Prima have a secret

If you are quick you can enter for the blog candy to celebrate the surprise, it closes Sunday evening in the USA over on the Prima blog.

Missed deadline

I was up late trying to make an entry for the Just Cute Bears challenge blog, but I happened to glance on the blog to see if there was an actual time, was it Saturday or Sunday, and found it should have been there by 6pm GMT so I gave up and went to bed, I was on the second attempt having messed up the first one and changed my mind about doing what I thought I was going to do. So you may get to see it, maybe not as it could be adapted for something else that I can't show you yet.

I had a migraine yesterday hanging around from Friday, and it sort of got better midday, though I later had to have a sleep and that is why I was so late starting the card. Also we had unexpected visitors arrive Friday evening, my son and DIL, and they stayed until just before Midday.

Today I just ache all over, every single bit of me inside and out. I have a special card to make for someone who is leaving at the end of this week, really need to get on with it and I am not certain of the design yet. Haven't done it due to being ill last weekend with the virus, which affected me for the whole week.

Whimsy stamps blog candy

This candy closes tomorrow, but that means you still have time to enter. This is advertising the new Whimsy Inspirations blog.

First Mountain and Valley card

I had the urge to try something different despite my record with sharp objects and thought I would try mountain and valley cards, I have seen these called another name but I can't recall it. I used my Fiskars finger knife which does seem easier to control than standard knives but I think I am heavy handed.

I used a set of stamps by Tanda Stamps, and papers by The English Paper Company designed by Vanessa Arbuthnott which were perfect for this card. Images were coloured with Promarkers. I added key charms and cut tags using my Spellbinders tag die set. Blooms are Prima, and dew drops are Patti Pritilicious
I have seen this type of card finished in three different ways now, and may further experiment to find which is best.

Challenge 22 - Cute

Today is the start of Challenge 22 over on Quirky Crafts Challenge blog. The challenge is sponsored by the Cutting Cafe and you can win some digital downloads of your choice.

Also if you want to apply for the Quirky Crafts design team you have until 28th Feb.

Before this challenge I hadn't really used digital downloads much though I have quite a few saved and now I think I will use them more. The beauty of them is that they are inexpensive, don't take up storage space in the home, and you can change them in size or colour.

I have used a combination of a sentiment from the Cutting Cafe Nice sheet, and stamps from the Crafty Pad (Shelley and Twitter I think) which I think go together perfectly.
 Can anyone tell me by the way why it is that I always get sick on the weekends so I lose out on my personal time? No, I don't suppose you can. I was in bed most of yesterday, and feel like going there today I am so bunged up with cold, but at least my throat is less painful, but I will have a shower, think I need it.
So without further ado (and too much more unwanted information) here are two versions of the same card layout.

Die cut shapes are all done with Nestabilities, paper is from Pocket Full Of Posies by DCWV, glitter glue on Prima blooms is Ice Stickles and is still wet in this photo, ink is Memento, images coloured with Promarkers.

Now I am looking for challenges I can enter and I didn't make my cards with any other challenges in mind but I found the following:
I hope these qualify for the green + 1 challenge on My time to Craft.
and O is for one piece of paper on ABC challenges

Lori asked how I got my sparkly signature, well someone on UK Scrappers forum was offering a long time ago, and probably still does it, and made my sig for free to use on the forum, I didn't have the blog then but I tried copying it in a a photo and it worked. There are lots of free sites where you can do your own but none are as good as my own signature below which has no links to adverts and doesn't disappear to force you back to the site.

Hey, welcome back!

Hi Followers, I see you now! WAVES. I am not well today, seem to have caught a virus from work. I have a card in progress and need to make my DT card for Quirky Crafts Challenge blog, I hope I will be able to do that later.
I spent all morning in bed and feel like I want to be there now, but I might take a shower to see if I feel a bit better.
This little chap was at the donkey sanctuary in with some donkeys and his friend. I couldn't work out why he was paying me so much attention then realised he could smell the chocolate in my handbag and was trying to get it, and on my hand as I had eaten a piece before walking round. He settled for licking my hand in the end but his friend was trying to get me from under the bag too! The donkeys took no notice, I presume that these ponies had tasted chocolate before!

I call this shot "I am not a donkey, therefore give me the chocolate NOW!"

Escapee?

I found out yesterday that the missing followers is a known problem, at least I know how many I have but I just can't see you any longer, I hope they fix it soon.

Happy Chinese New Year

I wanted to make a card but I haven't been feeling well today, so this recent photo from Paignton Zoo will have to do instead.

Simples

This is especially for Cassidy.

 

 

Oh, and this is not a meerkat.

 

We went to the ZOO ZOO ZOO how about you you you

We haven't been to a zoo for years, but visited Paignton zoo last week and here are a few pictures. I am hoping to do a slide show soon, isn't that monkey cute?

 

  

 

 

Quirky Crafts Challenge 21 - Valentine's

Challenge 21 on the new Quirky Crafts blog begins today and the theme is Valentines/Foreign. It is sponsored by the Cutting Cafe and the prize is from there.

You can make any craft project on the theme of Valentines, Foreign or Foreign Valentines to enter and win three downloads of your choice of digi images from Cutting Cafe.


The card I made is a gatefold, and this was not what I set out to do, it was accidental due to the wrong crease but then I decided it would work even better than I had planned. The birds are a bit big to be hiding in the love tree but that is the idea, open the card and find the birds.
The great thing about digital images is that you can resize them to suit your design. I used the tree on the front and cut some of the hearts out to decoupage them, also to overlap the edges of the long rectangle cut with Nestabilities. All the images and sentiments used on this card are from the Cutting Cafe. I wondered if it was a bit too plain but decided to leave it like that as I like it.

Thanks Just Cute Bears Challenge

I received a gorgeous congrats card with my prize stamp today when I got back home, lovely surprise. Thanks Ali.

50 followers - thank you all

I know I have 50 followers, but I cannot see who they are any more, I hope that comes back and I don't know why it isn't working any longer. I have tried to delete the gadget and re-add it but that didn't fix it.

Been away for a couple of days

Did you miss me? Probably not. I went to Torquay for a couple of days, and I came back with new goodies and hundreds of photos which I haven't looked at yet and hopefully will show you some of them soon, at the risk of boring you to bits, maybe I will make a new slide show.

Brand New Challenge Blog and DT call

Quirky Crafts forum has launched the Quirky Crafts challenge blog, so the fortnightly challenges that were previously hosted on the forum will now be on the brand new stylish blog. We also have some great new sponsors, so there are lovely prizes to be won if you enter and win. Of course new sponsors are also very welcome, and will be featured on the blog and forum. There are also great guest designers who are joining in with the DT.

There is also a design team call out at the moment and open until 28th February, so hop on over and find out all about it.

Win this gorgeous stamp in the current challenge ending tomorrow.

Errmmmm

Followers - where have you gone? I hope this isn't something else that has stopped working, I can't leave comments on blogs that don't have pop up or new page comments, I can't access slide using Firefox and I can in IE but I can't edit it so have had to lose my main slideshow, now this.

Challenge reminder

Over on the very friendly Quirky Crafts Forum we are having a ball with great new challenge sponsors and prizes this year. The current challenge is teddy bears, so get your teddy bear stamps, papers, dies or punches out and make a card or any other craft project and join in.
The challenge this fortnight is sponsored by The Crafty Pad and you can win a prize of the lovely stamps over there.
My DT card uses one of my favourite Crafty Pad stamps, a teddy holding the word hugs:

The calendar and the next card are made using stamps or images from The Crafty Pad too.

So what are you waiting for, get over there and enter your project before Sunday when another challenge will be announced which is sponsored by The Cutting Cafe who are the sponsors for February.

Spent my voucher

I had managed to spend my Crackerbox Palace voucher by page 7 with a lot of pages to go, and I couldn't resist buying more, so have a heap of rubber on the way. I think some of the sentiments are very witty. I love the various bugs too. Ian Fluenza is one. I have the lovely silhouette stamps already or I would have bought more.

I'm off to the sea side tomorrow, will it be nice I wonder? Hubby has my old camera, I have a brand new lens but I am not telling him exactly what it cost, he thinks I was going for one for £333, not going to tell him it was a "cough" bit more than that! I hope it will be well worth it.

I took this to try it out, loved the dew drops on the branches but could probably do some trickery to the background if I tried.

 

 

I won again

I was thrilled to find out I have won a $25 voucher to buy stamps from Crackerbox Palace, who also sell on Ebay as One Rubber Room. Now on the web site you can buy the stamps unmounted, so I can get a whole heap of stamps for my voucher, whoopee! There are great stamps there too, I bought some a few weeks ago, and I love the silhouettes of horses, and the nasty bugs great for get well cards.

Whooo Hooo I won a challenge

I was picked at random as the first winner on the Just Cute Bears Challenge blog with my card below. I am thrilled to win but although I could leave a link with Mr Linky I cannot leave a comment on the blog. I have contacted Ali on her own blog instead. I think the blogs I can't comment on are ones who have not selected the comments to appear in a pop up window, or a full page, anything else and I don't see a box, cannot leave a comment which is so frustrating. Pop up comment boxes are fine and I don't know why.

This really cute teddy bear stamp is what I have won. Awww, will be able to make more cards for the challenge with this.