Double Helpings!

I'm just sneaking these two competition entries in under the wire!  Both are due for 31st March and I didn't want to blog the birthday card until today as it is my friend's birthday tomorrow and she does sometimes look at my blog.  However, I know she is out and about today and not near a computer, so it is safe to go ahead.

First is a tag I have created using Tando Creative Chipboard.  Tando run a monthly competition with lovely prizes, the rules are simple you have to make a piece just for the competition and include a piece of Tando chippie.

The tag came from a pair of jeans and has been lurking around my desk for some time waiting for the right project. It was painted with Ranger Acrylic daubers, gessoed and then,inspired by the Utube clip over on Bubbly Scrumptious, I embossed it in my Cuttlebug using the 'Friend' folder.  Swiped over the embossing with dark brown ink.

The Tando piece is the lovely branch of leaves, which again was painted with acrylics and then highlighted with Distress inks in Peeled Paint and Rusty Hinge (I have only got 6 Distress Ink Pads, so the same ones do appear regularly). Flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts.
The little tag was made with an offcut from the Thrinchie I made yesterday with some bits of lace, ribbons and buttons from my stash.


Second item is my card for the Get Funky Challenge 'Girls Girls Girls'

 f,

The Funky Hand paper is from the Papercraft Factory CD in the Just Happy range.  Vintage images from Millie Motts and e-crafting.com, flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Just in case you were wondering, my friend is not French, but her name is Avril and when I saw the image on the Millie Motts site, I knew I had to keep it to use for her next birthday, particularly as it featured shoes and handbags! As the text is in french on the advert I continued the theme with the Paris collage sheet and the french birthday greeting.

Titania Queen of the Faeries

The SCD (Something Completely Different) challenge this week was to create a Thrinchie (3 x 3 inch square) featuring a crown.  I got my subscription copy of Craft Stamper yesterday and really like the tutorial they had by Liesbeth Fidder called 'Layer upon Layer', so I used this technique to create my background.  The fairy stamp came from Sue in a stamped image swap.  The quote is, of course, from Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare: "You spotted snakes with double tongue; Thorny hedgehogs be not seen; Newts and blind worms do no wrong. Come not near our fairy queen".

Background: Distress Inks - Peeled Paint and Rusty Hinge

Stamps - dragonfly and crown (Craft Stamper freebies), Flourish - Dimension Fourth

The Simple Woman's Daybook- 30th March 2010

To join in or read more  Daybook Entries go to The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY - Tuesday 30th March

Outside my window... it is very wet and there is snow on the hills.  Fortunately we don't have any here, but it is much colder than of late.
I am thinking...about what crafting I am going to do today, it is so nice to be off work and able to play!
I am thankful for...the chance to take things a bit more slowly this week.
From the kitchen...Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies (you can see them over on Farmersgirl Kitchen) 

I am wearing..pink cotton roll neck jumper, brown cords, purple birkenstocks (different cords but basically same as last week!)
I am creating...nothing much as yet, but will be making some cards later
I am going...to the Beauty Salon this afternoon for a back, neck and shoulder massage AND a facial - woo hoo!
I am reading... Linda Farstein, Final Jeapordy
I am hoping...to get my outfit for my son's wedding when I go to Glasgow on Thursday.
I am hearing...the wagon arrive for the silage bales, DH has just gone down to get the tractor started and load them up

Around the house...the joiner says he will be here to fit the new kitchen next week, maybe Tuesday.
One of my favorite things...getting a facial :-)
A few plans for the rest of the week... I am planning on slowing down, today is the first day I have felt that I am starting to relax, had to drag myself out of bed this morning. I probably would have slept longer but the builders arrived and started banging around on the scaffolding outside my bedroom window!  However, they have finished for now (weather too bad) and wont be back till next week, so I may get my long lie tomorrow.

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

DH was out in the barn yesterday and spied this little abandoned nest, probably a swallow nest, so we went back today with the camera to get a shot.  These holes in the barn wall would have been for beams as I remember there was a hay loft above this area when we first moved down to the farm.  It was riddled with woodworm so we took it down.

 Moving in closer you can see that some of the nesting material has spilled out and if you look very closely you will see that there is also a piece of the string that is used to tie the bales, DH thought it looked like the nest had a ribbon tied around it!

and here it is in all it's glory, a perfect round nest packed tightly between the stones.  We will check later in the spring to see if the swallows return to this nest as they often do.

Jingle Bells!

Its time for the 25th Club on Bubbly Funk Forum, where some of the forum members have challenged themselves to make a certain number of Christmas cards each month. 

I'm in charge of the challenge for April and I thought I would go with a sketch.

And here is the card I made, the ribbon doesn't look quite that squint in real life!  The stamped image came from an image swap and is coloured with Copics.  Jingle Bells stamp is Studio G.

Not quite refined!

" She was not what you would called refined.  She was not quite what you would call unrefined.  She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot"  Mark Twain.

 Jeanette has provided us with a beautiful frame for this week's Soartful Challenge.  I had a look through the Art Freebies that June kindly provides over the many weeks that I have been following her lovely blog, and I found this gorgeous image of the lady with the parrot!   I felt that it needed a quote, so a little searching found me that great quote at the top of the post.

PS this one is especially for Net!!!

How Egg-citing!

Daring Card Makers time again, I've managed to get my card done more quickly this week. Lythan has chosen  the theme for the dare this week and it is: Easter Eggs

The vintage image comes from The Graphics Fairy.

Friday Photo Flashback Family

Visit Alicia at More than Words to link to more Friday Photo Flashback posts

 

I promised that I'd show a picture of me with a perm.  Now I have some really horrible photos of a perm I had in the early 1980's, it went completely wrong and my hair actually broke off!!  Well I'm not going to show you those... at least not this week.

This is a later 1990's perm when I had long hair again, it was much easier to grow my hair if it was permed.  But in the end, because I have such thick hair, it just took too long to dry it in the morning and I got fed up and had it cut off.  Andrew looks about 5 or 6 so this must be about 1994/5.

From left to right: Steven, my mum, my sister, my gran (dad's mum), Andrew, me, Dad.  Behind me is my Uncle Fred and Aunty Phyllis.

So Tweet!

 Daring Card Makers

"This week it's Vanessa here to set the dare and I really love this time of year because the nights are rapidly getting shorter and the days longer. Spring is in the air, the birds are chirping and tweeting early in the mornings and I'm starting to think about mowing that lawn again!

Your challenge this week is :
Tweetie Pie
Please use a bird or birds on your card and that's it, any kind you like."

 

 

My card is loosely based on Sketch 7 from Kathy's Waffle Sketch File, the stamp is a Craft Stamper freebie, a few flowers and dewdrops and a bit more 'scribbling' round the edges, this time with toning watercolour pencils lightly blended over with water.

 

Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY - Monday 22nd March
Outside my window... builders still on the roof
I am thinking...about how much I have to do this week.
I am thankful for...the next two days working closer to home
From the kitchen...Minute Apple Tart
I am wearing..pink cotton roll neck jumper, grey cords, purple birkenstocks
I am creating...still working on my basket
I am going...to be off work this time next week
I am reading... Anne Perry, Whited Sepulchres
I am hoping...to have a good meeting tomorrow
I am hearing...Dinnington Brass Band on the TV
Around the house...It's not very warm as we can't put on the gas fire in our living room as that is the chimney that the workmen are rebuilding.
One of my favorite things...spending time in my home
A few plans for the rest of the week... only one more day travelling away this week, lunch out with friends on Friday, I'm looking forward to that.

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

One of our new calves, being nosy!

Signs of a 'Soartful' Spring

It's Soartful Challenge time again. 

Here is the image from Jeanette and the theme is Spring.

And here is my piece, if you look closely you will see that the lady with the parasol is in the centre of the daisies.  Digital elements are from Digiscrap Girls 'Signs of Spring' kit.

Friends are like fiddle strings...

So, after last week with the 'Men' Thrinchie I thought I would try another piece in 3" x 3".   The theme for this week on 'Something Completely Different' is Musical Instruments. I was tempted to use the saxophone stamp that you may have seen before, but decided that the Maya Road rub-ons with the violin, bow and music notes would fit the 3" better!  The quote reads:

"Friends are like fiddle strings; they must not be screwed too tight"  

note the screw-type brad, as soon as I found that quote I knew I had to use one of the screw brads I've been hoarding for about 3 years.

Distress Inks in Rusty Nail, Peeled Paint and Adirondack Pebble.  A bit of Gesso dry brushing and a Dimension Fourth stamp of sheet music.  Then a wee bit of scribbling round the edges and it was done.

Chocolate Giveaway

There's a Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg giveaway over on the Jam and Clotted Cream Blog why not drop in there and join in to win a gorgeous luxury Easter Egg.  Tempted?  Chocolate from Hotel Chocolat is really something special, if you haven't tried it you can see what they have on offer HERE

Friday Photo Flashback and a Sunshine Award

I received this Sunshine Award from Tattered and Lost Ephemera.  If you haven't visited this blog before you really should, the ephemera is often in the form of old advertisements and the commentary is amusing and informative at the same time.

I'd like to pass this award on to a few blogs which I enjoy visiting, not so much for their crafty content but for the way they are written or the inspiration they provide.

Feeding Family For Fifty - Helen McGinn has blogged off for a little while and I miss reading about how she tries to feed her family well for £50 a week.  There is lots of other interest in her stories too.  Even though she isn't blogging right now, read back through her posts and hopefully she will be back online soon. 


Millie Motts There isn't often any text on this blog, just fabulous vintage fashion images.  They are so interesting and inspiring, they don't really need any text.


With a Grateful Prayer & a Thankful Heart Lorraine provides a warm mixture of crafts, cooking, photography and family life and blogs pretty much every day.

 and now for Friday Photo Flashback.  Helen of 'Feeding a Family for Fifty' wanted to see what I looked like in my 'hippy' phase.  So here I am aged nearly 15 on holiday in Italy (1974) with long hair. Spot the enormous watch with double strap, unfortunately, you can't see my flares. There really aren't many photos of me at this age as I was really self-conscious and avoided the camera whenever I could, there is even cine film of me turning and walking away from the camera taken in Venice.  A very different stage in my life from the one where I happily posed for the photo I showed last week!

PS I have posted this photo before, I used it in my blog header when I turned 50 and was asked to post the original photo.  But when I went to look for a 'hippy' photo, it was the only one I could find.  

Spring - Winter -Spring

To visit other Daybook entries, click on the picture above.

FOR TODAY - Monday 15th March
Outside my window... two van loads of builders and roofers, fixing our roof but at starting at 7.30am :o
I am thinking...that I need to make more effort to get some exercise, I feel stiff and unfit.
I am thankful for...the longer, lighter nights
From the kitchen...Spinach & ricotta canneloni
I am wearing...my yoga pants because I have just done some yoga (see thoughts above!)
I am creating...a basket to decorate my home for Easter.
I am going...to Ayr tomorrow for a meeting.
I am reading... Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke (am I obsessed by food? lol!)
I am hoping...that everything goes well with the office move on Thursday and Friday
I am hearing...DH emptying the dishwasher
Around the house...Lots of disruption, things in boxes waiting for the joiner to arrive and refurbish the kitchen.
One of my favorite things...cookery programmes on tv - I'm watching Raymond Blanc eating watercress! Yes, I am obsessed by food and cooking.
A few plans for the rest of the week... lots of travelling this week, the big move at the end of the week, my mum's birthday on Thursday.

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

I love tulips. I bought this bunch for my MIL for Mothers Day, the glorious colours of tulips seem to tell of the warmth of Spring more than daffodils which come out when it is still cold.

...and now a little WINTER, a snowman card for the March challenge in the Bubbly Funk, 25th Club, where we make Christmas cards all year!

The stamped image came from a swap, I coloured with copics, I think the paper was from an RAK from Kathy Black (a long, long time ago!) and three little green brads.

...and back to Spring again.

Oh ye of little faith - oops!

I was a little suprised that Steven had been round yesterday and hadn't left a card for me, this is where the 'oh ye of little faith' bit comes in! He arrived later this afternoon with a huge bunch of roses and a Mothers Day card. I filled two vases with the flowers, they are lovely. Mind you nothing from Andrew lol!

Whispers of Mothers Day

This is the card I made for my MIL for Mothers Day, my mum got the Aquamarine card I made for last week's Daring Card Makers Dare. I used the colours from the Bubbly Scrumptious prompt Whispers of Colour No. 3, "Chocolate, Pink, Green and Red". The red is a pinky red but I thought it was near enough.

Papers and chippie butterfly are K&Co Madeleine (yes, I still have a few bits left!)
Sketch is Becky Fleck/PageMaps March 2010 Card Maps

Oops!

I haven't done the Soartful challenge for a few weeks, but I'm back to my usual challenges and this is the cute little image that Jeanette has provided to inspire our digital art works.
My Oops is courtesy of The Scrappin Cop for the(overlay and vintage slide and MLE Card of Digichick for the tea stains from the Tealicious digital kit.

Men!

The Something Completely Different challenge this month is to make 'thrinchies' (three inch squares) and the theme this week is Men. I rummaged around in my stamps to see what kind of 'men' I had in there and came across this one which I got in a charity stamp mixed bag. My brain worked something like this: Men...bicycle = that old 70s women's lib adage "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"

I did go through a bit of a women's lib phase e.g. reading Spare Rib and wearing dungarees (only because they were fashionable) but I never was able to give up men!

Distress Inks (damsels in distress?) in Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick and Milled Lavender.

We are golden!

A Host of Golden Daffodils

this week.

Please use daffodils on your cards or maybe make a card inspired in some way by those sunny yellow flowers.

When I read the 'dare' on Daring Card Makers this week I knew I had the perfect stamp. I have no idea who makes it, I got it on ebay years ago as an unmounted stamp. I felt it deserved a very simple treatment, so a bit of copic colouring a contrasting matt and a few 'jewels' is all I needed to do to make this one.

1978 - Friday Photo Flashback

Click on the image above to find the links to more Flashbacks.

I'm sharing a photo of me this week for Friday Photo Flashback. I changed my Facebook avatar to this picture a couple of days ago and had a lot of very positive comments, so thought I'd share it here too.

My dad was an amateur photographer in the days before digital, he build himself a darkroom inside the outhouse at the back of our house and did all his own developing. Anyway, we were often required to act as photographers models so got quite used to posing.

I think this would have been taken in 1978 just before I returned for my third year at university, so I would have been 19. It is so hard to believe it is over 30 years ago :o

Last of the scrapbook pages

Here are the last of the scrapbook pages, they've got a little out of order but you get the general idea! This one above is Andrew with his girlfriend.

I wanted to scrap this photograph of the boys with their Dad taken on holiday in Germany. I've also had that 'grape' paper for a very long time and it matched the theme perfectly.
I've posted this LO before, but it was the final one in the album so no apology for showing it again.

Another three pages and a DCM!

I haven't managed to take part in the Daring Card Makers challenge for a few weeks, mainly due to making scrapbook pages!! This week I've used the theme to make a Mother's Day card for my Mum, I decided not to put Happy Mother's Day on the outside but put it inside instead.

We have arrived at the start of another month which means it is a colour theme based on the birthstone of the month -

Aquamarine.

Its an interesting stone as it comes in various colours - aquamarines come in sea blue; sky blue; blue green and sea green which is a lovely broad sea/sky palette. The crystal structure is hexagonal. It is also associated with the properties of faithfulness, courage and friendship.

The image is from The Graphics Fairy and I was inspired by Caroline's card featuring punched lace on the Fiskarettes site.

And here are another three scrapbook pages. This one features little punched out photos of all the close family, including some who are no longer with us.

My son is a talented musician, but there are not many photographs of him playing. I converted the three photos to black and white to create this monochrome page.
He is also an artist and recently returned to college to study art, most of his work is not at home, so I was somewhat limited in what I had available to use, so lots of my doodling too. I also managed to fit in the 'Stitch' stamp from Stampotique. This is probably my favourite page.
There are another couple of pages which I'll post up tomorrow.

Andrew's Scrapbook pages 1-3

Here us the first page from Andrew's scrapbook, I've covered the details of the journalling on this one.
This picture is from Andrew's baptism, with his aunt and godmother, Brian's sister Isabel. The fabric is not from his christening gown it is from a vintage underskirt but is reminiscent of the gown both boys wore, made by my mum.
This one is from when we went to Florida with my mum and dad, it was really hard to find photos of Andrew on his own, but lots with his brother!

Birthday Boy

We went up to Glasgow to meet up with my son and his girlfriend to celebrate his 21st birthday (which was last week). We met at La Vita Pizzeria on the corner of George Square and had a really nice time.
I also gave him the scrapbook that I made for his birthday and he really liked it. He thought it would be full of embarrassing photographs and was pleased that it wasn't! I'll blog the pages throughout this coming week.

Chim-Chiminey

Okay, so I'm no Mary Poppins and our Chim-chiminey isn't quite like the one in the movie, but here are some more pictures. The 'manitou' lifting thingy arrived at the beginning of the week to bring down the sandstone block from the chimney.

Here it is in all it's glory.

The builders have covered over the chimney well while they are away for the weekend.

Here are some of the blocks that were brought down from the chimney.