2sketches4you challenge

So sorry about not uploading any cards yesterday folks, but would you believe that around 1pm I suddenly got this very nauseous feeling which lasted the rest of the day... along side it came the need to sleep almost the full day... and a really sore neck... (perhaps from all the sleeping). Then off to bed I went last night & slept right through till this morning.

Thankfully today I only have the feeling of being a bit drained & a sore neck.. there is the odd nauseous feeling comes over me but it quickly disappears.... Guess who obviously caught a nasty 24 hour bug...

Alas however, I have managed to at least make 1 challenge card so far... this one here is for the 2sketches4you challenge where this weeks sketch is by the fabulous Laura.

Here I used a brown base card, in the centre of which there is a layer of gold card. For the image layer I used ColorBox inks to stamp onto some handmade card & then used a Koi water brush to pull the colour onto the leaves. Then the image was re-stamped onto a piece of burgundy handmade paper, the flower heads were then cut out & mounted onto the card using silicone. Some burgundy ribbon around the bottom & attached at the back, all of which was then mounted onto the gold card. To finish off I used some card candy in the top corners & flower centre.

Stamped image is by Penny Black

Card candy from Craftwork Cards

Everything else from my stash.

Fingers crossed I'll make it back again later with another little something.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

A week of sunshine....

Well I so hope to be back in the world of bloggers this week as I've just been so short of time lately that I haven't gotten any real challenges done & definately no blog hopping.

Now with temperatures due to soar this week what a good excuse for me to be at home.

I do have some legal business to do for my mum & her husband this morning but hopefully that will be done & dusted by 1pm, then I can come home & get caught up.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I have no more hospital or doctor appointments to attend over the next week or two.... I'm becoming quite a pro at this sitting in waiting rooms patiently... lol....

Hope to see you all again late afternoon or so.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Edinburgh Area

Just a quick note to say that if anyone lives in the Edinburgh area... then I will be demoing all day tomorrow (Sat 27th) at Ashby Designs, 69 High Street, Musselburgh.

Lynsey (owner) is holding a party to celebrate the shops 1st birthday.

There is sure to be lots of fun & laughter so it would be great if you could come along & join in.

Tally Ho for now me mateys!

Lorraine

xxx

Farrah Fawcett

I'm so shocked as I've just read on the net that Farrah Fawcett also passed away yesterday.

How tragic to lose both Farrah & Michael on the same day.

Being a child of the 70's, I grew up hearing Michael on the radio whilst watching Farrah throw her curls about on Charlies Angels.

May they both rest in peace now & their families find comfort in the knowledge that millions of people around the world are sending thoughts of condolences to them at this time.

Michael Jackson

OMG.... on way to bed & came in to shut the computer down at which point I read the headline stating that apparently Michael Jackson has passed away due to cardiac arrest.

What shocking news & tragic circumstances for his family.

May he find the peace in death that he never found in life.

The Pink Elephant Challenge

Well I certainly haven't done very well with challenges over the last few weeks... but hey ho... that's the way life goes at times.

However, here is one I have made for the Pink Elephant Challenge this week where you are given a sketch to follow. Perfect actually for some of the products I had to use.

I have used a black base card, upon which I have mounted a white layer of card. Next up are some black squares upon which I have mounted white handmade paper... the paper was stamped on using Color Box inks & detail was coloured using the same inks.

A circle was cut from black card & then the edge highlighted using a gold calligraphy pen & mounted using silicone.

In centre of the black circle is a chipboard flower which I decorated. Stamped onto chipboard using staz on & then water coloured using Sakura Stardust.

A few clear gems to finish off.

Well time to get back to the old work load again & hopefully I'll get more posted later.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

DCWV

Well I'm busy beavering away making stuff for the weekend & yes I will be uploading some cards, hopefully later today...

In the meantime I have received a new delivery & thought I would let you see what I have just uploaded onto my ebay site.

DCWV All Dressed Up 4.5" x 6.5" matstack.

See you all again soon.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Demo prep time

Sorry I've been missing again for a few days but on Sunday we had all the normal weekend stuff to do like shopping, pets etc & it was gone before we knew it.

Unfortunately on of my friends was also attacked on Sunday... was hit over the face with a scooter & stabbed in the arm... how shocking a place is this world becoming. Used to be you had to do something to provoke an attack... now you just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... it really is time that something was done about it all.

Now would you believe that I actually made 2 cards yesterday & was in such a hurry to get them in the post that I forgot to take any pictures.... shocking I know but oh so true.

I did receive word yesterday from a friend of mine that here new website will be up & running this week & trust me you will like this one... it will be full of crafting hints & tips so all will be revealed in a few days... watch this space.

Well I'm off to get my hair cut at 11am and upon my return it's time to get the old head down & stuck into work. I have a demo on Saturday & we have held off until this week to decide what we are going to do. I will be at Ashby Designs in Musselburgh from 10am - 4pm for the shops 1st birthday celebrations & Lynsey who owns the store is nothing less than 1st class with her customers. She has been speaking with them & seeing what they would like for Saturday's demo so the list came in on Friday... all stuff is now in hand & from today onwards it's prep time. It certainly does promise to be a day filled with fun & I will be incorporating some of this weeks challenges with my prep in order to cover both.

Right, better dash now & get ready for my new hair do... back with you all soon (I hope). LOL

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Soap Powder Box

Here is the base of my soap powder box which is now going to be used for my annual card diary.

Now I am currently working away on this project... managed to get an hour of it done on Thursday night then a little more time last night.... it's been one of those weeks!

Anyway... For decoration I am using my Brenda Pinnick box I got from QVC... it's great having a good old rummage around in it.

Firstly I started out by covering all four sides of the box with paper and took it over the top of the box & part of the way down the inside... this way once my dividers are in it won't be noticeable that the bottom half of the inside is undecorated.

This is the first side of the box that I have started to decorate, although it is not yet complete... think it needs some slight jazzing up but you can see that when it's 100% complete.

I used a sentiment from the kit that says "Family Never A Dull Moment" as there is always a card to be made for someone in the family & attached down the left hand side of the box.

Next I took 3 strips of ribbon & simply tied them together around the box.

Then a die cut tag which I attached to the box & on top of that I added a sticky sentiment saying "How Many"... yes we always have hundreds to make don't we.

Next up came the die cut alphas to say "card box" again stuck to the box & finally 2 little chipboards 1 butterfly & a flower which I attached using silicone.

After the week I have had it was just so relaxing to sit & allow my mind to play. Not sure if I will get a chance to do any more of it tonight though as my step daughter is performing in a concert which she & a friend have organised. This is it's 3rd year but would you believe... the 1 st time I've managed to make it. The 1st year it was on I was in Alaska & last year I was at the Create & Craft Experience so I'm really looking forward to seeing how well she has done. Obviously she must be doing something right if people are coming back year after year.

Finally... I would like to say a huge thank you to all you lovely bloggers out there who have left me messages of support over the last week. They really were appreciated & sure did help me get through the days... Certainly not the easiest of weeks as on top of my brothers anniversary my mums husband was also informed that he has a small begnign tumour & my hubby has also been at the hospital. Hence there really has been no time in my days to accomplish very much crafting... hopefully the coming week will prove to be a better one.

Thank you all again.

Love hugs & kisses

Lorraine

xxx

Gosh I've been quiet

Well folks I must apologise for being so quiet over the last few days but to let you understand I've had curtain poles falling off the walls... live in an 8 yr old house & the walls have been crap since day 1.... in addition to this my mums car is in the garage at the moment so I'm running her around everywhere she needs to go.

I have just had a check at some challenges & will do my very best to enter some tomorrow but will just have to see how the day works out.

Tomorrow you see is the 6th anniversary of my brothers death.

He was tragically killed in a road traffic accident which has left only my Mum & myself (yes we do both have husbands but you know what I mean...)

Well tomorrow I have to take my mum to the cemetary as she has no car & this will be the first time we have gone together... we normally go it alone where we can say what we please but tomorrow I have to be there for her.

As his sister I have come to terms with the fact that he is gone & I just have to accept that... my mum on the other hand has never accepted his death & I'm not sure that she ever will... understandable as parents are not supposed to see their children away.

No matter what I will be there to hold her hand & dry away the tears but the thing that would be happiest of all is if I get to see her smile just once tomorrow.

There is a possiblity of this however, as my nephew (brothers son) called me tonight to discuss coming up for a short holiday & he is going to call her tomorrow... this will make her so happy.

Sorry for all the long story but at least now you know why I've been quiet...

Catch up soon

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Fathers Day

Well that time of year has arrived again when it's time to make a Fathers Day card for my dear FIL in California.

What to do... the same old question yet again...

He is a fire arms instructor... hmmm.... do I do a gun theme? No

He loves the orient.... hmmm.... do I do an oriental inspired card? No

After all he has just returned from an Eastern Cruise

Last but not least he loves big cats... hmm... now that I can do.

He is a simple man who doesn't have time for fuss & bother so I kept the card very clean.

Attached the backing to the base card & the large image is attached flat onto the card whilst the two smaller images are mounted using silicone.

A very simple card for a man with simple pleasures & I know that he will love it.

Images are from the Jayne Netley Mayhew Collection CD from Joanna Sheen.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Rainbow Ladys Challenge

How could I possibly resist joining in the challenge over at Rainbow Lady... apart from anything else it was quick for me to do.

This weeks theme is CUPCAKES.

Out came my Messy Rabbit CD from Joanna Sheen... printed out my cupcake.... cut out the image & then used some glossy accent to glaze my cherry... and some pebeo gloss touch for my little crunchies.

Off to get on with the housework & washing now but have another something scheduled for this evening.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Sk8'r Boy

Here's a little card I made for fun using one of my new stamps I bought last weekend.

The stamp is by Dimension Fourth & I thought it was such a fun stamp & a great one for playing with in a decoupage manner.

Not sure where the striped paper is from (sorry)... then some white card with inked edges. On top some orange & brown card from DCWV and then my stamped & decoupaged image was inked around the edges & mounted using silicone.

Image was coloured using Bruynzeel water colour pencils.

A few gems from my stash finish the whole thing off.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

Finally I've managed to get a card made this week.... yippee.... it would have been uploaded yesterday but we ended up with no electricity for most of the day! I live next to a Scottish Power plant which is in the process of relocating so there has been a lot of work over the past year with relaying of cables etc so we have just come to accept that these things happen... hopefully not for much longer though as they are due to vacate the plant completely over the next few weeks... thank goodness for that.

Anyhow... the challenge this week at Penny Black is "Blooming Gorgeous" and a more perfect theme it couldn't have been... I have admire the "Whispers" stamp since the very first time I ever saw Kath use it. Well, last week I actually went on an interent hunt for it & treated myself.

Would you believe it actually arrived in the post last Saturday whilst I was at Artstamp with Gayle.

Here I made the card very simple by using Colorbox inks to stamp the image, then water coloured using Bruynzeel pencils. Finally some ribbon from my stash & yummy card candy from Craftwork Cards.

This is such a gorgeous stamp with so much potential for the variety of ways it can be used... and believe you me I'm going to have a ball trying all the different methods. lol....

Well I'm off to hit the old head with some hair dye now as there are one too many grey hairs showing for my liking.

I have another wee creation scheduled for later today & hope to fit another in if at all possible... got so much catching up to do it's shocking.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Service to resume tomorrow

Hi there all you lovelies out there in blogland...

My sincere apologies as I know it has been several days now since I last posted a card but it's been a bit mad around here.. busy... busy.... busy... so no complaining to be heard.

Anyhow... I am in the process of making a card & just stopped to post this little note so I will definately be uploading a card tomorrow. YIPPEE......

Well I must get back to the old card now & I might even manage to squeeze in the start of another before bedtime.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

BLOG CANDY WINNER

Oh it's nothing much less than mad around here at the moment as I have a whole load of products to ship today from my ebay shop... skates are on.

So without further delay I have quickly drawn the candy winner so you are not held in suspence any longer....

Here are your random numbers:104
Timestamp: 2009-06-08 11:25:46 UTC

Random.org drew the number 104.... so after counting my way through the entries... and boy do you feel like you have googly eyes by the end of it all... the winner is....

LORA

If you can drop me an email honey with your address, I will get your goodies in the post to you quick sharpish like.... and congratulations.

Thank you all for joining in the fun.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

M.I.A

HELLO

Oh yes I'm back & do apologise for being M.I.A but was feeling a bit poorly for a few days there... only thing I managed to do craft wise was some colouring in... well that's not true of yesterday. On Friday both Gayle & myself were not doing so good hence we decided to communicate at 9am yesterday morning to make a final decision on whether or not we were going to Artstamps.

Thankfully we both felt a little better & decided to chance it... worst thing that could happen was that we had to turn back... well we made it there & around the fair twice, had lunch & then suddenly almost symultaniously we both wore out. Back to the car we went & back home again before 4pm.

We did have a good time as this is quite a quiet show where you have no problem moving around & getting to see everything. I stocked up on some essentials with a few other bits & bobs thrown in for good measure.

Oh Kath... if you read this... Mr Postie is going to be delivering something to your door... nothing exciting I'm afraid but I do know for a fact that they will be used....

Well that's enough crap from me for just now & with any luck I'll be able to make at least one card today... got a lot of catching up with the challenges to do...

See you all later & happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Papertake Weekly

What a great sketch Dawny has given us this week over at Papertake Weekly and it gave me the excuse to have a play with some of my new Joanna Sheen stamps from the Lofty & Co range.... they are simply adorable and I would like to introduce you to Potty Lofty.

Paper is by the lovely Anice at Funky Hand.

Image was stamped onto white card & coloured using Bruynzeel water colour pencils, some doodling around the edge & inked before being mounted using silicone.

Ribbon is from Doodlebug.

Sentiment again from Potty Lofty, stamped onto white card, water coloured, doodled & inked before being mounted with silicone.

To finish off I added some Prima flowers & buttons from my stash.

Off to get on with the chores now as I have rather a lot of running about to do today... yuck. Roller skates will be on so I can get back & into the garden as quickly as possible....

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Allsorts Challenge

First timer for me on this fab new Allsorts challenge blog... and this week the challenge is

"Curly Swirly"

Hmmm... what to do I wondered & the above is the end result...

Took some DCWV card through the cuttlebug & cut into strips after sanding. Next up cut some white circles & edged in gold using a Calligraphy pen & adhered these to the card. Again using some DCWV card run through the cuttlebug & then put through with a Sizzix die to create the flowers which were mounted using silicone. Some buttons were used for the flower centres & some little gems to finish the whole thing off.

Hopefully now that I've managed to join in I'll be a regular every week...

Right well time to get my bum out in the sun again... it's a hard life isn't it.. lol

See you all again soon & hope you have a fun filled day.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

MORE BARGAINS

Hi folks... hope we're all waking up to another fabulous day of sunshine...

Anyhow, just a little morning note to let you know that I have added more items on EBAY.

I am currently off loading stock & as soon as I get my feet cleared I will be able to bring new stock on board.

For any international visitors... although it says I ship to the UK if you drop me an email I will be more than happy to ship international if you multi buy.

Back soon & happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

The Pink Elephant Challenge

Decided to join in along with the fun at The Pink Elephant challenge before doing chores. This week we have to work to a recipe of 3 buttons, 2 layers & 1 sentiment.

Pink paper is handmade & bought from Cardology

Sentiment & card candy are from Craftwork Cards

Everything else is from my stash

Sorry it's brief but off now to dash to the supermarket to do weekly shopping & pet store to pick up supplies then hmmm wonder where I could be going then... the garden perhaps... oh yes, another glorious day of sunshine here so another day of opportunity to get the garden under control.

Have to be here to keep an eye on my wee bunnies too & make sure that they don't get too warm... poor wee things with all their fur.

Have a super day wherever you are & see you all later on.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx