I'm a Passionista :), Awards and a Card

Well hello fellow bloggers - I hope you are having a good week.

I have discovered this evening that I was made one of this week's Top 5 Passionistas over on Passion for Promarkers with the card in my post below - woohoohoo!!! What a surprise!

I have also been very lucky to have been awarded 2 awards recently - and I do apologise to Katina and Monica for taking so long to blog about them. Thank you very much to you both, and thank you for the lovely comments you always leave me.












One of the things I must do to accept these awards is to share 7 random facts about myself - well here goes:

1. I have been white water rafting twice, and it was fantastic!
2. I once completed an army assault course for charity, but I couldn't get over the 12 ft wall LOL!
3. The last two facts make me sound really sporty and outgoing but I am not in the least sporty, and I am really quite shy!
4. Something that I really really want to do is to see whales in the wild.
5. Richard and I were very lucky to win a major prize on the National Lottery here in the UK - we had 5 numbers plus the bonus ball, and we won over £23,000 - sadly it's all spent!
6. One of the things we spent the money on was a skiing holiday in Whistler, Canada - wow!
7. Richard thought it would be a good idea for me to have some skiing lessons at a dry ski slope in this country before we went to Canada - and I broke my hand on the first lesson, and was therefore not able to ski on holiday!!! ROFL! We still had a wonderful holiday though!

Another thing I am supposed to do is to pass the awards on to 7 other bloggers I have recently found - now I am really struggling with this one because there are so many fabulous bloggers out there, but I will work on it I promise!

Now onto my card - one of Andrew's friends had his birthday today, and this is the card I made him. He is the drummer in the school band, so I decided to use the digi image Jerry Kisses Drummer from Pollycrafts. I've coloured him with Promarkers. I downloaded the music background from the internet - I believe it is supposed to be drum music (but I don't know for sure LOL!).



I followed this week's sketch at The Sweet Stop, and I also want to enter it in the following challenge:

Creative Card Crew - For a child

Sorry for this long post - hope I haven't bored you to tears LOL!

See you soon.
Love, Andrea xx

For Someone Special

Hello and Happy Saturday - To those of you who have been or who will be going to the NEC, I hope you have a fabulous time! Unfortunately, I have not been able to go (again!) as my hubby is working!

But I have managed to make a card for someone who is leaving their job very soon - I am going to miss her, and I know many many other people will too!



The image is a Wee Stamps digi called Sweet Blossom from Cuddly Buddly - isn't she soooo sweet!? I have coloured her with Promarkers. The papers and the embossing folder I used are the V&A Hanoverian range from Do Crafts. The border punch I used is X-Cut, as are the heart dies, and the flower dies are from Joy Crafts, fastened together with pearl brads. I coloured the layering card and the adhesive pearls with the pink Promarker to match her dress, and added a touch of glitter with Diamond Stickles.

I followed last week's sketch at the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge, but missed the challenge!

But I am going to enter the following challenges:

Passion for Promarkers - In the Garden
2 Sisters Challenge - Make your own embellishments - I hope using dies to make the flowers and heart count!
Totally Papercrafts - Cuddly and cute
CES Challenge - Die cut crazy

That's probably all I need to say this evening - thank you for calling by! See you soon. I'm going to have another attempt at crochet - attempted earlier in the week but could not get the hang of it at all (LOL!). My sister made Eleri such a gorgeous crocheted jacket a couple of weeks ago, and she's made herself some lovely things, and it's made me wish I could do it - well, what I'd really like to be able to do is to crochet some flowers to add to a card.

Good night!

Love, Andrea xx

A Card For My Nephew

Hello Everyone - hope you are all well. I have not done much crafting lately - don't know why really - just haven't been inspired enough!

But I did make this card for my nephew whose birthday was a few days ago - he was 9.



I made another outer space card, using the pre-coloured digi set, Out of This World, from Digistamp Boutique. The background has been embossed in the cuttlebug, and then I ran a silver ink pad over it. The rocket is hanging on a strip of acetate, so that it looks like it is flying. I decoupaged the aliens up a bit, and added clear glaze to the little space ship and to the windows on the rocket, to make it look like glass. I also added some sparkle with a Sakura Clear Stardust pen. And that's probably about it - there wasn't room for a sentiment on the front.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

One Stitch At a Time - For the boys
The Crafty Pad - Use a digi

I had Friday off work last week, preparing to do a table top sale yesterday - I was wanting to sell some toys and clothes that Andrew and Eleri have grown out of, and also get rid of our pushchair/pram. I had a full car load so the pram wouldn't fit in the car but Richard was going to walk it to me. But, poor little Eleri was ill (she had the dreaded tummy bug! - only a 24 hour thing, she's much better today), so we decided not to bother with the pram. I managed to sell some stuff, but not as much as I'd hoped. Then I took 3 bags full to charity shops - but I think we've still got about 7 boxes of stuff to go back up in the attic, ready for the next sale!

While I was away, Richard had hacked at our apple tree, hazel tree and rose bushes - and the trimmings are all over the lawn - goodness knows how long they are going to be there. He says he wants to use some of it over his vegetable garden to try to keep the cats off - I really hope it's not going to look like I imagine it will!

Anyway, you probably don't want any more waffle from me, so I'll love you and leave you for now. Thanks for looking, and I hope you call again sometime.

Love, Andrea xx

And I'm a Guest Designer for OSCC!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Hello - its the weekend - hope you have a good one!

Sorry about my gloomy post on Thursday - but I am feeling much better now - don't know where that all came from LOL!

Anyway, here's my second bit of lovely news this week - Shelley at One Stop Craft Challenge invited me to be Guest Designer this week. To put it mildly, I was gobsmacked, but of course I had to say yes, even though it was a bit nervewracking!!

The challenge this week is Clean and Simple. Well, I don't think I've ever done clean and simple, but I had a few ideas to try, and this is how my card turned out.



I stamped and embossed a sentiment from a CC Designs Thank You set, then die cut with my Nellie Snellen die, and added another die cut layer. Then I just die cut and embossed my favourite flower dies from Joy Crafts (OK, they're the only flower dies I have and I really want some more LOL!). Added pearl brads to the centre and that's all there was to it, apart from rounding the corners of the card. This is all pearlescent card, so it is nice and shimmery.

I loved this card when I'd finished it, but I'm not sure again now - maybe its too clean and simple, maybe the base card is a bit too big?!

I think this sentiment is perfect for a blogger whom I follow, and I'm sure many of you in blogland know - Jacque. I don't know her personally but, from what I read on her blog, she is a very very talented crafter and an extremely generous person - she often has sweet stuff to give away. So I would like to dedicate this card and 'cyberpost' it to Jacque.

I made a couple of other clean and simple cards which turned out OK - I might show those in another post.

I hope you will take a look at the One Stop Craft Challenge blog this week and maybe have a play in the challenge! I've seen many fabulous CAS cards around blogland so you know you can do it LOL!

I'm attempting to schedule this post - another thing I've never done before - so fingers crossed that it will work!

Thanks for visiting me and I hope you will call by again sometime.

Love, Andrea xx

Woohoo! I Made Top 3

Well Hello People

I've had fantabulous news today - I was given one of the top three awards for last week's challenge on AI Factory with my pass the parcel set. What a lovely surprise! I have a badge to put on my sidebar but Mr Blogger is playing up and I can't get that to work yet - I'll try again tomorrow.

It did cheer me up today - I've been very tearful for some obscure reason today - I sat down and cried at lunchtime today over the state of our house! I'm just no good at interior design, and I would love for someone to come along and tell me what we need to do and where to get everything from and then help me to do it, and all on a very very tight or non-existent budget! I have to tell you a secret - we've been living here for over 3 years, and we still have things in packing boxes in our bedroom because I just don't know where to put them, and I don't know what else to store them in - OK now I've put that in black and white I feel even worse!! Plus I have piles of boxes with craft stuff in by the side of my bed (but I sense that's quite common among us crafters LOL!) And outside doesn't look any better either because of broken fences and bumpy grass!

Oh, sorry, enough of my gloom - I'm going to get a cup of tea and go to bed to read - hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow.

Actually, I had some more lovely news last week, but I'll have to keep shtum about that for now - just keep your eyes peeled here over the next few days!!

Love, Andrea xx

I'm Happier with this Pink Version

Hello Folks - Happy Saturday - hope you are having a good weekend.

My card today is another simple card without designer paper.



I used one of my favourite stamps, Demure from Sugar Nellie, and stamped her direct onto ivory pearlescent card - I stamped with black pigment ink and then heat embossed it. I also stamped and heat embossed the Hot off the Press sentiment onto the same piece of card.

For the first layer, I used my new hoogie board to emboss the diamond pattern - I love how that worked. The other two panels were embossed in my cuttlebug with a daisies embossing folder. I am also loving the look that this embossing gives - I think my cuttlebug is probably my favourite crafting tool at the moment. Oh and those gorgeous flowers are Joy's Crafts dies - there are three sizes in the set and I've used the three sizes for the top flower, and the two smaller sizes for the two flowers together. They are all layered up and fastened with a pearl brad. Then I coloured the other little adhesive pearls with a pink promarker to match her dress, et voila! I really do love this card - I must take it down from the mantle piece so that it will be pristine enough to give to someone when I need a card (I rarely make cards which are not for a particular person for a particular occasion - so I don't usually have spare cards around). I really should do more of this. Do you know what - I had to buy a card today (do I hear a sharp intake of breath??). I'd forgotten that it is my brother-in-law's birthday on Monday and just don't have the mojo to make a man's card at the moment. I'm feeling really guilty about it too (how silly is that? - at least I have remembered his birthday LOL!)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday - Favourites - favourite stamp, cuttlebug, embossing, favourite flower dies (actually the only flower dies I own at the moment so you're going to see them a lot LOL!)
Fussy and Fancy - Embossing and/or paper piecing - I have two types of embossing, dry and heat
Our Daily Bread Designs - Yellow, pink, blue, ivory, choose 2 - mine is ivory and pink
ABC Challenge - P is for pink

Well, I'm gonna love you and leave you now - thanks for taking the time to look at my creation today - I hope you will call again sometime.

Wow! I've just glimpsed at Create and Craft TV and seen someone demonstrating how to dye and scrunch the seam binding and make it into a shabby chic bow - it looks so easy. But then, I'm not really into creating a vintage look - maybe one day - but I'll have forgotten how to do it LOL!

See you soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Dressing Up and Shrunken Crisp Packet

Hello Peoples - well, we've reached the end of the working week, but I'm going to have to do some work at home this weekend as I'm getting behind at work, and I still have the notes of a public meeting to get typed up (ergh!)

I'm going to show some photos of my little horrors dressed up for school this week:

Eleri on St Davids Day:



Andrew today for World Book Day, with recycling theme (put my promarkers to good use here) - he doesn't like having his photo taken:



And this is the back, care of Andrew himself (in case you're wondering they are Welsh words for items which can be recycled):



And I know you've been holding your breath waiting to see my shrunken crisp packet (LOL!). This was the best of a very bad bunch (I think I agree with what some people have said, that crisp packets aren't the same as they used to be, and they don't shrink very well these days!). I managed to make it into a keyring and Andrew thought it was 'well cool'! But, unfortunately, one of his friends pulled it off him as soon as he got to school and broke one of the rings - I have managed to repair it though. Think its a good job I took a photo before we left home!



Well, that's enough from me. I do have a card to show you - probably do that tomorrow.

Love, Andrea xx

Pass the Parcel

Good Morning (sorry its afternoon!) and Happy Thursday.

I'm going to show you the prizes I made for the Pass the Parcel game at Eleri's birthday party.

The main prize was a notebook which I covered - the images and papers I used are from a digi set Emma the Mermaid from Fred She Said (I have the pre-coloured set because I didn't think I would manage to colour all this very well). The fish with the balloons is one image, which I cut out and added with 3D glue gel. I cut into his mouth and used some paper thread for the balloons.



The notebook already had a flower shaped cut out, so I thought it would be nice to have Emma peeping through from the page inside. I created the scene using the different digi elements (ie Emma is separate, the different seahorses, crab, fish, plus a background, etc). I've sprayed over the page with Crafters Companion Glitter Spray, to give it some protection really.



I added some stickles to the waves and around the flower shape on the front cover (heck, I can't remember the right word to use (der!) - oh it's come to me - it's an aperture isn't it (yay!). That's about it for the notebook.

Then I decided to make up some similar little scenes to make into bookmarks, and I put these in each parcel layer for the first round (so that each child had a bookmark as the layers were opened). For the shape at the top I used my Nestabilities Labels die, and I laminated the bookmarks, and this is what they looked like - the threads at the top were plaited.



I'm going to enter this set in the following challenges:

Ai Factory - Drop in the bucket (water theme)
Crafty Creations - Feminine, blues and greens
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes plus something old (I've had this Emma the Mermaid set for ages but not used it before, but I'm sure I'll use it again)
Digital Tuesday - Celebration, and they have their 100th challenge blog hop going at the moment

I also decided to make a second prize - ie something in the penultimate layer - as all the girls liked the brooch I made for one of Eleri's friends in January, I decided to make another one.



I have used my Papermania Layered Flowers template for the flower shape and for the central circles (the back is a yellow flower with a pink circle for the brooch fitting to be sewn onto). The edges have been sewn with blanket stitch. This is my favourite brooch so far - sure I'm gonna make more of these.

Because I used a template, I can enter this in the Creative Inspirations challenge.

Well, that's probably enough from me for now. Thanks for calling, and I hope you can come back again soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Na! Not Impressed!

Hello again - thought I'd give you a follow-up re. my crisp packets (see post below). I've had another go tonight - shrunk one packet in the oven, and tried one under the grill. But I'm not impressed with any of my attempts. I've given up!

I've got one which I might be able to turn into a keyring - I'll see what Andrew thinks tomorrow.

But I'm quite impressed with my recycle image that I've drawn on a t-shirt for him, and coloured with Promarkers - I'll try to photograph it to show you. Just got to try to get Andrew to write what things can be recycled on the back of the t-shirt tomorrow evening.

Thankfully, Eleri's dressing up is easy. She's got to dress up depicting something out of a Welsh lullaby. Well, the only Welsh lullaby I know is Heno, Heno (about going to bed), so she's going to school in her pyjams and dressing gown! (This is all for World Book Day on Friday).

I'm not very keen on dressing-up days for school really, 'cos I always think of good ideas after the event - love seeing other people's ingenious ideas though! Doesn't help that Andrew hates dressing up - always has! And, as yesterday was St David's Day they were asked to dress up yesterday too - that was easy though - Eleri was in her Welsh ladies outfit and Andrew wore his new Wales rugby shirt that he had for his birthday.

Enough of my waffle - goodnight! I really am going to bed early tonight because I'm in the middle of a good book - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

See ya.

Love, Andrea xx

Shrinking Crisp Packets!

Hello Folks

My son has got to dress up with a recycling theme on Friday - and I had the idea of making a keyring or necklace out of a shrunk crisp packet. (That's not all he'll be wearing though ha ha!!)

So I've had a go at shrinking 2 crisp packets tonight - I tried one using my heat gun, but just melted holes in the bag. So I put the second one in the oven - gas mark 6 for 2 minutes - it did shrink, but also turned black, and its long and thin rather than shrunk to same proportions. Anyone any ideas??? I'll just have to eat more crisps to have another go LOL - think next time I'll have the oven at a lower temperature and for a bit longer!

Edit to add: I have read various comments on the internet that its possible crisp packets aren't made of the same plastics they used to be so it might not work properly on modern packets!

I'll keep you informed how I get on!


Love, Andrea xx