Oh dear!!!

Nicky has set a fab challenge tonight on Just Bex called 'alternative Xmas': 'It's time for another Friday night (well, afternoon) challenge with a Christmas theme! We like to keep you busy........... This time, we'd like you to make 5 Christmas cards using patterned paper - but NOT Christmas-themed paper.

So I went through my 12 x 12 papers and found some papers that were red and green and seemed to fit the criteria. So I made the following five cards and was really quite pleased with them:

'

It was only after I made them that I looked at what the papers were called. I knew that they were 'the goods' by American Crafts (I bought them ages ago), but when I looked to see what the individual names of the papers were I found that the one with squares was called 'holly' and the diamond one was called 'stocking'. So much for me using non-Christmas papers!

Oh well, I think I'll look for so more papers tomorrow to do the challenge again! (May be if I hadn't looked for the names of the paper, I might have got away with it!)

Daring Cardmakers: where the wild things are

I thought I'd try to do something for this challenge. The first two cards are very simply made using felt stickers from Poundland:





And this one took a bit more time, using a favourite lion stamp from Rubbadubbadoo:

JB Challenge 1 in June!!!

This template challenge was set by Bex back in June and I discovered that I'd never done anything for it.

Here's the template:



And here's my LO, using BG scarlet's letter papers (love them, but if I keep using them I'll just have to buy some more!):



The light is so poor this morning that I couldn't get a picture without flash, which has lightened the photo too much - looks much better irl.

JB September challenge 7

This LO is for the JB September challenge 7: mirror image: 'This challenge is to create a LO which features Symmetry / Mirror Images.'

I really should have put some journalling on it but need to speak to mum to get idea of dates - I know Grandad was born at the end of the nineteenth century (yes, really!) and he went into the navy at quite a young age.

HS:MS tongue

'A fleshy muscular organ in the mouth. Show us 'tongue' in your space today!'

Well, mine isn't fleshy or muscular but it's in the mouth of my trainer:

Daring Cardmakers: Santa's little extra helper 1

I often think that I'll do something for DCM and then time seems to disappear, but here is one for this week's extra:



Had to do a scan rather than photo with flash - why is it that colours aren't always 'true'?

JB challenge 5: a Christmas template

This is for Sue's latest template challenge on just Bex:


I tried to get a photo but the flash was making the silver look gold in places, so i resorted to a scan, but I'm afraid it's a bit blurry:

HS:MS game

A form of play or sport. find 'game' in your space today.

Although this isn't a game in the conventional sense of the word, it is something crafty to play with:

Salt: Creation

Today is the fortnightly challenge launch on Salt. Kim chose the subject this time and this is what she said:

Joyful greetings to all of our readers! We've all been so blessed to be able to share our faith-based challenges with you and have been especially thrilled to see what you have created!

This week it's my (Kim) turn and the theme I've chosen is:

Creation

We see God's sovereignty in His creation each and every day, from the beauty of nature to the miracle of birth. God has lovingly and mercifully created all that we see, hear, smell, touch, and feel, to bring glory to Himself and to bless His children.
"For thus says the Lord,

Who created the heavens,

Who is God.

Who formed the earth and made it,

Who has established it.

Who did not create it in vain

Who formed it to be inhabited

I am the Lord and there is no other."

-Isaiah 45:18

We'd love to see what you create based on this week's theme!! Please leave a comment and link back to your blog or gallery so that we can all share in your "creation!"

Please take a look at Salt

I still don't consider myself to be a scrapper, but enjoy opportunities to create LOs and this was a particularly poignant opportunity to express my thoughts and gratitude to God for making me as I am.

I've had physical disabilities all my life; I remember years ago a consultant saying that when I was conceived I 'came together all wrongly'. However, God knew and understands and gives me the grace and strength to cope with life as it is and the verses I have used from Psalm 139 are very precious to me (and to my dear mum).

The background papers and tags I've used are from beblessedscrapbooking.com - appropriately called 'wonderfully made' and 'knit together' (they were crying out to be used!).

I'm afraid that I did make a mistake on my LO (I only saw it after I had rubbed on some swirls that prevented me from moving the wording) - I got the first two parts of the verse the wrong way round, but there was no way I was going to do it all again,so here it is:

Crafting

Nothing to show for a couple of days, partly because I just haven't felt well enough and partly because what I've achieved this morning I can't show because it's for the Salt challenge that will be launched tomorrow morning - please come back then and have a peep. I'd like to think that I'll have something crafty to show by the end of the day, but I can't promise. I need to get some swaps ready for posting.

HS:MS steps

'A series of flat surfaces to enable movement from one level to another. Find 'steps' in your space today.'

How come that I now get quite excited over trying to get a good angle to take a photo of an old stepladder (I know, I know, I need to get out more!!).

Thanks to Anita and Kirsty on HS:MS, not to mention lots of others on there who are now firmly among my cyber friends, I have got into the daily habit of taking photos.

As for steps in our space, they are limited because we live in a ground floor maisonette. The only step we have is one that we use to come into the back door - and as it's raining (again), I'm not venturing out there atm. So here's today's offerings:

HS:MS crockery

'A collection of ceramics, porcelein and china. Show us your crockery.'

This cupboard with crockery is in an inner hallway, so it was difficult to get a photo without the flash rebounding off the glass doors at the side. In the end I had the light on and the flash off for this one:



I then put the flash on to take a couple of closer shots:





Before joining in HS:MS I would never have thought of taking such photos.

CBC October swap

The theme for this month's swap on Crafts by Carolyn (organised by Melissa) is orange and black, particularly with Halloween in mind. As I don't do Halloween, I've gone for general autumnal colours that I hope fits in OK:

What a picture

Today on Just Bex, Sue has set challenge 4: what a picture: 'this time we would like you to make ANYTHING apart from a LO so NO scrappin for this one and we want you to use a PHOTO but NOT of a person of a THING or an ITEM.'

I took a picture of a little Greek urn ornament that I bought in Crete when I went there on holiday (I think about 1980ish - seems a looooong time ago now). I then used some Publisher clip art pictures as background, combining three different ones:

JB Friday night challenge:Hearts

This is for a challenge set for 14 September: 'We are being kind to you this weekend with this challenge. A nice easy one ......Please make a card using hearts.'

As this was a nice easy one, I've done three very similar cards:

HSMS: autumn

The third season of the year. Show us 'Autumn' in your space today.

Altered coaster

JB September challenge 3: altered coaster: 'Your challenge is to create something beautiful from a coaster...'

Originally, the coazter was one of a set that had Monet paintings on:



This is now hanging on the cupboard door in the room where I craft:



I hope my doctor doesn't read this, because I have high cholesterol - but in my defence, a little of what you fancy and all that - and I only ever eat good quality dark chocolate (like the yummy Hotel Chocolat).

By the way, I was quite surprised that my crop-a-dile made the hole fairly easily - if you haven't got one yet, you need one!

Decoupaged delight

I'm still in my dressing gown and feeling like doing nothing, but have roused myself enough to do a bit of crafting in the hope that it will be good therapy and take my mind off the pain in the back (don't think it's worked though!).

Anyway, this is for JB September challenge 11: decoupaged delight scrapbook LO: 'So your challenge is to create a scrapbook page incorporating decoupage, you can either decoupage a pre printed design or do as I have and created decoupaged elements from a piece of scrapbook paper, the choice is yours.'

I cut into two pieces of flowery DCWV pocket full of posies and cut out some of the flowers and circles to decoupage on to the other sheet. I then printed out some summer photos from the garden, repeating a smaller version of the lavender ones and topping with a frame. None of this is apparent in the main photo, but hopefully the other shots show that there really is some decoupage on this LO:

HS:MS SOS 7

'Show Off Sunday...lets see those wonderful photos!!!!'

There's nothing special about my photos today (not that there ever is!), but they bring back memories of our break in Bognor Regis in July.

I'm feeling rotten today - very painful back, which kept me awake most of the night - not feeling any better now, despite the regular mega painkillers. But looking at these photos brings a peaceful calm - one that speaks to me of God's wonderful creation:

A simple Bex template

JB September challenge 8: a simple Bex template: 'So here is the template - no rules as usual ....... flip, squash, shrink etc - as long as the original idea is there somewhere no worries':



Here is mine (once again colours are not good because of the flash photo):

Blocking

JB September challenge 9: blocking: 'for this challenge we would like you to make a card using this BLOCKING technique'. Enjoyed this challenge set by Sue.

PPs are from English Paper Company Christmas range (colours are a lot better irl, honestly!):