Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

 

As part of our card shallenge, Terri chose March to be recycle month. I've blogged a few cards I made with Liz's parcel & now it's Terri's turn.

 

So far, I've made 2 cards from her parcel & Grandson 1a has made a birthday card for his Mummy as well. However, as her birthday isn't till next month & she sometimes reads my blog, I won't be putting it on here :o)

 

Normally, I'd have made more cards by now, but being poorly has put me behind in everything & I have a ton of catching up to do. The ironing basket is full to overflowing, the house needs dusting & hoovering & poor Shaun needs to be fed something other than cheese on toast :o)  As for the garden, well, don't get me started !! :o)  At least I can use the weather as an excuse for not setting to out there, though :o)

 

Anyway, here are the two cards I've made so far. I'm hoping to get at least 2 more done out of Terri's parcel & then maybe I'll do a Christmas card for Hazel's blog challenge. I rather missed not making one for last week.  

 

(Picture me here, with clenched fist raised & shaking in the air, shouting  *Curse you, Liz, for getting me hooked !!*)

 

 

But I digress. As usual :o) 

 

Here are the cards.

 

Everything apart from the buttons, greeting & gold stars is from Terri's parcel. The background is white tissue paper & the blue card I cuttlebugged with the divine swirls folder because I thought it echoed the swirly bits on the shoe toppers. I then cut the card into 4 using a deckled edge rectangular die, glued the buttons across the middle, added little gold stars to their middles & put the greeting on the 4th rectangle.

 

 

This card is just the page from an old atlas for the background, plus a stamped image & greeting. Very simple - first I scanned the map & then used the scanned image for matting & layering the stamped image. I then used the original map for the card background, distressed the image & white card that it was stamped on with an ink pad that I thought contrasted well with all the background colours. I stamped the greeting, distressed that as well, making sure I ran the ink pad over it while it was still wet, so that I got a slightly smudged look & that was that.

 

I should have a couple of hours to myself at some point today, so hopefully, I'll get another card or two made with the rest of Terri's parcel..

 

 

Calling Alfred Hitchcock . . .

 

 

Well, here I am, almost back in the land of the living after being proper poorly with tonsillitis & a viral infection for over a week. It's actually against the law for me to be ill, so I'd better not say too much about it or the powers that be will hunt me down & either shoot me or fine me :o) The way I felt last week, I'd have chosen the *shoot me* option !! :o) I'm still supposed to be resting - shhh, don't tell anyone - but I'm bored, so I must be feeling better.

 

Anyhooooo . . .

 

On Saturday afternoon, I decided to get a bit of fresh air & wandered out to the husband hut to see what Shaun was up to. There was a really strange noise & at first, I couldn't work out what it was, till I suddenly saw  . . .

 

 Starlings converging on trees a few gardens away from mine. I quickly grabbed my camera & tried to get some photos.

 

Apologies for the naffness of them - if you click on them, they'll get larger - but I had to be quick & zoom in because no sooner had they landed, than they started to  . . .

 

 take off again. The noise was terrific. At first, only a few took off, but once they had, the whole flock just rose almost as one. The sound of the air as hundreds of them beat their wings & flew up into the sky was amazing.

 

My back door has a rain canopy over it, so I wasn't able to get the whole flock as they flew over. This is less than half of them & they were so fast, it's a wonder I managed to get anything at all. One of them very kindly left their calling card on my arm, so I suppose I should be grateful :o)

 

I know a lot of people think starlings are pests, but you can't beat watching them dance in a huge group across the sky. They are so elegant & precise, although there's always one a wee bit behind, the one who doesn't quite have the same dancing skills as everyone else !!  I never tire of watching them, though.

 

They reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's film *The Birds* & when I was a kid, of my Mum & Dad watching it one evening. My older brother & I (hi, Steve !!) had been warned NOT to go into the front room where they were watching it, because it was a *horror* film, but I went in for some reason - to ask for a drink or to say goodnight, I don't remember now, but I know I had my hand over my eyes as I went in !! :o) Anyway, my Dad said something along the lines of  - "you don't need to worry about covering your eyes, nothing's happened, it's quite boring" - when all of a sudden, the birds swooped down & PECKED SOMEONE'S EYES OUT !!!!

 

At least they weren't in an old run down motel, in a shower, listening to eerie music !! :o)

 

And now, on that cheery note, I'm off to kickstart this Monday morning. I hope to get a couple of cards made today, but it all depends how weary I am after doing a few bits & bobs first.

 

Have a fab day :o)

 

 

 

I'm not too late, am I ?

No, of course not, don't be silly, it's on till 10pm tomorrow night :o)

 

What am I going on about ? Hazel's weekly Christmas card challenge, of course :o)

 

I've had a busy week, what with making cards from my recycled challenge parcel, knitting a baby smock top/cardigan for Kids Co., the charity I knit for, knitting a special something else that I can't say more about yet, because the person it's for reads my blog, making a start on some possible Christmas presents  & life in general with 'imself :o)

 

BUT - I wanted to make a card for the challenge which, this week is Santa (shudder !!!) and/or his helpers. I say *shudder* because I'm English & it's Father Christmas to me, always has been, always will be :o)

 

But anyhoo - amongst all my Christmas bits,  I found the Father Christmas & Elf stamps. Both are a bit contemporary for me - as I've said before, I'm an old fashioned traditional girl - but I decided to use them, rather than the other ones I have & this is what I came up with.

 

 

I wasn't keen on all the white around the stamped images, so I rubbed an ink pad across them, giving them a bit of a grungy, distressed look. It still didn't look right, so I stamped all over with a tiny present stamp.

 

It's not easy trying to take a photo of an easel card & not getting the stuff behind it in the shot & I really didn't think you'd like to see my tatty old bread bin, so that's why the pic is a bit deformed !! :o)

 

As usual, I'll also enter it into Hazel's monthly Anything Goes challenge :o)

So cold, I'm mostly blue :o)

Well, I'M not mostly blue, but the cards I've made recently are :o)

 

It's been bitter cold here this past few days, what with the icy, howling wind & flurries of snow. It seems more than just a week ago that we had such glorious sunshine & were fooled into thinking that winter was over & spring was on the way :o( 

 

As I sit here, tapping away, it's sleeting outside & it sounds like someone is standing in the front garden throwing pepples at the windows. It's definitely a stay-indoors-&-keep-warm day, a day to do what you want as long as there's plenty of hot coffee on tap :o)

 

As I've mentioned in a previous posting, March is our recycled challenge & I have managed to come up with 5 cards from Liz's parcel. One was the Christmas card I blogged about a while ago - the one with the tag made by Terri - & these four are the others. The elephant & bike cards I made this morning, the dog & flower cards I made last week.

 

 The flower & the blue card were from the recycle parcel, as was the pink & white card I used to mat & layer the flower.  The white card candy was from a previous swap & the pink & white embossed background & the white ribbon were all from my stash.

 

 The elephant picture was originally a long single picture from a magazine. I just cut two main parts of the picture using circular dies, mounted them on blue cardboard from the parcel, which I cut with scalloped circular dies. I then rubbed an ink pad over white card, cut to size & stuck on the bottom part of the card, added a greeting, which I mat & layered & then rubbed the ink pad over the top of the card & stuck the elephant pics on.

 This card couldn't have been simpler :o) Apart from the brown card & the birthday greeting, every bit of this came from the recycled parcel. I cut the dog pic, mat & layered it on brown & light blue, covered the card with another light blue & stuck the ribbon on. I placed the dog pic on top, added the greeting & card candy & it was done. Quick & simple :o)

 

 Another quick & easy card :o) I folded the front over diagonally, stuck the motor bike pic on blue card, put the ribbon across the borttom, stuck it on the folded over bit, added the greeting & then added the card candy.

 

I MAY be able to get one more card out of Liz's parcel, but 5 isn't too bad, really :o)

 

Next - Terri's parcel. GULP !! :o)

 

Oh - by the way - it's stopped sleeting now :o) But it's still very cold :o(

UPDATE: it's nearly an hour since I posted the above & now it's SNOWING !!

 

 

Penny plain, tuppence coloured . . .

 

So goes the old saying about ribbons :o) Was it a saying ? I know I read it in a book HUNDREDS of years ago, but maybe it wasn't actually a saying, just something the author made up. Who knows ? I don't - not any more !! :o)

 

Anyway - enough waffle :o) I've always liked this digital stamp & as it has a ribbon smack bang in the middle of it, I thought it would be *perfick* to enter into Hazel's Christmas Challenge no. 114 & her Anything Goes extra challenge for March :o). 

 

If I enter her challenges every week, I'll have nearly enough Christmas cards by December & I just MIGHT be able to avoid the yearly panic, when I suddenly realise there's only x amount of weeks to go. Fingers crossed, eh ? :o)

 

 

Another card challenge :o)

Hazel's Christmas card challenge 114  this week is ribbon & although I have a fair bit of Christmas ribbon, the first thing I thought of to use was a lovely tag that my friend, Terri, had sent me to use last Christmas :o)

 

Now, as our March challenge - that is, Liz, Terri's & mine - is to use recycled bits & bobs to make cards,  I decided to use a piece of recycled Christmas card that Liz gave me to put the tag on & therefore, both challenges would, I hoped,  be met with one card. A hand, a bush, a couple of birds - see what I'm getting at ?! :o) 

 

However, as much as I'm all for reduce, reuse & recycle, I have to admit that it always feels like cheating when I recycle cards & use things sent to me by other people. I wonder how many others feel like that :o)

 

Anyway, here is the card & as it's

 Anything Goes for Hazel's March challenge,  I'll pop this in there as well :o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Sunny Sunday - whatever next ? :o)

At long last, the sun has decided to shine over my little patch :o) After the dull, grey, wet & windy days we've had recently, it makes a lovely change. Still cold, though, but what else should we expect for the beginning of March ?

 

I took a wander round the garden earlier this morning & it really DOES look as though Spring just might be on the way :o)

 

Amongst all the weeds - which seem to grow strong,  whatever the weather conditions - were signs of life, struggling through the cold, hard ground. A splash of colour hidden beneath dead leaves, a small bud, pushing its way further upwards as it gets stronger.

 

Hopefully a good sign of what's to come. After the wash out that was 2012, I think we all really need a drier, brighter year :o)

 

 This beautiful Hellebore lives right at the back of a flower bed, nestled against the wall between us & next door. It's a lovely splash of colour through the winter months.

 

 The *Butterfly Bush*, springing to life again. It's a lovely deepish pinky/purple colour & attracts butterflies & bees.

 

 

 Berginia - one of the first flowers to bloom after Christmas. A welcome bit of colour in an otherwise drab grey & green garden :o)

 

 One of the many primroses I have, poking out from behind the Morning Glory. This little primrose lives a few feet away from the Hellebore.

 

 Fighting their way through a clump of weeds, crocuses, almost ready to burst open.

 

 Morning Glory. It can be quite rampant & tends to take over, so every 2 or 3 years, I pull some of it up. It's extremely hardy though & always comes back fighting :o)

 

Japanese Quince - such a lovely colour & again, one of the earliest flowers in the garden. Every year, I say I'll use the fruit & make a jam or jelly with it, but I never do. I don't know why - maybe, subconsciously, I think I'll end up poisoning everyone who tastes the end result !! :o)

 

Happy Sunny Sunday wherever you are :o)