I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for ICE CREAM

Oh, if only it were ice cream weather here in the UK!  After a few days of scorching heat earlier this month, we now have dull and grey with the occasional heavy shower - although this is to be expected because it's a bank holiday and we're off work for three whole days!  Roll on summer - please!

Next month is a heavy birthday month for us so I've got to make sure there are cards ready to go.  Thankfully, there's always a reason to make a card because of the many wonderful challenges available on the net and one of my favourites, 'Little Red Wagon', is having a birthday-themed challenge this week.  Also, they are celebrating their 30th challenge and (get this), temperatures are in the 30s! Mmmmm, they'll need ICE CREAM!

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Lacie with Ice Cream'

Papers: Scenic Route (who are no longer trading, much to my horror!)

When I first saw this delightful image, my reaction was 'oooo, pale pinks/blues/greens'.  But as I started to colour my hand reached for the yellows and before I knew it, she was all coloured up in strong colours.  Sometimes it just happens.  And I love how she turned out so that's okay. 

But I hadn't really given any thought to DPs, etc., (as usual) so I had to root through my stash looking for something appropriate.  I didn't even remember having this peice of paper, with it's beautiful colour combo and huge flowers.  But my eye was drawn to its summery floral explosion and I just had to use it.  Unfortunately, unless I can find someone who still has it in stock, this paper won't be available any more because Scenic Route have been forced into administration by the current economic downturn, which is the biggest shame. I was lucky enough to realise this in time to order some discounted papers directly from their site, where they have some real bargains.  A word to the wise for those in the UK, however - postage is very expensive! 

Anyway, back to the card.  I coloured her up with my Copics and shaded the background and grass with my Prismas. 

Many of you have asked how I colour my images with my Copics, and I'm flattered to know that you like the way I colour.  However, for me it was just a case of practice, practice, practice.  And you need to be very observant - look at everything in the light and see how the shadows fall. Make sure when you're colouring that you know where your light source is, i.e. which direction do you want the light to come from so that you can know where your shadows are?  I found it useful to put a pencil on the desk when colouring, pointing the pencil in the direction of the light I was using.  That way, you always have a reference. 

If there are specific difficulties, i.e. with hair or round objects, etc., then have a look at 'I Like Markers', which is one of (if not 'the') best sites around for Copic colouring hints and tips.  It's my first point of reference, always, if I'm having a hard time with something.  And YouTube is another brilliant source of info - and demonstration, of course.

And finally, don't strive for perfection.  I don't get it right a lot of the time, not if you look closely, but that's okay.  I'm doing this for pleasure, after all, and that's the most important thing. 

Anyway, lecture over, I shall now go and link up with LRW and then eat breakfast.  Yup, I know, but I was up late today (damn new tablets - yup they make me sleep and remove the pain but, hey, I've lost the concept of morning!).

Happy crafting
xx

A Star is Born

A friend of mine has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy - aaaaah! Gives me the warm and fuzzies knowing there's a baby about.  Obviously, it also gives me an opportunity to create something and, as I missed Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge last week (shock horror!), I thought I would redeem myself by entering this week's challenge, which is 'Babies, ribbons and bows' - how timely!

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Reach for the Stars'

Papers: Textured cardstock from local Paper Mill shop; glittered vellum from stash; October Afternoon

Template: Papertrey Ink, My Timeless Templates, 'Around Town Tote'

Other: Chipboard star, painted with yellow acrylic, from stash.

I'm a real fan of Lauren Meader's templates, available at Papertrey Ink.  They are quick and easy to put together and make this sort of project an absolute breeze.  This beautiful little tote bag is about 8.5 inches tall (20 cm) and has plenty of room inside for a gift.  The photograph below shows the side of the tote, so that you can see the depth of it.

I made the tote out of some wonderful textured card I bought yesterday at our local Paper Mill shop - it's a fantastic place to have so close and it cuts the cost of my paper needs in half (thankfully!).  You should be able to see the texture if you enlarge the photo. 

I wanted to avoid going too pastel with this project - at least with the tote itself.  I couldn't colour the sky in the image an inky dark blue (as it would be if the stars were out) as it would have spoiled the feel of the image.  So I chose the dark card for the tote to offset the paleness of the colouring and give the big yellow star a night sky to sit in. 

I coloured this beautiful little chap with my Copics and added the sky shading with my Prismas, going a little darker than I usually would just to give some depth. 

All I have to do now is decide what gift will go in this little bag for baby.  That's the hard part!

By the way, just a reminder that there's blog candy up for grabs - if you've hopped here from Mo's Challenge Blog, take a look at this post for a chance to win.

Right, I shall now go and bring in the washing that, until a few moments ago was almost dry but is now sopping wet again due to a very heavy downpour!  Oh hum! Bank holiday weather, unfortunately!

Happy crafting.

xx

CELEBRATION TIME!!!!!

CANDY IS NOW CLOSED

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTRIES

My Crafty Bloglander friends - tonight I proudly celebrate not only reaching but exceeding the three 'Fs':

FIFTY FABULOUS FOLLOWERS!

I have watched in absolute amazement over the last few weeks as the number has grown and grown and I am so grateful for all your support, encouragement and, of course, your wonderful comments.  I cannot believe that I have come this far in so short a time. 

So, to celebrate (because celebrate we must!), I have candy to offer.  One lucky winner will receive:

 $6.00 gift certificates for each of the three illustrators I am lucky enough to work with:

Mo's Digital Pencil

Isabellla's Sketchbook

Karen's Doodles

(That's enough to buy you two images from each - six new digi stamps in total.) 

In addition, the lucky winner will also receive a Cosmo Cricket Material Girl 6x6 Mini Pad, two sets of Studio G clear stamps and two brand new Stamping Bella stamps.

That's a whole bunch of booty! 

In order to be in with a chance of winning the stash, you must be a follower of my blog.  Leave me a comment telling me how you first found my blog and I will pick a random winner, to be announced next weekend.

Don't forget, you must be a follower to be a winner!

Again, thank you all for your support - you can't know how much it means to me.  I look forward to being able to share the candy with you.

Hugs and Happy Crafting
 xx

From Your Guest Bartender

Today is my second time as a guest designer with Raise The Bar and I'm delighted to have been chosen again.  There's nothing quite like the buzz of knowing that your work is appreciated by someone other than family and friends, who, let's face it, have it written into their contract that they must adore every project you make! 

This week RTB have a sketch challenge - nice and simple and open to lots of interpretations. 

I realised that it's a long time since I have created a 'vintage' card and I can't remember when I last made a card that wasn't all coloured up. So I thought that this simple layout should be my inspiration and off I went to see what I could come up with - hope you like it:

Image: Little Grey Bungalow (a brilliant source of vintage images)

Papers: V&A Collection; Cosmo Cricket

I love these beautiful V&A Collection papers - they have a finely laid linen finish and are perfect for the style of this card. 

The McCall Pattern image is one of many that Little Grey Bungalow can offer - you really should take a look if you're a vintage fan - and it sits perfectly with this little strip of tape measure from Cosmo Cricket's 'Material Girl' collection.

A beautiful big pearl button and a 'tailor-made' ('scuse the pun) sentiment and it was finished.  Just like that! I'm really pleased with it - it's hard to break the colouring habit once you're in the zone and it was nice to do something different for a change.  I shall definitely have to break my mould more often, although I have to say I find it very hard to ignore my beckoning digi stamps!

So, hop over the Raise The Bar, check out the samples and get making - you never know, you could be Guest Bar Tender next week!

Happy crafting.

xx

To Big Boy School We Go ...La, La

(Insert theme to 'The Twilight Zone' here) The strangest thing happened this evening.  I coloured up a new image and went ahead and made it into a card, intending it to be a DT card as opposed to a challenge card.  Then as I was going through the new Thursday challenges a little later tonight, I came across the sketch challenge on Papertake Weekly and, boy, my head nearly fell off!  The card I had made was almost identical to the sketch. 

Here's the card I finished today - spoooooooky!

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil 'Harvard'; Colouring Page Tuesdays, Elizabeth O Dulemba, 'Back to School Books'

Papers: October Afternoon, 'Report Card' collection.

I know this isn't absolutely spot on but the basic sketch is still recognisable so I'm going to enter the challenge - what a rebel I am!!!!

It seems so long ago now that I waved off my little girl to 'big school' - in another couple of years she'll be teaching in the classroom, not learning.  They grow up so quickly and even though I'm as proud as proud can be of my beautiful, talented and all-round wonderful Daughter, she'll always be my baby.  Aaaah!

So, here's 'Harvard', one of the latest of Mo's images, who has friends called 'Oxford', 'Trinity' and 'Smith', and you will never find any cuter foursome anywhere.  These little darlings are all ready for school and will be teacher's pet by the end of the first day!

Coloured with my Copics and shaded with Prismas, this little guy was an absolute joy to work on.  And the Report Card papers were just the thing to set him off on his way. 

I don't know about you but I always associated starting (back) to school with buying new stationery, pens and pencils, sharpeners, erasers and all manner of cool new things for my pencil case.  Daughter used to love the back to school routine of dawdling around the stationers too.  So I thought this card might be a good way to give the recipient a bit of stationery overload:

Instead of sticking a gift card envelope to the inside left of the card, I thought it would be quite cool to stick it in the middle this time.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.  If you want to know how, just leave me a comment and  I'll see if I can get a tutorial together.

This is actually my Dream Team card this week too so I'm going to link up before I fall asleep at my computer!

Happy crafting.

xx

Isabella's Sketchbook Challenge - Memorial Day

Well, another week has passed by already - this year is speeding by!  Our challenge at Isabella's this week is to create a card or project for Memorial Day, which, as many of you will know, is a US holiday and a time to remember those who have lost their lives in the service of their country.  For those of you who, like me, know little (if anything) about Memorial Day and its origins, this link will help:

http://www.jacksjoint.com/memday.htm

Now, here in the UK, we honour our heroes in November, on Armistice Day:  I was all of a dither about what to do for this challenge, in that case.  However, as many in the US see this day as marking the start of the summer, holding cook-outs, BBQs and picnics, I decided to use this as my starting point.  We were also challenged to use our country's colours, but mine would be red, white and blue and I wanted to leave those for my American colleagues to use.  Therefore, I went back to the country of my birth, Wales, whose flag looks like this:

My colours became green, red and white - a lovely summery combination - and here's what I did with them:

Image: Isabella's Sketchbook, 'Picnic 3'

Papers:  October Afternoon

Template: Papertrey Ink, 'My Timeless Templates', 'Pack a Picnic'

Tools:  Martha Stewart Scallop Dot edge punch

Using this fantastic template (the large version), it is simple and quick to produce this gorgeous little picnic hamper, which is perfect for a mini-picnic lunch.

I coloured up Isabella's delightful image with my Copics and my Prismas, in the usual way, before matting it on to a bright red scalloped circle.  I had already decided that I wanted the kite to 'fly away' so I manipulated the image so that I could print the kite separately on this occasion.  I coloured the strings and paper-pieced the kite itself and then attached it using 3D foam pads for dimension.

Now, I had to put some little shot glasses in the bottom of the hamper so that I could prop up the food for this next photograph, but, believe me, the hamper is large enough to take a small picnic of a sandwich, a piece of fruit and (of course) some cake.  Ideal for packing for children on a birthday picnic, for example, or just to keep them happy having tea in the back garden in the summer!   It's such a cutie when it's finished with its little moveable handles. There's a lid, too, which is shown propped at the side in this photograph - handy for keeping out those stray picnic bugs!

We so enjoy seeing your cards every week and we'd love to see your Memorial Day projects so why not get crafty and enter Isabella's Challenge this week.  Don't forget, there are two Isabella's Sketchbook images up for grabs and a beautiful winner's badge for your blog!  You must use an Isabella's Sketchbook image in your entry and there are so many beautiful images to choose from over at Isabella's store.  I can't wait to see what you all come up with.  

Happy crafting.

xx

This is not a post-script - it simply seems inappropriate to include it in the above post, which focusses on a less meaningful aspect of this important day. 

I send love and prayers for all of you who have suffered a loss in past and in present conflicts.

May your God bless you.

News and More News!

Today I have news, two lots, and I'm quite excited!  I'm hoping this will make up for the lack of cards at the moment, but much of what I am making cannot be posted yet and you will see some of the reason for this below.

First news - well, this one completely floored me, I have to say!  Just over a week ago, I was contacted by Sandy Hulsart (DT leader for Karen's Doodles), who asked me if I would consider being June's Guest Designer for Karen's Doodles!  Wow!  Just Wow!  This is the first time I've been approached by someone on the basis of my work alone and it is such a buzz.  What a thrill!  Of course, I've accepted, so you should watch out for me during June on the USA Challenge blog.  Thank you to Karen's Doodles and, in particular, to Sandy for this wonderful opportunity. 

Second news is that I've made Top 3 at Raise the Bar, with my 'Tango' card, which means that I shall be a 'Guest Bar Tender' again next week!  I'm thrilled!

Happy crafting
xx

RAK for Jayme

Last night, just as I was signing off on here and preparing for bedtime, I noticed a posting on Mo's FB page, leading us to Lisa Cook's RAK event for her sister Jayme.  Despite being only in her 50s, Jayme has terminal cancer and time is short for her.  Lisa was inviting us to send a cheerful card for Jayme (definitely no 'Get Well' wishes, in the circumstances) and mentioned that frogs were a favourite!  Given all of this, there was no way that I could just go to bed - I cannot begin to imagine what Lisa, Jayme and their family must be going through right now and all other things paled into insignificance. So, this is what popped on to the page for Jayme:

Image: Meljens Designs, 'Frog Prince'

Papers: October Afternoon (background); Scenic Route strip.

I make few apologies this time for the quality of the photograph - it was far more important that I get this post up and the card sent to Jayme than take a perfect photograph (which I'm unable to do, anyway, as you will have noticed!)

I had great fun colouring this little guy.  I'd kiss him in a flash if his alter-ego was going to be as cute and handsome!

Coloured with my Copics, shaded with my Prismas ('nuff said!), he all but jumped on to this card.  I printed out the sentiment, which, technically, is about a toad, not a frog, but, hey, at a time like this, amphibians unite!  I think the sentiment is appropriate, though.

I would urge all of you to join in - this is one of those times when a card you make will really make a difference to someone - Jayme will be touched, I'm sure, by not only her sister's kindness in organising this RAK event but by the support and love I know we Crafty Bloglanders are so good at.  Hop (!) over to Lisa's blog now, read what she has to say and jump (!) to it!

'Hoppy' crafting
xx

PS: Just in case you should need any other reason to join in, Lisa has gathered the support of lots of wonderful crafty companies, who have agreed to donate prizes so that Lisa has a bumper crop of candy to offer when she picks a lucky recipient on 2 June.  Bless them all!

Connected!

Just a quick post tonight, dear Bloglanders, as I really must get an early night before I 'zombify'!  I seem to have spent so much time at my computer this week, at work and at home, and there's not a moment gone by where I haven't just 'had to google it', check it, view it, or sign in!

Tonight's post is for this week's Friday Sketchers challenge, which is a fabulous layout!

So, because I appear to be surgically attached to my PC at the moment, it seemed very appropriate to come up with this:

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Checking FB'

Papers: Scenic Route

I wish I were so glamorous - however, I'm sitting here at the moment in baggy PJ trousers and a very ill-fitting black 'T', looking nothing like this lovely at all!

This has been a hugely popular image with we Crafty Bloglanders - after all, which of us doesn't spend time on our computer, checking here, loading there, writing more?  There's a poll for her name on Mo's FB page at the moment - I'm rather liking FB Phoebe, myself.  If you haven't done so already, join Mo's FB page as a fan and watch out for forthcoming freebies - you never know what's coming next!

As always, Copics and Prismas feature heavily in the colouring of this FB fan, although her robe is paper pieced (as I've done before) for interest.  Unfortunately, my photography has let me down a little again, simply because you can't really tell that the background is the most glorious dark purple (not navy blue!), which, with the lime green, is one of my favourite combinations.  (Dark purple and mustard is another! Mmmmmm.)

The little bit of doily you can see (poking out behind the angled background layer) was created using a Martha Stewart corner punch: it just took a little accurate placing and some upside-down punching to create a wonderful circular doily - I shall definitely be using this technique again.

All I needed to finish it off was a little ribbon and some gems and she was good to go. 

So, off to link up and then to bed - ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

Happy crafting.

xx


PS:  I'll be announcing my first Blog Candy soon - keep checking for details!

Mo's Dream Team Project of the Month Blog Hop - Flowers!

Hello Mo Fans!  It's that time of the month again, when the Dream Team hopes to inspire and delight you with our Mo-jo! This month, the theme is 'Flowers'.  If you have arrived here from Jak's blog, then you're on the right track.  If not, hop back to Mina's and start at the beginning because you won't want to miss the wonderfulness along the way.

It has been sunny for a couple of days here in York - wooooo.  And all that sunshine can only mean one thing - yellow! So here's my project for this month:

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'End of the Summer', available to buy at Mo's store, here

Papers: Scenic Route (paper strips) and October Afternoon.

It's a shame this is called 'End of the Summer', simply because summer is only just about to start here and I plan to spend quite a few days lazing around like this, smelling the flowers, once the sunshine comes. 

I love this image, it's so dreamy and it is a joy to colour.  Obviously, I used my Copics (for which I must get some re-inkers - note to self!) and then went in with my Prismas for a little more depth and some subtle blue background.

I didn't want to use my EK Success flower punches for this one - I love them, but I can only make a limited type of flower with them and I get bored after a while.  I scoured the 'net to find instructions for all sorts of other styles of flower but, unfortunately, those I tried were just too difficult for my clumsy fingers, so I had to make up my own style.  I've made a video tutorial about them (cos they're soooo simple) and I'll be posting it soon - i.e. just as soon as I can work out the technical bit!

It's a mini celebration for me today, too - it's my first blog hop as a full-time member of the Dream Team!  I still have to pinch myself to make sure it's true! I'm having a blast!

So, that's my creation this month and now you'll want to be getting off to Cheryl's blog, where I just know she'll have much loveliness awaiting your visit.

Thank you for stopping by.  Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know you've been.

Happy crafting
xx

Let's Dance

One of the things I most miss since my rheumatoid arthritis arrived is dancing.  I can no longer salsa because there is too much pressure on my knees and feet and, besides which, I'm usually too darned tired!  Daughter dances - brilliantly, I have to say  - and I do miss our salsa evenings.  Still, now I have my crafting instead and I'm happier than ever, so I guess we adapt, eh?

When I saw this image the other day I just had to have it because it was just so perfect for a card I had in mind, so I'm entering this one in this week's 'Raise The Bar' challenge, which is 'yellow, gray and white'.

 Image: Karen's Doodles, 'Tango'

Papers: October Afternoon

Tools: Martha Stewart punch (though I'm sorry I can't recall the 'pattern')

Isn't this image just wonderful?  I immediately pictured it coloured just like this and I'm delighted with how it turned out.  Coloured with my Copics, of course, and shaded with my Prismas, the image seemed to come alive in front of my eyes.  I love it! 

Grey, yellow and white is such a classic combination, don't you think?  I particularly love these spotty papers from October Afternoon, although it did take me a while to decide on the layout.  I played for ages before settling for this one and even then, I wasn't 100% sure. But now I see it posted, it looks just fine.  The big silver bow definitely adds some lux and that little shot of red in the rose really does wonders.

I think this one would make a wonderful anniversary card, particularly as I have added a little tag, which reads 'Amour' (love), which you can just see poking out from behind the bow.  I think it might be right for my parents, who celebrate their 48th anniversary this year (wow!).  They met when my dad played piano is a small dance band (and very dapper he looked!) and they've been dancing together ever since.

So, bed time again - this week is rocketing by!  Not that I'm complaining, you understand.  It'll be the weekend before I know it!

Happy crafting.

It's Isabella Time!

Gosh, this week has gone by so quickly and here we are at the next challenge.  This week we have challenged you to create a birthday card using an Isabella's Sketchbook image, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with.  Isabella has plenty of lovely images to choose from, so any type of birthday can be catered for!  Why not pop over to her store and take a look around?

This week I decided to do something a little different. I have an elderly friend who loves flowers and so I decided to make her birthday card for this challenge (she'll be thrilled it's 'on the internet'!).  So I went for a simple image that I could use in a different way:

Image: Isabella's Sketchbook, 'Flower Ring 1' and 'Journal Block 2'

Papers: Bo Bunny Basics; October Afternoon scraps

This delicate floral ring is just right for my DF.  I decided to stick mainly with three colours - pink, green and lemon - for the whole card, and thought a shadow box card would be just a lovely way to show off this sweet image.

Here's a photograph taken at a slight angle, so that you can see what the card actually looks like:

I backed the window with some dotty glittered vellum over a piece of deep cream card, and threaded some ribbon through from side to side so that the ring looks as though it is floating in the window (although, to be truthful, it does have a little help from some hidden sticky pads!).

As well as the floral ring, I used the blank journalling block to frame my greeting.  I made more flowers for the frame (with my EK Success retro flower punches) and finished it all off with pretty pink bow in the middle.

This is far from my usual style but not only is it good to step outside my comfort zone now and then, I shall also have the pleasure of knowing that I made a card that my friend will love.

Now it's your turn.  We can't wait to see your birthday cards and we genuinely love to visit your beautiful blogs and share some (paper) love! Remember, you could win two images from Isabella's store and the beautiful 'I Won' at Isabella's badge for your blog.

And for more inspiration, why not hop over to Isabella's Challenge blog to see what gorgeous scrumminess my dream team friends have to show you. 

Happy crafting.
xx

Who's Feeling Cranky?

Well, I am, a bit, only because I'm tired, which is my own fault.  I really shouldn't stay up so late (says she, at 12.26 a.m.) but there are only so many hours in the day and that means there are not enough if I sleep early!  I definitely need to come up big on the lottery or something, so that I can be a full-time crafter!

Anyway, I've had the best fun creating tonight's card, even though it didn't turn out at all like I had originally intended.  Hey ho - stuff happens, right!? This creation is for the DP2 Challenge, which is 'flowers' this week, and also for the PCP Sketch Challenge, which, as you will see, I have interpreted kind of loosely!

Here's Mariko, in all her sulky glory:



Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Mariko is Mad'

Papers: October Afternoon.

Tools: EK Success Retro Floral Punches; Martha Stewart scallop border punch.

Now I'm sure we've all seen this expression somewhere before.  Isn't she adorable?  Such indignation and upset - don't you just want to pick her up and give her sweeties?

She was an absolute joy to colour (I was tempted to paper piece her dress but that really would have been cheating this time!) and, of course, I used my Copics (which are fast becoming an extension of my right hand, let me tell you!), with the usual shading and grounding with my Prismas.  I'm going through a phase of large cards at the moment and, to be honest, with my RA and all, it's really much easier for me to colour well if the image is oversize and the cards look grand when they are finished!

As I mentioned above, I've really loosely interpreted the PCP sketch this week - I've used poor Mr Rabbit as my 'sentiment'!  Everything else is pretty on the dot though. 

My OH is travelling to London tomorrow for three days of meetings, so guess who'll have lots of crafting time to herself?  Mmmmmm - mind you, I've lots to do, but I can't tell you about it yet!  Exciting news coming this way soon. 

Also, look out for my very first video tutorial, which will be winging its way on to my blog very shortly.  That was such fun to make!

Right, Mr Linky and bedtime (oooeerrrr, Mrs!) before it all starts again tomorrow!

Happy crafting.
xx

Men and Their Toys!

It's said that boys don't grow up, they just get older!  I don't know how true this is but I know so many men who just love their toys, gadgets and stuff!  So I was delighted when Mo Manning of Mo's Digital Pencil introduced 'Game On', a brilliant man image for our men with toys!

I've been very lucky again that several recent challenges (last week and this week) just happen to be right for this card, so here's my challenge list:

Little Red Wagon:   Brads
Stamping for the Weekend: A card for a male
Our Creative Corner: Male birthday

And here's my offering:

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Game On'

Papers: October Afternoon (stripes) and Bo Bunny Basics (spots)

So, hands in the air - how many of us know this guy?  This is such a brilliantly observed image - even down to the wrinkled socks and manic stare!

I printed this image out at a fairly large size - 13 cm square - so that I had a chance to get some good clear detail coloured in.  So this card is pretty big - but I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.  I wanted plain but punchy and I think that's what I achieved with the relatively simple layout and bright colours. 

Of course, I coloured him with my Copics and used my Prismas to add some shading (just couldn't bring myself to use 'that' sentence again!).  I paper-pieced his chair in a manly check and added some subtle shading for a bit of life.  There's a strong light source on this one - straight from the screen!  And I've given him some dark circles around his eyes - he deserves them!  

I'm having terrible trouble with my blog post layout at the moment - all of a sudden it seems that Blogger doesn't want to let me put my pictures where I want them to be!  So if there are large gaps between paragraphs and such, please forgive me - 'snot my fault (stamps feet)!  If anyone else has had the same problems, please let me know if you've managed to fix it 'cos I don't know what to do (hangs head and cries). 

I'm  off to play with Mr Linky now, then it's off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin again.

Happy crafting.

xx

Birthday Boo-boo!

Well, I'm definitely losing my marbles.  Yesterday I sat and followed the Allsorts birthday blog hop (which is great, by the way - you should take a look if you haven't already.  Lots of candy to be won!).  I had intended to upload my entry and then link to all the blogs on the way - which I thought I had done.  Unfortunately, because I'm as mad as a box of frogs at the moment, I didn't post my entry first!  In my defence, I was interrupted just as I was about to do it and fully believed that I had done so when the (long) interruption was over.  So I now have to remedy this situation before I get a reputation as the worst blogger ever!

In celebration of Allsorts' first birthday, their challenge this week is, of course, 'Birthday'.  And here it is:


Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Daddy's Girl (without the ball!)'

Papers: Scenic Route, 'Sumner Scrap Strip 2'

Woooo - how cute is she?  Reminds me of myself when I was young - I was a real daddy's girl, and used to love 'helping' him in his many DIY tasks, holding hammers and bringing screwdrivers. 

Of course, I coloured this little darling with my Copics and added 'glow' and grounding with my Prismas.  (Gosh, that sentence is becoming sooooo repetitive!)

I love these papers by Scenic Route - they are strips of co-ordinating patterns on one 12 x 12 page - pefect for layering (and squaring, as here).  The collections are brilliant - I shall definitely have to get more.  This particular one, though, is my favourite - fantastic combination of teal and olive - mmmmmmmmm.  There's also a scrumptious olive, teal and brown - OMG, it's like colour heaven for me!

I'm going to enter this one in a new challenge too - new to me, that is.  Sketch Girl has a brilliant sketch this week - I don't think I've ever created a 'squared' background like this before, and with the Scenic Route papers, it works wonderfully well, because all the co-ordination and paper choice is done for you, really.

I've been colouring like mad this weekend so I'll have a few cards to show you over the next few days.  It's about time I got some challenge cards sorted! Unfortunately, work beckons tomorrow, just as I'm in 'the zone'!

Happy crafting.

xx