Doodling a mystical cat picture :)

I saw this method of building a picture demonstrated on TV so I thought I would have a go. I took photo's as I went along, just in case it turned into something that I'd want to remember how I did. If you see what I mean. Ha!

I sat outside in a warm woolly jumper, determined not to let my cold make me miss all the sunshine. A mug of hot tea was essential, though!

First draw lines, freehand, too and fro across the paper.
Don't do zig-zags or sharp bends.
Then colour each shape with water-colour pencils.

Wash water across each shape...

Now take a stamp and two pieces of coloured paper.
No surprise here... I chose a cat!!!
Stamp your chosen shape onto each piece of coloured paper and cut them out.

Layer the shapes together and slice up....

Then fit the shapes back together, alternating the papers.
Stick onto the painted background...

Have a look at the background. Any shapes you'd like to highlight? Use glitter, glitter pens or anything you have to hand.... I spotted that a few of the lines had formed a star... I outlined this in glass outliner....

I went over some of the horizontal lines, too....

Add another quirky stamp somewhere... I chose hearts....

Added some glitz...

The finished pic....

Hey ho!
It filled an hour or two and was quite relaxing to do. I think it would have looked better if it had had a more limited colour pallette. I'll remember that next time! I might crop it, and put it onto a card. Or maybe cut it up into ATC's. What do you think? Why not have a go?

Ooo! Ooo! I won! I won!

Sharon Duncan Craft is a nice online shop that I've had a link to in my left-hand column for ages now. I love this shop because it has free UK p&p so I don't feel put off ordering if I only want a few things. It also gives more info' on the products than many other sites, which I need as lots of craft tools and materials are still new to me.

Anyway, I'm signed up to their email newsletter and recently entered a caption competition in it. This is the competition photo- it's Sharon, talking to some bees! Below is my wining caption :)

"YOU'RE busy! You should see what I have to do in a day!"

I don't usually win anything! At least, I can't remember the last time I did! So I'm all excited now. The prize is a Goody Bag. YIPPEE!!!!!! It's really given me a lift, as I've been laid up with another rotten cold this week, all coughing and achey, and playing havoc with my asthma. Bleagh. Now I have something interesting in the post to look forward to. Thanks, Sharon!!!

Catch up on cards....

Here are some cards I've made in the last couple of months. I haven't posted them before because I'd wanted them to reach their recipients before I showed them. Erm, then I forgot :)

This first one was for my partner's youngest nephew, Darragh, in Ireland (several months ago!):Funny, that little cat inside looks quite like him, I think! Same "who me?" expresion!

This one was for another nephew, in Scotland. He's a Celtic Football supporter, so I decorated the bear's shirt accordingly:

The card itself was a plain white embossed one but I used a wash of metallic green watercolour paint to tie it in with the Celtic theme and also to highlight the swirls.

The bear sits proud of the card, on little foan pads. The shirt is stamped separately, coloured and placed on top, threading the right paw through the sleeve! An unexpected bonus of this is that you can get the paw to "hold" something. I couldn't decide what to give him, so I chose these "accessories" and put them in a bag inside the card!

I enjoy decorating the inside of my cards (if I remember! D'oh!):
I do hope he got it, and liked playing with it!

This next one was for my partner's Dad, who plays bridge. I used a pattern from a book I've used before for similar stitched cards; Embroidery on Paper for Every Occasion by Joke and Adriaan de Vette.

I used orange felt for the matting and the background paper -very appropriate!- just happened to be the free gift in that month's Creative Cardmaking.

I sewed onto plain white hammered card. I had a little difficulty- must remember to use thicker card as otherwise the stitching holes act like perforations! I had to glue a line of them at the back, as they were causing the card to tear, but from the front it wasn't noticable. Phew!

Here's the inside:

Next, this was the birhtday card I made for my partner's Mum, Oonagh.
I'd picked up that she prefers dogs to cats, hence the unusual lack of cats!!!

The dogs were an outline sticker. I stuck them onto a piece of very heavyweight white card. I used my Letraset Pro-Marker pens to colour them and draw in some grass and sky. I also used one of these pens on the torn edges of the white card.
The Pro-Marker blender is a great tool and you get some fascinating effects with it. E.g., I went over and over the blue sky with it to create a cloudy effect.

The background paper was a free download from Crafts Beautiful.

I used a Long-Reach Ribbon Thread Punch to make little rectangular holes down one side of the card, then threaded coral coloured organza ribbon through them. The Happy Birthday greeting was another sticker.

I wasn't happy with this next card, so it is still sitting in a box here, unsent.

If you know someone who would like it, let me know!

The ribbons and leaves were a gift from Julie :) and the Flower Fairy tags were a free gift with a magazine. (I'm sorry I didn't do better with your lovely gifts, Julie!)

This next one is my most recent card and was made for my partner's niece, Yolanda. She is a very "pink" little girl!!!

I used an A4 piece of heavyweight purple card, folded in two. That nice flowery background paper is by SEI and is called Doodley-doo girl doodled daisies. -Now say that thirty times in a row!

The dress and slippers are by MIC Craft. I found them at Sharon Duncan Crafts.
I added some crystals to the slippers :)

I had to be careful that it didn't tear or fall to pieces when an eager young lady tore open the envelope, so I wrapped it in tissue and secured it with a butterfly sticker. The envelope I used was made of India Cotton so was a bit stronger than the other A5 ones I have. PaperChase sell these for about £3 per 10. I added a swirl and another crystal to the back to the envelope too :)

There was another card, too, but I can't find the photo!

Album for Hazel

I'm not a "Scrapbooker". I have so many piles of photo's here and at Mum's - and don't make me count the ones on the computer- that it isn't a case of not knowing where to start, it's knowing that it would never end!!!

Then Josephine, a friend since we were both 8, told me that her daughter, Hazel, needed something special for some special photo's.

Hazel is 10 now and had had her favourite toy, MooCoo, since birth. MooCoo went everywhere with her. Unfortunately this is how MooCoo came to be lost, last summer. Well, Hazel dug out any photo with MooCoo on it, and asked if I could put them into a special book together.

Hey ho!

I had a proper 8 x 8 album spare, from a £5 kit I found last year in TK Maxx. So......

That clay cow was part of a box picture left on the kitchen wall by the previous owners of this house. It makes a good decoration on a album about a cow!

First page.

The pages are from Die Cuts With A view, Pocket Full of Posies.
Some of them are quite garish, but we're talking about a girl who loves colour and glitter!

Cute!

I love this spread-
lots of silver embossed swirls, and the paper matches the watery theme in the photo's.

The paper in this one doesn't show well in the photo, but it's a sort of blue marl with a yellow smudge, so it goes with the yellow top that Hazel's cousin James is wearing.

Here's a close up of my lacé!-

Where the image of Hazel's toy is small, I've used a transparent sticky frame to highlight it- like on this one.

I like this one too, because of my doodling :)

Like I said, garish! LOL! But bright colour and glitter is very Hazel.

The last spread. Click to get it bigger and see it in detail.

There are 29 pages in all, and I've put a few blank ones at the back for her in case she find more pictures to include.

I really enjoyed doing it. Once I'd grouped the photo's and trimmed the ones that needed it, it took just a couple of evenings to do. It was excellent therapy!

Where's Fluffy?

Here's a new game for you- Where's Fluffy??? See if you can spot her in these photo's. She is into "tents" at the moment. I took these over one weekend. There were other places, too.

Is it a snake? Leg? Tail?

What's that lump?
(And while we're on the matter, who did that damage to the chair's corner????!)

Mum felt strangely watched.....

Here's a sneak photo of what's under the sheet next to her!

Who's that, watching the world go by?

Out at last! And here she is, playing "Bookends":