May Card Chain Challenge!

Here I am again... sorry that I'm posting so infrequently but life is busy, busy busy right now! I started as the new manager at an additional library yesterday. I'm not trying for library world domination or anything, we are just very short of librarians here in Birmingham. Little wonder that I am so tired.
Without further ado, here is my card for today. Not what I had planned, but the idea popped into my head and I decided to run with it!

This is my submission for the Card Chain Challenge, which has a new home over at the fabulous Lily Pad Cards. The Card Chain Challenge was originally the brain child of Deborah Nolan. For anyone not in the know: Deborah has joined forces with Vicky P to create Lily Pad Cards .

The May challenge themes are Friendship, Mother's day or Fantasy. I went with Friendship and decided to create a card to look like a crazy Polaroid photo (remember those???) of two friends just messing around and having a girly giggle! I also went with the challenge colours... sort of!

The CCC rules are a little different over at Lily Pad, but the concept remains the same in that you still send and receive a card as part of the chain. Why not hop over and take a look... you won't be disappointed as this is a great new blog!

I'm also linking up with the current ABC Challenge as it's T is for Two images.

Happy Crafting everyone!

Happy birthday Pam.

My sweet Mom-in-law is 70 today.

Anyone who read my previous post will know that she decided to celebrate with a Barn Dance in their church hall.

I just had to share these pictures of my MIL and DIL... as you can see they were really in the party spirit!

Usually Pam is BIG on glamour, which is why I picked TGF Cheeky Glamour for her birthday card. I printed the 70 on my computer and used pretty Stampin' Up papers and cardstock.Simon Say's 'Stamp and show your numbers' for the challenge this week, so I think this card fits the bill quite nicely!

And how did my hubby cope with the barn dance? He found a nice quiet corner and didn't move from it all night except to get his baked potato during the break!

Happy birthday Pam, you're one crazy and special lady!

Tuesday on a Friday!

No sunshine today, but I am looking forward to another day of card making once I've rushed through the housework!

I don't use sketches very often as I just can't make them shine the way some of you talented girls do! However, I thought I'd have a go with this little beauty from the Sketch Saturday Crew.

Say 'hello' to 'Tuesday' from TGF! Isn't she cute?
I decided to break out some gorgeous Basic Grey paper and used up a few scraps in the process.

The little tabs are cut with my Cuttlebug. One says 'Happy birthday' and the other 'Princess' and not 'fitness' as my hubby thought when he looked over my shoulder yesterday!

Hope you've all got a great weekend planned, we have a busy one ahead.

My Mom-in-law is celebrating her 70th birthday with a Barn Dance in the church hall on Saturday. I think I'm most looking forward to seeing how freaked out my hubby will be by the whole experience!

Happy crafting everyone!

With a little help from my friends...

Since starting my new job I don't get as much time for crafting as before... so it was a real pleasure to sit down last weekend and make my card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. However, I didn't get the opportunity to photograph it until about five minutes ago!

This week the lovely Helen provided this perfect little sketch for Challenge #100.I wanted to use some of the papers from a K & Company Designer pack that I bought some time ago. The pack is called 'Sparkly Sweet' and has some really pretty patterns. I thought that a nice girly Anya would be perfect to match with the soft, muted colours of the papers.

Anya comes courtesy of my sweet friend Vicky and the gorgeous laser cut paper is from the adorable Virginia... it's always good to get a little help from my friends!

While I'm on the subject of the Secret Crafter don't forget to drop by tomorrow as Wendy and the DT girls will be launching the latest selection of gorgeous manga style stamps. I've seen a few sneak peaks and have to say that they are all brilliant!

Happy crafting everyone!

A little late to the party.... Paula's Blog hop!

Hi everyone, I am just back from two wonderful weeks on the beautiful Greek Island of Santorini. Myself and hubby had a fabulous time and returning to 'normal' is proving to be very, very hard!

I haven't managed to get near my craftroom as yet (too much washing to do) so this gives me a chance to share some cards that I made to celebrate the arrival of sweet Lilly Bug a.k.a the newest recruit to the Laird household. Congratulations Paula!

I was all ready to join in the 'Welcome Lilly blog hop' last week but I missed my cue because I was on holiday!

Here is the lovely Lilly at 5 weeks old. I copied this beautiful picture from the lovely Helen's blog.

Helen played postie for all of us girls around the world and kindly delivered our cards to Paula and her family. She therefore had the honour of starting the hop which was organised by Deborah.

Sweet little Lilly was born on the 4th June 2010 weighing 7 pounds 13 1/2 ounces,
Lilly is Paula and Doug's second daughter and apparently Em is taking her role as big sister very seriously!

I sent this card to welcome Lilly.

This is the card that I made for Em,and this is the card for the proud parents!Congratulations, and lot's of love, to Paula and her family.

June Card Chain Challenge

I'm a wee bit late posting the pics of Deborah's fabulous June Card Chain Challenge - especially as we are now in July!

Anyhoo, here is the card that I made, using Deborah's sketch, to send to the lovely Monika.

I also sent this one as a little extra! Monika is such a friendly person, and we got chatting by email. When Monika said how much she liked TGF images I decided to send her one of my favourites: cute digital Audrey. Monika is such a sweetie as she sent me this little beauty for my birthday. This picture is from her blog, as she had taken a far superior photograph to mine!
And just take a look at this fabulous creation that I received from the lovely Jenny in County Wexford!I am just sorry that my picture does not do justice to this gorgeous card. The colours and sparkle are just amazing, and her colouring is breathtaking. The picture on her blog looks lovely and shows this beautiful card in all it's glory!

If you want more Card Chain Challenge loveliness drop by at Deborah's blog to see what everyone else sent and received.

Must go, it's a takeaway Pizza treat for tea tonight!!!!

Here's some I made earlier!

Here's some TGF cards that I made a few weeks ago. I wanted to practice with my Distress inks and decided to make a few of these cute little cards for some Blogging Buddies. I like making little sets of cards as I find the repetition pretty relaxing.


As always these lovely images were a joy to colour and very easy to cut out.

I am so tired this weekend that even card making feels like too much effort... and I never thought I'd say that! I am planning to potter sleepily around the garden while my hubby watches the World Cup games and then do a bit of housework.

Have a happy Sunday everyone!

Yoga Anya and WOYWW!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's week 52 of What's on your Workdesk Wednesday. Congrats to Julia and a big thank you to her for a year of fun.

Here's my desk today...

Mmmmm, looks suspiciously like baby cards in the making!

As mentioned in my previous post, Yoga Anya has come to live at my house. She stamps beautifully and was a pleasure to colour, and I finally got to use one of my scraps of waste denim for her Yoga mat.

I printed the sentiment on my PC... and actually remembered to let the Tumbled Glass Distress ink dry before printing.

Just before I sign off I want to share the link to The Secret Crafter's site so that you can take a look at the gorgeous new stamp range that Wendy has created.

I loved her first set of manga inspired stamps, and am totally blown away by these new designs.

Happy crafting everyone!

Friday at last!

What a busy week I've had!

It was great to just turn over and go back to sleep for another hour this morning. I usually try and get up by 7am at the very latest when I'm not at work, but this morning the bed was just too comfy and it was nearer 8am when I finally surfaced!

I did a little housework and then headed for the craft room. What a nice way to spend the morning... sooooo relaxing!

Today I'm sharing the card that I sent to Cassi for Deborah's May Card Chain Challenge.

If you remember I was lucky enough to receive this beauty from Janet.

The background for my card is a mix of Distress ink stamping, overprinted with a Hero Arts Digital image that I have used several times. The great thing about digi's is that you can shrink and enlarge them to fit your project, and you can also change the colour.I think this was the card that started my current TGF 'kick'. I used Ruby, Sassy Suzi and a digital Audrey and placed them to fit with Deborah's sketch. I was quite proud of myself this month as I managed to use Deborah's colours, sketch and theme!

It's now sign up time for the June CCC over at Deborah's blog and once again she has a theme, a sketch and an amazing rainbow colour combo on offer as inspiration!

My little TGF festival looks set to continue as Yoga Anya dropped through my letterbox a couple of days ago. I just hope my mojo reappears soon.

Well, have a great weekend everyone. I'm now off to make blueberry muffins so that I have goodies on offer in case anyone drops by over the Bank Holiday.

Happy crafting everyone!

Wednesday, already?

I am on a The Greeting Farm kick right now! I seem especially drawn to the Sprouts as I love their wide eyes and cute expressions. I used sweet little Ruby on this 3 x 3 card (love those boots!).
The background was made using the same combination of distress ink technique and stamps that I used on my Niece's birthday card. I am really enjoying using Distress inks in this way, and plan to make a few sets of these cards as gifts as they are so quick and simple to produce.

I'm entering this card for 'no patterned paper' week over at The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #84.

Not much time for creating this week as I am working extra hours... roll on the weekend!

Happy crafting everyone, I'll be joining in again soon!

Fifties Sweethearts!

Don't you just love this cute little digi-stamp from The Greeting Farm ?

This image is called 50s Sweetheart and is just perfect for wedding anniversary cards and the like. As it is my Parents-in-law's anniversary during the week I decided to get printing and colouring.

The great thing about digital stamps is that you can size them to fit your card and then add greetings, as I have done here.

I was tempted to add a checked shirt and a jaunty neckerchief to the little guy. My Mom-in-law has just announced her 70th birthday plans and has decided to have a Barn dance in their church hall. The look on my hubby's face was priceless when he found out. Let's just say he doesn't do any form of dancing and leave it at that!

Happy crafting everyone!

I'd rather be crafting!

A very quick post to share a little card that I made a week or so ago.
I know that it has now made it safely to Hawaii and the lovely Donna, so here it is!

I just love this little girl from The Greetings Farm. I know just how she feels!

Happy crafting everyone, and yar-boo sucks to the laundry!

Caardvarks challenge... ooooo la la!

I've been working on a few different cards over the last couple of days, but wanted to share this one first!
Believe it or not this is my take on the gorgeous Caardvarks sketch... look closely, very closely!I just couldn't resist having a bit of fun with this adorable The Greeting Farm Sprout called Savanah. BTW, they have their new releases out and all of them are gorgeous. I think Ruby Sprout is calling to me!

I made up the background by colouring white card stock with Versacolour inks and then stamping with that gorgeous 'raindrops' background from Hero Arts.

The little flags are coloured with Promarkers and are made from a strip of Bazzils Basics 'Just the Edge'. The wood for the stage was cut from the current Cowshed catalogue and then coloured with Distress Ink to make it look nice and glossy. I Printed the sentiment on my PC and popped it up on dimensionals.

I am also entering this card for 'L is for Layering' over at The ABC Challenge as there are four different layers on this card to achieve the 3-D effect that I was looking for. I used alot of dimensionals for this one!

This card is for my dear friend Gay. She is a wonderful friend and one of the most honest and straightforward people you could ever wish to meet.

Happy crafting everyone, and take extra care if you are out in the snow!

All I want for Christmas is...

I really hope that my hubby doesn't sneak a peak at my blog and see this picture of his Christmas card!

The 'small print' reads 'But please bear in mind that the addition of a small villa in Sardinia is perfectly acceptable'.

This little card has been a labour of love for the past two days!

The 'mini-me' character from TheGreetingFarm was hand stamped and then paper pieced. The mini-hubby character is a TheGreetingFarm digital stamp which I 'altered'. Yes Donna, this little card really has taken me two days to make!

This is how the little boy should look, but sadly my hubby does not have Soccer Ian's gorgeous flowing locks, so I worked a little 'masking magic' and drew in some more suitable hair. (Not sure my hubby has this much hair either....)
I changed Ian's shorts to jeans again by masking before I printed the image. It was quick and easy to make some little trousers from card and to paper piece them. The shirt is also paper pieced and is in the colours of my hubby's beloved Halesowen Town Football Club.

Girls I have to tell you that I married that football club when I married my hubby!

I printed the sentiment on my PC in 'Juice', which is one of my favourite fun fonts!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and happy crafting everyone!

Victoria's candy!

Just a quick reminder that Victoria has some gorgeous candy on offer over at her blog until Wednesday 9th December.

For anyone who missed my earlier post this candy call is for a wonderful charity called SANDs.

Here are some of the cards that I am sending...

I was delighted to discover that I can fit ten cards into the padded bag that I bought!

I think that this one is my favourite!

She is a cute little digital image from The GreetingFarm. She was in their digital clearance sale and I am glad that I snapped her up when I did as she is no longer available.

I found that lovely paper in my stash, it is called Poppet and I wish I had more as it is gorgeous. I had just enough for this card, and for some thank you cards that I am making to give to my sister-in-law as a little stocking filler.

It's a digital challenge over at The Cupcake Craft Challenge this week so my sweet little friend fits the bill quite nicely!

Happy crafting everyone!

It started with a hiss...

Sometimes these things just happen...

Anyone who is a regular visitor to InkyFingersRule will know that this little sweetheart has just stolen Beth's heart. Her name is Epiphany, and with her arrival Beth has joined the long list of people who didn't intend to be owned by a cat!


Just over 18 years ago I had made the decision not to get a cat. I didn't want the hassle. I was perfectly happy to enjoy the visits that my neighbours cat, Whiskers, made to my house most days for little snacks and treats. Whiskers began to put on weight - too many snacks perhaps? Then one evening she marched across my kitchen and settled herself in a box of old decorating sheets in the big cupboard under the stairs. I climbed into the back of the cupboard with her and 'held her paw' as she gave birth to three pretty little kittens.
I decided to keep the two female kittens and my work colleague gave a home to the little boy cat.
Cleo, and her sweet little sister Daisy, wobbled out of the cupboard after a few days and hissed, tiny warning hisses at me when I went to pick them up. Truly, it 'started with a hiss'!

Anyhoo, back to that card...
I wish that I hadn't photographed on pink, but hopefully you can still see the outline of the card itself. This cute little image seemed so appropriate after reading about Beth and Epiphany. You may recognise Reeta from GreetingFarm. I decided to paper piece her in some of the tiny scraps that I had as leftovers from my previous card. The little kitten is also paper pieced and is lifted up on a tiny dimensional. The papers are all 'Eva' by Basic Grey and the card stock is Bazzils.


I stamped a favourite Hero Arts background stamp onto one of the plain papers from this pack and clear embossed for added interest. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, and I think that tiny button is from Basic Grey to match the Eva collection. The bling and the ribbon are both stash items.

The theme over at Pink Elephant , is 'So thankful', and there is even more 'thankfulness' going on at the Flutter-by-Wednesday Challenge #83 ! Papercutz are keeping it sweet and simple this week as Challenge #17 is to use a hand stamped or digital image on our card!

Happy crafting everyone!

Pretty in pink...and green!

Here's Twinkle Tot Madelynn out in the snow again!

This time she is wearing a pretty pink coat and a cute scarf, both paper pieced from Basic Grey's beautiful 6 x 6 paper pad Eva. I had so much fun piecing those cute Mary Jane's!

All the other papers are from same pad, and the soft pink card stock is Bazzils.

I really love this little image and wanted to use her again. I wanted to give her a different look to my previous card so went hunting for a sketch. There are so many great sketches at the moment, but I finally settled on this one from Card Patterns as it gave me the chance to use so many of those cute papers.

Rather then stamp snowflakes I decided to have Madelynn lost in a flurry of cute, little snowy pearls!

The Cupcakes are having 'Snow much fun' with Challenge 64 , and the Crafty Catz are going 'dottie' this week so rather amazingly for me this is another three challenge card!

Happy crafting everyone!