Wednesday 11 August 2010

Something totally different




My two crafting friends and I decided to try our hand at something totally different from our usual cards ..... altered art. I chose to alter a box (goodness knows what I will do with it now!)

The box started out as a plain brown cardboard box and it has turned into a pretty lilac blue creation. I wasn't happy with the lid though (I tried to add micro beads onto UTTE but it didn't quite work so I made a matching flower but now I'm not sure if it is too much ... what do you think?

Another 90th Birthday card




This is the birthday card and box that I have made from me to the lady at our sewing club. As the other two were gold and cream I thought I would go for something totally different.

The pup is one of the Giordano studio stamps from Joanna Sheen, my Son asked me to make a card for him for his Dad (it is Rob's birthday on Sunday)and I thought this little chap was so cute! It is coloured using Promarkers.

Thursday 29 July 2010

90th Birthday




I have been asked to make two cards for a lady who goes to the Village Stitchers, a stitching circle that I belong to, she will reach the wonderful age of 90 next month! The gold and cream card will be from everyone at Stitchers so had to be fairly plain inside to allow everyone room to write something. The other card I made into an apature card with the Vintage lady on the inside of the card. I also made matching boxes which were lined with gold tissue paper. All I have to do now is to make another card for me to give this lovely lady.

Thursday 15 July 2010

Elusive Images stamps



Here are two cards I have made using stamps from the beautiful new Elusive Images underwater range. They are both coloured with Twinkling H2Os and the scales are touched with Crystal Stickles to give an extra shimmer. The background just behind the mermaid is given a little colour using glimmer chalks and the sea dragon has the edges sponged with Dusty Concord Distress inks.

The background paper of the mermaid card is Graphicus (from the Guild Members pack) and although it doesn't show up very well on the photo I have stamped onto it using Brilliance Platinum Planet and some of the silhouette mermaids and underwater plants, this gives a shadowy glimpse of the images.

The "frame" of the sea dragon is a shimmery paper that picks up the colour of the dragon beautifully. I have then cut out the pots, sea plant, seaweed etc and put on the outside of the frame, some flat others standing out using sticky pads, I'm really pleased with the results.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Adrian's Birthday card


It's Adrian's (my Son) birthday next month and this is the card I have made. I should perhaps point out that he is a forty something not a child but as he is in a very high pressured and demanding job I thought these words were ideal and it will apeal to his sense of humour. I would like to enter it into the Passion for Promarkers Tuesday challenge but I'm not sure I can remember how to do the ... here is .. thingy!

Monday 5 July 2010

Once upon a time ....


Once Upon a Time .... that's the theme for this month's ATC swap on the Cardmaking and papercraft forum. You can make between 1 and 4 ATCs so this month I have made 5! Four for the swap and 1 for Spyder as a thank you for running it and here they are... well you can't have a Once upon a time without a Happily ever after can you?

Sunday 4 July 2010

40th Birthday card


I've been asked to make a 40th birthday card for a man who loves Koi Carp so here's what I've come up with. The backgrounds are made by spraying card with glimmer mists. The underwater plants are from the new Elusive Images Underwater range of stamps (can't wait to use the mermaid ones). The Koi Carp is a Joanna Sheen stamp, it looks slightly blurred on the photo but that is because I stamped and coloured it first onto card and then onto a scrap of sheer gold organza that I found lying around my craftroom. The fabric gives the effect of movement as you look at it hence the reason it looks blurred on the photo.

Monday 28 June 2010

That worked!



Well that worked well so I will now share with you an easel card I have made for a friend of ours who teaches the guitar at night school. The image is cross stitched and I have added a couple of musical buttons. The frame is black mirror card (not sure if that will show up on the photo, the base is musical backing paper.

Rob and Alan are very into golf at the moment and they are playing at least twice a week, now I don't mind in the least (more crafting time for me) but Rob is obviously having pangs of guilt because I have been taken out for dinner twice in the last few weeks and yesterday he even offered to buy me some Promarkers (lots of them!). Needless to say I ordered them this morning!

Phew what a scorcher!





Isn't this weather absolutely glorious? Long may it continue.

Alan's best mate (Alan is my Son) is emigrating to Canada next month and we have been invited to his farewell "do" so I have made him a little (slightly tongue in cheek) booklet of things he might miss when he leaves good old Blighty. It is in the shape of a concertina and I have decorated both sides using photos, stamping and downloads. The box to put it in is a sort of exploding box. I shall now attempt to show you some photos but as I have a brand new computer that although it is super fast doesn't resemble my old XP version at all so everything is taking me ages to work out where to find things and how to use them when I do eventually find them .... if you see what I mean! Anyway fingers crossed .... here goes.

Saturday 12 June 2010

Distress Inks





This week our crafting trio was reduced to a crafting duo, Sue M couldn't make it but Sue I and me met up and played around with distress inks. I have just finished making my efforts into cards, here they are.

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Latest cards




Well after a disasterous day on Monday I managed to make a couple of cards yesterday. The rather elegant lady is from the Creative Expressions Party Ladies set which I bought on Saturday when my two crafting friends and I went to a Craft Show. The show wasn't really very good but I did manage to get a few new stamps and we had a fun morning so all was not lost.

The little boy and his Westie (well I had to have that stamp didn't I?) is a Sugar Nellie stamp by Mary Hall called Westie, I thought it would make a great Christmas card.

The rather funky looking bird is the card I have made for last week's challenge (my two crafting buddies and myself). We were playing with alcohol inks and acetate and stamping with the "petal" stamps belonging to one of the Sues'.

The colouring is done with my Promarkers and the boy's scarf and Westie's coat are alcohol inks on vellum.

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Bad day!

Have you ever felt really, really, really stupid??!! ... Read on ....

Yesterday was not a good day, it began at around 1.50am (yes that is AM!) when the smoke alarm outside our bedroom door went off. I lept out of bed and bent to grab my dressing gown, not the best idea when you have a bad back (I put it out last Wednesday and it WAS improving thanks to my Osteopath). Thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm, the battery was running low! (in the smoke alarm not my back)but I couldn't get back to sleep so of course I felt shattered from the moment I got up. Anyway after taking Bonnie for her walk along the beach I got home and put the breadmaker on (or tried to) I put in the ingredients, set the programme, switched on, and off it went ... for all of one rotation of the blades then nothing ... no sign of life at all. I changed the fuse (pretty impressive eh?) flipped on the switch and ..... nothing it was completely dead. I spent the next half hour searching for the receipt, eventually found it then realized the machine was two and a half years old, now I know that is not considered that old but as it is used almost every day I thought it wasn't too bad going so the next step was to get on the old internet and ordered another one.

Nothing too stupid so far ... I cleaned the oven, I did crispy roast duck for dinner on Saturday and it was delicious BUT ... well I bet Delia doesn't have to clean her own oven! and all that twisting and stretching did my back no good at all either.

Then the Plumber arrived to fit a new tap on the kitchen sink, our old one sprang a leak at the weekend, Rob took it apart thinking it would be just a washer to replace, but no, something had broken inside so he had to go out to buy a new one, hence the Plumber to fit it (you don't really think I would let Rob loose fitting a tap do you?! ... DO BE SERIOUS!!!)

Where was I? Oh yes after dinner Rob replaced the fuse AGAIN, he said to check that I hadn't used a dud one ... Mmmmm! .... NOTHING, then he turned the machine around to check that the wire leading from the machine ...... and there on the back was an on/off switch!!!!! I have had that blessed machine for two and a half years and didn't even know the switch was there Aaarrrrrrh! I still don't know why it switched itself off though but stupid or what???

Saturday 22 May 2010

Oooops!



Oooops ... my computer is playing up again so only one card appeared, here is the second tipsy frog plus a really cute pup.

Tipsy Frog


I just love this little chap, he makes a great man's card. I've made these two for my Son and my Nephew (typical of both!). The frog himself is coloured using just one Promarker and a blender, neat eh? I got the technique from a brilliant website I have just found called Passionate about Promarkers, they post a new technique every Friday, I have only just discovered it so I am still going through loads of past workshops and learning lots in the process.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Favourite stamp



This very elegant lady has to be one on my favourite stamps, it's a Clarity Stamp. The deep pink and purple ladies were stamped three times, once onto white card then twice onto two coloured papers, I then cut out the dress from one colour and the jacket, gloves and hat from the other colour (slightly different combination in the case of the deep pink lady) then it's just a case of reverting to your childhood and dressing the "doll". The background swirly stamp is from Stampin' Up.

The lady in blue is coloured using my Promarkers, the background stamp is an Elusive Images which I love, this is just tinted with chalks.

Friday 14 May 2010

CM&P freebies




I love the Bentley Bear stamps given away free with this months Card Making and Papercraft Mag. I've made a card using one of the stamps and two cards using the free papers.

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Promarkers


I've been led astray by my Daughter in Law! It doesn't take much and it is usually my friend Sue who tempts me with crafting goodies but Sue is on a Baltic cruise so I thought I was safe for a couple of weeks ..... not so ... we went over to Adrian and Debs last weekend and she introduced me to Promarkers and that was it ... I'm now hooked! Here is my first attempt with my (at the moment)very limited number of pens, I'd love to know what you think of it, any hints and tips?

Thursday 6 May 2010

So much happening






I can't believe that it is May already and judging by the weather we have gone back to March! What has been happening since I last posted? Well, we went to Wales for a week, had a wonderful time although it rained a lot, the cottage we rented was lovely, very isolated but with spectacular views.

We have totally gutted and refurbished our bedroom, of course nothing went according to plan but at long last it is finished and I'm really pleased with it.

I have been trying my hand at different crafting things. I made an altered art photo frame, I loved the bubbled effect of the Terra when it was heated. Then there was the needlework ... I usually only do cross stitch but we had a workshop at the sewing club that I attend where we were shown how to do needlepoint (I think), anyway I got hooked and made a little sewing case that would hold small items of needlework when on the move, a pin cushion, scissors fob, key fob and bookmark.

And last but certainly not least, last week my 17 year old Grandson passed his driving test on the first attempt, needless to say we are very proud of him and of course I had to make him a well done card.

I will now upload a few photos but of course they will be in no particular order as this machine does exactly as it pleases! Just look on it as a game of guess what the photo is.

Monday 1 March 2010

Went to Twickenham on Saturday





Hi everyone, what a beautiful start to March, today is bright and sunny, the birds are singing, what more could we ask for? ..... more of the same please!

Rob and I went to Twickenham on Saturday to watch the England v Ireland rugby match and what an exciting day it was! I have to say that I am a big rugby fan although I haven't a clue when it comes to the rules! Our Son and Daughter in law bought us the tickets for Chistmas (what a fantastic Christmas present).

We went up to Twickenham on the train, neither of us had travelled by train for goodness knows how many years but we were pleasantly surprised as to how comfortable, warm and clean they were, they were all running to time too and the staff were extremely helpful so we had a good journey. We had to change trains at Clapham Junction and that is where "rugby fever" began ... I have never seen so many huge men! I am tall but I was dwarfed by these chaps, it was all very good natured, English and Irish supporters packed together like sardines for the 15 minute journey, then everyone spilled out and all you could see was a sea of people making their way to the stadium. We had superb seats, on the second tier, behind and slightly to the right of the goal posts (I suppose they are called goal posts?)so the view of the pitch was brilliant, and we were under cover which was just as well as we had a terrific downpour part way into the game.

Unlike football matches the fans at rugby matches are not segregated so were were in amongst lots of Irish supporters and the atmosphere was electric but very good natured with not a hint of trouble.

By the end of the match (England didn't win but it was a great game) I was hoarse with so much shouting and cheering ... imagine the scene .... 18000 fans spilling out of the stadium, I had to hang onto Rob for dear life as there was no way we would have found each other again if we had got parted, but the same wonderful chamaraderie was still there as both sets of fans laughed, joked and chatted about the match together as we all inched our way towards either the town centre or the train station.

Our younger Son met us at Southampton station and drove us home, it was around 10pm when we got home, we were both exhausted after a long but wonderful and very memorable day ..... thank you so much Adrian, Deb, Lewis and Rachel for our wonderful Christmas present!

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Guess what we did last week?






Guess what my two crafting buddies and I did last week? ...... Christmas cards! Yep that's right, mad I know but our challenge was to make Christmas cards using just two stamps that one of the Sues had provided. I found it very difficult to get in the mood to make the actual cards, we had used the stamps during our crafting session using the resist technique then made the cards at home ready for our session yesterday. Here are my cards.

I also of course made a Valentine card for my lovely Rob, which he loved.