Ignacio has worked his magic...

...just look at what he did.

With a bit of techy whizziness...

...the photo of the journal looks much better (one day I will learn how to do stuff like this).

 

However, take a look at these...





 ...one bright image on white CS...

 ...and one muted image on kraft CS. Ignatio has cleverly used my coloured images on the vintage library card digi set. He has also very kindly offered this one as a Freebie for a limited period...

...so if you haven't already had a hop over there to take a look at all the super work done by the DT, you really should go and take a look and you can pick up a Freebie whilst you are there. You can hop over to the Nicecrane blog here..............................................................................

Most of the schools are back...

...and Autumn term is underway.

For some kids it takes them a while to get back into the swing of school and homework after the six week Summer break. So why not give them a hand with a journal that they can note down their homework assignments or their reading lists.

Over at Nicecrane Designs, Ignacio has some fabulous new images and amongst them are these...

...aren't they adorable. You can find "Reading Kids" here.

So with 'back to school' in mind, I had a play with some of these images to see what they looked like.

Colouring onto smooth white CS with alcohol pens gives quite a vibrant effect...

 ...the colours just pop off the page. However, just look at the difference on kraft card...

...I used exactly the same range of colours but see how different the image looks. Much softer and the colours seem more muted.
Here again, change of image but this little chap is coloured on kraft card...

 ...quite a soft, worn look. Whereas, this next little chap...

 ...looks so much brighter on a white CS background. Both images were coloured with exactly the same pen shades but you would be forgiven if you thought otherwise.

This is something that you should keep in mind when colouring. The colour of your background will have a big effect on how your colouring turns out and this is one of the reasons that I print a blank colour chart onto the CS that I normally use so that it gives me a good idea how a shade will look.

For the journal, I used an A5 hardback note book and covered it with a sheet of PP from the DoCrafts Sew Lovely paper stack...

...I thought the paper covered with ruler images was just right. Rather than cut into two sheets of 12x12, I cut one sheet down the middle and covered from the open edge of each cover.
This left the spine of the book bare so I used some abstract washi tape (made by Scotch)...

 ...the washi tape gives a more flexible spine than paper. The image was die-cut using the largest of my Spellbinder scalloped ovals and I 'scruffy' inked around the edge - don't be afraid of lines and patches when inking, sometimes they can be just the effect that works.
A couple of 'fishtail' banners down the front...

...and some black adhesive lettering - one journal good to go.

If you tend to stick with white CS for your colouring, do try different coloured backgrounds. You will be able to create a lot of different looks.

There are lots of super new images available over on the Nicecrane Design website and if you want some inspiration, do hop over to the blog and see what the DT have been up to.................................

Slight glitch...

...in proceedings.

Broadband is not playing nice at the moment and everything is running sooooooooooo slow (took me 25 mins to open the internet this morning - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).

I'll catch up with everyone (and hopefully get some posts sorted) when things start playing nice again........................................................

It must be...

...Autumn.

I don't care what anyone says...

It has to be Autumn - the Spiced Pumpkin Latte has arrived.

Starbucks do two flavours that I adore, one is the Gingerbread latte that normally  arrives with the introduction of the 'Red' cups and starts the countdown to Christmas. The other is the Spiced Pumpkin latte that makes me think of falling leaves, butternut squash soup and Halloween.

So just for a bit of fun, I coloured this digi image last night...

 ...and attached her to a cup 'sleeve'...

 ...ready for my favourite coffee...

...as I said, just a bit of fun.

The mornings are so much darker and the temps are tumbling (at least over night) and although it warms up during the day, there is a heaviness to the heat.

Misty, chilly mornings and overcast days - who cares as long as it stays dry.

Anyhoo...I'm off to nab my Spiced Pumpkin latte - catch you all later...........................................

September arrived...

...but it seems more like October/November.

As September rolled in, so did the chilly mornings and train problems. Two out of three homeward journeys have been seriously disrupted this week resulting in the dreaded 'cattle truck' mode of transport.

The rail operators are particularly bad at keeping passengers 'informed' on our route so folk become frustrated and short tempered...not the best atmosphere for the journey home. All I could think of was ***and the bad weather hasn't even arrived yet***

On a cheerier note, chilly mornings mean toast or better still - CRUMPETS!!!

There really is nothing nicer than hot buttered crumpets...yummy.

As the evenings are starting to draw in, I'm looking forward to the seasonal flavours at Starbucks but it seems they are trying to hold onto Summer for a bit longer as they have just introduced two new fraps for September.

The folk at the Met-office have promised some warmer weather to come but I don't think I'll be tempted to buy any more icy drinks - bring on the Spiced Pumpkin Lattes......................................

Happy Birthday Suzie...

...have a wonderful day.

Today is a special birthday for my friend Suzie (Weasel) - it is one that ends in a zero.

I wasn't able to join her on Saturday at the Eastwood crop as I was picking up stuff from my Sister to take up to my Niece on Sunday...I missed the most amazing cake (sob).

Normally, most of the craft units at Barleylands are closed on a Monday but as it was Bank Holiday Monday, I had asked Andy if I could drop off Suzie's gift. She and another friend had booked a class to do on her actual birthday. So despite the grotty wet weather on Monday I headed over to Barleylands - heartened by the email from Andy that Pinnacles were going to celebrate the Bank Holiday with "Triple Discount" in store for their members.

Before heading over to Barleylands, I had to sort out some wrapping for Suzie's gift...

 ...the makings were gather together on my desk...

 ...a mix of Anita's Glitter stickers, a brown paper carrier, some Craftwork Cards PP & die-cuts and some ribbon.
This was the finished bag...

...a close-up of the tag & bow...

...some of the decoration...

 ...top and...

 ...bottom corners.
The card was one that I made a while ago with one of my Nicecrane digi images...

...and I thought it went perfectly with the gift wrapping.

As I was shopping in Pinnacles, two very cold hands came around my checks from behind - Suzie had also decided to take advantage of the additional discount. So the parcel was retrieved from Andy and after shopping we headed off for lunch and a coffee.

So Suzie had her gifts a day early but it was lovely having a chat and catching up...and getting to see photos of her fabulous birthday cake that Debbie had made.

Hope you have a fabulous morning crafting and have a lovely day....................................................

Are we nearly there yet...

...is how I felt yesterday - and I was the one driving.

My niece Kristy has been living in Germany as her hubby was in the army and that was where he was stationed. Unfortunately, Dan was one of the thousands of service personnel who were made redundant as part of the Government cut-backs to the armed forces.

He was shipped back to the UK to see out his remaining months of duty. The posting was to the Nuneaton area (not far from Birmingham). The local Council have at last allocated them a bungalow to live in and they are in the process of getting it ready so they can move in properly.

Of course, Grandma wanted to go visit. So 'Auntie Toni' had the job of collecting some of Kristy's belongings from her Mum's house...pick up Grandma...drive to Beckwith near Nuneaton.

When Kristy was at Uni in Leicester, I would drive up nearly every month (normally to deliver the famine-relief package put together by her Grandma - I'm sure my Mum thought she would starve without the added supplies LOL). However, since she has been in Germany there has been no need for me to do any long distance driving and as a result, the drive seemed very looooooooooong.

We almost got there without any problems but the change to the Internet directions that Kristy gave me for the last little bit of the journey after leaving the M6, were a little confusing and a telephone call later we were following Dan...we weren't that far away so we did pretty well.

The bungalow is a lovely size and it will be super once they have had a chance to make it their own.

Because they aren't yet living fully in the bungalow we went to a local restaurant for a lovely meal...I forgot to take photos of the lovely main courses but when the sweets arrived, I had to grab my camera...

 ...Kristy & I had these wonderful Mango surprise confections - vanilla ice cream, orange & mango sorbet, lime cooley, mango sauce and wafer tubes - yummy...

 ...whilst Grandma had a vanilla ice cream and orange sorbet mix...

 ...I think she enjoyed it.
Kristy certainly enjoyed her sweet...

...although I'm sure you would never have guessed LOL.

If you are wondering where Dan was whilst we were tucking in - he had to go to work (poor thing). Luckily he has managed to find a job and he is hoping that he will settle in to this new way of life fairly quickly.

The weather was beautiful so there were no problems with the journey there or back other than a few stretches of road works that slowed things down. However, it is such a long time since I did a 'there & back' in a day long journey, my hands were complaining this morning and it took a while to get my fingers moving (obviously too long holding the steering wheel).

I wish Kristy and Dan all the best in their new home and wonder when Grandma will want to visit again..................................................................