Going Buggy

Monthly Challenge

2012-02-05T13:38:00.000Z

This post will stay at the top until the 5th February. Click HERE to go to the challenge - enter to be in with a chance of winning some promarkers

Using Border Punches

2012-01-28T00:30:00.000Z

I have seen a lot of cards online using border punches as backgrounds to cards, and really like the look, so here is my take on the idea. The punch is by Martha Stewart and the flower stamp is by Heartfelt Creations. I put the borders onto a square of white card which was popped on for dimension. The flower was stamped twice, once onto green cardstock, and again, twice, on white. The white flowers were cut out and coloured with Promarkers, and the middle flower was cut out again, and more foam pads used, so it all looks very textured and dimensional

Spring Promarkers

2012-01-26T22:46:00.000Z

Letraset have come up with another bright idea, six brand new colours in a set called 'Spring' - a limited edition, once Summer arrives, they're gone. The colours are lovely, there's a nice fawn which will be a useful skin colour, a blush pink, a pale yellow that will be great for blonde hair, and a gorgeous muted green. I am happy to add these to my collection...........

and here's a card made with some of the colours, I used the blue for the little mouse dungarees, and their 'fur' is the fawn shades, the only other colour I used was some grey for the watering can. The stamp is by Hero Arts

and the sentiment is one of the lovely new foiled ones from Craftwork Cards - love that font......lots of you have been asking about the Card Candi - it is available in the USA from Custom Crops at $2.71 a pack

I was browsing online (when I should have been doing the ironing) and came across someone who was busy getting her Valentines decorations out, and putting them up. WHAAAT? It takes me until February to get all my Christmas stuff back into the attic - I am still finding odd bits about the place. I love the way America celebrates all the different festivals, and decorates the houses for Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween etc, but Valentines Day? I think it is catching on over here in the UK though. Walking through M&S today, I saw big glittery red heart wall hangings. They were also selling heart shaped hot water bottles covered with pretty red heart fabric. Now it strikes me that if you are so besotted with your dearly beloved that you want to hang red hearts up all over your walls, the last thing in the world you need is a hot water bottle............

As you read this I am probably in an airport, on a plane, or getting hopelessly lost in Frankfurt, but I will be back tomorrow with an update

WOYWW and a kitchen card........

2012-01-25T00:29:00.000Z

Good heavens, the weeks seem to fly by - time for another scout around the crafting desks of the world already! If you Don't know what it's all about, go over to Julia Dunnits blog and see for yourselves, and join in if you have a blog.

So what's on my desk, a rather natty box which is filling up quickly with my new flexmarkers, I am loving these pens, some of the colours are so subtle and muted, easy to blend...yes, I am a fan and of course they work with my beloved promarkers as well. I already have one of these boxes for my PM's, they are from Tesco, aluminium CD cases, perfect for the job

Here is my card for the Daring Cardmakers challenge this week, set by Kathy, who is absorbed with all things culinary at the moment as she is having a new one fitted, so her dare was kitchenalia. I used the From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge, and cut the toaster at 4". I used quite retro colours for this. Come to think of it, toasters are pretty retro in design anyway, the basic shape doesn't seem to have changed much since they were invented (I googled it). Sleek futuristic kettles, coffee machines that make a skinny latte mochiata while whistling the national anthem, knife blocks that look like a sheet of glass - but the dear old toaster stays stubbornly loyal to it's roots

The sentiment inspired the whole card, it's one from an ancient set by Stampin Up......

Case half packed, Euros in my purse, all I need is a visit to the supermarket to get Mandy's order of prawn cocktail flavoured crisps (yes, honestly, apparently you can't get them in Australia) and getting excited (for those of you not in the know, I am off to the trade craft fair in Frankfurt on Friday)

Don't forget, you still have until the 5th February to join in with my challenge, click the link at the top to take you there, and if you have a little time, pop and see the entries, there are a whole lot of gorgeous cards there to inspire you

See you tomorrow.....

Sneak Peeks and some Candi to giveaway......

2012-01-23T01:54:00.000Z

Just a few sneaky peeks at some of the samples I have been making for Craftwork Cards to take to CHA this week, using the brand new sentiments and card candi.....all will be revealed later

What on earth can this one be?

Here are some of the wonderful new sentiment sheets - they come die cut in lovely shapes, with the sentiments foiled onto pearlescent card in gold or silver........there are birthday sheets, friend, Christmas, Special Occasions.....

and they make these wonderful message bands to stick the sentiments on, they really enhance your cards, again, they are diecut, so just pop out. Use the circle ones vertically for a diferent look, pleat the bands, ink them..endless possibilities....

and here is a collection of the very latest card candi. Is there anyone out there who doesn't know what candi is? Clever little domes of cardstock that you pop onto your card with a foam pad, cheaper and a lot easier than using brads, and much prettier. You can colour them to match your projects, stamp on them to make words or personalise your cards, turn them upside down to make flower petals.....

Don't you love the rich colours in this pack?

and some lovely chocolate and mocha with champagne.......

Pretty pretty pastels, all foiled with tiny stars.....

Stunning holographics, and grey, silver and black foiled in silver....

and probably my favourite, pearly cardstock with newsprint

So for all my lovely followers I am giving you the chance to win four of the sentiment sheets, with about 20 sentiments on each sheet, four sheets of the message bands, and I will take a generous handful of each of the new candi so that you get a delicious bag full of all the colours shown here. All you have to do is leave your name under this post. If you are an email subscriber, click on the Going Buggy link at the top of your email, and it will bring you here to leave a comment

I will draw a winner by random number generator (that sounds so official!) next Sunday, the 30th January. Good luck

On to the last five things on my reverse bucket list - five more things I DON'T want to do before I kick the bucket!

1. I never want to go on a coach holiday. If you are in a hotel, or ship, at least there are corners to hide around if you meet people you don't have anything in common with. Short of asking the driver to put you in the hold with the cases, it seems to me that you are stuck with them on a coach - it could make for a very, very long journey. Plus, how frustrating it must be when you pass a shop window with the most adorable dress on display which is exactly what you have been looking for for the past three years - only to have the coach drive past, leaving your dream behind in a puff of diesel smoke

2. I never want to become a vegan. No hot chocolate? No quick omelet for tea when I don't feel like cooking? No lovely Sunday roasts? Would I have to wear nasty plastic shoes? No Ugg boots? (not that I have any real ones, but they are on my bucket list, so I might one day)

3. I never want to learn to line dance - my friend Carol did try to teach me the electric slide once, but I was hopeless. When everyone else was doing that cute little jump, I went the wrong way, which almost caused the whole line to topple over, and when they dipped back, I dipped forward, causing head injuries that could have been quite nasty. I do like the thought of the cute cowboy boots and denim though - but as I have a wardrobe full of sweet white outfits from my foray into tennis, and natty little golf outfits (including clubs and shoes with spiky things on them) that have never seen the light of day, I think I will stick to sitting in my cupboard making cards, wearing my old jeans...

4. I never want to go to another football match (soccer that is). I have friends who love it, I can think of nothing worse than standing for hours in the freezing cold watching grown men kicking a ball around the field and spitting (they seem to spit a lot, heaven knows why!). Then you have to go to the pub and stand around for more hours discussing why the men kicking the ball were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Since the offside rule is way over my head, this is when my eyes glaze over. Cricket is a remote possibility, if it's a glorious summers day and I have a comfy seat that I can doze off in....

5. And finally, I really hope that I never have to visit, in no particular order, Antarctica (-129F), Siberia (-60F), or International Falls Minnesota (-32F), although I did see some rather nice cozy ski wear on sale the other day, so I might revise that later, now do I have 'learn to ski for the nice clothes' on my bucket list? Just off to check.........

So come on, lets see your reverse buckets

Kraft with Colour for Craftwork Cards

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000Z

Here's a card I made for the Craftwork Cards blog, using the lovely paper range called Kraft with Colour - although I didn't use any of the kraft on this one, just an embossed edge card, some of the lovely foiled pink paper, and one of the large die cut flowers with a sentiment button. The swirls are a die by Fiskars, and the tiny flowers are punched

Samples are done and packed, and I must say that the new card Candi is just gorgeous, I will take a photo to show you tomorrow.

After a lot of thought, here is the first five on my reverse bucket list - a list of things I DON'T want to do before I kick the bucket. All very random

1. I hope I am never a celebrity, I can think of nothing worse, not being able to answer the door in your PJ's with hedgehog hair, in case it's the paparazzi. How horrible to have photos taken of you with no make up on, and published for the world to see. At least if family do that, you can insist the evidence is destroyed, or you will tell the world that they once wore white jackets with rolled up sleeves/had a crush on Paul Young/Olivia Newton John/practised dirty dancing in their bedroom......

2. I hope I never develop green fingers. After a lifetime of killing plants by wilful neglect, I would find it hard to get out of the habit of nipping to the nearest garden center to replace them, all that messing about in compost just does not appeal, plus you have to go outside in the cold to look after them. Honestly I raised three children with less fuss than a geranium demands......

3. I never want to become one of those old women who drive cars very very slowly, sitting bold upright with their noses an inch from the windscreen. I don't particularly want to be driven by a guy doing the same either.....

4. I never want to go on a cruise ship with an Italian at the wheel....

5. Since I have escaped for a long time without bungee jumping, abseiling down a cliff or other foolhardy stuff, I had better put it on this list, in case it suddenly becomes all the rage for retired people. 'Jump love, I'll just sit here and watch, cheerio, see you later'

I am still pondering my next five....see you tomorrow with them

Sunny Days.....

2012-01-21T02:01:00.000Z

The weather here has been so grey and dreary the past few days, I enjoyed making this card, it gave me the warm fuzzies and made me dream of summer. I am enjoying digging out old stamps that I think would look okay coloured with Aquamarkers, this one is a Hero Arts stamp that I have had for years and probably never used. In all honesty, I hardly had to do any colouring at all, just dabbed a bit of yellow and green here and there. The yellow mat was punched with a Martha Stewart round the page punch, and the sentiment is by Craftwork Cards. I stamped the flowers twice, and popped the blooms up to make it a bit more interesting

Apart from messing around with pens, I am working really hard to get some samples done for Craftwork Cards to take to CHA. I had a couple of comments from people thinking I was going myself, not me, not this time, just my cards! Instead, I am going to the big trade fair in Frankfurt with Mandy, the owner of Scrappy-go-Lucky, and Diane, who lots of you will know as Capadia.
We are very excited because our hotel has a spa, which sounds a bit posh, it comes with a fitness center, (but we are totally disinterested in that, walking around the craft fair will be quite enough exercise for the day thank you) but we all rather fancy the sound of the heated pool, sauna and Thai massage. What is a Thai massage anyway? How is it different to other massages? If it involves people walking up and down my spine, or hot stones, I may sit that one out........ I will only be there for four days, leaving next Friday, but have already lugged a huge suitcase down from the attic. Well, you never know do you?

See you tomorrow, when, hopefully, samples will be parcelled up and ready for super fast delivery.

Flexmarkers and Polkadoodles....

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000Z

Friday is Polkadoodles challenge day, in case you are thinking you haven't seen a challenge card on here for a few weeks, the team has been split into two teams, so we only do a challenge card for the blog every other week, but there is always inspiration over there on a Friday. This weeks challenge was a sketch (which I forgot to take a screenshot of). It is also our Stashbox Stamp week, when the DT can use a stamp by any maker, I chose these cute little busy mice by Lili of the Valley, coloured with Promarkers, and the sentiment is by Hero Arts. Papers are from various Polkadoodles CD's - be sure to drop by here on Monday, when there will be a Polkadoodles CD up for grabs for one of you

I do have a couple more aquamarker cards to show you over the next couple of days, this next one was really quick to make, and the stamp was perfect for a splashy watercolour effect. The sentiment is by Stampin Up

After I have finished the Aquamarker cards, it will be back to alcohol inks, because look what arrived today - three sets of Flexmarkers, look at the gorgeous new colours. I am very happy that there are a lot of very soft blue/greys and neutral tones here, and I can't wait to use them. I already have 24 of the markers, so need to sort and store them over the weekend.
What are flexmarkers? The same fabulous alcohol ink as the Promarkers, but with a brush nib, I did a quick video on using them a while back. Most of them are also new colours, and there are some lovely, very subtle pale tones in there, so you can get a beautiful pale shaded effect, something that is quite difficult to do with alcohol inks, because the colours are so vibrant.

I am still working on my reverse bucket list, how on earth do you cut these things down to ten? I can think of a million things I don't want to do before I kick the bucket.

Have a great start to the weekend, I'll be back tomorrow, I am busy making some samples for Craftwork Cards to take to CHA in Los Angeles next weekend, so I need to finish, pack and post.......

WOYWW and some watercolours....

2012-01-18T07:30:00.000Z

Wednesday again already, time for another snoop around about 150 or so desks in various stages of disarray. Hop over to the head honchos desk, Julia Dunnit, who keeps an unruly bunch in order every Wednesday, and join in the mayhem that is WOYWW

So what's on mine? A box containing the full set of Letraset watercolour markers, which have been very underused while I chased after perfection with my ProMarkers. Perfection elusive, I unearthed my watercolour markers, went and bought a set of brushes from The Works, and started playing. I found the colours too intense in the main if I applied with the nibs, but you get a wonderful splashy watercolour effect if you scribble the nib onto a hard surface (I used a glass stamping block) and pick up the colour with a brush.

You might be interested to look up while you are here, I have a shelf in my converted cupboard, here is a tin tray screwed to it, a few magnetic dots, and voila, a little forest of stalactite stickles and liquid pearls

and here is the end result of an afternoons splashing about with water and baby wipes. The stamp is perfect for watercolours, I don't have many that will fit the bill, but I will be on the lookout for more scene type stamps now

I found it much more difficult to get an impression of light and shade than with Promarkers, but many soggy pieces of paper later, realised that less is more, and that I need more practice!

I'll be back tomorrow with more ~~soggy~~, ~~splodgy~~, watercoloured cards. See you then

Anything Goes for Penny Black

2012-01-17T01:45:00.000Z

The challenge over on Penny Black's Saturday challenge this week is anything goes, well I couldn't resist that could I, so here's a simple little card. I stamped the hedgehog twice, and cut around the second image and popped him on to give a bit of dimension. The sentiment is one of those dollar studio G ones - I love the font. Kraft cardstock is by Papermania, and I used my Promarkers to colour the image

I stayed up until silly-o-clock to watch Julie on QVC, with an hour of lovely Craftwork Cards goodies and samples. She is a natural, very relaxed in front of the cameras, and full of helpful tips. There are more shows from her throughout the day today, so you still have time to catch one. Here's a card made with the latest Kraft with Colour collection, I added a tag and a calender sheet, both pretty heavily inked with tea stain distress ink.

Have you heard of the bucket list? This is a list of ten things you want to do before you kick the bucket. The latest thing is a reverse bucket list, ten things you definitely hope you won't have to do before you die. This is absorbing my every waking moment, I am forever thinking 'oh no, I hope I never have to have a job emptying sewerage tanks' and other ridiculous notions (hardly likely, since I was a nurse in my other life, retired, and not looking for work). Stay tuned for my definitive list later in the week, and maybe you can work on your own lists now that I have put this bizarre idea into your heads

Tweet Card for Daring Cardmakers..

2012-01-15T22:46:00.003Z

I love the Daring Cardmakers challenge blog, they always have the best 'dares' and I join in whenever I can. This week, their challenge is Social Networking - now that's what I call a challenge! Here's what I came up with

the bird is from the Not for Girls CD by Polkadoodles, the very graphic paper is by Cosmo Cricket, foam letter stickers by papermania, and the branch was cut from the Jolly Holiday Cricut cartridge. Cool?

A tale courtesy of 4 year old Max today - that child is a hoot. His parents both have busy lives/jobs, last week his Daddy was away overnight and called to say goodnight to the boys. 'What are you doing tomorrow Daddy?' asked Max 'Going to work' replied my son. 'Well can we reschedule this call for tomorrow then Daddy, I'm a bit busy now'. Kids are like sponges aren't they? I can just imagine him listening to one of his parents on the phone, and filing it all away in his 'may come in useful in the future' little mental filing cabinet.

After a very mild Autumn, winter has arrived in the UK, definitely time to dig out the thermals and hot cocoa.. If you are in the UK, don't forget to tune in for QVC craft day on Tuesday. See you tomorrow

Another challenge done.....

2012-01-12T13:47:00.004Z

I am quite impressed with myself, the 12th of January, and my new year resolution to join more challenges is still going strong (usually they only last until the 3rd or 4th January. Mind you, I am in this one by the skin of my teeth, as Daring Cardmakers have a new challenge coming up tomorrow!

This week it's a colour challenge, and I followed it as closely as I could, although the blue I used was more blue than aqua. Never mind, it's the effort that counts. I used a script stamp by Hero Arts, dotted some ink spots around (French Foliage set, Stampin Up) and used a flower stamp by Penny Black. The sentiment is by Great Impressions

Here's a date for your diary. Craft day on QVC here in the UK, on the 17th January, and the TSV for the day is some fabulous new collectable and inspiring stuff by Craftwork Cards. Julie will be on air at midnight, 1 AM, 9AM, 12 noon, 3 PM and 5 PM - be sure to catch one of the shows to see lots of brand new kits

Now I have to go and start visiting about 140+ blogs from WOYWW, I'm a day late...

WOYWW and a Penny Black Challenge

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000Z

Time for another snoop around the world at some crafty spaces, hosted by the amazing Julia Dunning at WOYWW. I managed to get around everyone last week, quite a marathon, but it really is fun, try it. You remember the plastic document folders that I found in Poundland (the UK equivalent of the Dollar Store in the USA). I decided they would make perfect holders for some of my stamps, which were crammed into two drawers and getting very jumbled and squashed. Finding the one I wanted was a frustrating job, with all the stamps from the drawers being tossed onto the floor as I searched.......If you want to see the mess I was in, scroll down to the previous post...

Here is a work in progress - I had lots of 'odds and ends' of stamps by different manufacturers

I put the stamps on one side, being cling, or acrylic, they stick nicely to the plastic surface to keep them tidy, then I stamped a sheet of copy paper with each image in that box

One little drawback was that there was no room on the narrow box for a label, so I put a white dot coloured with Promarkers on the end of each one....

and made a little index sheet which I taped to the wall below the shelf where they sit. Nice! It has freed up so much space in the drawers, that the mainly acrylic sets that live there are no longer in danger of death by squashing

Time for a card. The challenge on Penny Black this week, was to case, copy) a most lovely card from one of the design team, Beth. I copied the photo to show you, but it has disappeared into the black hole that is my computer, and heaven knows where the image is lurking, so you will just have to pop over there and see all the great stuff that the design team come up with

I found this anonymous double sided paper when I was clearing out, and fell in love with it all over again. The sentiment stamp also resurfaced from the murky depths, so it was obviously meant to turn into a man card, and here it is. The stars were cut on my Cricut (George, good old George) and embossed using a Tim Holtz folder, again, miraculously appearing like a little gem from the depths - I have never used it before, and I LOVE it, expect to see everything embossed in stripes and dots for a while

That's me done for today, I'll be back tomorrow

Oh dear......

2012-01-09T13:56:00.001Z

No card from me today, I have been far too busy sorting and shopping. I needed to go to Poundland among other places, and look what I found, some plastic document cases - see what I did with them later in the week. The packing tape was essential, I send off so many parcels, and I always get my foam pads from there, a bargain at £1

My 1 1/2" circle punch has broken, so I needed to replace that - unfortunately, not in Poundland

and here is my crafty cupboard BEFORE I started organising it. Hmmm.....

I finally got around to labelling all my distress ink pads - yes I know they should be neatly typed, but Martha Stewart isn't going to come around for tea any day soon, and as long as I can read them without trawling through the entire pile, which is what I have been doing, it works for me

Random thoughts from my shopping trip:

Why do Poundland sell condoms and pregnancy testing kits right next to the baby supplies, and on the same subject, would you really trust condoms and pregnancy testing kits from Poundland, and it's a bit unnerving that they sell one for prevention, and one for results right next to each other.....My advice is to stick to the cheap foam pads, go to Boots the chemist for your other supplies

Why are walking shoes called walking shoes? What are other shoes for? Tap dancing? Climbing? Running a marathon?

See you tomorrow, when order will be restored to the CC (crafty cupboard) and for the first time in my entire life I will be able to reach for exactly what I want when I need it.........

Going Buggy Challenge

2012-01-05T01:55:00.000Z

Okay folks, so here's the first challenge, I have made it simple, and you have a whole month to come up with a card or project using the main colours of

GREY, WHITE AND RED

(or Black,White and Red)

I listened to all your comments, and most of you seem to dislike the fact that some people have dozens of online friends voting for them, and others felt that a random draw didn't take into account the effort and time people have put in, so I am taking a deep breath, and hoping that I won't upset too many people, and, enlisting my sister Gwendydd and my friend Anne to help me (I haven't told them yet!), and together we will choose our favourite cards for this month's prizes. Please continue to give me your feedback on this - if you feel that you are a beginner, and feel intimidated at the thought of judging, please tell me, or any other reason of course. We can always alter it next month

Edited to say, as always you have all come up with the perfect solution - one prize will be judged as my favourite, the other one will be randomly picked. Perfect!

The very generous guys over at Letraset (thanks Paul) are giving TWO of you the chance to win a wallet that is custom made for your ProMarkers, PLUS a set of six Promarkers of your choice. As you see, the wallets hold 24 markers, fold into a stand, and are a perfect solution to organising your pens

Here's my card to start you off........

Please put your blog link - direct to the post with your card please into Mr Linky below, and please link back to Going Buggy in your blog post. I will be dropping by to see your creations. (If you are not used to doing this, just post your picture on your blog, click on publish, then click on the header of the published post. Highlight this URL in the address bar and copy, then paste it into the Mr Linky box. When people click on your name, it will take them straight to your challenge post)

It doesn't seem fair that those of you who don't have a blog can't join in, so if you email me a photo of your card, I will add it to this post. There will be a link to this post kept at the top of the blog for a month - challenge closes on 5th February 2012

Can I ask please, that those of you who don't do challenges, but enjoy seeing the cards, please click on the links to go to the various blogs, and leave a quick comment. It would be so encouraging for those who have taken the time and trouble to take part.

Good luck everyone - get crafting

WOYWW

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000Z

The very first Going Buggy monthly challenge will start tomorrow, Thursday

Letraset are offering prizes to two winners so come and join in

I haven't joined in with WOYWW on Julia's blog for ages, if you haven't joined in with this, do have a go it's great fun. WOYWW? It stands for what's on your workdesk Wednesday, and it's a chance to hop around all sorts of blogs and see photos of peoples workspace. This can be rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Rewarding in a smug sort of way because you realise that there are people out there who are even messier than you, frustrating because you see the most beautifuly organised spaces..... you will notice that my photos are pretty heavily cropped, that is so that nobody can see the utter chaos that is my desk

So, as usual there is a load of paper on there, I have been playing around with my Cricut, and cutting some borders and mats for stamping. I had the idea that I would make a great pile of them so that I would always have ready cut mats and borders to hand, but realised that I could spend the rest of my life cutting, and I still wouldn't have the right colours in the right shapes....

I found some pretty cuts though, see the grey one? It's a circle of butterflies, I have an idea for that one..... and I love some of the borders on the next photo. I was using Elegant Edges and the Circle Sophie cartridge for these cuts. Mr Blogger is being particularly difficult today, and won't let me put the text where I want it, so you'll have to scroll down

Here's a very quick little card I made, using a Lili of the Valley image, I fancied a monochrome look, I find a lot of young parents aren't into the blue or pink thing, so I used grey - why not!

I am entering this into three challenges (another new year resolution, to get out there a bit more)

Allsorts: New Beginnings

The Pink Elephant: Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes

I am planning a kitchen makeover soon - not a new kitchen, just a makeover, new worktops, sink, hob etc etc. It's all at the planning stage, but look what I found in John Lewis sale, the perfect curtains for the french window - a cancelled order by someone who probably lives next door, as they are a perfect fit, and at half price I had to have them, although it is rather putting the cart before the horse.....I can see it all now, pale grey walls, lovely green plants, splashes of yellow ......

See you tomorrow

Anyone fancy a challenge?

2012-01-02T22:51:00.004Z

Today's card is an Urban Belle stamp, coloured with Promarkers and the flower is Tim Holtz tattered flower. The kraft card is by Papermania.

Promarkers used:

Face, blush and soft peach

jeans - pastel blue, denim blue, ice grey 3

hair - burnt sienna, cinnamon, tan and caramel

sweater and headband - sandstone, tan

I've had a few emails about loading the cricut handbooks onto the ipad, so scroll down to the post, I have added a couple of things which I hope will make it clearer

Do you remember a while back when I was having a blog hop, one of the challenges was to make a card and post it here? Loads of you did so, and many have said they would like to do it again. So let's give it a try, and have a monthly challenge on here, there will be a Mr Linky for easy posting, and there will be prize for the winner. I will put a voting thingy on, and you can all vote for your favourites, or would you prefer a random draw for the winner? I want to try and gauge your reaction to this idea before I spend time setting it all up, so let me know what you think please

I had a little browse around the shops today (theres a novelty!), everything is on sale of course (those of you not from the UK, the January sales are a huge tradition here), but I wasn't tempted at all, although I did hesitate for a nano second over a pair of cashmere wrist warmers, a snip at £50 ($80). They looked as though someone had cut off the bottom part of a sweater sleeve, that was it, just a tube of knitting. So I picked them up, and thought 'nah, why should my wrists be warm when the rest of me is freezing......' Do the buyers for these shops ever stop for a minute and think, really think, about their customers? Do they not think that we might have the brains if we need warm wrists, to go to the charity shops, buy an old sweater and cut off the sleeves?

See you tomorrow

Here We Go....

2012-01-01T21:37:00.000Z

A couple of cards to kick start the new year, both made with the same stamp by Kanban, but with a totally different look. I am a fan of stamps which don't need a lot of colouring (as well as those that take hours of course...) for those quick cards, and really you can't go wrong with this little cow. I just added a bit of grey shadowing here and there.

A couple of newsy bits for you. As you know I have been on the team for Scrappy-go-Lucky for a couple of years now. Mandy, the owner has become a good friend, but she has decided to concentrate her business in Australia at the moment (a new studio and distribution center) and has discontinued the UK and USA stores at present, so sadly I will no longer be on the design team as such, although I will be popping over there on a regular basis to see what those talented Aussie girls are up to. They have started a weekly challenge on the blog, hop over there to see what it's all about, and of course, if you live in Australia, there is no better place to shop than SGL!

The good news is that Mandy, Diane (Capadia) and I are all meeting up in Frankfurt for a craft fair at the end of this month, so I will be able to bring you all the latest and greatest news and crafty gossip from there.

Secondly, Nikky Hall of Polkadoodles (always an ideas gal) has come up with the brilliant idea of a challenge blog for kids under 16. It's called Diddydoodles, and if your child or grandchild loves crafting with you, do get them to join in the fun - hop over and see what the children have done, amazing stuff.

New year resolutions? Yes, I seem to have made hundreds in the run up to new year, most of them I forgot about today until I realised I had broken most of them by midday (cue for a shoulder shrug, ah well, there's always next year.....) The trouble with resolutions is they are so boring aren't they? They always seem to involve less of what is bad for us, but we enjoy, and more of the stuff that takes gritted teeth to like even a little.

I do have one that involves more - more hair. Let me explain, I have had short hair since I was a teenager, every so often I have the urge to have hair that I can toss with a shake of my head, so I have been trying to grow out the layers. I fancy a choppy bob, I have a picture of just the right style, and in my saner moments, I look objectively at it, and see that the model concerned is rather young - I have tins in my pantry older than her. However, I have suffered it for about 6 months now and I am still fairly determined, although I have very thick hair and it seems to be taking on a life of it's own. One consolation, if they run out of soldiers in bearskin hats for the Olympics in July, I can dye my hair black, they would probably hire me...........

See you tomorrow with more news and stuff

My Favourite Cards for 2011

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000Z

Firstly, without sounding too soppy and sentimental, I want to say a big thank you to those of you who visit me faithfully, leave me nice comments, send me chatty emails and have become my online friends. Without your encouragement, there really wouldn't be any point in this blog, I mean, I really would have lost it, big time, if I spent hours rambling on about nonsense and nobody was here to read it! So thank you for another year - it's been fun for me, and I hope you've enjoyed it too

As usual, I've trawled through all the cards I've posted on Going Buggy over the past year, and come up with my favourites. I chose them because I was pleased with the way they turned out - either because of something I thought was original, the layout, the colours, the image, it doesn't matter why really, I just liked the end result.....coincidence, but they are almost all pink!

January - Heard you caught a bug!

February - New Stamp from CHA by Stampendous

March - Sugar Nellie digi image

April - Easter for Papercraft Inspirations Magazine

May - for Craftwork Cards

June - Cricut Card

July - Sugar Nellie digi stamp

August - For Papercraft Inspirations magazine

September - for Polkadoodles

October

November - for Polkadoodles

December

Have you done a list of favourites if you have a blog? Leave a comment here, I would love to come over and see them.....

Is the champagne on ice? Anyone going to fantastic parties? I always find New Years Eve a bit of a letdown - even when I was much younger. There always seems to be a lot of hanging about, people looking furtively at their watches from about 10.30 PM on, then the big countdown, a quick chorus of Auld Lang Syne (what is all that about by the way? Old who?)

and it's pretty much time to go home if you are over 30! Hardly seems worth the effort, I'd be just as happy at home with a big box of chocs and my slippers, except that this year we are going to be with very very good friends, and if I want to wear my slippers I can!

Ten, nine eight seven six five four three two one

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Make a Wish........

2011-12-29T23:11:00.000Z

I got back to my desk today, had quite a productive time up there, but the light had gone, so too late to photograph, so I am showing you two more cards from last month's Papercraft Inspirations magazine (on sale now in the USA). The theme was 'Quick Cards' and the brief was make a wish

The circles on this next one are really glittery. I matched the gems to the glittery circle, if I didn't have a match, I just coloured clear gems with Promarkers. The birthday cake punch is by Martha Stewart

I am loving my iPad - look what I did. I went to the Cricut website, clicked on information, then cartridge library

all the cartridges are listed (well, annoyingly they take ages to put the newer ones on there). I clicked on view in the right hand column for the cartridges I own, that opened the handbook

I sent them over to iBooks......TO DO THIS, CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE AND YOU WILL SEE THIS ICON

CLICK ON 'OPEN IN iBOOKS - and here they all are in a virtual bookshelf

You have to do each book individually, you can't do them all at once, but it only takes a minute to do

the pages show up just like the handbook, in colour and easy to read

This really will be a huge help to me, I really like to read the handbooks, in fact I have been known to take a pile of them to bed with me. I read them like saner people read the latest John Grisham, so now I can have a browse wherever I am, and I don't even need to be hooked up to the internet to read them. All I need is my little notepad and pen to jot down ideas - wait, I think the iPad can do that as well. Hmmm, one step at a time - I do promise that this will be the first and last iPad tutorial!

New photos of two little boys on the sidebar

I'll be back tomorrow with a round up of my favourite cards for 2011

Was it good for you?

2011-12-28T12:43:00.002Z

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas - I certainly did, Santa brought me an iPad which I had been lusting after for ages, and Boxing Day saw the arrival of Max and Milo who kept us entertained and very amused. Photos to follow!

Here's a couple more cards made with the fabulous Kraft with Colour collection from Craftwork Cards - be sure to hop over there, they have a sale on at the moment

For this first one, I used one of the blank chipboard pieces in the pack, dry brushed it with white acrylic paint, and overstamped with the music note stamp. The heart was cut with the George cartridge

and on this second card, I punched holes to thread with ribbon through some of the circles intended to take the circular greetings, and used them as a border. The tiny flowers on the bottom were punched

The fridge is full of leftovers, lovingly wrapped in clingfilm or foil. They will sit there for about three days, and then get chucked out if past experience is anything to go by. I should shorten the process and chuck it out straightaway, but that seems so much more wasteful than the three day later rule! All those recipes for tasty turkey curry/turkey and ham pie/turkey soup/turkey stew, all seem to be a turkey too far for me, so, with a guilty conscience I do the turkey fling....

Merry Christmas to all of you

2011-12-24T00:30:00.000Z

I want to wish each and every one of you a very merry Christmas, or a happy time whatever festival you are celebrating. I'll be back after the fuss dies down, in the meantime here's a little project for anyone with time on their hands - ooh, I can hear your hollow laughter......

What can you do with a single sheet of double sided cardstock and a bar of soap?

How about a really cute little wrap...........

that opens to show a little box inside......note the position of the little magnet

which is the perfect size for a bar of soap............

start by cutting your cardstock to 8" x 6 3/4"

score across the short side at 3/4", 3", 4 1/2" and 6 3/4" - I have drawn the lines to show up in the photos

turn your paper, and score lengthways at 1 3/4" on both sides

this is the only complicated bit, so I have taken a series of photos, showing where you need to cut to form your box.........

1. starting from the top of your paper, cut away as shown......

you will end up with your cardstock looking like this. Sharpen all the folds with a bone folder

use a circle punch to punch a little half circle as shown......

put double sided tape as shown and assemble your box. Set aside while you make the wrap

For the wrap, cut a piece of the remaining cardstock to 9 1/4" x 4"
Score along the long edge at 2", 3 1/2", 5 3/4" and 7 1/4"
Sharpen folds with a bone folder.
If you like, punch a decorative border along one of the end flaps at this stage

apply double sided tape to the center of the piece as shown, and carefully center your completed box onto this

with strong glue, attach a small magnet to the inside of one of the end folds (I covered this with a little piece of the remaining pattern paper. Put a corresponding magnet onto the other end, so that the wrap stays shut

decorate your box, I just used a couple of Prima flowers and a tiny sentiment

I got the idea for this from a gift my lovely friend Gilly gave me - I could do that I thought, and dismantled it to use as a pattern, but it tore badly when I took it apart, and it took me ages to work out the measurements and logistics for the project, so I hope at least one of you finds it useful! I think they would make great little hostess or shower gifts, and once you have made your basic 'pattern' they are a breeze to make. Have fun......

Kraft with Colour

2011-12-22T00:37:00.000Z

I actually found time to sit at my desk and create a bit today - here's my first card made with the Craftwork Cards project of the month kit, Kraft with Colour.

Everything on the card is from the kit, including the base scallop edge card. The green scroll is a Fiskars die. The center square of paper is gorgeously foiled and gleaming in real life.....

We have mice!!! I went into the garage, and saw one scuttling across the floor - just a small little field mouse. 'That's okay' we thought 'it can't get into the house'

We have a bin on the inside of the cupboard underneath the sink in the kitchen, mounted to the inside of the door, it takes a plastic carrier bag, so a bit of recycling and a handy place to drop teabags all in one..... until I found it shredded, and tea leaves all over the floor of the cupboard.

I was astounded. I didn't know mice liked tea!

I was also astounded because how the heck did it get into the house? I think the answer is that we have Mickey in the garage, and Minnie in the kitchen cupboard.......

So, even though it is the season of goodwill to all men and mice, we got some poison stuff, it has been eaten, and there is a little twitching tail underneath a box in the garage, I haven't dared open the cupboard door. I feel terrible, poor little things, all they were doing was have a nice cup of tea and now they are gone....

"Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house

not a creature was stirring

not even a mouse"

well, not in this house anyway!

New digis......

2011-12-20T01:14:00.000Z

I was sent some new digital stamps to play with from a new company called The Scrapbook Stamp Society - take a look over there, their designs are trendy, fun and a joy to colour. Here's what I made, I love this first one for a male birthday...........

and this image is just so sassy, she would be perfect for a teen who is into clubbing (when did they stop being called discos, and become clubs?) Thanks to my good pal Kath, for the idea for the bow.....

This Christmas image is so different, look at all the little peace signs in the snowflakes......

and I love the manga type images they do, you can use such funky colours on them........

Look what came in the post today, this month's Project of the Month kit from Craftwork Cards, called Kraft with Colour. Anyone who orders this months kit gets a free Cards magazine, worth £10 in with their order. You get a project sheet with lovely designs by Julie Hickey. Julie was my very first cardmaking idol - when I got bitten by the card bug, I bought one of her card books in WH Smiths, and studied it for hours. Little did I think then, that one day I would be on a design team that she leads (and she is the sweetest person you could wish to meet as well as being uber talented, you can see her on QVC, and see her work on the CWC blog).

This is just some of the stuff that was in my pack - look out later this week to see what I come up with.......

Three pots of homemade soup cooling before they go in the freezer (my family loves soup), french onion, broccoli and stilton, and cream of mushroom. We have a family tradition that on Boxing Day, we throw a large piece of pork in the oven, and lunch is homemade soup, followed by hot roast pork rolls with stuffing and apple sauce. I think we all enjoy it more than the turkey on Christmas day

and the tree is finally finished, and the presents are stacking up nicely under it

I hope you are not all too exhausted by the manic run-up-to-the-big-day, I am on top of things, and may even get to delve into my new goodies tomorrow..

Deck the Halls.......

2011-12-17T00:00:00.002Z

Mike was given a gift, and told to open it because something needed to go in the fridge - it was a bottle of port and a Stilton cheese. I was delighted - I hate port and never eat Stilton, so why the happy smile? Just look at the box it came in, a wooden crate that is just crying out to be altered.......

The tree is decorated.........

and it's always lovely to see old favourites come out of the box of decorations. These little ceramic climbing angels were bought in Budapest, Hungary...............

and these little angels came from a Christmas market in Prague.......

these silver bells were on my parents Christmas tree when I was a child.....

and this little chap came from Stuttgart, Germany - you put a scented cone inside and light it, he looks as if he is smoking a pipe!

A couple of last minute Christmas cards. This one used a clear stamp by Papermania UK

and this one is Luka by LaLaLand stamps

Things I love about Christmas:
Family
Friends
Christmas carols
Turkey sandwiches
Seeing the house all dressed up
A pile of presents under the tree
The happy look on someones face when they open their present from you and you know that you got it exactly right
Mince pies
Knowing that you have enough food in the house to feed an army, and won't have to cook for at least a week
That warm cinnamon/spicy/fir tree smell

Things I hate about Christmas:
Getting last minute Christmas cards from people you had forgotten
Getting last minute Christmas presents from people you had forgotten
Crowded shops
Crowded car parks
The unhappy look on someones face when they open their present from you and you know that you got it really wrong
Realising late on Christmas Eve that you have forgotten some vital ingredient for next day's feast (happens every year)
Those news letters that some people put in with their cards. Don't bad things ever happen to these people? They are always full of promotions, brilliant children and world cruises (sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, but I would love to have one saying something like 'Aunt Bessie passed away in March, but it didn't bother us, we never liked her')

Oh no, I can feel a touch of Scrooge bubbling up, I'll stop there.......Note that my likes outnumber the dislikes :)