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

Wednesday 31 March 2010

Just had to come up and make this card because I’ve been thinking about it all day.  I know it’s very simple, but I really like it.  I used Ecoline inks.  Don’t you just love these words?  Thank you Mary :)

feeling blue

Tuesday 30 March 2010

Last minute Queen again – just finished my Grunge ATCs for KCUK and made a card while I was at it, lol :)  Enjoyed this – used my scratch paper from Saturday night – just added gesso, more inks, stamping and embossing.

grunge atc 1
grunge atc 2
grunge atc 3
grunge atc 4
grunge 1

Monday 29 March 2010

As a total aside (Grunge ATCs tomorrow!)I took a photo of a few of the girls who’d escaped from the NEC for a breather, then some kind soul offered to take another one, with me in it, so here are both.

nec22

For those of you who know her blog, that’s Neet, second from the right hand side at the back – dwarfing the rest of us.  I hope I’m not in trouble now because Carmel hates people to see her photo.

nec12

At the last minute, I was offered a ticket and a place on the coach to the NEC, with some of the girls from Stamp Club and I got more stash!!!!  Here are a few of the results of my Saturday evening playtime at the kitchen table, using some new Distress inks, Alcohol inks, Paperartsy, Inkadinkado and Penny Black stamps and a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

stash2

stash2b

secret garden

time1

time2 

stash3

embossing close up

On another note, I heard my first chiff chaff yesterday, at Moore Park, so Spring is officially here – even if it doesn’t feel that way!

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Couldn’t resist having a VERY quick play with my Birthday toys in between friend and family visits, so grabbing whatever was nearest (stamped at the kitchen table with whatever I could find from my ‘stash’ hidden underneath) – anyway, here are a few of my new toys – including Crushed Olive Distress ink (I like this colour) from the lovely Lottie and some fab new stamps from Dot, Mary (second Mum) and Aunty Mary.

birthday play 2       birthday play 1

Thank you VERY much, peeps!  I’m overwhelmed by the fab cards and bits I opened today – will get photos and upload (both here and to KCUK) ASAP.

Friday 19 March 2010

celebrate flowers 
The background is stamped in Versamagic inks - scrummy, spring like pastel colours - using Hero Arts Shadow stamps and Text stamps.  The other two stamps are from Stampin Up and make really good, quick cards. The Flowers are embossed.

Thursday 18 March 2010

dream flower

I love this background – watercolours on watercolour paper, gessoed then sprayed with Gold webbing – so I decided to keep it pretty simple.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

grow old again

Oops!  I thought I’d picked up a Mountain Rose inkpad but I had, in fact, picked up a Sunshine Yellow (believe it or not I’d just spent five minutes hunting for the Sunshine yellow but couldn’t find it – duh!).  Anyway, I didn’t want yellow shadows but looking at it now, it kind of adds another dimension, I suppose…

This month’s KCUK challenge is Shades of Blue – I’ll try to do another before the month’s out cos blue is my all time favourite colour (although I do love other colours just as much now) and this is a quick 10 minute card.

cath shades 
It felt good to stamp and play a little :)
In answer to the question about how I made the background, I just used a few shades of Adirondack ink, applied with baby wipes, then applied a touch of my favourite blue Colorbox Pigment ink - I absolutely love that shade of blue and must try to get it in a large pad, rather than the Petal Point I use so often.  Blue inks are very 'iffy' and I've always found it difficult to find shades I really like without them being too overpowering.

Sunday 14 March 2010

Just a quick post to wish those of you who celebrate the UK date a lovely Mother’s day – hope you’re all spoiled.  Much as I’d like to upload the Mother’s Day card I made, I’m afraid I forgot to photograph it in my haste to get it off to New Zealand in time.  It arrived  - phew!  My name’s usually mud because my cards and/or gifts are usually very late.

Sorry for not being around much but I’ve been in and out of bed all week with the dreaded lurgy – a really bad cold – or is it flu?  Who knows, lol?  I hope to be stamping again, soon…

Sunday 7 March 2010

These are what we made at Stamp Club yesterday.  It’s not my usual sort of thing to use lots of patterned papers but what we made is pretty and very quick and easy.   We also had kits to make small cards, with envelopes and a paper flower, none of which I completed because I just wouldn’t use them… but they were really pretty.  I love the way all Stampin Up products are colour co-ordinated – such a good idea.  The ribbon from my ‘treat’ has disappeared – it was a lovely brown one – but I had forgotten the colour and took a replacement bow down to put on it, thinking of the really pretty blue colour – doesn’t match, but you get the idea.  Simple but nice.  This is one idea I will probably use because it’s so easy.  Just a couple of simple folds to a square of paper and it’s done.
easter treat
This was the box we made, though I just stamped it now.  Inside were kits for three little square cards, with matching envelopes.
box
This is an idea I wasn’t keen on but when I saw them afterwards, I decided they’d be really handy when I didn’t quite have the right shade I needed – which I rarely do, despite having thousands of buttons!  Sod’s law :(  You just punch 4 circles of card and glue them together, then punch four holes in them (yes, I KNOW mine are way out of alignment and we did some giggling about that but I was rushing, as ever and you can still get the idea, lol) and apply a glaze, such as Diamond Glaze or Glossy accents. It’s a great idea for a standby embellishment.
button
On another, personal note, my younger son proposed to his girl yesterday afternoon and we spent (most of) the night, celebrating their engagement!  You can see how happy they both look.  Unfortunately, I ended up staying out LATE and only got home at 4.30am!!!!  But it was a lovely time and I discovered a fab new (to me) cocktail - Mojito - fresh mint and limes - scrummy .
Phil and Karen toast alone sm

Friday 5 March 2010

Nice to have a change, though I doubt I’d do these again cos they’re too fiddly for my poor fingers, even if not as bad as Inchies.  I still opted for Collage stamps, rather than collaging – a nice easy stamping time to get me back into ‘stamping mode’ after this week’s exams.
Time Moo 2  Time Moo 3   Time Moo 5

Time Moo 6  moos
The Glossy Accents on the one above left isn’t dry yet – I just wanted to  photograph it before it goes dark.

VERY generous offer from Gill of the full set of Distress Ink NEW colours!  AND you can either choose reinkers or pads – wow!

TheStampManNewDistressInkPadGiveaway

I’m going to TRY to get some stamping done today – having withdrawal symptoms, lol. I have done a little stamping but I forgot to get a pic – duh!