Gorjuss 2000 Party - Sugar Nellie

Ok, so it turns out I have twenty Gorjuss Girl stamps! 

Until this morning they were stored in different boxes so I thought it would make more sense to keep them together rather than split them by company. Then I decided to count them.

I was a little bit surprised to discover just how many I'd got... And then, when I thought about it, I was surprised that I didn't have more!

I've been loving Gorjuss Girls since Sugar Nellie/Funky Kits produced the first stamps way back when. In actual fact I may have been a fan of Suzanne's Woolcott's artwork before I stumbled across the stamps; its a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation!

So here is my offering for the Gorjuss 2000 Party!

This sweet little Gorjuss Girl is one of the new release which I bagged earlier in the week. She is called Hush Little Bunny and I coloured her in similar colours to those featured on the packaging. I die-cut the word happy and used some of my favourite Stella and Rose papers (Hattie). The second picture is a little over-exposed so the top picture gives a truer representation of the colours.

The Gorjuss Party 2000 Challenge is open until the last week of April and the DT girls have set the bar very high with some glorious inspiration pieces. I wonder how many Gorjuss Girl stamps they have... And more to the question; how many do YOU have?

Happy Easter everyone!

Its been a while...

Yes, it has! Guess who has been poorly with a mammoth chest infection? Yup, that would be me and I've been barking like a dog (and frightening the cat) for about three weeks. Anyhoo, I'll cease the moaning and share the little card I made in a big hurry this morning.

The ink was barely dry on this one before I coughed and wheezed my way to the Post Office to 'First-Class' it on its way! It's our literacy coordinator's birthday and as she is a fellow 'book nut' I thought this little Gorjuss Girl would be the perfect way to wish her 'Many Happy Returns'.

I really like this little bibliophile from the set 'New Heights' and loved colouring her with my Promarkers. I seem to be having my own little Gorjuss Girl revival at the moment so was thrilled to discover that Sugar Nellie/Funky Kits have a new release starting on April 4th. Wooohooo!

Rest assured I'll be sitting here at my computer at 10am with a cup of coffee in one hand and my debit card in the other!

Happy crafting everyone!

Gorjuss paper piecing

Hi blog buddies, I hope your Sunday has been as pleasant and relaxing as mine.

Here are my final two cards using my favourite Gorjuss girl stamp. I decided to experiment with paper piecing this image and am quite pleased with the results.

Both cards are still fairly CAS, but the paper piecing certainly gives them a bit of a lift.

Off to finish my final assignment for college now - woohooo!

Happy crafting everyone!

Who stole the weekend???

Seriously, have I really had two days off? I must say I feel somewhat short changed in that department!

The nice weather has meant that we've been very busy this weekend: in the garden, cleaning the house, cleaning the windows and out shopping. As we strolled hand-in-hand around the Merry Hill Shopping Centre I remarked to Hubby that it was really nice to go clothes shopping together as this isn't something we do very often. Five minutes later I remember why: as we head for the fuller bust section of the lingerie department and he loudly remarks 'Surely you're not that big darling, look at the size of this bra... it looks like two buckets on a string!' Aha, so that would be why I've been shopping alone so much recently.

Here's my card for today, and no surprises that its another Gorjuss Girl.
I thought I'd go for a bright, bold red and a little decoupage on her face.

Enjoy what's left of Sunday everyone!

Meet my bestest crafting buddy!

And my bestest crafting buddy is my Mom!

What better way to spend the morning than card making with your Mom. At this point we were having a little play with some Distress Inks... plus nattering and having a cuppa of course.
How nice of Mom to dress so she perfectly matched my blue dining room.

Carrying on the blue theme here's another CAS Gorjuss girl.

The delicate flowers are from a Hero Arts set called Four Dolls, which I masked to achieve the size that I wanted.

Finally, I'm going to share my good news....

...just look at my snazzy, new Blog Badge. I can't believe that I won the first Craft Stamper Challenge with my faux airbrushing card! Talk about amazed, what a lovely surprise.

Better hurry along now as I have a dining room to tidy up before hubby gets home!

Happy crafting everyone!

It's a been a messy business...

Happy Wednesday!
Now here's something you don't usually find on my desk...
Acrylic paint, chipboard, a paintbrush, Distress ink and what appears to be (but isn't) a tiny pair of handcuffs!

I decided to try and make a little chipboard album into a little book and here's my progress so far. I actually wish I'd taken the photograph at an earlier stage as my desk was totally trashed. This picture was taken after a good tidy up... and the removal of my cat.

I've purposefully kept the colouring to the bare minimum and let the beautiful illustrations and script take centre stage.

If I'm brave enough I'll share the finished book!
As always, I've learnt so much while working on this project. One crucial tip I'll share is not to allow a large black and white cat to sleep on your desk while acrylic paint is drying.
I'd do some things differently on another project, but am amazed at how close to my original plan this little album has turned out.

Time to go visiting the rest of the WOYWW gang starting, as always, with the wonderful Julia...

Delia is a vision in green!

Love this cute stamp from Sugar Nellie so much!

I don't often use green, yet it's a colour I always love seeing on cards around Blogland, so I decided to 'go green' for this simple birthday card.
The background is stamped with the butterflies from a Hero Arts clear design set called 'Birds and Butterflies'. I think this was the first ever Clear Design set that I bought so it was good to get it inked up with Distress inks again.
Not much else to add about this card as it is quite plain and fuss free.
Hope you all have a good day, and I'll try and get a little visiting done today as I haven't had much opportunity this week.
Hugs to you all!!!!

Delia's in the pink!

This is sweet little Delia from Sugar Nellie/Funky Kits. Isn't she adorable? Look at that little puffball skirt... so cute.
I really enjoyed colouring her. I used up some Basic Grey 'Lemonade' scraps and added faux stitching on each panel. Unfortunately, I blew it with the embellishments. What was I thinking of???! Oh well {sigh}.

I thought I'd also share this cute Snoopy card as it seems perfect for the Little Miss Muffet Challenge this week which is Simplicity.
I'm sorry that it hasn't photographed very well due to the poor light quality. I used Glossy Accents on the fairy lights and printed the sentiment on my PC. Great for quick and easy Christmas cards!

Hope your week has got of to a good start; happy crafting everyone!

Snow Day!

Here's that sweet Gorjuss Girl and her fox again.
I paper pieced her coat and hat using up some tiny scraps, and then got busy with the Distress inks.
I used the emboss resist technique to achieve the snowflakes, and am fairly pleased with how it's turned out. Looks like it's started to snow and there are just a few first flakes in the air!
The large snowflake comes from the LR0123 set of Marianne Creatables.
I know I am going to have so much fun with these gorgeous dies!
Have a good weekend everyone, and keep safe on Bonfire Night in the UK.

Let it snow... nearer to Christmas that is!

Please don't let it snow just now, especially as it's another bright October day with beautiful clear blue skies.

I wanted to add to my growing pile of Christmas cards today, so dug out one of my favourite Gorjuss girls called 'Foxy'. So cute.
It's worth a mention that there are currently some reductions on the Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girl's so now is a good time to top up on any you might be missing.
So, believe it or not this is my card for the current Sugar Bowl Sketch Challenge set by Maria Therese. Yes, I know I've jiggled around with the sketch a bit (lot) but if you look closely you might just find it... honest! If you haven't played in the Sugar Bowl recently why not drop by, the DT cards for this challenge are going to rock your socks.
I'm also entering this card for The Prairyfairy friday Challenge #64 which is 'wet' or 'heat' embossing. I stamped the little snow flakes in Versamark and then embossed in white. I think I need a better embossing power as it's a little speckled in places but it still looks ok and I don't even mind that some powder stuck to the Versafine sentiment as it looks 'snowy'. The embossed flourish is Leaf Flourish from Hero Arts - never get tired of using this stamp.Well, I think I'll grab a coffee and go visiting Blogland as I always love a virtual trip around the world.
Happy Friday everyone!

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!

Ta ta for now....

I've been putting off this decision for a few weeks.... but I think the time has come for me to take a little break from blogging. I've noticed that I seem to be dropping Followers and I'm not posting as often as I feel I should. Work is proving very challenging right now, plus I have my ICS qualification to complete by March 1st and there just aren't enough hours in the day!

Before I take my leave I thought I'd share a few projects that I've managed to slot in amongst all the recent craziness.

This first card uses lots of lovely Stampin' Up! goodies and that beautiful Hero Arts background stamp that I bought recently. I don't often show sympathy cards but thought I'd share this one as it showcases stamps from one of the new level one Hostess sets from the current Stampin' Up! catalogue.

The second card that I'm sharing today is one that I made for my best friend's wonderful daughter Hannah. Don't tell her, but along with her ever so slightly crazy Mother, Hannah is one of my favourite people on the planet!

Myself and my friend always say 'if it's going to happen it will happen to Hannah'. Once again she proved this to be true by having her appendix removed and being in a car accident in the two weeks proceeding her 18th birthday last Thursday. Thankfully she is on the road to recovery and still managed to celebrate her birthday in style.

This adorable new Sugar Nellie stamp by Krista Smith seemed perfect for a sleepy 18 year old who can't understand what all the fuss is about! The sentiments and beautiful paper are both from Kaisercraft.

My final project is the reveal of how I altered that cardboard cat food box you've seen loitering on my workdesk for the last couple of posts. Perfect for my overflow of punches!

I love this Gorjuss/Sugar Nellie stamp called Up, up and away, and the highly appropriate sentiment from Hero Arts. I also used the Memory Lane stamp from Crafty Individuals and my new Hero Arts block - totally gorgeous!!! I've never done anything quite like this before and learnt plenty to take forward to any future projects!

So now I'll say au revoir... I'm sure that I'll pop up from time to time as I know I'll find it very hard to stay away from my blogland buddies.

Thanks for dropping by at my blog, thanks for your wonderful friendship and encouragement and thanks for all the amazing inspiration and fun. You are all totally fabulous and much appreciated.

Ta ta for now... and very happy crafting everyone!

WOYWW - slightly dispelling the tidiness myth!

What a lovely Autumn day - chilly, but bright and sunny. Perfect for tidying the garden and then coming indoors for a little crafting!

So, what is on my workdesk today?

The ingredients for at least three cards... ... plus some yummy new Kaisercraft papers and a bottle of Glossy Accents that I've bought to give to my Mom!

As you can see I have four images stamped and ready to go. I spotted this new Sugar Nellie stamp called Pillow talk by Krista Smith and knew I had to get her. Perfect for teenage birthday cards! I haven't worried about stamping her very carefully as I'll be cutting her out.

I've just received my latest Stampin' Up! goodies from the lovely Michelle so will be playing with my new Hostess set 'Silhouette Sentiments' asap.

Christmas has come a little early as you can also see my new Hero Arts Clouds Design Block and a cute Whipper Snapper block, both from the fabulous Sir Stampalot.

I think these will work great together: love the expressions on those bird's faces!

I thought I'd also share a picture of my cute crafting buddy... Mr Monkey.The shelves are from Ikea and my desk clips onto them, which is a great space saver. As you can see I am a bit of a hoarder and love my nick-knacks and bits of junk!

Hope you all have a happy Wednesday and don't forget to drop by at Julia's blog to catch all the workdesk fun!

Better late than never!

This morning I realised that I had forgotten to post my October Card Chain Challenge cards.

Shame on me!

So without further ado here is the little beauty that I received from the lovely Hilde in Norway.

Don't you just love those flowers and the placement of the gems! This card is simply gorgeous and a great take on Deborah's sketch.
Here's the card that I sent to Barb in Minnesota.
I just couldn't pull together an attractive enough combo of colours that even came close to Deborah's colour palette for October. Instead I went with pinks and blues, and her theme of Guardian Angels.

I found the sentiment by Googling 'angel quotes'. It seemed to fit perfectly with this sweet Sugar Nellie Angel by Diane Duda. The papers are from Stampin' Up! Believe it or not the clear embossing says 'Giggle', unfortunately it hasn't photographed well!

I have so much housework to do that I don't know if I'll manage to make a card today. This is a real shame as I have got lot's of ideas AND a fabulous new stamp that I'm itching to use! Wish someone would invent the self cleaning house!!!!!

Happy crafting everyone!

September Card Chain Challenge

Hi everyone, I'm just squeeeeeeeeeezing in before the end of the month with my September CCC post.

As you all know I love Deborah's Card Chain Challenge! Nothing compares with the thrill of receiving a beautiful card and of making new virtual friends along the way. This month Deborah is celebrating one whole year of challenges so big congrats and very many thanks to her for organising all the fun!

I sent this card to the lovely and oh, so talented Pia.

I did a little altering to this sweet Diane Duda/Sugar Nellie stamp to add the leaves!

...and just look at what I received from sweet Rikke in Demark!

The papers and colours are just gorgeous and I love that flower.

The little bird detail on the notecard is so sweet.

Thank you Rikke!

It's sign up time again over at Deborah's blog so why not join in the fun for October!

Flutterby butterfly!

Flutterby Wednesday Challenge #104 is looking for some sparkle to accompany your butterfly, angel or fairy this week. Admittedly the girls will have to look carefully to find it on this card but the butterfly has Stickles on it's wings!

I wasn't going to share this simple little card. However, after I photographed it I changed my mind as it looks quite pretty!

I think this image has been drawn by Elisabeth Bell as it looks like her style. I stamped it when I visited my mate Vicky a few weeks ago and I can't remember the details.

It's chicks in baskets and origami bunnies at the library tomorrow. When I rang work this morning they said there were 25 children's names on the list for the session... that's a whole lot of bunnies to make!

Happy crafting everyone!

Saying 'thank you' with a big green button!

I'm not sure if this button is a bit OTT, but paired with that oversized sentiment I think it's ok!

I really love this Diana Duda image, and was delighted to find a similar one in the sale over at Funky Kits.

They currently have ten Sugar Nellie stamps in their January sale at 50% off, plus savings on Christmas and Halloween stamps too!

The paper is from my stash. I was amazed to find two whole sheets of it. I must have bought it along with the green Bazzils card as it is such a good match. I ran the pink card through the Cuttlebug and then distressed it with some Versacolour ink.

Hope everyone is keeping warm today. We have had about an inch of snow since I switched the computer on and it doesn't look like stopping any time soon!

Happy crafting everyone!

I cannot believe that it is New Year's Eve - where did 2009 go?

Here are a few cards that I have been messing around with over the last few days.

I love this little girl by Diane Duda. The image is called Bunny and is from Sugar Nellie. The flowers are Junkitz Clear Stampz. I have to say a big thank you to Beth for both of these as they came as part of my recent candy win over at her blog.

The next card features a Heather Ellis 'Pure Innocence' digital download .

Soooo cute, and sooooo reasonably priced too - especially as Heather has a sale on at her site right now. I must thank the wonderful Donna for the tip off about these images!

I was able to print two images on an A5 sheet and then add the sentiment using a cute font on my PC. The inside sentiment reads '...hope it's happy'.

 

So happy New Year everyone, let's hope its a good one... with lots of cards, creativity and fun!