Before the snow disappears completely...

I took this photograph the other day, and just wanted to share it with you. My chickens hate the snow, they don't like the feel of it under their feet, or under their wings. They grumble and complain. It was sunny a couple of days ago, and they wanted to sit out after days of being stuck in their coop because the snow had been too deep for them to get about. I don't often see them lined up like this, so I had my camera at the ready, and took a quick picture.

Minutes later, my OH came stomping up the path, they all scrambled off the fence, and were gone again.

Sue has sent me another lovely card this week for her Forgotten Friday submission. She writes, "the stamp I used is a neglected CI stamp which I stamped on card previously coloured with distress stains and inked the edge with DI black Soot and mounted in co-ordinating card the sentiment I coloured with DI and the leaves are crealies and the flower was in my stash."  

This is a lovely card, I really like that blue and yellow combination. I'm a real softie for bird images too. 

I hope that you are all keeping warm, and that the snow is clearing now wherever you are. Thanks for stopping by, xx

A little update

Hi folks, life is a little less hectic around here, thank goodness! My OH is slowly improving, but it will be a long haul. I've been getting back to crafting, but most of the things that I've been making, I can't show you yet, as they are on their way to other people, or I've been working on Design Team projects.

My little chicks are growing fast, running about here, there and everywhere. We had put mesh around their compound to stop them getting out, so that the cat couldn't get to them. They keep finding escape routes, so we have given it up as a bad job, and given them the freedom of the garden. The cat sleeps most of the day anyway, so they are fairly safe!

The chicks are starting to grow their feathers now, and are even getting little wispy tails! I took a few photos out in the garden yesterday, and thought that I would share a picture or two with you. Even the non bird lovers amongst you might think these are cute!

Anyway, enough cuteness! Onto matters crafty! I can show you two items that I made recently for swaps on the Chocolate Baroque Guild. Each month, we set challenges, and swap tags or ATCs to a certain theme. This month, we pushed the boat out, and also did an altered matchbox swap too. this is my take on the matchbox swap:

I have coloured my elements with Distress Inks, and then stamped over the top with Versafine Ink, embossing some key areas with clear EP. I covered the box with French poetry, and added a couple of little charms.

For the tag swap, the theme was 'Baroque' and the colour choice was 'hues of blues'. I still had my Venetian lady stamp sitting on my desk from my Forgotten Friday project last week, so I decided to use that stamp again, as it doesn't get to see the light of day very often! I coloured some white card with some Distress Stains in two shades, ran it through an embossing folder, and coloured the raised areas with Inka Gold, in Old Silver. I used a piece of  printed paper from an old Guild pack to finish backing my tag. I made some jointed pieces of beading for the bottom of the tag, using gold and turquoise beads. 

Hopefully, as my recipients receive more of their items, I can reveal more of what I've been up to!
Thanks for stopping by today, and I'll see you tomorrow for my Forgotten Friday post. Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 13- What a difference a week makes!

Hello folks, it's Friday, and that means that it's time for you to rummage through your forgotten stash again, and see if you can make something with your neglected craft goodies.

We've had a bit of a week in our house; firstly, we've got 15 chicks that have hatched. They are so cute, and I thought I'd post a couple of pictures for you.

Don't they just make you want to go ahhhh? We keep Pekin chickens, which are miniature sized chickens. They have feathers over their feet like little shoes, with short legs. They waddle when they run towards you, and are very sweet. That is a walnut shell beside the chick on the left, to show you how tiddly they are!

The warm weather has been lovely for them, and they doze off in the sunshine, having 40 winks, when they get tired.

On the flip side this week, my Husband broke his collarbone, and dislocated his shoulder last Friday night, playing football. As he was coming out of Hospital the following morning, he collapsed, and was readmitted. He has given me a bit of a scare, I can tell you! He is okay, and home now, but can't drive, and needs a lot of looking after. It will take several weeks to heal, and will be very painful. No football for a while....

So, I haven't managed any crafting this week apart from a very simple project for this post. I found a lovely, untouched paper pad by Susan Winget titled 'Nature' for K & Co. I chose a lovely peachy themed piece of DP, and rummaged through my neglected Lavinia stamps, to create a scene. I have simply layered the stamps, using different colours, some shading, and a really useful dotty stamp which can be used for leaves, or ground shadows.

I hope you will for give me my quick card today. We have company later, and my nursemaiding duties are calling me again! Have a lovely Easter everyone, hopefully, the next week will be less eventful for me, and I might get a bit more crafting done. Don't forget to leave a comment if you make a 'forgotten' project, and I'll pop along to take a look. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Pretty things

My Daughter is home from University for the weekend with her Boyfriend, which is a rare occasion. One of the girls who comes to my card class made some cup cakes and dropped them off for Megan, as she knows that she loves her cakes. Aren't they pretty?

They are lemon flavoured, and really moist, I can personally vouch for how delicious they taste!

I have been cutting out and burning some more chiffon and organza flowers ready for future projects over the last couple of days. They just need some beads, brads, or other embellishments in the middle.

I love how the edges go crinkly, and they curl up beautifully. Each material reacts a little bit differently.

Yesterday, while I was photographing my tag for the previous post, the chickens came to see what I was up to. They made me smile, and I thought that I would show you their curious faces.

Now talking of pretty things, hop over to the Chocolate Baroque Blog where Glenda has added another free download to mark 200 followers on the Blog. It's a really lovely download, the flowers remind me of poppies, in soft pastel hues. I hope that you're having a great weekend whatever you're up to, it's raining here, but I'm with family, and that's what counts, Judith xx