Bear with me!

Hi, and welcome!

Sorry 'bout the title......holding my hands up....rubbish at thinkin' up new titles.....and sorry that I've been AWOL for the past week.......family stuff going on, but nothing that would interest you....just time-consuming for me.

This is going to be a short one, so straight to the card................

White textured card base, layered with blue cardstock and an embossed aperture frame (Cardcraft)....I coloured the embossed flowers (Promarkers) and then painted on some glittery Modpodge....I like the effect this gave because it dries clear, and the colour is softened, but glittery...luvverly......

....the image is from Cuddly Buddly, and originally had a funky frame around it, but that didn't look right with the layout of the card, so I coloured, and then cut around and mounted onto the corner of the card with sticky pads........

Hope you can get an idea of the glittery fabbiness (new word) of these flowers, lol........

I placed a scrap of DP (K&CO) behind the aperture, and it was from this that I took the colour combo......there are two lines of embossing around the frame, and I used Promarkers on these, too........

The ticket was a freebie (love tickets) and the sentiment,  in my humble opinion, could cover a myriad of occasions......can ya tell this card is destined for my "just in case" stash, lol.......

And here's a  reminder of what goes on the back of most of my cards....coloured to match the theme of the card, of course.......:)

I don't think I'm going to be able to post before I leave for my jollies (Cornwall), so behave yourselves while I'm away....that means YOU,  Stef and Birdie!!

Challenges:

ilovepromarkers.blogspot.com

Use an animal

paperprettiesblog.blogspot.com

Flowers

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

I got an Award....Yaaaay!

Hello, and welcome!

I recently discovered a wonderful blog all about beautiful places in which to fulfill our creative dreams.

I was honoured when the creator of this lovely place became a follower, here, in my own little spot in Blogland.....her name is Rochelle, and you can visit her here .......I'm sure you'll love what you find!  And that's her Blog Candy you can see on my side-bar....she's very generous!

Today, Rochelle let me know that she's passed on an award that she's also received.....thank you, Rochelle!

Here's the rules:

- Thank the person who gave this to me and link back to her blog
- Share 8 things about myself
- Pass this to 8 other bloggers
- Leave a comment so they can pass along the recognition

Done the first, so here's 8 things about myself.....always feel a bit awkward doin' this......

1.  If Donny Osmond ever proposes to me, I'll divorce Ken.

2. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 12....and I can only ride one if I am going at full pelt...if I slow down, I fall off....saves on brake pads.

3. I can't see films in 3D, or look into binoculars......I've always been almost blind in my left eye....makes goin' round corners interesting.

4. I once walked half a mile, on a bright sunny day, wearing sunglasses, and thought people were being extra friendly, smilin' at me, until I met my daughter....who then told me that one of my lenses was missin'.......it WAS the blind eye, after all.

5. I can sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in French.

6. After eating and enjoying mushrooms, all my life, I suddenly became allergic to 'em, a few years ago.

7. I once won a talent contest as a Cilla Black look-alike, but singing as Dusty Springfield.

8. My Mam calls me Marie.

I'm passin' the award onto these lovely ladies....go pay them a visit.....

pscreations-sa.blogspot.com

scrappyfairy.blogspot.com

doreensdream.blogspot.com

inkyhugz.blogspot.com

glitterbabegreetings.blogspot.com

flowersandflutterbys.blogspot.com

ruthietootie.blogspot.com This little lady is only 12 years old but very talented!

willstampforwine.blogspot.com

Hope you do visit....very talented people out there!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

            

What's my style?

Hi, and welcome!

I absolutely luuuurve visiting other people's crafty blogs....not just cardmakers......almost any kind of craft will do it for me.......and I am regularly knocked out by all the creativity that I find.

What always amazes me is the diversity within that creativity, and there are many "styles" that I aspire to emulate, with varying degrees of success...............but still haven't worked out what my own particular "style" may be.

When I sit down to make a card, I rarely have much of an idea of what I'm going to do.....which is why I love sketches and a challenge theme.  I think I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm a craft-butterfly....I flit from one thing to the other, doin' a bit of this, and a bit of that, and never really settling on any one thing......in other words......fickle, lol.

Today's card is meant for my daughter-in-law, Tanys.....she will be 21 years old at the beginning of June....and I wanted to get ahead of all the up-coming birthdays before we go on holiday........

I actually started with the stamp for this one.......can't remember the maker, but it's a wood-mounted rubber one that I have had for about 6 years, but have always loved.........

I used Perfect Petals Fluid Chalk ink in a soft brown and mounted onto a Nestie's Flower Doily, which was layered onto a white doily that I inked around the edges........

I cut the funky blue flowers from a piece of DP (DCWV)....and the round scalloped one, behind, is a chipboard from K&Co.........

Another of the fussy-cut ones....love the sparkle on these...........

The background layers are all from the same Die-Cuts-With-A-View stack , and I inked around the edges with a Promarker......

how d'you like the chipboard "T" (for Tanys).......covered ith with the DP and inked.......the butterflies are two from the same sticker sheet, stuck one on top of the other.....pretty......

The lacey border and corners are cut with Nesties....first time I've used 'em, lol.....

and there's the finished card, again.......

Next card is going to be another male one.......hmmph........got a brother with a birthday at the beginning of June....like I said...tryin' to get ahead with 'em!

Thanks for takin' a look.....love it when you do!

Challenges~

toptiptuesday.blogspot.com

Flower Frenzy

crazychallenge.blogspot.com

Anything goes

shellysimagesblog.blogspot.com

Girly/Sweet

papertakeweekly.blogspot.com

Fancy a punch

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Anniversary card....already?

Hello, and welcome!

Do any of you quilt (apart from you, Leigh-Anne!)?  I've always loved the whole concept of quilts.......the warmth......the patterns.....the colours.....the textures......and the stories behind them.  I very badly wanted to learn how to make one for myself....just the one would have been fine.  One problem.......I couldn't use a sewing machine.

To cut a long story short....ooooo, that's not like me........a very special lady introduced me to Singer Featherweight sewing machines.......and off I went!

For those of you who have never heard of these little miracles, Featherweights were the first "portable" machine's that Singer made.....and in a side note, one of my Scottish ancestors was responsible for opening and running the first Singer factory in North America.......and these little machines are so sturdy, and so easy to use that I instantly fell in love with them, and had to buy one.....enter eBay and a fierce bidding war, which I was determined to win...and did!

Featherweights are all antiques, now.......I own two little beauties......both from the early 1930's, and I wouldn't part with them for the world.

Daughter #3 (Leigh-Anne) fell in love, too, even though she'd never sewn, either......and I bought her a Featherweight as a combined Christmas and birthday present, a few years ago.

So, off we went on our journey to learn how to make quilts.....and Leigh has far outrun me....she's made a number of beautiful quilts that are in daily use in her home, while mine......well, let's say a made a few, but I've got quite a few "tops" that really need to be finished....trouble is, I love sewing and pieceing the quilt tops, but really don't like doing the "sandwich" bit....or the cutting out at the beginning....Leigh-Anne, I can hear you shoutin' at the screen!.....and #3 does the cutting for me, for which I'm very grateful :D......but she does get the benefit of all my scraps, and some of her loveliest quilts have been made from those scraps.....so, good result for both of us......yaaay!

This has been rather lengthy...sorry....but the point is, I want to finish one of those lingerin' quilt tops, and show you the finished article....so please spur me on.......I'm relying on you, lol!

Today's card is an anniversary card for Jonathan and Tanys....I can't believe they will have been married for two whole years, at the end of this month!

I enjoyed making yesterday's overhang card so much, that I thought I'd do another one........

I've been very wordy, so I'll do you a favour, and just let you see the piccies, lol.......

There you go.........thanks for stickin' with me!

Challenges:
sarahhurleychallenges.blogspot.com
Things with wings
claudiaandcompany.blogspot.com
Have a butterfly on your card (mine are in the image)
digistamps4joy.blogspot.com
Its a celebration

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Another Birthday Boy Card!

Hello, and welcome!

Here's aheads-up for you.....Katie over at bothsidesofthepaper.blogspot.com has got the most fantastic Blog Candy!!

Well, we've had the  lot today.....beautiful blue skies, soft, fluffy white clouds, warm sunshine.......black clouds, howling wind, thunder, lightening, and torrential downpours!!

My poor old Bonnie (ancient black Lab) has always been terrified of heavy rain and thunderstorms, and I had to let her jump up on the sofa, next to me, and cradle her head......but she didn't want to do that...oh no....she wanted to push behind me, and hide until it was over!

I keep tellin' her she's a gun dog, and should be comfortable around loud bangs and water, but she just puts her paw over her nose, and peeps at me with those soft, brown eyes........aaawwww, lol!

At least I was at home, today, when the storm broke,........we were all out, last time, and came home to a living room door that had huge gouges in it, and the carpet underneath it torn to bits!  Told ya she didn't like storms. Tut.

Had some time to be a bit creative today.........

Grandson #4, otherwise known as William, will be 8 years old, later this month, and I wanted to get his card made, because we'll actually be on holiday in Cornwall, when the big day arrives. 

We spend a week on holiday, each year, with daughter #2 (Gillian) and her family, usually in Cornwall.....William is second son in the family, so we'll get to spend a lovely day with him......party time!

Here's the card................

Card base is kraft, and I cut a piece out from the side so I could over-hang the image.......I layered scraps of DP onto a muted orange piece of card, inked all the edges (always seems to finish the piece off nicely).........did a strip to put on the inside of the card, along the edge that shows.......

This is a Cuddly Buddly image that was a treat to colour!  I cut the image out, and put it onto a frame that was actually a page from a mini-book.....it was from AMM (All My Memories)........and then punched those cute li'l shapes and drew the lines.....kinda works, I think, lol..........then stuck a #8 on to an extra large brad.......

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to add some texture to this shape......I free-hand drew it before embossin'.......neat, eh?......then punched the primitive star shapes from scraps, inked, and added teeny-tiny brads in the centres......

How d'you like this cotton ribbon?  It's self-adhesive, and was also from AMM.......the colours matched my papers perfectly, so couldn't resist usin' it.........looks like I've inked the edges, but it was already on there....would have done if it wasn't. lol........

This one is on the side edge.....those brads look gooooood........

Side view........flippin' eck.......gettin' all artsy, now!

And this is the inside.....always seem to forget to show the insides.....duh!

Hope William likes it........when he was about 2 years old, I would look at his beautiful curly hair, and cherub face, and tell him he was gorgeous......and he would wave his chubby li'l fist and say, "a NOT dorduss!"....which would send me into fits....every time!

Challenges:

cardsformen.blogspot.com

Someone Special (my DORDUSS William!)

kaboodlesdoodles.blogspot.com

Lots of layers

pollycraftchallenge.blogspot.com

Boys to Men

simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com

Anything goes

stampsruschallenges.blogspot.com

Masculine

theribbonreelchallenge.blogspot.com

Colour combo

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Another for my Girlie!

Hello,  and welcome!

I've been hidin' in me little craft hide-away, with the rain pouring outside, and the 'phone ringin' off the hook....seemed like every two flippin'  minutes!.....but wouldn't come out until I'd finished preparing my nursery class lesson and all the visual aids (paper puppets on sticks, no less) for the little peeps.

I also wanted to get the fourth birthday card done for the tiny coming-up two year old missy.......

....and here it is.....

I'm back with those soft, muted colours again, and these pretty papers were.....drumroll......freebies!  Love the strawberry one...very summery.....and seemed to just "go" with the cute digi image........

......two diddy girlies.......aaawww......another drumroll.....freebie from Sliekje.

They are coloured with Promarkers (I'm soooo predictable, lol), and backed onto more of that paper set.......see the tiny ladybird?

The scalloped label was part of the above freebie paper pack, and I cut it out and used a rub-on sentiment, added a shiny gem, then the cute heart button, which I pinched off an old photo frame that I made years ago.....can't decide whether I'm an avid recycler, or just cheap....heehee.....

I love this wooden shape.......think it's supposed to be a sun, but it would lend itself to quite a few other things (just as well, 'cos I've got loads of 'em, ha!)....and I stuck the sticky-backed number on, to finish......

Now.......I'm still on a journey when it comes to makin' me flowers.....and from the look of these, I might be a bit car-sick....sorry......not sayin' anything else.......let's move on........

Suffice to say, now I see 'em in full technicolour, in HD, on the wide screen (me little notebook,  actually) they'll be comin' off....sob....sigh.....will try to do better!

Thanks for coming by,

Challenges

bee-crafty.blogspot.com

Birthday for little ones

catchthebugblog.blogspot.com

Anything goes

onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com

Birthdays

craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com

Anything goes

ceschallenges.blogspot.com

Favourite colour combo

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x



Pretty flowers for a Girlie

Hi, and welcome!

After my driving adventures, yesterday, feeling pretty good that I was back in the saddle, (so to speak), I was a bit disappointed that I woke up about 2.30am to find a swollen and sore arm....as my bloggie mate, Stef, would say....oi vay!

Wasn't too bad, though.....did my massage routine again (have to do it for about twenty minutes, every night before goin' to bed) and have done pretty much nothing but rest it today, so swelling is down, and only a bit sore.  Concluded that I'd probably driven for a bit too long......and won't do it again.....not worth the hassle, or the discomfort and pain!

From now on, short drives to church, and my Mam's, and the cemetery to visit Dad's grave.....and that's me lot!  Ho-hum.

And to add more insult to injury....first time I'd driven since breakin' me flippin' ankle, last summer, and it hurt!

Remember the kiddly-winks in my nursery class?

Here's the third card of four, for another girlie's birthday.......

I found a box of these chipboard flowers by Brenda Pinnock....it was lurkin' underneath my Xron machine that I never use....and I finally pulled the box out and was delighted to find all this lovely stuff that I'd completely forgotten about....love it when that happens, lol....even better than finding a £10 note in yer hubbie's jeans when doin' the washing, and not tellin' him.....not that I've ever done that....I'm a good girl........

So, the card was a very easy make......stuck some scrap yellow stripey paper on the base card......put glue dots under the flower heads.....and cut three little strips of green paper to put under them for stems......

.....and embossed a ready-made sentiment that I found in a huge pile in that same box of treasure.....stuck it onto a piece of yellow card, and did my famous (just in my head, lol) back-stitch....and the job's a good 'un.  (Hopefully!)

Challenges:

dreamvalleychallenges.blogspot.com

Flowers

craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com

Quote/Sentiment

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Little blue birdie card

Hi, and welcome!

Funny weather we're having, today!  Started out bright and sunny, and warm, and has now become overcast and dull, and looks like a storm is brewin'.....still very warm, though. 

I haven't been driving my car for almost two years.......the lymphodema in my left arm, (a legacy from breast cancer) caused me problems if I drove for any length of time, so we took the decision that Ken would use my little Corsa for work (a lot cheaper on petrol, too), and Jonathan could use Ken's Mondeo.  That has worked out fine, but it meant that I was then reliant on one of my girls taking me for grocery shopping, or anywhere else I needed to go........and I felt a burden.  It also meant that I couldn't get to visit my Mam as often as I should.......and she's been makin' remarks about not ever seeing me without one of the girls being there......hmmph.

Sooooo.......I've reclaimed my little car....Jonathan now has his own van, so Ken has his Mondeo back.

I drove to church on Sunday.....it's only about a mile away, lol.....but it felt so good to be doin' it........and today picked up my daughter-in-law, and Bevan, to go to a friend's birthday party....totalled about 4 miles.....and the arm is fine....fingers crossed!

Last time I was at the lymphodema clinic (February), my arm was swollen by 19 per cent more than it had been....doesn't sound a lot, but it was for me........but it's definitely been a lot better, thanks to better management and the right exercises, so I'm keepin' a close eye on what happens with the driving, lol.

Anyway.....that's more than enough about that.....onto the card........

This is the one I made for the coming-up two year old boy, in my nursery class........

Quite a clean and simple little card.......but I was pleased with how it turned out........white base, layered blue cardstock, distressed some DP (it's feelin' better now, lol),.......

The li'l birdie and his pile of pressies was fun and quick to colour (Promarkers, of course!).....and those knees crack me up!

Used the deckle-edge Nesties to cut the label and sentiment, edged with Artic Blue Promarker, and used the same to sweep across the centre word........ 

.....didn't have the right colour of Card Candi, so coloured with you-know-what....perfect....just love that I can do that, heehee......

.......and just look at that expression!  Would you say bemused?.....worried?....scared?......whatever, he's so flippin' cute!

Now, I'm toying with whether or not to put a big number 2 on there, somewhere.......little 'uns like to see the numbers, don't they?......hmmm.....still thinkin' about it!

And that's it for today, folks.........and just a quick follow-up on yesterday's comment from Leigh (daughter #3) when she said I'd had her book for over a week, and still not finished it!  That's because she knows I usually get through 2 books a week, because I read in bed,

maybe until about 2.00am.....but, just for your info, missy, I didn't start readin' that one 'til the night before last, and I've got one and a half chapters to go.....so there!!

Challenges:

ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com

Going Dotty

Hugs, Anne-Marie x

Busy Little Girlie!

Hello, and a warm welcome!

Can you believe it.........a WHOLE day to myself......well, if you ignore Jonathan coming by three or four times (he keeps some of his work equipment in our garage), and raiding the fridge each time!  Otherwise, I've not even had a ringing 'phone to bother with.......pinch me, it must be a lovely dream, because that never happens......not a full day to myself!!

Well......maybe it did happen, because I got THREE cards made.....I repeat.....THREE....now that is a first, lol!

I even managed to do a little family history research.......something very close to my heart.  I'm back to 1745 on my Mam's line, and 1800 on my Dad's......both lines take me back to Ireland, with stops on the way in Scotland, Germany and France.......bit of a mongrel, eh?..lol.

I made this card with one of the little girls in my church nursery class in mind.  We've got three girlies with a birthday this month........one is turning two, and the other two will be three, a few days later, on the same day!

We also have a sweet little boy who will turn 2 in June, and I'll show his card, maybe tomorrow.....another male card finished......whoopee!

On with the show......

Again, I started with a textured white card base and layered some embossed green DP, more of the white textured, and a piece of this lovely muted pink gingham, which I then hand-stitched (as per, lol).  A smaller piece of the embossed green was sewn onto a scrap of kraft, and then came the cute image...............

I've been holdin' on to this little digi cutie for ages.......look at those chubby legs!......and she was yet another freebie from Paulette at Create with TLC (link in the sidebar).......

I happen to know that the little miss that this card is intended for loves sunflowers, so I couldn't resist addin' this lovely one to one of the tiny yo-yos that I sewed, a while ago....still got a whole box of these dinky what-nots......

The birthday sentiment was.....yep....another freebie from Paulette....and I added a twinkle of pink Sakura sparkles on the teeny cupcake, and added some gorgeous spotted lilac grosgrain ribbon....just the job!

There's that famous sewing.....that's actually the only stitch I can do, lol.....and shiny pink gems finish the job!

Now, I'm off to read a little more of  "The Union Quilters" by Jennifer Chiaverini........marvelous stuff, heehee.

Challenges:

digistamps4joy.blogspot.com

Celebration

divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com

Anything goes

mymumscraftshopchallenges

Cute and girlie

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

It's a boy thing!

Hi, and welcome!

I bet you have never come across a crafter who actually enjoys making anything for the male of the species....if you do know somebody, then please send me their details, lol, 'cos I'm drownin' in sons, sons-in-law, grandsons, and brothers......not to mention brothers-in-law, uncles, cousins, friends.....oh, and one slightly-used hubby......which, at a rough count comes to at least 36 male cards that I have to make for birthdays!!

Oh, now I've gone and scared meself........ok, I don't have to make a card for all of those male cousins, but that still leaves a gianormous number of boyish cards.....and it's not flippin' easy!!

So, yesterday, while I was playing working in my crafty hidey-hole, I came across a pack of acetate images that were given to me, probably three years ago (or maybe even more).  My friend gave them to me because she'd bought them on a whim, (been there), and didn't know what to do with 'em.

If truth be told, neither did I, lol........so they went in the back of a drawer until I brought 'em out, kickin' and screamin', yesterday.  Still wasn't sure what to do with the flippin' things, and not even sure that I even like them....but, hey.......they would do for a not too fussy male card......I hope, heehee.........so, see what ya think.........

Dark brown corrugated card is the base of the card, and, as you can see, I kept it very simple.......I layered some text DP onto white textured card, the hand-sewed around, and inked the edges.......

The pocket watch and racing drivers are acetate, which I simply cut from the larger sheet and trimmed to fit my card.......I toyed with maybe colouring them from the back, but thought they looked okay as they were...(I'm soooo lazy, lol).....

I love pocket watches, and always wanted to own one.....will have to make do with this acetate one, for now......I was a bit doubtful about what kind of glue to use for fixing the acetates to the paper, but found that good ol' PVA glue worked fine....just put it onto the darker areas, on the back, and it did the job!

How about that sentiment?.....cheeky, eh?, lol........I dug out my Dynamo and typed out the sentiment, then just stuck it onto a scrap piece of the brown card I'd used for the base of the card.......

I don't often use rub-ons, mostly because I think they are ridiculously expensive......but I think this was probably a freebie (have ya noticed how much free stuff I use, heehee)......and it seemed just right to finish off this simple card.

Not sure who this will go out to....don't have any racing drivers in my lot........but neither do I have any pipe-smokers, steam engine drivers, or vintage car drivers, which are what the other images in these acetate sheets are........ho-hum!

Would love to have your thoughts on this one.......as for mine........not at all sure, lol!

Challenges:  papertakeweekly.blogspot.com  Anything goes and use a circle (pocket watch)
tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com  Something old (acetate) Something new (DP)

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Getting back in the swing!

Hello, and a warm welcome!

First of all, let me say how sorry I am not to have been around for a while.....I really missed you all....honestly!.....but sometimes family needs become a bit more pressing, and I'm a wife, mother, grandma, and daughter....and then I'm a crafter and blogger, lol!!

I finally managed to creep into my craft room......I'm kinda suspectin' there's a hidden alarm that goes off whenever I step foot in there, because, almost unfailingly, the 'phone will ring, or somebody arrives, or....or...or....

but, after spending the morning looking after 6 month old Bevan while his Mummy and Daddy worked (they have a little cleaning business), I did actually get to make a couple of cards.....yippeee!....and here's one of 'em......

I layered some kraft card onto a textured white card base, then put inked white, stitched some DP (freebie)....layered more kraft, and topped with a stamped and paper-pieced image.....aawww....sweet........and added some pretty taupe lace....always softens everything, dontcha think?.....

Got these funky wooden flowers from Create and Craft, and luv 'em......the dinky buttons were from my stash.......more of 'em in the bottom right-hand corner.......they are really tiny!

I'd forgotten how much I like the results you can get from paper-piecing!  The checked paper was also a freebie, and the cafe latte paper was from HOTP....had it ages, and thought it was time it was dragged into the light, hehe........the sparkly flower was from the ol' stash......

....and this li'l cutie is wooden, and I covered him/her with some of the same paper from the cupcake.......a smidgin of brown ink round the edges, and on the wing....a dot for the eye.......and got meself a tweetie bird!

Hope to be able to show ya another creative marvel tomorrow....lol.......

Challenges

sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com

Anything goes

ccmonthlychallenge.blogspot.com

Girls birthday

pollycraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com

Anything goes

mamidoodlesblogspot.com

Let's get girly

crafts4eternity.blogspot.com

Anything goes

craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com

Anything goes

scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com

Anything goes

houseofgilli.blogspot.com

Lots of layers and stitching

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x