Butterflies and Bees

March Calendar

2012-03-01T19:37:00.000Z

With the first of march being St Davids Day and my husband being Welsh, I thought I would go with a Welsh theme this month for the calendar challenge at The Kathryn Wheel. Plus the fact that I love dragons and daffodils are one of my favourite flowers. The background is sprayed with Dylusion inks. The dragons and their sentiments, the large daffodils and the little swirly bits are Chocolate Baroque stamps. The daffodils along the bottom is a stampendous stamp. The tiny flying dragons are from a Sheena Douglass set.

secrets of the deep

2012-02-27T12:04:00.000Z

I did this background a few months ago and every time I looked at it, all I saw was the sea. I felt it needed a mermaid or something like that but I didn't have anything so it just got left. Last week I decided to treat myself and I got three sets of stamps from Chocolate Baroque and yesterday I did this. Funnily enough I didn't use a mermaid. I love dragons so this sea dragon was ideal to start with. The background is inked with Dylusions I think. The images were coloured with Dylusions inks and Luminarte radiant rain concentrate. I am happy with the result. There could be more "under the sea" pages to come!

Thank you for visiting.

MY FIRST BIRDHOUSE!

2012-02-24T17:02:00.000Z

Sorry I've not posted for a while but I've been in a bit of a dark place and even crafting could not get me out of it all the time. I have done some journaling which has helped, but unfortunately it's not for sharing. I did manage to have a go at these birdhouses. This is my first attempt so I am hoping to improve. They are made from wood, Bob did that bit for me! I covered the sides and bottom with scrap paper and rice paper. The roof was covered with tissue tape and coloured and the roof ends were painted, (not very well). They are meant as necklaces but I am thinking of making some more and hanging them in my craft room.

Hopefully, I shall be posting again soon, I've got a lot of catching up to do!
Thank you for visiting.

flowers

2012-02-15T12:22:00.000Z

I was feeling a bit fed up on monday, so I went to my craft room, got out some paints and scraped three colours across two pages of one of my art journals. It was a bit much to start with so I scraped off what I could then went over parts of it with a baby wipe to thin down the colour a bit. I got out a fern stencil and used acrylic for that. I'm not very good with stencils, most of the time they look horrible. Anyway these aren't too bad. I was quite happy with the colours on the pages but then didn't know what to do. If in doubt get out the flower stamps! I love flowers. I'm quite happy with the end result, it's bright and it cheered me up. That's what it is all about, enjoying the process, even if it doesn't turn out like you thought, as long as you enjoyed doing it, that's all that matters. Stamps used are dylusions and studio 490.

tag & journal

2012-02-14T11:55:00.000Z

I've always loved tags, the shapes and the fact that you can do them any size and shape depending on your mood. There are some beautiful tags out there in blogland. I had a little play sunday and this is what I came up with. Quite simple but fun and it's nice and bright.

Yesterday the art journals came out along with my favourite stampotique stamp tetewea. The background is dylusions spray inks, then a few random stencils and then some stamping and colouring. The borders are dylusion stamps and the sunflowers are a stamp I've had for years. The sentiments are studio 490.

Just a quick fun thing

2012-02-05T11:33:00.001Z

Just a little thing I did the other day. I glued a torn page from the telephone directory onto a small canvas board, went over lightly with some gesso, then went over that with acrylic paint. I then had a look through my collage box of bits and pieces and glued them to the canvas. An old N.T. membership card, an after eight wrapper which has three 'tickets' inside with the words faith, hope and charity. The Chinese love symbol I've had for years. The fantasie ribbon strip from a bra label!! with a smiley bead (not part of the bra label!!) The herbis top and strip from a favourite bottle of wine, a cheap little sticker of a wine bottle and the fish was laying on my shelf, a gift, handmade by my great nephew. This was fun to do and quite quick and I really like it!

February Calendar

2012-02-01T10:03:00.001Z

Time again for the calendar challenge over at The Kathryn Wheel. I needed to make a bright and cheerful page. For me February is the longest month of the year, it seems to go on forever and it's the month that gets me down the most. So I decided to use colours and images that I like the most, so when I look at it, it makes me feel cheerful. I nearly had a disaster, hence the three rose buds. I had a moment when I obviously wasn't concentrating and I stuck my circles in the wrong place. I didn't realise this until I had numbered them up to 15! So I had to peel them off as best I could but obviously had a bit of a mess at the beginning. Luckily I found a rose stamp and was able to cut off the flower and it was quite a good fit. The bird stamps and double hearts are Crafty Individuals, the large heart is Indigoblu. The other stamps are ones I've had for years. The letters are cut from Tim Holtz vintage market die.

little pieces of art

2012-01-30T14:35:00.000Z

I was having a bit of a tidy up the other day, yes again! I found some pieces of card that were too good to throw away, so I had a play. I used inks, paint, bits and pieces from my collage box. The framed picture is from Crafty Individuals, the flower is a Paperartsy stamp and of course my favourite Tetewea from Stampotique. Her sentiment is a Wendy Vecchi stamp. I had great fun making these. Hope you like them.

HOOKED ON BOOKS!

2012-01-17T09:51:00.001Z

I made another book yesterday. It's just a tag book with only five pages and it's just to play with, no particular theme, just put nice things in. I think I went a bit over the top with decorating the front cover, but it was fun. The beads are paper, very addictive once you start making them. The heart is a free stamp from craft stamper magazine which I embossed and coloured with distress ink. the words I cut out from some papers which were free with a magazine and the threads, ribbons and charm are from my stash. I am entering this into The Craft Barn Tag Colour Challenge.

My first book

2012-01-16T00:41:00.000Z

I've wanted to make a book from scratch for quite a while and this is my first attempt. It's quite a simple one. The covers are thick cardboard, gessoed then painted with acrylic paint. The front cover is decorated with grungeboard die cuts and I painted them with acrylic paint. I have put some papers inside ready to do my thing on. Some are gessoed ready for painting and inking, some are just left plain for drawing and I have put some patterned paper in as well, which I intend to embelish, don't know how yet though. I have used book rings so that I can add more to it when I want to. I have called it "this is me" because I am aiming to put things in that I like, to do what I like and not do what I feel I have to do but just be me, if that makes sense. I know what I mean anyway! I may not be putting what I do on the blog as some of it may be personal to me and probably too embarassing. There are some things that are not meant to be shared, don't you agree?!!

birthday card

2012-01-13T15:38:00.000Z

I've made this card for my sister in law's birthday this month. The stamp is from crafty individuals as is the flower, I just cut the head away from the rest. I'm not totally happy with it, I think I should have stamped it on a lighter colour, but I'm going with it anyway. The sentiment is computer generated and the ribbon was from a bargain tub, from The Range I think.

birds

2012-01-04T16:23:00.000Z

I'm back to work tomorrow so I wanted to have a little play today. Firstly I must apologise for the awful photography, I seem to be getting worse, I need to find a better way. The background was painted a few weeks ago with acrylic. I decided to use it today as I am fed up with this dull, gloomy weather, thought this was ideal, although Bob says it looks like blood!! I just painted it on roughly as you can see. I got out my La Blanche swirl stamp (one of my favourites), then thought I would have a play with some of my new Crafty Individuals stamps that I had for Christmas. Just a simple page but I am happy with it.

A Creative Start

2012-01-01T18:50:00.000Z

I've had a great day today. I am so glad that I discovered art journaling last year and even more happy that I decided to give it a go. I have started the new year how I mean to go on. I am going to paint and ink and create as much as I can. This is what I did today. The background is acrylic paint, then I splashed some ink over the pages. I made patterns with copper and bronze acrylic paint using bottle tops and a plastic card. I stamped the girl, (Stampotique), coloured her with inks, cut her out and sat her on the mushrooms (Stampotique). The birds, (Dylusions), I stamped straight onto the page and again coloured with inks. The left hand border is Dylusions and the hanging hearts are Stampotique. The borders are coloured with Luminarte radiant rain colour concentrate. I hope you have all had as goog a day as I have.

Calendar Challenge

2012-01-01T12:11:00.000Z

Happy New Year!
This is my first calendar page for 2012 over at The Kathryn Wheel. This will be my first full year as I only discovered this a few months ago. I knew I wanted to do a blue page before anything else. A nice icy cold blue. I cut the discs from hammered white card, thought they looked a bit like snowballs. The bare trees are from Chocolate Baroque and the stamp along the bottom is Paperartsy. I am pleased with this page as I feel it has the effect I wanted. Cold, crisp, clean and bare.

Craft Barn Journal Challenge

2011-12-31T18:34:00.001Z

This is my first art journal challenge and it is a difficult one for me. I've not done buildings before. I went over the background colour several times to try and get it right. It is done with acrylic paint and I used a natural sponge to do the clouds and a stamp, I can't remember where from for the birds. The buildings are photographs. I printed them out on fairly cheap paper in draught and I quite like the effect. I cut them out and pasted them to the pages. I have entered this into The Craft Barn art journal challenge.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T10:04:00.001Z

I would just like to wish all you bloggers out there a Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays etc. Hope you all have a lovely, happy, peaceful time.

More Catching Up

2011-12-22T08:20:00.000Z

Two tags I made the other week. The first one is sprayed with inks, (I think I must like ink spraying I do it quite a lot!) The stamps are botanical print from the Papermania Urban range, one set of several from the range which I treated myself to.

The other tag, again ink sprayed and stamped with the London set from Kanban, more stamps that I treated myself to!

They are both very simple tags, just made so that I could have a play with the stamps.

still catching up

2011-12-21T09:20:00.001Z

I was just having a play last week. The first one is a record card which I sprayed with a green pearlescent ink from Daler Rowney. Then stamped the Tim Holtz sentiment and stamped round the edge with guess what? Dylusions round the edge stamps and coloured with Dylusions inks! The small leafy stamp at the bottom is one I found and I don't know where it's from.

The other piece is just some white card sprayed with inks and stamped down the sides with part of a tree stamp from Chocolate Baroque. The image is Doolally Dorris from Dylusions which I coloured with inks and cut out then stuck onto the card. The toadstools, from the same set were stamped onto the card and coloured again with inks. The sentiment is Tim Holtz.

catching up

2011-12-20T10:04:00.002Z

This double page I did last week. Background is acrylic paint. The birds, cages and daises are Chocolate Baroque and the border leaves are again Dylusions, I just love these stamps and I love colouring them with inks. The sentiment is Tim Holtz. The 'splodges' were done with Tim Holtz ink stains

Still Here

2011-12-19T17:37:00.000Z

It's not that I haven't been crafting or journaling but that I haven't got around to posting them on the blog. This is what I did today. The background was done ages ago. I wasn't very happy with it, I tried a couple of things but still wasn't happy. I bought some texture paste the other day and decided to have a play so I put some through some stencils and left to dry for a couple of days. Today I dabbed some acrylic paint over the texture then chose a few stamps at random, the butterfly is creative expressions, the flowers, stamp and 'secret garden' are PaperArtsy and the border stamps and sentiment are Dylusions. The leaves and flowers are coloured with Dylusions inks.

December Calendar

2011-12-02T14:14:00.000Z

It was my birthday on wednesday and my choice was to spend it in my craft room and this is what I made. My December calendar page from start to finish in one day. I'm quite pleased with it but I think I need to lighten up a bit! I painted the background with green and red acrylic paint and stamped some christmassy images. All stamps are from Chocolate Baroque except for the 'December' and days, oh, and the mini stamps on the squares are Hero Arts. The snowmen I cut out from some sheets that were freebies but I don't know where from. The mince pie and the christmas pud are stamps that I coloured with promarkers and then cut out, (CB again).

This next one I did the next day. I had already coloured the background a few weeks ago and didn't really like it, so I got it out again and decided to cover most of it up with bits and pieces that I have in my boxes and call it collage. Not done anything like this before and I quite enjoyed doing it.

Another Page

2011-11-21T18:37:00.000Z

I've had a good day today. It didn't start so good though, woke up with terrible back ache, it seems worse since I went to physio last week. Anyway, spent most of the day again in my craft room and ended up with this page. I mixed yellow and red acrylic paint onto watercolour paper, then stamped bats and trees. (Dylusions). I printed a photograph of Whitby Abbey in draught, tore round it and inked the edges. I stuck it on to the page then stamped flower heads along the front, (Paperartsy). It certainly helped me to forget about the pain in my back!

It's been so long!

2011-11-20T16:22:00.000Z

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post, time just flies. It has been busy at work and I've been so tired when I get home but I didn't think it had been that bad.

Anyway, I have been playing today and trying out new techniques. I bought a download from Interweave Press, Layered and Textured Backgrounds: Art Journaling Tips and Tricks by Paula Phillips. I have learned quite a few new things and have had great fun today trying them out.
This is a page that I have finished today. I started with watercolour paper and put on two different blues in acrylic paint and scraped them across the page with an old credit card. I then did some circles and swirls using white gesso, then scraped more paint (red) across the page then using a baby wipe went over the swirls to take some of the paint off. Looking at the swirls and the blues made me think about my sleepless nights. I sprayed through a couple of templates, one was watches, the other was numbers. The numbers didn't come out very well so I stamped numbers with black ink and also stamped some letters. I inked some Tim Holtz tissue tape and put that on to the page. I sprayed some copy paper with Dylusions ink and then wrote my thoughts on it, tore round the edges and used distress stain here and then stuck it to my page. Finally I went round the edge of the whole page with black ink.

A Little Bit Of Sunshine

2011-11-09T10:43:00.000Z

It has been so gloomy here of late. I can't remember how many days but it seems like forever! So, I decided to make a little sunshine for myself. I used my new (bought at the NEC last thursday) Derwent Inktense blocks for the background colour, amazed at how good they are! All the stamps are Dylusions except the words which are Chocolate Baroque. I used Dylusions inks for colouring. The page is much brighter in real life. I really enjoyed making this page and it brought a little bit of sunshine into my day!

I was having such a nice time I did another page. I had done the background a while ago with Dylusion inks I think. So I just got out some stamps and played. All the stamps again are Dylusions except for the words which is a Paperartsy stamp. I used Dylusions inks for the colouring. I had a really good day inspite of the gloom outside!!

Birthday Card

2011-11-08T09:38:00.000Z

I made this card for Bob's birthday. I started with an A4 sheet of card and stamped all over it with a selection of Creative expressions stamps, PaperArtsy stamps, bought at the NEC on thursday and some free stamps from Craft Stamper magazine and put a bit of colour on with Dylusions inks. I then folded it in half, put some Tim Holtz tape across the top, made a rosette with Tim Holtz Sizzix die with inked paper, used another stamp from PaperArtsy, coloured with distress ink and stamped with 62 which I outlined with a white gel pen. The tag was made a few weeks ago so I just cut out a stamped image (PaperArtsy again) and coloured with distress ink and glued it to the tag, slightly raised. Attatched the tag to the card with a brad, added a Tim Holtz type charm and string coloured with distress ink. I was quite pleased with this card, the first time I've really done something like this and Bob liked it too!

November Calendar

2011-11-04T10:32:00.000Z

This is my effort for my November calendar at The Kathryn Wheel. It's not really what I imagined it to be. It's rather dark so I tried to brighten it up a bit by colouring the date circles and colouring the small poppies with promarkers. There is also an attempt at some fireworks at the top coloured with stickles and there is some writing at the top which you can hardly see.

The small poppy stamps are from Papermania and the large poppies are Sheena Douglass stamps. The background is spray inks, I tried to brighten it with cosmic shimmer inks but without much success. I nearly scrapped the whole thing but decided just to go with it. Spot the deliberate mistake?? I forgot to put 2011!!!

New Digis

2011-10-30T14:39:00.000Z

I bought some digi stamps the other day from tiddlyinks. The first one is Batty. I coloured her with pro markers and cut her out. The tag was coloured a while ago with ink left over from another project, I used the tag to wipe up the ink from my mat. The stamps on the tag are from Tim Holtz and Dylusions. Then I just glued Batty onto the tag and tied some raffia and threads through the top.

The second picture is Poppy. Again coloured with promarkers and cut out. I painted a background onto thick watercolour card with acrylic paint, stamped some poppies and coloured them with promarkers and glued Poppy onto the card.
I am quite pleased with the results.

All My Own Work

2011-10-25T09:57:00.000+01:00

I bought a couple of books the other day about art journaling, (I love books, they are one of my weaknesses!) Anyway, I can't draw, not even a straight line, but I've been practicing drawing faces and I'm quite pleased with my first one. I coloured the page with pastels and just blended them in. Then doodled round the page, drew a happy sun and drew a few simple flowers on the bottom. I drew the face, body, arms and legs on separate paper, coloured in with pastels and cut them out separately, then stuck them on the page. Bob wanted to know where the hands and feet were! One step at a time please! And anyway this is art, my art and I'm quite pleased with my first attempt, it's just the beginning of the journey.

Crafting Fun

2011-10-16T17:33:00.000+01:00

Well, Bob left me today for some open house lampworking fun. So, after a bit of housework stuff this morning, I spent the afternoon having crafting fun. I did a journaling page from scratch. I wanted to have a proper play with my ruby rainbow stamps from Dylusions. I used blue, white and yellow acrylic paint for the background. I stamped ruby and the umberella on to paper, coloured them with distress stains and cut them out. Stamped round the edges of the pages with the wellie boots from the set and stamped the background with the wings from the set, unfortunately they don't show up very well. The rainbow stamp is an old psx one.
The tag was a bit of fun, I love this stamp, tetewea from stampotique. The tag was sprayed with Dylusions
spray inks granite and nutmeg and merged together with a
sponge. Did a bit of 'stamping' with bottle tops and old
credit card and a stamp. The words are a stamp from
stampotique and I sprayed a piece of seam binding with
dylusions ink spray to put through the top.

new page

2011-10-11T17:36:00.000+01:00

I did this over the past couple of days. Well, the background I did several weeks ago. I quite often do that, just get a book out and put some colour down either inks or paint, sometimes both, then leave it until I am ready to play as the mood takes me. The background is stamped with a flourish stamp from La Blanche. The border stamp is from Dylusions. The small butterfly stamp is from Hobbycraft, the two large butterflies are Marianne's Creatables dies and the sentiment is from Clarity Stamps.

More New Stamps

2011-10-02T17:40:00.000+01:00

I've been playing today with some more stamps I bought at AFTH. The background I did several weeks ago. The stamps are from Ruby Rainbow and Around the edge. The words are from Dyan's downloads. I was going to stamp a bit more but then I thought it was probably enough after the overkill on the October calendar. I am disappointed with the tag. It's my own fault, I think I used the wrong card. The tag again was coloured several weeks ago, I stamped it today with a stamp again from around the edge, then I thought I would colour and cut out Supergirl from Stampotique and stick her on the tag to give some dimension. Unfortunately the glue has come through the card. Never mind, we live and learn.
Back to work tomorrow : (

Back to Crafting

2011-10-01T16:45:00.001+01:00

This is my calendar page for October. I did the background and the date cards a few weeks ago but I had hardly any stamps suitable for halloween which was what I wanted. Fortunately I was able to get to Art From The Heart while we were up in Yorkshire so I bought a few lovely things! I seem to have gone a bit over the top with my stamping, I think because I just wanted to play so much with my new goodies! The stamps I have used are: Dylusions bits & bats, stampotique tetewea bought from afth, the tiny witch and pumpkins are Creative Expressions create a scene village and the cat face is a PSX stamp, I'm not sure if they are still trading, it's a very old stamp. The BOO with the bat is from a download from Halloween Set from Deviant Scrap.

holiday

2011-09-27T22:07:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted recently as I am on holiday. We are having a lovely time in north Yorkshire. Just thought I would post a few pictures of the sky this evening outside our cottage. Beautiful isn't it?

journal

2011-09-22T14:44:00.000+01:00

I am a worrier. I worry about everything, even stupid little things. I started this page by just spraying inks and when it had dried I thought it looked a bit like a part of the universe. Then I found the words and thought they would be just right. I punched out some circles, stars and a moon and I am pleased with the result.

the words are from Dyan Reavely

give away

2011-09-14T14:27:00.001+01:00

Over at The Kathryn Wheel there is a give away of a stamp set until 20th september. Go take a look.

A Good Day!

2011-09-13T17:16:00.001+01:00

I've had a good day today and lots of fun. First of all I finished a page that I did ages ago. All I had to do was add the words. The background is acrylic paints.

The next one had no planning. I started playing with pastels for the background and I thought it looked a bit fanciful, so I found some fairy stamps and castle stamps and then added some dragonflies, I was sort of making it up as I went along. I happened to glance at a notebook on my table which was open at some quotes that I had jotted down and the one at the bottom caught my eye straight away. It is from a stamp set from Art From The Heart and it seemed just right. All the stamps are Chocolate Baroque.

The next one again was made up as I went along. I started with acrylic paints on the background, then using the paints again did some circles using a bottle top and lines with an old credit card, then used some stamps I had lying around just stamped randomly with inks. Then I got the fairies out again and the dragonflies and got a bit carried away.

The sentiment (Chocolate Baroque) again seemed appropriate as that is how I felt, in a happy place!

The final picture is of some cheap tags that I bought a few weeks ago and I thought I would have a play with inks, sprays and paints, so they are now waiting to be decorated. Knowing me they will probably be waiting for quite a while!!

I hope you all have had as good and happy a day as I have.

a happy sunday

2011-09-07T19:11:00.000+01:00

I did this page on Sunday. I don't usually complete a page in one day. I tend to do the background then leave it for a while and come back to it at a later date, but I was enjoying this one so I just kept going. I was enjoying this until I put the final stamp on.....UPSIDE DOWN!!! But hey, sometimes life is like that!! All the stamps are chocolate baroque.

cards

2011-09-04T19:17:00.000+01:00

Two cards I made last month. The first one I made for Bob for our anniversary. The stamps are from Chocolate Baroque.
The other card was made for Bob's mums birthday. The image and background paper are from a Giordano cd from Joanna Sheen.
I've had a great day today crafting, who cares about the rain.
Hope everyone else has had a good weekend.
Thanks for stopping by.

long time no blog!

2011-08-30T18:09:00.000+01:00

Well, real life got in the way. Too boring to go into. Anyway, I have been interested in art journaling for a little while, but didn't have a clue how to go about starting. I surfed the web looking at blogs but it seemed a bit over my head. I eventually got around to buying a couple of books on the subject. I then saw two dvds on art journaling by Kate Crane and bought them and it was the best thing I did. I went out and bought loads of stuff to make a start on my own journal. I went a bit OTT, but it doesn't go off does it! I bought paint, inks, masks stamps etc. Also went through all my stuff in my craft room and found loads of things that were suitable for my new adventure. I have also found some great blogs for inspiration and techniques as well as Kate's. One is art and soul Dyan has some great tutorials. there are many others and I've had a great time blog hopping! As you can see I am just learning but I'm having fun. The first picture is one I did today. The september one I am pleased with. The idea came from Kates blog, you do a calendar page for every month for a year. The one at the bottom is the first one I did and the flower one is the second I think. I am finding this very theraputic and it relieves lots of stress! One of the things I like about this new journey is that it is just for me, I can do what I like and it doesn't matter if no one else likes it and if I make a mess of anything it's ok. Sorry for the long ramble, making up for lost time!!

small card

2011-07-05T18:30:00.000+01:00

I needed a quick small card for a note and this is what I put together. The image is from Polka Doodles sundae of seasons cd and cut out with nestabilities and matted onto a white card. Just the ticket!

new blog

2011-07-04T19:04:00.000+01:00

Hi, I have just started a new blog, Dianne's bits and pieces. I am still keeping this one, I just felt I wanted a general blog where I could post anything and this one will be mainly paper crafting. I seem to be doing other things recently and it didn't seem right to clutter this blog with things that were not related to paper crafting. Anyway hope you will take a look now and again and perhaps you will like some of the things I post.

birthday card

2011-06-26T22:06:00.001+01:00

This is for Tom, my neice's son, it's his birthday this week. He plays rugby for Reading under 12's, so I thought a rugby card would be nice. The stamp is rugby hamish from sugar nellie at funky kits, though I'm not sure if it is still available. White card and green paper from my stash, the backing paper is from a photo of Tom and the sentiment is a digi stamp but I can't remember where it's from.

Cannot comment

2011-06-26T19:54:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to say that I have been visiting blogs but blogger doesn't seem to like me and won't let me comment. I'm getting a bit mad but I will keep trying!

Mail Art

2011-06-22T20:12:00.000+01:00

I made this several weeks ago. It is from the Chocolate Baroque guild newsletter and the original is by Judith who is a member of the design team. The piece is 8"x8". The brown card is from my stash and the paper is from the Artylicious cd Essence of Nature. The stamps are from Chocolate Baroque. I coloured the piece of lace with Antique Linen distress ink. The postcards are made from textured card from my stash and coloured with Tea Dye distress ink and edged with Vintage Photo. The flourish is Tim Holtz Sizzix die and the flower is a stamp from Sheena Douglass with a brad in the centre. I really enjoyed doing this, it is not my 'normal' thing but when I saw Judith's original I just had to have a go. I don't know if the original is on Judith's blog or on the Chocolate Baroque design team blog. Hope youi are all having a good week, it's back to work for me tomorrow!

birthday card

2011-06-20T14:36:00.000+01:00

I made this card for my neice's little boy for his 5th birthday last week. The image is a stamp by Faye Whittaker from Joanna Sheen and I coloured it with Aquamarkers. The t shirts are also stamped and cut out and stuck on ribbon. I think the number 5 is from a cute companions set and card and paper from my stash. I think this is such a sweet image.

Strawberries

2011-06-19T19:26:00.000+01:00

Two posts in one day, there must be something wrong!! I have finally finished my strawberries. They are from a pattern by Lesley Brankin. Although a bit fiddly, I did enjoy making them. I don't think there will be a third post today, don't want to overdo it!!!!!

Beads

2011-06-19T16:08:00.000+01:00

We went out again today, that's twice in one week! We went to Newmarket racecourse to a bead fair. Bob wanted some glass so I just tagged along for the ride, but I ended up spending money, fancy that!! I bought these beads from Fyrebirds. They had some beautiful beads but I had to limit myself to these two sets, I just love the colours and I have to have black with most things! I also bought two books. Now I have to get down to finishing my strawberries! Hope you are all having a good Sunday!

Where does the time go?

2011-06-18T22:30:00.000+01:00

I don't know where the weeks have gone. I have been doing a little crafting but I've also been busy with other things. We did get a day out on thursday we went to the good food show and gardener's world at the nec in birmingham. We were lucky with the weather, it stayed dry. There didn't seem to be as many stands in the good food part this year but we did buy something nice to take home! We also got some plants for the garden, just a few this time, we usually go a bit mad but managed to restrain ourselves! The two photos are of flowers I have made for a window display. they are cut out of cream paper and stamped with memento inkpads using stamps from Clarity, Sheena Douglass and Dimention Fourth. I am also making a few strawberries but I haven't finished them yet.

oops!

2011-06-09T19:16:00.000+01:00

I bought this Magenta stamp from Joanna Sheen a few weeks ago and have finally got around to having a little play. I used hammered card and sponged over it with I think walnut stain distress ink pad and then stamped with a sepia ink pad. The second one I did the same but then coloured the flowers with Aqua markers. Not sure which I like the best.

froggy and pansies

2011-06-08T20:50:00.001+01:00

One of our garden residents. What he's doing on the fence I don't know, but he was there for hours. Ok, it was shady but so was the veggie patch, perhaps he just wanted a change. At one time we had about eleven frogs in our garden. I don't know how many we have now, I think they have declined a bit. We have a very small pond but we don't see many there now, they seem to prefer the veggie patch. Also some close ups of some of my pansies. I think they are such happy little flowers. I've had this pot of them for months and they are doing really well. Hope to post some crafty bits soon. Our Chamilia party went really well, a very good day!

A card and other things

2011-06-02T21:03:00.000+01:00

This card I made for my other neice who's birthday it is at the weekend. It is another Josephine Wall image, but not from the cd. This is a decoupage sheet from a pack from Joanna Sheen. I have been missing recently as apart from working I have been mostly knitting and also making a few things for the jewellers where I work. We are having a Chamilia party at the shop on saturday. I have been making things to decorate the window, flowers, bunting, hanging paper beads etc. We are hoping for a very busy day. We will have balloons, cupcakes, sweeties, drinks etc, so really looking forward to having a fun day. I have had a lovely afternoon in the garden, I dead headed my roses and then did some knitting, wonderful! Hope you all had as nice a day as I have.

Make it Monday

2011-05-23T18:06:00.000+01:00

I made this card for my neices birthday which is this week. I thought I would enter it into Make it Monday challenge. It is from the Enchanted Dreams cd from Joanna Sheen and is Gemini the twins. All the elements are from the cd except the ribbon and card from my stash.

Madame Hardy

2011-05-22T17:42:00.000+01:00

One of my most favourite roses, Madame Hardy, a damask rose with the most wonderful scent. Unfortunately she only flowers once but she is well worth it. It's not been such a good day weatherwise. We haven't had any rain but it's been very windy although there has been some sunshine between the clouds. I've been knitting again today but also cutting out ready for a card for my neice who has a birthday in a couple of weeks. Hope everyone has had a good weekend.

knitting board

2011-05-21T17:09:00.001+01:00

I've had a lovely day today sitting in the garden knitting but not with needles. I bought myself a knitting board. I do occasionally like to knit " normally" and am in the process of knitting a scarf. I'm not a very good knitter, I don't do anything complicated. Anyway I saw this and thought I would give it a go and I am really enjoying it. I am just knitting a throw at he moment, (nice and easy), but you can knit garments on it. I also bought a board for sock knitting which I haven't tried yet (one step at a time). I have tried coventional sock knitting before but have never completed one sock! This might not be everyones cup of tea but as I say I am enjoying it which is the main thing and I'm hoping it will be better for my arthritis. I did manage to make a card the other day, just a quick one. It is tatty button from a cd I bought at the NEC in March, I also bought some tatty button stamps but haven't got around to playing with them yet! I just thought she was cute and different.

It's a beautiful day!

2011-05-19T08:39:00.001+01:00

The sun is shining and the sky is blue and there is just a gentle breeze. It's my day off and I have the house to myself all day! Bob has gone off to Leicester for a day with Red Hot Sal to learn lots about lampworking. So after today I expect him to have improved on his bead making! So what am I going to do all day? Well, I haven't quite decided yet, I think I shall just go as the mood takes me. Our little surviver left the nest yesterday, though I don't think he's got the hang of flying yet. He managed to survive the night and is still in the garden and dad is doing a great job looking after him and feeding him. I nearly forgot about the pictures. A few flowers in my garden. The creamy rose is Madame Alfred Carriere (not sure about the spelling) It has the most gorgeous sent and grows really well. The next one is a clematis, which we've had for a while. I prefer the smaller ones, I can't grow the big ones, they always die. Then another rose, which I cannot remember the name of and finally a pot of pretty pansies which I got from our local market a few weeks ago. Right, I'm off to have fun now. Have a good day everyone!

and then there was one.

2011-05-16T18:13:00.000+01:00

We are now down to one chick. We are sure that mum is dead. We think that they have been poisoned by some sort of insectiside. Mum was bringing lots of bugs, catterpillers etc and it may be that they came from plants that had been sprayed. It's the only thing we can think of. Dad is doing his best feeding the last chick so we are just hoping now that this one survives. Fingers still crossed.

great tit news

2011-05-15T10:32:00.000+01:00

It's not good news today. Yesterday there were seven chicks, five noisey big ones and two smaller ones. This morning there are only two still alive. We don't know what has happened. Mum hasn't spent the last two nights with them but she was about and feeding them along with dad yesterday. We haven't seen mum yet today. Dad has been about and into the nest, but not as much as usual. The two chicks that are there are calling but we are not sure they are going to survive. It's quite sad to see the dead ones just laying there. Bob wondered if it has been the cold at night that has got them. The only other thing we can think of is some kind of disease. It has just happened so suddenly, they were so noisy and flapping about yesterday and then most of them dead this morning. So we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping nothing has happened to mum and she will turn up later and these last two will survive.

Great Tits Update

2011-05-12T19:20:00.000+01:00

The latest pictures of the babies and we think dad. They are getting really active now and they're looking a bit "punky" with feathers sticking out on their heads! You can see their great tit markings now. We can't see if their eyes are open or not. In the second picture you can see mum with them and one of them is very near to the hole and he jumps about quite a bit, just hope he doesn't fall out before he can fly! I think the first and third pictures are best for seeing their "punky" bits! The last two pictures we think is dad, he always lands there just before going into the box. We've definately counted eight, so either one didn't hatch or has died.

A card and great tit update

2011-05-10T16:52:00.000+01:00

I made this card today for Make It Monday. The image is In The Park by Gillian Roberts, I so love her stamps. I coloured this a couple of weeks ago with Derwent Studio pencils. I put it together today but it's not really turned out as I intended. I found some coloured card blanks which I've had for years. I picked a yellow one and embossed some pink card with a flower embossing plate from Spellbinders, (it doesn't show up very well). I then put the image onto some green card after going round the edge with distress ink. Added some ribbon, a digi stamp sentiment and some green gems. Just a note on the babies, they are getting their feathers and are growing well and climing in and out of the nest. Eyes not open yet.

award

2011-05-09T20:17:00.001+01:00

I have received this award from Jean at my crafty corner. I now have to give it to seven other recently discovered blogs and tell you seven random things about myself.

1. I used to be in the R.A.F
2. I used to shoot .22 rifles in competions
3. I have quite a few teddy bears
4. I enjoy books, especially historical fiction
5. I love animals
6. I love all sorts of crafting
7. My favourite childhood books are the Chronicles of Narnia

Here are the blogs:

1. Bob http://bobsbreadandpickles.blogspot.com/
2. Jane http://simply-jane.blogspot.com/
3. Chris http://goonergirl-craftingheaven.blogspot.com/
4. Sarah http://blackdovedesigns.blogspot.com/
5. Suze http://cant-stop-crafting.blogspot.com/

These are not all new to me and at the moment can only manage five.

birthday card and babies

2011-05-06T16:24:00.000+01:00

This is a card for my brother-in-law. He is a rugby fan. I found these images on Joanna Sheens Victorian Companion cd. I hate doing cards for men. Maybe I just don't have enough imagination, plus the fact that all the men I know (and I don't know many!), do not fit into the usual catagories, ie, football, golf, fishing etc. Anyway I am quite pleased with this one. The great tit eggs hatched last saturday/sunday, the first one about tea time saturday. The parents are very busy feeding and mum is very much in charge. It is very difficult to count them all, so don't know if they all hatched, we think there are at least eight. It is really interesting watching them and how mum keeps them snuggled up together. Sorry the pictures aren't very good, we've obviously got a rubbish camera!

thank you card and great tits

2011-04-27T17:44:00.000+01:00

This is the card I made yesterday. Just a simple thank you card. All elements are from a new Nitwits collection called Promises. I just love the colours in this collection. I have made another card today but haven't got round to taking a photo yet. I have decided to name the great tits William and Kate, topical I thought! Kate is still sitting on nine eggs. She goes off occasionally for a stretch and to get some food from William who sits in a nearby tree with a beak full of food for her and shouts like mad, I don't know how he can do that without droping the food!!

Back Home

2011-04-26T22:33:00.000+01:00

Got home yesterday after a weekend away at my brothers. It was great to see all the family and the weather was hot and sunny, the perfect weekend! Just a couple of photos I took by the river. We've had a realy great week. London, a day and a half at home then a weekend away and gorgeous weather! The only thing missing was crafting, so I have done a little bit today as well as the boring stuff like washing and then tomorrow ironing, YUK!!! I hate ironing! Still, another bank holiday coming up, this time spent at home.

Great Tits and Eggs

2011-04-21T17:08:00.001+01:00

We've had a few bird boxes in our garden for a few years without any inhabitants. Last year we had a nest of early bumble bees in an open fronted bird box and we had the occasional bird looking but they weren't interested. We decided that we would get a box with a webcam. We set it all up but nothing happened. But this year success!! We have a pair of great tits. The female has been about for a while and started building the nest and she was sleeping there at night. We hadn't looked at the webcam for a few days, we thought they had gone somewhere else. Then we had a look this morning and there she was on the nest. The pictures aren't very good but you can see most of it. The first one she is all fluffed up on the nest. The second one she has her tail in the air and is turning the eggs. And the third one she is sitting on the edge and you can see all nine eggs. I hope they all hatch. It is really facinating watching them. The male comes into the nest to feed the female and you can hear him shouting when he's in the garden. I think we shall have to think of names for them!

A bit of knitting and clematis

2011-04-21T13:35:00.000+01:00

As I've been away I haven't done any crafting. I have done a bit of knitting though. I'm not one to sit for ages and knit, I pick it up now and again and just do a little bit. It's nice and easy to do and will hopefully be a nice summer scarf. Took this picture of one of my clematis yesterday which came out while we were away. It's amazing what a bit of warm sun can do!

London, Chris de Burgh and St Pauls

2011-04-20T18:57:00.000+01:00

We've just come back from two days in London. We went to see Chris de Burgh at the Royal Albert Hall. What can I say, he was absolutely brilliant! I think it was the best we've seen him, and we've seen a few. Three hours, just didn't want it to end. We also went to St Pauls. Bob had never been and I hadn't been since I was a child. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful cathedral. We managed to get up the steps to the whispering gallery. Bob went further up to take some photos of the views over London, but I didn't go, my knees wouldn't make it. From there we went to Marble Arch and a walk down Oxford St and a bit of shopping and on to Regent St where they had started putting up the flags for the royal wedding. It looks much better in real life! We had a lovely time, it was very hot, but unfotunately we had to come home today. Hopefully there will be another trip later in the year, maybe a show or another concert!!!

Another birthday card

2011-04-17T10:46:00.000+01:00

This card is for my other neice's daughter. She loves everything fairy and unicorns and magical really. This image is from Joanna Sheens Enchanted dreams cd. You can't see it very well but I have glittered the web and the wand. The dragonflies are from the same cd and I've added some pearls which I coloured with promarkers and a charm which says 'wish'. Oh, and a piece of paper lace across the bottom with a few blue gems.

colouring and a card

2011-04-14T19:32:00.000+01:00

I got my pencils out yesterday and coloured some stamped images by Gillian Roberts, I love these stamps. The pencils I used are Studio by Derwent. I haven't used these much so am still learning. I'm not quite sure about them, it's hard to do blending with them but I quite like the soft colours and it made a change from aqua and promarkers. I made a card today with one of the images. I used nestabilities, a piece of ribbon, a digi stamp sentiment and paper and flowers from a Nitwits kit.

blossom

2011-04-13T12:47:00.000+01:00

Some more blossom has come out in our garden. The first photo is cherry blossom. There is not much of it so we may only get a cherry each this year! The other two photos are apple blossom and there is much more of this, so hopefully we may get a few apples. We only bought the trees last year, they are small ones as we only have a small garden but we hope to have some fruit from them this year. The weather has turned cold today and cloudy, hope the sun comes back soon!

more easter cards

2011-04-12T22:05:00.000+01:00

Been busy today, two more easter cards. The first one is a happy hoppers decoupage from Joanna Sheen with some ribbon and hand made flowers.
The second one is a daffodil stamp from Joanna Sheen's favourite flowers and coloured with promarkers, slightly decoupaged, matted and layered with nestabilities, an old sentiment stamp which I'd forgotton about, some pearls and a dragonfly brad both coloured again with promarkers, (seem to be short of yellow embellishments)!! The toadstools are from the same stamp set.

Easter Cards

2011-04-11T19:12:00.000+01:00

I've been making easter cards. These two I have made using elements from a nitwits kit called egg-stra-special. I like these kits, they are fun to use. I am in the process of making a couple more cards, hopefully I will get to post them tomorrow.

retirement card

2011-04-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

This is a retirement card I made for a colleage at work. All elements are from floral fantasy cd from Joanna Sheen except for the sentiment which is computer generated. I've been re-arranging again today, I hope I will eventually get my craftroom sorted. I think it's starting to come together now though, it's looking more organised. I did try some colouring yesterday and today but I'm not doing very well, my colouring mojo seems to have left me, I hope it comes back soon as I am getting very frustrated!!

A Day Out

2011-04-09T14:14:00.001+01:00

Had quite a nice day out yesterday. Bob wanted to go to flameoff at Towcester racecourse. He wanted to have a look at lampworking. I went along as well and thought I was in for a boring day but it was quite interesting. While Bob was having a go at lampwork, I went for a wander round. There were a few stands of people selling their work and also stands where you could buy supplies and books on the subject. There were also demonstrations in the theatre throughout the day. One of these was a guy called Marshall Hyde from America and he made a Hare out of glass which was absolutely brilliant. I'm not really into this sort of thing but it was really interesting. the first photo is Bob on one of his first attempts at making a glass bead and the second photo he has moved on to a better torch and is progressing to better beads?!! Anyway, he played most of the day and made a handful of beads and guess what? He enjoyed it so much he spent all his pennies on a lampwork kit to get him started and now he is sorting out the shed to make himself room for a workshop!

birthday card

2011-04-07T19:24:00.000+01:00

I made this card for Maddi, my niece's daughter. It wasn't what I originally intended, and although it's rather plain I am reasonably happy with it. The shape and the mouse are from a Serifina cd rom, the sentiment is computer generated and the two brown mice are a Tatty Button stamp which I stamped onto some brown spotty paper. I bought the stamp at Hobbycrafts at the NEC along with a few other Tatty Button stamps and a cd rom.

Knitting again

2011-04-05T19:25:00.000+01:00

This is some yarn I have just bought. It is Handmaiden sea silk and it is lovely and soft. The colour is called lily pond. I am going to knit a very simple scarf. I knitted one about three years ago in a different colour. I'm not a very good knitter, I can't do anything complicated but I do enjoy it when I can find something easy, (dishcloths are a favourite!)

braiding

2011-04-04T20:30:00.000+01:00

These are what I have made so far. A bracelet and two necklaces. They are easy to do, but I haven't tried anything too complicated yet. I think the hardest part is sewing the ends when they are finished and putting the end caps on!
Well, I don't know what happened to Spring, it's been horrible today, windy and some rain and quite chilly and tomorrow is supposed to be worse!! Hope it's better where you are!

I'm back

2011-04-03T21:01:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's a month since my last post, I'm sorry about that. I haven't done much in the way of crafting apart from the odd card, (birthdays etc), and decorations for the window at work. But hey! the sun has been shining and I think spring is definately on the way! I have also been finding things I'd forgotten I had, like quilling papers and my kumihimo disc, so I've done a little bit of quilling and some braiding. We went to the NEC last week (hobbycrafts) and we both bought lots of goodies and I for once did not go over budget! I haven't got around to playing yet though. Took some photos in the garden this morning, Clematis, victoria plum blossom and daffodils.

Birthday card

2011-03-02T10:08:00.004Z

I have made this card for my brother. I really dislike doing male cards, I am always stuck for ideas. This one is a Sheena Douglass stamp which I have coloured with Aquamarkers. (I can't help it I am hooked on them at the moment!) This is my first scene with aquamarkers and I found it quite a challenge, much prefer flowers! The leaf embelishment is also Sheena. The sentiment is a digi stamp from Digistamp Boutique which I have coloured with brushed cordouroy distress ink. I've used some quilling strips again. I think these are very useful for male cards instead of ribbon.

Something Different

2011-03-01T16:17:00.001Z

This is a first. Bob has really got into jewellery making now. I have never been interested in jewellery making, for one thing, it's way too fiddly for me! But I went with him yesterday to a shop not too far away from us called Spoilt Rotten Beads. It's a lovely shop with friendly staff and loads of beads, findings etc. Anyway, I had a look round and bought a few bits. This is my first hand made handbag charm. I'm quite pleased with it, it was a bit fiddly, but I managed. I will not be going on to jewellery making, but I may do the odd thing like this now and again, just little bits for me.

Another award

2011-03-01T10:40:00.000Z

I have been very bad in not accepting this award from Josie. She sent it over a week ago, sorry Josie and thank you very much.

In accepting the award I've had to agree to the following conditions:

1) You have been tagged, do you want to accept? YES! then create a post on your blog and post the love blog photo.

Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept.

Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged.

The aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, so we're asked not to tag somebody "with 3000 followers".

       The first one is Shirley-Anne

       The second is Sarah

      The third is Bob

Hope you will go and visit these lovely blogs.

St David's Day

2011-03-01T07:00:00.002Z

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY to all you lovely Welsh people out there. This is the card I made for Bob, just a simple mat and layered card. The image is from Sheens Douglass and is coloured with Aquamarkers.

less is more

2011-02-26T16:46:00.001Z

At last, crafting again! This is my card for week 4 at Less is more, where the challenge is 3 squares. All the stamps are Magenta and they are coloured with Aquamarkers. They are stamped onto white hammered card and I have used 2 quilling strips down the side. I hope it's ok to use the oblong sentiment. I had a little trouble on how to do this card, I think I could do with lessons in design, any comments would be appreciated, even telling me if I've got it wrong, or how I could have done it better or different. I enjoyed doing it though and I love to colour.

A Gloomy Day

2011-02-20T20:41:00.000Z

It's been one of those days! I had intentions of spending most of my day off in my craft room but, things don't always go to plan. I got up late, think I was tired, and I just couldn't get going. It's been dark and gloomy here today, so maybe that rubbed of on me. Anyway, it's not been a totally wasted day, I've been cutting out. I love cutting out even though I have to stop fairly frequently to rest my hands, (early onset arthritis). I've been cutting out flowers, I love flowers, and decoupage from Joanna Sheens Happy Hoppers, Hoppy Days, I think these are so cute. I don't do an awful lot of decoupage, just now and again. It's back to work tomorrow, but I hope I shall find time this week to enter week 3 at simply less is more challenge blog.

AN AWARD!!

2011-02-20T12:50:00.000Z

WOW! This is my first award, It's from Suze at Can't Stop Crafting. Thank you very much Suze.
There are conditions to this award:

Step 1. Make a post linking back to the person who gave you this award.

Step 2. Share 7 random things about yourself.

Step 3. Award 15 recently discovered bloggers with this award.

Step 4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they've won this award.

7 random things about me;

    I love animals
    I lived in West Berlin for 4 years
    I'm scared of spiders
     I collect Kipling bags
    I hate prawns
    I listen to audio books
    My first concert was Steppenwolf at Reading University ( I think I was about 15!)

Step 3
I don't think I can manage 15, so I'll do what I can

http://blackdovedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://juanam2010.blogspot.com/

http://sallyastill.blogspot.com/

http://simplicrafti.blogspot.com/

http://www.thepinkshopblog.com/

http://mycraftblogumentary.blogspot.com/

http://bobsbreadandpickles.blogspot.com/

http://aquarius-aquariusblog.blogspot.com/

More watercolouring

2011-02-18T20:12:00.000Z

Two more watercolours with Aquamarkers. I've probably said it before but I am really enjoying these. I think I must be going through a pastel phase. Both these stamps are from Elusive Images. Haven't done much the last couple of days as I've been working (have to do something to pay for all this crafty stuff)!! At work again tomorrow but then it's Sunday!!!

Passion for Promarkers week 87

2011-02-16T12:47:00.000Z

I only coloured this image a couple of days ago and thought it would stay in my box for awhile. Then I saw that the challenge this week on Passion for Promarkers was coffee and cream. I know there is some blue and pink in there but I hope thats ok. The card is cream hammered and I've embossed two lines on the right hand side. I've gone round the image with walnut stain distress ink and matted it onto brown paper from my stash. Then put some organza ribbon down the left side and put three punched flowers down the ribbon with a brown pearly gem for the centres. The stamp and sentiment are from Joanna Sheen. I nearly forgot, I used Aquamarkers, which I am really enjoying at the moment.

no craft today

2011-02-15T20:53:00.000Z

Went shopping today, not for anything in particular but guess what? I bought some crafty stuff, well we both did! I got some angelina fibres, I really wanted yellow but they didn't have any so I bought three other colours instead! Also got some little flower rubber stamps, thought they might come in handy, some pens, gems, skeleton leaves and a pad of watercolour paper. I did a bit of watercolouring yesterday, here are the results. All the stamps are from Joanna Sheen. I feel I am getting a bit better with my colouring, then I seem to go off a bit and don't seem to do so good, but I suppose it's all part of the learning. Oh, I nearly forgot, I used Aquamarkers again.

I also seem to be having problems placing my photos!!!!

my gift

2011-02-14T14:44:00.000Z

This is what Bob gave me for Valentines day. It is made from friendly plastic and I love it! There's more on his blog.

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T07:00:00.003Z

This is the card I have made for Bob. The main part is what I did the other week when I was playing with angelina fibres. The main backing piece which has the sentiment stamped on is one I did the other day when playing with backgrounds and stamps. When I made the fairy and the angelina fibres I had no specific occasion in mind, then when I found this sentiment stamp, the thought of the fairy and valentine came to mind. I hope he likes it!

love is in the air part 2

2011-02-13T14:56:00.000Z

I forgot to post these the other day when I did the rose tags. I got a bit carried away with the rose/love thing and just started colour washing backgrounds and stamping on them. Not sure what I will do with them yet, cut them out, make cards? I shall just have to see where and when my mood takes me. I did have a good time doing, or should I say creating them!

The first three are all Elusive Images stamps and the other two are Creative Expressions (Sheena Douglass)

Penny Black Challenge

2011-02-12T20:40:00.001Z

This is my second card today and inspired from the one I made this morning. This one is for penny black challenge no. 138, pretty in pink. I stamped the image onto linen effect card and coloured with aquamarkers. Ribbon and gems from my stash, sentiment stamped on white card, coloured again with aquamarkers and cut out with punch, lightly edged with spun sugar distress ink.

less is more

2011-02-12T13:15:00.000Z

I found this challenge while blog hopping Deborah's Gems, thanks Deborah! I have missed the first week but I've had a go today. The blog is less is more and this weeks challenge is one layer. I've not done anything like this before and it was very quick so I hope I've done it right!

love is in the air!

2011-02-11T21:45:00.001Z

I've had a play day today and started off with a couple of tags. The first one looks better in real life and it turned out better than I expected. It's stamped on glossy card which has a light wash of distress ink on it. The second one is stamped on watercolour card with a light wash using aquamarkers and then coloured with aquamarkers. I've been playing with watercolours/waterbased colours lately in different forms. I've used aquamarkers, distress ink pads and adirondak ink pads. I put them onto a tile and using a wet brush away I go. I have a lot to learn about watercolours, but I am enjoying the journey so far. I also made Bob's valentine card today but can't put it up until monday in case he takes a peek at my blog!

bad blogger!

2011-02-06T20:30:00.000Z

I really did want to blog every day but I've not been very good. As I work, even though only part time, I don't get to craft every day and I don't really want to blog for the sake of it and write a load of rubbish. My excuse at the moment is that I have been making decorations for the shop window where I work, for valentines day. I work in our local jewellers. It has been fun, but time consuming and we haven't quite finished it yet, ( I know valentines day is close)! but we are also stocktaking and we have an awful lot of stock! Anyway, I may put a few photos up of what I have done, (some with Bob's help), when it's all done. I haven't even got round to playing with my friendly plastic that Bob bought me for Christmas. It hasn't been laying idle though as Bob has been playing with it and he's getting quite good. If you want to see what he has made visit his blog, http://bobsbreadandpickles.blogspot.com/ Well, that's it for now, sorry no pictures today, but hopefully soon.

playing with fibres

2011-02-02T22:04:00.001Z

I have been playing with Angelina fibres and gilding flakes. I've had the fibres for some time but not done anything with them as I didn't really know what to do with them. I saw a programme on create & craft the other day with Sarah Lawrence and I found it really interesting. She was using gilding flakes, air drying paper clay, mica powders, angelina fibres, fusible film, moulds and other things that I can't remember. Anyway, she really inspired me to have a go with my fibres and I found I had some gilding flakes, (I must really sort out my craft room), so, I've had a little play, nothing exciting, just mixed some colours together and sprinkled on some flakes, ironed it all together and stuck it to some card. Thought it made a nice background for a fairy I had recently cut out from the Enchanted cd rom, so I decoupaged her up a bit and stuck her on. I am quite pleased with the result.

back to the challenge

2011-01-31T10:07:00.000Z

Seems ages since I last did a challenge and as I have just bought myself some new penny black stamps, I thought I should start with them. So here is my card for penny black challenge week 136, a sketch. I quite like the sketch challenges as I'm not very good with designing and I can choose my own colours. The stamp and sentiment are from the 'wonderful' set. The papers are from nitwits, the swirl is tim holtz die, flowers I have punched and ribbon and gems from my stash. The image is coloured with promarkers.

colour challenge 4

2011-01-24T18:59:00.000Z

This is my card for the Ribbon Girl colour challenge, which this month is pink and green, I love these colours. The stamped image is seraphina, coloured with promarkers. Ribbon, paper and flowers from my stash. First time I've entered this challenge, found it while blog hopping!

birthday card

2011-01-23T19:38:00.000Z

I made a birthday card for my sister-in-law today. It wasn't quite what I intended, I was going to do decoupage but I was running out of time, so it's just a simple mat & layered card. The image and backing papers are from Enchanted Faries cd rom, all embellishments from my stash. Hope she likes it!

just because

2011-01-22T22:22:00.000Z

I made this little card for my husband, Bob. The image is Penny Black, coloured with promarkers, everything else from my stash. I made it for him just because.........

Butterflies and Bees

March Calendar

secrets of the deep

MY FIRST BIRDHOUSE!

flowers

tag & journal

Just a quick fun thing

February Calendar

little pieces of art

HOOKED ON BOOKS!

My first book

birthday card

birds

A Creative Start

Calendar Challenge

Craft Barn Journal Challenge

MERRY CHRISTMAS

More Catching Up

still catching up

catching up

Still Here

December Calendar

Another Page

It's been so long!

A Little Bit Of Sunshine

Birthday Card

November Calendar

New Digis

All My Own Work

Crafting Fun

TAGS

new page

More New Stamps

Back to Crafting

holiday

journal

give away

A Good Day!

a happy sunday

cards

long time no blog!

small card

new blog

birthday card

Cannot comment

Mail Art

birthday card

Strawberries

Beads

Where does the time go?

oops!

froggy and pansies

A card and other things

Make it Monday

Madame Hardy

knitting board

It's a beautiful day!

and then there was one.

great tit news

Great Tits Update

A card and great tit update

award

birthday card and babies

thank you card and great tits

Back Home

Great Tits and Eggs

A bit of knitting and clematis

London, Chris de Burgh and St Pauls

Another birthday card

colouring and a card

blossom

more easter cards

Easter Cards

retirement card

A Day Out

birthday card

Knitting again

braiding

I'm back

Birthday card