Dance Like No-one's Watching

The house challenge for this month on UKS was a one word challenge 'JOY'.

I decided to use these photographs of my niece Milly and my Mum dancing at the end of Milly's 21st horror themed party.  By this time of the night they had discarded their wigs and other bits of their outfits - they had started the night as The Corpse Bride and Morticia.

I used Bella Blvd 'Too Cute to Spook'

The title is a Sizzlet alpha 'Tina Thinks You're Cute' - I had to paint over part of the patterned paper with white acrylic paint as at first the letters got lost in the paper.  The spiders were cut on the BigShot with a Sizzix die - thank you Lisa  for the loan of the die.  I then covered them with glossy accents to make them shiny

Easter cards

This week's challenge at Penny Black Saturday Challenge is Easter cards, the Springtime challenge on Penny Black and more @ Allsorts also continues for a couple more days.

This is one of my favourite stamps from T for transparent set Garden Friends and I have never used it for Easter cards before.

The image was coloured with Promarkers and the sentiment stamp is by Stamps Away.  The patterned paper is K&Co.

I also made this card using another stamp from the same Penny Black set.

Last week's 52 weeks card challenge was to make an Easter card so both of these cards are suitable for that.

More Quick & Easy cards

Week 10 of the 52 card challenge was to make a flat card - for a little while I was struggling with an idea of what to make and then I remembered my quick and easy cards where I stamp directly onto the cardstock.  So whilst making one, I rustled up three!!

The stamp is from a Penny Black T for transparent set 'Bubbly' and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.

A close up of the stamped image which I coloured with promarkers and then added glossy accents to the ladybird

Formal Night - Anita's March Class

I absolutely adore the class that we did this month with Anita.  Sadly Anita has not put the original on her blog yet so I can't link to it.

I have never really used Liquid Pearls on a layout before so it was fun having a go with them - I didn't do too badly just a couple of smudgy ones LOL!!  Anita had photocopied a crystal swirl and we used that as a template to prick out the swirl pattern - I will have to remember in future to scan my swirls before using them.

The photographs are from the cruise my dear niece Milly did with her grandparents last year to celebrate her 21st birthday and if you are reading this Milly, sorry this one is going in my album but I will do something similar for your album!!

The flowers were cut on the Bigshot using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, the papers are a mixture of American Crafts 'Classics' and WRMK 'Tres Elegant'.  The class didn't come with an alphabet so I used AC Thickers Sunrise plain chipboard, coloured them with a Turquoise Promarker and then covered with Lagoon Stickles.

Thank you Anita for yet another lovely class x

A couple of cards

The week 7 for the 52 card challenge was to use cool pastels and off-white greys so I made this card from the leftovers of a class kit.  The papers are all Webster's Pages

The butterfly punch is Stampin' Up and so is the sentiment stamp and fancy label punch.

Our neighbour celebrated her 100th birthday recently, sadly she is not at home at present as she broke her hip last year but the nursing home she is in did a big party for her and I was able to attend with some of the other neighbours.  This is the card that I made for her.

Lots of new stash christened for this card - the stamp is a Penny Black one that I got to make my Easter cards with this year.  The mat is a new nestability being used for the first time and the flowers are some dies that I bought in Holland last year.

A close up of the stamped image which is coloured with Promarkers

A Country Girl at Heart

The weekly challenge a couple of weeks ago on UKS was to use this sketch

I found this photo taken when I was about sixteen on the farm that my grandparents lived and worked on for most of their lives.  I still miss going there and seeing the photo has reminded me how much I hate living in a town, where people all live virtually on top of each other and there is little open space.

The other criteria for the challenge was to use five different papers and to use distressing.  The papers I used were all leftovers from a class at last year's Sarah's Cards retreat - My Mind's Eye 'Fine & Dandy'.  I punched the butterflies with an EK Success punch and then coloured the pearls orange with a Promarker.

Happy Mothers Day

Here is the card that I have made for Mum

The paper is K&Co and the card blank came from a Kanban set from QVC eons ago.  The octagons were cut with Spellbinders and the sentiments are HOTP and Hobby Art.

The bunnies are Penny Black and come from this stamp, I stamped the whole image and just cut out the ones that I wanted for the card.

 I coloured them with Promarkers

This month's challenge at Penny Black and More @ Allsorts is Springtime so this is my second entry into that challenge.  This week's challenge at Penny Black Saturday Challenge is an Anything Goes challenge so I am entering this card into that challenge too.

I am also giving Mum one of my memory wire bracelets, she saw them whilst I was making them and commented that a purple one would be nice for her birthday LOL - well as that is not till August I thought I would give her the bracelet now.

Up up and away

The challenge this week at Penny Black Saturday Challenge is The Young Ones - make a card for a child.

I love this fab image of a fat cat flying through the air on balloons, it is from T for transparent set - Hello Friend

I think the yellow cloud paper is by Pebbles - not sure as it is from my scrap box. 

I added glossy accents to the balloons to make them lovely and shiny and cut out two solid clouds to stamp the sentiments on. 

A Spring birthday card

The challenge for March on Penny Black and more@ Allsorts is Springtime.

I think this birthday card fits the criteria for that challenge - I actually bought this stamp to use on Easter cards but so far it has found its way onto birthday cards instead.

The patterned paper is a Christmas one from Crafts Creations and the mat was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  The flowers were punched with two EK Success punches and shaped with Leonne Em floral punchcraft tools.  The leaves are a Woodware punch. 

The image was coloured with Promarkers

A new crafting addiction

Since I made this bracelet for February's Monthly Make I have become addicted to making memory wire bracelets.  In the last week I have made all of these

I am very tempted to keep them all for myself

But I will be good

And just keep two for me

And the rest will be for the two fundraisers that I do later in the year to raise funds for Children with Cancer Fund

10 Things on the 10th

Every month I say I am going to join in with Shimelle's 10 things on the 10th and every month I forget - it is always seeing Julia's blog post that reminds me that I have forgotten yet again.  I hope she doesn't mind but I am going to kick off my very first 10 things with the subject that she used in February - 10 events to look forward to in 2012

Sarah's Cards retreat in Warrington in March

Cardinal Colours weekend crop at the end of March

Taking my parents to Nijmegan (The Netherlands) to see our Dutch friends - this will be an emotional visit as my parents have not seen Mr and Mrs Jansen for almost 30 years (I know I spent most of the time crying when I saw them last March for the first time since 1977)

Pendragon at the Assembly, Leamington Spa in May

 A weekend in the North East in July and hopefully getting to crop with some of the Frozen North scrapbookers from UKS.

A five day pamper break at Champney Springs with two of my bestest friends in August

Going to Cardiff to see Marillion (September)

Another Cardinal Colours weekend crop in September - this time over in Hastings

Fish convention at the Assembly, Leamington Spa in October

A Christmas and New Year cruise down to The Canaries and Madeira on Fred Olsen's Boudicca

So a pretty eventful year to look forward to! 

You can find more 10 things on the 10th at Shimelle's blog

The 2nd Annual Twilight Addicts Retreat

Last weekend was spent in a beautiful converted barn Meadow Barn in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside near Monmouth, with ten craft mad ladies and two gentlemen.

Last year we went to The Cotswolds but we were split between three cottages and had hardly any room to all craft together - Meadow Barn was so much better as we were able to spread out on long tables and have a die cutting station for all the machines and many dies that people brought with them.

Richard who stayed with us was hoping to do some walking over the weekend but as the weather wasn't that great he did computing work up on the mezzanine floor that overlooks the dining room and kitchen.

We managed to get outside on the Saturday afternoon for some group photographs - good job we did as the weather was dire on the Sunday.

And one last group shot on the Sunday morning before some people had to leave

Jess brought Vern with her as he loves a crafting weekend and this time he brought his friend Rodger the monkey to join in all the fun

It wasn't long before they were pinching all our crafty stash!!

And as always they wanted their photographs taken with everyone

Thank you Lisa, Heather, Ali, Tara, Jules, Fiona, Carin, Lee, Jess, Alun and Richard for a fab weekend - same time next year????

(Also thankyou Tara, Jess and Lee for taking so many lovely photographs of the weekend)