Has The Fat Man Been Yet?

Hope you are having a great Saturday so far. I'm moving into the realisation that my week off from work is fast coming to an end however it pays for the craft stuff I suppose.

This is my entry for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge - I can't remember the last time I entered this challenge. The theme this week is white on white - that's everything WHITE papers, WHITE embellishments the only colour should be on the image.




I've use a little doggy image from the Christmas Critters set, coloured with Whispers pens and a waterbrush with a little glitter on his hat. The sentiment is computer generated and I've cut a series of layers using my Nestabilites. The whole card has been embossed with snowflakes and I've punched some more snowflakes using a Fiskars punch on which I've stuck some card candy dots.

I think I'll continue with yesterdays Christmas card production line and then psyche myself up for the horror that is John and Edward on the X Factor - you can't really blame them I suppose they should be admired for the way they handle the derision. However they should never have been put there in the first place - shame on you Louis - what were you thinking?

Have a great weekend and thanks for looking!



PS I've just noticed the glaring error on the word circle - never mind I'll sort it later!

Recycle Queen

No time to fix and re-enter the PB Challenge however, I've recycled the card and I think I like this one best - everything happens for reason - this one could be making its way to the production line soon.

Tartan Christmas

Boo-hoo it's the last day of my holiday from work although...it will soon be the weekend...woo-hoo! This is the week when I normally have a big Christmas card making frenzy however I had quite a few cards to make for other people so I've only managed to make one Christmas card for me. I've decided the theme this year will be tartan so without further ado here's a very plain but funky little Christmas card.




The image is from Pink Petticoat and I have paper pieced the image using tartan DP which fits in rather nicely with the challenge over on Colour Create ...to make something with colour on the image only. I love lots of white on a card which excludes me from entering some challenges because the theme would mean a very cluttered card which is so not me.

What's happening here - it's a tartan forest - 15 down and umpteen to go.






Thanks for looking!

Hey Good Lookin' What Ya Got Cookin'?

Still enjoying being off work doing the things I like to do. Today I'm entering the Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge which is to create a Kitchen/Cooking project. It's the first Christmas card I've made for myself this week and it will be sent to a former colleague who, like me, enjoys cooking.



I've cut the apron shape freehand. The DP is a free download from Shabby Princess (and best of all it was from the growing mountain of scraps), which I've stitched around the outside. The buttons, kitchen tools and ribbon are from my stash and the recipients name has been made using the Sizzix Slobbery Kiss die.

In keeping with the cooking theme I thought I'd share with you a little recipe I made this week. I'm not really a baker but this is really delicious with a cuppa... have a go and enjoy.

DATE AND WALNUT LOAF

Ingredients
8oz block dates, cut into small chunks
Pinch baking soda
¼ pt boiling water
3oz unsalted butter
3oz caster sugar
1 egg
8oz self-raising flour
3oz walnuts, roughly chopped

Preparation

Add boiling water to dates with baking soda. Stir and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Stir in flour and nuts and then the dates.

Place in a greased and lined loaf tin (or use a silicon tin they are fantastic) and bake at 180C for 50 minutes.

Wrap in foil and keep for at least a day before cutting. Serve spread thickly with butter.

Thanks for looking!

G is for...Green

Before I move onto the card did you see James May's Toy Stories over on BBC2 last night? The idea is to wean modern kids off of their gadgets and onto traditional type toys. Last night it was all about Airfix models and at first none of the kids were very enthused but slowly slowly catchy monkey...they eventually enjoyed the experience of creating something...there is hope for the future! I'm looking forward to next week when the theme is Plasticine remember that?

Moving onto the ABC Challenge this week the theme is Green. It also qualifies for the Handful of Stamps Challenge which is layering.

My little entry features Pink Petticoat DP in my new favourite colour Sage. The sentiments have been computer generated and with liberal use of my Nestabilities, a little silver lurex ribbon and bow and a little heart shaped bling that's it - clean and simple.



Thanks for looking!

Spots and Stripes - My Favourite!

This week over on Papertake Weekly the theme is spots and stripes... in the words of old Brucie... my favourite. The card also qualifies for the One Stop Craft Challenge which is celebration.

I've note entered PTW or any other challenges in a while as I said in a previous post the weekend weather has been not too bad here recently so we've been making the most of it. Wish I could say the same for today however it's dreich and dark - a perfect day for crafting if not for photographing the result.



The papers are a free download from Shabby Princess and the number, hearts, stars, letter A and sentiment have been cut using my Cricut. The white on black letters have been computer generated. A little bow and some bling and that's it.

Thanks for looking!

Hurrah!

...I've got a week off work - brilliant! Yesterday was spent shopping, eating out and going to the pictures. We went to see the very fabulous new 3D Pixar movie 'Up' - a tale of 78 year old Carl Fredricksen's adventures in the company of a little Wilderness Explorer named Russell. The film starts very slowly with a retrospective look at the old man's life as if in a silent movie. From a little boy, when he meets the love of his life Ellie, marries her, shares her dreams of travelling to Paradise Falls in South America which due to the pressures of life never materialise, to the point where Ellie dies and Carl finds himself alone. Without giving too much of the story away grumpy Carl then meets over enthusiastic Russell and the two find themselves experiencing amazing adventures and an unlikely friendship. 'Up' is a fantastic film which is funny, sad, uplifting and thought provoking - if you get the chance go see it whatever your age. There's the added bonus of the 3D glasses which will hide your teary eyes.

Today has been all about fitting my new sofa covers purchased yesterday and having a bit of a wash and brush up - I'm feeling very righteous!

Time for a little challenge now and this one is for the Creative Inspirations Challenge which is to create a special card or project with numbers on it.



This is for a little girl called Ava who will soon be two. The gingham paper was free from a magazine and the image is from Pink Petticoat. Ava's name and age have been cut using my Cricut. This is also my first attempt at a step stair card which has turned out not too badly even though I say so myself.

Thanks for looking!

F is for...Flying

Hope you're having a great weekend. I've not been entering challenges in a while as the weekend weather has been good recently so we've been making the most of it. Today I popped over to the ABC Challenge - F is for...Flying, 365 Cards and Flutterby Wednesday and decided to have a go at a hat-trick. I've used the Creative Expressions butterfly stamp again and embossed it in silver, the DP is from Pink Petticoat and the sentiment is from Elegant Wordart. I've added a few gems to the butterfly and that's it. The sentiment is very beautiful 'I love you more today than yesterday but less than tomorrow' which I wanted to be the star attraction for this anniversary card.

Thanks for looking!



PS Apologies for the poor photography.