Congratulations to my Buddy and do you fancy a White Christmas?

 Hi Everyone,

I hope this morning finds everyone bright eyed and bushy tailed, lol!   I can't remember the last time I felt like that first thing in the morning.  I think I must have been about 12 years old ;0).  I'm at my best at night time not in the morning but I'm not grumpy in the morning, I just take a long time to get my head in gear.

Today is the 25th Wedding Anniversary of my lovely friend Judith and her Hubby Terry so I want to send them my congratulations and I hope they are spending a very special time together today.  I can now show you the card I made for them a couple  of weeks ago.

I started with a 21 cm square base card and covered it with a silver mirri slightly smaller square.  I then took another square of white card, slightly smaller still and blended a lovely blue Versamagic ink over one of the beautiful Prima masks I bought recently from Chocolate Baroque.   The main image is a My Sentiments Exactly stamp and one of the first stamps I ever bought.  I used it for the first card I handmade for my OH for our anniversary about 5 years ago so it has a kind of sentimental value to me, lol!  On this occasion I stamped it  onto vellum with Versamark ink and heat embossed with detail silver EP.  I trimmed it and then attached it to the centre of my card placing the adhesive just under the solid square.

I suppose this was a relatively simple card but I wanted something fairly simple in design but elegant as it was for a couple and I was quite happy with the result.  I just hope Judith and Terry like it too when they open it today.  All the best for another 25 years you guys!


AND now I have to tell you about a challenge from Glenda Waterworth (Mrs Chocolate Baroque) or rather Glenda does because I've actually pasted Glenda's own explanation for you.

How would you like the chance to win a £10 voucher to spend on Chocolate Baroque rubber stamps? Or would you prefer a £20 voucher or how about £50? I’ve managed to talk the owners of Chocolate Baroque into sponsoring a little challenge that I’m hosting here on my blog (they’re a pretty nice couple, so they didn’t take much persuading!) and the more people that play, the bigger the prize.

Basically, I will add £1.00 to the value of the gift voucher for each person who submits an entry to the challenge via the link form below. So if we only get five entries, the prize will be £5.00, but if we get 35 entries, the prize will be £35.00. I am setting a maximum prize fund of £50.00, and the winner will be drawn at random, so you have nothing to lose by having a go and a lot to gain by encouraging all your challenge-holic buddies to join in.

The theme is WHITE CHRISTMAS and how you interpret the theme and what kind of artwork you produce is entirely up to you – cards are obviously welcome but feel free to do anything from ATCs to jewellery, canvas to crochet.  As a bonus, any pieces which showcase Chocolate Baroque stamps particularly well will be featured in full on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team blog over Christmas with a link back to your blog.

The closing date is DECEMBER 15TH 2011 and the winner will be chosen at random from the list of entries.

If you want to check it out and/or add your entry click on the logo in my sidebar.  

As always, thank you so much for your visit and especially for leaving any much appreciated comments.

Have a good day all!

Hugs

Lesley  Xx

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - to us for yesterday, lol!!!

Happy Saturday Morning to you all today,

What do you have planned this weekend?  Christmas shopping maybe or catching up on a few chores and maybe catching a bit of R&R?  My OH and I are checking our Christmas Lights collection and probably going on a search to replace ones we had to throw out last year.  As visitors who have seen my blog posts around Christmas time over the past few years will know, I luuuuurrrve my Christmas lights and although my Hubby pretends to be a grumpy old Bah Humbug type of Grandad, he's worse than me really.

Anyway yesterday, the 18th November was our 39th Wedding Anniversary.  We rarely make a fuss over our Anniversaries except the real milestone ones (Hmmm, 40th - Ruby next year) except to marvel to each other how the time has flown, how much we've done through the years, the fact that we've weathered one or two storms life has thrown at us and recently to marvel over our beautiful Granddaughters and the fact that our first Grandson is due any day.  One thing we rarely miss though is to send each other special cards.  My Hubby did cheekily ask me last week if I could make him a card for 'someone'!  My reply was less than ladylike, lol, but I have to say he obviously took time to choose the card he got for me and the sentiments inside are lovely.  The card I made for him took me quite a while to come up with because I didn't want to use hearts ............again, lol!

So .................... I went all Steampunk!  I made a gold pearlescent 21 cm x 21 cm base card, matted black then pale gold pearlescent (looks grey or platignum on here) leaving a narrow border each time.  I then trimmed my final black layer smaller still before stamping the gorgeous Steampunk corners (Inkadinkado - Steampunk clear stamp set) and embossing them with Queen's Gold EP.  In the other two corners I repeat stamped a PaperArtsy mini stamp of cogs and gears using Versamagic Wheat and my final stamping was the hot air balloon from IndigoBlu's Grand Tour III which I stamped with Versamark and again embossed with Queen's Gold.

I stamped the balloon once again onto a sheet of designer paper from the Kaisercraft Vintage Timeless pad, again using the Queen's Gold EP and then I cut out just the balloon.  I shaped it slightly and adhered it to my original image with Pinflair glue.  I added a few pieces of Ideology cogs and gears and finally I cut the letters from a sheet of the Kaisercraft pad to spell 'Thanks for the journey' which I thought was quite approriate because the last 39 years have been a great journey for the most part.

I was really pleased because the card earned the best reaction I've ever got from Hubby for a card I've made him and he even enthused about it to our Daughter!

In a few day's time it's my lovely friend Judith and her OH's very special 25th Wedding Anniversary so I'll show you the card I sent to them once they've opened it.  As always thank you for your visit today and before I forget I'd like to say a big hello to my new followers.  Thank you so much for dropping by and for any comments you have time to leave.  I appreciate your encouragement so much.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

3rd November DT project for Snazzys

Good Morning again,

As my post is going to be scheduled I'm hoping as type that the week's weather will be ending on a much brighter note than it started, lol!  Fingers crossed!

Today I have a tiny sneaky peek of my 3rd and final project for Snazzys this month.  I've had great fun using the Kaisercraft products from my DT pack this month and hope you'll pop across to the DT blog to look at the whole thing and the 'how to' details.

Next week I'll be able to share a couple of the cards I've made recently for some very special friends.  Hope to see you then.

Oooh just realised as I was scheduling this post .................. today is a special day for my Hubby and I ........... it's our 39th Wedding Anniversary!  Where on earth does the time go I wonder?  I think I must be having too much fun because it's whizzing by me at breakneck speed, lol!

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

2nd November DT project for Snazzys

Good morning again lovely visitors,

Today I'm showing my second project using products from Snazzys over on the Snazzy DT blog so thought I'd share a sneak peek with you again.  I hope you have time to pop over for a look.

Unfortunately for my poor neglected blog, everything I've been making recently is for very special people in my life who have special events over the next few weeks so I can't show them on here yet but I will share them soon and speaking of 'Special Events', we are now getting rather excited about the impending arrival of our new Grandson.  He's actually due on the 3rd December but his Mummy (my lovely 'baby' Jenna) has been told it could be any time during the week before so as her hubby is away on a training course that week, she (and her bump) and our gorgeous Izzy are coming to stay with us for the week ............. just in case!  I do hope he's born while they're staying with us ....................... that way I can be on hand to help out and look after Izzy and still maybe get a few minutes in my craftroom now and then .............. maybe ............ do you think, lol!

BTW I've been meaning to ask, what do you think of the way photos come up in the black gallery now if you click for a closeup?  I really dislike it and find it pretty useless because the so-called 'zoom' is usually no bigger or closer than the original photos.  I like to be able to look at the details to see how people make their lovely projects and now I can't!  Total disappointment and I think Blogger has a blooming cheek foisting it upon us without so much as a by-your-leave.

Sorry about the little rant, lol! Hope you all have a pleasant, trouble free day and I'll be back with my final Snazzy November sneaky peek on Friday.

Hugs to all
Lesley  Xx

November DT project for Snazzys

Hi Everyone,

On what looks like being another gloomy Monday weather wise, yep, we have more of the blooming drizzle :(, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek at the project I posted over on the Snazzy DT blog today.

 I got a lot of pleasure from making this particular piece and was really pleased with the end result.  I hope you have time to pop over to the DT blog for a look at the whole project,  If it's dreary where you are too, my project might remind you of summer a little, lol!

Have a good day everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx