Dazzling Diva Challenge #60

Happy Wednesday- the week is flying (or blowing by- it’s a good job I’m not super-thin or I’d be whisked off my feet in this wind!!). For this week- the challenge is to make a 3D flower. I attempted one and was too embarrassed to have put it on here so tried again and was happier with this version!

This flower is made by stamping a flower from a set by Indigo Blu twice onto Black Diamond metal

This metal is more matt than most of the other types, but either way, its easy to emboss onto it using Versamark and I’ve used some Wild Wasabi embossing powder (Stampin’Up!). There’s a not funny story with this stamp set. I’d put up some stamps and dies for sale & sold this set yesterday. I just quickly stamped two of the flowers before I cleaned them and packaged them away and then this morning Monica (who owns Add A Little Dazzle) asked me what on earth I was doing selling the set.

Yup- silly idea- but its too late, the guy has paid for and bought this set- I’m sure he’ll get lots of joy from it (&, isn’t it nice seeing a man stamper has bought it!!)

The metal is trimmed and wound around a paintbrush to give the spirals & then some strips of black and silver cardstock. The sentiment is from Winnie & Walter.

Do join in- you don’t have to use metal, and there’s a fab voucher up for grabs for the winner- post any projects link to this post and you have until next Tuesday to enter. 3D flowers are brilliant fun creating- the only problem is how am I going to get this in the post?!! I think this will have to be a ‘hand-delivered’ one or maybe I have to make a box to transport in!!

See you soon- stay safe and stay warm!!

Keren xx

Pan Pastels Card & Silent Screaming.

Morning!
Here’s the ‘not-quite-me’ card using pan pastels and mica powders, flitterglu and silver flakes. The stamp set was free from the workshop ( always a bonus!) and the powders etc were Indigo Blu’s supplies at the workshop.
There. I might be brave again one of these days.

Right now I’m struggling with a giant. Little me versus a website.
The might of Tesco. Or its website to be exact.
They’ve been having difficulties.
Hmm. Me too.
Do they love taking my money?! Oh yes. I’ve never had a problem paying.
Do they want to make it easy to get a deal with them. Not so much.

First the initial difficulty. They like to chuck you randomly off the site. Just after you’ve signed in, found an item and clicked on it- whoaa- all of a sudden they don’t know who you are and ask you to sign in again.
And again.
And just in case you’ve forgotten whom you are; again. Sign in please.
Thankyou.

Now, would you like to join our marvellous Clubcard Exchange scheme says the retailer?
Me? ‘Oh yes please’.
Just input all of the ridiculously long and pesky codes that you can’t click via a link- nope, you need to write them all down.
I got to the end.
Nada.
The website won’t allow you to redeem those.
So today, a week later I try again. I’m a tryer.
Today they have saved my items from the previous attempt and I go through the whole process to find the evouchers waiting for me.
Fantastic.
I go into my checkout list.
Not so good.
2 of my items have mysteriously increased in price and the main one is out of stock.
Arrgggh. Hmm.
The cynic in me could conclude it was an act to get me to pay more.
Anyhow- I find the large item elsewhere cheaper.
I put everything in my basket.
It only lets me input 3 codes. I try all 9.

I ring someone.
I ring someone else.
I wait for a long time.
I get cut off.
I wait and speak to someone.
I need to spend more money apparently. Funny that.
I dutifully add another small thing.
Still can’t use the vouchers.
I wait a ridiculously long time and speak to someone. The items in my basket are incorrect. I can’t use the vouchers with those items. Ok. That one was my error.
I remove said items.
I have ONE item left in my basket.
I go to pay. It accepts my vouchers.
YAY.

No yay.
“Sorry. We can’t place your order at the moment. We’re trying to fix the problem as soon as possible. Please try again later”.
Tesco. I do not love you.
Amazon; straight in- straight ordered. No problems.
Tesco- check out Amazon. They’re so much better and I’ve not wasted 3 hours ( I kid you not) with still nothing to show for it.

Rant over.
Calm restored.
I’m going to shop at Poundland this Christmas. Do you think the kids will mind?!!!

See you when I’ve tried again. And again. And no doubtledly again. It’s enough to drive me as a Christmas lover completely and utterly bah humbug! xx

Sewing Card & Indigo Blu

A quick post- well two of them to be precise. I haven’t entered any challenges for ages but wanted to enter the Stitching & Sewing challenge at Moxie Fab World. This card is for this challenge.

The sewing machine and quote is from a company called Indigo Blu I was at a workshop with the girls from the Happy Stampers club. Indigo Blu were hosting it. It was chilled, fun and we got to try new techniques I’d never have gone for as they used Pan Pastels and I have dismissed them outright previously as not my thing.
However, it was good to do something my style with other products. Do check out their website as they’ve some fab stamps and its a completely British company. I’ll show you what I made later this week.

I’ll be back with a second post later!
xx

‘Man’ card & Big Birthdays

I’m posting this card because today its Steve’s Birthday. Whilst this isn’t his card- I’ll post that another time, I thought it was appropriate. It’s a big milestone Birthday- the one I’m not looking forward to either!
This is using those cogs again- you can do so much with this one stamp. I’ve just used lots of brads left over from different projects and computer generated the sentiment using the American Typewriter font ( my fave at the moment).
So far, his Birthday has been low- key and it’s going to stay that way. He’s not a ‘party’ man. He’d have died if I’d have thrown him a surprise ‘do’, so we tried to make it personal for him. He did get a lie-in, that is, until the kids could contain themselves no longer!- 9:00am is pretty respectable don’t you think?!
After a chilled breakfast and opening his presents we’re going for a walk.
For his presents we went down the ‘retro’ theme. We found lots of things that he’d had during his childhood– particularly certain sweets that have been re- released. Like Dib Dabs, Black Jacks, Refreshers, Fruit Salads and Poppets! Remember all those?! I made him some ‘Caramac’ biscuits ( digestives with melted Caramac on just like his Mum used to make!) and changed it up a bit with HobNobs as the base biscuit. We made a big frame with lots of photos of the kids through different ages and stages and I even managed a tiny one with me on!!
Thanks to Tesco Clubcard, he’s also got a flight in a Cessna airplane to look forward to.
Tonight I think it will be a movie and he wants to go out for a meal soon too. His Birthday, his way. And so he should- he really deserves a lovely day.

Be back soon, when I’ve cleared away all the wrapping paper! xx

Domino Card & Stampin’Up! Party

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Hey! Sorry to have been missing; haven’t felt so well this week. Must have been too much fun last weekend!- my body obviously can’t cope with it!
This card is digging out an old relic craft staple that everyone used to go mad for about 8-9 yrs ago… Dominoes! I had several hoarded boxes and thought I’d give them an airing again. I’d forgotten how much fun they were to ink on. The box was only a couple of pounds so they’re really inexpensive. You do need to sand them down first and experiment with your choice of ink. Some dye inks just ‘disappear’ into the domino, and need quite a bit of ink. If you’re using Stazon or alcohol inks then you don’t need to sand them down at all. Sealing them is not completely necessary but through testing I’ve discovered that certain dye inks ( like my Stampin’Up! Ones) will leach out colour if you seal them with Glossy Accents. A new product that I’ve found is the Crafters Companion sealant sprays and I’ve got the Translucent shimmer which although is pretty stinky ( spray in a well ventilated room) gives a gorgeous effect and you can build up layers to give a more lacquered look. This close up might show it off better..

The papers are Echo Park ‘Happy Days’ including the two stickers and the other papers are American Crafts ‘Gardenia’. Washi tape is Queen & Co’s and the pearly sticker over the flower is from Prima. The inked background is done by moi, and the stamps used are Indigo Blu ( the swirl) and the sentiment from Tiny Tags (Stampin’Up!)
Won’t stick around and tell you much else today- except to say I’ve got more cards in Simply Cards and Papercraft this month- I’ve been given the ‘sketches’ section to do for two months.
This Friday night at 8pm I’ve got a Stampin’Up! Party (& it’s free!) – I’m throwing one even though I’m not a demo anymore- shocking huh! So those of you that may have been missing buying off me are very welcome to come and bring a friend- the more the merrier! Do get in touch and let me know if you want to come ( I’m in the Liverpool area) and I’ll email you out directions.

Take care.. You should see me back posting more again now I feel a little like my old (& exceedingly at that) self! Xx

Flitter-Glu Card & Lovely London

Hey! It’s Monday and I’ve returned back from London to normality. Less of a bump and more of a ‘gentle slide’ into it all which was pretty good! More of London in a minute but first the card..
This was using a Memory Box tree die which is surprisingly easy to use and remove all the little bits in-between the branches. The gold Flitter-Glu is Indigo Blu’s ‘antique gold’ ( I think!) and is also one of their stamps. It’s a little bit quirky but I love how the detail is evident yet it’s not too ‘in-your-face’ like embossing powder in that colour would have been.
The brads give some much needed colour. Here’s a close up..

The gold flakes are really easy to use and pick out the detail of the stamp amazingly.

London was fab and frustrating, fierce, fast, foody, friendly and freaky all in one! Mostly fab- check out some of the piccies.

Frustrating because I was ill on the Friday night whilst at my friends brother and sister-in-law. Pretty embarrassing trying to avoid passing out whilst lying down and your heart racing.
It was a little freaky being woken at 5:30am the next morning to hear 3 drunk teenagers recording a ‘music video’ repeating the same notes over and over and over again. It was fairly tortuous and surreal at the same time!!
The fierce bit was courtesy of a blind man who having walked into Jo ( my friend) whilst she was behind him promptly rapped her on the knuckles 3 times and walked off!!!!

Fast ’twas the Underground- man, those trains go exceedingly fast and are somewhat unnerving when you have no handle or pole to hold onto and the view at the end of your nose is a sweaty blokes armpit. Those carriages are way too full come rush hour and a little scary when they just stop in a tunnel because the one in front had a problem as someone had pulled the alarm cord!

There were some really friendly people- one who I travelled down with and helped pass the last two hours of a 6 hour journey by chatting about Shanghai & China, creativity & art and music & beauty in the world!

The food was lovely – mostly courtesy of our hosts. It was soooo great not cooking for an entire weekend.
You can see we did do some coffee drinking and plenty of chatting in those lovely comfy chairs

We also visited Greenwich Park craft market which was just a feast for the senses and incredibly inspiring- so many real artisans and with such great ideas.
We also met a giant pig-

And I spotted more spelling mistakes- this one on a Cafe Rouge menu. Can you spot it (& it was there twice in the same menu!)

I’ll tell you about some of the rest of the adventure some other time! I did miss being creative -the nearest I got was spelling out a goodbye message on my hosts shower wall using their kids foam bath letters!!
I’m sure I’ll make up for up it 😉

See you when I’ve done some of the large amount of catching-up-on-housework!! x

Fathers Day Card & Big Surprises

Thought I’d show my hastily made card for Father’s Day. He kept coming into the room whilst I was making it so it had to get finished quick! The papers are from Echo Park- great designs and the subtle stamping is the Indigo Blu stamp I’ve already used. Those cogs are popping up all over the place!

It’s a very quick post as I’m trying to organise myself to go away for the weekend. Steve and the kids are remaining so I’m trying to get food and shopping and washing done before!
Imagine my big surprise when I got a knock on the door and the postie delivered this….

You can’t even see everything: it’s a huge packet chock-full of Fancy Pants gear. Now I’ve never bought anything from them before but they are completely gorgeous and what’s better-I won them!!! I didn’t remember which competition I entered but it’s all thanks to Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine.
Thanks so much guys! I’m going to have great fun with this little ( or humongous) lot!

Better dash. There’s still a load of cooking to do! See you when I’ve returned from London! xx

Less Is More Challenge & It Often Is!

Finally it’s Friday. This is a quick stab at the ‘Less is More’ challenge blog. It was a one layer challenge with a flourish. Argghh- no embellishments really, and no extra layers!! A bit of sponging, an Indigo Blu stamp and a sentiment (seriously dodgily over stamped!!) from Tiny Tags (Stampin’Up!) and that’s ot. Simple, and certainly ‘less’.

Less is more often is. I love that kids relish the ‘less’ when they’re playing with things- they’ll be more creative with tiny objects. Today Will and I made some sooped-up binoculars from toilet rolls. He loved putting brads and buttons on & relished choosing papers. He was so happy with it.

Less is more would really help with housework. Fewer toys, clothes and stuff would mean less clearing away, less dust and less work. I could definitely do with less food. Wonder if I can encourage my kids to join me?!!- oh and I have cleared out a load of my craft stuff- so I’m surely heading in the right direction!

Better go and clear up my craft room. The aftermath of preparing some magazine work has left the remains of what looks like a mini explosion has happened! See you when I’ve located the desk! (and probably returned to this card and added a few more things!!) xx

Funky Steampunky & Over Again!

Here’s a card I started before the weekend to show the Indigo Blu flitterglu and flakes at the Workshop. I demoed how easy the glu and flakes were to use and how well it worked with intricate stamps. This example was showing the glitter with the Flitterglu. I haven’t quite finished it and I’ve started to complete it by putting some faux washi tape on the bottom left. I’ve just completed a video of how to create faux tissue tape and faux washi tape for the Paper Crafters Library. That’ll be ready to view by the end of the month.
The stamp is one from Indigo Blu and I’m afraid I’ve not gone for a traditional steam punk look hence the title of the post.

You can see some more stamping on acetate. I kinda did a job lot using the same American Crafts flourish clear stamp.

Well, yesterday I went to primary school with my littliest for his taster afternoon and a meeting to explain everything we needed to know as parents. I felt pretty sad going in with him. Glad he was happy to go and went in without any problems but it felt like the end of an era really. The info overload hadn’t changed any which was kind of comforting. To be fair, school have to do it. It’s easy to forget just how vital those details are to first time parents. I tried to look interested once again. There are only so many times you can sit through a welcome meeting and be riveted!!
Once again I have been shelling out in preparation for next year. The uniform bill is beyond what you’d want to pay. No matter how smart I shop, it still is crazy. Guess thats one of the slightly less desirable things about having 5 children!! I’m nearly half way there uniform-wise. I did fight back a tear when littliest tried his uniform on- he looked so completely cute!!

Better go and make some tea. It’s a Caribbean curry.
See you when I’ve fended off the resulting complaints over tea! xx

Brit Card & Loving being British (mostly!)

Ok- its a little quirky ( maybe a lot!) but with all the Jubilee festivities and general swelling of British pride, it seemed appropriate. The stamps are from an ultra cool set by Indigo Blu. As the My Little Shoebox stickers were still lying around I thought I’d use them. The arrangement of them is mimicking the head-dress on Britannia ( ha- not quite as random as you were imagining!) and the punched holes are her hair. The images are stamped and paper pieced.

Had a great day yesterday with some friends round to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. We even had a Jubilee cake which one of my olders created

My eldest decided we should really have a party and after half an hour phoning around had invited 27 people! They didn’t all come in the end- 21 was a good crowd though. There was lots of food and we spent that evening baking ( any old excuse!!). It wasn’t a real party- more of a chilled get together but it was lovely sharing the pride of being British and honouring the Queen.

There are so many reasons that it’s great being British- but we often forget them.
Here’s my list.
The monarchy. Architecture. Castles. History. Pomp. Cream Teas. Education . Fish and Chips. Diverse culture. Fashion ( not mine- obviously!). Gentle climate. Wellington Boots. Sandwiches. Jelly and Icecream. The countryside. British beaches. British music. Chocolate. Thatched cottages. Bunting. Morris dancers. Folk music. King James Bible. I could go on.
What’s your favourite thing about Britain?
There are some weird and just plain bizarre things about our nation – take the local obsession for going out in your pyjamas. But for the moment, here’s to you Ma’am. Long may you continue to reign!

See you when I’ve got rid of the rest of the buffet ( obviously not consuming it all myself!) xx