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?