At last (hangs head in shame!)

Big apologies to Elaine who should have got her Paper 'n' Lace CJ back well before now (but thankfully she is understanding and has been willing to wait - thank you, Elaine).

The title of Elaine's CJ is 'Birth Year'. This was an easy one for me because it was the year our Queen got married, and, of course, she and Prince Philip will be celebrating their Diamond Wedding tomorrow - Happy Anniversary to you both (just in case you read my blog .... how funny would that be!!!!!!!!!!)

So here's my contribution:

A late blog

This is a card I've been wondering about and working on. I was asked to do a card for a lad who regularly takes part in athletics, including javelin, hurdling and cross country. I managed to find some illustrations, make alterations in Paint, add the hurdler to the track and cut the cross country runner on my robo:



Somehow the scan has chopped the right hand side a bit, but the border is even irl.

HS:MS SPS 13

This is me today:



Don't know whether I'm getting braver or more stupid!

Santa card and tags

I had a request to make a large Christmas card with Santa on (an musical insert) and some tags:

HS:MS away

Today on HS:MS Anita said: 'Friday, November 16, 2007
Away
Kirsty is over visiting me in Holland at the moment so we will resume with normal uploads on Monday. So she is 'away' which is todays word!!!!

Show us 'away' in your space today.'

Oh dear, I thought, this is a hard one.

At last I've thought of something. This is what my computer is like when I'm away from it (chose a new screensaver especially because I was bored with the usual one - although if I'm 'away' I don't see it anyway - lol!):

Christmas card request

I was asked to make an 'across the miles' sort of Christmas card. This is the idrea I came up with:



I'm pleased with it. I outlined the skates in Paint and then got the outline for my robo to cut out.

One more done

A friend asked me to make a card for a baby who is being christened, but didn't want 'christening' on the card, but 'special day'. The only other request was to include a Bible:



The 'on your special day' is actually silver and gold, not all gold as in the way the photo has come out with the flash.

This scan shows it a bit better:

One card done

I've managed to finish the card I started on yesterday. The request was for a 13 year old who is into computer games and likes dogs:



The surround of the picture is silver mirror card and the numbers are silver holographic - just don't show up properly on the scan (and I tried a photo and that was worse).

HS:MS miniature

'A replica of something in a smaller scale. Find 'miniature' in your space today.'

The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was my set of Russian dolls, the smallest, of course, being the 'miniature':




Just pausing today to thank all my friends on HS:MS for their kind comments - before I started the daily prompts, I would never have thought of bothering to take pictures like this - and, although I'm still only really a snapper, perhaps it's helping me to getting better.

And now I must get on and make some cards for requests I've had - why is it that they are always the hardest to make? I started on one of them yesterday and took quite a long while and still didn't finish it. And I also have a CJ DLO that needs to be done. I hope to be back later to show that I've achieved something.

CBC crew challenge: who inspires you? (another)

I made a card today for our daughter-in-law, who has just moved with the girls. This seems an appropriate card for the crew challenge on CBC: who inspires you? - as there are primas on it, I thought of 'prima flower':



Paper is from the English Paper Company.

HS:MS snip and collect

Yesterday's prompt on HS:MS was: 'To cut quickly. How us 'snip in your space.'

I intended to cut John's hair and take a picture of the clippers snipping, but because of the way the day went, it didn't get done. And John's been out at bowls today (he plays with a blind bowling club), so no haircut yet.

So I've abandoned the idea of a photo of the clippers in action (he'll probably have to wait a day or two more for his haircut) and decided instead to incorporate yesterday with today.

Today's prompt is: collect: 'To bring or gather objects together. Find 'collect' in your space today.'

Quite a while ago I bought a set of pliers from Poundland - four for a pound - absolute bargain - in the hope that I might do something with some of the beads I've got, but so far the pliers haven't been used, so it seems I collect them rather than use them!

CBC crew challenge: who inspires you?

Claire on CBC set a challenge: 'The CBC crew has very kindly allowed me to be a guest challenger this week. I recently made this card as I was inspired by *Joannes* signature poem!'

This is inspired by H (Helen):

The best laid plans

Nowadays I tend not to plan too much - I never know how I'm going to feel and whether I'm going to be up to what I think I planned. However, I have a few cards and artwork items that I need to do, requests from various people, and yesterday I promised myself that, not having done any crafting for a few days, I'd do what I could today.

Having eased myself into the morning I was just about ready to get on with something when I received a phone call to say that mum had had a fall and had been taken to hospital - so I went to the hospital to be with her and got back home at 6.30. Mum somehow gashed her left hand betweeen thumb and finger and had to have stitches and generally shaken, but allowed to go home after some concern about her lack of mobility (which is normal these days).

I was meant to be going out for a meal with a friend this evening, so that sadly had to be cancelled because I wasn't home in time.

And now I'm tired and aching and not able to get on with any crafting - so we'll have to see what tomorrow brings forth.

And I had a really good idea for today's HS:MS and wasn't able to do it - perhaps tomorrow.

HS:MS almost

'Not quite or very nearly, show us 'almost' in your space.'

This is one of my 'almost' sorted craft cupboards:



Hopefully, everywhere will be sorted/tidied enough to take final photos soon.

Carpet people have been today to lay the bedroom carpet - just got to get new curtains now.

HS:MS SOS 12

On HS:MS today Anita says: 'Show me all those wonderful pics i have been missing!!!!!'

Well my photo isn't wonderful, but it shows what's been missing at my window - tah dah!! the new curtains are up:



Still can't show the rest of the room - am working on getting it tidy, but I might just have to do a bit of crafting to mess it up more!

HS:MS SPS 12

Well, today is self-portrait Saturday on HS:MS and this is the 12th time of doing this (think I'd be used to it by now). Well, today is a blatant cheat.

Before we put the curtains up (yes, they are up now, but no photos of the room yet because it is still untidy - surprise, surprise!) I took a picture of the bare window looking into the garden and you can just make out the reflection of my head - so that is my SPS for today:



I intended it to look faded and mysterious, but perhaps I overdid the effects.

HS:MS disturbed

' feeling you get when something unexpected happens - or in my case expected!!! . Can you find it through your lens?'

I still haven't got curtains at this window. We did manage to get into Bromley yesterday afternoon and get them from Laura Ashley, but I've spent today crafting in between moaning about my back and taking painkillers (as usual) and so we haven't done anything to get more sorted out. I took the curtains out of the pack and they need pressing before putting up.

The upshot of this is that there is still a bare window and I feel a bit disturbed that I'm sitting here. This window faces our back garden, which is big, but to the right beyond is a road, a quiet close, and at the back is an alleyway that leads to where our garages are. So the only way really that we would be overlooked would be if someone was around who shouldn't be. It's more a feeling that something unexpected might happen than it actually is.

I took the first picture with the light on and the second one with it off - hardly any difference. The third picture was taken with the 'night portrait' feature, which has given a strange effect, mainly because it's not actually a portrait! Just thought I'd give it a go. I haven't edited any of them - they're just as they were taken (which is obvious really, because they're just snaps!):

CBC big challenge 13

CBC big challenge 13: peg it: 'and I NEED A PEG - not just any peg a fantastically tarted up peg!!'

Here's mine - handy for keeping receipts together:

CBC big challenge 11

CBC big challenge 11: it's a picture: 'I would like you to make a GIFT using a photo. Now the obvious one here is a PHOTO FRAME. SO AN EXTRA 5 POINTS if you make something other than a frame.'

So I decided to make a fan, based on a robo template. I printed out photos of roses that had been given to me in the summer and photographed (I think I showed them on here at the time):

CBC big challenge 7

CBC big challenge 7: another shape: '…….and a shaped card for this one NOT one that you used for the CBC crew challenge ooo and THIS HAS to be a CHRISTMAS card.'

This is certainly not one of my best efforts. It's a bauble card which puts together three pieces to make a 3D hanging card (from the Anna Griffin kit). It will sort of stand on its own or hang, but couldn't get a photo of it properly, so asked John to hold it - still didn't get any good photos, but it will have to do:

CBC big challenge 3

CBC big challenge 3: it's a gift: 'WE NEED A PRESSIE!!! so whatever you like a present for someone handmade and fabulous'

This is the result of the model car that I cut on the robo but only had oriental instructions to put it together! I sat and worked it out this afternoon (wasn't exactly rocket science but was fiddly):





A present for John - lol!