Butterfly Cushion

Afternoon Everyone,

From a very wet corner of Scotland ... not that I should complain, the flowers are loving the rain.

I've just got a sewing project to show off to you today because I'm fair chuffed with how this simple cushion turned out. My sewing skills are becoming less rusty by the day :)

It was made as a gift for my granddaughter's birthday. The fabric called Butterfly Stripe was bought at Dunelm Mill and it only took half a yard to make. The only tricky bit for this rusty sewist was measuring and cutting the fabric to ensure the stripe with the butterflies was centred on the cushion top ... it's not like cutting paper or card, you can't just slip the fabric into a guillotine and start chopping, sigh :(  Were it that easy!

The closure at the back is the easy-peasy envelope style which worked so well with the striped pattern that you can barely see where aperture is in this photo! It's between the two pink floral fabrics.

I hope you are all having an enjoyable weekend ... and certainly better than mine. My mouth is full of very painful ulcers, has been for a few days. I'm living on a diet of yogurt, soup and Bonjela - lovely, not! A really nasty side-affect of iron deficiency even though I'm taking the tablets as prescribed like a good girl :(

On the bright side, our new washing machine was delivered and installed on Friday :) It's a thing of beauty and washes like a dream ... and the spin is so quiet. It's a funny old fact of life that it is not evident how badly a piece of equipment performs until it is replaced by new!

Take care everyone and happy crafting,

Bloglovin Post

Hi Everyone,

To claim my blog, here's my code that I have to post, so I hope you'll be following on bloglovin when google reader closes 1st July! Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

Elizabeth xx

Steampunk Card for a Betweenager!

Happy Saturday Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

This is the card I made for my granddaughter's tenth birthday this week.

I spotted the CD, Steampunk - The Next Generation, which the toppers and papers came from during a Jem's Design's demonstration on C&C TV and thought it would be just perfect for creating cards for my granddaughters who are all at what I think of as the difficult stage - the betweenagers!

Because everything is in JPG format I was easily able to import the 'paper' image into a graphics programme and create panels for the inside of the card.

Materials used: 

• pink cardstock cut to form a 5.5" square card base; 
• black cardstock for matting and layering; 
• Jem's Design, Steampunk - The Next Generation CD; 
• MS Publisher programme to create inside panels; 
• Spellbinder ribbon tag die; 
• Ladybug Crafts It's Only Words 2 stamp collection for sentiment; 
• Penny Black Birthday Wish stamp (inside);
• ribbon, roses, gems and stickles for embellishments.

I'd like to submit this card to the following challenges:

Left of Center Challenge 9: Use a Sentiment on the Front and/or LOC theme!

and

Card Crafter's Circle Challenge #81 - Happy Birthday!

Right, off to watch the tennis now!

Take care everyone and happy crafting,

Friday's Smile

Hi Everyone,

I don't always remember to join in with Annie's Friday Smile, over at A Stitch In Time, but this week I have a few photos that made me smile which I thought I'd share.

My youngest grandchild, Shari-Ann had her tenth birthday yesterday. She's growing up so fast! I enjoyed the look of concentration on her face as she tried to blow out all 10 candles and focus on making a wish at the same time :)

And this candid shot her mother took of Shari-Ann taking a nap after a exhausting day at school made me laugh. She will have plenty of time to rest now, school broke up yesterday so she has six weeks holiday ahead of her.

And finally, this little cutie would make any puppy lover smile. Born just a week ago, this little one is the only girl in a litter of four born to my daughter's Jack Russell, Tina. She is also the only white one, like her mum, the boys are all black like their father.

That's it, brief but fun and definitely making me smile.

Flat Susan goes to Inverness and Culloden

Afternoon Everyone,

Here's a few lot more photos from Flat Susan's holiday adventures. Warning - what follows is a photo-heavy post.

The day after we all arrived at the cottage, self-catering, we took a trip to Inverness to make a quick visit to a supermarket to stock up on food. And low and behold, wasn't there a Hobby Craft right next door - what luck!

After spending much too much time taking in all that was to be seen there, and buying a few crafty bits and bobs, we made our way through Inverness to Culloden, site of the Battle of Culloden that put an end to the Jacobite Rising.

Now owned and managed by the the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) the battlefield is a place of pilgrimage for people from Scotland and throughout the world.

Just a few of the gravestones found around the site. The first is for the English buried there, the second for mixed clans and last for named clans - who presumably fought in the Atholl Highlanders, the Duke of Atholl's private infantry regiment - the UK's only legal private army!

The 20 feet (6.1 m) tall memorial cairn, erected by Duncan Forbes in 1881 - the same year he erected the headstones to mark the mass graves of the clans.

The site is now covered in shrubs, wild flowers and heather - here you can see a wild orchid, a thistle and yellow gorse -  but during the time of the rebellion the area was used a common grazing ground, mainly for tenants of the Culloden estate, so would have looked quite different then.

This is Leanach Cottage, an tiny farmhouse that survived the battle, although it has been restored several times since. The roof is heather thatched, a traditional Highland craft. The planting of the Rowan tree (Mountain Ash) nearby is also traditional here in Scotland - it's said to ward off evil spirits! 

Just a couple of the exhibits inside the Exhibition in the Visitor Centre. The painting depicts the battle between the Highlanders (the Jacobites) and the English (actually a mix of Lowlander Scots and English). 

Here, after watching the daily Living History presentation, which brings the battle to life, you can see some  visitors from the US having a giggle being photographed with reproduction weapons of the time. 

The ceiling of the restaurant has a fantastic record all the names of people who have donated to the building and upkeep of Culloden. 

And finally, just a sample of the fine food to be had in the restaurant - haggis with oatcakes, beetroot chutney and salad. Flat Susan was impressed with this tasty Scottish dish.

I've pared down the masses of photos taken at Culloden but I hope you can see from those posted here what an amazing experience it is to visit and to walk through the Culloden Battlefield and then view the results of recent archaeological and historical research in the Exhibition Centre. 

And after such a busy day Flat Susan was only too happy to join her travelling companions on the drive back to the cottage :)

More adventures from Flat Susan soon. 

Christmas Greenery - a CHNC, Rudolph Day and Snippet card all in one!

Evening Folks

Hope you have all had a great day with some sunshine to make you smile too.

It has been bright enough here for me to spend some time in the garden, weeding. I don't know, you turn your back for a week every summer and the weeds take over!

Weeding done, I headed for the craft room to make this card for a few challenges. There's June's Rudolph Day challenge, run by Sarn over at Stamping for Pleasure. This is a challenge I'd really hate to miss ... fortunately, we have until the end of the month to get our entries in :)

Hazel, over at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge, (Week 130), has for this week challenged us to do something with Christmas greenery - hope this fits the bill there too. Another challenge, a weekly one this time, that I don't like to miss. The topper, cut from a card received last year, depicting mistletoe encrusted with snow seemed perfect. The white embossed card was also reclaimed from an old card. Even the sentiment is second hand, as it was already stamped on the embossed card :)

And then there's Di's challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground (Week 78) - where the only requirement to be allowed to play is to use a snippet or two in the making of your project. I never miss an opportunity to use up as many of my scraps as possible, and there's certainly a snippet or two gone into this card.

Materials used:

• White card base
• Docrafts Papermania Silent Night paper pack - one whole sheet and a couple of snippets 
• Cart-Us Oval Dies
• A snippet of smooth white card for the topper
• The recycled embossed card
• Seam binding in a beautiful shade of green

Edit note: I forgot to mention Hazel's other challenge, the CHNC Challenge Extra for June where the remit is, as it is every month, anything goes as long as it is Christmas

And that is it - three challenges in one card - not bad!

I'm off to get out the sewing machine now - got a cushion cover to make.

Take care everyone and happy crafting,

WOYWW 212

Morning WOYWWers, Followers and Bloggers All,

I'll keep this brief as I'm frantically trying to catch up after the hols ... what a difference a week makes! Even the washing machine gave up the ghost during our absence. The new one is being delivered on Friday - yippee, I'm developing wash day hands in the meantime :)

Not actually what's on my desk right now ... it would frighten the horses to see that! No, I thought I'd treat you to the sight of the crafty goodies I brought back from my jollies instead.

First, we happened on, quite by serendipitous accident, a Hobby Craft in Inverness. We were actually looking for a supermarket at the time ... to stock up on some victuals to keep us going for the week. I've never been inside a Hobby Craft before so I could hardly contain my excitement but, as you can see, I was remarkably restrained with my spends. With good reason ... I had other plans for my pocket money :)

 Yep! Ever eagle-eyed, I'd spotted that there was a patchwork shop near Beauly.

As soon as it opened on Monday - at the very civilised time of 10am - I was there and just had to purchase a metre or two of gorgeousness, not to mention a couple of toning fat quarters. The book was found in Ullapool, on the west coast, and I forget where I stumbled on the Quilt magazine now, but the cover just spoke to me :))

And for the fabricaholics and ribbonaholics amongst us here's a couple of shots of the inside to feast your eyes on.

All those scrumptious fabrics are sorted by colour, making the choosing so easy. And what you can't see, because stupid me forgot to take a pic, is the hundreds of fat quarters laid out for the addicted dedicated sewer/patchworker's delectation :)

I could have happily picked that cabin up - well, okay, I would have had to arrange for it to be picked up by a fairly big transporter - to be relocated in a convenient location nearby ... I think the front lawn would be big enough! Ah, the things dreams are made of :))

Oh gosh, I said I'd keep this brief and now look what I've done! That will be me in trouble with our noble leader, Julia Dunnit, keeper of the WOYWW desks over at her Stamping Ground. Don't know what WOYWW, that's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, is all about - just click the link for an explanation and join in the fun!

I'm off now ... it's just after midnight so I'm off to bed for a bit of beauty sleep - I need as much of that as I can get these days - but I'll be back in the morning to link up with you all and join in a bit of blog hopping again.

In the meantime, I wish you all a happy WOYWW!

Flat Susan Takes the High Road

Evening Everyone

I hope you've all had a really good day.

Life is getting back to normal here, well almost, and I did even find time to make a birthday card for someone special this afternoon ... can't show you it yet though, not until I know it's been received. Instead, I'm posting the next episode in Flat Susan's trip around the world.

'Oh, ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.'

Loch Lomond looking towards the North

We set of on Saturday, 15th June, and it was a dull day with some rainy spells so Loch Lomond, the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain, our first stop wasn't looking it's best with a mist hanging over the hills and grey clouds hovering overhead.

Looking back towards the South

It's a bit brighter looking in the direction we came from. Flat Susan ventured out of her suitcase just long enough for a photo shoot. A quick look at the beautiful loch and she was then back snug and warm for the next leg of the journey.

The entrance to Glencoe

The approach to Glencoe is always something worth stopping for even when the top of the mountains can't be seen for mist.

Flat Susan was impressed with the Three Sisters, especially as the sun was peeking through by this time.

It's June and there are still patches of snow on the top of those mountains.

The view from the Glencoe Visitor Centre - the Pap of Glencoe. Glencoe is owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland and has a polite 'no litter bin, take your litter home' policy - it costs a great deal of money to clear up litter. And it works,  it is a vast area but we didn't see any litter anywhere in the glen!

Beaufort Castle

Following the directions we had been given, Flat Susan was delighted to find that the we were going to be spending the week in the grounds of a real Scottish castle,  Beaufort Castle, in Gaelic Caisteal Duuaidh, that was until recently the traditional seat of the chiefs of Clan Fraser. Near Beauly and just north of Kiltarlity, it was sold in 1994 to Stagecoach director Ann Gloag by the then Lord Lovat, to meet inheritance taxes.

The Larder

The Larder, our cottage home for the week, has an equally interesting history and is so named because it was once, before a complete refurbishment, the hut where the game was stored ... in the days when Lord Lovat and his guests would go out on shoots. Now the wild life, deer, hares, badgers, etc., are left to live happily undisturbed on the estate.

A final photo for this post - the view from the window of the cottage.

Absolute bliss!

So that was just the trip up into the Highlands of Scotland, a fascinating journey that took in fabulous lochs  and grand mountains to be sure, but that was just the start of a wonderful holiday. For even more lovely photos be sure to look out for the next instalment of Flat Susan's Scottish sojourn ... it was quite a trip, with a lot of sightseeing packed into just a few days.

In the meantime take care everyone and I wish you a very good night.

Holiday End and Summing Up the Snippet Clearing Exercise

Hi Everyone,

Happy Tuesday to you all!

We arrived back from our jollies in the Highlands at the weekend, had a wonderful time and wished you were all there with us :)

But what a return it has been! The journey was long and rainy so we were absolutely exhausted, so exhausted we did little more than unpack and go to bed. Next day, with a huge basket of washing to get through, we discovered that during our absence our, admittedly ancient, washing machine had died! Talk about bad timing!?!?! I'll gloss over the trips to the launderette plus the hand-washing that's going on at the moment and just say that a new machine is on order, can't wait for delivery :)

I hope you have all been keeping well and crafting away - although for some/many of you that would be when not watching the tennis :)) Needless to say, I haven't had much time to craft, and had even less time to blog, over the last couple of days :( However, I can bring you up to date with the results of my little snippet clearing challenge.

You may remember that at the outset this was what the pile of scraps on my desk looked like.

Quite a pile!

And here's the cards I managed to make with some of the scraps before going away.

Admittedly not a lot! But every little bit helps and as you can see from the next photo there is a reduction, albeit a tiny one, in the pile.

So to sum up the exercise ... it was fun to do but it wasn't without problems!  One, trying to keep the snippet pile down is like trying to hold back the tide ... every time a new project is finished there's more scraps to join the pile. Two, it takes some ingenuity thinking up how to use the snippets. Three, and finally, there are not enough hours in the day to bottom the pile. That's not to say I'm giving up ... whenever there's a bit of time to spare I'll challenge myself to see what can be created out of the scrap mountain :)

That's me for now, but I will be back later with a photo post of Flat Susan's trip north ... that will be after I've done a bit of hand-washing, again, some weeding in the garden - they've gone mad while we've been away - and there's a birthday card screaming to be made too ... it's all go at Casa Worthington.

Oh, and I hope to catch up with what you have all been up to while I've been away too ... I just need to find a window in my busy day :))

Take care and happy crafting,

Clearing my desk of snippets, scraps and leftovers ... Day 7

Hi All,

Well, while you are reading this, I'll be home - the jollies over and no doubt the week will  have just flown by ... they always do.

So this, Day 7, is the last scheduled post and the last of this little series of mine. It was fun for me to do so I hope you have enjoyed seeing just what I managed to create out of that pile of scraps shown on the Day 1 post. Here's the snippet make for today.

The background is made from what is left over from a master board created for a Twinchie project - a swap challenge. The basis is white card inked and stamped in various colours to create my very own patterned paper. The topper is yet another of the Penny Black Stickeroos I find so irresistible :)

Scraps - the master board, teal cardstock (Papermill Direct), smooth white cardstock
Additional supplies: Image from Penny Black Stickeroo A Bunch of Love sheet; stamps - Art Journey Sweet Dreams, Inkadinkado Leaves Mini, best wishes stamp; inks - Big & Juicy Mountain Meadow, Tim Holtz DIs Evergreen Bough, Shaded Lilac and Vintage Photo, Adirondack Peach Bellini, Memento Tuxedo Black; punch - Woodware small butterfly and a corner punch; scallop shaped scissors; teal/white bakers' twine; blue glitter glue

Just as soon as I've unpacked, done all the washing and ironing, I'll be back to see what you all thought of my little exercise. I'll also reveal what is left of the scrap pile on my desk.

It's the weekend so I hope you are all having a terrific time. 

See you soon and happy crafting,