a Play Date for a birthday

I took advantage of this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge (silver, pink and blue) to make a birthday card for my brother in law's partner/girlfriend.

I also used some of the new Paperartsy leaves stamps which needed to see ink!  I did have trouble photographing it though, so it isn't the best picture, sorry!

 The background card is inked with tumbled glass and the large leaf stamp I used twice once on plain white (then coloured with spun sugar) and the second time on a piece from the shabby chic paperstack.  I used the back of the stamped image for the plain leaf as it was WAY too busy to have two of them with the stamped side up! The "life's a garden" is also a Paperartsy stamp, and appropriate for Mandy as she is a keen gardener.

The small leaf is the silver for the entry - used the matching leaf die on silver metal and stamped the leaf on top. Found a small happy birthday banner stamp to put at the bottom.

Happy Mother's Day - & some toys!

Well, the new toys arrived at the office today (it's easier getting things delivered there so I don't miss the postman at home) - look!!

 Unfortunately I can't use the "dream" mover and shaker yet as I don't have a base plate die big enough for it to go in - so that means more shopping, lol!  


I did have a play with the rosettes though - and used the original larger size one too - now just need to find something to put this on!!

And this evening I have made my Mother's Day card so it can get in the post nice and early for Sunday!

Used some paper from the shabby chic paperstack, sprayed with glimmer mist (snap dragon) and then marshmallow to tone it back down again! and the Wendy star stamp and sentiment;  and Tim's butterflies. Ink is dusty concord.

WOYWW 95

Another week gone by - time to report to head girl Julia for desk inspection!

What there should have been on my desk is some new toys but at the time of writing this they haven't arrived! You'll have to wait and see.... suffice it to say, Tim Holtz and dies....

Instead, are a couple of cards I've made - one for a challenge (see Tuesday's post) and one for one of my nephew's birthday although I was about to have got the date wrong and sent it days too early.... oops!
Oh, well, it's ready for next week.  (Should have made my Mother's Day card tonight instead then...)

The birdcage and it's support are both dies from Tim - the support is the post for the hanging sign die, and I pinched this idea from someone I saw do the same thing - sorry, I can't give you credit as I don't remember where I saw this now!  I used liberal amounts of perfect pearl sprays and distress inks.

Several people ask what I do with all my tags - well, apart from a few that made it to the corkboard in my hallway, the rest sit in this shoebox!!  It's reached a dangerous state at the moment, every now and then the top ones slide off!  

Phone update - all sorted - refund of the call cost set against my account ready for the next statement (which in theory means the two sides will cancel one another out - I hope!)   Phone working ok!!

Eye update - you may remember that back in November I experienced a loss of vision which resulted in scans, poking and prodding and such like.  Well, last Friday was the long awaited referral to the neuro consultant chappy at the eye hospital - and it's good news (some of you have already seen that post last week) - the vision is improving (the diagnosis I had at the time, was not correct - that was a condition that doesn't improve and now I am told normally affects people a lot older with other health issues!!) but at least things are improved!! 

At the weekend, I - and several other bloggers - had some problems with blogger not uploadng photos although they seemed to be there - I started a help forum and the blogger people have sorted it - you do NOT have to change browser.  If any of you are affected, here is the link to tell you what to do to the affected posts.

Now, off to check out the other desks - I visited lots of you last week, but I am sorry, I didn't always manage to leave a comment, naughty I know, but..... I was there!



Simon Says - show your Hats

Well, I did find this one hard!! However, I made a card using a Paperartsy plate which has several hats on!!

I stamped this several times so I could cut out bits and layer it up, brushed the edges with some distress inks and layered it on a card blank that I covered with a piece of 7 Gypsies paper. I 3d'd alternative words, just sticking the ones in between straight to the card, for added contrast.  Not sure if that shows in the photo.
The glue looks a bit splodgy!! Is matte accents meant to be much thinner than the glossy one?  Mine runs everywhere!!
There will be lots more - better - entries on show here and as usual a great prize up for grabs!

I opened a new black archival ink pad to stamp these fine guys - and blimey did I have trouble opening the ink pad - never known a pad so reluctant to let go it's lid.... I thought it was going to snap, I had to use a palette knife round the rim to lever it off in the end!

Grungy Monday #1

Did you know what an auspicious day it is today - Monday 28th March - the first day of the new Grungy Monday challenges - Linda has dreamt up a new series of challenges for us to keep our Tim fixes going!

Today, she has asked us to recreate a tag based on Tim's 2008 Day 10 of Christmas and this is what I've come up with - but not on a Christmas theme - I can't do Christmas 9 months early!!

The details are on Tim's tag (click the link above) so I won't tell you how I did this, but I used a perfect pearl/distress reinker combi of spiced marmalade and perfect copper powder, the bird is coloured with mint perfect pearl, and the masked tag is overinked with bundled sage.

Sorry I can't get a decent close up - I really do need to buy a better digital camera (it's coming!!)
I had lots of fun making this although it took me a couple of hours to come up with a decent theme.

Thanks Linda, this is going to be a lot (more) fun!!

Thank you

I made a card this evening, for my best friend Claire who came with me today to the eye hospital for my follow up appointment (the referral from last November!) to check my loss of vision in one eye.  Thankfully, (and as I had suspected) it has improved - the loss of vision is less - so they think it is, or rather was, some kind of inflammation of an optic nerve (I think - already I've forgotten what he said!)

Anyhow, they think it will continue to improve for another few months and don't want to see me again.  They took some pictures of my optic nerve, which I saw on the computer screen - boy are they pretty, I would have loved a print out to put in my journal!! Sadly they couldn't get a printer connected because there was no-one around who knew how to do it........

Anyhow, this is the card I have made, (keep scrolling, you will get there!!) and it fits two challenges - the Everything Wendy Vecchi (EWV) yahoo group is working on page 8 of book one - a scallop frame and a small grungepaper flower - and Play Date Cafe gave us this gorgeous picture to inspire us to use purple turquoise and white.

I used distress inks to colour the flower then went over that with sparkly gel pens, and sprayed the frame with a dusty concord/pearl perfect pearls mix.

The chip letters are painted with sky blue claudine hellmuth paint.

The bubble background (Wendy) is also dusty concord.

It's been too long since I managed to enter the PDCC and I am so glad I made it this week.
The base card is 51/2 by 5/12 inches.

There is also a new home for the Tag Tuesday challenge here as Louise has had to step back, but Rebecca is taking it on. Good luck Rebecca, and here is my entry for this week "think spring"  When I think of spring,I think of butterflies and this simple tag uses Tim's butterflies and a Wendy flower scroll, & lots of shimmer!

The card for my friend is going in the post tomorrow, & I don't think she will see it before it arrives as she is playing badminton(actually I think I mean tennis) tonight and has a first aid course tomorrow - hope it goes ok!!  Thanks for the company today, Claire.

(edit) I have had some problems with this post and the pictures aren't showing, I have re-inserted them but it looks as if they may re-appear twice... or not at all! (Mon- further edit - Blogger help has come good and fixed it!)

Simon Says - show a word

And the word is - Love!  Check out the challenge here.  I wasn't sure what word to choose, but in the end I went for love, because I got some new stamps today (more of that in a bit)

Some time ago I started to decorate this canvas but didn't like how it was turning out, so painted over it with some Claudine Hellmuth paint yesterday.

I used some of my new Paperartsy stamps and some idea-ology.

This flower trim is beautiful - and you can colour it however you like! This is a distress reinker/perfect pearl mix I made up but I haven't labelled the mini mister so I can't remember which colours!!

The hearts are coloured with spun sugar and edged with worn lipstick. Mwah!!

And these are my new stamps - just a few!!  Thanks to my SIL! I picked them up from hers on my way home from work - just a few £££ lighter....!


I have the day off tomorrow but sadly won't get to play more - got the long awaited hospital follow up with the neuro-chap about why I've lost some vision in my eye (as burbled on about in November!)
Will let you know what they say!