Bits & Bobs...

... hellooo, ooh lots happening here at the moment.  Came home from work to find hubby had started to paint the kitchen - woah - I know we've had the tester pots for months but you could have warned me lol, plus I really wanted (you!)  to re-tile as well 'cos now the colour of the tiles dont match the paint!!!  Now we are skint so I'll have to have a mismatched kitchen  :-(  .  Oh that sounds really ungrateful, which I am not I appreciate what he has done, like I say though he could have said first - lol.

So in the midst of painting, we decided to look at caravans - we've been camping quite a few times, but with oh having broken his ankle last year, and more knee surgery this year the camping has been forgotten about - no way I could put up a tent on my todd!!  We  decided to sell the camping stuff, but I kept saying how we would regret it as the kids always enjoyed camping.  After reading Lucy at Attic 24's piece about her caravan and how lovely it looks/going to look.  I decided to lower my standards - yes when we looked at caravans previously it was at lottery winning standards lol.  Thanks to ebay and a local seller - we are sorted - a good clean and a spruce up and we'll be off.  I'll have to get some photos sorted - we've got our first weekend away next weekend - just somewhere local to see how we get on, so thats why we can't afford the tiles :-).

Anyhoo, been keeping busy on a night with a bit of card making and a lot of cross stitch:

I finished my Lizzie Kate easter stitching off a little while ago and am on the hunt for some eastery fabric to make into a cushion - totally wrong time of year to look for that, but I'll keep my eyes open.  I want to say thank you to June  who very kindly sent me some hand dyed thread for me to try which is what I used on the Hoppy part - beautiful - thank you!!  I also stitched the freebie crown that came with cross stitcher magazine - except I ran out of the blue, went and bought some more and its not the same colour grrrr...  lastly, I've started my gnome alphabet ooh been looking forward to starting this.


Are you still with me?????  cor its a mammoth post...  finally some cards, this is for my friends daughter who turns 17 the day before her sister turns 18 (I blogged her card earlier)  I have used one of the lovely Saturated Canary images and coloured her with promarkers,  then distressed the edges of the image and the paper and used my new Marianne die and added pearls and the numbers from my stash.

I would like to enter this into:
Saturated Canary: - anything goes

Lastly the card I made for my youngest to give to his dad for fathers day (the eldest politely declined my card making efforts) as he spotted one in Asda this morning relating to farts and would much rather send that lol.

These papers I've had in my stash for ages cant remember the make I have matted the image and papers onto kraft paper.  The image is a new purchase from the digi-stamp boutique, who very kindly sent a voucher code off for up to a certain value so it would have been rude not to take advantage of it - thank you.

Ian doesnt drink,  but does like the odd pint of guiness - so the glass was coloured black with glossy accents added - the rest of the image was coloured with promarkers and the sentiment from Craftwork cards.

I would like to enter this into:
Dream Valley Challenges - for that special guy
The crafty pad - lets hear it for the boys
Card mad fairys digi days - fathers day
Card making mama - Fathers day
Phindys place - fathers day
Digi stamp boutique - use their image challenge


Thanks for bearing with me, and I'll be back soon with another post on a super swap I did with Laa Laa.

Take care

Ali
xx

Poppies..

... I just wanted to blog my beautiful oriental poppies that started to open today - they only flower for a couple of days:

The petals are so fine like tissue paper and of course the wind started to blow when I tried to take the picture - typical lol xx

Thanks for looking


Ali
x

Cough, splutter....

... just blowing the cobwebs off my blog - lordy, where has the time gone!!!  In my defence we did have a great week away for our annual jaunt down to Henley, for the kids to do the theme parks, I am always surprised that my eldest still loves Legoland, when he goes on the fastest, scariest rides at Thorpe Park & Chessington - every year I think he wont want to go and he does - brilliant.  Being the bit of a geek that I am I loved the mini Star Wars exhibition and took loads of photo's - sad I know - lol.

I always hope for a bit of retail therapy - but it doesnt happen :-( a quick pootle round the ground floor of Libertys before we trot off to Hamleys - funny that they dont mind spending a lot of time there, but 5 mins in my type of shop and oh my the whinging!!!

Hope you are all enjoying the Jubilee Celebrations, very quiet here though no street party - I was going to do a picnic but the weather has been cold and drizzly so that didnt happen, I do have some flags and paper chains up which hubby described as feeble - lol.  Dont know why he was moaning, he didnt want any up anyway - so at least I didnt go over the top.

Right, I do have some cards made so I'd better blog them (or at least one of them):

I have loved this Wee Stamps digi image for ages, and finally got round to buying it, - I have coloured her with promarkers (and also tried out my pencils on her hair), the paper is Echo Park and I have used my new die, think is was a Marianne - it doesnt show to well on the photos but it is under where the pearls are which are from my stash as is the ribbon.

I would like to enter this into:

Bunny Zoe - anything goes
Ribbon Girl - use ribbon or lace
Hotshot crafts - die cut
I love promarkers - use a digi

This LOTV cutie was a freebie with a magazine, she has been coloured with pro-markers and matted onto papers which were again free with a magazine and then I have added ribbon and pink pearls from my stash (apologies for the quality of the photo)

I would like to enter this into:
Lilies little fairies - anything goes.
Ooh la la - make it girly


Lastly a man card:

 

Just a clean & simple one for Ians nephew, a Penny Black image from Ebay, coloured with pro-markers and some glossy accents to his nose, matted onto red card with a sentiment from Craftwork Cards.

Off for a nosy to see if there are any c&s challenges.

Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday, hopefully I'll be back a lot sooner for my next post.

Take care & thanks for looking

Ali
xx

P.S.  Do you ever look at your stats, its not something I often do, but I did look the other day and I'm getting referrals from something to do with Viagra and average penis width???  Hmmm I wonder what they are googling to end up here - sorry if you get here and dont find what you are looking for - lol

Thanks...

.. to the lovely ladies over at the MSE forum that I've not been chatting on for ages for the lovely birthday cards I received on Monday - just gorgeous, thanks for remembering. xxx

Ooh thought I'd got the hang of this new blogger dashboard - but now its not letting me put pictures where I want to???  (Or is it user error ??? lol)

Also have a couple more cards to blog so I'll do this one tonight:

Oh now its letting me - I have no idea what I'm doing!!

Okey doke this is a cute Wee stamp coloured with promarkers - matted on to pink card and using echo park papers that I won from Michelle. 

Thank you (pah now its continuing the link???) and I have added pearls from my stash.


I would like to enter this into:

Charisma Cardz - Pink & Girly


I'll also blog this one - this is for my hubbys Birthday:

 This is LOTV image coloured with promarkers and a little bit of glossy accents on the beer,  I have again used echo park papers and a sentiment from my stash.  He was a quite a cutie to colour - lol.

I would like to enter this into:
Divas by Design  - One for the boys
Crafty Cardmakers - for the boys
Cute Card Thursday - Food & Drink

Lastly a card for an Uncle (who isnt really an uncle but a family friend from when I was a baby - everyone has these in their family - dont they???)

The paper is Basic Grey matted onto green card with a digistamp boutique image coloured with promarkers, added hessian??, sentiment and age from my stash.

I would like to enter this into:
Passion for Promarkers - special birthday.
Crafty Cardmakers - for the boys

Thanks for looking

Ali
xxx

A card making frenzy...

... blooming heck that hasn't happened in a  long time and I've got the new Blogger dashboard thingy to content with and being a bit of a technophobe I have no idea if this is going to work - oh god why do things have to change???

Things have been a bit quiet in the card making department for a little while, I had a serious case of self doubt and kept seeing such lovely cards on blogs and thought mine could be nowhere near as good as them.  (Plus my cross-stitch had sort of taken over!!)

Anyhoo, I've got a few big birthdays coming up, so I gave myself a kick up the @rs* and told myself not to be silly, and cracked on with them - who cares if my cards will not be fantabulous - I enjoy making them and faffing on plus buying stash is always enjoyable. I'll blog a couple now and a couple later as not to bore the pants off you all:

Here's no 1:

This is for a family frient who is coming up to the tender age of 75, the image is  LOTV that came free with a magazine coloured with promarkers, cut with one of my nesties and the edge distresses (as has the bottom of the card - from Craftwork Cards), the paper was from my stash which I think I won from Mina at Pink Puds with sentiment, pearls and lace from my stash.

I would like to enter this into:
Lilis little Fairies - anything goes.
Aud Sentiments - anything goes

No 2.

This is for one of my best friends daughters who is turning 18 soon, again another freebie Lotv image coloured with promarkers and stickles added.  The paper is from my stash and I've then added some punched card and butterfly and added a bit of bling!!

I would like to enter this into:

Lilis little Fairies - anything goes.
Fussy & Fancy, - Butterflies, ribbon & Punches
Aud Sentiments - anything goes
I love promarkers - fairies
No 3.

A mans card - just for a change!!  Although I have a couple more to follow.  The digistamp boutique have had some new releases and this was one of the new images - I thought it would be great for my father in law - I've pinched the idea of layering the seed packet from the image that was on the sites gallery image (hope that is ok).

Again the image has been coloured with my trusty promarkers the paper, card sentiment stamp all from my stash.

I would like to enter this into:
Crazy for challenges - gardening or the great outdoors.
Cute Card Thursday - one for the boys
My time to craft - gardening gems
Digi stamp boutique - card using one of their images 

Right I think that'll do for tonight - theres a glass of wine with my name on!!

Enjoy your weekend

Thanks for looking

Ali
xx

Running late - again....

... oh no a day late posting my TUSAL:



Cottons on the rise, plus bits of wool and wraps from around new cottons.

I finished my make for March just nearly a month late over at the Christmas ornie blog:


This was a freebie out of a cross-stitch magazine - just wanting a nice frame for it.

What else, ooh I know a huge Thank you to Blueberry Heart, I was lucky to win a recent giveaway on her blog and it arrived yesterday - beautifully wrappend and full of lovely goodies, not sure whether to hange the heart in my bedroom or bathroom???




Right got to dash my mum is coming for lunch and I've got nothing started yet.

Take care lovelies

Ali
xx

Men cards..

.. at last I am back with a couple of cards, the first was a quick make for a party Tom had been invited to:The image is a Bugaboo Freebie, coloured with promarkers and matted onto black card, then red card. The footballs at the front where from a Smirk pack that I stamped and punched out and coloured.

The next is for Ians cousin, who is a joiner and has recently moved house that needs a LOT doing to it, so he is always working:


What a faff on this was. I thought I had used just an ordinary square card blank, until I'd finished and stood it up and saw the fancy edge at the back - ooh poo (or something similar!!) - were my thoughts and I liked the layout so I cut the back off and made it into an easle card.

The image is a Digi Stamp Boutique coloured with pro-markers, then used two papers from my stash and matted onto red card. Finally adding, a button, card candy and twine again from my stash.

I am really pleased with how he eventually turned out.

I would like to enter this into:
Crafty Sentiments - use a digi
Incy Wincy - digi's only
Make my monday - sports or hobbies
Our Creative corner - boys and their toys
Crafty Anns - its a man thing
Everybody Art - Card for a Man
Digi stamp boutique - any card using their image
Thanks for looking

Ali
xx