Pretty Little Prints

Morning everyone,
Happy Friday!!

Just a quick post this morning.  Bit of a busy day for me, no craft though.  I've still got to do all the housework before I get on that plane this evening (oh joy!)
Everything on this weeks crafty 'To Do' list is done.  Well, everything that needs to be done that is.  What's left will have to carry over into next week.

I spent most of yesterday playing with the new monthly Project Kit from Craftwork Cards - Pretty Little Prints.  It's a lovely kit and great value for money.  Why not pop over to their website and have a look here  Go on, treat yourself, you won't regret it.  There's loads in there, and it comes with an inspiration sheet too, so you can get started straight away.

Here's some sneaky peeks of what I made yesterday.......

is that embossed card .....

gorgeous prints ........

fab colour range ....

cute new candi ....

pretty papers ....

and not just for girls .....

I'll post the full pictures, with details once they've been on the CWC blog.  I've already sent them off to Julie so hopefully it won't be too long before I can share.

Well that's me done for this week I think.  Going to blitz the house now (that should please Christopher, he's still in bed!  Not for much longer ...........hahaha!
Really looking forward to the workshop with Maria tomorrow.  But first I'm off out for a curry tonight with Sally, Susan and the rest of the gang - should be fun.  It's going to be a good weekend!!

Hope yours is a good one too.

See you all next week

Linda

x

Fly the flag!

Morning everyone,
What's this ....... another early post.
It's Thursday, nearly weekend, and our little trip across to the UK.  Just a few bits to finish off, some DT cards to make with my monthly project kit from Craftwork Cards, oh and the housework to do.  All this before 5 on Friday, can I get it all done?  Of course I can, if not, the housework can wait till I get back (lol!)

This weeks Penny Black Saturday Challenge is
                          Fly the Flags!

They want to see bunting, flags, banners etc.  Along with the usual, a Penny Black image, sentiment or stickeroo.

Here's mine .....

I love this little guy in the flowerpot ('greetings' stamp 3706H), he's sooo cute!   He's usually holding a flower but I decided not to ink that bit and replace the flower with a flag.
Hedgie's been coloured in with Copic Pens, and his little friend the ladybird, has had a coat of Glossy Accents on top.

I had a good old rummage in my bit box again, and came out with checks this time, not spots (like earlier in the week).  It's a piece of BoBunny paper from the Kitchen Spice range, I think.  I picked out the orange colour and teamed it up with some BoBunny Double Dot.  I added some bunting decorated with punched flowers from the same papers.  Did my usual faux stitching around the edges, added a piece of white ribbon and a bit of bling. I think the colours make it perfect for a summer (whatever that is!) birthday.

Summer eh!  It's July at the weekend only it feels more like flippin' October!!  It's stopped raining here but it's still miserable out. 
We've got the Queenie Festival going on this weekend down at Port St Mary.

There's supposed to be a beach party tomorrow night with BBQ, and live music.  It's not going to be much fun if it rains!  I'm sure it'll be busy though.  We'll bob on down there on Sunday and see what's going on.  Anything to do with food and we're there.    
Queenies, by the way, for those who don't know, are queen scallops and are very popular on the island.  My lot love them, I can eat them but not in any great quantity.  They're a little too fishy for me, nice as a starter though.  There is a website here if anyone would like to know more.  You'll find some nice recipes on there too. 

Well, I'm off to have a play with my CWC Pretty Little Prints now.  Have a great Thursday whatever you're doing.

Bye for now

Linda

x

Another job done!

Hello again,
I'm back!  I've had a lovely morning. I managed to get all my jobs done - even the washing (whoo hoo!)  Had a lovely coffee in town, and a chat with my friend Catherine, even hit the shops for a while.

My afternoon has been spent working on the birthday gift for my daughter's friend, and it's all finished.  Everything came together nicely I'm pleased to say.

The plain canvas soon had a bit of colour ..... 

........ I inked the backgroud using Distress Inks (Stormy Sky and Bundled Sage) and templates just cut freehand from printer paper.

Next, was to put the whole picture together .....

.......  as you've probably already guessed, it's a family tree.
The tree was cut using my Cricut and the Serenade Cartridge, and the word 'family' came off  Home Accents.  The little bird is done with a punch, the Bird Builder from Stampin' Up! and the little picket fence int he background is a Martha Stewart punch.
All the frames were cut with Nestabilites and layered up ready for the photos to go on.  I'm going have to leave that bit up to Lauren when she gets this, because I've still no printer (Boo Hoo!).  I've made it easy for her though, I've cut her a template so she can get them all the right size. It's all finished off with some SU Striped Grosgrain Ribbon to hang it with. 
I'm really pleased with the result, I just hope that Sam likes it.  The next thing is to get it over to the UK in one piece - we've only got hand luggage!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the rest of Wednesday and I'll see you again tomorrow.

Bye for now

Linda

x

Do you know what it is yet ............?

Good morning ....
I know I'm a little early this morning, yes it is actually me here, I've not scheduled this to post while I'm still away in the land of nod.  I am up (not comletely awake), still in PJ's however.  Lots to do today, so I needed an early start.

This is the main thing I have to do ...... just a sneaky look - it's nowhere near finished!  It's the birthday gift to go with the card from yesterday.  It needs to be all done and dusted soon,  I need to take this across to the UK on Friday.

oooh! .....  what can it be?

Can you tell what it is? 
The canvas has been prepped - a coat of Gesso and a coat of white acrylic paint. Just needs some colour on there now.
The main design pieces have all been cut and layered up ready.  Thanks to my trusty Cricut machine yesterday - he's always a big help.  I'm hoping once everything is in it's place it will look fab. 
That's this afternoon all planned, along with trying to squeeze in my challenge card for the PBSC.  Then once all that is done I can sit down and play with this ........

...... my monthly Project Kit from Craftwork Cards.  Doesn't it look gorgeous!  The papers are really sweet and the new candy is just soooo cute.  There's all sorts in there, it's such a great bargain, and the quality is fab.  Check it out here on their website.  Can't wait to get started, I'll be back later in the week with what I come up with.

Must dash, I have to toodle off into town this morning, a few things to do (boring stuff - bank etc.)  It's raining again so I thought I could go in when Stephen goes to work, I don't get wet then! 
I'm also meeting up with a friend while I'm there, for coffee and a chat, (not boring stuff!) so I could be a while.

See you all later.  Have a lovely day.

Linda

x

It's a funny old day .....

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post for now.  I'm having a funny sort of day today.  I've been busy all morning but I don't seem to have done very much!  Could have something to do with the fact that both my other half and my son have both had interviews this morning.
Stephen's just popped home to get changed and grab some lunch.  He said his went well, but then again they always do.  He loves interviews (strange man!)  Christopher on the other hand left the house a little nervous about his.  I haven't heard anything from him yet.

I wanted to share the card I finished yesterday for my daughter's friend.  I'm so glad this is done because it didn't half cause me a headache.  Nothing I did seemed right.  Most if it ended up in the bin which is not like me at all.  I usually save all the 'happy accidents', they always come in for something.  Not this time!
Eventually this is what I came up with ....

Lauren had wanted steampunky/vintage but pretty.  All the colours I tried just weren't right.  I wanted something a little different, nice it bright.  Guess what!?  Sat on my desk waiting to be used were the new TH Distress Inks - Summer colours.
I used the same three inks throughout the whole card, just added a bit of black.  The stamps I used were my new Patchwork Butterfly from Chocolate Baroque, along with a couple of favourites from Tim Holtz.
I really dressed up the dress form this time and even added some bling.  I think there's a bit of everything on this to be honest, but I think it works.  Even the envelope is decorated (and of course the inside's done too, I just forgot to photograph it!)  I hope she likes it.  It certainly turned out bright and colourful!

Well, off to the craft room.  I need to start on the gift to go with it now.

See you all later.

Linda

x

WANTED - ONE MOJO (preferably before the end of the week!)

Good evening everyone,
Well I hope your Monday has gone a little better than mine.  Technology has been playing games with me again (arghhh!) - and my mojo seems to have gone walkabout.  If anyone spots it please send it back, I really need it this week!
First thing this morning was to finish off a birthday card I started yesterday (more about that some other time).  Once that was out of the way I decided it was time I started Tim's Tag for June. 12 Tags of 2012 That's when the trouble started. 

After searching through mountains of photographs and not being able to find a single black and white one, can you believe it,  I decided to see what was still on my camera that I could play about with.
There were a couple on there that I thought would be ok so off I go.  BIG problem, my printer thought they would look better in GREEN!   OK, No problem I can sort that I thought, so I tried again. No, still green.  I tried printing a colour photo.  That was green too. 
OK, lets check ink cartridges.  Half full -  hmm they should be ok, but, I thought I would put new ones in anyway.  I even cleaned the print heads and decided to re-calibrate the machine.  Try again .......  slight change, this time they were BLUE (so was the air in my craft room I can tell you).  I even tried printing pictures downloaded from the internet but no, they were blue too.  June's tag was not going well.

The afternoon got a little better.  After an short, and expensive, trip into town with my son I had another think about how to do this tag.

I suddenly remembered that I do have one black and white photograph but I really didn't want to start messing around with it.  I have a copy of it framed but the original is safely put away.  Time was running out though, I had to get my tag done today, so off I went to get the photo.
It's the only photograph I have of my Mum.  It was taken over sixty years ago and I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think she would be in her early to mid 20's.  The picture is of her and her sister, my mum's the one on the right.  Sadly neither of them are still with us.  I lost my Mum, Dorothy, in November 2001 and then Auntie Hilda in 2008.  You can understand why I didn't want to mess with it.  Anyway I had a thought, could I possibly get the printer to COPY this.  (drumroll.......) TaDa!!  Yes I could, and here's the result ....

Sisters

I must admit, this was a tough tag for me.  I had virtually none of the things Tim had used, except for the inks.  Even the stains weren't the ones I had - except Picket Fence. (need to put that right - SOON)   I went with Victorian Velvet and Bundled Sage for the background, which doesn't look too bad.   The stamp is the large script one from his Papillon set from last year.  The one I used on the photograph is from a Hero Arts clear set.   It took me a couple of attempts at colouring the picture (good job I'd done a few copies)  In the end I tinted my photo with Bundled Sage and Spun Sugar, the Victorian Velvet was a little too dark.  It's not all that clear in the photo, but in real life you can tell.
The paper is from Tim's Vintage Shabby Paper Stack.  It was already out on my workdesk thank goodness, because I hadn't even thought about which paper to use.
I had some of the trinkets but not all, I do need to stock up again. (Ooh, looks like I'm going craft shopping!)   In the end there's a right old mix of things on there.  
What do you think?  I'm quite pleased with the result, considering how much I struggled with it.  I don't know if I would do this technique again but it was nice to give it a try.  Thanks Tim!

I guess I need to buy a new printer now.  Another thing to add to my list.  See, what do I keep saying .... cross one thing off, add something else on.  I'll get to the end of it one day.

Thanks for popping by.  Don't be shy, please leave me a comment, I love to know what you all think. And if you've taken part in Tim's Tag's of 2012 this month I'll do the same over on your Blog.

Bye for now.

Linda

x

It's only Sunday!

Hi everyone,
Hope you're all having a nice Sunday afternoon.
Welcome to my new followers Teresa and Lynda who have joined me this weekend, it's nice to have you along.  
I know it's only Sunday, and yes I can't quite believe it myself, but my entry for this week's Less is More challenge is already done!  Most unusual, I'm normally doing this on the last minute.   This week I have to be a little more on the ball (ooh, small football pun there!  England game tonight).  
We're off across to the UK again on Friday, only for one night this time.  I still have my ever growing list, and there are things on there that need to be done before Friday - in fact one of the things needs to go across with me (2 actually but I know I won't get both finished) so  I'd better get a wriggle on.

The reason for the trip across is I'm going on a craft workshop all day on Saturday.  I've been so looking forward to this one for ages.  It's being run by a friend of mine, the very talented Maria Simms.  Check out her blog here  There's gorgeous designs on there, loads of inspiration and ideas, and it's a good read.
Maria is a top class craft designer and demonstrator, and can be seen on Create and Craft. She designs for craft magazines and she's also the NorthWest's demonstrator for the fabulous Clarity Stamps
She's one busy lady!

Half the workshop is with Maria doing various craft techniques along with rubber stamping -  I'll share what we make with you next week, no doubt Maria's designs will be absolutely stunning.   Then she's sharing the day with a lady called Annette Lee who will be showing us how to make a wall hanging using the Cricut machine.  I can't wait!!
I've been threatening to attend one of Maria's classes for so long, but since moving to the Isle of Man I've never actually made it on one, the dates just never seemed to be right for me.  Not this time though.  My bag is packed and ready to go, I just have to get the week over now.

Back to this weeks LIM Challenge  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/
This week we have a recipe
                'Paper Piecing'
This means that we can dig out those scraps of Designer papers that are lurking around in our stash and use them to colour in our stamped images.
This technique is so much fun, the only problem is it can take a while to decide just which papers to use as we all have so many fabulous bits lying around that we just don't want to throw away, just in case we need them!

Here's mine for this week .....

This is one of my favourite stamps for paper piecing - Clarity's corset.   You can do quite a few layers with this one but I just did two today (as it's for Less is More).

The image was stamped first onto a piece white card, along with the 'legs',  then again onto a piece of pink paper and another piece of white.  These two were then cut out and layered over the top of the original image.
The pink spotty paper is from one of my all time favourtie collections - Je t'adore by making memories, and the white is a tiny bit of Bazzill Dot.  I couldn't resist adding the black lace to the bottom - ooh la la!
The Clarity 'feminine' stamp makes great legs don't you think.
The edges were inked with Victorian Velevet DI and fancy punched borders added down the sides.

Well, it's back to the craft room.  One job done, goodness knows how many to go.  It's a hard life!!

Bye for now.  Wish the England lads loads of luck for tonight.  It's not going to be an easy game against the Italians.

See you later in the week.

Linda

x

Rain Rain Go Away ........

Happy Friday everyone,

Welcome to my two new followers.  Thank you so much for taking an interest in my blog, it's nice to know enjoy reading it.

Well, yesterday's idea of not going into town because it was raining a little bit was NOT a good one.  I'm soaked!  It's a terrible day here, the rain is lashing down and it's windy with it.   So much for Summer eh!
I was in the post office this morning and a lady in front of me was discussing the weather.  She said the forecast for today had been light showers, but what the weatherman didn't say was these would be in between the heavy ones (LOL!).

Well, that's enough about the weather.  I'm back home and drying off nicely, and my jobs are all done - yeah!  Hopefully cards will be delivered in time for birthdays etc., next week.  I've done my bit, now it's up to the Royal Mail.

I was actually looking for something new to wear, we're supposed to be off out tomorrow on some work thing  (that's so not happening if the weather's like this).  But, could I find anything, not a chance! I didn't really know what I was looking for which didn't help.  In the end I just gave up.  I did buy a lovely new bag - as if I need one of those.  It is pretty though, what do you think .........

I like it anyway,  it's my little bit of summer.
 
I also picked up a couple of crafty bits, well it would have been rude not to.

The canvas is something I'm doing for Lauren to give as a gift, I'll keep you posted on that one if it turns out ok.  And, is that a Timmie die there too ....... oops! Well I didn't have this particular one in my stash, and when you see things like this over here you have to get them.  Craft stuff just isn't that readily available on the island - papercraft that is.  Thank goodness for the internet is all I can say!

Well I'm off to have a play with my new Distress Inks now, and make a start on that canvas.  Hmm ... maybe I can combine the two, I'll have a think about that one.

Have a lovely weekend.  I'll be back on Monday with something crafty to show you - hopefully!

Bye for now, stay dry indoors and craft!

Linda

x

Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

(Sigh!) Looks like I didn't manage to sort out my font problem after all. One of yesterday's posts is insisting on being different!!  But, do you know what, it's going to have to stay like it is.  Life's too short. and let's face it, the font size is not that small that you can't read it.  So Blogger, I have to say you've got the better of me on this one!!
(Tiny rant over) 

Happy Thursday everyone,

Me and my big mouth!  Or was it due to the fact that it was the longest day yesterday, who knows,  but summer's gone again!!  It's a horrible day here on the Isle of Man (that's just for Deborah!), it's pouring down.  But it didn't stop my Postie stopping by this morning.  Bless him, he was soaked.  Look what he brought for me ......

summer for my craft room

Can't wait to have a play with these!!  But first I have some stuff to do in Douglas, if I can find the enthusiasm  to go that is.  Not even the thought of some retail therapy is making me want to head out in the rain.  Lets see what it's like after lunch - I can hear my craft room calling already.

Did anyone see Kay from Indigo Blu on C&C yesterday?  She had two fab shows - both sell outs virtually, and it was all Christmas!  I think the stamps are still available on the Indigo Blu website - here  but don't hold me to that.
I spent three days last week, full of Christmas spirit, working on samples for the shows.  It was nice actually to have a play around with Christmas ideas, it got me thinking about my own cards for this year.

I posted you some sneak peeks over the weekend, well get ready because here are the full versions.  Most of my samples were shown on the show, although Kay did say a couple were someone else's!  I do assure you though, all of these were done by little old me.  Here goes ....

These were all done with stamps from the Retro Christmas set. Lovely traditional images and a nice size too.  I love the jolly Santa.  He was coloured using Copics and then the fur on his hat was glittered.  So quick and easy to do.  The 'ho ho ho' was die cut in chipboard then flitter glued and flaked, and teamed up with last year's BoBunny Christmas papers.

Next is the Here Comes Santa set.  I love this set of stamps, you get so much on there.  There's a nice selection so you can even do some scene building like I've done here, with inks and a couple of masks.

The background turned out really well.  I used some Art Masking Fluid on the card first, just splattered (technical term there) randomly.  Once this was dry I used Distress Inks to colour the sky, using a mask to make my moon.  Then you just rub away the masking fluid and this is the result, it looks like it's snowing. Cool!

You don't have to use all the stamps to create a scene, just one of the small ones will do.  If you have a lot of cards to make this is so quick and easy.  The sentiment and the flourish are both off the same set. 

Oh Christmas Tree!

The Snow Queen is next, she's gorgeous

I'd used my spritzing technique to create an icy looking background then just stamped her directly on top - simple

Again this was just Distress re-inkers (Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans) diluted with water, and then Perfect Pearls.  Cling film crinkled over the top and left to dry.

And last but not least of the sneak peeks, the Christmas Deer - sooo cute!

Flitter Glu and Flakes

not just for cards ...

You can probably see a bit of Melanie Heaton influence here - the three little dots in the background on the card,  and of course the hanging decoration.
I think Mel is a fantastic crafter and a super demonstrator, she's full of fabulous ideas and great tips and tricks. And what this girl doesn't know about the Cricut machine just isn't worth knowing.    I used to go on a lot of her classes before moving to the IOM and I'm lucky enough to call her a friend.  She's on Create and Craft regularly, if you get the chance, keep a look out for her shows and watch because she's fab.  Check out her blog here too.  There's always great projects with detailed tutorials, and her show times are usually on there.

Phew!  That was a long one.  Thanks for sticking with it.  I have got more Indigo Blu Christmas samples but I'll leave them for another time.

Still deciding whether to brave the rain - ah well, there's always tomorrow!  Hope the weather's a bit nicer where you are.

Bye for now

Linda

x

I haven't finished yet!

Hello again,
You just can't get rid of me today can you.
Here's my second Blog Challenge for this week - the Penny Black Saturday Challenge PBSC
This weeks challenge is .....
                                 5 Circles
The usual rules of the challenge apply and this week we have to use 5 circles on our project - buttons and gems can count towards the 5. 
Here's what I came up with .....

I'm having a real vintage/distressed phase at the moment, not that I'm complaining. 
I found using 5 circles a bit of a challenge though.  I wanted to use 5 actual circles, not counting gems or buttons, but it just wasn't happening. However, looking at the finished card  you could argue that I have in fact used 6 circles and a button, making 7 in total, but I'm sticking with 5.  The main image on the large circle (1), then two smaller stamped images (3), the one with the sentiment on (4) and the button (5).

The gorgeous stamp is Penny Black's butterfly suite (4182K), which I stamped in black Versafine ink and then dusted Victorian Velvet DI over the flower and used Distress Markers to colour the leaves and add some shading.  The edge was coloured with a mix of Old Paper, Tumbled Glass and a little bit of Pumice Stone.  I used the markers again to colour the butterflies.
Prima papers were the perfect match, the spotty one is from the Jack and Jill collection and the others came from the gorgeous Nature Garden paper stack.  I distressed the edges, did a bit of tearing here and there and added a little bit of vintage lace as I was matting and layering - using up all the bits I kept finding on my work desk.  The smaller circles were cut and embossed using Nesties, and a little bit of DI was added while the dies were in place.  I found the lovely MOP button in my stash and added some lace behind and a bit of coloured twine to finish off.  I even did the inside too, to use up what was left of the papers.

I like to decorate the inside of my cards, especially the larger ones.  It makes them a little more balanced and less likely to fall over.

I would like to do one more post tonight, but whether that will happen I'm not sure.  Maybe I should leave it until the morning when my head's a bit clearer.  I've been on the computer most of the day and it's beginning to drive me nuts.  Blogger is messing with me again too.  Stephen came home and noticed that the font size had changed on my last post.  Could I change it back - NO!!!!  After walking away and leaving things for a while I've managed to get this post back to normal (ish) not sure it's worked on the last post though.  We'll see what happens once this has been published.

Thanks for putting up with me today, and taking the time to read my latest ramblings.  If you've stuck with me all day, you can't have got much else done!  I'm going to take a break for a while and would you believe, do some ironing.  I'm also going to watch the Indigo Blu shows I recorded earlier.  Kays been on the telly doing her stuff today with Christmas stamps, and I believe they were sell out shows - Yeah!!  That also means I can share with you what I was busy with last week.

See ya later

Linda

x

Back again! 1st Challenge of the week

Hello again,
Lunch time over, back to 'work'.
It's Less is More time again. (LIM)  I love taking part in this little Blog Challenge.  I say 'little' but last week there were over 170 entries.  It's always nice to see so many different ideas and designs each week.  I must apologise though for not stopping by more blogs and commenting on the cards last week, but time just ran away with me.  I will do better this week, I promise.
It's Theme week this week and the challenge is 
                Something Shiny
                                 
Hmm ........ something shiny?? This could be any number of things -  gems or glitter, shiny silk ribbon maybe.  Metal trinkets or glossy cardstock?  Shiny could be a nice new car, shiny new bike, diamond ring. It could even be a Christmas bauble.  The list could go on.  In the end I went with mirri card and made a bunch of shiny keys for a lovely new home.

I don't use much mirri card these days, but the different coloured pieces I found in my bit box were perfect for the job.  I used the TH Alterations die - Hardware Findings, to cut the keys and the keyhole.  I sanded the edges of the keyhole a little, to remove the shiny layer then coloured over with DI to give a bit of a worn look. I attached it to the front of my card then cut out the middle - you can just pick this up in the photo.
As you can see I've used the spritz technique again.  I wanted to add a little colour so I used a circle template as a stencil, positioned off the edge of the card, then doodled around the outside.   


I'm loving this look at the moment (can you tell).  While there's ink in those little spray bottles, beware!  
It's funny how you forget techniques then suddenly everything you make includes one particular thing - well this is mine.  It won't be for much longer though the bottles are nearly empty. 
 
It's not a brilliant picture, sorry.  I'd left it until late in the afternoon to phoptgraph it and I struggled to get a decent shot. (I said we'd had a nice week so far)  What with the sunshine streaming through the window and the mirri card reflecting on my camera it wasn't easy.  It looks shiny to me, what do you think? 

Hopefully I'll be back later on.  What's this, nothing for days, then 3 at once!  Just trying to catch up a little.

Bye for now, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

Linda

x 

Do you ever get the feeling you've been here before!

Good morning - well actually it's nearly afternoon,
That's the story of my week so far.  Here we are again, Wednesday already and I've hardly done a thing.  I'm still playing catch up with last weeks 'To Do' list, but I'm getting there - slowly!

It looks like summer is back here on the island- for now at least!  The last couple of days have been really nice with sunshine all day (not that I've seen much of it).  Today isn't quite as sunny but it is nice and warm. At least I'll get the washing dry.  I do hope it's nice where you are and that you're getting the chance to make the most of it.

First job of the week was to finish a birthday card.  It's a little late I know (birthday was Saturday) but I did send a gift and it arrived in time.  Sally won't hold it against me I'm sure, she knows her card is to follow.  I did send a little hand-made something as part of her gift - a door hanger for her Craft Room.

I got the idea for this from an article in this months Craft Stamper Magazine.  The colours I've used are similar but I used different stamps, mainly because at the time I didn't have the fabulous Patchwork Butterfly stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  Notice how I said 'at the time'.  Yes, you've guessed it, they've somehow found their way into my stash (naughty me!).  Well, you can never have enough butterflies, and the large one on this set is just gorgeous.  Can I just say how quick they were in arriving too.  I ordered them about 3.30pm on the 11th and they arrived in the morning post on the 12th - can't ask for more than that can you.

Back to the door hanger.  The stamps I used were all from Mr Holtz, except the butterfly wings which were from a large Hero Arts collage stamp.
I made the background by spritzing plain white card with Distress Ink (from the re-inkers) mixed with a little water (Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Peeled Paint).  Then I spritzed Perfect Pearls over the top and covered the card with cling film, wrinkled it up a little, and left it to dry.  Peel off the cling film once it's dried and you'll find that the perfect pearls has gathered in the creases giving a marbling or mother of pearl look to the card.  I like to cover a few full sheets of card when  I'm doing this technique and then I have a stash to use when I like.
I then stamped the images using black Versafine, the large flourish and the numbers are from TH Stampers Anonymous Fairytale Frenzy (CMS058), and the dress form is from Haberdashery (CMS105).  The dress form has been stamped again onto textured cardstock, cut out and decoupaged over the top. The butterfly wings have been added along with some ribbon trim around the bottom.  The wording was just done on the computer, cut out, inked and doodled around the edge

You can also see a close up of how the perfect pearls turned out - pretty or what!

I decorated the back too.......

...... using the same flourish stamp and added one of Tim's sayings (Stuff to Say CMS110).  Final thing, I added some ink splats using the Picket Fence Distress Stain, and literally splat the bottle straight onto the card - great fun!
I can't share the card with you yet as I haven't sent it, but I will say that it matches the door hanger.

Well, at least I've made a start on this week's blogging.  I'll be back later on with some Blog challenge entries.  You'll be sick of me before today is through.
I'm going to try and enjoy a little of this nice weather and have lunch outside I think - after I've put more washing out!  What a glamorous life I lead.

Bye for now

Linda

x

Positively Festive!

Good morning everyone,
It's weekend, thank goodness. Time to slow down and relax a little I think.  This last week has been non- stop for me, and I still didn't get everything done in time - the list goes on!  Sorry Sally, your birthday card is on it's way - honest!

Just a quick word about last nights football, England WON - well done lads!  We beat Sweden 3-2 It didn't look like a win was possible at one point but they pulled it off.  Let's hope we can keep it up on Tuesday next week, we need at least a draw against the Ukraine.

The dreaded 'C' word was spoken this week - yes that's right CHRISTMAS!!  Now I know it's only the middle of June and we haven't had summer yet, but some of us have had to put our Santa hats on and find some festive spirit.
I've been working on Christmas cards since Wednesday, and I'm feeling positively festive.  I even came close to getting the Christmas CD's out on Friday afternoon when a friend joined me, who was also planning Christmas cards, but in the end we thought maybe it was a little too early.
I must admit I do like making Christmas cards.  At the beginning of this year I said I was going to make at least 1 every week so that come December there wouldn't be that mad rush to get everything finished before the big day.  Well, I have the grand total of ........... NIL so that idea worked well!  I tell a lie, I do have some cards left over from last year, but I haven't actually made any new ones.  Oh well, it's only June - plenty of time (haha).

I can't actually share with you what I've spent my time on this week, but I can tell you they were Indigo Blu stamps that I was working with (gorgeous, by the way), and that Kay is back on Create and Craft next Wednesday (20th) with 2 shows that are all Christmas.  If you are around tune in on Sky channel 671, Freeview 36 or Freesat 813, the stamps are all fab and Kay will have some great ideas to get you started on your own Christmas designs. And my cards should be on the telly too, if they arrive on time.
I'm going to be very naughty now and give you some sneaky peeks ........ shhh! don't tell anyone will you.

..... and the ivy

oohh..... who could this be?

mwah!!

 

looks a bit frosty ....

same as above but different .... ?

I don't think I've given too much away have I.  Once everything has been on air, I'll be back with all the details.  In the meantime all of the stamps are available on the Indigo Blu website.  Check them out here  Along with the stamps there's a whole range of other fabulous stuff to tempt you.

Well, must be off, things to do.  Have a lovely weekend whatever you're doing.  I hope the weather is kind to you. It hasn't got off to a great start here.  Ah well, great excuse to spend the afternoon crafting.

Bye for now,

Linda

x  

Everything's now running fine

Hello out there,
Just want to do a quick post and say  My Blog is working again - yeah!!  I can now see all my posts and the lovely comments that you have been leaving me, thank you so much.  They've all been published now, and I will get back to you all soon - I promise. I need to catch up with what everyone has been up to while I've been away.
Patience isn't my strongest point, and when I can't get my laptop to do what I want I'm like a bear with a sore head - grumpy doesn't come into it.
For the past couple of days Blogger just hasn't been playing ball, and from the sound of things I'm not the only one having problems.  Mine seems all sorted now, thanks to my genius husband.  My tech-support has finally had time to sit down and sort it out.  I kept getting a message with the error code bx-1io90b whenever I logged on and tried to do anything - there's been a lot of screaming at my poor laptop I can tell you.    Anyway  my OH managed to find out that it was something to do with an AVG Tool Bar or something like that !!?!?? (computers, not my strong point).  He pressed a few buttons, disabled it, and Hey presto!  It's all working again.  Thank you  xx
Sorry it's not a craft related post today.  I have been busy though, doing more samples but you'll have to wait until the weekend for some sneak peeks - I haven't photographed anything yet!   I've also been putting the finishing touches to a birthday gift.  Again, more on that next week.

Have a lovely evening, what's left of it.  I'm having an early night.  I need to get these samples finished tomorrow come what may, so it could be a long day.

Bye for now.

Linda

x

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Happy Thursday! (It was still Wednesday when I started this)
Hopefully this will post ok.  I'm having a little trouble with Blogger at the moment -  gremlins in the system I think.  I can't view my post list, or my comments list.  I can't check out my Blog reading list, all I keep getting are these flippin' error codes when I sign in, and I can't find out what to do with them to put things right - aarrgh!!!  I can do without this right now!!!
I know you guys are reading Wednesday's post because I'm getting emails to tell me you've all left comments. Thank you,  however I can't log in to moderate them so I can't publish anything.  Please keep reading and I promise I will get things sorted asap.

Tonights (or rather this mornings) post is my entry for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge PBSC
It's a colour challenge this week and the theme is .......
 
                          Red, White & Blue!
 
Seeing as it's Father's Day on Sunday and I haven't had chance to make any cards yet I thought I'd do two jobs at once.
Here's the result ........

It's VERY red, white and blue, and I think I may have overdone the faux stitching but I haven't got time to start again!
The little guy with the tie is from a Penny Black clear set called 'Bubbly'.  The sentiment's on the same set too.  He was coloured in with Copic pens, cut out and embossed using the Nestabilities Postage Stamp Die and then inked around the edge with the die still in place, with Paris Dusk and Ladybug Memento inks.  This is a great little technique as the white edge gives the impression of another layer being there.
The papers are from one of my favourite ranges -  Bo Bunny Double Dot.  I have 2 boxes for these, one that's for full 12x12 sheets and one that's full of all the cut off bits.  I hate throwing any of these papers away, even the smallest pieces can come in for something.  I had  a good rummage through and managed to find some bits big enough to give me a nice layout, no need to cut into a full sheet.  They're double sided too, dotty on one side, plain on the other, so you can alternate them to get a nice contrast.  I used the plain sides for the bunting and the thin strips - see I really don't throw any of these papers in the bin!
This card is actually going in the post tomorrow, it's being sent across to the UK to my father-in-law.  I hope he likes it.

Well that's it for tonight, I'm off to bed.  Sorry it's a bit of a short post but I'm absolutely shattered, and it is rather late.  Plus everyone else has gone off to bed and left me on my own - awww!
I have another busy craft day planned tomorrow - more Indigo Blu.  I will post some sneak peeks over the weekend.
I'll also have another go at sorting out my Blog problem tomorrow -   Please continue to leave comments as I get them sent in an email before they go on the Blog.

Thanks for popping by.  See you all tomorrow (or should I say later today)

Night Night!

                                              Linda
                                                 x

edit done 20/6  LATE ADDITION
I thought I'd add this in here as it's a Father's Day card.  Stephen had said he wasn't bothered about a card seeing as I was so busy on the run up to Father's Day but I couldn't not make him one could I.  He was out most of the afternoon on Saturday so I took the opportunity and made this for him ....

It was doing using my Cricut - well I needed all the help I could get, I was frazzled by weekend.  I think the saying is off the Wild Card cartridge, and the papers are my favourite BoBunny Double Dot, and an old print design from Magnolia.  I think he appreciated it when Christopher presented him with it.  He wasn't sure how or when I'd had the time to make it though.  xx

Is it Wednesday already?

Good morning,
I wish this week would slow down, too much to do, and not enough time to do it!  My list just keeps getting longer and longer.
My week got off to a good start, Monday morning saw the sunshine back again (yeah!) and my day proved to be very productive - 2 cards (well 3 in a way) done and ticked off, and I made a start on 2 more. I was definitely on a roll.
I'd seen a project in this months Craft Stamper Magazine - latest issue, and thought I would give it a go and do my version as part of a birthday present for a very special friend of mine. As usual I didn't have the exact products used but I improvised and went for my trusty Distress Inks.  I was pleased with the results I got.   I'll let you have a sneak peek of the finished item later.

First up on the list this week was my Less is More entry - LIM
It's Week 71 and it's a ONE LAYER week. 
(OLC One Layer CardOne piece of card folded in half with no additional layers and minimal embellishments, where the image is stamped or printed directly onto the cardstock.)

Now I don't normally do one layer cards (as you've probably guessed!)   Mine always tend to have a bit of matting and layering - some more than others, and embellishments of some description (usually ribbon or lace).  So not really my comfort zone.
Not only was it One Layer, but the challenge was to ..........

 USE A FLOURISH

Here's what I came up with.

Using a flourish wasn't a problem - I love 'em.  Finding one on the other hand proved a little difficult.  I have loads of flourish stamps but could I lay my hands on one - No.  Not until I'd been through every box of stamps nearly.   An addition to my ever growing list is now SORT OUT STAMPS!!! My system worked well up until now, but since we moved, everything had to have new homes and now I can't seem to just lay my hands on stuff.  Oh well, something else to keep me busy.

Back to the card ........  I remembered I had the beautiful Stampin Up! set Everything Eleanor which has the most gorgeous flourish.  I stamped it just off the edge of the card  in SU Certainly Celery ink, then added a cute little bird cage, again from an SU stamp set - Happy Moments (I think this is quite an old set and has now been retired). The colour was SU Rose Red, a nice bright contrast to the green.  I used a black fine liner to draw the 'chain' on the bird cage so that looked as if it was hanging off the flourish, and stamped the sentiment in black.  I've used this sentiment before on a LIM card, but it's one of my favourite's and fits so well with the little bird.  It's a clear stamp (I think from a small Hero Arts set) and I always like to shape it to follow my design.  The message inside reads 'it's your birthday'.

Well that's number one done.  I'll be back later with more.  But now I have to get back to 'work'.
The postman has just brought me a lovely parcel from Sarah at the Indigo Blu Design Team - it's a tough job I know, but someone's gotta do it!   I need to go and find my Christmas spirit for the rest of the week.  Yes, I know it's only June, but, I did say CHRISTMAS.  We crafters have to start planning early.  Kay's on TV again soon and the whole show is Christmas so I need to get a move one. 
HO! HO! HO!

Thanks for popping by. Have a good week, whatever you're up to, and I'll  see you all again later.

Bye for now

Linda

x

The BIG 4 0

Hello there,
Hope you're all having a nice weekend.
I'd like to say Hello and Welcome to my latest follower, Greta.  It's lovely to have you on board and thank you for all the lovely comments.
My weekend isn't going bad at all.  I didn't plan on doing much, decided it was time for a couple of days R&R before the chaos begins again on Monday.
Yesterday was a little manic, we were in and out the house all morning dodging the TT road closures.  The weather wasn't brilliant first thing so the races had been put back a bit (again!), which meant we had a bit more time than expected before all the roads closed.  We dashed up to Ramsey because I wanted to go to one of my favourite shops on the island - Pure Inspiration.  Check them out here on Facebook. 
I love this little shop, and if you're looking for that special something for a gift (as I was) you can count on finding it there.  There's a little bit of everything from home decor to gorgeous pampering products,  jewellery, most of it hand made and all of it gorgeous, crystals and candles the list goes on.  I found exactly what I was looking for - can't show you though in case the person who it's for sees it - sorry!
I delivered my 'man' card in the afternoon.  And guess what, Mike loved it (thank goodness). 
40, I remember it well, even though it's such a long time ago!  I didn't celebrate my 40th with a party, I told Stephen I didn't even want to be in the country, so he took me to Venice (best hubby ever!!).  I fell in love with the city, it's beautiful, but unfortunately haven't had the chance to go back - maybe one day soon. Anyway, I digress .... 
We had a fun afternoon at Mike's party. Good food, good wine and great company. It didn't rain so there was a BBQ and we even managed to watch the football - yeah!  I can hear a few groans out there from you guys that don't like the game,  but sorry, I love it!!  Don't worry I won't mention it again - unless England win (as if that's going to happen), so you're safe.

On a crafty note, I won my first Blog challenge this weekend too - WhooHoo!  I won over at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. PBSC  You can imagine the surprise I got when I popped onto the website to checkout this weeks theme, and there was my name and card at the top of the post, along with Susan's who had also won - Congratulations Susan, stunning card design! 
I can't wait to receive my prize, it's a fabulous Penny Black stamp.  If it arrives in time I may just use it on this weeks entry.

On that note, I think it's time I got out of my PJs.  No-one else has surfaced yet (hungover I expect!) so I've had a nice peaceful Sunday morning, just me and the birds in the garden - lovely!

See you all again next week.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Linda

x

I've done it!!

Happy Friday everyone,
Well the final day of the TT was postponed due to bad weather conditions. This means the weekend is going to be all messed up because they'll now run the race tomorrow - great!
I have things to do tomorrow, I need to go shopping!!  And we have Mike's 40th birthday party to get to in the afternoon.  We have to go - I've made him a card. 
Yes, you heard correct.  I've made the 'man' card.  I've been putting it off all week but finally it's done.  What do you think?

I'm quite proud of it actually.  I don't like doing cards for men they're really hard work (the cards are not easy either - lol!) I'm really pleased how this has turned out though.
I must admit the idea has been there all week.  I knew which stamps I wanted to use and the 'time flies' theme was there, I just wasn't sure what to put with it, what colours to use, do I use papers or not, this is for a guy so I can't put ribbons on there, etc., etc., etc.
Once I sat down and got everything together it didn't take that long.  The longest bit has been waiting for the glossy accents to dry on the clock face.
I made the pocket watch first.  The pieces are Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Art Parts.  I love these paper board shapes, there's load of different ones you can get and they're perfect for altering whether it be with inks and paint or just covering them with lovely papers.  The only thing is I don't like giving them away - this guy better know how lucky he is!!
I coloured the pieces with Vintage Photo Distress Re-inker then spritzed the frame quite a bit with Biscotti Perfect Pearls.  The stamps I used were from Indigo Blu - one of my favourite stamp ranges. http://www.indigoblu.com/   Check out their website for all the latest stamp designs and much, much more. 
I used the cogs from the 'Take the Time' set and stamped them on the solid pocket watch and embossed with gold.  Once the pieces were completely dry I joined them both together then added one of the Prima wooden clock faces to the centre, you can still see the cogs in the background.  I then covered the face with a layer of glossy accents and left it to dry.

The wings were cut from chipboard with the Tim Holtz Winged Heart Sizzix die.  I used Distress ink to colour the back of the wings and I covered the front with a layer of Flitter Glu, then dipped them into gilding flakes. There's also a little bit on the edges of the number 40 too.

I love using these but they can get everywhere.  You need to be quite firm when brushing off the excess to get a lovely smooth finish.  I have my flakes in a large container, I find it easier, and you don't waste as much because everything just goes back in.  Ooh,  don't forget to wipe any Flitter Glu off your fingers before sticking them into your tub of flakes.   It's strong stuff  and your fingers will end up covered  too.
The background paper is from the new Journal Pad by Prima, and the stripe is a little piece I found in my bit box.  I think it's from My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found range.  I used the stamps again directly onto the paper, same set as before, and Distress Ink around the eges. 
The little tag on the side actually fits into a pocket and is loose so you can pull it out - there's a birthday message on the back.  I stamped the front with the hot air balloon from the Indigo Blu Grand Tour III set, slightly off the edge, and inked around the edges with Vintage Photo DI.  I dropped a little bit of water onto the ink and blotted with a paper towel to give a 'weathered' look.  I thought this was a good spot for the 40 - well it had to go on somewhere, didn't it.
The lettering and the numbers, were all cut with the new Tim Holtz Die - WordPlay,  and you can see that I've also used his Weathered Clock too.
I even decorated the inside ......

Well it looked a bit plain, plus I needed to put extra card on the back so that it will stand up.  There's quite a lot on the front and I don't want it falling over.
Did you spot that I sneaked a bit of vintage seam binding on the front too - well like I mentioned yesterday most of my cards have to have ribbon on somewhere.  At least it's black - very masculine.
I really hope that Mike likes it.  If he doesn't, I'll have it back!!

In case you hadn't guessed I'm a bit of a Timmie fan.  I'd just like to say that one of my previous Blog posts showing my take on one of his 12 Tags has just had 1000 views!!! April post
This is unbelieveable. I've been watching the numbers all week wondering if it would make it, and it has. (anyone would think I've nothing else to do!)  I'm so pleased.  I would never have thought that so many people, from all over, would want to read what I put on these posts. 
I was lucky enough to be one of the 12 winners for the April Tag, and it's since then that all these views have mounted up.  Thanks to everyone for showing an interest, and to all those that left wonderful comments.  I really do appreciate it. 

Phew!  It's been a busy week this week.  Most of what's on my list has got done.  The rest can carry over to next week.  How much time I'll have though, who knows.  I've had the 'C' word (Christmas) mentioned to me - Oh No!  I'll have to go in search of some Christmas spirit - Ho! Ho! Ho! and all that.

Have a lovely weekend.  Hope the weather's kind to you wherever you are.
See you all next week.

Linda

x