Fun = Happiness

 
Well there is a lovely new blog called Passion for Promarkers and this is for their first challenge which means I can use any colour PM I have :-)
The sketch I used is from Sketches by {Tamara}....#96 which I loved. Thanks girls. x....link on the right >>>
Promarkers used :-
Pastel Green
Pastel Blue
Sky Blue
Cornflower
Vanilla
Sandstone
Raw Sienna
The image was from a forum buddy and is a Sugar Nellie 'Maggy with Flowers'
The paper was loose from a ? Basic Grey pad.
I think the sentiment tags are Making Memories
Everything else from my stash.
Really looking forward to the next one.

Let's Get In Shape.....

 
...which happily didn't mean I had to do any exercise at all other than make a shaped card for Just Magnolia Wk 6 .....phew!!!!
You know my despair of getting circles right. The largest Nestie circle is too small for a fair sized card and my circle cutter somehow never meets when I get to the end of the circle...the blade moves too much and my conquering of a pair of compasses is laughable.
So...I used my Fiskars Circle Punch which I have forgotten the name of the design, sorry, and the template that comes with it for either 4" or 6" circle had to suffice for hand cutting the remaining circles with scissors. The inner circle of paper that Tilda stands on is die cut using my largest Nestie.
The lovely Tilda image which I had in my collection of swapped images was coloured using Marvy Le Plume pens. The papers were Basic Grey 'Two Scoops' and 'Lilykate' Everything else from my stash.
And yes, girls, I used peel-off gold hinges to highlight the fold of the card.
I, once again, apologise for the terrible picture. I do not do well with a camera I'm afraid, it's either dull or bleached out. But with the abundance of embelies on the card I could not squash it in my scanner now, could I? :-)

I have an Honest Scrap Award

The lovely Mandy atMade by Mandy has given me an award. She is a special forum buddy who is very talented and has a heart of gold.

There are a few requirements to accepting the Honest Scrap Award and they are as follows:

1) I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it, links are as above to Mandy at Made by Mandy

2) I must list 10 honest things about myself.

3) I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog which I have proudly done!

4) I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links.

So here are my 10 Honest Things about myself

1. After 2 failed marriages I now choose to live on my own and will not be looking to enter another relationship.
2. I adore cats, have had as many as 10 at one time, but am now down to 3. I cannot imagine a home without one.
3. I have 1 daughter, 2 sons and 1 grandson whom I am extremely proud of and have never been any trouble whatsoever. Especially as I brought them up on my own from when my youngest son was 11.
3. My dad died 9 years ago and my mum 2 years ago and to say I miss them is an understatement. There isn't a day goes by without I have a 'moment' with them both.
4. I retired at the age of 55, I am 62 in September, due to worsening osteo arthritis. I had total knee replacement just before Christmas and it has come on wonderfully. I also have OA in the other knee, spine, thumbs and feet.
5. I have weight problems due to my lack of mobility and have been a yo-yo dieter all my life, from size 12 to size 20, back down and back up again. My yo-yo is back at the top of the string and to be honest until someone says it is life threatening I am not bothered. Take me as you find me.
6. After my last divorce 2 years ago, I turned back to God and became a Born Again Christian. It has been the biggest turnaround in my life. I am at peace with myself 99% of the time and have come through horrendous problems with my head held high and total forgiveness in my heart for those who have done me wrong. I have realised possessions are only 'stuff' and you can live without them.
7. I can't begin to describe my love of nature and wildlife in all its forms. From the tiniest ant to the the wonderful sunset and everything in between. I could spend my life watching butterflies dance or birds bathe in my birdbath and fight over the last piece of fruit cake. And the sound of the Swifts when they arrive in May thrills me to the core of my being.
8. I love reading, but am slow as I read every word....so I don't have to read it again.:-D The pile to get through is mounting so need to speed up.
9. I have been doing a family tree for years. My dad's family started in Co. Offerly, Ireland and I would love to go there just to 'feel' it.
10. I adore crafting in all it's forms, and have done since childhood, and have made some wonderful cyber friends through cardmaking. I miss having my own craftroom, and especially I miss my 'Jenny House', but my dressing table in the bedroom has to suffice and it is amazing how much stuff can be crammed into a 9' x 4' space I have given to it. I sometimes sleep with stuff on the bed still and magazines under the pillow.

Now I choose the following 7 peeps to give this award to
Maddie
Becky
Clare (Chilly)
Paula
Valerie
Dawny P
Clare(Glitter)

Friday Sketchers Wk 53

 
Super sketch over at Friday Sketchers last week, I always feel I need a sketch to help my mojo along when it's flagging.
The papers are Basic Grey and I am guilty of removing them from a pad putting them to one side and then forgetting which pad they came out of. Don't you hate it when you do that!!!!
The sweet Sarah Kay design is a download from ColoringBook and coloured with Marvy Le Plume pens. Flowers, candy, charm, base card and circular sentiment from my stash.
The oval was cut using one of my scalloped oval Nesties.

Blue & Green can be seen........

 

Over at Papertake Weekly Challenge was this great sketch #15 by Dawny, and I can feel my mojo creeping back.
These images were sent to me as a suprise from my forum buddy Linda.
The papers were from the Basic Grey 6x6 pad 'Two Scoops' which are lovely and the ribbon is by DCWV. The velvet brads, flowers, sentiment stamp and base card all from my stash.
All elements were swooshed around the edges with Key Lime Versamagic ink pad and the image was coloured using a mix of Copics and PM's

Ice Cream.......

 
The great theme over at Basic Grey Challenge 35 is Ice Cream and more importantly what your own favourite is.
Well as you can see by the card my all time favourite is chocolate...oh! yum!!! especially Green & Black Organic...I could eat a whole tub in a sitting. lol!!
These Basic Grey papers, being from the Sultry and Boxer 6x6 pads were ideal and did the job for me. But seeing as the weather is so miserable at the moment I am still having my chocolate hot and not iced, so this great image which was sent to me by my forum buddy Sarn says it all. The fabulous sentiment which speaks volumes was from my box of stamped swaps so am unsure of the sender or the make.
Wonderful chocolate drops in the form of Card Candy and a chocolate brown grosgrain ribbon tied it all together....off to make myself a cup now........>>>>>

New Challenge Blog

Hi everyone. Just wanted to let you all know about a brand new challenge blog that's starting up soon. It looks like its going to be a great lot of fun and provide lots of info too.

This is what Dawn and Madge (the owners) have to say about it:

The Next Level is the exciting new concept of Dawn (All Pink Girl) and Ann (Madgesty - Love to Create) probably better known as blog name Madge. Our aim in designing this new informative style of blog is not only to produce really creative Weekly Challenges that are not tied to any specific brand, but also to explore new avenues, ideas and techniques with a completely fresh approach.

The Next Level will not only be a fun and informative place to hang out for card crafters and scrapbookers of all levels, but it is hoped that it will also become a valuable source of information, hints and tips, tutorials, downloads and much more. We want to cover the craft of traditional card making but also add in a touch of digital, not too much to scare anyone away, but enough to explore the magical world out there at your fingertips for anyone wanting to venture

There is also the offer of awesome blog candy, so do please take a hop over there and take a look

Sketch and Stash

 

I combined the great sketch over at Sketch and Stash with our Forum's Sarn's theme last Friday of 'Congratulations' to come up with this card.
The new stash used was this fabulous image which is a free download at Pollycraft and the Happy Anniversary backing paper which was included in my 3rd prize off the forum for last months comp.
The image was coloured with a mix of PM's and Copics and the rest of the ingredients are from my stash...but I do know the blue flowers are Prima 'Larkspur' one of my faves.

3 x Combo

Forced my mojo into overdrive and combines 3 challenge blogs to produce this card.
The sketch is from Sketch Saturday #51
The Recipe 3....2....1 from Penny Black Saturday being 3 Flowers/2 papers/ 1 charm
The theme of Flowers and Bling over at Funky Fairies
The bling being the charm, silver sentiment and the glittered centre of the daisy 'parasol'
Ingredients :-
2 Papers : download from Funky Fairies
3 flowers : download from Funky Fairies
Watercoloured Image : Penny Black
Bee charm, ribbon, sentiment and base card from my stash

Hopefully this card fulfils the challenges in all 3 cases.
Links to these blogs will hopefully be found at the right.

Sketches {by Tamara}

Sketch #95 over at Sketches {by Tamara} was a challenge as I am still suffering from brain fug. There is something I'm not happy about but can't put my finger on it. It didn't look finished and so added the 2 corners as I felt there was too much space on the pink...this may be the mistake!
Still, to craft when your mind is dull is not a bad thing as long as you can accept the finished piece as something worth showing.
Ingredients :-
Paper - Basic Grey 'Offbeat' and 'Sugared'
Bloom stamp - Bravura
Scalloped circle card - Bazzill 'bling'
Ric Rac - Bazzill
Brads - Doodle Bug
Sentiment stamp - Funstamps
Sakura Gelly Rol pens to colour blooms
Versafine Black Onyx
Base card and gem in centre of sentiment from my stash

Problems, problems.....

example 1 - camera
Example 2 - scan



I did this card for Our Daily Bread Designs challenge through Becca's wonderful blog 'Amazing Paper Grace ' Obviously I haven't entered it as I have a real problem when it comes to doing cards that are a little more than flat.
Anything bulky, like the lovely bow on this, results in a poor scan with flat bow, and shadows and I can't photograph cards for toffee. How do peeps do it? Either the flash goes off and renders everything bleached to nothingness or the card is in sunlight with huge shadows or in lamplight and looking yellow. See the examples.
How do people take such wonderful pictures of their cards? is there a technique or is it the camera?
I sometimes want to give up as I can't be as experimental as I want to be.

Dawny's Sketch

 
This was a great sketch over at Papertake Weekly Challenge - and I had just the downloads I wanted to use that had the sentiments included on the bottom.
Papers :- Basic Grey - Offbeat + brown misc.
Image - Pink Petticoat download coloured with ProMarkers
Everything else from my stash.

Red, Cream & Chocolate...

 
Great sketch over at Sketch Saturday #50. Used some of my luscious new paper...the Basic Grey 'Wassail' which is a Christmas selection but with other uses too as not predominently Christmas looking, just a suggestion.
The Winnie Owl is a download again from Willow Designs, everything else from my stash.

Happy Stampers North West

 
What a fabulous few hours I had again at Port Sunlight. I just wish money was no object. I wanted so much, and the trails of drool went round and round the halls. Barbara Santerelli was in good form as always, a really lovely lady who owns Clarity Stamps. Couldn't get near her stamps to get a proper look.
It was lovely to see Gloria there who runs the Mold Stampers Club which I used to love going to, I really must get my butt down there again.
A fabulous new company were there from Canada 'The Old Island Stamp Company' and their stamps were really gorgeous and Paper Pleasures too which were showing the stamps. Bought the cat stamp from there as I only had moths left in my purse by then.
Topped up on some new (to me) Basic Grey paper pads and a couple of well needed Copic pens, one being Duck & Chook beak orange, this is a forum 'in' joke. lol!!
Gone are the days when I could do a whole day there, after about 2 hours my back was fit to snap and by the time I got to the car I was feeling sick with the pain. My new knee started paining me too as that is the longest I have been on it since having it replaced just before Christmas.
I was unable to find any Kraft card which I am desperate for and no Stampers Ten mags which was a disappointment. So there you go girls, maybe I can get a few more cards made now I have got the excitement of my little craft trip out of the way.....watch this space. XXXX

Sketch Saturday & Basic Grey catch up

 

Forgive my lack of blogging and cardmaking friends....for some reason I have been unable to put my mind to anything for the last couple of days.....call it brain fug.
So this has been a rush to try and get this done in time. It was a great sketch from Sketch Saturday #49 and really wanted to do this....the brilliant colour theme was over on Basic Grey challenge 33 Lack, Grey +1....mine being lime green.
All items were misc. from my stash apart from the lime card which is Bazzill, the Black card which is core'dination with the lime core which I embossed in my 'bug' using a Fiskars texture plate 'leaves' and the grey paper which is appropriately Basic Grey. PM's were used to colour the Celtic cat image which has been heat embossed in silver.
I have so many cards I want to do and my mind is all abuzz, but I will be out at Port Sunlight tomorrow for the fabulous Happy Stampers North West which is a fantastic biannual show.

Free Giveaway

Drop by this blog and choose a digi sheet for free. She has a wonderful array to choose from and I chose the Misty Rose & Soft Aqua. Lots of lovely things to look at here too if you like vintage ephemera.

This is sooooooooooo funny!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

....and on his farm he had some Chooks...

 

Great themes on 2 challenges this week. 'Chooks' is Chocoholics over on the forum and at Daring Cardmakers we have Old MacDonald's Farm. So great to be able to put these together.
Ingredients used :-
'Chooks' image - download
Sentiment - download
Papers - Basic Grey 'Scarlet's Letter, Kay & Co - 'Hopscotch'
Button and thread from my stash

3rd Prize WooHoo!!

The forums April comp. was 'Purple' and I won 3rd prize with this card. Thanks to everyone who voted for it. xxx








And the other 2 which didn't make the grade were these.