Phew!

Hi all!
Firstly, I'll apologise for the length of this blog post! There's lots to say today!!!
It has been a very busy week or two here and I've found it hard to craft as the sun has been shining continuously for weeks........

Just to prove I DO go for a walk in the sun to the local park occasionally!!!

.......and I just can't seem to pry myself out of the garden or the park and into the cool craftroom . It looks like we won't be going away this year (his nibs surgery will put a stop to that methinks!) so I have to make up for the lack of sun, sea and sand by being outside as often as I can be. The tan is coming along nicely and I'm lucky I tan quickly too because the UK isn't well known for long hot summers so I'm making hay while the sun shines!!!
 Anhyhoo, I've managed to win the competition at Cardmaking and Papercraft with my Unicorn card (see earlier blog post or just follow the link). They sent me a lovely prize too - a whopping Hunkydory pack of goodies which I'm sure will come in handy at some point!!!
 I've also had a card featured in Papercraft Inspirations issue 179 (July)  as part of the reader tester team. This one is for a new baby and if you like the printables, you can download, print and use them as often as you'd like from here new baby printables or by visiting the website Papercraft Inspirations magazine.

I used my own stash of cardstock,gems and distress inks to create my card and fussy cut lots of the printable shapes .

Last week, my daughter started a new job - Yaaaaaayyyy!!!! and I made her this card to brighten her day (and her desk!).

To make this I used white cardstock as a base with a stitched inward scallop (!) square die which I bought online for the frame.
I created the background with several shades of blue distress ink , some water spray for the bleach effect and  I then stencilled over it all with a Versamark clear glue pad and added mica powder to make it shimmer.  I had the flowers, jar and flower stem stamps in my stash and I've no idea where I got them sorry. I coloured them with Spectrum Noir pens and added some gems to finish.
I think it made a lovely card even if I do say so myself!!!

I'm pretty sure there are other things to waffle on about here but I can't remember right now what they are. I guess, I'll sign off, publish this then remember straight away...............or at 3am in the morning when I sit bolt-upright in bed with thoughts of my week!!!

Have a great Bank Holiday Monday holiday (here in the UK tomorrow!!!)
- and don't forget to leave some lovely words in the comments box - I'd love to get in touch with you all. :)

TTFN
Lesley xxx