DCM - patterned paper passion

It's Lythan's dare this week

I want to see 3 different patterned papers on your card.
And to be extra daring, why not see if you can use 3 different lines of paper!

Please link in the usual ways so that we can come and see what you have made!

Once again I left it right to the last minute and ended up making a very quick 10 minute card - whoops! I do have a good excuse (things are a bit pants chez Joz at the mo) but I do feel guilty for not coming up with the goods. Will try much harder next week!

I used papers from the latest Funky Hand CD "Funky Daze" and basically just distressed them up a bit, made them into a flower and attached to the card with a button and craft wire. Hardly rocket science eh? Shame on Joz! The sentiment is made with Doodlebug rub ons.

My kids playing teacher

I was bored earlier and the kids were amusing me with their play and I tried to sneak a video of them. Of course I failed miserably in catching them unawares - they clocked what I was doing straight away! Then I thought I would see if I could actually put it on here so this is a little experiment.

DCM - give it some heart

This week the dare is set by Keryn who wants to see hearts on your cards. I decided to use the Pink Petticoat download - old fashioned girl which is simply divine. It's a very plain and simple card this week as it was a bit last minute.
Paper & sentiment - Pink petticoat
Ribbon & lace from stash

Penny black saturday - lets get dotty

I've been awol for a few days but I'm back with a card for the PBSC. I was so chuffed to win the prize last week - it was a wonderful surprise :o)

This week the theme is going dotty and I just love dotty papers so this was very enjoyable. I've used an image which I have been hankering after for such a long time so I was thrilled when the postie came this morning with an envelope containing some images (we're doing an image swap in the Funky Hand DT) and this little fella was among them.

Papers - Papermania
Image - Penny Black (watercoloured)
Glitter glue - stickles
Flowers, ribbon & brad from stash
Card - core-dinations
Border Punch - Martha Stewart

DCM- get someone else to make it

Oh yes it's a sneaky dare this week. It can be any theme and any colour scheme for your card but the snag is that you have to get someone else to make the card with your supervision (or written instructions).

Well as I am married to a man who wouldn't touch cardmaking with a bargepole and none of my nearby friends are particularly crafty, the card assembly fell onto 7 yr old Abigail's shoulders (much to her glee!). I decided the best way to do it was to make up a fairly simple card myself and put together similar items for Abigail to recreate the card.

Here is mine
and here is Abigail's. She's good isn't she? I think I'd better watch out! lol
Papers - papermania
Notelets - Papermania
Flowers - Prima
Buttons, clips and ribbon from stash

Some more Funky Daze

Whilst procrastinating this afternoon I knocked up some more cards using the fab Funky Daze CD from Funky Hand. I will never tire of these fab papers and really enjoyed making these cards.


My fave is the last one just cos I think it shows the papers off at their fabby best, but most of the girls on the DT seem to like my little car. lol

Wowsers!

I could hardly believe my eyes this morning when I visited Kirsty Wiseman's blog and saw that I am one of her chosen two for making things with her new product. Crikey I had to blink and pinch myself several times before it hit home. Kirsty said she had around 180 applicants all of whom are incredibly talented and yet she picked (not so) little old me! The other lucky lady is the fabulous Jo Kill (yay Jo!). I'm on cloud 9!

I'm hoping to embark on some craftiness this afternoon although so far today (after pledging to do lots of jobs) I seem to have wasted several hours browsing t'internet. Whoops! I blame the Daily Mail showbiz pages lol

xxx

Penny Black Saturday - Colour Scheme

The challenge this week is to use the colours pink and brown :o) one of my very favourite colour combinations.

Cardstock - Core-dinations
Image - Penny Black
Patterned paper and sentiment rub on - Basic grey
Flowers and brad from stash
Swiss dots embossing folder - Cuttlebug
Border punch - Martha Stewart
Doodlebug flock

Nursery was great + scrapping!

Well Maddie the madster had a fantabulous time at nursery! She ate all her lunch and she didn't cry when I left her either - RESULT! She's really looking forward to going back on Monday and the teacher said she was great :o)

While I had peace and quiet I printed out a gazillion photographs because I have decided that 2009 is the year that I actually make an effort to scrap on a regular basis as opposed to once every few months on a whim. I managed to do 2 pages from Christmas so I am rather chuffed with myself.

Both layouts were made using papers and elements from the Brenda Pinnick scrapbooking kit I got from QVC that I mentioned last week. I also raided my stash for certain things including the cardstock.

DCM - 'tis the season to recycle

This week the theme is recycling and in particular to recycle something from Christmas.

Hmmm this was a tricky one for me because all things Christmas were packed up and put away at the end of last week. I had already sent all the Christmas cards to be recycled and all that I have left are the hand made ones I received (and there is no way I am cutting those up!!!) so I cheated slightly and used one of the cards left over from Abigail's box of cards to send to her friends at school.
Here is the card ^^^ and lets just say I was wholy uninspired by it which is why my recycled card is a pile of old tosh (in my opinion!). I cut out the present and a bit of the blue background to make another present and based the card around that. Hmmm this card may just end up being binned ya know! lol
I think another reason why the card is pants is that I myself feel pants. Have had a hacking cough since Christmas day and from Saturday have had a terrible pain in the back of my chest on the right. It has been affecting my sleep and it is fair to say I have been a right old misery guts. Sooooo I finally went to the GP yesterday afternoon and yes you guessed it - I was made to feel like a time wasting old trog. Apparently my chest is "phlegmy" but I have probably pulled a muscle. "Come back if you have trouble breathing". So that was me told then and £5 of bus fare wasted. I felt so embarrassed but I'm not kidding this pain has been so bad. I mean on Wednesday I can't actually remember some of the events of the day as I was delirious with pain. It is almost as bad as the pain I had when my gallbladder was playing up. Obviously I is a wimp!

Right I best get off. My baby girl is starting nursery school today!!! I'm dreading it I really hope she doesn't get upset when I leave her. I need to get her packed lunch ready as they have their lunch there now (it was all different when Abigail went). I'm hoping to get a bit of crafting done this afternoon while she's there. I have some Christmas pics I want to scrap....

Sad news and fab news...

My heart sank yesterday when one of my fellow Funky Hand DT members announced she was too busy with life to be able to continue. It lifted again when she said she was sticking around on the DT blog though. We've all become really great friends have us Funky Hand gang and I would hate to lose touch with any of them. I'm sure you all will have seen Chris' work but if you haven't take a look at her blog. You won't regret it.

Anyhow Anice has found another fabby DT member and this is v v exciting because it's a very talented lady that i already know from the DCM blog.......Lythan! Whoohoooo!!! Not only is Lythan fab and lovely so she'll fit right in with us all, she is an ultra faberoonie papercrafter too! So yippee! Welcome to Funky Hand Lythan :o)

This might be long....

Let me start with recommending you visit a blog (if you don't visit this particular one already) and that blog is here. It belongs to Kirsty Wiseman who has always been hilarious (and very talented!) but since she bought a slutty red handbag the other day something seems to have happened to her and her latest blog offerings are nothing short of comedy genious! It has to be said that Tena ladies are a must wear before visiting this blog....

Right oh on to Jozza business. I thought I would share a recent purchase with you.And this is one of my favourite pages in it!
This was surely written with me in mind as I am quite possibly the worlds biggest procrastinator. When I did my Radiography degree I was typing my dissertation up the night before the hand in date and binding the damn thing on the actual morning of hand in. Both my pregnancies were late. I just can't help putting things off. This planner is choc full of ways to procrastinate so I just lurve it. I will share a couple of suggestions with you....

Guess how many screws you have in each room of your house. Then check and see. (genius!)

List 10 valuable things you do while procrastinating (keep this list handy when you feel guilty about procrastinating)

If you were a performer with one name (like Madonna, Sting, Bono), what would it be? (list 10 possibilities)

I can tell I am going to have such fun with this planner :o)

This morning I had a wonderful surprise from my friend Ruth who sent little post Christmas cheer packages to all of us on the Funky Hand DT. It was so exciting opening up the package that was wrapped in brown paper and string. Maddie was heavy breathing down my neck as I opened it in excitement. I think she was secretly hoping it was for her!
Contents included stamped images, beads, ribbon pack and a gorgeous little notebook for jotting down crafty ideas. Ruth you are such a star! xxx I've had a lovely warm feeling all day :o)

Right I think I'm nearly finished now. I just want to share some cards I made this afternoon using the Funky Daze CD from Funky Hand. Anice has a live show at the end of this month and I'm just sorting out my samples to send to her for the show.


All papers Funky Daze by Funky Hand
Rub ons - Doodlebug
Button & ribbons from stash
Flowers - Prima & Poppicrafts
American Crafts Thickers
Core-dinations card stock
Cuttlebug border embossing folder and birthday embossing folder

2 sketches 4 you - Kazan's sketch 17

Another great sketch over on 2 sketches this week, this time by Kazan.












I used my new Papermania papers again for this card. It started off like this...
It was only when I had taken the photo that I realised that the scalloped edging looks a little like a wavy stem to the flower so I couldn't resist adding some velvet rikrak ribbon to make leaves. Patterned papers - Papermania - Spring burst
Flowers - prima
Brad & ribbon from stash
Stamp - studio g
Purple cardstock - core-dinations

Purple and green....

Yum yum yum yum yum!

It's no secret that green is my very favourite colour. I love it sooooo much! The other day I had a mooch around The Range and bought a pack of the new papermania papers and notelets in the "spring burst" colours. Have had a flash of inspiration with them this afternoon and they are lush! I've knocked a couple of cards out and also made one for the 2 sketches challenge (although I'll be back later with that one as there is something I want to add to it).
The first card is my fave! It just seemed to come together really well and almost made itself. The card blank is also new from papermania and I love the embossed detail on in. I really think papermania are coming up with some fab products at the moment :o)

I used....
Patterned paper and notelets in spring burst - papermania
Flowers - Prima and Poppicrafts
Swirl stamp - Basic Grey (from the Wassail range although I bought them as I thought they weren't tied to Christmas)
Rub ons - Doodlebug
Buttons - stash
Heart stamp - Paperartsy
American crafts thickers
Stickles glitter glue

Valentine card

The girls and I cleaned little Ratatouille out this afternoon. It's a job I don't exactly relish but he is a very clean little boy and keep his number 1's in one area and his number 2's in another and his main living area is always pretty immaculate (bless!) so he's not that difficult to clean. He does however have a space age cage and it's the dismantling it and putting it back together again week after week that kind of gets my goat! I don't think I actually have a proper pic of his cage but here is one off a shop website to give you an idea.























So in real life the blue bit is the same size as the big orange/white bit on the right hand pic. The blue bit is joined on the left of the orange bit (where the green/white thing is on the right hand pic and the green/white bit sticks out the front of where the small orange circle is. Little Ratti keeps all his toilet business in certain area of the blue bit and keeps the rest clean. He sleeps in the top blue bit in the middle. It is such a fab living quarters for him and it is great to watch him shimmy up and down the tubes (hehehe). Apparently it is a very similar design to how they live in the wild. They have different living areas joined by tunnels.

When we clean him out he goes in his little hamster exercise ball and when we are done we have a little hold and stroke session and hand feed him sunflower seeds (his absolute favourite thing in the whole world). When he's had enough he goes back in the cage and we watch him fill his pouches up with food to take up to his little food store by his bed.The girls did great impressions of him with full cheeks and I managed to catch a couple of pics!
Abbi hamsterMaddie hamsterRatti with his pouches semi-filled (and being manhandled stroked by Mads)A stunningly gorgeous shot of my boy!

I think we have almost come to terms with the fact that Georgie probably won't come back. I hate the not knowing what has happened. It's a bit like being in a limbo state. Charlie misses his sister not one jot! He is Lord of the Manor just now and very happy with his lot. He has been very spoiled and I got a shock when I picked him up the other day - he feels like he has doubled in weight! He has always been really skinny so we are thinking that Georgie has been pinching his food all these years! He is almost getting a little pot belly so I think we're going to have to watch him!


Anyway I digress......after cleaning out Ratti, I made a card for the Penny Black Saturday challenge (see post below) and then as I was in a crafty frame of mind I made a (gasp!) valentine card! I downloaded the new gorgeous papers from Pink Petticoat called just an old fashioned girl and they are fab. Right up my street. I printed some out late yesterday aftenoon but didn't get chance to play so today was ideal. It's a very simple card but I loiks it!
Everything is from the download except the ribbon, brad and flower which are from my stash :o)

Penny Black Saturday - embossing

Well it has been quite a while since I have joined in with Penny Black Saturday but yippee I managed to do a card today! It was a good excuse to make a card for my brother who turns 40 next month. Let me tell you it feels really good to be organised and have a card made well in advance - very unlike me lol
Paper - Papermania new spring range
Image - Penny black stickeroo
Ribbon from stash
Core-dinations cardstock
Cuttlebug birthday embossing folder
Stickles glitter glue
American Crafts thickers
Doodlebug mini rub ons

DCM - Thank you

Over at the DCM blog we thought it would be a great idea to do thank you cards. I decided it was time to ink up one of the new Sugar Nellie stamps I purchased at the end of 2008. It was perfect to make a thank you card for my husband who got me a baby laptop for my birthday/Christmas present :o) I absolutely love this stamp and I have lathered it in glitter too!

Stamp - Sugar Nellie
Papers - Doodlebug
Glitter glue
Watercolour paints
Bling brad - Dovecraft

2 Sketches 4 you - Laura's sketch 16

It's been too long since I joined in a 2 sketches challenge. I think my mojo is slowly returning thank goodness and I really enjoyed making this card. I've got a terrible cough so we've just been mooching around the house and it was lovely to get some crafting done this afternoon. Maddie has spent a fair bit of time playing with the wooden train set she got from Father Christmas and Abigail has been watching cheesy movies! lol

Talking of movies, Keith and I had a quiet New Years Eve in. We got a chinese takeaway and watched Mermaids which we recorded over Christmas. It must be at least 10 years since I have watched that film and I had forgotten what a cracker it is! It also struck us how our daughters are similar in many ways to the two girls in the film. Abigail is very much a drama queen and Maddie is a little eccentric. Teenage years are sure going to be fun around those two! lol

Anyhow enough of my waffling. Happy new year to you all and here is my card...

All paper and embellishments Basic Grey - Wassail
Brads from stash
Doodlebug rub ons
Plus doodles and a splash of ink pads here and there :o)