Sneakin' up on it.......

Yoo-hoo, it's me! Anyone home?

Hello everyone, you are probably just about ready to give me up as lost!  I must have taken this belligerent laptop by surprise this morning because it let me in quite quickly, so perhaps sneakin' up on it is the way to go.

Anyway, after scheduling a couple of posts, I suppose I ought to share something with you today before you all UnFollow me.

Yes, it's another Tiddly Inks stamp - this one is Willow Greetings Fairy

Just look at the length of those legs!

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and Polychromos Pencils

Sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps

Heart border punch is X-Cut

Papers are BoBunny Double Dots

And if you have very good eyesight you might find the Wink of Stella on her wings

I hope you are all ok - I am trying to keep an eye on what you are up to, either from the computer at work or via my phone.

Huge hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Conspiracy

Morning all - just popping by quickly to say hello.

It must be a conspiracy - not only is the laptop still playing silly buggers at home (it should have gone to the doctor last weekend but I was poorly most of Saturday so it is still sitting there sneering at me) but now I find that I cannot add pictures to posts from my work computer.  Don't know if it is the computer or Blogger, to be fair, but the way things are going with electronics, I have my suspicions!

 

Anyway, hope you are all well, and I hope to be able to resume normal service soon!!

 

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Without Words (DT) Dreaming Of Spring

Happy New Year to you!  I must apologise again for not being around much in blogland - this laptop has an unpredictable fault (it only took 5 mins to log in instead of the usual 30-40 mins, but there is no telling that when you turn it on) and is going off to the man with a screwdriver shortly.  So, while I have the chance I am scheduling my post for the new challenge over at WITHOUT WORDS.

As we are in the middle of winter, we thought we would cheer things up a bit with our theme of Dreaming of Spring.

Here is my DT card:

So, the stamp is A Random Fan - Tree Friends

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers), ProMarker (Caramel) for the base coat of her hair, and Polychromos Pencils for the hair detail

Papers are a mixture of Nitwits/LOTV Up Up And Away and Basic Grey Simple Stories Snap Color Vibe

Sentiment is LOTV Mixed Circular Sentiments

Banner die is from Die-Namics Blueprint 13 set

I'm going to call it quits while the going is good, rather than risking another

bout of intense swearing!

Hope you will be able to find time to come on over and join the challenge.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Was, Wasn't, Isn't

Evening all, just a quick flyby post from me tonight while I am patiently waiting for a pan full of onions to caramelise to go with the leftover roast beef for dinner.

I noticed that Tiddly Inks have another DT Call open.  I tried for it last time and missed out so I thought I would try again.  Then the old wobbly confidence kicked in and I talked myself out of it after I had made my card.  Then I read the requirements more carefully and as I don't use digi images (I'm a pure rubber girl me) it rather sealed the issue.  

So here is the card that was, wasn't, isn't.

I used the Bloom Beautifully clear set of stamps for the image

and a clear sentiment from one of my many (now unlabelled) sets

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and a touch of pencil to define her hair

Papers are white card coloured with Mustard ProMarker and the chevron paper is Basic Grey

I'm not sure what road signs are like outside of the UK, but this turned out rather

like an AA information sign!

That's me done for tonight - better go and give the onions a prod.

Hope to see you in the morning for the new Without Words challenge.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

A Year In Cards

Afternoon all, and a Happy 1st January to you.  Now I'm not  much taken with retrospectives but as we are sitting here just flumping and Toad is winning all the piggin' medals on Wii Play I thought "why not" for a change, especially as I actually managed to log on within 10 mins today.

Grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy this short trip down memory lane.

January

February

March

April

May

June

June (2)

July

August

September

September (2)

October

November

December

So there you go, my 2014 in card.  Thanks for stopping by for a look.

Hoping 2015 is a happy, healthy and prosperous one for us all.

I'm also not a great one for making resolutions (well, I make them, I'm rubbish at keeping them) but I'm trying again this year.

1.  To be more restrained in my crafty spending

2. To shift some of this lard

3. To use my old stash before buying new

Not earth shattering, but any bets on which one crumbles first?

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Baby Heart

Morning all.  I'm sneaking in a quick one from the office while I have access to a computer.

 

Amongst the lovely crafty goodies that Santa was kind enough to deliver, I received a few of the most recent Lili of The Valley stamps. 

 

This one is called Baby Heart

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

I made the background paper with four colours of ProMarker and my squeezy Ranger "airbrush"

Sentiment is from Cas-ual Fridays "Frankly My Dear" set

 

A very simple little card, but honestly, it was too chuffing cold to do much more yesterday!

 

Hope you are all well.

Hugs

Squirrel xx

Thank You

Just a fleeting visit, while the laptop is playing nice, to say THANK YOU to all my beautiful bloggy friends for your festive wishes and for sticking with me while things are, shall we say, unpredictable!  I am beginning to feel a little like Banksy - you never know when you will see me again.

Santa was particularly kind to me this Christmas with lots of crafty goodies

and I made time today to get the inks out before I forgot how to paint!

Hope you are all having a super (snowy?) time.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Anything Goes

Have a Merry One

To all my lovely bloggy friends, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year

 

 

 

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

One bite

Morning all.  Sorry I haven't been around - still have a useless laptop so this is a very quick post from the office before I start work today.

 

When I saw the new stamps from Christine Grove/Stamping Bella I rather over indulged, but

rubber is low calorie ..... right?

 

Which is more than you can say for candy canes, all that sugar, can't be good for the waistline.

 

 

Apologies for the shockingly poor photo - as I am laptopless I had to take it on my smartphone, and the camera is worse that rubbish on macro settings.  I have tweaked with PIXLR and this is the best I could get.  Am hoping the recipient might be able to help me out!

 

So, this is Christmas Mouse by Christine Grove from Stamping Bella

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and a smidge of Polychromos pencil

Papers are all Dovecraft Back to Basics Christmas

The sentiment came with the stamp

Gold rope border from stash

 

He does make me chuckle - not sure I could do that with a candy cane!

 

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I hate computers!

Hello my lovelies, hope this finds you ok.  Sorry I haven't been around much this past couple of weeks - I am experiencing really annoying problems with the laptop (it took me 25 mins to get past the password stage tonight) and I have resigned myself to it having to be taken to the PC doctor to be fixed.  So you probably won't see much of me until that has been done, unless I can do some quick commenting from the office before I start work.

So, while I have actually managed to get here, I made a card last night for the new Tiddly Inks Challenge Get The Happy Winter Blues

Wryn was a magazine freebie stamp and I have painted her with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

She has been fussy cut and layered over my very last sheet of this stunning winter moonlight

and then layer over a sheet of BoBunny blue paper

And that's it - the winter scene paper does it all for me!

Hugs, Squirrel xx

So not Christmas

Happy Saturday everyone.  How are you today?  We popped into town this morning so Toad could get a haircut and to get a new Christmas tree (success on both counts).  Town was absolutely heaving so we were glad to get home and put the kettle on!

It's hard having a December birthday - sometimes you get overlooked completely because of Christmas, and it is difficult not to get a birthday card without snow on it!  It's my boss' birthday today and I bought this stamp specifically for her, simply because it looks so much like her.

So this is Honey - CC Designs Roberto's Amigas stamp

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and Polychromos Pencils

Papers are Maja Designs - Walk in The Forest

Sentiment is from Whimsy

Maple leaf punch by Martha Stewart

and corner dies by SCACD

ooh, and Stitched Circle die by Die-namics

Off to try and find the dining room table underneath all the tat so I have a space to start wrapping some presents.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Grouchy (no, not me!)

Just whizzing past with a quickie today while the laptop is playing nice .......

Hmph, there is a mark on the photo that isn't on the card, so looks like I need to clean my lens!

Love this fun stamp called Grouchy Snowman from CC Designs

What little painting there is has been done with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Blue papers are very old Christmas ones, possibly Dovecraft, maybe Anita's - lost the cover sheet so if anyone can identify them please let me know, red paper is from leftovers box

A few punched snowflakes from some LOTV Frosty Christmas scraps

Oval and square dies by Tonic

Job done!

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

And the Winner is..........

Thank you all so much for your fabulous entries in the Snow-vember challenge - who knew there could be so many gorgeous snowmen out there!

 

Sadly there can only be one winner, and that one is

 

Sharon H @ My Crafty Cardz

Congratulations Sharon, please email me, Squirrel, to claim your prizes

 

It seems as if you are enjoying these little pop-up challenges, so if you are really good there will be another one sometime in the New Year.

 

Hugs to all

Squirrel, Annette & Jayne

xxx

Without Words (DT) Christmas (Modern Look)

Well here we are - December again.  I don't know about you but for me, even though I know it is going to happen, December always seems to sneak up on me much faster than I feel it should!  

Of course, as it is the first Monday of December, it means a new challenge over at WITHOUT WORDS and the theme is CHRISTMAS (MODERN LOOK).  Very much up to you how you interpret this, but please remember to keep it CAS with a handcoloured image.  Sadly, because there have been so many invalid (overembellished) entries, we are going to have to start enforcing the rules to make it fair for everyone.

So, from me you have a 6x4 tent fold card

LOTV stamp - James: Christmas Tree

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Papers are Nitwits

Sentiment is LOTV

Stitched circle die and stitched rectangle dies are from Die-Namics

Silver corners are from stash

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Another Bear

Afternoon all.  Just popping by quickly with another bear card to share with you:

Another first for me - a side stepper card, and made without a safety net or a template, just a lot of guesswork and a trail of failed attempts in the bin!

I have made myself a very simple template for this so if anyone would like a copy just email me and I will whizz one over to you - this card is 6x5 but you can adjust the width easily

So, LOTV James Bear: Snow Angel

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Papers are an old pad - DCWV Christmas Stack

Sentiment is Personal Impressions

Tag is a Whimsy die

Snowflake is a Spellbinders die

Pearl brads are from stash

Additionals: Viva Pearl Pen and Glamour Dust

Dammit, that bear is handsome.

Oh, if anyone is wondering about the colour of his coat - it's Chipped Sapphire and Salty Ocean that I mixed in the palette.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Sorry Marianne!

A little while ago, my bloggy pal Marianne made a comment that made me smile - she said she wasn't very keen on pop-up boxes as they don't seem like real cards to her.  Little did she know that I had just made my first two of these cheeky little rascals!

I didn't have a template for this, I just winged it after reading the construction instructions in a recent magazine

I've used a ton of old Papermania Colossal Christmas papers

Stamp is CC Designs Snow Flake

Sentiment is Hero Arts

Various lengths and angles of acetate strips

A few punched snowflakes which I glued and Glamour Dust-ed

Sorry Marianne, but I had great fun making it!

Sweet Stampin - Let It Snow

Hugs to all for a super weekend.

Hugs

Squirrel xx

Tangled Tinsel

Morning all, how are we today?  I am hoping for a teensy bit of brightness today - yesterday afternoon I had to check the clock as it was so dark I was beginning to think it must be nearly hometime - and it was only 2.30!  It doesn't help that my window at work has a tinted film on the glass, so even daylight can look a bit dirty at times.

Anyhoo, on days like this we need a little something to cheer us up, and a never fail is that gorgeous and handsome bear, James.

I make no apologies for this being a CAS card!

This is LOTV James Bear (now retired)

Painted in Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Green glitter is by Papermania

Green gingham paper is from Dovecraft Back To Basics Christmas

Sentiment is from Whimsy Snarky Christmas set

Gold/clear rope border from stash

Bet that's put a smile on your face, it certainly has mine!

Hugs to all for a happy Thursday

Squirrel xx

Cheers Bird

I use a lot of terms of endearment in my everyday speech as well as in my writing.  Little things like "sweetheart", "love" and "hun" - and some more quirky ones likes "petal", "flower" and "bird".  I use "bird" quite a bit with my mates.  So if I say "Cheers bird", I am saying thank you.

On the subject of thank you, the challenge I made this card for is Tiddly Inks Challenge - Gratitude And Joyfulness  and I have combined the birds from one set of stamps and the perfect sentiment from another.

All stamps are from Tiddly Inks

Pink feathered paper is from Carta Bella "Wildflower" pad

Blue paper is a scrap of Crafters Companion

Dies and punches: Spellbinders Borderbilities and Martha Stewart

Image painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

And that's it, sweet and simple

Hugs, Squirrel xx

Does Ivy Have Berries?

Morning all.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  Although Toad is back to work today, I'm not.  This is my last day's leave before Christmas now, but I kinda forgot myself so when the alarm started ringing, instead of giving it a good slap I got up.  I came shuffling downstairs in my very old and very tatty dressing gown (towelling dressing gowns and cat claws don't make good companions - both Mollie and Vince have had a go at this one over the years) and my fleecy slippers and nearly gave Toad a funny turn as he was shovelling in his cereals.  Yeah, I could have gone back to bed I suppose, but I had such a rubbish night that I didn't hold out much hope of any decent sleep.  I might have a nap later.

Is there an award for woffle?  I think I may be in contention for it.  Anyhoo, does ivy have berries?  Well, yes, it does, but they are not glossy and bright like holly or hawthorn, they are small and dull and black, rather boring really, so I feel something needs to be done to brighten them up and make them more attractive.  Why?  Because I feel something is missing from this make, and that something might be berries......

Lili of The Valley stamp - Cosy and Warm

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Papers are Dovecraft Back To Basics Christmas

Sentiment is from a Personal Impressions set

Joanna Sheen Signature die - Ivy Corner

Tonic layering rectangles dies

And a hole punch dot to finish

Artistic Inspirations - Anthing Goes: Warm and Cozy
Cutie Pie Challenge - Festive Furry Friends

I miss having an open fire.  We have central heating plus a flame effect gas fire but we hardly ever use the fire, in fact I think I can count the occasions on one hand that it has been switched on over the past 17 years.  Mum and dad still have an open fire and it always feels so much warmer and welcoming.  I don't miss the mess they create though!

Right, that's my ramblings done for today and as I am up and about already, that will mean more crafting time, whooo, I just hope Mr Mojo plays ball today.  I have put the heater on in the studio for him just in case.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx