"A Wop Bop A Loo Bop A Wop Bam Boo!..."

Hey, Hey, Hey. How are you today? I am actually feeling very buoyant at the moment. Yesterday was my 48th Birthday - only two to go 'til the big 50 hits (I doubt very much I will be feeling quite as buoyant this time two years from now though!!) and I had a really nice day with my wife and son. Birthdays really don't bother me much these days but like most people who have hit this particular time in their life (or older) you do spend a fair bit of time looking back. I don't suppose anyone ever really feels their age but I don't think I feel any different today than I did when I was sixteen and a half and I left home to join the Royal Air Force. Obviously I have learnt a lot more and my responsibilities no longer feel like responsibilities, they are just 'life' now but inside, well that's a whole different ball of wax.
Part of the reason for feeling so nostalic lately probably has a lot to do with the repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC4 every Thursday. They are showing episodes in chronological order from 1977 and it was around this time (aged 13) that I started to take a lot more notice of what was happening in the charts. I never really got into punk but looking back at some of the dross that was on the Pops I can understand why it happened now. They had a song on last week with a woman singing to a Mr. Punch doll!! and the bloke who wrote the theme to EastEnders was singing a song from the 1920's (seriously, "We'll Gather Lilacs In The Spring Again" - can you imagine!), it was too awful to even contemplate. Still, you know what they say - nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
On to some good news and I am delighted to be able to share this with you, I have been selected to join a couple of new design teams, Squigglefly and Kenny K's (currently called Kenny K's Krafty Girlz Challenges, hope that name is gonna change!!), how awesome is that eh! I always knew my gift was too big to hold me back for long!!
Colouring has been a revelation for me over the last year or so. What started me off on the road to realistic colouring was the Magnolia Ink magazine and seeing just how good you could get with even really simple images. I used to really study those first few issues and then I discovered tutorials on YouTube and that was that, hooked. Now all those hours sat on the sofa with a mountain of images to colour has started paying off and I am getting a bit of recognition for what I do and it is made all the sweeter because I am self taught. On the other side of things, I still need to learn a whole heck of a lot about putting a card together. I get it right some times and in general I am usually happy with what I post but I look at some ladies out there in the blogosphere and I am so jealous of their talent, I just know that mine aren't a patch on theirs and it makes me work harder at getting it right!
Finally, on to this weeks card and this weeks challenge at I ♥ ProMarkers (Challenge #121) is Tuti Fruti. When I first saw this I had no idea what it was (other than an Ice Cream flavour and I have never even had that either!!) but good old Google showed me the way to go and in the end I really loved doing this card. The images are all from Magnolia and the papers are from Basic Grey (for certain) and Dovecraft (I think). The die for the bunting is from Memory Box and the gems came from Create and Craft (again!! what am I Like?), I hope you like the finished product as much as I do.
That's all for now, take care and I will be with you again real soon,
Andy
x
Entered Into:
ATC's and Cards with Attitude Challenge #16 - Anything Goes
Crafty Ann's Challenge #67 - It's A Girl Thing
Fat Pages and Cards With Attitude Challenge #16 - Anything Goes
Inspire Me Friday's Challenge #63 - Anything Goes!
Polka Doodles Challenge - Summer Scene
Stamping With The Dragon Challenge - Anything Goes!
Tilda's Town Challenge #5 - Lazy Days Of Summer