Tuesday 26 December 2017

Boxing Day snippets!

Hello!
Are you all Christmassed out?.or maybe still celebrating with family and friends.Or maybe you have braved the sales!!........... A quiet day here, relaxing with chocs, a book and the TV.....No sales for me, I suffer enough elbowing at craft shows from the really keen ones to bother with the sales!

I decided to pop by with one last Christmas card...a special one made all from snippets...even the edger die is a snippet of the die .....so it qualifies me to go to the Playground and sniff out the remnants of the festivities there.

This card winged it's way across the world...down under... to where it is hot and sunny!


Hope it arrived before the snowman melted!

Good old James form LOTV coloured with copics.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your Christmas break...hubby has the rest of the week off.... so see you next year!

Hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered:-

Snippets Playground weeks 313 /314

Friday 22 December 2017

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Hi Everyone!
Are you sorted for Monday then?...or still rushing round doing all those last minute things on your list? Whatever...if you are reading this, then 'Thank You' for taking the time out to do so.

My last card (before Christmas anyway) is the one I made for hubby. Trial and error with the inking, I think my distress pads are drying up and even though I used Sheena's card I got blotches! Anyway managed to pick a suitable bit for the card and hubby likes it! Need to sort this inking lark once and for all next year!


The aperture was cut with a Spellbinders die and mounted on foam for depth. the sentiment as always from stash and I used some twinkling embossing powder...which I wish I hadn't now as it doesn't show up much....I would have been better with silver...sigh! My moon didn't work too well either!  A tiny punched snowflake and gem and hey ho...there we have it.The stamps are a mixture form my stash. Fairly happy with the card though maybe if I hadn't left it till the last minute I could have improved on it.

The photo is rubbish...sorry... as the light was terrible...it really sparkles as it was treated to my usual liberal dosing of Glamour Dust.

Right I am not going to hold up you busy people any longer.

I would like to say A big THANK YOU  to each and every one of you that visit's my blog....without you I would lose heart to blog at all. ,and especially THANK YOU to those of you who take the time to leave me such lovely comments and have become such great blogging friends...you are all truly appreciated...probably more than you realise.

I wish you all a Wonderful Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Peaceful 2018 when it arrives.

Take care and have a great time
Crafty love and hugs
Carole xx

Monday 18 December 2017

One week to blast off!

Well hello everyone. I do hope you are well and not too stressed out with all the Christmas preparations.

I won't keep you long as I know you are busy, but thought a Christmas card  would be appropriate.....here goes...three, all a variation on the same die...a Crafters Companion die which I love......




I am sure they speak for themselves.
Apologies if the photos are not brilliant but the light has not been good recently.

So we escaped the snow here in West Yorkshire thankfully, I hope it wasn't too bad where you are.

OK are you ready for Christmas? I just have the cake to ice and marzipan. it never gets cut on Christmas Day as everyone is full of dinner, so this year I have only made a small one as hubby and I end up eating it all...not good for the figure!!

I'll let you get on...do stop by later in the week though to see the card I made for hubby...and a mince pie and a tipple if you are lucky..lol! I'm off to tidy Christmas craft stuff away now till next year!...see to that cake and the usual mountain of ironing in threat from snow on the top it's so big!!!

Till then, thank you for popping by today, take care and see you soon.
Crafty Christmas hugs
Carole xx

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Anniversary card, a Birthday and a tour!

Hello friends!.....can't believe it is Tuesday already! that's mainly due to the fact that hubby had along weekend so I am a day out now...4 short days instead of 5 to get everything done!

So how are we all? good I hope..... and to all my cyber friends over the pond...I hope you have recovered from a wonderful Thanksgiving?

Christmas is fast approaching now...the advent candle is in place....I did suggest burning it early and then telling everyone they had missed Christmas dinner, but hubby said no! I,m never done any earlier for Christmas..are you?.....because the more time free, I find something else to squeeze into the preparations...so this year it's take it steady and don't go overboard.

Just to fool you all while talking about Christmas..here is an Anniversary card!!


The die is an Intricut die from Hobbycraft...beautiful die and I re cut the birds in blue and overlaid them so they would stand out. The tiny heart is not part of the die, I just popped it there. I think the sentiment is Uniko (lost the piece of paper with all my details on...sorry). I put tiny pearls on the leaves where they are embossed using.........(brain whirring here )...oh I know....Viva pearl pen.
The rest speaks for itself.

Black Friday...I had a birthday! so it wasn't black Friday for me at all!! Hubby and I went to Burton Agnes Hall to see the hall all decorated by the owners ans and staff for Christmas. It was fantastic...such a lot of hard work. It was all done with using as much natural stuff from the estate as possible and a lot of the decorations were crafted in some form or another so it was a real treat. here's a couple of pics.......



Just look at those carvings round the walls and fireplace.....!


Sprayed hydrangea heads and origami butterflies...


A paper cut village....


paper flowers....



knitted snowmen family...


and pom pom flowers and paper lanterns.....

Are you still with me?...OK I can't count , there are 6 not 2 photos but I hope you enjoyed them. I could show you loads more but I wont keep you any longer and I have to go and crack on too.
next weekend is hubby's birthday....card to make...eeek!!!

Hope you all have a good week and achieve all you want to do. Saturday.... fingers crossed is our re-arranged meal and catch up with son and partner.

Thank you all for spending your precious time with me and for all the lovely comments you leave me and that I appreciate so very much. Without you all I would not be sat here doing this blog.

Take care my friends till next time I see you.
Big crafty hugs
Carole xx

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Autumn Hedgehogs

Hello friends!
Well it's certainly turned colder here these last few days...the thicker duvet has gone on the bed...and hubby is in long sleeved shirts...lol...so I guess we can say it's almost winter.
 However the leaves are still clinging to the trees in some places and such lovely autumn colours too when the sun shines, so I thought I would post this card I made while it;'s still relevant to the season.......



The image is a digi image that I coloured with copics and the leaves down the side are the cut outs from my previous post, coloured with distress inks. The embossing folder is a Crafters Companion from one of Sara's Signature collections.
I hope the leaves from my cut outs qualify for snippets so I'm hopping over to the Playground with this card. I haven't been for a few weeks now and I am missing my playmates! If it doesn't qualify feel free Miss Di to ban me at the gates!

Thank you for popping in and for your lovely comments...as you know I am always thrilled to hear from you.

Hope you are all well...and stay that way...if not then please get better soon.Take care and have a good week.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-

Pixie's Playground week 307/308......use snippets

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Autumn leaves

Hello friends.

A quick post today with an Autumn leaf theme..........



I die cut the leaves into a panel of linen textured card which was then raised on foam pads over the card base and a background painted with starlight paints.....love the sparkle on these.The outlines were edged with a fine liner pen as it just needed something more, and the sentiment stamp was from stash.
So there we have it..less time to write about than make!

The leaves here are very wet and soggy today....no sunshine and sparkling colours in them.

Thank you for popping in and your kind comments. Incidentally the catch up meal with eldest son didn't happen as Becky his partner was poorly.....postponed till next month...eek...nearly Christmas!

Hope you all had a good and safe bonfire weekend and that your week is going well.

TTFN
Hugs
Carole xx

Saturday 4 November 2017

recycling and stamping

Good morning friends.
So NOVEMBER! how did we get here? and so quickly!!
 I hope your weekend has got off to a good start and you have something nice planned.....maybe a bonfire party and a few fireworks, of maybe a cosy night in after a busy day shopping...or in the crafty zone?
For us it's a nice meal out with my eldest son and partner... a good chat and catch up as they lead such busy lives, we don't get together often enough.

On to my card...
It's another bit of recycling/up-cycling  and a bit of stamping too.
Do you remember the robin card here I shared with you? Well I cut them with the outer die from the frame of three which left me with the aperture in this card...... and then I made an inky background, stamped my trees in Smokey Grey Versafine, and added the proverbial glamour dust! popped it behind the aperture...another card for the stash!


and a close up to show the sparkle....


I tried to do my background with brushes and distress inks...not very successfully I have to say...definitely need more practice with the brushes.

I still haven't found the time to play with my new oxides.....no space on my desk to get them out either! I am so cluttered at the moment...the floor is covered, I keep falling over things and all my Christmas stash is on the guest bed in the spare room...good job no-one is coming to stay! I just have not got enough space!!!!!! A big sort out is looming in the New Year I think. I seem to find it so hard to part with things, even the smallest snippet of card, but I feel my clutter is holding me back...feng shui and all that.

Thank you for popping in,please do leave me a comment so I know you have been...I love to read them.....I know my creations are not mind blowing but at least I am using up some stuff...a small indent in the huge pile....doesn't make me anymore space though!

Enjoy your weekend and take care with those fireworks please.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx


Friday 27 October 2017

Blue Poppy

Hello again everyone!
Hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend.

Here is a quick Sympathy card that I made. Unfortunately needs must sometimes even though they are not our most popular type of card to make.

I went with the ever popular Memory Box Poppy die and great deliberation on the colour. Should I use black as it was going to a male recipient?  or red? ....in the end I plumped for a subdued shade of blue...a little less harsh but not girlie.


I used the negative of the die on a linen card and layered on the blue background and kept it as flat as possible but felt it needed the pearls just to finish it . The sentiment was from stash.. I thought I would have loads of 'Thinking of you' sentiments but when it came to it...a choice of two! Bit like never having that right colour ribbon...you know what I mean.

Thank you for all the lovely comments you leave me, I love to read them all and I value your virtual friendship so much, and the time you take in your busy schedules to stop by my blog and read my ramblings.

Have a great weekend all of you...fingers crossed that the weather will stay bright and if you are in the UK ...enjoy the extra hour ...YES don't forget to put your clocks back.

Till next time
Crafty hugs and Happy Halloween to all who celebrate it...stay safe!
Carole xx

Wednesday 18 October 2017

More robins

Hi friends!

More robins today, once again up-cycled images that fitted my die perfectly.... and a boo boo (not the Halloween type).


Can you see the deliberate (not ) mistake? As it's an old wooden stamp so I was unable to use my stamping platform and it wobbled...but hey...it looks like a shadow don't you think? Who knows it may one day be a rarity (lol...it sure is already!)....you know like postage stamps or coins with a flaw in them. If the royal mint can get away with it...so can I!

I have lots to do today so excuse me if I dash. Thank you for popping by, I love your visits they make my day.
See you again soon.
Crafty hugs.
Carole xx

Thursday 12 October 2017

Re-cycled Robins!

Hello friends and followers!
I hope this post finds you all well and if not I hope you feel tons better soon!

I've been re-cycling or up-cycling (not sure I know the difference) and this post is a bit photo heavy so you might want to make a cuppa (good excuse for one anyway).  These robins were all on a card together (from last year.).   shhhhh don't tell anyone....here is what I did with them.......


and close up to see the detail..







They fit my die perfectly. I used linen effect card form my stash and the sentiment is a
wooden one from my stash...oldie but goody! Feeling quite chuffed having re-cycled and used up a bit of stash too!

So I haven't been idle!  First Christmas cards this year.

Are you still with me?...wakey wakey...your cuppa is going cold...lol
OK I'll head off now and wish you all a lovely weekend.
Catch up again soon
Hugs
 Carole xx

Saturday 30 September 2017

NBUS

Well HELLO everyone!!

I can't believe it is a month since I last blogged, life takes over and I had nothing crafty to share......if you are reading this then thank you for staying with me.

My card I do have to share today is a one layer card currently winging it's way 'down under' (I hope) to my youngest son who will be celebrating his birthday in October. Also I have used NBUS (never before used stuff)  that I have had in my possession a while (hanging head in shame) so thought I would hop over to Darnell's challenge with this card......


Recipe:-

Stamps.....Uniko 'Explosive Additions' and 'Simply Said Birthday' (Happy Birthday)
                 SON from stash.

Inks         Memento--- Bahama blue and Tangelo
                Versafine--- Majestic Blue for sentiments.

Glamour dust on large explosions...not showing well on the photo!


So what have you all been up to? I have been popping in on your blogs and admiring all the wonderful work out there....makes me feel very inadequate I have to sat you clever bunch.

Hubby had a weeks holiday earlier in the month and we spent a couple of days in Watford . We visited the Harry Potter Studios...Wow!!...A-maz-ing!!!! and I was also lucky enough to be able to go to Ally Pally (good planning on  my part don't you think?).... and spend way too much money! Now I reckon I could do NBUS for weeks and weeks!!! and need a lot of time and motivation to use it all.

I am currently digging out all my Christmas stuff from my craft room so I can see what I have and get started on those Christmas cards! Boy I have too much stuff!!!!....and still I buy more!! When I say to hubby I don't really need this he just smiles knowingly !!...know what I mean?

Ok well hope you are all well and Thank You so much for popping in to see me. I will try to be a better blogger but I do want to get back into my cross stitch this winter and nudge it a little closer to finished...hmmm...it's been a work in progress for a few years now!

Take care and enjoy the rest of your weekend......raining here and hubby is out chasing steam trains at the North Yorkshire Moors and I am meant to be in the craft room...so ta ra for now and if you leave me a comment I shall be so thrilled to know you have stuck with me.

Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-

Darnells NBUS ......entry 1 (probably the only one!)


                                           









Thursday 31 August 2017

It's that 'heart' again!

Hi Everyone!
Yes it's that heart again...my favourite heart die by Concord 9th...the one I lost and found (thankfully) down the back of the radiator ....it had slipped off a pile of stuff on the window sill!



Speaks for itself I reckon!

The other thing that has been occupying my time...the sorting in the craft room,.... well I have been ironing ribbons...yeah sad I know......but they are always creased and crumpled when I want to use them so then I tend not to bother with them. ...so...I ironed all the shortish bits...(the long pieces are in a tin all individually held in mini rubber bands).........and had an idea to hang them on a coat hanger!

Some of you probably already do this!

Then.... hubby had the idea to peg them at the bottom with those mini pegs we use at Christmas for the cards...and that would add weight to the bottom and hold them on the hanger!......here they are.....just awaiting a hook at the back of the craft room door now.
Nicely organised and I can see what I have now...but sadly I don't appear to have gained any storage space as a result..ah well!!!




Lastly but by no means the least...a happy welcome to my latest follower.....Karen Knott......unfortunately I don't seem to be able to find a link to your blog Karen...perhaps you can help me out there.

Thank you for popping in to see me and for all the lovely comments you leave me. I really must thank everyone for the lovely Anniversary Congratulations  received lately..'THANK YOU' you really are a lovely bunch ...mwah

Wishing you all a super weekend...it is nearly here! Didn't we get great weather last weekend for the Bank Holiday! Some more of the same would be good.

Take care and I will see you again when I have something to share.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Friday 18 August 2017

Another 25!

Hello friends!!

...not for us this time but for some friends of ours (25 years)...I doubt hubby and I will see another 25...but...one never knows as my mum is 97!

Here is the card I made for them and the box......



and one more to try to show you how much it sparkles....


The male half of the couple receiving this card hates glitter...so I used the lovely sparkly (the photo still does not do it justice) silver glitter card I found at a show...all encapsulated and it really blings IRL.

The background was embossed with a creative expressions folder and I did a sheet of tissue paper to match to wrap the card in the box. A tip I picked up from Crafters Companion...brilliant...makes a plain sheet of tissue look really good...you knew that...oh well...always behind with trends, that's me!

The numbers are Tonic and the banner is a Sue Wilson die and the stamped and embossed sentiment is an old one from stash.
I began making this card before my holidays but it just wouldn't come together...not till last week! ...you see I told you I can never make a quick card...that's probably why i am not very productive.

Ok.....busy day so I will rush on.
Weather here is wet, sunny, windy...you get the picture...washing in.... out....in.....out...now on the airer!
Hope it's better for the weekend, speaking of which I hope you all have a good one.
Thanks for stopping by, your visit is much appreciated as are all the lovely comments you leave me.
Take care everyone.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered............

Allsorts Challenge..#428...................................name and /or number

Wednesdays creative Inspirations.............Anything goes

Tuesday Throwdown # 356.......................Anything goes



Saturday 12 August 2017

You deserve fun times.....

Hello there friends...........

Sorry no card to share. I have been making one but am unable to share yet....so instead..........
           ......yes we all deserve fun times and this board on the front at the harbour in Toronto caught my eye...thought for the weekend.......



and a close up so you are not squinting to read it!



Nice eh!!

Hope you are all tickety boo and having a good weekend..........because you deserve fun times!........see you all next week all being well!

Take care.

Hugs 
Carole xx



Monday 31 July 2017

25 years!

Hello friends!
Well here I am at last. I can't believe it is once again the end of a month and it has been so long since I blogged!
I do have an excuse for my bad blogging though having just returned from the trip of a lifetime to celebrate hubby's and mine 25th Wedding Anniversary! here is the card that I made for him....sorry about the bad photo, I used pearlescent card and it does not photograph well. (I know bad workmen always blame their tools).


and here is where we celebrated it.....


Niagara falls and .......


Toronto........and YES we did go up the CN Tower...all the way, glass floor included!

I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls. In fact it has really only been the one thing on my bucket list!...so that is complete now and we flew over the falls in a pre-booked helicopter flight on the actual Anniversary day...followed by a meal in the hotel restaurant overlooking the falls.....stunning!.......so some wonderful memories were made. Perhaps I need to start scrapbooking now!

So now it's back down to earth...(pinch myself, was I really there ?).... hubby is back to work today and I am hoping after a catch up of post holiday chores that my mojo will kick in and I will become productive.

Oh yes....I also made it to a 'Michaels' store in Toronto........disappointed, it's a glorified Hobbycraft and not at all what I expected so didn't buy much at all....I know a first for me!

 I do hope you are all OK out there in blogland.  I have had a quick whizz round since my return to see what you have all created...wonderful makes as usual!
Take care my friends and thanks for popping in, hopefully I will not be as long in blogging next time.
Enjoy your week.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Friday 30 June 2017

You are my friend!

Hi there friends! Hope you are all good and ready for the weekend.
Well it's July tomorrow and I am back in socks and cardigans! It's been so cold and wet these past few days, we even resorted to having the fire on last night!!! It's supposed to be summer!!!!!

I bought the stamps that I have used on this card a while ago...I know........but I am very slowly using my NBUS . It is a Creative Expressions set Doodled Birds.
The card I made is CASED from one I saw in Samuel Taylors in Leeds (sorry don't know who had made it), but I fell in love with it and that's what persuaded my purchase (well a little persuasion perhaps).


I coloured the birds with copics and paper pieced their wings!...and a couple of the tulips. As all the layers and banner were made from snippets guess where I am heading. Yes you guessed..........the Playground.haven't been in ages so time to catch up with my mates and see if anyone has anything nice to share behind the bike sheds!!

Thank you for stopping by, I do appreciate your visits and I know that I have not been very productive of late....mojo has gone AWOL again!!! and life and everything it throws at you just gets in the way sometimes...........That's Life!!  (remember a TV program called that)

Enjoy your weekend everyone.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-
SnippetsPlayground.......week 287/288....................

Monday 19 June 2017

5 squares to a flower

Good morning campers!....well the weather here at present ...sshh don't speak too soon ..is beautiful! it's too hot to sit out really...but too nice to be indoors. As for camping?..those days are well and truly behind me, I like a bit of luxury these days.

I've managed a little bit of quick crafting of late...well fairly quick for me anyway. On the last wet bank Holiday hubby took me to the Crafters Companion shop at Aycliffe. What a lovely place as no doubt those that live nearby have already discovered. Sara has thought of everything down to the coffee shop with telly and papers for hubby to read while wifey shops! As it was their Birthday celebration there were demos to watch too...an added bonus.

Anyway...back to the coffee shop where on the tables they had vases of paper flowers which of course everyone picked up and examined as soon as they sat down for their cuppa!

Following that trip I received link to a Masterclass video (quite by coincidence) of Sara making these flowers......so here we are...I was inspired to have a go and they are easy once you have mastered the series of folds.
Here are my attempts..........


and a closer look....



Not the easiest  to photograph I have to say!...but very effective.

Ok for all of you...well one or two maybe ...screaming for the instructions...here is a link I found to a video on u-tube......can't find Sara's sorry , (and I don't want to be accused of copyright or anything).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6elb2EO_ZO0

If you are using patterned paper  you start with pattern side down. I used 6 inch squares (5 of them)  for my flowers, and used Cosmic wet glue. Kebab stick was inserted after gluing 4 petals together and then gluing the fifth in place.......Enjoy.

Ok off to catch some Vit D before it starts to play hide and seek (the sun that is).

Hope you have a good week and Thank you for all your lovely comments that you have left me on my previous post. Mum enjoyed her birthday and liked her card!
Thanks for popping in.........take care till next time.
Carole xx

Tuesday 6 June 2017

Roses in June

Hello there friends and 'Followers'..........yes a post at last. Sorry it has been so long, but life and a bit of good weather (probably the British Summer) got in the way again. If the sun shines...it's too nice to be indoors crafting!..........Not so today and yesterday...it's like winter again...the socks are back on!!!!!...and the wind!!!!!!(not mine)...battered the beautiful lupins and delphiniums in the garden...and the honeysuckle too...such a shame.

Anyway June is the month of roses and tomorrow is my mums 97th !!!!!! birthday. I have been playing with  my Crafters Companion 3 D embossing folder......bit of trial and error......but finally..........


It probably has taken me as long today to try and get a half decent photo the light is so bad.
I embossed on white pearlescent card and chose to highlight the flowers and leaves with my copics. I have to say that the embossing in these folders is superb......but different card reacts differently.
So there we have it...I thought the embossing should say it all...there is something expensive looking about embossing isn't there?

So how are all of you doing...well I hope and making the most of any sunshine. I have had to resort to sunshine in a bottle (well blister pack really)...prescribed by my GP as my Vit D levels are exceptionally low apparently...and a fortnight in the Bahamas was beyond the GP budget sadly...sigh...!....what is the NHS coming to!

Managed a trip to the 'Which craft' Paper show at the Dome on Sunday and caught up with my friends from that neck of the woods. Lovely to see them...they know who they are!
Did I hear you say... did I buy anything?...silly question that one.....I mean if you pay to go in it's silly not to buy anything isn't it?.........mostly stamps...not a lot though...I mean I only wanted a Stazon ink pad really !!!!lol

Very disappointed last week to learn that Samuel Taylors on Roseville Road Leeds is closing this weekend............now where do we go for our crafting supplies? Apparently they are taking it all to Embsay near Skipton.........way too far to trip for a crafty fix for me and I have to say that last time I was up there I was not impressed..........all the papercraft was upstairs...no lift...so help anyone disabled! VERY sad...I used to like the demo days they had and the make and takes...a chance to shop and meet like minded people.

Ok, time to go catch a bit of telly before bed. Lunch with mum tomorrow.

Take care everyone..enjoy your week and weekend when it arrives...all too quickly I suspect.

Forgive me if I am a bit sporadic in blogging and commenting but life is still set to be busy in the coming weeks with appointments etc I wish I didn't have to keep!...crossed dentist off the list last week!...so little time or motivation some days for crafting.but I shall be popping in on you all when you are not expecting me as I love to see all the wonderful talent that is out there.

Finally ..are you still with me? I leave you with a quote from a stamp I have seen tonight on Oyster Stamps website that made me smile....hope it does you too...this is ME.....

I feel like a failure. I’ve been shopping for craft supplies for 20 years and still don’t have what I need!

Thank you for stopping by.....take care...hugs...Carole xx






Sunday 14 May 2017

'Special friend'

Hello friends! How are you doing? I hope you are having a good weekend.

Here is the card I made for a blogging buddy and friend who celebrated a birthday this week. I can now show you her card and I have it on good authority that she liked it...phew!!!


The background stamp is anew acquisition (big word) from Uniko Studio...that I bought at Port Sunlight last weekend, and the sentiment is from another Uniko set as is the Gerbera! I decided to keep it tone on tone and of course out came the Glamour Dust on the Gerbera just to lift it a bit. I kept it all pretty flat for posting.

As the Gerbera was cut from a snippet I will head to the Playground while the sun is still shining and join in the skipping...got to lose some weight somehow ( I wish...yes both lose weight and skip!!!!)

Well it's been a same old , same old week here this past week and another month is hurtling past my ears far quicker than I would like! .....a hint of summer one day this week temperature wise...may be that was it(summer I mean)...I have come to the conclusion summer clothes are really a waste of time...whenever I go on holiday the photos show me wearing the same clothes from 5 years ago!!...lol......solution? no not to buy something different...not have my photo taken instead...cheaper! and I don't like pictures of myself these days either.

I see from blogland that a lot of you have been very productive of late..well done.... there are some truly wonderful creations out there. Thank you so much for visiting me, hugs and special thanks to those who leave me love in the form of a comment...I love to read them.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend...see you soon!
Hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered:-

Snippets Playground..281/183.....................Gerbera was cut from a snippet!
Addicted to CAS #111...................................Pink
Addicted to Stamps #241...............................Anything goes.

Thursday 4 May 2017

Time for 'Tee' !

Hello everyone! How did it get to Thursday this week?...and May too? That's a third of the year gone!!...(sorry)..... Anyway hope you all enjoyed the bank Holiday weekend last weekend (in the UK that is)...aaah that's why it's Thursday...it should only be Wednesday in my book...back to normal next week, at least till the next one at the end of the month. :)

Today is my eldest son's birthday..and here is the card I made for him.......


inside reads...'Hope you have a TEE-riffic Day'.
He seemed pleased with it...he likes the CAS look.

The sentiment is computer generated and the dies are Tonic Rococco...love the embossing on that golf ball.! Unfortunately he is spending his day working and so no golf for him today.

Today has been a lovely sunny day here in West Yorkshire...but very windy...so I took advantage of the good drying day and went mad washing what I could lay my hands on....I know...now I have the inevitable pile (not too big though) of ironing as a result...lol

Visiting port Sunlight on Saturday and meeting friends for tea...I am sure I will buy something even though I don't need anything...will keep you posted. Hubby will need something to carry!

Thank you for popping in......I'll have the kettle on next time...or the wine ready...right now hubby wants his tea, so best go and cook it!!
Thank you for all the lovely comments you left me on my last post re my background inking...you are all so supportive and it made me feel much better about it. Hubby said he thought it was meant to be like that anyway...so who can argue with that?

Will rush to the Playground this week as all the dies were cut from snippets on this card, and will see if there is anything else to join in too.

Take care everyone...and thanks again for calling. See you soon.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-
Snippets Playground weeks 279/280

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Trial and error?

Hi friends! Hope this finds you all well, and if you are in the UK, I hope you are keeping warm and are not knee deep in snow! Spring eh!
Grab a cuppa and a biscuit...a bit of a long post today!

Trial and error??.........yes I have been playing and creating this week. Mojo is back part time....apparently that's all it wants to work...whoever thought it was full time in the first place!

Anyway last Saturday I went to a demo Day at Samuel Taylors in Leeds where, Jenny Mayes (Hobbyart), Fiona Clayton (Crafters Companion) and John Lockwood (Creative Expressions) were all demonstrating.......it was extremely busy as you can imagine!

I succumbed to a demo of dandelion stamps done by Jenny...and was of course tempted to buy them...it would have been rude not to wouldn't it? So I have been making a couple of cards similar to one that she created.

Now for the trial bit......do I use Distress Inks? or Colour Cloud inks? for my background ...I know I'll give both go...so out came my new pack of Sheena's stamping card......guaranteed to be good for anything apparently. Then out came Colour Cloud inks and smoothies (not the drinking kind silly....they've been replaced by chocolate)....cone shaped sponges and also the distress inks and blending tools.
Two separate pieces of card cut to size...and in both cases the result is a very splodgy mess. It dried a bit better but was not the smooth blending it was supposed to be...waste it?...no way...so I have used it as my backgrounds. The darker, stronger one is the Distress inks and the paler one the Colour Cloud. So that was the error bit...or errors!!

SO ..............

Is it the card or is it me?.I would love it if you would let me know...and if you think it's the card...please tell me what to use.

Here they are...........................TA DA.................

Distress ink background....

and a close up to show the sparkle....


and the one with the Colour Cloud background......much softer.....


All the stamps are from the set,  and I added a bit of green copic to the leaves and some patina Stickles to the dandelions and the dragonfly wings.(Yes i gave the Glamour dust a miss this time). The large sentiment is from the set but the small 'make a wish' is from my stash.

PHEW!!.....hello are you still with me?

At last I am back in the groove...a little anyway....and it must be a first that I have bought something and played with it almost straight away!

Thank you for popping in...and if you have left me some advice or just some love...Thank you...I love to read your comments. I have made some lovely on line friends through blogging. MWAH to you all.

Now take care as you go and I hope I will see you all again soon! (maybe a shorter post next time)
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Friday 14 April 2017

Happy Easter

Hello to all my lovely friends and followers and a very Happy Easter! I hope you are having a good start to the long weekend. Today it has rained here...so the gardening had to be abandoned and became a trip to the Garden Centre instead! Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow.

OK... well a couple of Easter cards...late as ever I know.(well almost)..but I have used some NBUS stuff here...was going to Darnell's party for NBUS and boo boo's..........but big BOO BOO for me...I was too late!!!!.....nothing new there then! The door said closed and Darnell waved at me through the window while simultaneously eating chocolate!!..hope she saved me a bit! I think she wanted me to go in, but I hung my head in shame and ran away! Better luck next time...but I can share them with you (my cards that is) and I an smug in the fact I have used some NBUS too.......:)

Enough wittering and jollity...here are my offerings.......


and the second one............


Both new LOTV images and new die that I have been coveting for a while now.(Wonky rectangles).
Both these images were coloured with copics and mounted on foam pads for a bit of dimension.

Well Thank You so very much for stopping by on your precious days off...and also Thank You for all your lovely comments that you leave me...they are so very much appreciated as you know. You are a wonderful bunch and hopefully after Easter my Mr Mojo will return..................I think he's on a job share somewhere that doesn't include me!!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Easter break with lots of chocolate and good times with friends and family.

See you soon!
Hugs
Carole xx

Friday 7 April 2017

Re-cycled!

Well another week written off!..............and still not a lot to show for it!.but I won't beat myself up about it. Instead I will share a re-cycled card image...........no I didn't get it out of the re-cycling bin!


I love this image (from and old card I think) and it was too nice to bin...so I remounted it....yes quick and easy...NO it wasn't , it must have taken me an hour to decide which colours to mount it on!.........you have to laugh at me really! Anyway left it sentiment free for any use. the photo is not brilliant and I know you can see the lime green, the other colour is dark navy.

So how are we all?...ready for the weekend? We have had some lovely sunny days recently but still a bit on the chilly side and  today it has taken toll now (4.0pm) for the sun to come out to play.......so the washing went in the dryer...sigh...much prefer that fresh outdoor smell.

Thank you for popping by and I hope you all enjoy whatever you are doing this weekend. Your visits are so very much appreciated and if you see my Mr Mojo...please please head him in the right direction!...or perhaps I need a bit of re-cycling myself!

Take care folks.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Friday 31 March 2017

Remember me?

Hello there...remember me? Yes sorry I have been a bad blogger lately and time once again has got away with me (almost April..EEK)...plus Mr Mojo is on holiday...YET AGAIN!!!

Anyway I have not been totally idle, but I am not sure that what I have made is worthy of blog status really.....quick and easy.....still took along time to think about what to do with this topper...and I have nothing else to share so here is the result....


Poor photo...sorry! the sentiment is Craftwork Cards and says....'Have a blooming wonderful Day'

I think it speaks for itself and there is no great artistic talent (not that I have any anyway) on this. The purple card was a large snippet left over from a 12 inch square so I embossed it for my background. I have at least used up a bit of stash!

I am rushing off to the playground with this while the sun is shining...haven't been for awhile and I have a bag of sweets to share!

Hope this is finding you all well and ready for a lovely weekend...hope the weather is as good as it was here last weekend!
Thank you so much for popping in and I will be back with something a bit better to show you hopefully when Mojo returns!! I do appreciate the comments and love that you leave me...thanks again!!!!! I am so luck to have wonderful blogging buddies.

Now shall I press publish?

Enjoy your weekend friends.
Take care
Love Carole xx

Challenges entered

Snippets Playground weeks 273/274

Wednesday 15 March 2017

There are fairies at the bottom of my Garden!

Hi my friends.......those fairies don't seem to come and do the ironing etc that they are supposed to do......though my husband says they visit him!!......he finds his clothes all washed and neatly pressed! I must be doing something wrong....I have to do my own!

Anyway I have been playing this last week and using up some old stash...yes all of four pre printed cards that I have had for ages!.......and no.... I have no more room in my craft room as a result.
The cards came with a sheet of sentiments to layer on top , but me being me, decided that was too easy...so out came the stamps.....fairies, Lavinia I think...all stamped with archival as the card is shiny. I had to add liberal amounts of Glamour dust of course!


and one close up


The sentiment stamps are from a Phil Martin set...very useful!

I now have four one layer cards for my stash..........still in the craft room, but in a different place..lol

I really will have to find somewhere different to photograph my cards, they are not coming out well at all.

So how are we all? I hope some sun is shining for you...lovely spring day here in West Yorkshire, but I do know some of you over the pond are either sinking in snow , or baking in the heat! Funny weather!! Anyway I do hope you are all well and safe, and if you are having a bad week...or more, I hope it all improves soon for you.

Thank you for stopping by, for all the lovely comments you leave me, I so love to read them all and know that I have such lovely friends all over the world. Friends that give of their precious time to visit my humble little blog......mwahh to you all.

Ok... well this fairy had best spread her wings and go and magic something up for tea tonight. Can't spoil the magic for hubby can I?...lol

Enjoy the rest of your week
Hugs
Carole xx

PS.  When I make a card you can always bet your bottom dollar that the week following my post there will be a challenge for that topic...always too late for me to enter...so watch this space...I bet next week somewhere there will be fairies!!.....and not only at the bottom of my garden.


Tuesday 7 March 2017

For mum!

Hi there folks! Hope you are all well.

Mothers Day is looming here in the UK at the end of the month and Spring and Mothers Day...Easter too..... always say yellow/purple to me. So...I chose purple for my card for mum and used a freebie set that came recently with a magazine.


The backing paper is from a now discontinued (sadly...I love this pad) LOTV pad. The tea-cup is a die and the flowers and tag are stamps that were embossed in gold and fussy cut after coloring with copics. I raised the flowers on 3D foam pads. The bit of trellis is from a Spellbinders die. Lots of snippets used here so no prizes where I will be heading this week! The centre panel is also raised on foam.
Apologies for the dire photo...I really seem to have lost the knack but have also changed my 'take area' and I don't think it is as good.

So I am organised for that occasion and mum won't be peeping so she will not see it.

We've had a few nice Spring days here and the little daffs are in full bloom in the garden, the snowdrops are finished though. The ground is just so wet with all the rain and never seems to dry up.

Hope you are all having a good week, I see some beautiful work in blogland and it never ceases to amaze me how prolific some of you are with your cards...it takes me hours just to do one!! You wouldn't believe how long it took to put this together...choosing the right papers etc..........absolutely ages.

Ok time for a cuppa and see if there is anything on the box worth watching.

Take care everyone, stay well, see you again soon.

Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-

Snippets playground weeks 271/272.............apart from the base layer all snippets from my newly organised boxes!
Allsorts week 405............Spring