Finally back after a crummy couple of months!!

Hello everyone - well it seems like an eternity since I have posted here but I have had a terrible couple of months.  My health continues, as ever, to be really crummy and it is a struggle to carry on if I'm honest but nevermind there is always somebody worse off.

Then on September 4th I lost my beloved Irish Setter William.  He had surgery for a lump and we lost him within a week due to it being an aggressive cancer - my heart is broken and I miss him so much.  To top it all on the same day my dad was in hospital to have a stent put in his heart and he had a heart attack on the table - luckily he was in the right place and he is well on the mend now but the stress of it all made my health even worse than usual.

Anyway, I am back on the up now (although I am still having my moments) but thought I had better make more of an effort.  So I have signed up to a couple of online journalling courses and am definitely going to try to blog more often.

So , there is a new challenge over on my store blog HERE and it would be fab if you would like to take part.  The theme this month is Halloween, or for those that don't do Halloween, use your die cuts :)

I love Halloween but have no one to give a Halloween card to so I have used some die cuts on this card that I made for a 60th Anniversary card;

The papers are Kanban (who are sadly no longer going), and the stamp is an old Creative Expressions one which I lightly watercoloured and I just love it :)  The flower is a Spellbinders spiral blossom, the 60 is cut with my Slive and I punched lots of leaves with my beloved but ancient leaf punch which I have to stand on to get it to go through even the thinnest of card but I love the shape of the leaves LOL.  I bet you have all got something in your stash which doesn't work as well as it once did but you can't bear to get rid of it!!!

Anyway, I finished the card with some satin and organza ribbon from my stash, a couple of pins and some little bugs from K & Company (I think).

I hope you like this card - the people I made for loved it so that made me smile too!

I promise to be back soon but don't forget to join in the challenge

xxx

August!!

Oh where is the year going??  I keep saying I'll blog more and then life gets in the way plus as of yesterday I am another year older and so my brain is slightly mushier LOL..  Anyhoo, there is another challenge over on my store blog and I would love it if you could join in.

 

The theme this month is;

 

Say it with Flowers

 

so anythingslightly flowery will qualify to enter ;o)

 

I have a card made with some Studio 490 stamps - just quite simple but I love this flower stamp;

 

 

The background is a stamp and I used walnut stain distress ink and spritzed some water on it to make it a bit muddy.  The flower was coloured with Distress Markers which I then 'huffed' on and stamped to get the simple watercolour look.  I cut it out with a Spellbinders die and over hung the petals.  The sentiment is also from Studio 490.  I added some Core'dinations onto a Kraft card and layered it up.  Really simple but I like it, I hope you do too!

 

xxx



MIA and new challenge

Well hello - long time no blog!!  I am guilty of not blogging for sooo long.  I have been suffering the most awful migraines and it's been hard just to keep going but with my new medication I have been migraine free for a month (touch wood)  so I am intending to pay much more attention to all things crafty including my blog.  So enough of my crummy health and onto the crafting!

It is July - already!! - and so there is a new challenge on my store blog

Ladybug Crafts

This month it is use your favourite embellishment so a nice fun one!!  I have done a canvas (I actually did it a little while a go but I am a bit behind with everything ;o));

I gessoed the canvas and put some cream acrylic paint on it. 

 I then stamped a one ply tissue with little flower stamps, which are from an Inky Doodles set  (Sarah's designs are just fab and are available HERE), with different Adirondack inks (currant, butterscotch, lettuce and stonewashed).  I then 'pasted' the tissue to the canvas with beeswax melted in my melt pot - I just love the matt finish this gives. 

 I then used the larger flower stamps and made up the 3D flowers and then dunked them into UTEE in the melt pot which makes them look like porcelain.  

These flowers are my favourite embellishment to make.  I also did some little leaves too.  

I stamped the sentiment and then cut it out with a die and edged with ink and then triple embossed that too.  I added 3 eyelets at the bottom and attached some dangly pearls.  

I attached the sentiment and the flowers to my canvas and added the leaves and some pins behind the flowers - pins are another favourite embellishment of mine. 

 To finish off I added some metal corners at the top and some cream lace at the bottom.  I love the contrast of the glossy flowers and sentiment to the matt of the canvas base.  

I really love these small canvases and this one looks better in the flesh than in the photo - I hope you like it though!

I promise to be back soon.

xxx

Back again and a May challenge ;o)

Well I am back again after being MIA - I have been struggling to keep my head above water health wise so just don't seem to manage any blog posts which makes me quite sad ;o(  Anyway I am not here to moan but to share my little card for this months challenge over at Ladybug Crafts blog challenge ;o)

This month the theme is Get Well Soon (very apt for me right now) and the chance to win a £10 voucher to spend online.

I have used a cute Tatty Button stamp along with some Boho Chic design papers from First Edition both are available HERE

I used a Kraft card base and matted the papers onto some brown cardstock.  The papers are distressed around the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink.  Tatty is coloured with watercolour pens to match the papers and then cut out.  The flowers are made using some of the patterned papers cut with Crafter's Companion Die'sire flower dies, which are rolled up and have a little pearl added to the centres.  The fence is a Spellbinders Die D-Lite in brown card.  The sentiment is also Tatty Button and is stamped and embossed in orange pearl powder.

It's ages since I used Tatty stamps so I hope you like her - I think she's a sweetie ;o)

Don't forget to join in the challenge!

xxx

Spring has Sprung!!

Spring is here - not that you'd know it here in the UK as it's pretty cold here.  However, it is the 1st of April and it is time for a new challenge on my store blog Ladybug Crafts and the topic this month is Spring!!

I have made a card which uses Springy colours and a really funky Cockatoo by La Blanche - 

I stamped my image in Gathered Twigs distress ink and embossed with some holographic powder to give it a twinkle.  I added just a little colour with some distress markers. I used an 8 x 8 card base and matted and layered brown cardstock and some patterned papers which I had distressed and inked around the edges.  I added a piece of hessian behind the image and some silky crush brown ribbon which I twisted and looped along the bottom of the card.  I finished by doing the inside of the card to match.

Unusually for me I haven't added a sentiment yet as I can't really decide what suits the card, but I probably will add a sentiment before it goes for sale ;o)

I hope you love my laughing parrot and that you'll come and join in our Spring challenge this month 

xxx

Disappearing post and Craft Us Crazy challenge

Hi everyone - well I posted on Thursday with the new blog challenge for Craft Us Crazy and my post has disappeared- I am sure it was there but it's gone now!!!  So I'll try again.

This weeks challenge is;

Anything but a Card!

I just don't seem to have the time to make all the mixed media/home decor/art projects I want to do so it's nice to have a challenge which takes you away from cards etc.

We have a brand new sponsor for you this challenge....

owned by the lovely and sweet Sonia Kertznus

and please check out the SKDigis Blog

Sonia is offering a $6 VOUCHER for our winner!!!!!

I have made a little book type decoration wth some digi papers I have had for sooo long and I can't remember the name of them but I will scour my folders and find out and let you know (my computer is stuffed to the gunwhales with digi stamps and papers).

Anyway here we go;

I took the base card and made a book spine and added a concertina piece to give the display window.  I distressed all the edges and inked with Walnut stain ink.  The stamped sentiments are both Stamper Anonymous Tim Holtz.  The pretty birds on the inside cover were on the papers so really easy just to distress the edges ;o)  I added punched edges at the front to frame it and the little bird and butterflies were cut from the papers and then I added rock candy crackle paint.  When they were dry I went over with walnut stain (it doesn't show up great on the photos) which sank into all the little cracks.  I added a clasp at the side with a hitch fastener.  The ribbon was just some cream seam binding scrunched up and made into a triple bow.  Finally I added a dragonfly onto the front which is cut from a formable plastic - you just heat it and it goes soft so you can shape it.  I really like this and it is really quite simple to do but looks effective.

I hope you join us in our challenge this week

xxx

Ladybug Crafts March challenge

Happy 1st of March to everyone ;o)  The 1st of the month means that there is a new challenge over at Ladybug Crafts .

This month the challenge is - The Colour Blue.

Blue isn't a colour I use too often which was really the inspiration behind the challenge.  So I have got my spray inks out and my salt and I played to make some backgrounds and I have to say I really do love getting inky.  

Anyway, this is what I ended up with for this challenge;

I used radiant rain dabbers and also some dylusions and splodged (technical term!) them around on some white linen cardstock.  I then added lots of chunky sea salt and put them aside to dry.  Once dry I rubbed all of the salt away and was left with some amazing backgrounds - I really love this salt technique - the trouble is I run out of room to dry all the pieces of card that I have inked and salted so they end up all over the house!!  

I used an Indigo Blu Happy Birthday stamp and heat embossed it with black powder which had interference micas in it so it has a bluey/green sheen to it which I'm not sure is picked up in the photos.  I took some more of my backgrounds and made some little paper roses.  I added some silky crush ribbon and glued the roses on top and added some die cut leaves.  Really quite simple but I love it ;o)  Because there is mica in the inks I used there is a real glimmer to the background.

I hope you like my salty background too.

xxx