What will you see?

For those who have never used crafting CD's, I thought it would be useful to do a post showing just how easy it is. You slot the CD into your computer (it will work on Windows and a Mac). On Windows, this screen pops up.......

and voila, up pops the home page..........click on enter

 then you can browse away to your hearts content. This is how the ready coloured images show, just click on one to print......(the photos are a bit blurry I'm afraid)

or you can print uncoloured, all ready for you to do............

 you get all sorts of extras - butterflies, fences, flowers, cute houses.....an impressive list of stuff to add that little extra to your cards...

there are 'scenes' all ready for you to print out and make a quick card, or, see the mushroom house on the right? Print out one of the digi stamps, and add that with foam pads to the background scene.....

you also get the images ready placed onto toppers, just print, cut out and add to your card. The files are png. which means that if you have a Cameo, you can cut them out with your machine......

just one screen of sentiments - these are the tickets I used on yesterday's card. You also get individual sentiments, and sheets of sentiments which are done so that you can use a nestability to cut around the wording.....

then there are the papers. Here is just one of the cute little bookcases full of different patterns..

click on one that takes your fancy, and it goes to another screen showing all the colours available, all carefully chosen to coordinate with all the other elements....

here's the flower paper I used on yesterday's card....

 I just clicked on the pale blue background paper, and it comes up on another screen already to print. I tend to print onto cardstock rather than paper. Georgia Pacific from Walmart is perfect, or in the UK, Hobbycraft and Osbornes stationers do a basic range....

there is a direct link to the inspiration gallery on the CD, which will give you a lot of ideas.....

something for everyone.....cute little tags (spot the grandad rabbit I used yesterday?)

you even get coordinating envelopes and pretty inserts that you can print out....

just run a tape runner close to the center fold of your card inside, place the insert on, and close the card to adhere, a really lovely finishing touch...

I have got a couple of cards to show you, but they will have to wait until tomorrow, the light just wasn't good enough today for a decent photo. Don't forget, to be in with a chance of winning this CD, just leave a comment under yesterdays post, I will draw the winner on Sunday

Take a Trip Down Cherryblossom Lane.....

Here's a chance for you to win the latest, totally gorgeous CD rom for your crafting - Cherryblossom Lane by Nikky Hall of Polkadoodles. This is an inspired collection based around fanciful flowers and sweet little rabbits. I can honestly say that this is probably my favourite of all the Polkadoodles CD - I will give you a sneek peek tomorrow of some of the lovely stuff all ready for you to print out. All you have to do is leave a comment under this post, and I will randomly draw a winner on Sunday (3rd February) and announce the winner next Monday. As usual, you can enter wherever you live, I will mail worldwide. In the meantime, go to the Polkadoodles gallery to see some of the gorgeous samples that the design team have made. Good luck

Here's my first card, I loved this little Grandad rabbit,and used him to make a retirement card. It's a simple easel, made by folding and scoring the front of a scallop edge card in half.......I printed him out already coloured, although I could have printed him out as a black and white digi image ready to colour if I'd had more time. I printed a matching background paper, it all came together so quickly...

love these ticket sentiments.........I liked the 'here's to new beginnings' sentiment as well. The last thing people need on retirement is to be told 'take it easy' or 'put your feet up' when they are wondering what to do with the rest of their lives!

the clear domed gems add just a touch of restrained sparkle, without making it too 'blingy' to give to a male.......I printed two images out, cut out the rabbit head, and the two front flower pots, and popped them on with foam pads....

I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more Cherryblossom cards for you to look at. See you then x

Monkeying around....

Here's one of a set i made for Papercraft Inspirations magazine this month. My brief was to make four cards with a monkey theme, with a 'sorry' sentiment (this was hard, I've never associated cute monkeys with regrets....) but as always, I love a challenge, so here is one of the cards I came up with. The monkey was made with punched shapes, I rather like his sad little face (easily turned into a smiley face for a happy card!) All the sizes and the other cards are in the magazine, on sale now in the UK, next month in the USA and Canada...

Thanks to everyone for all the get well messages, they brightened my day. Still in recovery mode here, and the snow keeps falling. I wish it would all stop - I am desperate to get cracking on stuff, get my hair cut, go out for a coffee, go down to London to see those munchkins, maybe tomorrow I can make a start......

In the meantime, random musings from the sickbed...

Why do women who tell us about the weather on TV always wear sleeveless little shift dresses when they are telling us that more snow is expected and temperatures will struggle to get past -5? What's wrong with a nice chunky sweater like normal people wear?

Why do last year's fur lined leather gloves always mysteriously go missing just when you need them most, to reappear in the Spring when the sun is shining?

Repeat last question for that stylish little winter warmer woolly hat that you picked up at 75% discount in the summer sales and put away in a safe place all ready for a bit of winter warming, except the summer sales are on again before you find it....

Why do dogs love snow? I would have thought it would have been most uncomfortable to walk around with all those snowballs hanging off your coat....

What's wrong with flannel PJ's? I don't think they're funny.....

See you tomorrow...x

and the new winner is.....

Still no taker for the ProMarker skin sets, so I drew again, and the name that came out of the hat this time was

RUFUS

I breathed a sigh of relief, because Rufus is a very faithful blog visitor, so I am pretty sure that I will get an email sharpish from her..........I hope! Email me with your address,  and I will get them in the post. I have some more giveaways coming up, so don't despair, it may be your turn next...

No card from me today (again), not wanting to curry sympathy (oh, why the heck not!) but flu and crafting don't work very well. However, I have some antibiotics now, so wait for the miracle healing...In the meantime, although it won't look very impressive to friends from Canada and the Northern states, here is our big (for the UK) snowfall this week, looking out at our back garden.....

But of course, not everyone stays warm and cozy indoors, like children everywhere, here are my grandchildren enjoying the snow............the photos of Max and Milo were lifted from Facebook....

Milo dragging his sledge.....

and Max about to launch himself downhill......

Kiki - even at eight, that child manages to look stylish in any situation!

and Monty discovers the joys of a snowball fight....

Teddy Bears Picnic...

Here's one I made for the Craftwork Cards blog today - go HERE to see the others....the base card is one of their ready made step cards - genius, saves all that measuring and cutting..... the papers are Moorish, and the bears are Alfie Bear stamps. The balloons were cut with the Cricut

Sorry this photo is a bit dark, I took it when there was a blizzard outside

I spoke too soon about my recovery, there has been a bit of a relapse here, I'm fed up with feeling unwell now and it is a strange bug, just when you think you are on the mend, wham, back it comes again...it's time for it to go now, not welcome here! I have done the bare minimum of crafting, just keeping up with design team stuff, it's piling up, I need to be fit and healthy to get on with it.....
In the meantime, the snow keeps falling, so I am keeping warm and snuggly indoors

Still no word from the person who won the ProMarkers, so if I don't hear by Monday night, I will draw another name, so see you then x  

All about Weather......

 I must be feeling better, I sat down for a couple of hours and made some cards...including this one. I used a Silhouette background file called Raindrops for the background, the image is by Saturated Canary coloured with ProMarkers, and the sentiment is by Art Impressions

I added some acrylic rain splashes by Fiskars....

and talking of weather, the UK is feverishly preparing for some snow, we do this every year. Each winter we know that we will have one or two snowfalls, but when it's forecast, the whole country reacts as though we have been given warning of a nuclear fallout that will keep us housebound for three months. Today in the supermarket, the fresh vegetables had mostly disappeared, apart from a few sad carrots, people everywhere with huge stockpiles of food, all ready to sustain them through the long starvation days of a nuclear winter. The sad thing is that I keep looking through the window looking for those snowflakes, well, we got a few....

It is pretty cold though, -4C as I write this. Time for the thermals and a nice mug of hot chocolate I think

The winner of the Promarkers hasn't been in touch with me yet, if I don't hear from her, I will do another drawing and pick another name out next Monday

And the winner is.......

Sorry about the delay in letting you know the winner of the Promarkers, but I'm afraid I am still far from well, this flu has knocked me right off my feet. Thanks to everyone who entered, the name that came up from random.org is

Craftyhugs (Sharon)

Congrats Sharon. Email me and I will get your markers in the mail

Go over to the Letraset blog this week, they have a competition going with lots of chances to win some markers.......

and go HERE to pick up some half price markers - don't forget the free shipping! 

Because of the interruption to normal crafting, I haven't been at my desk for weeks now, but found this card that I haven't shared with you before, or can't remember sharing anyway - I  love this little guy, a Nellie Snellen stamp coloured with ProMarkers. The base card is by Kanban, and the brads are Card Candi from Craftwork Cards

So apart from being ill, I haven't really got anything to report at all - I did make a brief dash into town on a grey January day, to pick up the essentials of life - three extra large boxes of tissues, pain killers, cough medicine....fun things like that. I was struck by the people scurrying by, shoulders hunched against the cold, and all wearing black or grey coats. It looked like a mass funeral service. Why is it that when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, we wear vivid bright colours that look quite harsh in the sunlight, when cool looking neutrals and white linen please the eye........and when the sky is grey and dark, out we trot in our black and grey. Honestly, I think the brightest thing in Solihull that day was my nose!

My First Silhouette Card.......

So I sat down to do a blog post here, and realised that I had nothing at all to share with you, nothing, nada, zilch. I know, I'll go and make a quick card on my new Cameo.....well nothing is quick when you have no idea what you are doing!

I chose one of the most difficult cards in the world to photograph, a swing card... the base card was from the Silhouette library, and I resized it slightly to measure 5" x 5"

I cut a spray from the Silhouette library in white and coloured with apple and meadow green flexmarkers, the little flowers were punched and a few gems scattered about.....

..

this sentiment looked a good fit for the reverse side of the swing circle. I coloured the HELLO with the same green and inked the edges with lavender.....





and I popped a few spare bits of flowers and leaves onto the inside of the card....

So my first impressions of this machine are good, very good. The software is easy to work out for simple cuts like these. I have no intention of designing complicated designs of my own, my philosophy being why bother when someone else has done it for you! My satisfaction in using both the Cricut and now the Cameo is taking the cuts and putting my own twist or design on them. I still have a lot to learn, but my first little jaunt into Cameoland was a fun experience....

Fancy some Promarkers?

Well, long time no blog! First it was New Year, then it was painting the garage and getting rid of a battalion of spiders who were lurking in the murky corners, then it was a particularly vicious virus/cold/flu that has knocked me totally off my feet for a few days, so feeling very sorry for myself at the moment...but to cheer us all up, how would you like to win two sets of ProMarkers to start the new year off with a bang....one set of skin tones 1 - soft peach, ivory, satin, almond, putty and coral, and one set of skin tones 2 - cinnamon, tan, burnt sienna, spice, blush and dusky pink. All you have to do is leave your name under this post, and I will pick a random winner on Sunday. Your comment won't show up straightaway, I am being driven mad by spam comments, google scoops them up, but I get an email every time, so I am switching comment moderation on. You won't have to do that silly word verification though, just a delay on your comment being published... Good luck!

These skin tones aren't just for skin of course, I used them on this Saturated Canary image for skin, hair, top and boots. The balloons are covered in glossy accents, so they pop in real life....

Go over and see the great bargains on Flexmarkers at the Letraset site at the moment, they are 50% off, which means you get 6 pens for only $9.58 which works out at $1.60 per pen, makes Copics look a bit expensive..... I much prefer the brush tip of the Flexmarkers to the Copic nib, it is easier to control for fine detail, but if you have some Copics, you can use Flexmarkers alongside them, they will blend with any other alcohol ink system. No tax to pay, and free worldwide shipping...must be the bargain of the week (I'm putting the $ amount here, because all you promarker fans in the UK know what a good deal they are :)


Hopefully, spiders and other bugs permitting I will be back to my craft desk tomorrow, I have a couple of tight deadlines to meet and need to get back into the swing of things.

Cough, splutter, sneeze.....see you tomorrow x

Happy New Year!

 Well I hope you are all not too hungover or tired today! A very happy new year to you all.

To finish off my year in cards....

July - I just like the popped up layers on this one...

August - and I am always a big fan of white on white and embossing....

September - the sentiment fits the image perfectly!

October - I had already been working on some magazine Christmas cards since July! 

October - getting into the Christmas swing now, with more Memory Box dies....

November - and my favourite Christmas card of this year, using Craftwork Cards chipboard cards and punched snowflakes.....

December - and when I was tired of all that red and green and ho ho ho-ing, I enjoyed the delicate colours on this little Lili of the Valley image...... 

 Any new year resolutions? I have a few, most of which will have been broken by the time you read this. I have decided that the easiest way to feel virtuous is to resolve to do something that you really love and call it a resolution. So the one I will keep is eating at least three dark chocolates every day for a whole year. Will I be strong minded enough to carry this out? Who knows, but I'll have a jolly good bash at it. Oh the hardship.....