not quite Martha Stewart

Freebies from a friend...

2011-04-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

If you fancy your chances at winning this fab cartridge just pop over to leave a comment on http://going-buggy.blogspot.com/2011/04/win-cartridge.html and good luck. Don't forget to tell her where you found out about this great prize offer. Actually, I hope I get to win it - LOL! It looks a great cart. Happy Easter all x.

well thankyou!

2011-03-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

A big thank you goes out to Kimberley for presenting me with a blog award. Things like this are always so lovely to receive.

Part of the deal is in my acceptance speach I have to list 7 things about myself. It didn't mention whether those things had to be interesting or not!?@*? :)

1) I love Mexican food
2) I soooo have to dye my hair again
3) I go to Zumba every week
4) I studied Chinese last year and passed but certainly can't speak it!
5) I love to travel abroad, the farther - the better!
6) 2 out of my 3 kids are over 20 yrs old!!!!!
7) I am a full time university student

So, there you have it! I just wish I had more timer to blog right now, but the summer is fast approaching which in theory will allow me lots more playtime - so watch this space! Happy crafting to all in the mean time.

Who'd have thunk it?

2011-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

So I go to the annual trade show at the NEC as part of a lovely, if not very short, weekend away with my hubby. Ofcourse he drops me off in the carpark so I can play in peace and he retreats to visit friends in Solihul. By the way, big thanks to Mike and Caroline White who treated us to a lovely curry Saturday night and arranged the hotel for us too. Kelvin caught up with me for the last few hours of the show and trudged around patiently, especially hard for a non crafter type. As a large group of enthralled ladies watched Tim Holtz intently as he distressed and inked his way through the day but Kelvin remained unimpressed. The fact is, he just didn't get it!

That is ofcourse until we moved over to where Dyan Reaveley was demoing for Ranger. As soon as he took one look at that dark temptress's altered art journaling he was a fan. He's even going to go to her classes. This week we drove over to her studio in Harrogate so he could stock up on some colour washes...he couldn't wait to make a start.

So the philistine is converted...who'd have thunk it?
http://www.afth.co.uk/

Addicted to Digital???

2010-10-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've almost forgotten what it feels like to craft with actual paper and glue. All my craft creativity right now is digital, working on this project - the scary thing is that I'm getting quite addicted. When I started out creating the CD Rom I thought I would be creating something for other people to use. Now, I've come to enjoy the images and style so much that I'm desperate to start using it as a real product.

I just love this Sumo wrestler, how about him on a card that says "Big Hugs" !

I just wanted you all to have another sneaky peak. I'm so excited about this project and can't wait to share it with the world. Remember, you saw it here first - LOL!

I'm still alive!

2010-10-04T03:48:00.000-07:00

Just a really quick note to all to let you know I am still alive and well! So much is going in around here right now so I must apologise for abandoning Blogland so much lately. I'm still working, (but not for too much longer, hopefully, and have also started University full yime too. We are working really hard on the CD rom and it's staring to look really cool, I'm so pleased with some of the work, but that also means that all my time is used up. I've only ventured into my craft room to view the mess with horror over the last month and can't wait for a free day or two to play, just for the fun of it. I'll post some peeks later this week - promise. take care all x

coming along nicely...

2010-08-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've really missed Blogland lately but there are only so many hours in a day, and so many of mine have been taken up with working on the CD rom. It's really coming along nicely and starting to take shape. I'm so pleased with how everything is looking and can't wait to share it with the world, I hope you all love it as much as we do. The main problem I'm having is we keep coming up with more "must haves" to include.
Ofcourse there are lots of gorgeous girlie images but I know how hard it can be to come up with interesting cards for men and teen boys, so with that in mind I've included lots of Sumo wrestlers, Koi carp fish, birds and so much more. I thought I'd give you another little sneek peak.
I'd love to know what you think so far. There's still a couple of days left to sign up, follow and leave a comment for a chance of the great goodie bag. x

My first scrap canvas

2010-08-13T04:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried using your craft skills for home decor? I love to do this. Why not have a try at some scrap canvas.
Simply take any box canvas, you can pick them up at so many places really cheaply. Then paint your background colour in acrylic paint, I used a lighter colour, then the blue and painted a crackle medium over the top.
The photo was mounted on navy cardstock and ripped and chalked the edges. You decorate however you like, ribbons, flowers, brads, accents - you choose. The wording was cut from a Cricut cartridge, I think it was Joys of the Season!
Soon, I'll post the gorgeous "secret" canvas I made with Lindsay Mason - keep tuned in.
Remember to sign up as a follower here on the blog, (you probably need to open a google account - some people have struggled a little to leave comments) and leave a comment telling us your name and the area where you live. There's a bumper blog candy up for grabs.
Any problems and you can email me at...notquitemarthastewart@hotmail.com
Good luck x

sign up, sign up

2010-08-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, have things been crazy, crazy around here! The fun stuff that has been keeping me out of mischief is my new secrect project. It's a secret, but I'll tell you about it!!! In my last post you were treated to a sneaky peaky at Kimoni, just one of the cute images on the CDrom I'm working on. Both me and my trusty techkie have been working almost non stop to get this together, and we love it. I hope you will too. We hope it will be ready in the Autumn.
As I'm sooo excited about this, I'm feeling particularly generous and decided to give one lucky person a huge bag of blog candy. All I can tell you is it will be a host of paper craft goodies. So, all you have to do is enter the draw by leaving a comment with your name and home town and then sign up as a follower on the blog.
A winner will be drawn at random at the end of August. So sign up and good luck x

what'cha think?

2010-07-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I contributed to Blog Land. Things here have been crazy busy, after my small operation it took for ever to get rid of all the after effects, pain, tiredness and feeling completely doped up all day!! I'm fine now though, it's wonderful to now walk faster than the very elderly ladies that over took me a couple of weeks ago!?!
I did manage to get some serious scrapbook time behind me whilst in recovery mode and completed 2 ( yes I did say 2) albums of our 25th wedding anniversary cruise of last year.
Lots of stuff is going on at home too which has occupied most of my time, seriously, I would much rather be crafting than dealing with most of it.

Anyways,...onto the good stuff. I'm taking the plunge and venturing into the strange wild world of CDrom production. I know the card isn't anything too fancy, (it took all of 2 mins to put together) but take a look at the image, do you think she is as cute as we do? I had a whole load of digi stamps that I produced and with a massive amount of help from my baby son have started work on a cdrom full of them, complete with backing papers, sentiments and lots more.
So, we created the cute image and both the background papers. Now, this is just a little glimpse of what we have but I'd really like your feed back. What'cha think?

ooh lala

2010-06-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

When my Beginners French class ended last week, I wanted to say a special thank you to our great teacher, Muriel. I knew months ago what kind I wanted to make and ofcourse, it had to have a French theme! I love pop up cards but had never made one before, so with a little help from Google I did it. Hope you like it.

The card itself, is a double sided A4 from Kanban which I scored and folded in half, making an A5 size card. Using a sheet of Papermania Signature Chatsworth Vintage A5 pad, I wrapped it over the spine when the pop up part was complete, that way it covers all the holes! This paper is gorgeous and has a linen feel.

I adore this Martha Stewart lace punch, simple black card stock transformed!
The sentiment (Merci) is hand written inside a stamped label and then cut around and set with foam pads.

Check out on your search engine for tips on pop up cards, it's basically done by just making a couple of slits from the spine of the card inward to the length of where you want your object to pop up! By folding them inwards it creates a sort of step/stand for you to adhere your image to. Just make sure that before you cut or glue anything, fold it all flat and make sure all parts are concealed when the card is closed.

maybe you can see better in this picture?

The Eiffle tower is cut from Cricut Destinations cartridge. When doing a scene like this it's important to remember perspective, so the tower is cut at about the same height as the tree and the lampost which are in the middle ground. The railing and bike are in the foregound and are also large in comparison but it helps with the illusion of distance and depth of field - wow, doesn't that sound scientific!!!

The bike, railing, lampost and tree are all from the Cricut Heritage cartridge.

I used some Glossy Accents to highlight and a little Stickles in green on the railings to give a more metallic impression. I was rather pleased with how it turned out, I almost didn't want to give it to her!!!

BYU Womens conference

2010-06-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

You may remember a while ago I went to the states for a womens conferance. I had the most wonderful time and had the best girlie time ever.

First I flew to L.A. to spend a couple of nights with my good friends then us girls, ( 5in total as we gave this cute lady a lift all the way to her son's house in Spanish Fork) drove to Provo, Utah. We all shared a room and laughed our socks off almost continuously. Two of the girls I'd known for over 20yrs, (mum Paula & daughter Mary) but I met their good friend Kitty just the day before we set off on our road trip. We hit it off straight away and bonded in our own little craft world, she has a black Cricut Expression which she won, I adored it!

The womens conferance is a 2 day event aimed, as you might guess, totally at women and our lives, issues and needs. There were literally dozens of sessions to choose from each morning and afternoon, each based on a scripture but applied in a realistic way to our time. Over 15,000 women attended. The Thursday night we were treated to a fab concert of great artists including Hillary Weeks (a beautiful voice and hillarious), Alex Boye (he is a storm),.......

In most of the sessions you could choose to complete a service project at the back of the session room. Here we decorated papier mache boxes, 500 were completed in just one day. They will be distributed around hospitals in the area to parents of still born babies as keepsakes. The hospitals put a photo and plaster cast hand/foot print in the box.

This was such a lovely service project, we made 5 between 3 of us. It was an experience I'll always treasure and hope to do again someday. Of course, I had to make a Thankyou card in advance and a birthday card for Mary. Here they are.

I used corrugated craft card, Kanban card and a downloadable image & sentiment that was then coloured with Promarkers. I blinged it up a little with some pearls and organza ribbon.

Again, Kanban card, Kanban topper, organza ribbon and acrylic stamped sentiments. I hand wrote..." sorry I missed your birthday - I was too busy shopping!"
I thought it was cute even though it was a real quickie card, hope you like it.
see you all soon x

Great Britain quilt

2010-06-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Now, I've heard it said you shouldn't rush a good thing and so I didn't. This little baby took me over a year to complete, but in my defence, I had a lot of "put it down till later" time.
Work demands and illness meant my project was put aside for weeks, sometimes months at a time.

This was my first patchwork quilt but I never like to do things the easy way. As I couldn't find a pattern for a Union Jack I had to make my own.

It was quite tricky to get all the "on point" work - (the corners or mitres) to line up but I was pleased with my efforts.

I made a big mistake in planning this quilt. I wanted a really comfy quilt and thought bigger was best so I chose the thickest batting (the wadding that goes in the middle of you quilt sandwiche) that I could buy. The problem was that it made it too thick to go through my sewing machine meaning I had to do all the quilting by hand, apart from the very edges.

This is how the quilting looks underneath - don't look too closely though, ok!

Acrylics

2010-05-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been an eventful time of late, not to mention having been on two holidays. I know that sounds extravigant, but really it wasn't - one was a mini break in Scotland and the other a well needed girlie week at Womens' Conferance. Consequently, my craft room is collecting a layer of dust, ( just to match the rest of the house), but to make up I'm going to show you 3 more paintings. There, I feel better already :)

This one is called "Walk to school" and features pupils of the Jolorabi school in Mombasa, Kenya.

sorry but the photos don't do the paintings justice. But it will give you the general idea.

This one is entitled, "Mzee" which is Kiswahili for old man or Grandfather.

All my paintings are acrylic on canvas

Have a great weekend x

Women don't fish...

2010-05-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted a sunday inspirational for a few weeks with being away in the states and then get the head cold from hell. I'll be busy this Sunday night too so here's a Wednesday night giggle instead. Have a great rest of the week.

Never Argue with a Woman

One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside

cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.

Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

She motors out a short distance, anchors, puts her feet up,

and begins to read her book.

The peace and solitude are magnificent.

Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat..

He pulls up alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?'

'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.

'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.'

'Yes, but I see you have all the equipment.

For all I know you could start at any moment.

I'll have to take you in and write you up.'

'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.

'But I haven't even touched you,' says the Game Warden.

'That's true, but you have all the equipment.

For all I know you could start at any moment.'

'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

MORAL:

Never argue with a woman who reads.

It's likely she can also think.

Sneak preview

2010-05-11T02:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, you know I told you that I was gonna be designing for http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/. Well, I thought I'd let you in on a very sneaky preview of some of the digistamp designs I'm working on. Right now they are just my art work but pretty soon we will have them as a complete range with backing papers and sentiments to match. Keep checking at The Paper Trail co. as we are releasing new stuff regularly. Hope you like these images, and do let me know if there is a range you'd like to see us do.

Mother's pride

2010-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I decided to have a go at painting on canvas. All the paintings I did were based on actual photos I took on trips to Kenya. This painting is on an 8x8 canvas. Sorry about the sheen on the photo, hope you like it - thought it would make a change!

What a journey...

2010-05-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a trip! I just got back from a real whistle stop visit to America. I flew into Los Angeles last Monday and after sleeping 2 nights in my trailer, (I felt like a movie star - just needed my name on the door, LOL), we (5 ladies) drove in the most enormous truck all the way to Provo, Utah.

Some of our conversations were indeed surreal. I'll never look at a soup terreen or a cookie jar the same way, might not sound much but we were talking about cremations, so I'll speak no more on the subject!?! Suffice to say we laughed till we actually hurt, my friend Paula thought she'd pulled a muscle in her side.
Four nights in Utah and we drove all the way back, 1 night in my trailer and back to the airport I went. FYI, if I never have to run across Atlanta airport in heels again as long as I live it will still be too soon! I almost missed my connection, TWICE! About 20hrs later I arrive home.

We had gone to Provo for the BYU Womens Conference...if you ever have the chance to go then you really should. We had the most amazing time, we were uplifted, counseled, laughed and bonded in a way that just wouldn't other wise have happened. We also experience almost every known weather in the western world - sometimes on the same day, sun, sleet, snow, wind!

I made this card before I went on my amazing trip but I guess this suits my mood tonight.

The background paper, digi stamp and sentiment are all from the Cheeky Monkey CD from the Papertrail Company.
The link is just below the picture. The frame is on mirricard and cut out using Cricut's Heritage cartridge. I used my Promarkers to colour the image.

A great card for anyone either going on a trip, starting a new adventure in their lives or to someone who justs need some encouragement to be brave.
When I get my trip pictures uploaded I'll be sure to let you all have a peek. Have a great week and as Tim Holtz always says...Enjoy the journey!
http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/

Have a blast

2010-04-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to quickly show you this card I made before (hopefully) jetting off to the States. I'm so thankful my prayers have been answered and the cloud has lifted (or been reclassified or whatever?).

The spotty card and space effect card are both Kanban. The rocket and sentiment are both from the Cheeky monkey CD from http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/ who I have started designing for. Hope you like it and I'll be back to Blogland in about a week or so.

No straight lines

2010-04-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last year we celebrated our silver wedding...wow, I said that outloud, didn't I. It makes me feel really old to have been married 25 years. All I will say further on the matter is that I was obviously a child bride! We cruised the Med and had a blast, and we had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Barcelona, Spain. I finally got around to scrapbooking some of the photos, here are some of the pages showing our trip to Park Guell which was designed by Antoni Gaudi, (the park - not the scrapbook pages!!!)

I tried to choose the colours on the cardstock and paper to give the feel of the weird architecture of the place. The roof of the building to the right was designed to look like a dragon's back. That's why I chose to use a dragon as an embellishment. My dragon is from the Cricut Happily Ever After cartridge and I jazzed him up with Stickles.

The lettering is from Cricut's Zooballoo cartridge.

The little Iguana is also from Zooballoo - I love him! He reminds be of the creature I'm seen canoodling up to.

One thing is for sure.....Goudi definately didn't do straight lines!

Happy Birthday bunting

2010-04-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Nothing shouts party more than bunting, don't you think? I love bunting, I even have it in both the babies bedrooms. Every summer we know it's time for the village fair when the yards and yards of bunting is strung up lining the main road. Well, I've been threatening to make some for ages and when I saw these fab Monogram letters on http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/ I know I had my chance.

The scallops were cut using Accent Essentials Cricut cart and embossed with a Sizzix Swiss Dots folder. All the backing papers were also from the Papertrail Company too.

wish upon a star

2010-04-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

Well, just my luck! Just as I am about to pack my bags and prepare to escape dirty nappies for a week a flippin' volcano goes off and stops all flights out of the country. Let me tell you, if it doesn't get sorted ready for my flight in 10 days they'll be a volcano ready to explode right here!!! I am so ready for my trip and even an act of God better not get in the way of it.

On a more positive note.... here is the 2nd card I made for the http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/ This digi stamp is from the Chloe Rose cd and was coloured with Promarkers. I adore these pens! They are my new "must have".

The frame is from the Cricut Heratage cart and has lots of fabulous frames. Stickles and Bling pearls finish the royal effect!
This card kind of sums up my prayers and thoughts this week - do you think I need a fairy with a magic wand?

First card for the Papertrail Company

2010-04-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

I am so excited and wanted you all to be the first to see. This week I've been busy creating some samples for the Papertrail Company. I was invited a little while ago to be part of the design team. All the backing papers, digi stamps, mono alphabets and sentiments are from the http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/ and are all available for download purchases. I had a blast and everything was so easy to use. Here's the first card...the frame and scroll are both from the Heritage Cricut cartridge and I used platinum Stickles by Ranger.

Hodge Podge Memory box

2010-04-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Funny how, even with a couple of months notice I still end up doing a project right at the very last minute, ( well, at least a couple of hours before the event!) I made this memory box for a friend's surprise baby shower today.

She has chosen the Hodge Podge range from Mamas & Papas for her nursery. Let me tell you, this project would have been a whole lot easier if they showed larger images on their website!

I took a store bought box and painted it with regular wall emulsion (I used the little tester/ matchpots) as I wanted to create a slightly wood grain effect.

It was a great project as I got to make my own templates, which I love to do.

I just copied some of the images by eye and drew and cut them freehand. It is much easier than you might think as these kind of images are very stylised and simplistic.

I love this so much I might make another for myself!!!

The hedgehog is so cute, he's my favourite.

Home accents

2010-04-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, hope you all had a good Easter. Here is a birthday card I made last week. The wavy scroll edge is done using a Colour My world template by Jayne Bentley.

The vine leaf and butterfly are both from Cricut's Home Accents cartridge. The patterned paper is from DCWV Taj Mahal stack pack.

I used Stickles on the butterfly and on the template edge.

I love the paper hydranger flowers by Prima and I used these tiny Bling pearls in the centers.

For the insert I printed off this lovely verse from the Chloe Rose CD from the Papertrail company.co.uk, inked the edges and finished it with one of the hydrangers.

I chose the colours especially to suit my friend, she loves winter colours like aubergine, chocolate brown, dark blue and lilacs.
Happy birthday Anne!

2010-03-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

And...Action!

2010-03-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Andy Warhol said that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. Several years ago, on a visit to Disneyland Paris, we attended a live stunt show called Moteurs Action.
Shortly after the start of the show, the presenter asked for several volunteers who thought they could drive a stunt car. My son, Sam, put up his hand and was chosen. She then picked a few others as "extras" to help with the show and off they all went together backstage. Sam ended up literally starring on the big screens and even got to drive one of the stunt cars...by remote control! It was a great experience and was a highlight of the holiday. I finally got to scrapbook the photos and thought I'd share with you all.
I journalled on the arrows as they follow the story.

In the first pic (left top) and just below, Sam is being "interviewed"!

I chose this grungy red paper as it reminded me
of the old buildings' walls
on the set with all the paint flaking off.

I used a bought die cut filmstrip to highlight smaller photos. The car, motorcycle and journal tag where all cut from the Cricut Going Places cartridge. I used chalk pens to grunge up the regular cardstock to mimic the background paper.

and I hid the journaling in a little card cut from the same cartridge. ...et voila! This cart is great for all things travel or transport related.

My most used Cricut cartridge

2010-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

This cartridge has helped me out so many times when I've had to do a scripture board or bullitin board at church. Everyday Paper dolls is great for using to decorate classrooms, and with so many different themed outfits to choose from, you are sure to find something at least similar to what you need. I have the Cricut Expression, which means I can cut small or really large sizes, (1/4 inch to 23 & 1/4 inches).

I usually cut the dolls around 5-6 inches
high like on this board...

unlike a ready bought die cut, you can adjust
the clothing, hair and skin colour to just how you
like. I even drew freckles on one of the kids.
When we displayed it in the classroom several of the children commented how one character looked liked Josh (one of the boys in the class!)

I love this cartridge and know I'm going to be using it over and over again.

One time I made a whole load of memory books as Christmas gifts for friends, (sorry, no picture!) and put a little paper doll mini me on the front representing each recipient. It was such fun to see their reactions when they opened their gifts and even better when they recognised themselves and each other!

This guy was cut at 12 inches high, I dressed him
in regular clothing but also I cut his armour in
mirri card. Everything was laminated so we could
easily dress him in his armour whilst teaching
about the full armour of God.

Everything is seperate and removable, sword, helmet, breastplate, shield etc.

You can check out the earlier post showing the bulliton board for this year's Primary theme.

P.S
I'm already working on my samples for The Papertrail Co. and will post them as soon as poss.

I'm so excited

2010-03-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share this news with you all. I have been invited to be a guest designer with The Papertrail Company. I have known Jayne, the owner, for years. Infact, she is the girl that sort of got me into scrapbooking - a long story - but I give her the credit.

So I'll be doing the odd designs here and there for the down load site, which I'm very excited about as I get to draw!!! Also, I get to create samples which will hopefully inspire people how to use her products. This will be such a blast as her designs are awsome, and I can't wait to get started.

Ofcourse, I'll post on here everything that I get to make so you'll get to see them first.

Here is a link to The Papertrail Company, check it out and don't forget to mention that I told you to go - LOL.

http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/

Gonna be a Bear

2010-03-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, supposedly, Sunday is a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation. All the men folk in our house are ill, man flu is in the air and ofcourse, the sore throat, headache and jippy tummy I have isn't as serious nor do I get to lay on the sofa under a duvet! So, you can bet I am feeling the sentiment of this week's Sunday inspirational. Here's hoping for an illness free week to all. And by the way, I would definately be a bear!

Whahoo

2010-03-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yay, I was awarded this "Beautiful Blogger" this week by Debbie of http://debbiebakk.blogspot.com/ I'm guessing it's because my blog was considered beautiful rather than me but I'm very happy either way! Thanks again, it is much appreciated.

So there are a couple of points to be followed when receiving such an award. I'll start with thanking my parents for the way in which they raised me, my husband for all ..., oh, hang on - wrong acceptance speech!

Seriously, I have to pass it on to 15 other fabulous bloggers who are:

Tim Holtz
http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/
Karen Burniston
http://www.karenburniston.typepad.com/
all the team at
http://paperfrolic.blogspot.com/
Dardi
http://dtsartblog.blogspot.com/
Leah
http://mystampnscrapspot.blogspot.com/
Enfys
http://going-buggy.blogspot.com/
Regina Easter
http://reginaeaster.blogspot.com/
Lorraine
http://cardcreationsbylorraine.blogspot.com/
Donna
http://donnamundinger-popsicletoes.blogspot.com/
Barb
http://snowmanlover.blogspot.com/
Teresa Collins
http://teresacollins.typepad.com/
Tom Arber
http://www.tomarber.co.uk/blog/
Cindy
http://crazy4crafting.blogspot.com/

And I also have to tell you 7 things about me that you might not know. So here goes;
1)I drink herbal tea - my favourites are ginger or peppermint
2)I've visited 16 countries on 4 different continents
3)I sponsor 4 kids in Kenya
4) I used to be a radio and TV presenter
5) I love Sci Fi and action films
6) My appendix was removed as an emergancy op when I was 40yrs old
7)I have picnicked on an abandoned airstrip in Canada and also on Mt Sinai

So there you have it. Whilst I'm here, you might like to see this card I made as a thankyou for my friend who helped babysit my foster babies.

Our Primary's Bulletin board

2010-03-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

I have the best job at our church. I am responsible for all the kids aged between 18months and 12yrs old. Each year the church decides a theme that we all work within and as this year's theme is "I know my saviour lives" I knew just what to depict for our bulliton board in the corridor.

I wanted to show how the Saviour
loves the children and they love him.
Each flower has the monthly theme
in it's centre.

moving house card

2010-03-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week so far... meetings, tons of paper work, cars to MOT and tax,. travel to visit an elderly mum and the realisation you have to do 2 seperate birthday parties for small children soon, (1 in a week and the other 3 weeks later!!!) Oh my stars, I am definately feeling the stress. I so appreciate the help I get from my family and my buddies at church.
Here is a card I made a couple of weeks ago for my friend when she finally got to move into a long awaited house.

I used a brown corrugated card, I love the chunky texture they have.

The scalloped edges were created using the Cricut Accent Essentials cart

and the house is from the Heritage cartridge.

I inked around the house using Tim Holtz Distress ink, (loving the
blending tool!)

sorry for such a blurry photo but you get the idea.

I stamped with a brown ink onto plain white card using a clear stamp the "congratulations" after cutting the flower from Accent Essentials and used the negative cutouts from an early cut out - always think if you can use your tiniest scraps before you throw them!

I think it turned out ok

I hope you like it.

What's hot !

2010-03-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to go to the paper craft industry trade show at the NEC and take a sneak peak at some of the fabulous new stuff for this year. No matter what brand or medium ( stamps/dies/paper/embellishments), every where you turned you would be seeing the birds, especially owls!And, boy, are they cute - this year's must have!

clear acrylic stamps

Another hot trend is for cute little Japanese geisha girls and Russian dolls (the fatter, the better!)

There are some wonderful ranges of die cut paper and cardstock in all colours and shapes.

This is an amazing line of very detailed dies available only
from Once Upon a Stamp http://www.onceuponastamp.co.uk/index.php
They are very similar in style to Quickcutz dies but so much detail is included. They are not going to be cheap but I loved them.

Just look at some of the projects they had done with them!

This is new from Sizzix, The Eclips! It can't be denied that they obviously took some inspiration from the Cricut Expression.

They are so alike in many ways but Keven Corcoran, the guy who has designed and developed this really has taken it to another level.

It operates with it's own hand held device, just like a play station pad, and effectively is like having a Cricut with a built in Gypsy. The peripherals (mats/ cartridges/ baldes etc) are going to retail cheaper than Cricut too. One exciting feature is that instead of having to use Cricut markers to draw with, you will be able to ANY pen! How cool is that? Right now it is still a prototype but is due for release this summer.

Another cool feature is the red laser light function that allows you to test run and see clearly where the blade will cut and so you can adjust your blade position and really save paper.

Sizzix have really worked hard to keep ahead of all the markets and the new(ish) product that
absolutely had me enthralled was the Sizzix
Bigz popup dies. I mean it, as we walked
around the show I kept saying,"Wow, I
love those popup dies!" They have been
designed by Karen Burniston. here is a link
to some youtube videos and to her website. She was great, and her
work was out of this world!

It was ingenious how Karen used the same die and transformed it into other creations. She often used the original die cut in clear acrylic and used it as a frame to hold another piece. She also combined her dies with Tim Holtz dies as seen on the popup birdcage.

The onlydown side for me is they are too big for my Cuttlebug!
However, I was told some exciting Cuttlebug news, but if I told you I would have to kill you, (or maybe they would kill me!?!) Anyway, I can't wait for it! Sssshhhh!

The popup house also makes a doghouse,

gingerbread house or a bird house!

How cute is this? And best of all, everything folds completely flat and can fit into a regular sized card.

Here is the snowman die transformed into
Jack Skelington. This caused me to give a great
big "Ooooh aaaw!"

Popup cake die with Tim Holtz sign post...and this
all folds flat!

We are going to have so much fun with all the wonderful new products that are either on the shelves now, or will be by the late summer!

At the very end of the day, I bumped onto an old friend,...actually she is really the girl who first got me introduced to scrapbooking, and it was great to catch up with her again. Jayne Bentley, from Colour my World had such a cute line of stencils. http://www.colourmyworld.co.uk/

She also has a fantastic download site, The Papertrail Company. http://www.thepapertrailco.co.uk/ for papers, toppers, cards, tags, mini books. Watch both there and this space as there are some fabulous products coming this spring.

The whole thing was a blast!

The cracked pot

2010-03-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers' day to everyone, hope you all had a lovely relaxing day, (well, we can all dream) Actually, I was greeted in bed with a herbal tea and a huge bar of Cadbury's fruit and nut! After church, my 3 sons made us all a great 3 course dinner of tiger prawn cocktail, sam's famous chilli (it should be!) and banoffe pie. Thanks boys!

Here is a lovely tale to bring hope to all us who may be a little cracked!?!

The Cracked Pot

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

Thanks sew much

2010-03-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

Yey, I have another new laptop (no thanks to PCWorld!) and am finally able to hit the blog world again.

Last week was a busy card making week for me and here's one of the cards I made. I wanted to say "thanks" to the friend who came with me to the trade show "Stitches" and this seemed appropriate!

"Sew much thanks...."

I used the Heritage Cricut cartridge for the sewing machine and inked the edge of the shape. The scalloped edge was from Accent Essentials

The Cab Ride

2010-03-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

Don't we all live life in too much of a rush, I know I do. I'm constantly racing from one experience to the next, and someties it can be hard to catch your breath. It can be so easy to spend our time planning for tomorrow that we forget today. I hope this Sunday inspirational helps us all remember to live "in the moment". Have a good week.

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years.All the furniture was covered in dust sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters.In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said.. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse. 'Nothing,' I said. 'You have to make a living,' she answered. 'There are other passengers,' I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

In a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~ THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Laptop Heaven

2010-03-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

I don't even believe it, except for the fact that this is typical of my life! So 2 weeks ago I splurged and bought myself a gorgeous new laptop, red on the outside, white on the inside (that's all that really matters, right?), dual core thingy, Photoshope Eliments and Windows 7 included and I loved it. Well, it would seem that I wore it out. So, Wednesday evening when I came to post on the blog...nothing - zilche - not even a funny noise. So eventually, (around midnight) I decide to call the tech guys ( I'm suddenly glad I got suckered in to paying for the "whatever happens" cover). He talks me confidently through the diagnostic test but soon, even he admits defeat.

It would appear that my lovely laptop has gone to PC heaven and is no more for this world, after 2 weeks? - you gotta be kidding me. So now I am back to the OLD house computer - this baby is so past it we had to wipe everything and now she doesn't even have Word installed. So, until my new arrival comes, (better be soon!) I can't do nice things on the blog as I'd like, but when it comes, I promise I'll be right on it.

Let's hope PC World make me a happy bunny very soon. Heyho!

Zooballoo new baby card

2010-03-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

I love this Cricut cartridge for new baby cards. The animals are so cute for a nursery theme and the cart has an alphabet and co-ordinating animals. The card measures around 3 inches high and can be as long or short as the name needs to be. I use my Cuttlebug to emboss the "skin" and use a mini bulldog clip to close the card. Afterwards the parents can choose to frame the card and hang it in the baby's nursery.

sorry some of the pictures are a little blurry, I actually had to take photos of photos! I made this card a while ago, hope you like it.

Meet Molly

2010-02-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ok so it's Sunday evening, and after so many comments about the "Dog's life" story I think we should have another inspirational story. Have a great week.

Ya gotta meet Molly....

Meet Molly. She's a grey speckled pony

who was abandoned by her owners when

Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana.

She spent weeks

on her own before finally being rescued and taken
to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled..
while there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier
and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became
infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but
LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare
case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he
changed his mind. He saw how the pony was
careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't
seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to
handle her. She protected her injured leg. She
constantly shifted her weight and didn't overload
her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious
survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee,
and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly
walked out of the clinic and her story really
begins there.

'This was the right horse and the right owner,'

Moore insists. Molly happened to be a
one-in-a-million patient.
She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain.
She made it obvious she understood that she was
in trouble. The other important factor, according
to Moore, is having a truly committed and compliant
owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care
required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in
Post-Katrina Louisiana ....

The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb.
A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life,
Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.

And she asks for it. She will put her little limb out,
and come to you and let you know that she wants
you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take
it off too. And sometimes, Molly gets away from
Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch
a three-legged horse,' she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay,
the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to
shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation
centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed
hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people
her pluck. She inspired people, and she had a
good time doing it.

'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to
play in life, Moore said. She survived the hurricane,
she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving
hope to others.'

Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal, but
she's going to be better...To me, she could be a
symbol for New Orleans itself.'

This is Molly's most recent prosthesis.. The bottom
photo shows the ground surface that she stands on,
which has a smiley face embossed in it.... Wherever
Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.

God's creatures often reflect the
character we aspire to.

Chip n Dale birthday card

2010-02-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

I have had one of those weeks, started off with a wonderful day out at the NEC at the trade show, the next day the babies really made me pay! Since then I had loads of meetings and the house is just a mess. So here's where I get to cheat. This is a card I made a while ago using the Mickey and Friends Cricut cartridge. My son thought it was so fun. He is cut on cardstock and raised up on foam squares. I finished off the card with ribbon...simple!