Wednesday 31 October 2012

Bugaboo chef

Hello everyone, and happy Halloween :o)

Today's card is evidence of just how useless I am at following even the simplest of recipe challenges... this is supposed to be for the '1 circle, 3 brads' recipe at Catch The Bug, but I've just realised that as my card is round I've actually got 2 circles... oops!  I'm still linking my card up, but please delete me if I don't qualify...

 

Items Used
Large Go Kreate circle dies (for the card base)
Digi stamp - Chef Pierre test - Bugaboo Stamps
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - Papermania Happy Days
Sentiment - NEW Simply Birthday Greetings male - DigiStamp Boutique
Brads - old ones from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Simon Says Stamp - get in shape
My Mum's Craft Shop - bold & bright
Catch The Bug - 1 circle, 3 brads (sorry, do feel free to delete me lol)

We decided to be boring and not bother with trick or treating this year - it's so cold and it's raining now too! We're all stocked up for any trick or treaters who venture out, but we've only had a few so far... think we're going to have lots of goodies left, what a shame ;o)

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Tuesday 30 October 2012

Passion For Promarkers - fright night!

Hello everyone :o)

Our challenge for this week at Passion For Promarkers is 'fright night' (or Halloween).  We're sponsored by our very own Michele, who is offering one lucky winner 3 of her fab digi paper packs which are available at Whimsy Designs.  

I really didn't want to make another Halloween creation that would just sit there unused, so I cheated and made something a bit more general... My mum will snap this one up, she likes cute witchy stuff!




Don't look too closely at my colouring!  I was trying something a bit different - I wanted a fairly solid black, with white highlights, rather than the grey tones I usually use, so I coloured with black and then added touches of white prisma pencil... not totally successful, but you have to try these things don't you?!

Items Used
Scallop edge card blank - Craftwork Cards
Digi stamp - Halloween Hattie - DigiStamp Boutique
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - Echo Park Summer Days - MCH
Sentiment - Dreamy Days Circular Sentiments - LOTV
Rainbow ribbon - Fantastic Ribbons
Memory Box Simple Banner die - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White - MCH
MeiFlower Pink Mix pearls - MCH

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Songbird Challenges - could it be magic?
Crafty Sentiments - seeing stars
Cupcake Craft - witches & pumpkins
Moving Along With The Times - too cute to spook
My Mum's Craft Shop - so spooky

Off for a couple of hours crafting while the boys are happy playing their games (it's the school hols this week), but I'll be around later to catch up with your blogs.  Hope you all have a lovely day :o)

Monday 29 October 2012

Lindy - DigiStamp Boutique DT

Hello everyone :o)

I'm trying to keep this short, as I should really be getting us all ready to go to my mum's for the evening... I just wanted to quickly blog this one though!




Items Used
Elegant Edge card blank - Craftwork Cards
Digi stamp - Lindy - DigiStamp Boutique
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - MME Howdy Doody - MCH
Memory Box Macarena Corner Die (cut up) - MCH
Spellbinders Labels 14 & Circle dies
Viva Decor Pearl Pens in Ice White & Light Green (for her necklace) - MCH

I might link up for some challenges later, but I'd better get a move on... Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Ooh, before I go - here's Boris curled up in Dex's pirate hat...


It's the cat in the hat...lol!

Sunday 28 October 2012

Stampin' Up owl punch

Hello, hope you're all having a good weekend :o)

I've just sat down to start blogging, and realised I haven't actually taken a photo of the card I was going to show you... and I'm feeling lazy so I can't be bothered to get up and take a photo now lol.... so I'll show you this one instead!


Just a quick one I made using my under-used Stampin' Up owl builder punch, for my brother-in-law's 'Names Day' a couple of weeks ago.  According to hubby, in Poland 'Names Days' are celebrated in a bigger way than birthdays... in fact, my mother-in-law said I should make one up so they could celebrate for me too lol.

Items Used
Scalloped card blank - Craftwork Cards
Owl Builder punch - Stampin' Up
Papers - First Edition Boho Chic - MCH
Memory Box Party Lanterns die - MCH
Spellbinders circle dies
Pearls from my stash

Off for a little commenting catch up... Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Saturday 27 October 2012

A Gem of a Challenge - polka dots/ spots

Hello and happy Saturday to you!

Over at A Gem of a Challenge we have a fab new theme for the next fortnight - polka dots/ spots.  There are lots of spots on my card... unfortunately I seem to have hidden most of them under my layers... oops!




I think this sweet snow couple might be my favourite ever stamp from Pink Gem Designs... they get used every year, I just have to remember who I've sent them to before!  I'll be safe with this one though, because it's for an order.

Items Used
Scalloped card blank - Craftwork Cards
Stamp - Snow Love - Pink Gem Designs
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - Krafty Christmas - LOTV
Tag - Christmas Sentiment Tags - LOTV
'Brother...' sentiment - computer generated using chocolate box font
Memory Box Corner Bow die - MCH
MeiFlower Coffee Mix pearls - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pens in Ice White & Light Green - MCH
Glamour Dust in Crystal

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
I Love Promarkers - Christmas is coming
Stampin' for the Weekend - anything goes
ABC Christmas - U for up to you

Well I'm hoping to have a huge catch up with all your blogs today, if the internet connection decides to play nicely.  We've got some sort of intermittent fault on the line, so there's an engineer coming out on Thursday to have a look.  Hopefully they'll be able to sort it out, as it's been going on for a couple of weeks now and it's getting a wee bit irritating!

Hope you all have a lovely day :o)

Friday 26 October 2012

Sugar Nellie blog hop - Sparkle & Shine!

Sugar Nellie are releasing 3 gorgeous new Christmas digi stamps today and we're having a little hop to celebrate :o)


You should have arrived here from the fabulous Jane's blog... if not, please pop over to the Sugar Nellie blog so you don't miss anyone's lovely creations - as always there'll be prizes along the way so do leave comments as you hop!

For my card I've used the super sweet Letter to Santa... he really is so lovely to colour :o)  Not especially happy with my card though, I think I was having an off day...




Items Used
Digi Stamp - Sugar Nellie Letter to Santa - Funky Kits (from 9am)
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - MME Winter Wonderland - MCH
Sentiment - Crafty Impressions Bauble set - Funky Kits
Memory Box Frostyville Wreath die (out of stock) - MCH
Dec 25th button - MME Winter Wonderland buttons - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White - MCH
Glamour Dust in Crystal
Pearls from my stash

**Edited - just remembered I meant to link this up for the challenge at Sunday Sketch & Stamp**

Your next stop is the super talented Mina with her gorgeous creation to show you!

Hope you enjoy the hop, and have a lovely day :o)

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Blossom - Sugar Nellie DT

Here you go Sarah... I spent most of the day faffing and fiddling with this one.  It just wouldn't let me add any of the lovely embellishments I tried - told you I have those days too, didn't I?!

I had a play with one of my Leanne Ellis stamps - they were one of my first loves when I started stamping and colouring, and I still love them now :o)




Items Used
Stamp - Sugar Nellie Blossom (by Leanne Ellis) - Funky Kits
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - Echo Park Summer Days - MCH
Sentiment tag stamp - LOTV
Spellbinders oval & scalloped oval dies
Memory Box Cherry Blossom die - MCH
Memory Box Floral Vine die - MCH
MeiFlower Pink Mix pearls - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl pen in Ice White - MCH

Keeping this very short tonight, as I've still got lots to do... Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Tuesday 23 October 2012

A little gift wallet...

While I was demoing on Saturday, hubby was supposed to be taking the boys to a naming ceremony for his friend's little boy.  I'd seen this little gift wallet on the very lovely Vicky's blog, and couldn't wait to have a go, so thought I'd make one for hubby to put a gift card in... it can be used to put money in too, and is so easy I'm sure I'll be making more.  Thanks for the fab tutorial Vicky!

As I said, hubby was supposed to be going, but he actually got 5 minutes away from the venue and Dex's little voice piped up in the back... 'I need to get out!' and then he was very sick... everywhere... So they all went home again!  I'm quite glad I was demoing ;o)

with the tag/ pocket inside the wallet


with the tag/ pocket pulled out


Items Used
White linen cardstock - Papermill Direct
Pre-coloured die cut image - LOTV
Digi papers (printed onto linen card) - Pink Petticoat
Tab punch - Stampin' Up
Ribbon & baker's twine - Fantastic Ribbons
Sentiment stamp - LOTV

I'm entering my wallet for the 'anything goes' challenge at Lili's Little Fairies.

Running a bit late (last minute trip to Asda for dressing up stuff for Dex... blimmin' schools lol!) so I'll keep this fairly short.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your evening :o)

Monday 22 October 2012

Sweet Elin's Star - My Crafty Heart DT

Hello :o)  Hope you're all well on this rotten rainy day!

I've used a gorgeous little Nellie Snellen fairy for today's My Crafty Heart DT card - made for a little girl who loves fairies and pink, which is the best kind of card really isn't it?




Items Used
Scalloped card blank - Craftwork Cards
Stamp - Nellie Snellen Sweet Elin's Star - MCH
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - First Edition Summer Breeze - MCH
Memory Box Corner Bow die - MCH
Flower - Prima Miss Godivas Blush - MCH
Sentiment tag stamps - LOTV
Number '3' stamp - Paper Smooches alphabet
Lace - The Enchanted Collection (out of stock) - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White (back in stock!) - MCH
Glamour Dust in Crystal
Pink Button - Papermania

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Flutter By Wednesdays - any winged creature
I Love Promarkers - anything goes
Crafty Ribbons - children's birthday
The Squirrel & The Fox - use a ribbon
In The Pink - buttons & bows


Off to do a bit of catching up with your blogs (assuming the internet connection behaves itself, we're having a few problems at the mo!)... Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Saturday 20 October 2012

Sweet Stampin' - Halloween

I'm a bit late posting this - I did a promarker demo today, so I've been busy busy busy preparing for it... hopefully normal blogging activities can now resume!

Our new challenge at Sweet Stampin' is 'Halloween'... Now I must admit I don't really 'do' Halloween, and I wouldn't really choose to make anything for it, but I know lots of you do, so hopefully this will be an easy one!  This very simple little card will probably get popped in one of the boys' lunch boxes... hmm, that means I have to make another one doesn't it?!  We're sponsored by Letraset who have a fab pack of pens for our lucky winner, and Joanna Sheen is our monthly sponsor with a £10 voucher prize.


Items Used
12cm square card blank - Craftwork Cards
Digi stamps - Trick or Treat Mummy - Halloween Characters set - DigiStamp Boutique
Spooky Cat - this month's freebie - DigiStamp Boutique
Colouring - promarkers & prisma pencils
Memory Box Party Lanterns die - MCH
MeiFlower black gems - MCH

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Cards For Men - orange & black
Simon Says Stamp - eerie inspiration
Papertake Weekly - fright night
Sassy Cheryl's - orange & black
Divas By Design - something spooky
Crafty Catz - Halloween

I had a great time demoing, but I'm soooo tired now - looking forward to a takeaway and an alcoholic beverage or two!  Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Thursday 18 October 2012

Roller hockey...

Hello everyone :o)  Sorry to have been such a rubbish blogger over the last couple of days.

We had some horrible news on Tuesday - the little kitten who was supposed to be coming to live with us died, in not very nice circumstances, before we even got to meet him.  The boys were so upset, and my heart just wasn't in blogging at all, so I'm afraid I've got a bit behind with commenting on all your lovely blogs.

However, we managed to find someone with a little ginger boy who needed a home... and he's now here, asleep in his little bed, safe and sound :o)  We've called him Boris, he's 8wks old and gorgeous!

So... onto today's card, which is for an order - they wanted something with a 'roller hockey' theme, and I looked and looked, and discovered that roller hockey images just don't exist (someone's going to show me one now...), so I've adapted an ice hockey one from Bugaboo.  It's for a 13yr old, and I'm really hoping this will be ok!




Items Used
Base card - 6" x 8" made from Papermill white hammered card
Digi Stamp - Hockey Nut - Bugaboo Stamps
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - old ones by Doodlebug
CC Designs Curly-Q border die
MFT dienamics corner die
Gems from my stash

I'm entering my card for the Stella Says Sketch challenge at Catch The Bug.

And here's a little photo of Boris :o)


Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Passion For Promarkers - bee happy

Morning everyone :o)

I'm here with my DT card for Passion For Promarkers, where our new challenge is 'bee happy' (yellow & black)... you can use bees too, but you don't have to.  We're sponsored by Joanna Sheen who is providing our winner with a £10 voucher for her fab online store.

I thought I'd try and make the yellow & black theme work for a Christmas card... not exactly traditional but I think I quite like it!




Items Used
Digi Stamp - NEW Christmas Percy Set - DigiStamp Boutique
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - Glitz Design Cashmere Dame - MCH
Memory Box Riviera Corner die (with bottom swirl cut off) - MCH
Cheery Lynn Snowflakes die - MCH
Martha Stewart snowflake punch
Glamour dust in crystal
Card candy & yellow pearls from my stash

I might edit this to link up to some challenges later... Need to shut myself away in the craft room for the day, or I'll end up spending hours blogging and getting nothing else done!  I'll catch up with you all this evening, hope you have a lovely day :o)

Monday 15 October 2012

I've been playing...

.... and made something a bit different!



Items Used
Papers - Prima Romance Novel - MCH
Sentiment - Inspirational Sentiments - LOTV
Spellbinders Floral Flourishes dies - MCH
Flower - Prima Cabaletta Spring - MCH
Pearls - MeiFlower Pink Mix - MCH
Ribbon from my stash

I'm not sure it's really me, but at least I had fun :o)  I've not got much time this week, as I'm busy preparing for a promarker demo that I'm doing on Saturday, so there'll probably be fairly quick creations on my blog for the next few days.  My demo's at Pennyholme Crafts in Eckington, if anyone local fancies coming along - just give them a ring to book first.

Rushing off for my usual mad dash around your blogs... Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Sunday 14 October 2012

Thanksgiving candy winner!

Hello :o)  Hope you've all had a great weekend!

Mine's been very busy, so I'm sorry if I've not managed to pop over to your blog - I'm going to do a bit more catching up now.

I just popped in to announce the winner of the Flourishes stamp set for Thanksgiving.

And the lucky one is....

No. 25 - Angela

Congratulations Angela!  Could you email me with your address, and I'll get your prize posted :o)

Enjoy the rest of your evening, I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with a card.

Saturday 13 October 2012

A mini Thanksgiving candy...

Last year I won some lovely sets of Flourishes stamps.  One of them is a set called A Season of Thanks, which I'm unlikely to use as we don't do Thanksgiving here...

So... do you make Thanksgiving cards?  Would you like to win this set?


All you need to do is link your name below... it's open to anyone, whether you follow me or not, and you don't need to advertise it on your blog unless you want to :o)

A Gem of a Challenge - flowers

Time for our new challenge at A Gem of a Challenge - this fortnight our theme is 'flowers' which is really easy... but for some reason I couldn't seem to add any to my card, it just wasn't working for me on this one! Luckily there are flowers on the image and papers, and I've added a little flower button too.



Items Used
Scalloped card blank - Craftwork Cards
Pre-coloured digi stamp - Tweet Bird - Pink Gem Designs
Papers & flower button - Papermania
Corner die - MFT Dienamics
Memory Box Vintage Birdcage die - MCH
Pink twine from my stash

So a very simple one from me today, as I was a bit time challenged!  The pre-coloured images from Pink Gem Designs are so handy when you need to make a card quickly, or when you're just not in the mood for colouring - and you get the line version as well, so you can also choose to colour them yourself.

**Edited - I've just remembered I meant to enter this for the 'pink plus one' challenge at In The Pink (I've used pink & brown/ kraft)**

Oh, and as you'll already know if you're my Facebook friend (feel free to add me by the way!), hubby finally caved in and said we could have the kitten :o)  We should be getting him/ her in the next few days, and I can't wait!

Here's a photo my mum sent me of our new little furry baby...


What a naughty little face eh?!  This one's going to be trouble lol :o)

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Friday 12 October 2012

Warm Winter Wishes - Sugar Nellie DT

Hello :o)  It's Friday at last... it feels like it's been such a long week!  And I'm getting a cold just in time for the weekend, how lovely...

Anyway... today is my day to post on the Sugar Nellie blog, and I've used a gorgeous stamp from last year's Christmas release.  This little penguin couple is called Warm Winter Wishes - aren't they sweet?




Items Used
Petal Point card blank - Craftwork Cards
Stamp - Sugar Nellie Warm Winter Wishes - Funky Kits
(also available as a digi stamp here)
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - Bo Bunny Blitzen - MCH
Sentiment (in circle) - Crafty Impressions Warm Winter Wishes - Funky Kits
Memory Box Frostyville Wreath die - MCH
Ribbon - Fantastic Ribbons
Gems - MeiFlower Light Blue - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White - MCH
Glamour Dust in Crystal

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Sweet Sketch Wednesday - sketch (more or less followed!)
Penny Black & More - animal magic
Come & Get It - from the list I've used green, glitter, gems, ribbon & circles)


Yesterday my mum rang to tell me about a ginger kitten who needs a home... she sent me a photo too, and he/she (they're not sure) is adorable, and I want!!!  Hubby's not keen on the idea though, so I've not mentioned anything to the boys yet.  Not sure how I'm going to convince him, but I really need to!

Hope you all have a lovely day :o)

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Heidi - My Crafty Heart DT

For today's card I've used a very pretty Whimsy stamp, and some gorgeous First Edition 'Isabelle' papers.  These aren't actually Christmas papers, but I think they work really well for girly Christmas cards - lovely colours and a lot of the sheets are sparkly :o)

Oh, and just in case you think I'm going a bit loopy... I do realise I've only got sons lol!  This is one that my friend's ordered...




Items Used
Scalloped card blank - Craftwork Cards
Stamp - Whimsy Heidi - MCH
Colouring - promarkers, flexmarkers & prisma pencils
Papers - First Edition Isabelle - MCH
Merry Christmas sentiment - Stampin' Up
Daughter stamp - Crafty Impressions Seasons Greetings set - Funky Kits
Flower - Prima Cabaletta Spring - MCH
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Floral Flourishes die - MCH
Memory Box Frostyville Wreath die - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White (back in stock soon) - MCH
Glamour Dust in Crystal
Pearls from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Whimsy Inspirations - all things sparkly
Divas By Design - anything goes
Creative Inspirations - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - dies and/ or punches
Songbird Challenge - girls just wanna have fun

Thank you all for your lovely comments and messages about Morgan's 'incident' at school.  The meeting was fine, the 'helper' is actually a student teacher and has been temporarily suspended while the school completes their investigation.  Morgan is fine - just a bit worried about all the fuss he thinks he's caused!  But they called him in after our meeting to reassure him that he did the right thing reporting it... I'm happy with how they're dealing with it anyway.

Hope you all have a lovely evening :o)

Tuesday 9 October 2012

The Christmas panic begins...

Yes, I know it's a bit early to be panicking about it, but I thought I was doing quite well with Christmas cards so far this year... Then I got a couple of big-ish orders, counted up what I'd made already and realised I need to get cracking quick!

So here's a simple one using a cute LOTV pre-coloured die cut image, with some gorgeous new Bo Bunny papers.  Apologies in advance for the Christmas zone that my blog's likely to become for a while!



Items Used
Elegant Edge card blank - Craftwork Cards
Pre-coloured image - LOTV
Papers - Bo Bunny Blitzen - MCH
Nestabilities square & scalloped square dies
Memory Box Crystal Snowflake die - MCH
Martha Stewart snowflake punch
MeiFlower Coffee Mix pearls - MCH
Stickles in Stardust - MCH

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Papertake Weekly - all creatures great & small
Lili's Little Fairies - Christmas card for the boys
Oldie But a Goodie - inspired by a song (Let It Snow)
(the image was bought & not used last Christmas so is older than 6 months)

I've been called into school tomorrow morning, to discuss an incident involving some sort of school 'helper' who hurt Morgan on purpose... it sounds like some silly idea of a joke but he's really hurt Morgan's hand.  The pupil support staff and head teacher seem to be taking it seriously so we'll see what's going to happen tomorrow :o(

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Monday 8 October 2012

Lovely Barry...

Last month I won some Stamp Fairy images... nearly all the ones I chose were 'Barry' - he's SO cute!

I had fun colouring a few of my Barry's yesterday, he's lovely to colour - very easy!  And I just noticed I've won some more of them over at Incy Wincy, yay :o)




Items Used
Digi stamp - Barry Soccer 4 - Stamp Fairy
Colouring - promarkers & flexmarkers
Papers - Bo Bunny Welcome Home (again!) - MCH
Memory Box Wrought Iron Fence die - MCH
Memory Box Marshmallow Clouds die - MCH
Sentiment - Simply Sophisticated - LOTV
Striped ribbon - Stampin' Up
MeiFlower Light Blue Gems - MCH
Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White (back in stock soon!) - MCH

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Sketch Saturday - Donna's fab sketch
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - brown, teal & lime green
The Ribbon Girl - a boy card
Incy Wincy - anything goes

**Pop over to MCH if you like your Gorjuss Girls (don't we all?!) - there's 20% off them all here at the moment.  Personal Impressions won't be making them anymore so get them while you can!**

Off for my regular mad dash around some of your blogs!  Hope you have a lovely evening :o)