I''ve been painting with my left hand

I came home from class having done what you can see in the first photo. My class is in watercolour and mixed media.

Then I added some more at home - using paint, and splattering for the yellow, and my fan brush for the tussocks, and then drawing carefully, and mark making with Sepia ink and nib.
Not sure is I don't like the first one best!

Just did my stint at the radio station, and walked back into town to get my lift home from the gym junkie! I might get a bit fit doing all this walking! Right hand improving, but still cannot use it except for minor things and now some typing! GG (Hub) just called lunch, so will end the waffle here!

Turkish Delight

Lollipop Ladies are using this as their inspiration for 

Challenge #46!

Guest DT spots are able to be won each fortnight and there is a gift voucher also offered when there are seven or more entries!

Do you like this? I must say I like it in small amounts only, usually wrapped in chocolate!

However, as the inspiration at the Lollipop Ladies latest challenge, it opens up a world of possibilities! Squares, pink and white, mmmmm............

I will enter this in the following challenges:

Great Impressions - Anything Goes Challenge

The Hybrid Chick - Use pink

Sunday Sketch and Stamp - #108 (my take on the sketch!)

I had some very pretty designer paper from Kate Knight, which arrived as a freebie with a magazine last year, and it was pink (mostly)! I had been wanting to ink up my SU Pretty Postage stamp set for a while, and did so using my SU pens - Cherry Cobbler, Green Galore and Cameo Coral. I punched out the backing for this image with the matching SU punch. 

Using SU Wild Wasabi as the base card, folded in three to create a gate fold card, I added the four squares of DP mounted on Cherry Cobbler and Pool Party. Some SU ribbon, a butterfly die cut using the SU die set, a button sewn onto the ribbon bow and some coloured bling (copics) and it was nearly complete. I used a black pen to draw some faux sewing around the squares.

The inside had more matching DP and a Kazzaz sentiment stamp.

Now its your turn..........what can you do with this photo inspiration?

Am I ambidextrous?

You bettcha!

Well, no, probably not but I had a go at using my copics with my left hand, and then my prisma pencils with Zest to create the background.  Saw this in a tutorial video on Andrea's blog,  (look in her blog tutorials on UTube) and thought I would have a go. I was happy while doing it - soothed my soul. Not that happy with it technically. Working with your less dominant hand is strange and difficult. My admiration increases every day for people who will never get back the facility to use both hands, such as stroke victims. Still don't know how to do up my bra without assistance! The copic is better than the background. I will be asking Andrea for some further tips!

The image is from a Papercraft magazine, scanned in to my computer and printed off onto XPress card. My printer ink needs to be heat set or left to dry out before using the copics.

Getting a bit frustrated

It's been two weeks and I start physio this afternoon.  I am getting bored! Not a good thing because I have blog surfed and ended up with a shopping list and spent too much money on new goodies I can't use yet!

This is what my right hand now look like!

Not allowed to use the thumb to grip anything yet - and fingers still a bit puffy, but my nails are done again! Hopefully I can start to do more soon. Poor hubby is doing it all!  He is being fantastic. Even took me shopping to the discount store! Still have a few scheduled posts organised for my DT responsibilities but am itching to make again! He is not at all keen to help me with craft stuff! 

Freckles and Spots

No, we are not talking complexions but the next challenge for the Lollipop Ladies!

Challenge #45

These lovely little discs of chocolate sweetness are covered with the hundreds and thousands that we spread on the fairy bread in February! Remember that? Lots of little multi coloured dots of goodness!

 My take on this challenge had therefore to include chocolate, dots and multicolours! Your's can too! 
Or it can have whatever this photo inspires you to make!
Go on - have a go! Be adventuresome!

I had to make a birthday card for a three year old, so used this opportunity to create my Pooh Bear card, full of chocolate colours and spots, and dots.   Can you tell it is for a little girl?

I will be entering this in the following challenge:

Blessings Ink: fussy cutting (pooh was cut off the package and trimmed up)

Ingredients included:

Daisy and Dandelion Candyfloss and Marshmallow paper pack papers; Disney adhesive buttons; Dienamics dies to cut shapes; ribbon from Meg's Garden and a sentiment from on old out of date SU stamp set, stamped in Close to Cocoa and punched out.  The pink embossed card was a scrap, and the scalloped edge on the brown paper is a Martha Stewart punch. Pooh himself is trimmed from the packaging of the buttons! No colouring in this one except I sponged the edges of various papers with ink. The whole is put onto a card base made from SU Chocolate Chip. No Copics for this one - perhaps next time!

Hope you like it!

Jack's box.

When Jack and Lily stayed with us they did a fair bit of crafting with me.  Jack loved the Big Shot and dies and we made a few things. He also went down to the shore and went crabbing.......as soon as he arrived! This was the biggest whopper he has bought up to the house......and I will tell you it escaped! Disappeared. Hopefully back to the water!

This is his milk carton. It's a die from Stampin'Up! Add a sticker and a couple of stars and Voila!

He is 6. We put some small Easter eggs in it but the disappeared as well - perhaps the crab took them?

Moving Parts

The Unstampabelles are back with a new challenge!

Challenge #11 - May- Moving Parts

(e.g. wiper card, wobble card, waterfall card) 

Bonus entry if brads/split pin used.

This month's Challenge is sponsored by:

www.craftmad.com.au 

Craft Mad is a craft community for anyone and everyone who enjoys anything to do with crafts. Why not join and enjoy the benefits of members, meet new friends, share your crafting passion and it is the perfect way to share your knowledge and at the same time share your skills.

Every member has their own gallery space to display their work as well as view everyone else's. If you have a project that you would like to share you can submit it as an article for approval and we will display it in our projects section. It's all FREE!

Join now and take your craft a step further by helping others and meet like minded people. There are regular craft swaps, sketch challenges as well as competitions and on-line create and chat evenings so, why not sign up and join in with the fun. Craft Mad is a sister site of Blue Edge Crafts. 

My DT piece for this month's Challenge at Unstampabelles is a waterfall card. I was flipping through a new magazine and drooling over all the lovely cards, and saw one, with a set of instructions to make the waterfall that I could actually follow reasonably well, so I had a go! This is the result! It is a male birthday card. 

I am entering this in the following challenge:
365 Cards: Try a new technique (mine is the waterfall)
That Craft Place: one for the boys

                                          

This is what I used to create it - the stickers for the waterfall are from a freebie pack designed by Ellen Hopkins; the inside sentiments are stickers from Heidi Swapp and Sticko. The sentiment on the waterfall has been computer generated (I selected a few but went with the top one) and printed onto SU Very Vanilla card. The base card is SU Always Artichoke and the background papers are from a freebie set of papers (We R Memory Keepers Travel Light) presented by Australian Simply Cards. Really cheap to make with all these freebies (minus the cost of the magazines!). I used SU ribbon and brads, and the black strip is from our lovely Belle Merry who sent me a packet of stickers out of the blue - what a lovely surprise and really made my day Merry: thank you!

The image on the second flip. You get this by pulling downwards gently on the strip with the ribbon attached.

The third flip - you can see the pull down strip has room to write also if you want to, but I have just used more stickers. 

I didn't place my strip across the card far enough down, and so my last flip only just lifts to read the sentiment which has been computer generated and printed. It still works so I am happy.

A sideways view.

everyone needs a little bling

This month Let's Ink It Up is going all showy-offy and we invite you to join in the fun!

The challenge is to show us your bling!

Challenge #23

6^th May 2012 closes 28^th May 2012

Theme – Show us your bling

Sponsor - Whismy Stamps

Web - http://whimsystamps.com/store/

Prize Package - $15 Gift Certificate

 Now that's a good reason to get those sparkly bits out and have a go!

Here's a little about our wonderful sponsor.

Whimsy Stamps is a family owned business and online store located in the United States. We carry a line of whimsical and fun rubber stamps made from deeply etched red rubber and mounted on EZ mount foam. We also have a digital stamp collection with new releases on the 1st of each month. We've recently added an online gallery for our DT and registered users where you can find lots of samples using our stamps. We also have an inspirations blog with daily postings and product info and our featured stamper Saturdays! 

Here is what I am offering this month:

I made this for my niece Louise and her husband Jarrod for their recent wedding. 

The sentiment is from Verve and it has been embossed.

 The lace is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps (Ireland) while the flowers are mostly Prima and Petaloo. Pale Pink seam binding threaded though the flowers and the ribbon; a pearl pin and pearl flower.  The card base is bazzil and the background is Whisper White (SU).  I used an embossing folder for the swiss dots and a die for the edging. There is a heart shaped doily and pale pink ink used too. I am glad to say she liked it!

Congratulations Louise and Jarrod!

Poor sore wing!

Operation was on Monday afternoon and home on Thursday morning. I was a bit below par but am feeling much better today.  Frustrating not being able to use it much but I can wiggle all the fingers and the stump which is hiding under the layer of bandages and plaster!

Looks interesting, doesn't it! (Not!) One handed typing is a pain but........