No crafting today

Instead I thought I would treat you to the card I made on behalf of my mum and dad last night for my lovely cousin!

You will never guess which stamp set it used ....

Oh yes, the stampin up forever young one just for a change!

I took a scalloped edge square card from my stash, a square of pink wrapping paper which is flocked black (my mum chose this wrapping paper for my birthday last year on purpose knowing it would end up as craft stash!) and then a black piece of card. I then angled them squiffily ... Technical term for all wonky !

I then stamped the beautiful tree in Versamark and then embossed with a pewter powder ... Just jewel like and beautiful!

I them stamped the sentiment and the name using the Debbi Moore sentiment and the Su set i got in my last order for the family names etc. this was stamped in rose red Su ink, I then stamped the flowers from the SU Bliss set in the rose red and black ink and cut each one out. I then shaped the flowers and put a sticky foam pad under each one to the raise it up and make it dimensional.

All in all very pleased with the final card and think my cousin will like it!

Thanks for stopping by... Sleep time for me!

Night night and don't let the sweetie beetles bite!

Paper players challenge card and pinterest inspired

I had two cards to make today which were for birthdays that happened several weeks ago and I am extremely late on doing. As both the recipients are crafters I've been a little stuck but then decided to go with something from Pinterest inspiration and also to follow a sketch challenge for the other.

So first the pinterest inspired one ...

This time I used the blending foam to cate a sunset background, masking the sun circle in lovely oranges and reds and yellows. Then I stamped the tree swing silhouette and the sentiment. This I mounted on some red mirror card ... Usually reserved for Xmas cards but brought to add a different touch to this. I added some twisted organza ribbon and added it to the Kraft card.
Inspiration for this card can be found here

The next card I used the paper players sketch challenge to do a fresh and different type of card ... Very clean and simple I think!

I used a long thin card base in a bright yellow, layered red, poppy parade paper from su, and the white card. Added the red organza ribbon and a tag punched with my su fancy frame punch, and then stamped the lovely Dylusions stamps I bought in the sale a few weeks ago.

I did make other things too tonight but this is my post for tonight! Other things to be updated later!
Thanks for stopping by and looking and as usual comments are welcomed!
Happy crafting!

she art girl

Tweet forwarded by @catiecuddles

Just had to share the feedback on the she art girl I made in January... so chuffed it's been well received.

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Circle journal catch up post...

Although the intention was to do some cards tonight, my parents arrived and we spent some time chatting instead so I thought tonight I would blog about the last journal spread I completed in the lovely Lea's journal.

As Lea is currently planning her wedding I figured a love inspired spread was appropriate. I firstly found some lovely paper which formed the basis of the first layer. To this I added gesso, white acrylic, pink spray ink and red spray ink. Round the outside I also coloured it using aqua markers and diluted with water a little. I also cut a stencil out of some waste card of a heart and gesso through the stencil to raise the two hearts... You can see one more clearly than the other in this picture.

I then added some journalling around the outside of the paper rectangle and some doodling and outlining for the hearts too in black pen. I decided it then needed some bling and to make the hearts stand out more so added some glitter glue in bright pink to the hearts.

Next I decided to add some more doodles across the page in little trails of dotted lines etc looping round just freehand wherever it seemed they should be. At this point I decided it still needed more glitter so added another layer to the hearts this time in the iridescent glitter so they are very raised.

At this point I got a bit stuck not knowing how to tackle the middle space. I turned to the list of likes for Lea and chose the song she had mentioned as one of her favourites and used the words for this to bring the next part of the page to life.

I took the words and hand wrote them as decoratively as I can and cute them into individual pieces. I then edged and decorated each with different doodles then stuck them down on the page.

For the tag I decorated it with a mixture of gesso and ink and then stamped one side with the Dylusions stamps I got in a sale recently ... Just couldn't resist! I then added some beautiful Kaisercraft rubs I had got for the sentiment and the edges.

To the other side I also added some heart stamps from the freebie off craft stamper magazine and some more delightful rub ons.

The final touches were the mixed buttons added to the heart as lea is a button fan and the mixed ribbons and yarns for the top of the tag.

Am now working on the next journal in our circle and have gone down a different route entirely ... Need to spend some time this week finishing it off before posting it on and then I will of course update my blog accordingly!

Hope you enjoy this little view of my journalling for my lovely friend. Thank you for visiting! Take care and happy crafting all!

Climbing with friends ... Alphabet challenge scrapbook layout

B is for busy bugs!

Whilst I was doing this layout this afternoon after the mother in law had gone home and the hubby was watching the last of the football I remembered I'd come across the alphabet challenge blog and it was b for busy bugs and so the butterflies I was adding suddenly turned this into a challenge scrapbook page too!

The photos were give to us by birthday girl Lauren's mum and show some of the children ( hubby included as a child! ) before we all went climbing at the indoor rock climbing centre. We were all very excited and as usual there were plenty of silly faces around ready to pose for the camera!

The background paper I've had for ages and then I added some little pennant type tags at the bottom from a mix of papers that seem to coordinate. I slightly distressed them with the antique photo distress ink. Then there is the doily of course! Then added the stamped butterflies which were stamped in the island indigo from su and vintage photo distress ink and were either su butterflies from the bliss set or papermania urban stamps butterflies... They seemed to mix well together I thought.

I have yet to add a title, my chipboard letters weren't making their location obvious to me this afternoon, will have to hunt them out sometime soon. But the page is pretty much done!

So for other alphabet challenge entries have a look at their blog... I'm off to link mine up now! And have a well deserved glass of wine for not just achieving so many crafty things today, but also cooking a roast dinner and clearing my craft stuff away three times in one day! Now that is impressive!

Another challenge card ... Quick one whilst the chicken cooked...

Following the cps sketch you can find it here I made this ... Using my newly organised scrap box and the beautiful split tree stamp from clarity stamps it was quite simple to put together and a direct use of the sketch. Not bad for a 10 minute job I think.

Challenge cards ... Sweet Sunday and cute Thursday

So at least I am doing this on one of the right days of the week... Made up this cute card to participate in a few challenges... The layout was from sweet sketch Sunday... See here ... And the things with wings owls were used to be able to join in with cute card Thursday ... See here!

I've done so much blog hopping this week it was fun to create this card to meet two challenges ... Yet another thing for me to get obsessed with!

Paper is papermania and layered with a scalloped circle and some strips from vellum and old olive card stock and then finally some glitter glue to add the bling and a peel off sentiment ... Thought these two looked like they were in love so decided on an anniversary sentiment!

Enjoy everyone! And I really will go and start lunch now!

Card commission ... Forever young (again)!

This morning after being awaken very early for a weekend maya and I decided there was time for some card making and so I set to work on a commission I had had for a 50th birthday. I loved the clock card I made recently so much I decided to adapt that and make the card bigger with a few extra touches.

I kept to the same colour scheme and this time embossed the stamped image on a smooth card stock so it looks brighter and embossed the greeting too. Also added a scalloped trim and a sparkly ribbon, and of course the glittered number stickers.

I then made a quick little notelet to send with the card using the other new saleabration kit 'elementary elegance' as hubby will be passing the card over rather than me as the friend it was made on behalf of works with him.

My newly organised scrap box came in handy twice during this card making exercise ... Once to grab white card stock for the stamped clock images and secondly to get the panel for the notelet ... Perfectly cut to size and ready and handmade paper I had previously completely forgotten about! Hurrah for my organisation exercise.

Right clearing up time, then shower and start cooking the lunch ... And in relation to gez's previous comment ... Not enough meat on the mother in law so she would only feed one of us hungry people!

Have fun everyone whatever you are upto on this lovely Sunday ... See how much happier I am when not poorly!

Wonderful day out

No crafting today as we spent the day with one of princess m's school friends and her family visiting the World Museum in Liverpool which we should have done during half term but the beautiful princess we were meant to be looking after was poorly. So to make up for it we said we would take her today ... And it sounded like so much fun her parents decided to come along too. So trains to Liverpool being part of the fun we set off early and had the full day there.

There is a natural history museum exhibition of dinosaurs there at the moment which was superb although princess m was her usual lacking in courage self and had to be carried by daddy past the animatronic t Rex. Ok I admit it was superbly realistic looking with even the eye moving ... But seriously they've been dead for how many millions of years?

So with this, the aquarium, the bug house, the skulls and fossils, the planetarium and the dioramas with the stuffed lion chasing the zebra it was a great day out.

And then there was the obligatory trip to the shop at the end ... A stuffed dinosaur hand puppet each for the girls, some presents for a birthday boy late in March and something crafty for me ... Oh yes I sneaked it into the mix of shopping bits and bought a sheet of papyrus! No idea exactly what I will use it on yet but for 50p I couldn't resist!

So no craft today and aching legs as a result of all the walking but a brill day out for all! Plus did I mention... I feel well today! Hurrah! About bloody time! Despite little sleep last night, an early wake up this morning and stupid amount of walking I feel well! It is such a relief ... After last week I was wondering if I would ever feel well again and it's such a drain on me mentally when it gets like that so I am very pleased indeed to report wellness!

Tomorrow we have the mother in law for lunch to get through and then princess m and I may do some creating later? I think some handmade art for a present for someone might be appreciated so we might start it tomorrow.

Night all!

Thank you for stopping by ... Oh any sorry for the lack of photos today ... Did take photos of the girls today for a scrap page so will have to get them printed and then make it up sooner rather than later and hope it captures the spirit of our day out!

Sketch challenge - online crop participation

Please note this is an old post from May 2011 which I edited and it's made it's way to the top ... oops!


Well tonight I was determined to get some crafting done as been stressed out over the past few days and well in need of some relaxation.  Fortunately that was timed well with Kirsty Wiseman's online crop streaming tonight.  So I grabbed some pics and looked up the sketch ... http://limegreenbogiegirl.blogspot.com/2011/05/sketchcrop-night.html
... joined Kirsty on UStream and then away I went!

And this is my effort.  I think this is the first time I have followed a sketch for scrapping in paper form and wow it made it so much easier.  Thankfully Kirsty stuck to some straight lines as I am not equipped for circles really.

So apart from hunting for embellishments towards the end I was whizzing through.  Then Kirsty started talking about sequins and I remembered I had loads of sequins and hey presto my embellishment desert was no more!

So brown cardstock 12x12 for the base and then used the Serif Picnic in the Park paper stack I have been using loads for cards - so much so used nearly all of the papers up now - for the strips and matting of the photos.  Had to trim one photo to make the sketch work and give a little more focus.  Then handwrote the title "Concentration" and then started adding all of the lovely flower embellishments and sequins. 

Finally added a little note of the date and M's name ... as if I would forget it ... and hey presto!

So hope you enjoy - and love the peeping fluffy socks you can see on the edge of the photo (I can't be bothered to crop the photo!) as I did indeed scrap in my pj's!  Such fun!

Happy crafting all!

Circle Journal - Becca's journal update

Please note this is an old post from December and I edited it so it's jumped to the top of my blog - oops!

Catch up as promised on the circle journal.... becca's journal.

So the tag first... This was a lovely dark blue tag with some lovely texture and I loved the way the paints worked with the texture to the cardstock. I kept to bright colours and it was only as I was doing this I thought of doing a she art girl. It came kind of naturally. Here are a couple of pics of the tags.

So now the main journal spread. I got this lovely stamp off eBay which is sunburst I think but could easily be a flower and decided on a very bright yellow and orange page. This was painted with my aqua markers and some spray ink ... Golden fish I think. Then plenty of mod lodge to varnish the page at the end. I used the buttons for embellishments and saw the phrase somewhere and thought it was perfect to finish the page.

So a brief update but with some pics of my work... Hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave your comments here... Always happy to read them and love to know who is stopping by to have a peek.
Take care and happy crafting!
C xxx

Scrap organising

Ok so my arm is now killing me but finally found the bottom of the box. Turned out there was a load of rubbish in the bottom mainly so not as much cutting as the first stage of this plan to organise.

I now have a couple of stacks of paper... One where they are 5x7 or smaller, and then another for 6x6 and bigger... All the way upto 12x12 that hadn't been put away properly.

Organising it into colours and patterns types might be a massive challenge however as there are so many different types ... Maybe that's a in front of a film type of job to do... So think I'll go for a shower and settle down in the lounge to sort them out. Feeling v tired so at least I can sit on the sofa to do that rather than at the table.

One of the great things about doing this task is finding paper I've had for ages and forgot about and love some of the very different designs and colours in here.

I encourage anyone with a basket of scraps that's never going to get used to have a go at this... It's actually quite therapeutic... Although I warn you the arm will ache from over use of the guillotine.

Happy crafting all.

A short while later...

So I decided not to quite go there with the colour sort etc as I figured that would take me hours and I really can't be bothered yet... So I sorted them by size

And then moved the bigger pieces back into the cupboard with the other 'new' papers and then popped everything into the box... To the end of the box are random toppers and paper strips to make paper ribbons and also some vellum strips too... Great for edge punches, and also some other little bits I found in the box that I couldn't quite throw away.

So it wasn't exactly crafting ... But I'm proud of achieving this today and can't wait to start digging into the box to use some of these scraps now as it's amazing how many lovely pieces I have!

I'm wondering also if this fits in with the pledge to use it up in 2012. I saw this on a blog... here ... And have done absolutely nothing to even really try this recently and spent quite a lot of money on craft stuff. I am however on a budget now to save for the trip to Harrogate in July so this will hopefully inspire me to use it up and to to keep buying more! I know that my raggy doll sisters will be laughing if they read this as they know I won't be able to do it!

So this is me done for the day... Have to go out in a bit but might well dig that box out later to start some crafting if I have enough energy!

Happy crafting once again!

C x

Organising my scraps

Yesterday I stumbled (via the wonder of pinterest of course) a great idea for organising scraps ... And thought as my scrap container was overflowing that this would be a good task to try and tackle.

I always end up saving everything and so this is more of an exercise in self discipline to get rid of some stuff too! So a few hours i started with this ...

And a few arm aching hours later I've got this ....

Yes I know ... A barely perceptible difference! However I also have a few stacks of mats cut for card making and some full sheets rescued for the neat stack in the cupboard and two big piles of rubbish for the recycling bin! Have a feeling there is a significant number of hours yet to be done to get to the bottom of this pile but hey ho!

For a link to what I am attempting to achieve please see this blog post... papercraftsconnection

I'm not completely following the plan as some of my scraps are a lot smaller than 6 x 6 and so also cutting some 4 x 4, or even some 3 x 3 which can be used nicely as mats etc. and then some 6 x 4 for rectangle cards.. And in some cases somewhere in between to stack mats etc.

Hopefully this makes sense... Will check back in with progress later and show you my little stacks of paper mats! But first time for a break for a cup of coffee and something to eat.

Happy crafting everyone.

Havana here he comes....

This week finds Boston in Cuba. And boy did I struggle for inspiration for this... Probably because I've not made it to work and therefore no lunchtime trips to the library. I got very stuck on toothpaste as I remember my parents telling me that the people of Cuba are rationed on things like toothpaste and as you can't tip the staff as they have a different currency and therefore as tourists you leave all the toiletries behind when you leave or better still take extra to leave or give out as tips. But toothpaste was not going to make for a very good card!

Then on Thursday morning whilst ringing the doctor I suddenly remembered Ernest Hemingway ... I remembered he lived in Cuba for some time and there are tributes to him etc... So googled away and this is where it took me...

He wrote the book The old man and the Sea whilst living in Cuba and this was about a man and a marlin ... So then googled the image of marlin and sketched out from an image I found... Mine looks like a happy marlin but hey ho!

I then used a mixture of water soluble crayons (cheap reeves ones as cant afford neocolours) and my watercolours from the tin.

Florence
I can understand your anger and I can only apologise once again and beg your forgiveness. There is an explanation for how I managed to come by your diary and it was by accident and not through intention. Please tell me you are prepared to forgive me?
Boston

Thank you for joining me on this trip to Cuba ... Please go and visit everyone else on their postcard endeavours via the wonderful Darcy's blog

21 followers! Wow!

Well I have no idea how that happened ... But I've reached 21 followers which I think means I have grown up in blogging terms! Well what a fab thing this is! I have a lot to thank the lovely Darcy for organising the postcard story for as some have come thataway and some have come from the other challenges I suspect too! Either way it makes me really happy to receive the lovely comments from other crafty peeps on my little creations.

So I am sending all my followers a big THANK YOU and also as I'm not a very good follower, sorry for not always doing a good job at visiting all of you regularly

Anyways enough of that.... Today I've been to the doctor and it's confirmed it's a stomach virus I've got/had apparently along with the rest of Warrington! So off work until next Monday and told to keep resting etc.

So for now I'm back home and need to have something to eat and drink and then put my feet up. Not sure much crafting will now get done though as didn't sleep so well last night. Have to get princess m's card done soon too... Probably would be a good idea to get it done tomorrow so it's done and dusted whilst she's not around. Also got a few orders to get done... Some mothers day cards and a 50th birthday card. Maybe they can wait until the weekend and do them then unless I manage some energy over the next two days.

In the meantime I thought I would share the valentines card I made for my hubby... It's quite. Simple design using some old atlas pages and distress inks. For those that know me they will know I'm not a big fan of tearing paper ... It hurts my should to rip paper but I am getting braver so it's been appearing in more cards recently... Maybe it's the mixed media stuff I've been doing making me feel better about tearing paper?

Once again thank you for stopping by ... And if you a one of my 21 followers ... Hello and a special thank you!

Happy crafting everyone!

The conversation ... The story so far...

Due to rubbish photos and people's inability to read the story in my pics ... I have bowed to popular demand to provide this catch up post here... Think of it like the round up they do at the beginning of episodes when they tell you what has happened previously ... Just like the lovely Jack Bauer used to do... Oh I miss that programme so much... Anyway I got distracted there... Here goes.

Florence stared at the clock hanging above the concourse at Waterloo. Her train was late and she wondered what to do with herself for the half hour she had.

Suddenly she spotted a man wearing a strange patterned jacket to the left of her. Such strange fashion she thought. He must have been to Carnaby Street. She glanced up at the clock again and then when she looked back at him she saw he had moved further down the concourse and was walking at quite a pace towards the exit.

Florence decided to treat herself to a pot of tea at the cafe whilst waiting for the train and picked up her suitcase, turning to her right and promptly bumping into someone. Florence gasped in confusion, it was the man with the jacket. She shook her head. It must be the tiredness confusing her. It must have been a popular jacket not the same man as no one could be in two places at a time.

Quickly apologising she moved off to the cafe where she knew the hot tea would restore her before her trip home to Virginia Water. As she waited to be served she noticed that the catch on her suitcase was open. She quickly checked her case to check nothing had fallen out and it was then she found the strange note.

Sorry to invade your privacy in this way Florence. I feel connected to you in a way you will find difficult to believe. If you want to know more and your thirst for adventure matches your dreams, please contact me via the address overleaf with information on where I can write to you and explain. Yours hopefully, Boston

Austria

Boston?
Confused!
Who are you and how do you know so much? Please explain.
Florence

Spain

Florence,
Thank you for being courageous of spirit to contact me. I will start with you first question only - My name is Boston and my home is far away, I am a courier who never knows where I am. Still want to now more?
Boston

Brazil

Boston
Of course I want to know more - you said we were connected and also how did you get the note to me? I'm always on the move like you but please write and tell me more.
Florence

China

Florence
I'm afraid I can't tell you everything first yet but I will explain that I know we are connected as I did something quite invite of your privacy. I hope you will forgive me.
Boston

France

Boston
Invasion of privacy? So now I am very intrigued now... And also quite concerned. I beg you, please explain in full.
Florence

Belgium

Florence
Ok I confess that I have read your diary. I was intrigued to know more about you and I'm afraid I did read everything but please let me make myself clear I knew it was wrong to do so, but when I read about February I couldn't resist. Pease forgive me?
Boston

Wales

if you knew it was wrong you should NOT have done it - you know if you've read it that it is deeply personal. The only reason I am writing back is how?? I never leave my diary unattended so how?
Please respond
Florence

So this is the story so far! Hope you are enjoying it and prefer the better pictures.

I am still awake this stupidly late as every part of my body aches now! Oh this really is a terrible bug... Sorry for moaning on but hopefully tomorrow will be a new day!

Enjoy and happy crafting all!

Merry Monday challenge and what's on your work desk Wednesday

Ok ok I know it's not Monday ... But I stumbled upon this challenge and thought it a good idea so though I would join in with my offering!

So link to here to see the challenge and the rest of the lovely entries... merry Monday challenge

The idea is to start on Christmas cards throughout the year and follow a sketch so this is a good way of me not getting bored of the Xmas cards when I get round to autumn and have to make a lot. This simple card incorporated the Kate Knight paper I got with a magazine, some coredinations purple card, a die cut scalloped circle and a stamp from the Claritystamp club I got last year and hadn't used until today. It's stamped in rich razzleberry ink from stampin up. And then hunting through the Christmas stash box I came across some felt embellishments that I got with a mag and hadn't opened and was delighted to find a sheet in a turquoise that matches perfectly.

So I haven't followed the sketch completely but I think it is still visible enough to count for the challenge! Maybe next week I might complete it on a Monday!

WOYWW

It's Wednesday ... So thought I would also join in with this challenge again! Please go and visit everyone else's creative places ... WOYWW home

So what can you see ... Well the Christmas stash is the massive tub on the left hand side ... It's filled with Xmas papers and stamps and dies that are related to Xmas stuff. There are also the decoupage Humphreys corner sheets I got last year ... I can't believe quite how many are left so I guess it will be Humphreys corner again for this Christmas!

Next to that is the ink pad box and then the box with glitters and embossing powders and the acrylic blocks and the lovely Claritystamp handles. And then also the box with the card blanks.

On the craft sheet is the remains of the stuff used to make the card above.

And now I am exhausted again ... Can't believe I usually make several cards in a session and today have only just managed two. Admittedly I am really pleased with the two cards I have made. And pleased to have refound my love of blog hopping thanks to pinterest.

So I have about an hour to tidy up the dining table and hope that I can muster enough energy to do spellings and reading with princess m before putting her to bed.

Tesco delivery arrives later on too so as I can't go to bed until that arrives there will have to be some more slobbing on the sofa to be done.

Once again ... Thanks for dropping by!

Pinterest as inspiration

I have used another pinterest pin as inspiration for using the forever young set of stamps from stampin up... Instead of the tree swing this time the clock.

Inspiration was from this blog post ... catsinkcorporated

I used stampin up papers, watercolour paper to stamp on to provide an aged look to the image. Then added the paper flowers and the little sprigs behind the clock face.

The punched label has the sentiment on it from the new saleabration set I got last week, and the punch is also from stampin up.

My parents are currently staying at my cousins place in Scotland ... A castle no less! Having just sent my cousin the card with the trees from a few days ago she has asked for a box of cards to be sent as she liked it so much so I think this might be the first one I put aside for her. No idea what she is after yet really, but hopefully this will help tick one of the boxes.

I other news I feel dreadful still ... Just making this one card has exhausted me. Haven't managed to do very much at all today, less than I managed yesterday. I am really hoping to feel better tomorrow and bizarrely want to get back to work... Now that's a strange thought!

In the meantime... Thanks for stopping by and looking and please go and look at the blog I was inspired by... There are some lovely cards on there!

5 down ... 34 to go!

The problem with colouring so many images is that then you have to do something with them. I think I overestimated my energy levels and started... Five cards in and I'm exhausted and the thought of tidying up the mess is really upsetting me! All I want to do now is sleep but have to tidy over the course of the next hour and a half.
But first I thought I'd blog the picture of the cards I have finished off.

Been using my dies both spellbinders and nellies nesting dies to cut out the images and provide frames for them. Also used my favourite top note die from stampin up a couple of times. For once I am also using the flowers known in the house as flowers of death as they managed to draw blood from my legs through the bags at the nec when I bought them and had no idea until it looked like a lion had been clawing my leg with rivulets of blood running down my calf!

Stuck to a fairly muted colour scheme for these of pinks and lilacs ... With the exception of the random green one on the end that is!

Now for a coffee to restore some energy and hopefully I'll be able to do some clearing up in a relaxed fashion!

found some more to colour

Remembered at about 3am whilst still awake that I had another stack of the lili of the valley images to colour from a magazine last year.  So I have hunted them out and colouring to my hearts content whilst under a blanket watching craft day on qvc.

Loving seeing Dyan... can't wait to meet her in July for our raggy doll class with my beautiful sisters.

Tummy still very sore from yesterday but definitely feel on the mend. Have princess m's parents evening tonight so really hoping to be well enough to go.

Anyways, back to my colouring in mission!

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Work finished

I finished all 20 and managed to get the watercolour ones done too. So now I have 20 pictures ready for cutting and mounting and making into pretty cards. Maybe that's a job for another day!

I've also managed the ATCs for the willowing swap for February. Won't able to post the pics here as yet but will do in march once I'm sure they've been received by the lovely Lisa I am swapping with in California.

But now it is time for me to snuggle back down under the covers and hope for a better day tomorrow!

Colouring in in bed!

Today has been pretty rubbish so far... Woke up feeling queasy with tummy cramps, threw up, slept through the rest of the morning, made a mad dash to the post office to post mum some tablets (don't ask it's a long story!) and then back to bed.

Managing to do some colouring in though... Some Lily of the Valley images provided with a magazine this month which are ever so cutesy! Thought if I coloured them all I then just need to sort out the layout for some cards and have a mass making moment when I feel up to sitting to craft downstairs. There are a very generous 20 images in the set so I am a third of the way through and thought I would share. Some are pencil coloured and some are pro markers. Princess m keeps using my pro markers so I never get to use them, and so had forgotten how much I love them!

Am going to do some with watercolour pencils too so I can blend them later with my aqua brush when I can be bothered to move.

Also spent the afternoon with c and c on ... They do sell some questionable designs sometimes I have to admit! Been informed Tim Holtz is on qvc tonight so going to have to set the recorder as bizarrely the tv in the bedroom doesn't get a good signal for that channel ... Even though it's the same arial as downstairs! Technology confuses me! Anyways looking forward to seeing the master of grungy craft at work and imagine it will send me off on a grungy journey for the next few days!

Getting very tired now so I suspect one more picture to be coloured before I sink further under the covers and doze off again!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cymru postcard

This week the destination is just over our border in Wales... A place we spend a lot of time due to my parents living there part of the time.

So the choice was simple for me ... I remember drawing daffodils for a competition in primary school and doing well at it so decided to try again. As most of my art has not progressed from primary skill level I did drop into the library and used a book on sketching and painting flowers and saw a rough sketch for some daffodils which I thought I could muster.

So this is a sketch carried out on my lunch break at work, and then painted with water colour tonight. Enjoy!

Once again sorry for the terrible pics... My camera on my phone is shot at! Hopefully not too many months to wait till I can upgrade.

Card making a plenty.

So today and yesterday I managed some crafting... Some work on the journal for the lovely Janey and made some cards. I have been looking around pinterest for some inspiration and so decided to follow some posts directly and others my own take on it...

link to original inspiration

I used this card as inspiration and used clarity stamps and a freebie sentiment to finish off. Used stampin up inks... Baja breeze, old olive and pear pizazz and some foam to blend them after masking off the strip for the scene. Stamped the trees in old olive. Then removed the mask and stamped the four trees from Claritystamps in black and then the sentiment.
I'm pleased with this ... Thanks to splitcoaststampers for the inspiration.

link to inspiration ... search for Bliss in the blog and you will find the brown bliss cards

Ok so another pinterest inspired ... This time made a few.
Very different colour scheme but same work in essence. Used Baja breeze and island indigo to stamp the Bliss set of stamps from stampin up, then used the rose red for the butterflies and cut them out. Edged panels in ink and matted onto a pink card lying around in my pile of card stock. Then put onto the small blue cards for which I need to make envelopes so rarely use them. Embellished with the enamel dimensional paint from ranger to look like pearls. Butterflies were raised on foam pads for dimension too. Loved doing these.

So the next few are all from my latest stamps from stampin up... Forever young range. So love this tree wit the swing!

So again inspired by another pinterest card...
inspiration is the pink and green card if you scroll down.

Used a different colour scheme based on what came to hand at the top of the scraps pile... The patterened paper was one of the Christmas papers from my minds eye. Used black soot distress ink to distress all the edges.

Also Martha Stewart punch for the side edge and some ribbon. Die cut a sentiment label and added the birthday in. Used the black enamel to glue the pearl beads into place.

Mounted it on a Kraft card as it seemed to suit it best.

The above black and cream and silver ones were inspired by a monochrome card I saw using this set from stampin up.

inspiration

Mine go no where near the beauty of the inspiration but I like them nonetheless.

And this is all my own work ... Not used anything to base it on, just came across the scraps of paper and wanted to use the urban stamps from papermania as princess m was also stamping with them... Think the papers were freebie nitwit ones, and the ink is rose red from stampin up.

So this is what I have to share with you today! Hope you like and a Massive thank you to the clever crafters who have inspired me with these makes!