Kalika is cute!

I just love the Days of Christmas from Digital Designer Shop (it is a fab creation from Cilenia Curtis and Honey Scraps). It has so many lush papers and elements it's hard to choose what to use. And a lot of the items would work really well for anyone who does hybrid scrapping or cardmaking.

Do go and check out the girls and the shop - there's some lovely stash to be had.

This pic of Kalika, our collie-lab cross, was taken a year or so ago, but I keep using it because it's so silly ... unlike Kalika, who is of course, very bright and and on the ball.

Did someone say ball? Let me out, I want to play!

Seasonal word art from Digital Designer Shop

I don't know about you, but I think these word art creations are rather nice - great for scrapbooking both digitally and 'in the the flesh', or for card-making.

Speaking of cards, I had better get a move on write the ones I've already made and work out how many more I need to create this weekend. After all, soon be Christmas!!!!

Have you seen this?

http://networkedblogs.com/bxusg

You need to visit this place and enjoy the 12 days of Christmas!
Sorry I am behind in sharing the link - but that's me at the moment, all behind LOL!

Christmas is coming ... check out this kit!

A quick blog post today just to tell you about a very chunky looking new kit that's been put together by Cilenia and Veevs at Digital Designer Shop. I've not checked out the detail yet but I am really looking forward to exploring this lush looking kit!

When I'm feeling blue ....

No, I’m not really feeling blue. In fact, for a Monday I feel quite chirpy! The title for today’s post was actually triggered by the blue tones on the layout I’ve produced. It features Oscar, our lovely black fluffy monster moggy, seen here perching on the fence. He’s poised, I think, ready to jump down and come indoors for a light snack and a snooze!

You might have guessed that this digi layout was created using Cilenia’s (Digital Designer shop) Blue Winter kit. It really is lovely.
http://digitaldesignershop.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84_85&products_id=612

Making music ....

Mr Mole is very good at teaching people to play things - like the piano, violin and keyboards. He also teaches singing and music theory, among other things. This summer, he arranged a get-together for all his pupils to showcase their talents. This layout, made with the gorgeous Blue

Winter bundled kit from Cilenia Curtis at Digital Designer Shop, celebrates the work of just three of the younger students who took part.

You can check out the kit here:

http://digitaldesignershop.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84_85&products_id=612

I turned the photos into black and white because I liked the way the colours blended together (and the shots weren't that good, so I wanted to keep them small!).

A different sort of photo

Many (most!) of my photos these days that I use for scrapping seem to feature one or other our our menagerie. After all, with three cats and three dogs, we're never short of subject matter.

I wanted to do something with a different sort of photo, and today's digi layout is the result. The photo was taken on the cycle path near our home, where many a Sunday afternoon I take one of our dogs for an on-the-lead walk.

The papers and elements on the page all come from the Digital Designer Shop and were created by the very clever Honey Scraps and Cilenia Curtis. Thanks, girls! I've already used the duo's materials on previous layouts, but they're so versatile, I thought I'd play with them some more.

One amazing cat ...

As you might guess from the title, this is Scampy, our lovely tabby cat. She is around 21 years old which ain't bad for a cat! I 'acquired' her many years ago as a rescue moggy and as you can imagine, she has become very much a part of my life (along with the rest of our menagerie).

I have used the excellent creations from Honey Scraps and Cilena Curtis from Digital Designer Shop to create the page - lots of fab grungy frames, and calendar embellishments and papers and allsorts. Please go and see for yourself if you're into digi scrapping, you won't be disappointed.

Oh look, it's me again!

Hope the shock of me blogging twice in as many days isn't going to be too much for you! Especially with four pictures to share, too.

The first two show a layout I made at a PaperArts workshop, led by the talented Sandie Vincent. One of my favourite moments of the day was learning how to make 3D flowers (rather like the Prima ones) using a six-petal flower punch. We used, I think, a big blue Woodware beastie, kindly loaned to us by Sandie.

The second pair of photos show my 'test' flower which I made at the workshop (the smaller, blue one) before I decided that for my LO, I wanted a more subtle effect to go with my meerkats. The larger orange flower is my first creation using the Tim Holz Sizzix Tattered Floral die.

I used some scrap orange card for the petals, inked the edges with an orange Brilliance Ink pad, and then for the final touch, once assembled, dotted gorgeous orange Stickles glue on the petal edges. You can't see it in my photo, but I also dotted some of the Stickles in the flower centre, too. I really liked the result and am looking forward to playing with this versatile die some more.

I made this ....

After another of my prolonged absences, I have finally got round to not only blogging, but actually creating a digi LO to share with you at the same time.

The page features a friend of mine at his wedding some time ago, and I've used a kit by Lesley at Lilly St Studio (available at http://digitaldesignershop.com).

I'm dead chuffed as the clever creative types at Digital Designer Shop has invited me to join their CT .... this page is the first of what I hope will be many contributions based on the kits etc available at this site.

Do go and visit them - they're a lovely bunch!

Stop the clock!

Is it really so long since I last blogged? I suppose it is. time has just run away with me and my poor wee blog is left lonely and unattended as a result. Sorry, blog!

Since we were last here, there's been a fair amount going on. Everything from seriously-ill relatives and a poorly cat through to changes in work plans and of course, my birthday. One way and another, it has all eaten into my days - and in some, cases, nights.

I'm back on the blog trail again now, though ... as you can see.

So what, I hear you ask, have you been up to on the craft front? I have made several cards - two 50th birthdays, one special 'happy birthday', one baby congratulations and a 'get well soon'. No pix of any of them yet - most have been posted off to their destinations, but a couple are still in Mr Mole's possession, so I may manage to grab a snap of them.

No scrapbook pages - but I'm hoping to rectify that as I'm off to PaperArts near Stroud tomorrow for a workshop. I'm there from 10am-5pm so I ought to be able to get something done! Will report back accordingly. You have been warned!

A furry post

For today's unimportant and inconsequential post, I have decided to upload a picture of yet another of our furry clan. This is Scampy, a lovely tabby girl who in spite of being approximately 21 years old, continues to live a happy and contended life with little to complain about.

She is on daily tablets to control a thyroid condition that is apparently very common in older cats, but apart from that, is in fine and feisty fettle (as my daily efforts to give her the required medication prove ...ouch!)

She is pictured here on one of her rare forays into the garden (she likes going out but not when the dogs are out or the other cats are around, doh!) enjoying the sunshine.

I haven't done any scrap pages with her as the feature for ages - I must take steps to rectify this omission!

Slugs and snails, and puppy dog tails!

I am proud to share this photo of my latest card creation, made for a colleague who has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy.

I'm indebted to Tracy Gough (you can visit her blog - Scrap Happens - listed on the right!) for coming up with such a brilliant idea, and for allowing me to copy it. Thank you Tracy!

I used my Cricut Create and the Storybook cart to create the ampersand card base. I cut two, and trimmed the second version slightly to provide a firmer card base (and enable it to stand up properly - a previous version I made using the Wild Cart pram image was too floppy by half!).

You can't see them in my photo, but there are plenty of blue sparklies added to the front!

The dog stamp came from Paper Arts and the snail image is one from Clipart.

I've had some lovely comments from colleagues who've seen the card, so thank you again, Tracy, for being so generous with your creative genius!

All can now be revealed!

These are all cards I made using the lovely cheerful kit from Which Crafts - type the www thingy in front of whichcrafts.co.uk and you can visit the site for yourself. And find the instructions, too, if you're minded to try and recreate any of them!

It's always a bit scary, waiting for the envelope to arrive with the materials in - will I like the colours? The style? Will there be embellishments? Will I wish I'd never been selected to join the design team as a guest? These are all questions that fill my mind at times like this. But I have to say, I really loved the colours and possibilities that came with the kit, and playing with it was a real pleasure. Thanks Maxine!

Something weird is happening

It doesn't matter how many times I go in and edit the blog template, or what text colour I choose, the blog links I've been typing just aren't showing up as they should. They are there, you just can't see them! So for purposes of clarity, if you add the good old www to the front of this address, it will take you to the Which Crafts website.

whichcraftsonline.co.uk

For the blog, where you can also see my sneak peak pics (try saying that one you're tired or have been at the old vino!)

whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/

with the http:// in front!

Hope you enjoy the pic of the day, which features our daft Hungarian Vizsla, Tok, seen here in one of his favourite 'rummage' poses! It's unusual to see so much of him, to be honest, as he normally likes to burrow under the cover until he's completely hidden. I call him purple mound hound!

A sneak peak!

My photos today gives you a sneak peak of a couple of the cards I created for Maxine at Which Crafts - keep an eye on her site to find out more!!!!!! http://whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/

Can't reveal any more just yet - suffice to say that I had great fun creating .... watch this space ....

Just a reminder that the party is still going on at Which Crafts (bet they've run out of cake and jelly by now LOL!) and that you're all invited to drop in!

http://whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/

I am still excited by the fact I'm a special guest for the month and that soon I'll be able to share with you the creations I've been making with the lovely kit which Maxine sent through to me to play with. I promise some sneak peaks - but I need to finish up first, and then take some photos.

For now, you'll have to make do with a picture of Kalika, our collie-lab cross, waiting patiently for me to throw her ball so she can go fetch, fetch, fetch! Almost all of my photos of Kalika show her with her tongue hanging out - sometimes I wish she'd just sit neatly and composedly, and keep that pink thing out of sight, but let's face it, if she did, then it just wouldn't be 'her', would it?!

Hope you all have lovely weekends ....

More party happenings!

http://whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/ Hunt the needle here.

More blog party happening here, girls! And a couple of mine challenges, too ... http://whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/2010/06/mini-challange.html

Prizes on offer, but as they say on BBC TV, you have to be in it to win it!

And for today's photo, think wild flower power .....

Mole gets excited (again)

There's a party going on all this month - and we're all invited! Which Crafts, one of the sponsors on UKS, is having a party with competitions, crafty challenges and prizes.

Do hop on over and have a look!

http://whichcraftsonline.blogspot.com/

Blog Party!
Pinch Punch First of the Month!!
June is here and unfortunately has brought rain, but we won't let that upset the start of our blog party!
Every other day throughout the month we will be posting games, challenges and competitions.

I'm extra excited, because Which Crafts has kindly let me visit as a guest designer for the month, and I'm looking forward to sharing what I'm sent to play with ... and of course, what I make with it! Thanks, Maxine!

I know you will all be shocked by the news, too, that I've actually made a couple of cards over the bank holiday weekend! I used my Cricut Create and have made two baby congrats cards. No photos yet, tho, so you will have to make do with my dandelion remains!

Am I feeling guilty?

Am I feeling guilty that I've not posted recently? No, not really - life has a habit of getting in the way of stuff like this, and that's just the way it is.

I wish I could report great progress on the the crafty front but alas! It's not to be. By the time I've been to work / walked the dogs / fed the cats / washed up / done the housework / been to choir practice / been shopping etc etc there never seems to be any time left.

Does this sound familiar? Please tell me it's not just me that life happens to!

I have been taking some photos, though, and I do like this one of a lovely, sun-lit fern.

Hope you have been lucky enough to have some first-hand experience of the beautiful weather I've been enjoying (even from inside my office - at least I can see blue sky!).

Time for a birthday card

Managed to grab a little time in the craft room yesterday - ably (??!!) assisted by Oscar, our big, black, fluffy cat who could decide if he wanted to sit on my chair or on the desk. As you can imagine, neither was particularly convenient!

Still, I managed to create something without (I hope) too much cat fur attached to it, although pink and black are a pretty cool combination!

The card is for a friend whose party we'll be attending later in the month, and although the photo is pretty poor, I'm quite pleased with the results!

RIP, big ginge!

Bit of a sad, non-crafty post today. We had to have one of our four-legged friends put to sleep this morning.

Nielsen, a lovely, affable big ginger and white tom, was getting on for 18, and had been living with an ever-growing tumour on his chin for some time. We always said that as long as he was happy, healthy, and enjoying a 'proper' cat's life (eating, sleeping, purring and generally being in charge!), that was fine. But recently, he had lost more and more weight, was getting increasingly bedraggled as he struggled to wash, and his chin was clearly getting sore.

So today we took the sad decision that we knew was inevitable at some point, and made arrangements with our very supportive vets practice. And Mr Mole was with him when he went through the big cat flap in the sky ....

Although I'm crying as I type this, I know that he had a long and happy life, gave lots of pleasure (and received lots of love, fuss and tuna!), and that we've done the right thing by him.

So raise your metaphorical glasses and drink a toast with me to Neely Squealy!

A Passion for Promarkers entry!

Just as the title says, really! I have finally managed to make a card using an image coloured in with my new Promarker pens, and followed the sketch template on the A Passion for Promarkers challenge site.
I've looked at this site quite often and frequently thought that I'd like to give one of the challenges a try .... and now, at last, I have!
This particular challenge not only provided a sketch to use as a springboard for inspiration, but also stipulated that you had to make your own blooms. My flowers are quite simple to make - I just use a series of roughly torn circles, distress and ink the edges, crumple, and paint the edges with gesso to give them a bit more rigidity and longevity.
Not sure where the image came from - may be from my own huuuuge stamp collection, or it may have been one I received in a stamped image swap many years ago!

Awwww! How cute!

OK. So we couldn't resist. When we heard on the local news that the meerkats at Bristol Zoo were multiplying, we knew we'd have to go and see the offspring (meerkittens??!!!). Mr Mole is particular fond of the wee beasties and does a mean impression of them.

So this weekend, we hopped in the car and headed off to the zoo to see what was what. And I've got to admit, yes, they were cute!

I took loads of photos - not just of the meerkats, but also of prairie dogs, ring-tailed lemurs, red pandas, a pygmy crocodile, penguins, a lion and lioness, and some other birds and animals too.

I won't blow up Blogger by posting any more but you can bet you'll be seeing some more of the photos I took in the coming days and weeks!

Will work for ......

A True Friend has a challenge up for people to scrap their pets, with 'Will work for ...." as a heading for inspiration. There are some lovely examples on their web site here: http://a-true-friend.blogspot.com/

As you can see, for my take on the challenge I've used a photo of Tallis in one of his typical poses. Typical, that is, at the end of the day, when he finally forgets himself and collapses in a snoozy heap on the sofa!

I've used supplies by Dawn Inskip http://www.dawninskip.typepad.com/ and Christine Renee http://www.christinareneedesigns.com/to create my page. Thanks, girls!

Invited to be a guest designer!

How very exciting. This month, I had the opportunity to be a guest designer for http://www.craftytemplates.co.uk/ which is run by the lovely Crafty Princess from UK Scrappers.

My challenge was to use a couple of her latest templates and create some cards from them. Now I'll try anything once, and although I'm not the best when it comes to cutting out, as you know, I do like the chance to have a play!

And play I did! The castle card uses buttons, faux stitching (handy black pen) and a handy jewel for the doorknob (well, what else would you use on a castle door if not a gem??!!). The letters are glitzy sparkly ones - but I can't rember whose? Maybe Making Memories ....

For the rainbow card, more jewels came into play, along with some Stickles and Tim Holz distress inks (Faded Jeans, I think).

And the owl card also used gems for the eyes. More inks were used to edge the tree foliage circles, and I cut the tree shape free hand. The grass is also handcut and is stuck on with sticky fixers, to give a more 3-D effect.

Thank you Leo, for letting me play!

Oooerr, a blog award!

Now I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I've been 'selected' by Anna (begins again) for a Ms Brightside Award. Apparently, this means I have to share with you 10 things that make me happy, and divulge five pieces of trivia about myself.

So, here goes.

Things that make me happy ....

1) Stroking our cats and hearing them purr. All four of them!

2) Being able to book on a scrapbooking class at my favourite bricks-and-mortar shop, PaperArts. I can't always make the class dates on offer, and I don't get much time to scrapbook, so any chance to have a day's play at a workshop is like manna from heaven!

3) Taking the dogs out in the woods when no one else is around. It's like having a huge extra back garden all just for us.

4) Knowing that my mum is enjoying her new flat in Wales.

5) Waking up on a Saturday morning, looking at the clock, and knowing I don't have to get up for work and can sleep in as long as I like. Bliss. ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

6) Seeing lambs leaping around in the fields, their little tails quivering. Yes, I know it's a cliche but it is nonetheless a sight that never fails to make me smile and feel good inside. And yes, I do sometimes shout 'mint sauce' at them, but that doesn't make me a bad person. Does it?

7) Settling down on Friday night with a good curry, a TV whodunnit and a bottle of red wine. Shared, of course, with Mr Mole!

8) Spending time with my girlie friends from my old pre-marriage stamping ground. We don't often get to meet up, but when we do, it's as if we've never been apart. They are brill friends and I'm so lucky to have them.

9) Finding some great bargains in the supermarket at the end of the day. Daft, but it makes me feel good!

10) Singing in the choir which I belong to in Stroud. I'm no great shakes, and am quite happy lurking in the back row of the second altos, but although it's hard work, it's always fun, my fellow singers are lovely and I (usually!!!) feel like I've achieved something at the end of rehearsal or performance.

And now for five bits of trivia about me .....

Fact 1

I once interviewed Sir Cliff Richard and asked him where he bought his underpants!

Fact 2

I hate celery, sprouts, trifle, dates, olives and coffee-flavoured chocolates.

Fact 3

I have never cooked an omelette.

Fact 4

I used to think an Alsatian was an Alastain ....

Fact 5

My first Saturday job was working in a library.

So that's it, duty done. Hope you found my meanderings mildly interesting / amusing. I'll leave you with some info about today's photo. I took two of the dogs out for a stretch on Sunday and as I often do, took the camera with me, The photo is just one of a load I took of things that said 'spring' to me.

Spring light and colours

One of the many things I like about spring (along with cute lambs leaping, daffodils, Easter eggs etc) is the way the light changes and makes things looks so different. It does something to the colours, lifting them and making them seem fresher and and somehow more 'alive' - if a colour can be more alive!!!!

I took this photo while taking Tallis for a walk along the local cycle path. He and I only discovered the river section a few week ago, and this was the first time the ground was dry enough to allow us to make our way down the slope to the river edge without slip-sliding all the way. Well, Tallis could have made it quite happily, but he goes on the lead for this section and I wasn't about to let him tow me along!!!

Anyway, I liked the way the light caught the water and cast shadows on the bank. Hope you do, too!

Service is now resumed!

Ha! Just when you thought I'd gone away ..... I'm back, and with a new layout to share with you. It features Oscar, and uses a great digi kit from Rustic Charm Creations. Sadly, the kit doesn't have an alpha (hint, hint!!!) but I do like playing with the few typefaces I've got on this machine!

Hope you enjoy my creation .....

Love is ... a new definition!

I don't think I've every scrapped with so many photos on just one page. It seems a good way to use pics that aren't necessarily of the best quality - although I have to say that most of these are actually ok (though I say so myself !)

Page made with Lauren's Still the One kit from Rustic Charm Creations.

I couldn't resist it.

Making another page from this kit, that is.

Hope you like the result. I'm quite chuffed as I managed to learn something new this time round - how to do some curved text stuff on PSE 6. Thanks be to Google for helping me find a tutorial on the topic. First one I looked at, too!

The photos were taken this time last year when we had the snowy weather, all within walking distance of home.

Ooooh! What fun!

How exciting .... I have been accepted as a creative team member for Rustic Charm Creations. One of my friends on UK Scrappers told me there was a CT call out so I thought I'd have a go. And was suitably chuffed to discover they wanted me to join them! http://www.scrapable.net/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=83

They have some lovely kits available, and I can see I'm going to have a great time playing them.

The first photo shows my inaugural effort as a CT member - using Lauren's Dreamy Buttercup kit. Thank you to the gorgeous ginger model!

Here's the kit 'snapshot- - you can see why I was chuffed to be able to play with it!

2010? How did that happen??!!

There went another year ... and here we are, half way through January already and I've yet to blog. I blame it on being snowbound and hostage to a BT landline that's slower than a slow thing! Trying to anything much on-line that's more intensive than posting a short email is a waste of time because it ties up the landline for hours.

Unfortunately, I've no pix of anything crafty to show you so I will have to share a photo from my files instead. Which is why can you see a photo of Scampy, our elderly tabby cat, instead! She is snoozing in the new Penguin bed which Mr Mole bought before Christmas. Amazingly, given the disdain with which most cats treat 'proper' cat beds (much preferring, for example, the ironing pile!), three of our four cats really, really like this new 'snoozery.

Scampy is at least 18 years old but in spite of a thyroid problem, she's otherwise in great nick - lovely glossy coat, white bits that really are white, and very, very purry. I'll have to do her a special purr-enguin purr-age!