Love. . . . . . . .For My Valentine Duck

Good morning one and all. Hope that life is treating you well.

Well, I have made attempts at the pilates and boy do you know you have done it. I decided to do arm, shoulder and neck exercises as I thought that would be less effort. . . . . . . hahaha, how wrong was I ? Felt great afterwards, after doing what seemed like basic stretches but by bed time, I felt like I had been in the ring with Mike Tyson. Heaven knows what you feel like when you've done a full program of it. Perhaps I ought to stick with my old theory that exercise is bad for your health lol !!! I'm sure that I will get used to it in time.

Now for today's card, I have kind permission from Mr Duck to show his Valentine card that I made for him.

Its an 8x8 card base cut from an A3 sheet of white card from Lime Tree Crafts. I cut the largest of the Sissix Heart dies from the front of the card to give an aperture.

Then I cut slightly smaller layers in red PMD card and one of the papers from the Home For Christmas pack (One of our John's favourite packs. . . . . . .in fact, I think he now owns the entire European stock of these paper packs hahaha!!!) as it had all these lovely hearts on it. I stuck this to the red layer, measured it against the base card to line up the heart die to cut through this too.

I cut two smaller hearts from more red card and then cut the SB Medallions One from the centre of them. I then ran them through a Crafts Too Hearts embossing folder. I then stuck them back to back with invisible thread, top and bottom.

The top layers were then foam padded to the base card, lining up the apertures and attaching the invisible thread between the layers so that the red heart dangles and swivels in the aperture.

The flower is made from several hearts cut from the smallest die in the heart set and then all glued together, overlapping and a Creative Expressions pearl in the centre. The flourishes are from the SB Jewel Flowers and Flourishes set.

The final piece de resistance is the wonderful Hobbycutz  "Love" cut out, sent to me by my mui buen amigo John. I had been saving it for Mr Duck's card and I love it (pardon the pun) It started life a sort of burnt brown colour (I'm sure that there's a more technical, if not more flattering term for it) so I daubed it with a Dovecrafts red pigment ink pad and heat embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder. I then glued it to the card.

I like the effect the embossing has achieved.

Mr Duck was very pleased with his card but I think he was more pleased with his huge box of Thornton's chocolates and assorted bags of nuts (don't ask but I do mean the edible ones).

Some cards you make just make you grin from ear to ear don't they chaps? This made me grin and I hope it makes you smile too.

Thhaaaaaaats all folks, have a great day.

TTFN

Ang x

With Special Thanks. . . . . . .

Good morning one and all. Hope you are all well. I am writing this from home rather than in traction. Haven't started the Pilates yet as I've been busy with work and had a few things on during the past couple of days. Also, Mr Duck thought it best if he was at home when I started. He maintains that's so he is on hand if I get my ankles stuck behind my neck but I think its so he can have a laugh at me.

I'm not doing it for exercise as heaven knows I get enough of that at work. I just want to tone up my core so I'm less likely to suffer with my ribs in future.

Now today's card is a little play I had with Sue Wilson's Striplet Embroidery die.

Its the only one I have bought so far but I've got my eye on a couple more, especially after seeing what John made here.

It is a 5x7 card base. Another piece of white card foam padded on top after the striplet has been cut from it twice, sentiment and organza ribbon added.

Its a beautiful die and the first one of Sue's that I thought "I must have that!".

I have also made an embossing mask with it by cutting it out of a piece of card, 3 times. . . . .

I have also made a card similar to this too. It does cut beautifully so I'm pleased with my choice.

Look forward to seeing other folks creations with the Sue dies they have bought.

Meantime, be good, keep well and have a super weekend.

TTFN 

Ang x

You Are So Loved. . . . . .

Good morning Duckadees. I hope you are all warm and dry. As others have said, its awful what some folk are going through at the moment. There but for the grace and all that eh?

Thank you for your lovely comments once again on my DT card and thank you to the new commentees who popped by. Hope you will drop by again soon.

For those of you not familiar with the SB Tiger Lilies, its one of the D Lites Shapabilities range.

Sorry again for being behind with my visits. I'm hoping to catch up completely today at some point, probably after work. Still doing extra hours at the moment due to the refurb. My goodness its trying at the moment but I'm hoping it will look fab when finished. We are going to stock wool and cross stitch items soon. I have even been asked if I will do some demos on a Saturday when we're sorted.

Still got jippy ribs. its called costochondritis or something like that. It could apparently take weeks to settle so I will just have to get on with it. One of my charity shop colleagues has loaned me a Darcey Bussell Pilates book. I thought it may help if I got myself more supple (better late than never). 

She did caution me to start off steady as the positions look easier than they are. There was one picture of old Darcey just lay on her back on the floor, so I was quite hopeful I could manage that position without much difficulty hahaha but I may struggle to get back up again lol ! And when she says "put your chin on your chest" I did find find myself thinking "which one?" (chin not chest) as at the moment I've got more chins than a chinese phone book!!!

Will let you know how I get on, even if its from an orthopedic ward, in traction lol !!!

Just the one photo today as the close ups I had taken were blurred. As this was another card that went to the shop, I wasn't able to re-photograph it.

Its another DL size made from;

White Limetree Crafts card

Red PMD card

Sissix Heart dies

Creative Expressions sentiment stamp

Dovecraft red pigment ink

Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder

Red bling

Well, that's me for now. Hope this week treats you well and I promise I will have caught up with you all by close of play, barring incident.

TTFN

Ang x

Thinking of You. . . . . .and more lilies

Good afternoon everyone. Hope that you are all well and keeping warm and dry.

A huge G'day and welcome to Margaret from Oz who has kindly become a follower. Hope you enjoy yourself at the pond. Everyone is fabulously lovely, so enjoy your paddles with us. Also, welcome back to Ita. I hope that you're doing well now.

It's a lunchtime post as it's time for the February CAS and Classic & Elegant part of the House of Cards Challenge.

The inspiration for the challenge is this picture/colour palette. . . . . . . 

and the above is my interpretation of this. Please pop along to the challenge here to see what my lovely DT colleagues have designed and, hopefully, you feel like joining in and entering the challenge.

The ingredients for my card are;

A5 white card base (300gsm Limetree Crafts card)

Frame cut from a piece of same white card, embossed with Kassies Brocade embossing folder

SB Tiger Lily die (cut 3 times)

Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks

White satin ribbon

Hobbycraft sentiment stamp

The frame is foam padded onto the base and the lilies arranged to look like a posy/bouquet. 

Little did I know when I made this for the DT, that I would be sending it to someone so soon. I thought it was just right to send to my dear friend Margaret's husband last week. To be honest, it was just as well I had it as I would never have felt like making one from scratch under the circumstances.

I would have had to send a . . . . . . . . . shop bought one (sorry to use such language).

One thing it has taught me is to make a few of these to have ready for such occasions, much as we don't want them to happen, they do so its as well to be prepared in a card sense.

Thank you for the warm welcome back everyone. I couldn't wish for a nicer bunch to paddle with. Hopefully no more tragedies now, just happy days and Spring on the way. Rib ligaments still playing up but doing better following the advice from my charity shop colleague which was endorsed by the lovely Hazel (taking the NSAIDs regularly rather than now and again).

Hope this is the start of a wonderful week for you all.

TTFN

Ang x

Thank You, All Of You Lovely People. . . .

Hello all my lovely blogging chums.

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and sweet comments and also for bearing with me during this sad time. It was all such a big shock so it fair pulled the rug from under my feet. Getting back some sense of normality now . . . . . well, as normal as I'm likely to get anyway. . . but still get my moments.

I'm going to start doing the rounds of your lovely blogs again tomorrow. I apologise if I don't have time to comment on everything I've missed (I'm at work tomorrow too) but I will try my best.

Meanwhile, this card is for all of you lovely folk to say. . . well, its on the card lol !

I've tried to be as artistic as our John but I'm not quite there, especially when I remembered I had relieved all my lillies of their pollen lol ! (cream carpet necessitates this).

Have a great Valentine's Evening and weekend everyone and thanks again. . . . . . .it means a lot.

TTFN

Ang x

Time out. . . . . . . Please bear with me

Good evening folks.
I've had some very sad news about a dear family friend. Her husband rang me to tell me that his wife had passed away. They are a wonderful couple who I have known since I was a kid, about 35 years, as they were very close friends of my late Mum and Dad.
The Scottish Posse will know I have mentioned them a few times as they live in Glenrothes, not far from Hazel.
I'm devastated as Maggie was a beautiful soul and our families had some fantastic times together.
Just need to have a few days to get my head round things so I hope you will bear with me.
Will be back soon.

Take care all
Ang x

Minty Asters. . . . .

Good morning all. A quickish post today I'm afraid as I'm typing this at nearly 11.30pm to schedule and its time little ducks were in their nests. Been a busy day with work and allsorts but I didn't want to leave it another day to post.

Thank you for your concern. The inflammation could be a pull or virus but I'm dosing up on the anti inflammatories and not lifting heavy stuff at work. I was only taking the tabs before work but apparently I should be taking a full daily dose so they are fully in my system. Not sure how true this is but will give it a go. 

Had some nice new lines in today at work, one of which called Santoro (its part of the Gorjuss collection) has some lovely papers and butterfly embellishments.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my last card. I enjoyed making it, with all of its intricacies. Nice to have Val back in the pond after her trip to Egypt. Hope you had a super time chuck. Also hope that everyone is safe and dry with all this wind and rain. . . . . . weather for ducks? my doodahs!!! . . . . . this duck prefers it somewhat drier.

Now, today's card is another of my forays into the world of DL. I had a flick through one of my stack of Lidl card pads and this lovely minty piece grabbed my attention.

I was desperate to have a bash with my new HC Delicate Asters so I went a bit mad with them. Its a cream card base topped with a piece of mint Lidl card. I then cut 8 small pieces of cream card and inked around the edges of them with Peacock Feathers DI. These were foam padded to the base at equal distances apart.

I then cut a load of the asters, enough to make the 8 flowers. 

I inked all the petal edges with Peacock Feathers too, then shaped and glued them together. The flowers were then glued to the centre of each square and a green gem added to each of the flower centres.

Sentiment from Aly's Inky Fingers (great stamps) stamped with Peacock Feathers.

I know the colour (or, in fact the entire card lol !!!) may not appeal to everyone but the sun was shining and the mint looked so fresh and Spring like. . . . . . . Spring, ahhhhhhhhh, please come soon!!!

Stay dry and safe folks even though the wind may be in your hair and bugs in your teeth!

TTFN

Ang x

Love. . . . . . . . Yet Again

Good evening blogsters. Hope all is well in your respective parts of the pond. Work is very busy at my end. The re-furb is well under way so I've been doing extra hours to help out. Got a bit of inflammation in my chest ligaments, probably from all the lifting/stretching but ibruprofen seems to be keeping it in check at the moment.

I hope, after my last post, you haven't been raiding DIY shops of their wallpaper hahaha!!! I do have a few different samples, purely for contemplating decor purposes you understand. . . . . . . .

Now, you will notice I'm sticking with the love theme. I promise I shall only be sending one card in case any of you get the wrong impression and think I'm a duck of loose character (chance would be a fine thing. . . . )

I created this card for two reasons 1. to enter the Hobbycutz Challenge/DT call. I missed the cut off for the challenge but have decided to go for the DT call.

The inspiration pic is this. . . . . .

I hope that my interpretation fits the brief.

And 2. to enter the Papermill Direct Valentine Challenge here 

Ingredients are. . . . . 

PMD red card

Ross cream card

Sissix Heart dies

SB Lattice die

SB Bitty Blossoms

Red organza ribbon

Crafts Too Heart embossing folder

The earrings are my creation too.

Hope you like my creations for today and that you all have a great week ahead.

Take care all.

TTFN

Ang x