Avec Sympathie

We have reached the midway point in the current challenge at Crafty Boot Challenges, the theme of which is 'Remembrance' and 'Giving Thanks'.

My Design Team card this week was influenced by the atrocities that took place on Friday in Paris.  I was based in London for my entire working life and saw my fair share of terrorist bombings and the impact they had on the people who live and work in the places affected, from the IRA attacks in the 1970's and 1980's to the horrendous bombings of 7 July 2005.

Times like this bring back some awful memories for me and my thoughts and prayers are currently with the people of Paris.

This card has a deliberately simple design, featuring Stampin' Up's Pleasant Poppies stamp, which I coloured with Promarkers and pencils.  I types the sentiment on my PC and I layered the image and sentiment on some silver mirri and added a band of black glitter card to represent the bright lights of Paris that are currently switched off.

My thanks to my good friend Mrs Beez for the inspiration for this card.

We have two lovely Guest Designers this week so make sure you pop across to Crafty Boots Challenges to check out their work.


Dionne

For the Fallen

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

Extract from 'For the Fallen' by by Robert Laurence Binyon

The current Crafty Boots Challenge is Remembrance and Giving Thanks.  My card today gives thanks to all of those who have laid down their lives in the defense of this great nation, in the war to end all wars, and every war since.

This beautiful wreath of poppies is by Delicious Doodles and is simply called 'Poppy Wreath',  I coloured it with Promarkers and mounted it on silver mirri and black pearlescent card.  The embossed white card, ribbons and flat backed gems are all from my stash.

Dionne

The Last Post

A brand new challenge starts at Crafty Boots Challenges today.  For the next two weeks the theme of the challenge is remembrance or giving thanks for those things we have, like family and friends, those things that make our lives comfortable.

There have been services all over the UK, indeed all over the Commonwealth, this weekend to give thanks for those who gave their lives to secure and protect our freedom.  In honour of those brave men and women I have made a card featuring the poppy, which has come to symbolise remembrance of WW1.

My poppy image is a free colouring page which I coloured with F&C polychromos pencils and Promarkers.  I printed the sheet music for The Last Post from the internet and distressed it slightly with Vintage Photo and Antique Linen inks.  I fussy cut the poppies and glued them to the sheet music, which I had mounted on red mirri card. Finally I added a double bow of red ribbon and two of my favourite hat pins.

The rest of the Crafty Boots design team have been hard at work making inspirational pieces, make sure you take a look when you enter your project.

Good luck.

Dionne

Trick or Treat

I hope you had a good weekend.  I wonder. did you or the family take part in any of any Halloween jollity's over the weekend?

My family have held an annual pumpkin carving party on the afternoon before Halloween for the past four years, it is meant to be for the small children, but I think the big children enjoy it every bit as much.  We had fingers in a bun (sausages in a bridge roll) and baked philosopher's stone (jacket potatoes) for lunch and drank Slimaide (limeade), Dragon's Blood (cherryade) and Pumpkin Juice (orangeade).

This year the grandchildren are that bit older and helped with the carving of their pumpkins, but the adults did the knife work, here are a few of the pumpkins we carved.

As you can see there was something of an animal theme this year with the cat, fox, lion and rabbit.  I think my two nephews took the prize with their vomiting man and ghost designs.

Over at Crafty Boots Challenges it is time for the mid challenge reminder for the 'Autumn or Halloween' Challenge.  I made trick or treat bags for my neighbours and all the children at the party on Friday.

The images are all from Gecko Galz.  After enlarging the images I mounted them on orange and green card before attaching them to craft coloured bags.  The bows were made from a Marianne Creatables die from orange and green card and gold glitter card and I added lots of orange and green ribbon before attaching them to the bags.  

I also added a few Halloween stickers before filling the bags with all sorts of Halloween goodies.  To be honest with you, I think they were all far more interested in what was inside the bags than what was on the outside.

The rest of the Crafty Boots Design Team have been very busy so please make sure you hop across there and take a look.

I hope you have a good week.

Dionne

Trick or Treat Wryns

It is trick or Treat time at Crafty Boots Challenges where for the next two weeks we should like to see either your Halloween projects or your Autumnal designs - or, if you are feeling very industrious, both.

I have another Halloween card to share with you today, it features another Tiddly Inks image called 'Trick or Treat Wryns'.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and mounted it on some gold mirri.  The backing paper is from Bearly Mine, which is sadly no longer with us.  The spiders came from my local garden centre and the bow is a Marianne Design Creatables die.

Don't forget to visit the Crafty Boots blog and enter your work.

Dionne

All Hallows' Eve

It is time for a new Challenge at Crafty Boots Challenges and for the next two weeks there is a choice of theme.  You can chose between either 'Autumn' or 'Halloween'.

Over the past four or five years, Halloween has become extremely popular in my family, it is really with the arrival of the great grandchildren.  Even I have been known to dress up to answer the door when the local children come 'trick or treating'.

I have made Halloween shaker cads for my young niece and nephew using this cute Tiddly Inks image called 'Spooky Pup'.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and, as you can see, I used 'Halloween Shapes' confetti - pumpkins, skulls and spiders, in my shaker card.

The papers are from Bearly Mine, unfortunately they are no longer available.  The spiders came from my local garden centre and the Marianne Design Creatables bow die is a recent birthday present to myself.

The rest of the design team have been hard at work making inspirational pieces, make sure you take a look when you enter your project.

Good luck.


Dionne

Wear your Pink Ribbon with Pride

As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and, in recognition of this, the current Crafty Boots Challenge is to use pink in your project. Your project does not have to be about Breast Cancer Awareness, although it is great to get the message out there, you just have to use pink somewhere in your project.

What better image to get the message out there to wear your pink ribbon with pride than this one from Teddy Bo & Co called 'What a Jolly Bow'.  I coloured Jolly with pink Promarkers and mounted him on some pink papers from my stash and some gold mirri.  I also added a loop of pink ribbon.

There is still time to enter your pink projects into this Crafty Boots Challenge.

Good luck.


Dionne