Thank you!

I'm delighted to have been given another award today, by the lovely Christine Levison. 

Thank you Christine - I'm touched and very flattered that you chose me.  I pass this award on to the lovely ladies I listed yesterday and also to:

Alina
Katarina
Debbie Olson
Jeanie

Happy crafting.
xx

Harvest Dance

Mmmm, this morning the air had that certain whiff of autumn: damp leaves, fresh earth - it's really 'back-endish' (as my mother would say - meaning, 'getting towards the end of the year')!  So I really wanted to give this image an outing today - it's perfect for this time of year.

I'm entering this in this week's Our Creative Corner challenge, where the theme is 'Fall Colours' and the palette is:

So here it is:

Image:  Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Harvest Dance';  Pink Petticoat, 'Dandelion Wisps'

Paper: digital paper by Scotty Girl, 'Autumn'

I love this image - so fairytale-like.  And when I saw Pink Petticoat's Dandelion Wisps, I knew it would make a great supplementary background image.

If you haven't checked out Scotty Girl's Etsy store yet, you should - she has some wonderful digital papers at very reasonable prices and I love them!

So, this is a real hybrid card - part digital, part me-made. I'll try to describe how I made it.

I used MS Publisher for the card itself - this is basically an A4 landscape sheet, divided into two columns to give two A5 'sides'. I zeroed the top, left and right margins and set the bottom margin to 5 cm, giving me a card (when printed, trimmed and folded) that is roughly 14.8 cm x 16 cm. 

Then, I inserted a 'Picture', 'From File', and chose the digital paper I wanted.  I then cropped this (note, I didn't just make it smaller - I cropped it to maintain the size of the pattern) to fit between the midway point of the A4 document and roughly halfway across the right-hand side of the card, also cropping the bottom to the bottom margin. 

I inserted another picture 'From File' and this time chose the first Dandelion Wisp.  I rotated it and placed it as I wanted it then I copied, resized and re-rotated two more of the Wisps until I was happy with the 'front' of the card.  I printed it out, trimmed to 16 cm deep, and folded it in half. 

I printed out Harvest Dance in the usual way and coloured it up with my Copics, going in with my Prismas between the elves to add some shading.  I inked the edges and towards the image with a cream ink pad, just to knock back the white.  I did the same with the card itself, for the same reason.

The addition of a dark green mat, a touch of green satin ribbon and three green brads finished it off.

And if you're still reading (well done you!), I'd just like to say a big 'Thank You' to Joyce, who has very kindly awarded me a 'Beautiful Blogger' award.

I'm very touched by this - it's always lovely to know that someone out there is not only enjoying my blog but is finding inspiration in what I do.  All of us in Crafty Blogland know how much it means to have our work appreciated by others.

But ... and there is a 'but' ... I now have to tell you 7 interesting things about myself and that's the hard bit!  I can tell you any number of things about myself but interesting ... well, that's another thing!

Here goes: 

1. 
   
   I was once on television, in a game show called 'Game For a Laugh' and I have the little trophy to prove it!
2. 
   
   I qualified as a bi-lingual secretary, French/English, when I was 20.
3. 
   
   When I was young, my ambition was to be a concert pianist.
4. 
   
   I know how to say 'I have a sweaty bum' in Greek!
5. 
   
   My name means 'Little fairy, goddess or nymph' - look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary if you don't believe me!
6. 
   
   My first meeting with many of my colleagues in a previous job was whilst I was dressed as Wilma Flintstone, auctioning off cake for a good cause!
7. 
   
   My father designed the first building that Charles and Diana opened as a married couple (and he nearly stood on Diana's foot at the royal luncheon!).

There you have it!

Finally, I must pass this award on to 7 of my favourite bloggers:

Peggy Marsh

Mina Hartley

Paula Williamson

Linda Heavens

Becca Feeken

Anita Thorsen

Rachel Jakes

All of them are superb colorists - I admire their work so much.  Their blogs are funny, informative and, best of all, inspirational - thank you for sharing, ladies.

So that's it for tonight - another early start tomorrow so I'm off to bed to read, with the help of my NEW KINDLE!!!!! Yaaaay!!!!! 

Happy crafting.

xxx

My First Award

Wow! I've been given the Sunshine Award by Tracy and Ann-Marie over at TwoCrafty and I'm absolutely thrilled (insert rest of Oscar-style speech here!).  But seriously, this is really something for me because it is wonderful to know that my blog is inspiring someone else along their crafty way.  So, a big THANK YOU girls - I'm touched.

Although I'm not sure how it all started, it seems generally accepted that the Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world and the 'rules' of receiving the reward are as follows:

Post the award on your blog and link back to those who gave it to you.
Give the award to 12 other bloggers and let them know that you've given it to them by leaving a comment.
Link to your recipients and spread the sunshine!

I have chosen to give my Sunshine Award to a group of ladies who totally inspired me and set me off on my crafty journey and/or who have encouraged me along the way and who celebrate my every success.  In fact, they bring sunshine to my life so it's only fitting that they should be my award winners.  They are:

Dawn B - My Stamping Thyme
Peggy Marsh - The Wired Angel
Mina - Pink Puds
Jak Heath - Jak Heath
Mo Manning  - Digital Pencil Blog
Dawny P - Pink Piggy
Paula Williamson - Paper Possibilities
Linda Heavens - Heavens Created This
Cathy Edgar - Ink It Up, Stamp It Out
Rachel - Papercrafts By Rach
Jeanie - The Spotted Chick
Michelle Wooderson - Mish Mash

These ladies are all soooo talented so check out their delightful blogs and spread the love.  You won't be disappointed.

Happy crafting
xx
(aka 'Little Miss Sunshine')