Snailing Along Again

Apologies to everyone whose blogs I regularly visit leaving comments - there seems to be a major fault with the BT cables somewhere & having believed it sorted (we had brilliant connectivity for a couple of days) we are back to almost impossible speeds.

I've spent the morning on the phone to our ISP & eliminating any internal wiring or router faults (disconnecting all phones, testing the Primary BT socket, using a different router, using a new DSL filter........) so that a BT Senior Fault Engineer can be called out without a charge of at least £99.99 to us. I have to call back on Monday to receive a definitive time slot for the visit. In the meantime I shall endeavour to enter challenges & at least leave comments where I have Wordpress email subs although my email functions aren't great either. Plain text isn't too bad but anything with a photo/picture/link or suchlike is a problem.

Enlargeable Photos for Backgrounds......

These are the photos I've retaken for THIS POST - if you click on these they will now enlarge

front of card

close-up of image panel

close-up showing background stamping

plus glittered shaped butterflies

close -up showing paper piercing & glittered 

edging of image panel

inside of card

close-up showing textured paper, 

stamped border & inked scallops

Enlargeable Photos for Bohemian Sassy.....

These are the photos I've retaken for THIS POST - if you click on these they will now enlarge

front of card

close-up of image, flower & metallic thread

inside of card

The Pace of a Snail........

......is better than none.

It does rather look like I shan't be commenting too much over the next few days, but we at least have something so I can see posts in my Reader & am able to email comment where I have email subscriptions. Also I seem able to post - albeit slowly if there are links/photos involved.

We have been advised that whatever the problem is should be fixed within 48 hours from Noon today.

Bohemian Sassy in Sweet Rhapsody

Finally Edited 28 Mar - see HERE for enlargeable photos 

EDITED a second time 27 Mar - I changed my camera settings without realizing that it might affect the possibility of clicking & enlarging photos - I'll have another fiddle with it tomorrow - 28 Mar.

EDITED

When I came to linking, The Sugar Bowl collection had already closed. We'd been without email & internet for the best part of 24 hours & though we have it back it remains at snail or tortoise speed so posting is a somewhat tortuous process especailly if it involves linking & photography.

front of card

close-up of image

close-up showing flower & button 

embellishing with metallic thread

inside of card

I have used the sketch provided by Erika for the Sugar Bowl Challenge 55 & taken my colours from the March Simply Create Mood Board Challenge.

Recipe
Stamp Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy High School Student.
Inks Memento Tuxedo Black (image); Bundled Sage & Victorian Velvet Distress Inks (for inking most cardstock & paper edges).
Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Sakura Stardust Pen, Inkssentials White Opaque Pen.
Cardstock An assortment of pinks & greens in various textures & finishes plus blue-grey Moondust from stash.
Papers K&Co Brenda Walton Madeline
Punches, Dies etc... Woodware (circles & scalloped circles), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots).
The pink flower & the pink doily diecut were in my candy from Debbi whereas the button is Woodware & the metallic thread is from stash.

Challenges Entered
The Sugar Bowl Challenge 55 - Erika's Sketch + optional theme: Spring! (Spring colours & the sense of starting new things - in this case the start of a new Semester at High School or University)
Simply Create March Challenge - Bohemian Rhapsody Mood Board (my image is Bohemian in her funky footgear/dress plus her green glasses)

Broadband Trouble

We seem to have a problem with our Internet connection at present - not having sufficient technical knowledge we have consulted both BT who provide the telephone line & AOL our ISP. The net result at present is a terribly slow speed & when I actually manage to see blogs/photos it is very hit & miss whether a comment I leave  is accepted or not. We shall endeavour to get some local help here in Brecon but for the meantime I'm going to be unable to visit & comment. It remains to be seen whether I shall be able to upload anything.

Buttercup Yellow & Spring Green

front of card

angled photo showing sparkle of glittered butterfly bodies 

& buttercup centres plus glittery flowers & corner

close-up of buttercups

close-up showing shaped butterflies

& jewelled glittery floral embellishing

close-up of layered flower

inside of card

close-up showing paper piercing & 

decorative edging of patterned paper

(click on images to enlarge)

For this week's Penny Black Reader Challenge of creating a card using glitter I have used the sketch from the Stamptacular challenge whilst incorporating the themes of Spring & green so that my card is also suitable for the other Penny Black challenges plus Sir Stampalot's challenge. 

I used the twist blade in the Woodware Fingerguard Trimmer to create the decorative edging on the cardstock & paper. The punched butterflies were shaped using a ball tool & embossing mat.

Recipe

Stamp Penny Black 30-047 Flowers & Wishes.

Inks Memento Tuxedo Black (image); Bundled Sage, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint & Pine Needles Distress Inks (for inking some cardstock & paper edges).

Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Inkssentials White Opaque Pen, Ice Stickles Glitter Glue (Lemon Ice).

Cardstock An assortment of greens & yellows plus gold in various finishes from stash.

Papers Provo Craft Scrap Pads Bitty Backgrounds - French Country Colours.

Punches Woodware (circles & scalloped circles, leaves,  butterflies), EK Success (Fancy Photo Corner).

The jewelled glittery flowers are from stash. The green flowers in my large layered floral embellishment are Petaloo, the white ones were in my candy from Debbi & the green brad is from a Hot Off The Press Citrus Creative Kit.

Challenges Entered

Penny Black Weekly Reader Challenge 7 - Glitter

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Week 142 - Green

Penny Black @ Allsorts March Challenge - Welcome Spring

Stamptacular Challenge 102 - Sketch (see above)

Sir Stampalot March Challenge - Spring is in the Air using fresh greens, yellow and/or blossom pinks ( I have used the fresh greens & yellow option)

Floating Mimi

front views of card

angled close-up of image showing 

glittered wings

close-up of leaf & jewelled

glittery flower embellishment

back of card

inside of card taken using flash to show

shimmer of purple Moondust cardstock

& tags for personal message

(click on images to enlarge)

The Penny Black Reader Challenge this week is to create a card based on a TEAL, ORANGE & PURPLE colour scheme. I've used the stamp that I received when my name was picked from commenting on the Penny Black Blog although I did remove the antennae as I thought Mimi was better without them for this construction inspired by Joanne Wardle's Craft Stamper April 2011 Floating Fronts project (page 52). I had a few false starts (binned) using sketches prior to settling on this card format this morning so between a trip to Cardiff for some Apple computer training last Friday (I shall be moving my blog to Apple's iWeb/MobileMe) & the Chepstow Artstamps South Wales Craft Show yesterday plus my head misbehaving with a cluster of migraines I've ended up getting this done just before the deadline.

Recipe

Stamp Penny Black 4119J Love Antennae

Inks Memento Tuxedo Black (image); Chipped Sapphire, Dried Marigold & Dusty Concord Distress Inks (for inking cardstock & paper edges).

Colouring Derwent Coloursoft pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Inkssentials White Opaque Pen, Stickles Glitter Glue (Waterfall & Black Diamond).

Cardstock An assortment in various colours & finishes from stash.

Paper Dovecraft Designer Paper Pack - Kate Knight Aquamarine Floral Prints.

Punches Woodware (circles & scalloped circle, tag), Nellie Snellen (leaves).

The jewelled glittery flowers are from stash.

Challenge Entered

Penny Black Weekly Reader Challenge 6 - Teal, Orange & Purple

The Trail of a Butterfly

.........was more like a trial. I had finished the front & noticed the slightest hint of glue where it shouldn't be so thought I'd cover it with a butterfly trail....... well it looked awful, so awful I decided to try taking off the offending panels.......& you've guessed....... I couldn't & only just managed to salvage my image as everything was rather securely stuck down (I tend to be thorough). One part of Hippie Chick's clothing tore off but I managed to remove the jagged tears & so she no longer has the fold of her dress under one leg.

front of card

close-up of image

close-up showing butterfly 

trail & punched border

close-up of inked & shaped butterfly

inside of card

close-up showing paper pierced scallops

(click on images to enlarge)

Challenge 54 at the Sugar Bowl is a sketch by Lilian with the optional theme of Clean & Simple. I decided not to worry about the CAS aspect but to just limit the embellishments: a tiny bit of Sakura Gel pen sparkle on the sock/leg warmer button, my butterflies (I shaped them using an embossing tool & mat) plus a couple of flower gems.

Recipe
Stamp Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy Hippie Chick.
Inks VersaFine Onyx Black (image), Dried Marigold Distress Ink (for inking most paper & cardstock edges).
Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Sakura Stardust Pen, Letraset Fine Line Drawing Pen, Inkssentials White Opaque Pen.
Cardstock An assortment of pink, peach & white in various textures & finishes from stash.
Papers Provo Craft Scrap Pads Bitty Backgrounds - French Country Colours.
Punches Woodware (circle & scalloped circles, floral border, butterfly).
The flower gems are from stash.

Challenge Entered

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 54 - Lilian's Sketch + theme: Clean & Simple (see above)