Taking a break - Monday 31st August

Hello Friends,

Hoping that you are all well...I can't believe it's our last Bank Holiday before Christmas already....and it's raining!

Recently I have posted infrequently - you must be fed up with my apologies for lack of posts and visits to you all! After a lot of thought over the past few weeks, I've decided that I need to take a proper break from blogging, only for the next month, but I need it, in order to come back with renewed enthusiasm and energy.

I have been blogging  for 4 years, but this year for some reason I have found it increasingly difficult. There's no one reason - it has been a busy year outside the craft room indeed and  we have a busy few weeks ahead...they start to build the conservatory this week and in two weeks time we have our holiday - we aren't going away, we will be busy painting, choosing tiles for the floor and pieces of furniture - I have 2 'Annie Sloan'  furniture projects to get on with - and amongst that some day trips to places we love (actually we have some exhibitions of art etc lined up to see).

I have also also found that in the last few weeks, whilst I  decided to put blogging to the back of my mind, my craft time has improved and been more relaxed. It's crazy really, when I was prolifically designing for Sam Poole's Team last year I had no problem in coming up with ideas and meeting deadlines. Over the past month or so, I hadn't lost Mr Mojo, he just knew I had been getting a bit 'anxious' about so many things to get done, so he had decided to shut down for  a while - as soon as I relaxed a little, he bounced back!

This is very hard to say, as I really do love visiting your blogs, seeing all your wonderful work and leaving a comment - as I love it when you visit me, but I think that a break will regenerate my enthusiasm and I will hopefully come back with lots of cards and crafts made, so that I won't be frustrated about 'making' to blog. It's not just been blogging either...I've barely visited Facebook or twitter, except for work.

I've been out with the Owl group a few times now and have really enjoyed getting out in the open and learning so much about Birds of Prey.

Over the next month, I hope to drop by you all from time to time, but I won't be here again until October...so here is my last card for the time being...

Exam Congrats!

Today I am sharing a card I made for a cousin of Tom's (well his dad and Tom are first cousins, you know what I mean) who has got into Oxford University to study law....whoopee! Everyone is of course so proud of him, they are a lovely, close family and he himself is an amazing young man. His sister also just got straight A's and A*'s in her GCSEs!

The card is 7x7: I used a base layer of black card and added a layer of script/map card, the edges of which I inked slightly with Vintage Photo distress ink.

I then die cut the arrows using Tim Holz 'Artful Arrows' for Sizzix, penning 'Oxford' on one of them.  I stamped the Bird Crazy, (which looks like a wise owl to me) and used the die cuts to make it 3D. I coloured it with promarkers. I made the mortar board myself, just drew it and cut out and then added an 'A Level' certificate.

That's it for now, take care all and I look forward to connecting with you again in October,

Love and Hugs,

Carole Z X

Hi Friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend and the sun shone where you are, as it did here! I had every intention to hop on my computer and write a post on Saturday, but it was so lovely outside, that by the time we got back from our shopping 'must do's' Saturday lunchtime, we just went outside and got stuck into some gardening....I have been trying to sketch a revamp of a rather untidy little corner where we have a tiny pond.

To be honest, I agreed with Tom's thinking that the whole thing should be drained and gotten rid of, the plastic is now exposed and it looks bad -  just one problem - it's a really thriving wildlife area and the little pond is home to a heck of a lot of frogs and other little creatures, so at the moment at least Tom's preference wasn't an option really.

I made these sketches for ideas to at least pretty it up and encourage even more butterflies and insects and set to work on it....the hens of course were not a great help! Tilda especially!

 My general idea is to get plants growing around the rim to hide it as much as possible and to plant honeysuckle and other climbers at the back against a trellis to hide the fence - we'll see what it looks like in the Spring..at least then we can collect the frog spawn, replace the pond and put it all back.

After I'd removed all the pots and plants already there

I didn't know Tom had taken this of me hard at work!

Tilda having a break from annoying toads

After I'd planted some herbs and other plants: the trellis goes up next week..Tilda is still looking for the toad!

At one point I turned my back, she suddenly squealed and just managed to take off across the water instead of landing in it (thank goodness - a green weed coloured chicken would not have been a pretty sight!) and ran around the garden clucking. Cara was in the nest box laying her egg and I have noticed has learnt to stay put when Tilda gets agitated about something.

The problem? She had stuck her beak into one of the pots that we leave there as frog and toad 'hotels' and had met a rather large toad holed up in the dark! Once she had calmed down and felt brave, she went straight back and kept tapping on the pot with her beak, so I was telling her off all afternoon. On a more serious note, I think she did actually eat a couple of very tiny frogs.

Yesterday we treated a family member to a trip to Highgrove gardens; the third time for Tom and I, but a first for Sandra and the rest of Tom's family. There were 6 of us, we had lunch after and the weather was perfect. No photos I'm afraid, security there does not permit cameras or phones in the grounds.

CAS cards

We had a super craft evening last week: some of the ladies had asked for CAS cards. I made the four projects below, with the hope that they would finish 3 of them...well I'm thrilled to say, two of the ladies finished all 4, two finished 3 and one finished almost 3, so not bad going. I deliberately made them as CAS as possible and they said they really enjoyed it. I was pleased, I really love CAS! I didn't get any photos, will try to remember this week...

I made a lot of CAS cards as demos, a lot of them using these two sets of stamps from Woodware and will show them over the next few weeks.

That's all for today, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by,

Love and Hugs
Carole X

Bird Crazy Birthday - Saturday 1st August 2015

Hello Friends,

Thanks for visiting and thank you for your comments on my Birds of Prey mini album: a few of you were impressed I had made an album of photos from a recent event so quickly...well believe me, I have a full size scrapbook for our last holiday in California, with just a few complete pages! Our last trip to Italy is still on the computer! I do prefer to be able to pick up photos and look at them whenever I want, so this year I decided I would make mini albums of events and holidays - they can be quick to complete and are easy to revisit and add more.

 I hadn't intended that more than a week should pass between posts, but it has! I have got a lot of crafting achieved this week though..no extra time in the office, no volunteering...so more craft time. I also won some sentiment stamps from Sue Wilson's blog, which was brilliant!

The first of our August workshops is this week and some of the group asked if they could have a CAS card session....I look around some of my crafty friend's blogs who specialise in CAS and I am always in awe. I really admire CAS, I find it hard to get started...and then  to stop adding to the card...but I love it and once I get started, I can't stop! That is what I have been doing in my craft time this week.

However for today I want to share cards I've made for hubby Tom's birthday tomorrow...he loves birthdays (much more than I do), so the family will be over for a birthday tea and hopefully it will be nice enough to sit outside (a big hope I think!). 

Now, I did say cards, because of course 'the girls' (our hens) have to give him one too (call us crazy, it's just a bit of fun)...so I made a quick one from them as well....

First of all here is mine: the 'awesome' is a bit of an in-joke with Tom about the US comedy Modern Family and the character Phil Dunphy, as it's one of his 'phrases'  that Tom adopted..but if you haven't seen it, ignore this as it will mean nothing to you!

I made this card before I got the Bird Crazy matching dies, so I layered them up by fussy cutting. I coloured them using my Chameleon pens and created the background with a wash of salted ocean distress ink and then used some ink and water and spritzed with an old travel toothbrush.

 I stamped the bird inside and added a party hat from another stamp set.

Now for the card 'from' Cara and Tilda...

For this one I stamped a Penny Black image and coloured with Promarkers. I then cut around the edge at the top and folded it at the base to make a simple stand up card. I die cut the greeting.

I also made some wrapping paper for their little present: I just used parcel wrap and stamped the chicken all over it. The stamp is from a small company called Noolibird, they are designed and handmade in Sussex by textile designer and artist Nula Shearing and are fabulous quality wooden block stamps, I love her designs.

At the moment we have our youngest hen, Tilda, just coming up to a year old who seems to be trying to decide whether or not she is broody..very odd...we've had a broody hen before, but not one that is showing all the traits but not quite doing it..that's fine with me, I don't want a broody hen to deal with at the moment! Cara, our older gal is in disgrace. We were eating a sandwich in the garden today, when she ran at me (quite comical really) leapt on my lap and made off with it! I managed to get most of it off her as I didn't want her to eat the bread and cheese (the lettuce and tomato I left for her)..naughty girl!!!

Well I must be off now and get the house ready for tomorrow's guests...have a good weekend all!

Love and Hugs,
Carole Z XX

Mini Album - Friday 24th July 2015

Hello Friends,

I hope you have all been having a good week...Friday is here and the weekend beckons, yay!!!

Today, (I'm afraid) there's still no escaping from owls or a photo heavy post! I decided to make a mini album of my photos from our recent few days away, when we visited one of my favourite places, The Cotswold Falconry Centre.

This month's challenge from Eileen Hull over at Art with Heart is to create something with a 3D element....now you know one of my favourite ways with craft is 3D, pop up cards, decor objects...but I couldn't really use my window box for this as I made one last month...however, I think this little book counts as 3D and has some touchy-feely textures that stand out from the book...

I made the book using Eileen's mini album die for Sizzix (love this die, the best for mini albums!) and embossed the cover with a leafy embossing folder. I then rubbed copper relief paste into the embossing to bring out the texture and give it shine.

The owl (Sam Poole design) was stamped on to a fabric-paper with a furry texture - yes I know owls have feathers, but the point is it is very tactile, feels soft to the touch. I adhered the owl to the cover with 3D pads to raise him and then stamped him again on paper and added the eyes and beak with foam pads.

I drew the branch freehand and die cut the leaves, the letters are a Tim Holz alterations die for Sizzix.

For the first page inside I wanted to add the close up photo of the little owl I got to fly  at the reserve (such a cutie!).

To create the texture of the tree trunk, I die cut a hole in the centre of the card and then smoothed embossing paste over the card, leaving raised areas quite randomly. 

Once dry I painted over it with brown paint and added the photo.

I made the book into a journal of the day, plus a few photos at the end from a favourite falconry lesson some years ago and the Sparrowhawk garden visitor, adding die cut and stamped flowers and leaves to the pages.....here are all the pages

Thank you so much for stopping by again, promise this is my last photo-heavy post for a while, have a great weekend all!


Art with Heart Challenge -Make it 3D: July 2015


Love and Hugs
Carole X

Window Box card (2) - Tuesday 21st July 2015

Hello Friends,

I hope you all had a good weekend, ours was very busy but so enjoyable...Saturday Tom and I worked from 1pm to 9pm making the holes in the ground for the pergola. We had a special tool but we kept hitting large stones and had to dig 8 holes, each 20 inches! Sunday Tom's dad and brother helped him put it up, the weather was just right  and his Mum and I were on lunch duty and there to help if needed. 

They started at 10am and finished at 7pm (with aa half hour lunch), so an hour later we were treating them to a pub meal for their help. We are really pleased with it now, we have to start adding the plants, but in time I am sure it will look like it's been there forever!

I did promise a hen story, so here it is...the weekend before we had to prepare the area for the pergola and this involved moving a little bush that the hens used as a little hideaway. When we started to dig it up, Tilda was in laying her egg but Cara got quite visibly 'annoyed' with us and actually sat herself under the bush and would not move! Every time I picked her up, she went straight back! By the time Tilda emerged from the nest box, we had removed and replanted it but she was looking all over for it. Needless to say they have ignored it where it's planted and found another favourite spot!

 Above is Cara after we had trimmed away at the bush before digging it up, wondering what had happened to it and below is Tilda the next day, still looking for it!

Here are the pergola photos...

and finally some craft....

A few weeks ago I made a window box card for my friend, using the Sizzix die by Eileen Hull...Lynda loved it, so I made one with a different colour palette for my Mum in Law's birthday earlier this month....

 I made an insert from card, with slits to display the flowers

 This time instead of a wood effect for the box, I embossed the front using a swirly heart folder

 I didn't need a box for Lynda's card as it fitted the box with her present that I was positing, but this time I made a simple acetate front box.

Thank you for stopping by, I promise a few shorter posts after this one! Hope you all have a lovely day, I'm off to work now!

Love and Hugs

Carole X

What a Hoot! - Saturday 18th July 2015

Hello Friends,

I finally caught up with all your posts yesterday, I don't think there has been a time I have blogged less since I arrived here about 4 years ago...the only reasons are just so little time at the moment -and- I really need to learn to write shorter posts with less waffle....hmmm!

Before anything else I would like to welcome my new follower Helen R, thank you so much for following along Helen...I'm really sorry, but when I click on my followers list at the moment I just get a weird box pop up, so please let me know if you have a blog too. I've also noticed I have a few more bloglovin followers, so welcome to you too!

 I've been outside a lot lately: the weather has been mostly lovely, too nice to spend time at my computer! We have been doing a lot of work in the garden and this weekend are enlisting the help of some of Tom's family to help erect a new and pretty large pergola...gosh it will be like a barn raising :) We've been so busy, I haven't even had much time to spend in my little garden craft retreat this year!

Next month we are having a conservatory fitted(so no holiday last year because of the new kitchen and none again this year,ah well will be worth it...) and as I'm home more than Tom - and live close to work, it will be mostly me 'project managing' it, lol...it's quite a big space, so will add a good sized extra room to the house. I"m looking forward to it, but they have said that from start to finish it will be about a month and then we have walls to paint and have to wait another month before we can have the floor laid...and of course it has to be furnished...so it will be October before it's complete. It's been fun though, because as it's going to be large enough for a comfy seating area and our dining table, I've been making a mood board on Pinterest and am looking forward to the 'interior design' part of it, including plenty of Annie Sloaning :)...I just hate using blogger on the iPad but I can sit in front of the TV and Pin to my heart's content!

Last week and next week I'm in the office more than usual: we have a 17 year old IT student volunteering with us for a couple of weeks and he's been doing some excellent work and also this week I had my first outing with the Hawk and Owl Trust and it was great!

There was also another 'newbie' volunteer, who we had actually placed through the Volunteer Centre I manage, so it was nice to see Joanne and she had a good time too. We went out with a group of 6 experienced volunteers and visited 3 farms where they have barn and tawny owl boxes sited. The aim was to check each box to see if it had been or was being used. As we approached one box, a barn owl flew out. Apparently it is very unusual to actually see a bird, so we were extra lucky on our first day. When the guy inspected the box, there was one owl chick inside and one egg. The chick was quite an advance age, so although owls do hatch their eggs in stages it was unlikely the last egg would hatch.

This is me being taught how to use a nest box cover. When inspecting boxes, a couple of group members approach and cover the entry hole with this instrument. This stops any bird inside from flying out. It's really heavy and quite tricky to place and you hold it there whilst one of the others climbs the ladder to check the box, no owls in this one though.

We were out about 4 hours and when I got home I'd intended to craft, but instead I went out in the garden and pottered with the hens, it was such a gorgeous day and after a morning of walking around farms I just wanted to stay outdoors!

If you're still with me...here is the craft part..

I'm sticking to owls for this post..this was my project for our craft group a last week...we made a hanger but I made this one so that it could easily be turned into a card, which is what I have done and shown below.

I've seen quite a lot of this type of artwork about lately, not stamped as these are, but having a similar printed effect. I deliberately left the tree plain and coloured the flowers with promarkers using a simple block colouring method, so it looks printed. The owl is the Mr Owl stamp by Sam Poole and is paper pieced.

This is the hanging decoration the group made: they all seemed to enjoy it, some hadn't done any paper piecing before or masking stamped images, which created the background, so it was fun for them to try these techniques.

For the tree I used a grand deckled oval Spellbinder die on white card, which I backed with blue card. I used the same Stampendous floral stamp set  as for the bookmark in my previous post, using the masking technique to overlay the images. I then inked the edges with salty ocean distress ink. For the tree, I simply drew it freehand and cut out in brown card. I've made a few cards, which will be in future posts, where I added markings to the trunk, but I wanted to leave this one 'clean' .

Here's one of the cards I made...I made about four of the decorations, so can make them all into cards! I just used plain linen effect blue card on a 7x7 blank and only slightly inked the edges with salty ocean distress ink.

 Well that's it (if you're still here...sorry it's so long and I still have quite a comical and poignant hen story to share, but we'll leave that for another day, I have a pergola to help put up!)

Thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving a comment! I will catch up with you all tonight after a day in the garden.

Love and Hugs,
Carole X