simple card. I've paper pieced parts of the image and coloured the rest in with my Promarkers. The background paper is retired SU designer papers which I think gave the impression of the mermaid sitting on branches of seaweed. I also managed to find this lovely quote by Lord Alfred Tennyson which I think went perfectly with the image. Finally I used a Martha Stewart punch to create a decorative border down the side.

Artful Delights Birthday Blog Hop Challenge 1

2011-09-25T21:23:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I managed to put together a card for the first challenge on the Artful Delights Birthday Blog Hop challenge. The challenge was to use their sketch. I managed to create this card, all of the papers, stamps and embellishments came with their August card kit. The inks I used to create the fall colours are SU's Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke and More Mustard. I am also hoping to create a LO using the same sketch.

It was also our daughters 24th birthday yesterday, so after I had finished work we went round to their new flat and had a chinese takeaway and a couple of drinks to celebrate. Tim, his friend Backy and Bryan had been busy taking down the pine panelling that was on the ceiling and putting up some new plasterboard on the ceiling - a task that took them all day.

A ten and a half hour day at work for me today so no time to craft today, but I am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to complete Day 2 and Day 3's challenges on the blog hop. My claim to fame today was that I served Tom Daley - those from the South West of the country will know that he is a local boy who is a diving champion - have to say if I was a young girl I would have found him quite a dish and probably asked for his autograph - he was a very polite young man too.

ATC Challenge

2011-09-24T19:02:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I have taken part in one of the challenges on the ATC Challenge Blog, but I had the perfect image to go with the theme. You could either have anything goes or something that represents you. I opted to go with something that represents me.

I've used the Cheshire Cat Illusion image from Crafty Purple Frog - the invertage version as I feel my personality has lots of different layers but as people get to know me they get to see those different layers. The illusion is that I may appear as one character but there is more to me than first meets the eye. Will be interesting to see if those that know me agree with this!

Knitting for Elisha

2011-09-23T22:10:00.002+01:00

Another project I finished while we had our mini break was this little cardigan for our grandaughter Elisha. Amazingly for me it only took about a month to complete - I say complete I still have the three buttons to stitch on but that job will get done over the weekend and then I'm not sure whether to put it away for Christmas or give it to her now. Will think on that one.

Unfortunately I am working the weekend so crafting time will be fairly limited, especially as it is Colette's birthday tomorrow and we have been invited round to theirs to celebrate the occasion. I am hoping though that I will get chance to take part in the challenges on the Artful Design Birthday blog. Fingers crossed I'll have those challenge done and ready to post during next week.

Target met

2011-09-20T18:34:00.002+01:00

I managed to complete my Eeyore cross stitch while we were on our mini break last week all I've got to do now is get it framed and then I will give it to Colette to go in Logan's bedroom. They have finally got their own place not far from us which they are really excited about. They need to re-decorate most of the place and it requires carpets, but they will get there and it's somewhere they can call their own - I'm so pleased for them - it even has it's own garden space which will be a bonus as Logan grows up.

It's less than four weeks now until Colette and Tim's wedding - it's seems to have come around really quickly. There are still one or two things to sort out, but hopefully it will all come together and they will have a day to remember for all the right reasons. I've made a start on the wedding favours but ran out of cardstock which will hopefully arrive at the end of the week along with the ribbon I needed to wrap round the boxes. Tim's mum was supposed to be doing the wedding cake so I need to remember to ask Colette what is happening about that - could be a trip to M&S otherwise and a quick decoration by the pair of us! Just need to try and fit in getting my hair cut before the wedding and make sure the shoes I've got do actually go with the outfit I bought.

True Beauty

2011-09-19T13:03:00.003+01:00

For my Queen Kat design this week I have used Lily Bloom again as my stamped image. I've coloured the image in using SU watercolour pencils to give her a softer look this time. The stamp is currently available to buy with 25% off from the Queen Kat shop. The papers and the sentiment came from a Prima paper pad and I got to play with my new Martha Stewart punch too! The ribbon came form last months card kit and the antique flower brads I found in an antique market type of place.

Round and Round

2011-09-18T09:59:00.003+01:00

Back in August we were lucky enough to take our grandson Connor out for the day while his mum and dad took Elisha for a hospital check up. We took him to the Devon Railway where we had several rides on the trains they had there and looked around the model village. While we were there Connor wanted to have a go at driving the post vans and after a few stops and starts and a few bumps as he tried to negotiate the corners he soon got the hang of it and was whizzing round the little track they had there. It was great to see him having so much fun.

I thought these were the perfect photos to use for this months Artful Delight sketch challenge. The papers, die cut stickers and rub ons all come from a Creative Imaginations pack I picked up at Kelly Bray. I've also used SU's Night of Navy cardstock as the base and used a tyre track stamp which came from a Club Scrap kit to create a background and also a cruising tyre for an added embellishment.

Today I need to make a start on the wedding favours - can't believe it is less than four weeks now until Colette gets married. They have now been offered a two bedroom flat on the same estate we live on and will be getting the keys on Monday so we will have even less distance to travel to see them now and I'm sure we will be seeing even more of them once they have settled in.

While we were away on our trip I managed to complete a couple of crafting projects which I will post photos of - so many more to get done though!

Artful Delight Kits and Blog Hop

2011-09-17T17:50:00.004+01:00

I have just recently bought a couple of card kits from Artful Delights and I have been delighted with them - I have to confess I love them so much as they have stamps with them! My September kit arrived while we were on our mini break in The Malverns and I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get to play with it.

Anyway Artful Delights owner Leeanne is celebrating her birthday (edited as I thought it was the sites birthday) next weekend with a Birthday Bash - for more details click on the link on the left hand side of my blog. I'm hoping to play along at some stage over the weekend - providing I don't have to work all of it.

Fall into Fall

2011-09-15T18:00:00.002+01:00

This is the theme for this fortnights challenge over at the Crafty Purple Frog challenge blog.

I have opted to use the lovely Sea Green Turtle decoupage sheet for my card. I just love the way the image fitted with the wording of the challenge as it really looks as if she is falling into fall. I've used some retired SU papers and stamps to create the background for the image. The image was mounted onto a lovely Nellie Snellen die cut. Ribbons and cardstock from my stash were used to co-ordinate with the colours of the image.