Feeling fruity?

Haha don't get too excited especially not in this heat! ;) Finally got round to uploading some photos off my camera. These are some "Fruity Firsts". To start with is a photo of our very first juicy and delicious strawberry from our strawberry patch. It was huge and the next two days I picked a further 14 of the little darlings.






The second photo is an apple from my daughter Kat's apple tree she grew from a pip when she was 5 years old. Everyone said it wouldn't fruit but here is the proof and since this photo was taken I have discovered another apple!



Thanks for your comments about my wakings during last night. I did manage some sleep finally at 3 am and then was up at 6.45 am. Think I'm starting a cold now - trust me to get a cold in summer hey?

See you all soon and fingers crossed it won't be at 2 am again. x

Can't sleep

Well I am awake at this hour! 2.20am! I have been asleep, went to bed at 9.30 pm as I was really tired and fell off to the Land of Nod quite quickly. Then about 1 am I woke up and then my hayfever kicked in and hey presto I am awake - :)

I layed there for a while thinking and willing myself to sleep then thought about counting sheep and thought sod this and got up! lol

Walked around the house with the lights off so as not to disturb the rest of the lucky household who were sleeping soundly and came downstairs. Sat in the coolness with a drink of water but still not getting sleepy. I then decided to take my hayfever medicine so used the light of the microwave (see ever the considerate) to read the label and to see the spoon! haha and that is when my daughter called from upstairs, when I answered she came rushing downstairs followed by my husband who thought I was a burglar!

I explained to them my dilemma and they explained their thoughts and promptly went back to bed. My son has slept right through this palavar! Lucky boy!

So consequently I decided to tire myself out by blogging at this late hour. Hope it works and soon I will be dreaming this episode and the alarm will go to begin another week! Wish me luck.

Bye and sweet dreams. x

Father's Day

I don't believe it - I have actually made Father's Day cards before the eve of the day itself tee hee. I can even post them second class - but dare I risk it? ...... mmmmm

I wasn't sure what to do on these cards (I make two one for my Dad and one for my Father in Law) and then the Daring Cardmakers' dare this week popped into my head. Their dare, set by Kathy, is "The World is your Oyster"

So I got right to it and used the World Cup as inspiration for my Dad's card


and the Mauritian flag was inspiration for my FIL's card. I concentrated on the colours of the flag rather than just putting a flag on the card iyswim.

The colours of the Mauritian flag represent the following:-
Red represents the struggle for freedom and independence
Blue represents the Indian Ocean in the middle of which Mauritius is situated
Yellow represents the new light of independence shining over the island
Green represents the agriculture of Mauritius and its colour throughout the twelve months

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

25th Club JUNE Challenge

Well just before England begin their first game in the South African World Cup I thought I would blog some cards - yes SOME (four to be exact) for the June 25th Club Challenge over on Bubbly Funk.

As I set this month's challenge and am late with my cards I thought I had better make more than my stated two a month.



I set the challenge to make a card using Christmas flora and I have gone for the good old Christmas tree and holly. The holly wreath is made with sequins - a brilliant find in W H Smiths last year! Ribbons are from kits from Bubbly Funk. The Christmas tree stamp is from Elusive Images and coloured using a waterbrush and Adirondack ink pads. (now there's a surprise! haha)

Please also note that I tried to be a little arty with the setting of this photo hence the pot and the candle - does it work for you? I'm not sure - hahaha.

Have a good evening and c'mon England!

Christmas today?

Well I am going to show you a Christmas card I made for the 25th Club Christmas Card Challenge over on Bubbly Funk. I am way behind with this as it is the May challenge set by the talented Gez.



The recipe which is red and green for main colours, make your own background, incorporating a tag and for extra points (which mine doesn't have this time) inchies. For this card I didn't set out with a design in my head when I made it I just looked around my desk and tried different things out.

The tag is homemade using a stamp from Stampendous "Glasswork Christmas Tag Set",the embossed background is a Cuttlebug folder and the card stock is anyone's guess. haha! I have used some Crystal Stickles for some sparkle on the tag too.

I now have to make cards for June's 25th Challenge - I am late with it also not very good considering it is my turn with the challenge - oops!

Two to show today

Hello blog fans - I have two cards to show you today that I made recently for my "internet friends" who have had birthdays recently. The cards should have been received by now so I think it is safe to blog them.This one was very simple but very effective I think. The wording has been "rubbed on" and added a strip of paper over the fold in the card stock and a ribbon. Then added the gems to give the card a little lift.

This card has been watercoloured using the new Adirondack Ink Pads I received recently. I love this Paper Artsy image and enjoy colouring him in. The background to this card has been stamped using the same inks and stamps by Basic Grey.

Thank you for popping by my blog. Have a good evening.

Simplicity

Now whether it is because I am going through a minimalist phase or just need a quick card so don't add very much to these cards, I am finding that all the cards I am making of late are quite sparcely decorated.This card for my sister in law is just stamped and watercoloured using Adirondack Ink Pads. I was toying with the idea of doodling around the outside of the card but resisted. (That was hard!)


This card took even less effort - well I did have to exert some effort into transferring the rub-on onto the card hahaha but that was all apart from the strip of paper down the left handside and some doodling. (Couldn't resist on this one!)

Let me know what you think. Is it the fact of "less is definately more"?

May Pages of the 365 Challenge

Yes, yes I know I am a little late in showing you my May pages but here they are ...


I have managed to keep up with Kate's 365 Calendar Challenge - nearly half way through now - can you believe it?


They are a little on the BRIGHT side aren't they? hahahaha I thought I would colour the background before adding the squares and got the spray inks out. eeek! Well I got a little carried away ... can you tell?

This is the right hand page and the letters are chipboard

This is the left hand page and I watercoloured the Paper Artsy stamped houses to try and tone done the orange - I like the effect but don't think it has toned it down haha. If you look at the spine of the book you will see that it is coming away where it got very soggy with the amount of ink I used - ooops!

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Final Day Friday of my Half Term Holiday

Well it is another hot one today. Went into Town early to get ingredients for tonight's lasagne - you didn't really need to know that - haha - but anyway. I then walked passed the QS shop. A light bulb moment when I remembered Karen showing me, while at the retreat, two cases she had purchased in there to house her ink pads. Karen also had then on show in her new sewing room. You can just see them up the top left hand corner (orange and green). Well you know me and orange? haha. So I went inside and had a look round. Not bought anything in this shop before and wasn't really sure what they sold - anyway I hunted about and found these two ...


The smallest one was £2.50 and the larger one was £3 so I thought I'd have them both. Came home and typed and inked up some labels for my Distress Ink pads and arranged them inside. And Bob's your Uncle! haha



I haven't decided what to put in the other case yet might house different ink pads. Have you noticed too that I have loads of room in the little case .... mmmm might need to fill that space up at some point! tee hee.

Thanks for checking in with me today. Back to school on Monday - ho hum!

Thirsty Thursday The Third of June

phew! What a beautiful sunny day! I changed my plans today as I didn't think what I was going to do would work in this temperature. So today I have stayed at home! :)

I've been watercolouring in the garden (thanks to the very talented Karen for showing me how to use a waterbrush effectively), done minimal housework and lazied in the sunshine. Perfect.

I have something crafty to show you today that I did last night but it isn't very seasonal. I am showing you my first card for the 25th Club Christmas Card May Challenge over on Bubbly Funk. I know I am terribly late and I do apologise to the lovely Gez who set this month's challenge.

The criteria for this challenge was to use predominately red and green, make your own background, incorporate a tag and use inchies for triple brownie points! I think I have managed all these. tee hee. I have another one to do for May (as I set myself a target of two a month) and then I can do June's Challenge which I set.

Sunny Second of June!

Well what a difference a day makes! The weather today was glorious and just right for my daughter Kat and myself to go the St. Albans.

The bus journey was as eventful as always and the least said about the passengers the better! eek! haha but what the bus trip lacked in style our St Albans excursion made up for in surprises.

Concentrated our attentions to the market and the quirky little shops around St. Albans today - only visited Boots briefly so no other major chain stores visited. woop woop! I never realised that there were so many diverse shops around! Brilliant.

The market in St Albans is held every Wednesday and Saturday. We usually go on a Saturday but it is heaving with shoppers. It was busy today but not so bad I thought.

Bought this cake on one of the stalls ... it smells devine!


ok it is not really a cake but a deliciously smelling soap called Kiwi Cheesecake. haha Did I have you there for a moment? ;)

I also bought a canvas shoulder bag for the bargain price of £5.99 and then it was time for lunch. I have to thank Anjie for putting me onto this place. It featured on her blog a little while back and I only wished I had visited sooner. The Courtyard Cafe is a delight!

I sat here.

Kat and I had a tasty lunch, in eclectric surroundings and at a very reasonable price too. I had a freshly made ham (cut from the bone) salad sandwich and Kat had Salmon and Dill quiche with couscous and salad. The Raspberry Bakewell Tart was heavenly and so were the waffles, ice-cream, bananas and maple syrup ..... is your mouth watering yet? hahaha we shall certainly be paying this cafe a return visit very soon!

Another first today was a visit to St Albans Museum (lived in Hertfordshire for 17 years and not visited very bad). It is a lovely little museum and at the moment is showing a Stanley Kubrick exhibition. Fascinating and even got to see a real Oscar Award! If you get the chance go along it is on until September.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings - hope you visit again soon. x

First Post in June

Hello there

Welcome to my first blog post of June. Today I went to the London Science Museum with my son, Kris, and dispite the constant rain - which was ok as we were inside most of the day - we had a throughly good day.

Sat in the IMAX cinema and watched an amazing film about the Hubble Space Telescope in 3D - wow you felt as though you were actually there in space! We did want to visit the Natural History Museum as well but we were enjoying ourselves far to much at the Science Museum and didn't have time enough for it - nevermind.

On the way out we spotted this little elephant isn't he gorgeous?


He is one of hundreds of decorated elephants taking part in the London Elephant Parade to raise awareness of the plight of Asian Elephants across the world. This little chap is Phoolan number 66. I had heard the parade was taking place and hoped that on our travels around London today we would spot one and this little chap was sitting right outside!

This side of him is beautifully decorated with hundreds of little tiles.

Here's a close up of the artwork
The otherside of him is the reality of what these elephants have to face to exist.


They are hunted by man, killed for ivory, maimed by landmines and their homes are reduced to deforestation. If you would like to find out more visit the Elephant Family website.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Last Day of May

Bank Holiday here in England and the weather is true to form and is dull!

I wanted to blog a card I made for a friend's birthday, still favouring brown card blanks and this time used gems, Sassafras cardstock stickers for lettering, 3 Bugs in a Rug tag held on with two eyelets and some doodling.

I rounded one corner just to make it look a little different. Can't wait until my Corner Chomper arrives and then there will be no stopping me! tee hee

Watercoloured hearts

I fancied making a shaped card for my sister's wedding anniversary card so decided on this heart shape which I cut using my Sizzix die. Took me several attempts until I got it right to not end up with two seperate hearts. Nevermind these will come in handy somewhere I am sure. tee hee.

Again I am favouring brown card stock for the base colour and stamped three Paper Artsy hearts from their Squiggly Ink range I love them .... and I coloured them with distress inks using the waterbrush method. Thanks Karen for showing me these at the Retreat (I am now the proud owner of some myself now and can't wait to try them out!) It will be alot easier than a paintbrush dipped in water that I use now. :)

See you soon. x

Gold ... always believing in your soul!

tee hee Afternoon Bloggers. All this week I have be helping with a Sports' Activity Week and guess what ... my team won!!! Yippee!!! My team received a trophy and all those that took part also received a medal. That means I won one too!

And here it is :-Never won a medal before I am so thrilled :) Ok I know I didn't actually compete but I did do a lot of yelling and screaming encouragement. Well done Green Team.

Hello

Hi everyone I am having some technical difficulties with my pc at the mo hence the lack of blogging but I hope that will all be put right while I'm away on a Bubbly Funk Retreat next weekend. My IT Team (tee hee my husband, Sunj) will be getting to grips with it and giving it a good old shake!

Anyway to answer questions on my previous post.

Kathy the word Birthday on the top card is actually stamped and embossed with a freebie stamp from a magazine I bought years ago and found in my stamp drawer. See it does pay to tidy up once in a while. :)

Karen glad the card was received and here it is for everyone else to see.


Some fresh spring greens used on this one. :)

Tracy glad your's was received too and it was the other brown card I was referring to and this is what I sent :-

Do have a lovely weekend and let's hope for a little sunshine.

Brown - is it the new black?

tee hee ... I seem to have a passion for using brown cardstock at the moment. Recently I have made three cards with this colour background. mmmmm see what you think? I made this birthday card below when I saw the minimalistic cards here and thought I it would be great for a card I needed in a hurry. Kristina has some brilliant ideas.

The papers on this card are by Dream Street and I recently found these whilst searching for something completely different. lol Note to self - need to tidy more lol

I'll post the third one when I know it has been received.

More wrecking!

Hi and happy hailstone bank holiday to you!

Windy, raining and hailstoning that is the Great British Bank Holiday tradition, so glad this May Bank Holiday hasn't let us down. Anyway I digress ...

What I really wanted to blog about today was another page from my Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith.

....... make a paper chain ..... so I did ....


The outside has been doodled with blue pen and the inside coloured with Acrylic Paint Dabber, Aqua.

April pages

Here are my completed April pages. Still going with the idea of decorating the background as a when I do them - going with whatever is on my desk at the time - hence my messy style - tee hee.

This is the left hand side

and this is the right!

The piece of paper with the word YOUR has come out of my Wreck This Journal when I picked it up with my teeth!!!!! Don't ask you need to get this book! hahahaha

May's pages I think I might decorate first and see what that looks like. Have a fun Sunday albeit a wet one.

DCM - If The Shoe Fits

Well I have just got in with this DCM challenge. New one up tomorrow - eek!

These shoes, or should that be ruby slippers, were made by cutting out red card and glittering them - easy really. The papers are a mixture of Cosmo Cricket, Bo Bunny and Mulberry paper I had recoloured using waterbased inks. I then used my Distress Ink pads. The chipboard "S" in the corner has been covered with Stickles as I find this sticks better to smaller areas.

Thanks for stopping by.