WOYWW 217

And I hope it is a happy WOYWW for you all, even if it does seem to come round much too fast every week.

So time to reveal all again ... no idea what I'm about to reveal, then I suggest you start by hopping over to our desk keeper extraordinaire, Julia's Stamping Ground where all is revealed :)

On my desk this week there's an album I'm working on, piles of old family photographs, the label maker that I was using, my newest toy, a spritzer, the dish of adhesives, plaid cover concealing baby wipes, scissors, jug of pens and pencils, and toilet rolls!

The spritzer only arrived today and I've only had a little play with it but you can see that it works. However, it will take a good bit more practice yet, methinks. So far I've tried out Memento Dual Markers, TH Distress Markers and ProMarkers - the last gave the best results. Using a template for the apple was fun and it doesn't look too bad at all. It's all in how you direct the pen and getting the puff just right - just needs perseverance :)

As many of you know, I had a huge sort out of my massive photo collection recently. What was left has filled two drawers in a little chest of drawers and the family history photos have filled a big archival box - that's an awful lot of scrapping!!! In fact, it clearly going to be impossible for me to scrap even a fraction of them. Needless to say, I've been puzzling over what to do about them ever since. After much research, I have decided that the best thing I can do is get those photos into albums as quickly as possible, and to do this I'm adapting the Project Life method.

This particular page records the funeral of my two great-great uncles who died tragically in a mining accident at the Eccles Mine, Raleigh, West Virginia in 1910. They were buried at Wildwood Cemetery there and the photos on the funeral notice are the only ones I have. It's a sad, sad story, they were only 24 and 22 years old at the time. The page includes a copy of the obituary that was published in the Fifeshire Advertiser shortly after the event.

As usual, these photos were taken just after midnight before turning in for the night. So I'm off to bed now, but I'll be back and linking with Julia some time in the morning, and then visiting as many of you as I can possibly manage.

In the meantime, happy crafting everyone,

Toddler's Strawberry Sundress

Good Morning Everyone,

And welcome to Caroline and Sue, my newest followers/enablers ... it's good to have you join me. I hope you will pop back occasionally and maybe even leave a comment if you have time ... I know you are all busy :) Indeed, I was absent yesterday ... almost all day! I popped out to visit my daughter who has twisted her ankle ... you should see her foot now, all the colours of the rainbow! All her plans to go biking with her two youngest most days during the holidays, scuppered :(

This is just a quick share today because I have a ton to do ... four birthdays coming up in August, starting with the 3rd. Anyway, here's the little sundress I made for my great-granddaughter, Rhian, from the strawberry patterned fabric that you might have spotted on my desk a few WOYWWs ago. 

These are simple to make ... two rectangles of fabric, hemmed and shirred at the top, hemmed at the bottom, and narrow straps added at the end. Now that all sounds easy-peasy, does it not? And it is if you wind enough shirring elastic before you begin ... because I had made another dress for my great-niece a few weeks earlier, I just popped the bobbin with the leftover elastic into the machine and went ahead with the shirring. I'm sure you are way ahead of me, it ran out in the middle of a row! Not a disaster exactly, just a time waster - I'll check next time :)  (The polka dotted fabric in the background? ... fat quarters for another patchwork cushion cover in the planning stages.)

What else slowed me down? Well, because the dress is for a little one, the side seams are of the French variety and take a bit longer to sew, but they are just kinder to delicate skins so I think they are essential. Also, I decided to try the invisible hemming method on this little dress. I practiced on scrap fabric and, believe me, it takes a bit of practice. But I managed it in the end and was dead chuffed with the result ... another skill learnt :)))) 

Okay, I said I was going to be quick so that's me done. 

Hope you are all well and enjoying this glorious, if unpredictable, summer ... I know, it's winter on the other side of the world so hope it's not too cold where you are. 

Take care and happy crafting,

Lavender Card and Bookmark Set

Afternoon Everyone,

This month's UKPC SWAP challenged me to create something on the theme of lavender ...  it could be the colour or the plant or whatever ... the choice was up to me. I love lavender flowers - the scent as you brush past the plant is delicious - so the decision was easy, especially when I remembered I had the brilliant Pamela West CD set to draw on for materials and this set is the result.

I printed of several sheets for the decoupage and sentiments, backing papers, insert, bookmark and the envelope.

For the card I put together the decoupage and layered it on to the plain backing paper, same with the sentiment.

I added a piece of card, coloured using the shaving foam method and Cosmic Shimmer Mist ... I was shocked to discovered that it's more than two years since I did this piece - click the link for how to of the method.  This I embossed with a super Dragonfly folder (a winning from the lovely Di's Pixie's Crafty Snippet Playground) ... dragonflies just seemed right with lavender but unfortunately the little dragonflies don't show up so well in the photo, sigh, isn't that just the way of it! It has been layered with some of the backing paper which has been edged with one of my two precious Martha Stewart punches, I think this one might be called Arch Edge but can't honestly say I'm sure.

I made two more dragonflies by stamping on to scraps of the inky card ... it has a lovely shimmery finish which is perfect for dragonfly wings. Black gems and black Stickles have been used to decorate the bodies.

 

I did use a sheet of the insert paper, trimmed down, as a layer on the front of the card and the topper sheet provided another little image for the back.

 

The bookmark was printed out on plain paper and then adhered to white card before folding and adhering the edges together.

The envelope is cleverly designed to give the option of being flat or being a quarter inch or so deep - perfect for a card that has some dimension to it.

Materials used: 

• plain white A6 card base
• Pamela West CD for decoupage topper, backing/layering papers, sentiment, bookmark, insert
• the piece of inked card hand done with the shaving foam technique and Cosmic Shimmer Mists, Meadow Lush, Blue Lime & Purple Violet
• Craft Concepts Dragonfly Embossing Folder
• Martha Stewart Arch Edge punch
• Denami Design Dragonfly stamp
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad
• Black ProMarker
• black gemstones, narrow lilac organza ribbon, Black Diamond Stickles from stash

I'm submitting this to Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground - Week 83 - where Miss Di's only requirement is that we use snippets ... that's the hand coloured Shimmer Mist card on this card. As it's Sunday, start of Pixie's snippet week, I'll be able to skate right through the playground gates today ... unlike yesterday's debacle, talk about being embarrassed :(

Garden update: from my window, I can see a beautifully elegant collared dove preening himself/herself ... I've no idea how you tell the difference!  I think it is waiting for the EM who has been patiently trying to tame this one enough to get it eating out of his hand, and he could be close to succeeding :) 

Weather update: it's been raining, pouring cats and dogs in fact, but it has dried up now and the sun is struggling through the clouds. It looks like it's going to be a lovely evening.

I hope it is just as pleasant wherever you are. Take care and happy crafting. 

Pink Vintage Bike

Good Morning Everyone

It's another lovely day here ... it's fresh and sunny today, thankfully the mugginess has gone. Hope it's as pleasant where you are.

I've a quick share for you today - I've a few minutes to run over to Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground before the gates slam shut for the week - so I'm in a hurry.

I was clearing off my desk a few days ago, ready for a sewing session, and was about to chuck the leftovers from a previous cardmaking session on to the snippet mountain when I remembered the little bike stamp I bought from Hobbycraft while on holiday and though I should stop long enough to use the scraps up. Serendipity at work, perhaps, but you can see that I rarely stick to what I should be doing and find it so easy to be side-tracked :)

Anyway, this little card is the result. The background is stamped all over with the trellis background and the tiny flower, from the Life's an Adventure set, in grey ink. The topper is the Vintage Bike stamp from Hobbycraft coloured with a mix of pink and grey markers ... the flower on the greeting is also coloured with the pink marker. Apart from the white card base, all the materials are snippets and scraps - even the length of gingham ribbon is a leftover from a previous project.

Materials used:
white A6 card base
lilac cardstock and scraps of pink
Stamps - Hobbycraft Vintage Bike, Special Occasion set for Birthday stamp, free from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine, Life's an Adventure set from Get Stamping Issue 3 for the background
Memento Tuxedo Black & London Fog ink pads
Punches - SU oval punch, EK Success tiny flower
Markers - Memento Dual Marker Lilac, ProMarker Ice Grey 5Black/white & Kuretake Black Vellum Writer
gingham ribbon & Anita's wheel gems from stash

And that is that ... skating off to the playground now, fingers crossed that, in my haste, I don't end up in the duck pond!

Edited Note: Boohoo! I was too late and skated straight into the playground gates instead. Never mind, better luck another time :)

Take care everyone, have a great weekend.

Friday Smile

Hi Everyone,

I just discovered this on Tara Kelley's blog, A Life Worth Scrappin' and just had to share it.

A man came home from work and found his 3 children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn around garden, The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and no sign of the dog, walking in the door, he found ...an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, the throw rug was against one wall, In the front room the TV was on loudly with the cartoon channel, the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pyjamas, reading a novel... She looked up at him, smiled and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?... ''Yes," was his incredulous reply.. She answered, 'Well, I didn't do it.'

BRILLIANT! "

I'm sure there are more than a few frazzled mums out there wishing they could just let it all go for one day too :))

Other things making me smile this week:

After the appalling summer last year and the equally disastrous spring we've just been through I thought this rose was lost forever. But Felicia ... can you think of a more beautiful name for her ... has come back flowering even better than before. And her perfume is sublime :)

And finally,

I picked this jug up in a charity shop recently and it makes me smile every time it catches my eye. As do the flowers from my garden ... those sweet peas are the EMs pride and joy ... more sublime perfume :)

Have a great weekend everyone, however and wherever you spend it.

Scandinavian Style Christmas Card for Rudolph Day and CHNC 134

Afternoon Everyone,

I almost forgot to post this card which I had made ready and waiting especially for Rudolph Day too.

Over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge (CHNC), Hazel has asked for stitching - real or faux - this week. As, even with all the practice I've been getting in recently, I'm still not fantastic at sewing a straight line on cards, I've opted for faux stitching. I've had the stitching stamp set for a couple of years and yet, I'm ashamed to admit, most of the stamps had never been inked up. In fact, I've had it so long I can't even remember where I got it from, or who the maker is!

This is one of my favourite deer stamps ... I like the trail of snowflakes and flourishes, perfect for a bit of bling :)

Both inside and back are stamped with a flurry of snowflakes.

Materials used:

• plain white A6 card base
• Cardstock - red mirri and smooth white
• Ink - Tim Holtz DI, Festive Berries
• Stamps - Buttons, Stitches and Zips set (maker unknown), Magical Christmas set from HOTP and Docrafts Christmas set free with Creativity magazine 2012
• Trims - bobble trim, red/white printed ribbon and red/gold patterned ribbon from stash
• glue pen and iridescent glue

I'd also like to submit this to the following:

 Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge Extra where for July, and every month, anything goes as long as it's Christmas themed
and, of course,
the Rudolph Day Challenge - July 2013 over at Stamping for Pleasure. This is Sarn's monthly challenge, for us to make Christmas projects for the 25th of every month.

Right, that's me done for today, two posts in one hot day is more than enough :))

Weather update - it was pouring stair rods a minute or two ago and now the sun is out fit to crack flags (flagstones)! You can't beat Scottish weather for variety :)

Hope you are all having a super day.

 

Turquoise Patchwork Cushion

Good Morning Everyone,

I know some of you will be wondering why I haven't visited your desks and returned your comments of yesterday. Well, here's my excuse.

I just had to finish this cushion cover for my little sister, Jacqui, and get it into the post before it was too late. It's for her 55th birthday.

The design is made up of several strips of fabric, one of which is a patchwork made from different lengths of various pieces of the fabric. I've chosen a mix of cotton fabrics but the original pattern that gave me the idea (taken from the library book you can see in yesterday's post) is made from a mix of silk and velvet pieces - very nice if you have the materials available, I didn't.

Whilst making up the patchwork I added trim to three of the strips ... cream lace, rosebud trim, turquoise ribbons and three tiny buttons. In yesterday's appalling light, it was difficult to get good shots of the detail on the patchwork, and even with close-ups it's still not good, especially on the very pale fabric in the centre shot which has a combination of lace and ribbon trim added to it.

So that's the finished cover - I do hope Jacqui likes it.

And the reason for the appalling light, it was overcast but hot and humid all day long. Happily, the rain came on while I was sleeping, and it now feels fresher ... the garden looks all the better for it too ... when it rains through the night and the sun comes out in the morning it's like living in Camelot :))

Now that's done, I'll just get myself a quick cuppa and then it's bum on seat to return your visits.

Take care everyone and I hope you all have a lovely day,

WOYWW 216

Hi WOYWWers, Followers and All,

It's so hot and I'm melting - the storm was refreshing while it lasted but I'm all hot and bothered again and much as I would like to do more crafting I'm struggling to concentrate for long ... I think my brain could be frazzled too!

I have managed to cut out a cushion cover front ... based on an idea I found in a book I borrowed from the library.

This book, in fact. It's full of lovely projects, a couple of which I'm hoping to make ... before it has be returned.

So on my desk today is sewing stuff. There's a notebook with some rough calculations for the patches and strips needed for the cushion. The little house tin is about 30 years old ... I can't remember what it originally contained but I've always used it for storing sewing machine bobbins. And next to it is a bias binding maker that I inherited from my late mother ... recently discovered tucked away in her sewing box. I haven't tried it out yet, will have to work out how. I can see my stamp index box up in the left hand corner ... indexing has stalled from lack of enthusiasm ... it's too darned hot. I've said that before, haven't I?

As usual, I'm writing this gone midnight. I should get myself off to bed so that I can wake rested and refreshed and ready to join in the blog hop of the week ... that is over at Julia's place, the Stamping Ground  - haven't joined in with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday before, want to join in, just click the link.

Right, I'm keeping it brief so I'm off. See you. Happy WOYWW to you all.

Little Red Telephone

Evening Everyone.

Well, the electric storms came and went causing just a blip in television reception and, at the same time, refreshing this little corner of paradise. However, I can feel it getting muggy again and I think it's going to be another hot night. How are you all doing? Hope it's bearable where you are.

I have a wee card to share with you today. It's made from the leftovers from the anniversary card ... I was going to just clear my desk and add these scraps to the snippet mountain, but then I thought of Pixie Di, like you do, and sat down to make a snippet card for her Crafty Snippets Playground - Week 82 ... in this heat a dook in the duck pond would be lovely :)

Not much to it, the topper was created from snippets of kraft and white card - the white card stamped with the twinchie-sized telephone, coloured with ProMarkers and blinged up with a shiny red card candy, and then everything was layered together. The greeting stamp is an old, favourite, which seemed appropriate with the telephone.

Materials:

• white 4" square card base
• leftover scraps of kraft, brown and white cardstock
• Telephone Stamp from Inky Doodles (free with Aug 2013 Craft Stamper) 
• Hero Arts Hello greeting stamp
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad
• ProMarkers, Poppy Red, Ice Grey 1 & 5, Black
• a red mirror card candy

That's it for this evening, short and sweet. I've got the sewing machine out and I'm planning out another cushion cover - a present for my youngest sister's who has a birthday coming up.

Take care, keep cool, drink plenty of fluids and happy crafting,

The Best Thing to Hold on to ...

... in Life is Each Other.

This is the card I created especially for my husband for our anniversary this year ... and he liked it ... phew! That's a relief :) It's always difficult thinking of something suitable but not to 'fussy and flowery' as he puts it.

However, birds are always safe ... he looks after the birds that visit out garden, making sure there's food left out each day and topping up the water in the bird bath when it's low, and it has been getting very low during this heat wave.

To make the card I began by cutting brown, kraft and white card (all from Papermill Direct) to size to fit the deckle-edge card base. Then I stamped the white card using the two stamps from the Hero Arts Feather set.

Hopefully, you can see from this close up that I inked the stamps up with three shades of brown distress ink, Old Paper, Pumice Stone and Brushed Corduroy, just dabbing with the ink pads along the length of the stamps.

Next, I stamped, in Brushed Corduroy, another of the bird stamps from Caroline Stamps, this time the Chaffinch - one of our most regular garden visitors and a great favourite of ours. Then it was die-cut with a Spellbinders Nestability, Labels Nine. I inked around the edge of the die, firstly with Old Paper and then just a touch of Brown Corduroy. To finish the topper, I did the usual for the kraft layer, traced and cut around the same die. The brown layer was cut using the next size die up.

Once I had decided on where to place the completed bird topper, I then stamped the sentiment from Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy Only Words - Through the Rain ... chosen because it is one that the EM particularly likes ... in Momento Rich Cocoa. Of course, I had to use the stamp thingamajig to get it in just the right place. Oh, to be able to see grey/red rubber stamps!

You can just about see that there's another little greeting inside the card ... another of Sheena's sentiments, this time from the A Little Bit Sketchy Only Words - From the Heart set, stamped with the Rich Cocoa onto kraft card, edges inked with Brushed Corduroy and die-cut with Spellbinders Shapeabilities Die D-Lites Petite Labels One which was layered on to brown card - did the usual here to create a 'faux' Spellbinder shape. Not seen in the photo is a stamped and cut out heart layered onto the far corner of the sentiment

... just like this one on the back, also from the From the Heart stamp set.

We've had a wonderful anniversary weekend. Yesterday, we went for a drive up the coast towards Largs and stopped for a meal at out favourite Italian bistro which has a fabulous view looking over the Firth of Clyde to the Isle of Arran in the distance. Today, we took a trip to the steam railway at Dunaskin ... we've been there before but it's always worth another visit :)

The weather has been amazing - on Saturday the temperature reached 29.5C just up the road from here, at Prestwick ... that's scorchio plus, plus!!!

Today hasn't been much cooler :)

I hope you have all had an equally enjoyable weekend. I believe schools out for the summer for children in England so they can enjoy the fabulous weather at last. My grandchildren have been having fun in the sun for the last two weeks because school breaks up a week or two earlier in Scotland.

Needless to say, nothing much in the way of crafting has been done here but as the EM keeps telling me there will be plenty of time to craft when the summer is over :))

Take care, drink plenty fluids and try to keep cool,

Friday's Smiles ...

... on Saturday!

I know, I'm a day late. I did plan to write this up yesterday and post it but life sort of got in the way. Anyway, I'm here now and I have plenty to smile about.

Firstly, there's my husband, Alan, aka the EM. Today is our 17th wedding anniversary - and they said it wouldn't last :)) And today is as sunny as it was on the day we married too. We are off out for a celebratory meal later.

And then there are these photos taken a week ago when the family had a day out at the seaside.

This is my gorgeous great-granddaughter, Rhian, modelling her new swimsuit and caught after eating an ice cream :)

Her equally gorgeous little brother, Brodie, with me looking a bit concerned  ... he's teething a lot, hence the bib, and it's making him grizzle a lot, however he did manage a smile for his great-granddad :)

Then there was my two youngest grandchildren, Alun and Shari-Ann, jumping the waves and keeping cool and generally have a lot of fun.

And when Alun wasn't splashing in the sea, Rhian and her mum, big sister Jennifer, were burying him in sand ... he was happy enough until a jellyfish was discovered hidden under the sand near his head !!!

Shari-Ann and her mum, my daughter, Juli, having a moment together - at 10 years, she is almost as tall as her mother.

And boys will be boys ...  Alun and his dad, Graeme, couldn't resist fooling around in the sun.

And finally ...

... a family snap! It's not immediately obvious but there's four generations in this shot ... one to be treasured and scrapped :))

So there you are, a whole host of reasons for smiling this week. Don't you just love summer :))))))))

We're Having a Heat Wave ...

... and I've been making a Christmas Card.

I must be mad!

But not that mad ... I waited until the sun was down and it was cooler before venturing into the craft room. And why this desperate need to make a Christmas card, now in July, on what might prove to be the hottest day of the year? Well, I just did not want to miss Hazel's challenge, over at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge, again this week. I was off gallivanting last week and somehow never managed to make it then. This week, CHNC 133, the requirement is for a trees - at least one, which is all I've been able to come up with.

I chose to use the cut down front of a card received last year - the tree shape was already die-cut in the red card which was handy. The base is another of those fancy edged card bases that's been tucked away in a drawer all but forgotten for a year or so. They are nice, I just forget I have them!

Before the topper was attached to the card, I cut a scrap of smooth white cardstock to size and embossed it with my very new and lovely Lattice embossing folder to create an insert for the tree.

By Crafts-Too, this is the folder that is proving to be a very acceptable substitute for the much sought after, but now rarer than hen's teeth, Tied Together EF by Couture Creations. I have to thank Pixie Di, she who keeps order in the Crafty Snippets Playground, for letting us know that this little beauty was available at MaddyLisa Crafts  - check out her post here for more info.

A snippet of green card was placed behind the 'pot' the tree is 'standing' in. The finishing touches were tiny green and, even tinier, red gems, from Anita's gem wheels, for the tree, pearl stars in the corners and a pearl bow on the pot.

There is a 'Christmas Wishes' greeting inside - unfortunately, this proved difficult to photograph.

As well as submitting this to CHNC 133, I'd also like to submit it to Hazel's monthly challenge - Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for July - where, as always, anything goes.

And as I was able to incorporate a couple of snippets, the white card for the embossed insert for the tree and the green card for the 'pot', I'll be popping over to Pixies Crafty Snippets Playground - Week 81. A little birdie told me that Miss Di is needing a helping hand in the playground ... something about there being anarchy in the tree house!!!

Right, I'd better hurry to finish ... there's a moth threatening my life here ... absolutely hate the way they flutter around ... gotta go!

Take care and happy crafting,