Sunday 30 August 2009

The Gargoyle


What could be better on a bank holiday weekend,
than to have nothing to do
but listen to the rain drumming on the roof
and curl up in a comfy chair
with a really good book?

I just want to say a quick thanks to Cherry,
for recommending
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
I finally got round to buying a copy!

It's not the type of book I generally go for,
but just four chapters in and
I am completely loving it.

xxx

Saturday 29 August 2009

Oh so sweet!

I must NOT get excited about Christmas yet!!!

I cooked up a batch of rum & raisin fudge today
so when I saw the challenge at
Create4fun
I thought it would be the perfect packaging.

The challenge is to make one of these
little milk cartons.
It's my first time playing along at this blog,
and if you haven't checked it out yet,
pop on over there and have a look.
The DT work is outstanding and
there is a new, fun challenge every Saturday.

The template for this carton is on their blog.
I found it a bit fiddly to make,
but I got there in the end.

Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Stamp - Penny Black Critter Party, coloured with whispers pens.
Border punched with fiskars lace punch.
Snowflakes punched and covered in diamond dust.
Sentiment made on my comp.

If anyone is interested in the fudge recipe just let me know.
It's very easy to make
and even easier to eat!!
xxx

Jungle Pals

Afternoon everyone,
hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday weekend.
My daughters have gone off to festivals,
one is at Leeds Fest and the other is at Creamfields;
hubby is playing golf,
so I have had lots of time to craft.

Here is my entry for this week's
Stamp Something challenge,
where the theme is 'Animals'.
The challenge sponsor is Digital Delights
where you will find lots of cute digi creations.
Check out the fab DT work and you can get some idea
of what's on offer.

Recipe:
Stamp - from the Woodware, Jungle Pals set,
coloured with watercolours and whispers pens.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow
Card candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Friday 28 August 2009

Back to Skool !!


I know I'm not the only one that has been struggling with
this week's 'Back to School' challenge, over at
Then I remembered that this set of stamps contained
a little backpack that was just perfect.
If you're struggling too, you could always take
Lorraine's advice and make a bookmark, or a covered notebook.
Check out the DT work for some great ideas.

What is it about me and buttons??
I see them on other people's cards
and they always look fab.
They just don't seem to look right when I use them.
I tried these all ways - with ribbon on top, underneath,
with brown thread, with string...
but in the end I got so frustrated I just stuck them on
without anything!

Recipe -
Stamp, from the Woodware Playtime set,
coloured with whispers pens.
Paper - My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus.
Letters cut with Sizzix die.
I made the 'Back to Skool' sentiment on my comp.
xxx

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Happy Birthday To Moo!!



Hello,
here I am introducing another of my newly purchased stamps.
This is Ladies Divine from Penny Black.
Isn't it just adorable?

I HAD to use it for this week's
MOOving Along with the Times Challenge,
(groan!)
which is a fab sketch from Clare.
You can make a card for any occasion,
as long as you follow the sketch.

Recipe:
Stamp - Penny Black, Ladies Divine, coloured with whispers pens
and watercolours.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow
Ribbon and Sentiment from my stash.
xxx

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Winter Teddy

I have told my hubby that there's no point in me
ironing his shirt sleeves,
when he keeps his jacket on all day!!
But, he is refusing to see my point of view.
Men!!
So, my ironing is now eating into my crafting time.

I have still managed to finish this card for the
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge
where the theme is '3D'

For my 3D card I have paper-pieced
teddy's jacket and mittens and used foam pads
to attach them.
I have also added some flower soft around teddy's feet
and some glossy accents on the die cut corner.

Recipe:
Stamp - Forever Friends, coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist
Card candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Sunday 23 August 2009

Cookies and Cards

Afternoon everyone,
I have a couple of things to show you today.
First a scrummy plate of melting moments.
I thought they would look great in cello bags,
tied with ribbon,
but they aren't going to last that long!!
lol*
And second a card for this week's
Simon Says 'Christmas in August' challenge.
There's still time to take part in this week's challenge so go and
check out the DT work.
Heidi is offering a generous prize of a $25 shopping spree in
the Simon Says Stamp Store,
which is jam packed with goodies.

I had lots of fun with this card.
It's one of my new stamps and I have been dying to try it out.
I couldn't get the colours right with my whispers pens,
so I attempted to watercolour it.
I found a small set of cheap watercolour paints that
the girls must have had when they were younger and
for a first attempt with them, I am quite pleased with the result.
It's also the first time I have used Flower Soft
and it makes a very pretty snow effect.


Recipe:
Stamp - from the Woodware 'A Winter's Day' set.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist
Polar white flower soft.
Brad, card candy and sentiment from my stash.
xxx

Saturday 22 August 2009

Ruby Wedding No2

Here's the second Ruby Wedding card
I needed to make.
I'm starting to doubt myself now,
and wonder whether the lady that ordered them will like them.
They aren't your typical Anniversary card.
Oh well, I will know soon enough!

Over at Daring Cardmakers,
Keryn is planning her 2nd anniversary
as a Stampin' Up demonstrator,
so she has chosen 'Anniversaries'
as this week's challenge.
Pop on over there and check out the work
of the DT.
It's lovely to see so much variety in their projects.

Recipe:
Digital Stamp - from the Pollycraft Promise Collection,
coloured with whispers pens and glossy accents on the heart.
Design Paper - K & Co, Classic
Heart charm and papermania pearl brads were from
xxx

Friday 21 August 2009

Ruby Wedding

Afternoon everyone,
I have been asked to make a couple of Ruby Wedding cards,
and here is the first one.
I was a bit daunted by this,
I've never actually made anything to order before,
so I hope that they will like what I've done.

I am entering this card for the
Lili of the Valley challenge,
which is 'So Charming'.
You need to add one or more charms to your project.
I don't have any Lili of the Valley stamps,
so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the prize
;-)
There's still time to enter this challenge
so head on over there and check out the fab DT work.

Recipe:
Stamps -from the WOJ Spring Collection,
coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - Papermania Regency.
Flowers were punched from the DP
and sprinkled with stickles glitter.
Papermania pearl brads and heart charm from
Ribbon from my stash.
xxx

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Colour Combo

I had a lovely comment recently from Samantha,
and she included a link to her challenge blog
Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combos
or SPCC for short.

This is a lovey, fun and friendly blog
with a colour combo challenge every Monday
and an extra Finally Friday, fun challenge.
There is a great DT who have shown their fabulous work
to give you inspiration.

Here are the colours for this week's challenge
I tried to get as close to them as I could,
but I really needed a brighter green.


Recipe:
Stamp - WOJ, coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - Papermania Regency
Card candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards
Ribbon from my stash.
xxx

Monday 17 August 2009

Birthday Blog Hop & Challenge

Cupcake Craft
is celebrating it's 1st birthday
with a fabulous blog hop and challenge.
Visit the blogs of the DT, check out their amazing work,
leave them a comment
and you could win some of their lovely blog candy.
Then, enter a project in the 'Something Sweet'
challenge
(adding a cupcake as an optional extra)
and you could win a prize from one of their
4 generous sponsors.

I had such fun this afternoon, visiting the blogs of the DT,
they all have such warm and friendly blogs and
their work is an inspiration.

This is the card I made for the challenge.
It's hard to photo all the glitter,
but there's plenty on there... honest!!
Recipe:
Stamp - Simon Says Stamp, Savor Sweet Cupcakes,
coloured with whispers pens and stickles glitter.
I paper pieced the cupcake cases.
Design Paper - DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy
Border punched with Fiskars lace punch
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
Ribbon and gems from my stash.
xxx

Sunday 16 August 2009

Make a Wish

Evening everyone,
hope you have all had a lovely weekend.
I have had a full house and we have just had the
most wonderful slow cooked lamb,
thanks to my new Nigella recipe book.
Delicious!

Here's a card that I finished this morning.
I followed the wonderful sketch over at
Sketch Saturday
I definitely did not want to miss out on the chance to win
a £15 voucher from
She has a fab selection of goodies in her online shop.

I admit a made a boo boo with this card.
I was going to turn the ribbon under the pink card,
but I got carried away on my sewing machine and
stitched the card down before I realised.

Recipe:
Stamp - Penny Black coloured with whispers pens
and stickles glitter.
Design Paper - DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl
Border is made with a Fiskars lace punch
The flowers were punched from the DP
and I added some stickles glitter to them.
Heart charm is from the Hobby House
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Saturday 15 August 2009

Best Wishes Edwin

Oh dear...
I can see that the football
is going to seriously interfere with my crafting.
I made this card inbetween watching the first game of the season,
and just have time to post it and tidy up,
before the second game comes on!

I followed the sketch from Roxy, over at Charisma Cardz.
You still have plenty of time to give the challenge a go,
and you could win a fab prize from
Stamp - Magnolia Guitar Edwin,
coloured with whipers pens.
Design Paper - Dovecraft, Masculine
Ribbon from my stash.
Card candy from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Thursday 13 August 2009

The Circle of Friends Award

It was so lovely to recieve this award the other day from
Penni.
If you haven't see her blog, pop on over there and check it out.
Penni is on the DT for Stampin' for the Weekend
and she makes amazing cards.
If you visit her you're sure of a warm welcome.
I'd like to pass this award to 5 lovely ladies
(it was so hard to pick just 5)
each of them has taken the time to visit me and leave
warm and encouraging comments.
Thankyou to everyone who visits and comments.
I really appreciate it.
xxx

Bath Bubbles

Post number 2 from me today.
Isn't it amazing what you can get done,
when your hubby is away on business??

My card follows the sketch, by Camilla, at
A Spoon Full of Sugar.
There's a lovely prize this week,
donated by Silly Monkey Crafts
so give the challenge a go and check out the
fab work of the DT.

This is one of those lovely stamps that just cries out for you
to add some glitter and sparkle.
It's hard to photo though!

Recipe:
Design Paper - Papermania, Raspberry Champagne.
Stamp - from the Penny Black Bubbly set.
Coloured with whispers pens.
I added some stickles glitter to the bubbles and
a few sticky pearls.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

'Tis the season to go shopping!!

Well... not quite yet,
but you have to ready, don't you?
:-)

This week's challenge at Simon Says is to make
anything BUT a card.
I chose to alter these little notebooks -
one for each of my girls.
They can use them to jot down Christmas ideas
and party and present lists.
Don't forget to pop on over to Simon Says
and check out what projects the DT
have made.

Recipe:
Small notepad, covered with K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Penny Black Hedgie, from Christmas Critters Set,
coloured with whispers pens and stickles glitter.
I found some old, glittered Christmas tags,
that I used to cut the scalloped circle
and I took the thread off them, to tie around the notebook rings.
The sentiment was done on my comp.

xxx

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Blogger Help

Help!!!
I have just logged into my blog and when I go
to my dashboard,
all the blogs I follow have disappeared.
:-(
Anyone got any ideas what's going on?
Are they gone for good, do you think?
I don't know how I am going to find everyone again.
Update
Phew... sorry about the panic there..lol*
All my blogs have now returned.
Thank goodness.
I have learnt a huge lessone though and will save a copy of
them all to my hard drive.
xxx

Monday 10 August 2009

Christmas Production Line

I tried something a little different today
and took inspiration from the hugely talented Michelle Wooderson
and her 'mass production' idea.
Pop on over to Michelle's blog, Mish Mash and have a look around.
I promise you, you won't be disappointed.
She has loads of fabulous ideas.

I went with this week's great sketch at
Sketch Saturday
I stamped and cut all the pieces I would need,
and punched and glittered the snowflakes.
I coloured all the stamps,
making 2 Millys pink and 2 green.
Then I began to assemble the pieces - like a little production line.

Recipe:
Stamp - Pink Gem Designs - Milly on Reindeer,
coloured with whispers pens and sprinkled with Diamond Dust.
Design Paper - K & Co, Peppermint Twist
Snowflakes were punched and covered withDiamond Dust.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
Ribbon from my Stash.


Saturday 8 August 2009

New House Party

Hi there everyone....
My youngest daughter is moving out soon.
She will be starting her 2nd year at Uni and is moving
in to a new house.
She is sharing with 1 other girl and 3 boys,
so I made this little gift as a house warming present for them
and tried not to make it too girly.

For the card I followed a great sketch over at
Stampin' for the Weekend.
Pop on over and check them out -
they are a fab challenge blog with lots of brilliant work form their DT.

Card Recipe:
Digital Stamp - Dustin Pike, coloured with whispers pens
and added glossy accents.
Design Paper - DCWV, Nana's Nursery, Baby Girl
'Party' stamp - My sentiments exactly, Adrienne's.
I made the other text up on my comp.

I made a small tag for the Jack Daniels,
using the same design paper
and again made the text up on the comp.
I wrapped some paper round the cokes and added another
Dustin Pike image.

I know the pics aren't great,
I really must practice my camera skills.
It's on my long list of things to do!!

Have a good weekend.
xxx

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Fairy Doodles


Shhhh!! Don't tell on me,
but these stamps just jumped into my
shopping basket yesterday.
I am practicing my
"oh, those, I've had them for ages!" speech,
in case hubby spots them.
They were just way too cute to miss though,
don't you think?

This is my entry for this week's
It's a great sketch by Mina, that I just turned on it's side,
so my stamp would fit.
You can also add some bling to your card,
(I added some diamond dust to the fairy wings and wand).
Check out the DT work - all very different styles,
but all equally fabulous.

Recipe:
Stamp from a Buzzcraft, Fairy Doodles clear set,
coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - Papermania, Sweet Nothings
Ribbon, blooms and brads from my stash.
xxx

Monday 3 August 2009

Spoil Yourself Silly

Well, I really had to rack my brains for this week's
the theme is 'Fashion Frenzy'.
Their DT work is so great though,
that I really wanted to give this one a go.
I ended up using a fab digital stamp from Pollycraft
and added some extra shopping bags.

I still struggle with colouring digital stamps.
I use watercolour pens and my printer ink bleeds terribly.
If anyone has any tips, I'd be glad to hear them.

Recipe:
Digital Stamp - Pollycraft, Cherry Kisses,
coloured with whispers pens and twinkling H2O's
Design Paper - DCWV, Nana's Nursery, Baby Girl
Text Stamp - from the Penny Black 'Bubbly' set.
Adhesive ribbon from my stock.

Sunday 2 August 2009

Covered Stamp File

Any other Virgo's out there?
If there are, you'll know what I mean when I say I love to
categorise and organise all of my craft supplies,
just as much as I love to make cards and projects.

This morning I have been sorting through my stamps
and decided to stamp them all and put them into
plastic sheets, in a ring binder.
(Separated into the different makes, of course!).
It will be so much easier to flick through the folder to see what I have,
rather than get all my stamps out.

I have covered the file,
using this week's lovely sketch from
Check out the great work from the DT
and if you enter this week you could win a £10 gift voucher
to spend at The Craft Barn

Recipe:
Stamp - Magnolia, Tilda with puppy and Old bench,
coloured with whispers pens.
Text Stamps - My Sentiments Exactly, Adrienne.
Design Paper - Papermania, Rich Yellow
Bloom, card candy and ribbon from my stash.
xxx