Troops Ahead

Here's another few cards that I have managed to make for the troops.

The papers were all free with the latest edition of Simply Cards & Papercraft.

Now I know that I will be having fun at this particular moment in time & hope that you are too.

Back again later.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Pretty in pink

Here's a little cutie I have prepared for today... believe it or not... as you are ready this I am heading out the door to go do a Sakura demo with some lovely ladies at Ashby Designs in Musselburgh.

This is one I have prepared for the demo. For the background squares, I used a pigma micron pen to draw around a stencil and then coloured both that & the image using my Souffle pens. All the sections then had a silver border drawn around using a Calligraphy pen.

I actually love the brightness of this little beauty & it was very easy to achieve.

Well if Mr Blogger is nice to me today he will upload another little something for you later on again.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

By means of apology

I'm so sorry for not having posted today at all until now & never managed to get any actual creations uploaded yesterday either, but I have been busy helping my hubby deal with some rather urgent legal matters... thankfully things now seem to be heading in the right direction again so will just have to keep fingers crossed now...

May I just add... nothing he's done wrong but it was infact the actions of an employee who left last week that we've been dealing with... taking some very important information with her.

So as a way of saying sorry to you all, I thought I would share some bunny pictures with you.

Here is buddy lying in his daddy's arms like a big baby getting a belly rub.

And here he is chilling out on the floor with his favourite jacket & toy...

Kath hide your eyes... no you are not seeing a teddy bear...

Well I hope these pictures go some way to making up for my being missing & hopefully normal service will now be resumed.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Product of the hour

I just so love this fabulous collection from Buzzcraft

This is just a sample but there are other ranges to choose from

The sets contain 2 Sheets A4 Icon Card 8 A4 Sheets of coordinating paper
Printed on Acid and Lignen free quality card and paper.

All this for only £4.35

To purchase this product CLICK HERE and remember to use CODE LR10 at the checkout.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Product of the hour

This is a fantastic set of 14 clear acrylic stamps for only £7.99

Perfect for the romantic occassions we all have to cater for.

To purchase this product CLICK HERE and remember to enter CODE LR10 at the checkout.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

Product of the hour

Here is my product of the hour

Beautiful handmade paper

Currently you can get a stack each of Blue, Pink & Ivory for only £5.99.... normally when purchased seperately they would cost you £10.50.

Perfect for those who love their handmade paper.

To order CLICK HERE and remember to enter code LR10 at the checkout.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Amazing HALF PRICE....

£5.50

Can you believe the price on these

Only available until Friday 17th April though so you better hurry if you want to get some.

CLICK HERE

Happy shopping if you decide to buy...

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

You may be interested....

Just had to jump on to give you a little bit of info...

The lovely Riva Ullman who owns Cardology is just about ready to start on a rebuild of her property which means that they will temporarily have to close down to business...

So if you are looking for anything from glue & tapes to rubber stamps it may be worth your while popping over now & have a look at the whole site... there really are a lot of hidden gems available for you to purchase... sets of rubber stamps for only £7.99 etc...

You basically have until close of play on Friday to get your orders in before the doors close until the new construction is ready to go...

www.cardology.net

If you do make a purchase please use the following code upon checkout

LR10

This way Riva will know that you are a blogging buddy of mine.

Happy browsing & crafting

Lorraine xxx

Pink Elephant Challenge

Well a very good morning to all you lovelies out there in blogland... new & old alike.

Hopefully things will start to return to a bit of normality this week again & I will be back in challenge mode again... fingers crossed anyway.

To get the ball rolling again I opted to start with this weeks challenge over at

The Pink Elephant

A colour scheme of pink, green & yellow so that was quick & easy to accomplish.

Here I done some doodling around the base card with a black Pigma Micron pen, then attached some self adhesive ribbon for the stalks of the flowers. Next up used some cream flower heads which I coloured pink using a ink pad. When dry again some doodling was added. Some yellow card candy for the flower sentiments & rub-on sentiment to finish.

Pigma micron pen : Sakura

Self adhesive ribbon : Cardology

Flower heads & card candy : Craftwork Cards

Rub On's : Doodlebug

Okay folks that's it for the moment although I will be back later, but right now I have to dash as I've got a dental appointment at 10.30. Poor me...

Oh yes & forgot to say... our water has been yucky brown since last night as apparently there was a burst mains water pipe.... ran all the taps last night for an hour & still dirty... this morning I'm running the bath full steam ahead... yuck.... still more dirt....
Thankfully we had a few bottles of water which we've been able to use but think I'd better pop into the supermarket on the way home & buy some more.

See you all soon

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

Candy Winner Announcement

Well folks I'm sorry it's so late in the day before announcing the winner of my Easter Monday Candy draw but due to recent events within my hubby's business, we had some very urgent business to deal with today that has taken priority.

This is a picture of the candy which includes, 12 x 12 papers, handbag cards & envelopes, chipboard book & pages, 15 scalloped edge frames, 2 sheets of sentiments, variety of ribbons & card candy.

I have used Random Integer for the draw & the result is as follows:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:42
Timestamp: 2009-04-14 13:10:41 UTC

Now after counting through the entries.... the winner of the candy is.....

Sara

Well done honey & if you can drop me an email I will get your candy in the post to you asap.

Thank you all for entering & even if you didn't win this time... you never know when another surprise 24 hour candy will appear on my blog so make sure you keep a daily eye on it so you don't miss out.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

CANDY CALL....

Okay folks there are now only 4 hours left for you to enter my Easter Monday Candy.

So if you've not already entered you better do so now...... Good Luck.....

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Easter Monday Candy

Hurry.... Hurry.... Hurry.....

You now have 24 hours to enter my surprise candy giveaway...

No clue as to what it will be

Rules are simple

1. Leave a comment here...

2. Put a link on your blog... mind to tell them it is a quickie

3. Make sure you enter before midnight tonight... (GMT)

Are you still reading?????

Naughty... you should be commenting... time is short.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

P.s. Good luck to everyone

Nighty Night...

Just on my way to bed now & wanted to say what a fab day I've had & hope you all have had a good one too... here's to Easter Monday now...

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Just Because

Here I have wrapped some red spotted ribbon around some green cardstock & then attached to the base card. This was completed with some card candy & doodling using a white Sakura glaze pen. The decoupage was then mounted on the card with a little "Just Because" sentiment.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Blue as the sky

Two strips of blue gingham ribbon on either side, complete with some card candy.... decoupage laid in the centre & completed with a little "Thinking of You" sentiment.

I so love the swirly effect you get from this flower.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

A touch of spring

A strip of blue vellum trimmed with yellow ribbon & card candy of course. Decoupage image mounted to the left of the card & a sentiment tag saying "Thinking of You".

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Happy Easter

Our little "Buddy" rabbit has been nominated to act as spokesperson for the Robertson household today, to wish each & every one of you a very Happy Easter.

The sun is shining here today although there are some clouds in the sky.. hopefully though we will be able to spark up the barbeque later & have a lovely old sit down in the garden.

What are the bunnies up to.... chilling out of course... when the sun shines they all want to do nothing more than lie on their side with the legs kicked out.

Hope you all have a wonderful day full of sunshine & joy...

See you all later

The Robertsons

xxxxx

What is a Mother

Well here I am again this evening to ask you all a question..

What is a Mother?....

Is she the woman... who after giving birth to you, has an uncontrollable desire to love & protect you for all of your life... to nurture & care for you... to give you a shoulder to cry on... to always be there for you through thick & thin...

Oh yes I hear you cry... that's exactly what a Mother is...

Well now do you want a laugh...

Late this afternoon we done the weekly shop... came home, had dinner then just as we were getting settled, me ready to pull up the crafty goodies etc... my phone rang.

On the other end was my friend who lives in the same street as my mum... where's your mum she asks.... not sure I say... hhhmmmmm welllll, the police are battering at her front door comes the reply... ok I say let me try her mobile as I bet the house alarm has gone off & before you know it the fire brigade will be there too... you see they have a great alarm system that is silent & when it goes off all emergency services are dispatched... last time it went off right enough she had hung some clothes up in the bathroom & turned the shower on to steam them... shame she forgot to turn the shower off... but the fire men were friendly at least.

Well there is Rob & I pulling on shoes going through the whole process making sure everything is locked etc & off we sets in the car... fortunately we live close so it only takes 5 mins to get there... awaiting me upon arrival are 2 young policemen.... I gets out of the car asking if it's the alarm that's gone off... only to be told no it was a 999 call.... shit I thinks as I throw my key into the lock bursting the front door open & shouting on them both... at the same time the policeman is explaining the call has come from a mobile phone registered to their address... on top of this mum is coming from the kitchen asking what all the commotion is about...

After everyone trying to calm me down before I commit blue murder... it turns out that someone has registered a mobile phone to my mothers address & when a 999 call was made from it they dispatched 2 officers immediately.

What's worse is that they were battering on the front door with their truncheons & there was still no answer... apparently mum was in the back garden doing some weeding & Eric had the television blaring in the kitchen but had also fallen asleep...

999 my bloody ass....

Now you tell me... do I have the typical loving & nurturing mother that everyone else does...

I'm having a good old laugh about this now & hope it gave you a giggle too ....

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Another trio

A little bit of vellum, ribbon & card candy to complete this one.

Gorgeous image so left with just some doodling.


Such a delicate image that it should really be in a frame.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Simplicity

Both of these images were on the larger side so simply placed them in the middle of the card, then added some doodling & card candy...

Certainly am battering my way through these cards because they are being kept so simple.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Trio of colour

Another basic card... a piece of ribbon across the card, the top half was then dotted with a red Sakura glaze pen & the decoupage image was mounted on top.

Here I used 3 lengths of ribbon with some card candy on the end, again some card candy in the corners & attached the decoupage image.

Back again soon with some more.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Notelets

Good afternoon all my lovelies out there in blogland... I've got a little sunshine today so hope that you have too...

Yes I know I'm very late today in getting anything uploaded but that's because hubby is at home & he has been on the computer for hours... no he doesn't understand that the computer is mine.... all mine.....

At least he has awoken this morning with a slightly better view on life & is not letting business things get to him quite the same as he has over the last few days... if you knew the full extent of what has been happening then you would understand why there has been so much stress of late..

Thank you also to my buddy Kath who was so concerned last night that she emailed me. Isn't it wonderful how we can all be there for one another during the good times & the bad. That's what us crafty bloggers are all about.

Well here are a few quick notelets that I've put together for the troops... I know that very often they simply want a card to write in & send home so I thought that these decoupage images were perfect just to be placed in the corner with some doodle around the edges using my Sakura glaze pens. Quick plain & simple...

That's the first of many cards to come so I will be back in about an hour or so with another lot...

Enjoy the sunshine & happy crafting.

Lorraine xxx

Not the day I had planned

Well folks it's moving on in the evening again & so far I haven't managed to get any cards uploaded today... so what the **** has happened...

After my previous posting you all know why I was behind today but then just as I finished getting ready my mums friend arrived with a lovely bunch of purple tulips for my easter & then she stayed for a few hours & done all my ironing... think it may be me who should have been giving her the flowers...

Then as I was leaving to run her home, hubby was arriving home from work (I forgot he was finishing early today) so told him I wouldn't be long & then we would go out for a few hours.

Well I no sooner arrived home, when my mum & Eric arrived to pay a little visit, bringing with them a beautiful bunch of roses for my easter... wow 2 bunches in 1 day... must admit it made me feel a little special & managed to put a smile on my face.

Well when they left it was just after 4pm so not really a lot you can do by then so we decided to drive around some car dealerships just to see what kind of bargains they have on offer & boy were we shocked at some of the amazing deals that are around.. After that we popped into the pet shop to pick up animal supplies then came on home.

As usual my buddy Gayle text to make sure we were alright after yesterdays fiasco & now I've made a start on my cards for the troops... don't know how many I'll manage tonight though as my eyes are already feeling very heavy & I'm just about ready for bed.

Alas, I'm afraid that unless a miracle happens in the next hour you will have to wait until tomorrow before I post any new creations.

Hope you all have a fabulous Easter weekend full of fun & laughter.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Oh what a night

Morning folks it's Friday again & yet another week of 2008 is almost past us... doesn't time fly... or perhaps I just feel that way because I'm getting older... there are never enough hours in the day for me now...

Well yesterday sucked big style for my hubby... not going into any details as it's far too complex & a nightmare but hugs thanks have to go to Gayle for all her words of support & encouragement... So after he went to bed at 9.30pm exhausted from the days unfoldings... I had to try & relax so out came the rest of my decoupage for the troops... yes I got them all finished so onto the actual card making now.

Finally it was time to retire to bed for a well needed nights sleep... but alas no, it was not to be... as I was doing my nightly ritual of turning off the tv, closing blinds etc I could hear music & laughter... oh no not tonight I thought.... but oh yes it was tonight...

A couple who live in the cul-de-sac behind me have obviously gone on holiday & left their 19 year old son at home so he decided to have a party... most of which was happening in the back garden... thanks for that one mate... but, this is the kind of estate where most of the folks twitch at their curtains & gossip the next day... not me I thought when it turned almost 3am and the party was still in full swing I called upon the police. What a lovely girl I spoke to on the phone who was very understanding & I did apologise as I know it's not any terrible crime but hey people have to sleep.... she too said that it was unacceptable & would put a call out. Well after sitting around unable to sleep for the noise, the party finally came to an end around 4.30am this morning.. but had the police arrived... NO...

What is worse is the fact that I live in a Neighbourhood Watch area where we are supposed to receive additional support from the police yet there was nothing... I noticed a few houses with lights on & curtains twitching but obviously no one else had called the police else they would surely have responded...

Needless to say I've not long rolled out of bed complete with huge puffy red eyes so you will have to give me an hour or two to shower & get organised then I will be back with a creation or two.

Hope you all had a better sleep than me & if there is a party tonight again, I think I'll just chap on the door with my baseball bat in hand....

Thank you ever so much for reading my complaint today & I'll be in a cheerier mood later on.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

K&Co Tag Memo Pad

Here's a my tag memo pad that I made from a kit by K&Co... I must say that for what it contains I was not overly impressed as the kit was almost £7... included was a chipboard tag, self adhesive tag paper, some ribbon, a memo pad, pencil, wooden peg, self adhesive flower, thread, 2 buttons & a self adhesive sentiment & a magnet...

However, I do now have a template for future projects...

If they only made these kits cheaper I think they would sell hundreds of them as they are extremely quick & easy to make but there's no way you could sell them as you would have to charge £10 to make a profit... I know I wouldn't pay that for a piece of chipboard with some embellishments on it.

Anyway, the enclose good clear instructions & all you do is attach the paper to the tag, tie the ribbons through the holes, attach the buttons, thread & self adhesive sentiment, place the self adhesive paper ribbon across the peg which you then glue to the tag & attach the self adhesive flower to the peg... this was the one flaw I found with the kit as I actually had to stick the flower to card, cut around & then attach as the full of the flower back is sticky.

When all your glue is dry you insert your memo pad & pencil then attach the self adhesive magnet to the back.

It may have cost almost £7 but took only 5 mins to construct... and I will be making more of them from my own template & using up the left over bits & bobs from my stash.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Cards for the Troops......

Firstly I would like to apologise for the bad quality of pictures this morning... it is very overcast here today & I have a lot to do this morning so didn't have the usual time to go moving around trying to find a better position...

Last night was a relaxing evening sat in front of the television making a start on a pile of cards to be sent out to our troops... This time I decided that it would be a good way to make a mass of cards quickly & easily if I used some die-cut decoupage...

As ever, when making bulk orders, it's all about getting the production line going, so I sat with my book popping out the images & building them all up... here are some pictures of what I've got done so far, with many more to be added.

All of these images will be temporarily stored in a box until they are ready to go on cards then I will have a massive card making session. Once complete they will be shipped off in their shoe boxes to our loyal troops so that they in turn can send a card to a loved one courtesy of me.

Well must dash now as I'm off out soon to see about setting up some workshops.

Back with you all later today to showcase another new creation.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Card to help a blogger....

Whilst doing some blog hopping today & I do apologise as I didn't manage to visit everyone...

I stumbled upon a fellow blogger who is currently asking for our help. You see her husband is very worried that he is about to be laid off from work any moment now and he is due to celebrate his birthday on Saturday... Poor guy....

Well he has told her they will not be celebrating due to their current uncertainty on the job front, so she came up with a super idea to cheer him up... she is asking that if anyone has time to spare, could they possibly make him a birthday card...

Now during my bad times I received some fantastic cards from you blogging buddies out there and I will treasure them forever... and at the time they really did cheer me up no end so I thought it only right that I share this with someone else...

I decided to go with a black & white theme as I love these little badgers & hope that although they're not having the best of times at the moment, perhaps on Saturday they can cuddle up & show each other love just like the little badgers are doing.

If you can help please visit Clare

Scalloped matts from Craftwork Cards

Decoupage & sentiment from Cardology

Gems from stash


Tonight I'm working on some cards which are going to be sent out for our wonderful troops. My mums friends son is a Sergeant Major in the army and he says that the guys & gals are so pleased when they receive goody boxes from people they don't even know. So many of them are away from home for months on end & to just be able to send a little card home to a friend or loved one can really help to keep them going... this is where most of my challenge cards go to but this is an extra lot I have decided to do for them. There is so much misery & grief around just now that I wanted to do something to give me a feel good factor...

Righty ho... back to work for me & I'll see you all again in the morning.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

Papertake Weekly

Yes another challenge card this week... do you think I'm doing well in getting myself back in the flow of things?

This time I worked with a sketch from the very talented Dawny over at Papertake Weekly, but decided to make the challenge even more interesting by challenging myself to use some of the goodies I received in the post yesterday, along with the free papers in this months issue of Simply Cards & papercraft...

Normally I don't use any of the papers that come in the magazine but this month there are some super cool papers included so I decided to see what I could do with them.

Here is my end result.. although I did move the sketch around a bit...

Papers, corners, tags & sentiment are all from the free papers in this months edition of SC&P

Ribbon & Brads are from the HOTP giveaway prize I won from SC&P

Decoupage image is from a decoupage book which normally retails at £16.99 but at the moment is available from Cardology for only £9.99

Gems are from my stash.

Suppose I better move now, tidy up last nights mess & then make a start on whatever creations I'm going to come up with today... Be back with you all later on today.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

Simply Cards & Papercraft

As I promised earlier... here is a picture of the compliment slip I received from Practical Publishing advising me of my win in one of their giveaway draws... funny thing is that I don't normally enter for them & I think this is only the 2nd time I have done so... needless to say I've completed this months coupons already.

Finally, here is the fabby gift I received from them... a pack of HOTP embellishments which I so can't wait to play with... now do those colours not just cheer you up a bit when the weather is not at it's best.

Hopefully I'll be sharing some cards using these embellishments over the coming weeks.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Mr Postie...

Good old Mr Postie has been at my door this morning again.. YIPPEE....

A dark grey plastic bag with unknown handwriting... Hhhhmmmmm

Well when I opened it there was a HOTP pack containing ribbons, buttons, brads & flowers...

Who has sent me this I wonder?

Now there in the bag was a compliment slip from Practical Publishing congratulating me on winning one of their give aways...

I'm one of those people who rarely wins anything so needless to say it put a huge smile on my face & I was so excited that I just had to share the news with you all.. as I'm still in the middle of the housework I haven't managed to take a pic yet but I will do later so I can share my goodies with you.

Hope you're all having a fab day like me.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Pink Elephant

Well here I am doing my best to get back into the good old challenge mode & so far, so good... I've managed to do 3 in 3 days... fingers crossed it continues.

For today, I've opted to go with the Pink Elephant challenge which is to use stamps, embossing & punches...

Out came one of my sweet Sugar Nellie stamps... ain't they just sooo cute.

Covered the cardstock in paper, then embossed some core-dinations & sanded, wrapped ribbon around & then mounted this onto some red cardstock & attached to the base card.

Next up stamped my image & coloured using Sakura Metallic pens & added some doodling around the edge with a Pigma Micron Pen. Layered this to some red cardstock again & mounted to the base card using 3d foam.

To finish off I used my Fiskars pop up punch to create some little flowers & added gems to the centres.

Papers : K & Co

Cardstock : Core-dinations

Image : Sugar Nellie (Sweet & Sassy)

Metallic & Pigma Micron Pens : Sakura

Ribbon & Gems from stash


Right now I'm off to dash around the house on a mad cleaning frenzy as my mum is due to return from Vegas today & I don't want her thinking that I haven't been able to do the housework in her absence, but before I sign off completely, I need to find another challenge to work on this afternoon...

Back with you all tonight again peeps.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx

P.s. For anyone reading comments, the nutty one from Medical Muscle is my OH... he has just started his own blog & this is the first time ever he has posted a comment so I had to publish it for him... he never even got any instructions from me on how to do it... isn't he a clever cookie...

Anne.... the scrubbing brush is still in use I'm afraid... lol xxx

Paper Folding Technique

One of the comments left on my Penny Black card the other day was from Christine who asked if I could possibly share the paper folding technique that I used... of course I can... always happy to share info with others... so here goes.

1. Start out with a square piece of card & draw diagonal lines from one corner to the other. This will allow you to find the centre of your card.

2. Now you want to fold corners B, C, D & E into the centre of your card (A).



3. Once you have folded all your corners into the centre, you then want to bring corners F,G,H & I back out to the centre of their sections. This means that you will see the inside of the paper again.

Here is the completed fold... If you have never done this folding technique before then I would suggest that you use a piece of photo copy paper in the first instance so that you can mark the letters on it, this way making the folding much easier initially.

Just one additional piece of information is that when I am required to use a pencil for anything craft related, in order to avoid all those terrible pencil smudges that we all so often get... my preference is the Sumogrip pencil from Sakura... The lead is very fine & the eraser on the end has never left me with smudges....

Well I hope that some of you have found this tutorial helpful and hey you never know... there may be more to come in the future.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Sketch Saturday

A very good Monday morning to all you lovely bloggers out there & I hope you've all had a fab weekend & are now refreshed & prepared for the week ahead.

I have decided to start off the week with a new challenge... this time it's one set by Tracie over at Sketch Saturday. Quite relieved actually that it's a nice easy one to break me into this challenge site and I must admit that as soon as I saw the sketch, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

You see when it was my birthday, I received the most wonderful stash of goodies from my blogging buddy Tracy & her amazing daughter Holly. Sadly I have not had the time to play with them until now so here goes...

Covered some cardstock with paper then doodled around the edges, then attached a white border, another on top of that created with my Fiskars Threading Water punch & finally some ribbon then attached 2 flowers with some card candy for the centre.

Next up, some matting & layering... white card, then paper, then more white card with my stamped image.

I wanted my image to be bright & funky so I opted to use my Sakura Souffle for the colouring & then to re-highlight areas of stamped image outline that I had accidentally covered with my souffle pen, I used my Pigma Micron pen. Finally some more doodling around the edge, then it was mounted using 3d foam.

On either side of the image I placed 3 pieces of card candy as per the sketch.

Papers : K&Co

Image, ribbon & flowers : Tracy & Holly

Card Candy : Craftwork Cards

Souffle & Pigma Micron Pens : Sakura


Well I now have to see if I can find any more challenges to be getting on with today.

Have a Fab Monday and I'll be back again tonight.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx

Penny Black Challenge

Now my intention had been to have this posted earlier in the day... but alas.... my OH has commandeered the computer for most of the day. Thankfully he has now left to go to the gym so I can get some peace & quiet as well as access to my trusty blog.

Recently I have taken a break from challenges but yesterday decided it was time to join in all the fun again so I opted to start with this weeks Penny Black who's theme is Easter.

That made my decision very simple as it had to be my bunny stamp.

I cut a piece of 12" x 12" down to 8" x 8" and then folded as required. Added some card candy to the flaps then made some letter tiles... these were coloured using TH distress inks with some letter rub ons attached, mounted using 3d foam.

My bunny image was stamped using Staz On & then coloured using Koi Water Colours. There are 3 layers to this... bottom image is full, 2nd layer has the bottom of the pot, some background flowers & a few leaves cut out & the top layer has been left with only the bunny, 2 flowers, 2 leaves & the very top rim of the pot in place. This was then put together using silicone and once dry was attached to the centre.

Can't help myself but I love this because of the cute little bunny.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Sign of the Times

Well I know I said I would be back tonight with another creation but today didn't quite go to plan...

Shortly after posting this morning we got a phone call to say that a set of keys for Rob's office had been stolen... every time you think things can't get any worse.... know what I'm saying...

As a result of this it was all hands to the realm as we had to ensure that nothing had already been stolen, report the theft to police, check with neighbouring businesses, and worst of all we had to call an emergency lock smith to change all the flaming locks on the doors...

By the time all of this was done and the shopping, dinner etc it was finally time for me to make a start on something... so alas I have not finished it yet but it will be ready for upload in the morning...

I will give you a little insight though... yes I'm doing a challenge card & for my first one in weeks I have decided upon Penny Black who's theme this week is Easter....

Well I hope you all had a much better day than I did, although all is fine now that I am sat down to do some crafting.. only thing in this life that keeps me sane I think.

See you all tomorrow again

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Jade Goody

May we all take a little moment in our day to pass our thoughts to the beloved friends & family of Jade Goody as she is laid to rest.

Especially her two small boys who's lives have been changed forever.

R.I.P

A little distressed...

Well here's to another fabby weekend folks, even though I got up this morning to discover that all my gorgeous sunshine has disappeared & been replaced with yucky wet rain... I'm sure it must be good for the garden though...

To share with you this morning I have a little something I done yesterday, amidst all the other samples that I unfortunately cannot share with you. This time I decided to combine the simplicity of white with some distressing... wasn't sure if it would work or not but I think I like it... what do you think?

Please excuse the glue shining through the ribbon but it hadn't quite dried when I took the picture.

For this one I used some Core-dinations card stock & distressed, done the same with the flowers but in an alternating colour, as well as one of the matting layers.

Stamped the floral image with Staz On then proceeded to colour with Koi water colours.

Some ribbon as stems & card candy as always, finish the whole card off.

Core-dinations (Chocolate Box) - Once Upon A Stamp

Ribbon & Card Candy - Craftwork Cards

Koi Water Colours - Sakura

Image is by Inkadinkado


Well I must get myself off this computer now & get on with the day... the quicker the daily chores are done the more time I will have to play with more crafty goodies... yes it will be another day of making samples, combined with some fun & I may even attempt a challenge card today... you just never know.

Hope you all have a fab Saturday & I'll be back again later.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx

Colorado Springs

Gosh... I just happened to be sitting here looking through pictures on the computer when I stumbled across ones which we had taken during our trip to Colorado Springs 3 years ago... Our one & only trip there so far, for my BIL's wedding so we had a very tight schedule but did still manage to squeeze in a little sight seeing... once you've seen a little you just know you have to visit again to see even more...

Unfortunately I can't remember exactly where this was taken but it was in an area full of rocks like these which hundreds of rock climbers use... Believe it or not... this is a small rock... which if you look at the ones in the background, they will prove I'm telling the truth.

I must admit that at the time of taking this photo, the shade I am standing in was very welcome as the heat was extremely intense & we only had 1 bottle of water between us...

Well I just thought I would share one of my picture memories with you so I hope that you like it and for anyone thinking of visiting Colorado... I would say go for it...

Off to see what else I have and back tomorrow with more creations..

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

P.s. Many thanks to Christine who left me a post saying she thought that it was

"Garden of The Gods"

and as soon as I read it, I knew that she was correct...

Spot the spots

Here's another little quickie I squeezed in whilst taking a break from work... just to clear the mind whilst I was enjoying the sunshine...

This is a super quick make for those times when you've forgotten someone's birthday & don't have the time to spend on something elaborate...

Attach some paper to the card & then edge with ribbon. Outline the flowers with white dots using a Sakura Souffle pen & then attach to the card, although you can't see it in the pic, these are at 3 different heights, add some dotty swirls using a blue sakura souffle pen & some card candy to finish....

Now you really can't get much quicker than that...

All materials from Craftwork Cards

Souffle Pens from Sakura

Hope you're all having a fabulous day & enjoying the sunshine like I am.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx

Easy....

Yesterday I was working with so many different textures & materials for work related projects that by the time came last night to have a little play for myself, I just wanted something very plain & simple to do.... can you tell how my mojo had burned out slightly......

Think it was partly due to the fact that there was so much going on in other aspects of life too.. with mum being away I'm having to check in on her husband who doesn't keep in the best of health & he wasn't doing too good and then Rob had to make the decision to close the last shop that he has... very hard for him to do as this leaves only his head office now.

However, we have to work through this thing & get on as best we can.. thank goodness I have my crafting a it is such a great way to escape the everyday pressures of life.

This was made from my Craftwork Cards stash again..

Attached some ribbon across the card, then added a sentiment which I enclosed with one of their mini frames inked up. Took two flowers, inked the edges, and added some card candy... just as a finishing effect I used my pink Sakura Souffle Pen to added some dotty swirls.

Ribbon, sentiment, frame, flowers & card candy all from Craftwork Cards

Souffle pen from Sakura

Hopefully I will be able to clear the mind a bit better today & come up with something a little more creative to share with you all tonight.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Souffle Away

Here's another little creation I have come up with from my stash of Craftwork Cards goodies...

This time I highlighted the edges of the black layer with my white Sakura Souffle pen & added some pink card candy to the corners then attached to the card. Next I highlighted the scallopes on the white card using a Sakura Doodle Pen then added some spots to the black flowers using the white souffle pen again... some more pink card candy for the centres. Two of the flowers are laid flat on the matt, whilst one has been raised with silicone. Some gems have been added to finish the whole thing off & the white matt is also raised using silicone.

Black & White matts, flower heads & card candy from Craftwork Cards

White Souffle & Black Doodle Pen from Sakura

Off to make some more cards & anything else that may fall into my hands.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Birthday wishes

Hi just a quickie to let you know that it is Sheonagh's birthday today... if you have time please pop over & leave her some birthday wishes as her hubby is currently in India, parents are in Portugal & her son is at school......

Thank you

Lorraine xxx

Quick make

Well a very good morning to all you lovelies out there in blogland... and what a gorgeous day it is looking like being here in Motherwell. You can already see the sun starting to push through.

Housework is now complete for the day & the washing is almost ready to be hung out to dry... have just done my daily check in with my mums husband, whilst she enjoys the Las Vegas sun I have to ensure he has his daily medication...

Plenty of fun on the agenda for me today as I received some delicious goodies from Sheonagh at Telfords Direct yesterday... although I am sorry to say I cannot share the creations with you as they are to go on her blog... this will be fun as Sheonagh herself is working with the same materials, as is my lovely friend Amanda Bateman....

Not sure when all the samples will be ready for posting but when they are I will let you know so that you can pop over & have a look.

In the meantime, here is a little something I made whilst watching tv last night... sometimes I just like to clear my head of everything & find that digging into my Craftwork Cards goodies is the easiest way to do it... the only thinking involved is the layout...

Here I took the black & white scalloped matting layers.. ink the edge of the white card, wrapped with some ribbon & stuck to the base card. Next I highlighted the edges of the black matt with my white Sakura Souffle pen (used the same pen for the stitched stems of the flowers) & attached 2 spotty flower heads, 1 is flat & the other is raised using 3d foam pads. To complete the whole card I added some black gems & white card candy.

Scalloped Matts, ribbon, flower heads & card candy all from Craftwork Cards

White Souffle Pen by Sakura

Hope the weather is lovely with you too & that you have a craft filled day planned for yourself.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx

Sakura Pens

The other day I was left a comment in relation to water colouring using Sakura pens.. something which I'm sure many of us do on a regular basis without thinking, but this did make me realise that not everyone will have tried it so I have decided to leave this little post with basic instructions on how to use them for anyone who has never tried it before.

1. Take your pen & release some ink onto a piece of acetate.

2. Personally I use a Koi water brush as it has controlled water flow but if you don't have one yet then you can use a normal paint brush. You do not want your brush to be overly wet so have some tissue or kitchen roll to hand for you to dab your brush on.

3. Using your water brush swirl it around in your ink to water it down. Once I have done this I always dry my brush off.

4. Put your water brush back in the ink & you will see it lift onto the brush.

5. Paint your image as you would with anything else.

Most of all.... HAVE FUN.

I hope that some of you may find this information useful and if there are any other questions in relation to Sakura products please feel free to leave a comment & I will respond to you.

You can now purchase all of your Sakura products direct from the UK distributor simply by clicking HERE

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Fistful of Flowers

Please do excuse the picture as this was taken at night & the blue roses have ended up looking black.... oops...

Here is another little Cute Daisy May image again coloured with Koi Water Colours... told you I loved them didn't I.... so you know I'm telling the truth.

With the exception of the time taken to colour her in this was a very simple card... layered some paper onto white card then used a Fiskars shape template to cut out the image & then the larger matt for the background layer... some inking of edges... addition of 3 roses and last but by no means least some more stunning card candy... another of my favourites.

Image : Cute Daisy May

Coloured using : Koi Water Colours

Card Candy : Craftwork Cards

Roses : from stash

Well I'll just about be rolling out of bed just now as I pre-scheduled this post... up to have some breakfast, shower then see what mischief I can get up to today.

Will be back with more later.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx