Beautiful Butterflies...

It's a sketch challenge this week over at Less is More, and what a lovely simple sketch it is too! This one really got all the LIMettes' creative juices flowing, and as always Chrissie and Mandi came up with some beautiful and inspirational work to get us in the mood.

I played around with a few different ideas for the challenge, but finally settled on this...

I love the butterflies on the Hero Arts Clear Design set: Birds and Butterflies. This was the first Clear Design set that I bought and it remains one of my most favourite. Just the perfect stamp for making the 'happy' card that I had in mind. I hope the girls over at The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge agree that there's nothing more cheery than a cloud of bright butterflies as it's a Bright and Cheery challenge this week.

I coloured with Distress Inks and used a water pen for the first time. I need to practise, but it certainly gives a nice effect. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I'll just add that those tiny splodges of ink aren't so obvious IRL - what is it about the computer screen that magnifies all your little errors and mistakes???

This card is for my darling 'big' goddaughter. Sarah is 30 tomorrow, which I find both wonderful and unbelievable!

I'm away to the postbox now, so happy crafting everyone!

Cheers to you!

Brrrrrr, it's so chilly today!
Thankfully my craft room is the cosiest room in the house so what a great excuse to spend the day there.
There's so much that I'm not sure about with this card... but I love the colours, the sweet sketch, the cute buttons and Kraftin' Kimmie's Sophia.
The papers are oldies from Stampin' Up as one of my resolutions for 2012 is to use my stash rather than hoarding it. The stripes on the top half of the card were supposed to go vertically but guess who stuck the paper down before she realised!
This card is for my sweet friend Karen. I think Sophia really should be quaffing white wine as that's Karen's favourite tipple, but I'm sure she wouldn't turn her nose up at something pink with an olive in it.
Hubby finished the fence over the weekend (he worked so hard) and it looks great. The only problem is that the cat is scared of it as he doesn't like change!

This card is for the following challenges:
The Pink Elephant - use your favourite colours.
The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Anything goes with blue
Sketch Saturday - a lovely sketch (which I can't paste onto my desktop for some reason).
ABC Challenge - H is for Happy Birthday.
Happy Crafting everyone!

Christmas joy!

It's a beautifully bright and sunny day today, but it is a little chilly!
Well, I've finally made a start on my Christmas cards - wooohoooo.
A big thank you to the girl's over at The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge for giving me a kick up the backside with the theme 'Wrap up Warm'. I knew that I had the perfect little festive digital stamp in Mistletoe Kaylee to join in the fun. I'd forgotten how much I love Some Odd Girl images, isn't she sweet?
I flipped Kaylee horizontally so that she fitted a design that I came up with for another card (I'll share later) and then went with a cozy colour combo.
I wanted a nice bright background, so stamped some snowflakes onto Stampin' Up card thus making this card eligible for One Stop Craft Challenge #154 'No Patterned paper'.
I'm going to make a whole bunch of cards in this design as they are sweet and simple to create.
Well, it must be cold outside as my man of the great outdoors (aka Hubby) has just come in from the garden! I better go and offer hot drinks and snacks asap.
Have a great weekend everyone!

I love pink!

I've got to admit that when it comes to choosing a colour combo I often have to stop myself reaching for pink. Doesn't matter whether it's a prawn cocktail pink, a cool fuchsia pink or a hot fruity berry shade, if it's pink then I love it! So what an easy decision when I saw that the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge for this week was 'white plus one other colour'.

I've had Simply Sassy Tiffany waiting patiently for some ink for a few days, so I decided this was her moment in the spotlight! She really is lovely to colour. This card is to thank my cousin Janis for all her kindness over the last few days while I've been poorly. I stamped a variety of thank you phrases in Stampin' Up Whisper White onto the pink cardstock to make the middle panel and am quite pleased with how it turned out.

Here's the other challenges I'm linking up with:
Tip Top Tuesday Challenge #56 - Layer it Up! (A highly recommended site for great tutorials).
Little Miss Muffet Challenge #20 - Girly Girl
Crafty Purple Frog - Thank you (DT cards to die for)
Raise the Bar Challenge #79 - Pink is in! (Yes, yes, yes!)
PrairyFairy - Sugar and Spice and everything nice

So TTFN everyone, I hope your week's going well and that you're all getting some happy craftin' time along the way!

Sassy Skater girl.

So hands up, who else is a fan of the Simply Sassy DT Blog? Quite a lot of us judging by the number of Followers! There's oodles of inspiration to be had over there, and I love Krista Smith's sweet images as they have the perfect combo of sweetness and sass. Just what I needed to create a card for my friend's teenager daughter Emelia.
I started this card yesterday, but didn't manage to complete it until this afternoon. I decided to 'go pink' for my first outing with Krista's gorgeous 'Skater girl' image.
Ok, so a little bit of kraft crept in as well, but this always seems such a yummy combination that I couldn't resist. I was hugely inspired by this adorable card by Pops. I reached for my new Martha Stewart butterfly punch after seeing her sweet flutterbug embellishments.
I was also trying out a Marianne D Creatables die but couldn't find my tan embossing mat. Thankfully a little improvisation with a Cuttlebug folder and a smoosh of Spun Sugar Distress ink created a pretty centre.
I'm entering this card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #140 which is 'Embossing'.
And now I'm heading back outside to enjoy more of the Summer sunshine... but not before I share the happy news that I passed my Institute of Customer Services exam!!!
Regular visitors to my Blog will know that I've been sweating over my coursework for about 18 months. Thank goodness all the hard work paid off... phew, I'm one happy bunny. I'd like to thank you all for your support and encouragement with my studies, it really has meant alot to me.

So enjoy your Sunday evening and I'll see you all again soon!

... and she's back!

Sorry that I've been AWOL for nearly a month... sure have missed my Blogland buddies AND my crafting!
I've been up to my ears in work recently, so it's been lovely today to get the grocery shopping done in record time and then relax with a little gentle cardmaking!
This isn't the card I've made today, I'll share that after my hubby's birthday next week!!!
I think this is the first Mo's Pencil image that I've ever coloured with Promarkers. I had a tight deadline so possibly rushed a bit, but she doesn't look too bad.Unfortunately, I photographed before the Stickles had dried so it looks as if I've created a slightly odd wet-look butterfly.
This week over at The Secret Crafter the theme is 'Something from around the house'. At first I thought that meant I had to be creative with something like a bottle top, a cereal box or the cat (always around the house...usually asleep) but it seems that an image picturing a household item will do, so this one fits the bill nicely!
Thanks to everyone who emailed or sent cards for my birthday on Thursday - you are all soooooo sweet. I can't believe that I am now forty-blinkin'-six... where has the time gone to?

Anyway, take care everyone. I'll try and visit as many Blogs as possible this weekend as I've got plenty of catching up to do.
Happy crafting everyone!

Oriental Tilda time!

After feeling a little let down by my last card I decided to spend longer planning what I wanted to make today, rather than just rushing and ending in a muddle again.

Here's the result... rather cute, huh?

This is my card for The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #105 which is Oriental, and I have to say that I am very grateful to the lovely (and ever so slightly crazy!!!!) Tracie for choosing this theme as I had sooo much fun today!

I'm also grateful to my mate Vicky for stamping Tilda for me and letting me borrow that gorgeous Tim Holtz Collection swirl stamp (Take flight set). I paired the swirl with the Hero Arts Raindrops design block for the background and love the effect of the two patterns together. I used Stampin' Up 'Whisper white' ink.

The blue patterned paper is a free download found after searching for Washi paper on the Internet. I'm not sure if it looks that Japanese, more patchwork, but it works well with the look of the card and stops it looking too pink. I had fun making the tiny little fan embellishment... don't think I've made one of those in years!

Must go and make a sandwich now as I'm super hungry!

Happy crafting everyone!

WOYWW!

Hi everyone, I just couldn't resist sharing a picture of my own desk this week after seeing Julia's workspace on WOYWW this week. I notice that we both need our specs in order to get crafty!

The partially coloured image is the sweet Italian Girl from The Secret Crafter. I love these little manga inspired stamps. They cling beautifully to the block and give a clean, crisp image... lovely!

When I took this picture I was having trouble deciding whether she should be a blonde or a brunette!

I also thought I'd share a little card that I've made for a sweet blogging friend. Hopefully this card is nearly at it's destination by now... it's got to travel quite a few miles to reach her!

Yep, I've used that Gorjuss Goth Girl again. I just can't help myself as she is adorable!
I did quite a bit of work with Spun Sugar Distress Ink so I decided to enter it for Challenge #104 over at SCSC. The sentiments are from Hero Arts and I broke out some of my favourite papers too!

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, hope it's a crafty one!

Cute as a button

Hello everyone, long time no blog!

I worked all of last week and had to spend Sunday catching up on housework, so just couldn't fit any card making time into a packed schedule.

Today is different: the sky is blue, the sun is shining and I am having a day off.

No major housework, just a day of cardmaking and relaxing... heavenly!

I'm having a bit of a Gorjuss girl fad right now (oh, you'd guessed!). I want to practice my colouring techniques and find that Suzanne W's wonderful little girls virtually colour themselves.I picked a warm blue and red colour combo for Goth Girl , mainly because I wanted to use Cosmo Crickets lovely Material Girl papers. This is such a fabulous pad of retro papers and I love the vintage look of the colours and patterns. This is only the second easel card that I've made and I've got to admit that I struggled to remember how one went together until I re-found these great instructions.

It's easel card time over at the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and also at the ABC Challenge (E is for Easel), so thanks for the inspiration girls!

I'm now off to make cards while the sun shines... happy crafting everyone!

Making a start on Christmas!

Back in January I had grand plans of making Christmas cards throughout the whole year. The idea being that when the festive season arrived I would be cool, calm and collected and able to turn to a shoulder high pile of gorgeous cards dripping glitter and sparkle. Instead it has taken me until September to make my first Christmas card... and this is only because of those wonderful ladies over at SCSC prodding me into action with Challenge #98!

To be honest my mojo is a little low-low today due to back pain and I have to say that it does show in this card. I don't like to be a quitter but I might have to go and lie down for a little while if it doesn't ease up.

This sweet little angel isn't from the LOTV Christmas collection 2010. I bought her in about February (see told you I was full of good intentions) and it has taken until now to get her inked up.

I wanted to experiment with the gorgeous coloured pencils that my hubby bought for me earlier this year. I coloured with Promarkers and then went in to add definition with the pencils. I used baby oil and paper stubs (a bargain from Wendy's) and blended and re-coloured until I got the effect that I was looking for.

And if you want to make a start on Christmas here's a little helping hand from yours truly.

Just leave me a comment to go into the hat for a little candy in the shape of this totally cute LOTV stamp called 'Christmas candle'. I think the girls have surpassed themselves this year as their Christmas 2010 range is just adorable!

I'll draw the winner a week on Saturday so don't forget to drop by again.

Happy crafting everyone!

Strawberries and cream, and Jasmin!

Another gorgeous sunny day, marred only by the fact that England are no longer in the World Cup.

The challenge over at the Secret Crafter this week has been chosen by Victoria. As this is Wimbledon Fortnight she has chosen Strawberries and Cream as the theme for Challenge #89.

I was planning the layout for this card as I drove to Wendy's shop on Friday... actually I nearly drove straight past as I was concentrating on the card rather than where I was going! What this says about my driving I am not sure. This card is for my friend's lovely daughter Emelia. As Emelia is getting a little bit older now, I thought I'd use a slightly more sophisticated image. I hope that she likes the fabulously creative Jo Capper-Sandon's gorgeous new stamp 'Jasmin' as much as I do!

Jasmin was a joy to colour with Promarkers, although I know I haven't really done her justice.

I used Victorian Velvet and Spun Sugar Distress inks to create the background, and stamped the text in Worn Lipstick. I also used Worn Lipstick Stickles around the edge of the card.

I used two beautiful new Hero Arts stamps that my lovely hubby bought for my birthday, and added the little blackbird from a favourite Hero Arts cling set that I have had for ages.

My hubby has gone outside to vacuum the cars... I think he needs to be alone with his dreams of what might have been had England beaten Germany.

It's a funny old game, as they say!

That Friday feeling!

It's another beautiful bright and sunny morning here today and after one heck of a week I am so glad that it is Craftday... I mean Friday!

Today I'm sharing the card that I made for the Challenge #88 over at The Secret Crafter.

This week the challenge has been chosen by my friend Vicky and it is Weddings or Anniversaries. Take a minute to drop by at Vicky's blog for a peek at the fabulous favour box that she made for the challenge... so creative!

I have used one of the new range of Secret Crafter Stamps for my card. The image is called Rockability Couple and is a clear polymer stamp. This was the first time that I had used one of the new stamps that Wendy has produced. I have to say that I am very impressed. The stamp clings nicely to the perspex block and the stamped image is crisp and sharp. There are some great details too such as the girl's sweet handbag and her dashing partner's fabulous footware!

I couldn't decide which colours to pick for my card so I asked my hubby, who chose red and blue.

I wasn't sure at first but I decided to go with his suggestion and I am glad that I did as it makes for a really bright and cheery card! I am just sorry that the pictures are a bit dark... I think there is something slightly amiss with my camera!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

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!

Blog candy!

Happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoverary dear me -ee, happy blogoversary to me!

What better way to celebrate than with a little candy for all my lovely blogging buddies out there!

Included in the candy are three new stamps that have recently caught my eye: one by Mary Hall for Funky kits and two cute manga style stamps from the gorgeous new range over at The Secret Crafter. (A big thank you to the lovely Wendy for donating Jack and Mollie). There will also be a few other fun bits and pieces in the final package.

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is post a link to the candy on your blog and leave a comment for me on this post.

I'll make the draw for the winner on Monday next week, which is a bank holiday here in the UK. Don't forget to drop back to find out the result!

I just want to say a very big and heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who follows my blog or who drops by. You are all just amazing and never fail to cheer me up and make me smile!

Happy crafting everyone!

Konnichiwa Midori!

When I spotted these cute Japanese girls over at Mamidoodles I just fell in love!

They are work of the talented Elisa and belong to her gorgeous and very affordable set of images called 'Midori', which means "Green" in Japanese.

Elisa has created this kit especially with us cardmaking girls in mind. You can get sweet little Midori in three different outfits, and she also comes as a template for paper piecing.

Elisa has just announced her new DT and has opened her first challenge over at Mamidoodles.

I couldn't resist playing along and really enjoyed using the yummy colour combo of 'wheat, pale blue and red' inspired by this picture.

This little tri-fold card is my entry for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #79.

The theme for this week has been chosen by my super talented friend Vicky... so there was even more incentive than usual for me to play along!

Vicky's theme is 'A Day Out', and originally I was thinking about a day out in the country such as a picnic or a visit to a farm. However, after seeing cute Midori I knew that I wanted a little group of girls in their beautiful kimonos taking a day trip to see the cherry blossom or Sakura. I loved the book and film 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden. The beautiful cherry blossom scenes made a big impact on me and inspired the idea for this card.

I used this beautiful traditional Haiku, translated by Robin Gill in 'Cherry blossom Epipthany', to set the scene:

cherry blossoms

with the morning moon

still in the sky

Japanese people believe the Japanese cherry blossom captures and defines all that is vulnerable about being human. They believe that the brief Sakura season gives a timely reminder, once a year, that life is fleeting and time is precious. For them the cherry blossom season is a time to take stock and evaluate what they have achieved, and what they are going to do next, on their life path. People travel from all over Japan to see the best displays of blossom.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

Digital Tuesday Challenge #55 - April flowers or April showers

Ginger Snap Creations Random Redhead Challenge - Growth (personal growth!) and

Raise the Bar - Movie Mania: Memoirs of a Geisha

The cherry blossom on this card was created using flower soft. The additional stamps that I used are a flower border clear stamp and the gorgeous 'Leaf Flourish' stamp, both from Hero Arts. The leafy border stamp is from Hobby arts and was stamped using Distress Inks.

Happy crafting everyone, and don't forget to drop by next week as I'll be celebrating my 1st Blogoversary with a few little candy giveaways!

Feel better soon...

The challenge this week at The Secret Crafter is to make a get well card.

I thought that I was going to struggle with the theme until this crazy little idea popped into my head! I always appreciate a card that makes me laugh when I'm feeling low, so I went with a little comedy number using my favourite piggy from Stampin' Up!

The papers are all from the gorgeous Cosmo Cricket early bird pad. I love using these papers, but I always 'sigh' as the cutter zips them down to size. I added lots of 'Old Paper' Distress ink and some cute Stampin' Up! linen thread to complete the 'Homespun' look that I was trying to achieve. I hope that this little pig feels better soon as he looks very, very sick indeed!

Happy crafting everyone!

You truly warm my heart!

I am constantly delighted by the kindness of the card making community!

You are such a sweet and generous 'bunch', so I decided to make a little card to let you know how I feel!

There's also three of you lovely people who each deserve a special thank you...

First of all a big thank you to Jane for all those lovely giveaways. I have now been lucky enough to win Spike! He will be perfect for a cute valentine for my hubby.

Next I want to say a big thank you to the adorable Donna for sending me a huge parcel of goodies - you are soooo kind! This is one of the lovely Pure innocence images that she sent me, coloured with Promarkers and gleaming with diamond glaze.

Finally, I'm going to say thank you to Vicky for a really lovely day of stamping and friendship on Wednesday. Such fun ... and lots of nice cups of tea too! Thank you Vicky, and see you again soon!

So this card is to say thanks to them and to everyone who follows my blog or drops by.

... and what do you know, this card is also a good fit with the theme of 'Hearts' for The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #86 and 'Heart-to heart' over at Raise the Bar Challenge #4.

Have a great weekend everyone!

How many cats?

It's a colour challenge over at the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #67!

However, looking again at the picture I realise that I was way off with the colours that I used for my card! Oh well....

The Gorjuss Girl stamp is called Purrfect friends, and the sentiment is a 99 cent bargain from Squigglefly. They go together so well!

I wanted some of the cats to face the other way so used the 'kissing technique' to do this.

I need to say a very big thank you to the lovely Sally for giving me the low down on how to do this!

I coloured with promarkers and had lots of fun giving each little cat his own 'purr-sonality'.

If you count the cats on the card you will only find 8, but look inside and there's the last cat waiting to be found!This card is for my Mom's friend Pat. Now that adorable little monster 'Fluff' has moved in she has four cats. Fluff can only see through one eye but she doesn't miss a thing and can still climb the curtains with ease!

Happy crafting everyone!