Going loco down in Acapulco ..... sorry Menorca

My last day of the summer holidays today and I have tried to blog every day - I think I have missed quite a few days but at least it got me blogging regularly.

Some more holiday snaps today.

The good thing about holidays abroad is that it is always lovely to get in the pool. The water is never cold and it's certainly not chilly when you get out. Then you relax on a sun bed and bake yourself dry. lol

Don't worry we didn't go on holiday with an alien just my daughter not wanting to be in the photos. Kris thought it would be funny to see what I would look like in the snorkel mask - so what do you think? Rather fetching I thought although it was bloody tight!! haha

Not to be outdone Funky decided to have a swim in his own pool until I told him what it really was!!!!
Then he thought better of it and settled for a cool drink and some crisps.


These photos were taken in the apartment we were put into because our room at the hotel was double booked for the first night. Although they were clean and comfortable I'm glad we weren't staying there all week. I do like hotels. :)

More tomorrow.

- x -

Green Day!

Hola again, cor twice in one day. haha

I've been to Menorca, came back on Friday and thought you might like to be bored with some of my holiday snaps.

Well it wasn't just me, the kids and my husband that went - oh no! Yes you have guessed it - Funky Monkey came too. lol

Here he is on the way to mini golf .....
notice how the lazy bugger is being carried! He refused to walk and it was only across the car park. Although having said that it was very hot and I think he was still miffed about travelling in the suitcase rather than having a seat.

Well needless to say I won the mini golf but no thanks to Funky who messed around with the ball ...
that will teach him to stand too close. haha

We went on an excursion later that day and he doesn't like waiting as you can see, having said that neither do I.More photos soon. :)

Four more birthdays!

Hola

Back from holiday and time to show you four more birthday cards I had to make before I went away.

These cards were for some lovely ladies over on the Bubbly Funk forum I'm a member of.

First up is for Janice who celebrated a milestone birthday - I deliberately left the number off - hope you appreciated that Janice? tee hee
Next up is a card for Hazel and I didn't have a gold button so I improvised and made one out of shrink plastic.

Then I made a card for Di O and used a chipboard flower which I paint dabbered and wrote in each petal. The papers are from August's kit from Bubbly Funk. I love orange. :)
Then the last birthday card I had to make was for Sue. I used a faux batik technique on the Blonde Moments backing paper and the wings are painted chipboard.Phew! that was alot of cards - must remember when August comes round again to get organised well before my holiday.

Thanks for stopping by. x

Kids hey?

Don't you just love it when kids say, "Mum can you make so and so a card? I need it for this afternoon!" eeeeek.

Well I thought what could I do that was quick and could I tie it in with the Bubbly Scrumptious weekly challenge of "dry embossing" well the answer is Andy's card. :)

The" a n d y" letters are self adhesive from Sassafras and I used Lindsey Sizzix Embosslit dies to emboss and cut the work teenager. There is a tiny scrap of Basic Grey with the age 13. Inked and doodled around the edge and Bob's your uncle! (actually he isn't tee hee)

One card ready for this afternoon. Super Mum strikes again. :)

- Cheerio -

Reindeers last stand

Well it had to happen - the reindeers are all gone. aaaaaah, hahaha I have used the last three on these two cards.

The first one is simply two reindeers with Adornit papers and some Glossy Accents. Oh and a Fimo heart I made ages ago - another find from rummaging about.

The second one is a reindeer who I covered in glitter then paint dabbered as I didn't like the effect of the glitter. The backing paper is Adornit with a small piece of Basic Grey and a rub on from Stemma.

The challenge will be for me to make Christmas cards now without reindeers. haha

Thanks for stopping by for a read of my blog.

- Bye -

Houses

If you remember back to 30th July I posted about a mini house swap I was part of over on Bubbly Funk. Well the houses have all been sent to Leigh and she has returned them to all the swapees.

These are the ones I received back:-

Pat, DiW, Me, Ali, Nicky
Karen, Suzie, Caroline, Paddy, Leigh and Carol.

These will be gracing my hallway for all to see when entering my home. Aren't they stunning and all so different. Behind the door in Karen's house it says "love" and the inside of my house can be viewed on my post of 30th July.

Thanks to all that took part and thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

- See ya! -

Card crazy

That is what I have been like these past two days. I have made 7 birthday cards. Why is it that birthdays come along like buses - all or nothing? haha

I can show you these 3 cards as I know these recipients do not know I have a blog and are not in the "crafting loop". I am a very good blog hopper - so good that I visit loads of blogs at a time and see lots of brilliant ideas which I then use in my cards but I can never remember where I get them from. I know I should keep a little pad by my computer and jot them down but that would be too organised. tee hee.

I saw the idea to double over a bloom and thought I'd have a go so here it is. Very simple. Oh I am also using up old cardboard that I am finding too so can't give you the names sorry. I do know that this rub on is a Stemma one and the bloom I received in a secret swap - but I think is was from DiO. ;)

The next one is even quicker than the one above. Cut four pieces of cardstock, scuff the edges and stick them to a card blank. Again the rub on is Stemma. Papers are Daisy Bucket, Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket.The final card to show you is for the DCM challenge set by Kathy which is "lace".

You're free to interpret "Lace" in whatever way you like; you could use the actual word on your card, stamp or cut a lacy design or maybe use one of these dictionary definitions to inspire you:
1. a net-like ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine.
2. a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges.
3. ornamental cord or braid, esp. of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc.
4. a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.

Please come back and let us know where we can see your cards as we love to see your creations.

Found this lace in my bits and bobs box (originally was from one of those scrap stores that our school use.) I've been finding loads of bits and recycling them these past few days. :) The tag was originally from Asda on some item of clothing and the raffia from some flowers I had.
This card is also my entry into the weekly challenge of last week for the Bubbly Scrumptious blog which was to "add a pin to your project". Never done this before and it was a bit fiddly but the pin is well and truly there folks. haha.

Well hope you have managed to read through this long post. I will be back tomorrow as I have more stuff to show. So have a great evening.

Ciao
- x -

London Calling

Ha ha - no don't start singing The Clash - which I have in my head at the mo. LOL That is where Kat and I went today. To the Tate Modern - don't you know!

Of course there was the usual horsing around before we even got inside. Can you spot Tower Bridge just behind me?

The next photo shows me on the Millennium Bridge famous for swaying in the wind. But as you can see from the photo it was windy and on the way back raining but much to our annoyance the bridge didn't sway. :(

We did see a lot of "interesting" pieces some of which were brilliant others were not so brilliant iyswim? One of the "installations" was of the statue of Venus with a huge pile of secondhand clothes in front of her, looked like she was behind with the ironing. LOL This is probably a critically acclaimed piece but it just made me laugh and think about ironing piles. tee hee

Venus in Rags by Michaelangelo Pistoletto
sorry Mr Pistoletto for laughing at your work



Next a photo of St. Paul's cathedral.

And lastly a view taken from the balcony cafe inside the Tate itself. Can you see the dark clouds coming?

Didn't realise how big the Tate Modern was 7 floors in total but not a bad day out and it is free. You are encouraged to make a donation though. ssssh we didn't! Aren't we naughty?

Thanks for stopping by.

- x -

August Inchies

Over on Bubbly Funk Forum we have swaps, challenges and the like and here are some inchies I made for the August Inchie swap.

Inchies if you haven't heard of them are little 1" square works of art. The theme for this month was "bling". You can interpret it how you like and I have used some old earrings, sequins, gems and a large star plus a silver gel pen.The photo again is blurry - not having much luck at the mo with my photos am I. Don't have a fancy camera or the inclination to get one - YET! :)

Have a great day.

Monograms

Over on the Bubbly Scrumptious Challenge blog this month's competition is "Monograms". I have made three yes three different projects using a monogram.

The first two are tags I attached to presents I gave my nieces at the weekend (they took all of five minutes to make) just plain card and a bit of doodling and a couple of chipboard letters from K & Company called "Re-make" as they are made with recycled material as is the packaging.
I know you have been longing for another reindeer so here you go. lol Yes I am down to my last four reindeers and this is number 4 - haha on another Christmas card. I don't know how the silver paper behind the R has photographed with a pink/red tinge it is the same as the silver paper at the top of the card. Strange that - must be the light.


Thank you for dropping by for a look. x

Same birthday

Why is it that birthdays are like buses? Nothing for ages then two come along on the same day - Sunday to be exact. My Dad's and my niece on my husband's side. So that called for two differing cards from both extremes of the age spectrum. My Dad 81 and my niece 4 haha. My Dad's although it is shades of pink he won't mind lol is an image from my last year's calendar and thought it apt for my gardening and tea loving Dad.


On the other hand Mia's card was inspired by Karen's Rosie Dee Challenge card she made a couple of weeks' ago 25th July to be exact. I saw that Karen had used the same flower stamps I have by Rhonna Farrer and coloured them in with watercolour pencils and chalk. Karen had then Glossy Accented {can that be a verb Joanne? ;) } the flower middles which I thought looked adorable so I copied it. Hope that was ok Karen? "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? So the saying goes. x x And then just for fun I used a Maya Road chipboard rabbit and traced round him onto some Bazzill card, stuck a pompom for a tail and chalked and glossy accented his nose.
Thanks for stopping by - I love to read your comments so please leave one. x

August Sunshine?

Well looking out into my garden tonight I saw two very happy individuals enjoying the weather.
I think they are the only ones. hahaha

Look what I got!

I was really surprised when I read on Sunday that I had won the gorgeous blog candy on the wonderful Bubbly Scrumptious blog. I entered both the June and July challenges and that meant I had a double chance of my number being generated and I am happy to say it was. Yippee.

So the postman this morning was greated with a very big grin when my prize was delivered.

Can you guess the look on my face??? ha ha

Do you think I look surprised? hahahahahaSorry the picture is fuzzy and my hair is a mess but I don't care look at all that stuff! Thanks Bubbly Scrumptious, thanks Caroline.

oooops!

Normal services will be resumed when my pc keyboard can be fixed.

In the meantime here is a picture for you to look at.
Sorry I tried to upload the test card but it wouldn't work. tee hee

25th Club

I have been a bit behind with my participation of the 25th Club over on Bubbly Funk forum and felt that I should make amends so yesterday I made 6 Christmas cards. This means I have caught up with the challenge of making two Christmas cards a month.

Most of these cards where made by cutting out one image from a sheet of 12 x 12 paper sorry there is no name on the back of the paper to tell you who it is made by but it features all the images from the Christmas song "The 12 Days of Christmas".

As you can see I have used the lords leaping, geese laying and two turtle doves. The rub ons are from Stemma. I used sequins and gems to decorate them too. The white hearts on the card are cut from felt.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

Challenge Entry

As you know I do love to leave things to the last minute and here I go again tee hee.

Over on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog their July challenge finishes tomorrow and here is my entry. The challenge was to use something from your garden. I have made this canvas and used a fern frond for her clothes.

This image was inspired by Ley Roberts leaf people as shown on the Eden Project t shirt in the photo. I bought this t shirt on my first visit to the Eden Project in 2000, the year it opened, and I love it. I still wear it the cotton is really comfortable to wear. I have also fell in love with the images of Ley Roberts. Her art work is superb.

Ok so if you can get something made and sent to the Bubbly Scrumptious folk you might be in with a chance of winning their lovely blog candy. Good luck. :)

circles today

Whilst looking for inspiration today I came to Lythan's blog and noticed her cards with a circle theme. I thought ahha get your Sizzex out girl and cut some circles. I needed three cards to be in the post by 5 pm this evening and thought these would be quick and effective.



What do you think? - hope the collage isn't too confusing - looks like I made 6 cards rather than 3 haha.

If you look closely on the green card the words "Wonderful You" and green glitter stars where in a pile of stuff I found whilst tidying up - they were originally from a Bubbly Funk kit. See what you find when you tidy!! :)

my house in the middle of our street

No not the Madness song my house for the Bubbly Funk Mini House Swap. They should ha ve been posted today ooops sorry girls I was waiting for Glossy Accents to dry.

Photographed them in poor light this evening so excuse the photos. I made 11 houses in total so hence the long street.
Each house is decorated differently and here are mine and Gez's. Now I didn't realise that Gez wasn't in the swap when I made hers first so it will be a surprise for her to receive it sometime soon. The only one I have shown in the inside of is mine. I didn't want to ruin the surprise for the swapees.I did use some of the stash I found yesterday in these houses and you can see a rather lovely green gem in the middle of that large "believe" brad in the photo of mine.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope that has satisfied your curiosity from the other day Kaz. :)

Lucky find

Well who said it is a good idea to tidy up your craft area? I'd like to shake them by the hand. I have just found this -


A lunch tin I bought to alter and it is full of goodies that I received from the Bubbly Funk Retreat from my secret swaper.

No more tidying up has been done today because naturally I have to sort this little lot out. Thanks secret swaper again. You know who you are as you left a little card which you can see in the photo x x

what a mess!

I have decided to tidy my craft area. It was on my summer holiday list of jobs to do so I have said that "today is the day!!"

I have taken some photos so you can see exactly what sort of mess I usually work in and this is in my bedroom!! Please excuse the awful curtains I haven't got round to getting new ones since we decorated the room last year. Shocking I know.These are my wooden Ikea storage boxes full of gorgeous wonders but not very accessable as the drawers can't open fully - this is where I need to reorganise my desk area lots.

This the my desk area and between my glasses case and my mouse mat is usually all the space I have to work in. Shameful isn't it? lol

This is the floor - can you see the gap of carpet space? This allows me space to open my window. lolWell I hope it won't be too long before I can show you the improvements I have made to my room and craft area in general. Don't be too cruel with your comments hahahaha.