All That's Missing Is The Sea, But Don't Worry, You Can Suntan!..."

Is there some unwritten law that says laptops only last while you are paying for them? A couple of years ago Jo stopped paying for her "Free" laptop (she was technically paying for a dongle which barely worked for the three year duration!) and as soon as she stopped paying for it, it started displaying signs of early dementia. I have just stopped paying for mine this last week and since then I have had so many problems with it I think I am on the verge of an nervous breakdown never mind the Laptop. I have lost iTunes, I purchased a Registry cleaner because it was a .dll file (whatever they are!!) that was missing and causing the problem, of course all that did was hi-light the fact that I had over 4'000 problems on various directories and for the low, low cost of another £200 I could get it remotely serviced (that never happened!!). So I still don't have iTunes (the missing file is their fault apparently so I will wait until they produce another update and try and fix it that way!), I also can't add a picture in blogger while using Explorer so I am currently using Chrome, it doesn't really bother me but I would like to use the system I prefer. When I try to look through other people's sites it takes an absolute age to scroll, so all in all I think it is on it's way out of the door, if it were an elderly relative it would be getting a one-way ticket to Switzerland (don't worry Mum, I don't mean you!).

So as you can see, I am having a wee break from Kenny K and I am using a Kraftin' Kimmie for a change, I fell in love with this little lady the minute I saw her and she is a delight to colour too. I used a Rouge De Garance paper which I have had for an eternity, I loved the papers but have struggled to use them since I got them so they have languished at the bottom of my paper-tray for years but I do think this particular one works very well on this card. I used some new flowers from WOC (don't you just love those pink springy things?), a couple of spotty ribbons and a banner made from a Woodware stamp. Hope you like,

take care,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

x o x o

"Black Is Black, I Want My Baby Back..."

 

Good Morning Gentle Reader, hope you have had a great weekend so far. Have you got all the veggies prepped for the dinner today? done all the housework (Yay, hoovering!!) and caught up on all those annoying little jobs? Well it might just be time to sit down and relax with a brand new release from Kenny K Downloads. There are three brand new Gothic Angelz for you to play with; Riot Rachel, Veronica Vamp and the wildly named Veruca Venom (available here), who is currently on display at the top of this post! You have to give Kenny props, time after time he produces such amazing artwork for us and I really do feel honoured to be a part of such an amazingly creative team.

This fortnights challenge is:

USE BLACK

and I have always struggled in the past when it comes to using such a bold shade but the lovely Ms Venom was a delight to colour and I found that using just one other colour with the black really made the blue pop like I have never seen before. I have used Basic Grey papers (from my scrap box) and the dies are a mixture of Spellbinders (the flowers and leaves) and Memory Box (the High Heels are brand new and I love them to bits!). So now it is over to you, show us what you've got and remember, in order to win a prize you MUST use A Kenny K image.

Apologies to my team mates for the lateness of this particular post, the Challenge and new release have actually been live since the 15th of January but I have really struggled this week health wise, I keep getting a searing pain in my right knee that has pretty much ground me to a halt most days but hopefully I will find out what is going on when I see the doctor tomorrow.

So that is all I have for you today but I have just received some lovely new dies from Tonic that I am dying to play with, so hope to see you again soon,

until then,

take care,

Hugs 'n Stuff,

Andy

xx
Entered Into:
613 Avenue Craft Challenge #55 - Anything Goes w/optional twist Winter 'Blues'
Challenges 4 Everybody Challenge #37 - Anything Goes
Great Impressions Challenge - Use Something New

"You Should Be Dancing..."

Oh Blessed relief! This has taken me three days to post so I really hope you think it was worth it Gentle Reader. It's just typical that Internet Explorer does it's own thing at the most inopportune moments and it is only by a stroke of luck I managed to work out how to do it in Google Chrome!!

Anyhoo, how are you? The weather isn't too bad at the moment so nothing to moan about there, I am sick of hearing myself talk about my ills and ails so not even going to go near that, so what to say?

Well, I am laying here watching a fantastic piece of TV on (you would never believe it!) Channel 5 about Gibraltar: Britain in the Sun. Most people wouldn't really bother with this show unless you have visited it or like myself, lived there (for three years). I would go back to Gib in a heartbeat, it was the best three years I spent in the Royal Air Force and I have so many fantastic memories of my time there.

Living somewhere where the sun shines over 300 days a year has a really positive effect on your mental health and you just tend to live a more energetic life, you go out more, you stay out for longer and you get to live in a true multicultural society; there were Jewish people living alongside Moroccans who in turn live next door to Spanish people, who rub shoulders with Indian and Pakistani people who live next door to both British and Gibraltarian alike, and while they may not all be throwing street parties with each other, they are living together side by side in harmony (just like Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney predicted) with surprisingly little drama, now who could object to living like that eh?
On to the latest card and as you can see, I have gone with a different look and tried my hand at a man's card (with a little twist!), this is the sort of card I would send to my son and he would remind me "I'm a Geek, not a Nerd Dad!", like there's a difference. I have used Basic Grey card throughout and the little man and woman are free stamps from Craft Stamper magazine. The image (from Kenny K Downloads.com) is called Let's Party and is available here for $3.50.
Don't forget that you still have a couple of days to enter the Kenny K Krafty Krew Challenge before our brand spanking new challenge on Sunday and there is also a new launch to get excited about as well, so Sunday really has it all going on this weekend!
Anyhoo, I'm off,
see you again soon,
Hugs 'n Stuff
Andy
xx
Entered Into Cards 4 Guyz Challenge #1 - Happy Birthday
Crafty Sentiments Designs Challenge - Anything Goes

"It's A New Dawn..."

 

Happy New Year!

Well gentle reader, here we are at the start of not only another year but a VERY special year for me. This is the year I turn 50! Even just seeing it written down gives me the heebie geebies but I am determined to face it head on and not let it overwhelm me. 2013 proved to be an exceptionally tough year for me emotionally and I am not going to let that happen twice, I want to enjoy the whole experience and face my Golden Years with a smaller tummy, a more positive outlook and a more restrained attitude to spending on crafting materials (yeah!, 'cause that's gonna happen!!).

 

Big news for today is my reinstatement to the Kenny K Krafty Krew as a member of their Core 4, we are the chosen GDT members who will be entering not only the regular fortnightly challenges but also those special occasions when there is a new set of Kenny K Digi Stamps to be launched. I hope you will not only check out the challenges on the Kenny K Krafty Krew site but also the sites of our Design Team and the other members of the Core 4, there are some incredibly talented, warm and friendly people waiting to make your acquaintance, just use the links on the right of this page.

 

The above card wasn't made for my upcoming Birthday, that would be ridiculous. Not only do I not make my own cards but the Birthday isn't until June (12th in case you wanted to send a card, or extravagant present!), no this particular card was made for my wife's Nephew who turns 50 next week. The image is called Maggie Mayhem (available for $3.50 here) and this is the first time I have coloured this particular foxy lady. The numbers are from Wendy Rhodes who made a set of letters and numbers in plastic which you then just draw around and cut out in your favourite card or paper. I got them from the NEC in Birmingham a few years ago now and have used them quite a lot but I don't think she trades any more so getting another set may be quite difficult.

The boot die is a Tattered Lace and the die behind the Birthday sentiment is from Memory Box, other than that I used a few gems from my stash and the papers are from Basic Grey. Hope you like it and that you will check out some of my very talented Team Mates.

See you again real soon,

hugs 'n stuff,

Andy

xx

Entered Into: Color Me Creative Challenge #84 - Anything Goes!

Crafty Calendar Challenge - Let's Celebrate

Digi Designs Challenge - Time To Celebrate!

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge #10 - Anything Goes
A Creative Need Challenge #15 - Die Cuts/Punches
Card Makin' Mamas Challenge #78 - Anything Goes
Craftitude Challenge #55 - Anything Goes/Christmas Sparkle
Crafty Hands Challenge #5 - Anything Goes!
Digitally Sweet Challenges #69 - Anything Goes
Polkadoodles Challenge #1 - Anything Goes!