Just Magnolia...............sketchy challenge.

I spotted this challenge last night, so I got Polly Pazzles (my Pazzles Inspiration die cutter) to cut out all the bits for me, and I finished it off today with the Magnolia stamp.

This is for the Just Magnolia - Jay Jay's Sketch challenge.

A new challenge!

It was lovely to meet Jen from Phoenix Crafts Blog when she visited my shop yesterday. I checked out her blog (practically as soon as she had gone through the door!), and, along with lots of gorgeous stuff, I found a link on there to ABC challenge, which I found very interesting. The idea of this challenge seems to be working through the alphabet. This fortnight they are on M, and M is for Masking is the name of the challenge. I like masking, so I decided to give it a go. I found the Magnolia stamp I wanted to use, but as for something for her to sit on...................well! I went through ALL my stamps and the only thing I could find was this Sweet Pea corner stamp, not very realistic but very cute!

Very last minute!

Just decided at the last minute to make a card for Cupcake Craft Challenge, which is a sketch. As my beloved ProMarkers are in the shop, and I am at home, I had a go at colouring the image with some pencil crayons that I got in the sale at W. H. Smith's (get an awful lot of bargains there). Prefer my ProMarkers, but it hasn't come out badly.

I also thought that it might be OK for the Anyone for Anya challenge this week, which has to include a heart somewhere on the card. The hearts are actually deep pink crystals, they just don't scan very well. The image is Pretty Head Rachel which is a digi stamp from the Greetings Farm. She is gorgeous!

Think Pink!!

I have had a busy day today with these challenges!

This card is for three challenges I would like to say that I have done some masking here, but I cannot tell a lie! Over the Christmas break I stamped out all my "cute" stamps and scanned the stamped images into my computer, so that I can use them like digi stamps. So when I saw this challenge I decided to use three of them, and loaded them into Photoshop and layered them up.

I got a bargain in the "chucky outies" at W. H. Smith's a couple of weeks ago in a PaperMania 200 sheet pad of 12x12 papers for £3.74, so used 2 of the patterns in the background.

The first challenge is Passion for ProMarkers Girls Girls Girls. Think my girlies fit the bill.

The second challenge is Papertake Weekly Pretty Pink, my card is certainly pink!

And finally the third challenge is Truly Scrumptious and it is a sketch, which I have rotated. An added option was to use stitching, either real or faux. I used my new Martha Stewart punch and drew a line between alternate sets of holes with a glitter gel pen. Think it works.

The first of today's cards...........

made with my latest stamp, her name is Gigi and she is gorgeous!

I have made this (last minute again!) for the Anyone for Anya challenge, which is Black & White + 1 this week. That is, apart from skin and hair, you can only use black and white and 1 other colour, in my case Jade/turquoise. I have had a pad of black and white (admittedly with a minute bit of grey as well) for ages now, so that came in handy. I used my Swiss Dots embossing folder again for the oval, which I edged with my ProMarker (practically the only thing I use the "fat" end for). I bought some stick on "diamonds" on Thursday, a pack of 120 assorted sizes for £1 in the Pound Shop, but, being diamonds, they were white. So I had a go at colouring them with the ProMarkers - success, although they don't show quite as well on the scan as they look in the flesh!

I'm being challenged again!

In more ways than one, as it turns out! I started to do this post and I couldn't type anything. First, I must explain something.... I am NOT a laptop person, although I use a laptop at home. When my monitor packed in my husband, in his infinite wisdom, decided that if he was going to spend £100 on a new monitor, he would be better off spending £350 on a laptop for me. I must admit, I liked the idea of one until I came to have to use it! Laptop keyboards are all wrong, too flat, and those stupid mice thingies do not like me. The laptop takes on a mind of it's own when I try and use the mouse thing. So...............my laptop is permanently anchored to the computer desk that my real computer was on, and attached to it is a real mouse (well, not really real - a computer one), and a proper keyboard that you can type on.

That was my problem area - I came to type the title in and nothing happened. It had been fine moments before. So I tried the stupid laptop keyboard, which worked fine once I had switched the num lock off (the keys multi-task). So I took my lovely proper keyboard into the other room for husband to try in his - not a problem! After threatening it with a nasty violent death if it did not work for me, I plugged it back into mine, and bingo, it is fine now.
Sorry for all that waffle, down to business. This card is for 2 challenges, and possibly for my husband for our anniversary in a couple of weeks (waste not, want not!). The first challenge is the Passion for ProMarkers Cool Aqua and Cocoa. The second is for the Papertake Weekly challenge, which this week is a sketch.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!! Still freezing down here!

So, I have been working hard (!!) in an attempt to keep warm without turning the gas fire up too high. I have actually just fished out an afghan which I made when this was still a machine knitting shop (my husband told everyone who asked that I was knitting an albatross!), just the job for putting over my knees while working at the computer. The computer is in a particularly cold corner of the shop, where even the fire doesn't really reach, so I may as well save on gas, and cover up (I am really turning into an OLD lady now!).

This is my latest card, which I have made for the Cupcake Craft Challenge for this week. The theme is Going Girly, and I must admit I had a struggle with this. I have never been particularly girly, brought up living with firstly two boy cousins, then with three younger brothers sort of makes you into a tomboy. Even my favourite colour has always been BLUE (except when it comes to football teams - then it is Anfield Red), so I really did not know what to do. But, a challenge is supposed to be challenging, so I had a go. I'm not sure that the "blingy" bits show very well. I used my Bejeweller Pro tool to hot-fix pink crystals as the dots on the skirt, and yellow crystals as the centres of the flowers.

Blogging, in spite of the freezing cold weather!!!

It is pretty cold down here at the shop today, the canal basin is frozen solid and the seagulls are walking, but I have managed to work up a bit of warmth working on this card. (Sitting in front of the fire also helped!). I also played with quite a few toys that I have been neglecting for too long. I stuck all my layers using my Xyron 900, and I got my Wizard out for the cuttlebug folder. Also, I have had the Swiss Dots folder for such a long time, and this is the first time I have used it!

This is for two challenges -

Passion for ProMarkers (hoping to repeat my recent success!) - Sketch and the theme of love.

Anyone for Anya - Anything Goes.

This is the sketch for the PfP challenge.

The heart background paper is from Sharon Duncan's Embossibilities CD, I used my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder for the white rectangle, and the red heart square is actually vellum. The vellum layer didn't really show very well so I stuck it onto white card. And, of course, Anya is one of the new Miss Anya Love collection - isn't she gorgeous?

Yay!!!!!!!!!! Scanner working.

Spent today (snow keeping me at home) putting Windows 7 onto my laptop. It nearly took the whole day, roughly about 4 hours, but it was worth the wait.
My old Epson Perfection 1250 brilliant scanner which wouldn't work with Vista, is now working!!! Just scanned this card again and now you can see the embossed card, and the true colours! Yessssssss!

Passion for ProMarkers Mega Challenge.................

I only went and won with my little calendar!!!!!! A complete set of ProMarkers!!!!!!
I can't believe it!!!!!

New camera...........Day 1 Masterclass

I got a new camera on Sunday (belated Christmas and Birthday present), and yesterday husband and I went to Chester and I had a Masterclass in taking pictures.

Now, I am not sure that this is going to work, as I haven't tried it before, but I think that this is a link to my Picassa Web Album, which has 27 of the 150 pictures that I took today. Here goes..................Click here.

Just a very quick post...................time for Casualty, feature length!!

Yes, I know I am a sad case, but I NEED to watch Casualty, so I am making this a quick post.

I have done this card today for the Anyone for Anya challenge, which is a sketch.
It hasn't scanned too well, as I think I have mentioned before, my all-in-one scanner tends to bleach out the detail on white, and my good scanner doesn't work with Vista (works with my husband's Windows 7, however, so...........). The white bits have embossed butterflies on which don't show up well.
Ok, off to Holby now to watch the wedding!!