Beautiful blog award

Look what I got from Debbi. A cute little award. Isn't that nice.

I believe I have to pass this onto 5 other bloggers, so here goes!



Bernie http://craftybe.blogspot.com/

Louise http://www.louisech.blogspot.com/

Paola http://paolaspaperhaven.blogspot.com/

Rene http://stampinginsunnysa.blogspot.com/

Oops, I don't have another to add to my list.... hopefully next time.

A little thank you

I'm still alive, winter hasn't frozen me to death, yet. I'm doing a quicky tonight, post that is. I want to share this thank you wallet I made for Debbi. She sent me a WHOLE lot of images and a set of stamps! 'Guy' stamps, so I didn't have to struggle so much making guy cards. Isn't she just the coolest.

I used one of my little Gorjuss Girls cause Debbi is such a gorgeous girl. I can't say I have used this image that often. Isn't it strange how we have to have all the stamps we could possible get our little hands on, but we don't have the time to use them all. Or is it just me who has that problem....!!???

This little girl was coloured with my lyra pencils, woooohooo the lyras came out the box, blended with sansador and paper stumps. I used a fiskars lace punch for the ribbon bit on the right. I guess there isn't much more to say about it is there now. No glitter, no glaze pens, no nesties - OH MY HAT!!! NO NESTIES!!!

Got to run, got colouring to do, deadlines to meet - hehehe, cards to make, and try and stay warm.

Don't forget the Bella release tomorrow! It's gonna be great, I just know it!!!! I feel it, in my bones!!! LOL!!!

Diva

So here's a stamp which is just perfect for the occasion. Tomorrow is the birthday of a friend who reminds me SO much of this Bella Diva that I could not resist using my brand new stamp.

I only recently got a couple of the Diva stamps from Stamping Bella, and I cannot tell you why I had never ordered them before. I just love them, they are great for woman my age, lol! The only difference with this image and myself is that I would have had 3 tequilas piled up on top of one another. I am not so sure though that I would be able to balance them that well. Then again, I would not have wasted time balancing them, but had them instead.

As usual I coloured the image with prisma pencils, but I did mix my lyras in there too. I used them for the hair. I cut the image out with nesties and mounted it on 3D pads.

When I put the card together I realised I should've inked the edges of the image a bit, but it was too late, and now it has to stay this way. I also look at it now and think maybe the shoes should've been red too. Oh well maybe next time....

I used this week's Bella sketch for the card, and I have to admit, it made my life SO much easier. I have struggled so with sketches in the past, but this time it was a huge blessing cause I didn't have much time to finish it and not having to figure out a layout was a big help.

Tonight it is 3 below freezing here. Do I need to remind you all how cold I am, probably not. I HATE winter. I can't wait for summer to return... sorry those of you in the northern hemisphere.

Oh just quickly, I met two new South African Crafters in the past week. The one lady, Paola, even has a scrapbooking shop and I had never heard of it, I thought I had sussed them all out, lol!!! I went there today, spent money what else.... don't tell. The other lady, Rene, lives a bit far away so I have not met her in person, but they each have a blog, so if you interested go check them out.

Paola's blog, which she only setup last night, is here; and Rene's blog you can find here.

Now I am off to bed, it's late, it's freezing and I need lots of beauty sleep.

A mouse in the house

I think there is a mouse in my house. Well at least that's what I told my mom last night, because someone has been eating my biscuits. She laughed and said there are two. She and my sister had tea and wanted biscuits and raided my cupboard, lol!

Isn't this little mouse just the cutest, with his big fat belly. The chocolate is as big as he is, no wonder he can't move. Funny I felt like that the other night, I ate too much, I assume ;-) I couldn't move either, I didn't know how to sit, stand, lay down.... nothing helped. But lets move on to the card, cause you'll all think I'm a greedy chop.

I coloured the image, which is from Penny Black, with my prismacolor pencils, blended it with paper stumps, ooooooooooh talk about paper stumps. Paula sent me some stumps, they are the same as the ones she uses, from Taiwan! What amazing stumps they are! If only I could buy them here, they really do make a difference when blending.

The image was cut out with nesties, what else.... placed on 3D foam and I added, ooooh I nearly forgot, some clear glaze with my glaze pen Paula sent me! I guess you can all assume by now, I got a parcel from Paula again. It was GREAT!!! Full of goodies and lots of images!

I guess I better finish this post, it is nearly 8 o'clock and I've still got to shower, get dressed, give the gardener a list of things to do to keep him busy today.... it's not an easy task in winter to keep the gardener busy, mine ends up having to paint instead.

Don't forget it's Bellarific Friday today if you're interested to see all the beautiful creations with the latest sketch, then go to the Bella Blog.

Have a GREAAAAAAAAATE Friday!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom

Are these not just the cutest mice in town. Good thing they are not real or Simby and Misty (my 4 legged babies), would try to catch them, they won't care how cute they are.

This stamp is one of my Penny Black stamps which is sitting on the shelf not seeing any ink. I loved this stamp when I bought it and I think this is only the second time I used it. And I've had it for about 3 years. It's a shame there isn't enough time for all the stamps.

I made this card for my mom for her birthday. It is unbelievable how quick and easy it was to put together. The other one took me hours, this one about an hour and a half! (Well I hope it doesn't show ;-))

I coloured the images with ...... lets guess..... prismacolor pencils, what else, blended it with sansador and paper stumps, cut out with.... wait for it.... lets guess.... nesties. OK sorry, I realise my guessing games are quite boring, lol!

I added some glitter to the flower centres and raised the image with 3d foam pads. I also chalked the edged of the image with a little bit of ink, while it was still in the nesties die.

I have now read Paula's grass tutorial, but I have to admit, I need to practice a lot more. I also for some reason, don't ask me what, couldn't get my pencils sharp. I know that sounds odd, but it's true.

That's it from me for today, in fact for the weekend, how did it fly by. I can't believe it's nearly Monday already. I think we should change the 'rules' make weekends 3 days long. I am sure everyone will agree with me....

Guess who's got new paper

..... me of course! I ordered the 6 x 6 Basic Grey pads from Cut at Home. They are really perfect for card making. If anyone has not used them, I would certainly recommend it.

The one I used for this card is the Wisteria range. The are such stunning papers in this pack, I just couldn't decide which ones to use.

This card is for my sister, to give to my mom for her birthday, which was today! I am still full from lunch and my little eyes just want to close so I can drift into neverland, but instead I am being a good blogger and getting my posts out for today.

I coloured the images to match the wisteria paper with my prismacolor pencils, blended with paper stumps and sansador, and cut out with Nesties.

Okay sparky pressed enter before finishing the post, so you might get an email with only half a post....

I added some glitter to her dress and the flower in her hair, and liquid crystal to the tea cup. I love that big tea cup, it is just how a tea cup should be, delicate, big and classic, lol!

We went to a german restaurant for lunch, my mom wanted eisbein. Luckily the also server pizza, so there was at least something for me to eat. Being vegetarian in a german restaurant is not ideal.... very little vegetables and lots of meat, especially pork!

Brave cat

So here's a very brave cat, or maybe not! I don't think anyone will be too scared of a dog with a ladybug on his nose. However, are these two not adorable. I want to grab that lazy fat cat and hug and hug it.

I keep wanting to go rescue a kitten from the shelter, but I am worried what Simby and Misty, my two Jack Russells would do with it. They try and hunt anything that moves, and the other problem I have when the cat is big, Pepi and Roxy, my two parrots might not be too pleased with the new family member.

In the meantime I'll stick to colouring images of cats for people who love animals, just like me. This card is for a lady who loves animals, and as tempting as it was to put even more images on, I guess it would've made for a very busy card.

These are two Elzybells images which I love colouring. I find it so easy to work with Elzy images, I don't know why. Their bears are my utmost favourite though, and I wish I have had more time to have used some of the others I have.

I coloured these with my Lyra pencils for a change, and the cat was really supposed to come out some very different, but I just couldn't get the effect I wanted. I am no artist, so I have to rely on whatever comes out once my pencils hit the paper, lol.

I cut the images with my nesties and mounted the dog on 3D foam pads. Isn't he sweet with his little friend on his nose. The borders where done with a fiskars border punch and I felt it was a bit too much once I put the card together, but it was late and I wanted some sleep so I left it as is.

Well that's all there is to tell about this card. I am going to continue working on my mother's birthday cards while watching Desperate Housewives and then CSI - New York.

Oh and I have to share, our days are getting longer. When I drove home tonight it was still light until about 6pm. Usually by 5:30pm it is dark. I was so happy to see that winter is getting it's little boots on and getting out of here slowly!

Crocheted Butterfly

Lots of little pics to share for this post. I finally used one of my mom's crocheted butterflies, and I HAVE to say, they are just gorgeous. I don't know how she does it, all I can crochet is a cable, this stuff is far too complicated.

This card is for an 11 year old girl who loves butterflies. Isn't that cool!

I coloured the Elzybells image with my Lyra pencils, yeah I used my Lyra's for a change. I think they have been feeling very neglected. Blended it with Sansador and added a little grass here and there. I need to go through Paula's grass tutorial in order to learn the technique properly. When I clicked on her link I got only a portion of the post :-(

The paper I used was a free download from Summertime Designs. I can't believe it's free, there are some beautiful designs you can down load.

The image was cut out with my BRAND new Nesties template. Slowly but surely I get them all. It's a bit expensive ordering everything from overseas, so I try to get new stuff once a month. Although, believe it or not, it is cheaper for me to order from Cut @ Home, than to order from my local supplier. I don't know why.

Here's a close up of the butterfly. I got the link for the pattern from Bev's blog. If any of you can crochet!!! I had a bit of glitter to the butterfly, cut it's not too clear on the photo. It really brought her to life.

Now I'm out of this FREEZING study. My hands feel like they are going to fall off, they are so cold. I really must put a premanent heater in this room, or I won't be blogging much.

Have a great Sunday, and chat to you all soon.

Very original

So here is something very original, NOT! I was asked for a 50th card with a Beatles theme. Now I don't know about any of you, but I do not have a Beatles stamp. Of course I had to do something and decided to be 'really creative', I downloaded a photo of them off the web. Thank goodness for the web.

Clearly there is not a lot I can share about this card. I printed the photo, cut it out, mounted it, and added a few sentiments.

The 50 is from some rub on letters I bought ages ago and finally got to use. The happy birthday sentiment was embossed with black embossing power and mounted on 3D foam.

I was very pleased that the recipient loved it, but I felt a bit guilty, cause I did so little work.

Oh I forgot to mention the colour scheme came from the invitations for the party, silver, black & white. See I didn't even come up with that, LOL!!!

Bella Challenge

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it's been this long since I've been on my blog. It is winter here and in winter I tend to hibernate a little. My computer is in my study, which is a cold room in my house, unless I plug a portable heater in... and my couch, nice and warm and cosy, is usually so much more inviting.

I managed to join the Bella Challenge again this week. It was a sketch by Linda this time, which I must add was not as hard as the one Paula drove me insane with - LOL! For the first time I had to colour my Bella black, it was quite strange and unusual. The card is for a girl at the office who is about to have her baby, and as she is black, I couldn't give her a card with a white Bella now could I.

I coloured her with prismacolor pencils and blended with grumtine. Now you may ask grumtine. Well I bought it the other day from a craft supplier, and it works just as well as the sansador and it's slightly cheaper. It has an orange cent so when I use it my whole house smells of oranges. The cent does not remain on the card, pity, I wish I could get perfume for my cards. Something that smells like baby powder, wouldn't that be cool.

I am very happy that it is not me who had to do all that shopping, especially not for baby stuff, I'd rather have bags full of craft supplies!

I am definitely catching up on google reader this weekend, I've not visited any blog's for so long. I'm dying to see what you've all been up to.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy summer, soon it will be back here - YEAH!!!