Ploughed and Harrowed in the Spring

Our fields have been ploughed, harrowed and re-seeded for the first time in over 60 years, so I thought it only right that I recorded this event in a digital page.

PTON Art Mask for Scrapbookgraphics

Paper - PTON add on for Scrapbookgraphics

Butterflies from Outside my Window by Snickerdoodle Designs

365 Catch Up

Template - Jessica Sprague, Blue paper - Ellie Lash, all other papers and elements - For Melissa collab from Scrapbookgraphics

It's been a busy time for me with visitors, going up to Edinburgh for a cupcake decorating course and away overnight for a work related meeting.  All of this has meant I have fallen behind with my 365+1.  As I am also going to have a visitor this weekend, I really needed to catch up!  So it's three in one, the journalling on the layout tells you about the photographs.

365+1 - Kitchen Utensil

Studio Sherrie JD - Kitschy Kitchen, Connie Prince - Spring is my Thing

I've no idea how old this spoon must be, I've had it for 27 years and it looked just the same then, so I can only imagine it is about 50 or 60 years old at least!

A loaf of bread...

We've all heard the old saying

'A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou.

But did you know that phrase came from

a love poem.

"A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread-and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness-
O, Wilderness were Paradise enow!" 

This is the challenge that was set over at the Soartful Blog and this picture was provided for inspiration, here is my take on quote and picture:

 The photograph is one of my own from Montelcino in Tuscany, Italy.  There are a couple of overlays from the Scrappin' Cop, the vintage couple are a freebie from Art Freebies Blog, various digital elements from designers at Scrapbookgraphics.

Blue and White...Green and Yellow!

Moving away from the holiday photos again for a moment, here are some bits of crafting I've been doing since I came home. 

The theme for Something Completely Different this week is 'Blue & White' and we are still on Skinnis (3" x 5") cards.

 I used the stamp that came with Craft Stamper, stamped with Brilliance Mediterranean Blue on white card on the left and embossed with holographic powder on the right, I  then stamped and cut out the shell, the embossing wasn't showing up terribly well so I highlighted the 'sea shells' text with white gel pen and then did a bit of doodling, finished off with three buttons from my stash.

Now for the 'Green and Yellow'.  One of the nice things about being on holiday is that we have been able to take our son & DIL's dog out for walks.  I took some photographs of Muffin when we took her through our hay fields on Tuesday.  

All the papers and elements are digital and by Studio Tangie@Scrapbookgraphics.com. The kit is a bargain buy August 2009 grab bag which I got for $1.00!

Garnet: the birthstone of January

The Daring Cardmakers are back after the Christmas break with a new challenge and some new ideas, here is what they are daring us to do this week:

"We thought it would be fun to have series of linked challenges that run throughout the whole of 2010. We're going to use the first Dare of each month to make cards featuring the birthstone for that month. How you decide to use the birthstone is up to you, it may be a card for someone who has a birthday during that month, it may simply be an any occasion card using the colour of the birthstone - anything goes, really as long as somehow the birthstone is hinted at. The birthstone for the month of January is the GARNET"

Paper: K&Co Madeleine (yes I still have some of this paper)
Vintage picture from Red collage sheet - Last Door Down the Hall
Tag - Digital element from Scrapbookgraphics Melissa Mini-kit
Sketch No 17 - Kathy Black at Kathy's Waffle Sketch File

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.

We interrupt this holiday for the DCM Dare!

This week I, (Lythan) want you to commiserate with me as I miss my daughter, off all weekend on a school trip. So the theme is

Miss you

Make a card that shares your love with someone - it could be missing you, thinking of you, across the miles - just let you imagination take flight, as the wonderful design team have! I look forward to whiling away my lonely hours by visiting your blogs!


I knew I wouldn't use a card that said 'Miss You', so decided to go for 'Thinking of you'. I felt like making a digi-hybrid card, although I think it probably took me longer than if I'd just hit my stash pile!

Digi Kit is the 'For Melissa' collaboration by the Scrapbookgraphics DT and the stitching came from the Kit TGIF (Thank Gosh I'm Female) by Pixelgeek Designs for Scraporchard. The ribbon is real all the rest are digi elements printed and cut out, font is CK Ali's handwriting.

I think I must have 'fish brains' today, I also want to acknowledge the sketch I used for the card, it is sketch 11 from Kathy's Waffle Sketch File.

I found a new place to play :) It's called Digitalartquirks and I found it via one of the players of the Artarazzi challenge. This challenge uses a stock photo, this one is 945051_10224323 from Stock Xchng, which members have to use in their art work.
When I looked at the railings, I was reminded of the Suffragettes and how they chained themselves to the railings. The newspaper images are from The Museum of London, background paper mgl scraps at Scrapbookgraphics and the chain is by Lisa Bowman for Digital Craft Cottage. The rest is mainly done with standard filters on Photoshop Elements.

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.