Sunday 13 March 2011

Wonderful to catch up!

I have had a lovely weekend. Alex seems to be sleeping better so he has been happier and well behaved all weekend and a lot of fun to spend time with.  We went to the park yesterday where he played very nicely with some other boys, and enjoyed taking this flower down the slide (he didn't pick it, it had been picked by someone else and then dropped), and then today I went to Coventry to see one of my best friends, Abby.  While Alex played with Owain, and enjoyed every minute of it, Abby and I sat and talked and talked and talked, putting the world to rights.  It was so wonderful and we were so busy chatting that I completely forgot to get the camera out until we were about to go, by which stage it was too late!  
Crafting wise I managed to make my DT challenge for Quirky Crafts.  This week it was Lyn's turn to set the challenge and it was a lovely sketch. As the whole idea of the Quirky Crafts challenge site is that we accept any form of artwork, not just cards, I decided to make a scrapbook layout.  I was given an image of a tea pot from our sponsor, Stitchy Bear digital stamps, so based my design around that, deciding to make a scrapbook page of my addiction to tea!  The journalling reads 'Definition: one who consumes 8-10 large mugs of tea a day i.e. ME!'. The layout also fits with the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 'stitching', the DCM 'create your own embellishment' 
- in my case a shrink plastic teacup hanging by its handle on the ribbon, and the Scrap and Stamp 'about you' challenge (this really is who I am and a typical photo of what I am up to a lot of the day so I think it counts!).

I am also loving the challenges over at less is more as they really take me outside my comfort zone and I am learning loads.  It isn't always easy to receive negative feedback on my cards, but provided it is done gently I will learn from it.  That said, sometimes I am limited by my supplies.  Take this card for example...the challenge this week is 'over the edge'. It has to be a single layer card, with the image going off the edge of the card.  Well I used  a mixture of stamps and inks I had available but I think that the fern fronds should be a brighter green (which means a new ink pad) and/or with a thicker leaf pattern to match with the thicker writing and butterfly stamps (which means a new stamp!)...see what I mean!  That said I am still entering this card into the Less is More challenge, knowing full well I will get some criticism of it.  I am also entering it into the Delightful challenge 'butterflies' challenge.
This is another attempt at the Less is More theme which is more masculine in feel using Crafty individuals tree and bird stamps and Penny Black sentiment.  This also fits with the 'tree' theme from crazy 4 challenges. That is all from me for now.  I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Caro
x

21 comments:

Mandi said...

Hi Caro
I think Id just have lowered the sentiment on the butterfly one, bt apart from that its' great as is the tree one
Im sure you know the tip to store your ink pads upside down, helps keep them more moist, as the ink comes to the surface
Thanks for entering again
mandi
"Less is More"

Stamps and Paper said...

Two very lovely cards.

Anne

Faye said...

Caro, I am not entering this challenge b/c there are just too many entries for me to comment on. (I try to make a comment on everyone's). So I am just visiting around today and scattering my comments, hither and thither.

Both your cards are beautiful and I think follow the guidelines fine. I agree with you about the fern. Maybe less fern and another leafy stamp to add some heaviness would do it. But I would be thrilled to bits to get this as is. The tree stamp is perfect. It needs no additional anything.

Like you, I don't have a lot of the things some cardmakers take for granted. I have no cutting machine so everything has to be cut out using a Fiskar template and hand cutter. But I have a lot of handmade inks that I have brewed up and put into little spray bottles.

Loved looking at your blog.

Kathyk said...

Glorious work from you - love them all

Kathyk

Georgina said...

Sounds like you have had a great weekend! I love your layout - I love tea too, especially when its cold outside. Thanks for playing along with the scramp and stamp saturday challenge this week!

Anonymous said...

nice designs....I think you could have stamped in black for the fern fonds and the trees on the second one (would recommend a versafine onyx black ink pad - very good coverage and good for picking up fine detail)

Susan said...

Caro...I don't think you need to change a thing! I love the softness of the greenery behind the butterfly...and the coloring on the butterfly is beautiful!

Lisa aka yarnchik said...

OMGosh, I love EVERYTHING about this one, Caro!!! That pic is just terrific,the flourishes in the corners are the perfect accent, and that lil tea cup is darling! Thanks for playing along at Scrap and Stamp :)

Chrissie said...

It's good to read that you are doing your own crit Caro..do you need an excuse to buy more stash?
I agree that the colour of the ferns is just a little too far from the strength of colour in the butterfly... but it's still a good composition!
I hope that you are managing to visit lots of the other entrants' blogs and leave them some comments too!
Great to see you again and trying so many of the challenges!
Chrissie
"Less is More"

Michelle said...

both cards are lovely, I especially like the trees xx

Lynda said...

What a dinky little teacup! Thanks for sharing your makes with Daring Cardmakers this week.

Lynda xxx

Jo said...

The little tea cup is brilliant :)

jo x

Vicky Hayes said...

Wow! There's so much that I love on this post! Your beautiful scrapbook page with the fab shrinkie teacup charm and the gorgeous tree card are just perfect! If you feel the fern is too delicate on your butterfly card, stamping the sentiment over it might work?

Zuzana Obert said...

What a cute teacup you made. It's absolutely stunning. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work with us at The Daring Cardmakers.

Zuzana x x

massofhair said...

Two great cards, both very different but i like the butterfly one the best as it has a variety of colours and shapes:-)

Sarn said...

WOW - you've been busy! I like both entries for the LiM challenge. If I had to pick, I'd say the 2nd card.

Hugs, Sandra

Suze Bain said...

Two super cards, the tree one has to be my favourite - it has a very calm feeling to it.

Purple Crazy said...

Fabulous cards, I think they fit the challenges perfectly, thanks for sharing with us at Delightful Challenges this week, Happy crafting x

LeslieRahye said...

Thank you for joining Delightful Challenges this Week! Great card! Such an elegant butterfly card!

Silke Ledlow said...

Caro, all of your creations are beautiful! Your CAS tree card is perfect for the C4C...thank you for joining us this week! Hugs ~S~

LazyKay said...

SO good to have a catchup with a friend and lovely that Alex is able to socialise so well.

xxxxxx