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

Just Inklined to Blog Hop!

Yaayyy! It's that time of the month, dear Bloglanders, when the DT at Just Inklined are all 'inklined' to blog hop. And I'm delighted to say that I'm now a fully fledged, full-time member of the Just Inklined Design Team - a big thank you to Jak for taking me on!  It's great to be working with such a talented bunch of designers (and illustrators, of course)!

This month, our hop theme is 'stripes' - and, boy, did I take this one literally!

If you've arrived here from Jak's blog, then you're on the right path.  If not, then you might want to hop back to Karen's blog and start from the beginning.

So, without further ado, here's my stripey submission:

Image: Just Inklined, 'Maude Doodlebuns, Flab Fig'hter'

Papers: Pink Petticoat, 'Stripes' collection

Wordart: Freebie from Create with TLC

OMG! Poor Maude!  Despite the fact that she's getting on a bit, she cannot forget that she was once voted 'Miss Blackpool 1945' and feels that she should do everything in her power to maintain her highly desirable appearance.  So she's taken herself off to the gym but, really, it's not a pretty sight, is it?  And horizontal 'go-faster' stripes don't do a girl any justice! 

Mind you, I've been kind enough to give her a nice vertical stripe, straight down the middle - it's supposed to elongate, you know, and, well, Maude needs all the elongation she can get these days!

Isn't this an hilarious image!?  And I just loved this sentiment by Create with TLC - perfect!

Anyway, on with the hop and next stop is our other new DT member, the mega-talented Cathy Edgar, who I know will have something wonderful waiting for you.

Happy hopping.
xx

Halloween and Fall at Karen's Doodles

Ah! Today I'm so pleased that Blogger has a facility to schedule posts because, with any luck I shall still be in bed snoring when this goes live!  I've taken a day's leave today and I'm hoping to spend most of it either (a) sleeping and/or (b) reading! So 'Good Morning' to all those who are up and at it already!

So, it's time for another super Karen's Doodles Challenge and this week, we're asking to see your 'Fall or Halloween' creations.  Choose whichever you wish and play along with us.

Here's my little bit of inspiration (I hope) for you today:

Image: Karen's Doodles, 'Trick or Tweet'

Papers:  Free digi papers - unfortunately, I can't credit the designer as I've not got the details but aren't they grand!?

First, an apology for the awful photography.  This was taken after dark, which meant artificial light and I simply cannot get the balance right.  So the image looks a little washed out but you'll see it better on the close-up and there's an overall feeling of 'not quite in focus' going on here! Bah! IRL this is a really quite stunning card!

I've used the sketch from the current Friday Sketchers Challenge and this card will be my challenge entry.




As usual, I coloured this great image with my Copics, then used two colours of Prismas (a soft yellow and a deep purple) to add the shading around the birdie. 

So there you have it, and now it's your turn. Use a Karen's Doodles image and show us your Halloween/Fall creations. There will be three winners, as usual:


* 1st place winner of 3 digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles will be awarded by merit. The Design Team members will vote for their favorite entry and the winner will also get a Card of the Week blinkie to display on their blog.

Both 2nd and 3rd place winners will be chosen by Random.org and the prizes will be:

* 2nd place winner - 2 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles.
* 3rd place winner - 1 Digi stamp of your choice from Karen's Doodles.

As always, I shall look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Happy crafting.
xx

Falling For Sadie

Well, it looks like autumn has arrived here in the UK - the days are shortening, there's a dampness in the air and the leaves are turning.  The Viriginia creeper in my back garden is turning a beautiful shade of russett and that's where my inspiration came from for today's card.

This one will be my entry for the following challenges:

Stamptacular Challenge - Fall colours
Simon Says Stamp - It's Autumn

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Sadie with Apples'

Paper: Scenic Route

Wordart: Create with TLC

It was the paper that first inspired me, it has to be said.  I had been looking at the Virginia creeper and then, when I came in and went through my stash, I came across this beautiful sheet of fall leaves - delightful! I love it's bold design and the gorgeous autumn colours. The photograph doesn't really do it justice - I haven't captured the richness of the colours very well.

Then I looked at Sadie, and realised that her skirt reminded me of the points of the creeper leaves and off I went!

I coloured her up with my Copics, of course, and added the usual grounding and glow with my Prismas.  Then I went over the apples with a good coat of my Sakura clear glaze to give them a polished, rosy feel.  Yum - good enough to eat!

Sadie's beautiful curls reminded me so much of Daughter so Sadie became a redhead - very fitting for the time of year!

I cut a window in the front of the card and placed the greeting inside, peeping through.  I love the wordart from 'Create with TLC' - there's lots to choose from and it's all beautifully drawn.

So, an early post for a Saturday morning - we have friends arriving later so I've lots to do.  I think a nice big stew for dinner - perfect for an autumn evening - comfort in a pot!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Happy crafting.
xx