Easter Day.....

Hi all

No card today sorry, but I'm very proud of myself and had to share some pics!  I'm proud, because I managed all of three and a half miles walking around Swintsy Reservoir today... (well with a half an hour picnic break)...... but that's a long way for me!  And the pics...... well they just scream spring.... don't they?  These two little lambs were bleating so loud - they appeared to have lost their mum (I think that may have been deliberate on her part as they were the noisiest lambs in the locality!)...  Anyway, they wandered off when they realised that we weren't their mum in disguise - and we were actually the other side of a fence!

And then there were these little goslings out for a paddle with their mum......  You can almost hear her saying... 'keep in line now....... behave..... now where's number four????'

Anyway....  I had a really lovely day with my OH Barry, and my daughter Emma so wanted to share that feeling...
Happy Easter to all.....
Hugs
Christine x

A quickie bookmark....

Hi Girls

Just a very quickie post tonight as I've got a really stiff neck and sitting at the computer using my mouse is aggravating it....... (so my OH keeps telling me!)......wonder which is more aggravating? LOL!

Lisa over at Mess2Magic made one of these unusual bookmarks last week...... and I was inspired to give it a go!  They are so simple........ she pointed me to Posh Cat Crafts where I got the instructions.... and it was done in no time.  The instructions are very easy to follow, and can be altered to use whatever you have, or whatever size you like!

Believe it or not, all the pinks on the card look good together, but for some reason they haven't photographed too well.  Also the book I've shown it on here is my notebook and not really big enough to use the bookmark in, but I thought it'd give you the idea!  Anyway, hope you like...

We went out for a lovely lunch today at our local pub....... sat in the garden there which leads down to the river, in the sunshine listening to the birdsong,  with good food and fine wine.  Who could ask for more?

Can I also just thank you all for all the good wishes you sent to me for my M-I-L.  She still has no results from that bone marrow test they did last week.  She's still in hospital and is still in some pain.  But if positive thoughts and wishes can do the trick......  I'm sure she'll feel better soon because of all those you sent.

Hugs
Christine x

And another one or two.......



Hi again
Blimey - two posts in a day - unheard of in my world!  But thought you may like to see a couple of the Easter cards I've been doing... This is using an image from Digi Stamp Boutique from their Easter Collection.  I've stamped this lovely little creature on white cardstock and coloured with my copics and promarkers.... then after cutting and embossing the circle with my nesties, sponged the edge while the nestie was still in place - giving that white edge.  I then used another nestie for the turquoise lace type frame - using Bazzil cardstock - which I also used for the squares.  Love these colours together.  Then I mounted all that onto a card topped with Fancy Pants Designs Botanical papersss - Daisy - which had the colours I needed.  I punched out a few little flowers from another scrap and added those with a couple of gems, and then added my favourite item - some glitter! 

I've also shown here another card that I made with the same image (I've made quite a few!!) - and thought you may like to see that too.  Again, it's using Bazzil cardstock and some stripey lemon yellow that I've had in for years!  I added a few punched flowers too...  Now, not sure which one I prefer! LOL

Take care and Happy Crafting
Hugs
Christine
Challenges: Quirky Crafts Challenges: Easter/Spring Sparkly; CRAFT Challenge - Easter;

Less Is More Acetate Challenge.... a change of ways!

Hi Girls

Sorry I haven't been posting last week - I seem to have been up to my eyes in stuff - and although I have been crafting, having been able to get anything posted!  But hopefully, things are calming down now.  My MIL is still in hospital, which is a big worry for myself and my daughters (she's my late husband's mum).  They've done a bone marrow aspiration on her (she's 87), and are yet to confirm a diagnosis.  So please, send some positive thoughts her way.

Another worry (well it is for me......) is that I've eventually booked a holiday in Kephalonia in Greece.  It's only for one week at the end of May.....  but I'm really useless at going away - would much rather stay in my comfort zone.  I'm a weirdo, I know!

Anyway, onto my card.  Well, tempted by the Less is More Challenge - using acetate - I thought I'd enter!  For this I used plain and simple hammered cardstock from the PaperMill Shop, then I added a sheet of acetate which I adhered uner the flowerpot images - so no sticky bits are showing!!

The flowerpots are from a Kay Carley Stamp Set from The Stamp Man that I've had for ages - they are stamped onto vellum and coloured on the back of the vellum with tombow pens.... then cut out and put onto the card.  A little gem finishes the flowers.  Then I hand drew a little plaque and sentiment and cut that to put at the top.

Hope you like!  I'll hopefully be posting a bit more this week - I've actually done lots of Easter cards but not been able to get around to posting them!

Hugs and Happy Crafting
Christine x
Challenge:  Less is More Challenge 11 - Acetate

Another first for me.....

Hi Girls.....

Hope you're all having a lovely Sunday in this glorious sunshine!  We need to make the most of it I think, because as it's only April..... we're bound to have a bit of cold before the summer..... or is that just my pessimistic outlook coming through?  Let's hope we have this lovely sunshine till September at least!  My OH has been at work today, so apart from sitting outside a little soaking up some rays..... I got around to putting this card together!

Now....  this is another first for me.... a teddy!  Soooooo difficult to colour!  But inspired by Annette of Netty's Cards, I decided to have a go.  The image is from the Stamp Fairy - Teddy Thank You.  I coloured it with my copics.... mostly E numbers (he's a hyper ted now...... hehe) - but you know what i mean!  The sentiment is from LOTV - and the DP - hmmmm I can't remember now but I'll try to find out for you.  I ran some papermill linen cardstock through an embossing folder to get the white square - mounted it onto another white square with distressed and glittered edges, then mounted (!) the ted on 3D foam.  Oh and I used Crafters Companion Spray and Sparkle Irridescent glitter spray on the sentiment circle just cos I didn't think there was enough glitter!

I did try to get an impression of fur in the colouring.... not sure I've acheived it.  Hmmmmm should I go back to Tilda's with their easier colouring???????  LOL!!

Happy rest of Sunday....
Hugs
Christine xx

Will I be chucked out of Blogland?????

Hi Girls

Hmmmmm do you think I'm going to be ex-communicated? Have you spotted it yet? My daughter 'played with an image that I'd coloured on Sunday! My image was a RAK from a good friend (thank you!!!), and I coloured her in my favourite lilacs...... then my DD decided she needed that bit extra.... (think she may have heard me mutter that at some time or other..... Anyway - she did the deed! And I've got to say I still love her (both the image and my DD)!!

Coloured with my copics, (got to say a bit thank you to Nic at Coops Cluttered Corner for her tutorial on hair colouring!) and using a DP that's been in my stash for years - with a textured paper on the base again that's been with me for years. I used my nesties to cut her out and frame her...... then an xcut tag for the sentiment which was hand written. Oh and a bit of lovely guipure (sp?) lace and seam binding on the front too. The card was finished off with a bit of glitter... (of course!), and some sparkly gems in the top corners.

This is the first Tilda I've ever coloured, and I wanted to try, hence the RAK from my good friend.... and I think I may be hooked! ("Groan, groan" from my purse in the corner....)

I've not done much otherwise today apart from 'bottom' the bedroom! Anyone know what that means or is it just a family saying? My mum and sister used to use it, to mean cleaning and dusting EVERYTHING in a room! Anyway.... it's been threatening for a while, and now it's done.

Oooooooooohhhhhhh and exciting news....... I received a parcel from my friend in the US this afternoon, with a Martha Stewart Scoreboard in it! I've been trying to get hold of one for ages - and they're not sold much in this country - or at least I couldn't find one....... so my friend got one for me over there... She's LOVELY and I'm a very lucky lady!

And now I'm off to play with it after rattling on and on.....

Hugs to all

Christine xx
PS..... I've entered this in the cute and girlie challenge over on By the Cute and Girly

FREE to a good home!

Hi all.... hope you had a lovely day yesterday.... I did!

Now.... I've been given some card making items by a neighbour who had them handed in to the charity shop she works in......  and as I have far too much stuff anyway in my room, and wouldn't probably use this lot, I'd like to make sure they go to a good home (maybe someone that one of you know who's starting up or who makes for charity etc).  Sooooooo  I've put a photo here and will happily post this off to anyone who emails me (button on the sidebar).  If I get more than one request, I'll put the names in a hat and draw one!  Please send your snail mail address so I can get it posted.  Hope you can see from the photos whats in the package.

Here are the beautiful flowers I was given yesterday by my lovely daughter Emma..... we all went for lunch on the river in Knaresborough and had a lovely day.  Then my youngest daughter Clare skyped me from Bermuda...... to tell me that between the two of them, they are treating me and my OH to an overnight stay in the Titanic Hotel and Health Spa in Huddersfield complete with some treatments!!  How fab is that!  Needless to say, I'm thrilled to bits!  Twas also nice to speak to my little Clare (OK she's 25!) on the computer - almost feels like she's in the next room instead of somewhere in the mid-Atlantic!

Well, it's 7.30 am now (I was up extra early!), so now I'm going to do my blog commenting! 
Bye for now
Big hugs
Christine x

Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there..

Just wanted to wish all the mums amongst my blogging friends a special day......  Hope you have nice things happen today.....  it's our one day in the year that we can celebrate that special gift of being a mum!

Hugs to all
Christine xx

At last..... something to show!

Hi Girls

Well at last I had some time today to get making!  I seem to have been chasing my tail all week - which is good in a way, as I like to get out and be meeting people instead of stuck in.....  but it stops me doing my crafting!

Anyway.... it was too windy today to get any gardening done and I'm also full of cold, so I got upstairs and here's the result.  Well this, and a load of other stuff that I finished off, or tidied up.

This is a stamp called Sheep For Ewe from Wild Rose Studio which just appealed to me at the Harrogate show.  I have a bit of a thing for sheep....and this one is just so cute! 

The DP is Marianne Design Eline's paper bloc  from Quixotic Paperie, the cardstock is Bazzill Bling.... and the image is coloured with Copics.  I used my hydrangea MS punch for the flowers, which just HAD to have a bit of bling in them.....  then put some cream seam binding and a bow to finish it off.  And of course, when I photographed and edited it.... I used the photoshop bling button!!  It makes anything look fab!

Anyway, hope you like...... sorry I've not been posting much lately, but it actually now takes me a full hour each day to comment on my lovely blogland buddies' cards!  So if you'd all stop turning out so many.... I'd have an hour more in my day!! hehe

Hugs to all
Christine xx

OK, OK........ this is what i bought.......

 
Hi Girls
No card today, but I thought I better own up to what I bought on Saturday..... which was quite good for me really - I do tend to spend more normally.....(!)  But why am I attracted to bling and bring home loads?  Must mean something in my psych-ey.....  Also sheep have crept in too.......  hmmmmmmm... If anyone sees a sheep with diamond earrings, you'll let me know?

And then...... we went up to the Lakes to see my darling OH's daughter and her hubbie, and their little son Leo.....

Isn't he just SOOOOOOO cute?  Who could resist those eyes....

THEN we wandered back home yesterday, with a couple of stops...  one at Kirby Lonsdale where Barry took these fab photos of the bridge.....

And THEN - we had a lovely lunch at Grassington and a wander up and down the high street talking to some of the people on the TV programme Love Thy Neighbour...... which is FAB - if you get a chance to watch it - do!

And THEN - being so close to Embsay..... well,,,,,,,,, could a girl resist? Soooooooo  this is what I bought then!

Am I a naughty girl or what?  I BET you're expecting to see a card soon....... aren't you???????

Hugs ......
Christine xx

Twas a SHOW down.......

Hi all

Just a very quick post to say that a few of us bloggers met up today at the Harrogate Papercraft show, and I really enjoyed meeting up with those I knew, and some I hadn't met till today!  Blogland is a lovely community with some special people and all those that I have met have been very kind and will hopefully become good friends.

And..............  I spent far too much too!!

I'm probably not going to be around for a little while as my darling OH has a few days off, so we're heading up to the Lakes on Monday for a couple of days...... so apologies in advance if I don't get around to commenting.

Hugs
Christine x
PS........ I think I should issue a dare......  that we all update our profile photos to what we actually look like NOW!!

A card for spring...... in my very un-favourite colour!

Well girls..... as most of you know me quite well now, you will know my favourite colour is pink.... followed by lilac, pastel green, pastel blue...... etc etc.  NOT YELLOW!  But......  I figured that as I was entering a 'spring coloured' challenge....  the most spring of colours is lemon/yellow!   Sooooooo, without further ado - I got out my punch and punched - and this is the result.  Very simple - no real recipe, only the use of a daisy embossing folder from Cutting Too, an xcut punch.....  some white centres from my hole punch - then lots of glitter put on the white centres.  Wellllllll, if I had to do lemon... least I could have some glitter!  And then after I'd photographed it, I kinda got carried away with the photoshop bling button........  i LOVE that button!  I would bling anything I could get my hands on if I could!

I've had a lovely day today shopping in York with my daughter Emma - who needs a dress for a spring wedding.  Believe it or not, we could find nothing suitable in the whole of York.  What has fashion come to when the dresses are all for stick insects?  She is a size 12/14 lovely tall girl, and we couldn't find anything!  Soooo we may have to end up at the Trafford centre soon...  Anyway, we treated ourselves to some lovely fudge from the Fudge Kitchen to console ourselves, then walked in the sunshine along the river back to the car.  Simple things......

OK.... I'm off to eat the roast dinner my OH has prepared (lucky woman that I am), Emma is in the kitchen chattering to him - so I guess I ought to go put the knives and forks on the table and look willing!! hehe

Bye for now girls, hope you had a lovely weekend..
Hugs
Christine x
Challenges for my card: Ladybug Crafts Spring Colours, Sarah Hurley Challenge - Flowers, also The Pink Elephant - Springtime

So different for me... a male card!

Well girls...... it had to come - me actually making a card for a male!  Spurred on by Lisa at Mess2Magic  who mentioned some male challenges, and knowing I'd shown her these images a couple of weeks back, I didn't feel I had any excuse!

Soooooo let me introduce Murray.... (or at least his backside!) He's from a fabulous Murray and Ethel stamp sheet that I've had for ages, and even have had the images coloured for ages too.  I used my prismacolour pencils (in my early stages of learning how to use them as you can probably tell)..... then used glossy accents on his glasses and the paper.  I decoupaged him from the original layer, and also decoupaged in another layer his rather snazzy pants - so the 'crack' appears sooooooo real!  The sentiment is on the stamp sheet, but I did it on the PC using a fab font called Pea Noodle Parlor (free from Kevin and Amanda Font Site).  Some lovely fonts there to download, and i particularly loved this one.  I used Bazzill dotty cardstock with a scrap of a blue stripey one that I don't know the name of.  A MS punch went across the middle of the card, and then some little glossy beads (well, ok, some men like beads....) in the corner!

My OH is at work today, so I've kept myself occupied by washing the car, going to homebase for him, watching Corrie from last night that I dozed off during........(!)  then getting into my craft room.  I've started a couple of mornings a week helping out at our local AGE UK shop - and am really enjoying getting to know the place and the regulars.  Amazing some of the stuff that comes in to the shop - and it all sells really fast!  No nasty stuff tho........ thank goodness!  Of course, I'm just WAITING for a Chanel handbag to turn up....

Right......  I better press 'publish' before I rattle on and on....

Hope you like my change of direction - do let me know!
Hugs
Christine xx
Ohhhhhhh challenges for my card are:
Moving Along with the times - Card/Project for a Male
CES - Men Only
Ooh La La Creations - It's a Man Thing

An easy one...... sooooo needed!

Hi Girls

Well,,,,,, I so much needed to do something easy..... I'm getting totally bogged down with doing fancy images and colouring - that I thought today, I would just put together something simple and straight out of my head.  Do any of you get that feeling every now and again?  And I've got to say, it did me good!

So what do you think?  There's not really much of a recipe to the card.... i used a nestability label (or is it impressibility?), an xcut punch for my flowers, a bit of ribbon from my stash, a MS border punch, and some dotty paper and bazzill cardstock for the back.  Some gems finished the flowers off, and I handwrote the sentiment......  that's the bit I'm unsure of...  is it good enough do ya think? 

The sun is shining here today, so the pruning shears are calling me to go and prune some shrubs....... It feels like spring!  Yes!!!!!!!!!! 

Hope you're all having a good day, and thanks for taking the time to look and comment.

Hugs
Christine xx
PS....... I've entered this for the Less Is More Challenge - Pastels and also (at a push from Netty) in the Pastels challenge at Incy Wincy Designs and also the Cupcakes Craft Challenge - Pink Polka Dots (think it fits that one well!! hehe)