Happy birthday, Shirley!

So, you decide to send a birthday card to a fellow card maker... Well, not just any card maker but the super-talented Shirley B. You feel a little nervous because Shirley is so talented and you are not. You carefully select an image you hope Shirley will like and you start colouring with your Promarkers.

Everything seems to go pretty well with your colour-work so you die-cut and layer and then you decide to add some Wink of Stella from your newly purchased pen. You shake and squeeze: nothing happens. You try again but the fluid won't flow into the barrel. You undo the pen and suddenly you are engulfed in what will go down in the annals of history as 'The Great Wink of Stella Disaster of 2015'.  You print out a second image...

Yes, it's fellow blogger Shirley B's birthday today. As I am sure many of you are aware, Shirley is one very talented lady and not only does she make cards she also designs her own stamps!
Earlier this year Shirley shared a gorgeous card for a 50th birthday which I admired in the comment I left for her. Before I knew it I had a stunning card made just for me to celebrate my half-century!

So, (eventually) here's the card I sent to Shirley to celebrate her birthday. Don't you just love this sweet girl with her birthday tiara?

Happy birthday, Shirley, I hope you have a wonderful day!

A Little Bit Naugh-tea!

After seeing my previous card a work colleague asked if I could make a tea-themed version for her daughter... And here's the result!

I was struggling to decide on a colour combo until I found this lovely palette of colours over at The Card Concept. 

I've seen other card-makers link to this blog on many occasions but I've never actually visited The Card Concept until now. I have to say that I love what I've found as this is a great little blog with some very talented ladies on the design team.

The DT inspiration comes in a variety of styles CAS, Clean and Graphic, Clean and Layered, Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage, Classy and Elegant or Mixed Media and you can choose a style for your card from one of these. I guess my card is best described as Clean and Layered as there are a few layers going on here but the overall design is still very simple. I love the colour inspiration as these are colours I would never have chosen without seeing them together. 

I was also very taken with this simple request:

'Comment on the card ahead of you and behind you in the linky.'

What a nice way of doing things to guarantee some additional blog traffic for everyone taking part in the challenge. I know this'll be the first of many visits I'll make to this lovely challenge blog and would urge you to take a look if you've not already done so yourself.

I'm also going to link-up over at Kathy's current 30 Day Colouring Challenge. Once again, she's doing an amazing job of bringing us inspiration and colouring fun on a daily basis throughout the month!

Love you a latte!

In an attempt to wean myself off SOG images, and get a good colouring workout, I headed over to Mo's and bought a couple of her beautiful digis. Isn't this one a beauty? I love her sweet, winsome expression.

I had planned to play along with Amy's Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop but couldn't find time to finish my colouring until this morning. 

However, I am still in good time to link-up with Kathy's 30 Day Colour Challenge...

And also Virginia's current challenge, where Kathy appears as Guest Designer for the month.

Two seriously talented ladies who know a thing or two about colour: what a combination!

For a little added interest I made some cute coffee-themed embellishments using Lawn Fawn's Love You A Latte set. I even added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the spoon to look like sugar!

Hubby's off to the football in a while... Ooooo, might just manage to squeeze in a little more colouring while I have the house to myself! Well, it is World Card Making Day after all!

Have a great day!

September Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It's time for another Card Chain Challenge reveal over at Deborah's: my goodness, doesn't time fly!

Here's the card I sent to my recipient and, yes, you guessed it, it's another SOG image.

Isn't Wavy Mae adorable? Perfect with that large sentiment stamp and such fun to colour. 

I promise to stop colouring SOG images... Eventually!

I was lucky enough to receive a super spooky card from the lovely Arlene, which you can see here along with all the other September creations.

If you'd like to join the October Chain there are still a few days before the link-up closes.

House of Cards - October Challenge

We've got a lovely colour and texture challenge to share with you over at House of Cards this month.

Just look at this beautiful autumn colour palette: isn't this a season when Mother Nature simply out does herself??! 

I made my card for my friend and colleague, Jayne. She's our Dance/PE teacher and if there's ever laughter to be heard in the school where I work she is usually close by. Here's Jayne celebrating her birthday on Roald Dahl Dress-up day being a fantastic Fantastic Mr Fox and coordinating beautifully with her HOC card. 

Doesn't she look great? Jayne roared with laughter when she opened her card and enjoyed this Art Impressions Inc. stamp and sentiment combo every bit as much as I hoped she would.

The HOC girls are a very talented bunch and there's a fabulous selection of cards on offer to celebrate this stunning season over on the blog today. There's also a great tutorial from Mynn you really shouldn't miss and a beautiful card from our October Guest DT member Paula for you to enjoy.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #20 - Feeling Witchy!

Something Witchy comes this way! 

Yes, we're celebrating all things Halloweeny, Spooky and Witch-related this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges. Unbelievably this is our 20th challenge ( I know!) and once again Danielle has created a fun graphic that you are welcome to include with your entry.

Here in the UK when we're not obsessed with the fake tans and sequins of Strictly Come Dancing we're indulging our love of cakes, loaves and all things baked with the Great British Bake-Off.          With this in mind I couldn't resist a little punning to go with this sweet Some Odd Girl witch and the contents of her cauldron.

I really enjoyed colouring this digi and am quite pleased with both the look of the cauldron and the reflected glow of the potion on her face.

I enjoyed this challenge so much that I made a second card which you can see over at the Naughty or Nice blog. Once again, my fellow Troublemakers had a blast with this fun challenge and I know you'll love their fabulous witchy creations. And just to spice things up a little the lovely and very talented Danielle has created some gorgeous flair buttons as prizes for our winners.

So break out those witch stamps and/or witch-y sayings and come join us!