Papertake Weekly Challenge

Papertake Weekly have a card challenge that runs from Monday to Sunday. This week's layout sketch is this:Here is my interpretation:
This is a larger card than I ususally make. I just took an A4 sheet of card and folded it in two. Now I have to make a envelope!!!!

It's also much more pink and girlie than usual.
I had my partner's little niece in mind when I made it :)
It isn't her birthday for a long while though... I suppose she was just an inspiration. LOL!

Erm... think I messed up the eye there a bit (on the left). Rats. Never mind. I'll do better next time. I like the ruffles! I did ballet when I was little. I never got to dress up like this though and I really wanted to!

Recipe:

• The ballerina images are downloadable from Sketching Stamper.
• Last month I finally succumbed to the lure of Letraset ProMarker pens :) and bought a starter pack. I used these to colour the bodice and hair.
• I used Derwent water-colour pencil on the ruffles and skin.
• Then I picked out details with a clear Sakura Stardust pen.
• The background paper is Laura Ashley.
• The papers layered behind the image are Papermania.
• The ribbon is from my local haberdashery again, 50p for 10 metres :)
• The tag is a sticker from a freebie pack that came with a magazine, stuck onto paper and card.
  

This is the inside of the card..........
apart from the skin, which is water-colour pencil, this is all ProMarkers with added sparkle on the hair-band:
Here is the back:
I did enjoy making this card!!!

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Health update:

Went to the doc's today. He said he thinks I have Labrynthitis, which sounds like something out of The Hobbit. It's a middle-ear viral infection. Bleagh!

I was hoping it would be infection, rather than virus, so that a course of anti-biotics would clear it up. When you're told it's a virus, it's then you realise how much you take anit-biotics for granted! -There's nothing to actually clear it up, but he prescribed something that should take down the inflammation in the middle ear and hopefully speed up the healing.

The bad news is that this condition typically lasts 3 - 8 weeks. OMG!!!!!! THEN he said that SOME people have it for years. WHAT??? How can you live with this dizziness and nausea for that long? How do people DO anything? LOL!!!! I managed to do the laundry this week but not much else. The nausea means I keep having to lie down! I was meant to go to the Post Office but didn't dare in case someone would see me walking wobbly and think I was drunk.

Hey ho! One good thing that has come from this- my ears have been 'blocked' for years. I mean, I can't make them 'pop'. They are completely 'closed' and it even means I have reduced hearing in my right ear. But this doc has referred me to an ENT specialist now, and even booked the appointment then and there. It'll be 21st April. I hope the labrynthitis has gone by then, but if it isn't, then at least I know I'll be seeing a specialist for that too.

Repeated thanks for your comments, emails and messages!!!!

Card for a pig-collecting aunt!

My Aunty Pat's birthday is on St Patrick's Day.

Do you know, I only saw the connection between her birthday and her name a few years ago?
I said this to her and she paused, looked at the floor, then said, "Oh YES!!" -telling me that
(a) she hadn't realised either and (b) this is who I get it from.

Aunty Pat is the only aunt I have contact with. She has been lovely to me down the years. She isn't well nowadays and I really must get down to see her more.

The only other thing to add is that she collects pigs. Hence the theme of my card for her:I forget where I bought that piggy charm from. I do remember that it was only 49p. It's very thick and heavy so I had to make a box to go with this card.

The photo's aren't very good as I took them in artificial light. I keep forgetting to take pictures in daytime. D'oh!

Here's the inside and back:
I bought a bunch of these crochet flowers from Bubblyfunk. I've stuck a circle of wool in the middle of this one:

Recipe:

• The chipboard frame was free with a magazine. It's red on the reverse (from a Christmas set) so I scribbled with metallic purple on the other side.
• The multi- coloured ribbon and the lace were free too.
• The background paper is from Papermania 'Raspberry Champagne' (99p for a 6 x 6 pad of 50 sheets at Artymiss at the moment).
• The 'have a great day' stamp was part of a 99p set at The Range.
  

Hope she likes it :)

***

Spinning:

Thanks for all your kind wishes and advice re my dizziness. The room is still spinning, or swimming would be a better description. I think it's a left over from Monday's migraine: I'm taking a small does of my migraine medication and it is helping to gradually reduce the woooozy effect.

Never mind. It's a very cheap way to feel like I've been at the brandy :)

Patchwork flowers and someone, stop spinning the room!

Daring Cardmakers have a challenge this week based on PATCHWORK. -Any theme, so long as it inspires you to make a patchwork looking card. Here's my attempt:

Sewing the paper was nice and relaxing. I haven't felt well this week so it was nice to sit and quietly sew.

Any nursey types out there?!
This started Monday when I woke up with a migraine. I was so dizzy I actually fell over. Migraine medication has taken away the headache part, but not the dizziness. Every now and then the room swims around and I feel wooooooooooaaaaaarrrr...... I've never been so dizzy. Ever! Thinking is a lot slower too :) and I keep having to go and lie down because if I'm upright too long I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Hmmm. That all sounds like low blood pressure doesn't it. Hmmmm. I wonder...

Birthday card for a brother.

I came across this cat stamp when I was re-organising my craft space the other week! I bought it last year from an Ebay shop; it was only a couple of pounds. I had never used it as it arrived as just plain red rubber and I didn't have enough mounting foam left for it, so it just go put by for another day.....

Hmm.... then it suddenly occurred to me this week to just stick it to an acrylic block with Pritt Stick glue :) et voila!!!! I just cleaned both with a 'baby-wipe' afterwards.

I'll see if I can find the Ebay shop again, if any of you would like to go and browse there....

****UPDATE: The Ebay shop is Nella's Corner- click the link, write 'cat' in her search box and it goes straight to this stamp. It costs £2.99 :) ****

• I stamped onto beige card with black India ink, then tore the edges and rubbed with a brown chalk inkpad.
• There is a slight wavy pattern in the background to the cat, this was me doodling with a clear SakuraGlaze pen :)
• The lovely background paper is from a Papermania 50 sheet 6x6 pack, called Oriental Spice.
• I've gone over some of the pattern in the green paper with a Sakura Stardust pen in clear, so in the sun this is quite glittery.
  
• The ribbon is from a local haberdashery, who always have an enormous basket of 10m bundles for 50p each.
  

This card is for my elder brother, David. His birthday isn't till 4th April, but I wanted an excuse to use this stamp, and it just evolved into something I thought he would like :)

Papertake Weekly Challenge- first go!

Decided to try a different challenge blog.
So this card is for the one on Papertake Weekly (runs Monday to Monday).
The theme this week is "Pink, Orange and Brown".....
I've added it to my shop, too, so if you'd like it, come and get it!!! :)

Flowers in the middle of the shopping centre...

There's a old church, now disused, in the middle of Colchester, completely surrounded by shops. It still bears the name Holy Trinity.

That unusual tower is actually Saxon!
You can see where old Roman tiles have been reused in the building of it...
....the original doorway, at the base of the tower, is tiny. My mum would have been a giant in those days :)
The old graveyard stretches all the way round the building.... and this is why I took these pictures yesterday- look at the crocuses! They go all round the building as well....
Spot the woodpigeon!
Beautiful!! I was so scared that the hailstones forecast for this week would smash them up, but the hail never came. I was so pleased :)

Bon Voyage, Roy.

My younger brother, Roy, went to Mexico on Sunday. He met his girlfriend just last November but he must be smitten because Mexico is her home country- he has gone to live with her family and work there till June. He's going to take this time to decide whether to move there or not. Gulp!!!

I made the card above for him, and we all signed it. He liked it a lot and I noticed he packed it, which is a big thumbs up from someone who habitually leaves even Christmas presents behind!!!

This is the inside:The 'bon voyage' on the front is embossed using an alphabet stencil and my light box.

The papers were a bargain from Artymiss.co.uk: lots of their Papermania 6 x 6inch 50 sheet paper pads are down to 99p- this one is from Oriental Spice. Artymiss are great for bargains, but I must warn you, I usually have to wait at least 14 days for delivery.

The hedgie is from a Penny Black stamp set. I don't have them, but occasionally buy blank stamped images from Ebay, from various sellers, usually about £2 for 20. In this case, the seller put some "nestabilities" ovals and circles in for me too :) - I do like these scalloped and embossed shapes, but don't have the machine to do them myself. So, erm.... if any of you are having a clearout of circles and ovals..... erm.... I do have some nice shelves now that might suit them-???

:)

UK Art Raffle- February entry

I'm taking part in UK Art Raffle. Click on the link for more info, but basically lots of us make something each month, based on a theme chosen by the organiser. February's theme was "TREES".

We all send our piece to the organiser's address, who randomly picks a winner (names in a hat sort of thing). Then that winner is sent the entire collection, the whole group's work, for that month!

I only got my membership confirmed last week, and the deadline was Saturday, so I had to rush this. Here's my entry, a watercolour, which I've then made and embossed a mount for:
I made a wee card out of the oval I cut out:It's ok, but the standard in this group is enormously high, so I hope it doesn't look out of place alongside theirs. With more time, I might have taken a less literal approach. Never mind!

**more than one post today, btw, please scroll down!!!!**

Hurray!!!

Ahhh.... isn't it nice, to watch a man at work? :)
Shelves!!
At last!
I have shelves!!!!

And so here is my craft room/study today:
Brilliant!!!
It's lovely and cosy in here :)

THANK YOU !!! :)

Thank you all so much for all your encouraging comments after my last post.

I hit a real a low patch for a few days, then I've been coming up just gradually. It's been so touching to read so many comments of support -and emails- from people. I'm really indebted to you and thank you so much for your kindness and friendship.