Time and Tide wait for no Man

woke up today to a beautiful sunny Sunday .... what a difference it made ...although the sun shows up all the dust that's gathered, I had a spring in my step and was soon whizzing round with the hoover ...'a lick and a promise' as my Mum called it. Lunch done and it was playtime... I had seen this tutorial on Barbara gray's blog and promised myself I would give it a go ... well today was the day ...

Barbara explains so well how to combine the two stencils you can see it here:   http://barbaragrayblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/time-and-tide-wait-for-no-man.html  the instructions are very clear ... pictures & words it is simpler than you might think if you follow step by step.

Having made the background I wondered what to do with it so I set to with Clarity's shell stamps and got lost in some colouring in. I had some box frames in my crafty stash so I mounted what i had made into the frame and added a clock and a message in a bottle.

This sentiment is so apt for the Winter we are having at the moment.... Here in Wales we have had the worst winds ever .. and believe me we have plenty of wind here .... but my thoughts are with the people further South of the UK especially those in Somerset who have endured floods for over 6 weeks now ... I can only imagine how they must be feeling and coping hopefully the end will soon be in sight.They  are in my thoughts and prayers.

That's it from me  for today xxx Annie

Card for Grandson's 18th

This was a tough one an 18th birthday card for a boy who is nuts about computers and gaming. He hopes to go to uni later this year to study computer programming. This is what I came up with:

It all started when I was looking on the Silhouette studio designs library. I should add that I only just had my silhouette as a crafty Christmas present from my husband, and as I was unwell after Christmas I really hadn't played with it at all ... as I said I found this design which looked like a circuit board but which spelled out the word CONGRATS, then I found the keyboard and mouse and finally the games controller. So through trial and error (I'm not very good at doing instructions) I finally had the bits I needed. I googled and printed covers of some of the games I knew he liked mounted them on green card stacked them up on this stepper card. I finished it off with a lovely sentiment inside which said everything I wanted to say including how proud we were of him .... I just hope he likes it .. because a lot of love went into making it ... I'll soon find out because it's already in the post for his birthday on Sunday 16th February. Happy 18th Birthday Sion my one and only grandson... oh how he suffered at the hands of the three granddaughters ... he was always being bossed about, but gave in gracefully most of the time !! I better find some time to find out how this lovely toy works :)
That's all for tonight xx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #107 ... Be My Valentine

Time for a new challenge over at Fussy and Fancy ... the theme is 'Be my Valentine'   and it's even more exciting because it is being sponsored by Marianne Designs, many of you will have some of their gorgeous dies, so why not get them out mix them up with some of your other crafty stash and give this challenge a go. 

I was wondering what to do for this challenge as at my age I do not receive or send Valentines cards as I have been married to my valentine for over 38yrs and we knew each other 4yrs befor that. Anyway that's enough reminiscing, as I was saying before so rudely interrupting myself, I was reading the Craft Stamper magazine and Elizabeth Dark had written an article about flocking her background, it looked so lush I decided I had to give it a go.

I painted my MDF heart with black gesso and let it dry thoroughly, then I stamped the freebie rose stamp with versamark (previous experiment on black card taught me not to do too many at a time) then I sprinkled with Stampendous Stamp & Bond, heated it gently with my heat gun till it became clear then sprinkled with Stampendous Fuzzy Fun Flock (chilli pepper red). The instructions said gently rub in with your fingers ... it was a very strange woolly feel but once the loose stuff was swept onto a spare piece of paper it revealed a lovely raised texture so covered the whole of the heart. I had bought some chunky small MDF LOVE letters so painted them with red acrylic paint and played about with the positioning.

I die cut another heart with the message 'Be Mine' mounted on mirri board then did my favourite thing .. made some red paper roses with black foil leaves added some heart topped pins and a lock and key, then threaded some red ribbon through the holes and I was done. 

Now who is going to receive my love token .... hubby would be scared out of his wits  :) as there is no other Beau I will have to hope one of the granddaughters will take it off my hands :) . Still I really enjoyed this frivolous project ... why don't you give it a go ... use any of your favourite techniques, stamping, decoupage, altered Art in your favourite style ... go to:  http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ you'll find details there and linking & uploading your project couldn't be simpler, well if I can do it anyone can. We really would love to see what you come up with  .. I find entering these challenges makes me try things I have never done before ... you might surprise yourself.

That's all for tonight Bye xxx Annie