Celebrate in a hurry!

I love making cards I really do. What I don't like about I though is that I have to always make a card myself, I can never, ever do the 'B'(***see bottom of post) word again.

That's fine of course, usually. However, since I've started making cards I seem to have fallen into some strange black hole where I am unable to find out it's someones birthday etc until either after 6.00pm the night before or worse still the day itself.

Cardmaking's a joyous activity when you can have a play, a bit of a dawdle. When it's break the speed of sound fast it's not so fun, in fact it's utterly horrible.

Needless to say I've had one of those record breaking cardmaking dramas today. It is with exhaustion that I write this post! I'm shattered and my card room has been ransacked quite simply. I am having to keep my eyes firmly on the monitor screen as if I look around....sob....wail...a bit more sobbing!

Hell hole of a craft room aside, I've done it! Hallelujah, I've made a card!

I have always been told that I am my own worst enemy, more times that you can imagine. At the age of...mumble..mumble..30...something or other..I am able to be an adult about this and stand up and say (cough, clear throat) 'I am my own worst enemy'.

Cards needed in a hurry need to be fast cards, simple cards,dare I say it-easy cards. However (and this is the own worst enemy bit) I couldn't bear anyone to think I'd made them a 'fast, simple...easy' card. So I don't.

This isn't the most complicated card in the world but it wasn't a five minute job either believe me. I had no idea what to do when I started and I feel it has than sense of uncertainty still about it, oh and the stupid (OK I didn't exactly think stupid at the time but I do try really hard not to swear..too much..well not every five minutes-ooops I meant day of course) rub ons had a crisis of identity and became stickers so they stuck where they decided to go and not where I wanted them too!! Bad rub ons!

Never mind. I'm too tired to care (that's a lie of course) and still need to go and see Bobbi and Ernie (who are doing great) and see my guys for some cuddling and to assure them that I'm OK really despite all the howling and wailing!(OK I'm exaggerating that-I'm a bit prone to that would you believe?).

Anyway, best go and sing Happy Birthday to my neighbour and do lots of smiling and hope (and I mean really hope) that they've got birthday cake as I need some badly-I've earned it!

*** BUY!

Ingredients:
Card blank from stash
K & co paper
Stampin Up card in Creamy Caramel and Regal Rose
Stampin Up stamp set 'Natural beauty'
Papertrey white card
Copics
Stampin Up border punch
Making memories rub on (that thinks it's a sticker)
Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon
Brads from stash
3D foam pads

Naughty pussy cat!

I saw this stamp and as they say 'it had my name on it'! Penny Black are just phenomenol-they just seem to be able to create the most gorgeous images of animals in a way no one else comes close to. I only have a couple of their images-this and a Christmas cat one so must get saving for more! I have my eye on a gorgeous bunny one-similar to this image with a bunny on his back lying on a bird table or something. The bunny looks just like Jacob and he lies like that all the time when he trances himself.

This cat so reminds me of Tom, though I do have a photo on this blog of Basil sitting a bird table which is rather similar to this naughty cat.

I love these papers from Making Memories but not managed to use them yet. I couldn't seem to match this image to the usual suspects paper wise and as a last resort I tried these and actually thought they worked really well. I could so imagine having a skirt or dress with the chocolate brown pattern!! Love it!

I'm afraid my photo lets me down again-I'm utterly useless-it was such a sunny day so I should have no excuse. having said that, it was so sunny I couldn't actually see the card properly! I laid it on white paper and then the white just reflected back at me because of the strength of the sun and I'm amazed I even got the whole card in shot!

Never mind-need to practise so many things clearly, as well as my new Copics!

Ingredients:

Penny Black cat stamp

'Reach for the stars' sentiment stamp-Hero Arts

Card blank from Steph so unknown

Making memories paper

Whisper White card from Stampin Up

Chocolate Chip card by Stampin Up

Taffeta pink ribbon from Stampin Up

Pink gems from Steph so unknown

Clear gems from stash

Mini book and a very naughty printer!

Well, at long last I've summoned up the courage to try and create a mini book! It's not completely finished-I need some different stickers to spell 'Ernie' (the tabby and white cat who is next to 'Bobbi' in the book. White stickers as used in the rest of the book don't show up properly thus requiring a desperate search for some blue-and a wishing for the upteenth time that I had the ability to plan things rather than just dive straight in and therefore alternate between white and blue stickers rather than have to mess about as I will now!





Aren't my guys gorgeous? The book's pretty rubbish-attaching paper to swirly edges isn't something I have a natural gift for it has to be said! Also, my first time working on such a small scale and being a 'more is more' person, I found it tough not having acres of space! Still, I kept at it despite catastophe after disaster and it's just for me and anything with photos of my guys in is good enough for me!




This is now in it's maybe 5th day and I am really struggling. I knew I used my printer alot but I am totally reliant on it it seems! What can I do? I did attempt the whole 'DIY' approach and went into 'My computer' and pretended I understood exactly what it was saying and doing and all would be fine, I could fix it easy peasy. In reality I nearly cried with frustration, got cross and the feeling of being totally thick was overwhelming.





I wonder if I should (listen to this-all my own ideas!!!!), uninstall the printer and then re-install it and then maybe it'll work again. (Impressive use of computer words there you've got to admit).





The idea is one thing, the actual logistics are a bit iffy as not sure how to re-install anything let alone the printer. On a more positive (though this is debatable) note, I feel confident that I can do the uninstall bit as have a strange gift for removing things (oddly always vitally important) from my PC yet being unable to conjure them back from the black hole to which they were magically transported.



Anyway, back to the mini book! With the final two pages I obviously ran out of space and so Bobbi and Ernie can't have 2 facing pages each. What I've done is have the photos as being able to lift up so the journalling is underneath. I wanted Bobbi and Ernie in this book and wanted everyone to have individual pages and not 'Erni and Bobbi together' pages, and this is the only way I could solve the issue of not enough pages!

Now I just need some blue stickers for Ernie, my printer to work so I can print out the journalling and ideally be able to swap some of the white name stickers for blue to be equal between the white and blue!

A fair number of problems arose during this, but it's all a learning curve, next time will be better and if companies could make proper bunny rabbit stickers and phrases as they do dogs and cats then life would be even better!

Items used:
K and company exposed mini book
Stampin Up designer paper
Stampin up ribbon
American Craft felt Thickers
Making Memories alphabet stickers shimmer white
Sandylion fuzzy bunny stickers
Karen Foster cat embellishments
American crafts chipboard stars
Gems
Cat themed buttons
Metal bunny embellishment from Scrapz

The beautiful and very brave Sophie

This is my latest scrapbook layout featuring the beautiful and very brave Sophie. If you've visited my blog before you'll know that Sophie fought so hard but lost her battle for life in May 2008. We miss her so much, life really is not the same and our home certainly isn't the same without Soph running around.

I'm only a scrapbook beginner and with one thing and another I make very slow progress. I have tried to make this page so many times but it's been so hard, the other day I just felt ready and the ideas just flowed really easily. I want my pages to be personal and not just trying to be 'on-trend' for the sake of it. It is for this reason that I hand write my journalling though I loathe my writing and I'm not fussy about rulers to line everything up-it's about the subject-in this case Soph and nothing else. I want my pages to enable the viewer to understand what I'm trying to say without me having to explain. I try to capture the subjects character and my feelings towards them-my pages are 'made with love' quite simply. It's primarily me who looks at them and I do enjoy looking over the 5 (including this page) layouts I've completed. I think Soph would approve of this one and whatever I've done in terms of embellishing doesn't (I sincerely hope) detract from the photo which says it all-my beautiful Sophie.

I had told Soph when I started scrapbooking that when I did her page, I would do the prettiest and most girlie layout possible, in an attempt to reflect Soph's beauty. I have tried hard to do this, to find the prettiest embellishments possible and create a really girlie, pretty page.

It's a very gloomy day here, hence the flash but I wanted to post this photo anyway.

I should list some of the ingredients shouldn't I?

Laura Ashley 12 x 12" paper

Paper blooms including the large 'Wild Rose' from Sarahs cards

Green Thickers from American Crafts (also from Sarahs cards)

Chatterbox pink chipboard letters

Making memories polka dot pink puffy alpha letters

Queen and Co. pink and green floral design felt ribbon

Brenda Walton bunny embellishment

Stick on pearls by Joy crafts

'Love' epoxy dome sticker by Michele Ackerman

Jenni Bowlin journalling shape and scalloped circle behind epoxy 'Love' sticker

Pink and white lace from local haberdashery shop

Flower gems and flat backed pearl from local craft shop can't remember make

Still playing...

I've been playing a bit more with some Stampin Up stamps and here are the results! The card above is made with the 'Spring Garden' set. This set is so beautiful and ethereal, a really gentle and pretty set of stamps. I versa-marked the stems, flowers etc and then chalked on top, gently allowing the colours to merge. I actually used the chalks I received in my Stampin Up prize. Three colours only would you believe! I used the 'Bashful Blue' (love this colour so much), the 'Rose Red' and the 'Always Artichoke' which is a darkish green.

The base card is a light pink card from an Anna Griffin set off QVC sometime and I used the 'bashful blue' ink with an Anna Griffin background stamp, again from a set sometime I think, it's acrylic, I'm sure it was part of a set with a garden theme...! The sentiment is a sticker from 'DCWV' and I am annoyed as it looked the perfect colour until it was well and truly stuck onto the card. At this point, the sticker decided to become 'turquoise' instead of light blue/teal. I contemplated various ideas and think I'll end up having to matt over it and stamp a sentiment. I'm just trying to be good and use up some of my stash, and the DCWV stickers remain unused despite me getting them in a long ago parcel (mentioned on this blog) after I made some suggestions to a craft site regarding definitions of craft tools/materials etc.

The ribbon is from a local haberdashery department, the blue matting layer is a shimmery blue but part of my stash and origin unknown! The pink dotty matting is from a Karen Marie Klip polka dot pink card set. I love the colours but find these cards very disappointing as paper thin. All the cards in this range are the same; such a shame and really surprising as the range is so pretty and original, I am amazed the cardstock would be so poor. Useless for card bases but can be used for matting and layering at least so money not entirely wasted!!

The other two cards use the 'Stampin Up' 'Flower Factory' set which I think is a really useful and versatile set. Alas, the horticultarists amongst you will note that the stem and leaves are wrong and indeed are from the 'Stampin Up' 'Terrific Tulips' set. I seem to have lots of flower heads and few stems and leaves....! I thought I'd give it a go and just ensure, if I ever send these cards, that I send them to someone who won't know the difference between the leaves of a dandelion and a tulip!



'Europa' cardstock on the large card, with random matting and layering card. Also unknown in origin (as ever) are the miri card and the gingham paper. The gingham ribbon is 'Stampin Up', the sentiment is from the 'Riveting' Stampin up set and the button is from 'Love Elsie'. The rub on sentiment is 'Anna Griffin' and the crystals are again unknown but the non stick kind so thanks 'Quickie' gluepen!

The small card has random ribbon and cardstock with a 'Making Memories' ribbon slide and 'Stampin Up' crystal brads. 'Stampin up' ink pads and 'Stewart Gill' 'metallic silver' embossing powder. The sentiment rub on is once again by Anna Griffin.