My New Stamp From Sweden

I'm really not happy with this card. It's as if I've just got a few bits together and stuck them anywhere, I guess I need to get back into the swing of things and not rush around but I wanted to show you the little stamp I got from Sweden. The lady in the shop was very friendly and told me it was designed by a young local girl but unfortunately I can't find any info. The only thing on the label is Design Englastuff. There were other characters there as well and I wished I had bought a couple more.

I stamped her onto card and then again on printed flowery paper, cut out the petal hat and dress and glued them to the first stamped image. I then stamp onto green paper her leaf collars and also stuck them on. I'm going to colour the next image in and hopefully create and much more 'pleasing to the eye' card. Jeanette

Back From My Hols!

Well I've just returned from my hols about 4 hours ago. Washings being done and we've done our weeks shopping, so life's already returning back to normal..........................so soon!! We went on a short Scandinavian cruise, which took us to Belgium. Denmark. Sweden & Norway. Unfortunately when we got to Oslo Norway the dockers were threatening to go on strike, so we were unable to dock. Our Captain wouldn't take the chance nor would he be caught up in such a dispute at the risk of not being able to disembark and being used as a pawn in their dispute. We all backed up the Captain on his decision but we were all very angry with the Norwegians for this as this for me, in particular, was a place I was really looking forward to seeing. I had heard Oslo is was a pretty place and to have travelled all that way and not being able to walk around the place's of interest. Still we didn't let it spoil our holiday and here are a few photo's.

This is the sea front in Blankenberg, Belgium. Much like Margate, Brighton, or Bournemouth. Lovely beach and lots of hotels with shops selling 'buckets and spades' etc. There were also places of interest and history. I wanted to get on the train a go to Brussels, which was only 10 mins away but Terry was worried about getting back on time.

A beautiful sunset between Belgium and Denmark. (No there wasn't three suns, I think the glass caused this..........spooky isn't it)

This is Copenhagen, and I have to say I really liked it here. It seems to be a city of young people, with plenty of arts and design. Lots of places of interest and history here. Above is the Rosenborg Castle. We walked through the Kings gardens, which was really lovely.

We also visited the Botanical Gardens there which had a tropical hot house and above are a couple of pictures. You can walk up very steep, narrow spiral staircase to the top, which I did. Wow it was hot but this was the best place to see the flowers. It was amazing.

And here is a view of our ship across Helsingborg in Sweden. A small town but guess what, I only found a little craft shop and of course just had to go in. I purchased a little rubber stamp which has been designed by a local artist, but more about that at a later date.

A few pictures of Norway from the ship and that's all I'm going to say about that!

Back later. Jeanette

Baby Boy - Concertina Book

Well I'm fast approaching my own challenge of men's cards for the month May and to be honest it wasn't so bad and I managed to do more than I thought I would. So here is another book. I was really lucky to get the train button on the front of the book. I got it from a car boot sale where a lady was selling all her stash (I think she got fed up with it all) so I bought them all embellishments.

Look at these Beautiful Colours

I'm not sure what shrub this is (I think it maybe an Azalea) but it's such a gorgeous colour, I thought I'd share it with you. Jeanette

Just Chilling

Here is Mikey again. These images are so fab for that difficult teenage age. You never what sort of card to make and I think these images fit the bill nicely. I been very brave and used Promakers again. I think I need some more colours..........of course but just so I can try out the shading a bit better. Any way I wont gas on - I hope you like it. Jeanette

Sugar Nellie - ~SK8R Boy

Tonight I thought I'd use this image again. I love colouring this. I was quite happy with the layout but not sure about the 'happy birthday' stamped sentiment. I think just one line of this would have been enough. Wasn't the weather lovely today, and it looks like it will last all weekend. Make the most of it. Jeanette

Funstamps - Hamish

So cracking on with my own challenge, and having missed a men's card posting yesterday (because I wanted to enter PBC101), here is my next male card. I think this image is quite suitable for the 'older generation', maybe it's becasue of the waistcoat he's wearing. I've coloured him with Promarkers, used glossy accents on the bottle and glass and used yellow glitter glue for the bubbles. Paper were oddments in my 'huge box of oddments' (never through anything away) and the buttons from stash. That's it. Bye for now. Jeanette

Penny Black Challenge 101 - Flowers

I'm entering this card in this weeks PBC 101. The theme is 'flowers'. I've used Bees & Bunny stamp (so sweet). The flowers are from Petaloo. Paper from stash and some pearls, buttons and ribbon. The paper punch is from Martha Stewart. I've added glitter glue to the bee's wings and yellow crystal glaze to the centre of the flowers. The sentiment is a PB sentiment stamp. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Lost and Found Friends

I lost touch with a dear friend of mine some years ago, but hey we are back in touch again. So this is a quick posting of her birthday card. The only problem is her birthday is on Thursday and she lives in Monaco, so it's gonna be a bit late. Sorry about that, but I did remember the birthday just forgot to post it in time. Bye for now. Jeanette

Boy's Will Be Boy's - Concertina Book

Thought I would make a book tonight. I love this paper. It's so vibrant. I found some wooden cars in my stash and added one to the front and a couple inside. Michelle had a set of rubber stamps by All Night Media called Trucks & Stuff, so stamped a couple of quarter pages with those. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Male Challenge - Naughty Mice

Hello and here is tonight posting. Yes this could be for male or female but I thought you could get away with sending this to a male, even though it may bit a bit too 'cute' for some men!
It's a Penny Black stamp called 'Prank Call'. When I bought it I didn't notice the that the phone had The Cat on it. Aren't they adorable. Mind you not so keen on real mice!! Hope you like it. Jeanette

Sugar Nellie - Football Luca

And now for my second posting......phew I'm up to date now! This is the first time I've used this stamp since buying it some weeks ago. For those who have not seen this image before there is a football between the legs on the stamp but I've replace this with a football embellishment to give it a bit of dimension. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Mikey - 18th Birthday

Evening, a couple of cards tonight to catch up with my own personal challenge. Here is Mikey. He has been an experiment with the 'promakers' tonight. I'm not giving up with these pens, I'm determined to get the hang of them. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Just A Bear - Hobby Art

Well I missed a posting yesterday but I was frantically making some books for the craft fair this morning. Which meant another late night. Up until 1pm!! Still it was worth it. Sold quite a few books and it's nice to see the people there. It's a lovely friendly atmosphere and all for a very good cause. All the ladies worked very hard. I even won a raffle prize. So this is a very quick card tonight. I feel like I've cheated really but I am going to try a catch up with another posting maybe later tonight or perhaps two tomorrow. I am determined to complete my challenge!! So here is a cuddly bear hold a hammer charm. Coloured with Promakers (still not getting on with them....I need lessons!) Hope you like him. Jeanette

Final Father's Card

So this is the last card I'm making for Father's Day this year. The stamp is from Penny Black which I bought last weekend. Isn't it cute. Originally I was going to decoupage it but I was running out of time. Popped to the local craft shop this evening to buy some more board for my books and ended up buying Martha Stewart edge punch, embossed zigzag, which I also used on tonight's card. Well you just can't resist it can you - it's like going into a sweetie shop. Jeanette

Graduation Concertina Book

This is a bit of a cheat, because it could be for either male of female but I'm posting it anyway. I purchased the paper at the weekend sale last Saturday. It's jet black and glossy with 'graduation' word all over it in different directions and various fonts. The ribbon is burgundy - it looks red in the photo. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Cruising - Father's Day

This is a great stamp, but unfortunately I cant remember whose it is and what I've done with it. I've search high and low tonight but can't find it anywhere. It's buried under the pile of paper cut offs and half packs of embellishments, which reminds me I really must have another tidy up. I did colour this with shades of black and grey, then covered part of it in glossy accents, but it's turned brown. Not sure if it was the glossy accents or where I'd left it on the window sill in the sun. Perhaps this needs experimenting with!! Hope you like it. Jeanette

Male Month Challenge - Drum Kit

Hello, well I missed a posting last night, but only because I was having problems with either my laptop or blogger server..................who knows I'm not very techno. So here's last nights posting today. There will be another posting later - got to keep up the challenge.

I cant remember where I got this stamp from but I always struggle to make it look exciting. The papers are from PM from the Colossal collection. I've added some glossy accents, not sure you can see that in the photo's.

Male Month Challenge - Stamps Happen

So here is today's card. Yes another Father's Day card, but I'm trying to get a few together for next Saturday as well as keeping up with my books. This stamp is called 'The Art of Casting'. I enjoy colouring this image. I've used my whisper pens with a water brush except for the face and hands. Still struggling with the markers/Copics. I've just realised that I've not added any glaze to the water but I can do that later. Hope you like it. Jeanette

Look At My New Visitor

Couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when this bird landed on our small tree in the front garden. I was so excited, waving my arms around, running from room to room trying to find the camera and when I finally did, the battery was flat! Doh!! So today with a charged up battery, I sat patiently for his return. Terry topped up the feeding baskets and I waited and waited and finally he came back. So Woody appears to be a Great Spotted Woodpecker - I googled him, and seems to like our garden as he keeps popping back. One good thing about this happening is that I've discovered another option on my camera!!! Bye for now. Jeanette

Motor Bike Book

What a fantastic evening I've had. We have just returned from seeing Derran Brown at the BIC in Bournemouth, and I can honestly say that this man is totally amazing and completely blows your mind. How does he do it? So if you like that sort of thing go and see him. You will not be disappointed. So because of this I've not been able to play with my new craft goodies, but I do have a whole day on my own tomorrow and there will not be any housework done............guaranteed!

So today's 'male challenge for May' is another book. Ideal for Father's day!! Jeanette

L@@K - Saturday's Bargains

Well what a great shopping day I've had, and look at my bargains. 4 of the Penny Black stamps were only £2 each. The Zuter 'Round-ItAll' and it's case was £3. The scrapbooking 12" x 12" papers were 10p each and some are double sided. Got lots of other clear stamps, embellishments, lace, flowers and embossing folders. Wow I can't wait to get started on them!!! Bye for now. Jeanette

Guitar Boy - Male Month Challenge

Not a good day today, a check up at the dentist revealed that my broken tooth can be saved but will require a crown and omg how expensive is that! So it will require two visits some time next month. So for my card today. Yes I know I've shown this card before but not in my 'male month challenge' and to honest I love this image and never get fed up with colouring it. This time I've tried to give him army green trousers. The backing paper is so suitable for males and I often use it, I've also I've added a guitar charm. Hope you like it. Jeanette