Hummingbird Sprite!

Hello Everyone, how are you all today?, well I hope and enjoying your day.  We have a bit of sunshine, but this morning when I let Teallach in at 5.30, it was 4 degrees, definitely getting much cooler, the first of September is officially the first day of Autumn.

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last card, I do appreciate every one of them, and not just about the card, but the little responses to whatever I've been taking about, I know it takes time and it's great that you find it to visit me.

My card today shows one of Aurora Wings new images, Hummingbird Sprite;

Isn't this just an adorable image.... I'm not really into doing cute images, but I have to say I do love Aurora Wings little Sprites. I've used watercolours, a mixture of Cotman and the new Aletnew paints. Yes, I've been treating myself and I bought these as the colours are wonderful, and most quite different to what I already have. I believe that the paints match their inks and markers.
The paper is a First Edition First Blooms and I've used card to co ordinate with the colours I've used.
My little flowers are the nearest ones I have to Fuchsias, some purple ribbon and a lovely pearl embellishment the my lovely friend Mrs. Duck gifted to me. Load of glitter on the Sprite's wings, and a few tiny pearls.

Now I have a question that maybe some of ladies who use digital stamps might know. Is there a way around the printer ink staying in place when using wet medium? I tried to be careful, but some of the ink moved. I would think it would be much the same with markers. So if anyone has a suggestion I would love to hear it.

Right then, that's me for now, we are going for a wee walk and then a bit of lunch, so take care of yourselves and see you soon,

Bonsai Tree!

Hello to Everyone, I hope you are well and your day is going good.

I've been frustrated by first my computer scanning the disc, it seemed to take for ever and fairly kept me back from what I wanted to do which was print some images out to colour. Finally three hours later.. and mind you, I've received no information regarding the scan so don't know if all was okay with it and if it will rescan  another time. Anyway, resized my images and hit the print button....nothing!! tried to get on to the printer app, wouldn't let me so couldn't see what the problem was. Shut everything down, and finally managed to sort it all, however, all that took me three times in the doing. I've ended up with the mother of all headaches...oh I hate when these things go wrong, it meant that my plans for a good old colouring in session didn't happen.

The other day, I couldn't get on to my blog as I was sent to a widgetserver. I was tearing my hair out trying to get that sorted. I just don't know how these things happen when the device is protected.  Anyway, while the going is good, here is a card for you;

This was made from a sketch by Gaynor at Stamp for Joy, and unfortunately it didn't turn out so well. The embossed panel is meant to be at a diagonal angle, that didn't work out too good. However, I show my pants cards too lol.
The image is from SU All Good Things stamp set, and it's been inked up with one of those ink pads that has multiple colours, brown shades by Hero Arts. The little floral stamps are from the same set, and in the background is that wonderful Marble stamp from SU.  Gold pearls finishes it off.

Thank you all for the visits and lovely comments on my last card, and brilliant to see some new commenters, I hope you will come back again.

Alistair and friends had a fine time at the BBQ at the weekend, but my dear hubby has been catching up on sleep since coming home.  Teallach and I had a very restful time, no fiddle playing or constant news programmes.

I'm off now to see about getting the  pasta sauce made for our tea. Take care and see you soon,

Robin for the Rudolph Challenge!

Hello Everyone, I hope your weekend is going well. Don't they come around fast!!
We have a mixture of dull and sunshine this morning and much cooler, and I can feel the Autumn chill in the early morning when I'm letting Teallach in. No doubt he will be staying indoors soon as it will be too cold for him to stay out all night.

I've got the best part of the weekend to myself, Alistair is going to our friends in Strathdon, where it's the Lonnach Gathering and our friends always put on a big BBQ and everyone who is anyone arrives. I have been plenty of times, and now there is no guarantee of a bed and I don't so camping of Alistair and his musical friends are going, and they have a hoolie in the bothy, Jack's made an old building in his garden into a bothy, where they light a fire and play music till the wee small hours. It's all great fun and on Sunday, those who want to get dressing in the theme of the weekend, which is 70's and have a grand time competing in games out in the garden.  I hope the weather hold for them.

I'll be crafting and catching up with my new Dorothy Dunnett book.
So I thought that I would enter a wee card into the Rudolph challenge; 
https://scrapsoflifebyscrappymo.blogspot.com/2018/08/august-rudolph-days-challenge.html

Just a little decoupaged Robin. I had this in my drawer for ages, I'm trying to use up some of my older stash.

That's me for now, and before I go, just to say thank you for all your lovely comments on my last card, I love to read them and appreciate each and everyone of them. Take care of yourselves, and have a grand weekend.

Aperture Cards for Back to Basic and Beyond Challenge No. 10!

Hello Everyone, I hope you are fit and well, but if not sending kind thoughts that you will feel better soon.
Gosh into another week, we are speeding through the months, wish I could slow them down, and it's getting dark earlier too.

I'm here with my DT card for the BBB challenge, it's no. 10 and what is wanted this time around is an Aperture Card,, here is mine,

My lovely Alistair gave me money to by this wonderful SU stamp and die set...Roots in Nature, which I'm loving and having great fun using it. I used this marvellous oak tree stamp  to be seen through the window, and inked a background with DI. There is a great selection of leaves in the set, so I used some to go around the aperture. The embossed strip is by CC that came free in one of their magazines, the sentiment is one of John Next Door's and stamped on to another image from the SU set, it's a cut log.
This card is a retirement card for one of our friends, I'm sure he will like it., I hope you do and it offers some inspiration to join in the challenge which you can find here.

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on my CCC card, you are all so kind and I do appreciate each and every comment you leave.

That's all for me for the moment, I think I've finally caught up with my commenting, so see you soon, take care of yourselves and enjoy life,

Nativity for the CCC!

Hello Everyone, I hope you are well and having a lovely weekend. We have a warm sunnyish  day up here, good for the washing.

Thanks to everyone who left comments on my last card, I do appreciate the time it takes.
It's time for the Christmas Card Club girls to show there cards for this fortnight, and this time the hostess is Margaret (Granmargaret) and she would like to see the Nativity on the cards, but if that's not good for you  then we have Anything Goes. Anyway, here is what I've come up with,

Not the type of card I do,but I have one friend who appreciates this kind of religious card. This is a silhouette image from Little Claire stamps and I've inked the background with DI and added a few wee gems for stars. Matted on to blue and then silver mirror card, of course always difficult to photograph. Hope this will do Margaret. Thank you for the challenge, it made me use an old stamp that has been around in my stash for yonks.

Do have a look at what the other girls have made, they always have some fab cards to show.

Just a quick post today, as we are off out soon, so I'll love you and leave you and see you soon,

All Good Things!

Hello Everyone, how are you all today?? Well I hope and  enjoying your day.

Thank you all so much for your kind comments on my last card, I do appreciate your visits and comments, it all takes so much time, and that's precious. 

I've had a quiet day today whilst Alistair was away sailing. He and his friend Derek were helping another friend sail from Ft. Augustus to Inverness, they sailed up Loch Ness and Alistair's job was to open the loch gates. It was pretty wet in the morning, he said but a beautifully hot afternoon. It must have been hard work as he seems to be shattered. Anyway, I got plenty of time in my craft room and made this card;

I used a new stamp set from SU, All Good Things, and stamped the beautiful Koi  fish with DI, and Pixi powders on the background of the large panel. The background papers is from Papermania's Oriental Treasures and matted on to SU card. The little circle of papers is from the same paper pad cut out with dies from the Works, they are brilliant at cutting out, and I've added a little Chinese coin to it's center. The sentiment is from the stamp set. Added some little sequins to finish off.

Well, Alistair has obviously had a second wind as he's upstairs playing his fiddle...oh woe!!

Our Choral rehearsals started again last night, we've had such a long break, it was good to get back and catch up with singing friends. We are singing Karl Jenkins The Armed Man for out concert in November. I love the music of Karl Jenkins, who is a Welsh composer, and the Armed Man was composed as a Mass for Peace for the first Gulf War, sadly the powers that be, and the elite who make money from the selling of arms, took no notice. That's the way of the world it seems. Nevertheless, it a hugely powerful piece of music. I have sung it twice before, and last time we had an Iman to sing the Call to Allah, which was haunting. Some of you may know it if you listen to Classic FM, as there is always movements being played.

Right'o, that's me for now, enjoy your evening and I hope to see you soon,

Stags and Tartan for Christmas!

Hello Everyone, hope you are having a grand weekend, doing whatever makes you happy.
I'm not doing all that much, a bit of housework here and there, then a wee sit down with my kindle, then up to do something else.

I've been busy off and on in my craft room and trying to get ahead with the cards I need for CCC and the BBB challenge, I like to be ahead. I will have to make a Sympathy card as one of our neighbours died this morning.
 He had been ill with cancer for a while, and it's finally got him. It was a strange thing to see the Funereal car taking him away, with a young woman walking in front of the car. It was really quite sad. We are a street, well a cul de sac really, where nearly everyone is young, with small children, so it's been a very long time since someone died. The children out playing on the street were mesmerised by the car going by.  Anyway, he is out of pain now.

Thank you all so much for your visits and your lovely comments on my last card.

I made this one with one of our male friends in mind, and I thought the stags would be just fine for him. I've used a stamps by Crafts Too, that John Lockwood had on his Hochanda show, the tags and sentiment are his own dies. Mrs. Duck gifted me the fabulous tartan card, which I though goes so well with the stag theme, finished off with enameled dots.

I would like to enter the card into  http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2018/08/week-4801-from-boys-to-men.html 

That's me for now, so I'll say cheerio for now and see you soon, take care and have a good weekend,

Friends Make the Good Times Better!

Hello Everyone, I do hope all is well with you and that your day has been good.  I've been doing a bit of crafting and and sorting out of my CB stamps. I have been keeping my new and uninked stamps on my desk so that I would be reminded to use them, well it doesn't quite work that way with me, so the pile was getting bigger and bigger.  So I've mounted then all and got them suitably stored.

For a couple of weeks now I've been watching You Tube videos made by a lovely lady called Gaynor Boyce, who is a Stamping Up demonstrator.  I have been loving watching her create cards, and I have one or two SU sets, and felt I wanted a bit of inspiration, and this lady has offered loads.  She also puts up a weekly sketch, not something I do all that often but I decided to follow Gaynor's one for last week, here is my card,

I made a background by stamping leaf images from the Rooted in Nature stamp set and the sentiment is from the Waterfront set.  I had some First Edition papers that coordinated with the colours I'd used so they were used for the four panels. I added baker's twine and some sequins. I was quite pleased with the finished card, especially as it was a much smaller card than I usually make.  But do you know I am really pants at measuring, even with a ruler, and I had to do a bit of measuring with this card. Gaynor has a FB page where you can post the cards.

Well, we are getting quite a bit cooler up here, it is feeling much fresher in the mornings, well I guess Autumn is just around the corner.

Thank you all for the lovely comment on my beautifully Japanese lady, you are very kind and I appreciated all you comments, that's me for now, enjoy your evening and see you soon,

Use a Digital Image for Back to Basics and Beyond Challenge

Hello Everyone, I hope all is well with you and you are enjoying life.

I'm here with another DT card for Back to Basics and Beyond Challenge no.9 and it's to use a digital image.  I've chosen this beautiful image from Aurora Wings called Heartstrings;

This beautiful lady has been coloured with various coloured pencils, although mainly Prisma Colours. Matted on to black card and then I found some papers from Papermainia that was out a few years ago that was part of a set called Oriental Treasures. I then matted it on to a SU card that suited the colours I'd used. A little bit of sparkle from WOS and some sequins.

We would love you to join the challenge and you can find it here.

Please have a look at the Challenge Blog where there is lots of fabulous inspiration from my DT teamies.

Toadstools!

Hello Everyone, how are you all doing today. The start of another week....aren't just going in so quickly.  We had a lovely day afternoon yesterday after we did the food shopping...something I hate and putting it all away I hate even more, anyway, I through together a packed lunch, well BLT sandwiches and a crumpet and jam and drove out to Ardisier , a little village about 7 miles from Inverness and on the coast. We sat out and had our food and watched the seabirds, it was just lovely, then we had a wee walk along the seafront and through the village. The clouds were scudding by with a threat of rain, but it held off. It blew the cobwebs away.
What about you, did you have a good weekend?

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my fun cards for the CCC, I always appreciate them.

My card today is made with my new favourite Woodware stamp;

I just love this wonderful toadstool image which has been coloured with Zig watercolour pens and Oxides for the background. Matted on to black card and then a sheet of hessian from CC, and to finish off the matting a piece of card from The Works.
My little Gnome is from Apple blossom and it's a stamp and die set, the little toadstools are from the same make as is the sentiment. The gorgeous buttons were gifted to me by my friend Mrs. Duck, and they couldn't have blended in better with the colours. WOS to give a bit of shimmer.
I'm awfully pleased with it, especially as I don't really do cute.

Anyway, I'm going to enter it into http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.com/2018/08/august-chall

enge.html
Thanks for your visit and I'll see you soon, take care,

Christmas Activities for the CCC!

Hello to You All, I hope you are fit and well and still enjoying the lovely summer weather.

Thank you all so much for your visits and comments, and especially on my last post which was something of an essay, I appreciate that many of you read it.  
I try not to criticise the NHS as I think it's a marvellous thing to have and the way things are going we might not have it much longer, but it does need overhauling in some areas.. however that discussion would lead into a political debate and not the time or place for that.

Would you believe it, it's time for another Christmas Card Club challenge, where does the weeks go to!! Anyway, it's our lovely Maureen who has chosen the theme this time around and she would like to see cards with Christmas Activities. Here are mine;

 I've used images from the Debbie Moore Snowbuddies again, just because I had them already printed out and in my drawer. This one has a John Next Door EF, called Confetti, it's a lovely one to use. Everything else is from the CD. We have a friend who snowboards, so he will be receiving this in a few months time.

  Now we have a Snowbuddy skiing, he looks like he could be in a bit of a pickle. LOTV paper in the background.  Just some fun cards, and this one will go to another friend who goes skiing. So thank you Maureen for your choice of theme, I did enjoy making them.

I'll leave it here for now and schedule this post for tomorrow, Sunday when the CCC goes live.

Have a smashing weekend, whatever you're doing and take care,

I would like to enter the first card into the https://scrapsoflifebyscrappymo.blogspot.com/2018/07/july-rudolph-days-challengea-little.html#comment-form