PTD - Challenge #34 - Flowers

Good morning world wide web!! How are you all? I was up 'til pretty late last night number crunching on Excel, I would say it was fun, but I would be lying! LOL. Anywho..

Congrats to the winner of last week Lena Katrine - http://scrappeskreppe.blogspot.com/, please contact Donna with your details and she will arrange your prize.

I have a DT card to share with you this morning - over at PTD this week, the challenge is FLOWERS. You can create any project you like but it must include flowers - that could be as an embellishment, as the image or part of the image, as the background - interpret it how you wish.

The sponsor this week is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps & More, they have a massive range of digi images and papers so why not head on over and take a look. The DT had the opportunity to use some of their images for this challenge - I chose 'Daisy Days'.

This was the first time trying out my new toy - the Imaginisce i-Top tool. I went a bit over board - three home made brads and one glazed Basic Grey one! LOL. Hey ho. I love how you can create brads that match your projects EXACTLY with this tool, because you can use the same paper pack for everything!! :D

To highlight the biggest flower I added stickles and gems to altnerate petals. I paper pieced her dungarees using some denim looking digi paper from a digi kit called Spontaneous Delight - I quite like the effect!

Yummm, I love the big spots on this embossing folder. Its called 'Seeing Spots'. Polka dots are just my fave ever thing!! I added a bit of brown bakers twince for a bit of interest and tied it in a cute bow! The green and brown flowers are from Prima.

I would like to enter this card into these challenges:
× Top Tip Tuesday - #19 - Fabulous Flowers
× Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #38 - Flubbers
× Magical Monday Challenge - #14 - Flowers
× The Pixie Cottage #54 Sketch or Flowers [Flowers]
× Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - #67 - Flowers
× Stampin' for the Weekend - #2 Getting Warmed Up [Warm Colours]
× Moving Along With The Times - #83 - Spring

So why not create a lovely flowery project and join us over at Pear Tree Designs. I look forward to seeing all of your creations this week. xo

FIRST EVER BLOG CANDY..

***THIS POST WILL STAY AT THE TOP UNTIL THE CLOSING DATE ON 31/01/11 - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR RECENT POSTS***

Well, as promised.. when I hit 30 followers.. I would offer up some blog candy, I've hit 30 followers.. so here it is. Hehe. You excited? I am..

This blog candy stash includes:

1. Smirk Christmas Celebrations clear stamps

2. PaperMania Dome stickers - Alphabet Mini Tags & Small Tags

3. Anitas Outline Stickers - Silver - Hearts and flowers, Gold - Funky Vase with Flowers

4. Assortment of Christmas Ribbon & buttons (Red, Green & White)

5. Anitas 'Happy Birthday' wood mounted stamp

6. Bo Bunny - Be Charmed - Self adhesive charms

7. 60+ sheets of 6x6 patterned paper (EK Success - Stacy Claire Boyd)

A few housekeeping rules:

If you are interested in winning this candy, please become a follower - if you aren't already, and leave your name and blog link with the inlinkz frog. As simple as that. :) A winner will be drawn on Monday 31st January and posted on my blog the following day - Tuesday 1st of February, so please check back. If the winner does not get in contact within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn. Good luck. xo

Christmas Crunch Sunday #5

The miracle of Christmas! :) Funny thing to be saying in January, but hey! You've gotta get in the mood if you're to be making Christmas cards.

I love this patterned paper from October Afternoon. You can use it in so many ways, there is a sheet with rows of different houses which you can cut into individual sections to use on cards, a good way to maximise the use of your stash.

Supplies:

Solid cardstock: Bazzill Bling - Blank Check, SU! Old Olive, Real Red

Patterned paper: October Afternoon, Very Merry

Stamp: Whimsy Stamps - Holiday Ticket Sentiments

Die: Whimsy Stamps - Ticket Die

Ink: SU! - Old Olive, Real Red

Ribbon: Giseka Graham - 39545

Embossing Folder: Sizzix Basic Grey - Snowglobe

Tools: 2" circle punch, Fiskars - Scallop Sentiment Punch

Miscellaneous: brown fineliner, Stickles - Diamond

I have found that SU! cardstock, the smooth stuff anyway embosses with Sizzix folders really well!! Like.. deliciously well! :) Yum.

Thanks for stopping by. :) xo

Liebster Blog

Good evening everyone. I hope you have all had a lovely day and have some fun stuff planned for the rest of the weekend. Me, well.. I have been trying to crack on with my dissertation write up - its not coming along too well, I've got ZILCH motivation! So if you want to pass on a few words of encouragement - please feel free! :)

Anyway, on a lighter note.. my lovely friend Katrina over at Flutterby Trina has managed to put a smile on my face today.. with this:

W-O-W! :) I'm sooo happy, thank you so much Katrina, and YES I do accept my award.

As with any blog award there are some conditions:

1) You have been tagged, do you want to accept?? YES!! Then create a post on your blog and post the love blog photo - here you are.. :)

2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept. Katrina over at Flutterby Trina.

3) Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people the have been tagged.

 

As the aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light please don't tag somebody with 3000 followers.

 

So thank you very much Katrina - you have made my day. I will post this picture in my Badges page along with the details! :)

 

Here is the list of blogs I would like to award this to:

× Tracey at My Creative Place
× Squirrel at Squirrel's World
× Kellie at Tickled Pink Stamps
× Jane at Jane's Lovely Cards
× Lort at Just Ducky

These girls provide so much inspiration - they all have their own unique styles and ways of crafting!! :) I hope you like the award, and thanks again Katrina! :)

I'm off now, my boyfriend is making burgers with mushrooms and cheese in a sesame encrused bun with some homemade chips!! mmm. Enjoy the rest of your night. xo

Get Well Soon..

and my friend Janome..

Hey friends.. thanks for stopping by tonight, I have a few things to show you before the card, so if you just want to see the card and not the other pictures and waffle scroll down to my line.

First of all, let me introduce you to Janome Sew Mini..

My new best friend. Ahhh but for how long? I hear you asking.. well.. for aslong as he keeps ticking over for me. Hes a beaut, I won him for just over £36 on eBay, bargain!! I have used him around 3-4 times, and hes totally perfect. I am by no means a pro sewer - but he caters to my needs! Hes so delish and I can choose between straight and zig zag stitches!! :)

So keep your eyes peeled for cards coming up with machine stitching on soon!! I have made a couple - one is a DT card and another is quite a simple 'Thinking of You' card.

I placed another order with The Ribbon Girl - I couldn't help myself, and their prices and customer service is unbeatable!!

I got some twill tape, a few meters of seam binding and some more colours of bakers twine - along with a few metres of other delicous-ness! :) I love the way they send the parcel - its just like a little birthday present, all wrapped up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon.

Ohhhh, and while I remember - I got sent a present from Cardmaking and Papercraft for sending an email which got published in issue 80 something - the exact copy escapes me.

Some gorgeous Popcorn the Bear stamps. How cute is the little duck? I haven't got any wedding style stamps - so these are a welcome gift!

_____________________________________________________

Now.. onto the card, which is probably what you came here for..

This is a card my Mam asked me to make for a male friend of hers who is poorly.

The bakers twine at the bottom was threaded through some large eyelets, I think it looks really effective - simple and understated enough to be on a masculine card. No images - as I didn't really have one that suited - so I went with a super sized sentiment instead. I love this woodgrain patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket - I'm running out.



My Mam wanted a lot of people to sign it so I added an insert to give people more room. I hope he likes it and the bright colours cheer him up!

I hope you like it!! If you would like a list of supplies please don't hesitate to ask.

I would like to enter this card into these challenges:
× Lothian Crafts Online - Challenge 10 - Anything Goes

× The Fuzzy Wuzzy Challenges #5 - Anything Goes

Enjoy the rest of your night. xo

Auntie..

Good evening folks, I do hope your day has gone better than mine!! Firstly, I got woken by the post man ringing the door bell at 8:30 - he has NEVER been round that early in his life!! My plan was to get up at 9, get all showered and dressed and take photos of the cards I have made the past few nights - well, all that went out the window when the sewing machine I won on eBay arrived! LOL. I was almost late for uni as I was lost in a world of my own.. I had to ask a lovely old lady if she had change for a fiver, as I had no coins for my Metro pass (*that reminds me: I must buy student ticket on Monday*).. almost missed my stop as I was immersed in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring - then when I got to boots to buy my lunch they had almost nothing left. Sheesh. All my tutors have gone on about all day is dissertation this.. dissertation that.. I mean okay, I know its worth 30% of my final mark - but if I hear the word or the deadline date once more, I'm afraid my brain will implode!!

On a lighter note - here is a birthday card I made for my aunty - I'm totally in love with it - from the monochrome colour scheme to the distressed edges and the curled corners. Just yum. :)

I wanted the main emphasis to be on the bow and the word 'auntie' and I hope that is what this card achieves. I went for the colours I did as her and my uncle were known to be pretty heavy goths in their day - and they still like all the dark colours. Its a pretty clean and elegant card - as she doesn't like flowers and such.



Here is a close up of that gorgeous bow - the black organza ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl, check their website out, honestly, their products, prices and customer service is unbeatable!! I tried to burn the ends of the ribbon to stop them fraying - but as you can tell it didn't really work. I was afraid I was going to set the whole thing a-light, so I just left it.

Can you see the little heart shape? That is made from a standard paperclip - I love it, if I was making more Valentine's cards I would make a tonne of these - although after a while bending all that metal would hurt your fingers. I used some of my new Stickles in Frosted Lace to go over my Basic Grey Cappella Chipboard letters - to give them a bit of oompfhh! The Hero Arts sentiment is embossed in silver embossing powder.

I have used patterned papers from My Minds Eye Meadow Lark collection - really fancy papers, and can I just say, the paper pack smells delicious!! (Can you tell I haven't had much exciting for my tea..) I added some Prima rhinestones in the top corner to add a bit of interest and fill the dead space.

The extra long vintage pins are also from The Ribbon Girl, and my gosh, they are extra long!! LOL. I used one in a previous card and it was sticking out of the design - so I tried to cut it, but to no avail - I had to leave it.. oops. I made sure they stopped in place by adding a few drops of Glossy Accents around each of them.

The card base is some light gray cardstock from American Crafts. All the distressing has been done with the Tonic - paper distresser, handy little tool that, I like it. I've wanted one for ages but only recently bought one. I'm glad I did now. I've also ordered myself an ATG 700 gun, excited about setting that up and getting it rolling.

Anyway, thats enough chatter for tonight - my heads pounding and I must get my bag sorted for tomorrow along with another 100 things I'll have to do before bed! :) Thanks for stopping by, have a nice night. xo

WOYWW

Good afternoon everyone, thanks for stopping by. Its all doom and gloom here in the North East today - the weather is yuck, but its cool and fresh, so I'm not complaining!! Hehe.

Here is the picture of my desk which was taken in the early hours of this morning - when I really should have been sleeping in order to prepare myself for the earliest start I've had in months (first day back at uni).. but instead I was making this card..

A bit going on today - I think this may be one of the only pictures I have posted which actually shows me mid-crafting! LOL. All the goings on on my desk can be seen finished up on my previous post here. As you can see I have my laptop out - I'm finding it increasingly difficult to craft without it there - and one of these days I am going to end up spilling glue or glitter or embossing powder all over it. Poor thing - it will make a change from drinks or soup I suppose.. don't ask. *blush*

I have my Cuttlebug and my Slice out at either side of the desk (boy, I'm lucky to have all of these gadgets - its what makes crafting to fun and easy). Talking of gadgets I recently ordered myself an i-Top tool from Imaginisce - it arrived yesterday, but I haven't got round to using it yet!! That is on my list of things to do today, before I have my darts 2nd round of doubles tonight. I want to get ahead on my DT positions so I'm going to sit down and craft!! Thats after I have been shopping and had my ham and spicy cheese toasty made with a multigrain mission deli wrap for dinner. Why I end up talking about food on WOYWW I do not know.. *whistles to self and rolls eyes*

So, thats about all I have for you today, I hope its enough, I know I have been neglecting my blog a bit lately!!..

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a few people:
Roz, for being my friend and guiding me with various craft-y related ventures
Mei, for offering me a chance to create cards with her products to showcase them on her blog and at craft fairs..
a few craft websites such as The Ribbon Girl, Quixotic Paperie and Bunny Zoe Crafts..
and my other online friends, such as Lexi, Katrina, Kim and Donna.

Thank you so very much ladies - you are the people who make this hobby all the more fun!

xo

Its been a while..

and for that I apologise.. a lot has been happening at home. BUT!! Finally, after winning 6-1 at darts tonight and coming home on a high, I sat down, and created a card. Which I must say.. I'm quite happy with - no colouring with ProMarkers and no stamping - it was really relaxing allowing myself to get crafty after so long not sitting at my desk. I know I have been posting cards etc, but they are all scheduled in advance, so here is a card for you tonight/early hours of this morning fresh off the press.. (sorry about the crap photos)

This has been made for a friend on the Trimcraft forum, its her 30th, obviously, so I wanted to make her something special. I hope it makes it through the post okay!! At first I wanted my card to include Cupcake Cherrie - which is available over at Tickled Pink Stamps - but I really couldn't be bothered to colour her in (no offence Cherrie - you're still a cutie), so I took a look at this weeks Mojo, and thought, yes!! That will be perfect!!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzil Bling - Feather Boa, In The Pink, Bazzill - Kraft, SU! Rose Red, Ruby Red
Patterned paper: Sassafras - Indie Girl
Ribbon: 13mm silk ribbon - White from The Ribbon Girl
Pin: extra long vintage - white from The Ribbon Girl
Gems: Kaisercraft - Ice Blue Rhinesones
Dies: Nesties - classic scalloped circle large, standard circles large
Tools: Tonic paper distresser, SU! Mat pack and paper piecer
Misc: white gel pen, WRMK embroidery floss - bubble gum, watermelon

I would like to enter this card into these challenges:
× Mojo Monday - #175
× Colour Create Challenge - #62 - Pink, Blue, Gray and White
× Charisma Cardz Challenges - #3 - Magic Numbers

Well, its my first day back at uni today since before Christmas - I'm leaving it a bit late to get to bed - considering I have to be up at 7! LOL. Thats going to be a struggle!!

Oh well, I'm going to upload my picture for WOYWW and be done for the night I rekon.

Thanks for stopping by, have a good day. xo

Pear Tree Designs - Challenge #33 - Blue

Hey all, thanks for visiting me today. If you stopped by to see my earlier post for my DT card over at Lexi's Creation's you will know that today is my first day back at uni after weeks. Like.. weeks.. off for Christmas and New Year. I think I've forgotton the whole routine. The biggest challenge is going to be getting to bed and waking up at a decent time. Because I have been off for so long its really knocked my sleeping patterns. Anyway..

Well done to last weeks winner of Challenge #33 - Paula (email entry). Today over at PTD the challenge is 'Blue', you can create anything you like.. aslong as it relates blue - interpret that how you wish. 

The sponsor this week is Cardmadfairy's Creations, they offer a gorgeous range of digis and their blog is very inspirational, with loads of hints and tips. Why not pop on over and take a look? For my card I have used one of their digis called 'Butterfly'. The winner of this weeks challenge will recieve x3 digi images of their choice from Craftmadfairy's Creations.

Here is what I came up with:

I'm loving the butterfly digi - its really versatile. It looks so delish in blue. I decided to take the challenge quite literally, and make the whole card.. BLUE!!.. with a few hints of silver here and there. I don't know why but one of the staples looks rusty.. trust me, its not. Strange how photos can twist things, LMBO!

This is my first ever easel card, its only 3.75" square, but that is all this image called for. I printed it onto Rymans 200gsm white coated cardstock and cut it into a simple rectangle. I then took a 3/4" circle punch and took out the corners - it sort of imitates a ticket shape, I like it - it adds something different to the image. I ripped some Not Quite Navy SU! cardstock along on edge and attatched a strip to the top and bottom of the main image. I added a little stitching - both real and faux to define the clean lines.

The sentiment is from Basic Greys 'What a Pear' stamp set, I have embossed it in silver. I added some velvet scalloped ribbon from My Minds Eye Lush Collection in BLUE!! to keep the card standing up right. I added a tiny die cut from my nesties Labels Two in order to write a sentiment. I finished the card off with some corner rounding, some little staples and a few BLUE!! pearls from Prima.

I would like to enter this card into these challenges:
× Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog - #32
× If The Shoe Fits - Fashionista Friday - #63 - You've Got A Friend
× Creative Inspirations Paint - Shades of your favourite colour

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope this card has given you some inspiration to get started with yours. xo

P.S Can I just apologise to those people of blogs who I didn't manage to get around to last week - we had a crazy amount of entries.

*EDIT* I now don't start back at uni until Wednesday, due to another emergency change of timetable.

Challenge #32 @ Lexi's Creations - Valentines Card

Morning. :) My first day back at uni today in weeks and weeks after being off for Christmas and New Year. I was pleased about the break - but I have been off for soooo long I'm beginning to forget pretty important things! LOL. Anyway..

Thanks to everyone who entered Challenge #31, congratulations to the winner and GD. Me and the rest of the DT apologise for not being able to make it round to everyones entries to leave comments - but inlinkz decided to not work!! Techno..

I hope you are ready for a splash of pink today, prepare yourself - its totally not me, so you won't be used to seeing colours like this on my blog. I hope its something that I will become more used to.

This fornights challenge over at Lexi's Creation's is 'Valentines Card', you can be as creative as you like. The sponsor is our very own Lexi - take a look at the Fairy Dust Craft website.

Here is my DT take on the challenge:

A lot of pink, a bit of distressing, a bit of stitching. Yikes - what was up with me? LOL. Well, the stitching is not so strange, is it? I have used Lexi's 'Hugs and Kisses - Sentiment' digi. The paper is from Bearly Mine Designs - Pink Polka Dot Swirls and is a digi too.

I have made my own shaker box using a chipboard heart from Cosmo Cricket. I covered it in SU! Pretty in Pink cardstock and sanded the edges smooth. I attached some acetate, punched out some mini hearts from vellum and placed them in the centre. I attached foam mount adhesive around the edges and placed another piece of patterned paper on the back, then placed it on the card with regular adhesive. *TIP* rub some talc onto the edges of your foam mount adhesive to prevent whatever it is in your shaker card from sticking to it - and allowing it to shake free. :)

I added some Martha Stewart Micro beads to the lips on the sentiment to make them stand out a little. I attached them using Tombow Mono Multi Glue - its great stuff. This was a messy job, the beads get everywhere!! They truely are micro but they give great results.

Here is a close up of the sentiment - it would be great for a male or female card, for valentines day or an anniversary. :) The Prima flower is from my stash and I highlighted it with my stickles. I added a fuzzy brad to the centre and attatched it to the sentiment.

Supplies:
Cardstock: AC - White, SU! Pretty in Pink, Vellum
Patterned paper: Bearly Mine Designs - Pink Polka Dot Swirls
Digi: Hugs and Kisses - Sentiment
Details on digi: Martha Stewart - Garnet Microbeads, PaperMania brad - Monochrome capsule collection
Stamp: SU! Tiny Tags
Ink: Distress Ink - Victorian Velvet
Chipboard Heart: Cosmo Cricket - Buck naked buttons and more
Tools: Fiskars - little heart punch, SU! Mat pack and paper piercer, BG - Precision File set
Miscellaneous: Stickles - Diamond, pink embroidery floss, SU! - Linen thread, brown fineliner, Prima flower from stash

I would like to enter this card into these challenge:
× Tellen's Place - Dot, Dot, Dot It! Polka Dots -  my patterned paper has just the slightest hint of polka dots
× TotallyPapercrafts Challenges - #50 - Add a Heart - my shaker box.. YEY.
× Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog - #45 - Anything Goes
× For Fun Challenges - Glitter - glitter on the Prima flower and microbeads on the lips
× Freshly Brewed Challenges - #31 - Valentine's Day card
× My Time To Craft Challenge - #124 - Spots and Dots
× Tuesday Throwdown #32 - Valentine
× Crazy 4 Cocoa - C4CC8 - Pink & Red
× Paper Sundaes #53 - Distressing

Thanks for stopping by, why not pop on over to Lexi's Creations and join in.

*EDIT* I now don't start back at uni until Wednesday, due to another emergency change of timetable.

Christmas Crunch Sunday #4

Here is the fourth installment of the series.. a little blue angel! :) A nice CAS card, which would be relatively easy to replicate.

Here it is..

I can't seem to drag myself away from Kraft for too long, its just delish!!

Here is the supply list for this card, pretty long for such a simple card! LOL

Supplies:

Solid cardstock: Bazzill - Kraft

Patterned paper: My Minds Eye - Colourful Christmas

Stamp: Paper Makeup Stamps - Season's Greetings Sentiment Set, Hero Arts - Circle Doily

Ink: American Crafts - Charcoal Pigment Ink, Versamark

Embellishments: Prima - aqua flowers & blue pearls and crystals, My Minds Eye - Bloom & Grow button

Tools: WRMK - Corner Chomper, MM - Slice (Fa La La),

Miscellaneous: white gel pen, Distress Stickles - Faded Jeans, white embroidery floss, AC - White embossing powder

I love layering the prima flowers up with other things, like pearls, buttons and die cuts, like I have done on this card, it adds an extra dimension! :)

Thanks for stopping by this week! xo



Konad Nail Art - Attempt # 2&3

Hey all, thanks for dropping by - sorry I don't have a card to show you today. Life at home has been really hectic of late - so I've had to take a bit of time out from crafting. I have a list of challenges I would like to enter though - so fingers crossed I may get round to making a card soon. I'm back at uni on Monday - and I have my two DT cards scheduled for the morning, so be sure to pop by then to take a look.

Anyway.. here are some more nails..

Here are my second and third attemps at using the Konad Nail Art Plates - such fun!! For both designs I used China Glaze - Grape Pop, and Konad White Pearl for the design - along with the m60 plate. My m57 plate arrived today - so I can't wait to try out some of the designs on that one!!

I am attending my friends engagement party tonight, so I best pull myself together and go and get ready soon.

Enjoy your night. xo

Sale-A-Bration 'Bliss' Round Uno

Well, Mr. UPS man came yesterday with some goodies I ordered from SU! I was super excited and couldn't wait to get stuck in.

First up I made a card using the Sandy Speckled roller and the extra large star punch - but that card is a DT creation - coming soon, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for that.

Onto the two cards I made with the 'Bliss' stamp set. My word, what a faf I had to make the card work out right. I was almost about to call it a day. But I had promised a friend I would make a card or two using this stamp set - plus, the images were perfect for a friends birthday coming up - very her style.

First I am going to show you the mess I made..

Let me tell you, I was less than impressed with the amount of flippin' cardstock I wasted. Gosh. On the right hand side is the destroyed focal point, destroyed by a smudge of glossy accents which I had used in order to apply some German Glass Glitter - that idea went down the drain. Notice the perfectly torn edges on the brown cardstock on the right compared to the left - you can never duplicate stuff like that - so I'm angry. Just as I was finishing up the card with a white line around the main focal point, I drew the line all wonky - and being the perfectionist I am - I just couldn't deal with it. So I had to start again..

Notice the gorgeous flecks of GGG (and the wonky line). I mean that stuff isn't overly expensive, but boy!! is the tub small, that is a little bit of GGG I'll never get back. Tut.

Now, onto the cards I actually ended up making with the stamp set - very CAS, but I think thats all that is needed.

CAS card using the flower stamp from the set on some Bazzill Kraft - using my new SU! Crumb Cake ink pad. Yum. Thats all I've got to say..

I think next time I would like to try and emboss the big flourish (if thats what you'd call it) in white onto some black cardstock - now that would look grand.

Thanks for stopping by today, I'm off to go schedule some posts so I'm not too behind with it all! :) xo

New Images at Fairy Dust Crafts

Heylo there girls and boys..

I'm pleased to announce that there are new digi images available over at Fairy Dust Crafts - designed by Lexi herself. Why don't you head on over now and take a look?

Also, don't forget our fortnightly challenge over at Lexi's Creations, you have until 22nd January to get your creations in with the theme of 'Say it with Love'. I hope you can join us, and good luck to all those who've entered.

xo

My Blog Has Attitude Award

Good morning fellow friends. Woah, it was v. icy when I got up this morning - does this mean we aren't having a spring/summer?! YAY! Seriously though.. it seems likes its getting colder again..

I digress, the point of this post is to thank my fellow DT member over at Lexi's Creations, Lalky Girl .aka. Tracey for my Blog Has Attitude Award..

Thanks a lot Tracey, you have made my day! :)

Now here come the challenges:

1) I have to pass it onto five blogs I love visting:
× Julia over at the Stamping Ground. My gosh, this woman is funny - she should be a stand up with some of the things she comes out with. Her posts are guaranteed to make me laugh!!
× Quixotic Paperie Store Blog. Such fab inspiration from many talented designers - their shop is fab too!!
× Paula Holifield - as massive inspiration to many crafters - she won Card Maker of the Year 2010. I aspire to be like her.. one day *big grin*
× Shelly at Shelly's Little Craft Space. This lady is a fellow PTI fan, I met her on the PFPTI blog not too logn ago, but her work is so unique and flawless - I just love visiting her blog.
× Gretchen over at Happiness Is.. - this lady's work is gorgeously gorgeous every single time. Perfect creations in everyway she has her own unique twist on things - I love visiting her blog to gain new ideas.

and 2) I have to tell you three things about myself. Well, where do I start?!
× I really really love horror movies - above any other kind
× I am a Geordie - although I'm not as thick as they make us out to be on tele..
× I agree with the lunar conspirisists

Thanks again Tracey, I'm now going to pass on the lurrv. xo

P.S I hope you like the award ladies - I look forward to finding out three things about you.

WOYWW #85

Afternoon all, sorry I couldn't contribute last week, lifes all getting a bit too much at the moment. Time for, SCONES AND WHIPPED CREAM - they sure sort lifes problems out.. well, they help!! Dramatically.

Centre stage are some lovely sultana scones with
strawberry jam and sweetned whipped
cream - DREAM DAY!! Oh, along with a huuuuge
mug of sweet sweet coffee. *YUM*

But you didn't come here to drool over food, so here is a picture of my desk taken earlier today when I was playing with my new stash. If you have been following my blog you will know that recently I treated myself to some new craft stuff. Ummm.. I went a bit OTT, but its been a while! :D LOL

Ahh, there is The Greeting Farm - Oh Boy! Ian, what a cutie. That slither of patterned paper is what I used to paper piece his shirt - now if that ain't resourceful.. you know the rest. Along side Ian are my very shabby looking boxes of ProMarkers. I must re-vamp them, but hey.. I'll just be saying that to myself for months while I get on with more adventurous and exciting stuff. In that Kraft-y coloured box to the right of the picture are all my new stamps which I have recently acquired, along with some ribbon from The Ribbon Girl and a few Kraft envelopes from Maya Road.

This morning my order from SU! came - super excited. I got the 'Bliss' clear stamp set from the saleabration, gorgeous designs - I'm off to make a card with them right now. Along side my first ever wheel stamp thingy - you know the type. And of course.. *drum roll please* some Crumb Cake ink - I'm waiting on the cardstock to arrive in a seperate shipping - it must have been flying off the shelves!! I plan on doing a comparison video between Bazzill Kraft, PTI Kraft and SU! Crumb Cake, once I have them all of course. So look out for that if your into you Kraft as much as I am.

The picture that follows is my order from Quixotic Paperie - fab site and super friendly and helpful (and talented) staff.

Can you tell I'm a fan of The Greeting Farm? Their images are adorable! Along side those are two rubber stamps from Kenny K's new collection and also a Marianne Creatable Die - Ribbon Flower 1 I believe. You can see it in use here. Its gorgeously gorgeous. But a pain in thee ass to remove the paper from after you have cut it.

QUESTION/ADVICE: Does anyone have a tip or trick for getting the paper out of the Marianne Dies without actually destroying the die or the paper and one that doesn't take half an hour. I was on for at least 10 minutes last night picking the paper out with the very tip of my craft knife! What a faf. But apart from that - beautiful results!

Thats all for now - I'm off to make a few cards with my new stuff. New stash doesn't leave that Kraft-y coloured box until it has been used at least three times (stamps that is..) I'm sticking to my resolutions as much as I can - I promise. *sweet smile*

Head on over to Julia's blog to check out other peoples work desks! :) Have fun. xo

Paper Sundaes First Birthday Celebration & Blog Hop

This is my second post of the night, sorry for jamming your feed! LOL. I just wanted to get them all posted before I start again tomorrow.

Hey everyone. Life at home is becoming a bit hectic of late. Why is it that months of nothingness and quiet can go by, then everything happens at once? I'm back to uni soon and a lot of stuff is happening at home with my boyfriends family. Yikes. Thats why I'm so glad that I can have time to just shut myself in my room and craft - forget about everything else, even for just a few hours. Anyway, you didn't come here to hear about that..

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I'm pretty new to Paper Sundaes, I think I have only ever entered one of their challenges. But.. they are now celebrating their first birthday, and BOY!! are they doing it in style. They have an array of sponsors from LOTV to Paper Makeup Stamps to Tickled Pink Stamps, excited? Go check it out -->HERE<--

They also have an extra special challenge - they would like you to show them your fave challenge from the past year. So I had a nosey through the archive, only to come up with about 7 faves! LOL. I have tried to narrow it down as much as possible, but have incorporated a few challenges into my card - I hope that's ok ladies!

× Paperpiecing - I have paper pieced that adorable umbrella, and her pockets
× Stitching - Faux stitching around the outside of the card. I'm a big fan of both real and faux stitching - I find it hard to make a card without one or the other!! LOL
× Something New -  MFT Pure Innocence - My Umbrella stamp (not a new release but its new to me, and I {love} her!!)

For this card I followed the Mojo Sketch for this week.
× Mojo Monday 174.

I would also like to enter this card into Papertake Weekly Challenge
× Ribbons & Pearls

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill - Kraft, Rymans 200gsm white coated cardstock
Patterned paper: Basic Grey - Pyrus
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence - My Umbrella
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Dies: Nesties - standard circles large
Embellishments: Prima orange pearls, 15mm satin orange ribbon from The Ribbon Girl
Tools: 1" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch
Misc: brown fineliner, ProMarkers

As well as the challenge they are also hosting a blog hop. If you go on over to their site you will see the rules around it and the list of blogs in the order you have to visit to piece together the secret sentence. Leave them a lot of love over at their blogs and you could be in with a chance of winning their blog candy too..

Exciting times I must say. You have until 22nd Jan to finish the challenge and complete the blog hop. Good luck everyone, and have fun. xo

For You

Hey guys, thanks for stopping by today, just a quick post to show you a card I made for a friend on the Trimcraft forum - I hope it makes it through the mail okay. I never really thought about all the embellishments etc when I was making this card.. oops.

I wanted to make this a warm and colourful card - I think I almost managed it without making it look too summery. This gorgeous stamp from C.C. Designs is Honey - August, she looks almost set for the beach.

I'm on a bit of an orange kick at the moment, hence the lovely bright orange lovely jubly Bazzill Bling cardstock as the backdrop for my card.

How perfectly perfect is that ribbon flower die cut from Marianne Creatables? I am going to get in touch with The Ribbon Girl - as the ribbon I used for this was actually what my package was wrapped up with! LOL. My only grudge with these Marianne dies is they don't have any pokey holes to get the die cut piece of paper after the die! Took me ages to tease it out with a craft knife without ripping it. If you have any tips of how to get the paper out without so much hassel, please - let me know!!

Supplies:
Cardstock: SU! Whisper White, Rymans, 200gsm white coated cardstock
Patterned paper: Basic Grey - Max & Whiskers
Stamps: Inkadinkadoo - Dot Flourish, C.C. Designs - Honey [August]
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, SU! - Crushed Curry
Dies: Nesties - standard circles large, classic scalloped circles large, Marianne Creatables - Ribbon flower 1 [LR0108], Tim Holtz Sizzlit - Vintage Market Alpha
Embellishments: SU! - small silver brad, PaperMania - mini glazed brad, Basic Grey [Max & Whiskers] - glazed brad, 5mm white satin ribbon, yellow Prima eLine flowers
Tools: WRMK - corner chomper, SU! mat pack and paper piercer
Misc: Stickles - Diamond, Ranger - Glossy Accents, WRMK - Sunbeam embroidery floss, ProMarkers

I hope my friend likes it, I'm sending it with a selection of flower embellishments as part of a swap people on the forum have set up. Can't wait to see what I get in return.

I would like to enter this card into these challenges:
× AiFactory - #064 - Anything Goes
× Pile It On - #3 - Anything Goes
× Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays - Anything Goes
× Craft Your Days Away - Challenge #11 - Anything Goes
× Stamp Something - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, I should have another post coming up shortly - I just need to upload the pics. :)

*EDIT* If I was to change one thing about this card, I would shape the letters into a half circle around the edge of the flowers - looking back, I think they look slightly out of place down there all alone in the corner! Oops.

Konad Nail Art - Attempt #1

*NOTE: Please don't judge! LOL. This is/was my first ever attempt using the Konad nail art plates.*

Products:
Base coat: Collection 2000 2 in 1 Basecoat & Ridge filler
Base colour: China Glaze - Pelican Gray (952)
Top colour: Barry M - Cyan Blue (294)
Nail plate: Konad m60
Top coat: Collection 2000 Maxiflex 5 day wear polish - Clear

Obviously the picture shows my nails before the final clean up - so there were still bits and pieces, to take off with some nail varnish remover. Simples.

I am quite happy with the results - but I could do with A LOT more practice. But hey, you do your nails loads, so I will get loads of practice. Hopefully my technique will be near to perfect soon.

I have found that some nail varnishes are really crap when it comes to using with the plate - they are just too thin and dry too quick. For now, I find the Barry M is really good, it is thick enough to not dry out too quickly before you apply the image to the stamp. I have ordered some proper Konad nail varnish - as reviews I have read highly recommend it. Black, white and silver.

Thats all for now - I hope this has given you an insight into how easy the tool is to use.

xo

L O V E

Here is a card I made for Sandra's Colour Challenge #16 over at Trimcraft - 'Pink & Brown'. Since getting my Hougie Score Board I've had an obsession with rosette flowers, so this card has two! LOL.

As you have probably guessed by looking at my resolutions - I have FAR too much patterned paper - that is why I have stopped myself buying any until I have made at least 100 cards. It has been really hard but I'm trying my best to stick to it! This is a great way to use up strips of patterned paper.

I love the colours of this paper pack, its from American Crafts - I Heart You collection, I used a slice of it for this card last week. I'm not really that big on pink but pink and brown is always a winning combo.

I used my SU! Heart to Heart punch and made some extra 3D hearts to fill in the empty space in the top right hand corner of the main portion of the card. I added some Diamond Stickles to the mountains of the rosette flowers, I wish I had used my Star Dust Stickles - as the Diamond ones have given the brown paper a yellow hue. Oh well. And of course, some lovely white grosgrain ribbon for a bow.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill - Kraft, American Crafts - textured white
Patterned paper: American Crafts - I Heart You collection
Text: Tim Holtz Alterations - Vintage Market Alpha Sizzlit Die
Ribbon: White grosgrain, SU! - Linen Thread
Rub on: SU! Dots and Designs
Misc: brown fineliner, pink buttons from stash, Diamond Stickles
Tools: WRMK - Corner Chomper, 1" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, Hougie Board, SU! Heart to Heart punch

Here is a close up of the sentiment - which I nearly didn't add to the card. I thought the polka dot rub on looked a bit too much without something to cover a portion. So I got out my Tim Holtz Alteration - Vintage Market Alpha die and created the word 'LOVE' from textured white American Crafts cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a good day whatever you are doing. xo

PTD - Challenge #32 - Free for All

Morning everyone!! Today over at Pear Tree Designs the challenge theme is.. FREE FOR ALL! A nice easy one for you, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Congratulations to the winner of Challenge #31! Clare - http://mycardworld.blogspot.com/ Enjoy your goodies from Donna.

The sponsor this week is One Stop Card Crafts. The winner will recieve £10 worth of Ranger Stickles.

My Mams birthday is on the 21st of this month, and I picked up a free digi from Pink Gem designs at the end of last year - which is perfect for the card I wanted to create. So here is my DT take on the challenge..

I have kept the card pretty CAS, as I wanted the main focus to be on the big artificial flower. The colour of it is just gorgeous - so I tried to mirror that with my ProMarkers when colouring in the digi (didn't really turn out the same.. I need a LOT more practice with my ProMarkers).

Here is a close up of the flower in all its glory - stunning! I used some Core'dinations Chocolate box cardstock to cut a scalloped circle with my Making Memories slice and then embossed it using a woodgrain embossing folder - I then gently sanded the top to reveal the blue underneath. I layered my flower on top of that.

I cut a small slice of paper from the Crate Paper - Restoration pack and stitched small criss-crosses with beige embroidery floss and added a bow for detail. I went around the outside of the SU! Naturals Ivory card base with a brown fine liner to add in some faux stitching detail.

I would like to enter this card into these challenge:

× Allsorts Challenge - Week 86

× Pattie's Creations Design Challenge - #10 - Anything Goes

× DDCC #95 - Jan 13 - All Stitched Up

× Glitterbabes Challenge - Challenge 27 - Anything Goes

Hope this has given you some ideas on how to use other decorations from around the home (artificial flowers). Obviously you would have trouble mailing a card like this - or even fitting it in an envelope for that matter, but since I will be hand delivering this - there are no problems.

Thanks for stopping by, why not head on over to PTD now and take a look at the other DT work.

xo