A New Year, a New Me

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, received lots of wonderful gifts and most importantly, got to spend it with the people that you love.

2013 had highs as well as a number of lows for me, but I'm hoping that 2014 is going to be a year full of lots of new and exciting experiences for me.    The highlight of 2013 was welcoming the arrival of my gorgeous nephew, Joshua.  I can't believe that he's 4 and a half months old already.  I love him so much and try and see him as often as travel allows.  In those interim spells, Skype comes to the rescue.

I only made a couple of cards this Christmas, my mojo is slowly starting to return.  I would like to share one with you today.

I went with a very clean and simple card and I really like how it turned out.  I've been browsing the occasional blog to gain some inspiration.

As a lover of teddies, I had to treat myself to some of the new James the Bear stamps from LOTV when they released them last summer.  This was the only one that has been used so far.  I coloured him with Copics.

I would like to enter this into the Winter Wonderland Challenge which is Teddy Bears.

I will try to be a better blogger and crafter this year.  I'm not just a paper crafter now as I do enjoy crocheting and I've just treated myself to a sewing machine which, considering I have no idea to sew, should be interesting!

Thank you to anyone who has stopped by to read this, I really appreciate it after such a long absence.  I want to have a think about changing my blog layout to start the year afresh. If anyone can recommend how to go about this, I would be very grateful.

Sarah xx

1 Today

I know, it's been over a week since my last blog post and I've not visited much either.  In my defence, things have been really busy and I've been working on the baby blanket for my sister.  This has been completed now and I will post photos shortly.

This is a card I made for my friends little boy's first birthday last month.  I know the LOTV stamp is usually for a new baby, but I thought it also worked well for a first birthday card as well.  He's been coloured up with my copics and cut out with a nestie set I've not used in a long time.  I can't remember what the papers were I'm afraid.  I finished off with a panel of large dots using a Sizzix embossing folder.

 The usual close up of the image is below.  I really like the blues.

Do you ever feel at times like you're not allowed to say what you feel is happening in your life on your own personal blog, or facebook page for fear of upsetting people.  I made a comment in my last post about falling out with a friend, who isn't a crafter, in my last post, but I'm now unsure whether she has seen it.  I want to be able to get things off my chest and now feel I have nowhere to be able to say this.  It's my blog and I should be able to speak my mind.

Sorry for going off topic and for being quiet.  This has been playing on my mind and might also explain my absence.

xx

Happy Valentine's Day

Good Morning and Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you are all lucky enough to be spending the day with the one that you love.  Jon and I will be at work, but popping out for a bite to eat at lunch time. Nothing fancy.  I do love Valentine's Day but I don't agree with the commercialism that comes with it all.  I believe that if you love someone, you should tell them all the time, not just one day a year.

The card I'm showing for you today is one I made for an order from a lovely guy at work.  He always asks me for cards as his partner loves them and, in his words "I would rather pay you for a card than give the money to someone like Hallmark". 

I've used another adorable Lili of the Valley stamp for this card, called Close Your Eyes. This is another one that I have had for a year and am using for the first time.  I am really pleased with how I've coloured the pleats on the skirt for this as this is something new for me. I think I'm starting to love my copics.

Those of you that follow me regularly will know that I love my red and white cards and this was no exception!  I think the colours are perfect for romantic cards as well as Christmas.  I remembered to use some of my flowers this time too.

Here's a close up of the image.  I'm disappointed with the slight blemish around the rose.  No matter how much used the colourless blender, I could not get it to fade completely.

The paper is from an old Forever Friends paper pad and was a perfect compliment to the image.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Moving Along With The Times - Love is in the Air
Crafty Creations - Love and/or Hearts
Divas by Design - Love and Romance
Penny's Paper Crafty - Use your Fav Colour Combod (Red & White)
Creative Craft Challenges 2 - Hugs and Kisses
Loves Rubber Stamps - All About Love
Papertake Weekly - Hearts & Flowers

I'm hoping to come and visit you all a bit later on when Jon is watching his beloved Chelsea.

Thank you for all your comments, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx :0)

Another LOTV Cardmaker of the Year

Evening all, I hope you're keeping well.  Thank you for the lovely comments you've all been leaving me on my recent entries in the competition, they really mean a lot to me.

I've another entry to show you today that was for Lili of the Valley. This card is based on one I made last year here.  I loved this one so much that I had to do it again but I've made it a little different by adding some flowers from Wild Orchind Crafts and sprayed them with Spray & Sparkle from Crafters Companion.  I feel they finished that corner off perfectly.

 Supplies:

Stamp: James Bear In the Snow - Lili of the Valley; Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics;

DP & CS: DCWV Christmas Stack, Centura Pearl Cardstock - Crafters Companion, Mirri Card

Tools: Circle Nesties, Snow Dots Embossing Folder

I just love purple and silver together, I think it's a great combo!  I really should get a wriggle on with doing some Christmas cards.  Not know when I'll be out of action I don't want to leave it too late.  I may cheat a little and do some digital crafting as I  have the Me To You cdrom as well as my Forever Friends one where I can design on screen and print out.  I did a few of these last year for friends at work and personalised them which they really seemed to like.

I have lots of new goodies to play with too as a little elephant called Humphrey has landed on my doormat and he's so cute.

I've some blog hopping to do this evening so I hope to see you all a bit later.  Thank you for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

LOTV Cardmaker of the Year entry

Thank you to everyone for the lovely comments on my card box yesterday, they are greatly appreciated.    I thought I would show you another entry I made, this time for Lili of the Valley.

I saw one of these book cards whilst blog hopping and used the tutorial here.

 The papers are a download from Nitwits and the adorable image is from LOTV.  The sentiment is from a Popcorn Bear set from Crafters Companion

 I attempted this before I had my hougie board so the scoring wasn't exactly perfect but I'm going to try again shortly! The ribbon was from my stash.

The inside has been decorated with more Nitwit papers and finished off with a pocket and a tag for the greeting.  The little bits inside were all purchased from Wilkinsons.  I just thought it was a great back to school project or for a little girl just about to start school.  The lipstick items are a ballpoint pen and rubber, very girly!

I hope you like it.  I was really pleased with the final outcome and showed it to a few of my friends at work who were equally impressed.  I plan on making some more again really soon.

Thank you for popping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.  I hope you have an enjoyable evening.  I'll  be settling down for some X Factor soon.

xx :0)

Belated Father's Day Card

Good Morning All! Hopefully you're recovering from the shock of a 3rd day of posting!  This is a scheduled post as I should be at work now, but whilst typing this I'm currently watching the Men's Final at Wimbledon!

I realised that I didn't show you the Father's Day card that I'd made for my dad.  I posted my Father-in-Laws but completely forgot my dad's; sorry dad!  I used another of the male LOTV stamps, I think this one is called Footy Ted.  I wasn't brave enough to try and recreate my football team's colours as it would've been blue and white hoops and I don't think I could've worked out the shading properly!  He's been coloured with copics and the papers are from Pink Petticoat again.  The sentiment is an Elzybells stamp.  In my dad's case it should ready "There are only two things in life; Football & Bowls!"  The cardstock is some of my favourite Bazzil Basics.

I don't think he looks too bad now does he?? I was concerned that I might have overdone the brown polychromo but it looks fine now.  I do need a new pot to put my sansador in with the sponge as my first one leaked and it's not something you want to smell to often!!  In our LOTV class they used Flowersoft pots with a bath sponge soaking it.

I'd best go as hubby is just starting to dish up my Sunday dinner (Confusing when this is posting Monday morning!! LOL).

Thank you again for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Father's Day Card

Good evening all.  It's been a while again since my last my post.  I've really been suffering with my back, not just physically but mentally as well.  I've been having to take days here and there off work and it's really been getting me down.  I hate not being able to do things which gets me frustrated and this then gets me down.  I've not been able to craft much either because of that but also because I was feeling down. It may seem strange especially when crafting helps so many people who suffer with depression and other illnesses but I was getting so annoyed with myself that I was unable to want to do anything, if that makes sense!!  I had all of these lovely goodies that I'd purchased that were just sitting there!

Today I decided that I was going to do something about that and I've managed to make my Dad's Father's Day card as well as one for Jon's dad!  I am paying for that now but boy did it feel good!!  My mojo was suffering so I had a look around some blogs which helped to inspire me. 

Tonight I will show you Jon's dad's card.  My inspiration for this came from a card the lovely Marcea made.  I used the Cheers Bear from Lili of the Valley which was purchased at the Masterclass in May.  I love all the LOTV bear stamps!

Supplies:

Stamp: Cheer Bear - LOTV; Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black & Copics;

Card & DP: Doodles of Dots & Harlequin - Pink Petticoat, Core-dinations; Tools: Circle & Scallop Nesties

Embellishments: Glossy Accents, Sentiment Oval - Craftwork Cards & Gemstones. 

A close up of this little cutie. you can't really tell that the beer glass has had the glossy accents treatment, the sun deserted me at that moment!  I don't know if you can tell either but I've started to use some polychromo pencils to enhance the shading on my bears.  We were shown this at that Masterclass. I'm hoping that I'm doing it right!

This weeks Lili of the Valley challenge is Bring on the Music.  I really wanted to enter this card & the only song I could think of was Boney M's Daddy Cool!! I think he looks a pretty cool dad so I hope that's acceptable!!

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Blogger Challenge - Masculine Card
Fashonista Friday - For Men
Craft us Crazy - Father's Day
Crafty Sentiments - Fathers Day
Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes
Dutch Dare Card Challenge - For the Boys
Lili of the Valley - Bring on the Music - Daddy Cool!
Southern Girls - Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Crafters - Dad
Papertake Weekly - Dad's & Lads

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

It's been a while!

I know, it's been a while since I was last in blogland. I would be very surprised if there is anyone still out there reading this.  If there is, thank you so much!

The main reason for my lack of crafting has been my back which has been giving me a lot of pain.  Without saying too much, I'm now waiting for a fairly serious operation to remove the troublesome discs and fuse that area of my spine.  The list is 3 months which, at the moment, seems a long way off as the pain has been quite bad this last week.

My other reason was that, for a while, Jon and I thought we were going to lose Bozzy.  He's 20 years old now so is quite remarkable in that sense, but it did look like we would be saying goodbye.  However, he seems to have cottoned on to what we were thinking and has turned around quite remarkably as if to say "I'm not ready to go just yet!".  Here's the gorgeous boy here enjoying a sleep in the sun:

I do have a card to show you too!  Last Saturday I was very lucky to be able to attend the LOTV Colouring Masterclass in Ashford.  We had a whole day with Jacqui and Bev tutoring us and helping improve our colouring skills.  I had an amazing time and learnt some new techniques which I'm hoping to put into practise very soon.  We coloured in 4 LOTV images trying out these techniques and were given a pack to complete one of Bev's stunning cards.  I finished mine this morning and am really pleased with it.

I am so pleased with the colouring of this image.  I have the stamp as I think it's really cute but have been nervous about colouring it in.  Hopefully I won't anymore.

I was also very lucky to meet some very lovely ladies who I spent the best afternoon with; Pam, Lisa, Caz and Caz's mum (sorry, my mind has gone blank for your name!!)

Thank you for still being here and supporting me when I've not been able to visit you all in return.  I will try more.

xx :0)

Swing Time

Good evening all! I know this is a late post from me but I know I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight so I thought I would get on and post this whilst I was still up.  For those of you that know I've been having trouble with my back, I'm going into hospital tomorrow for a Caudal Epidural.  It is just a day case but requires a general anaesthetic due to the placement of this.  I am unable to have a normal epidural under a local because of all my previous spinal surgery.  This is another attempt to control the pain that I have been suffering.  If this fails then I will be looking at more surgery.  It's an early start for me as I have to be at the hospital for 7:30am!

Anyway, enough doom and gloom, my main reason for posting was to show a card that I made for an order.  The card is for a friends partner who celebrates her birthday tomorrow.  She is a dog lover and I didn't have many stamps so I thought I would treat myself to some Lili of the Valley stamps and couldn't resist the adorable stamp called Swing Time.   The other criteria was that her favourite colours were purple and green.

 I know the colours look slightly washed out in the photos, no matter what I did, I couldn't get them to any better without over saturating.  I really loved this card as the colours are all nice pastel shades!  The DP is from an old free My Minds Eye pad with a crafting magazine.  The sentiment is one of the great circular sentiment stamps also from Lili of the Valley.  I can't believe this is the first time that I've used them!

I know I've not included the details list like I have been doing recently, but I think I've mentioned most things in the post.  I can't type much longer as my cat, Bozzy, is trying to walk across the keys!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

The Sweet Stop - Sketch
Lili of the Valley - Spring

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.  I hope to do some major blog catching up whilst resting over the weekend!

xx :0)

Teddy Stampers #30 - Colour Challenge

I'm sorry that I'm late with my post today. I'm on my 3rd day off work and am on very strong painkillers at the moment because of my back. These tablets are making me feel very woozy!

It's time for another challenge at Teddy Bear Stampers. Thank you to everyone that joined in our last challenge of Valentine Teddies, they were all amazing! Our challenge this week is we would like to see Pink, Brown & White on your creations and we are being sponsored by the amazing Whiff of Joy.

I think this colour combo could become a favourite of mine, I love how the brown and pink work so well together.  As I was making this card for my sister, I had to use the cute Born to Shop stamp from Lili of the Valley

 Supplies:

Stamps: Born to Shop - Lili of the Valley; Sentiment - Woodware; Medium: Copics

CS & DP: Cookie Dough - Elzybells; Pink Petticoat; Wild Rose Studio

Tools: Circle & Scallop nesties; MS Doily Lace Punch

Embellishments: Cookie Dough Buttons - Elzybells; Ribbon & Gems - Stash; Glossy Accents

I don't think you can quite see in the picture below, but I've put some Glossy Accents on the sunglasses.  The brown CS looks orangey in the photos but I can assure you that in real life it's a lovely pale brown!

Isn't she cute!

I hope you will join us for this challenge, just remember you need to use a rubber, acrylic or digital teddies on your creations!

I am also entering this into this weeks Lili of the Valley Challenge which is to use your favourite colours.  As I've said previously, I think this could become a favourite with me!

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Snowflake Wishes

Good evening, I hope your Saturday has been enjoyable so far.  I've been making a couple of cards whilst listening to my team, Reading, beat West Brom in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.  There's something magical about 3rd round weekend, when all the underdogs dream of beating those top teams and getting to Wembley.

One of the cards I have made is for the Lili of the Valley Challenge which was great sketch.  I had a number of James Bear images already coloured so I thought I would get a head start on those Christmas as it will be here before we know it lol!! 
One of my craft related resolutions is to use up some old stash before I even consider treating myself to anything new.  The papers are from an old Forever Friends pad that I think was from 2009, the border punch I've had well over a year and I think it's only the second time I've used it and the corners are from an old sizzix die that was just shoved in the draw!  I wonder how long I stick to this resolution?!

Stamp: Lili of the Valley; Medium: Copics

Cardstock & Paper: Core'dinations & Forever Friends

Tools: Circle & Scallop Nesties, Fiskars border punch, Snow Dots embossing Folder, Sizzix Corner Die

Embellishments: CWC sentiment oval, Glamour Dust, Gemstones

I didn't take a close up of the image, but the fur trim, snowflakes and ground is all coated with Glamour Dust.  I really love this stuff at the moment!

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Lots of Texture (Glamour Dust, embossing and gemstones)

Winter Wonderland - Lets go Dotty - (embossing)

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes

Fuzzy Wuzzy - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Out With The Old  (Papers, Corner Die, Sentiment Oval, Border Punch)

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for Anything Christmas

I'm off to do some blog hopping now, if the cat will let me! Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #38 - Sketch by Helen

Morning All.  Before I get into today's Just Cute Bears Challenge, I would like to apologise firstly to everyone that entered our last challenge for not getting round to commenting on your cards and secondly for just dropping off the face of blogging.  I've a few things going on at the moment that are putting everything else into perspective.  I don't want to go into it but just to say that I'm really trying to get myself back on track with everything.  I do appreciate all the support that you give me.

We have another change happening over at Just Cute Bears.  From this week, we are now Just Cute Bears & Friends!  This means for those of your that may not have any bear stamps, you can now take part using any other cute animal that you have in your collection.  However, for those of you that love your bears, you can still use those.

We have been given a fab sketch by Helen to use this week.  I believe it's her first and I just want to say it's great and keep up the good work hun!

I did change the sketch slightly as I didn't want Thomas's feet covered up by the strip

I had great difficulty photographing this card as the sun was shining right on it, hence the shadows under the roses!  No matter what I tried to do in my graphics package, I could not get it right and I'm unable to rectify that now as it's my MIL's card which has been sealed up in the envelope.
I hope you will join us this time and I promise that I will get round to everyone's blog and comment. Don't forget to check out the rest of the girls cards as they're amazing.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #36 - Swirls & Bling

Good morning all, I hope you're having a lovely weekend inspite of the sudden chill in the air.  I know I'm finding it a difficult adjustment after having enjoyed temparatures in the 80's & 90's! It possibly accounts for the slight cold that I've managed to pick up from work too.

Before I mention this weeks Just Cute Bears Challenge, we have a change that you should be aware of.  We are going to a fortnightly challenge as of today so you will have 2 weeks to enter before our next challenge on 10th October.

This week we would like to see Swirls and Bling on your creations - we know everyone likes a bit of bling!

I've used one of my new Lili of the Valley James Bear stamps.  I think this one is so cute with the snow falling all around him. He's been coloured with Copics before being cut out with nesties and mounted onto a scalloped circle. I have added more Glamout Dust to the fur trim on his hat and Stickles on the ground and snowflakes.  The DP is from an old DCWV pad which I'm ashamed to admit I have only just opened!  The embossed panel is courtesy of the Snow Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and I've finished off with some Papermania silver swirl corners and a blinging snowflake.  

I think purple and silver is such a lovely combination and I will definitely use it again.

Please check out the rest of the teams wonderful creations.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

AiFactory - Anything Goes
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
CES Challenge - Animal Antics
Crazy 4 Challenges - Bling
Cute Card Thursday - Sketch
Delightful Challenges - Make it Sparkle
Die Cut Dreams - Furry Things
Lili of the Valley - Untraditional Christmas
One Stop Craft - Snowflakes in September
Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic
Secret Crafter Saturday - Purple & Silver
Totally Gorjuss - Christmas

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #18 - Bev's Sketch

Can you believe it finally feels like summer is here?!? It's taken forever to get some lovely sunshine so I hope you're all enjoying it!

It's a gorgeous summer morning here in Berkshire and it means that it's also time for another Just Cute Bears Challenge. Thank you to everyone that took part in last weeks recipe challenge, don't forget to check back to see if you're our lucky winner!

Before I mention today's challenges I just wanted to share the sad news that Jane has decided to step down from the team. We wish Jane all the best and thank her for all her wonderful sketches.

This weeks challenge is a fabulous sketch by our lovely GDT Bev so I hope you'll all play along!

I've opted for another Xmas card to try and get myself started on this mission that takes longer than the day itself! It's another cute LOTV bear and I've coloured him with Copics (what else!). The base has been made up of SU! CS and some Doodlebug DP. I've used a Fiskars snowflake punch that I've had for an age. I really must get myself some more MS punches. It's been finished off with some ribbons, gems and a Woodware sentiment.

Here's a close up of the bear. Apologies for the darkness of the photos, these were taken last Sunday when it was a complete contrast to today's weather!

We are once again sponsored by the lovely Kim at Cuddly Buddly. Please check out the blog to see the rest of my teamies gorgeous cards!

I don't know about everyone else but I'm hoping to do some more crafting today. Living in a flat we don't have a garden to sit in and enjoy the sunshine! Plus there are the usual chores that need doing!

I hope you all have an enjoyable day whatever you're up to. Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Sweet Lil Thomas, with love!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS MY SECOND POST OF THE DAY

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MY JUST CUTE BEARS DT CARD

It's almost unheard of these days for me to post twice in one day! Well I have to say I've had a bit of a craft fest and made 4 cards! I'll spread them out for you, although one of them is my DT card for next week.

I spent yesterday having a look at what challenges there currently are out there and found a few that I fancied having a go at.

I've had this adorable Thomas stamps from LOTV since they were released and can't believe that I've not inked him up yet! He's just a sweetheart isn't he?! He's been coloured with copics and I've also added some stickles to his whiskers and glossy accents to his little posy of flowers although they don't show up very well in the photo. I've used one of my fav shades of Core'dinations CS (exotic orchid) and the DP is a Pink Petticoat download. I've also not used these flowers since I received them from Wild Orchid Crafts so thought they would go perfectly with the DP & CS. It's been finished off with my Doily Lace MSBP and a sentiment from Woodware.

Isn't he cute?! You can just about see the stickles on his whiskers but the glossy accents still doesn't want to show. It's their, honest!

This cards has been made to fit a few challenges, as follows;

Lili of the Valley - Sketch by Bev
Papertake Weekly - Shiny, Sparkly & Special
ABC Challenge - U for Unused Stash
Cute Card Thursday - Someone Special (I do have another card made for this challenge too, hope that's allowed!)

Thank you for stopping by again and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #16 - Multifolds

Morning All! I had intended to blog and craft a bit more this week but I've had a bit of a stiff neck which has limited by ability to craft as I was unable to look down at my desk without being in pain. Thankfully this subsided in time for me to be able to make my DT card for Just Cute Bears this week, although couldn't completely finish it.

Thank you to everyone who took part last week, please check the blog to see if you were our lucky winner.

This weeks challenge is to make something with more than one fold. I took this opportunity to make my first ever easel card and also my first Christmas card this year. I used another cute LOTV teddy which has been coloured in copics before being cut out with nestabilities. The background has been embossed using the Snow Dots cuttlebug folder. I have also used some Doodlebug DP that I've had for ages. This has been finished off with snowflake punches and a Craftwork Cards oval. Because of the problems with my neck, I wasn't able to properly finish the bottom part of the card.

A close up of this adorable little bear!

I was surprised how easy it was to make an easel card and will definitely be making more in the future. I hope you will join us again this week as we have another fabulous prize from Cuddly Buddly.

Hopefully I will be back with more cards to show you this week that I have made just recently and also some photos of cakes that I made for last weeks cake break.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #14 - Jane's Sketch

If Mr Blogger is behaving himself then this post will appear as normal at 9am on Sunday morning! I'm still in Taunton after my friends wedding and really hoping that, after all the problems with flights, they manage to get away on their honeymoon.

Anyway, being a Sunday can only mean 1 thing......Just Cute Bears Challenge Time! Thank you to everyone that took part in last weeks challenge. I apologise if I didn't get round to everyone, it's been a busy week looking after Jon and work.

The lovely Jane has provided us with another fabulous sketch for this week. When I first saw it, I was a little daunted, but having now used it, I love it and will definitely use it again! Thanks Jane!

I've used another of my new Lili of the Valley stamps from Ally Pally. These are now on sale so what are you waiting for?!? This cutie pie has been coloured with copics and cut out with rectangle and scalloped rectangle nestabilities. I've used this lovely pink Core'dinations cardstock and the DP's are both from Pink Petticoat (thanks Dawny!). The finishing touches are a Woodware sentiment and some Papermania gemstones. I was going to use some paper roses but there wasn't the room and didn't want to ruin the card.

I absolutely adore this card, I was so happy with the final result! Here's a close up of this cutie!

I hope you will join us again this week. As always we are sponsored by the lovely Kim at Cuddly Buddly. She provides us with such fab prizes each week.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #13 - One for the boys!

Good morning to you all! I hope you are having an enjoyable weekend and that the weather is being kind to you.

It's Sunday morning so that can only be one thing.....time for another Just Cute Bears Challenge! Before I mention this weeks challenge can I just say a BIG thank you to everyone who took part in last weeks "Flowers" challenge! I think we had our record since we began. Please make sure you check the blog to see if you were our lucky winner!

This week we would like to see you make something for the boys! It doesn't just have to be a card, it can be any creation as long as it contains a cute teddy.

This challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to use one of the new Lili of the Valley stamps that I managed to pick up at Ally Pally last weekend. This is part of the new release due out on 21st April. The base is made up of SU! cardstock (sorry, I can't remember the name) and the DP is from the FF paper pack "Just For Him". I then embossed some Bashful Blue CS with my Distressed Stripes CB folder. The image has been coloured with copics and cut out with square nestabilities and mounted onto the SU! CS which has been cut with the scalloped square nestabilities. I have finished off with a Craftwork Cards oval sentiment and some Papermania brads.
Isn't he just adorable!!

I hope you'll take the time to join us again this week. As always we are sponsored by the fab Cuddly Buddly with another fantastic prize for the lucky winner. Please also check out the blog to see the rest of the amazing DT girlies creations.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #11 - Yellow & Green

Happy Easter to you all! Make sure you don't eat too much chocolate otherwise you'll make yourself sick.

Being a Sunday means that it's time for another Just Cute Bears challenge. Thank you to everyone that entered last week, I know it was a bit of a difficult challenge. I did enjoy visiting all the blogs and seeing your wonderful creations.

Before I tell you the challenge for the week, I would like to tell you that, for April, we have been joined by the wonderful Helen! This week's challenge is a colour combo for you. We'd like you see Green & Yellow on your creations. This isn't a usual combo for me so wasn't all that easy. I knew straight away that I wanted to use this cute Lili of the Valley stamp though. The layout is fairly simple. The CS is two different shades of Bazzil Basics and the yellow is Core'dinations. The embossed panel has been made using the Paisley cuttlebug folder, the ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are from Prima.
I was quite shocked at how similar my card was to the fabulous Jenny's creation! Please check out the rest of amazing DT girlies cards. We are sponsored by Cuddly Buddly.

Hope you all have a lovely day. Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Lil Baby Boy!

Completely unheard of, 3 posts in one day! Please scroll further down to see my Just Cute Bears DT card for this week..

My sister asked me if I could make a baby boy card for a friend who is due to give birth very soon (yes, they know it's a boy!). This gave me the perfect excuse to use my new Lili of the Valley stamp. These stamps are so cute and very reasonable.

I had such fun colouring this image in and I'm really pleased with it. The papers are downloads from Nitwits and I have the fab Dawny P to thank for pointing me in their direction! My MS doily lace punch received another outing on this card and some organza ribbon. The sentiment is a Francoise Reed Woodware stamp and I finished off with some pale blue dew drops.

A close-up of this lil cutie pie! You could just squeeze his lil chubby cheeks!

I am going to enter this card into this weeks Creative Card Crew challenge which is Dots!

Thank you for stopping by once more and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

I can't believe it's Sunday evening already! At least it's only a 4 day week followed by a 4 day weekend!

xx :0)