'What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you say.'
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday 31 January 2012

The Make My Monday Challenge is Dragonflies and Butterflies and here’s a card I made with a little flutterby on it.
I was wanting to try recreating a rainbow, so I tried it with inks, using only 3 colours – red, blue and green.  There isn’t much blue, but you can still see a bit of it.

rainbow
I stamped over it, then embossed but because I used watercolour paper, the paper stayed wet and it’s embossed all over, so I had to use white pen to colour.  My Promarkers were downstairs and I didn’t want to come hunt for them.

Can’t believe this is the last post of the month.  Who stole January??

Saturday 28 January 2012

Just nipping in by the skin of my teeth to join in with Hels’ birthday challenge, which is EYES.


Congratulations to Hels and to all the Sunday Stampers Devotees on lasting FOUR YEARS!  Wow!  Long may it continue.


I got the Paperartsy stamps out for this one – and realised just how much I’ve neglected those gorgeous stamps – and killed two birds with one stone by making my card in greens, to fit in with the  Gingersnap Colour Challenge, which is Gorgeous Greens.


green eyes p2

I’ve had a bit of a crafting frenzy the last two days and have been stealing odd moments when I can to do a bit more – definitely withdrawal symptoms!  So I made another gorgeous green entry, using a background I had already made. The card itself is a really gorgeous shade of sea green but it looks almost turquoise here – I give up on scans!  New printer this week, so I hope it scans more realistically!

gorgeous greens pf


It feels so good to be stamping but I’ll be panicking tomorrow because I have to fit all my prep into one and a half days – eek!
See you soon!

Cath xxx

Friday 27 January 2012

all work no play



Just letting off steam and clearing some cobwebs …

A bit blurred but it’s way too dark here for anything else,  and these show the true colours a bit better.


<KENOX S1050  / Samsung S1050>

<KENOX S1050  / Samsung S1050>

Friday 20 January 2012

Another one of my coloured images, with lots of glitter (Hologram EP) and silver ink to colour the moon. I masked her after colouring and added the background with inks and a few more stamps.


twinkle


I took a photo to show the gorgeous glitter effect of the holographic ep – I seem to have had a run on that this last month or so, despite the fact that I rarely use glitters.

IMGP6890


After a really difficult week, I finally got chance to play.  Unfortunately, I only had an hour and spent most of that giving my craft room a much needed tidy up, including putting away Christmas stamps!  I still can’t see much of my desk, so need to tidy some more when I get the chance, but I had to make something while I could!!

img001 


I was lucky enough to win the Craft Barn Journalling Competition and yesterday came home to my lovely prizes!  Unfortunately, one of them was missing but I’m not complaining – I got a lovely new journal, one Cosmic Shimmer Mister and one Americana acrylic paint and I’m really pleased with them, so thank you very much to all at the Craft Barn!


This week’s CAS-ual Friday challenge is black and white and this is my entry.


I’ve really missed blog hopping and stamping but I’ll have to get used to it for a while, due to work commitments and another upcoming inspection! Thanks to everyone who left such lovely comments – all appreciated, as ever xxx

Friday 13 January 2012

I was determined to join in with Kate’s brilliant calendar challenge this year because I so enjoyed looking at people’s work last year but of course it’s been busy, busy, busy since the beginning of January, so I’ve only just managed to do my pages. 


They’re very simple and not brilliantly stamped but I hope to add to them as the month goes on – or that’s the plan, anyway. Just hope I can keep it up for the whole year, or at least do some of them!


<KENOX S1050  / Samsung S1050>

<KENOX S1050  / Samsung S1050>

<KENOX S1050  / Samsung S1050>

PS, there isn’t quite as much blank space now cos I started journalling and doodling on it … ooops!  But that’s what journalling is about, isn’t it????

Thursday 12 January 2012

A bit of faux batik here – not a new one but one of a batch I stamped and ironed a little while ago, ready to go. I simply sponged on some Adirondack inks, then stamped (and embossed) the flowers and the verse.
bloom 
More winter scenery.
winter2
This one fits this week’s TAKE A WORD challenge – Nature, Crazy Amigo’s Winter Colours and Crafty Cardmakers ‘No flowers’. That’s not difficult for me, really, is it, he, he?  In fact, I use very few embellishments if I’m honest!
One more to come from last weekend, so I NEED to stamp!

Tuesday 10 January 2012

I allowed myself time to play on Sunday and this was the result.

aj1
I used Dylusions inks and a variety of stamps and stencils. Although I started out with Hot pink and Yellow, it’s hard to see that in the scan – the photos show the colours better, but the Aged Mahogany edging affects the way it looks.
IMGP6881
IMGP6884
I was thinking about Time and added the word a few times, so I’m entering this into Hels’ challenge for this week’s Sunday Stamper.
You can’t really see the journalling very clearly because most of it’s in very small writing around the images – AND in French, he, he.

Monday 9 January 2012

This week’s Less is More challenge is Predominantly Purple and while there isn’t quite as much space as I would prefer for this challenge, this is my entry.  CAS suits me fine right now, with time at a premium.

pp birthday
The stamps are from Innovative Creations  (Nature Silhouettes III) and I’ve stamped with felt tips..

Sunday 8 January 2012

Just a couple of cards I managed to get finished, tho far from perfect! More Versamagic, first and one of my favourite stamps.
more versamagic
Birthday bird.
birthday birdie
I really should have added another black layer underneath the bird, or at least edged with black – I’ll remember next time!
Lastly, my KCUK Winter Challenge entry.
WINTER CATH
I tried to imitate the sky outside but wasn’t very successful – I like it, though.  I’m entering this into Crazy Amigos’ Winter challenge.
Sorry if you see this and I send one of these to you but I have a lot to make this month and too little time!
I’m really missing blog hopping but just don’t have the time right now.  I’ll try to visit you all later this week, tho it’s more likely to be in a couple of weeks - sorry!
Cath x

Friday 6 January 2012

Can’t believe this is the first chance I’ve had to stamp this year, let alone blog!! 
I wish all of you a wonderful, Happy, healthy and blessed 2012!
Time’s been really short this last week because I was asked to do some extra work at very short notice, which meant lots of prepping and planning and will be the same next week and maybe for a few weeks after that. Add to that the fact that one of my New Year goals is not to spend as much time on the computer because I sometimes let it ‘steal’ my life AND I’ve had nothing but problems with Firefox since I updated Windows for the first time in 9 months – over 85 updates, so I kept having to restart my laptop.  Then a book I’d been waiting for (for two years!) was released in November and since it’s the fourth in a series and I don’t remember the other three well enough, I decided that I need to read them again before starting the new one!  I didn’t get chance before Christmas, with being ill, and we had sad news about a close friend a couple of days ago, so escaping into a book has been a bit of a release, especially when my head’s tired from planning!
I have a lot of cards to make this month and not a lot of time to make them in, so I thought I’d make a start this afternoon.  Before I go any further, though, I think it’s time I chose the blog candy winner, so ………… dum di dum …………….

The winner is SAM!
CONGRATULATIONS, SAM!
I’ll get it ready to post over the weekend, all being well, although my brother is threatening to visit tomorrow, which may set my plans back a bit but I’ll try to get it posted ASAP.
I found it very difficult to choose this time because I knew so many of the people who commented, so I had to get someone else to choose and that’s why it’s taken me so long.  Sorry to keep you waiting and thanks for the comments. Just wish I had half a dozen of them.
I did a bit of CUTE Prisma pencil colouring after Christmas, while watching TV, so I made a couple of cards with the images, adding a bit of ink and some inky backgrounds. This is one of them.
owly
This one was more for fun and started out as a Challenge entry, using text but I only just managed to finish it.
wild
Hopefully, I’ll have more to post over the weekend before I start more prep on Monday! I have about ten on my list – eeeek!