Red, White and Blue

I know, I know, I've missed the whole red, white and blue thing by a day, but I guess you can say that the Jubilee celebrations inspired me to get inky after the event!

I've been after this Portobello Road paper for ages and was about to buy the 6x6 pad when I stumbled across the Do Crafts Creativity magazine which has 2 freebies included - an A4 paper book of Portobello Road papers plus some sentiment stamps to match. Even better, the whole lot was reduced to £2! I love a good bargain :)

Challenges
Polka Doodles - Regal Colours
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Creative Craft Challenges - Red, White and Blue

Thanks for stopping by!



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Love Bunnies

Whilst I made this card yonks ago, it should still be new to you lovely people as I've never posted it on my blog! I made it for one of my best friends who was getting married a couple of months ago.

A nice and simple card but jazzed up by these funky papers! It will also be my entry in to the Crafty Creations Challenges this week as they have asked for Wedding and Anniversary cards. 

Goodie List........
Stamps: 'Love Bunnies' and 'Awww, So Tweet! Sayings' from Whimsy Stamps.
Paper: 'Scrumptious' by Papermania.

Copic Markers: E00, E11, E29, E31, E33, E35, E37, E50, R81, R83, R85, C1, C3, C5, C7, W1, W3, W5, W7.

Tools & Embellishments: Gems from stash.

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today ☺
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Sassy Anniversary Relay - Day Two!

Ooh... there has been no stopping me today! I seem to be getting back my crafting bug! Yippee! It may also be helped by the corking Sassy Studio Designs image I received as a result of taking part in yesterday's relay event.

Goodie List........ 
Stamps: Princess Penelope by Sassy Studio Designs.
Paper: Papermania.

Copic Markers: E00, E11, E29, E31, E33, E35, E37, E50, R81, R83, R85, BG15, BG23, BG49, W1, W3, W5, W7 - available HERE from Dies to Die For. 

Tools & Embellishments: Pearls from stash.

I cut this one a little bit fine, hope I made it in time to get the next image!

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Whimsy Haiti Appeal - Wings of Hope

I have a very important post for you today, so please read carefully.

This special "Wings of Hope" digital stamp, illustrated by Crissy Armstrong, is being released by Whimsy Stamps and will only be available to purchase in digital form from now until the end of February. This "Wings of Hope" image will be sold for $4 and all proceeds from the sales of this digital image will be sent to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Please help us help the people of Haiti by purchasing this limited edition digital image.

Goodie List........
Stamps: Wings of Hope -Whimsy Stamps.
Paper: Papermania 'Blueberry Hill'.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) & Copic markers.
Tools & Embellishments: Roses from stash.

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Anyone for Anya? Challenge 1!

Yay! We've finally got to launch day of the shiny new Anyone For Anya? challenge blog! As it is our very first week and we want as many of you as possible to join in, we've made the first challenge nice and easy for you - "Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice". Whatever your take on that is, grab your Greeting Farm stamps and go for it! Here is my take......

Yep, you guessed, it, I went for super girlie! Had this paper pad for yonks but have never really used it. No idea why though as these papers are delish!

Goodie List........
Image Stamp: 'Miss Anya' by The Greeting Farm, from Dies to Die For.
Sentiment Stamp: Rubber Romance.
Paper: Papermania 'Scrumptious', 'Kraft' cardstock.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) & Copic markers.
Embellishments: Ribbon, gems, embroidery thread and button from stash.

Really hope you can join us this week, we can't wait to see why you create!

Thanks for stopping by,

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Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge

Rain, rain go AWAY! When is it ever going to stop?! I am so missing the sunshine.....! Never happy us Brits are we?! Anyway, enough of my whining..... just popped on quick to share my card for this weeks Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge with you.

I simply adore this paper but I'm not sure that it loves me very much! I really struggled with it which is a bit of a shame. It was a lovely excuse to ink up my new set of Gorjussness though!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Gorjuss' from Set 3 - by Sugar Nellie, Whiff of Joy Sentiments.
Paper: Papermania 'Blueberry Hill', Core'dinations CS.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) & Copic markers.
Tools & Embellishments: Nestabilities, ribbon coloured with Copics, pearls, button and embroidery thread from stash.

Right, best go and cook the din-dinz! Take care chicks!
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A Spoon Full of Sugar

Don't you just love playing with new goodies.....?! What goodies have I got? Well, I've recently got my mitts on some yummy Magnolia images, thanks to my friend Kirsty and so I've been practicing my colouring on them. I've also purchased some yummy taster sets of Prima flowers from ebay and I totally love them....will defo be buying full size packs of these babies! AND, I have seen so many lovely little charms on everyone elses cards that I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon too! What on earth would we do without ebay eh?!

For this card, I followed the sketch which is this weeks challenge over at A Spoon Full of Sugar. It's a great sketch, you should have a go!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Magnolia.
Paper: Papermania - Retro Flowers, Bazzill Bling.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Copics.
Embellishments: White satin ribbon, Prima hydrangeas, Metal charm from ebay, Provocraft rub-on sentiment, glass blobs!

I'm eagerly awaiting yet more stash.... my Stampin' Up loot! I had a great time at the party and Sam was a great hostess, especially as she made the most gorgeous cupcakes for us all! As for my purchases, I could easily have gone seriously crazy as everything is totally gorgeous. However, I was {surprisingly} majorly restrained! I was trying to buy things that would work with my current stash and which fitted my 'style'. I ended up starting small with some DP, card and a stamp set, which is less than I thought I'd get. But, I've now got my eye on coordinating ink pads, some more DP, card and a few of the sentiment sets..... The bug has got me!

Hope you are having a great week - only 2 days to go until 2 days off! Woo-hoo!
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Am I a Scrap Addict? Sketch #7

Hi all! We're back from Bath. Had a great time, ate, drank and shopped too much - heaven! I also upgraded my phone... After haggling lots (!), I ended up with a shiney new phone AND a Nintendo Wii for the grand total of £30! What a bargain?! I was (and still am!) feeling mightily pleased with myself, I can tell you. Although, after diving round the lounge for a couple of hours last night, my left arm is feeling decidedly sore today!


Anyway, onto crafty matters..... Here is my DT card for sketch 7 of 'Am I a Scrap Addict?'. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this week's sketch and I am not at all happy with the card I've made.... Here it is anyway though :o(

I made this one with a combination of Shabby Princess digi papers and a PC crafter download from the 'Santas Helpers' collection. I coloured the image with my Promarkers and added sparkle to the wings with some Stickles.

Although I'm not massively fond of this card, I am fond of how I altered certain elements of it. The flowers were originally pink and brown but I coloured them with my Promarkers so that they would coordinate with the images and papers. I used the same technique with the ribbon, colouring with a green Promarker. As for the brad holding the flower together, this was originally bright orange but I silver embossed it several times and voila! It became a silver brad!

It's always good to be able to see a silver lining to every big black cloud isn't it?!

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Just Checkin' In...!

Hello, me again! I'm still in Corfu but wanted to share this colourful creation with you, just so you don't go forgetting all about me.... sob sob sniff sniff!

I began by layering up Papermania striped paper and chocolate Bazzill onto a square blank, snipping the corners with those funny scissors which are a complete nightmare if, like me, you are left-handed! I coloured one of my new Elzybells with Prismas and Sansodor and matted her onto Bazzill and DCWV cardstock. This panel was then layered onto the cardbase using 3D foam pads. I finished with gems and a Hero Arts sentiment.

I have mixed feelings towards this card - I love the colour scheme and the image but not the corners!

Well, I'm back tomorrow so no doubt the blog addiction will once again take hold and I shall be flying round all of your blogs, leaving millions of comments before you know it!


P.S. This card is my entry into Cammie's incredible candy which is worth over $1000 and is for a very good cause. All you need to do is to make a card for the carer of someone with Alzheimers. I have seen first hand the devastating effects of this illness so was really happy to support this cause. Pin It

A Spoon Full of Sugar Sketch Challenge & Christmas Card #1!

Wow, the 2nd post of the day. You don't get that from me very often! This card was made following the sketch on the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge blog. It's also a card full of firsts.... it's the first time I've taken part in a 'Spoon Full of Sugar' challenge, it's the first time I've used these papers, it's the first time I've used these stamps and..........it's my first ever Christmas card!

I started by mounting a square of Feather Boa Bazzill Bling on to a square card blank. I then layered up slices of Dovecraft Christmas Blues paper according to the sketch, matting it on to yet more Bazzill (no idea what colour this time though!). I coloured Maggie with Prismacolors and Sansodor and highlighted her star with sparkly Stickles. I tied ribbon around the whole thing and added then mounted the image onto the card with foam pads. The sentiment came courtesy of a £1 clear stamp set and was highlighted with some star shaped gems. As usual, yet more gems finished the card!

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Cutting it Fine Again.....

Evening all. I found a great sketch over on Sketch Saturday so thought it would be a great chance to 'exercise' one of my new stamps from Alota Stamps. It also ended up being one of the quickest cards I have ever made which really does make a change for me as I often spend hours shuffling and reshuffling all the pieces until I get them looking right!

Firstly, I rotated the sketch -90 degrees so that it would fit the image I wanted to use. I've only just realised (now that the cards are sitting side by side in front of me on my desk) that this layout is now practically identical to the Elizabeth Bell 'Penpal' card below! Whoops!

Anyway...... As I previously mentionned, this stamp is an Alota stamp from their Country Girl range. I coloured the image with my Prismas and Sansodor and am really pleased with how it turned out. The paper is from my favourite 'Papermania Retro Floral' collection and the embossed section came courtesy of my Swiss Dots embossing folder. The mounting card is DCWV and the ribbon came from a fab little bead shop which I found just down the road from work.

Hope you like it!

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Image Swap Wallet

I made this wallet for an image swap I am currently taking part in on the Docrafts Forum. I also based it on the Mojo Monday sketch from last week. Better late than never eh?!

I used my gorgeous Eloise Greengrass image and Papermania 'Retro Floral' papers for this card. I pulled the colours from the paper to coordinate with the image so she is looking very bright and colourful! As for the glitter....... I only recently found out that you can watercolour with Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pens! As most of you probably know, if you scribble on an acrylic block and then pick the colour up with a waterbrush, you get an amazingly smooth subtle sheen. Such a fab technique which I'm pleased I discovered, even if it was a little late! To finish the card off, I added some simple white ribbon and threaded it through a couple of eyelets, tying it into a bow to keep the contents nice and secure.

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Thanks a Latte

This is the last of my birthday Stamping Bella stamps that Ali bought me and I have to say, I love her! She's called Lattebella and Alistair reckons that she looks like me in Starbucks! Mmm, my favourite.......!

I made this card using yet more free digital papers. I layered these up onto the card blank with white paper. To add a bit of interest, I added some faux zigzag stitching round the edges. I really like how that aspect turned out so I shall be using that technique again! Once I'd stamped and coloured Bella with watercolour pencils, the white background seemed too stark so I made up a pale blue wash which seems to have softened things a little. The card was finished with a ribbon knot and some pearl brads.

Although you can't really see from the pic, the card is hinged at the top, rather than the side. This caused a bit of a problem as the card wasn't massively thick so once all of the card and paper was plastered to the front of it, it wasn't exactly what you'd call stable! So, I had to reinforce the back to keep it upright - whoops!

This one is currently winging it's way to someone.....hope she likes it!

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My First Elzybells!

Despite having been off work for the last 2 weeks, I haven't done anywhere near as much crafting (or blogging!) that I thought I would. So, over the next couple of days, I am going to try and sort out that situation before I have to go back to work on Monday!

Below is the first card I want to share with you today. It's my first ever Elzybells! They are SUCH fun to work with - I love 'em!

As you can see, for this card, I cut an aperture in the front of the card and stamped the actual image on the inside of the card blank. I then framed the hole with a rectangular Nestie. I really like this effect and so you may see it more often from me! The paper is another digi freebie and the image was watercoloured with pencils. I finished the card with adhesive gems, a layered up flower and some ribbon. I still think the card needs a little something else but at this point I'm not sure what...... any ideas?! Sentiment maybe?

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"Oh What a Night....."

Crikey, what a night indeed. You know I can often be a little bit hard on myself as to whether my creations are 'up to scratch'? Well, last night, I absolutely excelled myself in the 'overly critical' stakes and got myself in a right old state! This is the story........!

Basically, it is my colleagues 50th Birthday today. I'd already decided to steer clear of anything 50 related as she is not exactly pleased about her change in age! I'd found a really great quote from Mark Twain which was totally appropriate. She likes blue, so I was keen to make that the colour scheme and {unfortunately} had a crystal clear view of how I wanted it to look in my head. It was going to be a distressed blue background with HOTP Fold-It Swirl flowers, a scalloped edge oval with the quote in the middle and then all finished with ribbon and some pearl effect brads. All I can say is that it didn't translate to paper at all well! Even Alistair said, "Is that finished? It looks a bit nothing." I was forced to abandon it at 8.30pm last night.

So, I had a bit of a think, came up with another idea and, keeping with the blue theme, I switched tact until 10pm when I realised that I had made a card for a little boy - not a lovely, dainty 50 year old lady!

In a blind panic {and near tears!}, I had a massive rethink and decided to go plain and simple {and maybe a little boring} as I decided that it was better to make that well, than do something adventurous and then mess it up!


So, as you can see above, I went for bright and sunny and overall, although it is a little bland, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. In fact, it is probably the tidiest card I have ever made - there are no mistakes on it which I've had to cover up! I am also going to employ that old chestnut - it looks better in real life! So, all in all, a very stressful night. But I have realised something, I really do need to stop being so hard on myself. After all, this is a hobby and is supposed to be fun!

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Bright & Colourful

This is my first card for a few days but I am really pleased with it. Although I love my Retro Floral papers, I've always struggled for ideas when it comes to the brightest of the papers. But, I had another play tonight and {hope} I've managed to pull it off!

For this card, I coloured both Tilda and the bench {from the stash Chris sent me} with my Whisper pens. I highlighted Tilda with my clear Stardust Gelly Roll. I mounted up Papermania Retro Floral paper onto green cardstock and finished with ribbon and adhesive gems.

Apologies for the photo, I got impatient, ignored all of the golden rules!
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At Last, A Card I Like......Sort Of..........!!!

Hurrah! I finally made a card that I don't think is too bad!

For this one, I used my Tilda with Blanket stamp and used 3D foam pads to layer it on to various shades of pink card and Papermania Retro Flowers dotty paper. Tilda was coloured using watercolour pencils and I used a Poppicraft flower (from their new set - Tait I think its called) and some of their ribbon to finish the card off.

After the crafting disasters of this past week, this one being a vague success has made me feel lots better!

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5000+ Hit - 'Bling' ing Beautiful Challenge

As many of you already know, Vicki over at Paperlicious Oasis is holding a 'Bling' ing Beautiful Challenge to celebrate 5000+ hits to her blog. The rules of the game are that you are allowed to make any style of card that you want, BUT it must have bling!

After several overly jazzy efforts, I settled for this very simple card. I'm a little worried that it is slightly lacking in the required bling but as someone very wise once said......less is more dah-ling!

P.S. Please please please can someone let me in on the secret of how you take decent photographs of cards. I followed the daylight rule but still....... it's not this colour in real life! ~x~ Pin It

2nd Round of Tildas....

Well, as you can see, I have been to work with my solitary Tilda stamp again! I'm not sure these attempts are quite as successful as my last attempts.

The first card was made simply by layering pink spotty Papermania paper and pale pink card on to a card blank. On to this, I used 3D pads to mount a stamped image of Tilda. I coloured the image with watercolour pencil and inked the edges with pink ink. The card was finished with a pink flower (found in Tesco!) and 3 eyelets.

I'm not convinced about it........looks a bit plain. But then do I like it like that? Ooh, I'm not sure........!

For the second card, I used my yummy K&Co Amy Butler papers. I stamped Tilda in black ink and coloured her with watercolour pencils. Unfortunately, as I was mounting the image, my knife decided to go do-lally and ripped half of the purple card. After a quick bit of improvisation, I made a scalloped edge to go across the bottom which I them embellished with white gel pen and adhesive gems. Again, I'm really not sure about this card. If anyone can work out where I am going wrong, please do let me know!

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Aching Limbs and New Cards!

My God I ache today. I had my tonsils out about 6 weeks ago and this is the first trip back to the gym since then. Lets just say, I can definitely feel that I've been! Especially, er, in my bottom!

However, despite the pain, I did manage to make a couple of cards yesterday afternoon, with varying levels of success.

The first one used my new Pink Petticoat images which are just fab. This coupled with DCWV papers make this a very simple card. Perhaps too simple...... Not sure. I like it but I don't if you know what I mean.

I am somewhat happier with the second card however I am annoyed that I didn't put enough adhesive on the image and it has subsequently started to lift. Grrr. Anyway, I used my favourite Papermania Retro Floral papers - I just love 'em. I coloured the PP image with chalks and highlighted with Decoart glitter glue. I finished the card with ribbon and adhesive gems.

Unfortunately, I won't be getting my Cuttlebug until my birthday in July and so don't have the Nestabilities dies. However, I do have some funky kiddies scissors and that is how I mounted the image on the scalloped edge circle. Fiddley, but its worked!

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