Oooh doesn't time fly!

One day I was a tiny schoolgirl just facing the world

Soon after starting school they discovered I was short sighted and needed to wear glasses. Since then I have only taken them off at discos as a teenager (which did once lead to so much disappointment on meeting me the day after than my ardent suitor of the night before did a flit in Woolworths) and to get married (didn't want glasses sticking up through the veil!).
And suddenly in the blink of an eye (that will be the drops the optician put in) I am at thismoment
duh duh durrrrrr
varifocals. One of the true signs of getting older

They do end up a little clearer than that - there was actually sun in Torquay today (never fear, there was also a few rain showers!)
The grey hairs are on their way as well. But only a few so far. Oooh I look glum in the photo - but I was focussing on focussing and focussing. I was holding up a DSLR and trying to guess whether I was in the frame. And then I would look through the wrong part of my glasses and everything would pitch and sway. Ah well, better to get older than not (says the person who spent the best part of yesterday at a death and dying conference)

Still looking at cards wot I have made is cheery - especially if they are in bright colours. Which couldn't be helped for my Daring Card this week as we had a gorgous photo to work with

Greys and yellow and orange/coral and a hint of gold mixed up with chevrons and script. I came up with this

 

The chevron paper is orange and the circle paper is much more yellow in real life. I think each paper came from a different pad. The grey is Authentique Strong, the yellow is Lily Bee, the gold stripe is Dear Lizzy, the coral spotty paper is Fancy Pants and I think the chevron is Simple Stories. I die cut and layered until it felt right. The coral paper had cream toned dots so I covered them with Liquid pearls. I have been trying (and mostly failing) to do a brush script that I like - mostly because I don't want it to be neat and in a straight line and also because despite having about 20 brushes, none seems to do the trick (and of course,  it can't be me at fault!) I wrote "love" with a brush felt tip pen and then covered it with a Wink of Stella glitter pen

you can see the sparkle a bit better here.

I've also made 2 more cards based (loosely) on Lucy Abrams sketches this week

This one didn't work out as I wanted it too. Perhaps because the line beneath the circles is too far up? I quite like its graphic quality though. The papers are all Heidi Swapp
Then there is this one

I decided to try something a bit busier

which I am happier with. These papers are all Crate Paper. I love the numbers paper! The sentiment is Clearly Besotted and I covered the candle and flame with Rock Candy distress stickles. After they had dried the flame still looked a bit pale so I painted on some yellow distress ink on the top.

 My weekend will involve work, rest and play. Hope yours will too!

Something old something new

in terms of scrappy sketches.
Well both these layouts are new but the show and tell for one of them has ended so won't be linked anywhere but here.
Not sure that makes sense - I blame the wind that is tearing round Torbay and has destroyed all the shops down at our beach.
Anyway, here is Scrapfriends current sketch

and here is my version - quite similar to the sketch i think

Me and my two friends on a very muddy walk together when we stayed in Derbyshire for a week's study leave.

I decided to add some mud to the layout with some brown ink and a Kaisercraft splatter backgound stamp. The background paper (All are from the 7 Dots Studio Messy Head collection) was already lovely and distressed but I added more with the stamps and Distress ink and some purple mist. I misted some of the paper as well to add to the purple focus. When I bought my coat I didn't think about how much it would appear in my photos and how difficult purple is to scrap with....
The little hearts are die cuts with the Messy Head collection pack and the large ones were cut with Clearly Besotted heart dies. The leaf die is CB as well

I added some paper from a book - it recounts the tale of Ruth but I haven't actually cut up a Bible. The photo also has a layer of vellum behind it. More vellum was embossed and added to the top and bottom of the paper, along with a strip cut from the main paper when I reduced it in size. The very back paper is from Crate Paper. The finishing touches were some feathers (possibly added to cover a glue fiasco), some Stickles for extra glitter, another die cut and some Tulip Beads in a Bottle copper dots.

Here is the writing - slightly more easy to see although it is deliberately hard work for anyone but me!

Next is last months Scrapfriends sketch

And my version which tells a rather special story of the day Carys nearly burned the house down.
Well the shed anyway.

The weather is so bad that I had to take this with flash photography. It does mean that Miss C is not very clear in the photo - here is the original

I am trying to do more mixed media backgrounds. This one uses a lot of Crate Paper On Trend. There are 3 colours of gelato, yellow Heidi Swapp colour shine spray, a Kaisercraft triangles background stamp and some hand drawn pretend free machine embroidery (!) I added a few strips of washi tape and some very old Pink Paislee die cuts. The letter stickers were originally brown but I coloured them with black Sharpie pen and I have just noticed that the dot on the i is missing.
Here are a couple of close ups

T

And finally for today - another mixed media background but no sketch to follow. If I didn't use sketches most of my layouts would look remarkably similar to this

The background to this page started off as a flat cream Bazzill cardstock. I added the stamping (yes, a Kaisercraft background stamp. I buy them from Merly Impressions. They are really good value (£3.25). I usually use them without sticking the stamp to a block as I like the uneven pattern it produces. I then added a number stencil in yellow Distress Ink. I chose Fancy Pants Down by the Shore papers mixed with Dear Lizzy die cut accents. The doily is sprayed with yellow ColourShine, although it looks gold in the flash photography light. I did some doodling and made my journalling deliberately hard to read. (Mind you at that age my handwriting was TERRIBLE). I dabbed some dots of Chalk Spray but they didn't really work.

And I looked and looked at the layout and it just wasn't right. So on impulse I grabbed the yellow distress ink, a brush and some water and painted over most of the background (which is why you can't see the number stencil any more!) I also painted a few blue shadows and stamped with a Dear Lizzy roller stamp. MUCH better than it was. The faded green dots were replaced by more Tulip beads.

That'll do for today :)

Belt and braces

When it is my turn to chose a challenge for the Daring Cardmakers, I am often stumped. I've been doing this so long that I find it tricky to be original or really challenge myself. So one of the things that I do is to see if there is anything about this day in history that piques my interest. So when I found out that yesterday was 31 years after seatbelts became compulsory in the UK... well firstly I marvelled how short a time it was (I was already a teenager!) and how it is something that seems so important surely it was always mandatory? Although, I also remember the adverts asking us to Clunk Click every trip which also featured some horrific mock accidents.

And secondly, perhaps that the idea of belts just might work... or to translate it into crafty terms - to use some sort of belt on your card. So the idea of Belt and Braces as the dare for this week came to be. And here is my card

 

It is quite bright and cheerful for a cold February day (actually I made it last Monday but it was cold then too!)

I used three different 6x6 pads for this one - from Lily Bee; MME and Crate Paper. The Crate Paper line had a paper with small cup cakes on it and so I used that as a rough guide for making a larger one for my card. I was pleased to find that the pom pom ribbon was the exact shade to match (think it is May Arts). The red ribbon is from PTI and goes all around the white portion of the card as a belt. It did originally have a bow but that was just too big and then I tried to cut notches out of the ribbon to give it a fancy edge and that went wrong and it was getting shorter and shorter and I don't have that much of the ribbon and can't afford PTI prices to the UK now so ended up cutting it on the diagonal and attaching it with tiny staples. (Yes, I may have been muttering rude words under my breath!) My favourite Paper Smooches greeting and some stick on green and glue on red gems finished the card off.

This week I have also made a couple of layouts, including this one for Scrap365, based on their latest sketch

 

I used some Lily Bee, AC Dear Lizzy and Fancy Pants papers and stickers along with two Dear Lizzy die cuts. I wanted to keep the layout quite simple on order to let the beauty of the flowers sing. The base is Fancy Pants corrugated cardstock. Some very old letter stickers (7 years or more?) and a few gems and that is that. Still took forever to decide where to put everything though :)

 

Card sketches ahoy!

Although I use a lot of sketches for layouts (well I start off using them and often veer off dramatically) I don't use many for cards. Perhaps because I can't see past the simplicity of the sketch. But I love Lucy Abrams' cards and sketches so decided to have a little play with two of the sketches she produced this week and never mind if they were simple - or used stars like the sketches did.
What I am most chuffed about is finishing up a 6x6 pad which I have had for ages at the same time. Only loads more to go before I need to buy any.....
This is the first sketch

 and my card which is pretty much the same

This used a MME pad (still a few sheets left in this one). Plus a veneer arrow dyed with Heidi Swapp yellow mist (prettier in real life); a Spellbinders star die and a Clearly Besotted stamp

 and here is the other card sketch which I used twice

 

 This is my favourite card of the three - using an Echo Park pad, Clearly Besotted stamp again and some butterfly punches

I decided not to outline the papers in anyway for a change and am now itching to go back  and give more definition. I will leave it though and instead focus on the fuschia close up which features Glossy Accents

I must use sketches more often!

Stripey

I've been having fun with stripes this week along with the other Daring Cardmakers

I do so love stripes. And dots. And here I have managed to make stripes from dots. I used some papers from an Authentique paper pad ("Strong"). I cut strips of various sizes, inked the edges and then glued them to a scrap of cardstock. Using a spellbinders die I cut out a large star from the centre. I then stuck smaller strips of the papers onto more spare cardstock and die cut a smaller star.
I mounted the frame and the star using foam pads. Very thin foam pads. Probably too thin (trying to avoid the card being too thick to post on a normal stamp) as you can hardly see any dimension at all.

Even close up.
A gem and a Simon Says Stamp phrase on a die cut pennant were the finishing touches.

I've been making some layouts for Quirky Kits again this month. There are a few kits left if you are quick but you can also sign up to the next rather lovely offerings from Leo. Here is a peek at some of my work but do go and look at the blog for more details and to see what Leo and Nikki have made too

Pop the kettle on

it's time for tea.
If you come to our house be advised that the best tea is made by Phil and not me.
It is a well known fact.
He gets fed up every now and then of being chief tea lady and so I get a turn.
And then he remembers why he makes the tea.
He thinks I do it deliberately but I try really hard to make him a lovely cuppa.

All of which is to explain why I had to choose tea as the answer to "What's your tipple?", the question asked by Kathy on Daring Cardmakers last Friday.

Pedants may notice that it is a mug and not a cup, but cups are just not big enough in my opinion.
Plus I had only had a mug die anyway.

I used just one paper pad on this card - Crate Paper DIY Shop which is this fabulous eclectic mix of papers.
But I made up for that with lots of dies from different companies.
QK mug
Cuttlebug stamp die
Spellbinders square die
PTI word "you"
MFT fishtail die

All with Distress Ink round the edges.
The heart is a little punched one covered in red stickles. When it dried there was a bald patch which I covered with a gem!
"You" is all sparkly in real life as I used a Wink of Stella glitter pen on it and added glossy accents on top.

The reason why my Daring card is late this week is that I spent last week drinking lots of cups of tea (mugs really) with two angels. We talked and read proper books and wrote and walked. Best study week ever (apart from missing my family and bumping my head. I lay back on a bed forgetting that there was actually a wall behind me. I had a real eggy lump for the rest of the week. I was impressed). We stayed in a rather gorgeous cottage in a perfect little village called Hartington on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border.

Its all coming back to me now

the notion of blogging!
Although I may not get the chance at all next week again. I always have a lot to say but so often don't seem to have the hwyl to do it (Welsh word meaning "a stirring feeling of emotional motivation and energy") But after such a long hiatus I do want to be creative again. And with this lovely colour inspiration from Nat as the first Daring challenge of the year how could I resist?

 Although you should have seen me despairing over all the lovely bits and pieces I had pulled out and didn't seem able to put together. Finally I ended up with something like this

Isn't that lace amazing? I have no idea where I got it from but have been hoarding it for ever so decided to let some of it go. The papers are from Fancy Pants and Websters Pages. I also used some Tea House Bridge buttons, a Simon Says Stamp sentiment, Cuttlebug embossing folder and dies by Dienamics and Spellbinders. When I first thought I had finished it all looked a bit flat so I added some Glamour Dust swirls with a glue pen. It is VERY twinkly now.

Do have a look at the blog which features some awesome cards by the Daring creatives. And I hope to be here again soon!

1/12th of a year

since I last blogged.
I know, I know, I know.
But sometimes, when you spend a lot of time writing for work, writing for fun just isn't, well, fun.
And it may be my age catching up with me but I have found this Christmas period tiring in the extreme.
Anyway that is all so last year!

I have been doing some crafting to show in the future but I will also give a quick catchup on some of what I have been up to in the last month or so of crafting
First of all some of the Quirky Kit pages I made with the last kit. I am most proud of the cross stitched using aida one

Then here is this years Christmas card. Which was only made possible by the viscious bug that laid me low so that all I had energy for was cutting and sticking (mostly from a prone position). The die cut piece is a Silhouette one which was cut in different colourways from Fancy Pants paper. I felt it needed a little something so then went around the edge with a black pen. And added several different drops of Stickles, Beads and Liquid Pearls

I made an Advent Journal. All the pages and writing are done. But not every page has a title yet (they are being die cut in a time consuming matter) and not all have as much bling as the first few pages

I really love the big gold circles made from swooshing Stickles around and would like to add more of this on some of the pages. My Advent Journal had enough pages to take up two years worth of Advent which is rather lovely.
And finally - a holiday page that uses up bits and bobs from my ever expanding stash

Now that all would have been better spread over several blog posts during the month.
But it wasn't.
Happy New Year!

Is this thing still on?

A combination of the good (Number 1 son's graduation) the bad (some tough work times) and the ugly (a horrendous bug) have kept me away from the blog - and from crafting in general really.
But now I'm back
(from outer space, you just walked in to find me here with that sad look upon my face)

I will go back in time through the Daring Cards I have done recently and not blogged...
(ooh bet you are so excited!)
(I am actually as there have been some fab dares)
Sooooo
this week is our 24th colour combination! The December colours chosen by Zuzana are awesome

Lovely eh?
And here is my attempt at matching them

the yellow is a bit too strong really. I should have put some gesso on it I think. Ah well. The woodgrain paper is a My Minds Eye On the Brightside paper and all the rest are Fancy Pants Parkbench. I diecut the feather using a Clearly Besotted die, turning the blue die cut into the calamus (guess who just found out what the hard bit down the middle of a feather is called?). When it was all stuck down I added some glitter paste to the feather for interest. The sentiment is also by Clearly Besotted and was stamped using a Hero Arts grey ink.

Last week's Daring challenge was Going for Gold. Which, if you are of a certain age like me, probably means that you are now singing the theme tune to the cheesy European quiz from the 1980's. Leo wanted us to use gold and white. So we did

although it is quite difficult to photograph in the low light of December. The bottom panel is vellum outlined with gold pen. I then stuck some gold mesh onto a square of white card and added white glitter ribbon and some gold thread across the top (to hide the sticky tape attaching the mesh to the card). For stability I added two tiny staples to the top. Next I die cut a star from vellum, dry embossed it and then rubbed a gold ink pad across it. I used some American Crafts alphabet stamps for the word "Peace". The gold ink is a bit dull in colour so I went over it with a gold gel pen. The gold gems are actually liquid gel beads.

And finally, the card and tag for the 15th November dare - having a Funky Christmas
(eek - it is a month almost since I blogged!)
The generous and talented Anice gifted us some downloads to use. I made a card using the Sleigh Ride papers

 

I did put a version of this card on the blog but Phil had taken our good camera somewhere and I had to use the runner up with tends to be blurry. This is a little more focussed. The snowflakes were cut on my Cameo and then covered in Glamour Dust. 

I also had fun die cutting and layering the digi papers .

I made a tag with the Silent Night papers - lovely traditional colours. Here are photos with two different cameras! The top photo shows off the lovely gold details and the glossy accents that I added

 but the colours are really a little bit more like this - only slightly warmer

Sticking them both together would be about right I reckon!

Now I am off to catch up with things I have made for Quirky Kits - a scrapbook page featuring lots of sewing and some cards to use up the scraps of the latest kits. See you there?