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

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 #7 - Mothers Day

Good morning to you wherever you are waking up. It's a bright but frosty start to the day here in Berkshire on FA Cup Quarter Final Day!! I've just woken and realised that I've not scheduled my post for this morning so am quickly doing it now!

Thank you to everyone that took part in last weeks Just Cute Bears Challenge. I had a really enjoyable time going round and looking at everyone's entries. Don't forget to check the blog to see if you were our lucky winner.

With Mother's Day just a week a way (in the UK), this week we would like to see you create a Mother's Day card or project.

I'm back with the Forever Friends this week. I love these bears and they are so easy to colour. The image has been coloured with copics and then cut out with oval nestabilities. The embossed background is actually from a sizzix winter set but I think it can cover a multitude of occasions. I've used Core'dinations cardstock and, if you look carefully, you can see slightly distressed look on the embossing where there white core has come through. The sentiment is part of an Elzybells set that covers ALL family members. It's such a great set.


Here is a close up of the coloured image


I've been having a hard time with my mojo recently so I saw this layout out on one of Michelle's fabulous cards and decided to CASE it. If anyone has seen my mojo can they send it back because I miss it and my craft room is feeling neglected! In the meantime, I seem to have found a new passion for baking and keep whipping up batches of muffins for my friends at work! I've a whole list of things I'd like to try out next. Not so good on the waistline!

Anyway, make sure you check out the rest of the amazing DT Creations.

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

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #2 - Congrtatulations

Wow, a BIG thank you to everyone who took part in our first challenge over at Just Cute Bears. There were some amazing cards and cute bears out there! Needless to say that some of them have been added to my ever growing wish list!

This weeks Challenge is

"Congratulations"

This can cover a multitude of occasions so I can't wait to see what you come up with.

This weeks fabulous prize is this gorgeous stamp which has been kindly donated by

Cuddly Buddly Crafts

I chose to go for a wedding card as I don't make nearly enough of these and, ashamedly, it gave me my first chance to use this cute Forever Friends stamp. I've gone for a CAS style card again using just an embossing folder for the background and my MS Valentine Lace Punch again. I'm really starting to love this punch!! I also used some swirls as accents in opposing corners to balance it out. You can't see it, but the card is Bazzil Bling and it has such a lovely shimmer.

Supplies:

Stamps: Bride & Groom Toast - Forever Friends; Inks: Copics & Memento Tuxedo Black;

CS: Bristol Board, Bazzil Bling & CWC CS;

Tools: Love Language - CB Folder, Nestabilities, MS Valentine Lace Punch & Sizzix Swirls

Please check out my amazing DT Buddies fabulous creations. They are fantastic and so inspirational.

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

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears - New Challenge!

The wonderful Ali is setting up a new challenge blog dedicated to Just Cute Bears and the is a DT call on at the moment. The first challenge is due to start on Sunday 24th January.

This is the perfect challenge for me as I adore teddies and have loads of teddy stamps and CD's and as one of my New Year Resolutions was to try and get on a DT I just had to give it a go!

I have too many favourite stamps to choose from and they would get upset if I singled one out of all the rest, however I have gone with a Forever Friends stamp for my card. I thought it would also be a good chance to make a start on some Valentines cards.

The small heart embossing folder is from the Love Language set and the sentiment embossing is from Sizzix. I thought I would finish the card off with some small and large heart gems.

I'm sorry about the darkness of the photo. I don't really get a chance to take photos in natural daylight at the moment so have had to use my daylight lamp but it's still not good!

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

xx :0)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...!

Can you believe it's the first day of Advent already?? Where has this year gone? It doesn't seem 5 minutes since I was thinking about my crafty New Years Resolutions (which I didn't keep!) and now we're almost there again.

So I guess it's no surprise then that I'm showing you another Christmas card! I've used another cute Bear Essentials stamp that I got from Dies to Die For. I've kept the layout simple again so as to not detract from the image. I've used some new Sizzix Textured Impressions Folders for the embossed background.
Doesn't Santa look jolly?!! I'm sat watching my favourite Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street, at the moment (the remake with Richard Attenborough). It always helps me feel festive and wish I was a little girl again!

Supplies:

Stamps: Bear Essentials - Dies to Die For; Inks: Copics, Memento Tuxedo Black

CS & Paper : Stampin Up!, Bristol Board ; Tools: Sizziz Textured Impressions Winter set #2 & Christmas Set, Nestabilities,

So, what's your favourite Christmas film?!?!

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

Have a good evening.

xx :0)

1 card, 3 Challenges.....!

Okay, I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday as I had a lovely evening out with the ladies from work.

This card was for one of those ladies, Liisa who's birthday it was on Saturday. I thought this card was perfect for Liisa as she retired a few weeks ago and is a lady of leisure.

This card fits 3 Challenges :-

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Embossing
Papertake Weekly - Digital Downloads
Creative Card Crew - Whatever the Weather

Supplies:

Stamp: Lazy Days - Penny Black; Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black & Copics

CS: Bazzil Basics, Pink Petticoat; Tools: Label 3 Nestabilites, Swiss Dots CB Folder, Sizzix corner dies

Embellishments: Ribbon - Stash, Gems - Papermania, Oval Sentiment - CWC

I hope the card is acceptable for all challenges I certainly enjoyed making it and Liisa loved it.

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

XX :0)

PTW Challenge - Animal Antics

We've certainly had a few "animal antics" in our house the last couple of days! The vets confirmed that Bozzy does have an over-active thyroid and will need medication for the rest of his life. They also think he's got a slight infection so have given us 5 days on antibiotics to administer. How difficult could it be to give two little tablets twice a day?!?! Very difficult when that little man doesn't want to open his mouth!!! We tried hiding them in food, whipped cream, chicken, but he just eats the food and spits them out! I hate upsetting him, but he has to have them otherwise he will become very ill. Hopefully it will get easier with time.

This weeks challenge over at Papertake Weekly is Animal Antics. Your card, or project should include an animal of some sorts. This card was made for my best friend, Lorna's twin sister and I thought I would enter into the challenge. One of my new PB stamps that I purchased at the NEC got it's first outing.

Supplies:

Stamp: Friendly Surprise - Penny Black; Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics; CS: Papermill

Embellishment: Ribbon - Meiflower; Tools: Oval Nestabilites, D'vine Swirls CB folder, Sizzix corner dies

I'm sorry for my lack of blog-hopping the last week or so. I promise that I will try and get round every one's blogs in the next few days and see all the wonderful things you've been up to.

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

xx :0)

Happy Easter! - Friday Sketchers #47

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you get lots of yummy chocolate eggs to enjoy as it's the one day of the year we needn't feel guilty about eating it!

As I said in my previous post, I must try and start participating in a few more challenges so I thought "why not check out the Friday Sketchers challenge this week?" Jacqueline has come up with a fabulous sketch for us to follow and I couldn't wait to try it out.

I used the cute Hunny Bunnies from CC Designs that I got from Dies to Die For. I've coloured with copics before cutting out with oval nesties and mounting onto a scalloped oval. The base is made up of using a piece of last years DCWV Spring Stack pack and adhered to some pale blue bazzill basics card which I have also used for the strip across the top. I've cut the swirl from a Sizzix die (scribble swirl I think). The sentiment is from Elyzbells. I've finished off by adding some gemstones.

It's a bit different for me as I'm not used to using dp, but wanted to give it a go. I've tried to coordinate the colours on the paper with those that I've used to colour my bunny. Any tips on how I can improve would be greatly appreciated!

Have a great day everyone and thank you for stopping by.

xx :0)

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - #1 New Beginnings

There's a new challenge blog started especially for stamping - Stamptacular Sunday Challenge. Being a new blog, what better start than New Beginnings. You can make a card for any form of new beginning as long as it includes some form of stamping!

I have to admit to being pretty predictable going for a new baby card and, when I think of new baby's, out comes by PB Baby Hammock stamp! It's just such an adorable stamp and perfect for any new baby. The image has been stamped and coloured with copics before being cut with nestabilities and mounted on a light pink scalloped circle. The base is made up of white cs that has been partially embossed using the swiss dots CB folder before being mounted onto light pink cs. Baby Girl has been cut using a Sizzix die from the same light pink cs. To finish I've added a small heart gemstone to the centre of the pink heart and another above the "i" of Girl.



I've finally been able to use my new personalised stamp which arrived at the beginning of the week and I couldn't resist adding a piccie of it!! I've got to say a HUGE thank you to Stacey for pointing me in the right direction! It's so cute!! Considering it came from Malaysia, it was here within a week of me confirming the design, so fantastic service!

Anyway, I hope everyone is well. Thank you for stopping by and any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

More Easter Treat Bags

Sorry it's been a week since my last post, I don't know where the time goes! Thank you for the comments on the treat bag in my last post. Since then I've made 10 more for my colleagues at work. I had a little production line going!

They've all been made using Papermania 3in card strips. These are a perfect fit for the Bigz Die. The images are all from the Elzybells Easter Cube Trio and have all been coloured using Copics.

I apologise for the first poor photograph. I didn't realise it was that bad until I went to crop it.


The second photo shows a close up of one bags and the yummy goodies that are inside! They all have some Cadbury's Mini Eggs. I hope my colleagues like them!

Hope you have all had a good weekend and thank you for stopping by and any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Easter Treat Bag

Thank you to everyone who recommended places for personalised rubber stamps. I finally chose one from eBay and can't wait for it to arrive! It's coming from Malaysia and it has only cost me £7 and that's including p&p!!

On to today's offering. A while ago I was contemplating purchasing a Cricut Expression after seeing some cute little boxes that could be made with one of the cartridges. However, I decided that for the outlay it probably wouldn't be worthwhile. After further investigation, I found that the Big Shot had these Bigz XL dies that make exactly what I was looking for! So, after excellent service from Cutting Edge Crafts, I now have my Big Shot and dies and this is the result!

It was really easy to put together and very sturdy. I'm just not to sure on whether the decoration is complete. I just get the feeling that something is missing, but I don't know what I'm hoping that you lovely people will be able to give me some tips!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and thank you for any comments you leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Holy Cow!

Can you believe that I forgot to make my Line Manager a birthday card for her birthday last week??? She was on leave and I had intended to make one for the week before hand to give to her, but then all that trouble with the agent flared up and it went out of my head completely! Anyway, I wanted to make up for it and had the perfect sentiment!

I used my S-moo-ches set from Elzybells and stamped out the Angel Cow and the sentiment "Holy Cow! I forgot your birthday!) The image was coloured with copics before being cut out with circle nestabilities. I realised afterwards that I should have glittered the wings for extra effect. The base is made up of two blue shades of Bazzill Basics. The lower half has been embossed with the Spots and Dots folder. To break up the space, I cut a strip of the darker shade and some white card before adding some blue satin ribbon and gem stones. To finish off, I added some photo corners.

I really wasn't sure about the card when I made it, but Jon kept saying how great it was. I am still a bit low on confidence and belief. I keep getting ideas, but when it comes to making anything, my mind just goes blank and I get frustrated. I would love to be able to work with patterned papers but I just don't know where to begin. I would be extremely grateful for any tips or advice anyone would give me.

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

xx :0)

Mother's Day Cards and Elzybells Challenge 16

I know, shock horror, 2 posts in one day!! As it is Mother's Day, it is only right that I show the cards I have made for my mum and mother-in-law. I decided against making identical cards this year. Thought it would be best if I challenged myself a bit.

This card is for my mum. I have used the gorgeous Elzybells Love You Teds for this card. One of the DT members, Maria Adams gave me the idea after using if for a Mother's Day card during the sneak peeks. It has been coloured in with copics before being mounted onto some pink Core'dinations CS. I'm loving this CS at the moment, it is just as good as Bazzill. The base is using the same CS with a white layer that has been embossed using good ole swiss dots! I have added some pink satin ribbon across the centre. The swirls are coordinating with the same CS. They are cut out using the Sizzix Scribbles Swirls die. "Mum" has been cut using the Girls Are Weird alphabet and the card has been finished off with the usual 3 gemstones.


I'm also hoping that this will qualify for the Elzybells Challenge this fortnight, which is Polka Dots. I know some of the DT have used the swiss dots embossing folder, so I've got my fingers crossed that I can too!!

For Jon's mum's card, I used the cute Forever Friends Family Relations decoupage pack and have mounted the image using 3d foad pads before adhering to a scalloped square nestabilty and adding some Papermania Adhesive Shimmer Dots to the 3 remaining corners. The base is made up of a piece of Papermania Ametheyst Infusion DP whilst the other half of the card has been embossed using the D'vine Swirls folder. I have added 3 more shimmer dots to the top corner.

I hope the photo's look okay. It was difficult to see how they looked when editing them as I had the sun streaming through the window and causing glare on my screen. Apologies if they're not that great.

I hope all you mum's out there are getting well and truly spoilt today! I'm off to see mine shortly with a BIG bunch of flowers and a Mother's Day Pooh Bear!!!

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

xx :0)

Get Well Ellie

As I've been feeling a bit poorly the last couple of days, what better card to make than a get well card! I've inked up one of the cute Ellie stamps from Stamposaurus that I got at Ally Pally last year and have watercoloured her with WHSmiths watercolour pencils. She's then been cut out with oval nestibilities and mounted onto one of my favourite Bazzill blues. Actually, all the blue cs on this card is by Bazzill! I've used my MS Lace Doily punch again to create a decorative strip, with a smaller layer of cs and finished off with some organza ribbon and gemstones. The base is just some pale blue cs mounted onto a white card blank.

As the card was looking a bit bare at he top, I added some sizzix photo corners and gem butterflies. The sentiment is by Woodware.

I'm undecided on whether the butterflies were a good thing to add, so I'd be grateful if you could let me know your thoughts.

You might have guessed that blue is one of my favourite colours, and that is largely due to my boys in the blue and white hoops of Reading!! I'm off to see them this afternoon with my dad, so may not get a chance to post another card today. It's a big game against Bristol City who are playing a bit better than we are at the moment. I just hope Doyler and Hunty remember to put their shooting boots on today!!

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Saturday and thank you for any comments you may leave, they are gratefully appreciated.

xx :0)

Tilda 21st Card

I've been asked by a friend to make a card for her niece's 21st birthday. This is a big thing for me as I don't get asked to make cards very often.

I've used one of my new Magnolia stamps & coloured her with Copics (I coloured a LOT, practising shading). I think this one is from the New Year Collection.

The base is made up of Bazzil CS and some satin ribbon. The wording has been cut using the Girls are Weird sizzix alphabet set. The sentiment is from Woodware.

Do you think this card is okay for a 21st? As I've said before, I'm not too good with layouts and don't have many DP's, so this is why it's a bit plain. I love looking at everyone elses creations, but put different papers in front of me and I suddenly don't have a clue!!

Sorry about the dark photo. Still haven't managed to work out the best way to talk good quality photos with my daylight tip. If anyone has the answer, please let me know!

Hope you've all had a good weekend. Thank you for stopping by. All comments are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)