Friday 27 February 2009

Over on Kelli's blog, There's no place like home, there is a lovely challenge called Show and Tell Friday. Here is my show and tell for this week, it's a piece of a Victorian or Edwardian tile that I found in our garden. What is now the garden used to be where the household dumped their rubbish, so all kinds of treasures have come to light.

Thursday 26 February 2009

Artarazzi Challenge 11

Vintage
Retro

Another Saturday another challenge – well 2 to be exact……
Use any vintage adverts to create 1 art card – 6” x 4” – and one any size you like.
One must be retro style and the other must be vintage style.

Okay, so the retro one is not an advert, but I loved The Champions, Alexandra Bastedo was so chic, and to me the whole look of this picture sums up the 1960s.

Kit for Vintage is Sugarplum Paperie, Little Birdie. Kit for Retro is PixelGeek Designs, TGIF.

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Inchy by Inch - National Pride

MY CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS TO PORTRAY SOMETHING OF NATIONAL PRIDE FOR YOUR OWN COUNTRY.

Here are some Thistles and Scottish Bluebells portraying my home country of Scotland. The little picture came from the back of a notelet that I had in a drawer!

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Rock 'n' Roll

Over on Rosie & Linda Awfully Big Art Adventure blog, the challenge was to alter a rock or stone. I liked the sound of this, so this is my attempt. I painted the rock with Stuart Gill paints then stamped onto tissue paper with one of my Graphicus Indian themed stamps. Then I decorated it with yellow & orange beads and some glitter and a couple of little photos of elephants.

DCM - Fish or Frog!

There is a little story about this card. I have had this stamp, one from Tanda Stamps Oriental collection, for quite a long time and have never used it. I always thought it was two coy carp, so was pleased to be able to use it for the challenge. Of course, when I stamped it, it turned out to be a turtle!!! Anyway, it looked so sharp in monochrome that I decided to go with that as a theme.

Pancake Tuesday

The Chic Life Challenge Item (2/22 - 2/28) - Cinnamon


As it was pancake day today, I decided to make some pancakes with cinnamon. I found this recipe on the internet, made up the mix last night and only had to mix them up tonight and cook them on the girdle. I've been making pancakes since I was very little, my granny used to make them and I would help.
On tasting them I would use less salt and more cinnamon, to up the cinnamon I made some cinnamon butter, just a little sugar and some cinnamon mixed into softened butter.
These would be great with bacon and maple syrup and because they have oats in them they are still good for you - ha ha!

Monday 23 February 2009

Another card with Kathy's Sketch

I used the Sketch from Kathy's Waffle Sketch File again to make this card for my DS2's birthday. He loves anything to do with the 7o's and likes to wear bright and colourful clothes, so I know he will like these Hippie Chick papers with all the 'groovy' words.

The Simple Woman's Day Book

I found this blog today and it really appealed to me to complete these questions.

FOR TODAY
23rd February 2009

Outside my window...
there are snowdrops

I am thinking...
about my mother

I am thankful for...
my health

From the learning rooms...
I learned about how our students are growing and learning on placement

From the kitchen...
I am enjoying the Cranberry and Pecan Nut Bars

I am wearing...
or rather I am NOT wearing a polo neck sweater as it is warmer today

I am creating...
a book for my son

I am going...
always going places

I am reading...
Bags with Paper & Stitch, Isobel Hall

I am hoping...
to finish marking the student assessments tomorrow

I am hearing...
my husband play the saxophone

Around the house...
I have turned down the thermostats on the bedroom heaters

One of my favorite things...
is the countryside

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Finish making the book for my son

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Spring is Coming!



Sunday 22 February 2009

ChickenPuff Pie & Pineapple Trifle

No not all on the one plate!!! I had planned to make a Chicken & Mushroom Pie then DS2 and his vegetarian girlfriend came to stay, so I froze the chicken and made something else. Anyway, I had used the mushrooms so added some par-cooked carrots to the sauce instead.
Served it with fresh cauliflower, no potatoes because there was plenty of pastry.
Followed the pie with the remains of last night's pineapple made into mini-trifles. Just some sponge fingers in the bottom of the ramekins, a little blueberry juice to wet them, then the pineapple, some low fat, greek-style yogurt and a few chopped pecan nuts on top.

Saturday 21 February 2009

Kathy's Waffle Sketch File - Sketch 4

I used the Sketch 4 from Kathy's Waffle Sketch File to make this card for a colleague at work who has a BIG birthday coming up soon. Papers are by Crate Paper, stamp was a freebie from Craft Stamper Magazine.

Todays dinner


I've been inspired by 'The Chic Life' blog to take more photos of what I am cooking and eating. So rather than just post the photographs I thought I would scrap them.

Salmon with Red Pesto is a favourite of mine, it's so easy, you just spoon about half a jar of red pesto onto the salmon fillets and stick it in the oven for half an hour. This time I sliced up some peeled potatoes, pre-cooked them in the microwave for 2 minutes then put the salmon & pesto on top. I served it with some lovely fresh savoy cabbage. The last two photos are of the healthy snack bars I made from a recipe featured on The Chic Life, they were Cranberry & Walnut bars but mine are Berries/Cherries & Pecan nut bars, I have to admit I did 'test' them and they are very nice, not too sweet.

All papers and elements from 'For Melissa' collaboration from Scrapbookgraphics. Sketch is by Becky for Digital Craft Cottage.

In my garden

It was a bright and sunny morning, so I went out to tackle some more hacking back of plants and bramble briars! In 10 minutes I had filled the wheelbarrow with dead leaves and overgrown branches. Because I live on a farm, there is no need to take all the cuttings to a dump, I just have to wheel my barrow up the road a bit to the 'burning heap'. Once there is enough rubbish and we get a dry day without too much wind we light the pile of wood and weeds and then we start all over again!

In rather more picturesque mood, spring is beginning to show itself in my 'garden'. I say 'garden' like that, because the snowdrops are half way up the road at the side of the hedge, the daffodils are pushing up under the hedge next to our dustbin and the miniature irises are in a tub which came out onto the patio today. The flowers were there but completely closed this morning, by afternoon they were open, they may not last very long but they are very pretty.

Templates by Carina for Digiscrapgirls, Digital papers and most elements from 'For Melissa' collaboration kit from Scrapbookgraphics, Feburary Wordart and February 'stamp' from Digitreats.

Wednesday 18 February 2009

A thoughtful card

I made this card for a colleague who is unwell. I hope it cheers her up. Paper by Crate Paper, stamp by Studio G. I used the new punch that I bought for my inchies!!!

Tuesday 17 February 2009

The Chic Life - Food Challenge

I found this really great blog through Flickr - its called The Chic Life
I intended to take part in the weekly food challenge last week and bought a carton of pomegranate juice, but in the end I didn't make anything very exciting but enjoyed drinking the juice!

This week when I checked the challenge I found that it was 'cabbage' , really frustrating because I had made a lovely Winter Salad on Saturday with red cabbage, celeriac, pears, carrots, pine nuts and dried berries & cherries. However, to take part in the challenge you need to show a photograph of your creation. So I decided tonight that I would make a red cabbage salad for my lunch tomorrow.

I don't have any celeriac or pears left but I did have some celery.


These are the lovely berries & cherries, dried blueberries, cherries and lexia raisins.
I added some tikka chicken to my salad and made up a little French Dressing with olive oil & cider vinegar, I'm looking forward to eating my lunch tomorrow!

Sunday 15 February 2009

Art Creations Friday

No need to say that this is probably my favourite photograph of me and DH ever. When I saw the background provided for the Art Creations Friday Challenge, I thought immediately of this photo as the colours blend perfectly. I've altered it with the Scrapbookgraphics collaboration kit 'For Melissa' including elements from Flergs, Ellie Lash and Nicole Seitler of Sugarplum Paperie.

Saturday 14 February 2009

Artarazzi Challenge 10 - Me, myself & I

Here is challenge 10 from Artarazzi:

This week it is a phrase for you to illustrate

" Me, Myself and I"

The only criteria is that you must include a photograph of yourself in it somewhere.

This photograph was taken at the reception of my sister's wedding, I converted it to black & white and then tinted it sepia. The kits are Time Passages by Lisa Bowman and American Heartland by Laura Boetto both of Digital Craft Cottage, Font is Blackadder.

Inchies Canvas

We had an Inchy Swap on Bubbly Funk Forum, the theme was blue. When I got all my little inchies I wanted to do something with them. I've had this 5 x 5 canvas for some time, having bought it in a sale, so I painted it with some Stewart Gill paint and then stamped over it using the Cornish Heritage Farms 'Cracked Earth' stamp. Quite a few swapees had used little gems on their inchies, so I continued this theme round the edge of the canvas. I've just got to do a fixing on the back and then it can hang in my dining room which is decorated in similar shades of blue.

Apologies to the three people whose inchies didn't go on the canvas, it just didn't look right with 12 inchies and definitely better with 9! I will find another way to display the other three inchies.

DCM -Green


The dare is feeling green. I want to see lots of green on your cards in any shade you like.

Now don't go and get over-excited thinking that I've gone all sentimental and made a Valentine card for my DH! We don't do Valentines, and he certainly wouldn't appreciate the flowers,lol. No, what is going on here, is that over on Bubbly Funk Forum, some of us are making cards that will be sent out to soldiers to send to their loved ones, apparently sometimes they don't even have any paper to write home.

I used KI memories lace cardstock in Bouquet Dew, the journalling tag is a digital element from Ellie Lash Designs, flowers and beads from stash.

Friday 13 February 2009

Cut Out & Keep Craft Projects

I've just found this great site full of lovely craft projects. Lots of inspiration here, you can find it HERE

Hazel's Blog Candy

Do you visit The Jottings of Crafty Hazelnut? Well if you haven't visited or haven't been recently, you should get yourself over there, there are always lots of cards, journals and inchies and other crafty art works on display and Hazel is also giving away some blog candy go and have a look, you wont be disappointed.

Thursday 12 February 2009

Inchy - Flowers


FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE I'D LIKE TO SEE ROSES - IF ROSES IS TOO SPECIFIC I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH FLOWERS, JUST THIS ONCE. So here is my Flowery inchy, for the Inchy by Inch challenge. Rubbish photo, I think I need a better camera ;) Edited 14.01.09, I took another photo of the inchy so you can see it better now. I don't think it was the distance that was the problem, more like not enough light! Even with my lightbox, it wasn't enough.

Sunday 8 February 2009

Artarazzi Challenge 9 - Don't Shake

The image (from The Art of Costume Design Vintage Magazine courtesy ofTakeabreak at Flickr) on Artarazzi reminded me of the glamourous Bond girls of the 1960s. However, I have put my Bond girl with Daniel Craig and given her a glass of champagne rather than a martinim, so definitely no shaking! Bond image courtesy of hayashi nauhiro2007 at Flickr. This was fun to do.

Competition Blog Candy

There's some 'Candy' over at the Crafty Calendar Blog all you have to do, is make one of the projects from any of the months of the calendar before the end of February, post a link to you blog in the comments or email your pics to craftycalendar@gmail.com and the winner will be chosen by Random Number Generator. Please don't post your links in this blog, you need to be over at the Bubbly Funk Crafty Calendar Thank you XXX

Winter Inchy

Here is my 'Winter' inchy for the Inchy by Inch challenge. Stamp is Studio G Clearstamps from Bubbly Funk

DCM - Oriental Spendour

I would like you to make a card with an Oriental influence and the ‘Take Away’ I referred to is the twist in the tail.


When ever Oriental is mentioned most people, including myself immediately reach for Red and Black so I’m taking them away from you and removing them from the pallet of colours that you can use on your card.

So to recap:-

I dare you to make an Oriental themed card which doesn’t use Red or Black

I'm not altogether happy with this card, but decided to post it anyway - it's the taking part that counts! Stamp is 'Tanda Stamps' - ink is Brilliance Mediterranean Blue

Wednesday 4 February 2009

Lemonade Tag

There seem to be a lot of tags around at the moment. Hazel (Craftyhazelnut) tagged me with this Lemonade tag, it is to recognize someone who shows a great attitude or gratitude, thank you Hazel. I have to pass it on to another five bloggers, this is getting really difficult as you can see I have been well tagged recently.

Anyway, I do know some bloggers with attitude lol, so this is for them: Kaz, Tracey, Gez, Karen and Beth.

Sorry if I've missed anyone from my tagging-fest, it's not that I don't love all your blogs because I do.

Fourth Folder Fourth Foto Tag

Karen tagged me to blog the fourth photograph in the fourth folder on my PC, as I have more than one drive I was able to choose the drive and came on this picture of 'ribs' which was taken in the US in 2007. Our friends have a cabin right off the beaten track in the Sierra Nevada and they have this barbeque grill inside the cabin! It has it's own chimney, surprisingly the ribs were delicious lol.

I'm going to tag Kaz, Gez, Sue, Di and Caroline

Honest Scrap Award



The rules to accepting this award is as follows: 1) first list 10 honest things about yourself and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! (2) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

Gez had awarded me this Honest Scrap blogging award, I am inclined to avoid too much 'deep stuff' on my blog, but am happy to share the things I have put down here.

1. I was a full-time farmer for 4 years, driving tractors, mucking out sheds and working with cattle.
2. I get very easily bored. I have had lots of hobbies, but find it hard to stay with anything for long. Crafting works for me because I do lots of different crafts.
3. I love to read, mostly detective fiction, murder and forensic but not psychological thrillers. The psychological stuff gets stuck in my head and gives me bad dreams.
4. I have a Certificate in Counselling, but decided not to do the Diploma to become a qualified counsellor after doing the 'Supervision' module as some of the things we were told we might hear came into the same category as the psychological thrillers and I knew that I would not be able to detach myself.
5. If I had the time and the money I would go and study textiles at Art College - maybe when I retire.
6. I see my sons differently now that they have left home. I don't see DS2 enough and I am proud to say that DS1 has become a very kind and thoughtful young man as he has matured.
7. I'm really quite an untidy person, but when it gets to a certain point I will have a mass clean up.
8. I was very fortunate to have great parents and a very happy and comfortable childhood.
9. My worst habit is interrupting people - oops!
10. I used to work for Donald Dewar MP before he became the very first First Minister of the Scottish Parliament (quite a long time before it!).

So now I have to choose 7 bloggers to receive this award, many of the bloggers I know have already been tagged so I thought I look for some that hadn't had this award:

Net

Elaine

Traci


Sarah

Leigh

Sunday 1 February 2009

Sneaky Shot!

When I went to download the pics of the brooch, I found this sneaky shot, and some others which are even less flattering, taken by my DH through the window! There I am in my son's fleece, DH's hat and my dodgy old cords, cutting back some plants. Just as well it is blurred and you can't see me too closely - ha ha ha! At least it is proof that I have been doing some gardening, I read something last night that said that gardening was good exercise for people who don't like to exercise, so I thought I would try and do some each weekend. After I finished this bit in the garden, I went up the road and cut back loads of old brambles in front of the old cottage so that the daffodills will show through, my MIL will be most pleased as she usually goes on about how we don't cut them back! I hope I burned a few calories!

A bit of stitching

A colleague, who has bought some of my felt brooches in the past, gave me a piece of tweed that she had left over from making a skirt. Here is the brooch I have made from it, using the tweed, some green velvet and a button from my button box. It is quite chunky so would be best on a coat.