31 days of Halloween.....Day 29

Today's page features this fabulous image from Delicious Doodles. I chose this image for day 29 of the 31 days challenge. I've figured out during the last 29 days that I have a little passion for collecting quotes to do with Halloween...lol. It's nice to have them altogether in one place. I coloured the image with my inktense pencils..I just loved the crows..they just make me smile. I often sit here in my window and watch the crows strutting their stuff along the lane. The cats don't know what to make of them...I think that it's the size of them. Jeffrey is terrorised by the magpies. When he was younger, he was attacked by two who pecked his head. Ever since then he only has to hear their noise and he's running back home like the devil is behind him. He then sits in the window shaking..bless him.

I thought that you might to see my latest photo of Colin. This is him curled up with two of his pets..Bertie and Roxie. He obviously can tell the warmest spot..on top of them...lol. You can tell, just in the couple of weeks he's been part of the family just how much his fur is growing..he's just turning in a little bundle of fluff...soon to become a bigger bundle of fluff. To my mind he's lay on top of Bertie because they're the same colour..lol. In my house the cats if they are in a certain mood they lie together in colour range...the black and whites, the blacks and the tabbies.

And finally for today I thought I would share this picture of a Halloween decoration that I made a few years ago but still get out every year. It s my glamorous witch from Jiggery Makery. I thought that it would be nice to share..with love to you all this coming Halloween

Well the coffee is calling and then I'll be getting down to some card making. I got thoroughly multi coloured yesterday with my brushos and inks. I was various shades of blue and green..and so did the cats. Simon in particular seemed to be foot first into everything..it's a really good job that he's not a white cat..lol. So until tomorrow...take care and happy crafting.

31 Days of Halloween....Day 6

This is my page for day 6 of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge. This haunting image is from the tremendous range over at Delicious Doodles. Talking with my friends about Halloween I've come to the conclusion just how different it is for different people. Some really enjoy the horror side and some love the creation of monsters and strange creatures. Growing up with Halloween as I did, with it being a celebration of those who have gone before and a celebration of life as it is. I have been thinking about Horror in all it's forms and have noticed that I don't really do it. To me horror is in our imaginations and sometimes it's words that can scare me or take me on a journey into another place. To me the words that I've placed with the above image are really sad and can say lots about the image. In my life I have seen actual horror and don't feel the need to visit it again. The image that I've used today is very thought provoking and is to me an image of love that has gone before.

The sun is shining here in the mountains and as normal all the cats are outside, causing chaos no doubt. Last night I had Raven, Gannie, Jeffrey and Simon on the bed. It was ok until I wanted some of the quilt...and Jeffrey was not for sharing..lol. He gave me a right fight and in the end I had to eject him from the bed until I had the right amount of quilt. Goodness only knows what it's going to be like this winter. There is a nip in the air today and I have a feeling that first frosts are about.
I am sat here surrounded by wet canvasses. I started painting them yesterday and my thought process has taken me on a whole new direction. I started with ideas for two and am now in process with four.It seems to me to be the normal way..lol. I was working with the idea of two hearts and now have gone down a whole Klimt road..lol. It has been bugging my head so badly that I had to get all my Klimt featuring books out. The parlour now looks as if a tornado has landed..there is paint, enamels, perfect pearls, stickles and sequins everywhere. Hopefully I will have all the ideas out of my head and onto canvas by dinner time tonight. The worst thing that happens is cats coming and going  around all the wet paint and glue. My table that I work on is getting to be multi coloured with pawprint designs. I have to admit that it makes me smile every time I look at it.
Well the coffee is calling and then it will be back to the canvasses. I hope that the weather is being kind to you wherever you are. The sun is shining here but clouds are coming over and forming wonderful shadows over the mountains. So until tomorrow..take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center.....New Challenge

Todays canvas is a design team make for the wonderful team over at Left of Center. A new challenge is just about to begin and will run for the coming week. The theme for this week is Animals and of course as always you have the option of going LOC. For all details about that, please check it out on the LOC blog.



We are so lucky this week to have been sponsored by the fabulous team over at Delicious Doodles. I just love working with the wonderful images that are available. When the theme for this week was animals, it felt so right to go with a dragon. I painted my image with H2os, because I wanted that mica shine to the scales and to her skin. It has a real shine to it which sadly you can't pick up properly with a camera. Mind you it's so difficult to photograph everything living here..the cottage is so dark due to the thickness of the walls. I keep saying to myself that I'm going to buy one of those special white tents to photograph my makes in...maybe I will later in the year, ready for the winter.

I hope that you will pop over to the LOC blog and take a look at all the fabulous pieces that have been created by the other members of the team. I so love seeing all the pieces that are entered into the challenge..there are some very inspiring crafters out there.
I don't know what has happened this week..it has gone past me in a rush...I've trying to get my head together after a difficult week the week before. But my big girl pants are back on and I've given myself a good talking to..lol. I've counted my blessings and remembered to breathe...which is always good. So now I'll be back on track. I'm still trying to get used to my new carpet..it's just so soft due to the thickness of it and all the underlay. The cats are still trying to walk across the parlour without touching it, Gannie has claimed a corner of the red rug..having marked his corner with a holly leaf. He can be found there at all times of the day and night. What really marks these kittens as different to all my other cats is the fact that they don't seem to sit on the furniture as much as the older ones do. Gannie loves his rug and Nosey and Simon can often be found sat on the top of Twinkles pen. She won't associate with them but will allow them to sit there.
Well the coffee is calling and then it will be time for dinner. It's sweet and sour chicken tonight..all homemade..it's a treat for the weekend. I hope that you all have a good weekend. I will be back tomorrow with some more creations...so until then..take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center...New Challenge

Todays card is a design team make for the wonderful Left of Center Creative Challenges. A new challenge has just begun and will run for the next week. This challenge is a Anything Goes LOC. For my make I chose to work with this fabulous image from Delicious Doodles.

I am truly amazed that I have finally managed to blog. The power went off in the middle of the night and has only just managed to come back on. This cottage has got to be one of the worst places to manage when there is no power. It is very dark and of course the kittens made it all very hard under foot. I was safer not moving..lol. So all day I have been sat by the window colouring. At least I managed to get some work done.

I hope that you will pop over to the Left of Center blog and take a look. Also pop over to Delicious Doodles page and take a look at all the wonderful designs that are available. Teri..the artist also has an adult colouring book available...filled with all her delicious doodles.

Well the coffee is calling and I will be back after my caffeine hit with another design team make. As the weather is just so bad..it's the perfect time to stay in and craft. At least that's my excuse..lol. So until later..take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center.....New Challenge

Today's card is actually yesterdays but BT just weren't up to playing fair. I may have the card all ready for blogging and lots to tell you...but when BT don't let me have internet..there is not a lot that I can do. A new challenge has just begun over at the fantastic Left of Center Creative Challenges. As always the challenge will run for the next week and this weeks theme is 'Use Lots of Black'

We are lucky enough to have been sponsored by the wonderful team over at Delicious Doodles. I chose to work with this wonderful image called Loves Faded Memory. As many of you know I do have a passion for skulls and just loved this image. I have coloured it with my promarkers..the shading on the image really helps and gives great shaping to the image.

I just love all the images over at Delicious Doodles and always enjoy working with them. I hope that you will pop over and take a look...they are always a great source of inspiration.
I've had a right couple of days with the kittens. Last week they managed to get hold of 15 toilet rolls and play andrex puppies...the entire upper floor was covered in toilet paper. They had a right time. Following that Fiesty fell down the toilet..it was so funny...she won't be doing that again in a hurry...lol. They are all growing rapidly...as they should with the amount that they eat. Every night they now all trip to bed... as soon as they know that I'm going through my nightly routine..they follow me. I can't even remember the last time that I got to go to the bathroom on my own..lol.
At the moment they are causing havoc as I write. They all love to sit on the pen and watch the television. I have to say that they seem to love Time Team..I think that they love all the digging. As I write, I'm thinking about what to cook for dinner. I have come to the conclusion that I'm going to do some brisket..long and slow. I'm going to do it with Yorkshire pudding, mash potatoes, carrots and green beans with gravy. The nice thing is that I will use whatsoever is left I will make a meat and potato pie for another day. It used to be a favourite of Henry and his friend Pretty. Thinking about cooking..I seem to do a lot that my Grandmother did..a lot of spot the meat dishes and many meals made with leftovers. I'm so thankful that she taught me to cook..I save a fair amount of money using her recipes.
Well the coffee is calling and then I about to start some new card making projects...for a change..lol. The weather here is fine..no rain but goodness me it's cold. But not cold enough yet for my Icelandic socks. My friend Sunshine bought me them from Iceland and they are beautiful...just waiting for it to be colder..lol. So until next time..take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center....Anything but Square

Todays creation is a design team make for the wonderful team over at Left of Center Creative Challenges. It is made using this design from Delicious Doodles. I have made this for a friend..just to remind her of my favourite sentiments..to never settle for anything less than butterflies. To me that is something that we should have in a relationship...and nothing less. Anew challenge has just begun and will run for the next week. The theme is Anything but Square..my nemesis..lol. And of course, you have the option of going LOC...just check out the blog and it will tell you the details.

The sponsor for this weeks challenge is Kirsty from KBJ and she has been kind enough to offer a fabulous skull stamp for the prize. It's a fabulous stamp and I'm so jealous that I can't enter myself..lol. Why not pop over and take a look at her blog..a truly wonderful source of inspiration.

The weather here is unbelievable. The mist is down and the wind and rain are raging. I had friends to visit and I felt so sorry for them. Even just trying to get in the door left them soaked to the skin. It was so lovely to see them and Jeffrey really enjoyed being made a fuss of..lol. He is such a fuss monster. And bless them..they were never left for a moment without a kitten around.
As I write they are all asleep...thank goodness. They have played hard all morning and have worn everyone out, including Reg. Little Gannet has a love thing going on with Reg and as I speak he is cuddled up asleep on Reg. Little Fiesty is asleep with her Mum and I have Michael and Nosey on my legs. I had a cat disaster yesterday..one to end all. As most of you know I have a cat with a brain problem and she lives in a duplex with her best friend Icabod..he is the only creature that she will tolerate. She really doesn't like anyone or anything and will attack anything..whether moving or not. Well she escaped yesterday and I was all day trying to catch her. She attacked everyone and spent a lot of time running up the wall. I had to finally give up and went to bed. I had to shut the parlour door to keep her in.I hope that she would go back in the pen at feed time..and she did. She has obviously worn herself out and is now back in the duplex cuddled up to Icabod. They are both really happy and I'm exhausted..lol. But I have a fair amount of work to do today and tomorrow and it's just as well looking at the weather.
Well the coffee is calling and I'm hoping that the kittens will sleep for a couple of hours. I'm trying to catch up on my work as yesterday the internet only worked for about 3 minutes. What a day it was with the kittens, Twinkle, no internet, the water going off and the weather. Life in the country ..lol. So until next time..take care and happy crafting.

A Step In The Dark....Deadly Nightshade

Todays creation is a design team make for the fabulous team over at A Step in the Dark. A new challenge has just begun and will run for a month. It is a facebook challenge so why not pop over and take a look.
We are so lucky to have been sponsored by the wonderful team over at Delicious Doodles./

There are just so many images in the shop that I would love to work with and it's always so difficult to choose. The image that I have used is called Deadly Nightshade and I just had to do this one, which fits in so well with my love of all things Goth. I have coloured the image with my promarkers and have highlighted some little areas with a clear glaze pen. As most of you know, I do have a passion for strangely coloured hair, usually doing blue, green or purple. But for this one I decided to go pink to contrast the purple of the deadly nightshade flowers. I can remember them growing on the sides of the lane where I lived and being told repeatedly not to touch them by my Grandmother. It used to annoy me because the flowers are so beautiful..I just didn't understand how deadly they are.
Well the coffee is calling and the cats are wanting yet more food. The kittens are getting more and more nosey by the day. When I walk into the parlour in the morning they are all sat in a row watching me. Bumby is the noisiest and has a lot to say..lol. Nosey is still the one who pushes himself forward. And here he is.....

I will try and get the others on to the blog in the next week. So until next time...take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center...presenting Halloween

Todays make is a design team make for the fantastic team over at Left of Center Creative Challenges. A new challenge has just begun and the theme for this week is Halloween.

 We are so lucky this week to be sponsored by the wonderful team over at Delicious Doodles. As most of you will know by now, I just love the images from this store. I have done a few before and there are at least 2 more in the pipeline. If you get the chance, please pop over and take a look. There are just so many that I would love to work with.

For my canvas, I began by colouring this image. It is called Morgan Le Fay. I coloured her using my promarkers. I know I have a bit of a passion for strange coloured hair but actually my hair is green at the moment. I decided that I wanted her to look as if she was in a cave..so I set out to create one. I used paper mache and created the walls onto a canvas. I also created a bird skull to match in with the image. When my paper mache was dry, I painted it with my acrylics and added flowersoft to look like lichens and moss. I also added some flowers and small leaves. I then added my image to the middle. I have been so busy the last few days..all of a sudden I realised that it was going to be the end of the month and I needed to upload a lot of work in readiness for new challenges beginning. This weekend, I need to finish my new house sign..it's been sitting on the couch all week waving at me saying finish me..lol
All the cats are well and the kittens are growing day by day. I will try and get the photos up this weekend. I am so lucky that I get to share in their growing up. They make me smile every day with their antics. Little Nosey is the trouble maker and has to be at the front if anything is going on..lol.
Well the coffee is calling and I have a project that I need to finish for tonight. So I shall be back later..BT willing of course. It has to have been the worst week ever for signal. The laughable thing is that it was quicker and more reliable when we had the old dial up connection. So until next time..take care and happy crafting.

The Crafting Musketeers....New Challenge

Todays card is a design team make for the wonderful team at The Crafting Musketeers Challenge. I decided to use this wonderful image by Pollyanna Pickering. It is from her British Wildlife cdrom.Our sponsor for this month is the fabulous team over at Delicious Doodles. I hope that you will pop over to their Etsy store and take a look at the wonderful digis available.

The theme for this month over at the Crafting Musketeers is to use the sketch below as the basis of your card.

If you pop over to the Crafting Musketeers blog and take a look at all the other design team makes...you will see all the different ways that we have all worked the sketch.
For my card I began by mounting the image and the backing paper onto some burgundy card. I created a border of the same card. And then I mounted the image onto the border and added an embellishment of some flowers and a ribbon. I also edged everything with a peeloff.
The weather here in the mountains really hasn't made it's mind up today..one minute it's raining and the next the sun is fighting to show it's face. All the cats have decided not to bother going out and Nicademus has taken over my wheelchair as the place to go to sleep..lol. Yesterday as I sat working, Raven decided to sit on my legs and didn't move all day..lol. It was like having a hot water bottle on my legs all day..quite nice really..lol.
Well the coffee is calling and I have a pile of work to get done today. I'm so hoping to get some help tomorrow to empty the cupboard of doom. I hate the fact that I'm not able to do it myself and have to ask for help..but I've just got to get my big girl pants on and do it. I so wanted to get it emptied and then shelved. I need to do the cupboard before I start on the studio..that will be a trial all on it's own..lol So I'd better have a caffeine hit before I try to finish my work. So until tomorrow...take care and happy crafting.

Left of Center...Inspired by a Song

Todays creation is a design team make for the wonderful team over at Left of Center Creative Challenges. A new challenge has just begun and it has to be one of my favourites so far...Inspired by a Song. And we are lucky enough this week to be sponsored by the great team at Delicious Doodles. There are some fantastic images available..why not pop over and take a look

For this weeks challenge, I have made two canvases..one of which I'm sharing with you today..the other I will share next week. For today, I have used this wonderful image of the weeping angel. As most of you will know, I have used memories of Henry as my inspiration. I was inspired at first by the song..So Far Away by Avenge Sevenfold..it was played at his funeral. The angel is holding flowers and I have coloured them orange..it was Henrys favourite colour and at his funeral there were orange and white flowers and everyone wore something orange in his memory.So as you can see,this is a very personal creation for me.
I began by painting the canvas with my acrylics and created the sky using black, red and orange. I coloured the angel with my promarkers and then cut it out.I then drew the words..so far away..and then cut them out and coloured them with 2 colours of orange.
I loved working on both projects for this challenge. The other canvas, which I'll share with you next week was inspired y the song Moths by Jethro Tull, which also has memories of Henry. Many times we listened to the album..Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull and we both loved the medieval feeling to 'Moths'.
As normally happens, I have a lot of help whilst trying to write this blog..lol. Raven and Milky seem to be determined to sit between me and my computer. Rave loves to sit on my left elbow while I'm working but to her disgust I've hurt it somehow and she is not allowed. I have no idea how I've hurt it but it even hurts to touch it. What it means is that I can't even wheel my wheelchair..which is horrible. I'm taking tablets and hopefully it will go back to normal soon. At the moment the weather seems to be fine but you never know how long it will last..lol.    
Well the coffee is calling and I shall be back later with another teams design make. I hope you will pop over to the Left of Center Challenge blog and take a look at the creations of the other design team members. There are some fantastic makes. Why not join in the fun..I really enjoyed this weeks challenge. So until later...take care and happy crafting,