Totally Gorjuss 175 - Something Old!

Hi everyone, Saturday again already. This week hasn't been as busy as last week but still quite busy. Hopefully next week will be more normal, if there is such a thing! 

But as usual on a Saturday morning I have a card to show you that I've made for Totally Gorjuss. This week our theme is something old. I've chosen to use one of my older stamps but you could use an image of someone old or make a card for someone old or use some old stash. It's up to you how you interpret the challenge. It'll be interesting to see what everyone does.

Image :- Gorguss Girl from Sugar Nellies.
Colouring :- Promarkers.
DP :- LOTV.
Flowers :- Prima.
Corners :- Whimsy.
Flourish :- Sizzix.
Pearls:-  Hobby House.
Brad :- Doodlebug Design.

Isn't she lovely? And she was so easy to colour. It's ages since I used a Gorjuss Girl. Takes me back to when the Totally Gorjuss challenge started at first lol!

I'm also entering the following challenges :-
Cute Card Thursday :- Anything Goes.
In the Pink :- Floral/Mothers' Day.
Fussy and Fancy :-Flowers.
Sugar Bowl :- Anything Goes.
By the Cute and Girly :- Favourite Things. Gorjuss Girl, Promarkers and I love the Whimsy corner.
Bunny Zoe :- Girly.

That's all for now girls. I'll have to catch up later, probably this evening as I have to travel to Crieff after work. It takes over 3 hours to get there. Well you have to stop for a coffee, don't you?

Thanks for your kind comments, much appreciated. Have a lovely weekend.

Kat xx

Recent Makes - Not Cards!!

Since I haven't done much else recently I thought I'd show you a couple of the things I made for the recent WRI show.

I had 14 entries for the show last Saturday and even managed to get some tickets. My green plant was 1st. It's a really nice healthy plant but a bit of a pest to transport. My cherry loaf was second. Now that was a real surprise as there are some fantastic bakers in the 9 WRIs that take part so I was pretty chuffed. I also got highly commended for my child's apron and crochet Christmas decoration in 20 cotton (quite fine!) I also got commended for my knitted ladies' hat.  At our own show my child's v-neck slipover was first and also got the special prize in Handcrafts. The plant was first again. My decorated candle was 2nd and my oven baked oatcakes, Anzac biscuits and cherry loaf were all 3rd I think. My cheese straws were either 2nd or 3rd! The candle and cheese straws were two of the things I didn't get done for the Saturday show. The candle because I messed up the first one I tried (the very first one I ever tried!) and the cheese straws because by the time I'd finished the rest of the baking I'd had enough!

This is Poppy's apron! Really difficult to see the pockets but I think you might just see them. I'd have liked to have done the neck strap, ties and pockets in a contrast but the only one they had was blue with white spots and the blue was completely different. The material is Kath Kidston and quite expensive but you wouldn't believe how bad it was for fraying. The pattern didn't say to finish off the pockets on the wrong side but I could hear my Mum saying finish off the raw edges - so I did! I was also very careful about pressing seams etc as I could hear that too lol!

This is my decorated candle. I didn't have it done for Saturday as I heated it too much and the wax melted. I managed to get some on my trousers but I got it off luckily with an iron and some brown paper! I read that you need to heat up your heat gun first so I tried that and it worked. I should have made sure I knew what to do before I started!! 

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black.

Lace :- Ribbon Girl.

I'm going to enter the candle at Hotshot Crafts where the challenge is anything but a card.

And I couldn't resist showing you my cheese straws. Not because they're good just because I think they look cute.

I did mean to show you my child's v-nck slipover but I forgot to take a photo and I left it with one of my WRI friends who'll pass on all our jumpers to a lady who sends them overseas. Just imagine a little red slipover lol!

I probably don't need to tell you that my Victorian style Christmas card came nowhere in the competition on Saturday. My friend and I both made cards completely from scratch and we're both sure that ours were Victorian style. We're still trying to figure out what was Victorian about the cards that were placed and commended lol!

Well since I've achieved nothing today, well unless you count giving blood this morning! I've also ordered some stuff I need for the kids to decorate boiled eggs at Messy Church next week.

Almost time for a yummy lamb curry now, made with real genuine lamb lol!! I know this because I made it. My evening out is cancelled now so after two evenings out in a row this week I can get some crafting done and if I'm lucky even some blogging.

Thanks for looking and I really appreciate your lovely comments.

Kat xx

At Last!

Feels like ages since I managed to post anything. I even had to apologise to the rest of the DT for not managing to make a card for Totally Gorjuss. Last week I was so busy making and baking for our local WRI show that I hardly even had time to go online. Not sure this week's going to be much better! Tomorrow evening I'm going to a quiz night at another WRI, Wednesday evening is our own meeting and it's our mini bulb show. Luckily I have most of the items I need except cheese straws. Thursday morning I'm going to give blood and out to a friend's house in the evening to craft. Phew where did the week go. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Anyway enough waffle, here's a quick and simple card I made this evening.

I used :-
Images :- Inkadinkado.
Sentiment :- Hero Arts.
I stamped the dog in SU Pool Party, masked his head and stamped the bone in Summer Starfruit.

Challenges :-
Less is More :- Spots and stripes.
Addicted to Stamps and More :- CAS.
CAS on Sunday :- Happy Birthday.

I hate to think how long I've had this stamp and this is the first time it's seen ink!

I think that's me for the day now. I seem to have pottered about all day and achieved nothing. Well I did do a bit of tidying during the day and experimented with cutting out some stuff on my Cricut.

Thanks for looking and I really appreciate the comments you leave me.

Kat xx

What Do You Think?

I've been trying to make some things for my WRI show next week so I thought I'd get your opinion on my Victorian Style Christmas card. I borrowed this lovely stamp from a friend. I think he looks like a Victorian Santa. Not sure I've done him justice though! 

I used :-

Image :- Stampendous.

DP :- GCD Studios.

Flowers and leaves :- Nellie Snellen punches.

Sentiment :- LOTV.

Pearls :- Hobby House.

Corners :- Whimsy.

Glamour Dust.

Lace and ribbon from stash.

Isn't it funny how things turn out a different colour in a photo. The flowers and mats are actually a lovely pearlised dark red. The ribbon was quite bright so I darkened it with some Brushed Corduroy DI!//

Challenges :-

Stampin for the Weekend :- Use lace.
ABC Christmas :- D is for Designer Paper.
Christmas Card Challenges :- Anything Goes.
Crafty Ribbons :- Anything Goes with Ribbon.

But does this look like a Victorian style Christmas card  or is it just me that thinks that? It's a bit more elaborate than the cards I've been making recently. To say the least! I've spent ages making it but more than likely it's been a waste of time. What usually wins the handmade card category is the one that's made using bits popped out of a sheet and stuck on or bought toppers. Not one that's been completely made from scratch! Ok rant over lol! So that's two things completely finished now. This and a ladies hat. I'm hoping to finish my other knitting today and get on with a crocheted Christmas decoration.

Thanks for looking. As usual I'd be grateful for any comments you have time to leave.

Kat xx

Totally Gorjuss 173 - Anything Goes plus Pink.

Good morning everyone, hope everyone is ready to enjoy the weekend. I really look forward to having a day and a half without work. I'll need to be busy though as it's just a week till my WRI group show. Needless to say I'm not organised - as usual. So no surprise there then lol! 

But it's time for another challenge at Totally Gorjuss.This week our theme is "Anything Goes plus Pink." Now I realise that everyone doesn't like pink but lots of you do so you could make a "pink" card for lots of different occasions. Birthdays, Get Well, Mothers' Day, New Baby. So even if you don't like pink you might need to make a card for someone who does lol! We're sponsored by the generous people at J&C Creations this week so please try to join us. Yet again I've made a very simple card. Took me a while though while I faffed about trying to decide what image to use, what colour of pink, whether to use DP or white embossing or coloured embossing!

I used :-
Image :- Hero Arts cut out with Sizzix die from HA/Sizzix set.
Embossing folders :- Cuttlebug.
Colouring :- Stampin' Up! markers.
Sentiment :- Stampin' Up!
Pearls :- Hobby House.

Challenges :-
CAS(E)this sketch. :- Sketch.

Simon Says Stamp :- Anything Goes.
Addicted to Stamps and More :- Anything Goes but must include stamping.
The Pink Elephant :- Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking and hope you can join us. I'll catch up later in between kniting, crocheting etc.

Nearly forgot, we're going out to the theatre tonight. We're going to His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen to see "The Mousetrap." I booked the tickets ages ago and I'm really looking forward to it. I never thought I'd see The Mousetrap as I've never been to London but it's travelling round the country to celebrate being onstage continuously for 60 years!

Have a lovely weekend whatever you've got planned.

Kat xx

What Easter Egg?

Looks like Mousie ate the egg! He must be sleepy after eating all that chocolate.

I thought Poppy would like this card. I never used to make or send Easter cards but now that I've got grandchildren it's any excuse to make a card and send a wee present to them!

I used :-

Image :- House Mouse.

Sentiment :- Penny Black coloured with Wisteria Wonder pen from SU.

Embossed panel :- SU - Honeycomb.

Corners :- Whimsy.

Rhinestones :- Hobby House.

Ribbon from stash and Sakura clear glitter gel pen.

I'm entering the following challenges :-

Oldie but a Goodie. :- Easter.
Creative Inspirations :- Spring Colours.
Stampin' for the Weekend :- Child's Play.

Hope everyone's ok during this unpleasant cold spell. I keep hoping that the weather's going to improve and get a bit warmer. To think we've got through most of the winter not too bad and now in March when you think it should be getting better it's worse!! Our neighbour has lots of sheep and this is just the time for him and a lot of others to start lambing if they haven't already. Poor wee lambs. I'm really glad we stopped farming a few years ago. Poor hubby still has to work outside all day every day but at least he's not farming with all the weather related problems farmers have had this past year.

Thanks for looking and I'll catch up later today after work. Thanks as always for all your lovely comments.

Kat xx

Hat Trick!

Well when I say Hat Trick I mean I've posted three times in three days! Long time since I managed that!

I couldn't resist trying to use one of the great sketches at Retro Sketches. I chose to use sketch no.9.

I made - whisper it - a Christmas card. And yes I do know it's only February. But it's not the first one I've made this year!

Looks like I've managed to take a squint photo!

I used :-
Snowflakes :- Martha Stewart punches.
Sentiment :- Hero Arts.
Bakers' Twine :- Ribbon Girl.
Pearls :- Hobby House.
Snowman embossing folder and Glamour Dust.

Other challenges :-
In the Pink :- Bling and Pink.
Winter Wonderland :- Snowflakes falling all around.

I'm quite pleased with this card! Surprise!! I hope you can see the embossing. It's a lovely folder and the embossing is always lovely and crisp. And I love this sketch. You could add more to it but I like it plain.  I think it's a layout that would be suitable for most occasions. I can see it with flower or butterflies. Perhaps even with more embellishments.

Well this is my day for working all day. It's also my evening for the Guild. Luckily we're never that late so I should be able to see what everyone's been up to in the evening. It's also my husband's birthday so he's getting one of my car cards made using that really useful car set from Papermania. Yesterday was my son-in-law's birthday and he got a car card too. He got a Ferrari card. (same set of stamps) He sells Audis but there aren't any on that set lol!

Thanks for looking and if you have time I love to hear what you think. I really appreciate every comment I get. I know how busy everyone is so it's nice when someone takes the trouble to comment.

Catch you all later.

Kat xx

Simply Poppies.

Hi everyone. Well I'm feeling quite pleased today as I managed to achieve a couple of things yesterday lol! At my crop I picked up the stitches round a v-neck slipover and finished the neck and then picked up stitches round one armhole and knitted a couple of rows. I've had this ready to finish for weeks now but the two things I hate doing are picking up stitches to do a neck and sewing up knitting so I've kept finding other things to do! I need the slipover in 2 weeks so I'd best get it finished. It's for a WRI show and I'm bad for being at the last minute so if I get it finished soon I'll be doing well!

Then in the evening after visiting my favourite blogs and catching up on what challenges are around I made a quick card. This is a similar idea to yesterday's DT card and was very quick to make. Regular readers may notice that this is one of my favourite images.

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black Poppies cut out with Nesties.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Sentiment :- Hero Arts.

Pearls from stash.

Challenges :-

Freshly Made Sketches :- Sketch.
Cute Card Thursday :- Simplify.
Crafty Cardmakers :- Blooming Images.

This afternoon I'm going to attempt to make a cushion, also for the show. This is one of 6 items for our co-operative table. I have no idea what possessed me to offer to make a cushion. I've never made a cushion in my life! I bought a pattern and I've cut it out. I had to go and buy some tartan to put round the edge so that's my excuse for not having any more done! I have a few other things to get done so I might show them on here when they're finished.................if they're fit to be seen that is!

Anyway thanks for looking and I love to read your comments. Means I'm not talking to myself if you tell me what you think lol! It also means I can visit you and see your lovely work.

Enjoy what's left of your weekend.

Kat xx

Totally Gorjuss 172 - Happy.

Good morning everyone, I hope you're all having a good weekend. I'm off to a crop this afternoon after work so I'm hoping to do some blog visiting this evening. 

Time for our latest challenge at Totally Gorjuss where our theme is "Happy." This week we have two sponsors, Ribbon Girl and Saturated Canary so you have two chances to win!

As you can see I'm still making simplish cards. Not quite so CAS this week but still no DP and not a lot of embellishments.

I used :-
Image :- LOTV.
Sentiment :- Hero Arts.
Colouring :- Promarkers and Sakura clear glitter gel pen.
Ribbon :- Ribbon Girl.
Pearls from stash.

Challenges :-
Created with Love :- Things that Fly.
Creative Card Crew :- Birthday.
Lili's Little Fairies :- Butterflies.
Seize the Birthday :- Sketch plus feminine.
Ribbon Girl :- Turqoise/aqua.
Pink Gem :- Add a Bow.

I'm scheduling this post so I hope Mr Blogger is kind to me! My internet connection has been horrendous this evening (Friday) so I'll quit while I'm ahead now and just press publish before it goes off again.

Thanks for looking and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about my card. It really makes me happy when I get a kind comment or two.

Have a lovely weekend. Catch you later,

Kat xx

Totally Gorjuss 171 - For Your Men.

Hi everyone, another quick week and more changeable weather. Wednesday in particular was a nasty day with lots of wind and sleet and finally rain. Some places not far from us had lots of snow and there were some nasty accidents on slippy roads. But on the bright side you can really see the days getting longer now. I'm out at about the same time every morning so I can really see the difference when I take the dogs out. 

But enough waffle it's time for another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. This week our challenge is "For Your Men." Handy for me as I need to male cards this month. I already made one for my son-in-law and this one is for my husband.

Very CAS. In fact I'm a bit worried it might be too CAS! What do you think? I did think about adding something to it but I resisted the temptation.

I used :-
Image :- Papermania.
Sentiment and banner :- Itty Bitty Banners and Bitty Banner Framelits from Stampin' Up!
DP :- LOTV.

I can't think of any challenges for this card but if I find any I'll come back and add them.

Challenge :-
Crafting When we Can :- For a Boy.

I thought I'd show you what else I made for the WRI for Wednesday!

This is my shortbread, meringues and undecorated cupcakes.

Unfortunately there weren't many of us at the WRI as it was such a dreadful night with wind and rain. but we managed to eat a lot of my friend's sandwiches and my baking. I also left some at my work and put some in the freezer. Not the shortbread or biscuits as they keep and meringues are handy to have in a tin for an easy dessert. I have to do this again in May as it's my friend's turn for the teas. She doesn't bake much  but I love baking. Not good for the waistline though!

Thanks for looking and if you leave me a comment I'll pop over and visit you too. I love to read what people think, just lets me see I'm not talking to myself lol!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Kat xx

I've been busy!!!!

No kidding I'm glad to sit down now! I should probably do my ironing now but I need a rest! I've been baking this afternoon. It's my turn for the teas at the WRI on Wednesday so I thought I'd  bake some things today that will keep ok till Wednesday. Well providing no-one eats them! I don't want to have to bake on Tuesday morning before work or in the evening after work. On the bright side I don't need to make sandwiches as my friend is doing them. That's because she doesn't really bake and she wants me to do the baking when it's her turn!

This is what I've made so far. I didn't actually plan to make so much but I always get carried away as I love baking!

At the back is my famous carrot cake. I love this cake as it's made in my combination microwave and it always works. It just needs to be iced with a mixture of cream cheese and icing sugar. On the same cooling tray is Anzac biscuits. We were given the recipe to use at our show in March so I thought I'd see how the recipe turned out. Front left is gypsy creams which I'll sandwich with butter icing on Wednesday. I need 4 for a competition. I'm not sure if I need them this month but we can always eat them! The loaf is a Mary Berry Dark Fruit loaf which I've never made before so I hope it's ok. Lastly my famous Rocky Road traybake. Should have Baileys in it but I usually just use what's in the cupboard, unlikely to be Baileys, and this time it's Tia Maria.

I still want to make meringues, shortbread and cupcakes. The cupcakes are for this month's competition but I might as well take some for the teas too. Which reminds me that the other competition is a ladies knitted hat. All I need to do is sew it up and make a pompom.

Well I'm off to do a bit of bloghopping and DT work now. If it sounds as if I'm putting off doing my ironing you'd probably be right.

I don't know what's happened to the signature I used to have. It seems to have disappeared. The HTML code is still there but it never seems to show up on my posts any more. Must be something I said!!

Kat xx

Totally Gorjuss 170 - Love.

Good morning everyone. Is it still cold or is it just me? Still compared to some parts of the country we have been very lucky. I think we've had everything this week......snow, hail, frost, rain, wind and even some sun!!

But that's good for staying indoors and crafting. I wish! Bit of a nuisance having to go out to work.

Anyway enough waffle, here's my card for Totally Gorjuss. This week our theme is "Love," guess it must be something to do with the time of year lol! We are sponsored by the lovely people at Crafters' Companion this week.

As you can see I'm still into CAS cards. It's a bit scary stamping and colouring straight onto the card but I like the effect. What do you think?

I used :-

Image :- LOTV.

Sentiment and heart :- Hero Arts.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

I 3d'd the heart on top of the heart balloon for a bit of dimension.

Aren't they a pair of cuties? I might give this to hubby for Valentine's Day!

Challenges :-

Cards for Men :- All my Love.
Everybody Art :- Hearts.
Simon Says Stamp :- Have a Heart.
Lili's Little Fairies :- A Touch of Romance.
Cute Card Thursday :- Love Struck.
Charisma :- Love.
Ribbon Girls :- Love You or Valentine.
Totally Papercrafts :- Valentine or Love.
Daring Cardmakers :- Love is in the Air.
Crafty Ribbons :- Anything Goes with Ribbon.

I'm sure some of you won't have made your Valentine yet so if not you could look out your love images and join us this week. I'll be popping over later to see what everyone's been up to.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and thanks for looking.

Still not Saturday.

Me again! Can't believe I'm posting again. Two posts in one day, don't know when that last happened! I got some new Stampin' Up! goodies yesterday and I couldn't wait to see what I could do with them.

I haven't actually used much of my new stash yet but my head is full of ideas for CAS cards.

I used :-

Hearts :- Stampin' Up!

Sentiment :- Hero Arts. 

Heart gems from my stash.

Challenges for this card :-

Retro Sketches :- Sketch.

Addicted to CAS :- Hearts.

CAS on Sunday :- Be Mine Valentine.

The Pink Elephant :- Photo inspiration - hearts, red and white.

Created with Love :- Valentines.

Creative Inspirations :- Sent with Love.

Here's another one!

I used :-
Image and sentiment :- Stampin' Up!
Pearls :- Hobby House.

I'm entering the challenge at Less is More :- Kraft and Kreme.

Now that I see it on the screen I'm not sure I like it. This is a lovely set of stamps though!

Now I have a cushion to think about. No idea what possessed me to volunteer to make a cushion for the WRI Group show in March. I must have been daft. I've got material for it now and I suppose it won't go wrong as the suite in my sitting room is cream leather and I've got red cushions and cream cushions already.

I made scones a wee while ago. It's my friend's fault. Yesterday she asked about a recipe for scones. She had seen Paul Hollywood on tv making scones with strong white flour instead of ordinary. She made some and put them in the bin lol! I showed her my Paul Hollywood book and a WRI one so she took a recipe from the WRI one. Needless to say I had to give it a go today. I won't show you a picture of mine but they're well risen and light and they taste ok. Just a wee bit lopsided lol! I'll probably try them again, maybe with sultanas or cherries next time. It's a completely different method of making scones from the one I grew up with.

Thanks for looking, I'd better catch up with my favourite blogs now and do my DT work.

It's not Saturday!!

It's only Thursday and I'm posting! I've been really bad so far this year and hardly posted anything else except my DT cards. I'm hoping to do better from now on!

I had a text from my niece on Tuesday evening to tell me that she was in hospital with a broken hip! She has MS so I don't know if it was anything to do with that. Anyway I made her a quick card yesterday as I can't just nip off and see her. She lives in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles and I'm in Aberdeenshire.

I used :-

Image :- LOTV.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Sentiment :- Hero Arts.

Ribbon and button from stash.

Very simple and quick. Think I should do more cards like this. I think sometimes I get bogged down choosing pretty papers and embellishments and finding a sketch for inspiration!

Now I'm going to play with some new goodies that were delivered last night. I might even be back later with something else.

Thanks for looking and don't be shy about saying what you think. I love to visit people who've left me a comment.

Have a great day everyone. It's lovely and sunny just now but when I was out with the dogs about 7am there was a nasty snow shower. At least it was just snow, yesterday we were out during a very nasty hail shower and even the dogs wanted to go home!

Totally Gorjuss 169 - Anything Goes + Lace.

Good morning everyone, I hope you are all well and looking forward to a nice weekend. Not sure what the weather's going to be like but it's been pretty changeable this week. Sunshine, rain, wind and yesterday we had some sleet and the postie said he had seen hail.

This week at Totally Gorjuss our challenge is "Anything goes plus lace." I think we're spoiling you just now with all these easy challenges lol! So no excuses now come and join us. We're sponsored by J&C Creations so you might want to pop over and take a look at their online store.

I used :-
Image :- LOTV diecut.
DP :- New LOTV/Nitwits papers.
Pearls :- Hobby House.
Lace :- Ribbon Girl.
Sentiment :- Craftwork Cards.
Sakura clear glitter gel pen on her hair ribbon and the edges of the petals on the rose.

That new LOTV/Nitwits paper is gorgeous, I love it. I ordered it at noon on Wednesday when it went on sale and my postie delivered it on Thursday. Brilliant service from LOTV and the much maligned Royal Mail.

Not sure if I like this card though. I love the DP and the lace and the sweet image but I'm not sure if it looks a bit busy. I made it quickly on Friday, photographed it and then went to work. After work we had to take the dogs to the vet for their booster jags - that was a lot of fun - not! So I didn't see it online till after that and then I thought mmm..... not sure if I like this!

I'm entering the following challenges :-
Sketch and Stash :- Sketch, option diecuts.
Simon Says Stamp :- Anything Goes.
Bunny Zoe :- Anything Goes.
Allsorts :- Let's Get Cute.
By the Cute and Girly :- Roses are Red.

I'm going away to my daughter's after work today as we're babysitting on Sunday and then having a day off on Monday. I'm looking forward to the babysitting and the day off.

I'd like to say hello and welcome to my new followers. Nice to see you here. Hopefully I'll have time to catch  up with all my favourite blogs and my DT work this weekend.

Thanks for looking and if you leave me a comment I'll be able to visit you too. Have a lovely weekend everyone.

.

Totally Gorjuss 168 - Flowers.

Good morning everyone. How did it get to be the last Saturday of January already? Is it an age thing or has anyone noticed how time passes very quickly?

I hope you're not having too much snow or rain wherever you are. We have been very, very lucky here in coastal Aberdeenshire but I know that even just a wee bit inland there has been a lot of snow and other parts of the country and England too have been badly affected. But now it's raining again so I suppose we're going to have floods again. Can't win can you?

But on a brighter note since it's Saturday it must be time for another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. Our challenge this week is "flowers." Now what could be easier. Most people like flowers and it's very easy to add flowers, or use flowery paper or use a floral image. So we're expecting a lot of entries this week. We have two sponsors this week - Ribbon Girl and Bugaboo Stamps so you have two chances to win! Bugaboo kindly offered all of the DT a digi image to use for this challenge, hope you like mine.

I used :-
Image :- Bugaboo stamps.
Colouring :- Promarkers.
DP :- LOTV.
Corners :- Whimsy.
Pearls :- Hobby House.
Flower and leaves :- Nellie Snell-en.
White gel pen for stitching.

I'm entering the following challenges :-

Pile it on :- Have a Heart.
Created with Love :-Anything Goes.
Creative Inspirations :- Anything Goes plus Flowers.
Passion for Promarkers :- Favourite colour combo.
Charisma :- Hearts and Flowers.
Fussy and Fancy :- Circles.
Stampin for the Weekend :- Girlie.
Ready Teddy Go :- Something new - new image.

After work today I'm going to my first crop this year. I haven't had time to sort out any card making ideas so I'm going to be knitting. I have a hat to knit for my WRI show and it would be good to have it made in plenty of time. It's to be any pattern and any ply so I've decided to do an Aran and I've dug out an old pattern. Well it must be because the needle sizes are the old sizes and the mm sizes are described as new. And apart from that the price is 12pence. Bargain!!

So I'll catch you up later when I get home.

Have a good weekend whatever you've got planned and stay warm in this cold weather.

Thanks for looking and I'd love to hear what you think of my card.

Totally Gorjuss 167 - K.I.S.S.

Good morning everyone. Hope you're managing to survive all this cold and snow. It's been very cold and windy here. We've been promised snow but I hope we're near enough the North Sea to not get too much. Yesterday we still had some ice left at our house and nearby roads and I could still see snow on the hills too. As I write this on Friday evening we don't have any more snow although we had showers during the day. So fingers crossed. If you do have snow I reckon the best thing to do is stay indoors, keep warm and craft!

This week at Totally Gorjuss our theme is K.I.S.S. Isn't that easy. Well actually maybe not! Sometimes you just want to add more lovely embellishments. But I've been a bit sneaky and made a male card and you all know that men like plain and simple cards. I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to make a birthday card for my son-in-law for next month.

We're sponsored by Crafter's Companion this week with £10 to spend in their online store. So what are you waiting for? Join us this week for your chance to win this great prize.

I used :-
Image :- Papermania.
Sentiment :- Hero Arts.
Pearls :- Hobby House.
Washi Tape.

I'm entering the challenge at Simon Says Stamp :- Use Washi Tape.

My son-in-law sells Audis for a living and he sometimes has exotic cards home. I think he had a Porsche last year and Oliver was so excited waiting to go for a drive in it with Daddy. Oliver loves wheels! Cars, bikes, tractors, trains - you name it.

I never used to make very simple cards but out of the ones I've made so far this year most of them have been fairly CAS. I think I'm liking CAS more and more. Think I may do more CAS cards this year.

Well as usual I'm at work this morning so I'll catch up with you all later. I've been quite good recently at doing my DT commenting and keeping up with my favourite blogs. Unfortunately I haven't been so good at actually making anything. I have been knitting now and again so if I finish my knitting entry for the WRI show (in March) before long I'll be happy since I'm usually at the last minute.

Thanks for looking and I love to hear what you think. Take care everyone and keep warm these cold days.

Does this count as sport?

Hi everyone, I think I've been very lazy since Christmas! All I've done is my DT cards so I thought I'd best try to get some more cards made. I have done some knitting so I haven't done absolutely nothing! I had a bit of a rake among my stamps to see if I had anything resembling sport and I found this lovely LOTV stamp. Maybe it'll be useful for making cards for Oliver and his friends. He started nursery last week and is loving it. The first morning Catriona said he went in without even a backward glance. I think she was hurt!
 But he's been used to going with Poppy when she was there and his older cousin and his best pal go too so no surprise he wasn't crying for Mummy.

I'm always a bit nervous about stamping straight onto my card. Probably I should try doing it more often. And then of course I'm even more nervous about colouring straight onto my card. I'm not very good at colouring at the best of times so I was glad to get it finished!

I used :-

Image :- LOTV.

Sentiment :- Hero Arts.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

I haven't entered the challenge at Less is More for ages so I really wanted to make the effort this week.

Thanks for looking, I'm off to make a coffee before bed now. Catch you all tomorrow, I hope! 

Totally Gorjuss 166 - Spotty.

Good morning everyone. I hope I've scheduled this ok as I couldn't get online on Friday evening till late. So I'll be quick. It's time for a new challenge at Totally Gorjuss. Another easy challenge for January, this time we'd like to see spots somewhere on your card. Edited to add :- Apologies to Nikki from Bunny Zoe's, I was in such a hurry to schedule this post that I forgot to mention that she is sponsoring us this week!

Here's mine. I've kept it quite simple again this week.

I used :-
Pram :- Marianne die.
DP :- Forever Friends.
Sentiment :- LOTV.
Heart border :- Martha Stewart punch.
Pearls :- Hobby House.
Spotty ribbon.

I'll add some challenges later.

Cupcake :- January Blues.
Pink Elephant :- Celebrate.
Papertake Weekly :- Happy New....
Crafty Creations :- Something New.
Cute Card Thursday :- Beat the Blues.
Totally Papercrafts :- Ribbon.
Crafty Ribbons :- New Beginnings.

Catch you all later after work and hope you have a nice weekend whatever you've got planned. I'm just hoping everyone's wrong about the weather. All week people have been telling me it's going to snow on Sunday so fingers crossed it doesn't!

I'd love to hear what you think if you have a minute to leave me a wee comment. But thanks for popping in anyway. I'd like to visit you too and see what you've been doing so don't be shy.

Totally Gorjuss 165 Anything Goes + Ribbon.

Good morning everyone. If you are back at work I hope none of you have been working too hard! Things are a lot better at work now that the Christmas rush is past. Next week pensions and allowances will be back to normal too so all the customers should be back to normal too.

This week at Totally Gorjuss our challenge is "Anything Goes plus Ribbon." We thought you'd like a nice simple challenge after all the busy times leading up to Christmas lol.

So here's my interpretation, hope you like. And yes I do know Christmas is past! But you can never start too soon, can you?

I used :-

Sentiment and DP :- LOTV.

Snowflakes and snowflake border :- Martha Stewart punches.

Pearls and gems :- Hobby House.

Challenges for this card :-

Sketch and Stash :- Sketch.
Papertake Weekly :- Anything Goes.
Crafty Creations :- Anything Goes.
Creative Inspirations :- Celebrations.
Paperplay:- Celebration.
Bunny Zoe :- Celebration.
Crafty Hazelnut :- A christmas card without Santa.
Charisma :- Monochrome.
Crafty Hazelnut's Extra Challenge :- Anything Goes.

So why not join us for our challenge this week. You don't get many challenges easier than this one and we are sponsored by J & C Creations this week. They're having a sale just now so it's worth popping over to check out their bargains.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope I can do some catching up with my favourite blogs, my DT work and anyone who leaves me a comment.

Favourite Cards July - December 2012.

Today I'd like to show you the rest of my favourite cards from 2012. Some months I have 2 cards. Not sure why it is but it seems to be easier to find cards you like from later in the year!

July.

 August.

September.

October.

November.

December.

As you can see I've chosen more fairly simple cards. More LOTV, Hero Arts, Penny Black, House Mouse Gruffies, and lots of lovely die cutting and embossing. And of course colouring with Promarkers.

I'll be back on Saturday with my DT card for Totally Gorjuss, which needless to say I still need to make!

Enjoy the rest  of your free time if you're still on holiday. Luckily this is my day off but I need to work tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning. Having only worked on Monday this week I must say 3 days at work is this my sort of week!

Some Favourite cards from 2012

Happy New Year Everyone. I also want to say thank you to everyone who has visited me over the last year and left me lovely comments. I love to hear what you think of my efforts and it's really good to visit you all and be inspired by your amazing work.

At last I've got round to blogging some of my favourite cards from last year. I decided on them yesterday but didn't have time to do a post. On the 1st of January we always go out for a meal to our favourite Indian restaurant and yesterday was no exception. We had a lovely meal but needless to say I didn't feel like doing anything afterwards!

January.

February.

March.

April.

May.

June.

So what do you think? Mostly they're quite plain. Quite a lot of empty space and not too many embellishments. I've used 3 LOTV images, 1 Penny Black and 1 (well 4 really) Hero Arts and of course some die cutting and punching.

I'm going to schedule a post with the last 6 months of my favourites. We have to go to my daughters to stay overnight as we have a funeral in Lanarkshire tomorrow morning early. Needless to stay we don't want to leave from here as it takes over 3 hours to get there from here even if the traffic isn't too bad. My husband's cousin died on Christmas Eve so it'll be a sad day. She was only 66 but had suffered ill health for a number of years. She was a lovely caring person and always the first to offer hospitality or help to anyone. But I'm sure like most funerals there will also be lovely memories and laughter.