The New Double Word Verification Box

I'm posting this on all my blogs because I have different readers on each. I apologise if you are one of those who visit more than one and read this more than once.

There has been a lot of complaints recently about the new double word verification box on Blogger. People who run Challenge blogs and have to visit lots of blogs have been making pleas for bloggers to turn off wv. I thought I had complied; I turned it off on all my blogs a couple of years ago. Recently I have read many more comments and complaints refering to it, I have even had a comment myself today.  I have visited other blogs written by the very ones pleading for its demise only to find that they have it in place themselves. I decided to check my settings and found that the option to turn wv on or off has disappeared. Not only that, but in blogger help, the link to an explanation of wv led to an error notification page. I Googled and eventually read the suggestion that one try clicking on the question mark at the side of the wv box...and this is what I learnt:

Helping the World One Word at a Time

By entering the words in the box, you are also helping to digitize texts that were written before the computer age. The words that you see were taken directly from old texts that are being scanned and stored in digital format in order to preserve them and make them more accessible to the world. Since some of the words in these texts are difficult for computers to process, we are using the results of your efforts to help decipher them.

There followed a link to another page with more information. It made interesting reading, but I was still no nearer to finding out if wv is now compulsory or not. I searched on and found the answer eventually. The only way to have the option to remove vw is to go back to the old Dashboard interface! So there you have it. Write on an all singing, all dancing new version of Blogger and you are stuck with wv.....but you can click on the cog, go back to the old version of your Dashboard, change and save your settings, then go back to the new version and hopefully the new settings will stick!

Get well soon

One of my craft club ladies has fallen and broken her arm; this is the card I made for her. Cute cat image from Sleikje

Fantastic Blog Candy...

...over at Jolanda's blog; she has a Joy Trouvaille to give away. This is able take card up to metric A4 in size.

Blue and White Christmas

This week Hazel asks that we use a die cut for her Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge. I have used two; a Cuttlebug wonky frame and a Sissix banner.  I have 'cuttled' the white card, the tree, snowflake and sentiment are from a sheet of Magenta peel-offs, and the spotty paper is from my stash, from a printout I have labelled "Funky Fairy Christmas Download". I don't think Funky Fairy as I knew it in the past still exists, as I followed the link in a previous post about a card using this paper and I was taken to a German blog with the same address. I have two printers and both are suffering from the same complaint; clogged up magenta print heads. I think the ink supplier I use may have had a bad batch! I can remove the Canon print head to clean it, but despite my best efforts it will only print with half of the jets, so anything that requires magenta comes out with interesting stripes, hence I am unable to print blue, or even try out the lovely kraft paper download I won from the Funky Hand Challenge. Nevertheless, I have used the sketch from 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and made a card that also works for the Blue and White Challenges over at Winter Wonderland and Crafting for all Seasons.

Woolly Jumper

I'm still trying to make at least one Christmas card a week. This one uses the sketch from Christmas Challenges {with sketches}, and their challenge this week has the proviso that we use some kraft. I have used kraft for the base card. The pattern paper is from a cover-less pad so I can't attribute it. I used the sewing machine to make the zigzag stitch holes, but sewed it by hand. The cream strips were recycled from a birthday card and embossed in the bug. The sentiment is a peel-off, and the image is an old favourite from Whippersnapper, coloured with pencils.

I would like to enter this for:

Christmas Challenges (with sketches) #19 - use sketch and kraft

Crimbo Crackers #8 - no people or animals

One Stop Craft Challenge #167 - use stitching

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Christmas Inspirations #40 - Anything Goes

Spotty Owls

Isn't this a jolly owl image? It's a digital giftie from Laura and I have coloured it with pencils. The papers are from Anice at Funky Hand, from the Paper Blossom set. Embossing is with Cuttlebug swirls.

I would like to enter this for the following:

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #55 - Polka Dots.

Patties Creations Challenge #36 - Embossing

SS&DS Challenge - Anything Goes with a digital image
Opus Gluei #123 - Tweet, chirp, trill
Sentimental Sundays #87 - Dry embossing

Toot-toot

for my poinsettia teabag card...thank you Mynnette and Jacqueline!

Christmas Challenge Card

Hazel has asked us to make a square Christmas card, and Mynnette wants at least three rhinestones...
Base card and matting are Lidl card, DP is Pink Petticoat and I have coloured the Penny Black Snow Couple with coloured pencils

I would like to enter this for the following challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Make it Square 

The CPS sketch of the week

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - Rhinestones

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Non Traditional Christmas Colours
Cupcake Craft Challenges - All you need is love
Cute Card  Thursday - You're a Gem

Old Poinsettias

I was having a little sort out of the cardboard drawers where I keep decoupage sheets and odds and ends of printed images when I found a page protector with some Christmas teabag sheets and backers that I designed in 2004! Some had poinsettias on, and I thought they might be just the thing for the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown that stipulates Christmas flowers...I haven't done teabag folding for years, but at one time I designed and printed  teabag papers and coordinating backing papers and demonstrated folding around the Costa Blanca Craft Clubs and Fairs ... hence my nickname!

I dithered about how to add a sentiment, as my stamping is not of the best when I can't cover up my bodges and splodges with a bit of judicious painting, but then I realised that if I used a peel-off, it would also qualify as an Unstampabelles entry....problem solved!

So...backing papers and teabags by me, punched centre added to the folded rosette that is mounted on a Nestie  4 label, blue lace strip cut with Cuttlebug Ironworks set, and a peel-off on another Nestie label.

I would like to enter this in 52 CCT Theme Challenge #1

Unstampabelle's Challenge #7 - Anything Goes
ABC Christmas Challenge - A for Anything Goes

Woo-Hoo!

It seems to be my lucky week; I received an Honourable Mention on the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Blog for the card that I entered for their first colour challenge of the year; Black, White and a Splash of Red. Thank you Mynnette and Jacqueline.

This week's theme is Christmas flowers, so why not come and play and build up your stock of Christmas cards?

I Won!

My name came out of the Big Teapot over at Funky Hands and I won these lovely papers in the Get Funky Challenge Blog Hop! Thank you to Anice and the lovely Design Team ladies!

 

Baby Love

Very simple ingredients today; cream card for the base and a lacy strip cut with the Cuttlebug Ironworks die. Blue pearl paper, silver peel-off sentiment and a favourite image printed from a Joanna Sheen Baby CD. The check paper is from coverless pad given to me by a friend, so I don't know the make. Now I have uploaded the photograph I can see I need to re-glue the end of the ironwork strip!

I have used this sketch from Mojo Monday

I would also like to enter it for Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - mainly blue

Crafty Cardmakers - No floral embellishments

Unstampabelles Challenge #7 - Anything goes

Crafty Calendar January Challenge  - New News

It's all downhill from here...

I thought I'd finish off the sheet of grey card I used for the ColourQ challenge. The sketch is from Freshly Made and I have used a digital image from Joanna Sheen's Dancing with Shadows CD; this fulfils City Crafter's request. I have mounted it onto black card. The lovely green, spotty petersham ribbon covers both requirements for the Saturday One Stop challenge and it's a birthday card so it also fits in with Winter Wonderland this week and the Joanna Sheen Monthly challenge.

Freshly Made Sketches #17
City Crafter challenge Blog Week #91 - Back to Black
One Stop Craft challenge #165 - On the spot and ribbon
Winter Wonderland - Birthday wishes
Joanna Sheen Monthly challenge - Celebration

Black, White and a Splash of Red

 Black card, with black and white paper and digital image from Pink Petticoat. I coloured the candy cane with my Derwent pencils and added a touch of colour to one "happy christmas".

I used Nesties to cut and mount the image, an edge die from Nellie with a little red ribbon and three red jewels. 

The jewels were only 60 eurocents a sheet from the tat shop; I found them amongst the nail art stripes and squiggles!

I would like to enter this in the flowing challenges:

Sketch Saturday #190

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown #1... Black, white and a splash of red.

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #55...use a digital image and/or digital paper.

Blog Candy #24

Blog Candy this week at the Marianne Design Challenge Blog!

Another challenge card

I love this book reading mouse; he is called Cheddar and he is from Sugar Nellie. I coloured him with Derwent pencils.  I can't tell you who made the papers as they came in a cover-less partly used pad from a friend who was having a clear out...

I would like to enter this in The Sugar Bowl's sketch challenge #75.

CAS Card

I am showing a clean and simple card today. The scallop edge was made with a Nellie die, the butterfly cut with one from Sissix.

I would like to enter this for the following challenges;

ColourQ #119

CAS-ual Fridays  scallops

Jingle Belles  sketch
Let's Craft and Create    butterflies

Challenge Christmas Card

Apart from the base card and the peel-off border, everything on this card is recycled; the red paper for the circle and the flowers is from a used envelope, the holly leaves were punched from the green metallic foil of a cat biscuit bag, and even the yellow in the centre of the flowers came from a used post-it note. The image oval and the sentiment are from an old Christmas card... am I thrifty, or am I in line for a "World's Meanest Hoarder Award"?

The circle was cut with a compass style circle cutter as I don't have circle Nesties and the only large circle punch I possess was not the right size. I embossed it with a Fiskars plate. I made the oval by outlining it using a gold pen and an old technical drawing stencil, then cutting it out by hand.

I am entering this in:

Hazel's CHNC 54...recycle something.

One Stop Craft Challenge....bingo line of 3 from 9 choices; I went with flowers, punches & embossing.

Papertake Weekly Challenge...anything goes with the option of the theme "New"...new year, new card, new challenge?

Blog Candy

Visiting some of the people playing along with the 365+1 photo challenge, I came across Hazel, and she just happens to have a card challenge blog as well! Why not pop over and have a peep? I might just have time to make a card in the morning and post it before the deadline tomorrow night.

I'm not too sure how many people will be reading this as I haven't been posting this past year and I expect my readers will have passed on to

pastures new...new blogging pastures that is, not the fields of heaven!

Edit: a card left over from this year's batch...Pink Petticoat papers and Edwin coloured to match using Derwent watercolour pencils. I often cut of his wings, but as it was Christmas I left them and added some sparkle

Spectacle case

More felt, made with much the same ingredients as the heart, but to give it more substance, lined and interlined with more felt.

I cut the outside layer to the size and shape I wanted, then folded the two inner layers around a broom handle to 'take up the slack' with the black layer on the outside. I then tacked the layers together around the edge before stab stitching and lastly cutting the inner layers level with the outside edge.

Heartfelt flowers

Inspired by things I have seen on Pinterest I've been having fun with felt; I made the heart as a Christmas gift for a friend, the same one as appreciated the crazy patch heart I made in 2008. That link shows a photo taken before it was finished off, but you will get the idea. The large flower shapes on this year's heart were cut using the Cuttlebug and a Sissix die, the smaller ones by hand after I tried without success to punch them with an ordinary paper punch. The leaves were made by cutting a Cuttlebug flower into sections. The beauty of working with felt is that the flowers can be attached with simple large stitches, and there is no need to worry about fraying edges. I used scraps of floss that hadn't made it into my filing system for one reason or another, but enjoyed the wild and tangled lifestyle of the plastic container of odds and sods on my cluttered work table. A little subtle bling of pearls and bronze beads, a few flower sequins and a black ribbon with a picot edge softened the bright colours, and I was happy with it.

Resurrection Day

I've decided to at least again post photos of what I make; lots of little things have been made over the past year and have gone out into the wide, wide world without me keeping any record of them.

Blogger is asking me to try the updated interface...well maybe I shall, but not today, and not on this blog, I'll practice on The Test Bed!