THOSE DARNED PROMARKERS!!!!

Am I the only person alive that can't get on with these things? I am getting so frustrated that they've actually stopped me from crafting...I'm soooo peed off with them.

I know it's not my colouring skills at fault and I am using the correct inkpads, but I just can't get a 'clean' image. Why? Well, it must be my cardstock and I've tried half a dozen different types. I am, as I feared, stuck with 200 concord index cards because the colour bleeds. So far, the only way I've got anything near a decent image is to stamp and colour on Letrasets bleed proof pads then stick that onto some white card, but it's not the way I want to do things really.

If anybody out there is having total success with no bleeding colours PLEASE let me know, 'cause I'm about to bin the dratted lot. UK supplier of card preferable. :o)

A couple of my friends have mentioned certain cardstock to me, but they're not getting 'perfect' results either, but there must be SOMETHING that works.

SUMMAT A BIT DIFFERENT....

So....I thought I'd try something different (well, different for me). I made a tri-fold card. I don't actually think I'll be making many of these though 'cause it took forever to cut all the panels to fit and then cut the inner panel mats too, lol. Still, I must admit, I'm rather pleased with how it turned out and being a fan of certain shades of green, I think this looks lovely and fresh. They're a doddle to make too.





I've also succumbed to the 'craze' of Promarkers. Had to be the ProM's as I couldn't afford Copics and most definitely couldn't afford Tria's, lol. I had a bit of a practice with them tonight and at the moment, I'm not too impressed. The bullet tip is bigger than I thought it would be, so colouring around fine details is quite difficult. I also found my ink was bleeding too but I reckon that's probably the card I'm using as it's a little porous, so I've just been to an office supply store and bought myself a couple of packs of concord smooth white. I've heard that it's great for using with these pens, so fingers crossed it is or I'll be left with 200 unwanted index card thingies, lol.

Buzzzzy Day

Challenge No. 44 over at SECRET CRAFTER this week was to use a cute bug, lol. I struggled a bit with this one as I only had a couple of little bug stamps and they didn't quite do the job. So, I downloaded an image and used that. :o) The background was stamped with Versamark and the greeting is computer generated. Probably one of my 'simplest' cards but it fits the theme. :o)

FEELING ROUGH

Oh, boy. Am I feeling rough? I've got the most dreadful cold, and haven't had the energy to switch the computer on or do anything else for a couple of days. Still, it's only a cold and it will pass, but my craft room is calling me so it better be quick, lol.

Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that there's a new tute over on MAKE SOMETHING NICE for an adorable little book made from one sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock, so why not go take a look. Meanwhile, I'm off to Secret Crafter to see what this weeks challenge is.

BLOOM WHERE YOU GROW.

Challenge no. 43 over at SECRET CRAFTER this week was a sketch and this is my take on it. I'd just last night, finished a LO of my granddaughter using the My Mind's Eye papers 'Bloom where you Grow' and matching Bazzill cardstock, so I thought I'd use some scraps to make my card. As I don't have oval nesties, I cut mine on my Craft Robo.


Lots of LO's now seem to have little journaling blocks on them and even though I did one using them ages ago, I thought it would be a perfect way of documenting Mia's favourite things at aged 2. I really like these papers, they're so cheerful. :o) The title and subtitle were cut using Sizzix alpha 'Ida Lou's Flowerbox'.



I've also uploaded a couple more tutes over at MAKE SOMETHING NICE so check it out and maybe you'll see something you haven't seen before, especially if you're new to papercrafting.

SCSC No. 42

The challenge this week over at SECRET CRAFTER was 3, 2, 1.

3 buttons, 2 papers and 1 ribbon. I thought I'd do something a little different and NOT use an image. The papers are MMM Wild Asparagus. On the 3 cream buttons I used 7Gypsies elements rub-ons, which is something else I'd not done before and the swirls are Kaisercraft rub-ons.

SPOTS AND STRIPES

Well, sometimes I suppose we ought to post something on our blogs that is far from what it should be, and this is one of those times, lol. I'm so short of time this week that I practically threw this card together for the SECRET CRAFTER Saturday Challenge. This is my entry for challenge 41. I promise to do better next time. :o)

MAKE SOMETHING NICE

Well, we had a super weekend here. My daughter held a big barbeque party for family and friends to celebrate my granddaughter's 2nd b/day. Mia had a wonderful time playing with all her new toys and bouncing on her new trampoline with all her little friends. My son, Lee, whom I've not seen for nearly two years came up from London to join us and it was a good do all round. :o)

Anyway, onto MAKE SOMETHING NICE my other 'new' blog. I will be posting tutorials over there so hopefully, you'll find something you like to inspire you. I'll start with some I did in the past, so you may well have seen the techniques before, although new crafters may not have done. New techniques and tutes will follow though, so keep your eyes open and you may yet discover something new. The link has been added to the sidebar.

Now, I must get on and finish a 60th b/day card I have to make. It's causing me a nightmare as my Craft Robo decided to give me grief and ruined 3 sheets of card, including my last brown sheet. Still, never mind, I'm sure I'll cope, lol.

Secret Crafter Challenge 40.

This is my entry into the Secret Crafter challenge. I really liked the sketch they did and I used some nice feminine papers. I carried through the polka dots on teddy's PJ's with the cuttlebug swiss dots (sanded over the top) and some dotty ribbon.

It's been quite a while since I took part in these challenges and it's nice to be back. :o)

LONG TIME NO SEE....

Well, here I am again. It's been a while again hasn't it?

I went through quite a time where my mojo deserted me and I did very little crafting. Mind you, I was tackling a very overgrown and untidy garden and I did get a little absorbed in it to say the least, lol. Anyway, I'm back in crafting mode now and have done some LO's and quite a few cards as well.

I'm going to try the Secret Crafter challenges again too as I really enjoyed doing them.

So, here's a couple of LO's I've done the last couple of days.

This one was inspired by a sketch by Becky Fleck. It's my granddaughter following closely in my footsteps, lol.


This is Mia again, having a lovely tea party in the garden.

STICK YOUR NECK OUT...

The challenge (#17) on SCSC this week was to use a Zoo animal. Sheesh, I struggled with this one, I can tell you, but after trying different things for a couple of hours, I came up with this. It's a zoo animal with a twist, lol. Personally, I hate shopping and the shops, in my opinion, are often like a zoo too, so this is my contribution this week, lol.

I stamped and watercoloured the Giraffe and then just faded a background image in Photoshop and printed it. The words are a stamp too - not my handwriting!!!!

AINT' SHE CUTE?

Well, I think she is - which is a surprise really, because I just don't 'do' cute. I've never been a cutsie kind of crafter (or person come to that), but the other day I had a hankering. I popped over to Cuddly Buddly and bought myself a few cute stamps. I've only got round to using this one so far though.

I'm hoping to have a go with some others tomorrow and also do a challenge for the Secret Crafter too.

1, 2, 3

I'm not the greatest card maker in the world and the other night I was doing a bit of surfing and came across some fabulous crafting blogs. One of them was Secret Crafters Saturday Challenge (SCSC) so I'm going to join them and see if I can't muster up some inspiration and some cards that are a little bit different from my norm. This is my first challenge entry (#16), although this one isn't much different from my norm, lol.


The challenge was 1, 2, 3. One image, 2 papers and 3 embellishements. My 2 papers are Basic Grey Periphery, stamped with Tim Holtz Weathered Wood (my beloved distress inks), Fancy pants velvet ribbon, Creative Acrylics greeting and I can't remember where I got the blossom or the stamp.

The link to SCSC is under my 'fave places' if you want to take a peek.

JUST A QUICKIE..

Yay!!!! I've finally managed to make a couple more jewellery pieces and upload them to my site. It's been that long, I'd almost forgotten how to use Dreamweaver, lol.

So, I've done some beading, done some claying and now I'm in the mood for more papercrafting.

A LONG TIME GONE...

Well, I've been gone a while again haven't I? I did warn you I wasn't the best blogger in the world, lol. I've not really been up to much as like many people this time of year, I've been a bit poorly. I also fell down my stairs over Christmas and put my back out for nearly 3 weeks. Still, my article for my Mica Shift Pendant has been published in the Polymer Cafe mag and is now on sale so that cheered me up no end. I've only done a bit of crafting and got no photography or photoshopping done at all. Still, here's a couple of bits that I did recently.

I was playing around and started making these double hinged ATC's so I made quite a few for RAK'S for my crafty friends. These are just a sampling.










I did this LO of my Granddaughter very simply. At least, it's simple by my usual standards. No title and no journaling as there is no story with this one. Simply Mia.



It's also been quite some time (a couple of months) since I've made any jewellery but yesterday I got my polymer clay out and made this focal bead. I've strung the bracelet with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver beads. Now, I really must get some more stuff made and update my website.



Hopefully, as well as getting more crafting done, I'll finally get round to posting some tutorials over on 'Make Something Nice' and then put the link up for you.

YAY!!!!! I GOT ONE.

I'm dead chuffed. I got my first blogging award today, so thanks a million to Bobs.

I've not done a lot of crafting this week what with a funeral and a minor bout of the sniffles, but I'm hoping to get back on track this weekend and also, very soon, get round to posting the tutorials over on 'Make Something Nice'.

I did however, manage to get hold of a DS Lite so I'm now trying to find my way around Dr Layton's Curious Village and not doing very well, I may add, lol.

LEST WE FORGET....

CAN I HAVE IT?

I've not got much done this week. We've had a family bereavement which has left us all a bit stunned, but I did manage to plod on and do this LO of my granddaughter, Mia and myself. She took a shine to my lemon organza ribbon. I wanted a multi-pic LO but didn't want all the pictures showing as I normally do, so I put a waterfall on. I think it works well.


I may as well show you the pics in the waterfall too, eh?

STILL DISTRESSED!!!!

It's no good. I've tried, but I just can't put my Distressing Inks down. I am just loving them at the mo. I really like blending the brighter colours, but yesterday and today, I thought I'd let my dark side come to the fore. This first one was inspired by my Graphicus newsletter and it's backed with some paper from them too. The stampbord was inked, stamped and scratched back and then I brushed my Versamark pad along the edges, dipped them in embossing powder and heated. The green back was 'bugged', inked with Peeled Paint and then lightly touched with Versamark and gold embossed. It's not a 'clean' piece as I have some stray embossing powder but I like the effect it gives.


Now this one, I thought would make a great card for a bloke. A little dark, yes, but it's what I wanted. This time I inked my card with 3 colours before 'bugging' it. When it was dry, I lightly rubbed my sanding block over it to bring out some highlights. The beauty of the Distress Inks is that you can layer them, so when you sand back, the underlying colour comes through where you have more than one colour of ink. I can't even remember where I got my watch stamps from, but I love them too.

FAILING MISERABLY...

I really am. I've had my new monogram stamper and alphabets for nearly a week now and I haven't yet been able to get one stamped right. They looked so easy when I saw them being used, so I'm a bit gutted. I get uneven ink impressions and very, very inky fingers, which of course doesn't make sense at all, lol. The ink is practically hidden from the rubber. Added to that, I've already lost a 'Y' from my baby alphabet. Still, I shall plod on and I WILL get one right.

The good news though, is that my article on my Polymer Clay Pendant (a similar one to the pic I posted here on August 24th) is now with the typesetters and should be in the next issue of the Polymer Cafe magazine.

So, what have I managed to get right? Well, I'm still very much into my distressed inks, so I made an ATC using them and some tags for a tag swap.

For the ATC, I used a Graphicus stamp again and in the centre I added Diamond Glaze and some tiny clear holeless beads for texture. The background was stamped with a stamp from Crafty Individuals.

The purple tag I made by using Versamark clear ink and then just dabbed chalks over it. The butterfly was done in the same way, and 3D mounted. The tag on the left was stamped and heat embossed using clear ink and powder and after I'd put my distress inks on, I ironed the tag to melt the embossing powder leaving a smooth, white image. An old trick, but neat, eh? A bit more DG was used on these too. The one on the right was sprayed with Glimmer Mist after inking and the embellie was stamped onto Grungeboard.

BOXES AND BUGS...

I haven't used my Cuttlebug for a while so today I'd thought I'd run up a card with it. The greeting is stamped with a Inkadinkadoo Personal Impressions stamp using an Encore metallic ink pad in Honeydew and then clear embossed. Fiskars border punches were responsible for the edging. The card is actually very smooth, but the scan seems to have picked up the paper weave.


Some time ago, I was into making cards with matching boxes and this is two of my particular favourites. The 'cherish friends' was for my best friend and I also made the pearl bracelet for her. It was one of the rare occasions that I used a kit, but I just loved the papers and the colours.


For the wedding card, my customer wanted something a little different so I came up with this idea. I was very pleased with this. It was made with pearlescent burgundy and cream cards and all the elements were cut on my CraftRobo.

HINGES, STAMPING & STUFF

Oooooeerrrr!!! I've been a bit slack again, haven't I? Still, I have been busy doing lots of crafting.

I finally got my stamped images put onto cards and they've already gone to a new home. I've also been playing with all the yummy Inkadinkadoo stamps that I got from the US. There are so many combinations, no two cards need ever look the same. I've always been a bit dubious about clear/polymer stamps but these really do perform well. They stamp a lovely detailed image. I've done some scrapbooking too, but as I'm not overly pleased with the way the LO's turned out, I'll not show you those.

I won another ebay auction too. This time for 10 sets of MSE alphabet stamps, also from the US, so I'm waiting for those to arrive. Unfortunately, I didn't look at the picture properly and most are of the same set. Doh!!! Still, I'm sure I'll find homes for them.

I started a tag swap on my craft forum, so have made a start on those and I've also completed another month's CJ pages. This month's theme was 'Around the World in 80 Days' and as my passion is India...well, lots of lovely pics of there.

My fave bit of work though, was a Piano Hinge Book. As I made it I took photo's and wrote a tutorial, so if you like it and would like to make one for yourself, you can find the instructions on The Canny Crafters HERE. I did say that I wanted to use my layered stamped image from my gorgeous Graphicus stamps on a book, and so I did.

I've also been playing with my Prisma pencils. I found with these that most cards worked well for the blending with the Sansodor and surprisingly, one of the best was a pearlescent card from Craft Creations. Unfortunately, I found that the card from Graphicus didn't work well and that was surprising too, as it's such a smooth card. It's a little too porous for the Sansodor. Mind you, for stamping, it's superb. It takes an image as sharp as a tack and it's also brilliant for making the cards themselves as it's such good quality. It's also excellent for blending distress inks, as I did with my layered book image. The ink saturates the card without seeping right through and blends really smoothly.

Finally, I have a bit of a penchant for monograms developing, so I've treated myself to a monogram stamper from Justrite Stampers. I'm really looking forward to that arriving. I think monograms look lovely with a scalloped circle behind them, so I looked at the Nestabilities and then I thought that rather than spend more money, I could (and should) use my Craft Robo to cut them, so I will. In between all this, I managed to cook the odd meal too, lol.

HAPPY BUNNY

I did a bit of stamping and inking again the other day with my stamps that arrived from Graphicus. I haven't actually done anything with the pieces yet, but I'm sure I'll get round to it. The coloured one was distress inked and layered and I'm thinking of using this on a cover of a book. Last time I used grungeboard, but this time I used the Ultra Smooth white card from Graphicus. Oh, boy. It's fabulous card and I think it would be perfect for use with Prisma pencils and sansodor. I'm waiting for some pencils, so I'll let you know when I know. The one with the green centre, I dropped a bit of Diamond Glaze on and then those tiny Art Accentz beads.
Now, the 'Friends are a Gift' one is one of the new Inkadinkadoo Personal Impressions stamps. The centre words and the frame are separate so you can mix and match them and cut and layer them too. They appear to be like gold dust in the UK, everybody is out of stock of them and I've only been able to get this one, hence my disappointment of last week.



But, today, I'm a happy bunny. I won an auction on ebay last night. Well, this morning technically as I sat up until it finished at 2.14a.m. The auction was for 15 sets of these stamps. That's a UK retail price of about £75 and I got them for £25. I'm well chuffed. Just wondering how long they'll take to get here from the US now.

As a little aside and changing the subject, I took my granddaughter to Horncastle yesterday to see the ducks. I'm not really an outing kinda person but I so enjoyed myself with her. Mia absolutley loved them and kept shouting quack quack at them. Nothing different from other kiddies, I know, but it was my first visit to the ducks with her and it was lovely.

I also made another necklace yesterday. This time using Black Banded Agate. I had a bit of trouble with this one as for some reason I just couldn't get my wire loops right, but still, it came together in the end. It's a lovely stone and has some really beautiful markings on it.

A BIT MIFFED...

I've been waiting a week for some new rubber stamps and my parcel arrived today. I was all excited about having something new to play with but when I opened my parcel, they were out of stock of some of them. It was more disappointing because they were out of stock of the ones I particularly wanted and this is after having been told on the phone last Monday, after I placed my order, that they were in stock.

I sometimes think that us 'grown ups' have a serious problem. Fancy getting so disappointed over something like not getting a rubber stamp, lol.

Anyway, I made a necklace instead. The stone is fluorite, it's a very pretty stone but sometimes it's difficult to know what to put with it. So...I decided not to put anything with it and just use purely fluorite in 4 different shapes.

MORE PLAYTIME!

It's been a few days since I blogged again, but I've been busy, busy. I decided some time ago that I didn't like my jewellery website so I've spent most of the week updating it. I've changed the design and layout slightly and am much happier with it now. A nice fresh face. I've also got a few more bits of jewellery made and have some more in progress.

I took my granddaughter shopping the other day, as I thought I'd buy her a new pair of shoes. OMG!!!!! her little feet are only about 3 inches long and what a price those shoes are. £26 'eek!', but, they are soooooooo cute. I couldn't resist buying her one of the all singing all dancing Baby Annabell dolls too, so a fairly expensive afternoon, but hey ho! I loved it.

So, not a lot of money left for stash, but I am waiting for some new stamps from Graphicus. One set so I'm better able to do the technique I showed you last week and another set of gorgeous greeting stamps with interchangeable outer frames. I'm still playing with the glimmer inks, but not getting on very well. I really don't think they're my cup of tea at all, and I should have known this, 'cause I'm not into sparkly at all really. The colours look so vibrant in the bottles but are actually very pale (insipid some of them) so I doubt I'll get much use from them.

Right now, I have some jigsaw pieces to scan in for a jiggy topper swap done over at Canny Crafters and as swap host, I've to get them all in the post tomorrow so I better go and get cracking.

INKY FINGERS

I saw this wonderful project by Lynn Robinson-Hunter using Tim Holtz grungeboard and distress inks. I thought it was so bright and yet 'earthy' so I had a go. I was a little impatient and didn't wait for my card to dry (all spritzed with water) so my stamping is a little off, but never mind, you get the idea. I got (and so did my table) very messy and had very inky fingers, but it's a great technique.



I have also got some of the new Glimmer Mists. Mica particles in coloured liquid that you spray over your card/paper. Now, I really don't know why I wasted my money on them. They're £30 for a set of 6 bottles and you can get just the same effect using your Twinkling H2O's. Still, they're pretty colours, easy to use and they blend well. I made this very simple card with them, just to test out the blending.



I popped to the park for a little while this morning with my DD and GD. GD loved the slide and also fell in love with a lunch box belonging to a little boy. When he left to go back to school, she followed them all the way to the gate crying for the lunch box, lol. Hissy fit or what!!!!! Spoiled madam, no doubt she'll have her own lunch box before very long.

NEAT FREAK

I've done a LO of my granddaughter and this one is a bit different for me. It's ALL paper. No ribbons, brads, eyelets or anything. I even used letter stickers for the title, which I NEVER do. The papers are Basic Grey 'Blush' and I cut the embellies from 'Infuse'.

Mia is 13 months old now, and just loves cleaning. She has her own dishcloth (well washed) and cleans everything in sight, including the dog sometimes, lol.

WRIST SLAPPING..

Ooooeerrrr!!!! I've had my wrist slapped for not updating my blog, so I thought I'd just write a little bit. I've been so busy I haven't had time for this. I've not got to visit my fave jewellery forum, UK Beaders properly either, and I'm sure there's loads of lovely creations on there I've missed.

So what have I been up to? Well, I've done some scrapbooking, done some photography and I've even made a couple of cards. I have got some jewellery made for commissions too. I'm in the process of writing an article for the Polymer Cafe magazine on making a Mica Shift pendant and as it's going into print, I have to get it right, so that's taking a little time.

I've also set up a brand new craft forum. Our old one had so much down time, we were all thoroughly peed off with it, so I thought we could do with something better and that's taken quite a chunk of time too recently.

In between my crafting stuff, I've also done the normal boring everyday stuff that none of us want to do, but have no choice.

Anyway, I'll show you a couple of my pics. Nothing exciting as I think this time of year any of us with a camera shoot butterflies on buddleia bushes, but hey ho! they're pretty enough aren't they?

BAPTISM BOX

Well, I've finally finished my box. If it's suitable, it will hold a handmade silver rattle for a special little boy's christening.

GETTING MORE DONE...

I've got quite a bit of crafting done over the last few days. I've made some more polymer clay necklaces, none of which have reached my website before being sold. *grin* As I've not photographed them yet, here's one I made earlier. This one never reached the website either. I managed to get some beaded ones done too, one of which will actually get on to L.R. Designs.



I've made some cards too and played around with a Versamark resist technique for some backgrounds.





I was also asked by a fellow beader if I would make a box for a handmade silver rattle she's made for a christening. After a few false starts and some problems with my Krylon Silver Leafing pen, I finally made good progress today. It's all covered and just waiting to have the embellishments put on it. I'm hoping to get that finished tomorrow.