Wednesday 29 April 2009

Forever Friends

Here's my entry for this week's
where the theme is
Blue & Green

I managed to get away without using any stamps on this card.
Which made it really quick and easy to make.
The image itself is cut from the papers,
which are
Forever Friends - Party Time.
(The dark card is actually nave blue,
but looks black on the photo.)
I made up the sentiment on my computer,
the blooms are from my stash and the
card candy is from Craftwork cards,
I really must get some more of these,
they are so useful and come in such luscious colours.
xxx

Tuesday 28 April 2009

Strawberry Cupcake

I know... it's Tilda with Crowberry Muffin,
but the strawberry paper is sooooo cute, I had to use it.
What does a crowberry even look like??? lol*
This is my entry for this week's
Stamp with Fun Challenge.
Isn't it a great sketch... designed by Bev?
Recipe: Magnolia Stamp, coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - DCWV - Nursery, Baby Girl.
I used my brand new Fiskars, lace punch,
and I also punched the little flowers out of the DP.
The paper does have some glitter on it,
but you can always add more glitter...right?
So, I added some to the paper, the flowers and the little muffin.
xxx

Charmed I'm Sure

This is the challenge over at Stamptacular.
You can create any project, as long as it contains
a stamp and a charm.
Have a look at the cute DT work,
they have lots of different ideas.

I've been noticing these pretty charms on cards
for a while now,
but I don't have any and haven't seen them for sale.
Now come on girls, don't keep them all to yourselves,
if you know of an online UK shop
that sells them please let me know.
:-)

For my charm I improvised...lol*
I used a butterfly bead, a bit of wire and some beads,
left over from a jewellery making set.
The pretty paper is from K & Co, Simply Sweet
and the stamp is Magnolia - Sweetheart Tilda,
coloured with whispers pens.
xxx

Sunday 26 April 2009

Lili Of The Valley Challenge


Just had time to squeeze in another card,
before I have to clear up my craft things and start
cooking the Sunday Roast.


This is a great sketch over at
Lili of the Valley
You have 2 weeks to submit your entry,
so plenty of time to head on over there
and check out their wonderful DT work.
Recipe:
Stamp - Magnolia, Guitar Edwin,
coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper: Dovecraft, Masculine.
Shapes, cut from my Nestabilities, Labels One.
Being my usual clumsy self,
I managed to get brown ink on my white card,
luckily I managed to cover it up with those little stars,
that I found lurking at the bottom of my craft box.
xxx



I am so disappointed!

Another year has gone by,
and yet again I have failed to make it
onto the Sunday Times' Rich List.
:-(
Ah well,
just think how I am avoiding all those headaches I would get,
thinking about what to spend my millions on!!

Back to reality, and my crafting.. lol*
This is my entry for this week's
Just Magnolia challenge,
where the theme is
Pink & Green
Recipe:
Stamp - Magnolia, Tilda with Puppy, coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - DCWV, Nursery Baby Girl
This is the cutest paper, one piece has the nursery rhyme text
"the little dog laughed to see such fun",
so I thought the stamp with the puppy fitted perfectly.
The flowers were punched from the paper
and the brads and buttons are from my stash.
xxx

New Challenge Blog

Morning,
just spreading the word that
Kirsten and Emma are setting up a new challenge blog,
and are looking for DT members.
Their challenges will do just what it says on the tin... :-)
'allsorts' of things.
So anyone that enjoys using different techniques
can apply to be on the DT team until midnight May 9th.
I wish them lots of luck with their new blog.
xxx


Saturday 25 April 2009

Mini Briefcase

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together!!
I was racking my brains to think up a different type of card
for my hubby's birthday next week,
when I saw the challenge over at Secret Crafters.
The theme is to make a 'shaped' card. -
and here's what I came up with.
It's a little briefcase, and the card itself is in the
front pocket, and is in the shape of a gift tag.
I'm sure my hubby will agree with the sentiment on it!!

To make the little briefcase,
I loosely followed a wonderful tutorial from Mel
(Thankyou so much, Mel, for your excellent instructions)

I made my box a little bigger by starting with 12 x 8 card,
so that it was more of a briefcase shape.
Then I added a little pocket at the front, using brads to hold it in place,
and finished it off with a handle on the top.
The little tag uses a stamp from the
Papermania - Stamping For Him set
(coloured with whispers pens)
and I made the sentiment on my computer.

The finished briefcase is approx 6" x 4 1/2" x 1",
so hopefully I will be able to fit
some of hubby's favourite dark chocolate in there.

xxx

Wednesday 22 April 2009

Home Tweet Home


I'm not sure about this card...
I think it's lacking something, but I can't put my finger on it.
Maybe it's the fact that there's not a lot of call for new home cards
right now.


Anyhoo, it's my entry for the
Digital Tuesday Challenge
The theme is green & brown, and 1 colour of your choice.
Also using at least 1 digital image.
Take a look at the DT work, for some
better examples!!

Recipe:
Digital Image - Home sweet home from Pink Petticoat
Design Papers - freebies from a craft magazine
Die cut swirls with nestabilities.
Blooms and card candy from my stash.

Whiff of Joy Challenge

Hello...
I am playing with the big girls again today,
over at the Whiff Of Joy Challenge... lol*
I aspire to be as good as the design team over there.
Check out their beautiful work.
My order is in for the WOJ Summer stamp set too..
can't wait to see it.

Recipe:
Stamp: WOJ - I attempted to water colour the stamp, with a brush,
but I'm not sure about the result - what do you think?
Yeah, yeah, I know... I need more practice, right??
Design Paper: Papermania -Simply Elegant.
The flowers were punched from the DP.
Ribbon and brads from my stash,
and I found the butterfly at the bottom of my craft box.
xxx

One for the boys

I don't know about you,
but I always seem to be short of cards for men and boys.
So, for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge,
I went with a masculine theme.
It's a great sketch they have provided us with,
and one that I think I will use over and over.
Recipe:
Stamps: Woodware Playtime Set, coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper: Dovecraft Masculine.
Shapes cut from my nestabilities.

xxx

Sunday 19 April 2009

Just Magnolia Challenge

Afternoon everyone,
hope you are all enjoying what's left of the weekend.
It's glorious sunshine here - and I have a date with the hot-tub
and a glass of wine!
First - here's my entry for the new, Just Magnolia Challenge.

There is a fab prize for the first challenge -
lots of amazing goodies from the DT team and
the Hobby House

The DT work is awesome,
so head on over there and check it out.

I found a template for this cute little bag in a Papercrafts book I have
and used the challenge sketch on the front of it.
I have no idea what to put in it -
ideas on a postcard please..
lol*
I'm sure it will come in handy for a gift for someone.

Recipe: Magnolia stamp - Sweetheart Tilda,
coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - my absolute fav. K&Co - Classic
Shapes cut with my nestabilities and
blooms, ribbon and stick on pearls from my stash.
xxx

Saturday 18 April 2009

A Sweet Treat

... but not for eating!!
Well, I guess you could eat it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
My daughter started a new job today -
she goes to Uni. but has got a job,
one day a week, in a clothes shop.
So, I wanted to have a little treat ready for her
when she gets home tonight.
This is a Lemon, Honey Body Scrub and is for the
'Recycle' challenge over at Simon Says

The glass jar is recycled from Christmas -
it contained Christmas Crunch,
from my very first blog entry,
and has finally found it's way back to me.
The little green ribbon is also recycled.
Have you noticed, that nearly every top you buy
has these little ribbons sewn into the shoulders.
I have started to cut them out and use them in my crafting.

The stripey paper is DCWV - Nursery
and everything else is from my stash.

I haven't tried the scrub yet, but here is my recipe for it.
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsps honey

Top 10 favs Award

Big hugs to Julie,
over at Stampin' Corner,
for sending me this award.
It was a lovely suprise.
I am thrilled that people
actually visit my little blog,
and love to receive all your comments.
I will be sending this award on
to my fav 10 blogs soon.
xxx

Emergency Chocolate!

Everyone should carry emergency chocolate with them,
shouldn't they?
So for this week's
Funky Fairys Challenge,
I have made a little, chocolate bar slider.
When you pull the ribbon, the chocolate bar comes out.
This great little idea comes from Angie Parkins,
and is in Issue 57 of
Simply Cards and Papercrafts.
The challenge this week was a recipe -
One image - Sweetheart Tilda, from Magnolia
2 papers - 'kisses' background and 'swirls' -
tilda's paper-pieced dress - both from Funky Fairys.
3 embellishments - 3 flowers
I know I have added ribbon too...
but that's not an embellishment, honest! -
it's an integral part of the project.
That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
;-)


xxx

Friday 17 April 2009

Lowlifes and thieves

I am so angry... and tired!
Last night some lowlife stole my daughter's purse from her handbag.
It contained all the usual stuff...
her cash, bank cards, car keys, driving licence, Uni keys and home keys.
She was so upset..
a guy had pushed into her in a nightclub and had taken the purse out
of her bag, which was over her shoulder,
before she knew what was happening.
It was only as he walked away that she realised something was wrong.
She shouted after him and got help,
but by then he was long gone.
So, no crafting for me today...
I will be busy trying to get the locks on the front door changed
and praying that her car is still there.
Can you change the locks on a car???

Thursday 16 April 2009

Amazing Blog Candy

Wow!
Just take a look at this gorgeous blog candy
from Bev at All The Things I love,
to celebrate her blogoversary.
Pop on over there and check out her wonderful blog
and leave a comment to be in with a chance to win.
xxx

Wednesday 15 April 2009

My first award


I am so thrilled...
I have just been given my very first blog award.
It's from the lovely Sassy.
If you don't know Sassy, pop on over and visit her
wonderful, fun blog and you will be sure of a warm welcome.
Thanks Sassy... xxx

Black and White

Here's my card for this week's
Whiff Of Joy Challenge
The theme is black and white, but you are allowed a
splash of one colour.
Check out the DT work - they have such awesome talent.


I wasn't sure what to do for this card,
so it just sort of evolved as I went along.
I am pleased with how it turned out though.
It's hard to explain what I did...lol*
but I'm sure you can work it out from the pic below.
I cut a rectangle from the front of the card,
then cut a slightly larger one to cover that
and attached it with the flower and brad.
I added the piece of ribbon,
so that you can use that to slide the front piece upwards.

On the inside of the card I added another rectangle,
the sentiment, a die cut corner and a little butterfly stamp.


Stamps are from the Whiff Of Joy Spring Collection,
coloured with pencils.
Paper is Papermania -Inspirations
Blooms, brads and sentiment from my stash
xxx

This is for the birds!

Hello, hope everyone is having a good day.
Today is my first time trying the challenge over at
This week's theme is 'birds'.
Have a look at their wondeful design team work for inspiration,
there is a great variety of ideas.

Card Recipe: Magnolia Sweetheart Tilda Stamp,
and Bench
coloured with whispers pens.
Design Paper - the gorgeous glittery bird paper is
Die Cuts With A View - Nursery
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards
Blooms, brads and ribbon from my stash.
xxx


Monday 13 April 2009

Afternoon everyone,
I am being treated to another day of crafting today,
as my daughter is cooking us a lovely meal.
Of course, I had to go out and buy all the ingredients this morning,
and I think every pot and pan we own is in use,
but it smells wonderful.

Here is my entry for this week's
Sketch and Stash Challenge.
It's another great sketch, which leaves you free to add
embellishments and sentiments wherever you wish.

The neglected stash that I used is Forever Friends - Just for Him, papers.
These papers are really cute, but I never really knew what to do with them.
For this card I decoupaged the design.
I like the way that the hat creates a shadow,
as if the sun is on the teddy's face.
Also, I ran out of thread when I was sewing parts of the card,
but I liked the effect, so I kept on going.. lol*



Saturday 11 April 2009

Cute, cute, cute!

Here's my 3rd and last card of the day.
I have to pack up my craft things now,
as the family are screaming to be fed..
lol*
This is my entry for the great sketch over at Sketch Saturday.
There are some wonderful goodies up for grabs this week,
donated by Clare of Thread-bare.
How adorable are these design papers?
They are Die Cuts With a View - Nana's Nursery.
The challenge for me was sticking to the sketch, but not covering up
the gorgeous paper too much.
You can't really tell from the photo, but
the paper is glittered, which makes it even cuter.

The stamp is from the Penny Black - Critter Party set,
coloured with whispers pens.

Gone Fishing

Another card for today, and this time I combined 2 challenges -
'Purple and Green' over at Charisma Cardz and
'Fun' at Lili of the Valley.
They both have some amazing design team work,
so, if you're looking for inspiration, go and check them out.
I used a new set of clear stamps from Papermania,
designed by Clare Curd.
These are great for guys cards as they include fishing,
golfing, a handy man, plus sentiments and little extras.
The design Paper was Cardmakers, Earth's Palette and
I printed out the saying, that I found on the net.

xxxx

Hide and Seek

Hello everyone,
hope you are all enjoying the Easter Weekend.
I am having fun in my craft room.
Here's my first card of the day and it's for the
Daring Cardmakers Challenge.
The theme is hide and seek,
so you need to include a hidden message or element on your project.
This is my first time over at this blog and
it looks like a really friendly, fun place to be,
with lots of wonderful ideas from the design team.

My hidden message is in the form of a little card,
in the middle of the main card.
You just pull the ribbon and it opens.
I just love the adorable way that Tilda's legs just dangle in mid air.

Card Recipe:
Paper - Papermania, Raspberry Champagne
Stamps - Magnolia, Sweetheart Tilda, coloured with whispers pens
Corners - Sizzix Die, covered with stickles glitter
Ribbon, blooms, brads and stick on pearls from my stash.
The sentiment I made on the computer.

xxx

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Dare to be Square...

that's the theme of this week's challenge at
Hop on over there and check out the fabulous
design team work, and of course you can see the range of gorgeous,
Funky Fairy downloads at
Funky Fairys Papercrafts.
My entry is this cute little box, with lid.
I used the basic box template, kindly provided by Mel
and replaced a square in the lid with clear plastic,
stitched in place,
so you could see inside the box.
To complement the 'squares' theme I used this lovely
polka dot paper from Funky Fairys 'cherish' collection.

I was going to fill my box with little chocolate eggs,
but then I found a couple of small candles in the cupboard
that fit perfectly inside.

I stamped them with the cute hedgehog stamp,
from the Penny Black - Bubbly set.
I also discovered that putting a sheet of coloured paper through
my cross shredder, gives me a really cute filler,
for inside the box.

Then I wrapped it all up with ribbon and added a little tag.

xxx


Tuesday 7 April 2009

Box in a Bag

Here's my entry for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge.
The theme is 'Folds'.

I made these Box Bags as easter treats for my nieces,
and they are filled with little, milk chocolate eggs.
I wish I had kept some of the little eggs out, to put in the photo,
but it's probably best they are all packaged and tied up with ribbon,
or there would have been no eggs left to put inside!!!
A big thankyou to Stampin' with Di
for her excellent tutorial with step-by-step instructions.
I didn't have the tabs for the top of the bag, so instead I used
a round, scalloped die and folded it in half.
I used the lovely 'cherish' papers from Funky Fairys
with blooms and ribbon from my stash.

xxx

Monday 6 April 2009

Magnolia v Stampavie

Today, I thought I would go over and play with the big girls at
Magnolia v Stampavie.
Their design work and challenge entries are so gorgeous,
I have had to pluck up the courage to enter.
It's a really lovely sketch this week though,
so I couldn't resist.

I have used the Magnolia stamp - Flower Power Tilda,
with my absolute favourite papers,
K & Co - Classic.
The sentiment is from Craftwork cards,
with blooms from Poppicrafts.
I still don't have a swirl die ( I am soo deprived.. lol*)
so I drew one on some paper and cut it out.
Must dash now, my girls are both home from Uni,
and insist on being fed!!
If you pass by, please leave me a comment.
xxx

Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday Maria

xxx

My daughter was 20 yesterday -20 ??
Where does the time go?
I can no longer say I have 2 teenagers.
We had a lovely weekend, with loads of fun
ending in a big meal yesterday. Here's a piccie of the Birthday cake that my other daughter made.
How cute is it?
The biggest cupcake ever.. lol*
If you fancy giving it a go the tin is from Lakeland

I made a lovely roast leg of lamb with all the trimmings,
but the star of the show was the dessert table.
Home-made Blueberry cheesecake, banoffee pie and of course,
the chocolate fountain.
I don't think I will need to eat again for the rest of the week.

Friday 3 April 2009

Colour Create Challenge

It's my first time over at the Colour Create Challenge blog,
and I love the way they get inspiration for the challenge,
from the things around us.
This week the theme is
Lilac and Blue,
inspired by a beautiful, japanese, fighting fish.
As an extra option you can use ribbons and swirls on your project.
Check out the lovely work of the design team.

Here's my lilac and blue card.
I managed to add the ribbon, but not the swirls.
I sooo want one of those swirls dies, for my bigshot.
They do look good on cards and I'm sure I would use it a lot.
That's what I am trying to convince my hubby anyway!!
The stamp is from the Penny Black Bubbly set,
coloured with whispers pens.
The design paper is Forever Friends, Just For Him,
with ribbon and blooms from my stash.

xxx

Thursday 2 April 2009

Congratulations Helen

Keep off the streets everyone!
My 40something SIL (ha! she's going to kill me for that)
has just passed her motorbike test - first time.
Well done Helen.
I made this card for her with this week's fab sketch at
Sketch and Stash Challenge
Check out their gorgeous DT work.
I found the image on my clipart CD
and the new stash that I used, was the design papers,
a recent purchase from Funky Fairys.
These are from their 'Cherish' range -
the most gorgeous colour-co-ordinated,
downloadable, papers.

xxx

Wednesday 1 April 2009

New Challenge Blog

I finally have 5 minutes to myself today,
to upload this card before The Apprentice starts, on TV.
This is the first challenge for a great new blog called
and the theme is
"yellow and green"

I have used one of my Magnolia stamps again -
they are just so cute, I can't stop playing with them.
This one is Tilda with Cowberry Muffin.
I had no idea what a cowberry is,
but apparently it's a relative of the cranberry!
The paper I have used is Papermania - Sweet Nothings,
with ribbon, bloom and flower button all from Poppicrafts.


Right, Sir Alan has just given out this week's task,
so I am off to see how they can mess it up this week.
xxx