A papercrafting blog hop?

I have had so much fun these past few days joining in with a quilting blog hop that I thought I would have a go in a papercrafting one but I have had a quick search and can't find one anywhere - so I thought I would set up my own - would you care to join me??

I haven't run one of these before but the general idea is to submit your name, you will then be put onto a schedule - depending upon numbers the schedule may be completed in one day or over a number a days, your task is to complete a piece of artwork and publish it on your blog on your scheduled day along with a list of the other participants.  Then other blog hoppers can pop round and visit your blog.  This is a great way to increase traffic to your blog helping you to find new friends and maybe a few more followers on the way too!

I thought a great theme at the moment would be "Something British" due to the fact that we have a lot going on in Blighty at the moment what with the Queens Jubilee, nearly winning Wimbledon and, I have also heard a rumour that there is something rather sporty happening here soon too.  So if you fancy making a piece of artwork of anything your imagination conjures up when you think of Great Britain then please join me.  You don't have to be British to take part, this hop is open to anyone anywhere in the world and you can make any type of artwork from a card, ATC, scrapbook page, art journal - whatever you fancy.

So what do you think? do you fancy joining in?   If so please leave me a comment below or email me via the Contact button above and I will organise a schedule.  Please spread the word about this blog hop by copying the "Great British Blog Hop" button on the top right hand side of my blog and displaying it on your own blog - the only way to get artists to join in is to advertise and what better way is there than a blog button!

Sign up for the blog hop will be open until Wednesday 25th July and the blog hop will start on Wednesday 1st August.

Thanks for looking - Hoping you will join in from Solihull

Red, White and Blue blog hop

Oooh its my turn!  I have been following this blog hop since 1st July and have so enjoyed looking at all the talented entries so far.  I made my first block as soon as I signed up, the first thing springing into my head for red, white and blue was obviously the Union Flag:

Now I already had a pattern to make a Union Flag cushion so I thought it would be easy to scale it down to fit on a 12.5" block - well how wrong was I!  I have to confess that this was a right fiddle as it needed to be completely redesigned, although I feel it was worth it in the end!  I used just plain red, white and blue fabrics and finished off the quilt appliquing letters and numbers that have been cut out using a sizzix die.

By now on was on a roll and thought what else is typically English?  Well, tea of course:

Here I drew a cup template then replicated it three times in each of the colours (the red and blue are appliqued on and the white is just stitched).  I found the fancy font on the internet, printed it out and traced it onto the block and then stitched it using my machine (first time I have tried this!), by now my mojo was really on fire so I did a third:

I spotted the picture of a shield in a magazine so redrew it and appliqued it onto the block.  The England letters are from a word font and appliqued on.

I left it then at three blocks and went on my happy holidays feeling very pleased that I had accomplished my blocks before hand.  However last week when I started looking at all the blogs I noticed a lot of people have done pieced blocks from quilt block patterns which reminded me that I had one of those books somewhere..... (squirreled away and I have to confess it has never been used and I have had it longer than I have had my first child who is now 11.5!).  So I found it, dusted it down, had a look through and decided to have a go with some British fabrics I have lying around waiting for inspiration.

I chose to do the London Stairs block even though my fabrics were a bit busy.  Less than half an hour later the above block was completed!  I was amazed at how quick and simple this was to put together (it took me longer than half an hour to just design each of the above blocks let alone cut out the materials and sew them up!), so now I am on a roll:

This one is Patience Corner:

which took me 23 mins to make - including the cutting out! - so no patience required!

This one is Bird of Paradise:

a little bit wonky - couldn't seem to get perfect points on this one!

This one is called box:

This one is called Bright Hopes:

and this one is called Tea Leaf:

told you I was inspired didnt I!

And here they are all pieced together in either a wide table runner or lap quilt (not decided which yet!):

I used a black border to make all the blocks "pop" and then bound the quilt using a fabulous stripe that matches all the material.  Also I put another fabulous fabric on the back:

as I am not sure what else to make with it!  Hope you like my dining room table cover of London there too!  This whole quilt took me a bit of Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday (it's was non stop rain here in England at the weekend so I took advantage and got the sewing machine out!).

Thank you all so much for looking and please leave me a comment so I know you have passed by.  I would just like to say a great big thank you to Mdm Samm and Jane for hosting and organising this swap - I have had such fun and can't wait to take part in another one.

If you would like to join in the rest of today's blog hop here are the other blogs:

July 11th
Nancy R

North Hills Quilter

Sunshine Girl  (you are here)

Grammie Q
knitnoid

if you would like to view all of the blogs in the hop (over 100!) then go here.

Thanks for looking - Up to my eyes in blocks from Solihull

T!ms July Tag

Here is my take on T!ms July tag:

I actually finished it sometime last week but have been too busy to blog - am hopelessly addicted to some British fabrics I have at the moment that I am making into 12" blocks for a blog hop I am taking part in on Wednesday - check back then to see them all (yes all - am about to start my eighth one! also I have finished my Alice In Wonderland bag too and it's even been out in the rain already! - will blog about that later in the week).

For this tag I used:  Kraft card and Picket Fence stain, Red and Blue core cardstock, Glossy card, Red Pepper, Stream and Pearl alcohol inks, Jet Black archive ink, City Of London Stamp is by Artistic Outpost, the 2012 is done with white and black card and then coloured with a silver metallic rubon and I used the Upon A Time sizzix die to cut them out.  I used one of T!ms metal discs which I used the silver rubon again to tie it in with the numbers and then Black dymo tape as I don't have any metal pieces that say "Come On England!".  I finished the tag with red, white and blue twill, those cute little union flags cut out from a piece of ribbon and a piece of muslin that I dyed with Barn Door and Broken China stains.

I wasn't too keen on how the alcohol inks turned out - bit too blotchy for my liking - so I had a play with plain cardstock and distress stains and came up with this:

which I actually prefer.  I don't have T!ms fancy air gadget so I have to rely on a trusty old straw and just hope I don't dribble!  Much prefer this effect though as I love the spidery lines the stains have created - have no idea what I am going to use this for as I can't see me finishing it to put on a card so it might just have to go in my book of experiments!

Can I just say a big hello to Quilt Happy and Elanva - thank you both so much for following me.

Thanks for looking - Rained in and Busy Sewing from Solihull

Oooh edited to add that I have just uploaded this to T!ms blog and it's nice to see lots more British themed tags on there now!

WOYWW 161

Hello everyone,

I haven't joined in for a while - not at all through June due to holidays, birthdays, school stuff and such fun.  But I have had a couple of quiet days this week so I have been getting on with some more sewing (it's my in thing at the moment!) and little ones sports day has been cancelled this morning (due to the weather!) which has freed up a couple more hours for me so I have come along to join in and have a nose at some of your desks (hoping for some crafting inspiration here!).

Here is my desk this morning (yes can finally take photos on a morning and not the day before because the light is ok this time of day isnt it):

Am sewing a bag using some lovely Alice In Wonderland materials I have been hoarding stroking for a while now.

If you want to join in the fun and have a mooch at other crafters desk (which is actually very  addictive!) then pop over to Julias and join in the fun too.

Thanks for looking - Should really be going to the gym and not sewing from Solihull

Holding THE torch

Whoo hoo - go me...

Just been to an assembly at my youngest's school where Ben Smolden one of the torch carriers through Birmingham on Saturday paid a visit.  A very informative and wonderful assembly - so glad I got the chance to go.

Thanks for looking - All Lit Up from Solihull

We've been to see the torch!!

What a fabulous morning we have had today.  We walked into town at 7.30am ready to see the torch go past at 8am.  Firstly there was a parade of sponsor vehicles then our very patriotic town crier walked past (walking the wrong way but no-one told him!):

then the first torch came past:

This is Melanie Easter running past.  One of the joys of living in a small town meant that the torch did a circuit around the town centre and then back out the same way (although on a different street), so we quickly ran across the street and round the corner to get another glimpse.  Here the children got a chance to do a high five with the police:

and then the second torch came past with a different carrier:

This is Paul Tergat.  We then wandered back into town to find some breakfast (had a bacon butty whilst sitting on a bench as town was quite busy!) and I took a nice picture of my boys by the BBC van:

all in all a rather fun morning!

Thanks for looking - Feeling Sporty from Solihull

Another quick quilt!

I managed to whip this is up in less than two weeks!  Bought the kit from a super store on East Katella in Orange http://www.orangequiltbee.com/ - the lady had pointed OH and the boys in the direction of a local park so I could wander around the shop by myself - whoo hoo - and I fell in love with this at first sight:

(the quilt not the boy - have loved him for years!).

The quilt was $92 and when I said to the lady that I would treat myself to it as it was my birthday she said "If your birthday is 7 days before or after todays date you get a 25% discount" - swoon - what a fabulous birthday present is that!  So of course I bought it (and a few other items) - would have been rude not to wouldn't it!

I kept it the same as the sample apart from the borders where I added in the extra red and yellow bits on the sides - because doing so meant I could keep a big piece of the border material to make a super backing:

I have only quilted around the edges of the black pieces on the front and backs.  To do so I put the front piece and wadding together and quilted around the first set of black strips, then I tucked and folded the front piece in on itself to fit within that quilted square and pinned it all, I then positioned the back piece onto the wadding and quilted around the black strips through just that piece of material and the wadding - managing to avoid the front piece as it was all pinned out of the way.  Then I refolded the back piece on itself in the same way and unpinned and flattened out the front and quilted around the outer black strips on the front piece.  That way I haven't had to have any sewing lines on the back that I didn't want.  I am not really a fully fledged quilter yet so I am not sure whether this is the correct way to do it but the Quilt Police havent knocked on my door yet and the quilt hasnt fallen to pieces either so I am assuming I am ok!  The lady who created the quilt had done some lovely free hand quilting all over the front but I have left mine plain.  Now we are all fighting over it as to whose bed it goes on!

Thanks for looking and don't forget to join in the blog hop tomorrow if you love quilts, the link is here Red, White and Blue blog hop and my blog hop day is 11th July.

Off to the school Summer Fayre from Solihull

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge week 10

Not been able to join the last couple of weeks of these due to being Stateside - however last weeks challenge which is Tissue Wrap Flowers on page 37 of T!ms A Compendium of Curiosities vol 2, which is also sponsored by The Funkie Junkie has been extended a further week so I have found some time this afternoon to put this together:

Background is done with Picket Fence, Bundled Sage and Faded Jeans distress stains.  The stamps are from T!ms Nature Collection and Indigo Blu's Wild Meadow sets and are inked with Peeled Paint distress ink.  The tree and bird are from T!ms Bird on a branch die inked with Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade.  The tissue flowers are white tissue stamped with a script stamp in either Wild Honey or Spiced Marmalade - they are all done with 1" tissue squares.  Inked the edges of the whole piece with Vintage Photo and popped a bling eye on the bird to finish. 

All in all a fun afternoon!  Also managed to finish my huge Dr Seuss quilt today but need to wait for OH to get home to hold it up to photograph it as its far too big for the children even if I got them to precariously balance over the banister!

Thanks for looking - Feeling Like I have Achieved Something from Solihull

T!ms June Tag

Here is my take on T!ms June tag:

I used Barn Door, Vintage Photo, Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Picket Fence stains on the background tag along with some new Artistic Outpost London stamps (ironically bought in the States last week).  The piece behind the image is a Union Flag which is done with Broken China and Barn Door with a Creative Expressions template.  I didn't have a black and white photo to colour in so I stamped out a London image (Penny Black - again bought in the States last week!) which I coloured in with various distress inks.  Finished off with a metal bicycle, key and pen nib - I am sure I have a Big Ben charm squirreled away in my stash somewhere so when I find it I will add that on as well, Union Flag ribbon and red, white and blue twine.  The ticket is from a huge roll I bought from Target and the photo slide is T!ms attached with a tiny attacher - I might add 2012 on to this just need to find the right font or pen!

I think my mojo has returned now as I managed to do this at my crop yesterday (amazing as I never get anything done at a crop no matter how much I prepare beforehand! too busy chatting I guess) and today I finished off the front of a Dr Seuss quilt I bought last week too (it's fab - check back later this week as I am hoping to have finished it by then - I am also taking part in a quilting blog hop from next Sunday too - whoo hooo - my day is 11th July so ages to go yet but I have had my quilts ready for weeks now! very exciting).
Thanks for looking - Itching to get stitching from Solihull

A last goodbye

Finally got to lay my Nan and my Great Uncle Wilf to rest today:

This is Uncle Tony, Great Auntie Diane, Great Auntie Marge, Uncle Dave, Auntie Jackie, Mom, Christopher (my cousin) and me.

and this one has my Dad on:

guess who were taking the photos!

This poem is for both of them:

God’s Garden

God looked around his garden
And found an empty place,
He then looked down upon the earth
And saw your tired face.

He put his arms around you
And lifted you to rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain.
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again.

He saw the road was getting rough
And the hills were hard to climb.
So he closed your weary eyelids
And whispered, ‘Peace be thine’.

It broke our hearts to lose you
But you didn’t go alone,
For part of us went with you
The day God called you home.

Anon

Slowly catching up

Hi everyone and thanks for all your recent comments, sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to you all but I would just like to say that I did have a fabulous birthday - thank you all - I was whisked away to the Happiest Place on Earth - Disneyland California - unfortunately blogger doesn't seem to want to post any pictures today so I can't share any with you (even though I took 1,414!).

Oooh finally got the problem sorted - here we are were:

We landed back in England late Friday afternoon and then finally got home at 8pm on the evening. The eight hour time difference has taken it's toll this time and we are all shattered! I will hopefully catch up with some crafting later this week although I have such a busy schedule planned that my head is currently spinning!

Thanks for looking - Feeling Sleepy from Solihull

A Birthday card

Here is a card I have made for my father in laws birthday which is today:

I used a creative expressions mask for the background flag with barn door and broken china distress inks.  The bunting stamps are by Inkylicious and the rest are all by Creative Journey.  Finished with the Naturally Serif sizzix alphabet letters and twine.

Thanks for looking - Still partying from Solihull

Another layout

I did this layout a while ago and had left it one side to "finish off".  I got it out earlier today and looked at it but then decided "you know what - it's done!" so apart from adding white pen to give the spiders eyes I have left it as is (no stamping or anything!).

I used a MME Haunted House flock cardstock as the background with a sheet of kraft resist coloured with Barn Door distress stain on the right hand side.  Other items used were: On the edge Pennants die, Once Upon a Time alphabet (the letters "my devils"), Limelight alphabet (the number "3"), black cardstock, the Wrought Iron Gate and Fence are Memory box dies.  The skull and bats are a T!m die kindly lent to me by Jackie and the whole thing is edged with Black Soot distress ink.

It was my other halfs idea for them all wear their no. 6 tops and be called the three devils!  Not a bad title for a non scrapper is it!  although 6/6/6? is also my birthday so I could have gone down that route too.....

Thanks for looking - Off to spend my Birthday money from Solihull

Happy Birthday to me!

Yay don't you just love birthdays!

Last weekend I had the urge to do a layout! I know! must have been the lovely weather we had last week.....  Anyway I sat myself down after a lovely sunday lunch and made this:

Not bad for someone who is totally off scrapbooking at the moment is it!  It is based on a April 2012 Page Map sketch - think I am finally getting to grips with sketches (its taken me about 7 years!) and  uses up some old Basic Grey birthday papers: Make A Wish, Frosting, Assembly Required, Pinata and I don't have the name for the yellow piece as it was obviously used on something else a long time ago! The stamps used are Enjoy the Journey (Vintage Aviation) by Creative Expressions; Compass by Tabbykat; Finger, number strip and fancy strip are Daily Junque by Pink Paislee; Bike, "Travel", "Destination" are by Royal Langnickel; "King of the Road" is from Road Trip by Inkadinkado and the butterflies are from Wild Meadow by Indigo Blu - they are coloured in with distress markers and finished off with Zvacreative crystals.  I also used a black soot distress marker, Vintage photo distress ink and Jet Black archival ink.

All in all a happy way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for looking - all scrapped out from Solihull

A new quilt

Can't believe that I have already finished this as I only bought the main fabric less than two weeks ago! Usually things sit in my to do pile for months before I even start them!

This is B's new quilt:

I actually wanted to make him one that had a far more complicated pattern but the materials were just too busy so I went for 6" x 8" block instead.

Here is the back:

Just plain but with a fabulous new monster print that I got in Hobbycraft.

The main front material cost me just £16.00 with the matching border strip a further £5.  The monster material was an additional £13 and the wadding was left over from my A Quilter Lives Here quilt that I finished a few weeks ago - all in all a bargain and also a big hit with my little boy who loves it!

Thanks for looking - All Sewn Up from Solihull

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge week 7

Missed out on last weeks challenge as I didn't have time but this weeks CC2C is Brushless Watercolor which is on page 49 in T!ms A Compendium of Curiosities, Vol II.  This challenge is sponsored by http://eclecticpaperie.com/ who are offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.

 
I am off to a 40th Birthday Party tonight so I have made this card for my friend Shelley using the above technique:

Stamps are from T!ms Artful Flight set and the sentiment is by Whimsy Stamps.  I used Bundled Sage stain on the background flower stamp and Vintage Photo distress ink on the birdcage.  Branch die is one of T!ms too and I coloured it with Vintage Photo, Bundled Sage, Walnut Stain and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks.  Flowers are from T!ms flower sizzix die and coloured with various stains and finished with brads.  There wasn't really anywhere to put 40 so thats inside.

If you want to join in with the CC2C challenge the details are all here:  Studio L3

Thanks for looking - Party Girl from Solihull

A venetian scene

Here is the latest acrylic picture I have painted:

am really quite pleased with it.  It's all done using only red, yellow, blue, white and black paints with pieces of cardboard and hardboard, apart from the plant pot where we used a paintbrush!

Now need yet another frame and am rapidly running out of wall space now!

I decided awhile ago that I spend far too much time messing around on my pc so I am trying to get into the habit of only turning on the pc first thing in the morning for half an hour.  It has worked so far and I haven't had withdrawal symptoms yet!  I have though found a lot more time (unsurprisingly as I spend hours on my pc each day!) to craft and clean.  That said I started a new quilt for DS2 on Monday from a lovely pattern I bought by Hatched and Patched at the Quilt show last week.  Here is a snippet of that quilt:

however I have decided that the materials are far too busy for these houses - there are 28 houses all situated around the edge of the quilt with the middle part being all done in greens to make a Village Green.  Therefore I spent yesterday just block quilting the materials together in 6"x8" pieces and managed to get the whole front done in an afternoon! 

He still loves it and it was much more rewarding than perservering with all those little houses as I knew in my heart of hearts I wouldn't like them when they were completed (see I am learning!!!).  So today I am going to have a mooch through all the material I have lying around - I know I have enough fat quarters for the village green so I am going to try and use up all my scraps on the houses instead and have another go at the Hatched and Patched pattern - I am sure I can find a good use for another quilt!

Anyway that's my half an hour this morning used up so I am off to get dressed, do the school run, run to Toys R Us as it's free lego in the Sun week (how stressful is this!) and then I am going to get busy and do a bit more crafting and maybe pop to the gym.  Life in the fast lane eh!  Oh and that art journal book I started is still sitting on my table looking at me....

Thanks for looking - Worn out from the morning lego dash from Solihull

Such a busy week

Have been doing loads of crafty things but can't show them yet as they are mainly all table top quilts for a blog hop I am taking part in on 1st July.  Am very excited to be taking part - I have been given the opportunity to take part in blog hops in the past but never have due to other commitments but this one I really fancied and thought would do me good.  That said I joined  up two weeks ago and have made three items (you only need to do one) and now have to wait ages until 1st July to show them - nothing like been prepared though is there! besides I might be able to get a couple more done in that time if I fancy it - no pressure though!

This week I have also been transformed in the hairdressers (only went in for a trim and three hours later came out a bleached blonde!), bought a new car which I think was preowned by a friend of mine according to some paperwork I found in the glove compartment (what are the odds of that??), been to the Malvern Quilt Show - yes spent a fortune: here are some of my yummy goodies:

I also bought some nice material to make DS2 a quilt using a Hatched and Patched Village Green pattern and a couple of other patterns along with a nice wooden/wire hangy thingy on which to display my blog hop quilts - all in all a lovely day out with the girls!

Then Friday I finished a painting at my art class - will show that tomorrow, visited my parents, did a last ever football run for DS1 on the evening and then took him to tennis yesterday (where I got to sit and play with my new set of distress markers that finally turned up on Friday - whoo hoo) and then had a dinner party last night.  Off to my crop today - house isn't too much of a tip due to my galivanting but there have been a lot of items with no homes to go to shoved in my utility that now need sorting!

As my friend visited yesterday for a meal I made her a quick card for her birthday next week:

she isn't a sewer but I know will she will love it - I used a Couture Creations Vintage Dressmaker embossing folder, T!ms mannequin and reel die cut with grungepaper.  Vintage Photo, Spun Sugar, and Worn Lipstick distress inks.  The lace for the skirt was coloured with Worn Lipstick distress ink.  Then I used T!ms sizzix flower die and coloured the items with Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Broken China, Vintage Photo and Worn Lipstick distress stains.  Finished off with various brads, beads and twine.
All in all a very busy, productive and expensive week! (good job it's my birthday in a couple of weeks!).

Can I just say a big hello to Deb - thank you so much for following me.

Thanks for looking - Off to panic pack for my crop even though I never get anything done there from Solihull

I don't think I am cut out

for art journalling!

Honestly, this disaster:

is a Prima box that held some notecards.  It had to have six coats of gesso on to hide the printing which took 7 days to dry (and was turned a lovely light blue during this period in my haste to add mists and sprays before it was too thick to see through!), then I inked it with some glimmer mists and a house mask which then took another day to dry.  When it did it looked ok but too light so I decided to do a sky and a grass area instead - well as you can see the green has come out far darker than I thought (I thought gesso lightened paints slightly?) but also I did the box upside down so the sky is where the grass should be! and as for that splodge that appeared when I moved my wet paper mask too soon - no comment!

Was thinking about putting the whole thing in the bin after posting this, but actually looking at it the blue could be a planet couldn't it and the darker area space - so now I am off to have a rethink as I have a really cute sizzix spaceman die that has never been used.....

To cheer myself up after this disaster yesterday though I did make this:

which uses the new bird on a branch die I bought for the crop.  Tag is inked with Picket Fence, Faded Jeans and Vintage Photo stains.  The branch is inked with Vintage Photo and Evergreen Bough, with the birdie done in Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade and Squeezed Lemonade finished with a bling eye. Again I have used a brown piece of ribbon for a trunk as I have so many nice comments on how good it looked on a previous tag - thank you all :) - and the T!m on the the fence die was inked with Vintage Photo too (I think -  have lost the scribbled piece of paper that I wrote the stash used on instead of putting it all my little "This is how I created...." book - one day I will learn, honest I will).  Finished with a row of blue flowers.

Can I just say a big hello to Marjie - thank you for following me.  That's it from me today, I have just picked up my new car this morning so am off for a little tootle round on the quiet roads to get used to it (it keeps kangarooing on me at the moment and I sure that can't be my fault???) am very excited though as this one has a key fob that works so I can now get back in the same gang as nearly every other car driver in the world and pop the boot open using the fob!  It's the little things that please isn't it....

Thanks for looking - the kangarooing car driver from Solihull

Tims May Tag

Spent a happy few hours on Saturday making this:

For this I used a whitish tissue paper, the Union Flag stamp is by Inkylicious and is stamped with Crimson Archival ink and Broken China distress, the Tower Bridge stamp is by Artemio from their London set and stamped with Jet Black Archival.  I distressed the edges of the tag and inked them with Broken China.

The red and blue flowers are made usingT!ms pinecone die and the white flower I found in my stash as I usually make a bunch of these flowers/shrink plastic shapes when I get my melt pot out.  It is made from T!ms Tattered Flower die stamped with a script stamp.  The fabulous Crown is by Manor House and I actually bought this in Feb 2011 when I went to the Paperartsy event and it has been sitting in my box of metal pieces ever since, so I thought it was time to actually use it and look at it! I have put three pearls over the little holes at the bottom as I thought anything dangly would distract from the picture below but let's be honest they would make the crown very uncomfortable to wear wouldn't they!  Finished with two ribbons and the fabulous red, white and blue twine. 

As I mentioned on a previous post I actually made two tags Saturday (one for this challenge and one for CC2C) before I realised that I had got them the wrong way round and had done the London themed tag for CC2C - therefore I made a third tag (which is the one above), my original tag for this challenge was:

Not quite sure if I have pulled off what I was thinking here but the brown ribbon is supposed to be a tree trunk, the birdhouse and birdy (inked lightly with Tea Dye) are Prima resins, the branch is a Crafters Workshop mask inked with Broken China and Tea Dye, the tag background was inked with Squeezed Lemonade and Peacock Feathers.  The little bird stamp is by Papermania inked with Jet Black Archival.  The flowers are from a little bunch I picked up in Hobbycraft eons ago.

The winner of my blog candy is announced on the post below and also can I just say a big hello to Catherine and Pam thank you both so much for following me.

Have no school run today as little one is away on a residential school trip (bless him he is only 7!) and OH takes the big one and a friend brings him home after football tonight so apart from Zumba I am going to have a play day! whoo hoo.

Thanks for looking - In a tagging mood from Solihull