No I haven't fallen of the planet.

As we all know life happens and it's got in the way rather a lot since I last posted but I won't go into it here.  Hope you will all forgive me.

This is a card I made recently which I thought I would show you.  Unfortunately, my photography skills are awful but I'll try and explain.  The base card is pale lemon with a cream mat then a brown mat which has been run through my Big Shot using an embossing folder but I can't remember it's name. This panel has been edged with a strip of stronger yellow which I punched with an EK Success border punch.  On top of this there is another mat of the stronger yellow with some SU printed paper on top.  For the circles I have used my Spellbinders circle dies and stamped the top cream one with an SU stamp from the Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set which is a Hostess Gift.  Across the corner I have put a strip of the same brown card with a buckle cut from another die byCrealies CLCS06.  Hope you like it.

Inking Card Edges

I made this card a couple of weeks ago when I received this set of stamps from Inkylicous. Although I've been making cards for some time I've not got into inked edges or distressing inks nor this colour block image type stamps.  When I first started I wanted to stamp and colour images but couldn't get the finish I wanted so wandered away to CD crafting etc. 

However, once I discovered Copic markers all I wanted to do was colour in cos I think the finish is fantastic.  This has led me back to stamping and now I'm ready to try distress inks, silhouette stamps and brayering, well maybe using ink dusters instead.  The above card was made using these ink dusters and I must say I found them very easy to use whereas I have some difficulties with a brayer.  I have just ordered one of Tim Holtz ink blender tools to see how that works and 3 Distress Ink pads.  So we will see how this works out and I will show my cards on here.

I had a great debate with myself as to which ink pads to get between the Distress Inks, the Adirondack Inks and a Big and Juicy ink pad and any comments on how you find them would be much appreciated.

As always thank you so much for visiting my blog and if you leave me a comment I can come and visit you too.

LESS IS MORE CHALLENGE

As soon as I saw the Less is More Challenge this week I knew what I wanted to do.  I've been wanting to try embossed Nestie frames again for a while, I've only tried it once so far.  I also wanted to try colouring up a sunset with ink and then stamping in black with my new Meadow Breeze set from Inkylicous.  I used a Brilliance Aurora ink pad and it has given a lovely pearlescent sheen to the background.  I'm quite pleased with the result.

The sentiment is very slightly blurred at the end so I will stamp it onto another piece of card and stick it over the top before I put in my 'for sale' box.  Thank you very much for looking, I do love all your comments and I try to visit as many people as I can.

Edited to add:  I printed the picture on a separate piece of card and stuck it to the embossed nestie circle which I embossed straight onto the card, hope this isn't cheating.  I put my nestie on the inside of the card so the embossing is embossed on the outside rather than debossed, if you understand what I mean. 

LESS IS MORE CHALLENGE

Well it's only Monday and my card for the Less is More challenge is made, wow. 

The card is an A6 Ivory Linen card and I've cut another piece of the same card and stamped one of the trees from SU's Hopeful Thoughts set using Marvy's Blending Blox Shades of Brown.  The sentiment is computer generated.  I then punched the edges with an EK Success punch, mounted the card onto some light brown paper and stuck to the base card and I was done. Simples!  Hope you like it.

Can I just say a great big thank you to everyone who has visited my blog and left comments, I really do appreciate it.  I think this is one of the real treasures of this challenge that everyone visits other people and leaves comments.  When it happens to me it makes my day.  Can I also say thank you to Mandi and Chrissie as without you there would have been no challenge!

LESS IS MORE CHALLENGE

Hi there

Finally, I've managed to make a card for the Less is More Challenge, well two actually, just in time I hear you say. 

I thought I would try out the punch on the pink card and ended up with a strip punched on one side and then thought (as you do) if I punch the other side I could make a card with it.  So here it is.

This is the card I originally had in mind which is a design I've used quite a bit as I think it is pretty and can be used for all sorts of occasions.  Hope you like them

New Cards

 Hi there
I've been a bit busy so no cards posted.  So I thought I'd show you some of the cards I've been making.  May is a busy month for family cards and I always make two of each that's needed, one for me and one for my daughter plus this always makes me get behind with my cards to sell. 

This is a digi image from Just Inklined which I have coloured with Copics

This Sympathy card is another digi which I have paper pieced.  The card just sort of evolved, I wanted to use my Martha Stewart PATP which is quite new and then I started playing around with my 6x6 papers just trying to use them really particularly the ones I hadn't used before then came across this digi flower which was a freebie on a sympathy set I found and thought it might look nice printed onto the patterned paper so as I said it sort of evolved but I quite like it.

I was asked to make a card for someone's husband for their 60th birthday who likes wine.  I didn't have any appropriate stamps and saw this on ebay and ordered it and then got cold feet waiting for it to arrive and did something else so this is the first card I have made using the stamp.  It is quite a dark  image when printed out but I was quite pleased with it when it was coloured in and I think it will probably become quite a staple for my 'for sale' box as I think it will do for a lot of men.

Well that's all for now.  I am in the middle of making a card for the Less is More challenge which I hope to upload tomorrow . 

Thanks very much for popping in and I hope you like what you see.

LESS IS MORE CHALLENGE

I've finally managed to make another card for this challenge I entered the second week I think and have been struggling ever since, everyone is so talented and all my thoughts and ideas got used up before I got there so to speak but today I'm there I think.  I haven't looked today just in case.

I've used a white linen card for the base card and plain white card for the embossing.  The large square is cut using a Martha Stewart punch and embossed with a daisy embossing folder and the two hearts are similarly embossed using cuttlebug folders having been cut with a heart die first which I think is a Nellie Snellen die but not sure.  I haven't put a sentiment on yet but will do so when it goes into my 'for sale' box probably as a wedding card.

Hope you like it, I'm quite pleased with it and with the photograph considering the problems I have using my husband's camera. 

Anniversary Card

This is an anniversary card I made a litle while ago but never blogged.  It sold the very first time I took it to the monthly coffee morning I attend and the person who bought it thought it was lovely.  Unfortunately the picture is not good as I have to scan my cards as I don't yet have a camera but maybe I can put one on my Christmas list although I am a little  nervouse about using an SLR camera as they seem so complicated any suggestions would be most welcome.

New Cards

I made this card some time ago but thought it was time I posted something to my blog and hope you like it.  My husband chose to send this one to a niece only this morning so he thinks it's OK. 

LESS IS MORE CHALLENGE

When I saw this week's challenge I knew straight away what I wanted to do.  Having made up the card I was not sure whether I liked the sentiment and it's taken me all week to decide to 'go for it' as they say.  I'm sure by the time I come to sell it at the end of March spring really will be here or at least much nearer than it is now.  Although we had a lovely day here yesterday, sunny and warm.

The card is a linen effect card and I stamped the digi image (from Digi Doodles) straight onto the card and coloured with Copics.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Thank you for stopping by to have a lool.

Sallie

No Cards!

Hi everyone,

Sorry there have been no cards recently but I have not been well I've been in hospital with pneumonia which caused my arthritis to flare up and I've been feeling proper sorry for myself,  I'm still not 100% but do have a little less pain today which I hope will continue.  I went to see the doctor again yesterday and she gave me some more tablets this time to help with the pain but as they are steroids they come with many warnings and possible side effects but for now I will just be grateful to get some pain relief. 

Hopefully therefore I may get round to making some cards.  The card from my last post is still sitting on my desk waiting for its insert and finishing and now we are into February I am beginning to think of my regular 3rd Saturday coffee morning sale and as I didn't get there last month I really want to get there this month.

Thank you so much for calling by I really do appreciate it when I get visitors even though my posting is very sporadic.

Sallie

1st card for 2011

Thanks for stopping by, its ages since I uploaded any cards but I have promised myself that I will try to enter at least one challenge a week this year, (is this a NewYear Resolution I wonder?).  I'm not very good at keeping these so we shall have to see.  I hope you like what you see and thanks again for stopping by.

I made this card to go in my 'for sale box' but unfortunately it has not scanned well at all.  I know I should photograph it to get a better picture but I couldn't be botherered.  I am full of cold or something which I have had for a couple of months now and although the doctor gave me antibioticts last week the are not working so another visit will no doubt need to be made. 

Anyway I wanted to enter the challenges for 'new beginnings' at various places but especially LOTV which ends tomorrow, so I hope everyone will forgive me.  I can assure you that the babygrow and hat are pink to go with the rest of the card and not blue as the picture would suggest.  I actually quite liked it when it was done but am really not sure now I see it on the screen.

Oh, well the LOTV challenge is closed so I'll see what else I can find and will edit accordingly.

Sallie

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL

We spent a lovely Christmas Day with our daughter and her family.  Her 2 children are our youngest grandchildren, Abi is 5 and Xander 2 1/2.  Abi has now got to the stage where all she wants to do is rip the paper of everything whilst Xander is happy opening one present and playing with it.  Abi found this very frustrating as she kept having to slow down so she hadn't opened all her presents before Xander got beyond his first. But in the end we had a lovely day.

Fortunately we had done everyone elses presents some time ago but I couldn't decide what to get my husband and then the snow arrived which kept me housebound so in the end I panicked and ordered some stuff from Amazon only part of which arrived before Christmas the rest arrived today.  My husband had much the same experience but being able to go out he got something locally.

Anyway I hope you all had a super Christmas and that you will have a bright and happy New Year

Thanks so much for stopping by and hopefully I will show you more of my cards in 2011.

Sallie

LILY OF THE VALLEY/RIBBON GIRL GIVEAWAY

Ribbon Girl are giving away this fabulous candy, why not pop across and enterhere

New Prisma Pencils

I bought myself some Prisma Pencils recently originally to use to shade when using my Copics.  I thought I  would give then a go at colouring the whole image which I found very satisfying.  It takes longer to do than with the Copics but the shading is easier to do.  I don't think the little girl's cardigan is showing up too well, it is a pale lavender.  The image in 'real life' is very pretty.  I think this is such a sweet image and just the way children behave.

The image I used is the one I won from Mo's recent Blog Hop which is a great favourite.  I thought I would use this image and colour up as the summer season but whilst colouring it I realised that the flowers are daffodils so it can be either a spring or summer interpretation whichever you like.  The sketch I used is the one from Truly Scrumptious which is easy and very effectice I think.  So I am entering it in both Mo's Digital Pencil and in the Truly Scrumptious challenges.

Hope you like it and thanks for calling by.

Sallie

I've Won

I am so excited I have won an image from Mo's Digital Pencil in the recent blog hop.  I have'nt won anything before and it's a great feeling.  There are so many of Mo's images that I like it's been very hard to choose, but in the end I chose 'My Friend' which a little girl looking under a gate at the dog peeking out.  I loved it the first time I saw it on someone else's blog.  It's one of those images that make you say 'ah how sweet' but without being too sugary sweet.  When I get the time I will let everyone see what I have made.

Sallie

new cards

Hi there,

It's just ages since I last posted but I've not been idle, just busy.  I've wipped around blogland regularly leaving an odd comment along the way. Anyway I think it's time I put some new pictures on my blog.

This is a digi image I bought from Sketching Stamper and I love it.  I have always loved fuschias and this is a dream to colour.  She has a number of gorgeous images available do go and have a look.

This is another digi, this time from Just Inklined and again they have some fantastic images available, not just flowers but all sorts.  I saw this image coloured on  Jak Heath's

 blog and loved it and I'm pleased with how mine turned out.  I made it for my daughter's birthday last week.

This is a stamp from Stamps Away which I bought some time ago thinking it would be good for men's cards and also for Get Well cards and this has proved to be true.  I have been trying out using ink to colour my backgrounds and I am very pleased with this one, I think it really makes the image 'pop'.  I don't think it shows up very well at all in the photo though.  Photographing my cards is also something new for me and I'm going to need a lot of practice I can see but this is 'fun' right well maybe but not yet.

Hope you like what you see and I would just love it if you left me a comment.  It would be nice if there was a counter or something to let you know how many times your blog has been looked at, perhaps there already is one and I just don't know about it. 

I am going to try to upload at least on a weekly basis but the weeks go by so quickly and Christmas is coming and I have  customers who buy my cards and then there are my own which makes a lot of cards to make, hey ho I do enjoy making cards and get a real kick out of it when someone buys a card they like, it makes my day.

Sallie

NEW CARDS

Hi everyone,

I have been busy making cards to sell at our church's summer fair and for the coffee morning that I visit once a month and have not had time to do any challenges recently.  We also went on holiday for a week on a river cruise in Germany.  So I thought I would show you some of the cards I have made.

I made this card awhile back for my granddaughter's 5th birthday in May.

This last one is one of Mo's digi images.  I just adore her she makes me smile every time I see her.  I think she has gone to a good home and I'm sure there will be more to follow as I love her so much.

 I seem to spend loads of time looking at other peoples blogs, everyone is so talented and I am in awe.  I will try to keep a bit more up to date but who knows Christmas is coming and many more cards will need to be made.

NEW BABY CARD

I made this card to enter the  Whiff of Joy Challenge

 and the  Creative Card Crew challenge which is a combo of pink and green.

The background paper is from my Forever Friends CD ( I really like the papers on this CD),  the image is a Whiff of Joy image, the punch is a Martha Stewart one and the flowers were punched using a retro punch, the leaves with a L-Em punch.  I used my Copics to colour the image.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like the card. 

Sallie

Blog Problems.

You may have noticed that there has been nowhere to add a comment on my posts over the last few days.  I have tried everything I could think of to put it right without success.  I was even thinking of starting a new blog but surprise surprise today when I come on here I discovered that the comments were back on Whoopee!!

I am sorry if anyone wanted to leave a comment and couldn't but hopefully everything will be alright now.

Sallie