Carnival Crafts

Tatty Button Card

2012-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems I'm like a bus, nothing for ages then three posts together....lol! Although one was only a photograph. I've spent the afternoon and evening card making, something that I normally struggle with and I'm never very happy with the end results, but today I seemed to flow and I'm fairly happy with the results of my work.
I'm going to enter this last card into the TIOT challenge this week which is "Do you believe in fairies?"

I do......

Merry Kiss-Mas!

2012-01-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I know it's only January, but with the speed that last year went, I'm determined to get some Christmas cards done for this year. This is the second design I have chosen to do, inspired by a beautiful card I saw at The Craft Barn.
The stamp I have used is "Holly" from Gorjuss Girls, coloured with Copics and Prismas. The backing papers are from Crafty Creations.

The "Merry Kiss-mas" stamp is from Stampotique.

Winter Sunshine?

2012-01-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

I took this picture up in Harrogate between Christmas and New Year, it was a cold wet day but the sun tried to make an appearance. Not much in the way of sunshine but I love the spookiness of the picture.

A Very Belated Happy New Year.....

2012-01-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

Wow! Christmas came and went so fast, it's now the middle of January and I've finally found time to craft. I've gone from one extreme to the other, last year I made only 1 Christmas card, yes, that's right....1

So this year I have started early and managed to get 6 made today and another 6 half done.This is the design of the first 6.

I'll upload the other design when they are finished. I also managed to get my January Fat Page done for Cazro's swap, the theme is Winter Wonderland. The Snowman is the front, the trees are the back.

It's good to be back in Blogland.......

My First Christmas Card 2011

2011-11-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

I had every intention of starting early and making all my own cards this year......well, it's nearly mid-November and I've just made my first one. It's quite plain, no ribbons or embellishments just a bit of decoupaged mistletoe above the Gorjuss Girl image. My photography skills aren't quite upto David Baileys standard but if you look closely the backing paper is a red and gold sparkly paper, the image is coloured with Promarkers and Prismacolor pencil crayons.

I'm entering this card into the Charisma Cardz Challenge #44 - cutesy

and also into the Winter Wonderland Challenge - Make Your Cards Sparkle.

Time Gentlemen Please.....

2011-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's not very often I make anything with a masculine look to it but I wanted to use a few bits and bobs from a little box of "treasures" I've had since my dad died, nearly 10yrs ago. The little "treasures" are just old buttons, coins and some medals my dad had in a little wooden box. I used to love rooting through this box when I was younger, I haven't changed much as I still love to rummage through "old tat" as some people call it...lol!
I started with a cheap wooden framed mirror I bought about 5yrs ago from that Swedish store....you know!
Covered it with some old dictionary pages, stamped some images and added my bits of treasure to it.

What I Used:
Wooden Framed Mirror
An old dictionary
Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink
PVA Glue
Crafty Individuals Stamp - CI-077 - 3 Wise Gentlemen
Paper Artsy Minis - MN60 - Cogs
Watch and Clockface Stamps (not sure where from)
Clearly Impressed Typewriter Alphabet Stamps - Stampington & Company
World Map Stamp - Travel Set 1 - Tanda Stamps
All Saints Tag
Wine Bottle &Corkscrew Drink Charm
Old Uniform Buttons
Old British Coins
Copper Tape

I'm entering it into the Stampman Challenge this week which is Collage/Collage Background

Altering Boxes Again

2011-10-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

This box was actually started months ago and was then put on the shelf to gather dust. It was a challenge on Try it on Tuesday to alter a shoe box. "Oooh! great", I thought, I'd like to join in that one, I love altering boxes and tins.I got as far as covering it with tissue paper and that was it.
The summer came and went and as some of you know I don't get time to craft through the summer, but I rediscovered it a couple of weeks back and felt sorry for it sitting there looking sorry for itself.

It started life as an All Saints shoe box.

It was then covered in PVA glue and tissue paper.

Painted all over with black acrylic paint, sprayed with gold spray paint and then I rubbed it with bronze metallic rub-ons. Added a few Tim Holtz Grungeboard embellishments.

Plus some Tim Holtz box feet and a little drawer knob.

I then decorated the inside with the tissue paper that came with the box, it was too good to throw away.

The box so far .......

I might add a little more to it later. Just have to work out what to use it for now.

There's a party in the graveyard....

2011-10-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

I decided that today was going to be a day for myself, no housework, no shopping, just crafting. I've got a few boxes that I've kept for altering and I decided to alter one today. Halloween always seems to inspire me, especially the creepy things like skeletons and gravestones.
The box was a gift box full of toiletries, I painted it over with black acrylic paint, coloured a piece of card with TH Distress inks and hand drew the tree on it. All the stamps are from Stampotique and the gravestone I made out of Fimo. I rubbed on some silver from the Metalic Rub-ons set so the black acrylic looks like stone. Hope it's not too scary....lol!

I've put a before, making up and after pictures in to show you how I did it.

Covered with black acrylic paint.

Background and stamped images added.

Aclose up of the inside and last but not least, on the back of the box is your very own invitation to the party!!! Hope you can make it.

New Challenge Blog

2011-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Want to join in with this new blogs challenges? Go take a look, there's some blog candy on offer too.

Just Inspirational Challenges - off to have a look and get inspired :)

Fraidie Cat.......

2011-10-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when all the ghouls and goblins are about, yes that's right, it's nearly Halloween, you either love it or you hate it. I love it for the colours if nothing else, orange and black just says Halloween, don't you think?

This is my very first fat page for Cazro's swap on Docrafts. I drew most of it by hand but added the lovely little pumpkin in the corner with a stamp from Stampotique. The background is simply coloured with Tim Holtz Distress Inks, spiced marmalade and mustard seed. The moon was masked out with a circle made from a post-it note. The back of the page is very similar but with less on it and my details.
I'm entering it into the Stampman challenge this week which has a theme of circles.

Happy Halloween all.........

Well, I feel like my mojo is back....

2011-09-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll, two nights crafting in a row and two cards to show for it. September is always a busy birthday month for me, so I thought I would join in some challenges and get some cards made for friends and family at the same time. Tonights card is very simple, I've made it using part of my lovely prize from Craft Stamper. It's a gorgeous Crafty Individuals stamp (C1-283) but I've masked out the border of it for this card. I've coloured it very faintly with Prismacolor pencils, the wording is part of the stamp set and I didn't think it needed anything else so I've left it at that. I'm entering into the My Time To Craft challenge #156, Just Between Friends.

Monochrome Card......

2011-09-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

This week at Try it on Tuesday it's monochrome card week, sponsored by One Stop Card Crafts I've used my Tatty Button stamp on this card and followed a tutorial by Ange Lee on her blog. The striped card is Mono Christmas Stripes from Kanban, the flower was made from some die cut flower shapes I bought, coloured with Marvy Blending Box, Shades of Gray. I've touched it with some Crystal Stickles for a dewy effect. Well, I'm slowly getting my mojo back and it's thanks to the inspiration I find on the lovely blogs I visit. Take a look at some of the creations from the DT on TIOT this week, they're fabulous.

Meet Carmen and Dolly....

2011-08-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

These are my two latest ATC's, one is heading off over the water to the lovely USA. Both are hand-drawn and coloured with Prismacolour pencil crayons

Christmas or Halloween?

2011-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've spent the afternoon playing with my new stamps that I treated myself to, Minky Girl and the Mistletoe stamp, both from Stampotique. I made this large tag but don't know whether it should be classed as a Christmas Tag or a Halloween Tag!

I used a piece of mountboard for the tag and covered it with Gesso and acrylics, then stamped on it with Stazon, Gesso and Gold Krylon pen.

I think I'll say it's my first Christmas piece for this year, making me a very early starter (in my book anyway).

Oooh! nearly forgot to mention that I'm entering it into the Try it on Tuesday challenge this week where "anything goes".

Well, finally I have something to show.....

2011-08-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

on my craft blog. This ATC is for a Macmillan coffee morning appeal on Docrafts organised by Crafty Vonx. It's hand drawn and painted in instant coffee, with a little bit of glitter because I couldn't resist it....lol!

My Winning ATC in Craft Stamper

2011-06-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is my ATC that has won me another prize from my favourite magazine Craft Stamper It also doubles as a fridge magnet as I stuck it onto a piece of magnetic card. I recieved some lovely goodies from Crafty Individuals as my prize. I'm hoping to find a bit of spare time this week to use them and stop my withdrawal symptoms.

Butterfly Cake

2011-06-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of starting a second blog, one for all my cakes. I seem to be spending more time doing cakes at the moment than I do crafting.

This one is a chocolate cake filled with a chocolate French buttercream. I have a couple more coming up in the next couple of weeks but I need to find time to craft, I'm beginning to get withdrawal symptoms.

Ok, my new blog is up and running (just) if you have a minute please check it out and let me know what you think, not much on it at the moment but give me time :)

It's Cake Art by Carol - Thank you

Thank You Netty

2011-06-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Problem solved by the lovely Netty.....I'm back to blogging again and leaving comments from tomorrow, it's late now and I need my sleep xxx

Green Goddess - ATC

2011-06-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm having a lot of problems signing into my blog at the moment, if I post this it will be a small miracle. I've been trying for over a week to leave comments on peoples blogs but it's just not happening, it's so annoying.

Anyway, I managed to get a few ATC's done over the bank holiday weekend, this being one of them. I made it with a few more of the Fimo ivy leaves that I had made a long while back. It's for Lisa Sparkles "Game Piece" swap on Docrafts.

I hope I get this problem sorted soon as I can't join in any challenges at the moment :(

Nothing to show at the moment.....

2011-05-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

It feels like a lifetime since I did any crafting, I'm busy getting ready for a massive event in London next year so I'm up in central London quite a lot of the time, by the time I get home I just want to do nothing (apart from have a glass of vino.....lol).
I sat by the Tower of London and had my lunch today, that made a nice change. Life is busy at the moment but I managed to spend a lovely weekend in Ireland last week. I was at a friends wedding in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, such a pretty area, the weather wasn't great but it didn't spoil the day.
Well, it's a bank holiday weekend this weekend so with a bit of luck I'll have something crafty to post next time.............:)

Pop Over and Join in the Poppy Challenge.....

2011-05-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

This week on the Stamp Man Challenge blog they are having a Poppy Challenge to help the lovely Janet and her husband raise money for the Poppy Appeal 2011. I had made a card last week to send to Janet for the Poppy Appeal and so I was delighted to see this challenge and even more delighted that I could enter. I have very little time for anything other than work at the moment and didn't think I would be entering any challenges for a while.

My card is quite simple, the stamp is from the Kadoodle Floribundi collection and is coloured with Promarkers.

Thank you for taking the time to look.

Something Old, Something New...........

2011-05-02T22:44:00.001-07:00

Is the challenge on Try It On Tuesday this week. I was invited to be a guest designer so I made my card using some "Old" Fimo ivy leaves that I made a couple of years ago, I knew they would come in useful one day! The music stamp is one of the first stamps I bought when I started crafting, I had to make a card for a piano teacher, I cringe when I think about what it looked like now.....lol!

The "New" is the Gorjuss Girls stamp which I bought over at the Craft Barn last month when I was attending a class on Copics and the little Candi buttons.

This weeks sponsors are One Stop Card Crafts

Thanks to all the inspiration I find on all the lovely blogs I follow, I'm getting a bit more confident about card making.

Thank you to all who leave comments on my work, I really appreciate them all.

Altered Tin

2011-04-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Over on Try It On Tuesday the challenge this week is to alter a tin. Mine is a small 3" x 3" tin that has been covered with scraps of paper then painted over and has a couple of little clock faces, one with some Tim Holtz grungeboard wings. The inside is also decorated with parts of a watch set in some utee. There's also the chance to win a voucher from this weeks sponsors The Craft Barn, so why not go on over and have a go yourself.

Who Lives in a House Like This?

2011-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

LisaSparkle over on Docrafts is hosting a "House" ATC swap, I was a bit late getting mine done, but here they are. I used some pieces of mount board that I scrounged from my local picture framer and covered them with brightly coloured acrylics, some scraps of paper and a mini playing cad (from a Christmas cracker). It's surprising what you can make from a few scraps of card and paper.....lol!

Gesso Flowers

2011-04-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, where did April go? It seems like a week ago when I last posted on here but it's actually nearly a month ago. I've only managed to get a bit of crafting done since the end of March and one thing I wanted to try was Gesso flowers. I made them using some pages from an old dictionary and put them in a little china bucket that I got some chocolates in. Chocolates are long gone but I thought the little bucket was too cute to hide away in a cupboard so I thought the little flowers were perfect to go in it.

Slumberparty Cake

2011-03-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well I had a lovely time at the Wolverhampton meet last week, lots of chatting and laughter going on, some great demos and lots of swapping of ATC's too. I haven't managed to do much crafting since though, I've been busy making cakes this week, I have 4 to do in total including a 4 tier faux wedding cake, for an exhibition.

Today I was busy making a slumberparty cake for a little girl, I've uploaded a picture for you, I thought it turned out quite well. Infact I think it looks so comfy, it makes me want to climb in it....lol!

At Last......

2011-03-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've found some sewing that I CAN do!!!! Faux stitching....lol! just my kind of thing when it comes to sewing. I've done the edges of the Cowboy in faux stitching, I thought it looked quite realistic, shame I can't make clothes with the same technique....lol!

These ATC's are for the Wolverhampton meet tomorrow that the lovely AngyB from Docrafts has organised. Looking forward to seeing everyone there, it's a bit of a drive for me but worth it.

Inchies Card

2011-03-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

I made this card a few weeks back and it's come in handy now, for two reasons, the first being a colleagues birthday that I completely forgot about, the second is the challenge this week on Try It On Tuesday. Somewthing that has at least 3 "Inchies" on it. I've glazed the inchies with clear embossing powder so they look like tiles, well they're meant to look like tiles.

My New Tatty Button Stamp

2011-03-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to get my new Tatty Button stamps created by the very talented artist Ange Lee. I thought I'd use one to decorate a little box I made for the challenge on Try it on Tuesday, which is chocolate this week....yum! Only there are no chocolates in my little box, I don't have any at the moment :(

Pink Tag

2011-03-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

I made my tag using some pink dotted paper with a stamp from Aspects of Design Rubber Stamps inked up with TH Distress ink, Vintage Photo. The flower is made from the same paper and has some script stamped on it using a stamp from Quietfire Design, added a little button and a bit of ribbon.

I'm entering it into this weeks challenge on Try it on Tuesday and also into The Craft Barn concertina challenge.

My First Try With Copics

2011-03-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

I spent a lovely day at The Craft Barn in Lingfield today. It was my first visit but it certainly won't be my last.

The lovely Jane Collman taught us how to use copic markers and make a card using Gorjuss Girls stamps. I had a fabulous day, spent a small fortune and felt very pleased with my results and I didn't choose pink!

Red is the colour.....

2011-03-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Seems like red is the colour that's in for cakes at the moment. I have another cake to make this week and that's also in red.

The Minnie Mouse cake was made for a four year olds birthday and everything on it is totally edible including the ribbon around it. I love Disney and when I was asked to make a Minnie Mouse cake it was like it was MY birthday.....lol!!

Altered Dominoes

2011-03-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

Had fun doing my first altered dominoes today, one of them I have made into an ATC that also doubles as a fridge magnet. I have some magnetic cards the same size as an ATC so I've stuck the ATC onto it.

I used the "Alice" stamp and the "Queen for a Day" stamp from the TJ Designs Rubber Stamps "Alice in Wonderland" which are still some of my favourite stamps. The clock face.......... I can't remember where that comes from. Then I coloured in using Sharpie permanent markers and finished off using a Gold Krylon pen around the edges.

For the green altered domino, the stamp is from a set of mini stamps from Quietfire Designs.

A Few More ATC's

2011-03-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

I've made a few more ATC's today that I'm hoping to send off to the Stamp Man swap. The theme for this months swap is "Wise Words" chosen by Yvonne. Well mine have definitely got words on them but I don't know if you'd say they were wise!!!!

ATC's

2011-03-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

These three ATC's are for a swap on Flickr, Let's Swap ATC's. I've finally got away from pink, well for the moment....lol!!

Pink Again......

2011-03-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

Everything seems to be pink at the moment......I'm entering this card into the Try it on Tuesday challenge this week, which is to make a card that has been inspired by a song. Mine was inspired by the song "Elusive Butterfly" by Bob Lind. Pop over and have a look.

I'm also entering, for the first time, into Ooh La La - Pink, Pink and more Pink.

Easel Card

2011-02-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

This was made using one of the stamps I won in the Craft Stamper birthday competition. I don't normally do pink but just lately I've made a couple of pink and sparkly bits.

It's never too early for Christmas......

2011-02-19T12:44:00.000-08:00

I made my first Christmas card of 2011 today, a bit of a miracle for me, I'm never early for Christmas. It's probably the only one I'll get done. I'm also entering it in the Try it on Tuesday challenge this week, the theme for this week is The Sky's The Limit.

Gift Bag

2011-02-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

My nieces birthday is coming up so I made this little gift bag to put her gift in. I found the template on Splitcoast Stampers.

Try it on Tuesday........

2011-02-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

This weeks theme on Try it on Tuesday is "Feel the lurve". I'm not too confident when it comes to card making but I really wanted to join in again and this time with a card, so here is my entry. Any advise on card making and die cutting machines would be greatly appreciated as I'm looking into buying one.

More ATC's.......

2011-02-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

I really want to get some cards made but keep joining in swaps for ATC's.......lol! These latest ones are for Lisasparkles swap on Docrafts, it's a Tim Holtz style swap, I've used Tim Holtz inks and some of his stamps for my ATC's. Added a few bits and bobs to give them a bit more dimension.........

One, Two.....Button My Shoe.......

2011-01-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

I've been busy sorting out all my craft stash today, I didn't think I would get any crafting done though. Then I realised that the challenge on Artful Ideas finishes tomorrow. I had to quickly put my thinking cap on and I came up with this ATC. The theme was shoes.

2011-01-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well I must be on a roll today, an orange and yellow one. I've managed to get my ATC done for WTA on Artful Ideas this month. The theme is birds.

Metal and Mesh ATC's

2011-01-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

I struggled to come up with something for the "Metal and Mesh" swap on Docrafts, these are my results. "Off The Wall" was my first attempt but I wasn't too happy with it so the next two I brightened up a bit and I was much happier with them.

Let's just hope the recipients like them!

ATC's

2011-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a 1-2-1 swap in ages so I took the plunge and asked for two of Crafty Vonx's cards on Docrafts. Trouble was I didn't have any to swap so I had to quickly make these two to send in return, I hope she likes them..........

Tag Book

2011-01-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

This is my entry for this months ART n SOUL challenge, I haven't joined in any challenges for a while but when I saw this months challenge I couldn't resist. I love these Daniel Torrente stamps from Stampotique, they're so quirky. If you like Tim Burton, you'll love them too. The challenge was to make a 4 page tag book with a button on each page...........Buttons!!! another favourite of mine, all the more reason to join in this challenge.

My Very First Cake Decorating Class.......

2010-11-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

I offered to hold a cake decorating class for a fundraising "Sale of Skills" and decided on a Christmas theme as Christmas is getting near.

This is a very simple cake that can be done with very little cake decorating equipment, all you need is a rolling pin, star nozzle, cocktail stick and a small cake board. Most people have most these in their kitchen already so you don't need to buy any expensive equipment.

Back to my blogging.....

2010-11-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a few months since I wrote on my blog, life seems to get in the way of everything just lately. I won the pumpkin competition at work (just for fun) it wasn't the biggest pumpkin in the world but hey! ho! it won, weighing in at around 9kg.

Haven't done much crafting lately as I have no craft room at the moment and all my craft stuff is still packed away.

Been doing a few cakes though, my favourite one was an allotment cake, I LOVED making this one and could have carried on forever...lol

The red bottle is meant to be a bottle of Pimms although it looks more like a bottle of ketchup.

Pumpkin competition

2010-08-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

We're having a pumpkin growing competition at work, we've all started with a mammoth pumpkin seed. Some have had no luck at all, others have withered and died off but some are doing really well. The biggest so far is Ravis pumpkin (one of my chefs), I think mine is second at the moment. Come the end of the competition it will be pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin risotto and roast pumpkin for everyone....lol!

Here's a picture of the winner so far............we have until October to beat this one.

My first baby shower cake request......

2010-08-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

My daughters friend is expecting her first baby any day now, poor girl is swelling up like a balloon so to make her feel better they had a baby shower for her. My daughter asked if I could make some fairy cakes or cupcakes as they are now known as. The picture was taken on my phone so it may not be the best, but here they are.....

Cake making again......

2010-08-10T01:33:00.000-07:00

I was asked to make a large cake with "Happy New Year" on it," it's only August" I thought and it's not a fruit cake, turns out it's for a financial new year......quite a simple cake this time, the logo of the company is printed on a thin layer of sugar paste so it was very quick and easy to make, it just weighed a ton.

The two ugly sisters......

2010-08-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

It's not letting me upload the pictures so I'll try again later. Ok, here they are now......

Back to my blog.......

2010-08-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long hot summer and a busy one at work. It's calmed down now and my life is getting back to normal, that means I get some time off to enjoy myself so I thought I'd start my day off with some crafting........oh! how good it feels to be back to my crafting.

I was hosting a Button Fairy swap on DC which should have finished at the end of July but due to my busy work schedule I never got to finish one of my fairies. I finally got her made today, here she is with her two sisters, you might think they look like the two ugly sisters...lol!

Harvest Time.......

2010-07-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well all my hard work is beginning to pay off as I pick my fruit and veg in my allotment, If you're anything like me, broad beans would normally make you shiver and not with delight. I remember at school getting them dished up on my plate and my heart sinking to new depths, thinking "How am I going to eat them"? I once hid them under a mound of mashed potato thinking no-one would notice them, but hey ho! along came the scary dinner lady and lifted up the mash with a fork...........well you can guess the rest.

Anyway, I have successfully grown some broad beans this year and was determined to use them. I have made a dip with them, such a simple easy recipe, so I thought I would share it with you. It's a very healthy snack dish or starter and is delicious served with warm Pitta Bread or Flatbread. You will need:

300g Broad Beans, podded

1 Clove of garlic

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Small buch of mint

1 Lemon - juice of

1 Tbsp Natural yoghurt

Pinch of salt

Cook the broad beans for 5 mins. then let them cool and take off the outer skin, leaving the bright green part of the bean. Put all ingredients (except the lemon)into a food processor. Whizz for a couple of minutes then mix in the lemon juice and check the seasoning.

Place into a bowl and drizzle with a little Olive oil and a sprig of mint.

Serve with warm Pitta bread or Flatbread, enjoy!

Slide Mailer Box.......

2010-06-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what to call this, it's 4 slide mailers joined together and decorated for a birthday celebration, I'm in the middle of making a Christmas one, it's never too early to start on your Christmas decorations, I should know as I'm late starting them every year so I thought I'd start early this year. I've been inspired by Clarky J on the Docrafts forum who is holding a Christmas ATC swap, you send in 9 and get 9 back, I'm half way through these too then I got a bit of a block and lost my mojo. It's slowly returning to me now......lol! Maybe it was something to do with the nice weather and being outside in my allotment, which by the way is producing lots, I've just picked about 3 kgs of strawberries in the last 2 weeks and made strawberry jam with some of them

Well, it's raining now, I think we needed it, my lawn is looking a bit sorry for itself........

Phew! it's hot.....

2010-06-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

This weather is fabulous, it's a long time since we've had a decent spell of good weather, let's hope it lasts. Trouble is, it's too hot to be inside crafting so I haven't got much done just lately. I might try and do something tonight as it's too hot to sleep.
I had a great idea at work today...........as it's fairly quiet for the next 3 days, I thought it would be a good time to catch up on all my paperwork and what better place to do it.........outside in the sunshine, it was lovely, until a few hours later I looked in the mirror and saw that I have a big red face, even worse........a big red nose!!!!!!! I won't post a picture of myself.....it's not a good look.....lol!!!

Ride' em cowboy...

2010-06-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for this weeks Tuesday Taggers challenge which is shoes (or boots) I have used Tanda stamps cowboy stamp the boots are from the same plate, MIC papers and distressed with TH Rangers distress ink (vintage photo).

Recipe Cards

2010-06-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

These are 3 recipe cards that I made for a swap on http://www.atcsforall.com/ All recipes were either vegetarian or vegan. The host has very kindly offered to make a zine of all the cards and is sending one to every member of the swap. Looking forward to getting my returns and trying out some of the recipes.

What a beautiful evening......

2010-06-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Finished work fairly early today so I took the dog for a walk in his favourite place.....Windsor Great Park, I must admit it's one of my favourite places too. I think I have the naughtiest dog in the whole of the UK..........but I wouldn't change him for the world.

I adopted him from Battersea Dogs Home (Bellmead Windsor branch) nearly two years ago and we're slowly getting him to do as he's told but he still likes to dissappear for the odd 10 - 15 minutes chasing rabbits...........meet Bobby.

Sugar and Spice......

2010-06-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

and all that's nice, that's what little girls are made from.........or so they say. This is my entry for this weeks Tuesday taggers challenge, vintage bookmarks. I didn't think I would be doing one this week as time was very limited, but hey! I managed, and I'm pleased that I did because I now have a lovely bookmark for my book instead of turning the page corners over.....tut tut!!

Greenday at Wembley

2010-06-20T04:05:00.000-07:00

Had a great night last night at Wembley stadium watching Greenday in concert. It was fantastic, they played for 3 hours and I mean played.....not only was their music brilliant but they were such fun and the stage back grounds were brilliant, I just loved the artwork but you can't see much in the picture as it was taken on my phone camera so it's not great.

Busy summer ahead

2010-06-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm trying my best to keep up with my crafting through the summer, it's always a very busy time for me at work and it seems to take over my life until mid August, so this year I'm determined to do some crafting a couple of times a week at least.
I've just ordered some new Stampotique stamps from The Stamp Attic so once they arrive I'll be having a little playtime with them.......can't wait.
This weeks challenge for Tuesday Taggers is a vintage bookmark, what a great challenge, I must try and get mine done before the weekend as I'm off to see Greenday in concert at Wembley Arena
I'm hopping around everywhere at the moment as I got bitten by a mosquito on my ankle last Sunday and I have a severe allergic reaction to them so I have an ankle the size of a football at the moment and it's VERY painful. How could something so small cause so much pain.......?

Think I'll go and tidy up my craft space as I can't actually get on my desk at the moment........lol!!

In between the rain....

2010-06-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

I managed to get some more done on my allotment today, I think everything is planted apart from the outdoor cucumbers now. I've also checked out the allotment next to mine which has been sitting empty for about a year and I've asked to go on the waiting list for it, so fingers crossed.

The beautiful foxglove can be seen all over the allotments along with poppies and cornflowers. The centre picture with the overgrown grass is the allotment I'm hoping to get, the other is mine and how it's looking at the moment, it's taken over 2 years to get to this stage, but I enjoy every minute of it.

It's back to work tomorrow.......

2010-06-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

I've just had 4 lovely days off doing everything I love, sadly it's come to an end and I'm back at work tomorrow. So, I thought I'd better get my Tuesday Taggers challenge done straight away. I made a bit of a boo boo!!! on it, I thought I was using shrink plastic for the butterfly and when it didn't shrink I realised I wasn't......lol! Still, I thought it looked ok so I stuck with it.

I'm not sure where I got the flower stamp from but I stamped onto an old dictionary page then cut the flowers and leaves out and distressed them with Rangers Vintage Photo ink.

The script reads " If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies" a stamp I bought from Quietfire Designs.

I'm not sure what I used for the butterfly as I said before but was meant to be smaller.

Added a bit of distressing inks and a few buttons and ribbons to finish it off.

If you know where the doodle flower stamp comes from please let me know and I'll add it to this post.

American Life Tag

2010-06-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been doing allsorts today, gardening, more gardening, but in the allotment, took the dog for a walk then came back and thought I'd have a go at doing something for the Tuesday Taggers, something I've wanted to do for a while but just never got round to it.

I have used tissue paper with PVA for the textured background, I then painted it with red acrylic paint.

The Coca-Cola stamp is one I bought in the USA, I stamped onto plain white card, coloured it with poppy red promarker (I didn't have any red card) then used UTEE on it to give it a tiled look.

The images are just ones I found on Google and Clipart.

Bird Hanger

2010-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for Sherry's challenge on Art N Soul on Flickr. I used the pages from an old dictionary to cover the bird then used an assortment of old postage stamps, luggage label, air mail stickers and stamped French postage images on it.

Long time....no blog

2010-06-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been months since I've been on my blog, just never seemed to find the time, so here I am again. I have so many things going on in my life......good things, like crafting, gardening walking the dog, cake making and then there's work.........oh! yeah, that thing that gets in the way of life.
I'm going to start adding recipes to my blog, mainly vegetarian recipes but sometimes the odd meat or fish recipe and definitely cakes and desserts so if you're interested just check out my blog from time to time.
I visited New York a couple of months ago and the brunches there are fantastic, you can't beat the Americans at brunch so I thought I'd start off with a recipe for the delicious Brioche French Toast that I tried.

Serves 4-6

6 large eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
4 cups milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 Loaf of day old brioche
1/4 cup clarified butter
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Icing sugar
Syrup for serving
Fruit for serving

Method

1.Whisk together the eggs, milk and caster sugar add the cinnamon and nutmeg,
2.Slice the brioche loaf and layer in a shallow baking dish, pour the egg mixture over the bread and leave to soak for about 3 minutes. Turn the bread over and leave to soak on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
3.Preheat the oven to about 80c (to keep the french toast warm)
4.Cook the toast in batches. Heat up a large frying pan and add some of the clarified butter and over a medium heat fry the soaked brioche until golden brown and crisp on both sides.Add some of the unsalted butter during cooking as this adds a nice nutty flavour and helps brown the toast.
Repeat until all the brioche and egg mixture is used.
5.Serve warm dusted with icing sugar, syrup (maple is best) and fruit of your choice, I love to serve with fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Enjoy!

Altered Domino Box

2009-08-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well I've got through another busy summer at work and it's finally time for me now. Today is the first time I've crafted in ages. I went to a car boot sale today and picked up a couple of things I can use in my altered art, one of them being an old domino box (unfortunately there was only one domino in the box) but never mind it was the box I was interested in.
It started off as a brown tatty box covered in an imitation leather type material, this is what I altered it into, it's a late brak for a lovely friend of mine, I hope she likes it.

Time To Play

2009-07-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I've been on my blog, not only have I not had the time but I haven't had the inclination either, but hopefully the drought has come to an end at last.

I was given a packaging box from a bottle opener from a friend who thought the box was too good to throw away (how right she was)

I started by painting it with black acrylic paint then using a heat gun on it to give it some texture. I then used metallic rub-ons on it to give it the metallic look, most of the other decorations on it are made from Fimo clay and coloured with Cosmic Shimmer mica pigment powders.

The lining is a piece of beautiful Indian fabric, the inside of the box still needs a couple of things adding to finish it off completely but this is more or less the finished item.

Altered Box

2009-04-26T04:24:00.000-07:00

I had a fabulous day at Nicks and Heidi's Craft Retreat "YCJ"and this is what I came home with, plus a lovely goody bag and lots of other bits and pieces that I intend to alter sometime in the future (not sure when).

I had a delicious lunch AND I didn't get lost on the way...lol!

It was lovely to meet Katherine T and meet up again with Nicks Heidi, Matt and DebsH, can't wait for the next one now.

Whimsical Cat

2009-04-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is based on the Cheshire cat one of my favourite characters in Alice in Wonderland, done in pencil crayons and fine black liner pen. I found using pencil crayons so much easier than watercolour pencils, I need to have more practice with watercolour........need to have more practice with lots of art but I don't have the time :(

Whimsy Art

2009-04-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

My new love.....I've just joined an online class on Whimsy Art, I love this style of art as it's fun, colourful and you don't have to be the worlds greatest artist to be able to do it. These are a few of my creations, I know it's not everyone's style but I hope you enjoy looking.

My Altered Tins

2009-03-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

These were for a challenge on Docrafts Altered Art forum, think I'm hooked on these now....groan :)

Busy, busy, busy.....

2009-02-16T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had my little break in Germany and what a great time I had, I thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of going away for a short break. We went to Cologne and the Cathedral there is amazing, especially the stained glass windows, another good place to visit, especially if you like chocolate (who doesn't) is the Lindt Chocolate factory, the chocolate is delicious.I've added some pictures of Cologne and those amazing windows in the Cathedral, hope you like them.

Work is busy, but what's new. But I've finally got back to my crafting today and made a start on an altered tin. Work is in progress at the moment but once it's finished I might add some piccies of it.

No chance to craft this week......

2009-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

Too busy at work this week, then I'm off to Germany on Friday for the weekend, well hopefully if the weather improves.
I'm loving the snow, it looks fabulous at work, although it's a nightmare to drive in. What I can't believe, is that they knew it was coming but still did nothing about it and it's the HEADLINES in the news........why? Does the rest of Europe have the same problems when it snows? I think not...lol, still it's lovely to have some snow once in a while. Hope to upload some piccies soon.
Stay warm and safe everyone xx

Update on my rolodex.....

2009-01-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

I've done just four cards so far but the batteries have run out on my camera so I can't take any pictures of them at the moment and scanning always looks cock-eyed on my blog....or maybe it's just my eyes...lol!
I'm trying out some whimsical type drawings on some of them, I love these type of ATC's so I thought I'd have a go at them on my rolodex cards. I don't think they're everyones cup of tea but I find them bright and cheerful and quite childlike.
I'm now typing one handed as the dog has just decided to sit on my lap so to stop him falling off he's lying on my arm. Looks like no more crafting for the moment then.......

My New Project - Rolodex

2009-01-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

Just to prove that I am actually doing something with my Rolodex, I must admit it's not much but it's a start.

It arrived today in the post, can't wait to get started on it. I don't know how long it will take but I'm planning on decorating each little card individually.So keeping watching this space........lol!!

2009-01-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

Had a bit of spare time today as I was up early, so I've made two ATC's for MAMMA'S Challenge on FLICKR, I used Ecoline inks for the background paper and some stamps I got from Quietfire Designs, one of my favourite suppliers.

These inks are really bright and cheerful, I love using them on cards and ATC's.

I'm off to make some inchies now for the February swap on Docrafts, might upload the pictures later if I like them enough.....

Stained Glass Windows

2009-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

This is one of 4 stained glass windows in a church in Woking, they represent the continents of the world, this one represents the Americas, the colours are beautiful.

and there's more.....

2009-01-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

My Altered Playing Cards

2009-01-21T11:37:00.001-08:00

Altered Playing Cards

2009-01-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've really got into these, these are some that I made for a swap in the U.S. I'm hoping to make a full set eventually but time just seems to fly when I'm crafting and before I know it I'm back at work THINKING about crafting!!!!