A Quirky sketch

It's Doris' turn to set the Quirky Challenge and she has given us a sketch to use, or you can include hats - or both!

I used Sugar's Doggies from Ditzie Designs for my card - 50% of the profit goes to the Manchester Dog's home, and is an image I purchased a while back. I coloured her with Koh I Noor pencils, first time using them. I vaguely remember buying them and they must have been in a sale. I only have limited colours but I found that I can blend them beautifully with Sansador. I don't normally colour the whole sky but this image has cloud paw prints so I really felt I had to show them up, the blue was a little dark so I tried to lighten it by added white and blending it in. Sugar is a rag doll so she can have green hair if she wants to. One of the little doggies looks like one of mine, the one in her arms is like Alfie the Mini Schnauzer.

I think I need more colouring practice with these wood free pencils.

I die cut the panels with Spellbinders and the word with Impression Obsessions dies.

I don't have a hat so I followed the sketch. The paw print ribbons are a Crafty Ribbons exclusive.

Here is the sketch.

Now hop on over to Quirky Crafts to join in the fun, and maybe win one of the great prizes from our sponsors: That Craft Place, Meljen, and Ditzie Designs.

I have entered the following challenges:

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes #52 (Mon)

Darlene's NBUS - NBUS (31st March)

Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon (Thurs)

Allsorts - feature a creature (Sat)

That Craft Place - Easter/Spring (Sun)

Double birthday

It was Dad's birthday as well as my brother's at the weekend. I had to make some quick cards because we are still dashing around to hospital appointments in between emergency call outs to Mother in Law in the night, and sorting out her carers etc, and not telling her all that is going on so we don't worry her.

We bought my Dad a couple of duck sculptures from the National Trust shop a few weeks ago, it is hard to know what to get him really, but I had this stamp in mind. Oh Duck is by Sheena Douglas, I haven't used it before on a card but I remembered I had stamped sheets of it (I hoped I remembered correctly - I did phew!), and after searching through 3 boxes of stamped and printed images I found it (might have been quicker to stamp it again lol). I added a bit of colour with Prismacolor pencils, a bit of manly ribbon from Crafty Ribbons and die cut Dad (Spellbinders) and Happy Birthday (Impression Obsession). Unfortunately the words ended up decidedly crooked and the the permanent Xyron sticker adhesive was unforgiving so they had to stay wonky!

My Brother's card, he asked me if this was because he lives in S Wales (hadn't even crossed my mind, it was a toss up between this and the Silly Moo image). This is also a Sheena Douglas stamp, again the words are wonky and you can see the adhesive - I did rub a bit more off before I gave it to him. I used more of the masculine ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, and die cuts by Spellbinders and IO dies as before.

I have entered the following challenges (rubbish entries but you have to try):

Creative Card Crew - Easter Critters (Tues)

TTCRD - anything goes week of 24th March (Tues)

Addicted to Stamps - make your mark (Wed/Fri)

Crafty Gals - anything goes (Wed)

Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon (Thurs)

Creative Fingers - #73 anything goes (Fri)

Stamping Sensations - for the guys (March)

Quirky caterpillar

It's Quirky reminder time, and I am sad that only two people have entered something that fits the challenge I set last week. The challenge is about children or animals playing dressing up, and the project must include ribbon.

This is such a cute image called Bugaboo Brats Bugs - Caterpillar. I put my sleeping child on a die cut bench, using a Joy Crafts die, in the garden (where all good caterpillars should be) surrounded by butterflies, and I used chiffon polka dot ribbon, and grosgrain ribbon with hearts both from Crafty Ribbons.

The papers are Marianne Rose Garden, and I used a Marianne icicle die to make the grass. The pink rose border is die cut with another Marianne die.

Marianne products used:

Marianne Design Creatables Die - Icicles LR0135

LR0212 Marianne Design Creatables Anja's Roses Border

Marianne Rose Garden paper stack and decoupage die cut butterflies - free with a magazine.

Inside I used more of the Rose Garden paper pack by Marianne.

This card has crawled into the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes (23rd March)

Papertake Weekly - happy anything (Tues)

Catch the Bug - March Bingo Spring image, ribbon, button (25th March)

Little Miss Muffet - anything goes (Thurs)

Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon (Thurs 2nd April)

Cute Card Thursday - Spring fever

Polkadoodles - birthday (Fri)

Creative Fingers - #72 anything goes (Fri)

That's Crafty - wings and things (30th March)

Graph'it Markers - Spring colours (27th March)

Fussy and Fancy - #135 girly (3rd April)

Marianne Design Divas - for a boy or man (April 13th)

Die Cut Divas - Spring/children (March)

Craft Hoarders Anonymous - go green (April 20th)

Playing Quirky Dressing up.

Happy Mother's day to all of you who are celebrating today, and this challenge is perfect for today because it is about children or fur babies!

It's my turn to set the challenge at Quirky Crafts and I chose Let's play Dressing up, with ribbon.

I want to see children or pets dressed in costumes pretending to be something else, either photos or stamped or digi characters, and you must have ribbon on your project because one of our sponsors is Crafty Ribbons and our first place winner could win these gorgeous new animal ribbons!

The other sponsor is Bugaboo and they provided the great images the team have used today, and you could win some images too.

I have here two little boys dressed as rabbits. I started off with the very cute Bugaboo Brat - Boy Easter Bunny, who is fast asleep, then I thought what is he sleeping on - had to be Easter eggs they were perfect, and I added a friend who is carrying a WOE Big Egg, because all the digis come in .png as well as .jpg it was easy to create this scene. The ribbon is a Crafty Ribbons exclusive Animal Silhouette - Rabbits and is perfect to go with my little bunny boys.

I coloured the images with Promarkers and Graph'it markers, then cut them out with Spellbinders dies. The background paper is a freebie with a magazine. The stamp used for the sentiment was also a magazine freebie.

So hop on over and play dressing up with us, and see some wonderful examples by the rest of the team at Quirky Crafts Challenges.

This card has hopped into the following challenges:

TTCRD - Anything goes (March 10-16) 

Cute Card Thursdays - Celebrate

Moving along with the times - bingo (ribbon, die cut, flowers) (Thurs)

Chocolate Coffee and Cards - for a child (Fri)

Creative Fingers - #71 Anything goes (Fri)

Catch the Bug - Spring into Spring (21st March)

ABC - F is for Festive (1st April)

Pile it on - use 3 of something (3 digi images) (Sun/Wed)

Graph'it Markers - Spring Colours (27th March)

Die Cut Diva's - Children/Spring (March)

WOYWW #301

 I promised I would be here for #300 and I just couldn't do it, it seems like just when things are getting you down life comes along and kicks you again! I won't go into details today but we are under a lot of stress once more and waiting for results which could be bad.
I had cellulitis again too, while we were staying with my son and daughter in law and little grandson, so once more I had to go to Hemel Hemsted hospital for antibiotics, I have finished them now but couldn't carry on with my crochet or do much until it had healed up again, I hope it has healed up completely, I'm not sure it has totally gone.
Anyway now I am sitting here with a numb mouth due to toothache which kept me up all night, and I have some pain relief inserted into the tooth after an emergency dental appointment this afternoon and it seems I have an irreversible infection on the nerve and I will be having root canal treatment. I also have bad sciatica in my left leg and the same pain in my arm (arm sciatica??), so a lot of pain and none of this relates to the problem I mentioned.

The photo above is part way through decluttering magazines, I couldn't just pick up the pile and dump them could I? I had to flick through in case there is something "vital" I need, and the open mags around the space are those with something that interested me. So take out the pages and file them I hear you say, been there done that and ended up with files full of pages I never look at again so I have decided I need to try all of the things here then chuck the magazine away. I did get rid of a pile of mags about 2 foot high! I have an idea, which might not happen - if I can dig my way to the box of offcuts I can either put the box of yarn under it (that's the easy option, I can do that for sure), OR I can give all of the offcuts to the neighbour for the school to use (shock horror) and fill the box with more yarn.
I have decided that the ideal solution would be to get that Really Useful Storage mini unit that you use as a desk and it expands to double the size when you work and is full of RUBs which all of the stuff on the desk could go into. BUT it costs a lot of money, not sure I can justify it at the moment lol, and what about all of the stuff under the current desk, where would that go?

The other side of the desk, I have dropped a few things that need picking up again - can you tell? There are lots of things still to be sorted and put away, mostly stamps.

If I had that lovely Really Useful unit how tidy it all could be...........

I bought a couple of balls of that novelty ripple scarf yarn at a show, it was only £1 a ball, not sure I really like these scarves and I wasn't happy when halfway though there was a knot in the yarn, but I carried on until I hit a broken part! I had to undo it, check the whole thing and start again and I had to use the whole ball or it would have been too short, knots and all.

Have I shown you this before? Apologies if I have. A friend's daughter is expecting any day now, and we don't know the gender so I hope this 12 pointed star blanket in contemporary colours will be acceptable for either boy or girl and I hope it is big enough, I tried it on Captain Cuddles. Pattern was from Inside Crochet, I didn't add the pom poms to each point for H&S reasons.

Hop on over to The Stamping Ground if you want to go on the best desk hop around.

Quirky recipe reminder

 The first photos I took of my box were awfully dark, I thought the mini photo studio was faulty - luckily I took a look and it has 6 screw in bulbs and they were all loose, so phew it is working properly now!
I had this paper mache box on the shelf for a long time, and decided it was time to use it. This is my example for the Quirky Crafts Challenge reminder, the challenge is called Pretty in Pink, and is a recipe: pink, green, cream or white, flowers and ribbon or lace.

I painted my box with Paperartsy Blush Fresco paint and dabbed a bit of Rose Fresco paint on the lid. The images are from our sponsor Stitchy Bear's digital outlet and I used Dandy Flower by Floppe Latte (I think it is lovely) coloured with Promarkers, and a beautiful butterfly by Sentimental Susan which I coloured with Graph'its in Turquoise and pink Promarker pen before cutting out.

I painted over the whole thing with Ranger Rock Candy Crackle paint which is clear so a sort of crackle glaze really. When it was dry and cracked I applied some Treasure Gold gilding wax to the edges and all over the crackle glazed top. I added cream and pink ribbon round the lid and made a bow using the Bowdabra, ribbons and Bowdabra were from Crafty Ribbons.

I might need to add a bit of rose to the sides of the box. Inside I lined the box with pink paper printed with more butterflies in pink and green by Sentimental Susan. It is all ready to be filled up now, Mother's day is coming and it would be perfect to hold a small gift.

My box has flown into the following challenges:

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes (Mon)

Papertake Weekly - anything goes (Tues)

In the Pink - for a special lady (Thurs)

Graph'it Markers - Shabby Chic - vintage colouring (March 13th)

Creative Fingers - #70 anything goes (Fri)

Allsorts - Spring is in the air (Sat)

One Stitch at a time - anything goes with women (Sun) Got a Special Mention

That Craft Place - Mother's day (Sun)

Crafts Galore - anything goes (March)

As pretty (in pink) as a Quirky picture!

This is a very Quirky card, my neice will love these Musical Hamsters, and Musical notes by Sentimental Susan, she has pet hamsters, plays in a band and loves pink (I hope she's not reading this). I coloured the hamsters with Graph'it markers and Pink Promarkers, added lace from my local market, Prima blooms and half pearls, and die cut Happy Birthday with IO dies. The rectangles are cut with Spellbinders dies.

This is the photo inspiration for our challenge set by Monica, and you just need to have pink, green, cream or white with lace or ribbon and flowers on your project.

Come and play with us at Quirky Crafts. You could win these musical hamsters, and more images provided by our sponsor Stitchy Bear, or some images of your choice.

This card has danced it's way into the following challenges:

The Stamping Boutique - layers (Fri)

Ribbon Girl - add flowers (7th Mar)

TTCRD - anything goes 3rd to 9th March

Creative Fingers = #69 Anything goes (Fri)

Die Cut Divas - Spring or children's cards (March)