Where did August go???

I can't believe it's exactly 4 months to Christmas now! Where did August go? It's been a really hectic month for me. Terry took two weeks off work and his neice got married smack in the middle of that fortnight which didn't really give us much opportunity to get away. The first week was spent shopping for outfits, haircuts, etc. etc. then last week we spent out and about and having a lot of fun!

At the beginning of the week was my lovely friend Sam's birthday and I made this card for her using the Ancient Page inkpads as recommended by Barbara -thanks for the tip Barbara, they worked fabulously and I'm now totally addicted!

I also made this mini album which was supposed to be made with CD envelopes but as I didn't have access to any, nor could I find any on my cyber travels, I had to improvise and make my own. A lot of work but brilliant fun, and once I get some spare time for myself I'm going to make another one for my own use!

The inside is filled with tags and pockets and envelopes and mini cards, but as I don't have access to Sam's personal photo collection, I decided to leave them all blank for her to fill in herself!

I had a birthday all of my own this week too and I received a whole ton of fabulous cards and handcrafted goodies and I would like to say a huge Thank You to all those lovely friends who very kindly helped to make my day a very special one - you all know who you are and you're diamonds, every one of you ;o)

Well that's my kick up the backside from Sam (for not updating my blogger enough!!) out of the way. Thank You for passing through and I'll try and keep up-to-date a bit more! :o)

I've been tagged!

Hey!! Thank You Kim for tagging me with the Bumper Card Society Tag - I only just spotted this! I'm very proud ;o)

Right then, here are the rules copied directly from Kims blog so that I don't mess up:

1) Send ONE card to someone you know within 7 days! (family, friends, associates, cyber people, etc.) ANYONE!!! Doesn't matter who... just do it. Can you imagine the smile on their face when they open their mailbox and see a card from you?

2) Tag (yes, I know, but this is the only way to spread this) 5 people you know to do the same thing (Tag means tag them to send their own cards to their own people).

3) Proudly display this on your blog to spread a little sunshine and pass it on.If you get tagged again (we can all hope, can't we), send another card!

I tag


Sam

Paula

Sherri

Elaine

Sharon

Go gettem girls!! :o)

Emergency Birthday

There we all were plodding about in our PJ's way past mid-morning having a lovely lazy Saturday when I suddenly remembered my Isaac is meant to be going to a 6th birthday party this afternoon! OMG! I toyed with not reminding him about it but then guilt kicked in and I figured that it will do him good to see some more of his classmates before they go back to school. However, because I only just remembered the party, I obviously hadn't prepared anything for it, so Thank God for Magnolia! I have only used their stamps on 'adult' cards up to now, but of course, they're perfect for children. I escaped to my room for half an hour and this is what I emerged with....

One of the very first things I ever bought when I began crafting (or should that be when I first discovered QVC!!! LOL!) was a set of Fiskars templates and to this day they have sat on my shelves unused - till now that is! I used the largest heart shape to cut the hearts out and a notch & die tool to do the scalloping around the background heart. The slider is my brand new Cuttlebug die which arrived only this morning (I am absolutely mad about a lot of the Cuttlebug products) and the corners and 'hinges' were freebie stickers with Issue 30 of Scrapbook Inspirations.

Thanks for dropping in! ;o)

Jus' Playing

This is something that I made in 5 minute blocks over a length of time, just playing around. I've had this on my desk for over a week and everytime I got stuck for an idea I'd get this out again and just add a bit more to it - it was meant to just keep my hands busy while I thought about what I will do next.

I made a template from the hole left in the Basic Grey folder I played with earlier and made the folder from that. Everything else on here is just bits that I've played with, and piled all together in here.

It was never intended to be anything, it wasn't made for any purpose or occasion. It was quite therapeutic to make because I didn't intend to actually make anything from it - an exercise I'll definitely perform again.

Carla's Sketch Challenge

Thanks Carla for this challenge, it really kick-started me off again and I really enjoyed making this, and moreover, for the first time in what feels like yonks, I actually like what I did with it! So Thumbs Up to you for that!


My only gripe with this is that the stamp, Sophia, by Rubber Stampede never seems to print out very clearly - I scrubbed the stamp clean before I started but even after about 8 prints using 4 different inks, it still doesn't come out clean. I tried using archival, versafine, stazon and a liquid chalk, and this print with stazon was the best I got. The papers used are all Brenda Walton and, although you can't see too well from the photo, I brushed over the embossed piece and background of the image with some gold dust chalk. It does look a bit sparklier IRL - honest!

And, if you're here reading this, then I'd like to thank you for popping in. If you're new here, leave me a link to your blog so I can come and say 'Hi!' :o)

Another Magnolia DT Card

I have been a big fan of Magnolia's stamps ever since I saw that very first one posted by Linda Muhr on Simply Sentiments and I bought my first stamps shortly afterwards. My first DT pack arrived and I was over the moon..... with most of them, but this little fella was a BIG challenge for me. You'd think having two young boys of my own there'd be plenty of opportunity to use a stamp like this, but unfortunately I cheat and buy all my 'Boy' cards! Men's cards I can do - boys are a different kettle of fish!

However, I wanted to use every one of the stamps I received and this is the card I submitted to Pauline and the Team using the footballer:

The stitching and text are rub-ons and the rosette was constructed from bits n' pieces in my 'bit-box'.

I also want to say here that to all my friends who have been kind enough to leave feedback, I thank you for your encouragement and am grateful for your lovely comments! (((HUGS))) to you all xx

Carla's Challenge

A little earlier in the week Carla set a challenge on her blog to make a tri-fold card. Using her instructions, this is what I produced:

The stamp is by Art Journey and the papers are K&Co, and the Prima is one of Carla's own! This is how it looks on the inside:

Great fun Carla, thanks for the challenge!

CD's

These are a couple of the pieces I submitted to Magnolia when I sent my presentation for their DT Call. They're both CD's that have been given a makeover.

The scallopped and pointed edges were made using the Basig Grey Notch & Die Tool kit.