Blooming meadow... and bloomin' blogger!

Hmm... I now seem to be having the same problem a lot of you are having, with blogger not letting me upload photos - it was fine until today!  It let me do it in html so I've managed, but I wonder what's going on?!

This is one I made because I was getting desperate to get in the craft room!  I've not had much time this week, with hubby off we've been out every day, so I've hardly done any crafting or blogging.  So this was a midnight job last night!

The stamp is Hero Arts 'blooming meadow' - I stamped this piece a few months ago, so I'm not sure what inks I used, but I'll have dabbed on a few different inks and then sprayed the stamp with water before stamping.  The papers are Prima Fairy Belle with some ancient lace I found stuffed in a drawer and some sheer spotty ribbon from my stash.  I added some pearls, a Memory Box Floral Vine and the sentiment tag is a LOTV stamp.

We're off to Yorkshire Wildlife Park today, with my mum and her hubby... it's a bit wet and miserable, but we've booked our tickets so we're going!  So if I don't manage to catch up with you before we go, I'll be around this evening instead.  Hope you have a lovely day :o)

More stamped flowers...

Eek... I finally changed myself over to the updated blogger, so let's see how this post goes!  I'm finding my way around ok so far, but it all looks a bit different when it comes to writing a post...

I've not had much crafty time today - it's all hubby's fault lol.  He's been feeling worse and worse over the weekend, and last night he was up half the night coughing and struggling to get his breath.  Last week the doc told him it was a viral thing, but I talked him into going back to see a different doc today (because they told me it was viral once, and it turned out to be pneumonia!) and they said he's got a chest infection.  Two docs were debating over whether he should go to hospital, because his blood pressure was so high, but they finally settled on 2 different antibiotics and he's got to back on Wednesday.  He's slept most of today, but hopefully he'll start to feel a bit better once the antibiotics kick in.

So as most of the morning was taken up with the docs and then what seemed like forever waiting for the chemist to sort out his prescriptions, I've just made a very quick card this afternoon.  I used another of the stamped flower panels that I made a few days ago...

The stamp is Hero Arts, I think it's called 'blooming meadow', and I can't remember what ink colours I used, but they were dabbed on the stamp and then sprayed with water before stamping onto some textured card from Papermill Direct.  The papers are digi ones from Raspberry Rd, printed onto linen card, and the sentiment is from a Little Claire set, pearls from my stash.

It's very handy to have some bits ready stamped - I'm going to do more of this I think.  I love to colour, but there's not always time for it is there?  Anyway, hope you've all had a good day, will catch up with you later :o)

Grandma's birthday card

I was really pleased with the card I made for my mum to give to my grandma... I'm not so happy with the one I've made for us to give her, it's not quite how I imagined it looking!

I had fun making the background - it's funny to think that not so long ago I didn't like getting messy and inky!  I used lots of different blue and green distress inks and then sprayed it with a green cosmic shimmer spray - this is where I got really furious because all my sprays are completely blocked... after lots of soaking in hot water, rinsing and swearing I gave up and put some into an empty spray bottle instead - so annoying!  And somehow I've ended up with bright green spray all up the wall in the craft room!  The image is a Hero Arts stamp embossed in silver, and I've embossed around the edges of the stamped panel in silver too.  Ribbon, silver cord and black pearls from my stash, and the lettering is computer generated, the card blank is 7" square made from hammered card.

I'll not say Happy Christmas yet, because I'll be back at least a couple more times this week - I'm SO disorganised and I was really hoping I'd do better this year!

Less is More wk40 - red and orange

I'm back with my second post for today, a card for this week's Less is More challenge which is 'red & orange' - fine for me as I like bright colours.  I thought it'd be an ideal one for getting inky... so I did... you should see the state of my hands!

I made an inky background on a scrap of linen card, using distress inks in 'scattered straw', 'ripe persimmon' and 'fired brick', then stamped the Hero Arts image using 'gathered twigs' - yep I finally got to play with the Autumn limited edition inks!  I used a scrap of stripy paper, some dark brown card from Papermill Direct and stamped the Stampin' Up sentiment on a tab cut with an MFT die.

I'm also entering my card for the 'over the edge' challenge at CAS-ual Fridays and Jules' Crafty Snippet Challenge - this is what I'm planning to do with a lot of my offcuts of white linen Jules, they're all going to get the inky treatment... eventually anyway!

By the way, it's just the photo that makes everything look slightly wonky, at least I hope it is lol.

Sweet Stampin' - anything goes!

Oh dear, where has this week gone?!  It's always the same in the school hols, and especially when hubby's off too - I feel like I've hardly been in the house at all... looking forward to getting back to normal next week!

My first post for today is for our new challenge at Sweet Stampin' which is 'anything goes', so a nice easy theme that you can all join in with :o)  We're sponsored by The Stamping Boutique so there'll be a fab prize for our lucky winner.

I decided to make a clean and simple card using some Hero Arts stamps I got from Papercrafts TV called Trees of the Season.  I've stamped the tree and the Stampin' Up sentiment in 'bamboo' memento ink.  The papers are from one of the Papermania capsule collections I think.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
• Stamps R Us - nature's gifts
• Kaboodle Doodles - halloween or fall
• Craft Your Days Away - autumn

Back in a little while with my Pink Gem GDT card...

Swirl Christmas

Sorry I've been a bit quiet this week, I've been busy with DT stuff that I can't show yet.  I'm not really happy with today's card, but I don't have anything else I can share until tomorrow so this is it for now...

I've been playing with the Hero Arts Swirl Christmas stamps.  The reindeer, sentiment and background swirl are all from the same set, stamped in Memento inks on linen card from Papermill Direct.  I added a few pearls to the reindeer, and a cuttlebug snowflake sprayed with glitter spray (not showing up in the pic).  The blue card candy was white and I coloured it with the same memento ink I used for stamping.

Sorry this is a bit of a rushed post, I'll be catching up with some commenting this evening and will be back tomorrow with my Pink Gem and Sweet Stampin' DT cards :o)

Less is More - the colour of your eyes

Hmm... this week's challenge at Less is More is to make a card using 'the colour of your eyes'.  My eye colour?  Weird lol!  Well not so weird I suppose - they're hazel, which I've always known of course, but I've never really studied them.  So I had a proper look for the challenge, and they're a bit of everything!  There's yellow, green and brown in there... I got the distress inks out!

For once I'm actually quite happy with how this turned out :o)  I had no plan, I just played with the inks on a scrap of linen card, added a Hero Arts stamp and a Penny Black sentiment.  The base was going to be white, but then I happened to have some dark brown card on my desk and it seemed to set off the stamped panel quite well, so my base is dark brown card from Papermill Direct.

I'm also entering my card for the following challenges:

• Truly Scrumptious - clean & simple
• Simon Says - anything goes

Further to my car saga - I've left it with my mum's hubby Andrew who knows what he's doing with cars.  He says fixing it isn't a problem, but it's going to take a while - I might be without my car for up to 2 weeks, which is going to be no fun for doing the school/nursery run as I'm about 30-40mins walk away and it's all uphill on the way there.  Not much fun for me, but even less fun for Dex with his little legs bless him!

Less is More wk31 - metallic

I made some cards at the weekend for the new challenge at Less is More, which is 'metallic', but waited to blog them because I wasn't really up to doing much commenting.  I'm having a better day today so hopefully I can have a bit of a catch up with you all.  It helps that the boys have gone back to school and nursery today, so I've had some peace!  And they both seem to have enjoyed their first day back :o)

My first 2 cards are very similar... the first embossed with silver and the second with gold, and I've used distress inks for the backgrounds.  The flower stamp is Hero Arts, 'birthday wishes' sentiment is Little Claire and 'happy birthday' sentiment is CC Designs.  Base cards made from Papermill Direct linen card - white for the first one and ivory for the second, black and red pearls from my stash.

I suppose my last one might not be quite 'less is more' enough... I've used a little metal present that's been in my stash for ages.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but the embossed layer is raised up on foam pads and the present is set in a circle aperture (cut with a nestie die).  Think the embossing folder is a Crafts Too one, the sentiment is CC Designs, mounted on a scrap of silver mirri card.

Thank you everyone who's left me lovely comments while I've not been feeling well, sorry I've been such a rubbish blogger lately... my next blood tests are on Thursday and hopefully they will decide exactly what's going on - in the meantime I'm trying not to panic and imagine the worst, but I do tend to be a bit of a worrier so I'm quite stressed at the moment!

An inky one...

I made this one about a week ago I think, when I was having a play with my distress inks, but then for some reason I forgot to blog it...

I think I used Scattered Straw, Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick, on linen card, to create the background and then edged everything in Antique Linen, but I'm not totally sure.  The stamp is Hero Arts 'wildflower garden' stamped several times across the card, sentiment is Penny Black.  Quite a simple card really, but I find it so relaxing playing with the inks like this :o)

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• The Stamp Man Challenge - anything by T!m (just TH inks as I don't have any of his stamps - yet)
• Papertake Weekly - hot hot hot (reds, pinks, oranges etc)

I forgot to mention last week, but we finally gave into pressure from just about everyone and had Dex's hair cut... we've always liked it quite long, sort of 'surfer dude' style - his hair's very blond and a bit curly.  But honestly, the way people went on about how he looked like a girl and how 'cruel' we were keeping it long... anyway we got it cut... I hate it!  Waaaaahhhhh!!!  Morgan's hair is short and it suits him, but Dex's hair definitely looked better long... oh well, I'm going to just let it grow again and ignore everyone in future lol.

Inky peacock

I think I'm having some sort of crafter's crisis... I don't seem to be able to stick to one style - I'm all over the place at the moment!  An inky creation today...

This stamp is really not 'me' but I just couldn't resist it, I think it's beautiful.  It's actually stamped in black onto a green/ blue inky cosmic shimmery background... the peacock is all shimmery in blues and greens but the photo isn't showing it up, grrr!  The green embossed panel is core'dinations, with a bit of light sanding and inking, and it was then sprayed with 'spray & sparkle' - again this isn't showing up in the pic.  Penny Black sentiment, pearls from stash.

A question for all the inky people out there - how do you get all the ink off your hands?!  I had bright green hands for hours after I made this... they're still quite green now, after LOTS of washing.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges:

• A Spoon Full of Sugar - anything goes
• Simon Says - sparkle & shine (it's there, honest!)
• Crafts & Me - anything goes (optional Kraft)
• Truly Scrumptious - anything goes
• Pear Tree Designs - stamped images