Not So Quick Show`n`Tell...

I have 4 LOs & a few cards to share, all from the SBT50 September CC. I wanted to do more, but there`s only so many hours in the day...Still, I`m more than happy with what I did get finished, & as a plus, DD (who`s almost 12 yo) helped me to choose all the photos! (Don`t forget, you can click on the images to view them in more detail) So here it goes:

Challenge #1, LO had to be 90% white & 10% colour, & had to include a cluster of embellishments. & here`s what I came up with...I know I`m a little biased, but she was a gorgeous baby :)

& here`s a close-up of those beautiful velvet flowers & the felt butterfly gifted to me by Sarah a while back, thank you SARAH :) It`s also the very first time I used that measuring tape stamp (I forgot I had it!!!!!!!)

For bonus points we were asked to create a card with the LO`s left-overs, but as I didn`t have any left-overs, I just kept to the same 90% white/10% colour theme, & used one of my Stampotique kids, & the sentiment is a stamp from Catslife Press (both stamps are from HERE)

Challenge #2 was a sketch, & the technique to use was distressing. We also had to use floral everything, as in floral pps, flowers, etc. This was a toughie for me as I`m not overly fond of flowers on LOs, but I did get to use some of the pps & other bits & pieces from the WIOIN kit I won last month.

& here`s the card I made with the left-overs, the "Thank you" stamp is from a Darkroom Door set.

For challenge #3 I had to use a home-made journal tag, use staples or pins, use a mix of alphas for the title, & I had to have a title AND a subtitle...

And here`s the card I made with the left-overs, again, the "Happy Birthday" is a stamp from a DRD set, & the spotty butterfly is from a Bella clear stamp set.

For challenge #5 we had to include an animal/insect embellishment, as well as some doodling.





And again, as I didn`t have any left-overs, I used the doodling on my card.

For challenge #6 we had to create a card, which included bright pp, hand-made flowers (I used a Carl punch), a happy sentiment ( "Enjoy Life"stamp from a DRD set) & a charm.

So there you go, all in all, a pretty productive CyberCrop if I say so myself.

While getting all the links to go on this post, Sarah was busy uploading this month`s theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, so if you have a few unused stamps that NEED to be played with, go & check out the "BOXES, BAGS & ENVELOPES" post :)

Stay safe, stay healthy, & don`t forget to play...

For A Dear Friend...

I have known her for a couple of years, met her IRL only twice, but LYN has just embarked on one of the toughest journeys anyone could imagine. I`m thinking of you, my friend...

*The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. ~C.C. Scott

*Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale

*A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995

Above quotes are from HERE.

What a Difference a Day Makes...

I tried to take some photos of my mermaid yesterday, & all I ended up with were blurry pics, & I don`t mean blurry in an arty way, I mean blurry as in BLAH! But today, was a whole different story as you can see:

I got the mermaid template from HERE, & this month`s theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS was the perfect opportunity to play.
There`s a few templates to choose from too, so if mermaids are not your thing, just click on a plain doll template.
I traced the upper body pieces out of some corrugated cardboard which I cut out & sprayed with denim GM, & stamped the lady`s face (from a Non Sequitur UM stamp plate"The Roaring Twenties") using timber brown Stazon ink. I also stamped the butterfly wings (from Non Sequitur UM stamp plate "House of Belonging") onto cs which I`d watercoloured with Twinks H2Os (mystic blue, ruby red, ginger peach, & mulberry) I then cut out all the wings, shaped them & stuck them to the tail using foam tape for dimention. See that mottled look on her hair, I achieved that look by sprinkling salt onto wet wc paint, allowing it to dry & then brushing off the salt, it`s one of my favourite techniques to use with paint.
As a finishing touch, I stamped & clear embossed the quote from Catslife Press (avail at TSQ)onto a scrap of painted paper, & attached with ds tape. She measures 21 cm in height, & is very shimmery :) I`ll have to find a prominent place for her to hang from, so I can read that quote every day!
Remember, you have until the end of the month to email your entry & join in the fun, & there`s some great prizes to be won, so what better excuse to get out your stamps & have a play???

& If scrapping is your addiction of choice, the September SBT50 CC has already started...how time flies when you`re busy crafting LOL. I`m so glad I finished my "Wonderful World of Books" LO on time (from my previous post), the CC fairy was very good to me last month, & I won a scrap pack from SBT50 & WIOIN, so I`m living proof that you`ve got to be in it to win it ;)

Now I`m off to do a spot of scrapping...thanks for visiting

Who Knew...

I did end up doing one last LO for the August CC over at SBT50, & uploaded it just in the nick of time, nothing like working under pressure LOL

The challenge was to use paint, use light blue colour, & to have a "feeling" word in the title...Wonderful is a feeling, right ; )

This is the quote I used, which I just love:

"I`ve travelled the world twice over,

Met the famous: saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I`ve been where no-one`s been before,

Learned secrets from writers and cooks

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books"

~ Janice James~

& below is the card I made with the left-overs, that`s one of the oldest stamps in my stash (one of my first purchases from TSQ) & also one of my favourites, the sentiment is from another favourite DRD set (FULL BLOOM Vol 1)

& speaking of DRD, these are my entries to the black, white & red competition they ran on their FLICKR GROUP, if you get the chance, go & have a look, lots of yummy projects to look at.

On another note, the new theme for INKURABLE STAMPERS this month has been picked, & guess whose idea (in a round-about kind of way LOL) Sarah picked? She asked for some ideas, so we all thought up different themes, & my contribution was mermaids...which in turn gave Sarah the idea for the theme of "Down by the Sea". Go check out her gorgeous sample HERE, & thanks Sarah for the RAK : )

Now to prove that you should stay away from places with sick people, I went last week to get my stitches out (from my injured thumb) & came home with a case of tonsolitis, & have been on antibiotics for the last week, I`ve lost my voice (which DH thought was too funny, as I could only whisper, he thought it was sexy LOL) & have had a horrid cough that`s just now starting to ease.

But the antibiotics have just made me feel soooo lethargic, like I just want to curl up & sleep : ( But sleep is such a waste of time LOL

I am feeling much better now, so it`s on with the show...thank you for popping in, & now go forth & create something : )

Spring Has Sprung...

There`s nothing like the first sight of cherry blossoms to let you know that Spring is around the corner...(as well as a drippy nose, if you happen to suffer from hay fever LOL)

& here is a photo of my CLEAN craft table...it didn`t last long, but I thought I would put it here so I can remind myself of what it can look like when I actually put things away :)

I`ve tried to take part in SBT50 CC this month, & I know I`m a little late, but I`ve managed to do 2 of the challenges (4 if you count the 2 cards we had to make with the left-overs from the LOs)

I started with challenge #3, where at least a third of the LO had to be "white space". So here`s my entry (& I`ve used the beautiful SR pp which was included in the card kit I won last month at SBT50, thanks Victoria)

I think this is the first LO I`ve done with so much blank space... We also had to make a card using our left-over scraps:

I didn`t really have any left-over scraps except for the SR pp & the bit of yellow wc paper, but I did dig into my scrap stash for the cream & blue cs, so I guess that still counts :)

I also did challenge #4, which was a LO about yourself, using a photo of you & using 5 words to describe you! Scary stuff LOL, but as I usually scrap about DD & DH I thought this would make a nice change for the scrapbooks. I asked DD for help as I felt a little silly coming up with the 5 words myself, but then I realised it would be more fun to do the LO from not only my own perspective, but DDs & DHs as well. So here is the finished LO:

As for the card using up scraps from this LO, I used the DCWV pp as the background, & added the cream cs, & the red cs (which was the scrap I tried out my stitching on!) The sentiment stamp is from a Hero Arts clear stamp set, the flower was a punchie, with another bit of DCWV pp, and a brad thrown in for good measure. I don`t know if I`ll have a chance to attempt any more challenges, but we have until midnight Aug 28 to upload to the gallery...so here`s hoping :)

On another note, I`ve just finished my ATCs for the DARKROOM DOOR Wilderness swap in the DRD blog. I won`t show the ATCs just yet, but I wanted to try something new...so I`ll share that:

GM plus sand paper = a pretty nifty background :)

& just in case you have the time, DRD & GODELIEVE are giving away some rubber stamps...go check it out HERE

& there`s still some time left to enter this month`s music themed challenge over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, lots of crafty goodies up for grabs :)

As always, thank you for visiting my blog, I hope it inspires you to do something creative & fun...

A Slide Mailer

As promised, here`s my entry to this month`s MUSIC theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, using my favourite colour combination of purple & orange (with a few other colours thrown in for good measure!)







I`d never worked with a slide mailer b4 (I received this one as part of a prize pack from Crafty Individuals & INKURABLE STAMPERS), so I had to do a bit of research, & nowhere did I find any actual instructions on how to use the glass! The only tip I`ll give is to use a little window cleaner to make sure there are no finger marks on the glass surface b4 you start work on your project, & I also edged my slides with Stazon ink.
I started by painting the mailer with black acrylic paint, adding some old torn pieces of sheet music (which I found during my clean-up LOL) & when it was all dry, I painted it again with a specialty glaze paint ( Amethyst by MM)
I then edged it with Vivid ink, & added the beautiful sheer ribbons in purple, hot pink & orange (part of my prize from TARISOTA, thanks Tamar, & INKURABLE STAMPERS)
For the actual slides, I stamped the images from one of the DARKROOM DOOR stamp sets (Little Dreams) using Stazon ink (jet black) onto card which I had painted using Twinkling H2Os (in Ginger Peach), then covered the image with some DM, spreading it evenly with my finger & pressed the glass slide on top, & allowed it to dry overnight, trimming the card with a craft knife. (BTW, I think Lyn is onto something! I`ve never cut myself crafting! I just don`t belong in the kitchen, LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
I then added some DS tape to the back of the slides, & pressed them into place.
The sentiment is also from the same set of stamps, stamped onto painted card using black Versafine ink & covered with clear EP, stuck onto an inked COLLECTIONS tag (from The Stamping Queen), & attached using some chocolate-coloured cord from a TARISOTA pack :) The butterflies are from a NON SEQUITUR plate (House of Belonging)
I also have another couple of things to share, a card I made for DH`s b`day, as well as his present..

.

I just had to use "Head", an image by STAMPOTIQUE, & added lots of different fabrics for texture(there`s some felt in the b`ground, some linen, felt & hand-sewn beads for the heart & a strip of machine sewn cs) complete with a chipboard crown covered with pewter EP. And the album? It`s full of bits & pieces too, but it`s too personal to bore you all with it LOL. The main thing is that he loved it... :)
And just one more photo b4 I go & make a start on the new DRD Wilderness ATC swap... I never truly realised just how useful my thumb is LOL!!!!


TTFN...& don`t forget to do something creative : )

Are You a Hoarder?

OK, hands up if you are a hoarder! I think crafting & hoarding go hand in hand...we are the original recyclers, reusers, repurposers (is that even an actual word?) I`ve just had 2 weeks of procastinating, shuffling "stuff" from one side of the room to the other, trying to find a proper home for things so I don`t have to get rid of stuff that I know I will use (eventually LOL) & I`m happy to say, I`m winning the war... & I think I just have to remind myself that I can`t "keep" all the cardboard, I CAN put some in the RECYCLING bin, & NOT feel guilty about it, I don`t have to KEEP everything for a rainy day, or "just in case"

Anyway, on with the show & tell.

Firstly, I was awarded the "Idyll Hours Award" by LEESA (thank you LEESA) & as I read the title of the award, I was thinking that maybe it should have been "Idle" award, as I haven`t been posting much lately LOL. So now I have to share 10 reasons why I love to blog:

1. It beats housework ; )

2. Great way to share my creative attempts

3. It`s just fun to think that my blog can be viewed by people from anywhere in the world (Hi CUCHY & MAEVAN LOL)

4. I can have a whinge & there`s nothing anyone can do about it.

5. It`s a fun way to make & keep connections with cyber-friends (& real ones as well)

6. When I find something interesting online, I can let others know about it

7. It makes me feel as though I`m keeping up with technology ; )

8. It`s an easy way to keep a visual record of my varied crafts.

9. I can share as much, or as little as I want.

10. It`s just plain fun :)

So there you go, & now, if you`re reading this, consider yourself tagged LOL

Now, just in case you thought I was kidding about tidying my scrapping area...
This is why I haven`t been able to scrap!!!!!!!!

But I was able to do these for the July SBT50 CC:

The Christmas card was for a card blind challenge, which I was lucky enough to win (thanks Victoria & SBT50)

I was also kept busy making this for a little friend...It`s the first time I`ve made an apron, & I`m so happy with the way it turned out, I may just do another one for DD & one for me as well :)

I was going to share my entry for this month`s MUSIC theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, (& if you happen to be an ELVIS fan, you have to check out Sarah`s great samples) but I had a bit of a boo boo with my butchers`knife while preparing dinner, & ended up needing 4 stitches on my left thumb...I was very tempted to take photos, but DH didn`t want me to bleed out LOL so he took me to the Doctor`s to get stitched up (will share it as soon as I take a photo, my entry, that is, NOT the stitches LOL)

That`s all for now folks...I shall be back :)