ATCs AND CARDS WITH ATTITUDE - ANYTHING GOES/CELEBRATION

We had an amazing number of entries for our last challenge especially as we are all so busy at this time of year. Well done to the winners and top 3. Have a look HERE for the details.
Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by:
Meljens

who is offering 3 digis to the winner and:
Stitchy Bear

who is offering a voucher to spend in her shop.
Using Meljens 'Party Time Cat' and the theme 'Celebration', this is my ATC :

I coloured everything with distress markers adding stickles for the 'wow' effect.
I hope you all get to party this New Year and come back in 2013 for some more challenge fun with attitude!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR.

WICKED WEDNESDAY ATC #64 - SKULLS & SKELETONS

The last challenge of the year over at WW is Skulls & Skeletons. I came up with this:

I ran an embossing folder with sticky-backed metal foil in it through my big shot to form the skeleton base which I then covered in pitch black paint dabber. I rubbed most of the paint off but left some in the recesses. I then stamped the skulls, cut them out and coloured them with distress stains. They were stuck down with 3D foam and then covered with glossy accents. The words are from a chit chat pad.
So that is the end of the challenges at Wicked Wednesday for this year. The list is on the go for 2013 and I am looking forward to playing along.
HAPPY NEW YEAR.
I just noticed I was in their top 3 again last week - whoopee! and thanks once more.

IT'S CHRISTMAS

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads my Blog posts a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS. Thank you for all your encouraging comments during 2012 and please keep visiting next year.

WICKED WEDNESDAY ATC #63 - I LOVE SANTA

I nearly didn't make it this week with all the running around etc, but I can't miss joining in the challenges over at WW.
Because of the lack of time I downloaded a little image from my stash, cut around it and used 3D foam to mount it onto a pre-cut ATC made from one of last year's Xmas cards. I added some stickles for a bit of bling and then staged my photo by putting the card on a branch of my Christmas tree:

See, Santa's reindeer loves him, especially when Santa feeds him apples!

Talking of reindeer. The lovely Hels organised a one day giveaway the other day, and guess who won??? ME. Look what I got, it's just arrived:

2 amazing papier mache reindeer just begging to be decorated. Aren't they super.
I have a white board on the back of one of the doors in my little craft room, where I note down all the things I have to do. So far it's full!!! One of the things on the list is to devise a plan for 2013 Christmas so that I don't end up in the stressful state of this year. These reindeer will therefore probably be decorated in the summer - I hope.
May I just wish all those who follow Wicked Wednesday plus their amazing Design Team
A VERY VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS. 

20/12/2012

I have waited for today for so long and now I really don't know where to begin this post - bit emotional. Perhaps a good place would be to tell you that - IT'S MY BIRTHDAY.
Even more surprising as I was a 10 month baby and should have been born in November.

This is me a few months later after my diphtheria inoculation.
Look at that cutie. Can you imagine my dad at birth weighing in at a massive 12lb+ in 1904 and I weighed around 7.5lb.
Celebrations and frivolity all round but please take a minute to note the date:
20/12/2012
A date that will never happen again. My 'special' day is not 'just 'special though. This is what made me realise that this year was going to be a good one for me, ok, there have been a few hiccups but overall it's been ok, afterall, I've won numerous craft prizes, 2 came from Tim and 1 from Ranger, can't be bad eh? But I digress - I'm allowed that today!
This is why today is so very special to me:
Add 20+12+20+12
and you get 64
believe it or not but that is how old I am today - I know, you think I'm 45!! Yeh I wish!!!!
Now, how many peeps can claim those maths on their birthday??
I decided to celebrate this 'never to happen again' date by re-vamping my blog. Please feel free to have a good look around it. My precious Toby has a wonderful new place, peeping out over all my posts (it's the original photo - can you believe that?) and just have a look at the background. It's made up of some of my 12 tags of Christmas - past - and celebrated the wonderful $100 prize I won after completing tags from 2011.
I love the colour and the way the posts move but the background remains static. So darn clever, all due to the expertise of my super talented son-in-law, Quentin. Just click his name to see more of his skills.
THANK YOU so much for doing this for me especially in time for the big launch today. Means so much Mwah x.
I leave you with a photo of some of my birthday cards plus a great big thanks to everyone who follows my wafflings.

WOYWW #185

T'was the week before Xmas and all through the house nothing was stirring except for a -
million crafters throughout the world making last minute Christmas cards!!!!!
It's thanks to our leader Julia, that we know this because today we all take a little break from the seasonal mayhem and go see what fellow crafters are up to.
All I have on my desk this morning is a pile of ribbon and a WiP that I can't show you because it's one of my DT projects for January. So I thought I would wish you all
A VERY, VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS
and show you the gorgeous hand-made cards I have received from friends:

I adore the mini trees which are Stampers Anonymous and will be looking out for those in the sales.
Today my lovely friend Sylvia who lives in Devon, is having an operation - as I type actually. So I just want to wish her well and hope that the awful weather I believe that part of the country is having over the next couple of days doesn't prevent her getting home tomorrow.
Ah! tomorrow, well that's a day I have waited for all my life. You see it's my birthday and if you care to pop back you will see why it's such a special one at that.

4 YEARS ON

and we miss him just as much as 17th December 2008.
My scrapbook page this year is a black and white one. We have this gorgeous photo of Toby that somehow turned out without any colour. I've wanted to make this page for a while and today it happened, I love it and hope you do too:

I've always tried to steer away from flowers and bling for Toby's pages, but I couldn't resist using both this time.
Now then my lovely followers, have you noticed anything changing on my blog just lately??? Keep watching over the next week - well up to Thursday anyway - and all will be revealed in it's final form.
A great big THANK YOU to my amazing son-in-law for his expertise to date. Mwah.x.

WICKED WEDNESDAY ATC #62 - FAIRY HOUSES

I am a little late this week with my entry to the WW challenge, but then time is alluding me at the moment. The theme fairy houses reminded me of a workshop I did some time ago called Fairy Doors which was run by my friend Lindsay Mason and whom I am trying desperately to see before Xmas. We made a little door from bits of grungepaper and decorated it to our own design. They were supposed to go on your skirting board so that fairies could come and go as they pleased. I thought I would try and make an ATC - sized one, but the pieces were just too small and fiddly and over powered the card, so I came up with this instead:

Here is a little fairy wondering whether to buy the house over the meadow. I'd stick to the one she's got, it's more modern and has out buildings!!!!
Well, only 2 more challenges from WW for this year. I've enjoyed each week and am looking forward to next year and hope I can join in each time again.

ATCs/CARDS WITH ATTITUDE #29 - ANY XMAS COLOURS

Hey there challenge peeps, this is our last challenge before Xmas - but don't worry - there is one more before the end of the year.
Our amazing DT have made another set of inspiring samples for you on the theme of - ANY XMAS COLOURS - plenty for you to 'play' with this time, have a look HERE.  So, ATCs/Cards with Attitude invite you to have a little bit of 'me' time over the next 2 weeks and join in our challenge. Our sponsors are:
Fresh Brewed Designs - offering 3 digis to the winner:

Limited Runs - offering 3 digis to the winner:

I chose the image - Catching a Snowflake from Limited runs and made my ATC plus an acetate wallet for it:

The image is delightful. I re-sized it to ATC dimensions, coloured it using Distress Markers and Distress Stickles - rock candy. I then made an ATC wallet from re-cycled packaging which I ran through my Big Shot using a snowflake embossing folder. I punched some snowflakes from mirri card to add a bit of interest and 'Bob's your Uncle' so to speak:

Please have a break from the madness that is surrounding your Xmas (it will all be worth it on the day though!) and try to find some time to relax and join us this fortnight.
May I take this moment to wish all our participants, a very, very Happy Christmas.

WOYWW #184 - 12/12/12

It's a freezing start to an iconic date, namely 12/12/12. As we whiz around the world of crafty desks, courtesy of our leader Julia, some will have experienced most of the day whilst others will still be waiting for it to dawn.
My prize from Tim's November tag arrived from Inspiration Emporium yesterday:

I decided to buy as much as I could with the $25 so went for a load of masks and made it up with a pack of kraft tags. I paid the $10 postage myself. After a wonderful workshop a few weeks ago with Hels, I became hooked on masks following the amazing techniques she showed us.
So to my desk this morning. I am still making Xmas cards. Can't believe how disorganised I am this year, even the pressie shopping is still not done. I just don't have any spare time and the jobs are stacking up. One of  my major and very important tasks is a new page for Toby's albums. His anniversary is on the 17th making this year the 4th since we lost him. Unbelievable. So here is my little space just now:

The beginnings of his page which will have to be completed today or tomorrow.
Right I am away to watch Hels on C&C showcasing the melt pot.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

I mean Christmas tree time. We went away last year so never bothered with the tree but as we are staying here, hoping to spend time with family for a change, we have garden lights twinkling away and our infamous upside down tree doing the same:

So cosy with all the lights on at night but unfortunately, I can only stand them for a few hours because I struggle with artificial light. Never mind, all in a good cause - FUN.

WICKED WEDNESDAY ATC # 61 - WING IT

My most favourite 'qwirky' stamp designers, Stampotique, are sponsoring WW this week. You really are in for a treat if you pop over and have a look at the samples because their amazing DT have joined the WW DT and created wonderful things.
I made a 'thing' too, wotcha fink??

Little Mot with his pincurl and a set of cabbage white butterfly wings, just perfect for a 'thing'!!!

Looks like someone else has an eye on him though!! Watch out 'thing'.
Such fun.

12 TAGS OF 2012 - DECEMBER

Did I tell you that I won a prize for my November tag? A whopping $25 voucher from Inspirations Emporium. Thank you Tim for picking my entry, thank you Mario for emailing me and organising the voucher and thank you Joy for giving the voucher in the first place. I am one happy cookie. 
This month was a bonus because Tim made 2 tags making up for missing the one last January. I finally made the time yesterday to complete mine.

They are so lovely especially the backgrounds. I got to open my metallic stains at last!

I realised after I took the photos, that I had forgotten to add a little gem above the 'j', I've done that now.

I wish I had the strip die that Tim cut the words 'joy to the world' from. Not seen that one but I will acquire it at some point because it's really a lovely die. I used a salvage sticker from the seasonal range. 
Tim also posted another tag that was made for the CHA show so once I have made my Xmas cards, I'll have a go at that one too.

WHATS ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #183

Julia arranged the weekly Wednesday desk hop around the world 183 weeks ago and it's still going strong. well done Julia. What a Pinocchio nose we all have now - except for the porky pie bit of course!.
I have been meeting myself coming back since you came to mine last week and had to have a little tidy up inbetween making this lot:

There were a few more than this but they had to be posted as some where going abroad. I just don't have any spare time so am making cards on a conveyor belt so to speak. Couple with the fact that my computer is running on gas just now and I can't do half the things on it I really need to do. It's driving me crazy. So, to the tidy desk - again folk:

You can see my new i-phone bottom right - I changed my contract last week, another palaver, the bit of paper has details of Hel's tv shows on the 12th and 14th, my now full set of the new distress stains, a few ink pads and blending tools which I'm using on the Xmas cards, my specs of course - don't worry Sylvia my lovely case is just out of view - a pile of Xmas stamps some on blocks some not and some just waiting their turn, my now very mucky cleaning cloth, etc. etc.
Right, got to keep this conveyor belt moving........

THANK YOU TIM

If you know me or follow my blog waffling then you will also know how much I love all things Tim Holtz. I joined in the 12 tags of Christmas and have joined in the 12 tags of 2012 enjoying every minute. Well, Tim has made me one happy lass because he chose my November tag to win a prize. The ever gorgeous Mario emailed me to say I had won a $25 voucher from Inspirations Emporium, of Joy Kennedy fame, and I have had great fun spending it this afternoon.
So thank you once again - 'cos I've won 3 times this year, twice from Tim and once from Ranger.

We, by that I mean my hubby and I, have a few family mishaps at the moment and time is very short coupled with the fact that my computer can't decide whether Google Chrome is good for it or not. He is busy trying to put our outside Christmas lights up and has also been making these:

Shabby chic shelves. Clever or what?

WICKED WEDNESDAY ATC #60 - FRAME IT

Create a framed ATC is what the DT over at WW ATC have requested this week.
I have this gorgeous stamp that I bought to make a birthday card for a certain little office manager, namely Huxley the Tibetan Terrier, who belongs to my Step Daughter and her husband. Needless to say, Huxley likes sausages:

The little scamp is running off with a whole string of sausages. Simply stamped onto yellow card and coloured with distress markers, the sausage thief got his dinner. I used Copics to colour the frame and Archival black ink for the word.
Can I please ask everyone who reads my blog to bear with me because I am having great difficulties with my computer just now and it is taking ages to do the simplest of tasks. x