Hey there

I'm struggling !
I seem to have hit a crafting wall.
If I'm honest, I've had days when I thought of packing it in all together.
I'm trying to push through it though  :-(

This is a card for a friend of mine, just to say hi.
She's been ill recently and it's tough not living near her anymore.

I used the insert method for my word balloon, die cutting it into my dp and then
placing a stamped die cut back into the space.
The circle was die cut with a nestie and then backed with some pretty glitter paper and my little owl.
To finish, I scattered some sequins.

Challenges.

Casology - Wood
CAS(E) this Sketch - 

                                      

DP - My Mimd's Eye, 'fine & dandy'
Clearly Besotted - 'you're a hoot' and 'you said it' stamps and dies
Glitter Paper - DCWV 'le tresh chic'
Nestie circle die.  Sequins

To brighten your day

Hey everyone,

Mr Kiss,  rushed out this morning to buy a couple of these chairs from B & Q (a bargain at only £10 each)
and since then, we have had nothing but torrential rain.
That's about right for the bank holiday weekend, isn't it?

Oh well, it gave me time to play in my craft room :-)

Here's a 'use it up' card.

Lurking at the bottom of my paper box I discovered a decoupage pad that had never been used.
It's full of die cuts that you use to 'build' a flower, but I popped out some shapes and used them on their own.
I wanted to mix the colours up so that my card was bright and cheerful.

For the smaller circles I used an everyday, office, hole punch and I popped some of the shapes up on foam pads
to add a bit of interest.

Challenges.
CAS(E) this Sketch - #77
Less Is More -  Die Cut

My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow Decoupage Pad
Sentiment from Clearly Besotted 'Time to Relax'.    Sequins.

Up, up and away!

Hey there,
hope you're all having a lovely weekend.
The TV is permanently tuned to Sky Sports, here - which is fine -
it gives me chance to disappear into my craft room :-)

Here's the card I made this morning.

I'm beginning to see the benefits of  making this size card base - 113 x 149
Stamps that I had neglected because they were just a tad too small for a 148 x 148 card, are now getting inked up.
This cute cat is a prime example. It had been tucked away for so long, that it was stuck to the plastic cover.
As I prised it off, I really though it was going to tear.  Have you ever had that? I almost took to warming it up with a hairdryer, but I thougt that might  make it worse!!

As you can see below, my cat is fussy cut and popped up on foam pads.
 

Challenges.
Retro Sketches - #106
Pixie's Snippets Playground - #116  If there's a dp I like, I find myself saving even the tiniest snippets. These little banners are a good way to use them up and add a touch of interest to your card.
Penny Black & More - So Sweet
Craft Calendar - Animal Antics

Supplies.
Cat Stamp from Penny Black Bubbly Set, coloured with Copics.
Sentiment, Penny Black Critter Party Set
DP - My Mind's Eye, Quite Contrary
Pearls and Sequin

Born to Ride

Morning crafters.

It's a chilly day here and I am fighting the urge to put the heating on!

Instead, I am going to fire up the oven 

and cook a big batch of curry and some apple dumplings :-)

Here's a quick card I made for my BIL.

He regularly takes a trip around Europe, 

with my SIL on the back of the bike -

so I thought this snoopy image would be perfect.

I followed the great sketch over at Seize the Sketch (just flipped it).

Snoopy is coloured with Copics and (although you can't really see in the photos) 

he is popped up on thin, foam pads.

I really wanted to stamp the sentiment right on the paper, 

but my card was almost finished by that stage and I was too chicken. 

So I added it on a little scrap of paper instead ;-)

Challenges
Seize the Sketch
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes (topping option is Monochromatic)
Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon
Marker POP - Anything Goes

Stampabilities Snoopy and his Sidekick, coloured with Copics.
Sentiment Stamp, Penny Black Critter Party Set
DP - My Mind's Eye, Mabel
Star Punch.    Black Gems.    Striped Ribbon.

Dogs Of Anarchy

Mr Kiss is celebrating his birthday this week.
The girls are coming up on Friday - and, if we are allowed back in, 
we will be visiting the local hostelry to partake of some refreshment - eg: shots all round!

Here's the birthday card I made him - no prizes for guessing his favourite TV show.

I made the text on my computer, using the font Carnevelee Freakshow . 
I'm not sure if it's exactly the same as the one used in the TV series, 
but it looks good to me.

I made a little scene with my new cityscape die, cut out 'Snoopy and his Sidekick' and stuck them to the 'road' with foam pads.
Snoopy is coloured with Copics and I added a few touches of glossy accents to him and the bike. 

 

Challenges.
Make it Monday - Any Papercraft Project
Cards for Men - Animals
Love to Create - Punches and/or Dies
My Mum's Craft Shop - Spots or Stripes

• Stamp, Snoopy and his Sidekick
• Copics and Glossy Accents
• Memory Box, Cityscape Die
• DP, My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy(I think!)
• Baker's Twine  

Happy Birthday 2U

Don't laugh... it's taken me 6 hours to make this card. 
6 HOURS!!!!
I could have been de-greasing the cooker, or mowing the lawn, or tackling the ironing mountain!!
My vision of a squirrel in an aeroplane (don't ask!) ended up in the bin - twice.
Then, I learnt my lesson and went in search of a nice sketch, which was kindly provided by Natalie of Creative Inspirations.

I used stars, instead of  flowers and I couldn't quite squeeze them in next to each other, but I'm sure you can still make out the original sketch.

Can you believe, when I'd finished the card and went to stand it up, I realised I had tied the string all the way round it (not just on the top layer) Duh!! I had to cut it off and start again.

Challenges.
Creative Inspirations - Natalie's Sketch
Stamptacular - It's Your Birthday
ABC Challenge -  Y is for Y Chromosome (male themed)
Crafty Sentiments - Happy Birthday
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes (optional extra 'celebrate' theme) . They also have a fabulous Blog Hop, with some amazing prizes, to celebrate being 5 !! Congrats ladies  xxx

Supplies
DP - My Mind's Eye 'Ooh La La'         
Stamp from Molly Blooms was a magazine freebie - coloured with Copics and popped up on foam pads.
Birthday tag from Craftwork Cards.    String.
Circle and Postmark stamps from Whimsy Stamps.

Button it!

Hiya peeps, this is a scheduled post from me today, as I will be on my way to work. I let my daughter loose with my hair yesterday and have gone from being dark blonde to deep red!! So I hope they let me in the doors :-)

It's time for another Totally Papercrafts challenge and our fab host this week, Anne, has chosen the theme 

All Buttoned Up

I made this card for my youngest daughter, Annabel, who has just got a new job in marketing. It's what she did her degree in, so she is thrilled to bits.

Of course, I couldn't find just the right colour buttons to match my papers, so I ended up cutting these off one of hubby's shirts!!! (joking!! but it did cross my mind) ;-)

Grab a cuppa and head over to the challenge blog, where you can check out the fabulous work of my teamies and take a look at this week's great prize from the Ribbon Girl.

Challenges.

Papertake Weekly - A Stitch in Time
Do You Stack Up? - Stripes
Sweet Stampin' - Girly but no Pink

Supplies.

Gorjuss Girl Stamp, coloured with Copics.

DP My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus and DoCrafts, Hampstead.

Martha Stewart Lace Doily Punch.

Memery Box Cloud Dies.   Cheery Lynn Picket Fence Die.

Good Luck Sentiment, Wild Rose Studio.

Buttons from my stash.

Bags of Style

I'm predicting a bumper week for entries, over at Totally Papercrafts this week.

The lovely Lisa has chosen the theme  

Favourites

We all have a favourite, or two, don't we? So show us some of yours and you could be in with the chance of winning a prize from our fabulous sponsor Lili of the Valley

Bags are one of my favourite things - and I think my girls have inherited my love of them. When I started my new job and told them I might be able to get a store discount, you could hear them scream "Mulberry" for miles around!! :-)

I used a template from Creations by AR

Here's a close up of the little purse - tied on with ribbon (another of my fav things)

Don't forget to pop by the main blog and see all the favourite things my teamies used.

Challenges

Divas by Design - Favourite Things

Papertake - Anything Goes

Top Tip  - Stitches

Supplies.

Bag Template - Creations by AR

DP - My Mind's Eye, Pretty Please.    Brads, Ribbon, Flower Punch, Card Candi

Prom Night

Can someone please tell me how we got to March... already!!! 

I've only just got organised from Christmas and now it will be Easter before I know it.

Over at Totally Papercrafts this week, the lovely Mel has a fab challenge for you. The theme is... 

Song and Dance

I had to dig deep into my stash to find an image to fit the theme, and finally came across this Sassy Studios digi, called Crissy's Prom.  
Prom ~ dance ~ I can scrape by with that one, right? :-)

I did try hard with the pleats on her dress, but my colouring skills aren't really up to it. A litle glitter hides the worst of it :-)

Challenges.

Ladybug Crafts Ink - Pink & Girly

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - Happy Birthday

Supplies.
Sassy Studios Digi, Crissy's Prom, coloured with Copics and Glamour Dust.
DP - My Mind's Eye, Quite Contrary.    XCut Doorplate Die
Spellbinders Nested Pennants.   Adhesive Gems.
Happy Birthday Stamp, Wild Rose Studio.  Ribbon from my stash.

Nobody Knows I'm A Genius!

It's Friday 13th today - so don't risk going out - stay home and join in our new challenge at Totally Papercrafts :o)

it's my turn to choose this week's theme and, 'cos I'm still struggling to get back into crafting, I went with a nice easy one...

Spots and Stripes

This is a card I made for my dd's boyfriend - I  just couldn't resist the cute Tiddly Inks image.  He's coloured with Copics, cut out and popped up on foam tape.
The 'in' thing at the moment seems to be playing scrabble on their iphones - so I made up some little scrabble letters on my comp and added his name.

Challenges - 

Crafty Cardmakers - No Flower Embellies

Papertake Weekly - Die Cute Special. The background shape and the little tag things with buttons on - don't know what you call 'em -  were die cuts in the DP pack. I also used a Spellbinders Edgability on the striped DP and black card.

Tiddly Inks - Celebration

Simon Says - Spots and Stripes

Moving Along With The Times - Spots and Stripes

Supplies.

6 x 6 On the Edge card blank from Crafty Emmas.

Tiddly Inks digi image, coloured with Copics.

The football stamp is from a Woodware, Playtime set.

DP - My Mind's Eye, Ooh La La.

Craftwork Cards Sentiment / Buttons /  Scrabble letters made on my comp.

Forever Autumn

Well the weather, here in Yorkshire, has definitely changed over the last week or so - wet, windy and cold.

So our FOREVER AUTUMN challenge at CES is an appropriate theme for me.

Karen is our lovely host this week, and we would like to see your autumn inspired images or colours.

I combined a couple of images for this card, a Gorjuss Girl and the Open Window, both coloured with Copics.

The DP is one of my favs - My Mind's Eye, Mabel.

To the window box I added a couple of punched leaves and various blooms, with pearl and gem centres.

Don't forget to head over to the blog to see the amazing work of my teamies - their work always blows me away. And, if you enter the challenge you could find yourself with a £10 voucher to fill your CES basket with goodies.

Challenges -

Papercraft Star - Inspirational Picture + leaf (my leaves are tucked behind the blooms)
Pals Paper Arts - Fall/Thanksgiving
Fussy and Fancy - Fall / Halloween

Stampin' for the Weekend - Colours of Autumn

Wags 'n ' Whiskers - Fall Colours

Supplies -
Available from Crafty Emmas (just click on the links to be taken to the store page)
6 x 6 Card Blank / My Mind's Eye, Mabel DP / Pearls / Gems / Blooms
Other Supplies -
Gorjuss Girls Stamp / Make it Crafty Open Window Stamp / Ribbon /
Martha Stewart Border Punch / Craftwork Cards Sentiment

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Sweet Li'l Pumpkin

I LOVE Autumn - the changing colours, 

walking the dog in the woods, with the smell of burning leaves in the air, and spending long, dark afternooons cooking in the warmth of the kitchen. Bliss!

So, I love the challenge theme that Sue has chosen for us at Totally Papercrafts this week... we want to see your AUTUMN cards/projects.

I've been searching for some twig style pumpkins for ages (to go with my hearts), but had no luck - so I decided to make some paper pumpkins instead.

I followed the amazing tutorial by Dawn at Dawn's Stamping Studio - honestly, these are so easy to make.
I just love the way they turned out and they look so cute on my mantelpiece.

 Don't forget to check out the amazing work of my fellow teamies, 

and this week we have 2 fabulous sponsors for you -

Simon Says Stamp and The Stamp Fairy.

Challenges
    Make It Monday - Linky Party
    Ladybug Crafts Ink - Fall and/or Fancy Folds

    Simon Says - Anything Goes
    Crafting for all Seasons - Fall Colours

DP - My Mind's Eye, Ooh La La. 

This was from Crafty Emma's Store. I don't think she has this paper right now, but check out the CES Inspirational Blog for more of these pumpkins, and a heads up on what's new in store.

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Happiness is a long, hot, bubble bath.

Here's a card I made for my BFF.

She has a chronic illness that she refuses to give in to, so she runs on pure adrenaline most of the time. It means that when she crashes, she usually ends up with a few days in hospital.

I wanted to remind her to chill out, relax and take care of herself.

I started with the bubble bath image from Sassy Studio designs. It's actually a full image of a lady in the bath, but I cropped it down and then paper pieced the bath and used stickles glitter for the bubbles.

The chandelier, was a free digi from Shery K Designs.

I couldn't find the right shade of gold ribbon in my stash, so I cut some little ribbon style pieces from the DP and finished off with the card candy.

DP is My Mind's Eye, True Blue.

Challenges

Make it Monday - Linky Party

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes (use metal as an optional extra)

Allsorts - Free & Easy

Fab 'n' Funky - Friendship.   Hope this qualifies, but I know I haven't added a

'friend' sentiment anywhere, so just delete it, if it doesn't. No worries!

Girls, Girls, Girls

Look at these girls - aren't they fab?

I think they are in training for the 2012 London Olympic Games - 

the Extreme Shopping event  !!   

:-))

This is my card for this week's Totally Papercrafts Challenge
where the theme is

Girly Girls

 I kept the card pretty simple and just had fun with all that fiddly paper-piecing. The DP's are My Mind's Eye Mabel, available from this week's sponsor, Crafty Emma.
Pop over to Emma's Store and see the gorgeous new papers she has for pre-ordering - all with 20% off.

Here's a close up of some of the paper-piecing.

I also discovered that my glue pen worked brilliantly for sticking down these tiny pieces.

So, get rummaging through all your girly supplies and join in the challenge, and don't forget to check out the amazing work of my teamies.

Challenges
Papertake Weekly - Hot Hot Hot.  I have used bright orange on my card, but  I also think these girls would say they are Hot Hot Hot !!!
Simon Says - Anything Goes
Moving Along with the Times - Favourite things.  My favourite thing is the paper-piecing and I think it really worked well here.

Supplies.

Silhouette girls from Shery K Designs

DP - My Mind's Eye, Mabel from Crafty Emma's

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards       Papermania Mosaic Gems.

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Owl Always Love You...

We have another great challenge for you over at CES this week.

The theme, chosen by Shell is

Woodland Creatures

I admit, this had me stumped for a while and then I remembered this Owl template that I had seen in my 'Simply Homemade' magazine.

The owl is paper pieced with the same DP as the card, with card candy for eyes and a little gem for his beak.

The candy and My Mind's Eye, Mabel papers are available at Crafty Emmmas

Head on over to the challenge blog to see what 'Woodland Creatures' my teamies came up with,
and don't forget, if you join in this week, 
you could win a £10 spend at Crafty Emmas. (P&P not incl.)

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Check out the paper below...   

this is just one of the gorgeous papers available 

to pre-order at Crafty Emma's.

There are more papers available, Christmas Collections from Dovecraft and Fizzy Moon, including stamps, blossoms, buttons brads etc.

Pre-order now for 20% OFF the RRP

 

Supplies
DP - My Mind's Eye, Mabel.       Card Candy.       Gems.      Ribbon.
'Owl' is die cut with Sizzix, 'Bug in a Rug' dies.    Martha Stewart Lace border punch.

You're smarter than you look!

Over at Totally Papercrafts this week, our lovely Lols,
has lined up a game of BINGO for you.

Check out the bingo card on the challenge blog,

choose your line, (horizontally, vertically or diagonally)

and use those embellies on your entry.

Of course, you can always surprise us and go for a FULL HOUSE!!  :-))


My bingo line is 3 down - Gems, Glitter, Ribbon.

This card is for my daughter Annabel, who has just passed her degree. Woohoo!!!
I used the cute Grad Anya, coloured her with Copics and added some very fine, silver glitter to the scroll.
The sentiment was made on my comp :-)

Supplies
Digi Stamp - Grad Anya from The Greeting Farm
DP - My Mind's Eye, True Blue
The star was cut on my Slice machine
Ribbon, bow and black gems from my stash.

A little birdy

A few days ago I was asked for a 'get well' card for a male and all I had in my pile were 'girly' cards.  I racked my brains trying to think of what to use and decided on these nitwit stamps, which came free with the Simply Homemade magazine.
I'm not convinced though - is this still too girly??

I paper-pieced the stamps and added buttons to the tree. It took me longer to choose these buttons than it did to make the whole card!!

Challenges

Crafty Creations - Get Well

Charisma Cardz - Boy oh Boy ( male cards )

Aud Sentiments - A sentiment/card for a male

Allsorts - Things with Wings

DP is My Mind's Eye, True Blue

Stamps - Nitwit Collection. I haven't come across these before, but they have a fab collection of digi papers/kits, digi stamps etc.

Get well Soon Stamp - Wild Rose Studio.

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Snack and Study

My girls are working hard at the moment - or so they tell me!! They live together in Leeds and are both in their final year of University. That means big exams looming and dissertations to write. I put together this little snack pack, to keep them going whilst they study.

This was really easy to make. I took 3 plain boxes and stapled them together, with the lids up. Then I added my DP across the front of the boxes and right across the lids.

Challenges - 

Papertake - Triple Tastic  - My trio of goodies :-)

Charisma Cardz - To 'Die' For - My sweet/salty/sour labels are all die cut with nesties.

Do You Stack Up? -  Add a Bow - I know it's only a little one on the top, but I was really pleased when I found this matching ribbon in my stash.

I filled 3 cellophane bags with goodies,

quality street for the sweet,

pretzels for the salty and sour jelly sweets for the sour.

Of course, as head of quality control I got to sample a little of each! :-)

This Catslife Press stamp is definitely one  of my favs.

You can get this one, and others like it, at Crafty Emma's Store.

DP - My Mind's Eye, Life Stories Roses.
Snack and Study stamped letters, MSE Adrienne's.   Lace and Ribbon from my stash.
Sweet/Salty/Sour circles were die cut from the DP and hand written.

Hey Girlfriend

The sun is shining and I am feeling orange! It seems to be the colour I am drawn to at the moment - not sure what that says about me!
Here's a card I made for a friend's birthday.

This is another stamp from my new fav. set of Kanban Damask Divas. It took me ages to colour this and I don't think the shading is quite right, but I am still pretty pleased with the overall look. 

I also discovered that, instead of trying to chalk/ink the edges of my paper with my limited supplies, I could just use a Copic. You all knew this, right?? I know, I am a bit slow. So , that's what I did on the text paper,

not sure if the camera really picks it up.
I also added a few little crystal to her necklace.

Challenges - 

Craft Your Days Away -  I followed the great sketch from Joanne.

Papertake - Anything Goes (optional extra of 'something old' )

Top Tip - Favourites. My new favourite is the stamp, but my all time favourite has to be ribbon. I LOVE ribbon. My budget won't stretch to new supplies right now, but I do spend hours drooling over online ribbon stores.  :D)
Digital Tuesday - Celebrations, plus a Blog Hop, with the chance to win some fabulous goodies.

Supplies

Stamp - Kanban, Damaask Divas, Let's Go Shopping - coloured with Copics.

DP - My Mind's Eye, Stella and Rose.        Ribbon and card candy from my stash.

Tiny crystal gems (on her necklace)

All ruffled up!

I tried something a little different on this card, but I don't think it quite worked. I have been seeing some lovely ruffled ribbon lately and wanted to give it a go. I wasn't sure how to ruffle up the ribbon, and I ended up folding it over as it was going through the sewing machine. The result is that the ribbon is flat - not the effect I wanted at all. So if anyone knows where I'm going wrong, please let me know. Or, you could do a tut and show us all (wink* wink*)     :-))

 

 I used the fabulous Mary and Joseph image from LOTV, coloured with Copics and a Sakura glitter gel pen on their headbands. The Fa La La stamp is Catslife Press and my DP is My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.

I cut the large snowflake on my Slice machine ( Fa La La Design), covered it with Diamond Dust and added a gem brad in the centre. Then I trickled some stickles glitter around the edges of the stamps.

Challenges - 

 ABC - H is for Holidays, it doesn't have to be Christmas, you can choose any holiday you like.

 Lili Of The Valley - Anything Goes (Any make of stamp or digi ) and a Blog Hop, with the chance to win some of the gorgeous LOTV stamps.