Gothic Arch Challenge - Dogs

Awwww..... Dogs is this weeks Gothic Arch challenge - a subject dear to my heart, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to introduce Fraser, 'my little man', joining in the Christmas spirit (not!!!) The boys dressed him up in this headgear and he's so good, he just put up with it and stood still long enough for me to get this pic of him! Ahhh, bless!!

You can't actually see the detail on this pic - my photography isn't up to much! I spritzed the background with Adirondak spritzers then gave it an all-over finish with Topaz glimmery mist spray. The text is stamped with Rusty Pickle stamps and the little stars are from a tapestry stamp set.

Thanks for looking in! ;o) xx

4 x 4 Friday - God of Rock!

I feel like a big kid playing with photo's of my idols but OMG it's fun!! LOL! :o) I wish I'd been as creative with the pics I used to pin on my bedroom wall as I have been with the Stevie Nicks and This one! The 4 x 4 Friday challenge this week was Open Theme so I chose God of Rock, and of course there could be no other than Robert Plant (you may argue that, but I stand firm!! LOL!). This is my own little tribute to the recent (albeit brief?????) re-formation of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin to play their own tribute gig in memory of Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records who sadly passed away in 2006.

The papers, quote (how fitting!!) and bookplate were all from the Captain of my Ship kit which I acquired last week, and which I am absolutely loving like mad and dreading running out of! I probably shouldn't say this but I had a sneak peak at a couple of the new kits that are coming out at Bellaboo shortly and all I can say is "Groooooooaaaaannnn...... Swoooooooooonnnnnnn"!

Thanks for stopping by! xx

Captain of my Ship

WooHoo!!! I get more Crafting time!! I've finally got round to sorting out my hours at work and have made the decision to cut them down so that I can have some of my old life back again - i.e. the crafting part (and I suppose I should fit some domestics in as well!!! LOL!) so now I am looking forward to having some quality 'me' time again - bliss!

Tell you what else was bliss this week - being given this fantastically gorgeous kit by Liberty at Bellaboo to go and create with. Well, I've not been so excited about papers for such a long time - 4 weeks to be exact when I bought the Basic Grey Periphery 6 x 6 stack just before Christmas. I tell you, these kits are just heaven in a box!!! I curse January for leaving me so penniless after Christmas because being surrounded by all these kits and not being able to spend, spend, spend was a living nightmare!! However, Liberty (who, incidentally is a really lovely lady) packed me off home with this wonderful kit and I began playing with it the moment I got home.

So far I have produced this LO - the photo is one of all my men taken a few years ago but one which I always intended scrapping 'one day'. I used the Mayflower - Pricilla Mullins paper trimmed around the swirls and mounted onto plain black card and some of the labels that come with the kit. I also added a few dots and X's of my own with my white gloss pen.

Next I decided it was time my boy took a bit of responsibility for himself and stopped relying on me so much to remind him what stuff he needs to get ready for each day. With that in mind I created this little book for him using my Bind-it-all and the Mayflower - Myles Standish papers. All these papers from Rusty Pickle are d/s so it was really difficult to choose which side to use - what a dilemma!!

Then inside the book I created some monthly sheets on the computer so that he can fill them in to remind himself when he has to take things into school or cubs - he can also fill out the nights he does after-school clubs, etc. etc. I also made this little envelope to stick on the inside cover because he likes to store little pictures and stuff!
Now the only thing I need to do is remind him to fill it in!!! LOL!! :o) Maybe I should create a book for me too and fill in the days I need to remind him!! :o) I cannot wait now to use my new 'Me' time to go finish the other projects I've started with this kit!

Thanks for popping in!

Gothic Arch - Music & Lyrics

I absolutely loved this weeks Gothic Arch Challenge because it gave me a chance to play around with a Stevie Nicks pic and lyrics. Sad to report I'm actually a bit of a Mac groupie (almost to the point of obsession, but not quite...!) and when I lose my mojo I find that putting a CD or DVD on generally kickstarts me back into action again. Stevie Nicks has the most amazing voice and writes the most enchanting lyrics and her stage presence is hypnotic. I could have chosen just about any one of her songs, but Gold Dust Woman is one of my very favourites so I picked this as my inspiration for this arch. The background is painted gold and spritzed with antique gold and rose glimmer mists, but it doesn't really show in this light. The image is one of my favourites - I always think she looks like a deity, so I trimmed it and added my own 'jewels' and of course, she's sitting on a carpet of gold dust (yeah!! LOL!).

Thanks for looking in!

Arty Girlz Challenge - Red

Uh Oh, I am so behind now because I can't stop joining in these blog challenges. I love the Red idea on this week's Arty Girlz challenge, and yesterday I found this fabulous template on Bea's blog and I just had to have a go at using it.

The papers are actually from a Christmas stack and although they're not 'in your face' red, I figured they were red enough to pass the challenge! LOL!! :o)

The bird stamp is an Anna Griffin one and I found it at the weekend in a half-price sale!

Thanks for passing by, and to everyone who'd left me lovely feedback, I thank you from the bottom of my heart - I'm very grateful! :o)

Gothic Arch - Gypsy

I decided to have a break from challenges for a while till I catch up with some outstanding craft debts, then I saw the Gothic Arch challenge was Gypsy and I couldn't resist! I think we all have a bit of Gypsy in our soul so I caved in and had a go. I have to confess it didn't quite happen the way my minds eye saw it, but then it rarely does and, with the absence of time on my side I had to stop messing about with it and submit this as it is. The arch is painted Midnight Sky and spritzed with antique gold aqua mist spray - which is where it all went horribly wrong because I don't seem to be able to control my spritzing! LOL!!! However, I tried to recover it by stippling more blue paint over the worst affected areas. The image is from a digital collage sheet.

I may have another go at this if I find some time later in the week as I would have liked to have put more into it! Tut!!!

Thank you for popping in!

New Stamps!

Hurrah!! How lovely to be able to put all the Christmas stamps away for another year (well, a few months, at least!) and introduce you to a new range of fabulous cuties from Magnolia; plus, if you get over there to their inspirations blog right now and leave a message, you are in with a chance of winning a new set for yourself.

My new DT stamps arrived yesterday and this was the first 'off the press'. In keeping with my current "Once Upon a Time" theme, I have added this little beauty to my collection - I couldn't resist giving the pony a fantasy fairytale look!

Also I'm going to add my Skinny Saturday offering in here - I'm not really keen on working with birds but that could be because I don't have any 'decent' bird stamps or images. I had to go googling for this one!! I loved the sentiment too and think it's something we all should take note of from time to time!

I'm off to create with the other 'newbies' now! Thanks for stopping by!

Once upon a time...

...I bought a card stack by DCWV - gorgeous card as I'm sure most of you will have seen, and then I had an idea. So last Saturday morning I came downstairs and began to prepare the materials so that I could get started. However, as I began to seperate the papers, some of the headings stayed put, ripping the card! Argh! I was so cross. I did complain to DCWV who replied telling me that they were aware that this had been a problem and if I could produce my receipt they'd replace the stack! Well.... who keeps receipts?? Not me - not for card or paper purchases anyway, maybe bigger craft items. So I went for another plan. As most of the paper was unfit for use in the project I wanted to make, I scanned the papers onto my pc, printed them smaller and embellished them with gold glitter glue and made these cards with them. I have since got myself another pack and have begun my project again - but it's not ready yet. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these. All stamps are Magnolia. Thanks for visiting!

Gothic Arch - Guardian Angel

I am honoured to have been invited to host this week's Gothic Arch Challenge, (Thank You Nancy!) and my subject is Guardian Angels. (click on pic to enlarge). I found the bg paper in a winter stack by The English Paper Company and I thought it was perfect for my arch. The image of the little girl is one that I have used many, many times on a number of projects but I never tire of it, and the quote, which I absolutely love, was one I sourced from the net. I printed the text onto Safmat - if you haven't already tried this stuff I urge to you do so! It's far easier to use than those DIY rub-on papers and it's so versatile!

I hope you're inspired to go create your own now, and I look forward to seeing your wonderful masterpieces.