Stars and Stripes

We made it safely on the first leg of our trip... an overnighter, 479 nautical miles from Imperia, Italy to Vibo marina in Italy (we are now just about on top of the arch of the foot of the boot - if that makes sense).  It was a very calm and uneventful trip with almost flat calm conditions... amazing!  We have refuelled, will get some rest, and tomorrow we will travel to the island of Kephalonia in Greece.  Once we get to Greece we probably won't have internet for a little while unfortunately, so no more posting from me (except Thursday's scheduled new release post!).

Today I have a card to share that I made on the weekend for the Simon Says Stamp stars and stripes challenge.  I have used Monster Mission from Little Miss Muffet stamps and I got the boys (the crew) to help choose his colours : )

The papers are from October Afternoon and the sentiment stamp is a new one to me from Maya Road.  I have coloured Monster Mission with copics (see details below) and added Stickles to the flame of the rocket and Glossy Accents to the red highlights on the rocket.  I have also added the obligatory googly eyes to the poor wee monster.

Here are the copics I used:

Now I'm off to have a nap... We did 4 hours on, 4 hours off watches yesterday and last night, and we didn't get much sleep in our 4 hours off (we have a rather noisy boat), so we are all pretty tired.

Happy Tuesday!

Arabella Chickie in Vibo Marina, Italy

Colouring Yellow

I coloured up this little bear from Lili of the Valley on the weekend and tried to use mostly yellow copics on the image for Challenge 50 at Copic Creations.    I must say I do love to stamp with LOTV images as the quality of the stamps is so good they stamp perfectly every time and the images are just gorgeous!

Not too hard a challenge as I tend to use some version of yellow in virtually all my colouring be it yellow/red, yellow/green or pure yellow.  I wrote happy birthday on the letter with a copic multiliner and added Stickles to the butterflies and Glossy Accents to the centre of the flower.

The papers are from October Afternoon and the ribbon is from my stash (actually I stole it from my hubby's birthday present wrapping).

Here are the copics I used:

Happy Monday!  We are minutes away from departing Italy for Greece at present.  Just waiting to cast off.  Great weather today, so we are expecting a very smooth trip for once.  Yay!

Ciao!

Arabella Chickie in Oneglia, Italy

Did u phail slpeling?

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod

aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was

rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor

of the hmuan mnid.

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at

Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't

mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in

a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt

tihng is taht the frist and lsat

ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and

you can sitll raed it wouthit a

porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the

huamn mnid deos not raed ervey

lteter by istlef, but the wrod

as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas

thought slpeling was ipmorantt.

A little travel bug #1. Imperia Oneglia - Italy

In light of the lack of card-making I have been doing, away from my little house in Lavrio for three whole months...(now home, and loving it), I have decided to share some of the most beautiful places with you that I have been most fortunate to see recently.

  I am the luckiest girl, and now am thrilled to be able to show our little chick all sorts of exotic parts of the world, from down at his level.

The small streets of Imperia

We reason that these Italians likely don't crave space as they've only ever known this lovely intimate living.  As Australian and African, my chicco and I, we love the sweep of green hills, the shade of towering trees and lots of space...

The height of the Paraiso in Imperia is quite remarkable, accessed by walking up the steep hills in a maze of glimpsed views, or taken more quickly by glass elevators which extend from the marina to the Cathedral of San Maurizio at the top.  Some of the homes in this remarkable part of Imperia are crumbling. 

The primary lift (Ascensore ) from the Marina Porto Maurizio 

San Maurizio Cathedral.

Many, many bells.....at all sorts of random times. One can imagine the Italians all know exactly what they mean and what they are being called to celebrate.

This walkway was deserted and the sun low in the sky in the afternoon when we walked here.  I could imagine the nuns or monks, dark habits whispering about their hidden legs,  through these coridoors of the Santa Chiara Convent atop the Paraiso.

What a beautiful place.  The people are what have made it so special, from being welcomed into the home of new friends and sharing a feast of food and wine, to an invitation into the home of a stranger for an aperitif of Pastis, simply because we shared the lift en route our little apartment.  

We look forward to returning here sometime soon, with wide smiles.

Bookie Bird in Lavrio, Greece.

Hello, I'm back!

Hello, hello!  I'm back with my second post today... I'm busy card making, watching TV and eating... bliss!  The boys are busy doing manly stuff watching the Grand Prix in Monaco.  I hope they remembered to take their earplugs!

This card is a late entry into the Pollycraft Monday challenge which is an embellishment bingo challenge.  My three embellies are: lace, buttons and flowers...  As I was making this card, I didn't think I was going to like the final product, but as it catches my eye on the shelf just now, I think I do quite like it.

This image is a digi called Cherry Kisses Frames - Daisy Chain from Pollycraft.  The sentiment is a stamp also from Pollycraft.  The papers are from Crate Paper and Echo Park and the lace is from The Ribbon Girl.  The flowers are from Prima and the buttons are from my stash.  Cherry Kisses is coloured with copics (see details below) and I have used Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass around the inside of the frame.

Here are the copics I used:

Happy Sunday! 

Arabella Chickie in Imperia, Italy

Manly men

Yay it's the weekend!  This will probably be the last weekend I have free to craft in a while, so I am making the most of it and getting lots of cards made!  We head to Greece tomorrow to start our summer season with the guests.  As lovely as Italy is, we are actually really looking forward to getting back to Greece and (hopefully) our little apartment.  Living out of a suitcase gets old pretty quickly.

Here's a card I made for the Manly Men challenge at Tiddly Inks this week and also for the Charisma Cardz Challenge (Boy Oh Boy):

This is Nerdy Bot.  I think he looks like a very manly bot!  The papers I used are from Crate Paper and My Mind's Eye and the seam binding is from The Ribbon Girl.  The buttons were a crafty gift from Bookie Bird (thanks BB!).  The sentiment sticker is from SRM stickers.   I coloured Nerdy Bot with copics (see details below).

Here are the copics I used:

Arabella Chickie in Imperia, Italy

It's challenge day at Little Miss Muffet stamps!

Good day folks!  This is going to be a quick one... I will come back later and update it!  There is a new two week challenge starting today at Little Miss Muffet stamps!  The challenge this fortnight is to add metal embellishments to your project.  I chose to use Cocoa again (I think she must be a favourite) and kept my card pretty simple.

Here she is:

I think Cocoa really suits red toned colours for some reason!  The papers are from Crate Paper and someone else and the ribbon is from my stash.  I cut the panel behind Cocoa with Spellbinders Nesties on the Cuttlebug.  The metal butterfly embellishment is from my local craft shop in NZ.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafting for All Seasons - Anything goes
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes

I coloured Cocoa with copics:

Do pop over to the Little Miss Muffet Challenge blog to get some inspiration for this weeks challenge from the rest of the design team!  We would love to have you join in!

Arabella Chickie in Antibes, France.

Winter winds

I am still in Antibes fighting pretend fires, although it is so stinking hot here, I'm surprised we are allowed to!  The fire fighting is quite fun really, just bad timing for me as we leave Italy on Monday to head back to Greece and start our first guest trip of the season and I am trying to provision the boat from a distance!  

I have a card I made a month or so ago to show you today (I have a whole stash up my sleeve ready to post for when I am too busy to craft!).  This one is using Winter Winds from Little Miss Muffet stamps...

The papers are a mixture of October Afternoon and Crate Paper.  The ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl and the charm is from Telfords Direct.  I have coloured the Winter Winds girl with copics (see details below) and added pearls to the flower on her hat.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Lexi's Creations - Spots and or stripes

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Paper Playtime - Anything Goes and add a charm

Woodware USA - Anything Goes

And speaking of challenges, you only have one more day to get your challenge in to the tags or banners challenge collection at Little Miss Muffet challenges!   You could win two digis of your choice from the shop!

Here are the copics I used for Winter Winds:

Happy Tuesday!

Arabella Chickie in Antibes, France

Sparkles!

I had a few things to do yesterday, so unfortunately I couldn't spend the whole day in front of the TV watching NCIS and Babylon 5 and crafting, but I did make a couple of cards.  This one is for the Sparkle and Shine challenge at Simon Says Stamp and I used another of the gorgeous Emerald Faeries so it also fits nicely into the Magical World challenge at Sir Stampalot this month and as a second entry into the first Emerald Faeries challenge!

The image (Ally) is coloured with copics (see details below) and I have added Stickles to her wings and to the flower.  I have then added Glossy Accents over the Stickles on her wings so the glitter doesn't shed and also to the ladybug.

The papers are from Crate Paper and October Afternoon.  The label sticker is from Crate Paper and I have used Doodlebug rub ons for the sentiment.  The ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl.

Here is a close up of Ally:

I have really been struggling with the lighting for photos on the boat... One would think that with all that white space the photos would come out beautifully lit, but no... sadly they always seem to be in shadow from somewhere.  Oh well, soon enough we will be back in Greece and back in our little apartment and I can get my photos back to normal!

Here are the copics I used:

Fire fighting went well today...  we tested our breathing apparatus and did some searches in the fire fighting area in the dark.  Summer has definitely arrived here in the South of France though... it was sooo hot!

Happy Monday!

Arabella Chickie in Antibes, France

Attitude of Gratitude # 14

Gosh, it's hard to believe that I've written so many of these things!!!

This is just a quick post 'cos I'm waiting on my littlest chickadee to arrive for a few hours of 'quality time' with Granny.

Which is why I'm grateful!  How wonderful is it that my daughter (New Mum Chick) and her man entrust me with the safe keeping of their greatest treasure?  It's not something I ever take for granted.

It's such an honour and a such a huge privilege to be able to 'baby-sit' at least one of my grand-children on a fairly regular basis.  I do get to spend time with our other two chickadees, but as they live in England it's something of a rarity... which is a great regret to both my man and I.  That said, when we do get to spend time with them it's as though we've never been apart.

Our grandson (we only have the one as yet) turned 2 yesterday!  I was there the day he was born and got to hold him in my arms when he was only just very newly hatched (about 2 hours old).  Such a wonderful treat... we had to wait for 2 1/2 mths to hold his sister for the first time. 

So, if you're a grandparent and you get to spend time with your grandchildren on a regular basis I hope you don't take that time for granted.  I'm constantly astounded at the 'moaning' of some of my friends when they're asked to baby-sit.  Hey girls, don't you realise that this time will all too soon be gone and you'll NEVER be able to have it back again?

So, make the most of your time with your grand-children (and your children!)...  it's a gift, not a right.  Our littlies are only ever loaned to us... here's NMC driving up the drive now.

Ciao

April Blackbird

A little Princess...

There is a colour challenge going on at Tiddly Inks at the moment that is certainly challenging!  I took one look at it and thought... hhhmmm not too sure about those colours, but I decided to play along anyway.  Since I had a bit of time this morning, I had a quick look around and decided to combine three challenges:

Tiddly Inks - Photo inspiration
Mad for Markers - Copic coloured embellishments
Charisma Cardz Challenge #20- Birthdays in Pink

Here is the inspiration photo from Tiddly Inks:

And here is my card:

This is a little bit pinker and frillier than my usual cards, but you have try new things every now and then!  The image is Everyday Princess from Tiddly Inks and it is coloured with copics (see details below).  The papers are from Crate Paper and My Mind's Eye.  

I coloured the roses and leaves on the doily (purchased at the Carrefour in Antibes) with copics (see below) and I coloured the cream seam binding with R20 to match the skirt.

Here are the copics I used for the image:

Happy Sunday!  I'm off to Antibes tomorrow to do my fire fighting course... wish me fun!

Arabella Chickie in Imperia, Italy

Another baby card!

BB and I spent a very long day driving to France and back and provisioning the boat yesterday... I don't know about her, but I am totally exhausted and I still have to put most of the groceries away!

Anyway, on to my card... I think I mentioned a while ago that when I was home on holiday my friend needed some baby cards as heaps of her friends are having babies at the moment.  Here's another one I made for her:

I love this image by Mo Manning.  It's called Sumpin's Wrong and can be purchased here.  The image is coloured with copics (see details below) and cut out with Spellbinders Nesties on the Cuttlebug.  I inked the background while the image was still in the die.  The papers are from October Afternoon and the ribbon is from my stash.  The sentiment letter stickers are by Fynmark (purchased at my local craft store while I was home in NZ).

Here's a closeup:

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cardmadfairy's Digi Days Challenge: For the Boys

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #83: Anything Goes

Joyful Stamper - Inspire me Fridays - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiments Designs - Children's Cards

Here are the copics I used (not that many for once):

Happy Saturday!

Arabella Chickie in Imperia, Italy