Long time no see ...

I know i promised to get round to blogging a bit more but i have had so much on its untrue.

firstly i have been trapping feral cats none stop, to take them to the vet to get neutered,
i have been working endlessly with the three feral kittens i brought in to make them tame therefore hoping to rehome them in the next week or two as they are ready.

i have been helping the cat protection with a lady nr me who has a feral and three kittens it took over a week to catch mum but finally got her last week,

i had my mother in law visit which was nice so we were out and about,


and to top if off we had some bad news too,
another one of the feral cats had given birth not near us so we struggled to find the kittens. anyway few weeks back mum brought them to us  two of the most fluffy black and white ones. (See pic) anyway we were handling them outside feeding etc and last Sunday a lady from our village brought one round and said she thought it had been run over as he wasn't moving much but was awake. i brought him in and under quick examination i phoned the vets and rushed him down there, unfortunately the poor mite didn't make it he had a shattered pelvis the vets are good but they couldn't fix this. so we lost him,
we then took the decision to catch the other little one and bring her in to rear her which is again what we have been doing,

the back one is the one we lost,

she is coming on heaps and bounds and will be ready to rehome on the 1st sept,

so as you can see i haven't had time to craft blog or visit blogs. its just been mental.

i am also selling some of my spellbinder dies, so in the next week or so i will post some on here and if your interested then just email me. i will put as many photos as i can but i will mainly list them. they wont be dear and alot are unused. i was going to put them on ebay but seems to be a lot a faffing around and i haven't got time to list them all on there.

im not giving crafting up im just having a clear out removing items i don't really use that much to make room for new bits i have my eye on lol.

i also have a cricut imagine machine for sale used once to heavy for me im looking for 150.00 ono for it comes with some cartridges to but cant name them yet as im not down stairs lol again i will put all info on in few weeks if you are looking for a particular die set or your interested in the machine leave me a message and i will get back to you. you may as well get in before anyone else lol

and if anyone is interested in a kitten they will be advertised on the cpl site with in the next few days. or again contact me
i am based in the highlands so you know.

so thats what ive been upto and although im not a cat person as i have dogs lol i have enjoyed getting close to the ferals in the village / my garden and understanding them a bit more.

all they need is a call to the cat protection,  a person to catch them via a humane trap,then take them to the vet to get neutered collect and release. they will then live happily knowing they aint going to over populate the area and become a pain. and the best thing is its free  so if you have feral cats near you then please step up and make that call.

thats it for now folks take care
ttfn xxx

On Meeting Neil Oliver from Coast haha it wasnt it was Ross Noble DOH!!!

2 weeks have flown by and what an exciting 2 weeks i have had. it started when a semi feral cat that lives in our garden had kittens.

 this is them a few days old

she had three and all three and getting big and strong the third one was feeding when i took these pics

 all three feeding

                       
                                       the smallest a boy i have named rambo

                             these will all be ready for their new homes come late august.

now our next excitement was meeting ross noble (comedian) not the bloke from coast who i did actually think it was lol  

Its my age lol 

anyway he was in our village doing a show called freewheeling to be shown next yr jan time i think.

the show is based on tweets from the general public on where Ross should turn up or go and do and someone had tweeted him saying come to Helmsdale to see the la mirage chippy 

my kids went and asked for photos which he obliged without a second thought ,he was a really genuine bloke. here are two photos  one of the girls with him and one of me with him 

top bloke!!

Ross with Lucy on the left and Sydney on the right











                                                      Ross with me.

so thats it for now i was going to show you how the gardens getting on but i think this post would be so long today if i did that so the garden will be next time i haven't got a card today either sorry but been to busy hoping to get back to normality very soon 

so please take care and dont forget leave a comment 

its always nice to know someones watching lol 

ttfn xxx

Moving away from a card today, the word is recycling!!!

firstly a warm welcome to two more new followers, my collection of lovely kind followers are growing.

I usually only make cards but I thought i would try something a bit different for me.


i wanted to enter another challenge and i came across this one here recycle challenge/ craft room

so this is going to be my entry. and the other challenge is at simplycreatetoo- anything but a card
and this challenge at rheddscreativespirit - anything goes altered art 
and finally alteredeclectics.-Altered Eclectics


So after looking at my cards to see which one i could recycle i decided i didnt want to do a card, i wanted to do something different.
so after having a rummage around i found this old coffee tin in my craft room, it had been used previously to hold pens i had but my collections had out grown the poor tin which was then just stored out the way.

so this is the poor pot which had no use 

this is the poor pot now 

 i used graphic 45 paper stock this one was the wizard of oz .i used both sides as its double sided stripes on one side and the wizard of oz crew on the other.

i used some seam binding ribbon
some paper flowers

i Found the whole thing really difficult to photograph.

 i also used my spellbinder dies for the butterflies and for the mats on the front. i also used my martha stewart punch.

i hope you like it, i did enjoy making it, it was something so different for me to do, in fact my youngest came in the room while i was making it. and has put a claim to it for her room,

so now that grotty little pot has a new lease of life again.

i may have a look around to see what else i can breath new life into.

anyway the sun is shinning in sutherland, and i have a garden to crack on with. i will put some photos up of the now and then of the garden when its nr completion, its certainly a labour of love for me. 

i have the trellis, posts and rest of fencing coming on friday so i will be busy over the weekend. 

and yes i do my own fencing and trellis the hubby is not keen on any gardening plus he works away so if i want something done i do it myself lol. my view is if he can do it i can do it better lol

take care folks please leave a comment i love looking at them. 

so the blog is a bit hit and miss today blogger wasnt playing fair today.

hugs to all that need one

ttfn xxx

Some Scottish themed cards

I did say i would now be doing some Scottish themed cards, well i would call them more tartan themed cards

the glare of the cellophane caught the camera light here. this was mainly made using both spellbinders and the scan and cut (which i love)

materials used

white blank DL card
black ce card
red patterned paper from my stash
co-ordinations red card
tartan material
and bronze pearl card stock
ribbon
bling
faux pearls (cosmic shimmer glue)

Tools used
spellbinders labels twenty two
brother scan n cut

started with matting and layering black card stock with the red paper. added my faux pearls on to the dl card left to dry.

i cut out using the grand calibra labels twenty two one out of the red card and one using my tartan which cut really well.

 i then went on-line and found a deer shape image. i cut out two of these . i then used a pre-set sentiment within the machine and cut them both on the scan n cut.
i then added my bow with a gem in the centre.
added three gems on the top and opposite on the bottom for added bling

while i was making the card one of the deer ran off . for the life of me i couldn't find it anywhere

so i made up the card and photographed it using one on the card. 

then just as i was putting the card in cello i found it again so the top picture is with them both on

i glued the tartan onto my card but i usually stitch it on but for quickness glue worked just as good.

here are some other cards i made using my tartan material

hope you like them let me know by leaving a comment!

any questions just ask ,

hugs to all 

ttfn xxx

Thank you for the follow and lovely comments x

Firstly i would love to welcome 2 new followers Patricia and Hazel 2 lovely very talented sisters who also craft

And to everyone else who left lovely comments

Samantha wade
karen letchworth
zoe sanderson
debi ryan
essie jane
judy corner
jacquie j
mervi leikas

i thank you all xxx

what a week i had had some lovely comments on my blog which has given me the boost i needed.

This card im showing today i really enjoyed making.

i have put it as a birthday card but it could be for any occasion. i think it would make a nice wedding card too.

after finishing the card and taking the photos i did do something extra on it as i think it needed it see pictures below.






materials used 

black ce card
white ce card
green pearl card
blue co-ordinations card
blue/white ribbon
bling
faux pearl gems
and a peel off sentiment
glitter,
Hat pins

double side self adhesive sheet

spellbinder dies used

parisian accents die (background)
1x fancy tags three die
1x fancy tags two die
floral ovals

 How to put together 

started with black card and added my faux pearls left to dry. pierced my white card which you just see in picture above.
cut another black card and used as another matt.
i took my green pearl card and placed a sheet of self adhesive over it. cut to size put to one side.
i then did all my cutting firstly work out how many i needed and cut out 9 parisian motiffs out of my blue card .
i then cut out my floral oval the largest in the pack in white card then in the green and blue card cut out one of each tags .
i did use a bit of distress ink on the oval .
i then cut out my banner shape (nr bow) in white and green card. made up my bow added dazzler and 2 stick pins set aside to dry.
once i had all my elements together i started to play around with the lay out. once i was happy with were everything was i started to put the card together

 firstly i took of the self adhesive sheet and placed my Parisian motif's on the green card. once i was happy with the lay out i pressed them all firmly in place i then took some glitter and sprinkled it over the rest of the adhesive that was left exposed and rub it all over. that's the back ground complete.
i then mounted the oval on to the card using mounting foam and glue as on glitter added my two tags placed sentiment in to the centre
i placed my banner at the bottom added bow. i did add faux pearls to the banner after as i thought it needed it see pictures above.
i like the way this one turned out hope you do to

would love again to read your comments as its always nice knowing your not alone out there.

so take care folks hugs to all 

see you with another card soon.

 I have been given some tartan to play with as i haven't really done many Scottish themed cards i thought i would use the tartan on them, 

so the next few cards will be themed.

any questions please feel free to get in touch.

also any card on this blog is for sale if you interested in any then just use the contact me form on the left. im trying to make room so all will be low in price 

thanks for reading 

ttfn xxx

blog challenges and cards

hi im entering these cards to the following blog challenges 

1. allsortschallenge ,craftingbydesigns ,4kraftygirlzchallenges

this is my card im entering into the
4kraftygirlzchallenges
 allsortschallenge.blog
craftingbydesigns

this was a card for my daughters birthday and i just love it!!!

2. flatfriends challenge

this card is for the flatfriendschallenge   spring colours 

3. tattered lace challenge

 the following card is for the challenge.tatteredlace.

4.craft-roomchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

this last card is for the craft-roomchallenge.

challenge 75/ roses and romance

5.graphitmarkers.blogspot.

  

this is the card entered into the graphitmarkers challenge 

the challenge is yellow and orange 

graphitmarkers-7-summer-sunshine

HELLO FROM SUNNY SCOTLAND!! FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SCAN N CUT BUT DONT UNDERSTAND SVG FILES AND HOW TO GET THEM ON TO MACHINE TO USE.

good morning from warm sunny Scotland, and yes i said sunny and warm in the same sentence as Scotland !!

this is a long blog for me today. so before you start grab a cuppa and a choccie biscuit, sit back and relax and have a read. if your not interested in the scan n cut please dont switch off scroll to the bottom i promise there is a card there....honest!


A discovery on the scan and cut,

i just want to mention i had a break through with the machine last night yeah ! and wanted to share it with all those that have no idea about svg files etc.

now im not very good at crafting on the computer. i have never done it, i had no interest in creating a card on the laptop to me thats not crafting. but i am slowly converting i think.

now on the brother scan n cut from what i under stood i could bring in svg and j peg  files and convert them to fcm files which was needed for the brother canvas site .
this site is for you to make designs transfer on to usb stick and then transfer on to your scan n cut machine. are you keeping up?

well after 4 weeks i have sussed it. hallelujah!!! and it was a hallelujah moment for me. as i had search everywhere online to see how you did this but could not find it. yes there are instructions but if your like me words mean nothing and they fell on deaf ears.
i even found out that i could put a photo yes a photo on my canvas site, you properly knew this already but for me i was like whoa this is great.
i knew you could scan a photo on to the machine but not through the canvas site.

its really easy as 1,2,3

1.go to your scan n cut canvas site sign in .
2. click new

now on this page on the left hand side you have a space to write your project name then moving right you have 7 little buttons 1st is create new project 2nd is overwrite this project 3rd is image tracing 4th is import svg 5th is select this has arrow on it 6th is path and 7th is freehand paths.

3. press the 3rd button which says image tracing this will open a box saying choose file press that which should open where you have your j peg images click one and it should go in to the right side of the that box then all i do is click outline then colour then if you happy click ok the image will then go onto your canvas blank for you to play with.

now im still working out hows on this page but if your copying a black solid image then thats all you need to do. but for a more detailed one im still playing as when the image goes on to canvas they are doubled so i need to get rid of the double image then make the second image my cut file .

i transferred a photo on to the canvas site it took forever to download and i really didn't need it on there but i just wanted to see if that was possible and it was. i wouldn't press the colour or outline buttons for this but take it straight to the blank page and you can cut out certain parts of picture etc i wouldn't use this feature as i don't do scrap booking but it would be great for that.

once you have played with your image and your happy with it just click download follow instructions to transfer on to your usb and then put your usb in to the scan n cut machine and you image will be on there ready to cut resize play even more.

im starting to learn more and more about this machine and its features. and when you do make a break through you think wow thats another thing i can do.
i love the fact that i can now take any image and use it for crafting
 (please check copyright first on the image)
i love that i can make faux nesties for all my spellbinder dies, without having to draw round and cut out free hand (so time consuming) i can stamp an image and fuzzy cut so easily. no scissors required.
i can draw my images.
i can prepare any sentiment i want, i can personalise anything i want. i can make home decals up to 2 foot in length.
i can do want ever i want now without having to think about it.
this machine is a considered purchase but when you think about how much you can do with it, and how it can work with you not against then that price is minimal.
and really ive only just scratched the surface.
what i love most about this machine is that its not heavy its not huge and take minimal space.

i brought a cricut imagine 2 yrs ago i have used it twice why you ask, because its heavy no room to have it out all the time.and i have to buy cartridges for it which are expensive.
i cant bring in my own designs in.
this machine is now for sale....

i would really like if anyone else has a machine what have you discovered, and what do you use the machine for.

i cant wait to start playing with the quilting patterns as that is my next big project a quilt for my bed lol

This is a card i made using one of the quilting patterns and spellbinder dies.

i just picked two coloured pieces of card
picked a quilt pattern from the machine and cut out the pieces
i glued them all together on plain white card
draw some stitches added some buttons and from one of my spellbinding sets i have the sewing dies.
now i didnt use the grand calibra to cut these out i scanned them all in to the scan n cut.
highlighted and cut out the bits i wanted.
this was an experiment as i didnt know whether that would work but hey presto it did . clever little machine lol.
 i wrapped some bakers twine around my  cotton spool
apart from the spool, stitches and buttons the whole card was made using brother scan n cut

what do you think?
im fairly impressed.








 

i would love to have some comments on either the card or the scan n cut.
it would be nice to know someone is looking at the blog getting help hints tips and inspiration.
and if they is anything you would like to know ask im always here.

but for now i am going back to gardening today. i have a new garden to plant up. i will put some pictures on the blog of the garden start to finish when its done. its been back breaking at times a lot of sweat and tears especially as last yr i really couldnt do anything due to my op. but im getting here and although i should not be doing what i am in the garden. along with crafting gardening is a passion and never a chore so just try and keep me away from it.

thanks for reading take care and have a wonderful day

ttfn xxx