Bad blogger

Sorry I haven't been around very much this week but I've had a week off with the boys to sort them out ready for school. All I seem to have done is shop (but unfortunately not craft shop). I've bought uniform, shoes, bags, stationary etc and all with two boys who hate to shop *fun*. At least they are all sorted now, except for a few things that I had to order and pick up next week. My youngest starts comprehensive on Tuesday and the oldest goes back to Year 10 on Thursday. I can't believe how quickly the holidays have flown by. It will definitely be Christmas before we look around; I'd better get busy with the cards then and not leave them til two weeks before, as I did last year (that was fun - not). Have a great Sunday and I'll hopefully be back later today with a card. Thanks for looking.

Another award

The wonderful Diane has given me this lovely award - you are so kind!!


Rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on hers or his blog. 2. Link the person you received your award from. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4. Put links of those blogs on yours. 5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you've nominated.


I know lots of you have already been given this award but I'm hopefully going to give it to 7 fab bloggers that are yet to receive it!!


Tracey - TLC
Amy Rysavy - Prairie Paper & Ink
Michelle Short - The Card Grotto
Michelle Wooderson - Mish Mash
Christina Fischer - Flowers and Ink
Jackie Pedro - The Scalloped Edge
Lana Lepinski - Live, Laugh, Love with Lunarlana

Thanks for looking. Have a great Friday.

Sketch Saturday Challenge & DT call

This week's sketch saturday challenge is slightly different because if you wish to be considered for a DT place you have to make two cards, one being a christmas card. These are my entries for the challenge.

On the first card (which by the way I made for my sister's 40th birthday today) I used shoe dp from a kit that I got from QVC and the dotty dp is from a paper pack by papermania (again from QVC). The image is of course a stamping bella - cupcakeabella, which I coloured with my pro-markers and highlighted with stickles. The sticky ribbon is by papermania and the adhesive gems were from QVC. I used my fiskars threading water paper punch on a piece of bazzill bling cs. The pre-made stickers are by rob & bob and I used my pc for the sentiments.

For the christmas card I stamped the image called snowmen by lizzie anne designs and highlighted their hats with my pro-markers. The gorgeous snowflake dp is by craft creations and again I used my fiskars threading water paper punch to make the decorative edge on the white cs. The snowflake embellisments are by card candy. I used my square nestabilities (for the first time *gasp*) in my cuttlebug to emboss and cut the blue dp panel under the stamped image.

I hope you like. I know they won't be up to the winning standard but I'm relatively happy with them. Thanks for looking.

Feel better soon

My DH's uncle recently suffered a heart attack and although he was lucky and is recovering he had to undergo surgery to have 3 stents put in. I thought I'd make him a card to let him know we are thinking of him. I used an image sent to me by Diane, which I coloured with my promarkers. The striped dp is from the cabana paper pack by inque boutique. The glitter dp is from the glitter stack by DCWV. The ribbon was part of blog candy I received from Shelley and the adhesive stones are papermania. The sentiment is by elzybells. I used the sketch from last week's papertake challenge, although I was too late to enter it on the blog. Thanks for looking.

Cute Card Thursday & Friday Sketchers

I'm still getting into the swing of things again after my holidays, so this is a simple card for the CCT "Bright Colours" and Friday Sketchers sketch challenge this week. I used an image kindly sent to me by Tracy which I coloured with my pro-markers. The plain cs is from the papermill shop and the dp is from the nanna's nursery stack by DCWV. The sentiment is by hero arts and adhesive stones by papermania. The flowers are from my stash. I tried a little doodling on this card as it looked a little bare when I first made it. I think I went a little over-the-top but hopefully you think its ok. Thanks for looking.

Yet another large card!

I made this card for another lady at work, who again wanted a large A4 sized card. I always try to make them a little different but it can be difficult finding things that fill the space appropriately. I remembered that I had these extra large Heidi Swapp flowers and thought they would be ideal. I used gorgeous doodlebug dp and bazzill bling cs which I punched with my fiskars threading water punch. I coloured the dp with my pro-markers to add a slight hint of colour to match my flower. I also added adhesive stones by papermania to the dp for added bling. I stamped the butterfly by verve visual on plain cs from the papermill shop and also punched out circles from the same cs for the centres of my smaller flowers. I used my pc for the main sentiment and glitter alphabet stickers by making memories for the name (they are so gorgeous IRL). Hope you like. Thanks for looking.

Another large card

Here is another large card I was asked to make by a lady at work. I don't really enjoy making them as large as this but the ladies all seem really pleased, so I suppose that's all that matters.

Images: kindly sent by Diane, coloured with pro-markers and sakura glaze pen

Dp - Glitter stack by DCWV, plain cs - the papermill shop

Flowers by Prima

Adhesive stones by Papermania

Sentiments done on my pc

Thanks for looking.

I did promise you another wedding card!

Yet another wedding card. I made this for a friend at work who was going to a family wedding in Ireland (hence the weird and wonderful names). The colours were taken from the invitation she received. I stamped the image by stampendous and coloured it with my pro-markers, I also added stickles to the dress. I used the heart blocks embossing folder in my cuttlebug for the top of my card and plain bazzill bling cs for the bottom. The ribbon is by american crafts and the adhesive gems are by papermania. I used my pc for the sentiment. Thanks for looking.

I got an award!

The lovely Vikki gave me this award a little while ago but I haven't had chance to put in on the blog until now (*hangs head in shame*). I am really touched and grateful to receive this award and its wonderful to think that someone likes my cards and listens to my occasional ramblings. Crafters are the kindest and most thoughtful people in the whole wide world and I so glad to be part of this world. I know by now that most people have received this award so I'm just going to pass it on to everyone who reads this who is yet to get it (I know it's a bit of cop-out, sorry). Thank you Vikki for thinking of me.

Feel better soon

This is a card that I made before I went on hols for my mother to give to her friend. I used the fab penny black stamp again (I love this stamp) which I simply stamped with blue stazon ink. The plain blue cs is bazzill bling and the pretty dp is by cherryArte.com. I got the ribbon from ribbon mad and the sentiment stamp is by elzybells. I also used my fiskars threading water punch for the decorate edge on the bazzill cs. A simple card but I think quite effective. Thanks for looking.

I'm back!

Hi All, just a quick post to let you know that I'm back from Paignton. Weather wasn't too bad and a good time was had by all. Nice to be back though, missed my crafting (didn't do anything whilst away *gasp*) Thanks for the lovely comments that were left on the blog in my absence. I will try and upload some photo's from the holiday later and post a new card to two also. Thanks for looking.

Baby girl card

This will be my last card for a week or so, hope you like! I made a baby girl card using an image sent to me by Diane (again) and coloured it with my pro-markers. I used dp from the nanna's nursery stack by DCWV. The sentiment is a stamp by PSX and I punched flowers out of the dp and added papermania adhesive stones for extra bling. The welcome baby sentiment is by verve visual. The ribbon was from ribbon mad. Thanks for looking. I hope you won't forget about me and will come next week to see what's new!!

Award from Vicki

I've received an award from Vicki but I haven't got time at the moment to add it to my blog. I'm off on holidays today *yay*. I promise I will add it as soon as I come back next Saturday. Thank you Vicki.

Christening card

I was asked to make a christening card for a friend at work. I'm always a little stumped with christening cards as although they are for a baby they obviously have to be slightly religious as well. I used plain cs from the papermill shop and the glitter dp is from the nanna's nursery stack by DCWV. I used my fiskars threading water punch to cut the green cs and my scallop punch for the circle. The teddy die cut was bought ages ago from ebay. I hand cut a small cross for the teddy to hold and added a papermania adhesive gem to the centre. The sentiment was done on my pc (pristina font) and I added small pieces of ribbon to either side for extra interest. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking.

Wedding season is definitely here!

I made another wedding card using another image sent to me by Diane, which I of course coloured with my pro-markers. On the lower half of my card I used a piece of beautiful cs by DCWV and ran it through my cuttlebug with the heart blocks embossing folder and on the top half I added a piece of dp by imagination project. To define each half I added a piece of ribbon by american crafts that I got from QVC. The sentiment is from the celebration messages set by See'D. I used a paper punch to cut out the heart. This card uses a sketch by Taylor, although I did alter it slightly but paper pricking underneath my image instead of wrapping ribbon around. Hope you like. Thanks for looking.

A cute boy card

This card was originally going to be my card for the OCC challenge but then I realised we weren't allowed any dp (grrrr!). Never mind it turned out quite cute so will come in handy I'm sure. I used a gorgeous image again sent to me by Diane which I coloured with my pro-markers. The small sentiment on the image is by verve visual. The plain cs is from the papermill shop and the dp is from a paper pack I got from QVC. I used a snag 'em clear stamp by imaginisce to stamp the other half of the card. Hope you like. Thanks for looking.

I've gone challenge crazy!!

I'm sorry that I've bombarded you with all my challenge cards in one go but I'm going on hols on Saturday to sunny Paignton (I hope) so trying to get all my challenges done and dusted early in the week so that I can do something I'm supposed to be doing (like packing hehe) in readiness for the weekend. Don't worry I will be back before I go but didn't want you to think I'd gone a little mad! Have a great evening. Lots of love,

Sketch Saturday challenge

I made this card following the sketch for this week's sketch saturday challenge. I again used an image sent to me by Diane (I bet you think I don't stamp at all myself hehe) and I coloured her with pro-markers. The white patterned dp was from a paper pack I got from QVC ages ago. I used bazzill bling cs, plain cs from the papermill shop and the striped dp is a scrap piece that I had on my desk. The sentiment is by penny black and adhesive gems by papermania. Thanks for looking.

OCCC - limited challenge

This week's OCC challenge was "no more than 4 layers and no DP". I love my dp and when I first saw the challenge I wasn't going to take part, but after breathing into a paper bag (haha) I soldiered on. I used this cute hedgie image kindly sent to me a long time ago by Tracy (I think) and coloured him with pro-markers. I used a piece of gorgeous cs from DCWV and ran it through my cuttlebug with the divine swirls embossing folder. The red cs is from the papermill shop and I cut the edge with decorative scissors. The adhesive ribbon and gems are by papermania and I used my pc for the sentiment (pristina font). Not too bad considering I didn't think I could do it!! Thanks for looking.

Friday sketchers

I made this card for this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge. I used another image kindly sent to me my Diane (she is sooo spoiling me) and coloured her with my pro-markers. I used bazzill cs and dp from the wedding stack by DCWV. The ribbon was from ribbon mad and the flower is by prima. The gingham paper, which I distressed, is by magenta. The gem brad is by dovecraft and the stamped sentiment is by studio g. Thanks for looking.

Stamp Something challenge

The stamp something challenge this week was to use pink, green and blue for your card. I used an image kindly sent to me (think it was Diane but not 100% sure, sorry) which I coloured with pro-markers. I used dp by CherryArte.com and originally it had white flowers but I coloured them pink with my pro-markers so that they fit the challenge a bit better. I used plain cs from the papermill shop and I stamped them with a subtle flower by dovecraft (a little difficult to see in the photo, more obvious on the pink). I used the sketch for the Papertake Challenge last week but was too late to post it for that. The sentiment is a clear stamp by imaginisce with the same flower as before in the middle. Thanks for looking.

Cute Card Thursday/Papertake Challenge

This week's CCT theme was "The Two of Us" and the Papertake Weekly challenge was "Button It". I used an image kindly sent to me by Diane which I coloured it with my pro-markers. I used gingham dp by magenta and bazzill cs along with white cs that I punched with my fiskars threading water punch. The stamped sentiment is by Hero Arts. The buttons and ribbon is from my stash. You may have noticed that I used the PBC sketch again for this card - told you I loved it! Thanks for looking.

Penny Black Challenge

This is my card for this week's PBC which was to follow a sketch. I stamped the gorgeous image and coloured it with my pro-markers. I used the striped dp by american crafts and the words dp by ATD. The sentiment was from a clear set by Hero Arts called appropriately Merriest Wishes. The ribbon and snowflake embellishments from my stash. I really enjoyed using the sketch this week and will definitely use it again. Thanks for looking.

Fireman card

A friend asked me to make a 40th birthday card with a fireman theme and this is what I came up with. I cheated slightly and bought a ready made decoupage topper of a fireman & truck, which I thought was really funny. I used dp by american crafts, papermania adhesive stones and my pc for the sentiment. As the decoupage was quite large I didn't really need to add anything else. My friend really liked it, so I'm happy. A quick and easy card for once :) Thanks for looking.

Teenager "horse" card

I was asked to make a card for a girl who was turning 13 who loved horses, especially chestnut horses with white manes!! Anyway I had a small panic but eventually found this stamp already in my collection and thought I could colour it chestnut. The stamp is by All Night Media and I coloured the image with my pro-markers and used a sakura glaze pen for the mane. The dp is by basic grey and the plain cs is bazzill bling. I again used my fiskars threading water paper punch for the edges of my card & paper. Flowers and buttons are from my stash and gems again from QVC. The sentiment was done on my pc and the white glitter alphabet (for the name) is by Making Memories, and looks stunning IRL. Thanks for looking.

I'm so lucky to have crafty friends :)

I received this gorgeous card and lots of stamped images (this is only half) from Diane. She is a very special and kind crafter, who has helped me lots since I started my blog. You need to check out her blog; her cards are stunning. Thank you so much Diane they are fab. I can't wait to colour them all in!! Thanks for looking.

Golden wedding card

I'm never very good making anniversary cards - I never seem to know what to do!! Anyway I stuck to my old faithful and used die cut hearts that I ran through the cuttlebug using my divine swirls embossing folder. I added small adhesive pearls to the hearts for interest. I used gold textured cs by DCWV and decorative card from the luxury stack also from DCWV. I punched out some hearts from pearlescent paper and stuck them down the gold panel that I punched with my fiskars threading water punch. I used gems from QVC and my pc for the sentiment. Thanks for looking.