Come into my parlour...

This is the first Soartful challenge in the new challenge home so maybe that is why Jeanette has chosen the image above as inspiration.

Your inspiration image this week is

'Welcome to my Parlor'

If you join me in my parlour, we can share some tea and cakes, you can kick off your shoes and I will admire your lovely new handbag while we discuss the latest fashions.

Image of woman: Art Freebies
Table, teapot and cake stand: MLE Card, Tealicious
Handbag and shoes: Pixelgeek Designs, TGIF
Dream Word art and Glitter Splash: CottageArts.com

I'm dreaming of a...

I'm on the Creative Team for Lisa Bowman of Rebel without a Pause Designs at the Digital Craft Cottage. Lisa is about to release her new digital Kit 'White Christmas' and I got my advance copy last night. I couldn't wait to get going on this and as this image had already been scanned in I thought I'd use it to create a snowy layout.

Kit: White Christmas, Rebel without a Pause Designs
Art Mask: Pton Designs
Font: Snowdrift

Packing a Punch!

Keryn has set the Daring Card Maker's Dare this week and she wants a bit of punch. In fact she wants to see what we can do with the last punch we bought. I don't have a lot of punches and had to think hard about which one I had bought last, then I realised it was my 'inchie' punch. So I made this simple card with the lovely 'My Mind's Eye' Colourful Christmas papers.

Irish boy band good looks

It's Friday Photo Flashback again and here is another of my DH's childhood memories in his own words!
Journalling on the tag: This photo must be around 1959, the yard is still cobble stones. In fact one of my dad's half brothers refused to help with concreting as he maintained that cattle would never keep their footing on concrete, unlike cobble stones which were so uneven they couldn't walk. This turned out to be completely unfounded and cattle and pigs, dogs and hens had absolutely no problem with it. Concrete was also much better for cycling roudn the yard than cobbles!

Journalling at bottom of page: My sister is on the left aged 6, I am on the right aged 3 (and my Irish boy band good looks are starting to develop) my cousin Gordon McGinley aged 2 is in the middle.

Papers: Betsytuma for Two Peas
Crayon Frame and Alpha: Amy Sumrall
Paint Splashes: Cottage Arts.com
Font: Scrap Round

Ghoulies & Ghosties & Long legged Beasties

Yes, that's the theme for this week's Bubbly Scrumptious Challenge. I was just waiting for an excuse to use this gorgeous image from 'Last Door Down the Hall', I love how the girl is a bit of a temptress, and what about that owl on her head lol! Anyway there is a bat and a cat for the beastie bit, so I stretched the criteria a bit so I could use this image.

The background papers were one's I bought for the Bubbly Funk Twinchie swap, fab glittery papers and I made a little black and orange pin to put through the ribbon.

Web Fairy

I've been meaning to do the Soartful Challenge for some time now, but somehow never got around to it. It's moving soon from June's Art Freebies website to it's own website HERE. The photograph to work with was a lovely spider's web, so I caught a little fairy in it for you!

The girl and her wings come from a Digital Collage sheet by Itkupilli, the coloured background is by Maelia Designs.

House!

A little card for my DS2 who is moving into a new flat. The stamps are Paperartsy coloured with Copics and the background sprayed with Glimmer Mists.

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

So here is 'Wee Angus' from Sugar Nellie as my 'Face' for the Something Completely Different Inchies this week. I swiped the stamped card with Versamark Dazzle (first time I've used it) and embossed with clear embossing powder. It certainly sparkles!

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

These are a few of my favourite things - I hope you are singing along lol! I certainly do like brown paper packages especially if they are full of crafty lovliness. But that's not the challenge, no what the Daring Card Makers would like us to do is make a card with our favourite things.

Here are my favourite things for card making:
1. Favourite type of card - Square
2. Favourite Sketch - Kathy's Waffle Sketch File, Sketch 4
3. Favourite Papers - K & Co Madeleine
4. Favourite Style - Vintage
5. Favourite embellishments - Lace & flowers

I hope you will join in the challenge and tell us about your favourite things.

We made our own entertainment...Friday Photo Flashback

I'm continuing in the 'down on the farm' series of photos of my DH's childhood on the farm, we have gone back in time to around 1958, this time.


The journalling is written by my DH and reads as follows:

Around the edge of the layout: We made our own entertainment in those days. My sister was dressed in the nurses outfit with her hand on my head. Our friend neighbour, Janice Penman, joined in and we would wheel those dogs around for hours in the pram (or me if the dogs got fed up). It must be around 1958, I look younger than 2, my sister around 5, and the yard hasn't been cemented. "

On the squared paper: This may look like a pile of old junk, but dad would never throw anything away, and all of the items in this pile could come in handy one day. They also provided amusement for me and Davie Penman in our alter egos as "Jock and Joe the scrapmen".

I've won an award!

Traci, the cottage photo lady, has given me this award. Thanks Traci



The rules for this award are:

1. Post the award on your blog.

2. Link to the person who gave you the award.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Leave a message on the blogs you have chosen so they know they have an award.

I thought I'd nominate some different blogs this time, not that I don't love all the crafty blogs of my BF friends, of course I do, but here are some other blogs I love to visit:

Art Freebies

With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart

The Imperfect Housewife

Chow and Chatter

Iralamija

Tattered and Lost

Meridian Ariel

Check them out, you will be brilliantly entertained!

Turning Japanese

My son's girlfriend is 21 next week and she is into all things Japanese, so with a little help from my friends (you know who you are - thanks xxx) I was able to create this card. The papers are My Mind's Eye - Colourful Christmas, the Japanese dolls are from Crafty Templates and the numbers are white Thickers that I swiped with pink ink.

Cakes in the Kitchen!

Hop over to Farmersgirl Kitchen to see what I've been making.

Howzat!

Here is this week's Bubbly Scrumptious Weekly Challenge:

This week we are getting lively hahahahaha!!!! The theme is...

PHYSICAL CULTURE!

This means that anything sporty, health related or exercise is required...luckily we don't mean you must run a marathon or jump up & down in your living room haha...well you can if you want to!

We are not a very sporty family, so I was a bit 'stumped' (groan) as to what to come up with for this challenge. Fortunately, I had some sprorts stamped images from an image swap, so I coloured this with my copics and made this simple card.

Papers: My Mind's Eye - Colorful Christmas
Stamp: Hero Arts, Personal Impressions.

It don't matter if you're black or white....

The Something Completely Different Team are still making inchies, here is what they said about the challenge:

So, this week, we're still in Inchie challenge month and the theme is a colour combo that's always so popular and elegant, its:-

BLACK AND WHITE

So it does matter, it has to be black AND white! I stamped with white onto a piece of black card, the stamp is from Crafty Individuals, and then highlighted with my white gel pen. A little teeny tiny piece of lace and a stick on pearl and it was done!

Playing with Masks

No, not for Halloween! I have had some digital masks for some time, but never really knew what to do with them, however last night I came on a great tutorial on Shimelle's blog. It was a glorious day yesterday and I took a few photos at Castle Loch on our way back from hospital visiting. I am really pleased with the result and think that mask may be my 'next favourite thing' lol!

Background paper & stitches - Pineapple Plantation Designs
Art Mask no.4, tag and string- PTon Designs
Chalked Border - Scrappin Cop
Paper Butterfly - Sugarplum Paperie

Journalling reads -

The Castle Loch at Lochmaben,
is only a few miles from my home.
It takes it’s name from the Castle
that was home to the family of
Robert the Bruce, the Earls of
Annandale.

The castle is in ruins and not
visible from the loch.

24th October, 2009

A little vintage

I had to make a quick card to take to a relative in hospital. I've had that vintage image printed out for ages and hadn't found the right occasion. A quick shuffle through my scrap paper and scrap card boxes found these bits and pieces, the paper is from the Verbena kit and the image came from Flickr Group: Collage images.

I can see clearly now...through the looking glass

This week the Daring Card Makers are daring you to make a card with a 'see through' element. I've always love the original Tenniel drawings of Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass and I go the 'Six impossible things before breakfast' stamped image in a swap, but have never found a way to incorporate it into a card. The little frame stamp is from the Wild Asparagus stamp set by My Mind's Eye, that I got as blog candy from Sue H and suddenly, just like the cheshire cat, there was my idea in front of me!

Alice is on the inside of the card looking through her acetate looking glass, there are some bits of 'Touch of Teal' paper by Papermania lurking around the card, but mostly I used the images from ..thorugh a looking glass found in a google image search.

Hope you want to play along, if so click here to visit the Daring Card Makers and don't forget to leave a comment with a link to your card.

The day the pig family escaped

Here is my Friday Photo Flashback in the form of a digital LO. Why not pop over to see some of the other flashbacks by clicking on the link to go to the More Than Words blog which hosts the challenge.

After the popularity of last week's photoof my DH on his tractor, I asked him to scan in a few old farm photos. He has given me enough to keep this going for weeks! Here is what he said about the bottom left photo of him with the pig, "This photo must be around 1962 as the yard has been concreted, but I don't look much older than 6. Shortly after this I lost interest in pigs in favour of Beatles."

Digital Kit is 4Melissa by Ellie Lash

Magic Mushrooms!

Ha ha! That got your attention didn't it? This is another of the monthly challenges at Digital Craft Cottage. I took the photograph on the same walk as the one with the tree for the Colour It challenge, I've been walking through the grounds at work for nearly 10 years and have never seen such huge toadstools, they look great. The page is Scrap Lifted from a Layout by Roxi Hardgreve and I used a whole heap of bits from different digital designers including Laura Boetto, Shauna Burke Smith and Ellie Lash. The font is Scrap Twiggy and I used a 'grass' brush to make the grasses at the front.

Color (Colour) It

I took my camera to work yesterday as it was a beautiful day and the campus I was working at has a fantastic parkland around it. This photo was just right for the 'Color It' (I find it really difficult to spell in American lol!) challenge at Digital Craft Cottage. This month's colour was pastel yellow, I have let a few other colours slip in there, but it is predominantly yellow.

I made the papers myself including the 'impressionist' leaves paper, the elements are from Scraporchard's September 2008 Mega kit. Font is 'Informal Roman'.

Cheesecake and Caramel Pears

More about these puds over on Farmersgirl Kitchen, plus a new blog banner.

There must be an angel...

I'm telling you, I was not sounding like an angel when I made this card for the Bubbly Scrumptious monthly challenge. It gave me no end of trouble, wouldn't stick, stuck on squint. However, I got there in the end, I used a sketch prepared by Kaz of Slightly Wonky Crafts for last week's Bubbly Funk mini-crop. Image is from Last Door down the Hall, music paper is K&Co Madeleine and there is some Ranger Distress ink in Aged Paper.

Sunset Silhouette - Three in one!

This digital layout covers three challenges:
Bubbly Scrumptious weekly challenge this week is for a silhouette
Digtial Craft Cottage, Sketch 44 challenge
Digital Craft Cottage, Mix it October Challenge

The Mix it Challenge is really fun, using your date of birth you choose different elements to include in your layout. I got Animal, 2 words, a tag and something flowered.

I have a real mix of kits in this LO too: Lisa Bowman's Time Passages provided the flowered cream paper, most of the rest of the papers and elements are from the Scraporchard September Mega including designs from Ellie Lash, Anrik Filbert and Pineapple Plantation Designs.

Scrap It - Spring

Another digital challenge from Digital Craft Cottage, here is the Scrap-It Challenge for October 09: Everyone has a favourite season. Do you like the cool and rustic feel
of Autumn, or are you more a warm flowing spring person? Share with us
all what your favourite of these two seasons are and why, using
pictures and journalling incorporating more than a title.

I've chosen Spring as my favourite season and here is what the journalling says:

Small Paper
And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

Large Paper
Spring is a very special season. I love to see the buds on the trees. My mother taught me to recognise the different buds, the long ones that look like cigars are from the Beech tree, the black sooty buds are those of the Ash tree, and those fat, sticky buds belong to the Horse Chestnut tree. When they start to unfurl and reveal their bright, fresh green leaves I feel my spirits lift.

The flowers of spring seem to be full of sunshine: yellow primroses, daffodils and the golden yellow of the gorse in the hedgerow.

Spring is a time of renewal and hope,
The arrival of the swallows heralds the promise longer and warmer days, yes spring is a very special season.

Kit: Spring Linen by Laura Boetto, Sketch Template by Sine 'So Ways 04', vintage paper by Stampington.

Autumn Harvest - Snap it!

Some more digi-scrapping going on now. Over on Digital Craft Cottage, the team have set up a series of monthly challenges, the challenges will roll over each month with the same titles but different themes. This is 'Snap-it' a photographic challenge and we have been encouraged to get out an take some pictures of the current season wherever we are an as some members of the 'cottage' are in Australia, this can be very different. However it is still autumn (fall) here in Scotland so I've snapped some blackberries, elderberries and rose hips.

Kit: Laura Boetto, Raspberry Streudel, Font: Papyrus

A bird does not sing...

...because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. Chinese Proverb

I thought this was a rather apt quote to go along with my two inchies for Something Competely Different. I was too busy last week to take part, so I am playing catch up. Last week's prompt was 'Oriental' and this week it was 'Birds'


The image is a from Art Freebies, background paper Papermania Touch of Teal, stamp is from the Tanda Stamps oriental set.
I went a bit more arty-farty for the bird stamp and 'swiped' the card with Ranger Distress Inks in Peeled Paint, Milled Lavender and Worn Lipstick before stamping the birdie (Crafty Secrets - thanks Joanne!) with Peeled Paint and then once dry overstamping in Sepia Versafine. I'm quite pleased with that, given that it took me all of about 5 minutes lol!

Friday Photo Flashback

For the Friday Photo Flashback this week, I'm posting a photo of my husband with his tractor. Not a lot has changed, different tractor but the house and farm yard look very much the same.

DCM Autumn Purple

This week on Daring Card Makers, Vanessa challenged us to create an Autumn card using purple. I found the Stanley Horowitz quote in this month's copy of Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine and I immediately thought of creating a mosaic effect. I have to say it was really fiddly to do, but I like the effect.

Papers are K & Co Verbena, the frame is a digital element from Studio MGL "Awakening" at Scrapbookgraphics, I don't know what the stamp is, it is from a set of leaves I got at The Works ages ago.

Digital Craft Cottage - Creative Design Team

I haven't shown you any digital layouts for a while, I 've been saving these to tell you the exciting news that I am now on the Creative Team for Lisa Bowman - Rebel without a Pause Designs at Digital Craft Cottage. This means that I get to play with Lisa's new kits as they come out - woo hoo!

This is the kit 'My Blue Heaven' which I used to scrap some of my holiday photos from Siena, Italy.

This layout uses a photograph of my 17 year old cat, Jenny and Lisa's kit 'Rebekah'.

This autumnal layout also uses the 'Rebekah' digital kit.

If you are interested in learning about digital scrapbooking, then pop over to Digital Craft Cottage, you will get a very warm welcome and lots of help from all the lovely 'kidz' who visit the cottage.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...October 5th Janice's Daybook

Outside my window... dark nights are coming in now and chilly evenings

I am thinking... how nice it was to speak to both of my sons on the phone tonight.

I am thankful for... my health, today I heard about a friend of a friend who has had a stroke, she is 51.

I am wearing... cotton trousers, coral t-shirt, fleece hoodie.

I am remembering...how my grandmother worked in the jute mills in Dundee, as I watch a TV programme all about the Dundee - Calcutta jute connection.

I am going... to bed soon

I am reading...Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine

I am hoping... that I can get through all the work I need to do.


On my mind...my boys.


Noticing that... I need to tidy up all my craft stuff


From the kitchen...a lovely pork and plum casserole

Around the house... the roof needs fixed, the house walls need painted as do the doors.

One of my favorite things~ full harvest moon (I have borrowed this from Peggy, but I do have a harvest moon to share with you)

We are delighted to announce....

My son, Steven (Steve) got engaged to Shona last week and we had a party at Shona's parent's house this afternoon. These are the little cakes that I made to celebrate the occasion.

The happy couple

The ring

The cake made by Shona's sister.

World Card Making Day at Bubbly Funk Forum

Today was World Card Making Day and over at Bubbly Funk Forum, we have been having a mini-crop. I've been really busy today so haven't had much time to make anything other than this one card. It's from a sketch by Kaz of Slightly Wonky Crafts and uses the lovely 'My Minds Eye, Colourful Christmas' papers that came in the Bubbly Funk September Kit.

Guest Designer on Daring Card Makers

I couldn't believe it when I was approached to be a Guest Designer for Daring Card Makers. DCM is THE original challenge blog and the ideas are always interesting and challenging. I've been doing the dares off and on for just over two years. You can see my very first dare HERE


This week's dare is 'Folding- up' and I've chosen to make a Joy Fold Card. I made one before using Kathy's tutorial on Bubbly Scrumptious and really enjoyed making it.

This card is to give to my son and his fiancee as they got engaged last week. I used Dream Street 'Simply Stated' papers which were part of a Bubbly Funk Kit and I only have a few bits and pieces left.

I was really pleased to be able to use the couple and put their names on the characters and the little date element to mark the date that DS1 proposed (everybody say ahhhh). The chippie heart was painted by acrylic paint and then sprayed with Red Velvet Glimmer mists.