WOYWW - 29 February 2012

It seems so strange to be writing 29th February - it is a date that you don't really think about as it only happens once every 4 years.

Just imagine if your birthday happens to fall on 29 February - would you choose to celebrate once ever 4 years or pick a Un-Birthday date to use instead? Me, I think I would go for the Un-Birthday option!

At the moment I can't believe how quick time is just flying by, last Wednesday only seems a couple of days away and not 7!  Well it is time to visit Julia at Stamping Ground to have a nosey look around the craft desks of the world.

During my post last Wednesday (here) I mentioned about my Inspiration Book, and I have taken some pictures and I did a post over the weekend, you can see it here.  In addition I had so many lovely comments about my Quilled butterflies, I decided to do a How To... to give you all the instructions to create them.

Now back to my desk this week... I have been trying to create a Mini Book from card blanks, thanks to a post I found on the Scrapping Mojo Blog.  I printed out the instructions and added them to my Inspiration Book, and when looking through last night I decided to have a play.

With the covers closed

With the covers open you can see the main pages (3 cards glued back to back)

I still have to glue the cards that will create the covers onto the main pages.  I'm not even sure what I will use the mini-book for.  I just wanted to have a play :)

Little Boy with his Balloon

I created this card to meet of 2 challenges.

Don't Scrap It - Less is More
It's a Man Thing - Sweet Stampin' Challenge

I have used a part sheet of blue Cardstock and found a odd cut of white to stamp this image on to (I think the image was free with a magazine at some point in time). The image was then coloured using my ProMarkers & cut out using an oval die.

The Brown card stock is also a left over piece.  As for the 'Baker's Twine, it was also an off cut.

How To... Create a Quilled Butterfly

It has been a while since I created a How To... so I thought it was about time that I created another one.  Following many comments about my Quilled Butterflies I decided to use this How To... to show you all how easy they are to create.

I also have a second motive, I could not find the instructions that I used in the first place, so I needed to write down them while I could remember!!!!

So here goes...

You Will Need:
Glue Pen
Pinflair Glue (or Silicon Gel)
Quilling Tool
Quilling Paper - 2 x 25cm, 2 x 20cm, 1 x 10cm & 2 x 5cm

Curl one of the 25cm lengths around the quilling tool & put a dot of Glue at the end to hold it together.  Repeat with the second length of 25cm; both 20cm lengths & the 10cm Length.

Curl 3/4 of the 5cm length around the quilling tool.  Repeat with the second 5cm length

You will now have 5 circles & 2 part curled lengths of paper

Take the 10cm length and gently squeese both ends

I would suggest that you now put the Butterfly on a non-stick surface (I have used a bit of clear plastic packaging) so that you don't end up with the butterfly stuck to the desk or scrap paper!

Add glue wither side at one end of the 10cm length and attach the two 5cm strips

Put a small amount of Pinflair Glue on either side of the 10cm length, this will be used to hold the wings in position

Taking each of the 25cm lengths gently squeeze one end to create a tear drop shape

Repeat for both of the 20cm lengths

Now place the 20cm lengths to create the bottom pair of wings.

You can repeat this process as many times as you want with what ever colours you want to create a large kaleidoscope of butterflies - Yes, a group of Butterflies is really called a kaleidoscope.

I Was Trying To Be Good...

As I am going to the NEC next month I decided that this month I needed to save a bit of money and not purchase much in the way of crafting goodies.

I was being good (Honest!) until I picked up Issue 102 of Card & Papercraft magazine, there on page 53 was an advert for Stampaddicts

Featuring a sweet looking trio of owls (Hear No, See No & Speak No) which I just could not resist!  They feature in the 'Owl Be Yours' set of stamps.

Completed Butterfly Card

Last week I had a go at Quilling & found that I could create Butterflies, I had also created this card using the Butterfly Tree stamp from Little Claire Designs.  The card was not quite finished, but I did not really know what to add to finish it - I just hate that feeling don't you????

Well when I had created 1 butterfly, I created a second & added them to the card. Something so simple as curled strips of paper really finished this card of & I was pleased with the finished card.

Don't Panic Mrs T...

Over the last couple of days I have been fighting my anxiety.

The trigger for this attack was not one thing, but a number of things happening over the last month or so building up slowly.

One thing just tipped my anxiety levels over the edge. The good news was that although I had a case of killer butterflies, I did not have a full panic attack.

I was lucky that I was able to identify what was going on and could then start to work out what had caused this attack & work to calm down.

Yes it was a bit scary especially as I have not had any butterflies for a long while. However, I am now back in control of the Butterflies, and although they are misbehaving occasionally it is nowhere near as bad as it was on Thursday!

This just makes me realise how lucky I am to have the support of my DH & my Boss has been great too.

I am also thankful that over the years I have been able to develop a set of strategies that work for me. This has enabled me to identify the problem and work to get my anxiety under control.

My Inspiration Book

Last week on WOYWW I mentioned that I had some bits to add to my Inspiration Book, a couple of people wanted to know what my book looked like.  Well I finally got around to taking a couple of pictures.

It is basically a A5 hard back note book, in which I keep bits that I have found in various magazines (or sometimes printed out from the internet) which I liked and would like to try... at some point in time.



Book Cover



On the left is instructions to create a Twisted Easel Card, & on the right is a advert for a website selling stamps (I liked the look of some of the stamps featured)

On the right is a card that I liked the layout of, & on the left is another card that I liked, this time I also kept the instructions for the creating the card.

I hope that this might have given you some 'Inspiration' of your own.  So when I am looking for a new technique to try, all I need to do is get out my Inspiration Book and see what takes my fancy :-)

WOYWW - 22 February 2012

Wednesdays are now something to look forward to with the weekly visit to the Workdesks of other craftaholics (Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday)... Pop along & visit Julia at Stamping Ground, sit down with a cuppa and have a look around a wide selection of creative workdesks.

As for this week here is mine...

This is actually what my desk looked like when I had finished last night, on the right are a number of bits cut out from a selection of card magazines (included in the pile are Mother's Day Quotes, Techniques & examples of cards that I like the look of) these will be added to my inspiration book - I really must get around to doing a post on this book as it has been mentioned several times.

On the left is a open copy of the 'Lets Make Cards' magazine from last month, the magazine came with a quilling tool & papers, so I decided to follow the instructions and have a go.  I had created a card using the Little Claire Designs 'Butterfly Tree' stamp, but the card needed 'something' else to finish it off.  So I though that I would have a go a creating 2 butterflies.  The plan is to then put them at the bottom of the card.

So that is the content of my Workdesk this week.  I'm off to have a look around at other desks.

Flower Girl

I had a phone call on Sunday from my Dad, asking if I could make a card for their next door neighbour who has been diagnosed with Cancer.  This card is what I came up with, Dad asked if it could include her name on the front.

I have used a Lili of the Valley stamp coloured with my ProMarkers (the flowers have 'Glossy Accients' added to give them a bit of dimension).

After doing a search online for inspirational quotes I came across this one which I will be printing on the insert...

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." (Henri Matisse)

I am entering this card in the I Love ProMarkers challenge 'Nature' - I hope that the flowers count :-}

Edited: Oh No... I'm too late, the challenge has already closed for this week :-{  

Never mind it is the thought that counts & I really do like this card!

Less is More - Die Cuts (2)

This week the theme over at the Less is More challenge Blog is:

Punches or Die Cuts

I found that I had created a couple of cards for this challenge, but then when taking the photos to upload realised that they did not meet the 'Less is More' idea :-(

So out of 4 cards I am only uploading 2 for this challenge.  This is the second...

For this card I tried something different, using the pink paper I added a strip down the middle of the card and then trimmed about 1.5cm off the right hand edge of the card.  Adding another strip of pink paper on the inside of the card so that you could see it when the card was closed.

The wavy edge on the paper & card was achieved by using one of the blades from my new Woodware Trimmer.

I then topped the card off with a die cut oval featuring 2 owls, coloured using my promarkers.

Less is more - Die Cut (1)

This week the theme over at the Less is More challenge Blog is:

Punches or Die Cuts

I found that I had created a couple of cards for this challenge, but then when taking the photos to upload realised that they did not meet the 'Less is More' idea :-(
So out of 4 cards I am only uploading 2 for this challenge.  This is the first...

Using a Car cut using my Cricut & a 2nd die cut to hold the sentiment. 

I hope that there is enough 'White' space for this to qualify :-}

Wednesday Evening Crop

I'm running a bit behind with my pictures at the moment, and I have only just photographed the 3 pages I completed last Wednesday evening at our local Crop in Lincoln.

All 3 pages are for my nephews album and as he is Danish the journalling is in both English & Danish.

Pirate Toast - Page 1

Pirate Toast - Page 2

I Wish...

I also have 3 more pages nearly finished, I just need to find the right embellishments!! They are one of those pages that you know what you want when you see it... I just have to start looking through my stash to find the right 'IT' :-)

Eddie Stobart Spotting

I have mentioned before that I have joined the Eddie Stobart Club. Over the years when travelling around the UK the call of "EDDIE" can often be heard, I had always said that it would be nice to find out how many names have been used on the various Eddie Stobart cabs over the years.

However the only way to get a full list of past & present names is to become a member - so I finally got around to joining!!

I was amazed to find that "Helen Ann" was already in use, the bad news is that she went out of service on 1 January 2012 :-( and I was never able to see 'my' Eddie.

Recently DH & I visited the Newark Depot, it was really just a way to get a number of Eddie spots in a short space of time.

We arrived and parked out of the way of the incoming & outgoing lorries.  As DH is a keen photographer he said that he would take photos of the various lorries for me (the Club Stobart web site has the ability for you to upload photos & many are missing).

I must say that I was impressed with the attitude of all of the drivers we saw, as soon as they noticed that we had a camera they all slowed down to allow DH to take a photo!

Before we went to the Depot we had stopped at McDonalds to get a Cuppa... we were sat in the car drinking when a Eddie driver pulled alongside to speak to us!!!  Well, I was expecting to be told that we could not park on the road outside the Depot - but I was wrong!!!

This driver wanted to know where Eddie Spotters post their photos, as his daughter had never seen a photo of him driving an Eddie lorry.  Sadly he was not one of the drivers we had seen come in so we could not really help. 

While talking to the driver he mentioned about the new trailers celebrating Rugby Super League, there will be 14 different designs on 100 trailers.  While at Newark we saw 3 different designs & in just over 1 hour I was able to add another 19 Eddies to my Spotter List :-)

For anyone not in the UK, Eddie Stobart is a big haulage company with approx 2,250 trucks on the roads of the UK.

A Lovely Time at LLinda's

As I mentioned on Wednesday I was taking a trip to LLinda's Card & Crafts for another workshop... this time the workshop was 'Take a Set of Stamps' looking at different ways to use stamps.

During the workshop we completed 3 cards, so I thought that I would share them with you all.  All were completed using the same set of stamps from Woodware (sorry I don't know the name of the set):

Technique used: stamping onto patterned paper & heat embossed using clear embossing powder.

Technique used: Fantasy Film & Fibres.

Technique used: Stamping onto glossy card & heat embossing with clear powder, colouring with Sakura Gel Pens (painting with water). centre embellishment using Shrink Plastic.

Once again we had an amazing afternoon of creativity.  I think that my favourite card was the last one, using the Sakura Gel pens to paint with - the colours were so softer than using just the pen on its own!

The bad news was that after the workshop I just had to buy some more bits...

My new purchases include: Shrink Plastic, 'Twist' blade for my Woodware Trimmer, another tube of Collall glue & yet another set of die cut templates 

I can't wait until the next workshop... I don't have any booked at the moment as Linda is due to have an operation on her foot and is not yet sure how long she will be off her feet for. 

But just to keep me going I have put my name down for a full day workshop using stamps from the 'Creative Stamping' magazine.  I now have to be patient (not my best characteristic LOL) and wait for an email with the date.

WOYWW - 15 February 2012

It's Wednesday again, it is 9.55am & I'm at home!!!!  This means that I will have some time to check out the great collection of work spaces at the Stamping Ground Blog for Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

I have a days annual leave for today and DH has gone to the Hospital for an X-Ray (to check that the kidney stones have gone).  So I'm home alone :-)

This week my workdesk is a bit of a mess (by my standards)!

Ok, so what is going on... I found a stack of Lili of the Valley sheets that came free with one of the magazines a while ago & decided to have a colour with my ProMarkers, trying out a couple of techniques I found on You Tube.  I was pleased with the results (you can just see a little girl in a yellow dress in the bottom left corner of the desk).

When at my last workshop at LLinda's Card & Craft shop in Laneham, Notts I found this great Spellbinders Impressabilities 'thing' called Butterflies and I just HAD to have it!!!! So I have spent some time last night & this morning playing and using the embossed/debossed impressions with Distress Inks to create cards.

Now I am just trying to decide if to leave it as it is or put a 'topper' or sentiment on top?????  Any suggestions would be great.

I only have this morning at home before going back to LLindas for another workshop (this time 'Take a Set of Stamps' looking at different ways to use stamps) and I can't wait.  I'm then off into Lincoln this evening for a Scrapbook Crop!  So by the time I get home I think I will need to go back to work for a rest... it can be so hard work having a day off.

Well once I have posted this I'm off for a look around other desks.

Happy WOYWW ;-)

Liebster Blog Award

I would like to say a big thank you to Karen who has nominated me for the Liebster Blog award.

The Liebster Award is given to smaller bloggers who have 200 or less followers in the hope it will bring them new followers and friends.  

The tradition is that it is then passed on to five other blogs to help them too.  

If you want to accept the award the steps are:

1.  Link back to the persons blog who gave you the award and thank them. - Done
2.  Post the award on your blog. - Done
3.  Give the award to five fellow bloggers who inspire you. - Done
Deborah's Gems
Rainbow Days
CardzbyClaire
My World... Sort Of...
Crafting Heaven
4.  Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know. - Done

Seeing Stripes

Once again I have been able to create 1 Card for 2 challenges - this does not happen very often, so I am pleased when it does.

This card was created with plain white card stock, I used a stamp to create the Zebra Striped Boarder on the right and then a stamp featuring Zebra along the bottom. A green ProMarker was used to give the grass a bit of colour.

The 2 challenges are:

Less is More - One Layer Card with Stripes
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Clean And Simple (CAS)

Valentines Day

I really hope that Blogger does not misbehave on this post!

I have teased you with a little bit of DH Valentine Card & now that the big day is here I can show you all the whole card.

The little clip that you saw was the join of 2 hearts, I also added a red glitter 'I Do' & single heart.  The bottom boarder was cut from red parchment using one of the cartridges from the Woodware Boarder Punch system.

A Figment of My Imagination

Was it my imagination or have Mr & Mrs Frosty made an escape???

This morning when I looked out of the window I found 2 small piles of snow where Mr & Mrs Frosty were sat last night.

Missing... Mr & Mrs Frosty

If anyone sees them please let me know LOL :-)

Heat Wave

I really don' know what is happening with the weather at the moment...

Yesterday DH & I drove to Cambridge for the Cambs Family History Society Meeting and on the way down the lowest temperature was -14oC and the highest was -3oC!!

Today we went to Tesco and the temperature on the car said +8oC.

Now as far as I am concerned that is good news, I don't like the cold! But for Mr & Mrs Frosty that is bad news! They love the cold and this mini heat wave is getting to them & causing their health to decline very fast LOL.

This is the latest picture of the couple...

I'm not sure if you can see from this picture, but Mrs Frosty (in the front) is panicing so much so I think she is about to loose her head!

Mr & Mrs Frosty

Just to give you an update on Mr & Mrs Frosty.

Both have suffered with health problems since Sunday... However the are both still in the land of the living (or should that be frozen?).

They are now 5 days old, both Mr & Mrs have new coats for the cold weather (courtesy of the Snow yesterday evening).

10 Things - February 2012

Once again it is the 10th of the Month and time to join Shimelle Laine over on her blog for '10 Things'...

This month I decided to use Music for my inspiration.  So I present my list of 10 Songs which hold a special meaning for me:

1.   "Annie's Song" - Recorded & Written by John Denver Annie's Song reached Number 1 in the UK Chart in 1974.  I have always loved the lyrics to this song and although many artists have recorded it over the years I still like the original version.

2.    "Grandad" - Written by Herbie Flowers & sung by Clive Dunn, this song was another UK Number 1 in January 1971 (for 3 weeks!).  At Primary school I was in the school choir and one of the songs I really remember was Grandad, this was performed for the local Over 60's group.  I felt so proud standing on stage singing this song to My Grandad!

3.    "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was a Number 1 hit in 1984.  The song was written by Bob Geldof & Midge Ure to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia.  I can vividly remember this record being released and on the last day of school term before Christmas we had it playing & we were all singing & dancing, some of the class even started dancing on the tables!!!!!

4.    "What a Wonderful World" - Written by Bob Thiele & George David Weiss, this song has been recorded many times by different artists. However I think that the best version was the 1st recorded by Louis Armstong in 1968.  When DH & were organising our wedding we decided to get married in a Registry Office rather than a Church, we were given a list of songs to be played as I walked in & as we left as Husband & Wife.  As I was entering we remained traditional (Here Comes The Bride) but we wanted something different/meaningful for when we left.  The list of possible records was a long one, however we both quickly decided that 'What a Wonderful World' sung by Louis Armstong was the one!  This became 'Our Song' :-)

5. "I Have A Dream" was released by the amazing ABBA (written by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus) in 1979 but only reached Number 2 in the UK Charts.  DH & I have been to see Mamma Mia! the musical 3 times (and would go again today if we could!!), I love the songs created/performed by ABBA, but 'I Have A Dream is my favourite.  Part of this is because 'I believe in Angels' :)

I could not find the pictures with the 'Flower'
 but here is Artemis

6.    "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" was the title of Sandi Thom's debut single in 2006.  When this single first came out it was on the radio all of the time, back in 2006 we had a baby Barn Owl called Artemis.  One day we were sitting outside in the garden with her enjoying the sun & playing, somehow she ended up with a Flower on her head... from this point on when ever we hear this song it is know as 'Artemis's Song'. 

You didn't really think I would be able to list 10 songs with out one of the owls making an appearance did you!!

Bruno on stage at Nottingham

7.  "The Lazy Song" was the song that introduced me to Bruno Mars, this was his 4th Number 1 in the UK.  I don't really know what it is about the song but it is just so catchy, I just can't help singing along & the video is guaranteed to make me smile.  After seeing Bruno in concert in November 2011, I love it even more & it is even the ring tone on my phone - the only problem I that I sometimes forget to answer the call LOL.





8.    "The Chain" was written & performed by Fleetwood Mac, but it never made it above Number 81 in the UK Charts.  Being a Formula 1 fan, this track has been used between 1978 - 1997 & then again from 2009 as part of the title sequence. The sound of 'The Chain' has been enough to send me heading towards the TV to settle down and watch the race - which is always improved when a British Driver wins :)

9.   "Suicide Is Painless" - was the title track of M*A*S*H & the lyrics were written by a 14 year old Mike Altman. I love the M*A*S*H series & DH has brought me all 11 seasons on DVD (but I have yet to watch all of them!). It is hard to think that it was in production between 1972 & 1983 with a total of 251 episodes, when the Vietnam War (the subject of the whole programme) only lasted 3 years.

10.    "Lift the Wings" from the Riverdance Shows.  Since 'Riverdance: The Show' opened in 1995 this song has been sung by many performers.  I would love to see the Riverdance show at some time, the rhythm of the dancers feet along with the music & song never fails to get my feet tapping.  The lyrics of this song are all about returning to a loved one, at a time when DH was away from home a lot due to his work commitments this song seemed even more special.

  

Blog Candy Winner

The winner of my Blog Candy was...

Fatmonica

Please drop me an email (owl.helen@gmail.com) with your address & I will send you the box of Blog Candy.

LLinda's Cards & Crafts

As I mentioned yesterday on Tuesday I visited LLinda's Cards & Crafts in Laneham, Notts.  A couple of friends had said that the shop was a gold mine & that the workshops Linda runs were good.

So as I had a few days annual leave left to use up before the end of March, I arranged to attend 2 workshops.  On Tuesday it was the 'More ideas with your die cutting machine' workshop and it was an eye opening workshop.

I was amazed at what I was able to create during the workshop, and I have learned so much in the way of hits & tips.  One of the big things was the difference between using Cut & Dry Foam & Felt - I have tried using both and have found that I prefer the Felt.

During the workshop I created 2 cards. 

For the 1st Cards we used the following techniques:

• The first was a card using a Mask which had been inked & put through the Cuttlebug
• Inking through a Mask to create a background
• Cutting a Aperture in the front of the card
• Creating a acetate window
• Cutting a matching frame to cover the edge of the acetate

The 2nd Card was created using the following techniques:

• Scoring a Gate Fold on the front of the card
• Using the Cuttlebug to 'partial' cut 1/2 of the die
• Embossing each edge of the card

We did not have time to create a 3rd card, but Linda also showed us how to create a '3-D' card.  So I created a card blank, but have yet to decorate it & have a play.

If you would like to see a Tutorial for using Partial cuts leave me a comment & I will see what I can do.

I Love You

I coloured the image used in this card a while ago (it was free with a magazine) & decided that I would use it for 2 challenges this week. 

The colours have not come out very well in the picture, both fish are shades of pink/gray & the 3 hearts are blood red.  I also found some 'beads' with the letters & heart symbol to create the sentiment.

This card is for the following Challenges:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - The One I Love
I Love ProMarkers - Love is in The Air

WOYWW - 08 February 2012

Here I am sat at work eating my lunch dreaming of my craft desk at home...  This morning I have been on a Mandatory Basic Life Support course at work, learning how to give CPR & the "Kiss of Life" which are now known as 'Rescue Breaths'.

So it is time to joint the Crafters at Stamping Ground & be a bit nosey at other people desks (or work spaces).  As it has now reached lunch time I can do a quick update to my blog along with a picture I took of my desk before I came to work.

Ok... I admit I'm not going to drink the tea (it was left over from Monday night) LOL but the other goodies were brought yesterday.

I have discovered a Gold Mine for crafters in a little village called Laneham (Notts).  Coming from Lincoln I have to pay the 30p each way toll to cross Dunham Bridge - but it is soooooo worth it.   If you are in the area I would STRONGLY suggest that you pay a visit to LLinda's Cards & Crafts  How she gets so much in such a small space I don't know. 

She also runs a number of classes, & I attended one yesterday - which was fab... I will have to do a separate post about the class & pictures of the cards that I made as I don't have time at the moment.

A quick update on DH, he is back home from hospital (Many thanks to those who added kind words on Monday) he had another Kidney Stone, but it looks as if it has now passed, his kidneys are clear and he is feeling a lot better :-)

2 More Layouts for my "Book of Me"

Last Wednesday was Crop evening in Lincoln, and I have only just been able to take photos of the 2 layouts I got completed.

A large part of the evening was taken just chatting :)  I do like craft evening like that, sometimes the social side is more important than the crafting.

Both of these layouts are for my Book of Me...

Grandad's Chair is about just that, the chair that was brough for & used by my gradad.  Even though he passed away many years ago the chair is still part of the furniture

I completed the Race for Life in 2010 in 55:23 minutes, my aim was under 1 hour. 

Less is More - Aqua (2)

Happy Birthday to the Less is More Challenge Blog... they have reached 1 year old.  The challenge this week is:

For our first Anniversary we are back to a repeat of our inaugural challenge which for the first Saturday of the month is colour... and this time we have chosen 

AQUA

After going through my card storage I was able to find a couple of bits of card that you could say were Aqua in colour. 

 

Here is my second card (and my favourite of the 2)...

 

I used a stamp in the shape of a flower but the word Thanks is included in the flower.

All I did to finish the card was to add a dashed boarder by hand (not my favorite technique, by this one did work well).