Happy Samhain!

Happy Samhain Everyone!!!

be back later!!!

love the Purple witch xxx

my work space & blog candy.

The lovely Dawn has had more than 20,000 blog hits as is celebrating by doing blog candy.
This is what she is saying about her blog candy.....

"All you have to do is take a photo of your crafting space/room and if you're in the photo even better (and if you have any furry crafting buddies I would love to see them too~!!) - It's great to put a face to the name!!! - Post it on your blog, leave a comment so I can come visit and leave a wee post on your blog about my candy giveaway! That's it!
A winner will be chosen on Friday 31/10/08 at 8pm."

Now I have a thing about not putting photos of myself on my blog, I never have done.

But here is my work space..... Brace yourself! It's a lot of stuff in a small space!


I have started posting cards I make for challenges instead of keeping them like I had been doing.

And of course, my fury crafty Buddy.....Poppy La Pooh!

She spends much time digging her blankets on the spare bed,
which has also now decided is where she likes to sleep at night!
Her friend in the background is Dudley the dog who she likes to throw off the bed usually at me when I am trying to craft!

brrrrrr.........

Man it's cold here today, heavy hale and sleet showers were frequent today,
and forecast is for below zero tonight.

Being Thursday, it was out for weekly blood test,
and then I took sandwich home for me and Andrew.

Pops is on restricted walking with her sore paw but this afternoon turned into a

Tasmanian she devil!

So back to normal walking tomorrow!!!
I have an order for five cards for a friend of a friend.
Have done two of them so far.
I am finding it harder to make a card for someone I don't know.

But I gave it a go.

This one is as you can see for a 40year old Aberdeen Football club supporter.
The tartan is Aberdeen football club tartan! I downloaded it as well as club logo.
And Pittodrie is where the team ground are.
I tired it with a white square on top of the tartan but it didn't look right.



This one all I got on bit of paper was special sister in law and something cute.....
I think Tilda looks cute!

The two are using a couple of downloads by my lovely friend Debbie who designs for Crafty Templates. I love this wee Teddy.
The glitter glue is not quite dry on it yet.

I love this download.

The trouble I seem to have with downloads is the edges seem to smudge when I am colouring them in.
Is it my printer or dose anyone have this problem?

This wee lady is by the lovely Sammi who has a couple of different ranges of fairies, gnut people and now wee flower girls for sale.

Her face got a wee bit smudged while I was colouring her in.
Any tips anyone?
I have tried using the watercolors, pencils and my new fave pens with a blender pen.

She is also not quite dry but thought I would show her anyway.

The final picture is a simple wallet card, I like the stark contrast of teh shimmery black with teh vream and shimmery hot pink.
My new stamp is kind of Rennie Macintosh and I love the swirls.
It will be posted off to someone tomorrow. With some images tucked safely inside.
Sent with love.....

2nd post, too cold to do much else!

Well the snow is now sleet, its really wet and really cold,
so while I was waiting on spooks coming on the TV I made these three.

This one is for the Papertake Weekly Challenge and is a sketch by the lovely DawnyP

Tomorrow it will be on its way to someone special. Hope they like it.
It is a wee birdie peel off coloured in non Christmas colours. He looks sweet.

It is not as good a take on the sketch as I wanted but it was how it ended up!

The following two are carried on from the same theme as one of the cards we made at class last night. I bought these peel offs months ago and didn't like any of the results I made with them.



They are also using up fabric squares that I bought a few years ago and again never used successfully mainly cause I didn't have glue that stuck it down to my satisfaction.

But since they are on fabric I will enter the robin card on the Arty Girlz Challenge
I like how they both look, and will use up the peel offs for more chrimbo cards.

Last nights card class makes

Tuesday's card class was on a Monday this week, here's my makes from there.

I love this snowy post box card!

Not a great photo.

There is snow paste stuff with glitter layered up on it,
with red glittery glue for berries and some on the holly leaves edges for a slight snow effect.

I am entering it in Spoonful of sugar, this week being sparkle & bling.
It has more sparkle in real life! lol Glittery red card and lots of glitter on it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This one is made with candle peel offs & sukura pens to glaze colour on it when stuck to pearl card.
I am glad we did this one, I have got loads of peel off outlines and never found a good way to use them!


Poppy is doing better, being driving mad by the falling snow fluttering past the window!
She so wants to go out and dig and play in it!

She woke us up at 5 am looking for some food!!
Bless........... ( yeau like that was what I as saying at that time of the morning!)

So yesterday, I put on the toastie machine to make lunch and thought...what is that smell?
I had shut the cable inside the machine when I had put it away ..
took it out , plug in and switched it to heat......
Wndered what the awful smell was....it melted the cable
and fussed the machine, knocking all the power out, and messing up sky!

Then Andrew's coffee machine broke....

And our trip to the vets for Pop's paw with antibiotics, pain killers, her monthly flea and worm tabs.....£63 thank you very much!!!

*sigh*

Poppy's poorly paw.....

So Poppy hasn't been well today, limping and not wanting to go for a walk or play.
Not like her at all.
When she stretches her back , you know the way they put bum up in the air and front legs down on the ground....well she was stretching out her left paw, claws gripping into the rug but not her right paw.
Been to see Mr Vet and he thinks she has an infection in a smalled cracked area on her second paw pad. So a week of antibiotics and some pain killers for a couple of days.

She is just giving us the big Labrador eyes......so obviously will need lost of cuddles and more importantly chicken for dinner to make her feel better!

Don't be feeling too sorry for her....she went outside while Andrew was using the power hose,
and grabbed a hold of it and ran round the garden taking the hose with her!!!

Monday again already........

Quiet day in today.

Poppy is limping, not sure what she has done, is walking but is not keen to use it.
So will try to keep her quiet and rest it today. That's not gonna be easy!

Will have a good look at it when Andrew comes home at lunch time so he can help me get her to stay still. Tried to have a look at her paw but she just kept licking my face.
Have made an appointment to see Vets so I can get her some anti inflammatorys.

Don't think I will get any cards done, as she sits at the bottom of the stairs and cries if I go upstairs.....so I carried her up....yes....I carried her up and she then wants downstairs again!

I have a few cards I have made for challenges that I want to send to bloggy mates.
So... will try to get a few things popped in the post today.
*wink*

What do you do with the cards you make for challenges?

Some have become Birthday cards, and cards for gifts ,
The challenge cards are not style I usually make.
I enjoy making them and mostly am pleased with the end result.

I usually make more simple cards that look very plain here, but change is good.

I have a box at work I put cards in, in wee cellophane bags with prices on the back and I sell a fair few. I don't make much on them but it goes towards craft stuff so am happy.

I also make cards to order.

Sometimes I show them and then add on the personal info afterwards.
So you see the card but not who it is for. I have a few of them to do.

Card class starts again this evening. Am looking forward to seeing the girls again and trying out new card techniques.

Off to go watch Surfs up....a cartoon about penguin surfers!
Yeap thats what my Monday is gonna be all about!

Sunday cosy & warm

Sunday evening, hail stones , rain and wind....evening for crafting.


This card is my entry for Friday Sketchers Challenge blog.
I used a pretty black and white photo that my friend took of a
dandylion that I love.


The glue is dried on these cards I started the other day, so I finished them off and here they are.

The Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge sketch is designed by Donna and this is my take on it.

I also used it for the Tilda & Co Challenge are also looking for a Tilda with a rainbow connection.....so my wee flowers are Richard of York gave battle in vain....
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet!

This one is the first challenge over at One Stop Challenge.
It is a sketch by Sharon.
The stripes and dots are basic grey, and stamp is Lulu who I love just now!
I am not sure about the papers on it.
I tried various back grounds but ended up with the pale pink.


And last but not least another Halloween card for my two nieces and nephew.


It is accetate card A5 in size.

testing ribbon storage.

In previous posts I mentioned using a Labrador to store my ribbons......

this worked fairly well .......

as long as she stood still didn't sit down or run mental around the house.....

Then.....well.....er.... , yeau, not soooooo effective......

Emma also bloged about ribbon storage and then we both were emailed by Melissa from www.ribbonring.com who asked if we would test out this product......



Emma has done a lovely proper review of the product....true professional!

I have copied and pasted some info form Emma's blog! She did such good job of explaining it!

"In our promotional packs we received ten ribbon tags, five inventory dots (if you have a long length of ribbon and need to cut it to a manageable length, you affix the dot to the corner of the tag to remind you that you have more of that ribbon...ingenious!) and a 1.5" ring."

I haven't used the inventory dots, as I don't have the stock to require them, but good idea.

I must admit when it arrived I did think I will never get many of my ribbons on these ten rings....

BUT I DID !

They took most my ribbons, to be honest I don't have a huge amount,
I was storing them in a basket & they were getting knotted and wrinkled.

Can now use that space for other crafty stuff!!

I need to get some for the wider ribbon, these don't take them,
but I do believe that they are doing wider ribbon tabs.
They are stored badly draped over the door at the moment.



It was easy to use, but could be difficult if you had any problems with your hands,
and I was surprised at how quickly I got the ribbons I have sorted out.

I used wee hook from my utensil rail from the kitchen to hang it up on the hanging basket.



I would order a few more tabs and keep this going, now it is done.
I have too many pink on the same ring but wanted to keep them grouped together.
If you are starting out with ribbons it would be a great idea to use something like this.
If you have load of ribbons it would be a fab way to store them,
you would have to spend a wee while sorting and threading them, a rainy day job.

I liked Emma's idea of using a wee bit of folded card to help thread ribbon through,
used this myself and it was much easier.

Not sure what they work out at cost wise per unit. Will need to have a look at that.

But I like them.

• They take up very little space,
• are easy to use and remove ribbons,
• you can see what you have,
• you can take the colour you want to work with at on easy go, whether you have one tab like me of purple or if like Emma you have a whole ring load of all one colour.
• You do not have to wade through a load of ribbons to get one the right shade or length.
• They don't seem that expensive.

I do like how you can see what you have at a glance. It looks really pretty.

But how did I end up with so much yellow gingham ribbon????

I have another three bundles of the stuff!!!

fall back.....

Remember to put your clock back tonight,

Enjoy an extra hour in bed on Sunday Morning.


hope so xxx

posted with love & hugs

Finally got these two gifts posted off to Jane & Debbie,
now they have received them I can post piccies here.

The selection of hearts and backing squares are for Jane.
Spent the afternoon at Emma's the other day and cuttlebuged away till I got a wee pile of them.
If you want any more Jane , just let me know.

I decided to make a wee box to post them in, and the box was easy enough,

But the lid was a bloody nightmare!!! It took three attempts!


The box went well with the card I made the other week, so I posted that too.

Then I used the cuttle bug to emboss Christmas Tree's for the lovely Debbie.

Have you seen the wonderful digi downloads she draws?
Go have a look....

Anyway back to the embossed tree's
I did a selection on various different types of white card,
and had a play with black pearl card and green velum.

Then went to put them in the wallet card I had made to post them in.....


But I didn't take into acount the fact that once they are embossed they are twice as thick!!!

DUH!!!!! so here is wallet card mark two!





Got them posted eventually!!!

Enjoy girls xx

windy & cold....... perfect crafting weather!

I suppose it is winter, so we can't complain too much about the change in the weather.
In between laundry and other mundane house work I pottered in my craft room.
But didn't get many things finished.

I had another wee play with this card


I decided to move the silver stars onto the right hand side and black ones into the centre column.

So it now looks slightly different.


I am not sure if it was better the way it was.

Ach well.

Have half done a few cards and started a few ATC /tags.
will maybe get them finished tomorrow.

Now if I had managed to get Poppy to lie so both ears were showing I could have used this picture to make a bat card!


Last night she helped herself to the remote control.....today she found a bag of dog treats.

Friday makes.

Energy levels were not quiet so good today, was tired after seeing Physio.
But I am defiantly on the mend...just need to be careful how much I do and not go mad!

Man it was sooooo cold down the river today walking Poppy-dog.
Afterwards we enjoyed a quiet afternoon inside on a cold windy day.

Came home and rested, then made a couple of cards while dough was
needing in the bread machine for home made pizza,
tomato sauce was frozen from a previous batch.
Just added veggies for salad and a baked tattie from our veggie box.

Curves are the challenge on This Thursday, its all about....


I like how this has turned out.
I love greens in any shade and this one has plenty on it, yet is simple.

I am enjoying the quickness of ATC's just now.
Tags are I guess like ATC's and on Tag your it
they are looking for a tag with Christmas tree's on,

The papers are funky hand printed on card, I stenciled the tree four times then layered it.

The text is embossed in olive green, must use that more I love the shade it embosses into.


As for Poppy-dog, well Hubby sent the picture of her licking the yogurt pot
like a cow to the BBC pictures online.

And here she is.....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7688309.stm

picture number 5 is my baby dog girl!

Poppy-Dog ......Superstar!

But the I knew that anyway! *wink*

vampires, a witches cat & a dog.

another blood test done today, all part of my long term information gathering before I see consultant in January.

I think they should have fangs and a long cape to make it all a bit more seasonal!

It would make the forthcoming blood tests much more fun!

They could dress up in different outfits like fairy outfits, Santa,Guy Fawkes.....

I must admit the nurses uniform get a bit dull after a while....

this from someone who wore many different types of nurses uniforms since I was 17!

anyway.......

I have half finished two challenges, just waiting on glue drying so I can do next stage.

But I did finish this......

It's for Cute Card Thursday.challenge 33 is stars at night.

They asked for see some stars or something spooky.
I also want to use it as a sketch challenge for 2 sketches for you ~ Laura's sketch

The Photo is not very good, I might retake it tomorrow and change it on the blog.

The centre square is a slightly sparkly navy blue which is matted on purple mirror card.

The centre column is from my beloved ribbon that I was reluctant to use up.

The blues and purples in it are stunning.
I put the silver stars on one side and black stars on the other...I think maybe I should have mixed them together, might take them off and re-stick them.

I love the wee witch's cat on it......

and now,

if you are a poppy-dog, and your humans are ignoring you while trying to watch the TV....
What do you do???

You take remote control and walk off with it!

*sigh*