Thursday 29 October 2009

Christmas is upon us..

As an Area Coordinator for Support our Soldiers, we are now on the countdown to Christmas!



In short.. I'm on the lookout for
  • Christmas cards
  • used postage stamps
  • Wrapping paper for the christmas parcels
  • Any handwritten notes to go inside the parcels, which are much appreciated.
  • Any helpers around the Doncaster area who would like to be involved in a Pack and Wrap day where you can come along and help pack and christmas boxes for our troops. I am in the process of organising a location where we can meet up to do this, so if you're interested.. just let me know.The dates are likely to be around mid November.

You can email me on joa@supportoursoldiers.co.uk or just email me through my blog. You can even leave me a comment.. they're all recieved and don't have to be put out publicly.


Sweet as Sugar..

Sometimes, I love crafting.. sometimes I love taking photographs. And this last few days has been no exception to the latter! Just look at this tiny little dot.. isn't he just beautiful?

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He is the new little brother of Martina's friend at school. He is just so tiny - I forgot how small newborns actually were!! And he is so alert too!

Here are some more piccies -

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Just look how tiny these little hands are.

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And what about baby feet.. isn't there just something about them that makes you want to touch them? So stinkin' cute!

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This is all I'm sharing from the photoshoot at the moment.

I do promise that I'll upload some cards for you shortly. I've been having a few days off everything crafty, so I could spend some time with my lovely hubby.. but he's back at work today after five days at home. Later this morning, I've got a business meeting down in Derby but will be back this evening with a few cards - fingers crossed!

Enjoy!

Sunday 25 October 2009

ooooh I feel poorly...

Yesterday was my Wedding Anniversary - 22 years - and to celebrate, my lovely hubby and me decided to take ourselves out for a meal. Just by ourselves. One our own. The two of us!

This is something that's not usually done, so it made it even more special. Usually, whenever we go out for a meal the whole family come with us, we very rarely have time to ourselves.

Anyway, we decided to go off to our favourite, Woodfield Farm.



They make the most scrummy meals, nothing like posh nosh bits of this and that, but a proper plate of dinner. But with me not being able to eat dairy, yeast and all the rest of the gajubbins, it was hard to find something that I could munch on. So I decided 'to hell with it' for one evening and ate my way through my steak and kidney suet pudding, garlic mushrooms, etc etc. To top it all off, we had Banoffee pudding - but both mine and Paul's eyes are much bigger than they should be, so they came as a cakeaway.. cool name eh?!

This is the inside of the restaraunt. It is really lovely and cosy.



The staff down there are really lovely too. But honestly, their cakes are to die for!!

As a result of my scoffing yesterday, today I am feeling a little worse for wear. I feel sicky-wicky and a little bit off colour.... well.. rather green around the gills.

So.. more waffle tomorrow about my adventures at the craft show. xx

Friday 23 October 2009

What image??

I don't often use Internet Explorer any more, mainly because there were known problems with IE8 and blogger, so I started using Firefox a few months ago, and I love it!

However, today, I'm just browsing using AOL and it of course, uses IE!

I have apparantly got an image which has been missing or deleted.. which image is it? I haven't got a clue.. and I can't get rid of the bloomin box.. but more importantly, when I browse through Firefox, the daft box isn't there!!

How wierd!

Any ideas anyone?? lol.

Thursday 22 October 2009

New Beginnings..

I have been busy this week making baby cards - a girl who Carley works with has just had her baby boy a few days ago, then yesterday, Martina's friends mum had her new addition - another little boy.

This is one of the cards I made -


I stamped the image using Stazon and then watercoloured with inks. I added a little sparkle to the baby blanket with glitter glue. Isn't is soooo sweet?

Here are a couple of arty-farty angles for you to see the details.


The bow was made using Stampin Up ribbons - 1" double stitched grosgrain ribbon in Bashful Blue (113378) and 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Very Vanilla (110042). 


Here you can see a little more detail on the hair.



That's all for now.. I hope you all have a very happy crafting weekend!

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Where has this week gone?

It's been a funny ol' week so far.. no time to get on here to show you some little arty-farty bits, and already it's nearly Thursday! Tomorrow, I'm off down to the outskirts of Birmingham for a bit of craftyness with some ladies..

So, for now, here's a little bit of show and tell..


These are pictures of one of the cards I have got lined up for my ladies tomorrow. I have used the Level 3 hostess set- Garden Dream (117624)  from Stampin Up for the flowers on the card, but as you can see, I've been playing with coloured vellums for these cards.  I can't remember which stamp set the wordings came from, I'll find them and update later.

The framework around the roses came from an embossing board and the ribbon is from my stash.

Here's a little closer look



And here are a few extra bits I made today too.


This card was made using the SU Hung Up on the Holidays stamp set (106770) and the wording is from Old Fashioned Christmas (103020). I have used some watercolour crayons to add shading to the elements of the card, and as you can see, I've done a bit of parchment design for the top and bottom. Here's an arty-farty angle again.

 

The basic idea for these cards came from Monica. Here are her set -



I absolutely love the colours of this set of projects - me thinks I need to case them pretty soon!

Now onto my last card for this evening.. and I must admit, I love the simplicity of this card.

Here's the detail piccy -



And here's the card in full.



I have used an embossing board for the framework and borders, but the images are SU... sorry, but can't remember what set - will pull it out of my SU cupboard and let you know.

I have also added some extra sparkly bits to this card too with glitter stickles gluey-stuff.

Now before I forget, I just want to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Nana, who's birthday it was today. We lost my nana on 5th Nov, 1981, but today she would have been celebrating her 94th birthday - you may not be here in body, but you always are in spirit. xxx

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Let's get started...

Do you like rubber stamping?
Would you like to earn some income from your hobby?


How would you like to save money on your stampin up supplies, meet new people and may be pay for your craft habit with your hobby? YES then why not consider becoming a Stampin Up Demonstrator and become a member of my team?

Here are the details of the new starter kit offer. If you'd like to take advantage of this offer then let me know and I will forward all the relevant paper work and information to you!

Stampin Up is running a new promotion from the 22nd October...



Dates: 22 October-13 November 2009

Promotion details:
In conjunction with our participation in the
Hobbycrafts show, Stampin’ Up! is offering a limited-time 10 percent discount on the Starter Kit to new recruits. When you join Stampin’ Up! as a new demonstrator during the promotion period, you’ll get over £240 worth of stamping and business supplies for only £125--10 percent off the regular price of £139! This is a perfect occasion for you to take advantage of the Stampin’ Up! opportunity.
Things to Remember:
  • New recruit paperwork (Starter Kit order form and Independent Demonstrator Agreement [IDA]) must arrive in your local office by 13 November, 6:50 PM (CET):
  • Discounted kit price will be automatically applied.
  • Discount applies to all new recruits who sign up during the specified time frame, whether they attend the Hobbycrafts show or not.
Q: What does a new demonstrator need to do to qualify for the discounted kit?
A: All she has to do is sign up during the promotion period.



So If you would like more information about becoming a demonstrator and saving money on all your craft supplies then drop me a line at joaustin22@aol.com and find out more about joining my team and the SU family !

Soup and Saucepans

Soup! How great is it to eat during the cold weather??

Well, most of it I can't actually eat as it has milk in it - including my all time favourite Tomato!! But what I can eat is the Covent Garden soups that are available ... you know the ones, around £2 a pot !! Yeah right!

These are ones that don't have all the extra's in that I can't eat - yeast, milk, yadda yadda yadda.. but By God, they're so expensive!! So, I thought I'd invest in a little cooky booky by the said company.. and voila.. a pot of soup!!!


This one is carrot and coriander (although I mushed my coriander up a little too much!)

I love carrot soup - it's the next best thing to Tomato in my eyes.. so with a little bit of this and that, twenty minutes in me saucepan and voila.. it's done!

This is the book I bought.. and you can get it from HERE if you wanted.. although mine came from Sainsbury's as it was more convenient - meaning really I wanted a pot of soup!!



There are some fantastic recipes in the book using a wide range of ingrediants. It's definately going to be well used.

In fact, very much like my saucepans..

Paul and I bought a set of saucepans when we were first married, like 22 years ago this Saturday, and one of them has finally succumbed to years of daily use!

The pan set we got were Imperial saucepans which cost us around £45, and they must have been the best things we ever bought. They have been used daily without fail.. until last Friday when the handle snapped off my big saucepan.. sob sob

I'm so relieved it wasn't full of hot water at the time! It was just like losing an old faithful friend.. in fact, even though I've now replaced the pan set, it's still sat on my side in mourning.. *sigh* And me's thinking that maybe I can use it as a plant pot.. hehe.

As they were such a fantastic set of pans, we have now re-invested in another set of newbies.

We bought Imperial ones again.. if they last us another 22 years I'll be happy! Although these ones are called INTWO by Imperial and these ones are black, whereas my others were stainless steel. I was very suprised at the price though - £58 the full set cost me.. not much inflation there was there??

Monday 19 October 2009

Bags, bags and more bags

I had a little bit of a bag making extravaganza last week, so thought I'd share them on here with you all.



Aren't these pretty? They came from a book that I got whilst out craft shopping the other week with Carley - she was after bits for her new business venture - and I found these! lol. A great find too.. Just pop them out, stick and fold.. great stuff!

And here's another couple of bits, including another bag I made from the templates I got.



I made a card and gift bag so that they matched. I love this little baggy.. so different.

I'll show you these projects in more detail complete with a shopping list later.. xx

Monday, Monday

I'm feeling a little rough around the edges this morning - yesterday I ate something that had milk and yeast in, and this morning's result is the feeling of general yuckness, sickies and just generally off colour. It's amazing how bad I feel when I do eat something without realising.. within a few hours I know! I'm sure it's the same with anyone in the same position, but I still find it odd.

I have munched on what I thought was healthy food for years, only to find (as in a previous post) that I couldn't eat the majority of things because I have an intolerance to them.

When I had the test done at Holland and Barrett in August (just because I constantly felt crappy) I was a little sceptical to say the least. However, a couple of months down the line and it's been a big relief to how I've felt. I no longer wake up in the morning feeling sick, headachey and generally off colour, but I wake with a spring in my step (well.. even springers on my bed!!) and feel totally different. So much so, that when I feel like I do this morning, I know that I may have missed something ingrediant wise to know it doesn't sit well in my digestion! lol.

So, what did I have yesterday? Well... after not eating crisps for years, I decided to eat a packet of Walkers Salt and Vinegar crisps as I was peckish - 'oh it'll do me no harm.. just potato and flavourings' I said to myself..

Yeah Right!!! Include in that yeast extract, milk and all the rest of the gubbins that go with it and there's no wonder I feel a little ill... !! Now that will teach me to eat things without reading the packet!

So.. back to my dandelion tea, lepicol and acidophalus this morning... and hopefully tonight I'll feel much much better!!

Feeling a little challenged.....

Boy it feels like an age since I last wrote on my little bloglet. Time has not been on my side with one thing and another, but I've made it! I'm here!

To start off, I'd like to show you the card I completed last week for the Rosie Dee challenge.. the theme last week was Coffee and Cream, with a cherry on the top and this sums up my card completely!


I used coffee and cream colours on the card as you can see, and my 'cherry' is the little bow.. although not red as I didn't think it would go too well with the overall colour. The little puss was one from a digi company that was offering the prize last week, check the blog to find out which one as I can't remember at the mo, and I coloured her with copic markers.

So onto this week, and the theme has continued with our Foody colours.

This week, we're onto Carrot and Courgette - great for Hallowe'en I think.. And again, we had a digi sponsor for the image.

Here's my sneak peek, but don't forget.. all the challenge cards are up on the blog to see.


That's all for now.. going to prep another post for you all ...

Friday 16 October 2009

add this for a pull quote on your post..


Mandarin Design: Easy CSS Pullquotes
"
The exact placement of the pullquote is up to you but you will want to make sure that you have typed in a long enough post that actually needs some pullquotes to make it more interesting.
"

73 days or so to Christmas?? What about a free present?

Wouldn't it be nice?

I'm looking into putting a Christmas countdown on my blog as it's approaching fast - how do you count how near it is? How many weeks or days? Pay days? Sleeps??

Well, I can share a little freebie with you from today. Stampin Up has released their Christmas Extravaganza promotion..


Couldn't you just fancy one of the above sets?? I know I could.. And the best bit is, that if you spend £45 on any of the above, then you can choose either a LARGE or SMALL tag punch completely free!!

And here's another little special freebie from me - if you order any of the above items upto £45, I will send you an Idea Book and Catalogue completely free too, and if your order is more than £45 I will take an extra 10% off the total plus send you the idea book and catalogue for free.

Now.. how's that for a bargain? How can you resist??

If you're not sure what to do.. why not have a Stampin Up party? Get some of your crafting friends together for a couple of hours of fun filled madness, and earn extra freebies into the bargain.

Use the contact button on the sidebar if you would like to know more. xx

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Do you like Craft Freebies??

If you do, then this could just be the thing for you.
Have you taken a looksie at the new Stampin' Up! Catalogue yet? If you haven't, just click on the link on my sidebar, and I'm sure you'll be making a Wish List for Christmas as there are soooo many lovely things in there.

If you DO have a long wish list, then now could be the perfect time to take part in one of my special groups, outlined below.
I am starting a couple of new groups in November, and would love to offer you all a place on it. I am starting a new Stampers 10 club and a new Virtual Hostess Club.

I am also looking into starting a Ribbon share and a Paper Share - have you seen the fantastic ribbons and papers that SU have bought out?? Just lush!! I am just awaiting my delivery as we speak, so will be able to share shortly!
Anyway, onto my new Stampers clubs..

Here are the details.

STAMPERS 10 / VIRTUAL HOSTESS CLUB

  • These are a great way to work through your Wish List of products from the new catalogue.
  • You can spread the cost monthly.
  • The Stampers 10 is run for anyone within driving distance from me who would like to get together each month to enjoy a class.
  • The Virtual Hostess club is like having a SU party in your own home, but without all the guests. You can live anywhere in the UK or NI and you will each be a hostess, recieving all the benefits that you would if the party was at your home. It's a great way to get to know other crafters and chat with likeminded people too.
  • When you join either of these clubs, you will recieve FREE tutorials and templates to complete a wide range of projects, exclusive membership to a seperate blog where we can all chat together and FREE Stampin' Up! products along the way - these will be a special gift from me to you.

Here are a few more details to keep it short and sweet -
  • To start either of the clubs, we need 10 members
  • The clubs will run for 10 months - as soon as we get our 10 members.
  • Each member agrees to spend a minimum of £15 per month (£3.75 per week) on products from the catalogue. This doesn't include postage.
  • Each month, a new 'hostess' will be chosen from our group, so each of us will recieve the benefits without having to host a workshop in our homes.
  • When it's your turn to be hostess, you are guaranteed to get a Level One Hostess stamp set from the catalogue FREE plus at least £15 to spend in the catalogue on something of your choice.
  • You will receive a FREE copy of the Idea Book and Catalogue, plus any mini catalogues which are released. These usually retail at around £4.75 each.
  • FREE tutorials and templates for a variety of templates and a monthly stamp class if you are local to me.
  • In addition to this, each month I will include a FREEBIE within your parcel.

I can also run a seperate Stampers 6 and Virtual Hostess club for 6 if you would prefer.

At last. ...

Finally, I can have a breather!

Yesterday was a very busy day, so today I'm taking it easy and doing some of the usual chores around the house - this includes washing!! YAY... I have a washer that works!

Our old washer, well not particularly old at 6 years, decided to break the other week and not wash, so the repair man came out (thank heavens for extra warranty - we've needed it this last few years!) and got it going, only for it to break again a couple of days later. Well, enough was enough and I said to hubby that if it stopped again I was buying another. So - off we went to buy another! lol.

It got delivered yesterday and I've just put my first lot of washing through it. It has a timer on and everything to say when it's going to finish. Dead cool!

Now I've finished waffling, I have a couple of little projects to share with you all. Now I have to say that I didn't take these photographs, I have borrowed them off Monica's site for now.

Last Friday, I went to a SU Training event held over in Carlton, with my SU mummy, the lovely Monica. We made two projects, a box and a card.

This is the card,


Image © M. Gale

Isn't it lovely. I must it's inspired me to buy this stamp set that we used, it's so lovely. The kits were all ready for us, we just had to do the punching and stamping.

Here is the box that we made. I love little bags and boxes, and this one was no exception - apart from the fact it was making my Wish List a little longer!!



Image © M. Gale
Isn't this just the cutest?? I absolutely love the little ghosty.

The box itself was totally designed by Monica, isn't she a clever little bunny? The new Word Window punch has been used for the handle.

I can see me making lots of these little boxes for Halloween, because when it comes to everyone coming round on that evening, I like to have everything individual rather than grubby, halloweeny hands delving into a pot of sweeties.. lol.

Well. That's it from me for now.. Happy crafting!

Other items used on both projects are listed here..
cardstock - elegant egglant, pumpkin pie, basic black, orchid opulence, old olive, whisper white
Inks - Old Olive, Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Basic black,
Punches - oval, word window, scallop edge,
Ribbon - Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive,



Monday 12 October 2009

A great Charity weekend!

This weekend saw an Appeal weekend down at Lakeside Outlet Centre here in Doncaster, on behalf of the Support our Soldiers charity that I'm Area Coordinator for.



I've been doing this for nearly two years, starting out with Christmas parcels for the Dogs. Last year, I managed to coordinate around 100 parcels for the Santa Christmas appeal and loads more throughout the year. I've also managed to gather in some Get Well cards to send off to the Service Hospitals too.

The letters that I recieve back here are always so thankful for everything and I know that the parcels, gifts, cards and letters are all very much appreciated.

This month sees the start of the Christmas Appeal for 2009.



As I said at the beginning of the post, the appeal really started for me at Lakeside Village in Doncaster. I was approached by a lovely lady called Patsy who asked if she could help in any way and as the conversations went on, it was decided that she would hold a two day event at Lakeside. I managed to get her some merchandise - keyrings, wristbands, magnets, badges etc that she could sell on, and she managed to get hundreds of shoeboxes to give out.

There were printed leaflets and flyers too that were handed out on the day, so hopefully a few parcels will be ready to be sent off as my addresses come through.

The one thing I was very humbled about, is how the public have donated to this cause.. After adding up the totals for the cash collection boxes on both the Saturday and Sunday, we raised in excess of £400! This will be used to purchase extra goodies for the boxes and more merchandise for future events.

I am now on the look out for more Get Well cards to send on to the hospitals, some Christmas cards to put into the Gift Boxes and used postage stamps to help raise funds.

If you have any of these items, and would love to donate, please contact me. I can assure you that every single one will be sent onto the relevant addresses and will be much appreciated.

Now.. I have lots of money to put into money bags properly before making a dash to the bank to deposit it! lol.

Friday 9 October 2009

A Christmas card for a child

Morning everyone! Notice I didn't say GOOD there!

By 'eck.. it's bloomin freezing this morning - thank goodness I've got three pupsters to keep me nice and warm in bed. Along with an electric blanket and a pair of fluffy jim-jams. (I know how to live the good life me, you know!)

I thought I'd just share this little card with you today. I made it for the LOTV challenge yesterday, and the theme was 'Christmas Card for a Child'.



Today, I'm making a start on some extra bits for the website too. It'll be up and running quite shortly I'm hoping. There are a few more bits and pieces that need adding onto it.

This evening, I'm out having some Stampin Fun over in Carlton, and I have a little something I need to get made for this. So quite busy all round me thinks.

In addition to this, I have to finish cleaning out my fridge and freezer as they are being rehomed today. We decided a few weeks ago to buy a new fridge-freezer combined, so the two seperate ones have been given a new home thanks to Freecycle. I love this site. If you've not come across it before, it's a Yahoo group, and you can offer unwanted items on there free of charge. If you're lucky, you can also pick up a few good things too.

So... that's my day... what's yours? Whatever it is, make it a good one!

Thursday 8 October 2009

A couple of little Christmas cards

I'm not doing too bad with my Christmas cards at all this year! I've got quite a few made already, so thought I would make a few more this week to try out a couple of new techniques.

This is part of the first one - my little greeting circle. I used Stampin Up's Circle of Friendship set which has some of the loveliest little sentiments on. And you can team it up with circle punches of different sizes to achieve a layered look, as I have here.


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The new technique that I've used here is a type of watercolouring technique. I can't quite think of a name for it.. but it works soooo well! It's a bit like a faux copic type of look.

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What I've actually done on here is to use Stampin Up ink pads and used nail varnish remover instead of water to paint on the colours, but using the blender pen. It gives more of a translucent type of look and also makes the colours look more vibrant! A great technique.

This is the card in full.

As you can see I've teamed it up with SU papers and ribbons. I love the combination of colours in this card.

I've also used the template from Kathy's Sketch file for the layout of this card, and I think it's one that I'll probably use on more than this occasion. It gives such a lovely look.


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Time for Technique number two!

This was an idea I got from someone's blog the other week, although I can't remember who's it was (if you know, please drop me a line so I can add it on).

What I did to create the furry type of look around the hat and coat was to do some heat embossing.... but with a difference!

If you use a glue pen instead of ink to stick your embossing powder to, once you heat emboss it the glue bubbles up underneath the powders to give a dimensional effect. To emphasize it a little more, just repeat the process once the embossing cools down.

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I have used copics to colour in my image.

This is the completed card, and as you can see, I've left it to look quite clear and simple. I've used Stampin Up's Soft Subtles card stock and the greeting comes from the Best Yet greeting set. There are some lovely greetings in this set, with some brilliant fonts too.

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Here is the embossing effect in more detail. It looks really effective in real life. 

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Tuesday 6 October 2009

Having a clear out..

I am having a bit of a clear out this evening on my blog - again.. lol.. but this time it's only my links section that has disappeared at the top of the page.

If you happen to use my links section to find loads of lovely blogs and challenges, then please update your bookmarks or favourites accordingly.


  • Jo Austin's Places to visit
  • Monday 5 October 2009

    Fit for a princess.....

    As I said yesterday, I have been making a box and card suitable for a little Princess - well, a little princess called Kiarra-Lily. She's such a little cutie-pie. She's the daughter of a really lovely young lady who I've known for quite a few years, Vicky, and Carley is Kiarra's new Godmummy. It was her Christening yesterday, which just happened to be Carley's birthday. What a day eh?
    Here's what I made -

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    This is both the items together - they were made to match each other.Kiarra Lily is now around 6 months old, so I didn't want to make anything too babyish, so opted for girly pinks and whites.

    Here are the seperate items -

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    This is the box I made up, which came from the Craft Den in Sheffield.I absolutely love it. It opens up with little drawers inside to keep all the special things a girl would love to keep.

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    and a close up of the plaque I made. The image is one of the cutest little Messy Rabbits. Isn't she the sweetest? I coloured her in copics and added a dotty look to her overcoat.

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    This card uses the same papers as I used on the box. The image is a lovely teddy I saw when I was working at Craft Central in Derby. I decided after to buy it, it's sooo cute. Don't you think?

    I coloured the image in watercolours and blender pen.

    I hope you like them.

    Sunday 4 October 2009

    What a corker!

    I've just been sat watching Countryfile as they were announcing the winners of the Photography competition this year. If you've not seen it, folks send in their pictures for a calendar and over the year they are whittled down to 12. They then choose a viewers winner and an overall winner.

    The overall winner this year is this picture - (image courtesy of BBC web site)



    Isn't it just beautiful.

    I didn't enter the competition as I don't have too much faith in my work at the best of times, but I do think this picture is wonderful for more than one reason. The young lad who took the picture, Callum, is only 13 years old. I just think he's got a good eye for a picture.

    A few little challenges

    I told you I was going to make time to do a few challenges, and I did! Last night, my daughter had her boyfriend stay over and I had a chance to get making a few cards and things.

    The reason he was staying over was to a Christening first thing this morning, and I had a few things to make - card and gift, so I sorta combined everything to get them finished.

    The challenges I've decided to do this week are a few I've not joined in for a while.

    The first one was Daring Card Makers.. and this was their challenge from last Friday

    Folding Up

    It's "just what it says on the tin", we'd like to see some folds on your cards this week. Fold the whole card, fold some paper, fold some ribbon. Do some origami, teabag folding or just fold over a corner of your paper to reveal the other side. As long as there's some sort of folding used as a feature of your card then it counts. Any subject, any theme, any reason.



    I decided to make a Christmas card, using a fold I've not done for a while.

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    The papers and card is all Stampin Up. The papers are Holiday Treasures and the cardstock is Close to Cocoa. I am loving the chocolate and pink combination at the moment. I am thinking chocolate card is definately going on my favourites list!


    I have also used my Stampin Up Round tab punch and finished it off with Craftwork cards dotty things and some pearly paint to decorate. The stamps are from the SU set, a Tree for all Seasons.


    Here's an arty farty close up piccie for you -

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    The next card I have to show is for the Copic Colour Challenge. I have made my lovely daughter Carley a birthday card, and used a stamp I bought last week from my shopping trip to Barnsley!


    These are the deets for the challenge..

    Challenge 33

    Hello friends! Hope you have been enjoying the little Indian summer that has appeared over the last week or so. It's amazing how much better you feel when the sun is shining isn't it?

    Thank you so much to those of you who took part in last weeks challenge. You worked brilliantly with the colours we set you and you made some gorgeous creations. Lets hope that you managed to do the same with this weeks colour combo......


    Remember, if you do not have the exact colours we've listed above, please just use something that looks close.

    I didn't have the exact colours so I used the colours I had nearest. Here's my card -

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    I love this image - it reminds me so much of Carley with her plonk! hehe.

    Again, the papers are Stampin Up Haiku (not sure what the background one is, I'll have to take a peek). The image was coloured with copics (obviously.. lol) and the little flowers were made with the X Cut punch. I added a bow with Certainly Celery SU ribbon.


    .... another arty farty angle -

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    That's all for now.. more later!

    From my travels...

    Last week whilst recovering from my op, I decided to take a little venture out to a craft shop that I'd never visited before. I only have bruises and a little swelling left now, and at least I'm not having to take too many tramadol to get me through the day, so I can now drive quite comfortably.

    Of course, the first thing I got was a couple of stamps..



    This lovely image is a Leanne Ellis stamp from Sugar Nellie. I quite like this one. It's quite funky and I thought very generic too. As I've said before, it's not often that I put a greeting on my card until I know what I'm using it for, or if I'm giving to charity, so it's got a blank space at the bottom all ready for it.

    I have used Stampin Up papers to complement the colours I used in the image and also my lovely new aquisition - Craftwork cards Butterscotch 'doo dah's'. I'm sure they have a name, but not sure what they are. I've placed these around the image to create a frame.

    Here's a close up


    This second card was made as a get well card. I love the little flowers shown here -



    I stamped them onto an oval which I cut out with the X Cut Shape cutter and layered them up a little. I finished them off with a little pearl.

    Here's the full card.

    the base card is actually white, but it's showing up a little bit pink. The paper I used across the centre of the card was Craftwork Cards Elegantly Embossed, which has some wonderful designs in the pack. I also used their Parma Violets 'thingybobs' along the side of the card. I'm loving these as a quick finishing to a card where it may need a little 'something' extra.

    I'm going to have a rummage through my stamps now, to see which ones haven't been inked for a while.. and who knows - I may even get to join in a challenge or two! lol.

    Happy Crafting...
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