Simple Sentiments... (oh, and yes, I am still alive!! ;) )

Hello to my fellow bloggers!! :)

How are you all? I hope 2011 has been treating you well so far!! :)

Well, yes, I am still alive, just haven’t been very with it for most of this month, hence the complete lack of posts... (oooh, it did feel good hitting the 'New Post' button on my Dashboard after so long!! :) ) There’s always a ‘post-Xmas dip’ for me with my M.E. but this year it didn’t even wait ‘til after Xmas as I felt pretty awful from Xmas day onwards :S Things eased up a bit physically after a while but I’ve really not been able to think straight enough to write or do much else but mooch around other people’s fab blogs getting hugely inspired only to find when I try to actually craft that I can’t remember what it was I meant to do!!! :S!!! But I’ve reached the end of January determined that I will have at least one card posted before the month is over!! I’ve only managed to make two since Xmas and luckily they’ve both been male ones so simple was not only acceptable but a good thing!! ;)

This one was for my dad’s birthday a week or so ago and achieved its twin objectives of 1) being fairly quick and very simple to make and 2) allowing me to finally have a bit of a play with a couple of the new toys I treated myself to with my Xmas and B’day money, which had been calling out to me from my desk since they arrived!! :D So, here it is:

I used:

• Nestie Labels 1 and Grand Nesties 1 (the first of my new bits- I love this shape and so decided that, even though I don’t have a big die-cutter, I would get a lot of use from from the first three dies that fit through my bug...for now, as I’m sure I’ll cave and get myself a big one sometime!!lol I’m just hoping that Provocraft will come to the rescue and make a bigger version of the fab bug that’ll take thicker dies, too!! :)
• Some of my digi papers left over from Christmas cards in the non-christmassy Diagonal Dots and Argyle designs
• Tim Holtz Paper Distresser with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo DIs on all edges
• Craft card punched with my MS Zig-Zag border punch (also new- been wanting this for ages and love it now I have it!! :D )
• Distress Crackle paint in Clear Rock Candy- also been wanting this for ages!! :) – all over the craft card with Vintage Photo DI over the top
• Natural Rafia that my Aunty gave me (reclaimed from a gift or flowers she was given, I think) and comes in so useful for men’s cards
• Greeting from a Dawn Bibby set stamped in Vintage Sepia Versafine over an ornate ‘flourish’ from a set I got from Lakeland years ago, which was stamped in the Antique Linen. The cream paper is rescued and recycled from a Christmas card envelope (fittingly, from my Dad’s card to me :) )... I don’t know about you but I always save any with interesting textures or colours :)

Hmm, used more different products than I thought there!! Lol

And a couple of close-ups :) Think I was a bit cautious with the Crackle Paint as it was the first time I’d used it- the cracks came out very fine (they show ore in the photo than irl!) so I’ll try a thicker layer next time!! :) I really wanted to get the shadow effect on the greeting panel and decided the 'flourish' was okay for a man's card in the end, especially as I'd been reading the Matthew Shardlake books by C.J. Sansom, which my dad and step-mum gave me for Xmas and are set in Tudor England!! :)

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Wild Orchid Crafts – Let’s Get Sentimental :) ; Allsorts – Saving Nature (my recycled items are: Rafia, envelope from greeting panel and left-over papers printed for Xmas) :) ; Paper Sundaes #53 – Distressing :) ; Crafts and ME – Monochrome :) ; Do you stack up? – Pattern (my papers) :) ; Cards For Men – Let’s Party (I hope my card’s okay anyway- it may not look very party-like but it was to celebrate my Dad’s birthday) :)

Well, I’m off to link up now and then I think I should change my blog background back to the non-Xmassy version!! :) Thanks for reading my ramblings and for any much valued comments :) And thanks to the people who’ve left comments over the last month and even become new followers... I will hopefully be here with something to share with you a little more regularly from now on- just as long as my body/brain will let me craft and write!!- and even when it looks like I’m not around I’ve still been enjoying all your fab blogs so thanks for sharing and for the inspiration and help to get through the days when I’ve not been well enough to craft myself :)

hugs,