Anything Goes - Challenge 68 - Anniversaries

Hi Best Blogging Buddies..

Have you missed me?

Well I'm back from my lovely hols (more about them in another post..).... just in time to get my card made for the Anything Goes Challenge - and the theme this time is Anniversaries. 

I've loved this image for ages, and been waiting for just the right occasion - and decided that this is just that occasion.  It's by Mo Manning, and is called Young Love.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh...... And as I've put on the sentiment, they do just look 'so happy together!'  I tend to think this is what my lovely OH and I will look like in a few years time (well maybe not so many years....)  Hope the bluebirds dance around us too when we take time out to have a cuddle on a bench!

The colouring with both copics and promarkers (and even prismacolour pencils for the grass) took me a long time - I'm out of practice what with the kitchen drama and then our hols - so by the time I decided on the right colours, then did the shading... I was well into a couple of hours!  And then the 'matching the paper to the colours on the image' problem....  one I always have!!  But I've used Kissing Booth (apt - yes?) from ......................   I distressed the edges of the image using Distress Ink in Old Photo, then mounted it all on toning Bazzil cardstock. 

I added a few buttons, a bit of rustic thread, and a little heart charm that I had in my stash, a computer generated sentiment (using One Starry Night font and a Mamas and Papas song thats going round in my head)...  and hey presto (nearly 3 hours later!!), it was done! 

I was very impressed when I checked through the entries we'd had for the Black and One Other Colour Challenge......even though I didn't get to comment on any because we were away...  Why don't you pop over to the Challenge Blog to see if you were a winner??  And while you're there, you can look at my lovely DT creations - they are all so fabulous - and I'm sure will give you lots of inspiration!

I'm looking forward to seeing your Anniversary entries - remember, you can use the Jubilee theme as it is the Queen's Anniversary of being on the throne too!!

Take care all and Happy Crafting..
Big Hugs
Christine x

Ahhhhhh.....

And r e l a x..... If I could figure how to upload a pic of the blue sky and sunshine... I would... But for now I'll just say bonjour...and thank you for all your support during my hellish week last week... You're all wonderful friends that i'm glad I know! Big hugs Christine x

Found these I did a while back.

Hi my good friends..

Well, in lieu of a card which I've not been able to make due to one thing and another...  I thought I'd share with you these water-colours that I unearthed while trying to put all the stuff back in my craft room.  These were paintings I did when I took a water colour course in 2004.  They've never seen the light of day since then, and were in a massive storage box with lots of other stuff.  It was actually a course with a qualification at the end of it... my lovely OH and me took it and we both passed (but then again - I didn't come across anyone who failed!)  Anyway, I've now put them up on the craft room wall, the bigger one needs a new mount as when I painted it, I had no money and couldn't afford to have a frame made, so had to make do with the cheapest I could find.  The others still have cellophane around them (and you can see where the title was too), as they were up on display for the examiner.  (The sharp eyes can see my reflection in the glass on the bigger one..)

Hmmmm somehow I don't think I'm a budding Picasso......

The saga of the kitchen goes on........  you know we had the wrong tiles delivered at the weekend?  So the tiler couldn't do his bit.....which will now have to wait till after our holiday.  Well today was the turn of the flooring man.  We went to order what we wanted last week.....  brought home all the samples books, and after much deliberation, decided on the blackest there was, as the work surfaces are black.  Today, the carpet fitter came (it's not carpet, it's cushion-floor, but hey..), I shut the kitchen door and left him to it.....  went back in to hand him the regulation cup of tea, and wouldn't you know it, the flooring was grey and NOT what I'd chosen.  I rang the company who wanted me to check the sample against what had been supplied, so off carpet fitter trotted and returned - only for me to be proved right, that the sample was a totally different shade...... definitely BLACK and not GREY.  Soooooo I have another fight on my hands.  I was so close to tears.  In fact, strike that, I WAS in tears.  Could anything else go wrong?  The kitchen fitter is now coming back after our meal tonight, to finish the plinths.....  but they'll all have to come off again when the cushionfloor manufacturer admits he used the wrong bottle of dye.

Now....  on the plus side, complete with thermal vest still, we are off to the South of France this weekend for our much needed holiday....  the downside is that we have to come back to move all the kitchen stuff out of the dining room back into the kitchen, then the rest of my craft stash back into my craft room.  So you probably won't see me around for a bit.....  but I haven't slashed my wrists over the kitchen debacle...... I'll just be sunning myself......  that is, if our accomodation hasn't been double booked or anything.....

Sorry for whining...... but thank you all for being there for me to whine to...
Big hugs to all my blogging buddies.
Christine x

A quick and easy one..

Hi BBB's

Just needed to get a simple card on here today...  still got lots of stress going on with the kitchen, finally got my hob and sink connected last night, but ended up with a leak about 9.30 pm - then again this morning.  We've got a really good plumber who was with us within 3 mins of us calling last night... he only lives around the corner and came on his bike with his grips in hand!!  He also came out again this morning, but as there is so much pipework in one cupboard, it's proving difficult to find the leak.  We have the tiler coming on Monday...  and the flooring Thursday...  and I'm really getting cheesed off...  I'm losing sight of the lovely kitchen it's going to be........  Sorry, having a bit of a pity party this morning.... Barry's at work,  hence needing to make a card!

This was a little stamp I purchased from Stamping Bella....  Balloon Circle.  I got it from across the pond, as it doesn't seem to be in this country yet.  Don't you think it looks effective?  It's coloured with copics and promarkers - then of course, a spinkling of the magic dust!!  It's punched out with a 2" punch and I've just put a 3D sticky pad to raise it.  I handwrote the sentiment which I think looks OK, not 100% happy with it tho... will have to practice!

Whatever you're doing, I do hope you have a lovely bank holiday weekend..
Big Hugs
Christine x

Anything Goes Challenge - Things with Wings!

Hi BBB's

Well it's that time again........ time for another challenge over at Anything Goes...  We had some fabulous entries for the Tick Tock theme... pop over to the blog HERE to see if you were a winner!

Now the theme this time is 'Things with Wings'.....  so of course, in my mind, it has to be a fairy or a butterfly...  but thats just my way of thinking... lots of other things have wings too..

On my card I've used a Nellie Snellen image... Frog on Flower - I'd love to know what she is thinking!.  I've used a square nestie for the image, 3D'd her wings, coloured with promarkers and copics, and sprinkled with Glamour Dust.  Then I've used another nestie - Fleur de Lis Squares - for the filligree.  My flowers are made with a Cheery Lynn Miniature Rose Die, cut out of felt with a pearl gem in the centre.  I don't know the name of the DP - don't even know where it came from....  apart from it was in my stash!  Lots of these craft goodies are available from the lovely Lynne at The Craft Den - HERE.

The sentiment is from Pink Petticoat.....but I had to cut it in half to have it like I wanted.

We really look forward to seeing your entries for this fab challenge.....  and if you need inspiration - you can always check out my lovely teamies' creations on the Challenge Blog....  they've come up with some fantastic ideas which will be sure to give you inspiration!

Big Hugs
Christine x