Daughter's 8X8 Bday card

God I feel so old - I can't believe my daughter Lynne will be 26 year old on 7th June!  Where have those years gone cos I don't know where?  She started her first Uni placement (she is doing Advanced Diploma in Nursing at Uni of Herts at Hatfield) this morning and loked very smart in her crisp royal blue uniform.  Wouldn't let me take any pics tho!! 
I am sorry for not being a good buddy this last week but someone banged into me at a very fast rate on Thursday and I had vertigo all afternoon and evening but ok now.  Then my big (and only) bro arrived with his fiancee from Holland on their way to Perth.  Had to laugh as his new Sat Nav took him from Dover all the way thru the Blackwall Tunnel and up thru Hackney, Stoke Newington and Tottenham then onto the A10 to get to ours when in truth he should have nipped onto the M25 and been here in a couple of hours instead of the 4 it took them!!  Same thing happened on their journey north to Scotland on Saturday....they ended up going thru Jedburgh as they were so fed up of the woman's voice of the darned thing!!

Anyways onto this card for Lynne............

Using this stunning image, I coloured her with PMs (details below) then mounted her onto pearlised brown then dry embossed gold mirri card.  The card is 8X8 and I have to say I have LOVED working with this size so gonna have to get some more for future projects.  The red and gold spotty card is from The Works that I bought ages ago - and it seems to breed in my stash!!  I followed a sketch and added decorated corners using red embossed card and the same brown card and added a gold coloured ribbon from my stash.  Onto the flowers which I made meself he he - chuffed to bits as they cale out exactly as I hoped for.  All I did was use my Bigshot and a Spellbindeer ans cut 8 of each size, spritzed them with water and allowed them to dry naturally - hence the curled up look - then stuck a fancy brad thru them both.  The sentiment I made on the PC - wanted to keep it simple so as not to distract the eye......sideways view show depth of card - or it is meant to he he........

This close up shows the glitter I added to her headpiece, her choker, her dress and her feathery behind!!

I am entering this into the following challenges:~

Dream Valley Flowers;

SketchNStash Sketch;

Creative Inspirations Glitzy and Bling;

Sentimental Sundaes Anything Goes;

Crafty Catz Give us a Quote/Sentiment;

Totally Papercrafts Recipe ~ 1 image/2 papers/3embs;

Birthday Sundaes Recipe ~ 3 embs/2 papers;

Sparkles Forum Challenge Recipe ~ 2 papers/1 ribbon/2 embs; and

Incy Wincy Girlie Creation.

Ingredients:~

Stamped image from Kanban (I think as it was a gift) coloured with PMs:

Ivory, Blush, Pastel Pink, Sandstone, Caramel, Cinnamon, Henna;

Papers and card from stash;

Ribbon, brads and faux rubies from stash;

Papermania Embossing Folder.

Hippy Chick from Simply Sassy

I have been AWOL again my friends - this neck of mine is awful just now and oing anything at all aggravates it but I have managed to make this card over the last couple of days ~

I just adore these fabulously cute stamps from Funbky Kits don't you?

I stamped her onto Rymans Smooth card and put her thru my Bigshot with a Nellie Snellen Oval Die (poor thing I heard her squealing), then coloured her with my Promarkers.  Using the current sketch from Sketch Saturday I used papers with red gingham and pink dots from Pink Petticoat and distressed all the edges with my scissors (can't get on with my distressing too at all).  The sentiment is computer generated and once again put thru my BS with a Nellie Snellen square Dies (which has some lovely shapes on it).

I am entering this into the following challenges:~
Sketch Saturday;

Pollycraft Special Birthday;

Sentimental Sunday Red/Pink/White;

Creative Inspirations Distressed and

Craft Your Passion Use Pink.

Ingredients:~
Rubber stamp Hippy Chick from Funky Kits coloured with PMs~

Ivory, Satin, Blush, Pear Green, Pastel Pink, Sandstone, Caramel & Ruby;

Papers are both from Pink Petticaot matted onto red hammered card from The Papermill Shop;

Nellie Snellen Oval & Square Dies used.

With Love

Using Pollycraft's current sketch I created the card below for the following challenges:~

Pollycraft's 'Love' Theme challenge;

Bugaboo's 'Anything Goes' challenge;

Passion for Promarkers 'Let There Be Love' Theme challenge;

One Stitch at a Time Do It with a Digi challenge;

Sentimental Sundays Valentine's Day challenge and

Tuesday Throwdown Buttons Challenge.

My papers are from My Minds Eye, the image is from Bugaboo and coloured with Promarkers, lace edges are done using Xcut punch, sentiment is made using a freebie stamp I got ages ago.  The image is matted and layered onto white and pearlised brown card.  Butterflies buttons are simply gorgeous - bought them on my recent trip back to Scotland in a wee shop in Keith, Banffshire.  They stock millions of different styles and colours of buttons.

Sorry about the size of the pic but something happened in my Photoshop and I dont know how to fix it urggghhhh!  Will try to replace it later.

Ingredients:~

Image is freebie from the fabulous Bugaboo coloured with PMs~

Satin, Pastel Pink, Blush, Ruby, Cool Grey 3, Henna, Cinnamon, Caramel, Sandstone & Marsh Green;

DPs are freebies from My Minds Eys;

Xcut punch used to create lace edges in pearlised brown and white linen papers;

Ribbon and buttons from my stash.

Chloe from Cardmadfairy Creations

This little stunner is  Chloe from Jenni's digi range over at Cardmadfairy Creations. I coloured her with my Promarkers then mounted her onto lilac cardstock - I wanted to keep this a very simple card to show Chloe off to the best! The DPs are from my stash - have no idea where they came from - sorry. The beautiful silver glitter ribbon actually came as a freebie from a high street shop as wrapping around some PJs!  The sentiment is computer generated using various fonts in various sizes. I hope Jenni is pleased with my card featuring Chloe.

I am entering this card into Sentimental Sunday's Birthday Challenge.

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Ingredients:~
Chloe digi image available from Cardmadfairy Creations;
Coloured with PMs~
Blush, Ivory, Dusky Pink, Cool Grey 1, Amethyst, Sandstone, Henna, Satin, Lilac, Caramel & Lavender;
Papers from stash;
Ribbon freebie;
Sentiment computer-generated.
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Autumn

Hello all,
Before I tell you about this card I have to tell you about our day out in London for my Birthday! Graham let me choose where to eat (opted for Chiquito's in Leicester Square which I adore) and then we went to see Shirley Valentine - the one woman show starring the fabulous Meera Syal (gran from The Kumars).  It is fabulous and very heart-tugging at times yet hilarious at other times.  She really pulled the audience in to the play as it was in the very intimate Trafalgar Studios on Whitehall.  If you get the chance to see it before it ends please do go or if you have already seen it I would love to know what you thought of it.

Anyways....onto todays' card.  Using the fabulous freebie image from the talented Inger Harding, I coloured her with Promarkers and matted and layered her onto pearlised brown and DP from Papermania's Hampstead range - I adore them just now - using a sentiment freebie from Rainbow Echo Designs which matches the image and DPs perfectly I think, I then added ribbons from my stash.  I distressed all the edges using a new (to me) technique - my tiny sewing scissors - and I much prefer the outcome of that than using my distressing tool that I recently purchased in The Range. I inked the edges too with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose.

This one is going into the following challenges:~
I Love Promarkers Autumn;
Charisma Cardz Vintage;
Moving Along With The Times Anything Goes (who are lucky enough to have Letraset as their sponsors this week!) and
Sentimental Sundays Distressing.

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Ingredients:~
Freebie image from Inger Harding coloured with Promarkers-
Skin - Ivory & Blush;
Coat - Caramel, Cinnamon & Sandstone;
Hair - Sandstone & Caramel;
Gloves - Spice;
Letter - Pear Green & Marsh Green;
Papers from Papermania Hampstead Range and pearlised from Papermill Shop;
ribbons from stash;
Sentiment freebie from Rainbow Echo Designs.

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Happy Memories of My Dad

It is 10 years on 17th November since I lost my dear Dad to a massive heart attack and to commemmorate the day I have made this Memory Book to give to Mam. I am going home to spend the week with her as she took his death very bad and has never come to terms with it. I have a younger sister who lives locally but she is useless, an older sister who is estranged from all the family and a dear brother who lives in The Netherlands so I want to be there myself to help Mam thru this horrid time of the year. It will also be a thank you visit as she was a rock for me when I had Ovarian Cancer last year and came down to 'look after' us all - I love her to bits as most of you will know. Back to the memory book ~ using a chipboard book I bought for this purpose many months in advance from The Blueberry Barn, I covered the pages with 6 different backing papers from Funky Hand Colour Me Happy CD, and added a hammered card (edged with Distress Ink) margin for added strength. Adding lots of pics of Dad at various stages in his life, I decorated the pages with various things - Sizzix photo corners in various papers and card; Cardstock Father Stickers from BoBunny; brass coloured brads; Ribbons in royal blue, beige, pale blue & navy with stitching, navy & white striped; brown hemp; pearls; cream rub-on letters; yellow paper daffodils and a lush pale blue rose and some computer-generated sentiments.

I added a 2-sided tag which I made from the tag on a pair of jeans that can be tucked in the pocket on the inside of the front cover.

Pics include some of Dad on his own - one when he was in the RAF regiment and the other when he was celebrating something (lots of Guinness glasses on the table!)........

.............. pics of him and Mam on their wedding day, on various holidays throughout their married life and at Graham and I's wedding in 1999.....................

.....................of him always being surrounded by kids (as an uncle to many) and as a dear Dad to my oldest sister (who is now estranged) and my brother ..............................

.........................to me and also my younger sister; then as a darling Granda to Jennifer, Susan & Tracey................

.....................then to Mandy, Mark & Michelle.......................then to my two, Neil & Lynne.............

and finally to Natalie & Daniel.

This book took me some time to make as I had everything ready but simply could not put it all together - I am sure some of you will be able to relate to that feeling I had and, although it will be 10 years since his passing, I feel he is with us everything second on every day in some way.

Its not been easy but I am entering this into 2 challenges :~
Sentimental Sunday's Tag It and

Get Funky's Take 5.

Fifi's Get Well Message

This wee cutie is one of the images I won in a recent Digistamp Boutique Challenge and this is the first time she has been out to play! I coloured her with Promarkers and layered her into gold mirriboard embossed using my Ultimate Pro; following Sketch Saturday's current sketch I used backing paper which was a magazine freebie some time ago and added coral card (one of which is embossed with Get Well sentment in Copper), brown linen card which I shaped using my Pro and then added ribbon and a bow. I am entering this into the following challenges:~

Digistamp Boutique October Competition,
Sketch Saturday No 123,
Sentimental Sundays Autumn with Sentiment
Creative Inspirations No 44 Get Well Soon and
Pollycraft No64 Anything Goes.
Ingredients:~
Image 'Fifi' from Digistamp Boutique coloured with PMs~
Skin : Ivory, Blush & Pastel Pink;
Hair : Satin & Sandstone;
Dress & flowers : Honeycomb, Coral, Caramel, Cinnamon & Henna;
Image edged in Cool Grey 1;
Papers freebie and from Papermill Shop;
Mirri, sentiment and ribbon from stash;
Ultimate Pro used to emboss edges.

Many thanks for your very kind comments!

Spring Joy from Whiff of Joy and a MASSIVE WIN

First of all I would like to let you know that I won Sue's blog candy - she ran a post re making teal cards for a charity craft fair she was attending in aid of Ovarian Cancer. She made well over £100 due to the generosity of like-minded crafters all over the world. I will take a piccie of my goodies once they arrive but it is a massive win and I can't wait for it to arrive to share it with the world - only on pics mind - nobody is getting anything more than a nose of it he he.

I just would like to publicly thank Sue and her friends for doing this for a very special family who lost their dear mum and much loved wife to this goddamn awful hidden disease. I can only reiterate my scream ~ IF ANY OF YOU LOVELY BLOGGERS HAVE ANY ODD SYMPTOMS PLEASE SEE YOUR GP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.


I am unsure what has happened re the light in the first pic of last 2 posts but the pic is not showing very well - sorry!
Using Spring Joy from my recent win over at I Love PMs, I made this shaped card - again still don't know what this type is called - if anyone wants detailed measurements just email me at sheilamross@hotmail.co.uk and I will send them over to you. I coloured the image with PMs (so that I can enter the Whiff of Joy Thank You Challenge), then matted and layered onto MME & pearlised brown card, added a sentiment so that I could enter the fab Challenge over at Sentimental Sundays:Let's See Some Dimension and added 4 wee flowers I made using a punch I got 'cheap cheap' at The Range some time ago. Do pop along and pay them a visit - its a fab blog with some wonderful freebies!!

I am not sure you will be able to read the sentiment from her but it says ~

"One of the most beautiful things is to see someone smiling.........

and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it."

I am enjoying making this style of card - different but very easy to make as it is only 2 A5 sheets or 1 A4 with the folds in the correct place.

I am LOVING my WoJ stamps - have another too - Mr and Mrs Foxglove yet to be played with.

Ingredients ~

Spring Joy Whiff of Joy stamp coloured with PMs ~

Blush, Satin, Ivory, Primrose, Vanilla, Sandstone, Coral, Caramel, Cinnamon, Pear Green, Marsh Green & Moss;

Backing papers are My Minds Eye and Pearlised brown & pale green from Papermill;

Sentment made on PC using Girls Are Weird font in green;

Swirls are Papermania Clear Stamp Floral using Whispers Archival Savoy Green.

Many thanks for your neverending commenting - mush appreciated by me!