It's Gorjuss

Hi Everyone.

Well, we've just had a Wii console delivered, I know we're probably a bit late, and you've probably all had one for ages, but as we already have a Playstaystation, I wanted to make sure buying another console would be worth it.

From what I've seen of other peoples, and my Sophie & Jordan (aka 'the kids') playing on other peoples, it's such great fun. so we took the plunge. We bought a few games as well to keep them occupied. It does mean I give up any right to view TV programmes, but hey...who needs it when you've got crafting and blogging.....

I thought I'd show you a card I made for one of my temporary employees at work, who left yesterday. She was a lovely girl from Lithuania, and I will miss her, she was always happy and smiling, and I hope she deos well in the future.

Anyway, this is the card I made for her:

The stamp...from the amazing Gorjuss Girls collection 1, of course by Suzanne Woolcott . You'll be seeing alot of these images as you go blog visiting. All the stamp collections that were pre-ordered, were shipped out this week. Let me tell you, these stamps certainly live up to their name. I love them. they are so easy to colour, and a bit different to everything else out there.

Anyway I went for 'Gorjuss' girly pink and green for this card. I coloured the image with Copic markers, and used Basic Grey and Imaginesce papers. The little birdy has been overlaid with Glossy Accents, and had a sprinkling of crystal glitter added which just catches the light and adds a little twinkle. The flowers are from Prima, and the gold embellishement from Eggstravaganda, (thanks for the tip Bev) .

I love decorating the insides of my cards now, (when I can be bothered). It does take that extra effort, but it makes all the difference. and what a surprise to the person opening the card.

Now I have an important announcement......

Jordan has finished his iPod sock.....

He was so pleased when he had the idea to make this in his school textile lessons. He loves Bart Simpson, and his teacher said he wouldn't be able to do it the way he wanted to. But not to be out off, he carried on, and 'Voila', he proved her wrong. He was so happy when I said I would post it on my blog, so I hope you think it was worth the mention. I'm so proud of him.....wonder where he gets his creativity from....mmmmmmm, could it be l'il ole ME...

Thinking Of You Lynsey

Hi all.

Now that I know this card has been received, I can let you all see it. I made this card for my blogging friend Lynsey, (hope you don't mind me showing this Lynsey), who recently lost her Nan to lung disease. I wanted to show my support to her and her family, and to let her know that I am thinking of her.

I decided to use one of the Whiff Of Joy Melinda Guardian Angels, which I thought would be fitting for this sad occasion. I didn't want to use a flower image or a cross as traditional cards do. I thought that being a crafter herself, Lynsey would appreciate the thought that goes in to choosing and appropriate image. And it may help others to think outside the box a little when choosing images for cards that are a little bit different.

When Jordan, my twelve year old asked who I was making it for, he said

"Is she (meaning Melinda) reading the Bible."

Bless him.

Melinda was coloured with Copics, and crystal glitter was applied to her wings. I used Basic Grey Scarletts Letter paper as the background. I wanted to keep with the earthy tones of the image and keep it soft, but not too wishy washy. The orange flowery paper is from DCWV, an 8x8 pad and punched again with my beloved Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. The yellow bazzill was put through a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

The image was matted onto ovals cut with my nestabilities, and some dots of gold pearly paint 'dobbed' around the scalloped oval. The flowers are from Prima, with tiny gold heart brads in the centres are from Woodware.

I decorated the inside, as I thought this card deserved it. I followed through with the same papers, and image. The sentiment inside was printed on my computer, and off set which I think looke quite attractive. (I've blurred the words, as they are personal for Lynsey and her family) A matted circle, again cut out with nesties carries my signature, just to add that personal touch. I actually like this idea, and am going to use it again. More flowers adorn the inside.

This is one card I didn't really want to give away as I love it so much, but I know that it has gone to a good home. Crafters always appreciate the extra effort that goes into making something special. Besides I get to look at it every day on my blog.

Take care Lynsey, my thoughts are with you. Special Hugs.

Daring Cardmakers - Fish Or Frog

Happy Monday everybody.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. It's my son Adam's birthday today...23 years...oh yes I remember it well...so Happy Birthday Adam.

On to the challenge from Daring Cardmakers ...it's fish or frog. You have to show at least one on your card. I chose a frog for this one...mainly because I couldn't think of a stamp I had with a fish on.
This cute li'l stamp comes from High Hopes. It's a good boys stamp this one, in fact I used it for my Grandson's card only last month, which you can see here. I coloured the image with Copic markers again. I just love these markers, and would recommend them to anyone.

I used Basic Grey Archaic 6x6 papers, which are absolutely perfect for this type of image. I love the colours and patterns of this mix. I did a little bit of doodling around the image to distract from the large expanse of white background a bit.

I decorated the inside of the card again with scraps I had left over, and a snippet of the image. More doodling and a button just to carry the theme through.

You can see a little bit more detail here. He's such a cheeky li'l chappie, how many little boys does he remind you of? I can certainly see my boys in him when they were younger...that mischievous little grin, delighted to bring you a present he's found.

I was going to use flowers in colours to match the card, but then I thought I would dig out some buttons instead.

I suddenly had one of those 'lightbulb' moments. I went into the garden, cut off a little piece of last years wood from my wisteria, and bound two pieces together with thread, and popped it onto the card with the buttons. Eureka. I love this idea, and seeing as he has a slingshot in his pocket I thought it suited very well.

Hope you like what I've done. I'd be happy to hear your comments if you have the time.

Hugs Debbie xx

Dutch Dare #36

Hi again everyone, second post today.

Well I definately haven't missed the closing date for this one. The Dutch Dare crew are asking for a yellow and green themed card, and I knew just the stamp for the job. My new 'Peek A Bunny' Sugar Nellie, which I'd had a few days, but not used yet.

I so love these images, and this one was such a pleasure to colour in too. The background paper is from Daisy Bucket Designs, which I adore. The image was coloured with Copic's again. I used my new butterfly punch again, a bargain from Tesco. It punches just the right size to use with these images, and I do love butterflies, you'll be seeing a lot more of them too as spring approaches. I drew in the 'flight paths' with a Sakura Stardust pen for a subtle touch of sparkle. And added Prima flowers, some ribbon, and a curly clip with my tiny punched tag.

Again I decorated the inside. Everytime I complete a card it becomes my favourite that minute. It seems everytime I post I say 'I love this card'. But it's true. This really reminds me of spring, Easter, baby lambs skipping about the fields, easter egg hunts, and warmer weather.....Yipeeee. spring IS my absolute favourite time of the year. I actually love it, really I do.

Anyway thanks for looking, please feel free to leave me a comment if you so wish.

e

Our Creative Corner

Hi everyone.

I'm so rubbish at this....having cards ready, and not posting on time for the challenge. Luckily you can participate in the challenges at Our Creative Corner at any time. However I didn't make it before the next one came out....So cast your mind back to last week. Their challenge was this sketch.

I wanted to make a masculine-ish card. So this is what I came up with...

I used Basic Grey papers, and Henry Mouse from Whiff Of Joy. I absoloutly adore this stamp, maybe because it has that gorgeous huge cupcake in it. But I do think it is so versatile, and can be used for so many occasions. I coloured with Copic's. I'm gradually getting more and more used to them, building up my colour collection, and finding different ways to use them. The card's not quite true to the sketch, but close enough I think.

I decorated the inside of this one again. I do love the circles and love using a small snippet of the images inside too. It just makes the cards that bit more special. Hope you like it, and thanks for visiting. I'd be happy to hear your comments if you have the time.

Fiftieth Birthday

Hi all

The card I'm showcasing in this post was comissioned for a client whose partner is celebrating his 50th birthday tomorrow...as you can tell by the huge 50 on it, DOH....I only had a weeks notice that he liked old cars, especially mini's.

I always find female cards much easier to put together, like many other crafters out there. And I haven't really got that many male orientated papers or any old mini's come to that. But I did have these really old Basic Grey papers. I've had them ages, and so far this is the third time I've used them on a masculine card. I think they are very classy, and timeless for this type of card, and shot with a touch of red metallic card to create a border around the circle just sets the black off a treat.

The white line running through the diamond patterned argyle paper is actually silver glitter, and everybody who has seen it so far always comment on how much they like it. I wish I could get more.

The '50' was cut with my Cricut machine, so good for cutting all types of text that would take ages to do by hand. The black car is from a sticker sheet bought from one of the 'pound shops' where I live. I think I got two sheets for £1, so very good value. I did decorate the inside with the same papers, and a smaller version of the car, but I didn't take a photo of it. I tied a bit of dotty organza ribbon around the '0' just to add a bit of interest.

I have another male card to make for Monday, as it will be my son Adam's 23rd birthday, (you know, the one who had the motorbike accident last year) We just heard this week that his long awaited operation to remove some of the wires that pinned his forearm bones (radius and ulna) back together is scheduled for 6th March. That's eleven months exactly from when he had his accident on 6th April last year. We should also know whether he has to have a bone graft too, which they will do at the same time if they need to. I'm hoping he doesn't, and his bones will have now grown back together enough to bridge the gap that he had from losing some bone fragments. He still gets pain in his arm which may or may not be caused by the wires in there. The surgeon is hoping that if they remove the wires and plate, he might get more movement, and less pain, but time will tell. Hope the op doesn't get cancelled.

I just saw a programme on tv this evening about Hope and Faith, the conjoined twins, it was so sad. It made me feel so lucky that all of my five children are perfectly healthy, and I've never had to suffer like that poor couple, and many others around the world whose children are seriously ill.

I just noticed I reached 9,000 hits today. I'm going to give away some candy when I get to 10,000, so keep tuning in.

Anyway it's getting late here, so I'll be back tomorrow.

Happy crafting.

Daring Cardmakers

Hi everyone.

Daring Cardmakers is feeling green this week. That's right...it's a colour challenge using green, any shade is perfect. Now when I think about it, I know that any colour looks good with green. I mean, look at nature, whether it's untamed wilderness, or carefully cultured and lovingly tended, Mother Nature put's every colour together perfectly against a backdrop of every shade of green....and who are we to argue when she does it so well.

However for this challenge I only added a touch of red to contrast and set off the green and make it more interesting, and a touch of blue to tone.

The papers are from K-ology which I got when I won Ila's blog candy, and K & Co. As you can see, I used my brand-spanking-new Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch, which is my most pized possession at the moment, and nobody but nobody else is allowed to touch it.

The mat was cut with my nesties, and stamped with Impression Obsession and Art Impressions stamps to create a leafy background. I added some teeny, tiny ladybirds with a stamp from DeNami Design that I've had for ages and only used occasionally, and coated them in glossy accents to create their shiny little bodies.

The scroll was cut from part of the paper I didn't use on the background, and the flowers and ribbon were again from Ila's blog candy.....I don't make many cards of this colour, but I'm really rather pleased with this one. Hope you like it.

Happy Crafting.

Truly Scrumptious challenge #1

Hi.

Now if you've been paying attention you will know that a brand new challenge blog has been launched today.

Truly Scrumptious has a brand new design team, of which I am a member. Lucky me lol.

Anyway we kick off the first challenge with a fantastic sketch from Sharon, our founder who's own blog is a 'must see' place to visit.

So here is the sketch, why not have a go. Post your entry on the Truly Scrumptious blog, and you'll be in with a chance to win a fabulous prize.

Here's what I did:

I used this great Sugar Nellie image, and chose a pink and green theme. The papers are from Basic Grey, and Daisy Bucket Designs, and have been layered on to a beautiful mossy shade of Bazzill.

I coloured the image with Copic markers, and highlighted with an opaque white Inkssentials pen from Ranger. I added a tiny touch of glitter to the flowers. The sugar coated brads, and 'love' ribbon is from Doodlebug. The flowers are from Prima, and the metal spacer beads I used for the flower centres are from my stash.

I decorated the inside again with the same image only cut down to postage stamp size, and carried the papers through.

Hope you like it.

Papertake Monday

Hi everyone

This weeks Papertake challenge is to make a matching set....I opted for a card, and this cute little 'sour cream container' that I found on Split Coast Stampers. It's so cute, and real easy to make. You can fill it with yummy chocolates, bath pearles or little charms or flowers etc for crafty friends, mmm that gives me an idea...

The spotted paper I've had for ages and ages, the pink one is Basic Grey. I re-discovered them this week, and wondered why i never used them. I probably just bought them to stroke at the time, (as one does). Anyway I thought they were perfect for this little project.

The image is from Magnolia, (one I bought last week) and coloured with Copic's. I sprinkled crystal glitter on the cupcake topping to give it that 'frosting look' and the tiny hearts were covered with glossy accents. The flowers are by Imaginescence, and the heart brads by woodware. I think this stamp will be useful for so many occasions, at least that's what I told my DH....and i got away with it, lol.

ooOoo

Many of my regular visitors may know I am looking forward to my son getting married this summer. I thought the little sour cream containers would make perfect wedding favours, so I've been experimenting.

I might make a few different ones to see what my lovely Daughter-in-Law to be thinks of this idea.

And finally....look what the delivery man brought me this morning....My very own

Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch.

I'm elated. I finally have one, and it's all mine....Haha. It came all the way from Florida USA in only seven days from a lady via Ebay. How about that then. You can see I've had a little play already, but I will be putting it to the test more tomorrow. Can't wait.

Take care now...

Oh and don't forget the TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS CHALLENGE BLOG launches tomorrow, hope you can join us.

Freinds Award

Hi Friends

Paula has given me this fabulously colourful friends award. Thanks Paula, I'm honoured. In turn I am passing this on to all those who have made my blogging experience such a delight. All those who have helped me in some way. And to all those that are still there listening to me when they've really got better things to do. I am truly humbled, and glad I have friends like you, albeit from a distance.

In addition I would like to name a few people that I owe a great deal of thanks to...

Lynsey - You are always there with a kind word come rain or shine. For sending me such nice surprises when I'm down in the dumps. You really cheer me up, and I still hope we can meet up one day, seeing as we're in the same part of the country.

Rach - You are a a craft goddess, but still make time for us lesser mortals. Thank you for all your help, past, present, and God willing future too.

Bev - An inspiration to us all. For kind words, and motivating me to do better.

If you've already got this award, how lucky you are, and deserving too.

Thank you all for making this blogging lark such a positive experience. I never for one moment thought that I would get hooked. I'm now an addict.....Does that mean I have to go to 'Blogging Anonymous'???

I love you all....

Friday Sketchers #39

Hi everyone.

Here is the Sketch over at Friday Sketchers this week. Luckily I haven't missed this one. I don't know if I really like this card or not, if the truth be known. I like the image and the colours, not too sure about the decorative papers though.

The image is coloured with Copic markers. I used the shrink plastic again on the Feb 14th stamp and it shrunk down to the perfect size for the centre of the flower.

The lace I got from Ila in the blog candy package I won from her, 'Bless you Ila.'

Anyway thanks for looking, if you have the time to make a comment, I'd love to hear it.

Ooops missed it again.

Hi everyone.

I've only gone and done it again. What? you may ask. Well I made a card and missed the deadline. As author Douglas Adams once said

" Don't you just love deadlines. I especially love the swooshing sound they make as they go flying by."

Well that's a bit like me at the moment. there's just not enough hours in the day. Mind you I am now on a weeks break from both my jobs, so I'll be able to craft away to my hearts content. That is in between telling the children, who are on their half term break, to hush because their dad's in bed as he's working nights this week, Now that'll be fun won't it????

Anyway I'm going to show my card based on last weeks sketch.

So I've chosen Doodlebug papers again. I have a whole stash of them that I've had for ages, so I'm using them before I buy any more.

I bought these stamps yesterday from Sir Stampalot, which is my local craft shop, and for whom I make display samples for. Check out their shop and blog , where you can catch up with the latest news, and see a couple of my creations too.

Now back to my card. I love this yummy cupcake, and decided to go all pink again. The 'Its Your Day' stamp is by Art Impressions, and is also available at Sir Stampalot, as are the tiny heart brads....more of my purchases from yesterday. The reason I was there yesterday was to see a free demo by a lovely lady called Louise, who makes all kinds of things with Magnolia images, and incorporates shrink plastic into her designs. So inspired by her, 'thanks Louise, I had a fab time' I thought I'd have a go myself.

I used shrink plastic to make the teeny tiny cup cake. I experimented with my Copics too, and coloured the shrink before heating, using only light shades, as I knew the colours would intensify once shrunk. I'm very pleased with the result, and am shrinking everything in sight now, so you'll see this technique popping up again.

You can see the comparison in size in this detailed picture. It's a great technique and very under used.

I'm hoping to be on time for the next challenge, wish me luck, and thanks for taking the time to look

People Who Need Babysitter's Shoudn't Go Out.

Hello everyone.

Well you might be wondering what my surprise was for Valentines day, and you might also be intrigued by the title of this post. Well you need to read the story, which incidently has also been emailed out to our local newspaper this afternoon.

ooOoo

People Who Need Babysitters Shoudn't Go Out.....That is according to one of the employees of the Taj Mahal in Lincoln Road Peterborough.

Now I don't go out much, but last night my Husband, Son and future Daughter-in-Law arranged a surprise meal for me at this restuarant. The evening turned out to be a complete disaster.

We waited two hours for our food, which only came after we complained twice. (My husband never complain's, he is the most forgiving, placid person I know, but on this occasion he did, and I was totally shocked). During the wait we were never asked if we wanted another drink, we were never apologised to for the wait, we were just ignored, along with other people in the restuarant who were also waiting.

More people came in, and we saw poppadoms and drinks being taken to tables, but rarely any other food. When our food finally came, my Sons fiancee had the wrong dish, and my food was only just luke warm. The waiter did come out and admit he'd given Jess the wrong dish, and replaced it with what she had ordered. I didn't complain that mine was just warm, by this time I was so hungry I just wanted to eat.

Whilst we ate, three other tables walked out before they got their food, disgusted at the lack of service. We were joking with them, saying that they hadn't waited long enough yet. By then there was quite a bit of banter going on between us and the other tables in the vicinity.

After we'd eaten one of the waiters came to clear our table and asked if we wanted coffee. We said no, we couldn't wait another hour, he responded saying "Two hours"

Again we waited and waited for the bill but no-one came. The table next to us who had by then been waiting for two hours began to complain too, other people who came in after them had been served already. I'm surprised they waited so long before they said anything. The 'waiter' said that he didn't know he was only the delivery driver and had been out for the last two hours, then as an after thought said he would go and find out.

We finally went to the reception and asked for our bill. My son's fiancee asked them to take the drinks off the bill, (we had only had one each) as a goodwill gesture. The waiter looked puzzled, and my sons fiancee responded asking if they were going to pay her babysitter for the extra time due to the wait. His reply.....

"YOU SHOULDN'T COME OUT IF YOU NEED A BABYSITTER"

We were disgusted at this remark, what happened to the old addage 'The customer is always right'.

ooOoo

Anyway I'll leave you to make your own minds up on what you think to this, but we will certainly not be recommending this restuarant to anyone in the future and I would imagine that none of the other diners will.

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

Hi everyone.

If doodling's your thing, then you might want to take a look at the challenge over at A Spoon Full Of Sugar this week. They are asking for doodling of any type on your cards. Even if you don't doodle yourself, it's ok to use any of the scroll and swirl stamps you might have, so there's no excuse not to join in.

I chose a Magnolia stamp again for this one. But not cute little Tilda or even Edwin. I chose the Love Cake from the new collection. I think this stamp is just so versatile, you can use it for almost any occasion. It would make perfect wedding and birthday cakes. You could even use it for Christmas or Halloween by choosing appropriate colours. So without any more waffling, here's my card:

The image is coloured with Copic Markers with a touch of crystal glitter along one side, although you can't really see it too well in this photo. The cake was just layered on to Bazzill in tones of sunshine yellow. The base card was put through the Divine Swirl Cuttlebug embossing folder, which adds texture and interest. I used my Fiskars lace border punch again, and the good old Prima flowers. The tiny butterflies were cut from a punch I found at Tesco of all places yesterday for £1.70, a bargain, even if I say so myself. They are just the right size for this size of cake. I can see I'll get lots of use from this stamp, and will be able to create lots of different looks. My doodling of course to fit in with the challenge, is around the edge of the main image, subtle I know, but doodling all the same. Hope you like it.

Sugar Bowl Challenge

Hello everyone.

Happy Valentines Day to you all. Looks like I'm in for a treat this evening, I don't know what but my future Daughter-in-Law, Jess, has just told me to be ready, hair and make-up done by 8pm this evening, as I am going out. Now as my hubby and I stopped celebrating Valentines Day many moons ago, I'm quite surprised, no shocked, that they have cooked something up between them. But I'm also delighted, I love surprises, and I don't get many these days. Watch this space, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow....

Now onto this weeks challenge over at The Sugar Bowl. You have to create a card using only one piece of patterned design paper. Initially daunted by this challenge, I am actually really pleased with my finished card. I kept it small so there wasn't a lot of space to fill, and I could get away with keeping it quite simple.

I love this image. I used HOTP paper from a 8"x 8" pad I bought ages ago, in this soft blue. The image was coloured with Copic Markers, and the sentiment was computer generated. The a lace border punched along one edge with a Fiskars punch. The flowers are from Prima of course, and the centre's from some daisy lace trim bought from John Lewis. The pearls I won from Ila's blog candy last year. Hope you like it.

Bloghopping

Hi.

I do so enjoy bloghopping, and since I am busy working most of the week, I do like to relax at the weekend by catching up on my favourite blogs. It's the enjoyment of having a little bit of time to myself.

Our three month old kitten Cleo also enjoys browsing the blogging land. You know when you move your mouse, the little pointy arrow thing move's about your screen...well she loves to follows it with her head. She can't watch from it from a distance though, she has to sit two inches away from the screen. Most inconvenient for me, as I'm dodging my head about so I can get a look too.

Why not move her you may ask...well the persistance of a cat is well known, what's that saying...

There's nothing quite as stubborn as a cat.

She just gives me that totally disgusted look, sits right back down again, and dares me to even think about moving her again.

Sweet Sammy

Hi all

After my disaster with loosing so many files when I had to restore my pc, I've been on a voyage of re-discovery with photo's I have backed up.

Amongst them I found this photo of our beloved Golden Retriever Sam, who sadly is no longer with us. We had Sam from a twelve week old puppy, and he died at the grand old age of 13 years, three years ago. It was a very sad day when we lost him, and I can only hope he is somewhere up above bounding through grassy fields full of happiness, without the pain of aching old bones. God Bless you Sammy.