You are formally invited...

Got your posh frock? Got your heels, bling and a bit o' lippy wouldn't go amiss... Time for the red carpet.. Toot-ter-de-root-ter-der-root!!! (That was trumpets, in case you wondered...)

Big thanks to Leanne for this award. Bless her.. she's just moved to Saudi, and is waiting for her stash to catch up with her. Poor love. Please do pay her a visit and give her something to do! ;o)

The challenge is to pass it on to five people who inspire me. The challenge is narrowing it down to five!! There are so many awesomely talented crafting bloggers .....(I wish they'd invent a more elegant word... blog is far too close to 'bog', if you ask me... tsk!)..... who inspire me on a daily basis, that I hardly know where to begin.

But I will.

In a minute.

You'll see.

Riiiiggghhhttt... Well, I'm going to start by eliminating the ladies I very recently passed an award on to. It would seem fairer to choose some names I haven't chosen since I took my blog-oliday a few months back. Stop jabbering, woman, and geronwithit!! OK, ok..

One of my all-time favourite card-designers is my ex-DT-mate from the Funky Hand team.. KATH. I just love her fresh style, but I wish she wouldn't blog so much, 'cause I can't keep up!! If you have been living under a rock in some desolate and lonely corner of blogland, I suppose there is the outside chance that you may not have come across this lady yet, and her faithful (and very handsome) sidekick, the Budster. In which case, hitail it over there now, and settle in for a long browse. Well worth it, believe me!

I am also going to choose ANICE, the founder and designer behind Funky Hand, because she inspires me enormously, not only for her unique sense of style, but for her business acumen and drive, in spite of dealing with personal health issues. Such a strong, clever woman.

The next lady I am going to choose is OLGA, because her cards are always beautifully designed, and we share a love of the English language. Even though Olga is Russian. Oh, and we both fancy her husband.

Next is EMMA. Her cards are very different from the norm.. and I love 'em. Plus she's the only fellow British crafting blogging lady I know who shares my love of BASEBALL!! (Go, Sox/Cubs/Cards/Giants/Dodgers/Indians... take your pick! lol ;o) The woman has taste, what can I say.

Aaaand finally, AMY SHEFFER, because of her faith, and her willingness to share with others, and - let's face it - her cards are exquisite.

Ladies, that is my line up for some Craftling love today. Please accept my accolade and don't feel any obligation to take it any further. It is just an expression of my bloggy heroine worship, but if you'd like to pass the love on, you are supposed to choose five bloggers who inspire you.

Thanks again, Leanne. I am honoured. :o)

Hugs,

Branching out...

Something a little bit different to my usual style. This has been created for a charity I deal with on a regular basis through my work. They invited me to attend a celebration they are having soon to celebrate their 15th anniversary, but I can't go, sadly, so decided to make them a card instead.


Basically, it's a bare branch stamp (Penny Black, I think), stamped on high white CS in Dark Brown Chalk Eyes, then cut out. I used a birch leaf punch to make leaves out of green DP, which I shaped and embossed.. inked the edges with Versacolor Olive, then glittered with Craft Planet irridescent glitter glue. Each one was stuck individually to the ends of each twig, and where there was room to put a sticky pad between them to create different levels, I have.

By hand, I drew the squiggly square around the card using a fine tip fibre pen, and then stuck the branch down loosely on sticky pads so that it's secure, but has movement. I created the 15 using Wordart, cut them out, inked the edges, glittered the surface and stuck in place.

Computer-generated letters for the name of the charity at the top, and stamped 'Congratulations'. Three square gold brads complete the card.

Not happy with the balance, and feel it needs more, but didn't want to go overboard, as this is for a professional contact. Prettier in real life with the 3D quiver on the leaves. Hope they like it!

Birthday Cards from Ruth, Allison & Lythan..

I promised ages ago to post pictures of the birthday cards I received from Ruth, Allison and Lythan.. three of my former Funky Hand DT-mates, before I resigned from the team through lack of time to be able to perform my DT duties as well as I wanted to.
Designed for several teams, but the Funky Hand team was the first for me, and the best. It was amazing.. I'm sure it still is! Not only from a talent perspective (and there was/is some awesome talent on that team).. but because they were/are a great bunch of gals, and it was a privilege to be one of them.

By co-incidence, I noticed that Anice, the creator of Funky Hand, has launched a new download today called Hearts and Flowers. It's a lovely collection, and the DT have done great things with it. One of my cards is on the DT gallery too! :o)

Any road up, when you get a moment, these are the links to the ladies' blogs who made these treasures here on the left. Well worth a shufti, I promise you!


Ruth (she makes those buttons herself, y'know!)
Allison
Lythan

Thanks, again, girls.. You made my day! :o)






P.S. Not sure why the two pics have displayed in different sizes, but they should be the same! Oh well...

** Long Post Alert ** Long Post Alert**

Sue Daly from across t'other side of 'the Pond' was kind enough to bestow upon me my first award since I started blogging again a little while ago.

They were difficult to keep up with before, and I have to admit I couldn't keep up and took the easy option of inviting visiting bloggers to snaffle the awards if they fancied them, but y'know what? I feel a little extra frisson of excitement that someone has been generous enough to recognise my blog. It has reminded me what it is all about. So.. THANK YOU, Sue!! I will give this the attention it deserves! :o)

I have visited Sue's blog, which is new in Blogland in its current iteration, but already has some lovely designs on it. I greatly look forward to seeing more. To check Sue's work for yourself, have a little clickee HERE.

The conditions of this award are:

I must thank the person who gave me the award, list their blog and link to it... CHECK
I must list ten (10) honest things about myself... CHECK
I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog... CHECK
I must select at least seven (7) other worthy bloggers & list their links... CHECK
I must notify the bloggers of the award... CHECK

10 Honest Things About Me ……. Boy, this is going to be tough!

1. I was born in Germany, but I am British, und spreche nür ein Bißchen Deutsch! Nicht genug, und ich möchte gern mehr kennen lernen. (I hope that is correct hoch Deutsch! If there are any fluent German-speakers reading this, please leave me a critique!)

2. I have no degree (yet). I am in my fifties now, but would still love to pursue my love of the English language, and gain some credibility when I say, "THAT needs an apostrophe," lol! (Do you get the feeling I'm an art and languages gal? Yep.. can't add two and two, but I can conjugate with the best of 'em!! Hehe!)
Why haven't I done it yet? Well, in my defence, it was nowhere near such a big thing here as it was in the US, especially when I left school, and I thought all I wanted was to be a SAHM, so why bother? When I did start a career, it took off by itself anyway, and I was very successful without the qualifications, but would still love to fill that gap one day.

3. These are in no particular order, by the way, as this one should come first, by rights... I am a Christian. On the ladder of Christians, I must be at the bottom, as I mess up all the time, and am more human than Holy Spirit, but thank goodness for Jesus, because I couldn't make it without Him anyway! I have been a Christian for 17 years, but still very much a work in progress!! A 'practicing' Christian, you might say! lol ~ But contrary to 'the world' who expect such high things from Christians ~ my view is that a Christian is not defined by their behaviour, but by their belief.

4. I wish that everyone would be fair and honest. (I stole that directly from Sue, but it was such a good one, I adopted it for my list, too!)

5. I used to be quite sporty, and hope one day to lose enough weight to be able to get back out on the water/ice rink/tennis court!

6. I am VERY happily single! I went through a sudden switch when I went through a brief and sudden menopause brought on early by chemotherapy in 2002. Prior to that, I was desperately yearning for a fella for years! But for some reason.. can only assume it was a drop in hormones.. that desire went away, and what a relief! Men are lovely, but I couldn't eat a whole one. At least, not any more. Nope, my cat gives me all the affection I need nowadays. (Or am I kidding myself? What do you think, girls?) ;o)

7. Thanks to my dad's career, and my trekking as an adult, I have been blessed to travel quite widely, but my favourite place in the world is across a border, but right here in the UK... the Isle of Mull. The scenery is stunning, and it is still relatively unspoilt, which is lovely, and it has a very special atmosphere. If I ever win the lottery, that's where I would want to see out my days. "My heart is in the highlands, my heart is not here... My heart is in the highlands, a-chasing the deer" - Robert Burns

8. Running out of things to tell you... hmmm... *thinks*.. Love crafting.. (y'think? lol!).. Would love to make a business out of it full-time, but have tried and never been able to make it profitable enough to pay the mortgage! Ach, well. (sigh)

9. I get impatient with people who seem to be constantly whining and negative. I know! I shouldn't get impatient, but I do.. what can I tell ya?! One of the rough edges I am working on! lol ;o) Everybody complains once in a while, but you know those people who are just permanently pessimistic? Actually, it's people who annoy me that I pray for the most, so maybe there's a reason for it! lol

10. I have way too much craft stuff. Another one stolen from Sue. Ditto, girlfriend!!

I would like to pass this award on to:

1. Allison
2. Ruth
3. Brenda
4. Debbie
5. Sarita
6. Terrie B
7. Katie

Phew! Flippin' 'eck! That was quite a marathon! Hope you lasted through!
And if you did.. Thank you for your interest! :o)

Hugs,

Big Mama..

Yes, this is the 'mother' to the ATC 'baby' in the previous post, but I couldn't show it until I was sure Brenda had received it!

If you haven't come across Brenda in the past, I would urge you to do yourselves a favour and visit this talented lady's blog, Floral Fantasies. She has posted a card this evening which took my breath away.. a fairy theme with such a dreamy, ethereal quality.. just beautiful!

There's not much on this card you won't already be familiar with, but the main image is by Rubber Stampede, the script is a Hero Arts stamp, the flourish is Inkadinkado. Fiskars 'Threading Water' border punch and Martha Stewart butterfly punch. Pearls, roses, twine and the greeting was computer-generated in Cezanne font. The only thing slightly 'different' about it is that I gave her a pearl 'beauty spot'! lol ;o)

Brenda, are you watching?

You wanted to see what I would do with the images you sent me! lol.. Well, here's one.. an ATC, using the lovely 'alternative' Rubber Stampede image you generously included in the package..

New look...

Woohoo!! I have tried on HUNDREDS of blog backgrounds in the past 18 mths since I first stepped into Blogland, and never found one I was 100% happy with, but this one is just perfect!! I love it! Don't you?

It is courtesy of Karen, the Background Fairy... So talented and generous. Thank you, Karen!

Roses Roses..

More of the same, really! Sorry to be boring.. I did warn you, you would get fed up with this style before I do! ;o)

For a colleague's 50th birthday coming up soon...

Bazzill cardstock, white panel in the centre Cuttlebugged with the Swiss Dots embossing folder
Roses stamp.. PSX, I think
Butterfly and frame: K&Co Die-Cuts, 'Madeline'
Plus pearls, roses, twine and a pink dew drop

Oh! And here's the baby... an ATC on the same theme... ahhhh...

Aren't crafters lovely people?

My thanks to Brenda, Allison and Chris in Oz who all responded to my appeal for the luscious stamp in the previous post, and I now have an offer of some stamped images, AND a stamp swap!! How cool is that? I couldn't be happier.. except that I have now discovered a myriad more arty collage stamps on Chris' blog gallery that I now HAVE TO HAVE!!!

What's that commandment.. Thou shalt not covet thy fellow crafter's stamps? Phshaw!! I'm coveting! I'm coveting!

(sigh) It's never ending, isn't it? lol ;o)

Cash for Images...

This one to be precise. If you read my earlier post, you'll know I am desperately seeking stamping heaven with this gorgeous creature, but the wretched woman is discontinued. I mean, for goodness' sake, if it ain't broke, why fix it? I'm sure this lovely stamp would just keep selling and selling and selling... don't you agree? Yes, I can see you nodding from here.

Still, the powers that be having their heads in cloud cuckoo land made this daft decision, so I am stuck with having to beg and grovel... and pay cash if I have to. (Well, Paypal anyway.)

Is there anyone out there experiencing a temporary loss of sanity who has a copy of this stamp in good condition and is willing to part with it for some morsels of moolah? Or ~ failing that ~ anyone who would flog me some stamped images? Eh? Pretty please? Eh? Eh?

Does anyone recognise this stamp?

Hi, all.. This gorgeous image was one that I had received in an image swap, ages ago, and I don't recall who it came from. It was cropped for use on this ATC, but I have decided that I NEEEEEED it and would love to track it down.

If you recognise it and you know what it's called or who it's by, please would leave me a comment? I'll send the first person who replies with enough info for me to find it some stamped images from it. (Or if you have it already, I'll send some of my other stamp images.)

Thank you! :o)

UPDATE

Thank you, Brenda, for the info. I have spent hours this afternoon trawling through websites where I thought she might be found... Stamp Francisco, Stampland Chicago, Lost Coast, Third Coast, coast to coast, Split Coast and all points in between, lol!! And then Brenda's message arrived, and with the maker and serial number, I was able to find the name of the stamp through Google... but nowhere that has it available. In desperation, I tried Addicted to Rubber Stamps, and sure enough.. there she was.... discontinued!!! Waaaaahhhhh!! :o(

My last resort is to post a 'Want It Now' post on Ebay, offering cash for the stamp or, failing that, some stamped images.

Fingers crossed.

For all my American visitors..

Flying High..

I am a HEEUUGGEE UB40 fan, particularly Ali Campbell, of course, and treasure my memory of when our eyes locked for a brief moment when we passed on the stairs at the Fighting Cocks in Birmingham one New Year's Eve back in the 80s, at a Solid Vibes gig... when we were both young and pretty!

The new Ali Campbell CD, Flying High, is due out on Monday, but my daughter pre-ordered it for my birthday and it arrived this morning.. Yayyy!! Love the album. There are some fantastic tracks on there.

I have been trying to figure out how to embed You Tube videos on here, so you could get a flavour of the CD, but it's beyond me! I'm afraid you'll have to click on THIS link if you want some big Ali love..

Enjoy!

Birthday Thanks

Hi, all..

Just wanted to thank Allison, Lythan and Ruth for my lovely handcrafted birthday cards! They were totally unexpected, as I've been such an awful blogger in recent months, I don't feel I deserve it!

Thank you so much, ladies. I was really touched. :o)

(Will post some pics next time I get the camera out.)

Auntie's card...

On Sunday, Karen and I drove with my mum and the dawg over to Burton-On-Trent (Branston, to be precise), to take my Aunt out for lunch, and we went to a pub in the village.. The Gate... and had a fab Sunday lunch. Really good, but far too MUCH!! Phew! Talk about stuffed!

Any road up, this is the quick and simple card I made for her in a bit of a rush while Karen was out for her run on Saturday. (Checkout the post below for info about that.)

Pretty straight forward, so I won't insult your intelligence by listing the items, except to mention that I treated myself to a new font for making my own greetings (like this one). The font is called 'Cezanne'. I have always loved this style, so it was worth it. £13 from ITC Fonts. You can try it HERE.

Girl On The Run...

My daughter, Karen, visited me at the weekend, but I was forewarned that she would need to go for a run. And run she did! She is in training for running a 10k race on 12th July. Her charity is the Cambodia Trust. She was inspired to do something when she saw for herself recently the horrors of life out there. For more information, you can visit the Cambodia Trust website HERE.

If you feel moved to sponsor her, follow THIS link, but please don't feel any obligation. I'm just blogging about it because I am proud of her, for both her compassion and her achievement. :o)

Karen in my living room, about to go for her run

... a mere 5k today.

Nice website design guru

A colleague at work has started a business offering smart, simple and inexpensive websites for individuals and start-up businesses. At £125, they're excellent value, and George is a really nice man.. an old-fashioned gentleman, with the greatest Geordie accent! Wa-ay, man!

If you are considering getting a website, you should check him out.. HERE.

Prue's Card

Card for my non-blogging friend, Prue (I know.. she spells it with an 'E' on the end)... Birthday tomorrow. Hope it arrives in time!

Some of it is a bit dejà vu from the previous card, but you will probably get fed up with that look before I do! lol ;o) I luuuurrrvvvveee it!

You wouldn't recognise it under the flourish stamping and Craft Planet glitter glue coating, but the letters are made with K & Co paper, printed using Wordart in MS Word and enlarged. Inked around the edges with dark brown Chalkeyes, then mounted on green Bazzill cs.. also with inky edges. The flourish stamp makes another appearance (or two) on the background.

The sentiment is a Lisa Bearnson font from a CD-Rom that came with a book purchased through QVC some time ago. It looks just like a Dymo label, but I'm not sure you'd get one in that colour!

The butterfly is a Cuttlebugged embossing die that I have chalked, inked and cut out. It looks flat in the photo, but it is shaped and raised off the card.

Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog and left a message. It's lovely to get your feedback. :o) You're a lovely bunch, and it's been wonderful coming over to visit you all as well!

Grunge Butterfly

I am not usually satisfied with my cards, and they have to 'grow on me', but at the risk of seeming immodest, I am really pleased with this one, and keep looking at it! lol ;o) I have always admired the style of our Scandinavian crafting cousins. There's something about that ultra-feminine-but-grungy look that I love, and that's what I was aiming for.

It is for a lady at work who is leaving this week. I know she makes cards, so it had to be something special! I hope she likes it, as this is one I will have trouble parting with!


Products used:

Cezanne font & brown pen
Tim Holtz's distress inks: Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy
Chalk Eyes ink: Creamy Brown
Border stamp from Stempelglede's Grunge Collection
Hero Arts script stamp
Fontwerks harlequin stamp
Inkadinkado flourish stamp
Cream lace
Cuttlebug embossed butterfly
Brown twine
Pearl spray
Paper roses & leaves

The tide recedes..

Sadly, I have had occasion to make a sympathy card for someone I work with who lost their mum last week. I would be in bits, I know, so my heart breaks for her.

I love this poem, and it lends itself so beautifully to this purpose. The first two lines are printed on the front, and the rest of the poem on the inside front of the insert. It's a very quick and simple design, with the shells stamped on a piece of the same crisp, white card (from http://www.madaboutcards.com/), using graduated blues from a Kaleidocolor inkpad and then painted with iridescent Craft Planet glitter glue. The panel is then simply mounted on foam pads.

The tide recedes, but leaves behind

bright seashells on the sand.

The sun goes down, but gentle warmth

still lingers on the land.

The music stops, and yet it echoes on

in sweet refrains...

For every joy that passes,

something beautiful remains.

~ Author unknown ~

Hugs,