Skater Boy

Hello Folks

Well - I'm feeling so much better today - I think I've had a smile on my face for some of this morning - that's not been happening much lately! Things have been so stressful at work in the last couple of months - our Chief Officer left last week, and nothing has yet been done about a replacement for him, but we are hoping to have some news by the end of this week. And I managed to get through a public meeting last night - thankfully, I don't have to stand up in front of an audience, but I'm the one who organised it, and it is always a relief when it's over, with nothing major going wrong - just have pages of notes to type up from it! I think it is the stress that has put me off crafting lately - I know it helps some people to get down and crafty - but I find it very difficult to motivate myself to do anything or to focus on things when I'm stressed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get myself moving a bit more now - or maybe that's all just an excuse for pure laziness LOL!

Anyway, I managed to make a card for my son to give to one of his friends yesterday, and I was really pleased with it. Sorry about the photo though - it's not your eyes - I was rushing to take it before Andrew was taking it to his friend, and it looks very blurred!




The digital image is Jenson Skater from Pollycrafts and I've coloured him with promarkers. The papers are all from a huge Kay and Co stack I have. I've used some paper thread, and added a peel off sentiment and a few stars. I cut around the image and used silicone glue to add him on to the card - I was trying to make it look as though he has jumped out of a tunnel - it does look quite effective in real life!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly which is Anything Goes
Digital Tuesday which is In the Garden or Outdoors - I hope skateboarding counts as outdoors!

Oh - do you remember a couple of posts ago I said I had become addicted to the Jewellery Maker tv channel? (Sky 655) - well, I have surcumbed and ordered some jewellery kits - waiting for one to arrive today - and I hope to be able to show you some jewellery I make shortly! I've got a few ideas going around in my head at the moment but I'm not sure if they'll work - we'll see!

Better do some housework now though, so see you soon I hope.

Love, Andrea xx

I'm Back!!

Helloooo Everyone - well, I'm back in blogland!

We've had our holiday - went away on 23rd May and got back last weekend - boy, those few days went so quickly! We went to Porthcawl in South Wales - we had a lovely time, but the weather wasn't brilliant - it was not warm enough for Andrew and Eleri to go in the sea, which they were a bit disappointed with, but we've promised to take them to the beach later in the summer.

And, since we've been home, we've had problems with our computer - the power lead went kaput! New lead arrived yesterday but it was my turn to do cricket teas yesterday - I find that so stressful! Over with for another year though, thank goodness!

Well, we've had two birthdays this week - my brother was 40 on Wednesday, and my father-in-law had his birthday yesterday.

So here's the card I made for my brother - I've used a Whiff of Joy Party Animals stamp, and coloured him with promarkers - I really need to practice colouring with black! I followed last week's Sweet Stop sketch but could not post it in time to enter the challenge. It was a very simple card, because my mojo has been missing for weeks now. The papers are Kay and Co.



I also stamped part of the image on a mat for the inside - I like the way this looks, and I think I'll do this more often.



I'm going to enter this in Lexi's Creations which is Father's Day or a Man's Card.

Well, must go, Richard wants the computer, and he's eating scones with cream and strawberries, and I really want one! Mmmmmmmm! See ya!

Love, Andrea xx

Oh I Wish I Hadn't Done That...

Hello Everyone

I hope you've had a good weekend - mine has been the normal boring kind of a one which involved shopping, washing, ironing, cooking and housework! I did take a break to visit my Mum and Dad for a while though.

I've got around to making another card - this one is for my goddaughter who will be 12 tomorrow - Happy Birthday Cate! But, do you ever do something and then wish you hadn't? I wish I hadn't made such a bright blue and green background for the image - it doesn't really match the backing paper - I wish now I had used pink and orange or something!



I'm not sure, but I think the image is called Upside Down and I think I bought it from Funky Kits a couple of years ago - isn't this a fun image - I wish I could do cartwheels like that. I stamped the image inside too, at a different angle, to make it look like she was moving! The papers are Kay & Co. Not much more to say about it really.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - the sketch I followed. And I was so happy to have been chosen in their top 3 last week - woohoohoo!
Crafts 4 Eternity - recipe - flower, ribbon and bling

I hope you enjoy your week ahead!

We have a few family birthdays over the next few weeks, so I should be popping back a bit more often!

Love, Andrea xx

Helloooooo!!

Hellooooo! I have not made any cards for a month - no reason except pure laziness I think, plus I have become addicted to the TV channel Make Your Own Jewellery! I really want to buy some real gems and make some jewellery, but I can't - we're trying to save money for our holiday - but I have been sooooo tempted on several occasions!

Anyway, it was my Mum's birthday yesterday, and I nearly bought her a card - but then I decided that I really must make an effort to make her a card. Not sure if I like it really! I used an indigo promarker on her tights and headband, but it bled really badly, and it has spoilt the image, but I just could not be bothered to re-print the digi image. That sounds really awful when it was for my Mum - how bad is that? - I am really sorry.



The image is a digi called Sweet Blossom from Wee Stamps at Cuddly Buddly, and the papers are Kay & Co. I had to add the single flower to the side of the image because I'd managed to get a blue inky thumb print on the card - ggrrr!! I'm entering this card in this week's challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday .

I took the card over to Mum and Dad's yesterday morning before going to work. Mum was at work and Dad was working in his shed so I went to tell him I'd left Mum's card on the table and he admitted that he'd forgotten to buy her a card, and he was disappointed that the present he'd bought her was the wrong thing. Do you know what he said to me? He said - "Your Mum doesn't like floppy things, she only likes stiff ones!", and then he gave such a belly laugh! I was thinking "Aaaaaggghhh! Dad! You can't say things like that in front of me!!", but I just had to laugh with him. Maybe I should explain what he had bought - My Mum plays bowls and, because she has been ill for a while now, she struggles to bend down to pick up the bowls, so she wanted a bowl picker upper thingy (or whatever they're called). Anyway, the one my Dad bought her cannot be leaned on, it is just for picking up the bowl and it is collapsible to fit in a bowling bag, whereas Mum has seen one that will actually take your weight if you lean on it when bending down (ie a stiff one!). Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have repeated that story but my hubby and my friend from work thought it was very funny! Maybe you needed to be there LOL!

Oh, another funny. Mum and Dad have said I can have an old bicycle of Mum's because Eleri can now ride a bike without stabilisers, and she enjoys cycling now. Anyway, Dad has checked the bike over for me and, last weekend, when I went to see them he suggested that I go to try the bike out down Lower Lane but he and Mum laughed when I said "Oh no Dad, I can't ride downhill, it's just for riding on the flat!" ha, ha, funny when you know we live in Wales!!! But I haven't ridden a bicycle for about 30 years, and I am slightly nervous.

Well, that's enough from me. Maybe I'll see you soon.

Love, Andrea xx

A Sporty Pair

Hello, I hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend - we've had a gorgeous afternoon this afternoon.

Well, it was my hubby's birthday yesterday - he's the same age as me again LOL! I decided to make two similar cards for him, using the Dottie Downloads Sports George digital images from Charmed Cards and Crafts - these are pre-coloured images. And I decoupaged them up a bit. I decided to do shaped easel cards again, and used my new favourite tools, the scalloped and plain circle nesties.



Here are some close-ups:

I hope you can see that I attempted to represent a cricket ball (and added stitches around with white gel pen - I also did that down the centre but then covered that up with the image!) and for the golf ball I debossed with the swiss dots cuttlebug folder. I printed the sentiments on the computer.





I hope you like them. I'm going to enter them in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Truly dimensional
Do You Stack Up - Scallops
Ellephantastic - Anything but square or rectangle
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything goes
The Secret Crafter - Stitching - the cricket card

Thanks for looking, and have a fab weekend.

Love, Andrea xx

Clean and Simple Turns to Very Messy and Something In Between!

Hello fellow bloggers - I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Well, are you wondering how clean and simple can turn into very messy? - here's how! This is my clean and simple card - a wedding acceptance for my Mum to send for my cousin's wedding - very simple, just a plain white card embossed with a Cuttlebug folder flower fantasy, and a computer generated sentiment die cut with a Labels 10 nestie, eyelets added and organza ribbon coloured with a Promarker. I also ran the promarker around the edge of the die cut, and then added Diamond Stickles. I'm entering this card in this week's Less is More challenge which is sentiment focus. (Just realised I can't enter this card as it is not one layer - the sentiment is a separate layer).



And, at the end of my crafting session, this is what my kitchen table usually looks like - this is why I sometimes don't feel like crafting, 'cos I can't be bothered with the tidying up afterwards - I have to tidy up after every session ready for the next meal.



And this is what I made in between



The colours are much brighter in real life - I don't really know why this looks so wishy washy. Anyway, this is a card for a classmate of Eleri's - she is going to his party tomorrow. The image is Cowboy in Training from Bugaboo Stamps. I've coloured him with Promarkers. And I've used my new toys - at last I've got hold of some circle nesties (whoop, whoop!!). The papers are Kay & Co. The card I've used for matting and layering has been coloured with Promarkers to match the image. The happy day sentiment is a digi from TLC Creations, and the name is computer generated and then the letters cut up and added separately. What do you think of the lassoo? - well that's from the tag I took off my son's new jeans. I just love the way this card turned out, and I'm entering it in the following challenges

Truly Scrumptious Challenge - the sketch I followed
Creative Inspirations Wednesday Challenge - Punches and dies - my new circle nestie dies
Catch the Bug - 4 or more layers
Fussy and Fancy - A card for a child

That's enough from me - hope to see you again soon.

Love, Andrea xx

My First Shaped Easel Card

Hello Everyone

This might just be a quickie to show the card I gave to my Mum for Mother's Day yesterday. My first shaped easel card - I love this, definitely going to try more of these:



The more I see this image, the more I fall in love with it - it is a digi from Cuddly Buddly called Daffadowndillies. It was perfect for my Mum's card as she loves daffodils. I coloured her with promarkers - I do find it difficult adding light and shade to something that has a lot of detail so I'm not over impressed with my colouring of her jacket or skirt.

I used my Nestabilities Labels 10 die for the shape. I didn't want to add too much so thought it would be good to emboss the orange pearlescent card, using a Cuttlebug folder called flower fantasy. And then I added Diamond Stickles around the image plate - I love how that adds a little something LOL!

There are two stamps used for the sentiment - the Lots of Love is from a Christmas set from Anita's stamps, and the Mum was in a free set with Crafts Beautiful magazine this month. Then just added the dew drops. I thought about adding flowers but decided I didn't want to overpower the lovely image.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - Emboss it
Polkadoodles - No printed backing papers
Make It Colourful - Use bright colours
AI Factory - Bright as day
Stamp Something - Use a digi

Well, maybe that wasn't as short as I anticipated. Thanks for looking, and see you soon.

Love, Andrea xx