Promarker class

Lynne asked me to do a class for her over the half term holiday, so on Wednesday evening I made my way to Watnall and did a class on Promarkers with a bit on digistamps. I was a bit worried, because it was very different from their usual class, but they said they really enjoyed it. I asked permission from Mo Manning and Sally-Ann at Digistamp boutique, so I wasn't in breach of copyright as they both said it was okay. Thanks Mo and Sally-Ann! Here are some of the examples I took with me that I haven't posted on my blog yet. We also used some Pink Gem stamps (first two cards). Aren't they cute! The second two are digistamps from Digistamp boutique. The papers here are Dovecraft and Papermania, but all several years old. The sentiments are from craftwork cards and I've used a generous amount of stickles. I feel like the christmas cards are well and truly started now! Thank you to Brenda, Jane, Susie, Carina and Jooles for a lovely evening. Meg had a lovely  time too!

And the winner is...

First of all I want to thank you for all your lovely comments and say a big welcome to all my new followers. I have drawn a random winner for the blog candy and it is... drum roll please....

Brenda

Congratulations, Brenda. Please drop me an email with your snail mail address so I can get it sent off to you. You can email it to me via my profile page.

Autumn Colours at Chatsworth

I just wanted to share with you some of the lovely shades of Autumn we saw at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire on Tuesday. We went to see the Exhibition of sculptures in the gardens, but Mother Nature well and truly upstaged them!

Two challenges

Here is my entry for this week's Allsorts Challenge that has a theme of Furry Friends, and Passion for Promarkers, where the theme is animals.
The image is a digistamp by Mo Manning and has been coloured with promarkers in Terracotta, Saffron, Dusky Pink, Sandstone and Pastel Blue. The papers are from Summer Driggs, the card candy is from Craftwork Cards and the sentiment is computer generated.
I really didn't know which animal to pick for this one. It was very nearly a mouse, then another mouse and then a reindeer! Thanks for looking!

One of those days

What happened to the extra hour? Well I know exactly what happened to ours. It was spent mopping up the freezer after it defrosted itself all over the kitchen floor! I got something out to defrost last night, but can't have closed the door properly, although I could swear that I did. A bag of blackcurrants and two ice lollies made it look like a murder scene! I have made a very large rhubarb crumble, a large lamb hotpot and there is a chicken to roast in the fridge along with some pork chops that will probably get stewed for another day. Fortunately it wasn't as well stocked as it sometimes is, although the sorbet, fish fingers and several other bits and bobs got thrown away.

In between cooking and mopping I managed to make this card for one of the girls next door. She will be nine next weekend. The stamp is 'Willow with Cookies' by Whiff of Joy. I coloured it with promarkers. The ribbon is 'borrowed' from Megan's stash and the card is punched with my Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. The Papers are from Dovecraft and I've had them ages. The sentiment is from Craftwork cards.

Passion for promarkers week 22 - poppy and forest green

Here is my card for this week's passion for promarkers challenge. The image is a lovely free digistamp from Inger Harding and I fell in love with it straight away. I used promarkers in poppy, forest green, sandstone, saffron, ivory, blush, dusky pink, pastel blue, cool grey 1, meadow green, terracotta and vanilla. The base card was cuttlebugged with the snowflakes embossing folder. The papers were from the Funky Fairies 'lets get Traditional range' and the sentiment was from Craftwork Cards.
For those of you who want to know, the antibiotics are working well and I can open my mouth wide enough to accommodate a snickers bar now! I can talk more too!!! Thank you so much for all your good wishes and thanks for looking x

Happy Bloggerversary to me!

This candy is now closed. It is a whole year ago today that I first set foot in Blog land, and what a happy place it is! I have made so many new friends and learned so much! I am still surprised and delighted by the responses and messages I receive. To celebrate this wonderful community I am offering the blog candy in the photo above. I will try and find a few more bits too. If you would like to be in with a chance of winning it You can leave a comment on this post. You get two chances if you are a follower and three if you leave a link to my candy on your blog and are a follower. Does that make sense? Comment = 1 chance, comment+follower = 2 chances, comment+follower+link= 3 chances. I will draw the winner on Saturday 31st October.
You will have to forgive me. I am operating through a fog of pain killers and antibiotics due to an infection in my mouth. I can't open my mouth very wide and my tongue and cheek are swollen. I'm being very quiet and eating flat food!!!! Biscuits slide in nicely, but I could no more bite an apple than unicycle at the moment! The dentist is going to see what is causing it in about ten days, once the pills have done their job. I've got a funny feeling it might end in them taking out another wisdom tooth that is growing at a very funny angle.
Anyway, enough about my teeth. I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for being such wonderful bloggers and great friends too!

Allsorts challenge week 23

Here is my card for this weeks Allsorts challenge. The theme is Monochrome Christmas following a sketch. I made two cards, as I forgot the sketch bit in my first attempt! The main stamp is by Inkadinkado from their Tin Can Mail range. I stamped it in Adirondack Espresso. I used a damp paint brush to drag some colour onto the holly. The small holly stamp is from Graphicus and the sentiment is from Hero arts I think. The paper is a download from Summer Driggs and the corner is made using my Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. I was really not sure what to use for the embellies, and ended up punching some little trees from some paper stamped with music (Stamporuim). Thanks for looking!

Tuesday taggers goes digital

The challenge on Tuesday Taggers this week was to come up with something using this cute mouse. The digistamp can be emailed to anyone who wants to join in. I coloured him with promarkers and mounted him on some MME papers, from which the flowers were punched too.
Thanks for looking!

Passion for promarkers week 21

Here is my entry for this weeks passion for promarkers challenge. It was to use any colours and a sketch this week. I used Cool Grey 1, 2 and 3, Pastel Blue, Ruby, Moss, Marsh Green, Cocoa, blossom, sandstone and ivory. The digistamp is from Digistamp Boutique and the papers are from Funky Fairies 'lets get traditional' kit. Finally a Christmas card is finished! Thanks for looking.

My secret project!

I can now blog a little project I've been working on for Lynne's birthday. Although it isn't her birthday until the weekend I have now given it to her, so you can see it too! Not particularly wonderful from this angle, but if I tell you that this is the lid of a box, and the box looks like this...
You are a bit more impressed now aren't you? I made the backgrounds with adirondack colour washes in lettuce, stream and eggplant. The fern stamp is from the wild meadow themeplate from Graphicus and is stamped in Versamagic turquoise gem. The butterfly is from the crafty Elements Butterflies sheet from Crafty Individuals, coloured with promarkers and then clear embossed. And now for the next bit... (drum roll please)... slide the lid off and Voilà!
It's a magic box! Not bad for my fist attempt, eh? The butterflies are on strips of acetate and coloured and stamped on both sides (and clear embossed). The punched flower and leaves are coloured on both sides too.
The full instructions to make a box like this can be found here and some breathtakingly beautiful examples can be found on Elaine's blog. Thanks for the inspiration, Elaine. I don't think mine will ever be as stunning as yours, but I'm very pleased with the results and your instructions were so easy to follow.
It's been a funny day today. I've been on a course that was a bit abstract at times and a bit hard to follow. If you want to be a 'leader' these days you need to know an awful lot of jargon. Oh dear! I'm beginning to sound like I'm ready to retire!!! I'm not really, but maybe I should join the Campaign for plain English!
BTW this is my 200th post!!!! I can't believe it! I am well and truly addicted. I am gathering some blog candy ready for my bloggerversary on 19th October, so keep dropping in!

Allsorts challenge - Halloween

The challenge on Allsorts this week is to create something for Halloween. This is going to be a birthday card for my friend's son. He is a huge fan of Scooby Doo, and it did remind me of the opening sequence! The Digistamp is by Dustin Pike and the border was from Canon Creative Park.

DU2DS challenge 23 - Yellow, Orange and White

This is my entry for this weeks DU2DS challenge. I went for orange, yellow and white (rather than black). The image and papers are from Funky Fairies, although I don't think the cakes are available any more (They were a free download). I coloured them with promarkers. The papers are from the cupcake crazy kit, which is full of lots of lovely goodies! The punches came out again and I stamped the white flowers with Hero Arts long writing in Tangerine chalk ink.
It has been a very long week with two parents evenings, two courses and lots of other stuff, so I'm feeling very tired. I am really looking forward to half term so I can do some crafting and catch up on sleep! Thanks for looking.

More Autumn or Tuesday Taggers meets passion for promarkers

This weeks Tuesday Taggers challenge is Shades of Autumn, so I couldn't pass up joining in again. I have so many tree and leaf stamps I need every opportunity to use them. I thought I would combine it with this week's Passion for Promarkers Challenge, which is any colours and a recipe of 3 different shapes (I used a rectanglular stamp, a scalloped circle and triangles of backing paper), 2 papers and a ribbon.
So, I used the promarkers above, the stamp is by a Canadian company 'The Artful Stamper', The papers are from My Mind's Eye and the leaf charm is by 'Jest Charming'. The ribbon was a tiny bit in my stash that I only just managed to tie! Hope you like it and Thanks for looking!

By the Cute and Girly Challenge - Autumn Glory

I know this stamp is getting rather a lot of use at the moment, but I do love it! This is my card for the 'By the Cute and Girly Challenge - Autumn Glory'. I think it is going to be my sister- in-Law's birthday card too.
I used:
Stamps: Lovely as a tree - stampin' up!, Fall Season - Inkadinkado, Maple leaf - Graphicus, Rounded leaf - Non Sequitur
Punch: Martha Stewart - Doily lace
Cuttlebug embossing folder - leaves
Ink: Kaleidacolor - Autumn leaves, Blue Breeze, Versafine Black
Brayer
Sari ribbon
Gold Tulip paint
White Gel pen
Corner stickers (not sure whose - been in my stash for years!)
Thanks for looking! Hope you like it!

Tuesday Taggers - Trees

Tuesday Taggers theme this week is trees. It is sponsored by The Craft Barn. This doesn't look half so good in the photos as in real life, but after taking about 30 photos I have given up! I brayered the cream tag with Kaleidacolor Autumn Leaves and stamped 'Lovely as a tree' (Stampin' up!) in Versafine black. I sprayed it with Silver Creative Colour Spray (Crafty Notions) but could have done with spraying from a bit further away.
I was trying to create a slightly misty/ frosty look, but it looks a bit of a pea souper! I used some lovely sari ribbon that matched the colours beautifully. Hope you like it!