Lots to do Challenge - Keys

This is my entry for the lots to do challenge this week, and the theme is Keys.

Although it still need some finishing touches, photos and stamped quotes etc im happy with how it has turned out so far and can only look better with some personal items in it.

It has various keys throughout on the pages , and i liked the idea of giving it a clear front cover so that the first page was protected but showed through to create a decorated cover look.

Thanks for reading my blog

Awfully Big Art Adventure Bottletop

Firstly I must apologise at the poor standard of this entry.
I am cross with myself that this is the best I could come up with.

I have tried without sucess to flatten numerous bottletops , chipped my craft hammer and cracked the plate on my cuttlebug ( they dont go through the cuttlebug) so im afraid my effort ended up being just a basic atc with a bottletop on it.

My inspiration has been packed away with the christmas decorations i think !

Agh..........better luck next week hopefully !

Draw for me Dad !

It didnt take much on sunday to get my son David to agree to draw his son Joe a picture of his favourite transformer.



Joe watched in amazement as his daddy drew freehand his picture.



It wasnt too long before it was finished , and Joe was over the moon with the finished result



A little signature just finished it off nicely.

Awfully Big Art Adventure Sign Challenge

This is my entry for ABAA challenge for this week which was to make a sign.
Sorry its taken me so long to get it done this time , Im still not working on full power.
My sign says 'try' to remind me that i must not give up before i have given it my best shot , and not to give up because i just think I cant do it.
Thanks for reading my blog.

The Lots to do Challenge

When ever i make anything it always feels alot better if it has a specific meaning to me.
This weeks challenge at The lots to do Challenge was to produce a piece of work which included some use of newspaper.

I searched and searched and all the text I came across was of awful stories and accidents that had touched peoples lives, or politics etc all depressing topics.
I didnt want that kind of text in my work I wanted something that i could have some connection too.

And then I found it.......The centre pages of the Sunday Post newspaper contain quizes, sudoku, crosswords, but most importantly "The Broons and Oor Wullie" cartoon strip.
My dads brother Tommy Lavery took early retirement with heart problems but had always been a fantastic artist. He had often had small cartoons published and for a while drew the cartoon strip "Uncle Charlie " in the Sunderland Echo newspaper. He signed all of his work 'Thos' so if you have any old papers you might have some of his work.
After his recovery he was employed by the Sunday Post and was the actual artist who drew both the Broons and Oor Wullie. He didnt write the stories , he just did the drawings. They would send him the scripts and he did the drawings from those.
Sadly he has passed away now but everytime I see these cartoon strips he especially comes to mind. So this piece of work is for my Uncle Tommy as on this occasion he was my inspiration.
Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Biro Drawing

I have just found this and should really have posted this on my birthday.

My son drew this ELVIS for me years ago one night whilst watching tv. I loved it and it has been in a frame ever since. He doesnt draw very often now which is a shame as i think he has a talent.

Christmas Gifts made with the Bind it all

Before Christmas I bought myself a Bind it all. Its Dans fault really ......after watching his amazing demonstration , he made it look so easy I just had to have one. Thank you Dan for the introduction I love my Bind it all.

Anyway moving on.....
I wanted to make something for my 2 sons for Christmas, but as they re both in their early 20's it was hard to think of something that would be cool !
They are constantly having a laugh at my expense as to the amount of time I spend crafting. When I saw the Bind it all I had an idea for my sons......








My eldest son David was only 7 years old when he wrote a story which was televised.



David entered a competition to write a story for 'JACKANORY' and he was lucky enough to be one of the winners.



He was overwhelmed that both our local newspapers the 'The Sunderland ECHO' and 'The South Shields Gazette' both came out and did a story about his achievement.



David asked if it was at all possible could his story be read out by Christopher Timothy (from 'It shouldnt happen to a vet' ) which was one of his favourite tv programmes at the time and he was lucky that they granted his wish.








I had kept a photocopy of the original story in an old fashioned type of scrapbook and we also had a video of the actual screening of the story.
The BBC were kind enough to do the artwork to go with the writing which gave the whole thing a much more proffesional feel.
I had stills of the artwork done from the video to use as the images for the book.





I put everything together in order , mounting the pictures onto pages which I had shaded with inks to match the colours in the pictures.



I used an old typewriter that used to belong to my dad to type the actual story to give it an older feel.


The book came together very well. I was quite excited to see it in book form and hoped he would be pleased with it too.



I ended the book by popping in some closing facts and I also stamped inside the back cover with a ruubber stamp which says
" Imagination is more important than knowledge" by A Einstein.



David was really pleased with it. I will make lots more books with my Bind it all, its a great machine and I really enjoyed this project.
I did a different book for my other son , but thats another post. If you watch Dotties blog , davids actual story will be on there soon in a different type of post ( if anyone is interested in knowing what his story ws about) Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.

I have just been asked by Hilda to add this button and give this new site a mention. The Lots to do Challenge is a good idea, so why not stop by and take a look.

Above is an atc I did a while ago and sent to Jessie a friend in South Africa for a trade but its in the theme of "Time " which is what Hilda has set this week.
Pop over and take a look and why not join in, Good Luck Hilda, hope you get lots of visitors

Influenza

Sorry everyone for not blogging.
Im afraid i have had an awful cold since before Christmas which just got alot worse on boxing day evening.
After being in the house for 2 weeks now and in bed for the last week the doctor called yesterday and told me i had influenza.....
What a great start to the new year eh ! At least I havent had any hangovers over Christmas and New year .....
Hope to be back crafting soon and will hopefully get caught up with Dotties blog too. I apologise Ive missed a couple of challenges too.
Hope everyone had a great time x

We have been featured in.........

Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine, issue 61 which went on sale December 23rd.

The story of how I got started with crafting has been featured in this issue.

I was introduced to crafting by my friend Marina who had made a Scrapbook of her daughters life for her 18th Birthday.

I was amazed at the fantastic way she had put the pages together and couldnt wait to give it a try myself.

It wasnt long before my first album was finished and now Ive just finished my 14th album just before xmas.

Anyway you can read all about myself and my daughter in this issue.

Thanks for stopping by my blog,

Merry Christmas Everyone

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
I hope you all have a lovely day.

From myself and my family, Merry Christmas !

A Sad Time, but Happy Memories

It has been a sad weekend, I learned of the death of an old friend Richard, who leaves a little daughter age 5.
We had some laughs including the time when a few of us went to Richard Bransons house in Oxford. We laughed at him all weekend as he kept falling asleep everytime he sat down. the picture shows him asleep in Richard Bransons tree house on Richard Bransons front lawn.
He was a lovely person and taught me alot, and i am sorry that he has passed and I hope he rests in peace.

Flower Soft and Santa Baby !

From when i was 6 months old my parents had the local post office, and we lived there until i was 25 years old.
This was a busy time of year and even as a small chld i used to love to be in the postmans room. I used to help stamp the letters and sort them, put them into bundles and sometimes even go with the postman to deliver them.

I also used to get up to alot of mischief too......

The post box wasnt the type that stands on the path but it was set into the wall just along from the post office door. There was also a door on the inside of the post office (behind the counter) for my dad to be able to get the letters out . The box was in a type of brick chimney in the wall and it was level with the counter behind where the staff used to serve customers. I was often lifted up to sit on the counter when they were busy, I used to climb into the chimney when they werent looking and open the door to the letter box. I used to put my legs and feet inside the box and peer out through the slot where people posted the letters.
I loved the feel of the cold wind in my eyes, it made them water, but i could see everything that was going on out in the street.

When people used to put the letters in the box i used to shout "Thank you " they used to walk away giving the box very funny looks. I also used to wave to them by putting my hand out through the slot........very naughty I know but it used to make me giggle. Some people used to walk away scratching their heads wondering why the box was talking......

Anyway to get back on track........When i saw the flower soft cards with the post box on them i knew they would make a lovely card for my mum for christmas. The post office was her dads before her and her grandfathers before her father, so it was in the family a long time. Ahh.......many happy chilhood memories spent in the shops with the staff who were great with me.

The second card "Santa baby" is for my friend, her son Connor is the baby.....when he was only a couple of months old and it was his first christmas we took him and bought this little santa suit and he looked so so so cute.....Hes 15 now so he most likely wont appriciate it but the little photos have made a great card. I even put him on the inside sitting on a little skateboard with a teddy and a pressy.

I hope you like the cards and Im sorry for drifting back to my childhood stories hehehe.

Thanks for stopping by.

I won lots of goddies !

I was very lucky to win all these goodies in the layout competition at Scrapbook Garden.

The layout needed to be Halloween themed and I used a layout from my Disneyland album.

Ths months competition is really simple. All you have to do is go along to their online shop and for every £5 you spend you get an entry into the drawer.
The prize is a Bind it all machine......SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ......HURRY UP AND GET SPENDING !!!!!

ABAA - Window Challange

This is my entry for the ABAA Window challenge.

As a child I always looked forward to the annual visit at this time of year to see Fenwicks Windows. Fenwicks is a deptartment store in Newcastle town centre, and for years people have visited just to see the amazing window displays that tell a story as you move from one window to the next.
As I got older I took my own children to see them.
I always thought they were great. However now they are sadly not at the top of my list for festive windows, Im afraid that award has to go to my favourite place Disneyland.
The colours are magnificent, the models out of this world and to make it even better every few moments little bells tinkle and it snows down from the roof tops in Main Street. Truly Magical............

I wanted to make my window with the Disney windows in mind.
I used a window frame from Artchix , I then rubbed it with Rub and Buff using colours, Amethyst, Pearl Blue and Gold Leaf.

I added some passport size Disney photos that I took myself, and their logo. Mounted the whole thing on Purple Sparkle Card, and then added some Flower soft snow.

Its nowhere near the real thing and I would love to be back there now , bet its cold but magical, but it reminds me of my visit all the same.

Thanks for looking.

Awfully Big Art Adventure - Dark Angel

Oh dear, Im sorry its taken me so long to complete this weeks challenge, Ive been extremely busy.
Well she's not the average Angel thats for sure, but she is my entry for this weeks challenge at ABBA

I was inspired by Linda B who made a beautiful peacock doll. Linda kindly sent me the instructions and my intention was to make my angel along similar lines, however once i started with the gold embossing powder etc i couldnt stop and before i knew it i was adding the purples.

Well I know shes maybe not what was expected but i love her.
I dont know if you can see but she has amethyst ear-rings. The tiny stones and german scrap i got from Scrapz I really enjoyed making the body, it was messy but fun. I started out with glue and tissue, then added glue and bondable film and embossing powders and mettalic paints and more embossing powders, until i was happy.

Thanks for looking at my Dark Angel