Animals acting like humans.

Over at Dis digi designs challenge. The challenge this week is animals acting like humans. These sweet sewing mice caught my eye and I enjoyed colouring then in with promarker! I have been trying to destash and all I am succeeding in doing is digging stuff out and saying "ooh I like that! " then I use it and don't get rid of it! I am using stash up though!

Last Lili of the week.

Such a cute Teddy, carrying his presents on his sledge! This Lili of the valley stamp is called " Christmas bears sledge" bet that took a lot of thinking about! I have dug out a martha stewart punch for this one and again been using up the Lakeland sentiments. Papers are old papermania ones that are a little glittery and sparkly, which sadly doesn't show up very well. Anyway, it's Friday everybody so enjoy the weekend. x

Light the lamp

Love these sweet carol singers and just loved colouring these sweeties. Papers from my stash...yep old ones! Bits of left over ribbon and the snowflake is a noor design one, sorry cant' rememebr the number or name. The stamp I have used is a Lili of the Valley one and it's called " In the lamplight"

Retired stamp

This little sweetie is now retired from Lili of the valley. It's called Christmas magic. She has such a sweet little face. Hardly any doilies left now and that's the last of that red ribbon and only a couple of the hearts left. Plenty of papers still to go though! At this rate I'll be able to buy new papers in several years time!

Feeling Blue?

I just love these little cuties posting their letter, probably to Santa! I'm still on my quest to use up bits and pieces! So I have used very old papers from several years ago, doilies...I only have a few of these left now and scraps of card to cut the snowflake. The little heart stick on was a freebie from a magazine a while back....so yay my stash is reducing...be it very slowly! The stamp I have used is called Festive Post, but at the time of writing I see that it's out of stock.

Christmas is coming!

Whilst I was away on holiday I coloured in a little stash of Lili of the valley images. Some of them, I am ashamed to say, have never been inked up, so I have decided to go through them all and use every single one! That should keep me busy! I just love colouring and These images are just so cute and cry out for lots of pretty patterened paper and embellishments. I can't resist them. being a good girl though I  am trying to reduce my craft stash by using up neglected embellishments, or sentiments, ribbons etc, so that I can buy more once it's all gone! Ha hum.....that's what I have told hubby as he looked at my paper mountain!! We don't talk about the stamps....it's easier not to! So first up is this cutie. The papers are very old ones from my stash , the ribbon is a snippet that was in my stash, and the sentiment is years old. the stamp I used is called Winter walk and is still available to buy at Lili of the valley. My image has been coloured with copics, my favourite colouring medium.

Crafty thoughts!

I met my friend Kathy yesterday at the tollgate tea rooms, which is a lovely little place serving enormous tea cakes, real tea with proper tea leaves, excellent if you like the taste of tea and a snug, cosy feel to it, even if the wood panelling did attack my ankle as I opened the front door, and the lights went out and the parking spaces were quite limited as it was busy! Anyway, catching up with Kathy was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed our natter about the important things in life like stash, what you use most, haven't touched for years and the shocking truth you are faced with once you look at how much of it you have! Kathy told me about the summer club she had been involved with and told me that she had loads of patterend paper that she hadn't used and some things she had given to a friend as she no longer used which included peel offs. She also talked of being liberated to paint....this set me thinking once I got home. I too have loads of stash...I NEED it all you understand, but some of it has been very neglected and at the time cost a fair bit of money. I looked through my colouring mediums and discovered some LYRA aquacolour crayons. I dusted them off and thought to myself I wonder! "Liberation " ran through my ears and brain!!

I spritzed the back of this stamp with water and scribbled........yes SCRIBBLED three colours on to the back of it I then pressed down..........oh............not a very crisp outline and a bit splodgy. In temper I stamped it again, trying to remove the colour and low and behold my second print was much better. Rightly or wrongly I then got hold of a black fine liner and thought I'd try to define the image... Ok , it's not perfect and a wee bit clunky, but I think I might try this again with a different stamp as I quite like the effect it gives. It's sooooo different from my normal work and is VERY CAS for me! It's better from a slight distance than close up, but for quickness and easiness, I think it's great!

 

Then I thought about the peel offs that Kathy had talked about. I have loads of them and I do use the fine lined ones but can't remember the last time I used the more solid ones.  I dug out my promarkers this time and I haven't used them for ages either, some of them were not in a good way! I also dug out my buttons and I realised I do have a button addiction, but they don't get used! I quite like this for quickness and simplicity too.

It's amazing when I look back at old cards that I made using the same ingredients, how much more stylish the results are. I thought this would make a lovely little notelet to send .

 

So thanks Kathy, our trip out was very productive. Next weekend I'm going to dig out some more " old stash" and I'm going to enjoy using it in new ways!

 

Fabulous fall colours

Over at Dis' digi downloads challenge the challenge this fortnight is fabulous fall colours. This is very appropriate here as the council have drastically cut back the trees behind our garden. You would not believe how much light has flooded back in to our house and oddly how much it has lifted both mine and my hubby's mood! It has also shown up the dust, but hey that's a good thing because it's forced me to declutter some stuff as well. Anyway moving swiftly on, this is my little effort for the challenge. Loved colouring this little cutie and enjoyed making the huge bloom as well!

Off out this afternoon with a crafty pal for a coffee and I see that the sun has come out....in the misheard words of my four year old nephew....." The sun has got his "hap"on....hip hip, hip hip hooray." Bless..he started school this week and after his first visit he said " I don't think I'll go there again, I didn't think much of it!" His next visit, he asked his mum how long he had to stay and she told him " two hours" so he promptly went up to his teacher and said " I'm only staying for two minutes mind!"

Happy Birthday

Here's the card I made for my dear auntie' s birthday today. The image is from di' s digi downloads. Love these cute mice.

Makes updates.

I've been hiding away here....lost mojo...feeling a bit down in the dumps and more than a little stressed out with stuff. Not something I want to express publically. Have missed quite a few of Di's challenges..well being posted anyway. I have been doing them! So here are the ones I have not put on my blog. I have a break away soon and I can't wait....peace, tranquillity and nobody badgering me for everything and anything, this is just what I need...there's just a small matter of putting up a tent with the hubby! We have a new tent and had a practice run yesterday. We are still speaking, so there's hope yet!

Two little makes this weekend.

I have so many stamps and papers they are coming out of my ears! Thought it was about time that I had a play with them as I was seriously contemplating giving it up. I rarely get time to do it and am not always pleased with what I do, but thanks to some friends lovely comments and a bit of a pep talk I have decided that I should carry on with it, but somehow make time for it, order it and set myself little goals. There are so many tempting things to buy out there, but I/we don't need it! I'm listening to my inner self and I know I love colouring so ink pieces of art aren't me. I don't do CAS, not because I don't like it, I do, some people do magnificent work that's stunning, but it's not what I do best, in fact it's never done well by me...it's not in my skill set!

 I have been beating myself up a little that other people have moved on in their crafting journey and I haven't, I'm where I am, I just love creating with copics and promarkers and that's it! I have inks, watercolours, h2os, pencils, distress inks, the works....but again I'm never pleased with what I do...so my crossroads was met...stop and go back , turn left down the sewing/knitting aisle, right down the paint and ink aisle or straight on down the copics aisle. I'm opting for straight on,on the straight road, doing the colouring that I enjoy with the pretty embellishments, sometimes over done, that I enjoy and stay focussed on that road until my colouring is perfect and I no longer cut wonky edges!
I just hope I have made the right choice.

Load on the flowers.

Another fortnight passed by! This week over at Di's the theme is load on the flowers. I'm off out in a mo, so back later x

Oh no I have just noticed a peel off trying to escape!

Dis digi designs.

Easter

I'm so behind on everything! It's Easter next weekend and I always send Easter cards, but I am struggling to get them done, so I reached for an old CD that I have " Me to You Spring chic". I had forgotten these pretties and it was great to get out old craft stuff that has been sitting in the cupboard waiting for an outing! I dug out my peel offs and paper flowers that have just been gathering dust, and my decoupage snips and pinflair glue. It was quite therapeutic to cut out the little tiny pieces. Better get cracking though....pardon the pun as it's my Dad's 70th on the 7th April and I haven't made a card yet!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those mums out there. I hope you have all had  awonderful day. This is the card that I made for my own Mum. She loved it, thank goodness!

Lots of green.

Oh dear I'm late posting this one. Had a very busy day yesterday lots of running around like a headless chicken and forgot which week we were on! More running around today, but I have found my head!

 

My green card is St Patrick's Day inspired...these little dis digi mice are so cute! I have become obsessed with wee mice! 

House mouse Easter.

I do love mice images....amazing really as I hate the real life critters! I saw this stamp and thought it would be perfect for my Easter makes...some not all! My image has been coloured with promarkers and prisma pencils and for me it's embellishment light! I resisted the temptation to put my flowers all over it as I didn't want to distract the eye from the oh so sweet image!

Birthday celebrations!

Another fortnight passed and it's time to add another Di's digi downloads challenge. This week, fitting for me, being a birthday girl tomorrow, it's birthdays!

I have made two little creations for the challenge in honour of being a birthday girl.....both coloured with promarkers.

I shall enter these in to the following challenges:
Natalie and Amy's challenge - flowers
Brown sugar challenge - Anything goes
I love promarkers - Animals

Lots of embellishments.

This fortnight the theme is lots of embellishments over at Di's Digi designs. Right up my street then! This cute card has been coloured with promarkers! makes a change doesn't it? Many thanks to my friend Di, currently enjoying living in Spain, for the pretty flowers used on this card.

I will enter this card in to the following challenges.

Brown sugar challenge. Use a bow and a die cut

Simply create too -Anything goes

Simon wednesday challenge - All creatures great and small

Have a heart!

Another fortnight passed and boo hoo...I'm still not 100% better, but the antibiotics have helped. Anyway, this fortnight the challenge over at Di's is "use a heart". I just love Di's little mice images and I can't get enough of them! This little one was coloured with promarkers for a change and the table cloth has been slathered in glossy accents, as has the little bowl. It took days to dry!!!!! The flowers are wild orchid crafts and the other bits and pieces were from my stash.

 

Going to enter this card in to the following challenges:

Allsorts - Flowers

Suzy bees challenge blog - Anything goes with stitching, real or faux

My shery crafts - include at least one heart.