29 Again???

My DT card today over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store blog uses an Art Impressions stamp.... yes this fabulous line of stamps is available in the store now :) Tara has a few different sets in stock with some sell outs already but hopefully more will be arriving over the next few weeks.

I've used this sweet old lady in the 29 Again stamp set for my card, isn't she adorable.....

.......  she actually reminds me of my Nan who sadly is no longer with us..... she was very similar in stature and would always try and tease us into thinking she was 21 again on her birthday, she would have really appreciated this card :)

I had the idea to make the image both black & white and colour... I've not tried B & W shading before!! I used Prisma pencils for both styles and the card base is one of the new Avery Elle card blanks which have a beautiful texture for shading with pencils.

I absolutely love the artwork of these stamps, they just make the characters come to life and I can't help smiling at them... does that sound daft??!!! Lol :)

                                                   

I'm entering this into Virginia's View Challenge this month which is Layers & Dimension... mine is very minimal layering but it's there, separating the two coloured images with foam dimension between them :)

Thanks for stopping by :)
Jenny x

Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Week

Hi there, it's time for a new challenge over at the Paper Smooches Sparks blog and with the first Sunday of the month we bring you an Anything Goes challenge ... I can't believe how quick these weeks are going by!!

                                        

I thought I'd use a stamp set that hasn't seen ink yet (shame!!) and enjoy some fun colouring too...

This fun clown from Enjoy the Show just had to be juggling the word Happy. I've been enjoying using the Sassy letter dies in a few projects recently....they're so versatile and these have been die cut in black and heat embossed with Irridescent sparkle powder, just look at that twinkle and shimmer...

Here's the links to my fellow teamies playing along this week and you can find 

the linky tool and all the challenge details on the blog here

Alice,  Lisa,  Erin,  Jenny,  Savannah

We hope you join us in the gallery this week, it's fun to see your creations :)

Jenny x

Light It Up For Autism Awareness Blog Hop

                                           
As it's World Autism Awareness day today, I've something a little bit different on the blog. I'm joining in with the 'Light it up Blue for Autism Blog Hop' which has been organised by Veronica Zalis and Tenia Nelson.
I don't usually write much about family life on my blog but our 19 year old son is Autistic so any opportunity to bring awareness to Autism is a good one, especially if it involves crafting :)
We have so many fantastic sponsors that have shown their support for Autism awareness and you can see the complete list here.... if you would like the chance to win a prize from one of these fabulous companies leave a comment on this blog, and any of the other blogs participating in todays hop, the gallery of blogs can also be found here. Winners will be announced on Monday 6th April.

Well the colour theme for todays hop is, as the badge suggests, blue; so I decided to stop procrastinating about making a Project Life page and get to it..... and a page about our lad, James, seemed the perfect choice...

So this is my first PL page and I could make many pages on James and his autism but instead, I decided to focus on  the numerous school photos I have of James, which is a fair few... he's been at the same school now for almost 15 years. He attends a Special Needs school which caters for children from 4-19 years of age, he's been fortunate enough to join their various satelitte inclusion classes in local mainstream schools during some of those years which is a great way to raise awareness of autism amongst the mainstream pupils too. James finishes school this July and the daunting step of going to college awaits.

I have put my favourite photos together for this page, they show how he's matured from a baby-faced little boy into a handsome lad... okay, I know I'm biased :)

....and yes, as well as the classic 'missing tooth' photos we have the lovely 'graze across your nose' school photo too... don't they always pick the right time for accidents!!

The black and white photo was taken about a couple of years ago.... I wasn't sure how wearing a tie would go down with him... he loved it but he never came home with it in quite the same tidy knot. He could never tie it himself so had to learn how to remove it over his head for P.E lessons... not a problem now as he wears, what he calls, his 'home clothes' although he's not always great at selecting them appropriately :)

Looking at the photos above, James looks outwardly like any 'normal' mainstream child which is why Autism Awareness is so important. The spectrum is so vast and the children/adults on it are all so different, they do not have labels and nor should they... they do not fit one mold. Living with an autistic child or adult has it's ups and downs the same as any other, you just learn to deal with it differently and ultimately adapt your life accordingly. James is a very special person and his attributes far outweigh any problems... it's just that somedays you need to be constantly reminded of that ;)

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy visiting the rest of the hop participants.... I certainly hope to grab some time over the weekend to visit some too :)

Jenny x