Wednesday 30 December 2015

Stitching and more stitching :D

Hi there,

I wanted to show you the recent cards I made for a couple of members in my Round Robin group. The idea was to make a cross stitched Christmas card that could be used as a decoration, with the theme of Christmas Zoo. So here are the two I made:

I made them both into hanging decorations as you can see, and made the cards using patterned papers and a few Christmas embellishments only. They took just over 9 hours to complete the pair.
I would like to enter them for the following challenges:
LOC Anything Goes
catch the bug Penguin parade (ok second card)
ABC Christmas Z for Zoo
my time to craft #311 Last minute Christmas

I have also got updates for both of my large cross stitch designs:

Height chart @ 39 hours

Fish tank @ 115 hours 20
Thank you for looking,
Hugz Tinz

Sunday 27 December 2015

Christmas Index

H everybody,

Hope you all had a good Christmas? I am back with my first Christmas card ironically enough lol.
I wanted to create a Christmas scene, without using too many Christmas elements. The images were off a CDRom that came with Cardmaking with your PC 25 I think. The image of the girl on the swing was coloured with promarkers before adding to the tree. Two bells were added to the bottom of the swing and a Christmas hat to the top to make the card more festive in appearance. I also added tinsel and baubles to the tree using papermania metallic and glitter markers. A quick CAS card, which certainly cannot be classified as 'Traditional' lol.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:
CASology 178 Merry
PFP 326 Let's Celebrate
mod squad Anything Goes
cute card thursday 405 Anything Goes
craftyhazelnut Anything Goes
glitter n sparkle #168 Glittery, sparkly Christmas
abc Challenge X-Xtreme (bright colours)
my time to craft #311 Last minute Christmas makes
Stamping Boutique Anything Goes
creative card crew 103 Anything Goes
scrapbook stamp society #81 Christmas
country view #34 Create a scene
vs sweet ideas #41 Non-traditional Christmas colours

I also have a book review:
The Fear Index by Robert Harris
A story about developing computers to allow them to use their own initiative without having to be given explicit instructions. When Alex, the president of a very successful hedge fund using his own technology to manage investment trade, is attacked at his high security home, by somebody who has the security codes things start to take a downward slide. He has to find out who is impersonating him, somebody who knows his closest secrets, and why. He also has to stop them before major damage occurs.
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat, and it is quite believable that machines could develop in the way the story implies, if given the right programming initially. It plays on your own fears of artificial intelligence as well as the much more common occurrences of identity theft and fraud. Well written and fast-paced, but the ending could have had a little more information. The story is left quite open. A good overall read.

Thank you for looking
Hugz Tinz

Monday 21 December 2015

Blind Snow

Hi there,

Sorry it has been a while since I posted. It has been a very busy week with birthdays and visiting people, so I have spent very little time at my computer. However, I have made this snow themed card this evening:

I got these butterflies about a year ago and have not had any inspiration to use them.However for this card I followed the Atlantic Hearts Sketch #139 , and used a snowflake glitter vellum for the centre panel. I then inked two felt snowflakes using pretty colour ink pens in purple and blue. I also added some glitter using papermania glitter pens in purple and blue. Leaves were added, with more glitter, to make the snowflakes into flowers.The butterfly was added to the centre, with the wings folded up to give a 3D effect. Finally snowflakes were punched from silver paper and added as accents to finish. I think this has a real wintry feel with the colours and the sparkle!


I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Live and Love Crafts  #42 Sparkle
crafty calendar Let it snow
inkspirational #98 Bah Humbug (not a Christmas card)
alphabet challenge V for Vintage
CCM #154 Snow
SOS #231 Let it snow
modsquad Anything but Christmas
allsorts 342/3 Anything But Christmas

Audiobook review
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
This story is written from the point of view of the main character, Iris, when she is an elderly woman, looking back on her life. The story is based around events that led up to her sister Laura’s untimely death. The girls are brought up by their well-off businessman father, who owns several factories in Canada, but the depression after the first world war causes trouble, and leads to Iris being asked t marry Richard to save the factories. Ultimately Richard and his sister betray all that they have promised, and Iris is writing it all down so her granddaughter can finally know the truth about her family and her real father.
The Blind Assassin part of the book is a story within the story, and is one that Alex, who has won both girls hearts, tells to his mysterious lover, and which is then published in Laura’s name by Iris, several years after Laura has committed suicide.
Parts of the story are interesting, and the inner story is very intriguing, but it does tend to meander through certain parts of the story. Also the description on the back of the book made me think they were looking into Laura’s death in the story, which obviously was not the case. However, most of the story keeps you interested, and so is good to listen to.

Thank you for looking
Hugz Tinz

Saturday 12 December 2015

Unusual colours for Christmas

Hi there,

I have been making more Christmas cards. First up is a purple Santa card:
I used a papermania cling stamp for the image, and coloured with Promarkes. The base is just a cheap patterned card base, with a blue Christmas paper across the middle, and the sentiment came free about three years ago with a Christmas magazine.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
The Challenge - APWP Sketch

i love promarkers #298 Anything Goes
crafting by designs Here come the holidays
CRAFT 341 Christmas
crafty hazelnuts christmas 259 Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Christmas presents (in Santas sack!)
Artistic Inspirations #146 Christmas
scrapbook stamp society #81 Christmas
creative card crew 102 Holiday season
deep ocean #118 Santa Claus is coming to town
ABC Christmas Y for Youngsters (colour scheme)
Hanna and friends #237 christmas in unusual colours
jingle belles Christmas
addicted to stamps #115 Christmas
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' Father Christmas
Card Mania #75 Christmas

Thank you for looking - some Cross Stitched projects coming soon!

Hugz Tinz

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Planted kitty

Hi there,

I have made a card using one of my cross stitches that I made up earlier in the year, of a little kitty in a plant pot. I just added the stitched design behind a pre-printed aperture card.
I hope you like this cutie as much as I do :)
I would like to enter him for the following challenges:
SOS #230 UFO's - stitching and base card
papertake weekly FUN FUN FUN
glitter n sparkle #166 Anything Goes

Here is an update on my fish tank @ 114hrs 10.
Thank you for looking - up next - Christmas lol.

Thanks for looking,
Hugz Tinz

Monday 7 December 2015

Wyrd Elephant

Hi there,

Here is my second creation for the week of Chaos over at Catch the Bug, which was a sketch:

And here is my card:
I covered a plain white base card with a pearlescent holly paper from Papermania. I then used glitter strips to add the definition to the base. The doily-like die-cut came with an ATC and I stamped the elephant image (which is a Crafter's Companion image) and holly onto plain white card using Papermania metallic markers, which actually worked quite well. I then coloured them using promarkers - metallic red gold, cool grey 2&3, Plum Preserve, Antique Pink, Mint Green and Poppy. Finally the sentiment was stamped using the purple matallic Papermania pen and purple glitter, and a deep purple bow added to finish.

I would also like to enter this card for these challenges:
PFP325 Christmas Tree
Winter Wonderland Holly/Ivy
Crafty Hazelnuts 258 Time to decorate
C4C315 Oh Christmas Tree
artistic inspirations #146 Christmas
CCM #153 'Twas the night before Christmas (Not a creature was stirring)
scrapbook stamp society #81 Christmas
Third place
jingle belles Christmas
my time to craft #310 Christmas Animals
addicted to stamps #115 Christmas
card mania #75 Christmas

Audio Book Review

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Prachett
This is a story about Witches and Kings. If you know these books then this story is based around the three witches – Magrat, Nanny Og and Granny Weatherwax (not sure if these are spelt correctly lol). When the King of Lancrah is murdered, the witches help to spirit his baby son away from the castle and keep him safe. They will not meddle in the affairs of kings however, until the kingdom lets it be known that it is not happy with the current ruler and wants the crown to change hands. Then the witches must use some inventive magic to bring the rightful heir to the thrown back, to claim his crown.

I cannot read the Discworld novels but find them to be very entertaining in audio book form. It is the style of writing that stops me from becoming engrossed in the story, but this is bypassed when somebody else is reading. This was a very amusing book that turns many ideas about witchcraft and kings on their heads.

Thank you for looking,
Hugz Tinz

Saturday 5 December 2015

Here comes Santa Claus

Hi there,

I noticed that Catch the Bug have their week of chaos again this year, and while I never have enough time to do an entry for each day, I thought I would at least try to do today's and tomorrows themed cards. So here is today's card:


I received this image of Santa with one of the ATC's from the group I am in. I decided this was a perfect image for a Santa Claus is coming to town theme. I layered him onto gold mirri card and some poinsettia patterned paper, that were die-cut with X-cut nesting dies -large ornate frames. I also followed the rule of thirds for this card - as the technique in focus over at Crafting Techniques - by placing the image in the top third of the card, and the sentiment in the bottom and left third. The image is also compiled according to the rule of thirds.
The sentiment is three peel-off's stuck onto a circle die-cut from the poinsettia paper, and three red diamantes were added to finish the card.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Card Mania #75 Christmas
polkadoodle Traditional Christmas
jingle belles Happy, Happy Holidays (not actually a challenge this time)
Deep Ocean #118 Santa Claus is coming to town
Artistic Inspirations #146 Christmas
Catch the Bug Here comes Santa Claus
Suzy Bee #109 An outdoor scene
Creative Corner Challenges Sparkle and Shine
allsorts 340 CAS
Thank you for looking,
Hugz Tinz

Thursday 3 December 2015

The Last Creature

Good evening,

As promised here are a couple of new - non-card - creations and an update on my height chart cross stitch.

Firstly here is my amigarumi bluebird:
This is my first crochet animal and I am very pleased how he has turned out! I would have preferred black eyes, but these were all the local wool shop had. I would like to add this little guy into the crafting by designs Anything Goes December challenge.

Next is the completed cross stitch for November - a leaf sweeping doggie:
This little guy will be made into a card at some point.

And here is the Dino update at 25 hours

I tried a Western story from the library this time - as an actual paperback book - and here is my review:
The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson
This is a western, which is not my usual genre. The storyline is about a dying man who left Western ways to join with the Indians, but now as he is nearing his time of death, he has gone back home to his daughter, to try to explain and die with a clear conscience. Unfortunately his daughter wants nothing to do with him. That is until her oldest daughter gets kidnapped by some Apache Indians, and it seems that this old man is the only one who is able to track them successfully.

This was a very good book, which looks at a lot of different problems that can arise between people, because of culture, religion and belief. The twists and turns of the story keep you guessing, and the author really allows you to get to know the main characters, while keeping the kidnappers at a distance, ensuring that they are seen as completely bad throughout the story, while others go from a bad to a good perspective. If you like Western style adventure stories then this is a good one.

Thank you for looking,

Hugz Tinz

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Vintage Winter Birthday - PLUS great news!

Hi there,

It is the beginning of December (just in case you had not figured that out for yourselves), and I have a new challenge and a new technique in focus over on facebook. I have made a card that incorporates both the challenge and the technique. So here is my card:


There are two pictures because I couldn't get the picture steady without the flash, but you cannot see the butterfly properly with the flash. The image was found on google and can be found here - http://freevintagedigistamps.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/free-digital-stamp-umbrella-hat-lady.html. I coloured the image with Promarkers - Polar Blue, Winter Berry and Icicle from the Winter Ltd Ed. and Cobalt Blue, Fuschia Pink, Arctic Blue, Pale Pink, Primrose and Lemon from Set 2. I used these colours to give a vintage, winter feel to the summery image. I then added peel-off's from the me-to-you range for the snowflakes on the image, and from my general stash for the sentiment and butterfly.

The Technique in Focus that this card uses is - THE RULE OF THIRDS. Please find more details at crafting techniques.

The challenge at Monthly Themes for Crafting is an inspiration photo this month:
I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges:
addicted to stamps #114 Anything Goes
alphabet challenge U-Under the weather
digi chooseday Winter Birthday
creative card crew 101 Cold Outside
CRAFT 339 Winter
LOC #106 Nothing square (image is rectangular)


GREAT NEWS
I have been accepted to become a DT member over at Creative Moments. This will be my first actual DT position and I am really looking forward to it :)

I will post later in the week with stitching updates and my finished Amigarumi bluebird - watch this space lol.

Hugz Tinz

Saturday 28 November 2015

Scandi-style.

Here is my second Christmas card for the weekend. I went for sparkly scandinavian style on this one:
I used a backing paper from a paper pad, which was scandi-style, and added a glitter ribbon on the side. I cut a frame using a Sizzix die and left-over red mirri card. The reindeer was a free gift with Simply Cards and Papercraft 141, and was die-cut from cream glitter card that cam from the centre of a previous die-cut. I tried using self-adhesive backing sheets, but then had to cut the adhesive with a scalpel blade to keep it neat, so I think I need to get some of the official sheets (or just some of the self-adhesive glitter sheets that have just come out). I added white pearls and a red/white glitter papermania sentiment to finish.
I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:
Always Playing with Paper #52 Make a Christmas card
SOS #229 No Stamping
craftingbydesigns Christmas
creative corner Glitz and Glam
winter wonderland Sparkle and Bling
suzy bee #108 Use a die
deep ocean #117 White and one other colour (red)
creative moments 82 Bling it up
jingle belles Christmas leftovers
polkadoodle White and one other (red)
quirky crafts #24 It's nearly Quirky Christmas

I also thought you may wish to see an update of my fish - at over 112 hours now:

Thank you for looking.
Hugz Tinz

Friday 27 November 2015

Violet Baubles

Back from Centre Parcs now and I have been busy making some Christmas cards. Unfortunately the holiday was not as relaxing as expected - always the case with family holidays though I think. I took some cross stitcing with mme, expecting to have more time to do some than I usually do during the week, and actually only did about half as much as I would normally do instead! Needless to say I probably need another holiday from work, just to get my crafting done, never mind to catch up on sleep.

However, here is the first of my Christmas cards (the second I will put into a separate post):
I used a Tim Holtz edging die that I have had for quite a while (it was one of the first dies I got from my OH when my parents bought me the Big Shot for Christmas), and a bauble die that was free with Simply Cards and Papercraft 129. I cut these dies from one of last years received Christmas cards. I then cut a background for the bauble using leftover gold mirri card and a Nellie nesting die. To finish I coloured some mosiac tiles with a purple papermania glitter pen (as they were pink to start) and added an accent line alongside.

This card is being entered for the following challenges:
abc challenge V for Violet
Quirky Crafts #24 It's nearly quirky Christmas
jingle belles Christmas leftovers (recycled card and gold mirri)
the card concept #44 Festive Glory
abc christmass X for 4x4
Th Challenge #52 Christmas card

SOS #229 No Stamping
papertake weekly Take your pick - product - bauble
craftingbydesigns Christmas
Winter wonderland Add some sparkle and bling
crafty calender Sparkle, Bling and embellish


I also thought I would share a picture of my little girl playing on her new rope ladder.

Thank you for looking.

Hugz Tinz

Sunday 22 November 2015

Starry 1222

It has been another cold day today, although I think I have managed to sort out the heating for the main rooms now. And I am going on holiday tomorrow yippee!!

I have made a OL card and an ATC collection today. I am not sure how to split my post into two, so please be aware that the two different designs are for two different sets of challenges. Firstly, here is my simple thank you card (I am not sure I like it myself).

I used a cling stamp from papermania for the button strip, and stamps from my stash for the sentiment and corner. The sentiment and corner were heat embossed, although it is difficult to see this from the photo. Finally a little lilac bow was added to finish the card and add a little pop of colour.

I made this card for the following challenges:
LOC #105 Use a sentiment
SOS #228 Thanks
simonsaysstamp monday Thanks
audsentiments 145 Anything Goes
OLS #22 A multitude of gratitude

ATC Christmas Starry Night Collection
Here is my Starry Night ATC collection, which means I now have nine ATC's ready to go next month. Now just to make a start on my cross stitched decorations exchange!

ATC #1
This first ATC was based around the Sketch from Sketchy Colours
 Sketch #259
I used a Helz Cuppleditch paper, a foam snowflake from my stash, as well as some Santa boots (no idea where these came from) and a pre-coloured Angelica and Adam image of fairy Angelica sitting on a stack of presents. The sentiment was hand-written (in case you couldn't tell).

ATC #2
This card has the patterned paper as the main background, with the snowflake in the same position, but a different shape for the image. Again the sentiment was handwritten using silver gel pen on Kraft card.

These first two cards from the collection are to be entered into the CRAFT 338 Christmas Present Challenge. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to incorporate a present into the last one due to the style. I suppose I could have replaced the snowflake at the bottom, but I do not have a present stamp that would have fit into the space nicely. These two are also for the Crafty Hazelnut Things with Wings challenge (fairy sitting on presents).

ATC #3
Again the background is dominated by the starry paper. This time I stamped a sentiment and some snowflakes onto the background and heat embossed. Unfortunately I think that the background paper is a little strong for the delicate stamps used and it just overpowers the embossed areas. Oh well I wouldn't have know if I hadn't tried, and it does sparkle nicely.

So here is the complete collection together:
I used the colours from the always playing with paper inspiration photo:

They also fit the following challenges:
papertake weekly Let it Snow
Simon Says Wednesday Christmas
my time to craft #309 Let it snow
alphabet challenge T for Tis the season
The Card Concept Festive Glory
Christmas at Sweet Stampin Stars (ATC #3)
live and love crafts Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe (Star-Snow-Glitter) - ATC #3

GROWING VEGGIES

So I did manage to get down to the allotment today and I cut down the Asparagus ferns, which the wind had already been trying to help me with, and mulched over the crowns ready for the really cold weather. I also harvested all my Beetroot, which weighed in at 3.2kg! Quite a harvest there. Yesterday I took the last of the apples off the tree and half filled a large bag for life! Hmm, does anything use Beetroot AND Apple???
I also emptied my potato sack in the back garden and harvested a good crop of 1230g, with only slight scab on some of the tubers. Not too bad foor a cold weekend in November.


Audio Book Review
1222 by Anne Holt

When a train is derailed during a snow-storm at 1,222 metres above sea-level the passengers are all very lucky – the only fatality is the driver, and nobody has suffered any serious injuries. Furthermore, they are rescued and recovered to a nearby hotel. There is an unusually high number of doctors, due to a conference that they were travelling to, making it easy for all injuries to be dealt with quickly. However, it quickly becomes known as the ‘Finsey disaster’ (Finsey being the village where the hotel is located) due to the event occurring during the isolation of the passengers in the hotel due to the raging storm.
The book uses storm gaging for each of the chapters, reflecting how the tension is increasing between the passengers through the story. First there is the issue of the extra carriage with the secret passengers, then there is the first murder. After this dissension, deaths and suspicion follow. Hanne is an ex-police inspector who was paralysed when a bullet severed her spinal column. She really does not like people and initially finds her situation difficult. She does however start to get over her prejudices and dislikes and determines to uncover the murderer, and maybe also the mystery of the secret carriage.
A fast paced book with an unlikely heroine. I found this a very good book to listen to, although I did think it was a little obvious where the author was angling for the killer. The characters are well expressed and full of character and there are several aspects to consider throughout. I would love to find some more of her work that has been translated into English.

Thursday 19 November 2015

The Sense of a Birthday

Hi there,

The wind is finally calming down, but according to the weather it will be back to gale force winds Saturday morning, along with some risk of snow!! We are not quite ready for that - break us n gently please Mother Nature!!!

Today I have two crafty finishes to share with you, a cooking disaster and an audio book review :)

The first crafty finish is my October cross stitch. I have only just finished it as I ran out of the thread for the backstitch, and then as I had started the new one, this didn't get completed. But it is done now and here it is:

The second creation is a birthday card I made using the larger toppers from the Papermania Art Deco 'Roaring Twenties' collection. I thought this image made a lovely birthday scene - just what all us ladies would like :). Again I used a monochrome black palette, and here is the finished card:
So I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Artistic Inspirations #144 Feminine
CCM #152 Winter Birthday
Deep Ocean #117 White and one other colour (Black)
Creative Moments #81 Winter Birthday
audsentiments 145 Anything Goes

The cooking disaster....well I decided to make my own mince pies this year. We are away at Centre Parks next week, which is the only time we are going to see OH's family before Christmas, so we will be taking all the presents (of course I still do not have all of them!). Therefore, I made some mince pies and froze them raw. However, I had some pastry left over, and as I am never very good with pastry I decided to make a few extra, cook them and take them into work as a taste test. The problem was that by the time I actually took them out of the oven, they were a little blackened - opps. I did still try the pasty and it has the texture of burnt pastry, so hopefully once somebody else cooks the rest of them it will taste like normal mince pie pastry lol.

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Forty years after finishing school a letter arrives for Tony Webster which makes him re-examine the memories of his past, and throws him back into his old social circle. His serious school friend committed suicide, but nobody ever really knew why, but why has the mother of his old girlfriend left Tony his friends diary in her will. How did she get hold of it? And what is in the diary that is important to Tony?

This story is written from the perspective of the main character. Whilst it does have interest and intrigue it is not exactly captivating and often goes off on a tangent. While this does make it seem more realistic it also means that often you are left wondering what was meant by something. Also there is not actually an ending, or a conclusion to the story, which really annoyed me! Still, fairly interesting to listen to.

Thank you for looking and reading,

Hugz Tinz

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Thanks Star

Wow I think the wind is trying to take my house away!! I can hear lots of things slamming around outside and the wind howling down the chimney brrr.

I wanted to use some Art Deco toppers I got quite a while ago, but never got round to using, I thought they would make a stylish, monochrome Thank you card, and this is what I came up with:
Sorry about the flash spot, but it was really difficult to focus on the image without the flash! The topper is from the Papermania Art Deco Roaring twenties collection. The patterned papers used to make the quilted strip are a Make & Create and a Papermania Capsule Collection, Bexley Black patterned papers. Finally a glitter ribbon, and silver Papermania metallic pen were used to finish off the image, and a sentiment added from peel-offs.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
vs sweet ideas #40 Bling it on
my time to craft #308 Quilt it
simply create too #98 Give Thanks
Fussy and Fancy #152 Thankfull
artistic inspirations#144 Feminine
catch the bug Give Thanks
LOC #104 Sparkle
Creative Corner Black and White plus one (silver)
crafty catz#301 Girls only
SOS #228 Thanks
Simon Says Monday Thanks/Thanksgiving

And here s the promised update on the height chart - now at 25 hours (just under):

Finally, today's Audio Book Review:
The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo

The Oslo police force are short-staffed due to holiday’s when a murder occurs, throwing the two main detectives, who hold a grudge against each other, together in a race to catch the killer before he kills again. The only clues are a severed finger and a tiny red diamond in the shape of a star. A pattern emerges to indicate that they have a serial killer on their hands. Harry is an alcoholic who risks losing his job unless he uncovers the killer without further consequences, while Tom is suspected by Harry to be a corrupt policeman. This is a fast-paced story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A very good story and well worth reading!


Thank you for looking
Hugz Tinz

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Racy Zentangle

Hello there,

If you have been following my posts you will know I have two groups on facebook for crafters looking for new ideas, inspiration and challenges. My Christmas card for today has incorporated both groups:
 The first group - crafting techniques - is focusing on Zentangle this month. Here is a close-up of the doodles in the Robin:
I have decided that Promarkers are not the best idea for doing this technique! Gel pens next time I think - and maybe pencil first lol.
The second group - Monthly Themes for crafting - has a theme of Racy Reds this month.

Other challenges I think this card can be entered for are:
papertake weekly Christmas Critters
Glitter and Sparkle #162 Use some red
ABC christmas W for Wild Thing
inkspirational #95 Anything Goes with some Silver
Quirky Crafts #23 Light as a quirky feather (Robins are made of feathers after all)
crafting by designs Anything Goes

The patterned paper and sentiment are from the Papermania Bellissima range of products, and the stamp is a Boofle clear stamp.

For those waiting to see how my Dino is progressing an update will follow soon :)

Hugz Tinz

Saturday 7 November 2015

Hugs in the Pink



Hi there,

What an awfully wet day we have today - so much for getting some prep done down on the allotment :(. I will however be going out into the garden shortly to do a bit of tidying up, and watering the greenhouse!

I have been playing with my Daisy and Dandelion 'Lovingly Yours' clear stamp set as I had them out for a Christmas card the other day and realised I had not really used them much. So here is the card I created:
I used a papermania patterned paper, a Zentangled column of paper (drawn using papermania glitter markers) and a piece of pink card. The image was stamped on a pre-cut scalloped circle and coloured with Promarkers. The butterfly, envelope and sentiment were stamped onto watercolour card and fussy cut. The butterfly was Zentangled with promarkers. These were layered under the scalloped circle according to the challenge sketch:

I would also like to enter this card for these challenges:
papertake weekly Anything Goes
audsentiments BINGO (Favourite colour/Rubber stamp/Pattern Paper) 
Creative Moments Anything Goes
scrapbook stamp society Anything Goes

Thank you for taking the time to look :)
Hugz Tinz






Thursday 5 November 2015

Letters to my Animal creations

Hi there,

I do not know how many of you are into knitting and crochet, but my crafting techniques facebook group focused on Amigarumi last month, and whilst I am still in the process of doing a crochet bluebird (I had to buy eyes before I could continue) I have finished my knitted Giraffe:

Not sure ho much like a giraffe he looks, but he is good enough for me :)
I would like to enter him into the following Anything Goes challenges - Creative Moments - abc-callenge (U for Unlimited) and crafting by designs

This months techniue n focus is ZENTANGLE - check out crafting techniques if this is a crafting technique you have been interested in trying.

I have also been working on my Dino height chart, which is now at just over 20 hours:


Finally I have another book review for you all.
Letters to my Daughter’s Killer by Cath Stainliff
This is a story about a Mother’s feelings towards the killer of her daughter. She writes to him in order to try and get rid of her feelings of hate and desire for vengeance, so that she can start to have a normal life again, if not for herself, then for her grand-daughter’s sake.

The way this story is written is unusual as the whole story is told through letters from the mother to the killer. There is no other narrative at all throughout. I am not sure how realistic it is that the whole story would be retold in this way – especially to somebody who was a part of it – but it does work quite well. It gets a bit confusing sometimes, as the letters are written four years later and so sometimes it is difficult to grasp whether she is telling him of something that is current or in the past. However, all-in-all a very good and captivating read. (You may end up wanting to slap the female defence lawyer though lol).

Thank you for looking,
Hugz Tinz