Country Companions

Good Evening,

Ah thank goodness it's Friday, is it me or has it been a really long week?

I'm sad to say even though the week's felt long I haven't managed to fit in very much crafting.  I started this card on Tuesday and finished it the following evening although I didn't get round to photographing it until last night.

Nearly everything that makes up this card is from the Country Companions range and was given to me by my pal Fiona.  I've just added some co-ordinating 'swiss dots' cardstock, pearls and some flowers to echo the colours and the daisies in the decoupage image.  The leaves were die-cut using a Sizzlits die from Stampin' Up.  The little butterflies were punched using my daughter's Woodware punch.

I am entering this card into the Floral Challenge (Garden) and Katy's Photo Challenge over on Docrafts.

Shona xx

New Heights

Good afternoon,

It's been not too bad a day today, dry and almost Springlike!

It was with much sadness that I made today's offering.  Iona's teacher left on Friday to take up a temporary post as Acting Head Teacher at another Primary School.  She really is a super teacher and we wish her luck in her new post but she will be missed!  As she is a crafter herself I wanted to make her a card to wish her well.  Iona and I also gave her some Art Journalling goodies as she is taking part in a workshop soon.

 

 

The stamp I've used is appropriately called New Heights.  I've had it in my stash for a while thinking it would be a good one for using at the end of the school year.  I've coloured it with Promarkers and mat it on to a die cut circle inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  The sentiment is by LOTV and it has also been inked, it is layered on to a Spellbinders lacey circle die cut.  The paper is a Portobello Road 12x12 cut down and as time was short I've kept the embellies simple with x-cut die cut stars and some pearls.

 

In other news I'm happy to report that my workplace raised over £210 for British Heart Foundation at our Rock Up In Red Day on Thursday.  I'm amazed we made that much.  We all paid £1 to wear something red and as well as my cards we had a cake stall, second hand books, bric a brac, guess the bear's name, etc.

 

Bye for now,

Shona x

Rock Up In Red

Good Evening,

Gosh it's wet and super windy here tonight. I got soaked just crossing the hospital car park to get to my car!

I'm posting another nice bright card to cheer things up and it's another one I'm going to donate to the Bring and Buy stall at our work's British Heart Foundation Fundraiser on Thursday.

I've used a Gorjuss stamp coloured with Promarkers as the main focus and used an inked die cut circle for the mat.  I've also inked the LOTV sentiment and mounted it on a Spellbinders Lacey circle die cut.  I've used 2 different papers from the Papermania Cranberry and Apple Capsule collection and finished off with an organza ribbon bow and some card candi as I remporarily ran out of red pearls and gems!

Hope everyone is safe and well indoors out of this awful weather.  Night night x

A Belated Happy New Year to Everyone

Hi folks, sorry I haven't been around for a while.  It's been an awful start to the year as my Auntie who we share a house with got taken into hospital on New Years Day morning after suffering a mini stroke, unfortunately she suffered another mini stroke (TIA) on arrival at hospital and then a more serious stroke through the night.  She was left with right side weakness, mainly her arm, but her speech on the whole was unaffected with only a slight slur when she's tired.  Last weekend we had her down to the coffee bar at the hospital in a wheelchair and she was so glad to get a proper coffee at last lol!  Unfortunately on Tuesday I got a phone call to say that she had taken a turn for the worse, I rushed straight over as I just work across the road, for the NHS, to find that she had taken a Pulmonary Embolism (clot in lung) and had been taken to the High Dependency Unit.  I'm pleased to say that she has responded very well to the clot busting drug they gave her and is now back to the Stroke Unit again and hopefully this has just been a slight setback in her rehab.  She is remarkable for 86 and although she struggles a bit with her mobility due to Arthritis, she is normally very sprightly for her age.  We have always been very close, especially since I lost my Mum, also to a stroke, just before I turned 14, and she is like a second Mum to me.  She really is an inspiration and is fighting back and working hard during her physio sessions, and on her own, and now is starting to get some grip back in her right hand.

Much of my time has been taken up with hospital visits as well as juggling work, family, housework, etc, so crafting has gone on the back burner.  Although now that she is improving again I've started to get back into it. So apologies for not keeping up with all your blogs over the last few weeks, hopefully as she recovers I will gradually get back into the swing of it.

Here's a card I made primarily for a British Heart Foundation fundraiser we are having at work this week but I have decided to enter it into the A-Z colour challenge over on Docrafts.  We are on letter 'X' so the host has decided that we will make an 'Extra' card from any of the colours that has gone before so I've chosen Fire Engine Red.

The image is a Teddy Bo magazine freebie stamp which I've coloured with Promarkers.  I've had this set for ages and although I've used some of the sentiments, this is my first Teddy Bo.  I think she looks quite funky!  I've layered the image on to a mat made from an X-cut parenthesis die which I've inked with Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink. I've used an LOTV sentiment, also inked, and mounted onto an X-cut scalloped circle die cut.  The hearts are die cut using x-cut dies on pre embossed red card.  The papers are also magazine freebies and the wee tags are from the Me to You With Love range.  I've added some satin ribbon, paper cord which is like bakers twine but doesn't fray, and red pearls to finish.  I'm sure this won't be my last Teddy Bo card as I really enjoyed colouring her in!

It's been a while...

Good evening fellow crafters, gosh it's been ages since my last post.  I've just been so busy getting organised for Christmas that crafting has taken a bit of a back seat.  Although I have been knitting some scarves for presents.  I'm sure we are all in the same boat just now.

I took some time tonight to chill with Iona and we watched Snow Buddies on DVD which was good fun, and I still managed to do some knitting at the same time!

I made this card last night for my crafty friend Fiona and her family.  I've just one more card to make - one for Iona, so watch this space!  Poor Rab, I was getting a bit worried about running out of time so I bought a shop one for him :o(

I've used Graphic 45 and Kanban papers matted and layered with kraft cardstock.  I've also used the kraft card for the LOTV sentiment and the punched snowflakes.  The main image is a topper by Wee Stamps.  I've finished off the card with pale blue pearls and gems and a brown gingham ribbon bow.  I really love the expressions on the girls faces they look like they're having a lot of fun!

I hope you are all more organised than I am!  I will catch up with everything I've missed over the last few weeks after the 25th! 

Just in case I don't manage time on here before hand I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and get everything you wish for.

Shona xx

Yummy Cake

Hello,

Well I've had another night off from crafting.  Mondays and Tuesdays are busy for me as Iona has clubs she goes to and my husband doesn't drive so Mum is the taxi service.  I'm always glad to get Tuesday over with as the rest of the week isn't usually so stressful!

This is a card I made (very quickly) on Saturday for my pal Fiona's daughter.  I'm not usually so disorganised but my plan to make it on Thursday night backfired after I spent 2 hours off and on  the phone to NHS 24 then ended up in A&E just before midnight after my aunt burst a blood vessel in her eye.  As she is 86 they didn't want to take any chances but happily she is completely fine, the look of it is the worst thing about it!

It wasn't so much of a rush as it sounds as I had already made up my mind that I would use this decoupaged Forever Friends image.  I mounted it on white pearlised card die-cut with a X-cut scalloped oval die.  I've used a smaller die-cut for the number 6.  I've used lilac gingham and spot papers by Craftworks Cards mounted on bright pink cardstock and added a ribbon bow, pearls and gems to finish.  The little flower stickers, sentiment and cardstock number sticker are all from forever friends.

I'm off to bed now or it will be another late one!

Feeling Blue!

Evening Folks,

I've taken a couple of days off blogging after the end of the A-Z Christmas Challenge and not done much crafting either!  The challenge just about wiped me out although I enjoyed it immensely.

I've also been taking part in the A-Z Colour Challenge over on Docrafts since it started earlier in the year, we are now on the letter 'U' for Ultramarine and/or Umber.  I decided on Ultramarine and thought I would make good use of my Capsule Collection papers I also decided to combine my card with Katy's Sketch Challenge as I really like the sketch this week.

I've really just followed the sketch and used different papers from the Burleigh Blue collection some of them layered with Coredinations Cardstock.  I've also used the cardstock to die-cut a flourish using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die and a scalloped circle by X-cut to mount a LOTV sentiment on to.  I've fininshed the card with 3 gems as per the sketch but also added a sprinkling of gems around the flourish for extra detail.

I should really be making my Christmas cards for close family but I'm having a lazy few days and hopefully I'll catch up later in the week!

Shona xx