CR84FN35 ...

... it's hard to believe it's the last day of July already.  I swear that the year is flying by.  Anyway, it's time for the new CR84FN challenge and a complete contrast to our recent colours.  This time we have cooler colours - lavender, celery and grey - shades of green and purple - heaven!!!  Don't forget, that over the summer months - we're running the colours for two weeks - so lots of time to play.

Our inspiration photos are courtesy of Creative Mint.  I do like these pictures, particularly the tags!   

Just before my Mum went home last week, I told her to help herself to any cards she wanted - it's always useful to have some ready.  Well, she took me at my word - my card stash has been cut by half!!!  I have hardly any thank you cards left, no baby or wedding cards, and no sympathy cards.  So I've decided to use our colours to make a start on replacing some of these cards.  I've started with a sympathy card.

Pansies are the sweetest flower and they have long been associated with flowers of remembrance, so they are perfect for a sympathy card.  These pretty ones come from my somewhat neglected Afternoon Tea set from Waltzingmouse.  I stamped the image three times in black versafine and embossed with clear powder to give a sharply defined flowers.  I coloured the images with Promarkers and then cut out layers - the full set, just the three flowers and finally a single pansy.  My trusty Spellbinders nesties were used to cute the lavender and white mats.  What would I do without my Spellbinders?  I found this lovely piece of silver grey vellum in my stash and used my Martha Stewart "around-the-page" punches to create the loopy border.  Finally, I added a simple sentiment - again embossed to give more depth to the colour. 

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Frame-It, Afternoon Tea Sentiments
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Spellbinders: Big Scalloped Circles Sm (S4-250) #5, Standard Circles Sm (S4-116) #5
Accessories:  Martha Stewart punches; Vellum and card from stash

I've taken a close up of the pansies - they really are very pretty.  I have lots of pansies in my garden hanging baskets - but they're much brighter than these pale lavender ones!!

Now for more inspiration with these gorgeous colours - do check out the Design Team's blogs:

Sue

Andrea

Stephanie

Suzanne

Heather

Mona
Lisa

Today is our Welcome Home party for Jonathan - and I had a busy day yesterday with party preparations - food, drink, tidying!!  It's great to have Jonathan home.  I'll have some photos to share later in the week.

Do drop by tomorrow for St Luke's Charity Card Challenge.  That's all for now.  Take care.

Today's the day .....

.... Jonathan's home today.  I'm rather excited at the prospect of seeing him - over two months since Jonathan went back to Mumbai - but he's coming home for good!  We're all looking forward to his arrival.  Kathryn was bouncing up and down like a mad thing yesterday - she kept looking at the clock and counting down the hours!!  If nothing else it's a great way to improve her maths skills!!!  Evil Mum!

It took me ages to fall asleep last night and I was up with the lark this morning - another 5.30am start!!  Excited me?  No!!!  I've stripped the bed, put on some lovely new fresh bed linen - looks lovely :)  And I came to catch up on some blogs and leave some comments - it's been fun!

I checked BA arrivals to see Jonathan's progress - that's the first hitch!  His flight didn't leave Mumbai until 03.56 hrs (their time) and isn't expected into Heathrow until 08.35hrs.  So unless they have an express service to get Jonathan to his connecting flight - due to depart Heathrow at 08.55hrs - I suspect Jonathan will be a bit late into Manchester!!!  Darn!

Okay - I admit it! I haven't got around to making my own bunting to welcome Jonathan home - so I borrowed this picture - it's bright, cheerful and absolutely perfect!

Picture from Illustrate my Name

I'm hoping that the inbound flight will make up some time - but I don't think they'll make up enough for Jonathan to catch his internal flight home.  Oh well, that means a bit more time to get ready at home.  That's all for now - catch you later!

Cutting it fine .....

.... the deadline, that is!  I've finally finished my card for this week's challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays.  This week they want us to create a clean and simple design using a rub-on or a sticker.  Hey, that should have been easy - I've got shed loads of peeloffs, rub-ons and stickers, but it wasn't.

Several of the rub-ons that I have are quite old - and they don't rub on!!  In fact, they don't come off the sheet at all.  So back to the drawing board.  I found some clear letter stickers  which made up the sentiment "Happy Birthday".  I attached the stickers to some scrap peach and green paper from my stash and then cut them out.  I stamped a lovely peach birthday cake in the corner of the card, and adhered my birthday sentiment.  Clean, simple and reasonably quick.

I have to apologise for the quality of the picture - I've had to scan my card as it's dark and the photo is awful!  That's what happens when you leave it to the last minute!

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Eat Cake
Inks:  Stampin' Up! - Basic Grey, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose
Accessories:  Card, stickers, scrap paper - all from stash

We've all had a super day today.  Kathryn and I went shopping this morning - we had a fun time in WHSmith (for non-UK residents - this is a stationery store) and got some new notebooks, pencils, pencil case, paper - it was so much fun.  Kathryn likes paper products just as much as me :))))  Then we went clothes shopping - mostly to get Kathryn's school uniform.  I hate having to buy it now, but if I wait to the end of August (like I did last year) there's nothing left in the shops.  We were very successful - trousers, skirts, blouses and cardigans - all bought and in Kathryn's wardrobe.  Kathryn also managed to get a lovely new dress too - she's keeping that for Sunday's party!!  Ben's had a good day too - he got up early this afternoon!  His friend came round - they played football, they watched some DVDs, they chatted and generally had a good time.  And to top it all it's been a beautiful summer's day!

Now, I'm off to bed.  Only another day and then Jonathan will be home - we're all getting really excited.  See you soon.

Playdates ....

.... you've got to love playdates in the summer holidays.  Yes, it seems we're actually enjoying a real summer - the sun is out, it's really warm, I can hear the birds singing, and there's the sound of children playing - just perfect.  Kathryn and her friend Melly have been playing on the trampoline - lots of fun, but it's actually a bit too warm to play on it for long.  So they've come in to play on the Wii - brilliant invention.  They even let me have a go - I didn't do very well, so I left them to it.  Ben finally got up and has joined the girls in their games - even a teenage lad likes to play around when there are none of his friends about to see!!

This has given me time to play in my craft room with my toys - I love playdates!!



This card is for three challenges:

• Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge - WMSC57
• Less Is More - week 25 where the recipe is to use button and/or ribbon (or plurals)
• St Luke's Charity Card - Black, white and ONE other colour - there still time to join in with our challenge - do check out our blog to find out the details.

When I saw the LIM challenge I almost decided to give it a miss - I'm really not good with ribbons and bows.  But I wouldn't let it beat me.  I knew I wanted to use my sweet teapot for this card and the little rectangles on the sketch reminded me of the framed sentiments in the set.  I stamped them with Versafine and heat embossed with clear powder.  I cut them out and lined them up on a ribbon, adding some button accents to match the colour of the teapot!! Sorted!  I used the kiss technique on the solid stamp - and am really pleased how well it turned out.  I added a bit of steam coming from the teapot - just so that you know there's a nice hot cup of tea waiting.

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Afternoon Tea, Afternoon Tea Sentiments; Flower stamp for kiss technique
Inks:  Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Danube Blue, London Fog
Accessories:  Ribbon, buttons, card, thread, clear embossing powder - all from stash

In between crafting, playing with the kids, getting lunch - I've even managed to get three loads of washing done and on the line - it's drying really well.  I love the summer when it's like this.  Hope you're all having a great day too.

Stephen King - The Stand Review 1 ....

...  this post is not in any way relating to crafting - so feel free to skip it.  But it you fancy a trip into the realms of Stephen King - read on!

On 2^nd January I joined up to the Stephen King (SK) reading challenge and to date, I’ve read eleven of his books.  That’s just a few of the over 50 books that SK has written; some under the pen name Richard Bachman and some in collaboration with Peter Straub.

1. The Stand - finished 23 March 2011
2. The Green Mile - finished 28 March 2011
3. It - finished 29 April 2011
4. Desperation - finished 8 May 2011
5. Bag of Bones - finished 10 May 2011
6. Cell - finished 19 May 2011
7. On Writing (non-fiction) - finished 27 May 2011
8. Carrie - finished 3 June 2011
9. The Gunslinger – finished 15 July 2011
10. The Dead Zone – finished 20 July 2011
11. Insomnia – finished 25 July 2011

I first came across SK when I was a teenager and picked up Carrie in my local book store – it was a revelation and I was hooked.  I remember seeing the movie Carrie when it came out – and while the film plot is quite close to the book, the ending is very different (no spoilers here).  I think my all time favourite SK book is The Stand and that’s the book I started the challenge with. 

Title: The Stand

Author: Stephen King

Original Publication Date: 1978

Revised & Uncut Publication: 1990

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks (31 May 2007)

Language: English

This book is HUGE – both in number of pages and scope of story.  For the challenge I read the revised edition which I bought when it was re-published.  It’s the first time I’ve read it since then.  And the story is as good as I remember.  In the revised edition SK has restored some text, added and revised sections, changed the setting to 1990 (was originally 1980), and updated a few cultural references.  But it’s basically the same story. 

Prologue - The Circle Opens

Added for the new addition – expanded details of the virus release from the lab.

Book 1 – Captain Trips: June 16^th 1990 – July 4^th 1990

A man-made virus, a super-flue code name “Project Blue”, but nicknamed “Captain Trips” is accidentally released.  This section details the spread of the disease, how society is unable to deal with a virus that is 99.4% fatal, leading to the ultimate breakdown of society. We are introduced to the survivors – Larry Underwood, Stu Redman, Frannie Goldsmith, Nick Andros, Tom Cullen, Ralph Steadman, Harold Lauder, Nadine Cross, Lloyd Henreid, Trashcan Man, Randall Flag, – to name a few. 

Book 2 – On the Border: 5^th July 1990 – 6^th September 1990

In the first book some of the survivors start to dream about “Mother Abigail”, while others dream of “The Dark Man”.   Book two tells how these groups are drawn either to Nebraska and Mother Abigail, or to Las Vegas and Randall Flagg.    We read how society evolves in each group – with a democracy in Nebraska and a tyranny in Las Vegas.  There’s a lot going on in this section and I’m not giving away spoilers.  But there are people in Nebraska dreaming of Flagg and wanting to be there.  There are bombs, betrayals, loss and spies are sent to Las Vegas. 

Book 3 – The Stand: 7th September 1990 – 10th January 1991

The final act of the story is the “stand” of good against evil.  The two groups are now aware of each other and recognise the other as a threat to survival.  But it’s not an all out war.

Mother Abigail’s last instruction is to send Stu, Larry, Ralph and Glen to Las Vegas – they must walk there, and only one will return.  It’s the story of belief in a higher power and they put their trust in that.  I’m not giving many details here - it’s too good a story to spoil.  Ultimately, Las Vegas is destroyed and we return to the Group in Nebraska.  Babies are being born – some conceived before the super-flu, and we find out if they live. 

In the original book, a question is asked about whether the human race ever learn anything and the answer, the final line is “I don’t know”.  However, in the revised edition SK an epilogue.

Epilogue – The Circle Closes

A man wakes on a beach, he has no idea how he got there, he’s confused, he walks towards a jungle, he sees people with spears pointing towards him, and then he smiles.  The spears drop – he tries to communicate, but the people are “simple, unlettered”.   He says “My name is Russell Faraday” – and he has a mission.

When I first read The Stand, I found the ending unsatisfactory.  In the revised edition, the “reincarnation” of Flagg as Faraday is a much darker ending – suggesting that the good vs evil goes on.  It is my favourite SK book and I highly recommend it.

That's all for now.  Further reviews of SK's books will follow.  Enjoy!!

Summer holidays ....

... have arrived in earnest now.  I have both children at home and the Sun seems to be cooperating too - so we may actually be having a summer holiday. 

Today I'm off to our last craft class of the term - Kathryn will be coming along to play too - she loves being part of the group.  I'm not sure that I'm going to be making much today - I think I need to sort out my peel off and sticker collection.  I'm trying to organise them all so that I can find what I want when I want it!!  That's my OCD bit kicking in :)

As for Ben - he's a teenage boy - so I'm not sure we'll see him much before lunchtime.  Then I think he'll be lured out of bed by the smell of food. 

As a consequence of summer holidays, I think my crafting time is going to be a bit curtailed.  I've got my list of challenges noted down and I am going to try and play along, but I suspect it won't be as frequently as recently.  Also I've got a welcome home party for Jonathan to prepare :)  If you're a follower you'll obviously see when I post something, if not a follower - do drop back - I will have some posts scheduled to share.  Bye for now.

Laughter .....

.... once again Colour Q have come up with really vibrant colours for their challenge - cQc94 - orange, green, yellow, raspberry and white!! Wow!  And I love the inspiration picture - really unusual ice-lolly shapes!

While I really adore these colours, I decided to go for a clean and simple look with a white base and colour accents.

I've used my nesties to cut out a number of shapes from Stampin' Up! card stork - so the colours are correct!  I don't have the shade of green named in the list, so I've substituted Garden Green and I've used my ink to incorporate that into the card.



The card layout is based on sketch FTL149 from Clean and Simple Stamping - and I've been quite faithful to the sketch too.
 

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - En Francais; Hero Arts - "L"
Inks:  Stampin' Up! - Garden Green
Spellbinders:  Dahlia (S4-191) dies # 1, 2, 3; Fleur de Lis Border (S4-213)
Accessories:  Card from stash

Yesterday's performance of Bugsy Malone was amazing!  The children were much more comfortable in their roles and they gave fantastic performances.  We all enjoyed the show - and I know I'm biased, but Kathryn really is a star! :)  What's even nicer is that the weather has been lovely for the last couple of days - we're in danger of having a summer.  Yippee!!

Mum has arrived home safely - they called when they got in - a really quick run down too.  Mum had a good rummage through my card stash and has taken quite a supply with her - which gives me a great reason to make more - thanks mum!!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

CR84FN34 - Birthday Greetings ....

....  it's week two of the CR84FN34 colours - bright pink, pink and yellow - such beautiful, bright and cheerful colours.  And perfect for a birthday card!

And today is actual Heather's birthday, so have a really Happy Birthday Heather!!  This card is on its way to you as I type - if I'm really lucky you've got it already, but I suspect you'll get it in the next couple of days ;) 

I used the sketch from the current Ribbon Reel challenge - it's a really sweet sketch with the proviso that you have to use at least one ribbon.  The deadline for the Ribbon Reel challenge is today - so just made it.

I thought it would be just right for Heather's card.  I got to play with lots of my lovely Spellbinder dies while making this card.  For the centrepeice I decided to use the pretty layered flower from Sewing Box - Hugs as I could use these gorgeous papers to create the flower.  I think my style is definitely tending towards the more clean and simple - even though there are quite a few layers here, it's still reasonably CAS!!

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse: Sewing Box - Hugs, Say It Loud
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! - Melon Mambo; Distress - Mustard Seed
Paper:  Cosmo Cricket - De Lovely (6 × 6); Pink Petticoat Blossom
Spellbinders:  Standard circles Sm (S4-116) #4, Fleur de Lis Squares (S4-318) #4, Beaded Circles (S4-292) #3, Create-a-flake Three (S4-348)
Accessories:  Card, ribbon and buttons from stash

Don't forget over the summer period we're running each colour challenge for two weeks, so you've still got time to play with these lovely colours - check out the CR84FN blog for more inspiration.

That's all for now.  It's going to be strange here as Mum is going back to her place today.  We've had such a fun couple of months.  Back later.

Up early ...

... this morning - woken by the alarm that I'd forgotten to turn off!!  Silly me.  However, the up side to that is that I've been really busy.  I've done a trip to Asda and back, we've had breakfast and I've checked in with LIM and WMSC - both look fabulous, but I won't get chance to play today.

Kathryn is in the matinee performance of Bugsy Malone this afternoon - and we're all going to see her.  Can't wait :)

And Ben is so much quieter in the morning!!  Still in bed - tough getting him up!  Bye for now.  Enjoy your day.  I'll check in later and see what delights have been made with the WMSC sketch and the recipe of button and/or ribbon from LIM.

A splash of orange ....

... this week's challenge over at The Play Date Cafe is the Colour Splash - PDCC91 - black, white and one other colour.

I always love to use black, white and one other colour - in fact our St Luke's Charity Card Challenge has the same theme this month - so I'm going to put my card into that too!  I've made a few cards this month that have featured B/W and green.  So I decided to go with ORANGE.  I had a look through my stamps and found this one - it has a really strong image that would work well inked in black and then coloured.  I stamped it in Versafine and heat embossed with clear powder.  I coloured the image with distress ink and cut it to fit the super black gloss mat, cut by my Nellie Snellen dies (not used often enough).  I added a simple ribbon and the sentiment, popped up one of the flowers which I left white and add a couple of other flowers that I coloured to match.  It's really bright and vibrant.

Stamps:  From a Create and Craft set purchased several years ago
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress - Spiced Marmalade
Accessories:  Nellie Snellen - Rectangles (MFD008) # 3; Ribbon, flowers and card from stash

I picked Ben up yesterday afternoon - his plane was in on time so no hanging around at the airport, but the journey home took a while.  Late Friday afternoon traffic!!  In the meantime, my Uncle and Aunt arrived, so we had a brilliant family dinner and chat.  Such fun.  But I'd forgotten just how loud teenage boys are!!

That's all for now - I'll be checking in later to see what Less is More and Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenges have in store for us.  So see you later.

For your inspiration .....

.... the challenge at For Your Inspiration for the next two weeks is this wonderful autumnal photo.  Stunning!!

This one was about as easy as it gets.  I have a super stamp which feature falling leaves - and the picture above just brought it to mind.  So I had a rummage and inked it up with a lush red ink and stamped it out.  I used my square nesties to cut the image out and to make a suitable mat - dark green to echo the other trees in the image.  I felt this would make a perfect sympathy card, so I added a lovely sentiment from Irish Blessings.  Finally, I punched out a few leaves and added them to the card.

Stamps:  Penny Black - Japanese Maple; Waltzingmouse - Irish Blessings
Inks:  Distress - Barn Door, Fired Brick, Rusty Hinge; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Spellbinders: Classic Squares Lg (S4-126) die #7
Accessories:  Martha Stewart punch; Card from stash

Last night's performance by Kathryn and her friends at Bugsy Malone was absolutely brilliant.  The show was really good fun - all the kids performed so well.  I don't think that any of them had any nerves at all.  The costumes looked super, the dancing was excllent and the singing was superb!  Can't wait to see it again on Saturday.  That's all for now - I'm going to try and pop up one more card today before I go to collect Ben - he's here for a two week holiday!!!

Reindeer games ....

... don't you just hate it when you note down a deadline and discover that it's wrong!!  That's what I've done with the challenge from last week's Jingle Belles - Reindeer Games - the deadline was yesterday!  Doh, silly me ;(  Oh well, I'm quite pleased with my card, so I'm going to share it anyway.

I knew what I wanted to make, but it's been a bit busy and this afternoon I've actually manged to find half an hour to spend in my craft room and put this together.  It's really simple.  The backing paper is a bit of scrap so I don't know which company its from - but it makes the perfect backdrop to my gorgeous blue sparkly reindeer.  The deer is actually a clear sticker that I put on some brown card and then cut out.  It was then simply a case of adding a suitable sentiment - see, quick and simple!!  But still too late :(

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Contempo Christmas
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Card, reindeer sticker and backing paper - all from stash

You know, it's nice to see that Kathryn is not at all nervous, she's been having a lovely afternoon playing with her Baby Annabel - talking to her baby, feeding her, playing with her.  It's also nice to know that Kathryn is still my LITTLE girl!!

Now, that really is all for today!

My little star ...

.... I'm not the best photographer in this family - that accolade goes to my darling hubby!  But as he's not back for another week, I thought I'd better take some photos of Kathryn in her dance show costumes - as I'm absolutely sure we won't be able to take photos at the theatre.

Love this orange flapper dress - such fun!

So here are a few of Kathryn in all her finery!!  Proud mummy moment!!

 

Kathryn has three costume changes - I've no idea which songs they go with - but I'll find that out this evening!  Love this purple "dress" - I think it's more a long t-shirt!  But it does sparkle!






I think that in the finale Kathryn wears this super little green outfit - just love it!  I wish I could take better photos - but these give you the idea.

I'm don't think I'll be back today - busy getting ready for this evening.  But I'll see you tomorrow.

Wedding cards ....

... earlier this week I told you that I'd been making a wedding card.  The truth be told - I've actually made two!!  My friend, who asked me for the coffee inspired card for her nephew, also asked me to make a card for some friends who are getting married soon.  I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to play with my new Waltzingmouse Big Day sentiment stamps.

As we didn't know the colour scheme the bride has picked, I decided to stick to fairly neutral colour schemes.  Both card are reasonably large - A5 in size. 

I started off with white, silver and a very, very pale blue colour scheme.  I have some really beautiful speciality papers that I got from Stampin' Up! -  the white papers were simply called Bride (whisper white/white foil).  Sadly, the papers were discontinued last year. 

I started off by cutting a piece of the pinstripe paper to fit the base of the card.  I found a lovely piece of silver frosted mirri card in my stash and thought that it went really well with the SU papers.  I cut a rectangular mat, just a bit smaller than the card and a piece of the pinstripe paper to go on top.  I used my Labels 10 nesties to cut two layers - one in silver frosted mirri and the other in the damask SU paper.  On the damask paper I stamped a WMS frame in pale blue which I embossed with clear powder.

The elegant dress is from Waltzingmouse's new You're Lovely set - it's perfect for all sorts of occasions.  But here it's a wedding dress.  I stamped it on plain white card first and cut this out, I also stamped the dress on a piece of vellum and onto the damask SU paper.  I cut both dresses out.  On the damask dress I sponged a little of the blue colour.  On the close up of the dress, you can see that I also stamped one of the bodice options in pale blue and attached that to the dress.  Over the top of both the damask dress and bodice I applied the vellum dress.  The vellum gives a lovely soft feel to the dress - almost like chiffon over a silk underskirt - at least that's the idea!

Before attaching the rectangular mat to the card base, I added two ribbons - a wide organza ribbon with thin satin borders, over which I place a satin ribbon.  Once this was attached to the card base I attached the Labels 10 centrepiece.  The sentiment comes from the Big Day Additions set - the font is so elegant - perfect for the card!  Finally, I added some beautiful jewelled flourishes.

I also decorated the envelope to match the card.  I stamped a pale blue flourish on the front and then over stamped with the same sentiment.  On the envelope flag I've stamped a WMS ornamental flourish. 

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Big Day Additions, You're Lovely, Very Vintage Labels No 10
Inks:  Memento - Tuxedo Black, Summer Sky; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories:  Stampin' Up! - Bride Speciality Papers (discontinued); Card, mirri, vellum, jewelled flourish, clear embossing powder - all from stash

For my second card I opted for a cream/ivory colour scheme, and this card is in landscape format. I covered the base of the card with some really pretty paper that I got while on holiday last year. It's actually a sheet of wrapping paper. I love the really elegant chandeliers - the candles and hanging "gems" all have a subtle sparkle.

On this card I decided to let the sentiment speak for itself - it's so beautiful. I stamped the sentiment in Versafine and embossed with clear powder to give a lovely raised finish (I did the same on the white card). The paper is another of the Stampin' Up! speciality papers - this time called Bridesmaid (very vanilla/vanilla foil). 

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Big Day Additions
Inks:  Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: Stampin' Up! - Bridesmaid Speciality Papers (discontinued); Card, paper, ribbon, pearls, clear embossing powder - all from stash

As the font is so elegant, I decided to use the really beautiful Labels Twenty to cut the layers.  I found a piece of pearly paper in my stash in a soft taupe and used this as the base layer.  I stamped several  flourishes onto it using Versamark and clear embossing powder and then sponged on some Frayed Burlap.  To finish off the card I added this fabulous cream satin ribbon and tied a big bow.  You have no idea how long it took me to get it looking like this!!!  I'm not good with bows :)  Finally, I added these lovely creamy pearls.

To decorate the envelope I cut out one of the chandeliers from a bit of the wrapping paper and attached it to the envelope at the top.  I stamped the "May you live happily ever after" sentiment in the opposite corner of the envelope.

Helen came by yesterday evening to pick up her card - she was surprised to see a choice.  She picked the ivory/cream card, but said it was a tough choice!  I think Mum and Kathryn are both pleased that the white card is still here!!   I've enjoyed making these cards, and think I'll be making a few more wedding cards soon!

That's all for now.  It's going to be busy today.  Kathryn is appearing in her first professional stage show this evening and we've got to get things organised - costumes, hair, makeup - all the bits.  She's in three dances - the costumes are super and I'm really looking forward to seeing the show.  The children have all been working so hard.  They're performing Bugsy Malone at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton on the Wirral.  See you tomorrow!

What a day ....

... it's been!  We've been really busy, but had fun.  We got to the local hospital quite early this morning - there are no appointments for blood tests, you just arrive and pick up a number and wait to be called in.  Last week we were in and out in about 20 minutes.  Today, it took over an hour!!

We had a lovely time exploring the local market - checking out various clothing stalls, looking into a few shops, calling into my local craft shop (that's obligatory) and finally popping into the library.  Kathryn likes to take part in the summer Reading Challenge which is run nationally in all libraries.  This year the theme is Circus Stars - they've got a website too - a fun way to while away a rainy day!  Kathryn picked her first two books and is already well into one of them!  Seems that a love of reading runs in the family :)

This evening was Kathryn's last chance to rehearse her dances for tomorrow's show - she's can't wait!  And do you know, today was beautiful - the sun shone, it was warm - it actually felt like summer!  Loved it.

I've discovered that one of my favourite challenges is taking a summer holiday - the One Layer Wednesday challenge, jointly hosted by Susan and Jennifer is taking a break until 7th September!  I hope the ladies have a well earned rest!

Sweets and treats ....

.... I really enjoy CAS-ual Fridays - they always give us such a fun challenge.  I missed last week - the unusual shaped cards had me beat!  However, this week the CAS-ual Fridays - CFC 11 challenge is one I can play - but I'm close to deadline!!!  They want us to make a clean and simple design that includes sweets and treats - cakes, ice-cream, cookies - what fun!!

I've got a sweet set of ice-cream stamps, sadly they've not seen much ink, so this is the perfect opportunity to get them out to play!  In my stash I found a DL card that has a scalloped edge and is pink - just right!  I stamped the ice-cream sundae twice onto plain white card and coloured with Promarkers.  I attached the ice-cream image to the lovely lotus pendant and layered the ice-cream topping and umbrella!  I added a bit of sparkle to the ice-cream and a cherry.  I had a few cherries fall around the base of the sundae glass - looks delicious!!  I ran a bright pink ribbon behind the pendant and stamped a simple birthday sentiment in the bottom corner.  Ice-cream sweet!

Stamps:  Woodware - Ice Cream Parfait
Spellbinders:  Lotus Pendant (S4-269)
Inks:  Memento - Tuxedo Black
Promarkers:  Pale Pink, Baby Pink, Pastel Yellow, Sunflower, Poppy, Forest Green, Walnut
Accessories:  Card and ribbon from stash




I've used our CR84FN34 colours (I've added a splash of red/green in the cherries) - see close up photo.  Do check out the blog and play along. 


That's all for now.  I'm off to the hospital with Mum this morning - regular blood test and then some shopping.  And Kathryn wants to join the reading scheme being run at the local library.  It's going to be a fun and busy morning.  Hopefully, it'll be a dry one!!  See you later.