Long time no see - Quirky Picture this challenge.

Quirky Crafts challenges are back, and we need at least one more person on the team so we are having a DT call as well.

The first challenge of 2017 is set by me and is Called Quirky Picture This. I want you to use a photo either the actual photo on your project, or to be inspired by the colours, layout, elements of your favourite photo, and if you don't use the whole photo on your make you need to show us the photo you used.

I didn't know if I was going to be able to make something, it's been a long time and my mojo was gone, but I did it! I printed four photos of my dogs, well mostly of my new rescue dog Luna who has been here two months now since flying from Cyprus with just one of Sooty at the bottom. Life has never been the same, and I have had to buy new footwear and a shoe cupboard with doors to keep her from the shoes and boots! The top photo shows the first shoe of mine she destroyed!

The photo of her sitting is when she first arrived, sitting looking cute in her new crocheted jumper with pretty buttons to put it on - until she chewed them all off making holes in the process! Now it is sewn together and has to go over her head and has a few chunks missing!

Our sponsors for this challenge are Bugaboo and Crafty Ribbons, and all the cute digi dogs I used are part of the same set called Bugvalpup. I had to get some of the Instagram camera ribbon for this too, and more muddy paws ribbons. I also added buttons, twine and an odd sequin. I coloured the pups and hearts with Graph'it markers, and found that the canvas paper I used is very absorbent and it's impossible to blend, the ink just dries instantly.

The canvas is mounted on a frame which was part of a set destined for the charity shop, it seemed like a good idea to try using it. 

I finished the picture with muddy paws ribbon all round the outside.

Hop on over to Quirky and see what the rest of the team have made and maybe join in the fun!

Challenges Entered:

Crafty Gals Corner - add ribbon (Tues)

As you like it - favourite non card make - this because it is my gorgeous doggies! (ends Wed 8th)

Inspiration Destination - anything goes #123 (14th March)

Colour Crazy Challenge - anything goes (17th March)

Love to Create - 5 anything goes (18th March/2nd April)

Catch the Bug - anything but a card (March)

Love to scrap - LTSCB #95 - Anything Goes! (March)

Challenges won:

Crafty Ribbons, entered on Facebook.

T on Tuesday, I'm back!

 Well I've not joined in for many months at Elizabeth's and Bleubeard's place for tea on Tuesday, but here I am with my hot chocolate in the foreground surveying heaps of boxes.

I had to clear out my craft room when my husband was supposed to be coming home, and I had a hospital bed and equipment installed in here ready, which meant a lot of boxes of stash were relocated upstairs and to any available space. After (my husband died in the hospice) the equipment was collected I decided that I didn't want the table that was in here with all it's messy boxes underneath.

(I should mention here that my husband passed away in August, in case you didn't read the last post linked below which is on my crochet blog, as several people assumed he was still alive, sorry my fault.)

Instead I would buy a Really Useful Storage unit called The Petite Salcombe from Storage4Crafts. This is a folding unit that holds lots of different size Really Useful Boxes, and the plan is to sort my stash back into the boxes and they will be stored out of sight when it's folded and easily accessible when working.

I'm currently rethinking which stash will go in the boxes, a lot of what was under and around the old desk was yarn and that won't necessarily work with this system because it would totally fill and and maybe some of the boxes aren't big enough for yarn stash.

What I might do now is to clear out some drawers of stash that are currently under the bench down the side of the room. Then I might have room for the yarn boxes, and even buy a few more under bed storage boxes for yarn if I need to. Not sure what I will do with the drawers yet - unless the yarn can go in the larger ones!

I'm also thinking I can maybe clear some of my shelves and store things that didn't fit on them.

This 35l box will not fit the unit, not sure where I will put it. I bought two that hold hanging files, the first one is 19l but I wasn't sure one would be big enough, and I decided to use this one instead for all of my (mostly printed) crochet patterns in the same place and labelled into types of pattern so I can find them easier, except for those (now probably vintage) ones I have in a folder, and the crochet magazines. I have sorted all the loose patterns into here now. There is room for more when I print them too! Some of the magazines I buy digitally and only print the patterns I really want to make one day......not sure which one day!

I just heard two pieces of news, one is that the unit is arriving tomorrow (will need assembling but I am quite good at that) and my visitors are arriving during the day tomorrow (panic) so I need to clear a space in here for the boxes with the unit to fit, and to have space to assemble it (will have help now lol). I think once I can fit the boxes in I can really get stuck in to tidying and maybe I can start paper crafting again! I also need to get some stuff done before the visitors arrive, move all things an 11 month old will get into, clean the floor, make beds etc.

Also Sooty has a check up tomorrow, he had a bladder stone removed last week. He seems much happier now, we just need to get back to normal walks - and the furniture is piled up with objects to try and stop him jumping on it, he wasn't allowed to jump up. Nobody can sit down right now without moving something like the laundry basket.

Here's Sooty just after the operation, wearing his pink lampshade and Alfie's jumper because he was shaved quite a lot. He really liked the home cooked chicken and rice, I had to keep it going for a week to get the antibiotics into him, and he looked a bit disappointed when it stopped but it did make his beard very smelly!

Dog Sweater

 Alfie dog is old and suffers from arthritis, and we tend to leave his hair to grow in cold weather, however he now hates being groomed due to the pain and gets very knotted up. So the solution (I hope) will be to trim him and let him wear this sweater in cold weather.
Alfie is not a lover of clothes, he does not co-operate with dressing up, and his legs are stiff. Because of that I modified this slip on sweater pattern so that it buttoned down the back, the dog can just step into it and be buttoned up.

I'm working on another sweater for a friend's bigger dog at the moment.

I've entered a challenge:

Anything but a card - anything goes (Sun)

It is getting Quirky colder, and those leaves are still falling.

 To make a change from Ike's Art lovely cats, here is an Ike's Art lovely dog image. He is called Leaf Pooch, and is such a happy Jack Russell that I thought the Hero Arts Sending Smiles stamp was perfect to go with him and it is stamped in brown Versacolor and heat embossed with clear EP. I cut all the panels out with Spellbinders card creator and rectangle dies. I found some Autumn Papermania ribbon with more leaves on it. The paper is HOTP Artsy Collage. I kept this card monotone in shades of brown, apart from the green in the ribbon, and pink tongue, and it is coloured with Graph'Its, and Promarkers which blend together beautifully.

This card is made in the same way, paper from the same pad, and same sentiment (and I used another dog image). I just thought this was such an amusing scene it would make someone smile too. The image is called Standing Guard by Gingerloft from Stitchy Bear Stamps, the ribbon is also from the same pack.

This image is coloured mostly with Promarkers, with a little Graph'Its brown for the soil, they blend together beautifully.

Our sponsor is Stitchy Bear, and the challenge is happening at Quirky Crafts now, you have until Saturday 11th October to join in.

I have entered the following challenges with a woof:

Die cutting Divas - anything goes (Tues)

Addicted to Stamps - photo inspiration (Wed)

Left of Center - 3 or more layers (Fri)

One Stitch at a time - colour orange (Sat)

Open Minded Crafting Fun - Autumn (Sat)

Pile it on - Autumn colours (Sat)

ABC - U for Unique anything goes (Sept 15th)

Graphit Markers - autumn colours (17th Oct)

Pan Pastels - Autumn (18th Oct)

Crafty Little Faries - only one DP (6th November)

WOYWW #233

 The Stamping Ground has has a makeover! It looks like Pudsey bear went decorating, it is very bright, and if you go over there you can join in the madness that is WOYWW! You didn't expect to see this did you! We visited my Son and Daughter in Law and little grandson Kenny on Sunday, and stayed over until Monday afternoon. While I was there I made this owl hat from a Let's Get Crafting, knitting and crochet magazine, the yarn came with the mag as well as a hook and knitting needles. To my Son's amazement I had this completed in one evening.

 The toy dog modelled the hat....

...... and Sooty modelled the hat.... Kenny wouldn't keep it on long enough for a photo! It was obvious that this 2 to 5 year old size hat was a bit small on one 18 month old Kenny though! Normally my tension is fine, so what went wrong? There was no tension piece given, the yarn is fairly poor quality, I don't know if going up half or one hook size would do it, or maybe different yarn. I am looking for different patterns now! (Sooty and Alfie had baths before they visited, they needed them!).

Here is the desk, covered in stamping and some interesting looking drawers, and a fish and chip box - that is where my latest Little Claire stamps are until I can find a bigger folder to put them in.

Did you guess what the drawers were? This is on the floor, was on the desk, but I needed to stamp. I love the look of these organisers and when I sold some of my big clothes on ebay I used the money to buy one. I like them plain white, but when it arrived I felt it needed some decoration. I am over painting some of the sections, I started with Fresco paints and they haven't covered well, and I am going over them with Indigo Blu paints, which are covering better unless it all just needs two coats! One panel experimentally stenciled and stamped, I am sort of wishing I hadn't started because it is turning into a long job and I can't use it until I have finished!

Oh and I have a poorly mouse, the computer kind! This wouldn't be a problem, I have a couple of old meeces somewhere, but I now use an air mouse, in the air, and don't leave a space for a mouse mat, besides using a conventional mouse hurts my hands and arms. It is so difficult trying to navigate with the mouse in semi normal mode, and semi not working mode! I remember that years ago when home computers and even work computers came on the scene, there were no meeces! We managed!

A sketch challenge by Quirky Lyn

Yes it is one of Lyn's sketches this time round, and the sponsor is Bugaboo (Lyn's personal favourite).

For my first card I used Lilies from Bugaboo, a hand drawn image which is lovely. I wanted to keep the delicate blooms as the focal point so hunted for some papers to do this, the striped paper was a freebie with Crafts Beautiful magazine, the butterflies are an English Paper Company paper. I coloured the lilies with Promarkers and Trias and then painted the petals with Artists Iridescent Medium for a sparkly finish. I added some organza ribbon and some pretty pearl brads and stamped For You o the paper, the sketch is flipped for this one.

 My second example is an Easter card featuring Eggbert Bunny  from Bugaboo- so cute! Again coloured with Promarkers and Trias, and cut with Nestabilities ovals and scalloped ovals, and the papers are freebies from Crafts Beautiful magazine. Blooms, ribbons, bows, pearls and Happy Easter stamp are by Papermania. Eyelets from stash.

 My third card is a masculine doggy one, and I used Oz Toto  from Bugaboo on this one, with papers and stickers by Boxer Scrapbook Productions, and the Papers are called Woof Words.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on a bone sticker, and the stamp is from a clear set by Hero Arts of birthday greetings. I searched everywhere for the bone eyelets only to find them in the first place I looked. Do you like the bone shaped paperclip? I don't know who it is by (It might be Queen and Co but I can't be sure). Toto is coloured with Promarkers, and I particularly like him because he is just like Alfie dog.

If you want to see some more lovely examples and join in to try and win 7 (yes 7) digi's from our generous sponsor Bugaboo, then hop on over to the Quirky Crafts Challenge blog right now.

I have entered the Dog one in Pollycrafts Monday challenge - mmmmmmm Choklit!!

I have also entered him in Cute Card Thursday (or take your pick of the two cuties) -Anything Goes.

I have also entered the dog in   I ♥ ProMarkers  - use three different papers, a Wednesday fortnightly challenge.

I have entered the Thursday challenge at MAWTT - Easter Wishes (hmm all coming out choklit coloured I see).

I have also entered the Easter card in Joanna Sheen's monthly challenge - Spring is in the Air.