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!

Happy Halloween!

I had planned to make a Halloween card, but simply ran out of time. Today was spent over at my in-law's house having fun with my adorable niece. We haven't been home very long.

So I thought I'd share a card that I made a few weeks ago for the lovely Deborah Nolan. This was to say a big 'thank you' to her for organising her wonderful Card Chain Challenges.

I was trying out a few different techniques and also decided to go with Halloween colours. Sorry that the picture is so poor, not quite sure what happened there. The super sparkly Platinum Stickles were a gift from my sweet friend Linda.

Hope you all have lot's of spooky fun everyone!

Tilda revealed!

I thought I'd drop back with the 'reveal' for that 'Unwrapped Tilda' image that you caught a glimpse of on Wednesday.

This card ended up smaller than planned as I managed to cut the base card to the wrong size (duh!). I decided to carry on... and actually quite like the result.

I think I prefer the version with the bling, but I'm not 100% sure.

So enjoy the rest of your weekends guys, and happy Halloween for tomorrow!

WOYWW

Happily there is something on my workdesk today as I managed to leave work early and sneak home for a little crafting time! Wooooo hooooo!

Once again you can see that my workspace is fairly tidy. I'm a 'tidy-it-up-afterwards' kind of girl and probably have my Mom to thank for this!

No, your eyes do not deceive you ... that really is an empty cat food box. I'm planning a little altering project and have got the box on my desk in readiness. However, this one needs lot's of thought before I get to work on it. Don't be surprised to see this box still in residence and looking just the same next week. Perhaps I could make a weekly feature of it!

Today it's Tilda time!

I am able to declare that I finally 'get it' about Tilda's: they are beautifully drawn and a real joy to colour. This little cutie is 'Tilda unwrapped'.

My plan is to use her for a birthday card, but she'd also work great on a Christmas card with a festive colour combo.Here she is at a very early stage in colouring. I've just used Ivory and Vanilla Promarkers to start colouring her skin. Love those socks!

I also want to share the finishing touches that I added to the card from my previous post. Does anyone else photograph; post a card and then think 'Mmmmmmmmm, still not quite right' and add a little something extra?

The addition on this occasion was violet Versacolour ink daubed through a scrap of sequin waste.

I'm really pleased with the effect that this technique gives as it improves the balance of the card.

Thanks for dropping by, now it's my turn to go WOYWW visiting!

Happy crafting everyone!

Laugh and live more!

I nearly didn't share this card as I wasn't very pleased with how it looked... then I added some violet Versacolour 'low lights' and two tiny stars and it sprang to life!

The stamp is one that I use quite often but haven't shared on my blog before, which is odd considering how much I love it! I bought it from The Stamp Attic earlier this year and it's from the amazing Paperbag Studios.

I'm sorry about the odd shadows on the picture but the sun is at a funny height in the sky right now. I was hoping that the sunlight would pick up the Glimmer mist sparkle but it doesn't really show up. This card is made completely from scraps and leftover images so I'm feeling a touch thrifty right now!

Happy crafting everyone, and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

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!

Skipping through the fields...

I'm not long returned from a 10 mile walk with my hubby... he's gone to plant a tree in the garden and I'm thinking of having a bath to soothe my aching legs!

I thought I'd share the card that was at a very early stage on my desk on Wednesday. I have to say that it has turned out nothing like I had planned. Funny how that happens sometimes.

The images are Italian Girl from The Secret Crafter and a fabulous Poppy Field stamp from Crafty Individuals. Everything is coloured with my Promarkers and the card is from Stampin' Up. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I wanted to make a card with Autumnal colours so headed for my browns and oranges... just like the girls over at The Pink Elephant this week!

I'm not really that happy with this card and might try a few variations as I like the combination of the those two very different images.

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!

Happy birthday Pam.

My sweet Mom-in-law is 70 today.

Anyone who read my previous post will know that she decided to celebrate with a Barn Dance in their church hall.

I just had to share these pictures of my MIL and DIL... as you can see they were really in the party spirit!

Usually Pam is BIG on glamour, which is why I picked TGF Cheeky Glamour for her birthday card. I printed the 70 on my computer and used pretty Stampin' Up papers and cardstock.Simon Say's 'Stamp and show your numbers' for the challenge this week, so I think this card fits the bill quite nicely!

And how did my hubby cope with the barn dance? He found a nice quiet corner and didn't move from it all night except to get his baked potato during the break!

Happy birthday Pam, you're one crazy and special lady!

Tuesday on a Friday!

No sunshine today, but I am looking forward to another day of card making once I've rushed through the housework!

I don't use sketches very often as I just can't make them shine the way some of you talented girls do! However, I thought I'd have a go with this little beauty from the Sketch Saturday Crew.

Say 'hello' to 'Tuesday' from TGF! Isn't she cute?
I decided to break out some gorgeous Basic Grey paper and used up a few scraps in the process.

The little tabs are cut with my Cuttlebug. One says 'Happy birthday' and the other 'Princess' and not 'fitness' as my hubby thought when he looked over my shoulder yesterday!

Hope you've all got a great weekend planned, we have a busy one ahead.

My Mom-in-law is celebrating her 70th birthday with a Barn Dance in the church hall on Saturday. I think I'm most looking forward to seeing how freaked out my hubby will be by the whole experience!

Happy crafting everyone!

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!

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!

My Gorjuss sister-in-law!

It's my sister-in-law's birthday tomorrow... shhhhh, don't tell anyone but it's the big 40!

I decided to make another Gorjuss girl card and got heavy with the Distress inks to create the layered background. Lot's of lovely Hero Arts stamps and a sentiment stamp by Crescendoh too. I had so much fun with this one!

Here's my SIL with my sweet niece earlier this year. Don't you think that Gorjuss girl image is just perfect for her?

Happy crafting everyone!

Well, anything goes!

It was launch day over at SCSC yesterday as Wendy and the DT girls showcased her newly released collection of manga inspired stamps. As I live close enough to Wendy's shop to be able to visit I have actually seen some of these gorgeous designs in real life... and I've also bagged myself a cute Italian Girl stamp!

SCSC Challenge #101 is 'Anything goes' so I thought I'd enter this little anniversary card that I've made for my sister-in-law and her hubby. They are celebrating 10 years of marriage this week. I cannot believe that their lovely wedding day was soooooooooo long ago!

The cute ducks are a Penny Black Slapstick stamp. I've not used one before and have to say that I am very impressed. The stamp gave a really good, crisp image and stuck perfectly to the perspex block. I coloured with Promarkers and Versacolour ink.

Challenge #130 at Cute Card Thursday is Flutter and Tweet. These guys might flap and quack but they are still birds so can waddle over and join in the fun!

Finally I have just one thing to say: OK, so who stole the weekend?????

Oh well, at least I did alot of housework and made two cards.

Happy crafting everyone!

Gorjuss giveaway result!

Hi everyone, just dropping by to announce that comment no. 6 is the winner of my giveaway... and that would be Lynne from NI!
Congratulations Lynne, that cute little mirror will be in the post asap!!!!

Also here's quick heads up for some mystery Torendi Candy currently on offer over at my good friend Beth's blog IFR. I can't believe that Beth's inky fingers have been working their magic as part of the Torendi DT for a whole year now. Beth will be stepping down from the team and this blog candy is by way of a fond farewell. Drop by at this post for a fabulous retrospective of Beth's year as a Torendi girl and all the details of how to sign up for her candy draw.

I baked apple and cinnamon muffins yesterday with the first crop of apples from our tree - yummy! And we have an amazing number of pears ripening too, so I am on the look out for a few pear recipes and would welcome some suggestions.

Have a happy Sunday!

With a little help from my friends...

Since starting my new job I don't get as much time for crafting as before... so it was a real pleasure to sit down last weekend and make my card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. However, I didn't get the opportunity to photograph it until about five minutes ago!

This week the lovely Helen provided this perfect little sketch for Challenge #100.I wanted to use some of the papers from a K & Company Designer pack that I bought some time ago. The pack is called 'Sparkly Sweet' and has some really pretty patterns. I thought that a nice girly Anya would be perfect to match with the soft, muted colours of the papers.

Anya comes courtesy of my sweet friend Vicky and the gorgeous laser cut paper is from the adorable Virginia... it's always good to get a little help from my friends!

While I'm on the subject of the Secret Crafter don't forget to drop by tomorrow as Wendy and the DT girls will be launching the latest selection of gorgeous manga style stamps. I've seen a few sneak peaks and have to say that they are all brilliant!

Happy crafting everyone!