Merry Christmas One and All

I should like to wish all my Blog world friends a very happy and peaceful Christmas and to thank you very much for your friendship.

My card is stamped with Pine Cones and Poinsettias from Stampin' Up, each part of the  small stamp has been coloured with a marker - very time consuming but very enjoyable to do.  The script embossing folder is from Cuttlebug.

CD Sunday Challenge - 50's Fun

The main image for my card is a vintage digi  from TLC  which has been coloured with promarkers. I have also glittered the bandeau on her dress and the blue mat layer underneath.  The radio is free clipart.  The small roses are made from a 1/2" six petalled flower punch and have 3 layers.  The backing paper is from Joanna Sheen's Fashion Boutique CD.  It was my husband John's suggestion to include the radio - I bow to his superior knowledge of all things 50's - I was only a toddler then!

Thank you for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - they are much appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #183 - Angels

The inspiration for my card came from this free downloadable poem  I came across on  my blog travels today.  The backing paper is by Bearly Mine and the angel stamp, embossed in white, is from Clarity.  The acetate and vellum snowflakes are a left over concoction from a couple of years ago!  The edges of the poem and backing paper have been distressed to give a more casual look.

Thanks for visiting my blog and do feel free to leave a comment - I find them all very encouraging.  Thanks to all of you who left comments about Judy - I felt a bit daft reporting her passing as she was only a budgie - but she was one of our family and we loved her.

R.I.P. Judy

It is with deep regret I have to announce the demise of  Judy, who fell off her perch last night.  No more going 'around the world'  or putting 'bell on head' or ringing her bell 'when she was safe' at nightly covering up.  Judy flew into our life on 2nd January 2007 when she landed on the roof of the house at dusk, having escaped as a fledgling from an aviary.  She took up residence in the kitchen and the little blue princess ruled us with a rod of iron.  Immortalised in a fat book page and birthday cards she will live on - much missed.

CD Sunday Challenge - Things with Whiskers Part II

The "Thing with Whiskers" this week is the very smart Aberdeen terrier who graces this glamorous scene.  I have used Card Creations Art Deco CD and decoupaged it within an inch of its life!  Never have I done so many layers!  The backing paper is also from this CD.
N.B.  The background bridge scene on its own makes a wonderful Christmas card when glittered.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #182 - Trees and Baubles

I have used stamps from Creative Expressions to create my scene.  The fir branches and trees have been embossed in green embossing powder and the baubles in red tinsel embossing powder.  The baubles have been coloured with Sakura Moonglow pens and then embossed with Stardust embossing powder.  The snowy bank has been liberally glittered.  Backing paper is from Crafts-Too and the sentiment is metallic ribbon.

Thank you for dropping by and visiting.  Please feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate every one.

DragonsDream TIO #107 - Time Changer

My inspiration for this tag was the thought that perhaps there are parallel universes, different things happening to the same person at the same time.    The main image of a man inside a clock is from Crafty Individuals, the eye is Stampscapes and the square from PaperArtsy.  The words eternity and secret from Elusive Images.  I have also used backgrounds from Stampin Up and PaperArtsy.

Thank you for visiting my blog and do feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate every one.

CD Sunday Challenge - Things with Whiskers

My lovely singing bear is from Dover CD "Whimsical Animals Illustrations" and has been coloured with Copics.    The backing papers are from my Graphicus paper pack and the music from an old copy of  a musical no one has heard of!  The sentiment is by Creative Expressions.

Thank you for stopping and visiting, please leave a comment as I appreciate them all.

Snow!

The first snow of the year arrived yesterday and more is expected today.  This is the first snow our pups Heidi (leaping) and Lottie have seen in their lives.  They are 5 months old and growing fast.  They are playing on the grass in front of our barn and do not seem to notice how cold it is at all.

Year Planner

 This is the year planner I made for granddaughter Amy who started her A level course this year.  I thought she might find it useful as she is not great at organising her time to best effect!

I downloaded the page templates from Creativity Prompt and got cracking.  I decided to make the pages smaller than those on the templates so adjusted the sizing at the printing stage.  My finished page size is 13cm x 9cm so that the planner is small enough (and still easily read) to fit into a small bag and not be too bulky.  The covers are made of chipboard and have been painted with Eco Green Pure Silver acrylic and then over painted with PVA glue and black acrylic paint to give the distressed effect.  The die cuts on the front are by Tim Holtz and the chrome corner protectors from Artistic Stamper.



Instead of using the month tabs supplied in the kit I used Tim Holtz File Tab On the Edge Die.  I bound the book with a Zutter Bind It All using a 3/4" wire.  The pages were printed, double sided, on only 90gsm paper and this worked very well and reduced the bulkiness considerably.  Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment - I appreciate your encouragement.

Cheshire Cat

This is my first major venture into MCS and the latest edition An Important Date.  This card is for our 17 year old grand daughter Amy.  She will love the barmy looking cat and as she is into various shades of black at the moment, I do not think she will find my choice of colours too uncool.  As you can see, I have made an easel card (a very rare event for me) and used black crochet lace for the card rest.  The cat is decoupaged and has been very liberally glittered on the dark stripes with Stampin Up Dazzling Diamonds.  To achieve this masterpiece of digital engineering I had to change the colour and size of the frame, add text, layer the backing paper and re-size the cat - which for me is a major step forward in the digi-sphere!  My thanks to Jen for all her coaching and encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

DragonsDream TIO #106 - The Da Vinci Code

When we went to Manchester in August, to visit our youngest daughter, Eleanor, we were lucky enough to see an exhibition of H.M.the Queen's Da Vinci drawings and sketches at Manchester Art Gallery.  Apart from being blown away by the energy and power of  his work, I was fascinated by his use of drawing medium - red chalk. I just assumed his drawings would be in grey, black or brown but many of them - including a large sketch of seed heads like the Queen Anne's Lace, were drawn in a very bold red.  Over the centuries the colours have mellowed to russet and honey but this only adds to their charm.
I have used stamps by Penny Black, A Stamp in the Hand, Judikins  and Stampin' Up for my tag. The inks used are Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Distress Inks Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, Wild Honey and Dried Marigold.
Thanks for visiting my blog and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

CD Sunday Challenge - On Safari

Being a big fan of all things from Meerkovo and eagerly awaiting a parcel to be delivered by PostCat,  I have chosen the Meerkat for my safari animal.

I have used the image  from Sharon Duncan's Animal Magic CD, decoupaged the scene and given it a couple of sprays with the wonderful Spray and Shine from Crafters Companion.  The bug backing paper is from the design set, the sentiment is computer generated.

Thank you for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment - all are appreciated greatly.

CD Sunday Challenge - Trees

Thank you all at CD Sunday for concentrating my mind to making a few Christmas cards - at long last!  My image is from Joanna Sheen's Times Gone By CD2.  As the image takes up a large portion of an A5 card, I decided to do without backing paper and instead stamped and embossed trees instead.  The tree is from Elusive Images and has been stamped in Nearly Navy ink and embossed with Stardust embossing powder, which gives the trees a lovely sparkle.

Thank you for visiting - do feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate every one.

Dawn

This is the breathtaking view I had yesterday morning when I was standing about on the terrace, dressed in nightie, dressing gown and wellies (for ankle protection) waiting for the hounds of hell to complete their toilette. The vista lasted for about 10 minutes as the sun rose over the forest,  opposite our house.  I just had to run in and get my camera.  To add icing to the cake, a quartet of swans flew directly overhead, making their way to the sea.  It was so quiet that I could hear their wings swooshing through the air on the downbeat  and their honking conversation that they kept up with one another the whole time.   I know the photo of the swans is rubbish but I was thrilled that I managed to capture them at all as they flew at a terrific pace. A truly magical morning.

DragonsDream TIO #105 - Chinatown

My lovely tiger jumping out of the bushes is by Stampscapes and he has been embossed in copper and coloured with Distress Inks.  The background bamboo stamp is by Stampin USA and the foliage is from Papermania.  The oriental vellum is also from Papermania. The little bronze pendant is from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate every one.

CD Sunday Challenge - Paisley Fun

This card uses my one and only Tim Holtz stamp, a paisley background, that I have stamped using a Soothing Sunset Big and Juicy inkpad.  The image is from Gwyneth Windsor's Silhouette Sensations CD1 and to give it that eastern feel I have used the ornate Nellie's Multi-Frame die.  The die cut and image was then clear embossed to give it some texture.  The sentiment is from Kaiser stamps.

Thank you for visiting and do feel free to leave a comment.  Apologies again for the colours in the photo but as it is so dark here, I have had to use artificial lights.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #178 - Pink Poinsettias

Cynthia has asked us to use pink and green this week as well as poinsettia.  My main image is a stamp from Creative Expressions and has been coloured with Copic markers.  I have used an octagonal Nestability die to mat and layer the image onto the backing paper from Dovecraft Christmas Fancy paper pack.  I have added crystal glitter to the poinsettia leaves.  The sentiment is from Craft Stamper and has had the glitter treatment also.

I hope you like my card, it makes a nice change from the red poinsettia.  I apologise for the poor colour quality of the picture but it has been a very dark day here in the Highlands and I have had to use artificial light.

DragonsDream TIO#104 -Letters to Juliet

How lovely to make a romantic tag for a change!  My background has been misted with pink, lilac and silver pearlescent inks.  The main image is by Non Sequitor and stamped in Eggplant, as have the hearts and  sentiment by Elusive Images.  The script stamp, Stampin' Up has been embossed in white onto a patterned vellum paper.  The ribbon is from Lidl.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - all are much appreciated.

CD Sunday Challenge - Sunsets

I have used a lovely sunset backing paper from Joanna Sheen's Faye Whittaker CD to stamp my seascape stamp on in Elegant Eggplant ink (Stampin' Up}.  The lighthouse scene is a rubber stamp by StampinBack.
I have mounted the stamped image onto cream card and then onto copper mirri card.  The backing paper is from Dovecrafts and matches perfectly (for once!).  The sentiment stamp is is from Stampin Up and stamped in Eggplant and Burgundy ink.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - all are much appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge - 177 - A Time to Remember with Poppies

My stamp is by Crafty Individuals and I have embossed it in white detail embossing powder onto kraft card.  The poppies and foliage have been coloured with pencils.  The mount is a Cuttlebug embossing folder Grace's frame that has been embossed onto the same kraft card and then sanded.  The base card has been edged with Distress Ink Worn Lipstick and shadow stamped with poppies by Clarity.

Reduced to artificial lights to take the photo, as it is a dark day here in the Highlands,  so apologies for the lighting on the photo.  Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - all of which are much appreciated.

DragonsDream TIO #103 - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Wonderful challenge this week chosen by Wanda.  Had a long hard think and decided to go more with the Victorian toyshop rather than steampunk.  My stamps are by A Stamp in the Hand, Creative Expressions, Crafters Companion and Personal Impressions. The colours used are Frayed Burlap, Aged Mahogany, Scattered Straw and Wild Honey. The letters are die cuts from Tim Holtz Vintage Market.

Thank you for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

CD Sunday Challenge - Puss Cat

At last a spot of crafting!  Couldn't resist this image from Peerless Designs Cat's Whiskers CD.  The sentiment "What's for Dinner" is from Elegant Word Art.  The backing paper is from Debees CD's Spring Butterflies and Lace.  Tried very hard this week to use a border punch and ribbon!.

I have had the most awful bug that has plagued me on and off for weeks.  It has effected my eyes  and sinuses and I still have difficulty in seeing clearly.  I am at last beginning to feel better.

Thanks for visiting and do feel free to comment - I love hearing from you.

Two Little Girls!

Here are our two new little girls!  Heidi (at the front) and Lottie, our German Shepherd pups.  The wellies belong to John who is very proud of his girls.  We only picked them up late on Saturday night from a croft in Sutherland and have been very busy with settling them in to their new home.  Although experienced dog owners, we have not had dogs here for about 4/5 years after our beloved Boxers passed on.  We had forgotten just how time consuming and pleasurable it is to have dogs back in our lives.
Finn (Fell pony) is very interested in them and looks forward to when they can run along side his fence and chase him.  He played with the Boxers like this for quite a few years until they got too old to run fast!
The pup's training is starting today (they are 13 weeks old), ideally we would have liked them younger, but that was not possible.

Jeffrey and Whitney (the sheep) are not thrilled that we have dogs again but will have to put up with it!  John apologises for his scruffy jacket  but the dogs are happy to have a bite at his sleeves when they can!  Heidi is on the left and Lottie on the right of this picture.
Thanks for stopping by and apologies for not commenting much lately on your blogs but as you can see, we have our hands full at the moment!

DragonsDream TIO #101 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This tag is a tribute to all the different breeds of dog we have owned over the years.  All boxers are good!  Our Jack Russell terriers were very naughty in many ways but such good fun.  The German Shepherds belonged to John and were very beautiful but could get extremely ugly when asked to do so!
I have used stamps from Joanna Sheen, Stamps Away and the background was done using a roller stamp from Stampin' Up.
My apologies for not visiting your blogs recently and leaving comments but I have had a very persistent cold that has refused to go away and  has laid me very low and now and again regroups to have another attack.  Hopefully it is finally on the way out.

CD Sunday Challenge - Wine Buff

My stamp is by Stamps Happen and this has been stamped directly onto the backing paper and coloured with promarkers.  The backing paper is from Joanna Sheen's Secret Garden CD and is a nice linen texture.  The wine glass topper ( a freebie from someone called Rose)  has been decoupaged and mounted on foam pads.  The vine leaf is from a Cuttlebug die and has been run through a spotty embossing folder.

I hope you like my card.  I had great difficulty finding anything in my stash that was appropriate and has taken me two days to find this!

Thank you for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

Art-cards Challenge Blog - Torso ATC

This little torso atc was so much fun to make!  Wanting to be cheered up on such a depressing day, I have extended the summer for a little while longer.  My stamps are from Crafty Individuals and Lakeland.  The flowers have been coloured with promarkers and the butterflies have had a dusting of crystal glitter.

Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment, they are very much appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge - Misty Moonlight

I have enjoyed playing at misty backgrounds this weekend!  Often the most obvious way is the right one.  My park scene is by StampinBack and has been stamped in Cobalt Archival onto glossy card.  The colouring has been achieved using Weathered Wood and Scattered Straw Distress Inks.  The moonlight is moving from left to right.  The mist is created with Brilliance White generously dabbed over the top with a cotton wool ball.  It does it for me!!
Thank you for calling and I do hope you will leave a comment, I appreciate them greatly.
I apologise for not visiting your blogs for a while but I have had the flu.

DragonsDream TIO #99 - The Whole of the Moon

Used lots of Sir Tim's blue Distress Inks on this scene.  The inks were applied mainly with Cut and Dry Foam but also knuckles, elbows and fingers  were brought into play at various times.  I have not made anything for a while so I am very out of practice!  The stamps are all by Stampscape.  

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them very much.  

CD Sunday Challenge - Winter Wonderland

I just love the wolf against a snowy landscape from Debbie Moore's Crystal Dreams CD.   It has been decoupaged and mounted onto dull silver mirri which has been embossed with a Tim Holtz Texture Fades embossing folder. The stylised christmas trees are from Elusive Images and have been stamped in Faded Denim Distress ink, cut out and glittered.  The sentiment is from Creative Expressions.

Thank you for visiting and I apologise for the shadow across the photo - the one and only ray of sunshine today appeared just as the photo was being taken!  Please feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge - White Space

My 6x6 card is mainly white but with a diagonal dark brown panel to showcase the lovely Crafty Individuals bird heads that were stamped in Cocoa Memento ink. The leaf in the top left is from a Martha Stewart punch.

Thanks for visiting and leave a comment as they are much appreciated.

DragonsDream TIO #97 - Mother - Embroidery

My Mum was always well dressed and beautifully turned out.  Nails painted, hair done and never seen without full make-up.  A very hard act to follow!

The collage stamp is by Personal Impressions and has been coloured with pencils, flocked, glittered and the main rose decoupaged.  The stitching is the most I have done by hand for a very long time!  Thank you for stopping and looking - do feel free to leave a comment.  I appreciate you all.

DragonsDream TIO#96 - Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Tried something new to me this week and gone for the collage effect.  The lovely Gents Advertising Label from The Graphics Fairy (see sidebar) forms the basis of the tag, the two mini fashion pictures are from Joanna Sheen Fashion Boutique CD, the punk rocker is a clip art image transfer and the man with the natty whiskers is from Crafty Individuals.  The diamond stamp around the edge is from Clarity.  The top border of the tag has been coloured with copics, decoupaged and embossed for more dimension.  The safety pin, scissors and buttons are from my stash. Distress Inks used - Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Scattered Straw.
Hope you like it, and thank you for visiting.  Do feel free to leave a comment, I love to hear from you..

CD Sunday Challenge - M is for .....

Mouse!  My fun and easy card was from the lovely PolkaDoodles CD - Back to Nature.  The mouse has been cut out and embossed with Crystal embossing powder for some added bling.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - all are appreciated.

DragonsDream TIO #95 - Red Red Wine

Use mostly red was a condition of this challenge.  This is my second attempt at a tag for this weeks TIO challenge.  Red tags looked flat, couldn't see the detail and just looked messy.  I also had a problem in that I had no stamps that seemed to be appropriate, until I came across this charming lady from Inkadinkadoo, who seems to be saying "Cheers".  She is coloured with pencils and mounted onto some red card and cut out.  The  small wine label is a  magazine freebie and a wine glass base provided the circular stains on the tag.  The sentiment reads "For when the wine is in, the wit is out".  Generally true in my experience!  

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to comment - I appreciate them all. 

Roses and Peacocks

Seem to have made quite a few roses this week!  These are punched from metallic purple paper from a paperpack from Poundland.  The weight and texture is perfect for moulding the petals and I am very pleased with how they turned out.  My backing paper is from Peacock Summer Party CD by Artylicious.  As the gorgeous peacock feather swirl is so big, my card approximately measures 8 x 8 as I wanted to make it one of the main features.  The sentiment  from Elusive Images is embossed in Rich Razzleberry Moonglow EP and mounted onto a nestie oval.  This is going to be a 'posh' birthday card for somebody special and I suppose I shall have to make a box for it next!
I should like to enter this card for two challenges

CD Sunday - Inspired by Peacocks
CYDA Challenge #28 - Make Your Own Flowers

Thank you for visiting and do feel free to leave a comment.

RainbowLady's Challenge #168 - Let's Emboss It

The starting point for this card was the StampCamp old map stamp I bought at Port Sunlight earlier this year.  This is its first outing.  The image was stamped in sepia and very lightly coloured and then embossed four times and given the freezer treatment for the Cracked Glass effect.  The vintage motor is from an Elusive Images Edwardian themeplate and has been coloured with copics, cut out and embossed.  The textured 'road' behind is courtesy of TH Texturefades folder Bricked Effect.  The base card has been stamped with the map image in sepia. The luggage label stamped with a Kars sentiment and tied with garden twine.
Thank you for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - they are much appreciated.

DragonsDream TIO #94 - Bed of Roses

This is the first proper craft item I have made since returning from holiday and I enjoyed making it!  The challenge is to work roses and metallic into the theme and so I made the roses from aluminium tape coloured with alcohol inks in shades of orange, brown and yellow.  The acetate rose arch is from Joanna Sheen's Cottage Garden CD and the rose stamp from Elusive Images is embossed in black underneath.  The timely warning is one I heard in a film recently and thought it ideal for this project.  I must say, I think it is very true!

Glad to be back at TIO as an entrant and must say the Design Team tags this week are wonderful and so diverse.

DragonsDream TIO #92 - Child's Play

It is my turn to choose the theme at DragonsDream Tag It On this week and I went for Children or Child's Play.  Bit of a departure for me because as much as I love children, I couldn't eat a whole one!
My tag uses the fabulous Crafty Individuals mini plate "Catch a Falling Star".  It was a totally impulse buy for me as I am not a cute crafter at all.  The characters have had their clothes paper pieced and the rest coloured in with copics.  The balloons are made with a paper punch and the background is from a Kars bubble wrap stamp in Orchid Pink and Pumice Stone onto a lilac tag
Can't wait to see your interpretations of this week's theme and I do hope you will join us on our continuing adventure into Tagland.  Thanks for dropping by and all your comments are hugely appreciated.

DragonsDream TIO #91 - It's a Horse's Life

The wonderful Zoe has called the shots at DragonsDream TIO this week and plumped for It's a Horse's Life.  I took the inspiration for my tag from that wonderful scene in Lord of the Rings when the elf princess (Liv Tyler) calls up the white horses in the river to gallop down and prevent the baddies from pursuing them.
I started with a blue tag  and direct to paper added patches of colour and white embossed Filligree Flourish(Stampin Up)  on top.  I then ironed off the white embossed surface to give a more muted pattern.  The leaping horse is from the Pre-Raphaelite themeplate from Non Sequitor.  This has been stamped in Memento Paris Dusk onto a piece of card that has been brayered in shades of blue and cut out and attached. The horse medallions (Elusive Images) have been embossed in blue and punched out and attached.
I do hope you will be inspired to join us at TIO.  We love to see your creations, any media is fine, just remember to use at least one real stamp.

CD Sunday Challenge - Buttons

Grandma's Button Box CD provided the backing paper and sentiment for this card.  I have tried to not make it so' cutesy 'and I am not sure that this approach has worked.  The mat layers are embossed using the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder and sponged over with DI Tumbled Glass.  The edges of the pink base card have been stamped with Versafine Majestic Blue with a stamp border from Creative Expressions.  The corner buttons are from my stash.

Thanks for visiting and I thank you in advance for your comments.

Bah! Humbug! #32 - White on White

I went completely over the top with this one!  The base card has been embossed and the raised areas very lightly enhanced with DI Pumice Stone, the white mat has been cut with a TH On the Edge die Snow Flurries and the rest of the mat embossed with a snowflake embossing folder.
The snowflakes are from a Marianne die which have been given the Pumice Stone treatment and Stickled.  The Snow Flurries edge has been blinged with Glitter Glass and Stickles  and Glitter Glass added to the edges of the mat.  The sentiment is a printed ribbon.  Whoever receives this at Christmas will inevitably enjoy showers of Glitter Glass all over their carpet!
Thank you Zoe, this card also qualifies for Just For Fun Challenge ~27 - White on White
Thanks for visiting and do feel free to leave a comment.

DragonsDream TIO #90 - Nature's Bounty

Nature's Bounty is Wanda's choice over at DragonsDream TIO this week.  Just looking in my garden I can see apples, pears, cherries and plums on the fruit trees.  How many will still be there in September is another matter!  Our resident roe deer are very partial to soft fruit and as the fruit trees are of dwarfing varieties they can reach the fruit quite easily!  We planted the smaller trees for our convenience but mother nature often has other ideas.
My stamps are from Artemio (pear and border) and the pomegranate and cherries are from A Stamp In the Hand. The butterflies are from Stewart Gill. Some have been clear embossed and another has been glittered.
Thanks so much for visiting and I do hope you will join us at TIO and show us your take on Nature's Bounty. Do please remember to use at least one real stamp.

CD Sunday Challenge - Bling It Up

I have chosen a beautiful stylised carnation spray by Elusive Images from their Damask Squares theme plate, as my main image.  I have embossed it in Golden Ocean ep which is a gold sparkly denim blue.  The butterfly and dragonfly are embossed in gold and coloured with copics and liberally sprinkled with crystal glitter.  After dusting with DI Dried Marigold and Stormy Sky it has been mounted onto gold mirri card.  The lovely backing paper is from Joanna Sheen's Ivory Cats and parts of the design have been glazed to give them a shine and make them 3D.
I hope this is blingy enough for you ladies, I am not fond of too much glitter and glitz.  Thanks for visiting my blog and feel free to leave a comment.  Sorry picture is quite dark, it has been a miserable day here.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #163 - Hand Made Flowers

Here is my second card for this challenge - this time using Caroline's flower that she kindly provided for us!  That will teach me to make sure I read all the challenge details before getting stuck in!
I have used a backing paper from Jak Heath and superimposed the trellis digi (also from Caroline) on top.  Caroline's flower has been printed onto parchment, cut out and assembled, the centres being glittered with Stickles.  The foliage stems are a Marianne die cut and I thought they rather looked like sunflowers.  The sentiment is a digi from TLC.
Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment - all are appreciated - even ones that tell me I have used the wrong flowers!

Nature Watch

John and I run the gauntlet everytime we go in or out the backdoor as this is what is directly above our heads!  The swallow family have, for the first time whilst we have lived at Redmoss, successfully managed to rear a family in this location on the house.  Usually it ends in tragedy due to the rain coming from the east, but this year everything seems ok and the youngsters are only a day or two away from making their first flights.  Swallows breed every year here in the eaves but the backdoor position is usually avoided.  Poop gets thrown over the side by mum tidying up and we get hit by it!!

Here are grey seals enjoying the sunshine on the rocks at low tide at Portgordon Beach on the Moray Firth.  Seals bask in the sun at many places near to where we live and it is easy to find a vantage point to watch and enjoy them.  They are very inquisitive and swim quite close when we walk along the beach, having a good look at us, no doubt!