"I'm Beautiful In My Way, 'Cause God Makes No Mistakes..."

"I'm On The Right Track, Baby I Was Born This Way"

How I wish it could be that simple. Lady GaGa is such an inspiration, not just to me but to millions of fans all over the world (her 'little monsters'). She writes really personal lyrics and like Madonna before her she is blazing a trail so bright it's blinding at times. Her music videos are becoming like mini must-see movies and I have started to collect them all so I can watch them again and again. My personal favourite at the moment is Alejandro, there is imagery in there I am still strying to decrypt but there seems to be a strong Francis Bacon inspiration. She uses a lot of religious imagery (again, a lot like Madonna before her) but unlike Madonna who related her mistrust of the church from her own upbringing, GaGa uses it to reafirm her own faith and to show others to question theirs.

I used to be 'made' to go to church on a Sunday morning, this was my Mother's time to lie-in and lister to The Archers in peace and as with any repeated practice it started to become something I looked forward to, the church became a place of solace for me, somewhere where no-one else could reach me and where I could commune with someone who always listened. Over the years I have attended church less and less but I have always known where my nearest church was and I always know that when the time comes to return to HIM I will be welcomed home and I find that gives me an enormous sense of well-being, safe in the knowledge that there is always someone out there who loves me and who will welcome me home again with no judgement about where I have been or why it has taken me so long to return home. Of course that doesn't mean I don't talk to HIM because I do, quite often really and especially in times of great stress, my belief has always been like a like a warm winter blanket, something I can wrap around myself and that keeps me warm and safe.

Wow, talk about free association! I had no idea I was going to write about my own religious beliefs when I sat down to start this entry, in fact I was just going to put the card up and that was it! I suppose it shows how much Lady GaGa has meant to me since she emerged from nowhere only a few short years ago.

So on to this weeks card for the I ♥ ProMarkers challenge #126. We are originally given the theme of Fireworks or Sparkle but the Fireworks have been dropped due to no-one being able to find a suitable image! Our sponsor this week is my sister who own Digital Downloads and she is offering £10 to spend on her wonderful website where she is offering a whole range of items such as backing papers and templates all available in enough different styles and colours to suit everyone. The card uses an image from my trusty Mimics Creations CD-Rom (available from Create and Craft here) which has a wealth of contemporary images to colour and I love this particular image of GaGa which I coloured using my PM's and then added some orange stickles to her gloves and hoody to make it 'sparkle'. I have used a new nestie with a really intricate cross design on it and one of their lovely 'wind-up' flowers which has also had 'sparkle' added using the same stickles. The sentiment was cut out using a Sizzix alphabet strip (because I have a load of them and I hardly ever use them!!) and finally I finished it off with some brass nail heads and a little hand mirror from my stash. Any questions then please feel free to contact me, your comments/questions are always welcome. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome all the my new followers, thank you for taking the time to make an old man feel very happy!

So there it is, hope you like it and I will be back again soon,

take care of yourself,

Andy

xx

Entered Into: Crazy Amigo Challenge - Anything Goes

Jackson's Digital Expressions Challenge #14 - Anything Goes

Divas By Design Challenge #44 - Anything Goes

Fab 'n Funky Challenges #130 - Make Your Own Flowers

The Paper Shelter Challenge #73 - Anything Goes

The Perfect Sentiment Challenge #41 - Anything Goes

"You Gotta Fight.. For Your Right.. To Paaarty!!..."

So tonight I crossed yet another example of how society is crumbling around us. On my way home from work I was approaching some traffic lights, doing a steady 30mph, on my left was a bus just pulling in to a stop and the car behind it overtook the bus without indicating or slowing down and nearly slamming right into me. I hit my horn really hard and as I apporached the next set of lights where I turn off to go home, this young 'lady' (and trust me, if we were face to face and I wasn't writing this for everyone to read, I wouldn't be using that word to describe her!!) actually slowed her car down and wound her window down to flick the V's at me before I turned the corner!!! How unbelievable is that? She nearly runs me into some traffic lights and yet I'm the villain of the piece because I had the temerity to sound my horn in her general direction. I'm telling you peeps, I really do not like a large portion of today's society, they are crass, rude, selfish and thoughtless - a winning combination eh!
I have had a fairly good week and it got a little better today when we managed to get the gardener in, yes there was a sufficient enough break in the weather that actually allowed the grass to dry out long enough for him to be able to cut it. There's so much pleasure in seeing your garden looking all tidy and bright green and yet I can't think of anything worse than walking back and forth with a hover-mower and tidying all the edges up, I would sooner iron or hoover, at least you can TRY to keep your carpets clean but there is no way on God's green earth you are gonna stop the grass growing!! My back and Jo's hip have always stopped us doing the gardening but if I'm honest I wouldn't do it if I could. When I left school I worked on a YTS (remember those!!) scheme as a landscape gardener prettying up a rundown village near me and I think that pretty much put me of gardening for life.
On to my latest creation and this week over at Kenny K's Krafty Krew the theme is Get Sporty! The image I have used is called Strong Island (available here) and the cardstock is Basic Grey with a couple of Memory Box dies and a lovely bird embellie from Tim Holtz. I am really enjoying my time on Kenny's blog, I know it's still early days but the enjoyment I get from colouring his images is just immense and I feel really proud to be a part of such a creative team. Hope you like the card and keep you eyes open for another creation any day now,
take care
Andy
xx
Entered Into:
Great Impressions Stamps July Challenge - show us your best stay in the lines colouring
One Stitch At A Time Challenge #122 - Anything Goes

"You Got Me Running Around In Circles Over You..."

Another day, another challenge! This time it's the turn of the I ♥ ProMarkers Challenge Blog and their theme this week is (drum-roll please...) Circles.
I had originally intended to make a card using the Olympic Rings and I had another Tilda all lined up and then we got a new sponsor - Nitwit Collections. Their papers are so gorgeous I just had to make a new card to go with the papers they gave me. They are called Fairytale Too (available here) and as with all the Nitwits papers, you get an amazing assortment that all match each other perfectly and that look really beautiful when printed out.
I had already coloured this Tilda and the lovely dragon and castle and fortunately they all matched the papers to perfection so this was a no-brainer really. As for the finished card, I don't hate it but it is A4 sized and I don't usually work within that size and I have to say I found it a little daunting. If you normally make 6x6 cards, going to A4 gives you so much more room to fill and I should have looked at it like a Scrapbook page as I suppose I would have found that a little easier to work with!! My reason for working on such a big card? I did the Tilda scene and that nearly filled a 6x6 alone so I had no choice really!! Anyway, it's done now and I will just have to live with it won't I!
I have been so busy of late it's been a little overwhelming for me as real life keeps creeping in on the craft world and I like to keep those two separate at all times. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and apart from getting weighed (a monthly thing that never seems to get any better!!) I was nervously awaiting a prostate exam as I had had to have blood taken last month as I have been having a few problems lately (it's all down to my age I'm sure). My back was really bad yesterday so I told the Doctor that unless it was absolutely necessary I was in no mood for a prostate exam unless 100% necessary "Don't worry" he says "I have little fingers"!!!
How bad is that?? Anyway, I didn't need an exam because my blood came back okay so that was a massive relief. Then he dropped the bombshell that my blood test revealed I am on the verge of Diabetes and need to have another test to make sure I'm now not a diabetic. I'm still in a little bit of shock about this one because it's not something I have every really thought about before, even though most of my wife's family are diabetic and I have a nephew who has to inject himself daily. So keep your fingers crossed for me that when I have my next blood test it comes out okay.
Of course I know exactly why I am on the verge. I keep putting weight on and just can't seem to do anything about it. My back is now so bad I can barely walk and have to take the car everywhere I go, so exercise is really limited. I could swim, but I refuse to get into a pool where people are going to stare at the whale wearing the Bermuda shorts! I am so self conscious now, I am beginning to feel like a shut-in. Thank God we have no full-length mirrors in our house or I would probably get the Dyson out and use it's extra-strength suction pipe to remove the world's largest muffin top. I never had a weight problem as a kid, it only started when I got married the first time and I had to eat chips with everything because that was all my first wife could cook! Since then I have struggled with my weight and now I am the size of a small housing estate in Carmarthon I am beginning to panic as I feel I am literally now at tipping point! I work at it every day and hopefully one day I will get it under control before it finally does me in.
And on that bombshell I am going to say ta ta and get back to work on my next little work of art. Kenny K is next and I am already really happy with the final coloured image so it's just a case of putting it all together now.
See you again really soon, take care
Andy
xx

"Bright Lights, Bigger City..."

So after weeks of talking myself up (some might say I'm really good at that!!) I am finally launching myself as part of the Squigglefly Design Team. And for my very first challenge with them - well didn't I just have a roller coaster of a week!
Going from one DT (I ♥ ProMarkers) which uses Blogger for everything I was a bit surprised to find there was another way to organise the team and that was through Yahoo! I was sent my invite to join the team and with great excitement I logged on, only to find that I was unable to do anything on the blog and I was being sent round and round in circles (this actually drove me mental for at least two days!!). With the help (and patience, I must add) of the lovely Holly Barnhart I did eventually sort that little problem out and after taking a couple of days to get used to the differences between the way the two blogs run I was off and running.
We were given a couple of really lovely images each and after choosing the rather enchanting I Love NY (available HERE) by Squigglefly artist Mike Eustis I made the card above. I took my normal photo and uploaded the card only to find that the challenge for this week (Challenge #2712) is PAPER PIECING!!! Still in the ProMarkers mindset I thought nothing about the challenge theme, so determined was I to get the card done and uploaded I didn't give anything else a second thought.
As with the Kenny K DT, we are split into two teams and I am on the lovely Rhonda Zmikly's team - Rhonda's Rowdy Rascals. I never imagined I would get to 48 and start being called a rascal! After finishing this entry I will be putting a link to all my Squigglefly team mates on the side-bar for you to have a look at if you so want and I can't recommend them highly enough. As for the Squigglefly shop itself, If you have never heard of it before, it sells a huge selection of Digital stamps at very reasonable rates by a massive array of great artists, there are even a few freebies for you to try before you purchase anything else, a Try Before You Buy if you will.
As for the card I have entered, well I don't hate it but it's definitely not one of my most favourite, not by a long shot. I hope you like it though and I will see you again soon,
take care,
Andy
xx

"(Come On Baby) Light My Fire..."

SO what a week! I'm finally finding my feet on all three Design Teams, and I feel I really owe a certain Mr. Andrew Murray of Scotland a HUGE apology. I sat glued to the TV today watching him fight with every ounce of his fibre in one of the most exciting matches I have ever seen. I wrote the man off and I didn't expect to see such a massively improved game (and attitude) from him, he was amazing to watch and his match against Tsonga was an epic battle, especially in the third set. So again, well done sir, you were awesome and I hope your effort is matched by Team GB at the Olympics, I might even get excited about it yet!!
On to this week's challenge over at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and the theme is Big Birthdays. Kenny and Elena are celebrating their second birthday in blogland and have this lovely message to share with all their fans and followers:

"Kenny and I are thrilled to be celebrating our 2nd anniversary in digi-land! The card making community has welcomed us with warm hearts since day one, and we are very thankful for all the love you have shown us. Thank you to our amazing and super-talented DT members, past and present, for your amazing support, creativity and hard work each week; The Krew ROCKS!! And a very special thank you to our DT Coordinators this year, Susie Little and Sarah-Louise. Ladies, we are grateful for the dedication, generosity and love that you put into running successful challenges week after week, working at getting great sponsors and managing all the little details that have made this challenge blog a success!! Looking forward to continuing our journey with you all and the many new projects and ventures we are lining up for the future!"

And as if this wasn't enough, there is a birthday Blog Hop for you to follow too. Now I must admit to you all that I have never come across this phenomenon before and if I am honest with you all I still don't really understand it, but as far as I can make out, you have to go from person to person (in the order stated below) leaving a comment about their Big Birthdays Challenge card and then when you have reached the end of the list of names you go to the KK'sKK site and leave a comment letting us know you have completed the hop and then you need to make a card yourself and enter it into the challenge! The prize for doing all of this? MASSIVE is the only word for it. There are 15 - yes 15 digi stamps from Kenny's back catalogue. A Prize package from Marianne Designs, Whimsy Stamps are giving 4 of their July releases, a great package from Inky Impressions, Bearly Mine are giving away 3 digi sets and Kattiz from K-Designs are donating 3 rubber sentiment stamps from her new release.
So here is the list of people you have to visit (from top to bottom):

GDT Member Donna

GDT Member Katarina

Susie

Amy

Annie

Janette

Jodi A

Karin

Laila

Mike

Shelby

Suzi

Trine

Me

Kristel

Louise

Mona

Rebecca

Tammy

Torrey

And there you have it, give it a go and let me know what you think of this weeks card. I am using Kenny's summer mini release and he's called Olympic Runner (available here). The numbers are from a template set I bought ages ago from Wendy Rhodes designs and the dies are (of course) Spellbinders. I'll be back again soon with my first Squigglefly card, see you then.

Take Care

Andy

xx

Entered Into: Cards For Men Challenge #14 - Happy Birthday

Celebrate The Occasion Challenge #70 - Happy Birthday

Craft Room Challenge - Sport

Tip Top Tuesday Challenge #80 - One For The Men!

The Crafty Bloggers Network Monday Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Crafts For Eternity Challenge #79 = The Olympics

Our Craft Lounge Challenge #124 - Usa A Die Cut

Paper Play Challenge Week 27 - Happy Borthday

"You Thrill Me..."

So this weeks challenge over at I ♥ ProMarkers (#124) is Music Related and as you can see I have chosen an image (from the Mimic Creations CD-Rom (Create & Craft)) of one of my all time favourite performers, Michael Jackson. The fence die is a Marianne Designs, the alphas are from Sizzix and the black roses have been in my stash forever, this was the first time it seemed appropriate to use such dark coloured flowers. The colouring is obviously my trusted PM's and some Flex markers too (I love the way the brush tip allows for a really smooth blend). I hope you like it as much as I do. This is one of those rare cards that you make and can't ever see yourself parting with! It would break my heart to give this away to anyone.
So what have I been up to besides card making - well to tell you the truth, nothing! I am now on three design teams and the Squigglefly team start this week too so I don't think I will have a lot of spare time from now on! But I am not complaining, oh no, this has been a really exciting time in my life, I feel like more and more people are beginning to see my work and I get left the most amazing compliments, so much so that sometimes it's a little tough to read as I have never really accepted compliments very well in the past, I like to think of myself as a very modest person (of course, what others think of me I will probably never know!).
I have started another new craft though - knitting!!! I learnt to knit as a kid, my mother taught me, but I only ever really learnt knit and purl and I have never made anything of any note (I did make a cardigan about twenty years ago but it was enormous). Jo and I went to our friend Elaine's house a couple of weeks back and her mum said she would teach me a pattern as I wanted to make a blanket for our bed, I like the thought of making something that will last the pair of us the rest of our days! By the end of the day, Elaine's mum Izzy had taught me a twelve row pattern with a cable design!! I couldn't believe that it was actually me doing it but it was and after a few hiccups I have really mastered the pattern and am now knitting up a storm - well on the rare occassion I am NOT making a card that is!
Picking up the knitting again made me think about all the different things I have had a go at over the years and that I have been crafting since the age of about 12 or 13, so that's over 35 years now. I have made pom-poms, learnt to knit and crochet, used CD-Roms to make cards, done Scrapbooking then Digital Scrapping, Painting and drawing (my favourite medium has always been pencils, especially 2B's), Photography, Digital art using Photoshop, Kumihimo, Stamping, Alcohol Inks, there have been so many over the years it's difficult to remember them all and I imagine it is a similar story for you too, but I have truly found my place in the crafting world now with the use of alcohol based markers and stamping. I used to love colouring as a child but what I am capable of doing now is such much more advanced and so much more rewarding too. It has really helped me over he last few years and I have the Magnolia Ink magazine to thanks really as it was all the amazing colouring going on in that mag that really made me sit up and take notice of what you could do with marker pens. So I now consider myself on a journey of discovery as to where my new found skils can take me but I am sure that the journey itself is going to be ten time more rewarding than the final destination.
Have a good weekend and I will se you again soon,
Hugs and Stuff
Andy
x
P.S My favourite Crafty Passion - easy to answer this one, it has to be COLOURING!!
Entered Into: Bugaboo Stamps Catch The Bug Challenge - Anything Goes
Caft Your Passion Challenge #118 - Gone Gothic
Make It Monday Challenge #97 - Anything Goes
Great Impressions July Monthly Challenge - Show Us Your Best Stay In The Lines Colouring
Stampalot July Challenge - What's Your Crafty Passion?
That Craft Place Challenge - Anything Goes
ATC's and Cards With Attitude Challenge #17 - Anything Goes
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards Challenge #16 - Anything Goes

Boadicea

O.M.G. the big day has finally arrived. I am now officially a member of Kenny K's Krafty Krew and we are LIVE!! Am I excited? You bet your boots I am.
The first challenge (#100 - even that has a special ring to it eh!) is called 'Raise Your Flag' and we have had to make a card using the colours of our national flag so I obviously went for the good old Red, White and Blue for En-Ger-Lund, En-Ger-Lund, En-Ger-Lund. The image we were sent, Warrior Princess really reminded me of Boudica, the woman who led an army against the might of the Roman empire. As with all of Kenny's women she is sassy but incredibly strong, a force all of her own doing, an image of woman as the true goddesses we all know you are.
The majority of elements have come from Papermania's "Portabello Road" range. The bottom layer is just Cor-din-ations card stock then a free cut out that comes with the 12x12 pack and a Memory Box die. The button is also from the same Papermania range and the ribbon was from a company called Simply Ribbons, a company which produce a really high quality ribbon at a very competitive price.
So there she is. My first effort for one of my favourite artists. I hope you like her as much as I do. Take some time to visit his site and have a look at some of the great digital downloads he has and if you have never used a digi before well maybe today is the day you give it a go.
Take Care.
Hugs 'n Stuff,
Andy
x
Entered into: 2 Sisters Challenge - Red, White & Blue (optional glitter/bling)
Crafts and Me Challenge #46 - Big Hair
Divas By Design Challenge #42 - Red, White & Blue
Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #213 - Celebrate - Any Occasion Card
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #83 - Red, White & Blue
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge #46 - Anything Goes
Mema's Crafts Chalenge - Anything Goes
Oozak Challenge #4 - Bright Colours
Die Cutting Diva's Challenge #72 - Red, White & Blue plus add a Patriotc Symbol (The Flag!!)
Crazy 4 Challenges Challenge #144 - Show Your Countries Pride
Allsorts Challenge #162 - Red, White and Blue