Monday Blues

Hello my friends - welcome to the start of another week!
Thankfully the internet now seems to be back to normal so maybe I can go back to coming calling on you all again this week.
Had a busy time really, couple of presentation lunches ( too much food - now on diet), and a few meetings but I still found time to do another card for the Xmas order!
I had SUCH a bad time with this one - I picked out some DP and then coloured the image to tone in. When I put the coloured image onto the paper, it looked soooo bad! The paper was really overpowering and I tried everything cos I really wanted to use the paper!

After a couple of days staring at it, adding different things and general fiddling about, I changed the paper! Which meant of course I had to find something that went with the colours I'd used on the image!

So here is the finished effort - the colour is rather 'in your face' here on the screen and I'm a little unsure it doesn't look the same in real life! The paper has shades of icy blue in varying degrees, but I quite like it and I hope it's OK.

The snowflake backing paper is by Frosted Designs and the image is of course by Mo Manning - it's called 'Pammy's Stocking' and I like it lots!

Die cut flourish added with lots of stickles, a punched snowflake border with stickles and a couple of sparkly gems and a 3D foam snowflake again dosed with stickles!

Challenges -
Corrosive Challenges - With a Flourish
Come and Get It - Anything Goes
Christmas Inspirations - Die Cuts/Punches
Pollycraft - Anything Goes
DP2 Challenge - Holiday/Celebration

Our internet speed is slightly better - still not brilliant but enough for me to be able to have a quick blog trawl this morning!
It's a beautiful day here (for a change), although cold so have a quick share with you before I pop outside and do a bit of garden tidying.
There's a lady at the Club who supports my breast cancer fund raising efforts by purchasing cards for her grandchildren/great grandchildren. I make cards for their Christmas and Birthdays and I am eternally grateful for her support particularly as just lately my sales/orders have not been as good as in previous years, even though now I am pricing everything as low as I possibly can - am just covering the cost of making without adding the extra 25p or so as normal, consequently am having to try and hold back a little on the embellishments as these are expensive and push up the price -(Sign of the financial climate I fear, I can only hope that next season things improve!)

So here is another one for her Christmas order -

Papers are from K and Co, die-cut image from LOTV layered onto red and green paper, used my nesties to cut out the frame for the image and also the greeting, placing some punched out snowflakes on the circle.
Added some flat backed pearls, a red organza ribbon bow with a sparkly snowflake button and then edged the card, snowflakes and highlighted parts of the image with 'Star Dust' Stickles.
 The inside is decorated to match.

Am entering into a couple of Challenges -
Christmas Inspirations - Die Cuts/Punches
CSAYL - Sparkly
Creative Belli - 1234 - and I used - 1 image, 2 layers,3 snowflakes and 4 pearls.

Day 12

So here we are on day 12 of 'no broadband'.

I have so missed visiting everyone's blogs but am afraid it just takes too long to load up your pics and more often than not the error message comes up saying 'web page has expired'. It is so damn maddening - after more arguments with the ISP who will NOT understand that there is nothing wrong here (OH even changed the phone cable just to make doubly sure), and accept that the problem lies with them. The last time this happened it was a fault at the exchange but trying to get them to go out to the Exchange is a monumental task. We're both thoroughly fed up. I am trying to get round to visit you all but it is such a slow process.

So with the week's frustrations now vented (!), here is something to share.

It's been a long time since I treated myself to a stamp but I simply HAD to have this one from Nellie Snellen. Isn't she lovely?! I stamped her up with Versamark Onyx Black and coloured her with promarkers.

I am quite pleased with my colouring but would still appreciate any tips on becoming better! I have been given a new ultra fine promarker nib and found it dead useful, so will probably invest in some more.

I used some 'fluffy stuff' on her hat and on the tree branch - again this was a first for me and I like the effect - cant' believe it has taken me so long to buy some of it! 

The star backing paper is very very old (about 5 years I think - lol), and I used some broad purple organza ribbon before layering the image onto a purple die cut frame.

The snowflakes are from a die 'borrowed' from Maureen (!) and I popped some purple pearls in the centre before going a wee bit mad with the 'Diamond' Stickles!

The ticket sentiment was PC generated using 'snowcaps' font and I have continued the colour scheme inside the card. I finished with a couple of suitably glittered purple paper roses.

As I have been 'challenge bereft' for over a week, I have spent an hour this morning and found these -

My Time to Craft - Punches and Dies

My Mum's Craft Shop - Food and Drink

I Love Promarkers - Cute

Crafty Creations - Christmas Birthdays

Crafting When We Can - Christmas Come Early

Promarkers Challenge - Stars

Where is my broadband?????

Aggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Day  5 of the worst internet connection speed ever. Have just done another test - upload speed of 0.05mbps and download of 0.24mbps. It's so maddening!!!! ISP don't seem to know (or care) what the problem is - last phone call went on for 23 minutes (and of course at OUR expense).
So just a quick share cos I really can't be bothered waiting while it tries to upload!

The colour of this card rather reflects my mood..... BLUE!!!!! LOL

Have no idea why the bit of bling ('Waterfall' colour Stickles) on the frilly sleeves and on the band of the hat is showing green - in real life it's blue too!

Challenges -

C.R.A.F.T - Recipe (1 Ribbon and 2 shapes (my triangle DP is one and choose between the flourish or the image for the other!) and glitter

Charisma Cardz - In Stitches

Papertake Weekly - 3 different shapes

Wish I was (still) THERE!!!!!

If your weather is as grey, wet and horrible as it is here (and has been I might add since I stepped off the plane), have a look at this amazing Cyprus sunset, taken on the night before we flew home.Fabulous isn't it - and the best thing was the days were as good!!!! As with all holidays though they end far too soon and once you've been back a couple of days they just become a distant memory!

My sun tan is going the same way - LOL.

So on to other things  - as mentioned the weather here has been appalling! It has finally stopped raining in the last hour but it's grey skies and heating on!
To add to my 'return home' depression, our internet decided to go on holiday too. Although we have some download speed it's worth than 'dial up' so viewing, uploading and commenting is nigh on impossible! ISP says 'it MAY improve in the next five days.....' - so much for me trying to control my high blood pressure.....
I have spent rather a long time doing this post but I really wanted to upload SOMETHING!!!! (And I had a little snooze whilst waiting for the links to work)

Here's a make to share - I had stamped this 'Cinderella' image from Kraftin Kimmie before I went away and have finished the card in the last couple of days (in between restraining myself from putting my fist through the computer......)

Image was paper pieced using Versamark Onyx Black onto lilac and white polka dot paper. Rest was coloured with promarkers and some perfect pearls dabbed on the 'jewellery' for a bit of bling!  The clock was made using an embossing folder and cut out as were the clock hands. I ran some black chalk across the clock face and did the same with the hands which I attached using  a black eyelet. I popped a bit of glossy accents onto the hands and matted the whole clock onto a scalloped pearlised black die cut. The background papers are 'Paris Nights'.  Some lilac ribbon, a couple of purple pins, card candy(coloured with a promarker and some Diamond Stckles) finished the front and continued the colour scheme through to the inside.


Challenges -
Anything Goes - Diecuts/Punches
Kraftin Kimmie - Sparkle and Shine
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything Goes
Cutie Pie - Recipe- Gliiter/Lilac/Ribbon
Pixie Cottage - Dark and Spooky (and I think the idea of Cinders carriage turing into a pumpkin is VERY spooky!)

Thanks for visiting - I promise to try and get round some blogs and have a look at what you've all been up to - if I can stay awake long enough whilst they upload!!