Crafty deals on ebay

Hi folks just a little note to let you all know that I have some stock for sale on ebay.

Why don't you pop over & have a look... you never know there may be something you want.

I am currently adding new products every day so please do be sure to check back on a regular basis and I will place a click link on the top of my blog to make life easy.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Ultimate Card Showdown

Well what another glorious day it is here yet again so yippee to that... more gardening & BBQ for dinner... so loving the last few days & long may it continue.

Just thought I'd better give you all a wee reminder though about the Ultimate Card Showdown tomorrow over at 2 sketches 4 you... I know I certainly don't want to miss out on the fun & hope that you will be joining in too..

Knowing Kazan & Laura this will be truly Ultimate event as they excel themselves week in & week out just with normal challenges.

Oh I'm all excited now...

Righty ho I'm off to get chores done quickly then I'm off out into the sun.

Have a wonderful day & hope you are getting to enjoy the sunshine too...

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

What a fab sketch this week over at Penny Black and certainly one I enjoyed playing with.

I put my base card through the printer to print a backing from the paper blossom download by Anice at Funky Hand

Stamped my image onto a piece of card & used Brunyzeel water colour pencils & finally edged with a little stamp designed by Barbara at Clarity Stamp.

Cut a score line in the card & tied a length of ribbon around & tied in a knot... added a chipboard embellishment, some Prima flowers & finally card candy from Craftwork Cards to finish.

Well time to jet off now, get myself organised & get out in the sun again... it's so wonderful being able to go outdoors without the wind or rain... oh & I smell another BBQ on the go tonight.

Hope the sun is shining wherever you are too.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

When I popped onto Daring Cardmakers this morning to see what the new challenge was, I knew right away what I was going to do...

I had a baby card to make & the challenge is to use 5 of the same things & I instantly saw these little pink baby shoes so it was just perfect.

If I'm correct the paper is Laura Ashley... Letters are cut from handmade paper using the wacky font set from Wendie Rhodes. A length of ribbon was tied around the card & I used silicone to attach the little acrylic shoes. To finish off I added some flowers & gems from my stash.

The clouds are really clearing now to show the beautiful bright blue sky so I'm off now to do some gardening & bin some more of those weeds... must make haste whilst the sun is shining.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Masquerade Mask

Here's a little masquerade mask I had a play with yesterday... never done one before & after finishing I had other ideas on things I would like to try in the future like some scroll stamping etc.. but hey it's my first attempt so I'm quite happy.

The mask is papier mache & I simply inked it up in silver & left to dry. Then I used some silicone to add the feathers & gems (also little clear starts - pic below).

More of a side profile & if you enlarge you can see the clear stars better.


Close up of the stars

This pic is taken in a darker position so if you enlarge it you can see the sparkle off of the clear stars a little better.

Sorry the pics are not great but I so could not find the right position to get the stars to reflect like I wanted... still a bit overcast but seems to be burning off right now.

Let's hope the weather man is right this weekend & the country is full of sunshine.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Pink Elephant & Daring Card Makers Challenges

Yes I know it's later in the day before I'm making my first posting, but all caught up with work now & hubby has returned to the office today, albeit feeling a little bit on the delicate side.

Here's my card for two challenges this week, The Pink Elephant along with Daring Card Makers.

The Pink Elephant provided a sketch for this week & the theme at Daring Card Makers is "Wet wet wet".

I decided to have a play with some more of my Cute Companions "Friends" stamps. I used some orangy DCWV card for a sandy look & stamped some little stones on it, then using some DCWV blue card stock which I sanded down so the white core shows through, made a little paddling pool.

I have one ducky already jumping into the pool and another still to get his costume on, complete with life ring of course just for safety purposes...lol.

I created the splashes by stamping them in white ink & then going over them with some glossy accents for that true water look.

A strip of white card combined with some torn blue cardstock was the base for the sentiment which was stamped in blue ink.

To complete the card I used a brad from my stash to place a little lizard charm (from Telfords Direct) crawling through the sand.

Images were coloured using Bruynzeel water colour pencils.

Well I'm off now to have a little potter in the garden & get rid of some more weeds before moving onto my next project... have already made a start on a masquerade mask so may finish that off.

Hope you're all having a wonderful day.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Late night calling

Hi folks I know my intention was to upload another card today, but my Mum & Eric have been up to visit then Brianna & Gordon (her boyfriend) came to visit too... needless to say, we have only just gotten the house back to ourselves in the last hour.

Rob is now tucked up in bed, dopped up to the eye balls on pain meds again so hopefully another good nights sleep for him.

I do have another challenge card ready but am going to save it for uploading tomorrow... may even make a start on another tonight.

Thank you for your well wishes for Rob, very kind indeed & with luck he'll be back to normal in a few days.

Nighty night, sleep tight.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Stamp Something Challenge

This is my entry for this weeks challenge over at Stamp Something and I had intended on uploading it yesterday but as the old say goes "if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all" well that saying is oh so true in my household at present.

We've been clearing out the last of Rob's high street shops over the last week & yesterday we were doing the final clearing.. you know taking down the blinds, window vinyls etc... well low & behold did he not take a really hard fall direct onto his back. Now for most people this would have been sore but with his spondylitis the pain just ripped through him like a knife.. to add to that he battered his head too! Thankfully we had mostly everything already packed up in the car so I had to get him into the car & home asap. Out came the ice packs & anti inflammatories but I didn't have any strong pain killers so called upon our dear friend who happens to be a GP. Round to the house he came straight away & gave Rob the once over just to check everything was okay & delivered some strong pain killers into the bargain. Thankfully he has just flared his AS up so he's taken the day off work as he's very stiff & sore & will hopefully feel a lot better tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm being nurse maid & taking care of his every need but he's relatively settled now so I'm keeping fingers crossed I can batter out some more cards this afternoon. YIPPEE...

Well onto my card for the challenge which has been made using Basic Grey papers from the "Sugared" collection, combined with some Cute Companions rubber stamps for the image & sentiment, card candy from Craftwork Cards & a little butterfly from my stash to finish off.

I'm off now to see what challenge I can attempt next... hope to see you all soon.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

Well the challenge this week over at Penny Black is "Buttons Galore" so I decided to make a wee quick card so I could join in the fun.

Sadly I cannot tell you who the papers are by as they were nothing more than some scraps I had lying around which I matted & layered with some white card.

I used Colorbox ink pads to stamp & colour the image then done some doodling around the edges before attaching buttons to the corners.

The flower was cut from a piece of scrapbook paper & I used a large button for the centre.

Most of the housework is now caught up... never get much done when Rob is around as I like to try & get him to relax when he has time off. Got some more organising to sort out in the garage... trust me you wouldn't believe it if you saw just how much is crammed into it just now to the extent I can't even get the lawn mower out!

Must check out some challenges first though in the hopes that I can squeeze something else in today.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Still no sunshine

Oh well it's the end of bank holiday weekend & the sun never did arrive at my address...perhaps the postman will deliver tomorrow... lol

Well it's been a good weekend here albeit busy but everything is under control so I'm off now to make a start on some cards which should mean I can join in with a few challenges over the next few days. Yippee...

Hope you've all had a fab weekend too & see you again in the morning, perhaps with a little Penny Black card....

Goodnight my lovelies

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Sugar Bowl Challenge

Finally I've managed to find time this weekend to squeeze in making a card... so I've opted to go along with the fabulous sketch over at The Sugar Bowl.

To make this card I have used the following:

Papers are from the Sugared collection by Basic Grey
Image is MacBeth ( coloured using Bruynzeel water colour pencils)
Chipboard embellishment is from Heidi Grace stash
Photo corner is from my Brenda Pinnick box from QVC
Green paper flowers are also from my Brenda Pinnick box
Pink & white paper flowers are ones I import from Thailand

Well guess it's time to get back to work again seeing as I've taken the full morning off... still lots on the to do list, and a few of which have to be completed today whilst Rob is off of work.

Fingers crossed that I may get some time tonight to make a start on another card as I'm having serious withdrawl symptoms.

Hope you're all having a fun time over the bank holiday weekend & if someone out there has stolen the wonderful sunshine we were supposed to see over the last few days (but has never appeared) can you kindly return it... lol

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

CANDY up for grabs

NOW CLOSED

Here we go folks my candy that is up for grabs to celebrate my first blogging anniversary.

I've decided to go along the basic line a bit here.. the things that we use all the time when crafting so it should save you some money.

Included in the candy bag are:

1 pack of 50 square white cards & envelopes

1 box of bright coloured chalks

1 roll of double sided tape

1 pack of foam pads

1 paper piercing tool

1 craft knife with replacement blades

2 packs of Laura Ashley embellishments

1 box of glue squares

6 Vibrance ink pads
(pink, green, blue, purple, red & black)

3 pack of brads
(brights, metallics & pastels)

3 packs of paper flowers


Now to be in with a chance of winning this bag of goodies here's what you have to do:

1. You must have an active blog

2. Leave a comment in this posting

3. Place a link on your blog to my candy

4. Remember to check back to see if you are the winner


This candy will remain open until 12 noon (GMT) on Monday 8th June 2009.

Good Luck to one & all

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

NOW CLOSED

Candy Alert....

There's been so much going on with Robs work over the last few weeks that I almost forgot that a year ago this month was when I really started to get into my blogging & meeting all you wonderful new buddies....

To thank you all for your commitment to visiting & support you have given me over the last year... in true blogland fashion I will be doing a candy giveaway...

Not sure yet what all will be included but I'm off now to have a rummage & see what this old girl can come up with.

Will post either tonight or tomorrow...

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Cherry on top...

This morning I have decided to start the day off with a yummy little cupcake... topped with a lovely glazed cherry... that's actually yucks for me as I detest cherries but I do love the look of them.

This one I know for sure is going to be made rather a lot as it was so quick & simple.

Again this was printed from the Joanna Sheen Messy Rabbit CD & it can be found under the section of shaped cards... print out the page, score along the dotted line, use a craft knife to cut around the cherry, cut out the remainder of the shape & fold...

To decorate I used a Sakura quickie glue pen to add some confetti & put some glossy accents on the cherry for that glazed effect.

I'm off now to see what challenges are around just incase I have time to fit one in..

Hubby is at work for a few hours then when he returns we're off out to deal with the shopping, animal supplies etc as the weather tomorrow & Monday is supposed to be lovely & we intend to make use of it. My garden is a nightmare of weeds at present as I never got it cleared in the autumn & boy did I make a great start on it yesterday but it now all has to go to the dump & I need to get my mulch down before those nasty weeds have a chance to rear their ugly heads again.

Toodles for now & happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Book Mark

Front

Back

Here's a little book mark that was so quick to make from Joanna Sheen's Messy Rabbit CD.

It's all ready for you all you do is click on the bookmark that you want & it will print the front & back on the same sheet of A4 for you. All you have to do is cut around them, put some ribbon in the centre or punch a hole, whatever you prefer & glue the front & back sides together.. if you wanted you could even print it twice & use the second copy to decoupage the image.

Well I've had a busy day full of lots of work in the house, garage, shifting office equipment & furniture & finally trying to tidy up the garden... it was lovely being out in the glorious sunshine but it's that time of the month so my wee back is aching again.. a nice rest up tonight, hopefully a good sleep & I'll be ready to go again in the morning...

Hope you all have a good time planned for Bank Holiday weekend.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Messy Rabbit is back

Yippee I've finally managed to get my hands on the Messy Rabbit CD from Joanna Sheen & boy is it crammed with lots of images & projects to make. Absolutely fantastic for those quick makes also as it's so well laid out & ready to go just when you need it.

I made this quicky just to let you see how easy it is.

Background was printed direct onto the base card & then I printed a sheet of toppers which includes 2 large ones... the first I matted onto a sheet of mirri card and the second I cut out part of the sunflower & then Messy along with the leaf & lady bird. These were mounted using silicone.

Finally I printed one of the insert sheets onto a piece of vellum... now the verse you see is the one that it comes with but you can opt for the virtual option whereby you can add your own greeting... yet again Joanna has left nothing to chance.

What a fantastic CD & have some others to share with you later.

Sorry about yesterday but it turned into a bit of chaos here... won't go into the details as I'd just bore you... but I never stopped the whole day & my back was killing me by night time with all the weighty items I had been lifting. Today's off to a mad start again, albeit today is under control as I knew from yesterday what had to be done. Right now I'm off to do a dump run then got hubby to take to the physio & then the schedule is back to a bit of madness for a few hours.

Catch up with you all later tonight.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

I'm late, I'm late....

So sorry my lovelies about not getting anything posted yesterday but not long after I returned from dropping Gayle off I ended up with a bit of a headache which turned into a migraine... yuck. Spent the night lying in the dark... then for the 3rd night in a row hubby's back was playing up (he has Ankylosing Spondylitis) so we finally managed to get some sleep from around 3am onwards.

Nothing ready at the moment but I did purchase some new goodies yesterday & card construction is now under way here and I should be posting again at around 1pm.. that will give me time to finish the housework & card.. lol

Hope you're all well & see you soon.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Out for lunch today

Just thought I'd let you all know that I'm off to pick Gayle up at lunch time today & we have a couple of hours just the two of us whilst Ava is at nursery & it is a little birthday treat for her so not quite sure what I may have up my sleeve for her...

Think at this moment in time she thinks her birthday pressie was the unsigned card & flowers she got yesterday but that was just so she got a little something on the day...

Will try & squeeze a little something in between now & then if possible.

Happy crafting me buddies

Lorraine xxx

2sketches4you

What a fun sketch this week over at 2 sketches 4 you & I ended up with a real event on this one.

All papers are Basic Grey

Centre strip is a piece of Anna Griffin self adhesive paper ribbon

Image is Sweet & Sassy from Funky Kits

Flower, chipboard sentiment, ribbon, mesh butterfly & little acrylic flowers are from stash

Image was coloured using Bruynzeel water colour pencils

Now what was the real event I had with this one... well wait for it...

As you know it's Gayle's birthday today & I decided to make this card for her... no relying on Mr Postie etc... decided to hand deliver and later got a text from her saying... you do realise it's not a valentine card... well that sure had me wondering... then I realised I'd actually finished the card last night & set it aside to allow the silicone to dry... got up this morning & put it in the envelope without even signing it... now how much of a numpty am I... Just glad she has a good sense of humour.

Hope you've all had a better day than I obviously have. lol

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

2 sketches ultimate party invite

Oh my if you have not already heard about the 2 sketches 4 you ultimate card showdown on June 1st then pop over to their blog now... amazing prizes up for grabs with 1st prize being more than $500 of crafting goodies...

Raising funds for Cancer Research

Debbie has designed a new stamp... which has been made especially for the Race For Life....

As the charity event is held next month she has decided to her June.

Now for every stamp sold (only £3)... Debbie will be donating £1.00 direct to Cancer Research so obviously the more she sells the more she raises.

If you feel that you can help by buying one of her June stamps then please pop over to Debbie's blog now & help to make a difference.

You may remember that last year a good friend of both Kath & myself, called Ann, was diagnosed with a serious form of breast cancer and boy did she put up a fight & maintain her sense of humour during all her treatment. Glad to say she is now doing extremely well & has never lost the humour... Well done girl.

This weekend her wonderful husband Stewart will be doing a sponsored Munro climb to raise funds for cancer research. He is part of a 6 man team who will be climbing Buachaille Etive Mhor and to date they have raised almost £2,000. Well done boys.

Please remember that every little counts be it £1 or £100... it all adds up.

Well gotta dash now as I have rather a busy day today & I'll catch up with you all later.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

Well the challenge this week over at Daring Cardmakers is something a little different for us.

The Sound of Music

We have been challenged to make a card which is musically inspired & thankfully I had some stickers which came in very handy.

The papers are by Basic Grey, simply covered a card with one paper then cut an oval from another (mounted this on card for stability) and then attached to the front of the card using silicone. The sticker was attached to a piece of coloured paper just so the clear edge didn't show up, cut around & curved with my fingers before mounting with silicone.

Some rub-ons were used for the sentiment, musical notes are stickers and I done a little faux stitching which is not hugely noticeable.

Well best dash now as I have a meeting to attend in 15 mins & still sat in my slippers.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

CANDY

It's Gayle's birthday tomorrow and to celebrate she has candy up for grabs.

Don't delay get yourself over to Gayle's blog now as you will not believe the huge pile of gorgeous blog candy she has up for grabs until May 31st....

Good Luck

Lorraine

xxx

OWL

Gosh we picked up a thing at Tesco yesterday that tells you what you are spending your electricity on & it's awesome...

Now it is expensive at a cost of £35 but with the last 2 bills that we have gotten it seemed the risk was worth it.

Are you ready for this... when my tv is on along with the washing machine & oven it is costing me £1 an hour... not much you may think but if you add this up over the quarter it's not long in building up... microwave is 20p an hour, oven & washing machine 30p an hour and there is a big difference between a normal light bulb & an energy saver... approx 9p an hour of a difference.

It's unbelievable the changes we have made already in just over 12 hours as we have been throwing money away on electricity.

It cost us 35p an hour when the kettle is boiling... with only enough water for 1 cup of coffee...

Hopefully the next bill won't be such a shock now.

It also has a temperature gauge on it & we live in a relatively new home with a gas fire... thus regulation states that there must be an air vent in the room... well ours is approx 8" x 12". Now we always feel a breeze through here in the winter so I put the unit down beside the vent for 10 mins & would you believe that it dropped by a whopping 5.5 degrees... we have now decided we are going to have the gas fire removed & the vent covered over. This should dramatically cut our gas bills over the colder season.

This may be of use to anyone else out there who is suffering extortionate bills.

See you all in a couple of hours with a little challenge card.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Hits not all being counted

I have been suspicious for a few weeks that not all hits on my blog are being counted as there have been times when it's said there are 3 people online yet no change in my stats. Well earlier this afternoon I was showing 22 hits and this evening I had a comment left but funnily enough my stats still showed 22... where had the hit gone... no-where.. apparently I didn't get one. I have now booted up the computer to moderate the comment & my hit has now shown so up to 23. Funny thing is I have been watching this closely as I have noticed that Little Cotton Rabbits has not been getting hits allocated & some of the others are suddenly getting quite a few less hits a day than they did last week.

Has anyone else noticed this change?

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

At last I've finally gotten around to making & uploading a card this weekend.... took long enough didn't it.

Hubby finally returned yesterday with the camera, all be it with a flat battery so that had to be charged. Also had to pop out & collect something for dinner as mother hubbards cupboard was bare. By the time night arrived my eyes were still a bit on the sore side so opted not to do any crafting as it would probably have been a mess anyway.

Now that I've had a good nights sleep & a nice relaxing morning, I've come up with this little baby for the Penny Black challenge... which this week is a 3-2-1. Yes we have been asked to use 3 flowers, 2 papers & 1 brad/charm.

Here I used some double sided paper from K&Co combined with some matting & layering on white card stock.

Next I attached some Prima flowers... pearls for the centres of the 2 small ones & a pearl brad on the large one and 2 small gems on opposite corners of the image.

The image was coloured using Koi water colours.

Off to spruce myself up now as it's off out to do the weekly shop & also look at new tv's...

Will hopefully manage to get back later with another little something.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

Would you believe it ....

Well I am now approx 5 hours down the line from my last posting and where have I been....

Sat on my bum at this computer for the full duration...

Now I have a terrible habit of not clearing my emails on my inbox & today I had over 3500 just sitting there... I know it's shocking...

Well what better excuse to do some blog hopping & clearing my inbox at the same time so that's exactly what I have done for almost 5 hours now.

My inbox is now around 1000 emails lighter.. good job done... only another 2500 to get through & lots & lots of blog hopping done into the bargain...

Hopefully I've managed to visit you already but if not then I will hopefully over the next few days...

Right my eyes are now knocking so off to grab a cuppa & give them a rest before squeezing in some craft before hubby returns from work & it's time to do the shopping...

Hope you're all having a fab Saturday.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Saturday crafting...

Apart from my strop yesterday over my gas/elec bill most of my afternoon was spent crafting... unfortunately I cannot share any of the stuff with you as it was all design work for a company & I'm not at liberty to share... sorry.

Alas I thought, no bother I will simply make up for it today... only to find that hubby is taking the camera off to work with him now... what good is that to me!!!

Guess I'll just have to be creating more today whilst he is gone & then I can share with you all later when he returns.

Better get my skates on now & get stuck into the old crafting I guess & I'll be back with you all at some point this afternoon.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Gas & Electricity Suppliers

Well folks I'm on now to have a good old rant & rave along with a request for some assistance.

You may remember that last time I received a gas/electricity bill I had a good rant then too as it was almost £800 but in saying that I had been in the house after my op with the heating on 24/7.

Let me tell you that my new bill has just arrived today & wait for it.... how much this time... almost £600.

Who is my service provider... well I'm quite happy to name & shame

npower

Last time I also received a threatning legal letter before my payment due date had even arrived & due to the balls up they made on this, they said they would issue me a cheque for £20 compensation... still waiting for it to arrive... they did however get another department to write to me in response to my letter to them regarding the date I moved into my new home... hell I've lived here for nearly 8 years...

Now that I've had my rant & the steam is bubbling out of me I'm off to write yet another letter of complaint to them... think I'm going to add postal charges this time.

Whatever you do... stay well clear of npower as they haven't got a clue how to run a company.

Before I go though... if anyone has a good decent gas/elec provider can you please leave me a comment telling me who you are with as I am definately changing as soon as possible.

Cheers me lovely buddies.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Colour Create Challenge

This one happened by sheer luck...

I was sitting last night relaxing & decided to have a wee play with my big box of goodies from QVC and made this little card up... then this morning I realised that the challenge this week over at Colour Create was Green & Blue...

Here I used one of the patterned cards & added to it some of the chipboard flowers & leaves. Then to finish off I attached a sentiment sticker onto the label sticker with 2 sequins to finish.

Can you believe this card used up a whole 13 elements out of the box which contains over 8000.. no wonder everyone says the box lasts forever.

Off to jump in the shower now, have a few bits & bobs to do around the house then sitting back with my feet up to do some crafting me thinks.

Toodles for now...

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

A little birdie

Oh yes folks a "little bird" has told me that her "sugar momma" has an upcoming birthday on May 19th...

Now if you're really good... you'll be able to figure out from the clues above who is due to celebrate another new year in their life...

Just incase she reads this... yes momma I had to share the news with all in blogland and if you pick on me then I'll set Momma Kath on you...

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Soap Powder or Hot Chocolate

Seeing as this is a time of economic crisis, what better to do than come up with some money saving ideas for storage.

So far I have a soap powder box the kind that contains the tablets & I also have a large & a small hot chocolate tub... perfect storage containers I think for on the craft desk but not in their current condition. They are badly in need of a makeover before being fit enough to enter the craft room & join all the other smart goodies.

I've not yet decided which one to start with so if you have a preference please let me know.

Barring that watch this space to see the end result...

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Attack of the bunny.....

Oh how I wish I was able to hold the camera 1 handed & take a picture of my arm right now...

I brought 2 of my bunnies in to give them a wee bath to clean them up & trim their nails... Will try to get a picture of them for you later... so armed with my disposable apron & faithful marigolds off we go.

First up was Jelly Bean... in the bath she went & just sat there having her bath & being quite content about the whole event so long as she could lick my arm... what a breeze.

Next up.. in went Bella... well was that the experience from hell or what... NO I do not want a bath today... so I will jump all over the bathtub, even try to jump out of the tub and for you not allowing me to do so, I will sink my teeth into you & swing...

Oh yes... the little beggar that she is set about my forearm with her claws first of all so by this time she has pulled the marigold down to my wrist... then with bare flesh showing... she sunk her teeth into my arm & started jumping around so she was literally hanging from my arm.

Now I have had almost 20 rabbits over the last decade.. half of them rescue may I add... and never have I been attacked by a bunny to the extent I have today.

She may be Bella by name but definately not by nature... now that bath time is past she is lying back quite chilled whilst she dries out.

As for me... well I'm now off to jump in the shower & get myself cleaned up before coating my arm with some Savlon.

Hope there's not too many of you laughing now, although I suspect there may well be.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Pink Elephant Challenge

Well it's yet another lovely bright & warm day where I am, although there are a few clouds in the sky but hopefully these will burn off as the sun pushes it's way through.

A lovely night was had by all yesterday, all be it I was exhausted by about 9pm so lazed back on the sofa with my feet up letting the tv entertain us all. Rob was quite happy too... he received some lovely gifts & a surprise card from my buddy Gayle.

So now that a new day has dawned, here is my morning challenge card... yes I'm going to attempt an afternoon one too, if I can stay out of the garden long enough.. this time it's for the Pink Elephant challenge where we have to use the colours blue, green & white.

Must be something to do with all the sunshine of late, but I knew right away what I wanted to do... all be it simple.

Using cotton wool I blended 3 different colours of blue ink to create the sky... cut a border on 3 strips of green card to create the grass, then inked and attached to the card. Finally I used a Sakura stardust pen for the stems & leaves & stuck on some white wooden flowers.

For some reason I seem to be going through a phase of creating some really plain simple cards... not sure if it's that the mojo has taken a journey or if I'm just enjoying using items in their own right which means using less.

Well I'm off again to get on with the day... see you all soon and hope you're enjoying the sunshine too no matter where you are.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

Rob's birthday

Now that the coast is clear & I know that Rob has seen his card I can share it with you all.

He is very much missing home at the moment & is also very patrionic so I decided to make him a stars & stripes card this year.

It was great as the blue rectangle & stripes were all made from scraps and I simply stamped some white stars on the blue & added a little faux stitching with a pigma micron pen. I used some Thickers letters for his name & the Happy Birthday is a clear sticker from my QVC box.

By the time you are reading this I'll be sat back enjoying myself as Brianna & her boyfriend Gordon are coming over to visit... oh & I'm making cake!

Hope you've all had a good day & will catch up with you tomorrow again.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

Yes folks, I know it's rather late in the day to be making my first posting.. but that's because it's Rob's birthday today & I've been making sure that everything is ready for him coming home tonight. It's not that I didn't try earlier when I had a spare 5 minutes.. but that just happened to be at the same time as the system was down so that didn't quite work out for me.

Anyway, now to progress... the challenge this week over at Penny Black is to use the colours Black, White & one other colour of your choice... I decided upon pink.

Took my piece of spotty paper which was a freeby a while back with SC&P, then done some doodling on some of the spots, stamped the "Hugs" sentiment in others, punched some white spots for others then inked the edges. Next up I adhered a strip of black spotty ribbon across the paper & used some pink brads to attach it to the white base card.

Stamped my kitty image & water coloured slightly using a black Sakura glaze pen... cut this out into a big spot & doodled around the edge. This was then silicone mounted onto the card.

I'm off now to schedule Mr Blogger for to post a pic of Rob's birthday card later tonight. He hasn't seen it yet & I never quite know when he pops over to the blog for a wee nosey so have to ensure he has left the office before it uploads.

See you all again soon.

Hugs
Lorraine
xxx

Stamp Something Challenge

Back to the good old challenges we go folks and first up today is a card for Stamp Something, where the challenge this week is to create a "Pink Birthday Something".

What better time to delve into my new QVC kit I thought, so off I went.

The base card is a sheet of patterned paper from the kit attached to a plain base card. Then I used the sticker alphas for the greeting and added dots using a Sakura glaze pen. I also highlighted the flowers with a black glaze pen which was a big mistake... should have used a fine detail pen instead but hey... it's done. In the centre of the large flower I attached one of the chipboard pieces from the kit & finally good old Messy Rabbit in the centre holding her bloom... all be it an orange sunflower! Messy has been coloured with Sakura glaze pens.

Most of the housework is done now & the bed linen is on the washing line drying so next up on the agenda... I have some bunny cages to clean & also a dirty bunny bum... when the weather is hot like this they don't like to move around a lot & boy... I've got 2 who just lie & poop so now I have to don the marigolds & get stuck into bathing a bunny... trust me you would not believe how wet I will be by the end of it all.

Once that's done I can get back to my crafting again & then hopefully the weather will stay nice & it will be a BBQ for dinner tonight... a little mid week treat as it's Rob's birthday tomorrow.

Enough from me now... hope you're all having fun & see you again soon.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Thank you all

OMG... all the lovely messages I received from you lot yesterday really helped make the day a good one for me. Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart.

It's truly touching to know that there are people around who can show love & support from afar and very often as I have found out over the last 8 months or so, these are much better friends than some who live close by.

Today I raise a glass to toast you all and the friendships that evolve through the wonderful world of blogging.

Hugs & kisses

Lorraine

xxx

Funky Design Gang Member

As the old saying goes... Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.... so here goes.

Now I've never tried out for a Design Team before but today of all day's I like to do something out of the ordinary and this year I have decided to try out for the Funky Hand DT... not that I hold any hopes of being picked but in true crafting fashion, it's all about the fun of it.

You have to choose a few of your favourite cards so I have chosen these two for different reasons

This one I have chosen because it was created for a Create & Craft and was actually used by Amanda Bateman to do a demonstration... my biggest claim to fame so far... Thank you my darling friend Amanda.

Next I have chosen this word book which I have just completed because it inspired me to play around & get the creative juices going... can't wait to see how much embellishment goes on the next one I make.

Well that's my choice now so off to email Anice with my very late entry which may very well be too late as the closing date is today.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

12 Years Ago

This is a little posting in memory of my dearly loved father who passed away under tragic circumstances 12 years ago today.

Like most father daughter relationships we were the light of each other's lifes and the day that I lost him I truly felt that my heart had been ripped out. It took me several years to come to terms with his passing but I completely understand now & instead of crying on his anniversary like I used to, I pop on down to the cemetary with my flowers and have a good old catch up natter with him.

I'd much rather he be at peace where he is than living a life of misery here on earth.

Now I will share with you the words that I wrote for his obituary..

You brought me into this world dear Dad

And taught me how to grow

You taught me how to walk & talk

But now you've had to go

Still like a star you shine so bright

Within my heart & mind

Until we meet again dear Dad

Goodnight, I love you so

Now that's a verse that I haven't shared with anyone for 12 years now, so it just goes to show how special you all are to me.

Thank you all for being my friends.

Extra special hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Crafting on a budget

Recently at a demo day I had a few ladies who expressed concerns over double sided paper/card and how they do not know what to do with it... they felt that they were always wasting money by covering up one side of the card...

Not the case I said to them... infact it can help to make very cheap cards.

I am now going to make some project sheets for the shop owner to put out in her shop and this is a card I have made for one of the projects.

Here I have used 2 sheets of 12 x 12 co-ordinating papers. The first I cut a square card from then using the second sheet I cut out some circles for the flowers & the butterfly. Back to the 1st paper for the next layer of the flower which were cut from scraps of the paper and detail on the butterly. I distressed the edges of the flowers & put a brad through the centre and attached to the card using silicone. The detail on the butterfly was attached using a Sakura quickie glue pen then I tied some ribbon around the centre to create the antenna. Finally I curled the wings on the butterfly & attached to the card using silicone.

Now if you made your cards 5 x 5 then you could get 4 cards from your 2 sheets of 12 x 12.

That's what I call crafting on a budget.

Hugs
Lorraine
xxx

QVC delivered...

On Friday I was doing my exercises & added on some new ones as I do once I feel I am comfortable with the level I have achieved... well silly old me managed to knacker my left leg so have been in agony for 2 days but yesterday the pain was so bad that even my hubby felt sorry for me... apparently I was chalk white.

Needless to say I didn't feel much like doing anything but that was ok as QVC had delivered my order so I sat for an hour just going through everything that came in the box... gosh what a stack there is from albums & ribbons to chipboard & stickers. Over 8000 pieces in all.

Once we had done the weekly shop my leg was extremely sore but the mind was crying out for some crafting goodies... oh what to do I thought... I know... into the box I went as there were 4 albums enclosed, 1 12 x 12 and 3 mini books. Now I have all my pages the was I want them colour wise in the 12 x 12 album & all the mini albums have been made up just ready for embellishment.

All stored back in the box now whilst I decide what I'm going to use them for.

Thank you QVC for quick delivery, under a week even when ordered during craft day.

Now that's what I call customer service.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Acetate Made Simple

Here is a very quick simple card for when you need one in a hurry.

Simply take a piece of acetate, cut to size & score. Next up cut a strip of double sided paper, slightly narrower than your card... position this against your card & punch 2 holes at the top & bottom of the card & acetate... thread with ribbon & tie in a know. This will hold your paper in place without the need for adhesives.

To decorate I used silicone to attach a chipboard stem & flower head then at the bottom of the stem I placed an extra little paper flower with a button as the centre.

The sentiment has been written on the inside of the card using a Sakura pen.

Sorry about the flash reflection but it was very dull yesterday when I took the pic.

Amazing how you can quickly & easily make a simple card from nothing much more than bits & bobs from your stash.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

Gosh I sure hope you're sat down with a nice cuppa & a biscuit just now as there are lots of pictures in this posting.. and I'm not kidding!

Well the challenge this week over at Daring Cardmakers is something for Mum...

Hell did I not just forget that it is Mothers Day this weekend in America so needless to say that my Mother In Law will be late in receiving her card... I do know that she will forgive me though due to all the crap that has been happening of late.

Needless to say I now feel like the worst DIL in the world so had to make something extra special for her to treasure. You see she is one of those people who truly appreciates the time & effort that is put into her cards & she keeps every single one I ever send...

Alas, what better to make for her than a word book and here it is..

This is the first real embellished word book that I've made & I'm quite proud of it for my first attempt & sure am looking forward to doing many more in future.. thanks must go to Anice at Funky Hand for taking all the hard work out of it though.

Front of book

Inside of book

Left hand page

Right hand page

Next section of book

Left hand page

Right hand page

Back of book

Now basically as I was finishing off I realised I had boobed... what had I done... only just made the book to say MUM instead of MOM.. oh well never mind, these things happen & I'm not about to change it now.

Word book, papers & letters all from Funky Hand

Tags by K&Co

Ribbons, flowers, brads & chipboard embellishments all from stash

Back with another little something later on but in the meantime

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Rainbow Ladys Challenge

First up today is a card for Rainbow Lady's challenge.. another one I have missed out on for so long now and this week, Cynthia has challenged us to use a frame somewhere on our card.

Seeing as I had all my Sakura flowers ready I decided to create something using them.

Here is a close up of one of the glaze flowers... the main card pic is a bit dull due to the weather here today & when using the flash there was too much reflection... thought you would let me off for just one flower though.

Here I layered a piece of red card onto the centre of my base card & then took a Craftwork Cards frame & highlighted the design with chalks and edged it using a Sakura Pen Touch Calligraphy Pen and attached to the card using 3d foam pads.

Next up I attached a chalked sentiment to the corner of my frame & then my Sakura coloured vellum flowers using silicone. To finish off I edged the main card again with my Pen Touch and added a few red gems.

Sakura

Craftwork cards

Gems are from my stash

Right, I'm off again to see what I can be getting on with today & will hopefully make it back later with another little thing or two...

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Sugar Bowl Challenge

Oh another challenge card... 1st I've managed since the weekend but still it's better than none.

This time it's for the Sugar Bowl challenge which is based on a sketch.. and I just had to join in this week as I've missed rather a few of late.

Just for a little fun... I decided to throw a splash of pink in with the blues & greens... have no idea why so have came to the conclusion that I'm just having one of those mad days.

Off to visit an elderly neighbour now for a wee chat & then back into the crafting when I return.

Hope you're all having a fab day

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Hooked

Just a little card for fun as I was doing my usual & stuck a cd in the drive not reading any instructions or anything & decided to see what I could do.

This was made using the "Mens" cd from My Craft Studio... and no I still haven't read the instructions so am currently unaware of how to use the cd to it's full capacity.

Anyway, on one half of a sheet of A4 I printed off the image of the fisherman again along with some decoupage images (the head, fishing rod, boots & some fish).

The image was then matted & layered onto a piece of black card then onto some white and finally onto a black card. Cut out the decoupage pieces & on the main image I used foam pads to attach the relevant pieces and used the extra fish down both sides of the card, which I attached using a quickie glue pen.

Another quick & simple card for a male who likes his fishing.

All products can be purchased HERE

I'm also very excited today as I got an email from QVC this morning to say that my package of goodies has been dispatched.. sure hope Mr Postie has his jet pack on as I'm desperate to get it opened & have the good old touchy feely experience.

Just now though I'm off to jump in the shower before I get on with some more crafting.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Sakura On Vellum

Here are a few pictures to show what I've been up to today... I have a few female birthday cards to do just now so I fancied using my Sakura pens on vellum as I haven't done this for a while now and I do like the end result.

First of all I traced around some floral designs... although you could just as easily use a rubber stamp image. Then I set about the colouring in process... some done with Glaze & others with Souffle.

This is what my page looked like when all the flowers were coloured in

Here is a close up of one of the flowers once the souffle pen had dried...

Now I have spoken to people in the past who say that this happens & they have binned their work... what a shocking shame as there is simple solution.

Here is a picture of the same flower as above but once the souffle ink had dried I simply went around the design again with a Sakura Pigma Micron Pen. Now we have a complete design again

This is what it all looked like once I had cut all of the flowers out. Doesn't look very much at the moment I know.. especially seeing as it took a good few hours to make them but trust me it is a technique well worth trying... one of the best things about it is that when you use the pens on vellum you create a natural warped effect.. well flowers were never designed to be flat were they... so saves you the effort of trying to shape them.

I'm sure I'll share some cards with you over the coming days which are showcasing these flowers then you can see how pretty they are... if you can't wait that long then watch my cardology/sakura slideshow & you can see for yourself just how lovely these flowers look.

Remember if you need any Sakura products you can purchase them online HERE

Righty ho I'm off to feed & water my bunnies now then get them all shut up for the night as the weather really is quite wintery here today.. pretty breezy & peeing with rain.

See you all tomorrow again.

Happy crafting
Lorraine
xxx