NOT HAPPY.....

Look at this.

Have you ever seen anything more sorry for itself??? Bless her. It's driving her barmy and she's got to keep it on for at least another week.

Should have got one of these collars for Lil G, to stop her picking at the scab on the end of her nose. Luckily, it doesn't look like her nose will be bent when it's fixed. It's just a bit 'bulbous' at the moment, but it's getting back to normal.

Thank you all for you good wishes xxxx

WELL, IT'S TAKEN NEARLY THREE DAYS.....AND AN UPDATE!

... actually, it took about 3 evenings cos I don't get time to craft during the day any more :( But I wanted to make something pretty for very special lady who has been a close friend for many years. We met through work about 10 years ago and have stayed firm friends since. Her husband has Parkinsons and it's affecting both of them a great deal. So I chose this for her birthday. Hope she likes it .

Anyway, how are you all doing? I've not really had the time to keep up with all my bloggy friends and I miss you all. Still, it's only for another 8 weeks and then I can craft again!!! Yippeeee! Actually got around to opening my Glitter Pot order last night (had it a week! How bad is that??) and found lots of lovely things to play with.....
Lil G's nose is just a bit scabby and red now, not the charming black and blue of earlier in the week. Fidgit still has her bucket on but has now discovered that, if she angles it just right, she can use the edge of it to worry at the scab!! She hasn't yet worked out how to get through the doors without dinking it off the door frame... bless!! She's back at the vet's tomorrow for a check up. All go, innit?

So want to say a big thanks to everyone who left lovely messages about my pants day!

TFL xxx

WHAT A PANTS DAY!!

Bad enough having to get up and go to work every day and not have time for crafting, but today, I worked from home. Or tried to. So much for modern technology. Our very lovely techies had omitted to actually switch on the link so that I could access the work stuff, so spent two hours sorting that out... then couldn't save anything I did, so lost it all... TWICE. Then Lil G came home all battered and bruised. Fell over her own feet and landed on her face.... broke her nose.
And to top if off, Fidgit had been bitten by something a couple of days ago and today it went septic... off to the vet, knocked out, clipped, sorted, woken up, bucket on head for a week, medicine, £90 later......

Off to bed now. Probably fall out of that, too..... x

AN AWARD!! AND A TAG.....

Really excited cos I've got another award!!

And I'm really really chuffed because I was passed this one by two very special people. First of all, thank you to Julie for passing this on to me. I have been a huge fan of her work for a very long time and have always taken inspiration from her blog and her gallery on DC. She has a style and an eye for colour that I've not seen much anywhere else and to get this from her is a real treat.

Secondly, I was passed this from a new friend, Elaine; thank you very much! I have only just 'met' her and her blog is incredible. She uses bold colours and has a unique style that creates such fresh cards.

Very touched to get this from two such talented people. I have to pass this along now - this is always the hard part cos 1) there are so many people whose work I admire and 2) most of them already seem to have it!!! But I'll have a look around and get back to you on this one!

AND I've been tagged!! The very talented Sharon has passed this to me - thank you very much!
Here are the rules of the tag:

Here are the rules:1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs 4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes:

1. I am bilingual French/English.
2. I hate liars and selfish people.
3. I am allergic to all animals (and sometimes to Lil G!).
4. I am a member of the Toon Army.
5. I make a funny face every time I see a baby animal (according to hubby) and I prefer animals to people.
6. I am fundamentally lazy but I hate lazy people.
7. I believe that Jeremy Clarkson should be PM, with Sir Trevor McDonald as Deputy PM, and they should ban spiders and sweetcorn, but make chocolate compulsory for all women.

You still there? Oh, good. I have to pass this on, too, so I'll pass it to my good friends, Vicky, Tracey, Sue Lesley, Dawny P, Barbara, MacPurp and Natalie (sorry, girls!) xxxxx

NOT SURE I LIKE THIS GOING TO WORK THING...

Getting up in the dark and not getting home again till after dark is not my idea of fun. Really grateful to have the contract, but it's flippin hard work!! Still, it'll be worth it in the end.



But it's made me a bit of a bad blogger, I'm afraid. Not even LOOKED at my craft stuff this week at all - what's that about??? And all my new stuff from Glitterpot turned up while I was out - not even opened it!!!! *faints*



Still, I hope to be back with the land of the living in a few days, when I get to work from home a bit and don't have to get up in the dark!! Hugs to you all xxxx

MAKE YOUR OWN FLOWERS!!

Here's another brilliant tutorial on how to make your own Prima-style flowers. It's so easy! Off to have a play... go look at this!! x

MAGIC SLIDER CARDS...

Well, since the fairies have moved in (see below) I thought I might try to make one of these magic cards. So found this on Sharon's blog and off for a play.... I may be gone sometime.... xx

PHEW! THAT WAS HARD WORK....

Got asked to make the Christmas cards from my friend's motorbike shop to all their customers. It needed to be humerous and different, yet still advertise the shop (and it's affiliation to a particular manufacturer).

So I made this.

I made the 'wrapping paper', decoup'd it, watercoloured my image, stuck the whole lot together, added the words, scanned it all and now I'm going to print out millions of them ....!! Okay, maybe not millions, but a fair few.

The owner is thrilled, which makes me happy cos it took me ages to do the image, colour it, create the paper, cut it out.. blah blah... but it was good fun to make. And no other bike shop will have the same one going out this year!!

Bit miffed though, cos it's the first day of decent weather in over a week and I'm inside crafting!! Still... mustn't grumble, eh? TFL xxx

LET THE LITTLE FOLK IN...

Read an article in a craft magazine about fairy doors.... yep. Apparently in Ann Arbor in the States, they are quite common and have come about due to the urbanisation forcing the fairies to venture into homes and offices. How splendid is that?

Lil G was quite excited by this and a bit upset when I told her that the only fairies we seem to get here are garden ones.... (I know, but she's 5!). Not happy with that.

So when she gets home from school tonight (she has a dinner date with her boyfriend, Toby, first) (yes, I know..) she'll find that the little folks have moved in.

It's only made from a bit of cardboard, painted and bits added, but I think she'll like it. xx

I LOVE OUR POSTIE!!!

... and I don't say that very often cos he's a bit of a one, most of the time. But today, he brought lots of luvverly pressies!! Yay!!

I got this card from my very clever friend Hunnybunny. The colours are so pretty and the words are brilliant. And she's done the distressing nicely, it just all works so well and it's one of the nicest cards I've seen for ages. AND it was chock full of lovely stamped images for me to play with!!!

Thank you, hunny!! xx

And the postie also brough me this. It's one of the those books of photos that you make yourself and add your own words.

It is, of course, a Little Book of Georgia. It's about 30 pages of photos of the little devil (we used to call her Little Noggin, but Andy has now renamed her 'Beelzenog') and it's fab. Been waiting all week for it and it's even better than I thought. She looks so cute - and they say the camera never lies!! Yeah, right.....

AND he brought me my latest CraftStamper magazine, too!! Don't know what to do first - aarrrggghhh!!!

Hope you're all having a fab day xx

HOW TO LOOK GOOD DISTRESSED.....

Some of my lovely friends over at the Docrafts site have asked me how I get that 'distressed' look. I was actually quite offended until I realised they meant my cards......

So I thought I'd have a go at a bit of a tutorial:
You will need:

The thing to be distressed

Ink

Cotton buds

Cocktail stick

Scrap paper (or inking mat)

Sponge (TIP I used the foam that my brads came on)

1. Lightly dab the ink pad with the sponge. Using small circular movements, work from the scrap inwards to the card.

2. When it's done, turn it over and do the other side.

3. Carefully put tiny rips all around the edges.

4. Wet your finger and carefully roll the rips around a cocktail stick.

5. Dab the cotton bud into the ink and apply it all around the very edges, including the rips. I use a darker ink for this.

Done.

Apologies for the appalling layout - really struggling with this blog. xx

NOT REALLY SURE...

... about this one, to be honest. It had to be A5 size and I don't do so well with the bigger cards. I prefer working with 5 x 5's. Anyway, it's for a lovely couple who have had the most horrendous year - he has been diagnosed with cancer and they lost their son just after New Year - and it's just to say that folks are thinking of them.

The music score is roughly stamped in green/gold (though you can't tell on the pic) and the letters are American Thickers. Oh, and I added some lovely new Prima flowers I got yesterday.

I can't decide if I like it, but the others do, so I'm outnumbered.

In other news, Lil G is back at school this week and is coming home completely wrecked and VERY stroppy! We appear to have aged 7 years in 2 days and are now acting like a teenager, slamming doors and yelling.... But this year, she's discovered that now she has to work ALL day and it's been a bit of shock to the system. I haven't had the heart to tell her that this is it now for the next 12 years!! xxx

I HATE THESE CARDS

Yay, Lil G's back to school tomorrow - wwhhheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Sorry.

Anyway, have to make three different Sympathy cards - they're going to the same family - and I've had absolutely no mojo at all these last few days. I was really chuffed with my 25th card, but I think it used up all my inspiration! I made three and hated them all. Then, for some reason - and it might have been hubby's idea (I hate that, too) - I made this one. And I think it's okay.

We had hundreds of these when Dad was killed and I hated them. I hate making them, too. But that's one down. I hope it's suitable.

It's simple Cuttlebug corners and the wording was done in WordArt.

TFL xx

A LOVELY TREAT

Morning all. A bit fog-bound here in the rural Lincolnshire, so not going far today. Yesterday there were huge dust clouds cos the farmers were desperately harvesting before today's expected storms, so visibility has been pretty poor recently!! Good excuse for staying in all day and crafting!

Anyway, my very great mate Tracey (check out her blog, cos she makes some amazing cards) has given me this award. I am really chuffed to get it from her because her opinion really counts to me. So thanks, chick!

I got this award sometime ago, so I'm not going to pass it on personally - and I struggled like mad then to find blogs who didn't already have it! So instead, if you don't have it already, please consider it passed on to you. There are so many talented people out there whose blogs are inspirational for a myriad of reasons. Hugs xx

HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY!

Made this for a very special couple - can't tell you who in case they read this - who are celebrating their Silver Wedding next week. I don't know them very well, but they have suffered such awful tragedy in their life and I wanted to make them something a bit different.

So I've decided to move away from my usual formal style for this occasion and go to the shabby chic that I've developed a real passion for!

I really enjoy making this style, with lots of different textures and a bit of bling - gotta love white and green pearls! - and string!

I hope it conveys the message that I wish them all the happiness in the world and good things for their future.

Thanks for looking xxx

A CHRISTENING CARD - A FIRST FOR ME

Made this for a commission. Never made one before and spent ages trying to find images and layouts for inspiration. Eventually a lovely lady on DoCrafts suggested this and I quite like the final version!

I used the trusty X-Cut Shape Cutter doodah for the 'porthole' and a lovely little pin (with guard, before you all shout at me!) stuck through the bow.

Found a sweet verse: "A child to enjoy is a gift from above, to be Christened and cherished and brought up with love", although my personal favourite (but then I do have mental issues!) is "First he's born, grown up and wed, gets a pension, then he's dead". Made me chortle a LOT, but apparently it's not that suitable for a Christening card. TFL xx

ANOTHER SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Blimey, get me, trying lots of new stuff!! My very talented friend Emma tried to explain to me how to get the 'distressed' look - (I mean on the cards, not on me... I have that sorted LOL!) on the edges of paper, etc. So I bought a load of cotton buds and some Versamark and started trashing lots of bits of paper.

Mum asked me to make a card for my aged aunt, a sort of "just to say hi" card, so I thought I'd have a go at being distressed. And believe you me, I am very distressed having spent several hours on this!

I quite like the end result - providing no one looks too closely! - but the ink doesn't come off your fingers for ages! TFL x

IT'S TAKEN ME ALL DAY, BUT IT'S DONE...

Hope everyone is having a jolly Bank Holiday weekend?
I spent the day making this for my best girlfriend's 40th next weekend. We met in 6th form and have been firm friends ever since. She's tall, slim, blonde, pretty (hate her) and a language teacher. She and her hubby own a motorbike shop, so the image inside is quite perfect.

Wish I could say that this was all my own idea, but if I'm honest, it's totally poached from one done by the very talented (if a bit peculiar) Dawny P. So thank you very much, chick.

I did it slightly differently but still made is a card-in-a-card thing.

The papers are from Pink Petticoat and the image is one I got in a swap but I believe is from StampingBella. It's covered in little sayings about being 40 - like "You should by now be able to say 'uranus' without giggling" and so on (I can't, for the record!).

It took me ages to line up the holes on the left and then hunt for the last remaining green eyelet I had which dropped to the floor and disappeared for a while. Then I spent ages choosing the right colours for her bike and leathers.

I think I like it. I do like the papers and I love the idea, but not sure it all fits togther the way I saw it in my head this morning!! We'll see. xx

BIT OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE...

... with this one. Don't usually use this type of paper, but I really like this one. And I had another go and 'edging' the image and papers.

The paper is BasicGrey's Gypsy (I think! I threw away the strip that had that info... duh!), matted onto Bazzill green cardstock.

I stamped the flourish and sentiment and added a couple of pearls for a bit of bling, really.

It's for my niece's 17th birthday next weekend. I think it just about strikes the right tone!

I hope she likes it!! xx

ANOTHER WELSH WEDDING CARD

For the same wedding as the other one, but this one is from the mother of the bride - no pressure!!!

The red/gold card I cut into inchies - well actually 2-inchies - and edged with gold leaf. The letters were done in Word - Romantik font - really big and then coloured in with watercolour pencils and gold ink.

The whole lot was then matted onto matt gold mirri card and I stuck a red ribbon (which does actually match, but it's an appalling photo) and bow to the side.

The wording (which means something really nice in Welsh) was printed in Poor Richard font in gold, straight onto the cardstock, which is cream-ish.

I'm quite chuffed with it, actually. The mother of the bride also pointed out that the B and G, which are actually their intials, could also stand for Bride and Groom, which is a nice if unintentional touch!

I hope they like it! TFL x