Nightmare before Play

Another lovely weekend has now passed, with lots of time spent outdoors doing allotment and garden. However I did also have time to make a Christmas card for a few challenge blogs, and also for my new challenges coming up on my facebook groups - details will follow on the first of the month.

So here is my Nightmare before Christmas themed card:

The idea behind this card is that Jack Skellington - as Sandy Claws - is entering into Christmas land, through the zipper. To create this card I used a Papermania music score base card and layered a Winter Wonderland backing paper, and a panel cut from a shop-bought Christmas card, onto this base, following the Jinglebelles sketch:
 I drew Sandy Claws onto a thick white card and coloured him with Promarkers. I then cut him out close to the outline. A 'Happy Christmas' ribbon covered the join between the two panels, and a red gingham washi tape the central join. Over the washi tape the zipper was adhered, with the cut out Sandy Claws pushing his way out through it.

The other challenges that this card is to be entered into are:

abc-christmas H for Happy Christmas

Vs sweet ideas Anything Goes

Completely Christmas 60 Use some Washi tape

Winter Wonderland Twinkly Twinkle (the ribbon and both panels are glittered)

LOC #75 Fun Frights (Jack as Sandy Claws)

Audio Book Review

Horse Play by Jo Carnegie

This story is based in a fictional village in the Cotswolds, and is apparently one of a series, but this is the first I have listened to (or read). The main plot for this story is that of ‘Nobby’ the Fox-Titts racehorse that they rescued from the Melton Mowbray Fur and Feather auction. With the new addition of Kizzy to their farm, as a stable hand, they begin to see Nobby’s true potential. That is until a terrible accident that leaves Kizzy unable to ride a horse for a minimum of 6 months, and brings a famous dressage rider into her life. As Kizzy’s relationship with the dressage rider develops, Nobby is taken under the wing of an up-and-coming jockey who has his own issues, Calypso has issues with relationships and her career and Caro’s ex-husband reappears on the scene to cause problems in the peaceful village.

This is a very fun book, however, as I have found recently occurs more often than expected in this sort of book, there is a lot of foul language used, and a lot of sex, which the author occasionally goes into quite a lot of detail with. As long as this type of language does not bother you in a book, then I would recommend giving it a read. You will want to smack some of the stuck-up stupidness out of the characters on occasion, and then want to hug them the next moment. A fun, light-hearted listen, which is well read on the disc.

Thank you for looking at my blog

Hugz Tinz

In the Blues

Well the sky has certainly been very blue this week. Shame I work in a basement and so do not get to see the sun much during the day - and then have to drive an hour and half minimum to get ome before I can enjoy the sun! (Although the 15min walk to the car is nice when the sun is shining, and you see allsorts of wildlife too).

I decided to make a birthday card, using the colours of the sky as inspiration. I also wanted to use a chair stamp that I got from Sizzix when the sale was on as I thought the set was very pretty, and then have been lost for how to actually use it! So here is my creation:

I layered a 'Works' patterned paper of leaves on a grey background and floral embossed turquoise paper onto a white card base. A slit was made in the card edge and a papermania floral ribbon slotted into this and tied into a knot. I coloured the top of a peg with promarker and added the sentiment, before clipping the peg to the ribbon. The chair and bird were stamped onto a grey floral patterned paper that I received with an ATC, using Distress ink. Then some flower heads were stamped onto white card using papermania turquoise ink, and coloured using turquoise and several grey promarkers.
This was inspired by the following challenges:

PFP293 - Spring Blooms

SOS #198 Texture Me

OLL #178 Lots of Layers (at least 5)

Quirky Crafts #8 Bloomin' Quirky

The Stamping Boutique - Spring

Sketchy Colours #246 Grey, Turquoise and White

abc-challenge H for Happy Birthday

crafting by designs Anything Goes

Card Mania #67 Flowers

Live&Love Crafts #34 Signs of Spring

I did say that I would get a picture of my new cross stitch for you all to try and guess what it is:

Gie me your best guesses!!

Birdies and Kitties

Well after a busy weekend I finally managed to finish the small stitch that I was doing from this months Joan Eliott calendar design. Here he is:

So this weekend we were out and about Saturday morning, and then at a Barn Dance Saturday evening, which was great fun, but I probably shouldn't have joined in as much as I did with my groin injury - my inner hip is really sore now!! Unfortunately I left my camera at home so there are no pictures to share with you. However I can share a pic of my kitty blending in with my black and white living room lol.

I have started a height chart this weekend also and have managed to do about 2 hours on it so far. No progress pic yet but will do one for the next post, and we will see if people can guess what it is :)

Finally, just to remind people that the challenge is still open on the facebook group Monthly Themes for Crafting where this months challenge is to make a project based around this picture:


Thank you for looking,

Hugz Tinz

Spring Detective

I have made an ATC collection again. This time I based the collection around this inspiration photo from TPE294:

Here is the collection:

 For all of these cards I used a patterned floral card for the base, and cut a white card panel for the centre of the ATC. Onto this I stamped the sentiment using a Boofle green ink pad. The flowers were cut out of the remaining base card and also a green 'newsprint' paper, using a Quick Cutz die, but layered differently for each card.

 For this first ATC I placed the white card across the centre of the base, leaving a wide strip of patterned card at the top and bottom. A green floral ribbon was wrapped around the white panel, and the flower pieces layered onto the centre of the ribbon.

 The white panel for this ATC was a central piece, with the sentiment on the opposite side. This time a piece of lace was wrapped under the ribbon, and two flowers placed separately over the ribbon.

The final ATC has the central panel as a centre piece again, but a green ric-rac was used instead of ribbon, with the paler flower being layered with a green centre, and the remaining green flowers adorning the far side of the panel.

The other challenges that I wish to enter these ATC's into are:

Simon Says Monday In the Middle (the panels are in the middle)

papertake weekly words, words, words

crafty catz #275 It's a girl thing

LOC #74 ATC

Artistic Inspirations #129 Spring
Creative Card Crew 85 A sentiment
creative moments 66 Spring
Fussy and Fancy Spring Flowers
simply create too #83 No digi's or stamped images
addicted to stamps #102 Girly but no pink
card mania #67 Flowers


I also made these lovely Rhubarb butterfly cupcakes:

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

The Last Detective by Robert Crais

A little boy is kidnapped whilst being looked after by his mums PI boyfriend (Cole). This is not the first time trouble has come calling at their door. The story is given out that he has been kidnapped for revenge against Cole for crimes he committed whilst in the army. However CoIe claims that the story is fake and he does not recognise the voice of the man on the phone. In the army he was part of an elite service and, along with a friend who also has similar skills, he follows the clues to trace Ben. It turns out that the people they are against are also very good at what they do, and the reason for the kidnapping is altogether different from that given in the phone call.

A very fast paced book, which keeps up the tension. I had never heard of this author previously and was unsure what style of book this was, but it is very well written to keep you interested and guessing. It gives flashbacks into the past so that the listener knows what actually happened, even when the characters in the story do not get to find out. The twist to the plot is very well thought-out. I will say that it is important to ensure the disks are in the correct order before you start out, as disc 6 leads quite nicely into disk 8, but then leaves you wondering why certain information is missed out. Luckily disc 7 was happy to fill in the gaps for me lol.

Thank you for looking at my blog.

Hugz Tinz

Stella's Christmas Shoes

I thought that this was a good opportunity to use my Stella Christmas image for a Bugaboo SSS #307

So here is my Christmas creation:

I took an A5 card blank and folded the front to create an Easel card. Patterned glitter paper of stripes of trees was measured to match the card size, and then adhered to the front. A scalloped circle was die-cut from gold mirri card and the image printed and cut into a circle, coloured with promarkers, and mounted on the gold circle. This was adhered and cut to match the sketch. To the base of the card some spotty christmas paper was used as the bottom layer, with the sentiment layered onto gold card, edged with gold ink and then mounted using 3D foam pads, to hold the top of the card in place when opened. Finally two baubles were recycled from old Christmas cards. The smaller one was inked with a red-gold to even the colour as it was slightly scratched when being removed from the Christmas card.

This is to be entered into the following challenges:

open-minded crafting #34 Recycle something

Jingle Belles Rock Recycle, reuse or upcycle

abc christmas G is for Glitter

Digi Chooseday Use a Die
Crafty Calendar Add a sentiment
papertake weekly Anything Goes
i love promarkers #264 Ink it up
crafting by designs Get Ready for Christmas
crafty catz #274 2 or more patterned papers
left of centre #73 Spots and Stripes

catch the bug Recycle
completely Christmas #58 Add some gold
crafty hazelnuts 224 Add some texture
613 Avenue Create #119 Create Your Own challenge (Easel, Christmas, Gold/metallic)

And here is my recent cross stitched make - it was a free kit in a magazine back in 2006/7, so I thought it was about time I actually stitched it up. It only took 2.5 hours :).

Thank you for looking.

Hugz Tinz

Christmas Friends

I have Christmas cards to share with you all today. I have been quite busy this last week with work and trying to get the allotments sorted out a little so have not had much time for crafting, so I decided to spend some time today. I am popping this post on here whilst I wait for the cupcakes to cook, ready for a rhubarb filling (homemade with rhubarb from the allotment) to be added to the centre :).

Here is the first Christmas card - a little white mousey bring the bauble for the tree!

Happy Christmouse:

 For this card I used an image I found on google, which I thought was very cute. I am afraid I did not record where the image came from though. I printed the image onto plain white cardstock and then highlighted the mouse using a pale grey promarker. I then made a card base of matching size to the digital image. I folded the base to make an easel card and attached the image panel to the top of the card. Glitter glue was used to edge around the panel.

For the bottom of the easel card a panel of patterned paper, almost white, was printed onto paper, from a Crafter's Companion CDRom. I printed the sentiment onto this patterned paper - 'Happy Christmouse'. The patterned paper was layered onto the easel base and the sentiment added using foam pads, to hold the card top in place. To finish three baubles were die-cut from pearlescent card and adhered using spray glue.

To be entered for:

C4C281 Pets

Winter Wonderland - white on white

Creative corner - Cute Critters

CRAFT White

crafting by designs - get ready for Christmas
Papertake Weekly Anything Goes
AI - Make me smile
abc christmas G for Glitter

Audio Book Review

Friends Forever by Lyn Andrews

This is a story of two young Irish girls who leave their small Irish country village to try and find work in the larger city of Liverpool. Upon arriving they find that conditions are not actually any better than they were at home, and in some respects are actually worse, like having bugs in the houses. However, the local vicar takes them under his wing and with his guidance they soon find suitable jobs and then better lodgings. They also both fall in love.

While Bernie gets engaged very quickly, it takes Molly a while longer to start walking out and then she gets strung along by the lad for quite a while. Very few people like the boy but all agree that it is the longest he has been with a girl. Bernie gets married just over a year after moving to Liverpool, but shortly after this disaster strikes for both girls, and they need each other to be able to pull through, as well as receiving support from an unexpected corner.

This is a very good book, showing life in the Victorian era and highlighting the differences between how people lived and thought. Very captivating and keeps you wanting to know what happens next, a very good listen for in the car. I would definitely recommend this book for anybody who likes period dramas.

A most wanted bookmark

What lovely weather we are having at the moment. I do not want to be back at work, but doing the garden and the allotment instead! However, work is necessary unfortunately - I just need a job where I at least have windows lol.

Anyway, I decided to have a go at making some corner bookmarks. Rather than make one I made a collection using some Kanban toppers I have had for a little while and really love to look at. I think these will make really unusual gifts for people.

As you can see there is a matching set of four. To make these a square 4x4" was cut from white cardstock and marked halfway along three of the sides. The card was scored between the centre mark and the two side marks to make two triangular folds, which were folded to the back of the card. Two squares of 2 3/4" were cut from two different patterned papers, and each of these cut in half along the diagonal. This was used on the front top triangle, and also to cover the flaps on the reverse, and give them strength. This is the part that goes over the book pages. Pink patterned papermania paper was used on the bottom section of the front for all four bookmarks, and different ribbons/patterned paper strips used across these. A panel was die-cut from gold mirror card, and the toppers attached to this, and finally coloured gems were used to finish the bookmarks.

This collection is being entered for the following challenges:

MMM Springtime Inspiration Picture - Colours and birds

Anything Goes @ papertake weekly - crafty catz - catch the bug - glitter n sparkle - crafting by designs

SSW #49  (Turned and cut into shape)!

Creative Corner Animal fun

polkadoodle - use a die

Art Impressions #156 Spring Colours

Creative Moments #65 Anything but a card

CCM #136 Wings

I also have an audiobook review for you today - I know it has been a while!

A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre

This is a book about an illegal immigrant – all totally fictional with no basis in real life as far as I know. It looks at the different views of people who meet the immigrant compared to those who have never met him and go purely off his history. The lad is from a not well regarded sub-population in Russia, whose members are often used as scapegoats for many crimes. He was tortured in his own country before escaping with help from one of his father’s friends. He runs to Germany, where he hopes that with his inheritance he can become a doctor.

The Banker who owns the bank in which the inheritance is stored, and the lawyer of the lad are both used by different branches of the secret service from several different branches within the government. For most of the book it would seem that the service branches have the same, or similar, goals but just rub against each other, however there is a cruel twist at the end of the book, which makes it very real to life. You never really find out if any of the claims against the ‘persons of interest’ are substantiated though, which is slightly annoying. This is a reasonable book to listen to, and I think it is easier to listen to than it would be to read.

Bears and Beads

No card for today's craft creations, but a cross stitched Bear and a beaded choker. We went out to pick up a new cage for our baby red-rump today as her cage mate started attacking her, and whilst we were in the area we visited Tropical Bird Garden, and Sydney and Harbour in particular. Check out some of the photos below :D.

Firstly here is my little bear flying through the air on a kite, from the Joan Elliott desk calender. She took 14 and a half hours - which is quite good considering the previous two have take 17 hours each! I am not doing Aprils, but am going to do a small part of it as a card.

 I would like this little bear to be considered for the following Anything Goes challenges:

simply create too #82; craftycatz and 613 avenue create

 This is a triple stranded choker, created especially for the Facebook Crafting Techniques Jewellery Making Month. It is not a brilliant picture against the grey background unfortunately!

And here are some of the birdies visited today! It was extremely busy so I couldn't get many pictures on the parrot path, but these guys were pleased to sit pretty anyway.

Sydney and Harbour (on his back)

Thank you for looking and I shall hopefully have something new for you tomorrow - off to play now :)

Hugz Tinz

Extra Large for Christmas

Hi there,

I don't think it has actually stopped raining yet today! Typical bank holiday weekend weather for the UK :).

Today I managed to break the cat litter tray - not necessarily the best time to decide on this being a good idea - but luckily we managed to find a suitable new tray - although it is not covered or colour matched to the kitchen :(. We have also had to fix the fence as the wind decided to completely destroy two of the fence panels. They have now been replaced with some green netting which I will grow sweet peas, runner beans, french beans and peas up. Not the ideal solution, but when you are short on money you make do and mend. I will have to get a picture once the weather dries up so that I can show you how it looks now, and then how it looks in Summer once it is all planted up - and hopefully there will be a large improvement in the Summer.

I also managed to use one of the A4 Anita's card blanks that I have had in my stash for a couple of years, but never known what to use them for, to make a Christmas card from one of my many finished cross stitch pieces.

The gingham background paper was from a card making magazine from a few years ago, which I topped with printed scandi-style vellum, from a craft pad that I got from my mum. Red mirror card was adhered to the right side of the card blank, and the gold 'Happy Christmas' ribbon layered over the crosses on the vellum. The Lickle Ted cross stitch and mount was layered onto the mirror card, once white backing paper was placed behind the stitching to prevent the colour bleeding through the aida. This whole panel was then layered onto the card base and Christmas sequins added to finish.

This card is being entered into the following challenges:

Vs sweet ideas #33 Anything Goes

Quirky Crafts #7 Quirky Sketch with hats

simply create too #82 Anything Goes

TPE292 Anything Goes

creative corner Animal Fun

winter wonderland Let it snow

Finally, for those of you who have been following my progress on the fish tank - it is now at 90 hours!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog.

Hugz Tinz

Waterfalls and fishes

Well a theme to match the weather - wet, wet and wet. My monthly challenge group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/145548232316573/?fref=nf) has an inspiration picture this month -

...so I decided to use a Waterfall technique for my latest ATC collection. 

 These were easter themed, with food items such as Easter eggs and cupcakes. The waterfall mechanism was made using blue card stock and attached with brads. Peel offs were used and coloured using Promarker pens.

This collection is inspired by:

TPE292 Anything Goes

Passion for Promarkers 290 Blue Skies

613avenue create Anything Goes

glitter n sparkle 130 Easter

CCM #135 Spring has Sprung
ooh-la-la #177 Easter/Spring
open-minded crafting fun #33 Food Related
crafting by designs Anything Goes

And here is my update for my fishes - approximately 87/88 hours:

Thank you for taking the time to look, and possibly comment.

Hugz Tinz