Large as Life Floral Wishes

Hello there,

Sorry I have been very quiet for a while - I have been away on holiday and forgot to take my connector for the camera to put my pictures on the computer. So while I could have posted a blog, it wuld have been a little boring without any interesting pictures to add.

Firstly I would like to share the card I made just before I went away (with the idea of positing a blog mid-holiday)! I had the cross-stitched flower just waiting to be used, and I thought it made a good summertime card!

I had to use an A4 card blank as my smaller ones were too small to use the stitched flower as the main image if I was using this sketch. The sketch is from Catch the Bug SSS#411:

I took a Papermania linen patterned paper to use for the background and wrapped a blue ribbon layered over a yellow gosamer ribbon around this paper panel before sticking to the card front. I then partially cut the cross stitched flower using X-cut nesting scalloped circle die. Finally I adhered three butterflies down the side of the panel.

I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Card Makers #169 Summer
CRAFT #374 Summer
SOS #262 A stitch in time


I also have some pictures from Africa Alive, in Kessingland, which we visited whilst we were away. It was fun and the little Otter was just the cutest thing EVER - squeaking so endearingly for his mummy!!

 The life of a kitty cat!

 Just to prove the point - well they nearly have their heads buried anyway!

 A proud bull (would have gotten a better picture head-on but hubby was playing with the camera)

 Hey sexy lady!

 Who is touching my back!?!?!

 I is Meerkat?

Nope I is very cute Otter kit

And finally, for now, here is my completed Lion cross stitch - just beaded detail and bow to add before making him up - probably into a card.

There will be some more pictures from Africa Alive - with the bird of Prey demonstration and some more 'normal' wildlife - on my next blog post.

Thank you for looking,

Hugz Tinz

Christmas on the Beach

Hi there,

So I decided to make a Christmas card - with a summer twist - using the sketch from Jinglebelles.


So here is the One Layer Card I came up with:

I used the DoCrafts Digital Designer, with the Birdsong CD-Rom for the border strip and the shaped sentiment. I took the image from a google images search, and layered it into the program before printing the card. I then used a Clear Impressions stamp set to stamp the Nordic style heart over the digital elements. Initially I stamped with green and red (half and half), and then overstamped with black to make the image stand out a little more.

I would also like to add this card for the following challenges:

Christmas @ Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes

My time to craft #325 Christmas in July

Fussy and Fancy #168 Christmas in July

abc Christmas - O is for Overlay (Overlayed elements digitally)

Sweet Stampin' - Outdoors

Crafty Hazelnuts #291 Use a sentiment

CRAFT #373 Christmas

CCEE1629 Beaches

crafting by designs - Christmas in July

No time for extra pictures today I am afraid, but there are some new ones to share with you :D

Hugz Tinz

Peoples Patterned Paper

Well I am finally going to show you the final three cards made from that patterned paper - to make the six I set out to make. There is still some paper left however, so I will be able to make maybe another two cards using this paper.

Here are the cards:

 Tis first one is a 6x6 base card. I used nesting tag dies that were free with a magazine to cut patterned paper and black glitter card. I also added parts of the patterned paper that were left over after previous die-cutting, to embellish the card.I then added two flower embellishments and a printed sentiment.

For this card a 3x3 scalloped card blank was used for the base. Again the black glitter card was used to matt the patterned paper onto. A black gossamer ribbon was tied around the top and hessian flowers added to either side of the patterned panel. Finally a sentiment was added in peel-offs.

Again a 6x6 card blank was used and black glitter cardstock was layered under the patterned paper before adhering to the side of the card blank. I also had bloomers in this same pattern and so I used one to compliment the strip, and added a sentiment and some oriental peel-offs.

I would like to enter these cards for the following challenges:

Inkspirational #113 Photo Inspiration

 

Simply Create Too #114 Lots of sparkle

Aud sentiments #160 Anything Goes

Simply Less is Moore #286 Use something tactile

 And here is another introduction for you - meet Silver:

He is a cheeky little man, but is still quite timid. He had the bottom end of his tail chewed off during a fight with his brothers and so he is a little more cautious than the rest of the mice. His tail has, however, healed fine and causes him no trouble at all. He does love his berry drops, and playing in the hamster ball! He also has a hanging bed and a wooden train which he finds difficult to choose between for his sleeping area.

Audio Book Review

The People’s Queen by Vanora Bennet

A girl is brought into the world during the first plague – the Black Death. This is a time of great opportunities and she is brought up knowing how to take full advantage. She has become the King’s mistress. However, there is difficulty in the country, with the king being in great debt to the city, the war against France not going well and people disliking those who have made much of themselves. Alice becomes a target for their anger, and a symbol of everything that has gone wrong. However, although she keeps making the same mistakes, she does finally realise what it is that she actually wants – with the help of Chaucer, a nobleman from the court, and her lover. This is a captivating read and is both fun and cringe worthy in turns. 

Thank you for looking

Hugz Tinz

Anything Goes at Creative Moments

Hi guys,

Challenge 98 over at Creative Moments, is a straight anything goes challenge - no twist this time. I got some little gift bags in a papermania goody bag earlier this year and was unsure how I could use them. Then I thought maybe I could try them out with this challenge. We have two sponsors this time - https://www.etsy.com/shop/AngiesCardsandDigis and https://www.etsy.com/pt/shop/MoonFlowerDigistamps. I had an image from the second sponsor, and this is how I used it:

The backing is part of the gift bag - it is the geometric range from papermania. All I did to embellish this was add a strip of purple flower ribbon two-thirds of the way down, and then another, on top of a green gingham ribbon, along the bottom. The image was coloured with watercolour pencils and I have't used them in quite a while - hence the lack of proper shading! Then I fussy cut the image and added it to the front.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Glitter n sparkle #197 Anything Goes

Artistic Inspirations #161 Anything Goes

digi chooseday - For the Girls

I also have some flowers from my garden to leave you with today:

 Frilly lilac poppy

 Tomatillo

 Pink thing

 Irises

Acer planter - no soil to be seen now.

Thankyou for looking,

Hugz Tinz

Hot, hot and pink

Hi there,

Wow the weather has really changed. It is much hotter than it has been all year and my poor plants are struggling - they are not used to this. The animals are struggling a bit too.

Anyway, I was really looking forward to the new Die Cuttin' Divas challenge this week, and I had every intention of playing along. However, the theme is Anything 3D, and they have made their creations to be 3D, and my creativity is not that good today. So I decided to play along for myself, in my own way, but it was fun none-the-less and I think it can still be entered? I did use the Sweet Sketch Wednesday Sketch #93 also:



And here is what I cam up with:

 So I used a white square base card. I made the panel using a Papermania patterned paper (yes this is some of what is left after making the six cards - three of which I have still to show you- and there is still some left), black glitter cardstock and silver glitter cardstock of a finer grade, layered on red pearlescent card. For the central panel I used a scalloped circle rather than a square, and added a 3D die-cut bag, and a die-cut bird to look as though it is carrying the bag. To finish I wrapped the panel with butterfly washi tape and added a flower in place of the bow, and adhered the whole panel to the base card.

The other challenges I think this card qualifies for are:

OLL - #209 Texture

ABC challenge - L for Lots of Layers

I would also like to give you an update on my height chart - I cannot remember the time taken at the moment, but will add it if I remember lol:

The next animal introduction is Purrdy - also known as Peefee. She is 22 years old and blind and senile. We acquired her as a young kitten after her owners fed her on dog sausages that they fed to their Staffies, and caused severe diahhroea and vomiting, with blood at both ends! The vet actually told us the damage was likely to be so serious that we should just put her to sleep. However, here she still is today - looking her age, but still going strong(ish).

She is the mother to Furrby who you met in a previous post, and I think her main goal in life is to outlive her daughter!

As I mentioned last time I am still over-run with raspberries - these lot have gone straight into the freezer!

Anyway I gotta go now,

Thank you for looking

Hugz Tinz

Secret Life of Pets, and some flowers too

Hi there,

We went to see A Secret Life of Pets today, and it was brilliant. If you love your pets you will love this childrens film. The Guinea Pig (I think he is called Roland) is fantastic hehehe.

I have also made a new card:

I used a Hunkydory foiled card kit for the toppers - it is difficult to see from this photo but the main image is actually a pyramage. I also used a repeating border along the bottom of the card, which was a floral Art Deco stitcker that I have had in my stash for a while. It was a quick and simple card to make and I would like it to be considered for the following challenges:

Cute as a Button #24 Anything Goes

Aud sentiments #159 For a girl

Artistic Inspirations #160 Anything Goes

City Crafter #320 On the Border

I also have some pictures from the nature walk we went on in the sunshine:

Probably a Yellow-winged Darter

 Bumblebee!!

Several Small Tortoiseshell butterfly pictures.

And I also made some Raspberry syrup, and placed it into ice cubes to make drinks with on hot days! I am overrun with Raspberries at the moment lol.

I will get those final three cards made from that piece of patterned paper shortly, I promise :D

Thank you for looking once again,

Hugz Tinz

Birthday Blossom

Hi there,

Sorry I lied about giving you the last three cards made from the patterned paper sheet - I got distracted and still haven't made them. I made this card instead, using the triple stamping technique (I had a slight issue with the bottom layer though as I apparently had not cut it straight but did not realise until I went to stick the stamped layer onto the card layer and found they were not quite right!!). However I still think it looks ok, especially as the problem sits on the sentiment. I used the Cherry Blossom stamp collection from Clear Impressions for this card, and add some paper flowers to finish.

 I could probably have used thicker base layers, but not having done this before I went safe and only had a thin border - I will try larger next time.

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

Simon Says Monday - Flora and Fauna

Aud Sentiments #159 For a girl

My time to craft #324 Triple Stamping

Kort o mania #156 Summer

Crafting by design - Anything Goes

My little birdies played outside in their cage the other day, and they loved it (although they did not love me man-handling the cage out of the door and down the step, then across the gravel lol).

And here is the alternative Round Robin piece that I recieved through the post. Due to a shortage of numbers it is becoming more difficult to do normal RR's and so we decided to do something a little different. The theme was mini makes (or magnets as this turned out to be, with all three members doing magnets lol) and Ombre. The first person got the supplies together and posted to the second person who stitched them and made it up, and then posted to the final person who received the finished piece!

Thank you for looking at my blog. I will have another card in a couple of days, but it will not be the final three cards from the patterned paper just yet!

Hugz Tinz

A pop of red

Hi there,

My car is now back, after a couple of days with a little 1L petrol that didn't have a CD player!! The car itself was not actually too bad, but the lack of CD player meant no audio-book for my journey to work. I had to listen to the radio, and the music at the moment really does leave something to be desired!!

So I have made another two cards from that one piece of patterned paper, some red card, toppers and dies. These were for my monthly themes for crafting group over on facebook.

One and Only

 This one used a 3x3 scalloped base card. I die-cut a hear from patterned paper (although I probably didn't have to lol), and then used the same X-cut nesting dies to cut a heart frame from red card, which I layered over the patterned paper using 3D foam pads. I added a red flower button to the centre. I cut a tag shape from white card and hand-wrote the sentiment before adding to the top of the frame.

Flowers for You

This card is made from an A5 card blank, which has been folded into an easel card - instructions can be found here: www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/01/how-to-make-easel-cards/ I cut a panel from the patterned paper and also a slightly larger panel from the red card, and added to the centre of the easel. I wrapped a gosamer ribbon, with black flower details, around the easel and tied in a knot to one side of the panel. I added a felt butterfly to the other side for balance. I stamped the sentiment, which is a Woodware stamp, in red ink and die-cut using a nesting butterfly I got free with Crafts Beautiful magazine. This was placed in the centre of the bottom panel using foam pads to hold the easel top open. A red flower was added to finish.

This particular card I would like to enter into the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday - Flora and Fauna

 Glitter 'n' Sparkle #196 Easel card

Crafty Ribbons #159 Things with Wings

Inkspirational #112 Anything Goes with red

LLC #49 Sprinkles of Summer
Short O Mania #156 Summer

Here are some photos from down on the allotment yesterday:

 I think this may be an oxygenating pond weed, but not too sure - looks a bit strange lol.

 Slightly further out

 Bee Bar - not sure who is serving though lol

 Oooh more bees have come to join in!

Common Blue Damselfly I think this time.

And finally my little birdies enjoying the sunshine:

Thank you for looking - and watch out for the next post with the final three cards made from that one piece of patterned paper!

Hugz Tinz