Airy Spirits ~ Textile Art

Continuing with my new hobby love ~ a little more Textile Art, only this time, something with wings.

During the lock-down, due to Covid 19/Coronavirus, my brain got busy and spoke to my fingers, which began conjuring up butterflies. Although textile butterflies aren’t the easiest thing I’ve ever made, they’re mighty enjoyable, and all so precious when I’ve finished them. They all seem to have their own personalities, and they make me smile for one reason or another.

The Nectar Collector

Each one I’ve made is in a different fabric, and this particular one, called: The Nectar Collector; was made from Vintage Embroidered Fabric, which I tea stained then added a little ink to give it a warm peachy effect to the fabric itself

Why is this butterfly called: The Nectar Collector? Ah, well that’s an easy one to answer….

Butterflies ‘eat’ nectar and do so by the use of their ‘tongue’ – they have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw, which uncoils to sip liquid food, and then coils up again into a spiral when the butterfly isn’t feeding.

But … what happens to all the nectar which the butterflies can’t reach, or miss because they don’t notice it?

Well, *I’m reliably informed by the Fairies which live in Cobweb Wood*, that there are special butterflies whose job it is to go around foraging for all the left over nectar which can be found on flowers, and collect it in special bottles. They then take it back to ‘Nectar Central’, where each of the bottles of nectar are dated, stored on shelves and saved for use on days when it’s too cold to go out or too windy, too blustery or those rainy days when the weather isn’t suitable for delicate Butterfly wings.

*Once all this was explained to me* it totally made sense, as I’m sure it does to you too, now that I’ve explained it to you!

The underside of a Butterflys wings are just as important as the tops, but for a totally different reason. The underside of a butterfly wing is actually called ‘The Ventral Side’. This ventral (under) side is more often than not, used for camouflage so that it can avoid being dinner for some passing bird or frog.

And the importance of the Ventral Side of the wings was important to me too. After all … I don’t want some passing frog to eat the Nectar Collector! So it clearly states on the underside of it’s wings that this butterfly isn’t for chomping on – for this is a Cobwebs Butterfly!

The tops of butterfly wings are used for signalling to another butterfly that the butterfly rather likes them and would like to marry them. (*That’s how it was explained to me, anyhow*).

Before this particular butterfly takes flight and leaves me, when it’s found it’s forever home, there will be a very tiny button sewn to the underside – of a particular colour and shape, which will have a special meaning. An explanation of the meaning of that button, will be sent along with him, so that he can be treasured for the treasure he actually is.

Now before I sign off …

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU – to all who replied and commented on my last post [<— clickable link] and who helped me – because I was near to being a big melted down mess on the floor, and BIG THANKS to those who gave me hints, tips and guidance on how to use the new block editor that WordPress have forced upon us.

As you can see, with your help, I have made a post! [a roar of cheers can be heard from all over the land].

I can’t say that I like the new editor, because I don’t. I REALLY don’t.

• It has no spellcheck;
• No ‘update’ button;
• It won’t colour selected words in a paragraph – but simply colours all the words in that paragraph. (Unless you know a trick to that … and if you do, please share it with me);
• It has pop up boxes which appear out of nowhere and block the view of what you want to see – which I’m sure are meant to be helpful, when the time is right – but they’re a darn nuisance!;
• Things are hidden behind unknown ‘terms’ and names;
• Silly symbols which mean diddly squat to regular, not unintelligent users!;
• Everything about it is so darn tiresome and seems to need an abundance of clicks to do the simplest thing–
• even changing the colour of the words isn’t the one click it used to be!

The new system is clunky, silly, old fashioned in many ways, behind the times and boringly, stupidly long winded.

It truthfully feels like the coding has been written by a junior member of staff instead of someone who knows what she/he is actually doing. It’s taken me a lot longer than I would normally have spent building a post – but . . . at least I now have a post, after lots of help from other WordPress users.

My sincere thanks to you all – for without you, I truthfully would have thrown the towel in and given up. Bless each and every one of you.

Thank you so much for coming today and sharing a coffee and some time with me, while I introduced you to the Nectar Collector – who is the first of my Airy Spirits. I love seeing you here, and love chatting with you all. So please feel welcome to leave a comment. It doesn’t have to be a huge comment, just say hello – because it’s always so nice to know who I’m chatting with.

And …. before I sign off, there HAS to be some Monday jokes:-

Q:- Where are average things manufactured?

A:- The satisfactory.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What does Charles Dickens keep in his spice rack?

A:- The best of thymes, the worst of thymes.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes?

A:- Re-Morse code.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What do you call a rooster staring at a pile of lettuce?

A:- A chicken sees a salad.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Just before I sign off … although I’ve been commenting on blogs over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been told by various bloggers that they’ve found my comments in their spam folders – so … please check your spam folders, as a comment or two might just be hiding there.

Have a wonderful Monday, and a truly blessed week. Sending love and squidges through the ether to you ….

* the ASTERISK * marked * statements [above] may or may not be entirely, exactly d’ twufe, d’ whole twufe and nuffin but d’ twufe. But I’m absolutely certain dere is some sort of twufe.

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A Bathing Belle ~ an ATC painted for World Watercolour Month

The inspiration for this ‘Bathing Belle’ came from an [unused] sticker in my Craft Room.  I’ve had this lovely sticker for about 7 years – bought in a sale at Hobby Craft here in the UK.  It’s quite large compared to this little watercolour painting.   I came across the sticker a few days ago and thought it would make a lovely image on a little ATC (sized at 2.5″x 3.5″).  However … I changed the style of the dress part of her bathing suit.

‘Bathing Belle’ ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

Originally the dress was more puffed up and ’rounded’ in it’s design, but I wanted to make a play on words for the Bathing BELLE (Bell) so thought I could change her slightly and turn her actually into a Bell shaped Bathing Belle.

I changed her hair also, from a deep, warm brown colour, to a salt and pepper (or rather more salt than pepper) bathing beauty.  After all, Grandmas, Nanna, Nanny and (in my case) Grammy’s can be just as glam as any young thing, so I thought I’d give a shout out for those of us who have a bit of stray grey going on!

The last photograph above, was taken with a light from two desk lamps – one either side of the painting – shining onto the ATC and mount.  However the next photo has no desk lamps on, as I wanted to use the flash on the camera to try to make the ‘Starry’ water colours put in an appearance and I think I managed it …. take a peep …

‘Bathing Belle’ ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

… if you compare this last photograph with the one before it, you’ll see that the sea has sparkling white horses to the ocean.  The sand has some sparkling wet sand, and our Bathing Belle has a twinkling sea-horse hair ornament.  This sparkle and twinkle comes from using Kuretake,  Gansai Tambi Starry water-colour paints.  When they dry these paints have a  fabulous twinkle and sparkle to them.

‘Bathing Belle’ ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

Because I changed the shape of her dress, to make her look more ‘Bell’ shaped like,  if you use your imagination now and cut the ATC at where her dress ends at the bottom …  you’d find that you had a Bell which you could ring by grasping hold of her head!  LOL!!

But of course … we’re not going to do that.  We’re not savages!!  Grief!  😀

Bit of paint.  Scrap of Watercolour Card.  Tub of water.  And that’s all there was to it!

Happy Sunday!  May today find you happy, healthy and with few jobs or chores to do, but lots of happiness waiting for you to discover it.

Sending you Sunday Squidges, and lots of lovely love ~

They Carry Secrets in their Wings

Hello, good morning and …. Happy Monday!  Hope your weekend was good, and a handful of smiles was found among the hours.

I made this card (above) about two and a half weeks ago, but I couldn’t blog about it until it had been received by the recipient – a fellow blogger,  who I wanted to send a surprise smile to through the post.  Now it’s safely in her hands, I can share it here.

Made on a 6×6″ scored and folded card, I firstly fixed the blue background you see in the photo.  After that I distressed and inked up some pretty script card, and added some vintage blue baby bobble trim across the top third (ish).

I then turned my attention to making the flower ….  Start with a circle of card, onto which glue some stamens or small flowers, and, if you have it, a little dried gypsophila, just to give it a bit of movement and depth.  Then add a piece of frayed muslin or loose weaved fabric.  Finally add your flower to top the whole lot off.  You can’t see it in the photo but I gave the flower a very light touch of clear glue, just in a few places, then added some chunky clear/ice glitter (not really glitter but I’ll have to call it that) which gave the flower just a bit of dusty looking interest.

I then added the whole of this built up flower to the top of a bright blue, crocheted doiley.

The sentiment on the card was one I stamped, but it began life as one long sentiment, and too long for the little piece of script card I wanted it to go on.  So I stamped each word separately, cut the words out, and then placed them onto the cardstock and glued in place.  The sentiment is held by a Tim Holtz memo pin, which I poked into the blue doily, but it’s held in place with a little glue.

I fussy cut the birds and butterfly out, but wanted them to have an ‘old’ look, so very loosely coloured them using some water colours, and by holding a water brush to add the colour – but holding the brush at the very end, so that I didn’t apply much pressure, and also couldn’t make them look too ‘painted’.  I needed them to look old, so that ‘not quite coloured’  look did the job.

taken with the flash on, but it’s kind of whited it out a little.

And basically …. that was all there was to it!  🙂

I’m sorry about the blurry photos.  They are the best of around 12 pictures which were all rubbish.  [sigh] …  I’ll blame it on my staff.  Yes!  It was the Butlers fault!  lol. 

If there’s anything I’ve missed or that you want more information on, please just ask away in a comment, and I promise to answer.

Thank you so much for coming and sharing a coffee with me.  I love seeing you … but you know that so I won’t go on. 😀

I wish you a fun Monday.  May the birds sing, the sun shine, and … till we meet again, may your God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Have a truly blessed day!

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What I Learned This Week

Hello!!  Aw it’s lovely to see you, thanks so much for coming for a visit.  Coffee?  Tea?  Help yourself to biscuits (that’s ‘cookies’ for my USA friends).

Well . . .   I’ll start with my confession …  I was a very naughty girl one evening this week … I ate a bar of Fry’s Chocolate Cream.  All to myself, and I didn’t share any of it either.  I’m presuming that you know what a Fry’s Chocolate Cream is?  I know they do sell them in the USA, and various other places around the globe.  But … just in case, here’s a photo of one:

… As I was eating this bar I became aware of my puzzler working overtime.  I recalled that Fry’s Chocolate Cream came in other flavours too, which I hadn’t realised had disappeared from the shelves here in the UK.  Orange – which I was a little indifferent about anyway, but it would be rather nice to taste it again now that I’ve grown up (well, in body but my mind …  aw lets’ not go there eh?),  and PEPPERMINT!  Oooo now that one was rather a treat.

My mum used to have a Fry’s bar once a week.  Normally towards the weekend.  She only ever allowed herself one and sometimes, if I’d been an especially good girl, she would share a piece with me.  And this is how I came to love them too.  My mum was brilliant about it though.  She could make a bar of this last her for days on end!  Always a mystery to me, how on earth she did this.  lol

However, in this looking back at Fry’s, suddenly came a quiet little voice saying … “oy, over here…..  look over here!”  And there, in a little dusty corner of my mind, was another Fry’s Chocolate Cream bar…

Anyone remember the 5 different flavours of the 5 Centre bar?  It wasn’t a particular favourite of mine.  All the different centres in one bar, all bunched up against each other,  aw it made it just wrong somehow.  If I was given one of these though … it would last me for days, as I could only eat one section and then had to leave it for hours and hours, until I could face another section.  lol. So, a great dietary aid when I come to think of it.

This then sent me on a trip down Chocolate Memory Lane …  GALAXY COUNTERS….  anyone remember those?  For what reason they stopped making those is lost in time, but they were just fabulous.  You can still get them I understand, but only in packets of Revels.  I liked Galaxy Counters because you could let them sit on your tongue, and slowly melt away into gorgeousness.  Mmmmmm.  Galaxy chocolate is such lovely, smooth stuff.

Anyone else remember when Matchmakers came in their original box?

I somehow liked them more in their original box than in the double sized boxes they come in today.  They seemed more of a treat in the slim box.

Anyone remember the Cadbury’s Milk Tray Bar?  The box of chocolates only in a bar?

So that you can be reminded what was inside this amazing bar of chocolates ….

Funny thing is ... I don’t remember Coconut being spelt like it is on that wrap?!  I do wonder why they stopped making that bar as it seemed to be so popular.

And … finally ... Mackintosh’s Mint Cracknel.  Oh you HAVE to remember Mint Cracknel!  Although I liked it … I had a fear of it.  Let me remind you of what it looked like:

Remember it now?  I was terrified that one of those shards of mint cracknel would get into my throat,  puncture my throat and then I’d die a strange minty perfumed death, and no one would know why because the minute those minty shards got wet (from the saliva in your mouth) they totally melted away to nothing and left a fabulous minty taste in your mouth.  But … boy they scurred me! lol

OK.. moving along now.  May I just take this moment to give the world a weather reminder:

January brings the snow;

Makes our feet and fingers glow.

February brings the rain,

Thaws the frozen ponds again.

March brings breezes, loud and shrill,

Stirs the dancing daffodil.

~~~ 🌹 ~~~

…….

STIRS the dancing daffodil.  S-T-I-R-S  .. Stirs the dancing daffodil.  It doesn’t say  KNOCK SEVEN SORTS OF you know what OUT OF MY DAFFODILS!!!

Madam Weather … kindly remember what you’re supposed to be doing at this time of the year and STOP MAKING UP YOUR OWN RULES!  My garden looks like a sodden graveyard of daffodils which have been slayed by some sort of monster who doesn’t leave visible footprints, but instead branches blown off trees, a ton of dried up leaves all congregated at my door, trying to block my entry into my own home and a howling gale mixed with buckets of rain when I get out of the car, which leaves my time this morning of primping and curling my hair a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME!  [stamps foot]

. . .

So just stop it weather, and follow the instructions in the poem!  OK?!!!  Ok!

. . .

So … let’s get onto what I learnt this week….

. . . .

This week I learned that there are approximately  5,000 species of mammals alive in the world, today.

I learnt that the difference between a Mammal and an Animal is that a Mammal can feed its young by producing its own milk.  This also applies to Monotremes, such as the Duck-billed Platypus, which lays eggs and produces milk – and therefore it’s the only animal that can make its own custard.

. . . . .  [. . . .  waits for the penny to drop . . . .  waits a little longer while the reader reads that last sentence again so that is dislodges that penny and …  ohhhh there you go!  There’s the laugh!].  Moving swiftly on  . . .

I learned that performing daily chores can use up more calories than winning gold medals.  Yes seriously.

Usain Bolt needed to run for a total of just under 30 seconds over three rounds to secure his Olympic title, shedding less than 30 kcal (though this does not include calories burned during training or after the race, when athletes’ metabolic rates ramp up). You lose more than that sitting through a 15-minute meeting.

I also learned that extremely sensitive hearing is called ‘hyperacusis’. Sufferers can find normal levels of sound intolerably loud. 

Mr.Cobs would (if I ever took the time to breathe in when I’m talking) take the opportunity to tell you that I suffer with this.  Which is possibly correct, for I do have sensitive hearing.  However I would also remind himself that he talks way too loud and that’s why I’m forever saying  “Will you stop shouting.  I’m sat arms length from you!” …. at which point he lowers his voice …. and then ….. (get this) … he then repeats what he said in a quieter voice, in case I didn’t HEAR  IT  THE  FIRST  TIME  WHEN  HE  WAS  SHOUTING  IT!. Why is this?  Why?  ..  [shakes head and pulls her puzzlement face in bewilderment]

I kid ye not reader.  He really, honestly, truly, cross my heart, really does do this.

OOOhh… nearly forgot this one…  I learned:-  The most difficult tongue-twister in English is  ‘pad kid poured curd pulled cod’.  Go on … give it a few goes.  It really is a tongue-twister  –  even when you’ve got it written down in front of you.  I could only say it when I read it quite slowish.  I managed it once, then tried to get faster and it all fell to pieces. lol.

Well now look …  I’ve talked and talked and kept you reading when all you wanted to do was dive into some funnies …  so, because you know I love you dearly, I shall finish imparting my wisdom and instead turn my hand to making you laugh and/or smile.  Ready?  OK.. let’s go!

A friend told me this joke this week:

Q: Is Google male or female? ….   A: Female, because it doesn’t let you finish a sentence before making a suggestion.  BUT … I answered back that no, it was male, because it thought it knew better than you so tried to rush you on because you’d interrupted his game playing on the X-Box.

~~~~~~~

Q:  Why do hamburgers go to the gym?  . . . . A:  To get better buns!

. . . . I have a stepladder. I never knew my real ladder.

. . . .

Q: Who cares if you pee in the shower?
A:  The bride and all her guests, apparently

. . . .

Q. What did the elephant say to the naked man?

A.  “How do you breathe through something so small?”

. . . .

 Q: What type of sandals do frogs wear?
A:  Open-toad!

. . . .

Why do seagulls fly over the sea?

Because if they flew over the bay, they would be called bagels

. . . .and finally ….

. . . . If tomatoes are a fruit,  – then (in that case) isn’t Ketchup a smoothie?

. . . .

We made it to the end of the first week in March, despite the weather trying to stop us!   It’s been pretty cold here in the UK, and I’m hoping that the weather improves a tad as we move into next week. I’m not asking for unseasonal temperatures, just weather which makes working in the garden a possibility.

. . . .

What about you in your corner of the world?  What’s the weather doing there where you are?

. . . .

Despite the weather, it’s been a nice week and I’ve quite enjoyed being in the house with Mr.Cobs, doing nothing in particular.

. . . .

But do tell me what you’ve been up to this week.  I’d love to hear about what’s going on in your world.

. . . .

In the meantime … I send you my best wishes and hope that your weekend is peace filled, warm and happy.  May contentment find you, and may you recognise it as a friend.  For where you have contentment, everything else will just fall into place and life will be good.

. . . .

Have a blessed rest of your day,  followed by a truly blessed weekend.

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Wanna play Chicken and Fox? A vintage style card which teaches you how to play!

Yes .. it really does!  More about that in a minute.

I wanted to make a vintage style card which was more simple in design, and going through my folder of images I came across this beautiful, old fashioned styled, children at play, and instantly knew this was ‘the’ one!   I chose a 6×6″ white cardstock onto which I layered some Damask type printed card in a pale pinky beige colour.  I tore around the edges of the ‘Damask’ card and then curled and distressed it with a little Cocoa ink and a colour duster.  I then added two small paper doilies and distressed them just a little using what was remaining of the Cocoa ink on the colour duster,  just to take the doilies from stark white, to something softer in colour.

I then chose a piece of plaid cardstock on which to mount the image of the children playing a game of Chicken and Fox – but before adhering the image I added a length of crocheted cotton lace in a pale pink, about two-thirds of the way down the plaid card.  Using foam tape, I then fixed the image to the plaid card, and then again using foam tape, I fixed everything to the damask style card.  Everything was now in place and all I had to do was add a little ‘fun stuff’.

I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to pop onto this card…  CHICKENS!   Little Cobs (5-year-old Grandson) has a bucket of little animals – horses, cows, ducks, chickens, etc – in his bedroom (here in our cottage), and I thought that he had so many of these that he really wouldn’t miss a chicken and a chick, so went rifling through his animals and found the very things.  One lovely reddy brown chicken, and one fabulously funny, little yellow chick.  I fixed them to the card, down towards the bottom.

I added some ‘bulrushes’ to the left hand side of the image (which I’ve had in my stash for such a long time that I can’t even remember buying them!), and some sage green flowers – made out of handmade paper.  I used teeny buttons for the centres of the flowers in a very pale green.  Then picking up the red in the image I added tiny wee red buttons on the plaid card, and then finished everything off with a vintage green bow to the middle of the opening edge of the card.

And that, as the say, is all there is to it.

BUT … I promised you a little more detail of the Fox and Chicken game….  The rhyme which accompanies the game appears on the front of the card …

COME MASTER FOX AND TRY YOUR BEST, MY PRETTY CHICKS, TO CATCH.  I DO NOT MEAN TO LET THEM GO, FOR I SHALL BE YOUR MATCH.

I’d never heard of this game, but apparently it really is a game which was played by children around the 1930’s onwards.  The image actually came with the details of how to play …

…  which I fixed to the back of the card, so that whoever this card ended up with could play the game themselves, with their own children or Grandchildren!

I have to admit that I really love this fun,quirky little card.  It has so much good, old fashioned fun and lots of warmth and love,   and you could send this to an adult or to a child.

Well now …  changing the subject… 

Can you believe that it’s Thursday already?  This week seems to have started a couple of hours ago and it’s racing towards the end of it already!  How does that happen?  What happens to ‘Time’ as you get older?  It goes so fast!   What say you?

Wishing you a peace filled Thursday, without any gremlins getting into it and making mischief!

Sending squidges from me in my corner,  to you in yours.  Have a blessed day my friends ~

A Classic in Times Nouveau, on an Easel.

I broke out the Graphic 45!  I did.  I really did.  Graphic 45 in their Times Nouveau collection, and made a Tag Card,  on a Graphic 45 large tag, and it’s all held onto an Easel which has a working stand, which ‘folds’ out from the back and holds the card like an easel would hold a piece of art work in a Gallery.  It has two hidden tags (one you can see in the picture above) and a little something special on the back, for writing the message.

I wondered if perhaps we could do another GIVE AWAY for this card – if anyone would like it.  I’ll explain in a minute how to enter the give away if you’d like to, but first … I thought I’d better show you how I made the card.

• SHOPPING LIST (roughly’ish’ – if I’ve forgotten to mention anything just point it out in a comment and I’ll let you know.)
• Pinflair Novelty Easel Card – minus the ‘canvas’
• 1 x Graphic 45 Lrg. Tag from a Regular Tag Album (9 pack)
• Kraft Mannequin from a pad of 45 (2 sizes: large, smaller, & either plane or foiled in gold and silver) by Craftwork Cards
• News Print card by Anna Marie Designs
• Olive Spot  and larger spot in black card – both by Anna Marie Designs
• Graphic 45 Times Nouveau Classic Collection – plus some chipboard tags and stickers from this collection.
• Very pale mint spot from stash.
• Tiny black with off white spots paper from stash.
• Ribbons and twine are all from stash.

How I made it:-  Take one black card tag … cover it on one side with Newsprint card,

Add a tiny piece of very pale mint spot paper, and a larger piece of olive spot card.  Making sure you leave a section for a tag to ‘hide’.  (shown by the bit of white and grey leaf card)

Add a piece of Graphic 45 Times Nouveau in the dog-tooth design.  (Again building in a section for a tag to hide in – not shown in this picture (above) but you’ll see the tag hiding place in the next photo)

Can you see where the little hiding spot is on the right hand side now?   Here in this photo (above) I’ve added some black card with very tiny white spots on it;  a mannequin which I distressed and wrapped in a little length of green organza;  I added a fussy cut rather stylish lady, which I mounted on first black larger spot card, then again on small spot card – just for the contrast;  A vintage Car – again fussy cut, but this time from some papers I had in my stash.  I then popped the chipboard ‘Swanky’ tag onto the card and pushed two pearly hat pins behind the card, so that they peeped out a the top of the chipboard tag.

Then came some finishing touches …  Added ribbon, made a bow and added netting in two colours and a couple of flower from my stash;  some tiny pearls around the neck of the mannequin and tucked some sequins into one of the folds of the organza so that they would catch the light.  I then made some little tags using both spot papers and some Graphic 45 Paper, . . .  and then came the easel for it to be displayed on  …

There is a little ‘making’ to the actual easel – but it’s nothing which is difficult.  They’re fabulous easels, and so beautifully made.  Everything is cut ready for you, and REALLY well cut too.

I had trouble lighting this card.  I tried it with the flash, without the flash, with desk lamps, with ceiling lights … and every combination of the previously mentioned ways.  I would say that the true colours are somewhere between the last two photographs above.  The one on the easel seems to have a little too much of a yellow tinge to it.  Where-as the photo before it is rather pale and wiped out by the flash I think.  It looks like it needs to be taking iron tablets.  lol

OK… here’s the  *instructions*   for entering for the give away for this card if you would like to throw your name into the mix and be in with a chance of winning it . . . .

TO ENTER THE GIVE AWAY HERE’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO

You MUST be a follower of the blog –  The Cobweborium Emporium. (This is because I have to keep in mind that I’ve made great friends with almost all of my blog followers and so have a great loyalty to them and would want one of them to win the card.  I think this is fair).

IN A COMMENT BELOW YOU MUST TYPE THIS WORD IF YOU WANT YOUR NAME TO BE INCLUDED  …. and that word is:-  GIVEAWAY.  ← Exactly like that.  One word.  Type it at the start or end of your comment.

You have to put it exactly like that –  one word, in capital letters.  Simple – and it makes sure that I don’t miss anyone.  🙂

And that’s it.  That’s all you have to do.  Simply make a comment with the word GIVEAWAY either at the start or the end of your comment.  It couldn’t be easier, could it!  Oh … and …   Please  DON’T  put your real name or address in the comments box.  I need to look after your privacy and security.  If you win, I’ll organise how to get your address afterwards.

To make sure that all is fair,  each entrant will be assigned a number in the ‘time order’ in which they make the comment, and  I’ll get the Random Number Generator to choose the number, and do a screen shot of the R.N.G and post it so that you can all see which number was generated.

I’ll ‘run’ this giveaway from today (Wednesday 5th October 2016), until next Tuesday – TUESDAY 11th OCTOBER, and it will end on that day at 6pm UK time.  Just a week – so that no one is kept hanging around waiting for the result. (We don’t have zones in the UK, we just have one time zone for the whole of the UK – so you’ll have to ask (perhaps) Google to work it out for you so that you know what time that would be where-ever it is that you are.)

This is open to ANYONE IN ANY AREA OF THE WORLD … so long as your country allows a card posted to you from outside your country through your customs. You won’t be asked for any postage or any monies what-so-ever.  This really is just a little fun between us friends.

Well, Wednesday has found it’s way to us all again.  I have a plan for today already ear-marked:   I’d love to show you, if you don’t already know, how to make your own professional looking Christmas Crackers.  Not from a kit …   not those kits you buy for making Crackers, which are from thin card and don’t look like proper Christmas Crackers at all.  I want to show you, if I can, how to make firstly a regular Christmas Cracker …  and then how to spice them up a little and make them into something way more special.  The problem is … can I do it in pictures?  I’ve only ever shown folks how to do this face to face, sitting next to each other so that they can see exactly what I’m doing.  And … I still don’t know how to do the video thing … and load a video onto YouTube – which perhaps would make things easier.  But … I’m going to give it a try and see if I can make it work, and hopefully I’ll be able to share the secrets with you.

So anyway ...  what are your plans for today?  Going anywhere?  Making anything?  Cooking something?  Sewing?  Knitting?  Anything?

Do share the information with me because I can then come to your blog and badger you if you don’t post the results of it for me to drool over!  🙂  lol – just joking.  Actually … no, no I’m not.  I feel, as your friend, that it is my duty to come and badger you.  So yes, I shall come and badger you and poke you with the end of my stick!  It’s a tickling stick and so will make you laugh!

If you’re still reading,  (well done),  I wish you an absolutely WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!  May the day be bright.  May the winds be gentle.  May your day be easy.  And, until we meet again, may your God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Have a blessed day my friends,

 

Say Happy Birthday with a Cath Kidston style coat (or 4) and a touch of Gingham!

Do I need to say any more?  Aw … ok, I will.

I’m still on my challenge to use ‘gifts’ which have come free with magazines. I’ve got a drawer full of stamps and loads of free decorative papers for use in card making or scrapbooking, so this weekend I decided that it was time for another ‘make it from magazine gifts’ challenge.

I looked through the stamps and came across a set which had come with a magazine about 18 months to 2 years ago.  (I know, I know.  I should have used them by now).  I can’t understand why I hadn’t unpacked and played with them when I got them to be honest, because they’re just so lovely.  I even remember the magazine had featured some photos inside the mag to show a sample of cards you could make.  One in particular stood out to me.  It had coats on the front stamped on flowery paper, and I liked it.  So I thought I’d make something like it because I have someone in my family who’s birthday is coming up soon and she likes Cath Kidston and cottage style, so my decision was made for me.

The coat actually wasn’t a stamp in itself,  it’s a clear stamp of a little girl wearing a coat,  so I masked off her head and legs, then inked up the coat in a Memento ink pad in brown and stamped out four coats on some creamy white paper which had roses printed all over it, and four coats on some blue paper which was also printed with roses.  Both of these sets of papers were again free but this time with two different magazines.

I had to ‘fussy cut’ the coats out, which was fine at first, but by coat five I began to wonder if this was such a great idea!   (Although you can only see 4 of the coats in the photos, there are actually 8 – they’re layered, using foam pads, to give a little depth to the card).  I chose some vintage style blue paper with creamy white polka dots for the background (which I distressed a little by using a colour duster brush and some ink from the same ink pad I’d used to stamp the coats out.)

After that it was just a case of assembling it all.  I found I had to place the coats at a slightly jaunty angle (and make them ‘hold hands’), because otherwise there wouldn’t be quite enough room for them to sit comfortably (with a little space between them).  I did consider starting again and making the card longer,  but I really quite liked the angle look so kept it.

While sat wondering what sentiment it should be   …  my eyes rested upon the friendly looking  ‘Happy Birthday‘ ribbon and it called out to me to use it,  so I chose the ribbon in place of a sentiment as it added a certain country cottage feel to it.  Finally, I added some gingham buttons to finish the whole thing off.

And that’s all there was to it!  But…  looking at this last photo↑  …  who on earth would tromp through the fields to get the sheep in for the night,  wearing a Cath Kidston style coat?  I mean to say …  look at the Quality!  The fit!  The colours!  These coats would cost an absolute arm and a leg if they were for sale in a Cath Kidston shop!

(The papers  aren’t  Cath Kidston .. but they remind me of her fabulous country-style.)

So that’s me done and dusted so let’s talk about you!   .. how did your weekend go?  Did you make anything?  Did you go anywhere spiffingly wonderful?  Buy anything?  Eat something naughty?  What made you happy this weekend?  Or … what made you sad?  Tell us …  we might just be able to make you smile again, or at the very least, we can all send you love and chat with you about whatever it is.  We’re all friends here.  I’ll put the kettle on, you slip off your shoes, sit down, put your feet up and get comfy.  Tea or coffee?  Sugar?  Milk?

Have a fabulous start to your week all.  Make Monday Memorable.

Sending squidges to your corner from mine,  

 

Make a Wish!

I began making this card over a week ago.  I knew the ‘look’ I was aiming for, but at each stage of the making I stopped and kind of ‘fell out’ with the card.  Something was nagging at me, telling me I didn’t like it.  But I kept going back to it and doing a bit more, and a little more .. until it was finally finished on Saturday, and now it’s made, I LOVE it.

It has a sort of steam-punkery feel to it, but not.  A kind of vintage feel – but not.  A bit of a fantasy thing – but not.  I actually can’t pin down what type of descriptive ‘category’ it fits into.  Perhaps you can help me with that one, because I’m stumped!

But … I’ll talk about the making of it:

I forgot to take photo’s of the first couple of stages, so you’ll have to imagine that you saw the paper I layered down on the 6″x 6″ scored and folded Kraft card, (a vintage style paper with a duck egg blue background and roses of various colours and sizes all over it) which I ‘vintaged’ the edges of by blending some warm brown ink from a stamp pad using a bristle blending brush.  Onto this I layered a 5×5″ piece of lush green coloured card which I’d embossed using the Crafters Companion ‘Leaf Vein’ Textures Embossing Folder.  (LOVE this embossing folder!).  I gently ‘scuffed’ the raised leaf vein embossing by dragging the same brown ink pad which I’d used to blend  the base paper across the embossed veins, in order to give more importance to the texture and make the veining stand out even more.

I then ‘topped and bottomed’ the card with some of my most favourite lace in my collection, and then added a narrow piece of fresh green organza ribbon over the top of the lace, just to bring the colour out of the card.   . . . . . .  Now came the fun part.

Adding the paper doily was something I knew I wanted to do in order to draw the eye to what I was going to make as the main part of the front of the card.  The flowers were made myself, using a Tim Holtz die (which I’ve had for ages and really don’t use enough – tsk tsk), and some scraps of cardstock in pink, blue and a mustardy yellow, with a scrap of green card for the leaves.  I cut the flowers out on my Big Shot machine in my craft room, but then took them all into the living room and spent an hour shaping and putting together while I watched a film on TV.  The butterfly was from a small box I keep in my craft room,  filled it with any left over die cuts which I don’t use at the time.

I added some WOW glitters to the tips of some of the petals of the flowers, and the wings of the butterfly.

Then came the ‘WISH’ ….

I have a few of these little, lightweight tins with clear lids (sometimes used for Wedding Favours – but I use them in crafting for all sorts of things).  I cut a piece of mottled green paper and fixed it to the inside of the tin.  I then  put some multi coloured Flower Soft just around part of the bottom of the inside and left it on one side to dry.  I then worked on the lid.

In my little tin of ‘saved die-cuts’ I had a tiny little stem of blue bells, which was left over from a card that I’d made ages ago, and I knew these bluebells would look perfect on the lid of this little box.  So using some glue, I glittered the blue bells to turn them from plain black, into something more magical and pretty, and fixed them to the clear lid of the box.

See the bluebells on the lid?

Then I went back to the little tin box and added some wiggly lines of glitter to the green paper base, and then fixed the crystal glass Fairy Wishing Ball.  This was probably the most fiddly bit.  Keeping that incy, wincy, tiny, little crystal wishing ball in one place would have tried the patience of an Angel with nothing on her mind!!  But, in the end, I won and anchored that baby in the right place, and then added the teeny bottle of Fairy Dust.

All that was left then was to add a very small die cut butterfly, and the little tin box was all finished.

But .. the card wasn’t.  The ‘Make a Wish’ sentiment was computer generated (I used a fabulous fancy font), printed out onto some white cardstock, matted onto some black card then cut by hand, and shaped so that it curved out from the card and stood proud, just a little.

I wanted to make this a card of wishes, plural.  Not just one wish, but four.  So … for the inside of the card I made a tag …

A dandelion wish, and a wish-bone wish!

The tag has two more wishes hidden inside the card  … a tiny little resin Wish Bone, and a Dandelion head .. ready to blow!

Of course … the card had to have a box.  You couldn’t send this in a regular envelope because of the depth …  so I made it a matching box.

The box for the Make a Wish card

close up of that miniature postcard

Once I’d finished this card I stood back from it and gave it a long look … and loved it.  I wish I was a better photographer because in real life this really is such a pretty card, with a kind of magical promise about it.  It’s not a card for a child, but for someone older, perhaps a mom,  or friend, aunt, cousin, work colleague … someone who believes in the power of a wish.  Someone who needs to feel that you’re wishing them good luck …  and wants them to wish it for themselves.  Someone with a birthday, who no longer has candles on their cake which they can wish upon as they blow the candles out.

Fairy Dust isn’t just for children.  Fairy Dust,  Fairy Wishing Balls,  Wish Bones  and Dandelion Wishes  are for people who believe in the magic of their dreams.

Go on … Make A Wish!

Thank you SO much for coming to visit today.  I very much appreciate your company, and thank you for the time you’ve spent with me here.

Please feel free to leave a comment behind before you leave.  I love to keep in contact with folks who read my blog, as it get’s us chatting together and we kind of get to know each other a little bit more. The internet can be an ‘isolation box’ for people, and I just hate that.  So let’s get talking to each other!

I’m wishing you a truly blessed rest of your day.

Love and squidgy stuff ~

 

 

You’re my kind of Purr fect!

Hello and . . .   Happy Thursday!  I like Thursdays – they always had great lessons in school on a Thursday and I think that’s why (even now, a gazillion years later) I still like Thursdays.  There’s something friendly about a Thursday.  I always (mostly) seem to find that people are in a good mood on a Thursday.  Why is that?  I wonder.

Aw, – enough of me blathering on ….

I’m here with a  gentle looking, pretty card ‘offering’ today.  This is one of those great cards which could be a birthday card,  a ‘hello’ card,  a card for a daughter, for mom, wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend, partner (in life or crime! lol)  …  or it could even be a Valentines Day card!  And .. what’s even better … it has a matching box!

I decorated the outside of the box (shown above) so that it pretty much matched the card inside it.  I used the same soft pink and white striped backing paper on the box lid as I did on the card, along with the same colour of my favourite rayon ribbon,  –  and the flowers and little bird, although in different shades of pink, are the same as on the card.  The little bird is bringing a tiny red love heart in its beak – so bringing the love to … the card?  The bird’s nest?  To you?

The little birds nest with the ‘eggs’ inside it;  I made by simply winding string round and round (and the use of glue to keep it in place),  and I used three pearls from an old broken necklace as eggs.   The die cut ‘Lots of Love’ was made using a die made by Tattered Lace.  (I’m very much a bunting kinda girl – so these little bunting style word dies were right up my street!)

I love to make boxed cards as they always feel more like a gift than just a simple card, and so I like to decorate the boxes – inside and out.  The inside of the box was lined (top and bottom) in 6×6″ vintage style sheet music, and into the centre of the inside lid I fixed a beautiful topper –  from DoCrafts as part of a selection of die cut toppers.

The little girl sat on the step and snuggling up to her cat is from a book of toppers made by Lili of the Valley.  I have a few of these books and love them for the delightful colours which LOTV use in their production.  I highly recommend them.  They’re brilliant quality.  The sentiment banner is one I made myself on the computer and printed it out.  If you can’t quite read it, it says:  ‘You’re my kind of Purr fect!’.

Top and bottom of the front of the card is some lovely white, cotton, crocheted lace.  The bird(s) are resin, and the flowers are paper flowers, from a selection I have.

Isn’t she just adorable?  I love her cute face, cheeky smile and want to squidge those cheeks!

All the photographs here will re-size as if by magic if you click on them and you’ll be able to get a better view then.  (but don’t forget to click ‘back’ so that you can come back to the post!)

I would like to enter my card into these fabulous challenges:

• http://www.craftysentiments.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/include-heart-challenge.html  –  Crafty Sentiments Design – Include a heart
• http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/anything-goes.html  – Papertake Weekly Challenge  –  Anything Goes
• http://thatscraftychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/animal-magic-challenge.html  –  Thats Crafty Challenge  – Animal Magic
• http://imagination-craftschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/february-challenge-imagination-crafts.html  –  Imagination Crafts – Anything Goes
• http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.ca/2015/02/party-time-tuesday-195-and-our-january.html  –  Party Time Tuesday

Thank you so much for coming and sharing a few moments with me and taking a peep at my card.  I really hope you like it.

Wishing you a day filled with warm smiles, gentle touches and peace filled moments.  Have a wonderful day my friends.

Hark I Hear the Angels Calling …. or is it my My Hermes delivery lady at the door?

I’m still racing to catch up after being poorly – and although I made this one last week, I couldn’t post it until I’d given it to my My Hermes delivery lady, and since it’s now in her possession, I can now share photo’s of it!

As were all my Christmas cards this year, I made this on a 6×6″ base card with a high gsm, so that it would take the weight of the embellishments and papers I wanted to use.

I began by searching for an Angel image that I loved, and then, once found,  (image above – isn’t she just beautiful?), it was simply a case of seeking out some vintage sheet music which partnered her, and I couldn’t have found anything more perfect than “Hark I Hear the Angels Calling” – which I resized and printed out. (It’s a royalty free image – as is the Angel).

I used some vintage type paper on the outside of the card, in sort of muted shades  which I knew would sit nicely in the background, and attached some cotton  lace to the top and bottom of the card.

After printing out the Angel, I matted and layered the image onto two shades of blue linen effect card and attached it to the background using some dimensional tape.  The sheet music, I rolled and then curved it so that it sat ‘naturally’ and adhered it in place.

I added a fancy, bright silver metal corner, some faux miniature holly and berries, a white Christmas rose and a deep burgundy smaller rose, a previously gilded miniature frame, and a length of pearls – which trailed around the card, in and out of the music, around the roses and under and over the holly.  I added a little glitter here and there and the front was complete.

I’m not going to bore you to tears with how I did the inside of the card … instead, I’ll just show you what I did – because you’re all super intelligent beings, with brains far bigger than mine and you’ll be able to see what I did – so here goes:

The Bauble  ↑  is a stamped image.  – adorned with gems to make it look pretty.

“Oh!”  I hear you say . . .   “.. what is that on the inside front of the card?”  ….

Ha!  Who’da guessed!   It’s a Christmas Stocking!  (in the same shades of blue as the Angels Wings!  ….  see, … I do [sometimes]  plan these things!  lol)

I had to make it a little box as it was too chubby for an envelope!

Some close up details:

A ‘gem’  in the same colour as the deeper shades in the Angels Wings – I ‘glittered’ the gem to add opulence to it.   A wooden lock – which I gilded.  A miniature silver metal key which I did a little twinkling job on and made it shine like it was gold.

The frame around the ‘Merry Christmas’ sentiment – I only partially gilded, as I wanted it to look distressed.

I believe …  do you?  A metal charm which I kind of beat up a little to make it look aged, and then added a little verdigris twinkle around the edge to just take it up a notch.

And that’s this card done, delivered to my wonderful My Hermes delivery lady, and shared with you!

I’m back in my craft room tomorrow because I’m STILL trying to catch up!  But …  I won’t bore the pants off you with anything I produce after mid-day! LOL.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve all.  May peace rest upon your homes today and stay with you all throughout Christmas.

Thank you for visiting.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your time.  It seriously means the world to me.  Thank you.

Heaps of love