Kool Kitty Musings

A skip, a hop, and a jump...

Welcome if you've joined me from Katy's blog on the Banana Frog blog hop train!!

If this is your first stop and you've not checked out the rest of the blog hop creations, go visit the Frog Blog for links to everyone's work!

This month being a Spring theme, I went in search of some inspiration in the garden...

The cherry blossom is out...

The tulips are out...

And there is still the odd daffodil and hyacinth holding on!

All those lovely colours and textures inspired me to create this card using my favourite design of the moment as mentioned here - the kite tails are back!

Stamps: Banana Frog - Build a Daisy, Super Dreamy
Papers: Basic Grey
Flowers: Crafty Bitz
Die: Nestabilities
Other: Glitter cardstock, Liquid Pearls, Stickles

Looks like my love of kite tails is set to continue!

Also remember to check out the Banana Frog blog tomorrow - it's a very special Frog Day!! ;o)

But for now, go see what lovely treat Michelle has in store for you! 

Thanks for visiting!

Card a day prompts: April 30th - May 6th

Just got back from Ikea so in a bit of a rush to post this week's prompts before I head for bed! Can't believe it's the start of a new month, so of course there is a bonus card! :o) Probably not much creating from me over the weekend, but we shall see!

Fri 30th - "Simply Fabulous Friend" - Inspiration: Cream/Black/Pink, striped ribbon, mini alpha stickers, journaling paper, felt embellishment.

**Bonus card - "Do What You Love" - Inspiration: One design of patterned paper, birdies, twine/trim, rounded corners, My Mind's Eye.**

Sat 1st - "Springy Hello" - Inspiration: Garden/park theme, decorative photo corner, spots.

Sun 2nd - "Welcome Home" - Inspiration: Cardstock stickers, cloud design, stitching, gingham accent, October Afternoon.

Mon 3rd - "S is for School" - Inspiration: Monogram, alphabet design, distressing, over-sized brads.

Tue 4th - "Take Care" - Inspiration: Branch/tree, rub-on design, journaling card, oval accent, Crate Paper.

Wed 5th - "Happy Cinco de Mayo" - Inspiration: Bright/tropical colours, pompoms, stamped border.

Thu 6th - "Love You Grandson" - Inspiration: Nautical/beach theme, decorative pin, lined paper, kraft card blank.

Happy creating!

Just a couple of purchases... oooh so exiting..

Well, not really! :oP

After months of searching, I have finally found a laundry bag that will squash between the bath and tall bathroom cabinet.

It needed to be flexible, portable, and pretty!

It was a tough ask!

But Next has come through. With their teal stripey bag, it even coordinates nicely with the rest of my bathroom accessories... wow!

 

I also ordered one of these for the back bedroom - hopefully it will fit the existing curtain rail:

 

Then I need to sort out the lounge curtains and see if this is going to really work:

 

Also, thanks to great customer service from Yankee Candle, I had a scent cheque to spend to make up for the issues I'd had with a couple of recent purchases.

Black Cherry restock and Vanilla Cupcake were what I went for!

I'm away cropping Friday night (not packed anything yet) and tomorrow need to visit Ikea to fill in the blanks on some items.

I need more hooks for my rails, ceramic pot thing for the kitchen, still looking for the right utensils jar, some food storage stuff, a stool, a step, erm... a little plastic tray... and more stuff that will no doubt come to mind... I hope I don't get sidetracked with other stuff! LOL

Kite tails

Well I survived my Monday - just! Was working quite late last night so the energy levels are rather zapped!

However, today was my turn to post the project of the day over on the Frog Blog. And I showed how a teeny little stamp from the Super Dreamy set:

Can be used to create kite tails...

They may just be my favourite pattern of the moment... ;o)

Papers: October Afternoon
Stamps: Banana Frog - Super Dreamy and Retro Greetings
Sticker: October Afternoon
Punch: Fiskars
Other: Glossy Accents

And this one using this technique to create a border...

Papers: October Afternoon
Stamps: Banana Frog - Super Dreamy
Thickers: American Crafts

Well, I finally have a night off from work, so I am either going to collapse on the sofa and watch some telly or maybe see about making something... ;o)

Buh-bye weekend...

So, Monday looms... I am so not looking forward to this particular one, but while we still have a bit of what's left of the weekend, here are a couple of recent card projects.

First up a card I totally forgot to photograph and post last week:

Papers: October Afternoon
Rub-ons: Basic Grey
Die: Nestabilities
Other: Satin ribbon, bling

I wanted to play with some of those October Afternoon Thrift Shop papers... and decided to try and use up some old ribbons - in the spirit of vintage-ness!

Next my card for the sketch challenge over on the Frog Blog:

Papers: Ki Memories, Basic Grey
Stamps: Banana Frog - Matryoshka Dolls
Dies: Nestabilities
Stickers: Carolee's Creations

A little quirky, but it's an homage to the flying ducks on the wall décor... ;o)

Today after finishing the work I needed to do, I headed out in search of some curtains for the bay window in the lounge. Alas, this window has a curtain track, not a rail so I need pencil pleat curtains (as I understand it) as eyelet ones (available in all the fabrics and styles I really like) won't work on a track as it's not a pole (obviously). Grrrr......

I have only found 1 pair of ready-made ones that will do the job - these mink corded stripe ones. They are sufficiently neutral but not as yummy as the ones I'd hoped to get.

Oh well.

I can't get a rail that will work for my bay window that will cost less than these curtains so will have to go with this. Everywhere else has apparently switched to made to order curtains and Dunelm was a depressing trip. LOL

I also really fancy a voile panel for the office window as the old curtains that are up are blocking a lot more light than I wanted. Hoping that just one of these will be enough to fit the window ok.

Anyway, I may be MIA much of this week depending on the overtime situation.

Just a few shots

The tv, broadband and phone went in today and fingers crossed when I move my desktop PC over it will be easy to get the Internet connection going from there. It all looked fine on the laptop so hope the wireless router setup will be straightforward.

While all that was going on, my mum and I cleaned the kitchen which included a lot of hours with the steam cleaner tackling the cooker - it is looking soooo much better and is spic and span now.

But in the bedroom, thought it was about time we unrolled the mattress to make sure it fits and let it puff up after being rolled up for so long.

Well it fits - thank god!

Excuse the still rumpled bedding, don't own an ironing board yet. But it'll uncrease a bit on its own.

Decided to put the cherry blossom set on first. The black is a lot less harsh in real life, but it's a shame they didn't do this combo with brown rather than black. Oh well, the cherry blossoms are very pretty.

My lamp has finally had its wrapping taken off. Really like the texture of the fabric on the shade!

The little green cushion looks rather at home even though it's the only green item on display - it's my accent colour by the looks of it.

My lovely teal vase has finally come out of the bubble wrap and has been filled with wired flowers.

Not much to report from elsewhere in the house, but all my albums have been re-homed, this is the emptiest this shelving is going to look for a while, as stash will be moving in here, once it's been sorted... ;o)

Anyway, am absolutely knackered now after the elbow grease and climbing with the Hoover to do the kitchen ceiling and everything. Been up since 6.30 so that we'd be there in time for installation so I will no doubt fall asleep in front of the tv tonight.

Got some work on that urgent job to do tomorrow and then will have to brace myself for the nightmare that will be Monday at work!

But now, I'm off for one of these:

 

A little birdie...

Just popping in quickly to share the card I made for this week's DCM dare - Die cut crazy!

Papers: My Mind's Eye
Stickers: American Crafts
Die: Sizzix
Pearl: Prima
Bling: Hobbycraft

Anyway, looks like I have a slight reprieve this weekend from that job I was down to do, the client is behind schedule and once I have finished the section I have so far I can't do any more until start of business Monday, which could turn out to be the most manic stressful day of my year so far! Joy.

But in the meantime hopefully TV, phone and internet installation will go OK tomorrow and they'll be done nearer 8 a.m. rather than 1 p.m.!

Right, best get going!

Card a day prompts: April 23rd - April 29th

I hope everyone is having a nice week and has time to make some cards - when life calms down I look forward to trying this week's prompts as they feature some of my favourite elements! :o)

Fri 23rd - "Mushroom Hi" - Inspiration: Red/kraft, layered stickers and die-cut accents, sticker greeting, Sassafras Lass.

Sat 24th - "Happy Arbor Day" - Inspiration: Trees, 2 styles of alpha stickers, decorative brads, one design of patterned paper.

Sun 25th - "Toadstool Thanks" - Inspiration: Woodland theme, tiny floral print, grosgrain ribbon, retro font.

Mon 26th - "Krafty Love" - Inspiration: Miniature card, kraft background, stamped design, white/cream ink, hot pink accents.

Tue 27th - "You're the Best Birds" - Inspiration: Maya Road accents, striped ribbon, die-cut label, big scallops.

Wed 28th - "Vintage Kiss Me" - Inspiration: Stitched border, heart accent, spots and stripes, tickets.

Thu 29th - "Butterfly Hello" - Inspiration: Glittery die-cut, scalloped aperture, swirls, brad and flower combo.

Happy creating!

Forgotten how to relax...

It's been that stressful a week at work (and will continue to be until at least Tuesday) that my brain is having trouble switching off - plus I feel so tired as I've not had a day where I've totally switched off from it all in over a week and now this weekend despite having hoped to be moving stuff into the house I am going to be working Sunday on a very urgent project for a client with the sincere hope that I won't also need to work tomorrow night, whatever hours I have free Saturday after Virgin have been round to the house to install everything, and into Sunday night. My brain is on the verge of exploding. :oS

Oh and for some silver lining to that grey cloud... the boiler has been serviced and is apparently in very good nic. :oD

But this evening I'm going to try and do something fun and get to bed early - I feel about ready to drop. LOL

My new favourite look...

Glossy accents and those seriously lovely My Minds Eye alpha stickers - you know, the ones that are the Delouisville font - my current favourite typeface!

Yes, despite the extra drying time required, I really love how they pop with a little glossy accent detail, I am now down to a couple of vowels and some other choice consonants, plus some ampersands, any ideas for greetings? I foresee some Countdown-style puzzling to work out how to use the rest of these stickers.

I'm hoping to get my robo working at some point so I can cut some alphas... one day!

But without further ado:

Papers: My Minds Eye
Stickers: My Minds Eye
Flower accents: Crafty Bitz

This is a teeny notelet using scraps, I just totally love the Quite Contrary release from MME, so glad I bought more papers!

Papers: My Minds Eye
Stickers: My Minds Eye
Border punch: Ek Success
Other: Liquid Pearls

Again some MME action plus glossy accents... yep, I think I shall be using glossy accents a lot more with this line. :o)

The glossy accents are still drying...

So there goes sharing any new cards!

However I can report that my lovely new Strawberry Buttercream candle hasn't disappointed:

Which is a good job as I really need something similar to this one:

Which has about a third left to go. :o( I really wish they sold the swirl candles here in the UK, as I would love to get hold of this one:

I promise the candle posts will stop soon, but there's something about this time of year and breaking out the fruity scents. Always cheers me up - even when it's freezing cold outside! 

A bit of light relief

from boiler woes...

Prompt: "Blah. Blah. Blah." - Inspiration: Text background, blue, rounded corners.

Papercrafts CaD - Apr 15
Papers: Ki Memories
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Alpha: Heidi Swapp
Other: Glossy Accents

I'm slightly at a loss of how to use up my stash of vintage KI papers and die cuts. I thought I would never fall out of love with them, but I seem to be a bit blaaaaaah as to how to use them now and keep them fresh. No point hanging onto them when space is needed for other stash. ;o)

Prompt: "High Five" - Inspiration: Brown/teal, random alphabet, metal hardware/button, one ribbon, American Crafts.

Papers: American Crafts
Button: American Crafts
Rub-ons: American Crafts

And finally I used one of those little American Crafts badges that seemed like a good idea at the time! LOL

Oooh well, I seem to be on a bit of a stash downer there, but seriously I have a lot of very nice stuff to use up - who knows what I'll discover when I move it all over to the house (whenever that may be).
 
 
 
 

It rains AND it pours...

Well we have had literal rain (and very cold weather today) and once again something new to sort at the house.

No hot water, and the boiler seems to be on the blink, hopefully it's just a case of re-pressurising the system and nothing major. But how typical eh? Things were looking a bit too close to being finished!

However, on a positive note, we got my Laura Ashley mirror up:

It's looking very at home there and I love the detail against the mantelpiece:

 

Can now add a few things to the mantle piece... no idea what yet, but the vast majority of my Yankee Candle collection has moved home! Along with all my Scrapbooks.

And a few other bits and pieces, but there is so much more to move into the office/craft room. But since the boiler is in there nothing else is moving until that is sorted.

Not as behind as I thought...

Despite a week of almost zero creativity, I did a little totting up and so far this year I've posted 104 cards to my blog, today is the 107th day of the year... (I think) I have 2 cards I can't post yet that are for DT work... and a card I made today. So somewhere along the line I've muddled up my labelling in my blog albums. That seriously irks me! LOL

But the good news is I am essentially still on track and haven't fallen woefully behind with the card a day challenge!

So here is today's card, well actually yesterday's card... er whatever.

Prompt: "Hey, Chickie" - Inspiration: Inked edges, mod/retro papers, floral background, sheer ribbon, handwritten-style greeting.

Papers: SEI
Stamps: Hero Arts, Papertrey Ink
Ribbon: SEI
Border punch: Fiskars
Other: 3D glitter paint, Copic Ciaos

Also while working today I decided to try out my new Tutti Frutti Yankee Candle - very disappointing as it smells of nothing when it is burning and is quite smokey when I blew it out - no nice after-fragrance like you usually get. That's the second "duff" Yankee Candle jar I've experienced lately where the fragrance once lit has been hardly there compared to the smell in the jar when cold. This evening I tried out Fruit Salad for a good few hours, not a strong fragrance when lit either, but at least you can notice it in the room - albeit subtly.

I wonder if I have got a duff batch or whether this is what is happening with Yankee Candle at the moment as I don't seem to be alone in there being issues... which is a shame. It seems many candles produced 2009 onwards have had this issue with seriously sooty wicks and very weak fragrances when lit. When it comes to restocking my Black Cherry (love that one) candle I shall definitely be looking for old stock!

However in reading I've seen rave reviews from long-time Yankee fans for Village Candles which are part soy and especially the lemon pound cake fragrance. I can't see a proper stockist of Village Candles in the UK, but it would be interesting to compare them. Oh well, plenty of Yankee Candles to get through for the time-being that's for sure!
 
 

In a flap....

Well not just because that's the theme of this week's dare over at the Daring Cardmakers blog...

Speaking of, here's my card:

It's a trifold card - that's the flap element! ;o)

Papers: October Afternoon
Stickers: October Afternoon
Pocket: Martha Stewart
Bling: Prima
Die: Nestabilities

Rather cute stuff that Fly a Kite line...

And I rather like the spotty stickers!

Anyway, it's been a rather stressful day and I am probably going to have to do some work this weekend as next week is going to be very hectic. :o(

When I will be moving house is a mystery I had hoped to be moving stuff over next weekend since the TV and Internet is getting installed but have a big project in at work and may have to work next weekend to meet the deadline as it hasn't got off to a smooth start and is already delayed. Grrr...

But in cheerier news, here are some nice things - my summer Yankee Candles arrived (and I have two newly cleaned out jars from old candles to add to the ribbon jar collection):

And...

Also Glee fans - I saw that Sue Sylvester's version of Vogue has been uploaded to the official site and here at digital spy - can't get it to embed properly, so check out the link.

Anyway, I'm off to take a couple of Ibuprofen and wait for Ashes to Ashes to come on. :o)

Card a day prompts: April 16th - April 22nd

Well it's not been an especially creative week for me so far, stressful yes, tiring yes... full of creative? Not so much! So not only do I have last weeks prompts to catch up with, I have this week's to start on! C'est la vie! ;o)

Fri 16th - "Enjoy Life" - Inspiration: Mini alpha stickers, journaling card, chipboard alpha, punched accent, October Afternoon.

Sat 17th - "Blah. Blah. Blah." - Inspiration: Text background, blue, rounded corners.

Sun 18th - "High Five" - Inspiration: Brown/teal, random alphabet, metal hardware/button, one ribbon, American Crafts.

Mon 19th - "Dreamer Butterfly" - Inspiration: Round card, two designs of paper, large embellishment, rub-on greeting.

Tue 20th - "Style" - Inspiration: Dark card blank, white greeting, bling.

Wed 21st - "Lavender Sympathies" - Inspiration: Lilac/yellow/green, pearls, vintage flower, stamped background.

Thu 22nd - "Happy Earth Day" - Inspiration: Nature theme, use something recycled or scraps from your stash, stamped accents.

Right, once I've had my tea I better make my card for tomorrow's DCM dare! Nothing like being spectacularly behind with your to do list!

Carrot umbrellas?

Yes, those folks at Lindt sure made a novel addition to their gold bunnies this year:

And at last I've managed to nab one - very cute indeed!

I'm off to savour the chocolate and get back to my book. ;o) 

Little Sprout

So, I'm onto my second pack of this line from Crate - I loved and used it so much the first time round, I had to restock with a collection pack!

But here's a card to add to the bulging card basket. ;o)

Prompt: "Welcome Baby" - Inspiration: Striped paper, brown + accent colours, mini buttons, owl/tree.

Paper: Crate Paper
Die-cut: Crate Paper
Thickers: American Crafts
Button: Doodlebug

And my stitching is kind of getting better... or at least closer to the edge!

I'm hoping to get some reading time in tonight so better log off!
 
 

Spring stroll...

Just quickly hopping on to share some cards I made for this month's Spring Stroll kit from Angel Crafts. Lime green and hot pink! Yum!

Papers: My Mind's Eye
Pearls: Prima
Stamps: My Cute Stamps, Papertrey Ink
Flowers: Angel Crafts kit
Dies: Nestabilities
Ribbon: Angel Crafts kit
Other: Liquid Pearls, Copic pens

Next up one using the stamp from the kit:

Papers: Luxe Designs
Bling: Kaiser
Stamps: Niki & Friends, Papertrey Ink
Other: Copic pens
Dies: Nestabilities
Ribbon: Angel Crafts kit

And finally some lime and pink delight - I stitched the ribbon onto the paper strip for this one and it's created a nice frill.

Prompt: "Take a Load Off" - Inspiration: Green and pink, home accents, 1 design of paper, typewriter style font.

 

Papercrafts CaD - Apr 09 plus Angel Crafts "Spring Stroll" kit
Papers: October Afternoon
Bling: Kaiser
Pearls: Prima
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Label: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: Angel Crafts kit

 

Looks like that's today's creative output - not caught up with my card a day stuff but so many things to do!

Have spent the entire day either sorting out computer issues, installing and transferring stuff and now have hopefully got my broadband, phone and TV installation sorted for the house. Shouldn't be too long now - but still lots of small things to get done - such as hang up two rather large mirrors!

Plus I would really like to get back to reading my book - whenever that may be! LOL

A day of extremes...

Today started out like any other. But it has been quite a roller coaster of stress and tribulation... and other things!

Early morning I get called down to help on an urgent PC problem - a really nasty Trojan was at work in my dad's work PC and has been wreaking havoc until we (fingers crossed) managed to get rid of it with Malware bytes, now he is in the process of trying to transfer his entire work environment to his new Windows 7 PC - lots of joy in that, NOT! Many hours of swearing, panicked faces as strange events unfolded on the infected PC due to the Trojan... and sighs of relief as it seemed to be stopped in its tracks.

While this was all going on there was the dreadful news of the Polish plane crash.

I had to take my car in to get the tyre looked at. And alas a new one was required as the nail was embedded right on the wheel shoulder and couldn't be repaired.

£80 less in my bank account but a safer drive!

The PC situation seemed to be under control so ma and I went to various furniture and home stores in search of a mirror for over my mantel piece...

Nothing at all that fitted the bill or the price tag.

Went to the new The Range superstore - where they had loads of mirrors, some quite nice but when I looked at the backs they didn't look all that sturdy and weren't ready for hanging...

So went to Next, no large mirrors on display.

But Laura Ashley still had their sale on and well... I kind of bought this:

Despite it being April (the cruelest month for cash flow), despite my car tax being due, despite having shelled out a surprise £80 on a new tyre, despite an existing credit card bill...

Let's just hope it looks as nice over the mantle piece, this pic is a bit fuzzy - but see here for a more detailed zoomy-in image.

Right, I had best get back to the joys of transferring outlook express content to outlook!
 

April is the cruelest month...

When it comes to cash flow! As my car tax is due, plus I have a couple of CC bills need paying aaaaaaaaaaand now I need to visit the tyre centre tomorrow morning as a nail is embedded in my front wheel and needs sorting. Booohisss....

But, the cash flow has also gone on some pretty stuff that was going to keep me occupied this weekend (maybe not so much now that I will be out tomorrow sorting my car).

Behold the prettiness:

Yep, it's mainly October Afternoon Fly a Kit and Thrift Shop - I swore I was only going to get the odd sheet from these lines, but well... something very strange happened and all the papers fell in my basket along with some extra items!

Also I feel the need to purchase more of those Prima e.line bling/pearl cards - they are fab! And the colours are so pretty...

I love these little characters in the journaling cards - so cute!

And yum! Banners!

I love that these stickers aren't shiny like some others, all the better for stamping on, and I love that one with the stitched border in teal...

And finally I couldn't resist some alpha stickers!

So, not long until tonight's Ashes to Ashes, doubt I shall be making anything tonight plus I finally have this to pick up from the library (hopefully tomorrow!):

 

Who said diamond's are a girl's best friend?

A little shopping spree for new pretty shoes is much more rewarding!

But I've not been on a show spree for a while....

However today's dare over at the DCM blog is all about shoes!

And here's my card to share:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket
Pearls: Prima
Border punch: EK Success
Other: Liquid Pearls, Glossy Accents

Oh and I realised the orange thread I bought was a Top Stitch thread so it is thicker than the other stuff... but I quite like that... ;o) 

Card a day prompts: April 9th - April 15th

Just quickly popping in to post this week's list of prompts - I'm not sure the publishers of the Card a Day book thought too well ahead on it, as this week we have a number of Easter prompts going on the titles - but I'm sure we can give them a new spin unless anyone is tempted to make Easter cards for next year!

Fri 9th - "Hey, Chickie" - Inspiration: Inked edges, mod/retro papers, floral background, sheer ribbon, handwritten-style greeting.

Sat 10th - "Worthy is the Lamb" - Inspiration: Religious theme, brackets, bling design/flourish, zig-zag stitching.

Sun 11th - "Hoppy Easter" - Inspiration: Bright flowers, twine/string, lace trim, polka dot background.

Mon 12th - "Easter Eggs" - Inspiration: Three shaped elements (e.g., 3 circles, 3 stars, 3 hearts, etc.), punched border, bunny/bear.

And wait for it... to celebrate National Scrabble day....

Tue 13th - "Scrabble Congrats" - Inspiration: Tiled alphabet, woodgrain design, vintage-style label/journaling card, retro pattern.

Wed 14th - "Grow a Friend" - Inspiration: Green/red/pink, portrait card, ric-rac, stitched border, Basic Grey.

Thu 15th - "R-r-r-rev My Motor" - Inspiration: Manly theme, contrasting colours, digi element/hybrid design, alpha stickers, landscape card.

There we go, I just need to catch up with the rest of this week's cards and get started on these! :o)

Babe Ruthless...

... she was very good, and now I am really itching to get my skates out LOL - but not sure I am up to doing anything roller derby-related!

It was quite fun to be greeted at the cinema by a local group of roller derby girls all kitted out in their flash sequined Lycra numbers handing out flyers and flapjacks!

Anyway, it was a great film - totally recommend it, the skating bits especially were fab! And Juliet Lewis was in great form as Iron Maven, and Drew Barrymore was quite a character as Smashley Simpson.

Oh and I had a bit of a soft spot for their coach played by Andrew Wilson of the Luke/Owen Wilson dynasty. Had no idea he was a Wilson brother but he as some of the Luke Wilson magic... hehe

Anyway, tonight I have been making my card for tomorrow's DCM dare, but also trying to sort out the right tension on my machine when using a colour top thread and white bobbin thread... It's quite a learning curve but I have been practising!

I am still having issues knowing where the needle is going to start off on the zig zag stitch - hence there was some wonky stitching going on...

But who knows, maybe one day I will progress to fabric!
 

 

I must confess...

I managed to nip to Hobbycraft on the way home to check out their threads for my little John Lewis machine...

And well... some damage was done, but I did also manage to buy a new daylight bulb for my lamp at half price - that must count for something right?

But I am itching to use some of these lovely colours now - but can'tjust yet....

You knew there'd be some aqua in there! Kind of glad I still have my DCM card to make for Friday. ;o)
 

Crawling off to bed...

I cannot believe how tired I am this evening. Only got in about an hour or so ago, had my tea and feel like sleeping for a week! LOL

So no cards tonight, although I am itching to play with my sewing machine again. hehe

No playing tomorrow night either (or visiting Hobbycraft for some nice new colours of thread), but I wonder how well equipped Boyes will be in town with Guttermann or Coates reels... if I have time for a nosey!

Tomorrow night I am away to see:

Can't wait, have been eyeing it up since seeing the trailers last year! I secretly always wanted to be in a roller derby! Or disco... hehe

Right, off to watch Masterchef (not liking how they have mucked about with the format this year, much preferred the half-hourly weekday instalments) - it's been a bit of a choppy and blah series, the contestants I most liked were dropped last week and the final three aren't really all that interesting dish-wise.
 

Oooh lookie

I tried out all the stitches on my little machine....

I am rather taken with the scallop one... wondering how to use that on a project. But my fave is of course the large zig zag stitch.

I managed to try out my machine on a couple of card projects.

Prompt: "Elegant Anniversary" - Inspiration: Glittered cardstock/paper, frame, flourish, aged/distressed papers.

Papers: October Afternoon
Stamps: Banana Frog (Build a Daisy), Papertrey Ink
Pearls: Prima
Brad: American Crafts
Other: Glitter cardstock

 

Then I tried my hand at a more vintage look, cripes there is a reason I don't do vintage more often - it always turns out so cackhanded!

Prompt: "Matthew 17:20" - Inspiration: Journaling card/label, vintage trim, photo corners, 2 patterned papers.

Papers: October Afternoon
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Pearls: Prima
Flowers: Prima
Decorative edge: Making Memories
Other: Lace trim

 

Also, I watched a couple of rental DVDs today too:

Obligatory tear shedding in the sad bits!

Good, but not as good as I thought it would be...
 
 
 

Good news!

 
The mini sewing machine works and I hope to use it on a project soon - now here's a question, is it a good idea to avoid sewing through places where adhesive has been applied? Would it clog up my needle and machine over time and be a pain to sort out?

I need to get thread shopping too, but first, as I only have 3 bobbins with the machine, does anyone know which bobbins are compatible for it? As it is made by Janome for John Lewis I would assume there is an equivalent Janome bobbin?

Any ideas?

In the meantime I am off to get a couple of things made, who knows the mini sewing machine might be involved!

The morning after...

Well, yesterday turned out to be quite a day what with the Polish festivities and vodka, and food... and yeah.

Feeling a bit the worse for wear today and wish I could just sleep all day! LOL

But no, I have stuff I need to make and also want to see about finally getting my little sewing machine out of the box to try it out.

However, first up a little backlog of cards!

Prompt: "Prank Me" - Inspiration: Ribbon border, spots, flat card (no 3D foam), Thickers, American Crafts.

Papers: Papertrey Ink
Thickers: American Crafts
Die cut: Nestabilities
Punch: Martha Stewart

Apart from the Thickers and background card, the rest was all in the my little scraps bowl. Which incidentally still has a lot of stuff in it!

But that meant I felt it my duty to try and use some more scraps...

Prompt: "Happy Easter" - Inspiration: Green/pink/yellow/blue, patterned ribbon, chicks, tiny alpha stickers, chipboard flower.

Papers: Papertrey Ink, Bo Bunny
Stamp: Banana Frog - Cupcake Greetings
Die cut strip: Making Memories
Edge punch: Martha Stewart
Other: Heart bling

 

The next one was a return to Basic Grey land! Who knew I'd like these Kokeshi papers so much eh?

Prompt: "Right Now" - Inspiration: Floral background, white greeting, stamped die-cut, bling, Basic Grey.

Papers: Basic Grey
Stamp: October Afternoon
Rub-on: Basic Grey
Die-cut: Nestabilities

Love that old Basic Grey rub-on on brown card, will need to use more of these white rub-ons as I have quite a few and forgot how nice they look!

Finally, cuteness abounds...

Prompt: "Snail Hello" - Inspiration: Citrus/tropical colours, graph/lined paper, polka dots, circles.

 

Papers: Luxe Designs, Narratives
Rub-ons: Prima
Die-cuts: Nestabilities
Flowers: Prima
Brad: American Crafts

Well tortoises are quite slow like snails right?

Right, best go and see if I should get the sewing machine out or just try and catch up on the stuff I need to make today.

Happy Easter all!

Here are a couple of pics from this lovely (yet still rainy and cold) Easter weekend. :o)

I managed to get outside between rain showers, for this year's snaps of the daffodils.

The mini tulips are just coming out....

While Glory of the Snow are hopefully not waiting around for more snow!

There has been a bit of Easter baking courtesy of Dr Oetker!

The Butterfly cakes were from a box too - not Dr Oetker, but alas look much nicer than they taste! Will stick to homemade from scratch next time. ;o)

And here's the breakfast table fully decked out ready for celebrations - quite a number of vodka bottles need finishing off, but once my brother is back from London tonight he will no doubt assist (although he seems to be a bit worse for wear after his cultured boys' weekend) - the recycling box is going to look quite interesting this week with all these empty vodka bottles! But they are mainly left-overs from Christmas! ;o)

Not even opened a chocolate egg yet... not much room for one at the mo!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Since the weather is blaaaah

I'm starting the day with some pretty Spring photos!

First up though, it's my day at the Lilypad on the Banana Frog blog, if you want to make these:

Go check out the Frog Blog for more info! :o)

And as for pretties... I am still loving my cushion, totally forgot to take it over to the house yesterday so am still admiring it!

Yesterday I also got out those John Lewis Easter purchases to put together something decorative for the table:

Hopefully those branches of Cherry tree will still blossom as there's water in that vase too.

The wreath looks lovely round the vase, but might hang it on the wall next year.

The little glass eggs are from John Lewis too, wish we'd bought more! And Peter Barratt's sells those lovely jewelled fake cherry blossoms. So want some more for the house! But must not go overboard!

And what table wouldn't be complete without some chocolate eggs, can't forget the Cream Egg!

But check out the Lindt bunny with his carrot umbrellas! So cute! I wonder what the carrot umbrellas will be made of.

Oh and there has been a special visitor at the back door who is getting more and more friendly - Gimzo, as he has been nicknamed due to mishearing his real name, has taken to waiting for attention and following people around the garden. No doubt after food! Kizia isn't too keen on his increased presence, but he is very funny... 

Anyway, I'd best get dressed and ready to head out, a trip to Makro and Aldi is on the cards for some Polish and other Continental cooked meats for tomorrow's Easter breakfast. Bring on the vodka!