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.