Mon Amie

Is it time for another WMS Blog Party already? Has it been a month since the last party?! Kinda scary how fast time flies but there you have it! Might as well hop on and enjoy the ride. The July Blog Party is about "The Great Outdoors" and this month we've spent a lot of time outdoors, most ambling about aimlessly but occasionally we've done some purposeful prowling. For my project I'm drawing on the many happy moments spent gallivanting at garden centres, hoping, dreaming, wishing my horticultural aspirations would someday allow me to boast a floral yard, instead of conjuring up fancy names for pretty weeds. Oh well, that day may well come but until then I'll stick to what I can do. And for now I've made this box, adorned with flowers I wish were real and from my garden. It's loosely based on a box I made for my MIL'S birthday gift.

That teeny tiny bit of patterned paper is from NitWit Spring Collection.  This flip-top lid box measures 3"x3"x1.5".

The pale green pearlescent base layer of the lid and the patterned paper are cut out with Spellbinders labels 16 die.  The sentiment is from WMS Fancy Phrases. In keeping with the floral paper, I added paper flowers ... mulberry paper roses, to be precise. Stitching and some pearls complete the delicate look I was after. 

Here are some vertigo inducing, neck breaking views of the box.

In these 2 photos you can see the flip-top lid in action.

Here's the view from the back when the lid is flipped over in full. For the sides of the box I embossed strips of the pale green pearlescent CS with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots folder, wrapped around with some sheer dusky pink ribbon and tied a bow in front.  

Here's a closer look at the sentiment  (love that elegant script). I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black, sprinkled some Snowflake EP  and zapped it with the heat tool. I was after a subtle shimmer without being too glitzy. Of course, there's stitching ... my life would suck without stitching. Try singing that, Kelly Clarkson! ;-) 

Since I'm all for having a good time, you'll catch my box partying all night long at Alota Rubber Stamping #87 "Box It Up",  Scrap It Girl "Good Things Come in Small Package" and Cupcake 201 "Le Tour de France.

I've enjoyed making this box. Could this lead to a new obsession? Possibly. Very likely. I'll keep y'all posted. In the meantime, thanks for dropping by and have grand Wednesday.

Beijinhos!




Blogged to:
Cheese on toast, coffee and

Masculine Christmas

Hiya! How's the week so far? Over here it has been hellaciously hot, and it continues to be so! I know I have been whinging about the lack of summer heat but ... HELLO? Can we dial it back a couple of notches. It has been 37ºC (that's 98.5º in old money) all day, no breeze, nothing. Just flaming, scorching heat! Of course it's the perfect weather for Christmas cards. So that's what I did.

For my sketch, I turned to Tuesday Morning Sketch #155 and the colours are from 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Other ideas and inspirations came from Stampin' Sisters in Christ #148 "Sparkle" as well as  Cards for Men #15 and Diecut Divas #74 "Christmas in July".

Throw everything in a pot, stir well, hope for the best and here's what you get:

Confession: I'm not using Christmas papers. This polka dot piece is from  Papermania's "Liquorice and Sherbert" A4 paper pack. It reminded me of snow fall in the dark... possibly a blizzard. Go on, let your imagination soar!

The sentiment is from WMS "Compliments of the Season" set, stamped in Memento Danube Blue. Then I cut it out with Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Rectangles S4-317 and lightly inked the edges with TH's Faded Jeans. Finally, 4 blue blings for some sparkle.

Here's a close-up of Santa's hat, which I cut with a die from Spellbinders Holiday Cheer S4-225. Did some stencilling with TH's Faded Jeans and added some sparkly fluffy thingamabob for the trim. Quite pleased with the way it turned out. 

Old habits die hard. I  OD-ed on pop-dots. (Note to self: get more...NOW)  

For the inside I added a strip of paper from the same pack which, to me, looks like winter twigs... and I tied it all up with some blue and white twine.

That's another Christmas card in my stash. If I keep this up I should be ok by December, leaving me plenty of time to stress over other things. Kitty-cat Xiara is doing fine. She's eating on her own now which is a great relief to us both. She's less mobile than she used to be but with regular physio she'll do better. I'll leave you with a picture of her blissfully asleep. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you tomorrow.

Yes, she's in a diaper! Since we are
having  mobility issues, this allows
her to rest uninterrupted without
having to struggle to the loo at night. 

You can't hear it, but she's actually
snoring! I guess at that age she's
earned a few privileges.

Beijinhos!


Blogged to:
Celery sticks (shocking but true!) and









Top Honour 52 Christmas Card Throwdown July 2012 Colour Challege

Miss you

Hello my dear Crafty Cronies. Here we are - staring at the start of another week. Fingers crossed it'll be a fantabulous week. Over at our neck of the woods we're expecting hoping praying for searing sizzling scorching temperatures minus the arctic winds this week. (Please please let it be!) Hope you too will be savouring a sensationally sweltering summer. Isn't funny how the weather affects us so? Isn't it curious how we never tire of talking about the weather? Isn't it infuriating how it tends to defy forecasts with wanton disregard? And, isn't it annoying how we I can't stop whinging about it? A crone's privilege!

In the meantime, I poured forth my creative sunshine onto this week's MojoMonday #250 piece. I'm paring it with colours and inspiration from The Shabby Tea Room's Week #1123 challenge, incorporating button, ribbon, twine and stitching in my card. The sentiment is from Paper Playtime #79 "Miss You" card.














Enough chit chat, let's take a look at the card:

I'm using paper from NitWit's Spring Collection. It has the colours and elements from the photo: cubby holes / cubes, vertical lines, ribbon spool etc.

The sentiment is from WMS Compact Sentiment 2, stamped with Memento Cantaloupe ink.

For the die cuts I used Spellbinders Teardrop Circles, inked TH's Peeled Paint.  I threaded some twine through a yellow button and stuck in down with a glue dot.

Some sheer ribbons found their way in, as did pieces of patterned paper which I gave the fish-tail treatment.

On the inside I decided to add a sentiment from WMS Say it Loud set. 

Let's take a closer look at the Cantaloupe and roses, shall we?

That's all from me today. Thank you for stopping by and I cannot thank you enough for the sweet encouraging emails and comments for Xiara. I read them all to her. I'm going to crank up Mr Presley and prepare Xiara's supper. Until next time, my friends....

Beijinhos!


Blogged to:
Warm peach cobbler, ice cream and

Are you superstitious?

Well, are you? I'd like to think I'm not but somehow I'm inclined to play it safe today. The past couple days have not been very good for me. My ageing little kitty-cat is poorly although she's handling it a lot better than I am. She's on the mend now but still needing plenty of TLC.  Thank you to everybody who  visited me and left sweet comments. I have not been on my blog-rounds much and will do so over the weekend. In the meantime, I managed to produce this little number. The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches #43 and the colours are from ColourQ #145. I'm also joining the good folks at Word Art Wednesday #36 with the most uplifting "sentiment" I can think of.















Here's my offering for Friday the 13th!

The papers are by Raspberry Road. Also, some vellum leftover from an earlier Christmas card.

The sentiment is by Verve, stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate and cut out with Spellbinders Labels  16.

I cut the bottom edge of the card base with Spellbinders Classic Bracket Edgeabilities.

For embellies, I used a mulberry rose, some twine and a few blingy-thingies.

Some more leftover vellum  and layes of cardstock for the inside.

I'll leave you with this photo of Xiara, my kitty, blissfully soaking up the sun. Don't be freaked out by the tube. Xiara's lost her appetite following her latest chemo session and needs a little help with her meals. She's quite oblivious to the contraption which is a blessing in itself!

Xiara - meditating in the sun.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I'll try to do some visiting this evening. See you again soon.

Beijinhos!


p.s. Pop on over to MIM #98 - plenty of inspiration for your next card project.


Blogged to:
Chocolate eclair, coffee and

Gift from my sister in 1995! I feel old.

Still crazy...

Welcome to Wednesday, dear CCs. We're half way through the week and in a couple of clicks it'll be the weekend. Hurrah! Yes, I'm a glass half full kinda gal! On that optimistic note, I want to show you a card that I made for a friend. He wants to give it to his girlfriend of 14 years. I've often wondered - why not just get married? After all they've been together longer than some marriages. He always comes back with the same response: "What if she says NO?" I'd say his glass is almost empty!

For my card, I picked the sketch from WMSC #105 and the colours from Ribbon Reel #32 Sweet Sparkle photo inspiration.... delicious, yummy and making me very hungry. We are also encouraged to used the following: heart, sparkle and lace or ribbon. Here's my confection:

I'm using papers from Basic Grey's "Indian Summer" 6x6 pack. 

The sentiment is from WMS Compact Sentiment 2, stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate ink, heat embossed with Snowflake Sparkle EP and then I cut the whole thing out with Spellbinders Lacy Oval die.

Over a row of white heart trim, I wrapped some sheer dusty pink ribbon and tied a bow.  

Come closer... can you see the sparkle on the sentiment? I also dotted the background papers with some Crustal Stickles.

Kept the inside plain and simple.... for a change!

Thanks for dropping in. I'm off to my friendly pastry shop to stuff my gob with something sweet, fluffy, creamy. Please don't mention calories or cavities ... I'm too old for both! Ta ta for now.

Beijinhos!

p.s. How about swinging by MIM #98 for a trunk full of crafty goodies?

Blogged to:

Hershey's Kisses (not counting!) and

Heartfelt Christmas

Gooood morning, Crafty Cronies! Here we are at the start of another week. Fingers-crossed it will be a warm one. So far it has been a strange summer. Sure, we've had sun but what's with all this wind? I'm talking strong gusts, cold and in your face. Urgh! Still, we managed to have a nice weekend...and Sunday was especially special. More on that at the end of this post.
Our main order of business is this week's MojoMonday #249 card. I'm using the colours from PlayDate Cafe #139 and some loving inspiration from CropStop#79. 

Gold and silver ... a difficult mix for me but therein lies the challenge. I'm not entirely convinced by the outcome, but it's another Christmas card in my stash and I'm not complaining.

All vellum, no paper here. I used pieces from Papermania's Christmas Carol Signature Collection. 

The ornament is a stamp from WMS Vintage Ornaments set. I heat embossed it with  Holographic Silver EP. It's got a very fine shimmer, not entirely obvious in the picture.  Finally, I cut it out with Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments die.

The sentiment is from WMS Compact Sentiments set, stamped in Brilliance Dew Drop Galaxy Gold. Gold and silver ribbons do their part to uphold the colour brief.

Foam tape to give the ornament a lift.

On the inside, I stuck to the warm tones and added some bling to perks things  up.

I'm also taking this card to The Crazy Challenge #124  and 2 Sisters Challenge for their Christmas in July party. Over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long #18 they're playing with Vellum - perfect!

Now, on to our weekend exploits:
It was Snoopi's 6th birthday yesterday. (That's Snoopi with an "i", like Toni, Randi etc.) As always, we went on a bike ride to the most westerly tip of continental Europe ... a far away place called "Cabo da Roca ... onde a terra se acaba e o mar começa" (Cape Roca ...where the land ends and the sea begins). Actually, it's not that far away for us, about 25miles / 40kms from where we live but it's a spectacular ride with breathtaking views all the way to the destination. Once there, Snoop thought it necessary to sprinkle the local vegetation while we stumbled about on the rocky terrain, fighting gale force winds. I took these pictures of Snoop-dog before we set out on our windy wingding. 

The birthday girl all geared up and ready to roll. Conan's getting impatient, but I don't care - Mama's too busy taking pictures!

My little pumpkin in her pink helmet and riding harness. A born biker chick. What a poser, eh?!

Ok, now's she's just being cheeky!

That's my cue to hop on! And off we rode into the wind....and  boy, was it windy!!!  (Next time we'll take the car!)

We stopped for coffee and cake.  She's looking straight at me, perplexed... perhaps a little peeved that I selfishly devoured her birthday cake.  

That's all from me today. Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful week and I'll see ya soon! 

Beijinhos!


Blogged to:
Granola muffin (something healthy for a change!) and