Men !!! :o)

 

 

As we girls can testify, men are oh-so-difficult, in oh-so-many ways !! :o) I'm sure they'd say the same about us, but we know that's just not true, don't we ??!! :o)

 

For me, one of the hardest things is making a card suitable for a man who doesn't like sport or who doesn't drink. Think husband, Dad & brother, here :o)  So, when Terri suggested men as the theme for this months card challenge, not only did I inwardly groan, I had a fit of the vapours & needed to have a lie down in a dark room, with a cool flannel over my eyes !! :o)

 

With a shaking hand & in a state of panic, I opened Terri's parcel first.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhh dear . . . .

 

I was completely stuck, nothing came to mind, ideas, imagination & inspiration all gone :o(

 

So, all I ended up with were these three cards

 

 

I really liked this image, it reminded me a bit of an Art Deco picture.  All I did was fold the front of a card in half, cut the image down a bit & mounted the left side of it on dark blue card. I then stuck it to the folded front of the card & added the silver sentiment from my stash..

 

 

I love dogs & this image was so nice, I decided to use it on an easel card. Other than corrugated card & the sentiment, everything came from Terri's parcel.

 

 

Another image, just matt & layered & a sentiment added.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to chug along a canal & see where it takes you ?

 

Now on to Liz's parcel, but yet again, my mind was a blank. It seems that plain & simple is my only way & as much as I'd love to be able to make classier & more intricate cards, it seems it's not to be. 

 

 

Included in the parcel was this lovely, peaceful looking fisherman, so I die cut the image with a scalloped oval nestie, then die cut a larger oval from some paper, also included in the parcel. Again, I folded the front of a card & covered it in dark brown card. I then stuck the image on the front, added some gold strips, a sentiment & card candi from my stash & that was it.

 

 



 

Wellington bear, another old favourite :o) I didn't want to distract away from the image so I just put the backing card through a Cuttlebug folder, cut it slightly smaller & stuck it to a white card. Again I added a sentiment, card candi & silver peel off strips from my stash.

 



 

As soon as I saw this stamped image, I knew I just wanted to do a plain card & have the image as a real focal point. However, I thought the white was just a bit too bright,  so I cut it to size & went round the edges with a black ink pad. I wanted a slightly distressed/grungy/ type effect so I lightly dusted the ink pad over the whole image. I stuck it on some silver mirror board & yet again, added the sentiment & card candi from my stash.

 

So, there we have it, six very plain & simple cards.

 

Goodness knows what October will bring :o)

The Sky at Night - & in the Morning :o)

 

 

 

This past month or so I have seen some of the most beautiful clouds, sunrises & sunsets. Every now & then, Mother Nature throws something into the works that takes our breath away & in my opinion, the sky at night & early in the morning, is one of those.

 

In no particular date order, here are some photos I've taken over the past few weeks :o)

 

I just love this first photo. It's just so dramatic & moody. Somewhat like me at times !! :o)

 



This pic and the one below look, to me, as though the day didn't quite know what to do with itself :o) Would it be cloudy, would it be sunny, would it rain or would it be dry ?

 



 

 It decided to be all four. Because it could :o)

 



 

The sunset seen from my front door is just amazing. I'm lucky enough to have a fairly clear & uninterrupted view of the sky, simply because my house is a bit higher than those across the road.

 

 

I loved the shape of this cloud as it drifted across the sky. I also loved the mist below it, making everything in the distance a bit hazy.

 

 

This was the sunrise on Tuesday, so beautiful.

 

The sunset a couple of weeks ago. I love the mistiness in the distance.

 



 

The different levels of streaky pink & grey are just so lovely. I could watch the changing colours for ages.

 

 

This sunrise was spectacular. It was like a huge gold beacon just burst out of the sky . . .

 



 

and the rest of the clouds just tumbled, all pink & fluffy, into a new day :o)

 

Mother Nature. The world's greatest artist :o)