In the Garden

Well, I’m most definitely not in the garden today because it’s chucking it down out there.

Instead I’ve stayed in and made a ‘garden’ card with no less than ten layers and it fits in perfectly with the Digital Tuesday challenge .

I’ve used:

Patterned Paper & Plain Papers – Memory Stor Kit from Costco
Digital Image – Sketching Stamper
Craft Creations – Embossed Linen Card Stock
Craftworks Cards –Birthday Greeting
Ranger Distress Ink – Vintage Photo
ProMarkers – Various colours
Mather Stewart Border Punch
Stash
Ribbon, Paper Flowers & Brads

Long Time, No Play.

Hi guys, well it’s an age since I’ve joined in a dare with my old DT buddies over at the The Daring Cardmaker’s so this week I’ve decided is the week to get back into it and playing along for fun.

The theme this week is the Flower of the Month series that runs all year and that means Roses or Honeysuckle because they are the flowers for June.

I’ve used sketch #118 from Inspirational Card Sketches and I’m hoping it’s a lucky omen because 118 just happens to be my house number.

Here's what I've done with it.

I’ve covered my card blank using two K & Co papers, stamping on the lighter one with a VersaMark ink pad and giving it a dusting of eye shadow (my version of chalks). The ribbon, complete with ribbon slide was wrapped around the paper as I was sticking it to the card.

I stamped the rose using Black Memento Ink and coloured it with ProMarkers. It was then cut into an oval, the edges distressed and inked and then it was layered and mounted onto the card.

Next I added a few finishing touches; Gold Card Candi and a Birthday Greeting from Craftworks Cards,some Crystal Lacquer to the petals and leaves and a rose charm which incidentally was Silver to start with but I've coloured it with a Gold Krylon pen.

Patterned Papers
Classic K McKenna Pad – K & Co

Rubber Stamps
Rubber Stampede – Antique Rose
Artemio - Arabesque 2

Equipment
Craft Creations – Embossed Hammer Card Stock
Craftworks Cards – Card Candi & Birthday Greeting
Ranger Distress Ink – Victorian Velvet
ProMarkers – Antique Pink, Dusky Rose, Pastel Pink, Cool Grey1 & Blender

Stash
Satin Ribbon
Ribbon Slide
Metallic Thread

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday Year 3 (#105)

Well, what an exciting week it’s been.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday has celebrated its 2nd birthday with a worldwide PIF (that’s a Pay it Forward of gifts for those not in the know) and it’s all thanks to Julia over at the Stamping Ground.  And because it was such a special week I even made a big effort and managed to get round to everyone for the first time, but I think it will be a one off because it took forever and a day. 
I admire you girls who manage it every week but I'm afraid I'll be going back to my random visits, by looking to see what number I am on the blog list and then visit everyone who's number ends in the same one as mine. That works well for me and it usually means that I visit different people each week.

Anyway, emails have been flying backwards and forwards us we've all been waiting with bated breath for Mr. (or Mrs.) Postie to deliver our awaited treasures.

I’m pleased to report that my wait ended yesterday when a little surprise dropped onto my doormat and inside was this lovely little card and pretty mini wooden tray/hanger from the very talented Ali.

Thank you so much Ali, it’s absolutely gorgeous!

I love that each of the little sections behind the flowers and the bird are covered in what must be hundreds of tiny little blue seed beads that make such a lush and sparkly backing and if you look closely at the picture of my desk this week you can see it hanging from the shelf where it will live until I find somewhere better (and safer) to hang it.

I think it’s also safe to show you gifts and cards I made to send to Teresa and Julia and it’s very strange because I used the exact same colours as Ali did for my gift.

I’ve made them both wall hangings that are the same, but different.

This one’s Teresa’s:

And this one’s Julia’s:

I can’t actually take full credit for the design because the idea came from a class I did at a local craft shop last year.
Mind you, I didn’t have all the materials we used in the class so I’ve had to improvise.
The first thing was the canvas for the base.
Julia’s one was fine but when I came to do Teresa's one do you think I could find a square canvas the size I wanted, not on your life. In the end I had the idea of covering a chipboard square with canvas photo paper and it worked perfectly. I also had to use the canvas paper again on one of the smaller squares and was worried that it wouldn’t emboss properly but that
worked out fine too.

They were great projects to work on and it was fun getting messy with alcohol and distress inks, as well as playing with metal and embossing folders. Throw into the mix some acrylic paint and beads and you can imagine what my desk was looking like on that day, suffice to say, you couldn’t see it Lol!

The cards I made to go with them were both the same.

I’m loving these easel fold cards at the moment, so thought I would have a go at a different shape. As you can see, I’ve based the design on the wall hangings.

So back to my desk this week and on it you can see the working of a card I’ve made for the Daring Cardmaker’s challenge this week. You can see the finished card Here.

The only other thing that might be of some interest is my big box of eye shadows. They were a bargain buy after Christmas a couple of years ago from Superdrug and I use them as chalks. The colours are great because they are real dusky shades and not colours that I’ve ever seen in chalks.

Well, that’s it from me and I’m sorry that this turned out to be a long and picture heave post but I had so much I wanted to share with you all.

Have a great day and…………
Happy Crafting!
Sue
x

Bold and Bright

Hi All, well the sun is back out again this morning, after the down poor yesterday.
I can’t really complain thought because the South East has had so little rain this year, the garden really needs it but the best thing is that it saved me going out and watering all my pots last night.

Because the weather was so rubbish I spent my day ironing, which wasn’t very pleasant…….. I really hate it with a vengeance, Lol, but with that out of the way I could play for the rest of the day guilt free.

Having said that, I didn’t really achieve very much in the end and the only thing I can show you is the card that I made for the monthly challenge over at Craft Creations where the theme is ‘Bold & Bright.

I think my card is Bold & Bright but in a subtle way.

Don’t you just that cute butterfly? He was cut for one of the patterned papers and dressed up with a beaded body and some gems and glitter glue.

Thanks for stopping by.
Sue
x

Patterned & Plain Papers
Urban Prairie – Basic Grey

Equipment
Craft Creations - Peel-Off Border Stickers
Craftworks Cards - Birthday Greeting
Fiskars Paper Punch – Sunburst
Ranger Distress Ink – Worn Lipstick
Marvy Le PlumeII Pens – Dusty Pink, Manganese Blue & Citrus Yellow

Stash
Velvet Ribbon
Beads
Gold wire
Round & Square Gems
Glitter Glue

Inky Paws & Fingers

I was doing a spot of hopping around a few of my favorite stamp sites this morning and discovered that Waltzing Mouse do a weekly template challenge. I don’t know how I’ve missed it all this time but now I’ve found it I’ll be joining in as often as I can.

Here’s this week’s template and strangely it’s almost the same as a couple of cards I made to go with my PIF for What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Unfortunately I can’t show you those until Wednesday and they wouldn’t have been any good for the challenge anyway because there weren't any Waltzing Mouse stamps used on them, so this morning with the aid of my little helper

(I really mean hinderer but don’t tell BoJangles that or he’ll take the huff) I’ve had a play and made this.

No patterned papers used here just a few Distress inks and lots of different stamps including the flowers from the ‘Say it with Style’ set and a frame from ‘Very Vintage Labels No. 1.

This is the front when it's laying flat.

and this is the inside.

Inks
Distress Inks - Victorian Velvet, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy and Forest Green
VersaMark

Stamps
Waltzing Mouse – Say it with Style (Swirly Flowers), Very Vintage Labels No. 1. (Vintage Frame)
Blond Moments – Just Plain Dotty (Spotty Flower)
Penny Black – Flying Stars
Artemio - Modern Grasses

Greeting
Craftworks Cards

Dies/Punches
Nestabilities - Labels No1
Martha Stewart – Frond Branch

Stash
Buttons
Pin
Beads
Ribbon
Gem

Happy 2nd Birthday, What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday…………………….….yah!

Now the party is in full swing and Workdesk Wednesday’s here,

The day we share the projects that we’ve made
throughout the year.

But this week’s very special, we've reached a mile stone,

Two years of sharing work desks, starting out at Julia’s home.

So to mark this great occasion, a gift I send to you,

But you must Pay It Forward before you get back to your glue.

Back to the paper, stamps and paints that we all hold so very dear,

And wait in anticipation as we look forward to another year.

Happy What’s on your Workdesk Wednesday!

Hope you like my little ode to the phenomenon that’s become the biggest weekly blog hop on the web.

I’m sure that Julia couldn’t have thought that when she posted a picture of her Workdesk that very first time way back in 2009 that she would be seeing nearing 200 of us visiting her each week.

It’s strange how things just seem to catch on and I like a lot of you I should imagine am very grateful to her for the fun that it gives us each week and the opportunity to visit so many very talented people that I otherwise might not have found.
Added to that there’s the friendships that have been made along the way, so raise a glass with me……yes I know it a bit early in the morning but I’m sure we can make an exception on this occasion…………and let’s make a toast.

To Julia and 2 years of What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday.
Long may it continue!



To celebrate the 2nd anniversary I thought I would show you
my very first posting for What’s On Your Workdesk,
back in August 2009. It had only been going for about two months then but even so it was popular, with lots of people playing along.

There wasn’t very much on my desk back then but I did have a new toy to share with you and I still love it!

Now to my desk this week:-

You can see two very special parcels that are waiting to go in the post………….wonder what they might be?

I can’t show you what’s in them until next week when each of the recipitant’s have received them and I also can’t show you the two cards that I’ve made either, for obvious reasons, so you’ll have to tune in next week for the big unveiling.

Thanks for stopping by on this very special day and I hope everyone enjoys the party that is being hosted by the mega queen of snoop. (I mean that in the nicest possible way Julia)

If you want to join in the fun, hop across to snoop central at The stamping Ground to find all you need to know.

Lots of Love my fellow crafters……see you next time!
Sue
X x x

Blogger is being a pain in the $*£(*”’@?# !

Well blogger is playing silly whatsits at the moment and won’t let me comment on anyones blog, although others seem to be able to comment on mine, so I’m not sure what’s going on.

It’s being a pain in the $*£(*”’@?# for the last week or more, so instead of reading the WOYWW posts I’ve given up for now, to return later and I’ve been sitting in my garden enjoying the sunshine instead. It’s really hot quite out there if I tuck myself in the corner where it’s sheltered from the wind.

Anyway, while I was sitting there I was fascinated by the wispy clouds that were coming over so I run in and got my camera. The picture didn’t really come out all that well really but I’m sure you’ll get the gist of why it was grabbing my attention.

I also took a couple of pictures of my small garden.

The beautiful Rose that I brought after losing Dad last year.
It’s called Glenfiddich and that was his favourite Whisky tipple. I just wish we had smell-a-vision here because it has such a heady scent you can smell it as soon as you walk into the garden.

My lovely Acer that I brought for the bargain price of £3 at a car boot sale a couple of years ago.

And of course a final picture of the lovely BoJangles who didn’t want to be left out and was also enjoying the sun with me.

I'll try the commenting thing again later but I've given up for tonight, I just can't stand the stress of it all.

Hope blogger plays fairly next week!

One Week To Go...........WOYWW #103

With only a week to go until the big day and excitement is reaching fever pitch over at the Julia’s place where the Stamping Ground is a buzz with anticipation for the 2nd birthday Pay It Forward.
My gift is all done and dusted, ready and waiting to go in the post but I still need to make a little card to go with it, so that’s part of my plans for today’s crafting action.

But before I start on that, I have to pack up some cards to go into the post and as you can see from my desk photo this morning BoJangles is sitting pretty waiting help me.........ok, he’s really waiting for me to take that coffee cup out into the kitchen and hoping that while I’m there he’ll get a handful of food.
He’s such a gannet!

As I understand it, for most cats ,including my previous cat Emily, you can put down a big bowl of food and they will quite happily graze on it all day but not Bo, oooh noooo, he scoffs the lot in one go and still wants more. He’ll eat and eat until he makes himself sick, so I have to weigh out his food in the morning and give it to him throughout the day in a bid to keep him happy, but his constant worrying for food can really try your patients sometimes.

Anyway I digress, it’s been such a relief to get back to card making after the trials and tribulations of the curtain linings last week. I finally managed to finish them though and while the sewing machine was still out I also made myself make the pelmet for my lounge which I’ve been meaning to do for the last eighteen months and also take the curtains up a smidgen because they’ve been dragging along the floor for the same length of time.
I’m so ashamed of myself for admitting that but they are done now and just waiting to go back up at the window so all in all so I should be feeling pretty happy.

If you want a better look at the cards I’ve made this week here they are:-

I was playing with my new set of Kanban stamps and some clear embossing for this first one.

Next is another stamped and embossed image but I can’t remember who it’s by because it’s not in any packaging. I’ve water coloured this one with Marvy LePlume pens and added some Crystal Lacquer to the tops of the waves for effect.

For the next two I’ve used a Sketching Stamper digital stamps and coloured them with ProMarkers.

Then I thought I would have a go at making my own rosettes using my new 'Hougie' board. If you've not heard of one of those it's just a 12 x 12 scoring board marked out in 1/2cms on one side and 1/2inches on the other and it's the best piece of equipment that I've brought in ages.

And the last but not least are a couple just using up some scraps that I had laying around.

So that’s it from me for another week, I need to pace myself ready for the fun and games of next week’s WOYWW.

Look forward to seeing you all at the party, so until then………

Happy Crafting!
Sue
x

For a little update us to why I’m not commenting on people’s blogs at the moment click here.
Blogger is being a pain

WOYWW #102

Just a quick blog from me this morning and a very different work desk too.

As you can see my desk is clear of all my card making things and in its place is my sewing machine, which rarely sees the light of day.
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard me exclaim loads of times that I can’t stitch a straight line to save myself but that just what’s needed here because I’m attempting to alter a pair of curtain liners.

Now hop on over to The Stamping Ground and join in the fun and I’ll be over in the next day or two to see what you’re all playing with this week.

Sorry I’ve got to blog and run but I have a date with Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean!

Happy WOYWW!
Sue
X

Just two weeks to go until the 2nd anniversary and the ‘BIG’ P.I.F……..Yah!

WOYWW #101

Well, ‘that day’ is here again and as the work desks of the world go on public view for another What’s on your Workdesk Wednesday, mine is looking decidedly messy this morning and it’s not with a work in progress either, just the aftermath of yesterday’s crafting session.

The LO that I did of my Mum, which you can see better Here is sitting waiting to go into its final home next to Dad’s page in my scrapbook and at the front of the table you can see a printed picture of dads LO and the journaling that goes with it.

I’ve decided that I’m going to do this for all of my heritage LO’s because as I was working on mum’s page I was thinking about her life and the what to write about her when it suddenly occurred to me that not everyone who sees the scrapbook will necessarily have access to my Heritage Blog and therefor wouldn’t be able read the journaling.

By printing everything out there will be a written record that goes with each of the LO’s in the album but now I just have to decide the best way to present it. At the moment I have them in punched pockets but I don’t know whether I should find a way of keeping then in the album with the appropriate LO or if I should just keep them all in a separate ring binder to go alongside the album…........oh decisions, decisions!

As for the rest of my desk, well there’s paper, flowers and a pile of nesties all waiting to go back to their own homes!

So that’s it from me for this week. Pop across to The Stamping Ground if you want to join in with the fun and I’ll see you next time.

Happy Crafting
Sue
X

Yah…….only three weeks to go until the 2nd anniversary and the ‘BIG’ P.I.F!

And then there was Mum

Morning all.

Well, this scrapbooking malarkey is getting to be a bit addictive!

I've gone from not scraping at all to can't get enough of it, so much so that my card orders have been taking a back seat of late.

I never thought I would hear myself say that, but there it is!

So yesterday I had a wonderful day, I got up early, got the necessary housework out of the way and then headed for my craft room.

The first thing I did was this LO of my mum for my heritage album.

As you can see this is 'the other' Blue page I mentioned the other day and it’s Blue in an attempt to match the page I've already made of dad.
They look quite good in the album side by side.

Now, although I've just said that I'm getting addicted to scraping I'm still not brave enough to try and design a LO by myself yet so I found this old template on the Page Maps  site to work from.

The site is a great resource for page templates of all kinds, as well as cards.

Mum's Lo was always going to be done in these colours because they were one of her favorites, so when I visited the Stamp and Scrapbook show at Alexandra Palace back in April I was on the look out for things to use.  When I came across the beautiful pearl flourish and the paper flowers they were just crying out to me to be used and I'm so pleased that I brought them, they're gorgeous!



Now all I have to do is sit down and write her story which may take some time and then update my Heritage Blog.
Hopefully it will be done in the next few days, so don’t forget to call back and read all about her life.

Patterned Papers29th Street Market - My Mind’s Eye
Capella – Basic Grey
Ella Blue - G.C.D. Studios

Peel-Off Stickers –Craft Creations
Pearl & Iridescent Flower Stems – Craft Creations
Say it in Pearls Flourish & Butterfly – Prima
Small Mulberry Roses – The Hobby House
Medium & Large Mulberry Flowers - Prima
Journal – Computer Generated
Cotton Lace – Hobby Craft
Die cut lettering
Distress Ink – Ranger

EquipmentCuttlebug
Tag-a-Long
Nestabilities – Scalloped Ovals (sm) & Peony

Next I thought I had better tackle the every growing list of birthday cards waiting to be done.

I’m entering this card into the monthly challenge over at Craft Creations the place I get all my card stock from. The challenge is to use flowers so I think my little posy counts, don’t you?

Hope you all have a good day and I'll be back tomorrow with WOYWW (What's on your Workdesk Wednesday) when you'll be able to see the aftermath of a crafting session later today.

Bye for now
Sue
x

Here he is again!

The second page of dad in four days and yes, it’s another Blue page.



I just seem to be drawn to the colour for some reason but my excuse is that that it lends itself beautifully to the old Black and White photos that I’m using. And just to forewarn you, the papers I have for mum’s page are Blue too, so be warned.

Well as you can see this is a photo of my dad in his army uniform, aged about nineteen…….….wasn’t he handsome, it’s no wonder mum fell head over hills in love with him!
You can read his full story over at Family Footprints in the Sands of Time, my heritage blog.

For my starting point I’ve used an old page template from So Sketchy and used a combination papers from My Mind’s Eye, Basic Grey and G.C.D Studios.

The border was cut from one of the papers, embellished with eyelets (I always seem to forget to use those) and then layered with 3D foam and to give the LO some extra dimension I’ve also added some real and faux stitching.



Patterned Papers
29th Street Market - My Mind’s Eye
Capella – Basic Grey
Ella Blue - G.C.D. Studios

Alphabet Stickers – Basic Grey
Micro Mono Stickers (numbers)- Basic Grey
Card Candi – Craftworks Cards
Best Dad Plaque – Making Memories
Hemp Cord – Create Cousin
Journaling – Computer Generated
Brads from stash

First page of Dad & WOYWW #100

Morning peeps and a happy Workdesk Wednesday to you all.

This week I’ve taken my photo from a slightly different angle. It’s not much different because my room is so small you can’t swing a cat but it's given you a glimpse of the picture on my wall.

BoJangles is off to hide on the window ledge now just in case I give it a go but don't worry Bo I don’t plan to try it.

As you probably know, cross stitching is another passion of mine and this was something I stitched some time ago from a Butternut Road chart called Catch the Wind.

I’ve changed the colours of mine because I wanted it to go with the Lemon walls of my craft room, so instead of the dark Red, Green and Blue I’ve used Lemon, Pale Green and Pink and framed it in Blue and Lemon which I think worked well.

Original Colours


Changed Colours




Anyway, onto the main matter of the day and that’s what’s ‘on’ my workdesk.



Last week I mentioned that I was going to do a scrapbook page of my dad but couldn’t find the photo that I wanted to use. Well I did eventually do a page even if it wasn’t the one I wanted to do first and it’s sitting in the left hand side of my table.


Don’t you just love this photo!

Dad was just six months old when this was taken and who would have guessed then that he would live to the ripe old age of 87.

The papers I’ve used are all Lost and Found from My Mind’s Eye as is the large brad with the bird on.
I’ve kept the page quite simple, just adding the Tim Holtz Metal flowers and leaves that have been coloured with Alcohol inks and the building blocks.


I made the blocks by printing out a children’s colouring page and inking them with Distress ink before stamping them with some tapestry stamps and adding the die cut letters.

After completing the baby page I resumed my search and the good news is that I eventually found the original picture I was looking for and a lovely one of mum too, so spread all over my desk now are the papers and other bits and pieces that I’m planning to use on the next two Lo’s.
Looks like I have a busy day ahead of me. Lol!




Well thanks for dropping in, I hope you like what you’ve seen.

I’ll be making a few calls on some new blogs this week (my way of random visiting seems to be working for me) and see what craftiness everyone is up to and if you’re wondering what on earth I’m going on about, stop in on Julia, over at the Stamping Ground where everything will become clear…..hopefully!

Happy Crafting!
Sue
X
By the way it’s only a few more weeks until the birthday PIF and my little gift is all ready to go. Here’s a little sneak peek to wet your appetite.


I wonder what it is and who this will be going to?