Blog candys

Now that I finally have internet at home and finally have managed to make myself a blog, I find myself surfing the web for hours and hours a day... My blog list has expanded really fast, which provides me with lots of inspiration, and, as recent posts are showing, a few blog candys... :) Perfect timing too, all the usual January bills have completely drained my wallet and the only scrapping supplies I can hope for any time soon have to come from somebody else. ;)
And now I really should tear myself away from the blog surfing to make something to put on my own blog!

Bev has the cutest blog candy! It's full of lovely pink sparkly things... :)
*drawn*

And Steph is following with more sparkly pink goodness! Perfect for us girls.
*drawn*

Hege-Annie celebrates 10 000 hits with a wonderful blog candy. Congrats!
To be drawn on Valentine's Day

Birthday cards

Some birthday cards I sold to a colleague. Making cards for 60-year-olds and men (of all ages) can be a bit tricky, but I'm reasonably pleased with these!

Provo Craft Hippie Chick alphabet, Cuttlebug tiny bubbles embossing folder, DCWV Far East Stack pattern paper and of course basic Bazzill paper.

QK Katie classic alphabet, possibly a Basic Grey pattern paper?

Hippie Chick again, with QK Phoebe SkinniMini and a lovely Magnolia flower girl.

QK Metro, Kaiser Craft Spring Greens pattern paper.

Kim's blog candy

Kim Dellow has an absolutely fantastic candy on her blog! I entered as nr. 559 (or something like that). That's what I call a slim chance... But there's always hope, right??
*drawn*

Eli's blog candy

Så er det Eli som har æren av å være den første blog candyen jeg linker til! Hun skal plukke opp ting og tang i New York som skal være med i candyen... Spennende!
Trekkes 15. februar.

Eli has an exciting blog candy including some things she will buy in New York.
To be drawn February 15th.

Homemade Bounty

It's not a chocolate cake (see yesterday's entry), but not a bad substitute. I had some coconut flakes left over from christmas - or rather, christmas two years ago. Oops! There's no way I will consider them still edible next christmas! So this recipe came at an excellent time. I tweaked the ingredients a little after tasting the coconut batter - less butter, some more powdered sugar. And they are yummy.... Don't take my word for it though, try them yourself, they are soo easy to make. My chocolate covering skills leave something to be desired. Oh well, I just have to make more then, and practice! :)

National Chocolate Cake Day

Just wanted to say, it's National Chocolate Cake Day today! (In the US, I guess?) At least according to Tastespotting. So ladies, bake a chocolate cake and eat it too, without feeling guilty! Even if it is a perfectly normal Tuesday. I'm going to work, so it is too late for me anyway. I think I might have to buy a chocolate bar to celebrate.

Some old cards - part three

Ok, ok, I'll soon stop showing old cards. Just some of the highlights then. Some of the colours are a bit wonky, sorry.
My style is quite different than much of the other stuff I find online these days. It is sharp, clear cut, and fairly simple by comparison. Sometimes I start to do something more elaborate and distressed, but somehow I tend to lapse back to what I always do... But I'm trying! Some day, some day.

Some old cards - part two (christmas themed)

A little late for christmas cards, but it just seemed silly to wait a whole year to show these old ones. One year I decided to make gift tags to mach the wrapping paper! A bit difficult, but it was fun to have a specific colour scheme to match. Somehow it was energizing to have restrictions on how to make them. The rest are regular christmas cards. And they all say "merry christmas"! Much much easier to write in QK-letters in Norwegian... ;) Just six letters to punch out!

Some old cards - part one

I've been making cards for a couple of years now. It started with just basic Bazzill papers, a paper cutter and some stickers, but now? I'm afraid to admit just how much equipment I've managed to collect... Here is a little collection of some of my early stuff. So strange to see how the style developes over time - and with new toys... ;)

Baby blankets

My best friend Kristin, has two children. I knitted a baby blanket for each of them when they were born. This first one is a little ruffled at the edge, but it doesn't really show up when it is used as the main pattern is fairly stretchable. I should also mention that I learned the stitches from a huge library book from 1980... What else is there to do when you desperately need to knit something and your mother (who could have tought you) is in China for two weeks?? Of course, these days I learn stitches on the web. The blanket is unblocked, quite simply because I had never even heard of blocking then...

When the baby was born and it turned out to be a girl (some like it to be a surprise), I made a little pink flower connected to a braided pink band that runs along the edge.

Now this was a fun way to knit, I can tell you! All the squares were knitted separately and then stitched together. OK, so the final stiching and especially the weaving in of the ca 60 yarn ends (oh the horror!) was an endless boring task. But the knitting itself was super easy and fast. And extremely practical too, you never have to carry more than one skein and the square you are currently knitting. Whenever you've knitted so much that you can't immediately see that you've done a row or two, it is time to bind off and start a fresh new one where every row makes a difference. ;) Now that's good for the mind. The blue squares have a center with alternating knit and purl stitches. Unlike the other blanket, this one is fully reversible. I also made a crochet edge to give it a nicer finishing.