Up, up and Away!

Just to let you all know that tomorrow I'm flying to Switzerland for the week to see Luke play Boy George in "The Wedding Singer" in Geneva & Ben play in the East of France rugby final in Valence. I won't be able to craft while I am away.

Look Out -Here Comes Audrey II !!!

I can't believe I've not blogged in over a week -nor made a card! I've been doing long days & evenings in the theatre on "Little Shop of Horrors". The show has had standing ovations every night & the feeling's fantastic. Anyway for those of you who have been asking, here are a couple of shots of the man-eating plant!

Time to Make-Up!

Here's my card for the Crafty Muse Black & White plus One challenge. I upped the stakes in the challenge by refusing to allow myself to use red, pink or purple as the plus one! The sentiment is actually green & very sparkly, just like the new eyeliner I bought yesterday. Maybe the card has been inspired by my make-up!

Oh Baby, Baby,.. how was I supposed to know?

...something wasn't right! Seems commenting on my blog ain't easy atm. Thanks for telling me! Here's my Funky Fairy baby card. It's simple cos all my brainspace is taken up with creating that %&*$ giant man-eating plant! I've used the FF "Seeing Spots" papers that I won last week -woooHoooO! See here for the full range of fabby FF papers.

Let's have Another One...

...just like the other ones! I know I have a fixation with sympathy cards at the moment, but they were seriously lacking from my stock & I'm trying to redress the balance. I've heard it's difficult to comment on my blog at the moment. If anyone can advise me on how to make it easier -I will!

On Man-eating Plants and the Such!

Today I've been making a giant man-eating plant from chicken wire & velvet curtains -eat your heart out LuLu! The brute swallows 3 teenagers & I suffered in rehearsal as I saw their death throes. As I've said, I'm on a mission to produce desirable sympathy cards & I dedicate this to the victims of "The Little Shop of Horrors"!

I See a Little Silhoutte-o of a Dog!

Rainbow Lady wants a silhouette & black & white this week. Well -there's definitely a silhouette here, greyscale & a stamp which is... red! The Guernsey craft shop owner's birthday is today & she keeps her dachshund in the shop. I saw this image & thought I'd turn it into a card for her as she's so helpful.

Polka Doodle-Doo

Polka Doodles is launched with a wonderful doodle. Here's my take on it. I was told recently that it's not easy to find tasteful, but unusual sympathy cards so I am a girl on a mission at the moment to redress that.

What a Knit!

I nearly forgot... thanks Beryl for reminding me about the new C.R.A.F.T challenge blog. Appropriately for the very first challenge they want to see something NEW. So I've used the Lili of the Valley template by Jo to inspire this card for a newborn.

Third Time Lucky!

Da dah! At last -the legal Funky Fairy circles & buttons card you have all (well some of you LOL!) been waiting for!!! Using free FF Doodlementals BP's which can be found here. Hope it was worth the wait! Stop press: I won... wooohoooo!

A Bit Sketchy!

I tried to follow the gorgeous sketch at Simon Says, but sketches aren't my forte! Here's my card -a combination of the sketch & the materials I own. BTW Crafty Muse has a black & white + one challenge with digistamps up for grabs! I was lucky enough to win the May Day challenge -WoooHooooo!

Wedding Belle

Love and Marriage is the theme at My Time to Craft. Here is my card which I feel would make a suitable Silver Wedding Anniversary card. Many of my friends seem to be reaching this stage in their relationships.

Play it Again, Sam!

Last night I enjoyed one too many glasses of wine. To avoid watching Casualty I made a second -this time legal- card for the Funky Fairy circles & buttons challenge. Not! Under the affluence of inkahalc I forgot to use the FF papers I bought especially for the challenge! The + side-I get to play it again!

And the Winner is...

... Jem! With £230 raised for Cancer Research I decided to draw a second prize which goes to... Alison! Please both send your postal addresses to buttonzandbradz@hotmail.com and I'll post your candy ASAP! Thanks to everyone who participated!

100% Authentic!

This card is made from the bits I cut off a new pair of jeans -amazing where inspiration seems to come from! This is all the crafting I've managed yesterday & today as I've been giving the voice a good old workout & trying to learn a monologue about how to catch a dragon -don't ask!

When it's Spring again, I'll...

sing again! I've just enquired about a 2 year Performing Arts course. I'll be auditioning for them in the next 2 weeks so I'm singing like a canary atm & will probably lose my voice by audition day! Appropriately for Spring it's Pink & Green over at Created by Hand. Here's a very simple card, but I do like Papermania printed card blanks.

Pink, Green and Blue...

...is the challenge over at Lili of the Valley this week. I've said before -I always try and hedge my bets on gender when making a baby card. I get asked to make baby cards more than anything else and this way they can be unisex & made in my own time rather than in a hurry when the baby's born.

Hey Ho a Golden Lining!

For Sketch Saturday 51 I wanted a 70's album feel & hope the hearts look like thought bubbles for an absent love. As I kept singing David Essex's Silver Lining while making it -even tho it's gold- I've posted it for the DCM Music challenge & I'm cheeky enough to send it "illegally" for Funky Fairy's circles & buttons challenge while I buy myself time to make a law-abiding one LOL! Thanks to Anesha for the RAK.

Let's hear it for the Boyz!

Thanks to everyone who's sent cards for the Race for Life for Cancer Research. The candy's up for grabs until 24th May so there's still time to join in! (see above for update & individual thanks) Somehow in all this I've stumbled on Simon Says -will the guilty party own up? Anyway, here's my card for their One for the Boys challenge using Basic Grey Archaics range.

Gardener's don't grow old...

...they just go to seed! I owe a debt of thanks to Debbie as I spotted this sentiment on her blog this morning & loved it so much I just had to use it immediately!

Two for One

I made a card for ICS 16 & didn't like it at all (the baby card below), so I made another (the Congratulations above) which I much prefer. I found the tiny tree motif at the haberdashers on Norwich market. Isn't it amazing how different the same sketch looks with different colours & contexts?

How to Avoid Ironing!

This is my card for Funky Fairy Flowers & Bling using the free swirls BP download (available here). I'm supposed to be ironing -I usually allow myself 30 minutes blogging for each shirt ironed! But this challenge was so absorbing I couldn't wait to get started... on the crafting NOT on the ironing!

Forever Footballing!

This is my entry for the Cupcake Craft card for a man or a boy challenge. The one below is equally appropriate. And the fish below that!!! By chance last week I decided that I didn't have enough male cards so I have been making mainly those for the last couple of days.

Dino Trax

This card was made with help from BasicGrey. I saw a display with dinosaurs on & just had to have it to make a card for my nephew who's at that "dinosaur stage" of life! It's for the PTW Animal Antics challenge & I just realised it also fits the Cupcake Craft card for a man or boy challenge.

Sweet Lips

How much do I love core'dinations? On this Raspberry Ribbons challenge card I've sanded the red then crumpled & sanded the pink core'dinations. I've seen rosette tutorials in magazines so I decided to have a go to highlight the ribbon band. I'm amazed how easy & effective it was! I've just realised this card also fits the Cupcake Craft card for a man or boy challenge.

Choc-a-licious

It's scallops, pink & chocolate at Card-a-licious this week. Unfortunately the watermark butterfly on the chocolate panel does not show in the photograph, but it is there. BTW is chocolate the new brown?!?!

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday...

...is the Crafty Muse challenge. Actually I think it's May Day! This card evokes the May Day feast day of times of yore with it's Olde Worlde decoupaged lily, juxtaposed with what modern May Day means to me: fresh colours, awakening shades of green & carefree feelings as my birthday approaches. I really wanted to do a ribbon Maypole, but Sarah snaffled that so my green ribbon represents that tradition. The stripes also fit the Lots to Do challenge like the one below.

You've Been Framed!

As I'm making Race for Life cards (see above) I set myself the task of NOT using pink or blue for Rainbow Lady's frame challenge. One flower is very dark blue, but it's a colour I 've never used before so it doesn't count! Out bloghopping I also saw that it fits this week's Lots to Do stripes challenge.

Funky Me!

I've never made a Get Well Soon card & so I particularly want to thank Lulu & Anesha for encouraging me to join in the Funky Fairy Get Well Soon challenge this week. Having chosen the refreshing & vibrant p0ink Simply Swirly free BP download from Funky Fairy, I really wanted a sentiment along the lines of "To Brighten Up Your Day", but didn't know how to achieve it! I hope you like it anyway.

Not on your Nelly...

...did I ever think I would post 2 cards in a day! But I stumbled on this elephant decoupage sticker while searching through a box for a brush & thought I'd whip up a second card for Rainbow Lady's Four Legged Friends challenge.

Dancing Queen

I started cross stiching this unlikely ballerina for my niece, Jorja, who is a Norfolk Ballet Scholar. Needless to say, I didn't finish it in time for her birthday, but I have managed to finish it in time for Rainbow Lady's Four Legged Friends challenge.

Post Men

Such a busy bank holiday weekend that I'm posting my men!




Luke (13) interprets the abused & lonely apprentice in a darkly atmospheric Peter Grimes -Grand Theatre de Geneve. Luke hates sport & had to be taught to kick a ball to stop it rolling into the orchestra pit! In contrast Ben (16, 6ft3, highest in the lineout in red) represents Switzerland in the European Rugby Championships. Both last month. Thanks for visiting!

Spots 'n' Dots

Sorry for the poor quality photo, but the batteries were failing and I was lucky to capture anything! At least the Dots 'n' Spots show up so it's perfect for Sarah's Challenge which you can find at Crafty Muse.

A Little Gem

I certainly know when I am at mum's -it's all baby and Ruby Wedding cards. Here's the latest using birds I recycled from a Christmas card!

A Labour of Love

I've always wanted to try ribbon weaving & finally I've got round to it. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed making this -& I WON'T tell you how long it took!!!

B is for...

baby. B is Rainbow Lady's challenge this week. I hunted out mum's old typewriter for the lettering. I can't stick it down because I can't find a glue stick & it's Sunday so the village shop is shut! I'm disappointed the lilac & lemon aren't clear.

Home from Home

I keep a crafty box at mum & dad's for when I'm feeling "itsy". Here's today's make. There won't be one tomorrow as I'm umpiring a netball tournament at my sister's school -I haven't played since I was at university!

Flying High!

Tonight I fly to the UK to spend a few days with mum and dad having spent the Easter holiday with my boys in Switzerland -so this card is most appropriate for Rainbow Lady's Transport Challenge!

Seriously Sweet Candy

Seriously sweet candy on offer by Debbie http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogoversary-candy.html Good luck! Quite obviously, I'm back at last -but sadly no longer SammieJay, just simple Sammie!