Calm and Quiet Please & Truly Scrumptious #74

I managed to miss my usual WOYWW (#141) post over at The Stamping Ground this week, so I thought I would do a little up date this morning instead, just in case you missed me.

It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster of a week really with so many ups and downs I can’t tell you, but today things seem to have settled down again and I really hope it stays that way.

After I left you last week I finished off the frog card that I had started.
I had only just started to stitch the frogs when I showed you and had no idea what I was going to do with them. In the end I settled for a diagonal easel card and then promptly creased the darn thing the wrong way, so I ended up with a card that opens on the Left rather than the Right.


Here’s the finished card, which I’m entering into the challenge over at Truly Scrumptious
this week, where the theme is All Creatures Great and Small.

I did have fun finishing it off.


The bull rushes were made by covering wire with glue and dipping them in Brown Flower Soft and I did toy with the idea of adding some glitter too but didn’t want to overdo it.

I was really pleased with my Lily Pads too because they look like they have water droplets all over them.

Now Saturday was definitely one of the down days on my roller coaster ride, not so much for me but for my 80 year old neighbour.
Poor Pat came knocking at my door at 2.15 in the afternoon all in a panic because she had water coming from her loft. When I got over there her hall, bathroom, and second bedroom were awash and the carpets in the lounge and main bedroom had just caught on the edges but the water was still poring for the celling . She had two burst pipes and I was there with her helping to clean up until turned 8pm.

Sunday and Monday were ok but Tuesday started as a down day because I had to go to the dentist………..to say I’m terrified is an understatement. Then it was a good day because apart from a quick clean everything was ok....(breaths sigh of relief)

Wednesday was an up day.
Went to see the nurse for a BP check and it was 124 / 76…..perfect.....…but then took a real plunge because in the evening as I was eating my diner I broke a tooth after getting the all clear the day before.

Thursday was definitely a down day.
Went to Slimming World in the morning and only lost ½ lb this week and was really disappointed. The bigger picture is all good thought because I’ve now lost 1st 3lb. Then it took another downward plunge when I had to go back to the dentist to get my tooth fixed.

So now you know why I need a nice calm and quiet weekend.


I did manage to make a couple more cards but I'll put them in a different post because this one is turning into an epic.


Happy Crafting!
Sue
x

65 Years Young

I quite often get asked to make cards by family members and boy did my brother Michael come up with a corker on Thursday.

He wanted me to make a card for a friend of his called Bob, who will be 65 next week and the brief was Bob the Builder or something to do with scaffolding because that’s his job.

At first I panicked but after the initial terror subsided I started to have a little search on the web and came up with a kids colouring page of Bob the Builder standing on scaffolding……perfect!


The card was put together using the latest sketch from Sketch By Carly.

To continue with the building theme I decided bob looked as if he was guiding something up to where he is standing, so I’ve made it look like the number 6 is being pulled up on a chain by a crane and the 5 is already fixed to the wall.

Ingredients:

Patterned PapersDCWV – The Natural Stack

StampsImagine That – Just The Ticket

Inks, Paints & PensTsukineko – Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Tsukineko – StazOn (Jet Black)
Ranger – Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany & Forest Moss)
Making Memories – Acrylic paint ( Evergreen)
Letraset – Promarkers (Various Colours)
Sharpie – Fine / Ultra-Fine Marker (Black)

SundriesCraft Creations – Cream Hammer Cardstock
Dovecraft - Glitter Glue (Crystal)
Basic Grey – Alphabet Stickers
Chain
Photo Anchor (Black)
Brads (Black)
Earing Finding

How Old!

That’s exactly what the team over at the Cupcake Challenge Blog are asking this week.

It’s not often that I make cards that have an age on them but just like busses, you wait ages a then they all come along together.
Last month I had to make two for my friends four year old twin grandchildren, neither of which I remembered to blog about I might add and now I’ve been asked to make a 21st and 40th so this challenge has come along just at the right time.

The 40th card is still in the making but yesterday I finished of the other card and here it is……..yes I know, it’s another stepper!

The shoe and flowers are all digital stamps The Digital Stamp Boutique which I’ve coloured them with Promarkers and the greeting is also a digital stamp from Cindy Close.

What I've used

Patterned & Plain Papers/Card
White Creative Hammer Card – Craft Creations
Urban Prairie – Basic Grey

Equipment
Spellbinder Nestabilities – Scalloped Rectangles
Ranger Distress Ink – Worn Lipstick
Promarkers – Pastel Pink, Dusty Rose, Pastel Green, Soft Green & Black
Digital Stamps – The Digital Stamp Boutique & Cindy Close
Ranger Stickles - Diamond

Stash
Organza Ribbon
Gold Brads

Happy New Year!

.
Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas.

Before I get going I just want to say a Big thank you to everyone who visited my blog over the course of last year and to thank those who gave me some much needed support.

Can’t say I’m sad to see the back of last year, what with all my medical problems and then loosing my dad so quickly after he was diagnosed with cancer, so I’m keeping everything crossed that this year will be a better one with a lot less trauma.
I do still have another eye op to look forward to in February but on the positive side, I hoping it will restore my sight enough to make my card making and some scrapbooking (I hope to really get stuck into that family album at long last) a lot easier afterwards.

Anyway, it’s the start of a New Year and hopefully lots more fun over on the Queen of Snoop’s Blog, where I’m sure that Julia will still keep us on our toes by keeping a look out for what’s on our work desk every Wednesday.

Here’s the fist photo of my desk this year and I’m sorry to say it a very boring one this morning.


It’s all very clear and tidy by necessity really because it’s that time of year again when the old tax return needs to be filled in, so that’s exactly what I plan to do today.
Now if it had been What’s on your Work desk Tuesday that would have been different story because I spent most of yesterday clearing up the mess that I made while making a few urgently needed birthday cards …..and what a breath of fresh air they were after making all those Christmas cards!

The first few cards are made using the Craftworks Cards set Ooh La La papers and Die-cuts. The colours are just so scrummy and go together so well….I love them!




These other cards are made using scraps and I can’t remember what they were, sorry.





Right then, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee, hit the tax return and then hopefully I’ll have time later to do a spot of hopping to see what you’re all up to.

Catch you later.

Sue
x

It’s that day again!

For everyone that’s in the know, they’ll understand exactly what I mean by that, but for those that don’t have a clue what I’m going on about, it’s What’s on your Workdesk Wednesday, the day we all converge on Julia’s Blog, grab a cup of coffee and join in the biggest and fastest growing weekly blog hop on the web.

Unfortunately I missed last weeks round of visits because I came down with germs, a really nasty chest infection that needed the help of antibiotics to shift it and I didn’t really feel like spending hours sitting in my craft room on the computer, which is what it now takes to get round to see everyone each week. But this week I’m feeling a little better, even thought it’s not gone completely and I intend to make a big effort to visit as many people as I can.

My photo shows the way I left my desk last night after a mammoth crafting secession………….I think it’s going to take me forever to get tided up after that lot!


As you can see, there’s a big muddle of inks, rubber stamps, papers and also evidence of my latest attempt to get some order into the way I store my unmounted stamps. I didn’t realize that I had so many Christmas stamps until I started to put them all together in an A5 ring binder……..and that’s without the big box of wood backed stamps.

There's a little pile of various cards on the back of the table.

The first is one that I had real trouble with, a Retro 60th birthday card.

I seem to always struggle with retro but luckily I remembered some papers that I brought ages ago for a Daring Cardmakers dare and came up with this.


Bright of what?

The next two cards are made using the new stash that I brought at Imagine That’s Forth birthday party on Saturday.


The gorgeous papers, die cut image, flowers and card candy on this 80th birthday card are all from Craftworks Cards new ‘Ooh La La!’ collection.
In addition I've added some stamping around the side edges of the card and flower using a new set of Artemio flourish stamps and a computer generated greeting.
The only other thing is that I decided to add a little colour to the image which was originally all sepia with my Promarker pens.

Next is a New Home card for my friend Tracey who lives along the road from me. She’s moving out tomorrow and I’m going to miss her loads. So will BoJangles because he goes to visit her and sleeps on her chair when I’m not around. Hope the new people like puddy cats because he's still sure to visit!

For this one I used one of the Craftworks templates for the first time, Bird ‘N’ Trees.


The last two card are Christmas ones.

I've used the beautiful Snowman Collection from Stamps Happen that I won earlier in the year.


I’ve chosen Light Blues and Lavenders to colour mine, using Promarkers and added a large Nesti snowflake and a Martha Stewart Snowflake border.



And finally, the last one is using a wonderful fun stamp from the Penny Black ‘Jolly Holly’ collection, again coloured with Promarkers.



Well, I guess it’s about time I made a start on clearing space on my table again so I can play some more today.


Oh yes, and there was one little bit of good news I have to share with you.

As some of you know, I’ve had problems with my eye sight over the last year due to a detached retina. The operation for that was a success but the outcome was that it caused a cataract to grow in my eye and ever since the op at the end of last year I’ve had very little vision in my right eye and have triple vision to go with it.
Anyway, I had to go to Moorfields hospital on Monday and I have an appointment to have the cataract removed in February, which should improve things immensely.

Right, I really am going this time and I’ll try and get round to as many as I can during the week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sue
x

First Day of Spring

Well, I should say yesterday was!

It’s been beautiful here over that last few days and I’ve been able to spend time working in the garden, as well as doing a spot of Spring cleaning.

That’s the part of Spring I hate, the cleaning.
You get a little bit of sunshine and then all the grubby paintwork and cobwebs start to show their faces and no matter how hard you try you just can’t ignore them after that.

That’s reason I’ve been a bad blogger and not put up my dare card from the The Daring Cardmakers challenge last week.

This week it's Vanessa here to set the dare and I really love this time of year because the nights are rapidly getting shorter and the days longer. Spring is in the air, the birds are chirping and tweeting early in the mornings and I'm starting to think about mowing that lawn again!

Your challenge this week is:
Tweetie Pie

Please use a bird or birds on your card and that's it, any kind you like.

I have a few rubber stamps with birds on but for my card this week I decided to use my little used Sizzlets Owl die.

I’ve cut him out a few times and paper pieced him so that he stands out from the card.


A5 Card Blank – Craft Creations (Embossed Hammer)
Printed & Plain Paper – Basic Grey Archaic
Ink – Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Dies – Sizzlets (Owl) & Spellbinder Nestabilities (Labels 1)
Stickers – Basic Grey (Letters & Numbers)

Other Stash Stuff
Brads
Eyelets
Buttons
Fibres

Follow That Dream

I was at a family BBQ for my big Big Brother’s 60th birthday at the weekend and although it’s not actually his birthday until the end of the month he had his cards and pressies at the party, which is why I’m able to show you them now.

The reason the party was so early is because he’ll be away when it comes around and on his actual birthday he’ll be ‘Following His Own Dream’ and will be in Memphis visiting Graceland’s for the second time, which goes some way to explaining what’s about to follow.

Firstly he loves Country and Western music and Line Dancing, not that he dances himself mind you, so that was the theme for the first card I made for him from his even bigger Brother.

I’ve used papers from the Memory Stor Costco Kit and some Tanda Stamps. The ‘Happy’ Birthday’ is a Sizzlets die cut.

The next card I made was from Dad and the inspiration for this one came from the Duke Box that he has in his lounge.

For this one I coloured, cut and decoupaged an image that I found on the web. Decorated the rest of the card with circles cut from Basic Grey Lime Ricky paper and made the ‘0’ of the 60 look like an old 45 record. The greeting on this one was a Rub-On.

The Duke Box he has is not a ‘Bubble’ like the one on the card but it is a working Duke Box and I would say that the records that it holds are 90% Elvis, which leads me nicely on to the card I made him from me , using a fabby ‘George’ download from Charmed Cards.

The papers are again from the Memory Stor Costco Kit and the outside greeting was printed on my computer. I added the layered star and fibres to give it a bit of a lift.

As you open the card George, the Elvis impersonator pops out on a stage with a backdrop that say’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ in chipboard letters, painted Black and glitzed up with gems.

I also stitched two pictures for him as a gift, the first of Elvis and the second one of Marilyn Monroe.
I saw the two charts in ‘Cross Stitcher’ magazine some time ago and kept them because I knew as soon as I saw them both that I would have to stitch them for him one day.
What better time than his 60th Birthday.

Happy Birthday for the 29th Michael!

A Friend, a Challenge & a spot of Shopping

I spent a really fabby day with the lovely Lythan yesterday and we chatted, made a few cards and then chatted some more.

I managed two cards:

This one was for the Colour Create challenge which was to use Lemon, Pink Sorbet and Chocolate.

The medallion was cut from one of the papers and the three layers mounted on 3D foam.


Card Blank – PaperMania
Papers – Basic Grey (Patterned – Lilly Kate, Plain – Granola)
Rubber Stamp – Rubber Stamp Tapestry (Happy Birthday)
Inks – Ink It Up (Pigment Ink) Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Dies – Spellbinder – Nestabilities (Peony)
Brads – Basic Grey
Gems – Anita’s Tiny Gems
Pearls – Crystal Stickers

Other StuffRibbon

The second card I made is one of the three 86th birthday cards I have to make for my dad.

The theme was a must because before he lost his eyesight he used to spend hours watching the cricket.


Card Blank – Craft Creations (Cream Hammer Embossed)
Patterned Papers – Basic Grey (Boxer) Jolly Nation (Card’s for Men Kit)
Inks – Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo & Peeled Paint)
Shape Cutter – Creative Memories (Circle)
Dies – Sizzix Alphabet (Hunky Dory)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Forest Branches)
Image – Jolly Nation (Card’s for Men Kit)


Other Stuff
Chipboard Numbers

When it was finely time to leave Lythan's and head for home, my plan had been to go to the shopping centre. I had every intension of searching out a new water feature for my garden but having just spent the day drawling over her new buys, my plans changed at the very last minuet.
I got as far as the traffic lights in Upminster and was in the lane ready to Left but as the traffic started to move off I changed my mind, moved across, and turned Right instead, heading for Imagine That, the local craft shop.

Now I’m blaming Lythan for this pile of loveliness.


If she hadn’t shown me her 6 x 6 pad of Basic Grey Wisteria I would now be the proud owner of a water feature but instead I have Wisteria in 12 x 12 and 6 x 6 and some of the new Andrea Victoria papers from My Mind’s Eye which had only arrived at the shop that morning.
I also came away with three packs of stick on pearls in Pink, Blue and White and two sets of their own sentiment stamps, which incidentally just happen to be a give away in this months Craft Stamper.

I think it’s just as well I don’t go over and visit Lythan too often, don't you!

He's Got The Key Of The Door, Never Been 21 Before.

Board Books and Cuttlebug Challenge #31

Well I eventually finished off the 21st Birthday book that I was making for my Nephew from his Granddad.

You've already seen the start of the first couple of pages because it fitted in with the DCM's ‘Toy’s for Boys’ dare a couple of weeks ago but the rest of it is finished now so I've decided to enter the whole thing in this weeks Cuttlebug chalange.

My bug came into play while cutting various die shapes and doing some embossing.

Here it is in all it’s glory.

The papers are all from the Basic Grey ‘Oh Baby’ Boy collection. The plain card stock is from the DCWV Pastels stack and there are lots of embellishments, ribbons and fibres added from my stash.

Front


I found the verse on line somewhere (sorry I can't remember where) and changed parts of it to fit the occasion.

It reads:-

How very fast the the time has gone

The years just seemed to fly

Since you were just a tiny child

A precious baby boy

There were challenges along the way

Special things to see and do

I know that I'm so lucky to have

A grandson just like you

But now you've reached a milestone in the blinking of an eye

It's your 21st birthday

And it marks another turn

Today's for celebration.........

Just watch those candles burn

So enjoy your special day Lee

Feel my love in all you do

For nobody, dear Grandson

Deserves it more than you

Back

Papertake (May 4th) & 21st Birthday Cards

Today I’ve been working on a few more orders and I’ve incorporated the template from this weeks Papertake challenge.

I really enjoyed working from this template and it’s one that I will definitely use again.

Here’s my card:-

Lots of texture on this one with the embossing and also some doodling for good measure.

Card Blank– Craft Creations
Papers – We R memory Keepers (Precious Metal) Memory Stor (Costco Kit)
Rubber Stamp – Fun Stamps (V W Beetle) Stamps Away (Happy Birthday)
Inks – Ranger Distress Ink (Peeled Paint) Versa Fine (Black)
Embossing Folders – Cuttlebug (Spots & Dots & Tiny Bubbles)

Other Bits
Brads
Fibres


Now I’ll show you some of what I was working on over the weekend.

The first thing I did was to finish off the 21st Birthday book that I was doing for my Nephew Lee from his Granddad.
I showed you the work in progress a couple of weeks back and I can show you the finished book but I've put it in a separate post because there are quite a lot of photos.
I also had to do two other 21st cards for him too. This is the one that I made from Lee’s uncle.
The inspiration for this came from a card that Lythan made for a DCM dare. She had hidden the age under a circle that twists round to reveal it but I actually did mine the other way round, with the age on the front and message hidden underneath.



Card Blank– Craft Creations
Papers – Basic Grey (Granola)
Inks – Ranger Distress Ink (faded Jeans)
Pen – Sharpie (Black)
Embossing Folders – Cuttlebug (Spots & Dots)
Border Embossing Punch – Martha Stewart
Shape Cutter – Creative Memories (Circles)
Paper Punch – Woodware (Small Circle, Peach)
Alphabet Stickers – American Traditional Designs

Other BitsBrads
Ribbon
Photo Anchor



By the time I finally got around to making my own card for Lee I had totally run out of ideas.

I remembered this card in a copy of PaperCrafts Inspiration, designed by the extremely talented Jo Kill

Seeing as I was planning on giving Lee money for his birthday I thought Jo’s card would work well, so I’m afraid that mine is a blatant copy……….I hope you will forgive me Jo.

Card Blank– Craft Creations
Papers – Memory Stor (Costco Kit)
Inks – Ranger Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
Embroidery Thread – Anchor
Buttons – Basic Grey (Boxer)
Alpha Rub Ons – Autumn Leaves (Twenty) Hambly Screen Prints (One)
Circle Tiles – Sticko (Mosaic Stickers)
Alpha Peel Offs – Craft Creations

Other Bits£20 Notes – From my pension. Lol!

Cuttlebug Challenge – be Inspired #27 - Numbers

Well, it’s the start of a new week and just as I was hoping to get back to some serious crafting, I hear that my insurance company has given the go-a head for the work to be done after the flood and the decorator is starting on Thursday.
This means that I have to clear the room of all the furniture ready for them and store it in my bedroom and in here, which won’t leave my any room to work.

Added to that I have the guy coming to measure up for the bespoke fire surround on Tuesday, I have to see the nurse to have the dressing removed from my knee on Wednesday, I have the weekly shop with dad (as well as the start of the decorating) on Thursday and I have to take my brother to the hospital for the pre assessment of his cataract operation on Friday, so I have quite a full week.

Taking all the above into consideration this 50th birthday card that I made for last Wednesdays Cuttlebug Challenge may well be the only card I get to show you this week.

The number was cut on my Robo and I’ve added some embossing, a little bit of doodling and some faux stitching.

Card Blank – Craft Creations
Papers– Basic Grey, Granola
Ink – Ranger Distress Ink (Faded Jeans)
Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Spots and Dots)
Dies – Sizzix (12in. Hunky Dory Alphabet), Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Standard Circle)
Large Brads – Basic Grey (Boxer)

DCM's - Toys for Boys

Yah, I’ve actually managed to get back to a bit of crafting this week.........can't believe how much I've been missing it.
I'm still not able to spend too long sitting with my knee bent but at least it’s a start and it's getting better all the time.

I thought I would start on my Daring Cardmakers card for this week but unfortunately it wasn’t finished in time for the Friday dare and more to the point it still isn’t finished.

It will be my nephew’s 21st birthday at the start of next month and I have to make three cards for him. Two will be straight forward cards but I wanted to do something a bit special for him from his Granddad, so I decided to make a chipboard book.

As I said, it’s not finished but I’ve decided to show you the first two pages because they fit in with Rein’s dare which is Toys for Boys.

All the papers are Basic Grey, Oh baby! Boy and all the other various bits and bobs are from my stash.

Keep an eye open and I'll show the finished book when it's complete.

100 Years Young!

I’ve been asked to make a very special card this week and I was under real pressure to get it right because it was a first for me and it was something that you don’t get asked to make very often.

My friend’s Great Uncle will be 100 next week………how amazing is that!

My brief was to make something with a gardening theme because his garden was one of his great joys when he was able to work in it. The other thing was to make sure the card had some texture to it so he would be able feel it...........as you can imagine, at that age his eye sight isn’t what it used to be.

My plan was to make the numbers look like little topiary trees and when I saw Keryn’s Daring Cardmakers challenge this week I knew exactly what I was going to do.

Feeling Fruity

Hi its Keryn. My dare this week is to put a piece of fruit on your card. Make your

card for any occasions and use any fruit you like the look of.

I don't really have much in the way of fruit themed things but as I was thinking along the lines of ‘Vintage’ and ‘A Ripe Old Age’ and what came to mind was my 'Tiny Grape and Holly Border' set of Tapestry Stamps.

Here’s the finished card:-


The Geraniums were stamped and embossed with Clear Embossing powder.

They were then coloured and cut out so that the flowers were separate from the pots and re mounted on 3D foam so they stand out from the card.

Next I stamped the hand cut numbers and the stems,, again mounting them on foam.

I then attempted to create the illusion of a grape vine trailing across the corner by tearing some card to fit and this was also stamped and mounted on the 3D foam.

Lots of layers…..you get the idea!

The final 3D image is the bottle, glass and bunch of grapes on the bottom corner which was stamped three times and then layered.

Card Blank – Craft Creations, Cream Hammer
Patterned Papers – Basic Grey, Boxer
Inks –Ranger Distress Ink (Peeled Paint & Worn Lipstick). Tsukneko VersaFine (Black) VersaMark (Clear) VersaColor (Boysenberry & Green Tea) Martha Stewart Pigment Ink (Leaf Bud, Stem Green & Brownstone)
Rubber Stamps – Rubber Stamp Tapestry (Tiny Grape & Holly Border & Nature Plate 4), Papermania ( The Secret Garden, Stems) Stick ‘n’ Stamp (Geraniums) Clear Stamps (Travel Set, Bunch of Grapes) Unknown (Wine Bottle & Glass)
Embossing Powder – Fun Stamps (Clear)
Pencils – Prisma Color

Other Bits
Brads
Gel Pens
Computer Generated Greeting


Well that's definitely it from me until after my op next week.

I went for my pre op test yesterday and then had my last blood test today so it's all go for Tuesday.

I'll only be in over night, at least that what they tell me, so I'll be back keeping my eye on what you’re all up to even if I'm not back crafting.

So while I’m gone............…….

Behave Yourselves!

See you soon
Sue
x