BIRDSONG BY MIDNIGHT..

It's week #170 over at I ♥ PROMARKERS and this week we're to use dies but no punches. We've got two brilliant sponsors and they are VISIBLE IMAGE and MARIANNE DESIGN and both are offering stamps as the prize.  I used the fabulous Edgar clear stamp from Visible Image for my tag, coloured with Promarkers.

I started with a manilla tag and inked the background using distress ink pads, masking off a moon first.  The tree and grass bit are Marianne dies, and the little branch (top left) is a Cheery Lynn die from one of the Build a Flower sets.  I drew in the tiny birds across the moon and the branches up the right hand side and the  bird were stamped with my Kaisercraft 13th Hour set of stamps.

Entering into:
ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #47 - Make your mark.
ANYTHING GOES #93 - Handmade backgrounds.
CREATIVE CARD CREW #37 - Dies and/or punches.
PARTY TIME TUESDAYS #122 - Anything goes.
WHIMSY STAMPS #59 - Anything goes.
CRAFTING BY DESIGN - Anything goes.
THROUGH THE CRAFTROOM DOOR (3rd June) - Anything goes.
FITZTOWN #01 - Anything goes.
613 AVENUE CREATE #21 - Anything goes. TOP 3
CHALLENGES 4 EVERYBODY #21 - Anything goes.

PEACE, MAN!

Time flies when you're enjoying yourself - or so the saying goes.  Well, time is DRAGGING big time for me. I'm bored, bored, bored lol.  I'm going to Cyprus in August to see my daughter and gorgeous family and I'm already counting down the days.  Way too many to go ha, ha.  I don't think this lousy weather is helping anybody's mood either.  We've just had massive hailstones.  Anyway, on to the things at hand eh?

This week over at I ♥ PROMARKERS, it's week #169 and our theme is Anything Goes.  So, you've no excuses not to join in, well, as long as you use a Letraset marker of some sort that is.  We have two sponsors this week:  HOBBYCUTZ with a prize of a £7.50 voucher and DR. DIGI with a prize of 2 digi images.  I used a Dr. Digi image called Psychedelic Syd.

I thought I'd try and start using some of my zillions of scraps as I'm running out of space for them and I really don't want to throw them away.  Yeah, I know, we've all been there, lol.  So these papers are from a layout I did of my Grandson recently. The range is Simple Stories.  I used a Martha Stewart deep edge punch and a bit of ribbon and some buttons from my stash.  The sentiment is from one of my new stamp plates by Indigo Blu, my fave stamp company at the moment. And, I have to tell you, I can so relate to it, lol.  I'm now at the stage where I can't do half of what I used to do and I don't like it one little bit!!!  Ageing is cruel, cruel, cruel, ha ha.  I fussy cut Syd, mounted him on foam pads and put a Nestie shape behind him.

Entering into:

CRAFTY RIBBONS #46 - Anything goes with ribbon on.

SOUTHERN GIRLS - Going spotty dot.

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #46 - Anything goes.

CRAFTS AND ME #134 - Lots of layers.

THE PERFECT SENTIMENT #80 - Anything goes.

PASSION FOR PROMARKERS #199 - Anything goes.

BEARLY MINE - Anything goes.

SIMPLY DOES IT...

It's week #168 over at I ♥ PROMARKERS and time for a new challenge.  This week it's all about simple.  We want to see your cards with very few embellishments on them.  Two sponsors are joining us this week so there will be two winners.  J & C CREATIONS are offering a £10 voucher and  HOBBYBOOK are offering 5 digi images of the winners choice.

For my card I used an Embossalicious embossing folder and the flower was made using the separate pieces from an Elusive Images plate. I've had these stamps for about 4 years now and only used them twice!!! It's coloured of course with my Promarkers and I also coloured the piece of card used as the mat.  Not a lot else to say really, lol.

Entering into:
LADY ANNE'S/VICKIE #4 - Anything goes.
MAKE IT MONDAY #140 - Anything goes.
LOVE TO CREATE #65 - Flowers.
CARD MANIA #20 # Flowers.
USE YOUR STUFF #84 - Focus on flowers.
TOTALLY PAPERCRAFTS #166 - CAS.

I've also done another layout of my grandson, although to be honest, I'm not too keen on this one.  It's not the fact that he's crying  (who likes to see a child crying?) but I just couldn't seem to get the layout to work.  Papers are Echo Park 'Splash'.

IT'S HARD WORK...

My gorgeous grandson, Aidan.  He looks like he's really concentrating here, opening his cupcake, lol. 

Papers are from Simple Stories.  The alpha title is a fabric Thickers and the other text is printed on Safmat and then adhered to the page.  The phrase tag is from a Kaisercrafts 'In the Attic' bag of cuts.  This is one of the simplest layouts I've done.  I used to hate white space, always having to fill it and I never, ever used cardstock as a background, always a patterned paper.  Now, I've completely changed my mind and I love this style.  I think I'll be doing more.

Entering into:
INSPIRE ME FRIDAYS #102 - Anything goes.
OUR CREATIVE CORNER #1 -  Anything goes.
CRAFTY CATZ #182 - Anything goes.
DELICIOUS DOODLES #35 - Anything BUT a card.
TOTALLY PAPERCRAFTS #166 - Clean and simple.

HERE'S JOHNNY!!!

Over at the Haunted Design House there's a Stephen King challenge and your project has to have something to do with him.  I thought I'd have a go and join in, so I made a tag with the theme of the film 'The Shining'.

I googled Stephen King and found a couple of images that I thought could be perfect.  One was a PC wallpaper of a man holding an axe and the other a cartoon sketch of the man himself (I hope it's ok to use them).  Both were manipulated in photoshop as they weren't quite what I wanted.  I stuck the man with axe onto a manilla tag  and inked it all over using brushed corduroy and fired brick distress ink pads, then edged it with walnut stain and black soot. I stamped the background corners using a Kaisercraft stamp and the cracks using an Andy Skinner stamp.  The blood was also an Andy Skinner stamp which is from his steampunk set, and I think it's actually an oil spill.

I went to the internet again and found a picture of the Olsen twins and then heavily manipulated it in Photoshop, printed it onto acetate and adhered it with glossy accents.  The text was computer generated using the font 'Chiller' and then printed onto Safmat and stuck on. I finished the tag off with some antique brads and the key.

Entering into:
HAUNTED DESIGN HOUSE (Macabre Monday)  #166 - Stephen King.
SPLENDIFEROUS CREATIONS ~ BLOGGER - Tags.
LEFT OF CENTER #5 - LOC Theme.

THANK YOU

It's week #167 over at I ♥ PROMARKERS and the theme for this week's challenge is Thank You. Our sponsor is POLKADOODLES and the prize is a fabulous  'Fredericka' CD with digi images and all sorts of lovely stuff on it.  It's worth £11.99, so a great prize to be had.

For my card I used one of the 'newish' retro images from Make It Crafty, 'Melody' and she came with her cushion too.  My trellis was cut on the cameo.  The sentiment stamp is from a stamp plate by Sheena Douglass - A little bit sketchy 'Only Words ~ Through the Rain'. Papers are MME, So Sophie and Ooh La La and then I used a Cheery Lynn flower die.  Fringe from my stash. I stamped the cushion with one of my mini Prima stamps in teal Stazon before colouring with my PM's and then stamped over it a 2nd time.

Now, did you know that birds like bananas?  Neither did I until just now.  If I have some that are going a bit off, then I like to bury them around my roses (lots of potassium).  Anyway, yesterday I noticed quite a few birds pecking at my border.  I had no idea what they were pecking at but I knew there wasn't many worms around.  So this morning, I popped out to check for bugs and noticed half a dozen  black banana skins laying on the top.  Hmmm...cats or birds?  Well, I've just sat and watched a thrush merrily pecking away at one of them.  Best I bury the nanas a bit deeper next time, lol.

Entering into:
AS YOU LIKE IT #1 - Fave die cut/punch (I love anything cut on my cameo and this flower die is my fave of all my flower dies).
DELIGHTFUL CHALLENGES - Stash it.
PAPERCRAFTING JOURNEY - Anything goes.
DIVA'S BY DESIGN - Anything goes.
PENNY'S PAPER CRAFTY #126 - Die cuts/punches. WINNER
WHIMSY INSPIRES #59 - Anything goes.

TIM HOLTZ TAGS - MAY 2013

Thank you for all your good wishes for my poorly tummy, but with something else joining it, I went to the doc's at 3.30 and was in hospital by 5.00!!!!  Anyway, tests and stuff done, but they still don't have a clue, but I am home and I am feeling much better than I was.  In fact, I was feeling well enough to play with my inks this aft, so I made my tag for May.  As always, you'll have to go to  MR HOLTZ' BLOG to see what techniques were used.

I have to say, I rather like this one.  I followed Tim's instructions for nearly all of it this time as I had most of the stuff.  But, I didn't have any enamel tags and so I improvised with a Cash Key and I also didn't want the metal greeting so I used a Tando Creative shape instead.  I wasn't sure about the bashed brads either and don't have his hammer, but I thought I'd bash them anyway and see.  I used a small burr tool from my Dremel and hit it with my own hammer.  It worked a treat, and yes, I've changed my mind lol.  I like bashed brads ha, ha.

Entering into:
TIM HOLTZ - Tags of 2013 - May. WINNER

BUTTON IT!

Wednesday again, so time for another I ♥ PROMARKERS challenge.  It's week #167 and we want to see buttons on your projects.  Our sponsor is the fantastic JUST INKLINED.  I do love their digis.  I chose to use 'It's A Mans World' - I think it's great, lol.  My papers are from Authentique.  I used an EK Success punch for the little brown border and stamped the sentiment.

I was planning on actually making a long post this week (for a change), but I've had a bad tummy since 6.00 this morning, so am really feeling like garbage at the moment.  This means that I daren't eat my yummy stash of Thornton's Chocolates, which is really upsetting me lol.  On the plus side though, I've booked my flights to  go and see my DD and my gorgeous Grandchildren in Cyprus in August.  The bad side of that is I've got to wait 3 months and it will be so hot, it'll probably kill me, lol.  Heat/sun and I are not good bedfellows!  I also got a few bits of new stash today but just can't find the energy to play.  Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Entering into:
PASSION FOR PROMARKERS #196 - Dies/punches.
TAMMY'S SCRAPIN' CORNER #60 - Layers.
THE SISTERHOOD OF CRAFTERS - Anything goes.
MAKE IT MONDAY #138  - Anything goes.
BEARLY MINE #84 - Anything goes.
CELEBRATE THE OCCASION #110 - Anything goes.
LEJ DESIGNS #51 - Anything goes.
PARTY TIME TUESDAYS #118 - Anything goes.