Happy New Year...

Good morning everyone

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to you all and I hope 2013 brings Health, wealth and happiness to you and those you love, did you have fun last night...anyone go to any parties?...we did nothing at all in fact Phil was in bed way before midnight as he had to get up for work this morning so I saw the New Year in on my own which I didn't mind really as we don't normally celebrate it anyway...but then we are all just so grateful they have jobs there are so many out there still looking for one...2012 was a mixed year for us first there was our Daughters then Phil's redundancy, but luckily they found new jobs quite quickly...then it was losing the farmhouse in the South of Ireland but then Phil coming home and us finding this beautiful house we have now...so some bad things and some very good...I hope 2013 isn't so topsy turvy though and that the blessing of everyone being in pretty good health stays...right now onto my first card of the year...this stunner is one of the Simply Adorable digis from Sugar Nellie...my all time favourite range (p.s. theres news below of some new ones too)...this is the beautiful Rebecca...I coloured her very simply with distress inks and used a couple of scrap sheets of papers from pads I bought at Bunny Zoe's Crafts...I finished with a stamped sentiment from a Kaisercraft sentiment set and some thickers numbers for the date...its quite cas for me isn't it...not even a ribbon lol...I'm entering this for the Stampin' for the Weekend challenge, Hotshot Craft blog challenge and the Lady Anne's challenge too...

right now onto our news from Sugar Nellie

theres a brand new release this week and they are the amazing Vintage Adorable's...you are going to fall in love with these cuties so hard I bet...of course there is a hop to celebrate the release, with prizes as always too...so keep the date in your diary's and make a date to join us on the Sugar Nellie blog on Saturday 5th January...I'm off to prep the dinner for tonight's get together not one of my favourite jobs but it needs done if we are to eat I guess lol, whatever your up to today I hope its a great one

Mina xxx

a wonky one...

Good morning everyone did you all have a fab day yesterday...it tiddled down all day here and never stopped, it was freezing cold too...we seem to have lost a season or two lol...well all my beautiful Daughter and her partners laundry is done and sorted, I draw the line at ironing them though...we are having lunch today for Fathers Day, I'm cooking so Phil doesn't have too as he usually does our lunch on Sundays, although I bet you he has to have a bit of a nosey and takes over at some stage, Sunday lunch is 'his thing', I wont get to see my lovely Dad but I will ring him later to wish him Happy Fathers Day and to wish him a good rest of his holiday, he flies back from Sicily today sometime...my card for today is a very wonky photo I'm afraid, it looks like I fell over while I took it lol...the gorgeously girlie stamp is called Kraftin' Kimmie - Dorothy, shes lovely isn't she...I coloured her with distress inks and the lush papers are from the Teresa Collins 6x6" Paper Pad - Everyday Moments pad, this is such a lush softly coloured pad with fabulous designs, the pad and stamp are from Bunny Zoe's Crafts...I finished with a softly coloured blue satin ribbon and bow and a heart charm threaded with a white satin ribbon...I cant for the life of me remember where the sketch is from but wherever it is from I'm sure I have missed the deadline, cows tail again...I'm entering this for the Crafty Creations challenge, Crafty Calender challenge and the Hotshot Craft blog challenge...I'm off to make a couple of cards before I get stuck into making lunch...omg my life is just one mad social whirl lol...whatever your up to today don't forget to tell the Dads in your life that you love them to bits
Mina xxx

distress ink colours used
skin - antique linen, frayed burlap, tattered rose
hair - frayed burlap
bows, underskirt and cloth - stormy sky
dress and shoes - scattered straw
dog - pumice stone
basket - frayed burlap

all you need is a touch of pink...

Good morning everyone did you all have a fantastic weekend? ours was kinda quiet but the weather here was glorious yesterday the sun split the heavens and it was 22degrees, went and picked up Dads glasses on Saturday while Phil was away marshaling the motor bikes to make sure they are all safe, then yesterday we had a little mooch in town it was lovely walking around in the sunshine, but it kinda spoilt it when we called into Sainsbury's for prawn crackers for the chinese we were making for dinner and I saw a lovely little dog locked up in a car, the poor little thing was panting so hard, we went inside to see if anyone could help but no one seemed interested and luckily when we went back to the car minuets later it was gone...how stupid is that to leave a dog in a car in that heat...today will be a running around getting everything together for this week kinda day, its fine when there's just me and Phil going to the farmhouse but with Dad we need to get extras, like making sure he has all his medication and getting his stuff ready too...shopping is fine because although we usually just drive right through I don't think my poor Dads walnut sized bladder will make it for over 2 hours without at least two stops and there are a few nice places to stop on the way down, including a whole antique village to mooch around so we will stop for food shopping on our way down...I have scheduled all my posts so there will still be something every day while I'm away, as a Friend once told me 'I'm like Disney only shut for Christmas' lol...cheeky...anyway onto my card for today which is using this beautiful Sara Burrier image from Crafts and Me, shes called June, isn't she beautiful but then all Sara Burrier fairies are so stunning and a dream to colour, this one is coloured with distress inks and of course she has wings so you know the rules, wings = glitter...I teamed her up with these amazingly gorgeous papers from the Prima 6x6" Paper Pad - Almanac, love this pad so much...I bought it from Bunny Zoe's Crafts...I finished with some beautiful black and pink satin ribbons and the sentiments are cut from the same paper pad...the lush sketch is from a new challenge blog for me Crafting For All Seasons Challenge and I'm also entering it for the Hotshots Craft challenge and Stampin with the Dragon challenge too...right I'm off to pack some flat shoes, I don't normally do flat shoes and like my high heeled boots but needs must in the countryside...whatever your up to today have a brilliant one
Mina xxx

distress ink colours used
skin - antique linen, frayed burlap, tattered rose
hair - walnut stain
dress - tattered rose

mmmmmmmm toffee muffins...

Good morning everyone, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend planned...a couple of things about yesterdays card first, I don't have Photoshop and even if I did I wouldn't know what to do with it lol, the most I 'do' to my photos is crop them so you don't have to see all the stuff on the same photo and add my watermark and that's it, also when you colour with distress inks a lot of the darker browns have a reddish tint to them so if you add too much water (or drop it on it) it washes the browns away and leave too much pale pink, you can catch it in time and soak up the excess water before it spreads but the colour is washed out, if you try to add more colour after that it has to be a much darker shade so you get a look that would be at home on an episode of TOWIE lol, so if the colour gets washed out it may look ok to you but I can see a huge difference and like most crafters we are our own worst critic...hope that answers the two people who emailed me...I had a nice crafting day yesterday, is it just me or do you forget to eat when your crafting I started to need something sweet mid afternoon so to the fridge I went...now I had a choice, a banana, a yogurt or a toffee fudge muffin and some whipped cream from a tub with just the right amount left in it...hhhmmmmm guess which one I chose lol...right now onto my card which is using another of the brand new Ribonitas from Sugar Nellie, this little cutie is called Mori, I love her outfit don't you, I coloured her with distress inks and used this stunning stash hider paper, its from Sassafras Lass Life is Beauty collection and is called Blueberry Grove, gorgeous isn't it...I finished with some creamy yellow seam binding, a sentiment from my stash and a few roses that looked more like the colours in the rest in real life than they do here, the fab sketch is from ICS challenge and I'm also entering it for the Hotshot Craft challenge and the CCEE Stampers challenge...I'm off to Town today as my brushes are starting to separate, they only last me about six weeks before they start to go a bit haywire and in different directions..I hope you have something brilliant planned for today
Mina xxx
p.s. thanks for letting me know you find the colours used useful, I will keep posting them now I know

distress ink colours used
skin - antique linen, frayed burlap, tattered rose
hair - walnut stain, frayed burlap
dress - scattered straw, evergreen bough
hair dressing - scattered straw, crushed olive, faded jeans
hearts and flowers - faded jeans
shoes - frayed burlap