Saturday 30 January 2010

Stamped Image Challenge for Crafts Beautiful Forum and Creative Inspirations

Happy Saturday everyone!

I have made another photo hanger for a present, along with a bag charm, and decided to enter them (along with the card in my previous post) in a challenge on the Crafts Beautiful Forum, which is to make three items using the same stamp.

The stamp I have used is Queen Charlotte from Whiff of Joy. The papers I have used for the photo hanger are Kay and Co. I stamped Charlotte onto shrink plastic and coloured her with Sakura Stardust pens for the bag charm.

I'm also going to enter the photo hanger in this week's Creative Inspirations challenge, which is feminine - I think this is definitely a feminine project!

I hope you like my pieces - thanks for looking. And enjoy the rest of the weekend!





Love, Andrea xx

Thursday 28 January 2010

Friday Sketchers #86

Just a quick post today - I have made a card to enter in this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge. I have made the card for another friend of my daughter. I'm struggling to keep up with all the birthdays of her classmates at the moment - she came home with another party invitation yesterday!


The image is Queen Charlotte from Whiff of Joy (I know - I'm using that for all the little girls just now - but I think it is perfect for 5 year olds (LOL)!) I have coloured her with my new Promarkers - need lots more practise I know - but this is not too bad for a newbie!! The papers are Kay and Co - I used a metallic pen to go around the edge of the backing paper - flowers are from a daisy punch - the oval frame is from my Majestic Keepsake Board - card, gems and sentiment from my stash.

That's it from me now - must clean the bathroom! Hope to be back soon to show you the pressie I'm in the process of making

Love, Andrea xx

Sunday 24 January 2010

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 27

Hi Folks - hope you've had a great weekend!

This morning, I decided to say 'fiddlesticks' to the housework! My hubby has to work 2 weekends out of 3 and yesterday my son made a comment "I really miss having fun with Daddy"!! That really pulled at my heartstrings, so I thought I ought to do the things with the children which I've been promising for a while - so I made a hair braid with my daughter, and loaded some albums onto an MP3 player for my son - doesn't sound much, but Andrew and Eleri were both happy. I find it's just too easy to get bogged down with everyday tasks, and not give the children the time they deserve - and they are just growing up too fast - soon they will be 9 and 5!!
And, when I do housework, it doesn't seem to make any difference - it seems that someone only has to breathe in our house, and it looks messy again (LOL!). But, having decided not to do housework today , I did still have to do a load of washing, wash up the dishes, cook Sunday lunch and hoover downstairs!

Anyway, enough of that - after feeling pretty rotten for a few days (and the nausea seems to be coming back tonight!), last night I finally managed to finish the card for my daughter's best friend (little girl next door). I have followed the sketch over on The Sugar Bowl. I have used one of the stamps I bought in the Funky Kits January Sale - what a deal! This image is Dress Up Maggie - I have coloured her with water colour pencils, added glitter to the feather boa, and used 3D paint for her beads. I have added faux stitching around the image.

The added extra on the challenge is to use distressing - now, I'm not too confident at doing this and don't have any proper distressing tools or inks, so I used the edge of my metal ruler to distress the edges of the papers, used an emery board to scuff the paper a bit, and then rubbed ink lightly around using a kitchen towel. I'm not too happy with my distressing, but I gave it a go! I don't think these Kay and Co Sparkly Sweet papers really suit distressing! I made a charm using beads and chain, punched some flowers and added pearls. I just love the embroidered handmade paper - I bought that in a sale at The Works ages ago. I'm not sure yet whether to add a sentiment to the card - I've got a couple of days to dwell on that!



Sorry the photo's not brilliant, and it makes the colours look a bit wishy washy really, but it's the best I can do in the light we have at the moment!

I hope you like my card, and I hope you'll pop by again soon - I look forward to it!

Love, Andrea xx

Friday 22 January 2010

They've Arrived .... And I've Been Spending Again!!

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you've had a good week and are looking forward to a fabulous weekend! I have not been feeling too good this week - suffering with a headache and nausea, so I don't have anything to show you at the moment, and I have not been able to knuckle down to enter for the Whiff of Joy DT call, which I wanted to do this week - hope to try next time.

Anyway, my Promarkers arrived very quickly, and I had a chance to have a little play yesterday. I know I need lots of practice, but my first attempt wasn't too bad. I was convinced that the image I was colouring had been stamped with Memento ink, but it was smudging a bit as I was colouring, so I was wondering what I was doing wrong. But then, late last night, a light bulb flashed in my mind and I suddenly remembered that I had stamped the images with Stazon ink (der!). (Why do things come to you in a flash ... about 8 hours too late!! ... or is that just me LOL!) And I can understand the need to collect all these markers - I really do neeeeeeeeeeed more colours LOL!! But I really have got to hide my credit card! BTW - I did admit to my hubby that I had ordered them, and he didn't shout - I really do have a fabulous and very understanding husband!

And I've been spending again (but not admitted it yet!!) - just could not resist the TSV on QVC this week - a Cuttlebug die-cutting machine, which I also really need, and it was on easy payments - well, is there anyone who can resist temptation like that???? So I really do hope that I get money for my birthday - but probably my family will have all had light bulb moments and will get me actual presents instead!!

Anyway, that's enough waffle from me, must get back to work!

Love, Andrea xx

Sunday 17 January 2010

Ssssshhhhh!!!! I'm Not Supposed To Be Spending...

... but I couldn't help it. I have been fancying some Promarkers for a while, and I have just found what I thought was a good deal on them, here, so I've bought some!! Sssshhhh! my hubby's fallen asleep, and I don't want to tell him!!!

But hey ho!, it's my birthday in three weeks' time, and this is what I'm spending my birthday money on - now all I've got to hope is that I have some money for my birthday (LOL!).

I just can't wait for them to arrive (jump up and down, clap hands, tee hee hee!!).

I'd better go to bed now!

Love, Andrea xx

Whiff of Joy Challenge #62

Hello Everyone and Happy Sunday - hope you've had a lovely weekend - mine has been good, but just gone so quick!

I have made another Thank You card, this time following the fabulous sketch on the Whiff of Joy Challenge Blog this week. All the DT samples are wonderful and so inspirational - I just had to have a go.


However, I did struggle with my card. I stamped my sentiment onto the back of a chipboard label from a top I bought in Asda (there's re-using and recycling for you!!). When I threaded the ribbon through (which, by the way, was from a gift set I had sometime ago - hey recycling again, what's got into me (LOL!) - the sentiment was a bit thick to stick on easily, and I managed to get it really skew wiff - managed to straighten it a bit, but not perfect! I also wish I hadn't made the mat for the image quite so big. I was becoming really disappointed with my card. You know how it is when you have something in mind and can't wait to give it a go, and then it just doesn't go the way you want it to - its so frustrating and disappointing!!

But once I added the flowers, which have had some glitter spray added, I felt happier with it, and I quite like it now!

Thanks for looking, and I hope you are able to pop back again sometime.

Love, Andrea xx

Thursday 14 January 2010

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #65

Hello folks

I've decided it is about time I made some cards to say thank you for the children's Christmas presents, so I thought I'd attempt some challenges. This week's challenge on The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is a nice simple sketch, which is just what I need to get me back into the crafty 'groove', and this is what I came up with.




I have used Fred Celebrating Elephant from Whiff of Joy, and coloured him with watercolour pencils and pearlescent watercolours. The papers were courtesy of some candy I won from Fran at Franmade some time ago - I think they are My Minds Eye. The sentiment is from a variety of Thank You stamps I won in a challenge a while ago, and the flowers are from my stash. Unfortunately, I do not have a die-cutting machine, and I am hopeless at cutting out circles or ovals, so I distressed the edges of my ovals, and then coloured them both a bit with chalks.

I hope you like my card. I have another one 'up my sleeve', and hope to be able to show that soon.

By the way, I forgot to post a piccie of the photo hanger I made for my daughter's friend last weekend, so I'll show that here too.



I got the idea for these photo hangers from Abby who makes beautiful creations. I have done some paper weaving for this - papers were found at the bottom of my stash, so I'm not sure what they are. The image is Queen Charlotte from Whiff of Joy, coloured with pearlescent watercolour paints and Sakura stardust pens. Flowers added from my stash. I do think it looked a bit bare, but was not sure what to add to it - it should look better with a photo added! I so hope Naomi liked her present.

Thanks for looking. I hope to be back soon, and I hope you'll pop by again sometime soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Friday 8 January 2010

Sketch Saturday #84

Hello everyone and Happy New Year.

I hope I'm not too late to enter this week's challenge on the Sketch Saturday blog - I've been trying to get photos from my camera to my computer since about 6pm - my computer is working at a virtual standstill at the moment and I keep losing my wireless connection with the internet and my printer :(

Anyway, enough of my woes - here's my card - I have made it for a friend of my daughter, who is having a party on Sunday. I have been struggling to get into the crafting mood for several weeks now, but I did enjoy using this sketch and making this card. I intended making a photo hanger to match, but it is just too cold to go and work in our kitchen this evening - I really hope I'm feeling more crafty tomorrow! I have given up on the idea of making a card for my nephew whose birthday is on Sunday too, he'll have to have a bought card (how naughty is that!!). Oops, seem to have gone woeful again!!



I have used Queen Charlotte from Whiff of Joy, coloured using pearlescent watercolours, watercolour pencils, and sakura stardust pens. The papers, flowers and ribbons were all found in my significant stash which really needs to be used and not hidden away (LOL!)

Well, that's enough from me for now - hope to have something else to show you again soon!

Love, Andrea xx