's Not Fair !!

For 11 years I have woken up with the same man beside me.  For 11 years he has made me laugh, cry and everything in between.  For 11 years he has spoken words of wisdom, he has asked difficult questions, he had make thought provoking statements.  He even has chats with Vince.

And now it is all coming to an end.  Our local BBC Radio Suffolk Breakfast Show will never be the same again.  Mark Murphy is moving to do the football slot on a Saturday!  's not fair!  And who is going to put out an appeal at Christmas for those little plastic flip frogs out of Christmas Crackers just to keep Vince amused (they delivered a bag of about 30 one year).

This Mo Manning image sums it all up!  Painted in Distress Inks with papers from scraps box.

Hugs, Sxx

And in close up

Unchartered Waters!

The other day, when I was hopping around, I visited my old friend Paola, and two new-to-me blogs of Jane and Zoe.  I urge you to check out these ladies blogs, their colourwork is totally AWESOME.

So, what has me so excited?  These extremely skilled crafters have been demonstrating a technique that I'd not seen before and the results blew me away.  No black lines stamping!  Paola, Jane and Zoe have coloured with Copics and, as my Copic colouring is pants, I wondered what would happen if I coloured with Distress Inks instead.  The result was quite a surprise!

(sorry for rubbish photo - it's nearly dark here - will swap it for a better one tomorrow)

This is by no means the best painting I've ever done because it was rushed when I got in from work tonight but - Jane tells me that with the Copic colouring, the pink lines disappear altogether so you are totally reliant on adding tone and shade to get the definition - however, with the Distress Inks, the pink lines seem to ABSORB the colour of the ink you are painting with, hence the edges of the sunflower petals being (mostly) yellow (not a very steady hand tonight) and the leaf and stem edges being green, and Milton being shades of  brown.  You do need to think about what needs to be what colour - I could so easily have ended up with a brown edged stem - so I think I shall practice hard with doing the various section edges first before adding the colour wash.

Anyhoo, it was a venture into the unknown, and one I shall certainly try again when I've more time and had a decent sleep!  Hope you don't mind me sharing the first results with you.

(Really struggling to get a decent photo - with all this grey cloud it's like midwinter

- he's painted on WHITE card, not blue)

Hugs, Sxx

LOTV Thank You

Now, who'd have thought it - a LOTV card from me!  I am just so addicted to these stamps right now so when a new LILI OF THE VALLEY challenge popped up yesterday with the theme of Thank You I didn't need another excuse to get stamping.

I've made this for my bestest pal, Ali, as she has dragged me through this week, kicking and screaming, and she's listened to all my off-loading and patiently got me coffee while I've yawned my way through lunchbreaks.

Ingredients for this card are:

Stamped Image:  LOTV Time For A Cuppa

Sentiment: LOTV Mixed Circular Sentiments

Papers: Wild Rose Studio - Wintery Christmas

Flowers: EK Success Retro Flower Punch

Bits: Craftwork Cards Card Candi and a peel-off from stash

Colouring Medium: Distress Inks

Right, time to crack on, another busy busy busy work day ahead of me.  Sigh.

Hugs, Sxx



Candy Time

As a little thank you to all my Followers (almost 500 of you wonderful friends) here is a little candy for you from Sugar Nellie called Festive Friends

This candy will close at midnight on 25 August.  Please link to your own blog as I would like to spread the word to all my Followers.

When You Get The Urge......

Hello peeps, how are we all today?  Squirrel Towers has been a bit out of kilter - after Church and a bacon sandwich, neither of us could settle to anything much.  We had a go at Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean on the Wii (my birthday present from Toad) and managed to finish the level we had previously been stuck on but once that was completed we called it quits.  After a lot of faffing about doing nothing, Toad announced he was going for a swim.  I guess it has nothing to do with the swimming pool being right next door to the Adnams Brewery Shop ...... anyway, I wandered out to craft space and suddenly had the urge to make a Penny Black card.

Didn't know what I wanted to do so I just furtled through the boxes of stamps until one jumped out screaming "use ME", so I did.

Ingredients for this card are:

Image Stamp - Penny Black Bunny Bath

Sentiment - Penny Black Some Bunny

Papers - Papermania Hampstead

Border Punch - Martha Stewart Daisy

Flowers - EK Success retro flowers with Card Candi centres

Colouring Medium - Distress Inks

And the challenges that I'm entering with it

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE - Anything Goes

PENNY BLACK AT ALLSORTS - August Challenge - Free & Easy

I'm majorly behind with my commenting and visiting again - I am so sorry guys, I will make it up to you I promise.  Thanks for sticking with me.  I truly treasure each and every kind word you leave me.

Hugs, Sxx

JMHS Anything Goes + Glitter

Hello peeps, and welcome to Squirrel Towers for the second time today!  You can find my earlier post with this link Red White & Penguin.

It's been aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages since I got to play with the JUST MAGNOLIA / HANGLAR / STANGLAR challenge so I was desperate not to miss out this time for the Simon Says Stamp Monthly Special.  The theme is Anything Goes with the optional extra of Glitter.

My bestest bud, Julie-Pig, has a birthday coming up and I am determined that I am not going to forget it like I did last year (oh the shame of it!) and so I've taken this opportunity to make her card now.  Like me, Jules is motorsport mad - when we shared an office together it used to be tense on Monday mornings, depending on who had won the grand prix the day before, lol - she supported Michael Schumacher but I was a Damon Hill girl, and we all know what happened there!  Anyway, here is my card

I love this new Tilda with her chequered flags, just look at those saucy hips of hers!  She'd make a brilliant grid girl.  Painted in Distress Inks and then her shirt is glittered with Hero Arts Prisma Glitter.  Black checked and spotted papers are Crafts Too and the red is from scraps box.  Red and white Bakers' Twine from my darlin' pal Helen (thanks babes, I'll be buying more of this), a Hero Arts sentiment and 5 red gems for start lights, except theirs don't go round corners.

Hugs, Sxx

Red White & Penguin

Morning all, hope you are fine.  Things are somewhat subdued here at Squirrel Towers today, basically because I am so frazzled after the week I've had at work.  Exhausted only just begins to come near it.  So when I read this morning's LESS IS MORE challenge Your Own Flag Colours and an idea popped into my head, even though it was a daft idea, I just ran with it (actually, scrub that, not ran, staggered is better) to the craft room.

And there are some ideas that you get, that you can't move away from until you have put them onto card.  And this is one of those.  Hopefully now it's out I might have a better idea replace it!

I'm guessing that the red, white and blue is a bit of a giveaway, but there are several countries with that scheme so I will, just for the record, confirm that I'm in the UK!  I've used A Pile Of Penguins from Laurence Design and coloured with Royal Blue and Poppy ProMarkers.  Sentiment, stamped in Danube Blue, is a Penny Black.

Hugs Sxx

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

When I stood down at the beginning of the year from the three fabulous Design Teams that had been daft enought to have me , it was my intention to have a complete year's break - however, I had not taken into account the persuasive abilities of Marianne - so here is my first Design Team creation for Winter Wonderland!

The challenge this week is "White on White with a Coloured Image" and has been set by the lovely Suzi.  Do pop over to the challenge to see the knock-out creations made by Marianne's Team for this week.

And if that wasn't enought, the challenge is being sponsored by Sassy Studio Designs.

Here's my card:

Now, white on white is to me what salt is to a slug - it makes me want to curl up in a corner.  But I persevered and must give a huge vote of thanks to Mad Moose who started the spark of inspiration for this one, even though it didn't end up as originally envisioned!  I started with a 6x4 card and using my Classic Square Nesties I cut an aperture.  After running some white card through the Bug with my Swiss Dots embossing folder I layered that behind the hole.  Cuttlebug snowflake for the centrepiece with a HobbyCraft snowflake or three around the edges.  Sizzix flourishes, generously coated in Crystal glitter from Hero Arts, and of course, the most gorgeous little Fizzy Moon Christmas Bear with his message which I have coloured with Copics.  The colours seemed quite strong for a white card so I toned them down using the blender pen.  And finally, a few white pearls to finish.

Phew.   Right, that's me done, let's see what you guys can come up with!  See you over at the challenge.

Hugs Sxx

A Rant and A Card

OK, let's get the rant over with first shall we.  When I received the last LOTV email newsletter, I was really surprised but very pleased to notice they had prepared a PDF file of all this year's Christmas images, including the new ones yet to be released on 25 August - I just wanted to be able to dribble a bit and plan what to spend my pennies on.

Anyhoo, on getting to the website the PDF file isn't there but there's a little notice saying it should be back up the next day.  So the next day comes, and the next and the next.  This morning I emailed LOTV to ask when it was coming back.  I got a very prompt and apologetic reply telling me that because of some problems with copying it has been removed from the website.

I thought about this for a bit, thinking it was some sort of a technical issue and then suddenly it dawned on me that some wicked person has been using those preview images for their own profit.  So to that person or persons unknown - thank you very much, you miserable, mean, dishonest, horrible, rotten, THIEVES!  When Judgement Day comes, you won't be going to Heaven, that's for sure.

And so dear readers, onto my card for this evening which is for this week's LILI OF THE VALLEY challenge of ROSES.

Now, I don't do a lot of fluff on my cards - it's not because I don't like it, but because it always turns out looking cluttered and too busy and then I get cross and upset and it ends up in the bin, so another plain and simple one for you!  The roses papers are all from the Wedding Bells collection by Wild Rose Studio.  The stamp, Emma Swing, and the Clear Additions sentiment are both LOTV, the flourish is Marianne Creatibles, and all the matting card is plain white coloured with a Sandstone ProMarker, as are the Candy Dots.  Image is painted with Distress Inks using Antique Linen, Old Paper and Frayed Burlap with Tattered Rose for the skin.  See, lots of roses!

Hugs, Sxx

Patience Is A Virtue

I realised last week that I only own one Mo Manning stamp (oh the shame of it) so I quickly dashed off to correct that situation and ordered four more from Stamping Bella.

Here's a little card that I made using Patience - I think this has to be my favourite all time MM image.  The look on that cat's face is priceless.

Painted in Distress Inks (what else these days, lol) and a lot of fiddly cutting out later (why are cats so fuzzy?) I mounted it on some gorgeous Making Memories paper that I've had kicking around for ages.  All the papers are from the same pad.  Martha Stewart border punch for the faux lace, which didn't quite go round the oval, hence the flowers.  That fabulous Hero Arts sentiment and a couple of Card Candi and a few pearls to finish.

Here's a close up of the freshly trimmed image

Hugs, Sxx

I Thought And Thought And Then I Forgot

I've been meaning to post this since Monday of last week but my scrambled-egg-for-brains isn't retaining much at the moment.  I think I have Goldfish Syndrome!  The good news is that I did remember to send the card in plenty of time though.

My dear sweet friend Samantha has recently celebrated her 1st wedding anniversary and this is the card I made to send to her and Efisio.

I've used Sugar Nellie stamp Bubble & Squeak, distress inked, and teamed it up with these delicious papers from MME.  Martha Stewart punch-around-the page (which I had to "tweek" with a craft knife as despite the instructions it didn't line up properly), LOTV sentiment, some twinkling gems and some gold braid peel-offs.  I put one of the smallest twinkling gems in each of the wine glasses to look like tiny champagne bubbles.

I can't believe it was a year ago that we were celebrating the happy day!

Hugs Sxx

Penny Blackground

Is it really Monday morning already?  Who stole my weekend?  Come on, own up!

This week over at PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLANGE the challenge is to make your own Penny Black background (or "Black"ground) and as I seem to be on a bit of a roll with making male cards at the moment I've made another one.

And would you look at that, another brown card!  Just loving these Basic Grey papers and am on my second pad of them.  I used the pup from a clear set to create the very simply stamped background and then the larger wood mounted version for the main image which I've painted in Distress Inks.  Some Coordinations blue card for contrast, Martha Stewart border punch for the central trim with a Hero Arts sentiment, and a hole punch for the faux brads.

Here's a close up of that devilishly handsome pup.

Hugs, Sxx

LOTV - Sketch by Domi

Can anyone tell me what happened to Saturday?  I'm sure it was there, between Friday and today, but crumbs it went by in a flash!

This week over at LILI OF THE VALLEY there is a sketch by the fabulous Domi for us to play with.  Can anyone tell me how from a sheet of NitWits paper that looks like quilted fabric I ended up with a Christmas card?  No, me neither.  I worry myself sometimes.

Isn't this little chap adorable?  I wonder if he thinks there is a treat in that cracker just for him.  Papers all NitWits (that came free with a magazine), bow is LOTV, sentiment from a Fizzy Moon stamp set, EK Success retro flower punches and pearls from stash.

And by the tip of my whiskers, I think I can sneak this in for ABC CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - O for Oldie - as the stamp is last year's Christmas issue.

Right then, bacon sandwich and Hungarian Grand Prix here I come ........

Hugs Sxx

Ahoy There Me Hearties!

This is my second entry for this week's LILI OF THE VALLEY Fun & Games challenge.  Can you tell I'm not in the mood for facing the Christmas cards yet?

I've used LOTV's Land Ahoy and painted in, yes, you've guessed it, Distress Inks.  I've used a fabulous set of Nitwit papers that were free with a recent magazine - perfect partner for the stamp.  Sentiment is Hero Arts.

Hugs Sxx

Stop Press! Read All About It!!

An interesting challenge from SIMON SAYS STAMP this week with a theme of Newspaper!

Here's my rather brown take on it:

Two gorgeous stamps from Elzybells (no longer available), Distress Ink painted, papers from a coverless pad of K&Co and matting card from stash.

Hugs Sxx

When Less Is More isn't

Morning all, what are you up to today?  I'm patiently waiting for a bacon roll, and will then settle down to watch the German Grand Prix and a bit of cross stitching.  After that it'll be off to the craft space to play for a while and watch the final stage of the 2011 Tour de France, and then dinner and a dose of Top Gear.  Feels like the perfect day!

Oh the shame of it, I missed last week's LESS IS MORE challenge.  I just could not find any inspiration for it so sorry to Chrissie and Mandi.  But I'm back with an entry for this week's Recipie challenge of Button or Ribbon.

Now, the challenge is in the singular - Button - not Buttonssssssss so I may get my wrists slapped for this one (even though it does mention plurals on the challenge).

I've used two Magnolia stamps - the tree and the presents - and a Penny Black sentiment.  Then I got carried away with decorating the tree with the contents of my button box. 

Hugs, Sxx

When You Wish Upon A Star

Happy Saturday peeps, hope all is well out in blogland today.  Had a frantic week back at work after my holiday - I swear if they don't recruit someone else soon I may implode!  I cannot tell you how pleased I was to see Friday night arrive.

And there is nothing like a bit of crafting for some rest and relaxtion is there?  Has to be the best tonic in the world.

Today over at PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE the theme is Starburst and, unusually for me, I knew immediately where I was going with this one

It's only a little card (6x4) but I think it makes quite a statement!  Have used PBs Catch A Star stamp (one of my earliest PBs) and the PB Make A Wish sentiment.  Papers and blue card are from Little Sizzlets Country pad and the yellow stars are from scrap box.  Martha Stewart border punch to finish.

Feeling a bit blue just now - I think it is the realisation that we are almost at the end of July and Christmas cards are looming.  Oh well, best I buckle down and get on with them hey?! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hugs Sxx

The Innocence of Childhood

Remember the days when you were never happier than when you had a big old cardboard box to play with and it could turn into anything you wanted it to?  A racing car?  A fire engine?  A tank?  A huge lorry?  Yeah, I bet even girls wanted to drive one of those enormous lorries!

So, with that in mind, I knew exactly what stamp I wanted to use for LILI OF THE VALLEY "Fun & Games" challenge this week

I've used LOTV's Little Lorry Bear and painted him with Distress Inks.  I've used a mixture of Basic Grey and Dovecraft papers and some Papermania cardstock.  The card is from the Christmas pack and is supposed to be gold but it looks like yellow/mustard to me!  I tried to distress the edges of the layers with Tea Dye ink but think I've been too cautious with the colour, it doesn't look strong enough now it's all togethre.  Sentiment is also LOTV from their Clear Additions range.  Finishing touches are handcut photocorners in Basic Grey and some Pebbles Inc Candy Dots.

As I think this would be great for a Little Bear of any age, I'm also entering him into CUTE CARD THURSDAY For His Eyes Only challenge.

Just before I go, here is a better pic of that bear!

Hugs, Sxx

PB @ Allsorts - Flowers

Happy Wednesday everyone - halfway though the week, yaah, soon be the weekend.

This is my second entry into this month's PENNY BLACK AT ALLSORTS challenge who have the theme of Flower Power for July.

I've used a PB Slapstick called Thinking of You, not my normal kind of stamp but she is growing on me a bit.  The sentiment comes with the image.  Coloured with Copics.  Papers are from a Wild Rose Studio pack that is Japanese themed.  Martha Stewart butterfly punch and pearls to finish.

Hugs Sxx

All About Boys

Well, this is only the second time I've entered the TOTALLY GORJUSS challenge since I got kicked off the Design Team for bad behaviour earlier this year (only kidding, honest, I stepped down voluntarily) and I thought it was about time I annoyed the Gorjussettes and had a go.

The theme of the challenge this week is ALL ABOUT BOYS - here's my card

 Image is a Nellen Snellen called Celebrate - I'm not sure if the cat is trying to steal his present or flick his ear!  Aaargh, forgotten the papers - Fine & Dandy I think but can't remember who by but I've used them a lot for boy cards.  Sentiment is an LOTV calendar stamp and the stars are silver peel offs that I coloured with a black ProMarker, stuck on the paper and then cut out.

Not sure if there are enough circles on the card to qualify for this week's CUTE CARD THURSDAY Going Round In Circles challenge but I'll enter anyway, they can always disqualify me if needs be!

And CUPCAKE CRAFT CHALLENGE are asking us to Wish Upon a Star so I hope two stars are enough.

Wish I'd done his parcel and ribbon different colours now but hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Is it just me or is it very quiet in Blogland at the moment?  Feel like I've been talking to myself for the past couple of weeks and it's not even school holidays yet.

Hugs Sxx

Pot Plant Emma

I can't believe where the last week has gone!  It's back to work tomorrow (groan) and it only feels like two minutes since I was there.  Do you think they would understand if I phoned in tomorrow and said I needed another week?  No?  Nah, me neither.  Sigh.

As the reaction to my first entry in this week's LILI OF THE VALLEY blue and pink challenge was, shall we say, restrained, I thought I'd have another go and see if this one goes down a bit better ......

This time I've used Emma Pot Plant and she is, of course, painted in Distress Inks

Papers are My Minds Eye, I think it was a free pack with a magazine and it's Spring themed.  Gorgeous, wish I'd got a second one! 

Felt quite pleased with myself for managing to curve the Hero Arts sentiment to fit the edge of the circle.  I used the waste from the Nestie, stuck it with tape to an acrylic block and that gave me the border to line up my sentiment with, took away the card, inked the stamp, took a deep breath and there it is.

Also tried the faux doilly edging for the first time today - don't think the result is too bad but I need to work out what to do with the ends to get them a bit neater.

Matting layer is simply white cardstock coloured with a Ruby ProMarker - I was trying to get it to tie in with the colour of the roses.

Here's the arty shot complete with cat hair (you can tell I don't dust often in the conservatory)

And the inside (again using the MME papers and a Hero Arts sentinment)

And just in case you aren't completely bored already, here's a close up on Emma and her pot plant

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs Sxx

Birthday Bunting

Hello Peeps, hope you are having a super Saturday so far.  The glorious sunshine of yesterday has given way to clouds and rain but I don't mind, I'm still having a good day!

Before I get to my card for today, I have some special thank you's to say to the following wonderful friends (in no particular order): Helen, Samantha, Kaz, Jackie, Pauline, Cynthia, Alison, Zippy, Debs and Kay for your gorgeous birthday cards - they are all on display for everyone to see and I am so thrilled to have received each and every one.  My thanks also to Chrissy, Marianne and Lisa for their sweet birthday wishes.  You all really know how to make an old girl feel very special!

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE have a real summery feel to their challenge this week with the theme of Bunting - and I think there is a particular stamp set that is going to take a real hammering - I've used it too!

Oh I do so love Penny Black hedgies, this one is Hedgy Delivery and is one of my first ever PB stamps (worryingly I can remember the first time I used it too - so the memory hasn't gone completely, even at my age, lol).  Coloured with Copics (yellow bicycle - well it is the Tour de France!) and teamed with a mixture of PaperMania Capsule papers and some from scraps box.  Bunting is of course Hero Arts, as is the main sentiment.

Hugs, Sxx

Doing It The Hard Way

My dad always reckons that if there was a hard way to do anything then it would be me that would find it.  I think that's a slight exaggeration but this time I think he might have it right!

This week over at LILI OF THE VALLEY it's a colour combo challenge, and one of my favourites - Pink and Blue.

Yesterday, because it was so cold, wet and windy, we abandoned the idea of visiting the zoo and stayed local.  One place we did get to was The Range.  I wanted to stock up on Bristol Board but also fancied having a try with one of the X-Cut glass cutting mats and, yippee, they had them in stock so as soon as we got home it was out of the box and I had A&E on speed dial.  Now, logic says that with it being glass it will be slippery - but until you put a craft knife to it you don't appreciate just HOW slippery!  Anyhoo, I had the idea of paper piecing for this challenge and was pleasantly surprised at how precisely the glass mat let me cut.  Here, let me show you

I would have been struggling to get it that precise with scissors I can assure you!

It was at this point however that I realised I'd done it the hard way.  It would have been far easier to have cut out Milly Flower Power and matted her onto the blue!  Anyway, here is the end result

Sorry that the picture is on the squint - I was trying to get all of it in the patch of sunshine (failed) on the work top.  So, there is Milly, teamed with PaperMania Capsule Collection Blueberry and some stonkingly pink Coordinations card and a tiny bit of Pink Petticoat.  Martha Stewart border and leaf punches, LOTV corner, WOC flower.

Thanks for popping over for a look-see, it is always lovely to see you.  Off to the seaside today for a fish and chip lunch and a game of crazy golf.  Oh it is going to be so painful going back to work on Monday.

Hugs Sxx  

Bumpity Bump!

Morning all - hope you are ok.  I'm pacing the house like the most nervous squirrel you have ever seen - got a dental consult at the hospital this afternoon.  Eeeeeeeek.  Now, you know me and dentists - we don't see eye to eye at the best of times but the hospital is the very place that started this phobia anyway (when I broke my jaw 23 years ago) so I am certainly not looking forward to renewing the acquaintance!

So, to try and take my mind off it all for a little while, here's a happy card for you

I've used this adorable stamp from Lili Of The Valley called Birthday Bumps and painted with Distress Inks.  Again did the clouds with an Ink Duster and Tumbled Glass ink, and the grass I did with a brush that's had a bad hair day.  Papers are all Echo Park Summer Days.

I'd like to enter this for three challenges:

SIMON SAYS STAMP - Anything Goes

PAPERTAKE WEEKLY - Hot Hot Hot

CRAFTS AND ME - Summertime

And just before I go, we heard the brilliant news last night that Toad's nephew has got a First in his Mechanical Engineering degree!  Way to go Michael!!  So I had to make a quick card to pop in the post didn't I?  This one uses the less-is-more principle

Oh how I do miss Elzybells stamps!  Love this mechanic bear.  Hero Arts sentiment, and another one inside that simply says Let's Celebrate.

Back to pacing ............

Hugs, Sxx

Come And Get It

Morning all - just a quick sneaky post while Toad is out getting petrol for today's jaunt.  No idea where we are going but I just know that he won't sit still for long.  Sigh.

Anyway, I am officially addicted to the new range of Pip stamps from Sugar Nellie - this one is Candy Pip

Painted in Distress Inks, papers are Pink Petticoat Wild Blooms and the sentiment is Hero Arts.

Would like to enter this into this weeks COME AND GET IT CHALLENGE who have a colour theme of light pink, light blue and light green.

Right gotta dash, he'll be back soon.

Hugs Sxx

Geography Test

Right then class, pay attention - who can tell me where I've been today ......

Struggling to work it out?  This last one will give you a massive clue!

Beautiful day at the seaside - had a super lunch on the pier, a wander around some horribly expensive shops, toodled up into the town where Toad fell in love with this brewery jug and just had to have it for his home brew (he has ambitions that boy), into a few more scary shops including a craft cooperative where Toad picked up a fairly ordinary coffee mug that was priced at - gulp - £25!  I made him put it down very carefully, lol!

Tired, sore feet and sun scorched cheeks, but happy.

Hugs, Sxx

Colour Overload!

Morning all, hope this Sunday finds you happy and well.  Toad has a cold.  A really annoying cold.  How do men manage to cough so loudly?  I'm a bit snuffly today so I am hoping it is merely hayfever and not his germs.  Vince is at his usual station in front of the pc screen so I can't see much of what I'm typing as there is a large lump of furriness in the way.  An exciting sports day today - British Grand Prix and a mountain stage for the Tour de France.  Wish I was at Silverstone cheering on the Brits.......... wishing for another Jenson win.

Anyhoo, I ramble - what I came to show you was my card for this week's LILI OF THE VALLEY  challenge which is a sketch by Donalda.  I'll warn you now - I've gone a bit bright with this one.

Warned you!  LOTV image, Distress Ink painted.  Echo Park Summer Days papers, a sheet of Basic Grey for matting and flowers, Card Candi for flower middles, and black peel off borders from stash.

Hugs, Sxx

Sixteen Legs - and no, it's not two spiders!

Afternoon all - busy day so far, what with Church, shopping, British Grand Prix qualifying, getting dinner sorted and the Tour de France ...... but I managed to sneak in some me time for this week's LESS IS MORE challenge.  It's a one layer card challenge with the theme of Something With Legs!

Just to be different, let's start with the second card I made today

FOURTEEN LEGS

Inspired by Chrissy's sponging technique, I used this cute little Sugar Nellie stamp, masked it off with Post-It Notes and with my Ink Dusters did the background with Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.  I've only part coloured the image but that is deliberate.  Sentiment is Hero Arts.

AND THE OTHER TWO

This is the card I made first today - it is for a friend of ours who is mad keen on river fishing so I'm not sure if he would celebrate or cry if he actually caught a goldfish that size in our rivers!  Wild Rose Studio stamp and a Hero Arts sentiment, image painted in Distress Inks.

Thanks for popping over to visit, I really do appreciate the time you take to come and see me and thank you for all the very kind comments you leave.  Once again I apologise for being so behind with my own commenting - I'm trying hard to keep up!

Hugs Sxx

For Every Cloud ......

Evening all - no card to show you tonight, but a sort of a sneak peek of what I'm up to - anyway, I've been playing with Bev's cloud technique and this is my very first attempt (my Ink Dusters arriving in the post this week) and I'd be grateful to know what you think - am I getting it or not?

I can see now that the one above her head is too uniform - that's my fault for not making my template better - but other than that, I'm quite pleased with it for a first attempt.  Be honest though, what do you think?  Should I have varied the blue tones more?

Catch up with ya tomorrow.  Hugs, Sxx

Late For Everything!

Oh my!  No, it's not a mirage, it really is a frizzy tailed Squirrel, just popping by very quickly.  Spending my whole life chasing my rather ample hindquarters just now - in fact I should be lean and mean, like a whippet, instead of a chubby (most of it is fur, honest) rodent!

Only one more day of work to get through, and then it's HOLIDAY TIME! Wheeeeeeeeee!  I am so behind with so many things that I think I may spend the week just trying to catch up.

And here is one thing that I am embarrassingly late with - a thank you card.

Love this Fizzy Moon character, but still finding him a colouring challenge.  Painted in Distress Inks and partnered with Dovecraft Back To Basics papers and lots of Pebbles Inc Candy Dots and the perfect LOTV sentiment from the Clear Additions range.  EK Success retro flower punch for the flowers.  Layout was inspired by a Papertake Weekly challenge that I was also too late for.

I am hoping that if I let Toad have his way with days out til about midweek, I reckon I could wangle a couple of crafting days by way of payback, especially as it is my birthday next weekend and he'll be being nice to me!  Well, he'd better be anyway (grin).

Hugs, Sxx