CDACPC14 and...

...lots of lovely candy to play with.

Lovely Claire had some blog candy up for grabs to celebrate the number of followers she now has and I was lucky enough to be the very lucky winner **happy dance**
The parcel would have been with me yesterday if the Postie hadn't have been late - instead I was left a card and had to collect it this morning but wow...what a fab load of goodies.
Claire also included this beautiful card - isn't it just fabulous.
There is such a wonderful aray of stuff - I keep finding other bits that I've missed.
Papers, card blanks, blooms, loads of lovely ribbons, die-cuts, doilies, all sorts of charms and loads of other bits & pieces...Claire it is wonderful - thank you so very much.
I used one of the card blanks to mount a digi image that I had coloured for the latest CDAC progressive challenge.
The image is a digi provided by "Ike's Art" for the current challenge and is a basket of geraniums. I used the second largest xCut scalloped circle die to cut the image out and then mounted it onto the printed card blank.

I'm not sure that I'll get much crafting done over the weekend as I'm over at Mum's tomorrow and at the moment I'm trying not to turn the heating up despite it looking so dull, grey and chilly outside.

Think I'll go and grab a nice hot coffee and snuggle up with a book on the sofa..............................................

Will there be snow...

...for Easter?

After what has been generally a lovely week - apart from early morning and late afternoon - those lovely folk who forecast the weather "rollseyes" are saying that parts of the UK could see more snow over the next week or so.
The temps for this weekend are set to be about half of what they have been during the week and whilst I appreciate that this brings them back in line with what should be for this time of year, I really don't want to be bundling up again.

When you see the spring flowers breaking through and the blossom on the trees you want to believe that warmer days are here. What you don't want is to be wandering around in tee-shirts one day and waking up to mounds of snow the next.

Let's hope that the threat of snow is just that and we can look forward to a lovely Easter weekend (I won't be packing away the thermals just yet though LOL).................................................

"You hold the key...

...to my Heart".

I thought that was the perfect title for my completed wall hanging, especially as one of the PPs in this Kaisercraft range has locks & keys on it and there are also key embellishments.
I showed you all a peek on my desk a few posts ago but here it is finished. Sorry this photo isn't wonderful but I couldn't get the whole thing in easily without losing much of the detail.
I went with the sepia photo idea and picked 4 photos from my niece's wedding. I also kept the colour choice limited to shades of brown.
I have used a variety of blooms as embellishments along with a selection of torn mulberry paper.
Some sequins set in Glossy Accents worked rather well and I made use of a couple of my Martha Stewart punches - the doily edge border and the daisy style trim.
The final panel holds what is probably my favourite photo from the wedding (I have scrapped this picture a couple of times) so I didn't want too much fussiness - there is just the single bloom and a key.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out - now I just need to decide where I'm going to hang it..............................................

When is a tree...

...not a tree?

When it is part of this...
...an arrangement of steel and titanium trees.

It lines the main road that devides the old shopping precinct in Stratford from the new Westfield shopping centre...
...which is located to the rear of the station (you can see part of it in the top lefthand corner).

I tried to see just how much I could capture in a photo from my office window as there are far too many obstructions down at street level.
This piece of 'art' has cost the taxpayer millions of £ and they actually cut down a lovely row of trees to make way for it. What's more, although this is supposed to represent trees it is called "The shoal" - go figure LOL.................................

You'll never guess...

...another 'pen storage' post LOL

My name's Toni and I'm addicted to pens...there, I've said it - I love pens. However, of all my lovely pen collections I still favour my Copics and until this weekend this is how they 'lived' by the side of my sofa...
...the plastic storage boxes that the 'sets' are sold in - that can be bought empty by those who have collected their pens on an individual basis. This was how I stored my Copics and I was perfectly happy with the fact that I could organise them how I wanted and be able to see each colour easily. Perfectly happy until for the second time in as many days, the box I had on the sofa by my side tipped over resulting in a scrabble to try and stop them all falling out of the box - failed!!!

The pens went on the floor, down the back of the cushions...all over the place.

Until now my only concern had been that I might crack the boxes...
...after all, they are only clear, thin perspex. So now my boxes are empty.

This is where my pens are now living...
...padded, bouncable (???) wallets.
I have to say, I'm still not convinced...I will have to work with them like this for a while to see how I get on. At least each pen is held securely so won't be leaping out all over the place.

The little wallet is just to store my spare blenders & skintones - the colours that you always run out of at the most inappropriate times.

The wallets look neat & tidy, the pens slide in and out easily when you want them and they won't break when transporting them to classes, crops etc.

The problem is, we become creatures of habit...I was used to where each colour lived and I knew where to locate my favourites - for the moment, I have to scan along the rows to try and work out where they are. I'm sure I'll get used to it and I know I won't be spilling them everywhere. I suppose it will just take a bit of getting used to..............................................

Lovely giveaway...

...over at the Shabby Art Boutique.

The lovely Kerryanne English has two giveaways over on her blog - one for her Australian followers and one for those of us further afield.
Do take the time to pop over there and have a look at all her wonderful creations - she has some really beautiful ideas for Easter.

Go on, hop over and visit Kerryanne - you know you want to......................

Why do batteries...

...always choose the wrong moment to run out?

Doesn't it always happen...just when you want to catch that special shot or when you only have a few minutes to take pics that you want to post on your blog...the batteries die.

That's what happened to me when I wanted to show you the lovely candy I received from Doreen (Scrapbookertink).
Isn't this a fabulous collection of trims, blooms and papers - thank you so much.

I also wanted to show you a work in progress...
...that started out as a bare Kaiser craft mini album and I am in the process of making another wall hanging. The panel you can see has a row of sequins that have been attached using Glossy Accents - I rather like the effect this gives.

I'm still in two minds as to whether I will use this to display some coloured images (I have some Nellie Snellen stamps to play with) or whether I use it to display some of Kristy's wedding photos, printed in sepia. Not sure.

It is Pinnacle Crafts Members 30% off weekend this weekend so guess where I'm going to be.....................................

Something new...

...to play with.

Yesterday I came across these...
...Die Cut Silhouette Stickers by Katy Sue Designs. They are from a range of items designed for use in cardmaking, home decor, scrapbooking etc.
There are four designs - Trees, Vines & Flowers, Wish Sentiments and Fairies.
I bought a set of each to have a play around with and this was a very quick & easy notecard that I came up with...
...I haven't used the sentiments yet but they are really lovely.

Now I don't normally go for stickers but these were very pretty and I can see a use for them but better still - they do clear stamps in these designs and scenic papers that are just lovely.

It is 30% weekend this coming weekover at Pinnacle Crafts and I think I'll be adding a few of these other goodies to my stash................................................

May the luck...

...of the Irish be with you.
Happy St Patrick's Day..............................

CDAC13...

...is the latest Progressive Challenge stage.

The suggested theme is Springtime.

I used the digi flower design supplied by 'Glitterbabe' for the current challenge.
I cut the image out after colouring with my Copic pens and used it on some Hunkydory patterned CS.
As you can see, the image has been curled to give it more depth and to make it stand out from the bouquet that is printed on the CS.

I nearly forgot this challenge as time has been flying past...can you believe we are half-way through March already.....................................

Another Storage idea...

...thanks to Andy at Pinnacle Crafts.

Today Andy was teaching a "Tim Holtz" style workshop and he had come up with a storage idea - crafters never have enough storage and this one gave folk a chance to play with inks, paints, inkpads and stuff that allows you to get nice and messy.

Who would think that starting with some of this stuff...
...greyboard/chipboard (the name very much depends on where you are in the world) - you know, the sort of stuff that is used at the back of notepads - and a bit of mucky playing, you could end up with this...
...a nifty little storage box.

Andy's one had been made to hold reels of ribbons and he had punched holes through the centre of the cogs to feed the ribbons through - my reels are a tad too big for this box but I think I'll make some card bobbins to hold some of my loose lengths of ribbon.
We got to play with a number of techniques, one of which was heat embossing and resist colouring. The stamped image was stamped onto some greyboard with Versamark and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I used a mix of blues from the Ranger Distress ink pads (Broken china, stormy sky, weathered wood and chipped sapphire) and then used Picket fence Distress stain to 'knock back' the colour. A bit of Aged mahogany round the edge finished the label. The corners were shaped with a Cropadile corner chomper (Deco) to give it a bit of interest.
All the panels were coloured, inside & out, with paint daubbers (Denim, Aqua, Pearl) and the Picket fence 'stain' was used again. The corners of the box were reinforced with pieces of card that had been coloured using alcohol inks on glossy card or distress ink pads on matt card.
The cogs were cut using the Tim Holtz Sizzix die and these were also coloured using aqua & pearl paint or picket fence stain. The edges were brushed with a black soot distress ink pad.
It was another one of Andy's wonderful classes. Although he shows you the techniques the choice of colours and how you decorate your items is always left to you to play with. As a result, today's class ended up with 13 ladies leaving with very different looking storage boxes. Thank you Andy for a fabulous day..................................

Do you love...

...your Magnolia stamps?

Well if you do there is a new Challenge site that launched its first challenge today - Midweek Magnolias.
The first challenge is themed 'Hello' and the cards must have a sentiment on them.

This new site will launch a new challenge every wednesday, so if you are interested, why not hop over there and have a look.....................................

What horrid...

...weather we are having.

(Pictures are from the Internet)

Am I the only one who is getting fed-up with the grotty weather we have been having? We are now into March and we are still getting...
...dull, damp cold days. Even a bit of sunshine would be an improvement.
It's not as if I'm expecting...
...although that would be very nice.
I would be more than happy with...
...a bit of sun and some warmer temps.

However, things don't look too promising here. Everytime the temps start to rise they plummet again making it very difficult to know how to dress for the best.

I know the UK isn't the only place having this roller-coaster of a weather system. Lynn Stevens (Trash to Treasure Art) in the USA was blogging about their Spring-like weather only a few days ago...not long after her post she woke up to snow - how contrairy is that.

The weather forecasters are saying that we need rain for a good three months to build up water levels as parts of the UK are technically suffering drought conditions but I really don't think I can face this horrid drizzle for that length of time - roll on some warm sunny weather - PLEASE!!!........................

New Toys...

...a couple of new clear stamps.

I was lucky enough to be given these two new Letraset stamps...
...unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to play with them yet.

If you are wondering what the pen is doing in the photo - I placed it there to give you an idea of size. These stamps are bigger than a lot of clear stamps that are currently on the market so they are perfect for playing with your shading techniques.

If you want to see what these stamps look like once coloured, pop over to 'Going Buggy' - the blog belonging to Enfys. She has made a couple of beautiful cards using these new images...do drop by and pay her a visit.

I have so many things that I need to be doing at the moment but I keep looking at these stamps and itching to get them inky. I really must be good but who knows how long that will last LOL........................................

Pens, Pens and...

...soon to be more pens LOL

Before Christmas, the lovely Kerryanne English over at the Shabby Art Boutique
had the most fabulous Candy and I was lucky enough to win it - A Visa Gift card loaded with 100 Australian dollars - how lucky was that!

Never having used one of these before I read the leaflet carefully as to the conditions of use and thought I would enquire at a few retailers whether they accepted them; or not. I have to say, some very big Highstreet names were not at all helpful. I didn't want to queue somewhere only to find the card wouldn't work there - how awful would that be (especially if I didn't have an alternative means of paying for the item).

I didn't want to fritter away this wonderful gift and I didn't want to find myself with an expired card...that would have been such a waste.

I had mentioned (moaned) about this to Andy at Pinnacle Crafts and he said that he would be more than happy to try the card for me.

Well you all know me and my fondness (**obsession**) for pens...the lovely folk at Pinnacles have offered Club members the chance to pre-order and get their 30% Club members weekend saving on the new Tim Holtz Distress Markers. So yesterday, Andy played with the till and it worked...at the end of March/beginning of April, I will have my new pens. A very apt purchase as Kerryanne makes lovely shabby/distressed items - do take a look at her lovely blog.

A great big thank you to Kerryanne for her very generous candy and a big thank you to Andy for trying the card for me **one very happy little bunny here**..........................................................

A work in progress...

...getting there slowly.

Gosh, I didn't realise it would take so long putting stickers on my pens and colouring them. Mind you, that isn't the only thing that has taken ages...I have hunted high & low to get some small round white sticky labels to put on the ends of my pens but you would think I was searching for gold-dust. Only one store had round stickers but they were all bright 'glow-in-the-dark' type colours so I resorted to hole reinforcers.
Coming along isn't it.

I'm having second thoughts about putting the Aquamarkers in here as well. They are currently in two Letraset wallets and it seems a waste to take them out. I think I'll leave them where they are for the time being.

I need to get a few Flexmarkers this weekend - that side of the box is looking too empty for my liking LOL..................................

Happy St David's Day...

...even the sun has come out to celebrate.
For those of you celebrating your Saint's day, have a wonderful time.

I would also like to take a moment to welcome my new followers...it is always lovely to have new folk drop by and so wonderful when they decide to come back. Thank you for taking a liking to my little bit of cyberspace..........................