A get well card ...

Not only did I actually make card the other day, I also remembered to take a photo of  my creation. I used some free papers that came with a craft mag, not the flimsy shiny type that are no use to man nor beast, but the better quality, matt finish papers. I also got my Spellbinder dies out and a scrap of ribbon. The sentiment was simply printed out on card with a little help from my computer and trimmed deliberately on the skew-wiff (straight lines and 90 degree angles are not my strong point!). Add a few blooms and bling for the flower centres and all was done.

Digi double

I have managed to catch up with my digi Circle Journal entries and amazingly, met the final deadline in spite of all my hiccoughs on the way. The first is Cod Wars!

This was for a 'Year of my birth' entry and was a challenge as some of the topics I'd normally have chosen for this theme had already been used by other digi scrappers - and I wanted to make sure my page was different. I browsed around the website and looked for the defining events of the year in question ... and my fancy was tickled by cod!

The final CJ was all about 'my home town' (or 'why should I visit yours!). I live in a very small village but we're blessed with lovely walks, scenery, valleys , sunsets and all-sorts, so I thought I could create a page that celebrated all this.

I've had a great time taking part in the CJ. Maybe next time, we should do a digi round-robin scraplift theme! Any takers?

A real-life 'in-the-flesh' layout at last

A week or so ago, I was lucky enough to get to a class run by Sue at PaperArts where we tackled a complicated set of tasks including cutting, masking, spraying, shrinking, quilling and inking (just for starters!). As it was quite a time-consuming challenge, I didn't get to finish the second layout I started, and it has been lying on my desk at home ever since, asking to be completed.

And at last, it is finished:

I tore, rolled and generally distressed the base cardstock, sprayed some Glimmer Mist in one area (I seem incapable of using this stuff without getting big blobs of ink on my work but hey ho, all adds to the character), and used scraps of patterned paper and cut-outs behind the photo.

You can't see too well from the photo, but the papers are stuck on using foam mounts to give extra dimension, and in the top left, I've scattered sticky gems around for extra bling (there are some to the right hand side, too!). The small flowers come from my stock - some Primas, some charity shop, and the checked bow came from a Christmas gift. The large flower was cut from the Tim Holz Tattered Floral die, while the centre is a button from my button stash tin (thanks mum!). Oh, and I used some roses cut from the rose ribbon stuff you can buy by the metre. I shrunk one using my heat gun.

Add some ribbon and ric-rac, and some letters from the My Mind's Eye Lush collection and Bob's your uncle!

Ooops! My mistake - but still a good result!

To err is human, to misread the requirements for a CJ entry is also pretty stupid. That's what I did the other day. But you know what, although I feel a right plonker for getting confused and will have to complete not only one but two digi pages this weekend (to replace the erroneous page, and produce the final LO for the CJ 'trail' I'm following)  .... I am actually quite pleased with my 'acidental' page anyway!

I have sat at my PC without my notebook where I've recorded the designers whose materials I've used so my apologies - I'll rectify this when I'm back at base. But meanwhile, hand up if you're a fan of the lovely old mini!

My first car was a mini so I've a soft spot for the wee beastie. It was a sort of mushroom grey colour, and my friend had one in exactly the same shade. We weren't too happy when we discovered that my key also unlocked the door of her car .... but we still both loved our wheels....

A digi update - and about time too!

I am, as usual behind with this and that. This being my blog, and that being the digital scrapbook layout pages I should be making and sharing with my circle journal (CJ) friends on UK Scrappers. I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, but if I had, I might have pledged to be a better blogger. And so I will try, honestly, I will. But don't be surprised if I don't (always) succeed.

And so to my page above -  that's me, enjoying the amazing peace and tranquillity, not to mention the fabulous scenery, during a holiday in New Zealand a few years ago. I could have stayed in this spot all day - it was just beautiful. This was my contribution to a journal focusing on 'places'.

My most recent CJ contribution is this - which as I'm writing my blog in the traditional sleepy lunchtime period,  might most appropriately be called the 'graveyard slot'. These photos were all taken in the Victorian section of Stroud cemetery, which is also a nature reserve. I find all the tombstone inscriptions, stone designs and brief glimpses of past lives fascinating.

On my first visit I puzzled over the repeat appearance of tall, thin columns which were broken at their tips. Why was each memorial so damaged? I later discovered that these pillars were deliberately crafted in this fashion, designed to symbolise a life cut short. Other designs also tell stories - twisted ropes, anchors, angels and symbols, all with their own histories and messages.

I realise that graveyards might not be everyone's idea of great places to explore - but I think they are a treasure troves, providing tantalising clues into lives gone before. They're also great for practising photography skills and spotting wildlife and lichen, as well as contemplating those whom we have loved and lost ... but not forgotten.

Oh, the shame ....

I am a bad person: I have not blogged for ages. I have no excuse other than life, and stuff happening. But just because I have not blogged, doesn't mean I've not been crafting. I've made some cards .... sadly no photos as they were were all snaffled straight away for various birthdays and get well soon postings. You'll have to trust me when I say they looked ok.

Now this digi page I've uploaded here is one of the pages I've done for the digi circle journal over on UKS. The theme for this one was childhood memories. I wasn't sure what to do for this as I didn't have any photos to illustrate the theme. Then I started thinking about what I spent most of my childhood doing - and the answer is probably reading. Which led me to remembering all the books I borrowed from the local libary to feed my hunger for words. And so my page idea was born.

Nature was the theme for another circle journal which seemed a perfect excuse to use one of the photos I took earlier this year of poppies growing in the fields near my home.

A similar CJ, called Nature's Glory, gave me the chance to use a different shor altogether, of the lovely holly growing in a local wood, dressed with snow.

Hope you like my creations ..... I shall try not to stay away from my blog for so long, next time!

Butterfly card

I made this card in response to an on-line challenge. Can I remember who set the challenge, or where? No! Doh .... But never mind, I enjoyed making it. I do recall that there was a sketch to use and the idea of 'circles' as a prompt.

I used white card for the card base and stippled it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Cut a section of checked card and used my threading water border punch on one edge before mounting it. The three punched circles have had the edges inked and are mounted using sticky pads for dimension. The cardstock comes ready glittered, so there's a nice bit of built-in bling!

I have used a second ribbon-style strip of the checked card towards the bottom of the card, leaving a small amount of the white card below (you can't see this on my scanned version, sorry).

The small frame is cut using my Sissix die and Big Shot, and the added sentiment is a rub-on from my collection. Two pearl 'jewels' add the finishing touch to the frame.