Snazzy DT April Challenge.

Hello Everyone,

This morning when I opened my eyes I saw something I'd almost forgotten the look of ............... brilliant sunshine, lol!  After two weeks of seriously heavy rainfall (yesterday it never stopped all day :-( ) it now looks especially beautiful this morning and I think it's the best anti-depressent there is.  I'm now in the process of attacking the mountain that is my overflowing dirty linen basket following a four day visit by my lovely Daughter and her two littlies.  Later this week she has to return to one of the two part time jobs she has, following the birth of our gorgeous Charlie, so she won't be able to come down for visits like she has been doing for the past five months :o(.  Unfortunately this visit wasn't quite the fun time we like it to be partly because of the blooming awful weather which made going out anywhere uncomfortable to say the least, but also poor little Charlie hasn't been his usual smiley self for most of the time and we think it's because his teeth are starting their slow progress to the surface and are really making him feel out of sorts poor little chap.

Anyway, my post this morning is to let you know that over on the Snazzy DT Blog this week we are hosting our second challenge of the year.  The theme this month is 'Spring Colours' and here is a taster of my little bit of inspiration which you can see in full over on the DT Blog.  As there are no explanations on the methods we have used on the full blog post, if you have any questions just leave a comment on the blog and we'll do our best to answer.

The challenge closes next Sunday, 6th May, and the winner will be announced the following day Monday, 7th May, so why not hop on over to the DT Blog to see what we've all been up to and to find out what goodies are destined to be added to one lucky entrant's stash.

Have a good week everyone and thanks for your visit today.  I'm off to peg out some more washing on the line ;o).

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Alphatag Time Again!

Hello Everyone,

Eeeeek!  Like everyone else who has posted on the blogs I've just been catching up with, I'm not sure what I'm doing now Mr Blogger has decided to change everything without a by your leave.  I'm almost dreading trying to add my pics but here goes .............

I normally wait until the recipient of my Alphatags for the Chocolate Baroque Guild Swap has received them but as I didn't post last months at all ............ forgot to take any pics, Doh!!!!!! ............ I thought I'd post April's a bit early and of course, no one knows what they are going to get until they drop through the letterbox.  It's the first time I've taken part in a swap involving so many people (er, to be truthful I've only ever joined one other swap for 5 peeps) and I have to say it's getting quite exciting waiting to see which ones I receive each month.  We have a lovely lady called Margaret who keeps us all in order (and that takes some doing sometimes, lol) and organises the swap itself.  I think she has the patience of a saint so thanks a lot Margaret.

H for Hyacinth

I used Pan Pastels for the background, enhanced slightly with Distress Inks on the edges.  I've only just acquired the Pastels and wanted to see how soft and light I could apply them.  It was actually quite easy but one little tip ....... I now keep a piece of paper or kitchen roll between my fingers holding my work and the work itself because the slightest trace of oil from your skin or anything else on your hands will attract the Pastels and it really shows up ............. hence the strategically placed flower and small tag, lol!  Actually they were part of the original plan but it turned out to be a necessity, Ha! Ha!  The design in the background is made by applying DIs through a pretty Viva border stencil/mask and for the first time ever I coloured with H2Os and was actually pleased with the result.  I also painted the vellum flower with H2Os too.

I is for Iris

Once again I used the gorgeous Pan Pastels for my background covering the whole tag with the paler shade and then using a deeper shade round the edges.  I stamped the image in Onyx Black Versafine and coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils.  I finished off with a light spritz of Dewdrop Glimmer Mist but of course you can't see it in the photos as it's so subtle.The fancy corners are from a Spellbinders set of dies.

Once again I really enjoyed making the tags and although I want to experiment more with the Pan Pastels (which you can get from Snazzys together with any inks and the Viva border stencil) my initial reaction is that I like them .............. a lot!  They are a tad messier than working with my beloved Distress Inks but they wash off your hands a lot easier, lol, and they are definitely not as messy as pastels I've tried in the past, leaving only a small amount of powder on your work surface which is easily wiped up.  I also found that if I buffed them slightly with a piece of kitchen towel nothing came off afterwards and they are also very quick to cover a large area.  I definitely need to collect more of the luscious colours available.  As always for this particular swap the lovely stamped images are all from Chocolate Baroque. 

Next month's letter are J and K and I'm really struggling for an idea for J.  It's finding a subject for which I have a suitable CB stamp that is proving to be the greatest challenge so I'd best get my thinking cap on, lol!

As always, thank you for your visit which is very much appreciated.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Believe it or not I managed 3 projects for Snazzys this month

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break inspite of the English weather letting us down big time.  Hasn't it been cold, Brrrrr?  Still, maybe for us crafters it gave us a bit more time to play and although we had a houseful most of the weekend I did manage a bit more time than of late in my craftroom and made a couple of extra pieces for the Snazzys DT blog.  The Prima Almanac Collection we have had to play with this month are lovely and I think I might be hoarding the few pieces I have left, lol!

Here are a couple of little tasters of my last post for April and I hope you'll pop over to the DT Blog to see the full details. 

If you haven't already entered this month's Snazzys random prize draw (for the yummy stamps and some embellies from the collection) you'll find the link in my post over on the blog.

As always thank you for your visit and any comments you have time to leave.  I really do appreciate them and love to see who's stopped by.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Yay, I managed TWO!!!!

Hi There,

Yes, I managed two projects for Snazzys this week and here's a sneaky peek at my second one.

I hope you have time to pay the DT blog a visit and don't forget to follow the link I've included to enter the draw for this month's lovely giveaway.

Well, I think this is my shortest post ever!  Hope you're all having a good week and thanks for your visit today.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Oh My, Where Did March Go?

Hello Blogging Friends .............

...............that's if I have any left!!!!  I'm sorry my posts have been so sparse recently but I'm afraid we're going through one of those nasty spells that most families hit from time to time and family matters are having to take precedence over anything else including my much loved crafting and blogging.  Unfortunately, this might go on for some time so I hope you'll be very patient with me till I hopefully get into a better routine.

It's time to share my projects for Snazzys again and boy have we had some beautiful products to play with once more.  This month we've been using the Prima Almanac collection which includes beautiful double sided papers, some of  the most beautiful embellishments I've ever seen and a lovely set of two cling stamps.  The main one is a gorgeous script.  I have a weakness for script stamps and this is one of the nicest I've seen.

Here's a teeny peek at my project for today

I do hope you have time to pop over to Snazzys DT Blog and take a look.  Also there's a link in my post over there to the first post of the month and if you leave a comment on that one you will be entered into a draw at the end of April with the chance of winning a set of the stamps and a pack of the gorgeous embellies so it's well worth popping over if you have time.

I'm pretty miffed at myself because the only other things I managed to make recently were my tags for E, F & G in the Chocolate Baroque Alphatag Swap and I finished them in such a rush I completely forgot to take any pics, Doh!!!!!!!  What a chump and I was really pleased with my E tag too :o(.  I really must get my silly head in gear for this month.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a sneak peek of another project for Snazzys so hope you have time to stop by.

Thanks so much for your visit today.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx