My hubby was making the dinner the other night (I know, how lucky am I). He said he had a present for me and handed me this. Awww.
Anyway the real reason for this post is to check that I can do the scheduling thingy. So by the time this is posted my little present will have been boiled and mashed. Mmm.
Many years ago a workmate persuaded me to go with her for horse riding lessons, I had one lesson and never went back. You know, you just don't realise how high up you are, let's just leave it there!
I got this stamp from Lili of the Valley a while back and this is the first chance I have had to ink it up. I coloured with Prisma pencils and the papers are Forever Friends Pink Parfait.
Well, not all Mondays are as happy as this one but I have some news to share. The team over on Sketch and Stash have asked me to be their guest designer for May. I, of course, had to think about it....for a nano second....before I said yes!
I love the Sketch and Stash challenge.....a super duper sketch to follow and an opportunity to use your new, never used or neglected stash....and we all have some of that!
It is a fortnightly challenge so my first GDT card will be posted on 10th May....look out for it!
*whispers*....I have even more news but it is all hush hush for now....don't even know if I should be sharing this much....but I am fit to burst!
So now I know why they call them challenges. This one, 'monochromatic brown', set by the team over on Penny Black really got me away from my usual sort of thing. And I have to say I enjoyed the change.
The stamps are from a Penny Black 'T for Transparent' set called 'Flower Gallery'. I coloured with water colours and the papers are by BoBunny.
It was my darling hubby who came up with the brilliant 'dino-mite' idea. Y' know they pretend they are not interested when they soooo are!
It was just as quick to make two cards at the same time when you are following the same sketch so I may use this trick again sometime.
Rex and Roxy from the DigiStamp Boutique have been coloured with Copics and the papers are My Minds Eye. The border punch is a Martha Stewart.
Two challenges have been lined up for these little cuties....
Sketch and Stash....fabby sketch and my new items are the images.
Crafty Cardmakers....desert island....ok I am assuming my island is like the one in Lost and has electricity....so I am taking the 3 P's 'puter, printer and paper....a never ending supply of images and backing paper....I will be making my own glue from coconuts.
Oops, DH has just read this post over my shoulder and says he sooo isn't.
Here is the first card made in my new crafty space. During the move I found my star dies and my (must have it, searched the shops high and low for it) white pen. So, of course, I had to use the foundlings!
The image is Sam from the DigiStamp Boutique (still time for the monthly comp here). I coloured with prismas and copics. The papers and the little brad are Basic Grey.
OK, so here is the reason I have not had a card to share since Friday. I have moved the crafty corner from the dining area in the lounge to the second bedroom/hall cupboard. This first picture is the techie bit.
And, moving round, this is now where the magic happens. All from Ikea, including the nifty little clip-on spotlight. The back bit is magnetised and will no doubt soon become cluttered with clippings from mags and the like. The drawers at the side have casters so that whole bit easily slides out for access to the sewing machine.
And inside my drawers, they will not stay this tidy for long, but I will try.
And the other drawers. I keep a little stock of printed and stamped images in the red folder. White and black card on the next shelf down and a basket of punches at the bottom. In the wheelie drawers are my project/note books (anybody would think I am organised). Then a plastic partitioned box with my ink pads, acrylic blocks and embossing powders. My tidy bundle of coloured cardstock is in the bottom (my untidy bundle is elsewhere, but more of that below). The bottom drawer (not in picture) holds embellies and flowers.
Four steps away is the hall cupboard....who needs a vacuum and an ironing board anyway? Not me! I put up the shelves myself but the nice man in the DIY shop cut out little bits for my pipes.
Top shelf - buttons, brads, card candy etc and Penny Black stamps. Middle - paper and all other stamps. Floor Up - a set of plastic drawers holds papers pads, paper scraps and coloured card. The plastic tub holds the untidy card (bits just too big to throw away and I might use one day). You will notice, on top of the drawers three scrapbook sets....one day. The shoe holder on the back of the door holds everything else.
I hope I haven't bored you all too much but a few folk had asked for a nosey!
I was contentedly cutting out Sophie from the patterned paper I had chosen. DH looked over curiously....'would it not make more sense to print the image on the plain side rather than the patterned side?' Well, yes of course it would! Now, where's my pokey tool?
Hmm, anyway, I am soo excited. The crafty corner is on the move from the dining table to a brand new workspace in the spare room. A visit to Ikea next week, a night with an alan key and I should be sorted!
I keep my buttons in plastic Chinese takeaway boxes. Two colours to each box and one box for fancy and one box for miscellaneous. Sometimes I ponder over whether a fancy pink button should go in the pink box or the fancy box. Is it really fancy enough for the fancy box? It truly is a dilemma!
Every night at about 6.30 we get a visit from a little field mouse. He sits on top of the fat balls put out for the birds and has a nibble. He seems quite tame and lets you stand really close to him. We have called him Frank.
Went a bit mad with the paper piecing on this one...but at least her crown and wand match her dress perfectly! I have used Evie from the DigiStamp Boutique and coloured with copics. The papers were from my 'scraps'.
This image reminds me of being a Brownie, sitting round the toadstool singing about worms!
I won this Bugaboo image in a challenge the other week. I love the quizzical look on his face ' what you haven't seen a dog dressed for the rain before?'
I love these Penny Black stamps that have animals dressed up as other animals! This time I used watercolour pencils to colour the image, nothing else seems to work quite as well with the Penny Blacks, well, that's what I think anyway.
Here is another card from Monday's crafty session. I am popping this on very quickly as we will have to leave for the hospital early tonight to miss the footie traffic. If I have time when we get back later I will have a nosey round to see what you have all been up to.
If you make a card using a DigiStamp Boutique image why not enter it into the monthly comp'? You could win 5 images of your choice. Find out all about it here.
Hi, me again. Just realised I forgot to show you my calendar page for April. So here it is. I did something new for me...paper piecing! Doesn't it work out fab (even if I say so myself) on these Oriental girlies from the DigiStamp Boutique.
I will certainly be using this technique again. But what does everyone do with the little bits that are stranded? Like the pink girls hands. Too small for me to cut out neatly so I used copics to colour them, but it didn't turn out flesh coloured. Hubby says that she has been at the strawberry jam (or the beetroot)!
I am entering this into the challenge on One Stop which is Paper Piecing.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter break. I am just quickly popping on this card as I want to have as much crafty time today as possible. Hospital visits will start again tomorrow.
I have used an image from the offer of the month at the DigiStamp Boutique (10% off everything today). The papers are from a Daisy and Dandelion pad. I have left my buttons naked! Hubby says they look too plain but I didn't want them to look too fussy on this card. What do you think?
Ta-dah....Drumroll....Fanfare...a winner has been selected....step forward.... Debs
You have been randomly selected by my darling hubby from my 101 followers (with the exception of Bumblealsie who, although is very amusing, doesn't actually craft!)
I am totally amazed but chuffed that I have 90+ followers just now and very excited by the prospect of reaching 100 (hopefully sooner rather than later). This milestone when it happens can't pass without some sort of ceremony. So to mark this occasion I am giving away some blog candy. Once I hit the 100 mark I will put the names of all my followers in a hat and I will get DH to randomly select a winner. So if you already follow keep following so you don't miss out, if you don't already follow then why not, and if you know of someone who needs a nudge in my direction then nudge them.
The items in the blog candy are:
Cupcakes paper pad Papermania A6 cards and envelopes x5 Papermania embellishment trio Match Up flower accents Pack of butterflies Sticky ribbon Foam squares Ribbon and lace selction Spica glitter pen - pink
It is the first Friday of the month so that means it's time to share my design team card for the Crafty Calendar Challenge. Last month there was over 300 entries, thanks for joining in the fun everyone!
This months theme is 'April Fool', make something fun and cheerful. The optional extra is embossing.
I have used a digi image from Sassy Cheryl, how happy does she look? I coloured with prisma pencils and the paper is My Minds Eye.
Woohoo! 101 followers! I will organise the draw for the candy some time over the weekend.
Hello, I'm Liz McGuire. I have been designing and making cards for over 10 years, serving on numerous design teams and completing assignments for various papercraft magazines.
Along with my cardmaking I like to try my hand at art journaling, memory keeping, smash books etc. And there is also my new obsession - planners and stationery! So there may be the occasional blog post on these topics.
I do have a real job but that's just to earn enough money to buy paper, stamps, pens and, of course, buttons!
Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment and follow, if you like what you see.