Doing well in Challenges

... Morning! This is just a very quick note to say thanks to the Design Teams who visit all the entries in the various challenges run on the Internet. I've not made many cards over the past couple of years, so it's a real pleasure to get comments on my cards. And it's even better when I get a badge to put on my blog, as you really liked a card. 

So, particular thanks to the Design Teams on Addicted to Stamps and More! and Addicted to CAS for picking some of my recent makes. You've made my day.

Silver Wedding Anniversary

... Good morning! Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the years have gone by. I was going to make a special silver anniversary card, then I remembered that I still have lots of cards that I made for Jonathan in my stash. I tend to make new cards and give those, so I've built up a small stash and I've picked one to give Jonathan today. This is the card:

I made this card when I was on the design team for The Male Room; still one of my favourite challenges. Full details about the products used and pictures of the inside can be found on my original post.

Signing the register after our marriage ceremony - it was such a lovely day.

New Year FIreworks

... Well, hello! No post yesterday - more of that below. So, it's a post today and I'm sharing my January calendar page:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - USA 1776; Gina K - Party Time

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Bluebelle, Green Oasis, Charming Pink, Summertime, Medieval Blue, Verdant

Accessories: A4 Wire Bound 2024 Calender Blank

I'm submitting this to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#78 where the theme is always, Anything Goes - you can make anything.

The calendar layout has changed a bit this year - the month and year used to be at the centre top, but is now just above the month. That actually works better - more space to fill. I guess these are not the fireworks you were expecting. I started by stamped the words, from Party Time, in bold black ink. Once done, I used my all time favourite fireworks stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps (sadly now closed) designed by the brilliant Claire Brennan and stamped using Versafine Claire inks - so bold and bright. And that's it done for the month. I guess most people put photos in the space, but I enjoy making each month different.

The reason I didn't manage a post yesterday is that I was driving our son to Crewe railway station to get his train back to Hastings. Not a journey that Ben enjoys, but, when I heard from him about 2pm the journey was going well. Unfortunately, due to the effects of Storm Henk, the second part of Ben's journey to Hastings was totally ruined. There was a tree on the line from Tunbridge Wells to Hastings, so all the passengers had to change and get a train from Ashford to Hastings. Ben finally made it home by 9.30pm. I'm so proud of Ben - he has a fear of crowds, he has ADHD (so hates change), and he's overcoming agoraphobia - so Ben could have had a complete meltdown, but he made it. So, so proud of him. 

I'm heading back to Weight Watchers today - I need the accountability of the weekly weigh-in. So, that's all from me today. See you soon.

Happy New Year

.... Good morning all! I hope those of you who stayed up to enjoy the New Year celebrations had a wonderful time and are feeling okay now. I thought I'd start the year as I mean (hope) to continue, with a regular post in my blog. Today is simply to wish all my family and friends a Happy New Year.

Whatever you're doing today - be safe, be happy. See you soon.

Christmas Greetings

... I'm taking a break from the computer today as I'm going to be cooking a big meal!! So, I thought I'd like to wish all my crafting friends who celebrate Christmas a very Happy Christmas. 

This is a photo of our back garden, and, no, we haven't suddenly had snow in time for Christmas. This was taken in January when we did have a couple of days of snow. See you in 2024.

Calendar Prep

... Hello! I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday period. We had a good time. It's always fun to be with family. At this time of year, I spend time getting my Filofax, calendars and Dyalogs ready for the new year. Today I've been working on my January calendar page:

Stamps: MFT - Festive Fireworks, Champagne Sentiments

Inks: Gina K - Passionate Pink, Red Hot, Blue Raspberry, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Bubblegum Pink, Ocean Mist, Blue Lagoon, Grass Green, Key Lime, Lovely Lavender, Applemint, Wild Wisteria; Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Summertime, Glamorous, Paradise, Verdant, Charming Pink, Blue Belle, Purple Delight, Fantasia

Accessories: 2023 Calandar Blank

I'm submitting this to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#45 - it's all brand new!!

I had so much fun creating the firework background. I stamped the larger fireworks first, layering the stamps is quite easy and even if not perfect, they still look fab. I then added some of the smaller fireworks and finished by adding lots of little fireworks/stars. I finished by adding a message to the new year. 

I sincerely hope that 2023 is a better year for our family, as this year has not been the best! That's probably an understatement of things, but we are all better now and moving forward. That's it for today. See you soon.

SHC - Silver & Gold ....

..... Morning! This is a pre-prepared post as I had surgery last Thursday (see post from Monday) and I'm not sure how well I'll feel post-op!! This is my weekly post for Seven Hills Crafts blog and I've got a Christmas card to share with you. Yes, I know it's only just finished, but I like making Christmas cards and it makes things so much less stressful in December. Here's my card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Yuletide Ornament

Inks: Versmark

Dies: C&9 - Yuletide Ornament

Accessories: White and Black Card; Silver Embossing Powder; Finetec - Pearl Colours; Tim Holtz Watercolour Card; Silver Holographic Card

I'm submitting this card to CAS Christmas - CASX#01 where they want us to use silver and gold, and to Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - HLSXMAS#01 - where it is anything goes this month.

I stamped the ornament in Versamark on watercolour card and heat embossed with silver powder. I used several shades of gold watercolour paint to colour the ornament - it has a wonderful shimmer in real-life. Once dry, I used the matching die to cut out the ornament and adhered it flat to an US AS note card. I used the die to cut out a silver holographic bow, along with a couple of white bows which I layered together. I added the bow to the ornament. I completed the front of the card with a simple greeting which I stamped in Versamark on black card. I heat set with silver powder and cut it out with the matching die. Once again, I layered the sentiment onto two other dies and added it to the card. I did decorate the inside, but forgot to take a photo!!

That's the card for today - thanks so much for stopping by. See you soon. x

Happy New Year ....

....  To all my family and friends. We've had a very quiet holiday period, but it's been super. Ben and Kat were both able to come home and spend a week with us - which was fab and the house feels very empty again now. I hope you all had a good break. I didn't get much chance to craft over the holidays, but I did manage to decorate my January calendar page.

I've used a mixture of stamps on this page - mostly from Gina K and Altenew. Very happy how it's turned out. 

That's all for today. I'll be back on Wednesday with my regular post for Seven Hills Crafts. See you then.

Welcome 2021 ....

... Good Morning! Happy New Year to you all. Our normal New Year's day is to have an Open House for friends and family to drop in and share a coffee, wine or just for a quick chat, but obviously that can't happen this year. So here's my message:

That's all for now - see you again soon.

Season's Greetings ....

... Hello and Merry Christmas. It's a very different Christmas for us all this year, but to all those who celebrate Christmas have a fabulous one, and to everyone else - Happy Holidays.

The photo above was taken after a heavy snowfall in early December when we lived in Northville, Michigan. I do miss the snow when it's like this - it makes for fabulous photos (not so keen on the roads though).

Like everyone else our Christmas this year is much smaller than originally planned. But with the magic of Zoom we will be able to share some of our Christmas with family in London, Plymouth, Hastings and Leicester. While we can't share hugs, we can share the love, laughter and joy via the screen. 

See you all in the New Year.

Happy Birthday Darling ....

... Good morning! Today is Jonathan's birthday. My toy boy is 56 years young today and I've made him a very special birthday card:

Stamps: Viva Las Vegas - Plate 925 (Dr Who)
Inks: Gina K - Black Amalgam
Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Night of Navy; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to AAA Cards - AAA#164 where they want one image with the option of being inspired by a TV show, The Paper Players - PP#488 - sketch, and Seize the Birthday - STB#189 where Anything Birthday goes.

You're either wondering what the heck I'm playing at, or you're falling about laughing! If you're a Dr Who fan, I guess you get the reference. For those who don't know what this picture means, I've added a video clip at the end of the post. Watch and enjoy. I stamped the bowl of fish fingers and custard on white card, coloured it with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. I cut a panel of navy card onto which I adhered a smaller white panel. I stamped the sentiment and used dimensional pads to attach the image. On the inside, I simply stamped the image again in black and added another greetings.

Jonathan will LOVE this card - he has a huge and varied Dr Who collection. This picture references when Matt Smith took over the role of Dr Who, and we all really enjoyed Matt's portrayal of the Doctor. However, Jonathan's Doctor was played by Tom Baker and my Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee. I have to admit that I have a soft spot for David Tennant too 😉. That's it from me today - here's the video clip I was telling you about:

Gardening Forever ...

... Hello again! It's a glorious day here. Mum and I have been walking around her new garden and it's just lovely. Full of lots of tulips - my favourite spring flower. I've made a quick card for mum:

Stamps: Do-crafts - Go Green Grown & Sown
Inks: Distress Oxide - Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn; Gina K - Black Amalgam
Accessories: White Card; Taylored Expressions - Circle Masking Stencil; Lawn Fawn - Grassy Stencil; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Time Out Challenge - TOC#159 where the challenge is inspired by a quote about gardens and libraries, and to Perfectly CAS - PCAS#08 where they want to see masking.

I decided to focus on the garden part of the word inspiration and I knew I had the perfect stamp for it. I used a circle stencil mask over a white card and placed the grassy stencil over the top, I then inked in the sky and grass. I removed the various masks and stamped the image directly on the card. I also stamped it on some white card and coloured the image with Copic markers. I used a scalpel to cut out the image and adhered it over the stamped image. It's a simple and fun card for mum. The inside is blank for my message.

I've been talking about mum's garden for a while, so I thought I'd add some photos to show how it's changed this year.

This was the garden last year before we started work - it's a lovely garden, but a bit bland and not many flowers.

 

Work started on the garden in January - it was very wet and at one point it looked like a mud pit! But you can see how it turned out. No plants - yet!!

This is the van that brought all mum's plants and trees. And a picture showing some of the plant pots on our drive.

The magnolia tree - it's small just now, but will get bigger. The photo was taken in early April, the flowers are finished now and the leaves are coming in. The side border is new and is full of the most wonderful tulips. Along with some standard roses, peony, allium and more that I can't remember.

More pictures of the tulips in the garden - they are just gorgeous. I love the way the Buddha looks over the pink tulips.

A view of the garden taken from my bedroom window - there's still some work to do, but it'll have to wait until the lockdown is over. There will be a proper path and a water feature - soon!

Mum exploring her garden - it really is a beautiful day today. That seat is a sun trap! That's all for now. See you soon.