Boots Blog Spot

La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday - ♥ Love is in the Air ♥

2012-01-27T10:30:00.006Z

Good morning ! A beautiful morning it is here, very cold but a gorgeous Winter's morning. I'm feeling a little lonely at the moment as a lot of my friends have all jetted off to the CHA show and I'm still sat here at home ! I'm looking forward to seeing all the new goodies that will be coming out and their photos of what a fab time they are having.

Well, its that time again, its Inspiration Friday over at La La Land Crafts and this week our theme is ♥ Love is in the Air ♥ The DT have made some gorgeous cards for your inspiration.

The DP's I used are Bo Bunny "Crazy Love" and I have machine stitched them all.

The image is of course by La La Land Crafts and is "Cupid Marci". She is a digi stamp and she comes with two sentiments (one of which I used). She has been coloured with Copics and a full list of the colours I used can be found on the La La Land Crafts Blog.

The frame around the doily is from an MFT stamp and die set called "First Class Friend"

Everything else I used is from my stash.

If you would like to join us this week when we would love to see your projects in our customer gallery and you could be in with a chance of winning a prize !

Thank you for your visit and have a great Friday !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes

2012-01-25T09:20:00.005Z

Good morning ! Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge ! Thank you to everyone who joined in with our challenge last week. It was great to see so many of you try out Domi's sketch and it was interesting to see all your different ideas and how you used her sketch.

This week our theme is ANYTHING GOES ! The Design Team are this week showcasing ECHO PARK products. If you have any Echo Park products then we would love to see you use them but its not necessary to take part in our challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous

The DP's I used are Echo Park "Yours Truly". I have machine stitched them all.

The image is another Stamping Bella "Ketto Fairy" and this little cutie is called "Dolly". She has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The ribbons and heart brad are from my stash. I used these pretty little heart pins.

The sentiment is from a new Hero Arts Stamp Set called "Say It All"

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for you again this week so please hop over to the Challenge Blog and take a look !

I am entering the following challenges with my card :

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - To the One I Love

My Time to Craft - Favourite Embellishments (mine are ribbon, stitching and I love the pins and ornate corner I used !)

Oldie But Goodie Challenge - Have a Heart (I have had this Ketto Fairy stamp for quite a while now and I have used it before. After using a new Ketto Fairy last week, I went in search of this little cutie !)

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - Happy Highlights !

2012-01-24T10:22:00.006Z

Good morning ! Such a damp and dull one it is too - just perfect to snuggle up in the craft room and play !

It's Papertake Weekly time and this week our theme is "Happy Highlights". We would like to see you highlight something on your project. For inspiration check out the DT's cards, they are amazing and will certainly get your creative juices flowing !

This week we are being sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. We were given the generous opportunity by Bugaboo to have a play with their stamps and so some of the DT are showcasing their images.

The DP's I used are BasicGrey "Kioshi" and these have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Bugaboo Stamps and is called "Ava Flower Patch". Isn't she just the cutest little girl ? She has been coloured with Copics. I hightlighted the flowers with glossy accents but you can't see it in the photo. I should have taken an "artist shot" !!

The lace and ribbon are from my stash.

The brad is a BasicGrey Kioshi brad.

The sentiment is by My Mind's Eye.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your fantastic highlighted projects !

I am entering the following challenges :

Make My Monday - Nature, Flowers and Leaves

Addicted to Stamps - Summer in Winter

Hooked on Crafts - Something Bright

Thank you for your visit !

Simon Says Challenge - Use Domi's Sketch !

2012-01-18T10:48:00.009Z

Good morning ! Can you believe its Wednesday again already ?! It's been busy, busy, busy in my craft room this week with some lovely commissions to do and I'm always trying to catch up with my DT cards !!

Our lovely girls have also brought home a couple of colds for us to share so we are all dragging ourselves around like zombies at the moment - kids, who would have them hey ?

Anyway, here we are again with another Simon Says Challenge and this week our challenge is for you to use our wonderful Domi's Sketch !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous

The DP's I used are the super gorgeous My Mind's Eye "Love Me"

The image is by Stamping Bella and is called "Pheobe Ketto" She has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers

I also used the Nestabilities Lacey Circle dies and MFT Dainty Lace Border die

The little flowers are by Prima "Sweet and Sassy - Barbie", the brads are Doodlebug Tuxedo Sugar Coated Brads and the heart brad is from my stash.

The buttons are also from my stash

The sentiment is from an MFT stamp and die set called "Just My Type"

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your take on Domi's sketch.

Have a great Wednesday and thank you for your visit !

La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday - Make a Scene !

2012-01-13T09:28:00.004Z

Good morning ! A gorgeous morning it is too - frosty morning and the sun is shining !

Here we are again with another Inspiration Friday from La La Land Crafts. This week our theme is to "make a scene".

The DP's I used are Pink Paislee "Soiree".

The La La Land Crafts scene is a digi stamp and is called "Heart Balloon Marci Digital Stamp". This scene has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics and you can find a full list of the colours I used on the La La Land Crafts Blog

I hope that I have inspired you to be creative and play along with us this week and don't forget to link up in the Customer Gallery . You could be the lucky winner of our monthly prize.

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

Simon Says Challenge - Spots and/or Stripes

2012-01-11T10:36:00.005Z

Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge. I can't believe its Wednesday again already !

Our challenge this week is SPOTS AND/OR STRIPES ! You can have just spots, just stripes or spots AND stripes, its totally up to you!!!!! PLEASE remember to LINK to this SIMON SAYS STAMP CHALLENGE in your blog post somewhere to qualify to win our prize!!!

The Design Team is showcasing MEMORY BOX products this week. Its not mandatory to join in but if you have them, why not pull them out & use them?!?! Simon Says has an amazing selection of Memory Box products - papers, dies, stamps.........WOW!!!

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous

The DP's I used are Echo Park "Springtime"

The image is Anya by The Greetings Farm. I haven't used this set for a very long time and thought it was about time to use her again. These stamps are so fantastic to colour. I used Copics for colouring her.

The Memory Box die I used is called "Catalina Wreath". This is such a pretty die, I love it.

I used one of the dies from the MFT die-namics stamp and die set called "First Place Award" for the sentiment.

The sentiment is one by Hero Arts

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your entries.

Thank you for your visit. I hope you have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - Die Cute Special

2012-01-11T10:22:00.004Z

Welcome to another Papertake Weekly Challenge !

This week our challenge is "DIE CUTE SPECIAL" so we want you to use die cuts on your project and make it cute - simples !

We are being sponsored by The Stamp Fairy and they are offering a $10 voucher for the lucky winner ! Some of the DT have also used some the Stamp Fairy's images this week.

I used one of the Stamp Fairy's free images. Isn't he cute ! He has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The DP's are some I have had for ages and ages by Making Memories "Chloe's Closet". They are perfect for Spring cards.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your projects.

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Club

2012-01-08T11:42:00.006Z

Good morning and a lovely one it is too. The sun is shining and its a warm day for January. I am sat here looking at all my daffodils and tulips which are up and a crocus which burst into flower last week ! Surely it can't be right ?

Anyway, I decided to make a card for fun yesterday ! It's not very often I get a chance to make a card just for fun so I moved all my DT stuff aside and got to work ! I just had to join in with the Sketch Challenge over at the MFT Wednesday Sketch Club over at Splitcoasters.

I do wish I could take better photographs of my cards :( I have a super duper camera and I've tried everything I know and taken them in various places and positions and still they don't look as good as everyone elses photos.

I used the MFT "a la mode" stamp "Knit Happens" and stamped it this time in Memento "London Fog" ink as I wanted the ink to match the papers, grey. I coloured her with Copics.

The DP's are from a Tilda stack I bought at the NEC a while ago. They are beautiful. I machine stitched them all.

I used the First Place Award Die-Namics for my sentiment.

Right, off to sort the girls out. They decided to watch the TV and play first thing this morning and are only just getting dressed and having showers ! Nothing like a lazy Sunday.
Have a super day and thank's for your visit.

BasicGrey Challenges - Something New

2012-01-07T11:02:00.007Z

Good morning and welcome to a brand new year and challenge over at BasicGrey Challenges !

We are absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that Simon Says Stamp have agreed to be our sole sponsor again this year so there will be lots more spending sprees coming up for the lucky winners !

We are also looking for Guest Designers to come along and play with us so if you fancy joining us for a couple of challenges then please add "GDT" after your name in your entry and we will create a list and choose some Guests !

So, onto our challenge. Our challenge for the next fortnight is SOMETHING NEW so whether its a project for a new year, new job, new house, new car or just something new you have in your stash, we would love to see it. Just remember you do have to use at least one BasicGrey product in your project to qualify for the prize !!

I decided to use one of my new "My Favorite Things - Pure Innocence" Stamps. She has been coloured with copics and I used some glossy accents on her goggles.

The BasicGrey papers I used are called "Wander"

The clouds and aeroplane are from an MFT set called "You Move Me". You can just buy the die-namics dies if you don't want the stamps to go with them

The sentiment is from the Pure Innocence stamp set and I stamped this onto a rosette tail which is a die in the MFT set called "First Place Award Ribbon". Again, you can just buy the set of die-namics if you don't want the stamps.

The brads are a mix of BasicGrey brads.

The photo corners are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your new projects.

Thank you for your visit and have a super weekend.

La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday - Pink, Black and White

2012-01-06T09:48:00.005Z

Oh what a beautiful morning ! The sun is out, there is a nip in the air, the birds are singing and it makes such a change from those awful storms we have had over the past few days. We have got away with some felt coming off the shed room and two broken fence posts and I know people who have had it a lot worse so we are very lucky.

Here we are again with another Inspiration Friday from La La Land Crafts. This week we have a colour challenge for you PINK, BLACK AND WHITE.

The image is "Sweetheart Marci" by La La Land Crafts and she has been coloured with a mix of Copics and Promarkers (a full of list of colours can be found on the La La Land Crafts Blog).

The DP's are a mix of papers too, My Mind's Eye "Meadowlark" and My Mind's Eye "Blush" and these have all been machine stitched.

The border is a My Favorite Thing's Die-namics die called "Dainty Lace"

The sentiment came from the MME Meadowlark paper pack.

The flowers, pin and keyhole are from my stash.

I hope that I have inspired you to be creative and play along with us this week and don't forget to link up in the Customer Gallery . You could be the lucky winner of our monthly prize.

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

Simon Says Challenge - Something New

2012-01-04T09:20:00.005Z

Good morning and welcome to Simon Says Challenge's first challenge of 2012 !

Our theme for you this week is SOMETHING NEW so it can be of any occasion, new baby, new house, new car etc. or just use something new in your stash !

The Design Team are this week showcasing Cuttlebug products. It is not mandatory to join in but if you have any Cuttlebug products, why not dig them out and show us !!
The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I chose New Year for this week's theme and I used the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder called "Argyle"

The DP's are BasicGrey "Little Black Dress" and they have all been machine stitched.

The image is another MFT a la mode stamp called "Cheers" and she has been coloured with Copics.

The centre of the card has been created with MFT Layered Labels Die-Namics and this is where I also used the Cuttlebug folder. The numbers are from my stash as is the silvery ribbon.

The sentiment is in the stamp set and I stamped it onto another MFT Die-Namic called "Bracket Tab"

I also used some clear gems.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your "Something New". The DT have made some amazing cards for you for some inspiration if you require it.

I am also joining in the following Challenges :

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Save the Date

Bling It On - New Beginnings

By The Cute and Girly - New Beginnings

Joanna Sheen's Challenge Blog - Celebrations

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you may leave !

Have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - New Year and Anything Goes

2012-01-03T13:30:00.004Z

Happy New Year ! I hope you all enjoyed the celebrations of welcoming in 2012 and I wish you all good luck, good health, wealth and an abundance of mojo ! Thank you all for your continued support, it is very much appreciated.

We are back with a new challenge for you over at Papertake Weekly and to kick things off this year our theme is ANYTHING GOES with the option of a NEW THEME so it could be a new baby, new job, new car or even something new from your stash.

We are being sponsored by Lili of the Valley.

I decided to use something new from my stash and yes, it just had to be one of the new a la mode stamps by My Favorite Things ! This one is called "Hot Cocoa". She has been coloured with Copics.

The DP's are my faves from Christmas "Bo Bunny - Snowfall".

The rolled flower is a new die from My Favorite Things which I pre-ordered together with a couple of Pure Innocence stamps I just couldn't resist so expect to be seeing those soon !!!

The decorative corner and gem flowers are from my stash. I think I picked these up from the NEC when I was there a while ago.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your "new" projects.

Well, the sun has just broken through after the most terrible morning for weather. Gales and lashing rain, I have never seen rain like it ! I got soak through to my pants going shopping this morning !! They have just said on the radio that we are in for more and worse later :( Keep safe and warm.

Thank you for your visit !

La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday - Flower Power !

2011-12-30T09:44:00.005Z

Good morning ! It's Friday and that can only mean one thing, yes, it's Inspiration Friday over at La La Land Crafts !

Our inspiration for you this week is "Flower Power" and you can see the DT's amazing cards over at the La La Land Crafts Blog.

The DP's are Echo Park "Springtime" which are sooo pretty. These have all been machine stitched.

I used "Marci with a Rose" stamp and coloured her with Copics, a full list of the colours I used can be seen on the La La Land Crafts Blog.

The fabric flower is by Bo Bunny and the little flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts

Don't forget you can join us in our inspiration by uploading your cards to our customer gallery and you could be in with a chance of winning a prize at the end of the month.

Before I go, have you seen the new digi stamps over at La La Land Crafts ? Well, you can now buy the new "scene digis" which are just amazing ! Irina has coloured a couple of them up for you to see over at the La La Land Crafts Blog and they are stunning.

I hope you have a great Friday and thank you for your visit !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes

2011-12-28T09:19:00.010Z

Good morning my lovelies and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge !

Thank you to everyone who joined in with our Bingo challenge last week, we had lots of fabulous entries. Check on the blog to see if you were the lucky winner !

This week our challenge is easy for you, ANYTHING GOES so the perfect opportunity for you to show off the new goodies you may have had for Christmas !

We had a little gift swap between the DT members and some of us are showing the things we made for each other.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I hope Mandy doesn't mind me showing you this ! This was the gift I made for her for Christmas. It was one of the larger match boxes for kitchen matches and I covered it in Echo Park "Winter Park" paper.

The snowflake trim was from my stash.

The image is an "a la mode" image by My Favorite Things. Simon Says Stamp have just started stocking this range of MFT stamps which I am soooo excited about as I just love them (if you hadn't noticed !). Just search "MFT" or "My Favorite Things" and you should be able to find the ones currently in stock. Keep checking out "New Just In" for the new stock coming in !

The snowflakes were punched from a Martha Stewart "Arctic" Snowflake Punch

I used a pearl brad for a little handle.

The rest of the DT have made some very inspirational projects for you to look at this week so hop on over and take a look.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

Thank's for your visit and hope to see you again soon !

Papertake Weekly - A Sketch

2011-12-27T14:32:00.006Z

I hope you all had a great Christmas. I can't believe it has been and gone already ! It was so fantastic to see the girls so excited in the run up and they loved all their presents. I was a lucky girl too and had some lovely gifts given to me.

Here we are again with another challenge from Papertake Weekly, the last one of 2011.

We have a sketch for you drawn by our very own Dawny.

We are being sponsored by the fabulous Simon Says Stamp this week with an awesome prize of a $20 shopping voucher !

I went with very simple for this card !! I also decided to make a male card as I need to fill my boxes with some male cards otherwise they will have to put up with fairies for their birthdays !!

The image is by Lili of the Valley and he has been coloured with copics.

The papers are by My Mind's Eye "Away We Go" and these have all been machine stitched.

I used my Dymo to create the sentiment.

The fish charm is from my stash.

We hope you can join in with our challenge this week. If you require inspiration, the DT have made some amazing cards for you to look at.

Thank you for your visit and have a great Bank Holiday Tuesday !

Bye for now,

Jo xxxx

La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday

2011-12-23T09:29:00.008Z

Good morning How are we all today ? Finished all the Christmas shopping ? Well, Christmas can come when it likes here now as all the wrapping has been done, food shopping done and all the pressies and cards delivered so I'm a very happy bunny !

It's Inspiration Friday again over at La La Land Crafts and this week we are inspiring you with ALL WHITE EXCEPT THE IMAGE. The other DT girlies have done an amazing job with this challenge. Pop on over to the La La Land Craft Blogs to take a look !

I used Birthday Marci and she was coloured with Copics. You can see a full list of the colours on the La La Land Crafts Blog.

The balloons are dies by CC Designs and I embossed them with a Sizzix embossing folder.

I used the MFT stamp and die set called "First Place Award Ribbon" for my sentiment.

The gems are all from my stash.

I am entering a couple of challenges with my card :

My Mum's Craft Shop - Anything Goes

Charisma Cardz- Anything Goes

Well, that just leaves me to say bye, bye and wish you all a very Happy Christmas. I hope you have a super weekend with your family and friends and I hope you receive some wonderful surprises from Santa. I will be back next week with another round of DT cards so until then - HAVE A GOOD ONE !!!

Simon Says Challenge - Bingo !

2011-12-21T07:55:00.006Z

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge !

Our challenge for you this week is a game of Bingo ! So, eyes down, here is your bingo card....

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

Time has been so tight this week I only had the chance to make a gift tag !

I used the bingo line, 1 across.

The DP's are Echo Park "Everybody Loves Christmas"

I used two MFT stamp and die-namics sets, Tag You're It and Christmas Ornaments.

I added some Hero Arts Clear Gems and lots of Diamond Stickles

I added some twine to the top of the tag

The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration this week. Please pop on over and take a look.

We hope you can come along and play with us this week and we look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Have a great Wednesday !

Papertake Weekly - Last Christmas....Card of the Year !

2011-12-20T14:09:00.003Z

Good afternoon ! I hope you are all OK, well and full of festive cheer ?! I am pleased to say I am now feeling much better although I'm so tired. I was thinking I would have to go back to the Doctors at the weekend as the antibiotics still weren't working but Sunday morning arrived and it was the first time I was able to swallow in over a week !

Here we are again with another challenge over at Papertake Weekly. This week our challenge is "Last Christmas....Card of the Year". All this means is that this is your last chance to showcase what you’ve been making for the festive season so we just want to see your Christmas cards or projects, so this is the last festive type challenge of the year here at Papertake.

We are being sponsored by "The Ribbon Girl".

Oh yes, surprise, surprise another MFT stamp ! Yes, this is a new "a la mode" stamp and I just had to get it. They get better and better all the time. This one is called "Ski Bunny" and she has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The DP's are Echo Park (of course !) "Winter Park" and these are perfect for this image with the little ski themed tickets on the papers.

We look forward to seeing all your festives makes ! The DT have made some amazing cards should you need any inspiration !

Thank you for your visit today and hope you have a great Tuesday !

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000Z

Welcome to Inspiration Friday over at the La La Land Crafts Blog.

This week we are all about CIRCLES !

I used Lil' Rocker Luka and coloured him with Copics (you can see a full list of the colours I used on the La La Land Crafts Blog !).

The DP's are My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday "Happy Days" as are the chipboard embellies. These were all machine stitched.

We love to see your La-La Land Crafts makes so just link them up to the Customer Gallery and be in with a chance to win a prize.

Thank you for your visit today and have a great day and keep warm !

Simon Says Challenge - Domi's Sketch

2011-12-14T08:00:00.002Z

Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge.

This week we have a sketch for you by our super teamie, Domi

The Design Team are showcasing Stickles and Glitter and also stamps by La La Land Crafts. If you have any of these we would love to see them but if not, it is not compulsory to take part in this challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Blink of an Eye"

The image is by La La Land Crafts and I have used Big Panda Marci.

The borders have been cut with an MFT die called "Wonky Border"

The letters are from my stash and I have coloured with with a Copic pen and then added some diamond stickles to them

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week, the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration !

Thank you for your visit !

Papertake Weekly - I'm Dreaming of a ....... Christmas !

2011-12-13T17:04:00.004Z

Sorry for being late again ! This week I have a very good reason, I'm suffering from tonsillitis so bad in fact I can't even swallow my own spit :( I now have some antibiotics though and hope to be on the road to recovery very soon but my goodness, I do feel poorly :(

This week at Papertake Weekly we are all dreaming of our favourite colours for Christmas cards and other projects. We are being sponsored by Whiff of Joy who are giving away a fabby stamp for the lucky winner.

I have been dreaming about a blue and brown Christmas. I just adore these papers by Bo Bunny called "Snowfall".

The snowman stamp is by Inkadinkado

The little "stamp" stamps are also by Inkadinkado but I bought them in a bargain bin a long time ago and I'm not sure that they are still available. The set is called "Welcome Winter"

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing what colour you love at Christmas !

Thank you for your visit and keep warm !

Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop News

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000Z

La La Land Crafts has joined forces with some other major companies for a blog hop with lots of wonderful prizes ! If you would like to join in with the hop, then please pop on over to the La La Land Crafts Blog to find out more information !

Here is another card I have made with the New Release Stamps from La La Land Crafts. I have used Snowboarding Marci !

I used lots of torn Core'dinations card for this card and some Lawn Fawn "Flurries" stamps.

The snowflakes are an MFT die set.

You can see the list of Copic colours I used over on the La La Land Crafts Blog !

Have a great day, enjoy the hop and good luck !!!

Simon Says Challenge ..... Christmas Photomontage Inspiration !

2011-12-07T09:49:00.008Z

Whooo what a posh title for this week's challenge over at Simon Says Challenge ! We bring you only the best and poshest of challenges you know ! hehehe !

Our lovely teamie Joy came up with the photomontage which is courtesy of Pinterest which is another site which has you hooked for hours on end !!

Now if that doesn't get your creative juices flowing, I don't know what will !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I loved the vintage look of the photos on the montage so took that as my inspiration.

The DP's are BoBunny "Snowfall". I have distressed the edges of them and added some gold paint dapper to the edges. I also used a gold leaf pen I have too which is just gorgeous for adding some shine.

I used the Tim Holtz clock die.

The tag I used is from the MFT "Tag You're It" Stamp and Die set.

The Father Christmas stamp is by Inkadinkado and is called "Sketches Santa". I have coloured him with a mixture of Copics and Prismacolor pencils. I have wanted to try and colour on kraft card for a long time and I was really pleased with the results.

The wooden snowflakes are from my stash but I see that Maya Road make very similar ones. I inked them with vintage photo distress ink and added some of the gold paint dapper on them too.

The ribbon and button are from my stash.

The chipboard letters are a Sizzix die I have had buried for a long time and I saw it being used recently in the latest edition of Craft Stamper Magazine. I cut them from chipboard and applied some light gold leaf flake mix to them. They look gorgeous in real life ! I think these gold leaf sheets would be very similar to what I used.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to being inspired by you. If you need any further inspiration then the DT have made some amazing cards for you again this week. Please hop on over to the challenge blog and take a look.

Have a great day and thank you for your visit !

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

2011-12-07T09:02:00.005Z

I am sorry I am a day late with my Papertake Weekly post. What happened to yesterday ? It just came and went in a flash and before I knew it, I was back in bed again !!

Our challenge this week is ANYTHING GOES with the option of adding something dangly !!! We are being sponsored by Lili of the Valley who are giving the lucky winner a £10 gift voucher away as a super duper prize !

I really don't like my card for this week's challenge, I think the papers I used are far too busy and I regret using them now :(

The DP's are Echo Park "Holly Jolly".

I used the tag from the MFT "Tag You're It" stamp and die set

The Christmas trees and sleigh are a Marianne Creatables die. I added lots of gems and liquid applique to them.

The bauble is from another MFT set called "Christmas Ornaments"

The ribbon is from my stash.

My "dangly" bit is the silver bell I used !

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we can't wait to see your amazing creations. The DT have some super duper inspiration for you again !

Take care and thank you for your visit !

La La Land Crafts - December 2011 NEW RELEASE !

2011-12-05T09:42:00.008Z

Good morning ! I am sooo excited to tell you of my fabby news ! I have been invited back as a full time, proper DT member of La La Land Crafts ! How fantastic is that ? I just adore their stamps and images and the team of gals I am working with are just amazing.

My first post as a fully fledged member is to tell you about our December New Release !

Here is my card I made for the New Release using Saluting Marci.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday "Happy Days" and I machine stitched them all.

The image is Saluting Marci and these are the colours I used :

Skin : E13, E11, E000, E00, R20 and R21
Hair : E29, E27, E25, E23 and E35
T-Shirt : YG97, YG93 and E35 and E31
Shorts : E35 and E33
Boots : Promarkers Warm Grey 4, 3 and 2
Flag : R29 and Promarker Royal Blue

I made some dog tags using the MFT notched tag die and stamp set and a couple of Tim Holtz goodies !

If you're a follower of our Facebook Page, you may have seen some of these cuties already in digi form. But now they are available in the La-La Land Crafts STORE in rubber...right in time for the Holidays!!

First up, we have:

Saluting Luka (sentiments included)
Saluting Marci (sentiments included)

*Part of the proceeds from the sales of Saluting Marci and Saluting Luka stamps will be donated to Operation Write Home (OWH).

Next up we have:

Snowboard Luka
Snowboard Marci
Mod Marci

And finally we have ACCESSORIES for our cuties to sit on....can you say YIPPEE!!

Heart Chair
Garden Bench (sentiment included)
Suitcase Set (6 stamps)

To better showcase this new release the Design Team have made some amazing cards. If you hop over to the La La Land Crafts Blog, you can see what all the Designers have made and visit their blogs for further details.

We hope you enjoy these new stamps as much as we do!! We are especially excited that our Luka and Marci have things to sit on! Now head on over to the STORE right away to pick up your rubber stamps before they sell out.

We have some more exciting things coming up so check back on the La La Land Crafts Blog in a few hours for a fantabulous blog hop we are participating in!

Thank you for your visit today and I hope you like the new release as much as we all do !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes

2011-11-30T10:18:00.005Z

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge !

This week our theme is ANYTHING GOES. The DT are showcasing Unity and Lawn Fawn Stamps. We would love to see you use them if you have any but its not compulsory to enter this challenge. Just have fun !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I used some Core'dinations card for the blue card and some silver mirror card. I stamped the pale blue card with snowflake stamps from the "Flurries" Fawn Lawn stamp set. I used Colorbox Frost White Ink - this is the best white ink I have ever used and I can highly recommend it. It gives a very good impression and you will be impressed when you see it on dark card ! It is also on special offer at the moment in the Simon Says Stamp Store

The circle was cut using Lacey Circle Nestabilities and I sanded the edges with some sand paper. I added plenty of Icicle Stickles and then stamped this cute rabbit which is another Lawn Fawn Stamp called "Winter Bunny"

The snowflakes were punched with a Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch

The ribbon and bells are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your creations.

Thank you for your visit today, it was lovely to see you. Have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - Sketch Time !

2011-11-29T15:31:00.007Z

Wow, its stormy out there today ! I've just been on the school run and nearly got blown over ! Perfect crafting weather me thinks !!

This week over at Papertake Weekly we have a fabby sketch for you by our wonderful "boss" Dawny !

This week being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp who are offering a $20 spree in their super duper store for the lucky winner

The gorgeous DP's are BoBunny Snowfall - boy, these are so strokable but I was eager to get using them !

The image is an MFT a la mode image called "Knit Happens". The sentiment comes from that set too.

I used a Martha Stewart snowflake border punch.

The buttons are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week, the rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration ! We look forward to seeing you.

Bye for now,

Jo x

BasicGrey Challenges - Lost and Found

2011-11-26T09:53:00.006Z

Good morning and welcome to another BasicGrey Challenges !

This week our challenge is "LOST AND FOUND" - we want to see you use a household item or something you have found around the house, we all have bits and pieces we put by for "just in case". All you need to do is remember to use at least one BasicGrey product on your project !

The DT have made some amazing projects for your inspiration and have listed what BG products they have used together with the household item they have used too so that should help you no end !!

We are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp who are offering the lucky winner a $25 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store.

I thought I would try an artistic shot this time !!

I was very boring and used some buttons that I had taken off some old clothes and the white corrogated card was some packaging.

The DP's are BasicGrey "Nordic Holiday" and I have machine stitched them all with silver metallic thread.

The image is an MFT "a la mode" stamp called "Candy Cane Kisses" and she has been coloured with Copics and ProMarkers. I added some liquid applique to her hat and boots too.

The sentiment is also from the stamp set and I used the MFT die-namics bracket tab die to stamp it on.

The postcard stamp is by Whimsy Stamps.

The snowflakes are MFT die-namics dies too.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week, we can't wait to see what you come up with !!

Have a great Saturday !

PaperPlay Challenges - Be Thankful

2011-11-24T09:51:00.005Z

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to all my lovely Amercian friends. I hope you all have a fantastic day spent with family and friends.

Here we are again with another challenge over at PaperPlay Challenges. Our challenge this week is "Be Thankful". The DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

We are this week being sponsored by Bunny Zoe Crafts !

I followed the sketch over at last week's My Favorite Things Challenge. I just love their sketches !

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Paris & Co" - sooo yummy and some of my fave colour combos too.

The image is an MFT Pure Innocence stamp called "A Box of Love". She has been coloured with Copics.

I also used all these MFT die-namics ! Wonky Scallop Border, Bracket Tab, Rolled Flower, Notched Tag Die and Stamp Set

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

Simon Says Challenge - Tag You're It !

2011-11-23T10:20:00.004Z

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge !

This week our challenge is "Tag You're It" so we would love to see tags in your creations this week, whether it be gift tags or a tag put on a card or other project.

This week the Design Team are showcasing "dies". If you have any dies we would love to see them but if not, then we just want to see your amazing creations and join in with our challenge this week !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I must apologise for the terrible photo. Its been so dark and miserable here for the past few days I've really struggled to take a decent photo of anything and I am sure most of you are struggling with too.

The DP's I used are Echo Park "Season's Greetings". I added some Platinum Stickles around the edge. I love this colour, its not too sparkly, adds a vintage feel I think.

The tag I cut from my faithful MFT "Tag You're It" set and the dots around the edge are from that set too. I have just noticed that this set now has 25% off in the Simon Says Stamp Store for the Black Friday Sale. I can highly recommend this set, its soooo versatile and I love it !

Check out my brand new MFT die and stamp set - whoooo !! I just couldn't wait to get my hands on the ornaments set when I saw it previewed. I die cut the little ornaments from scraps of "Seasons Greetings" papers I used on another card. The tops of the baubles I cut from copper coloured mirror card. I added a little metal snowflake from my stash on one and some pearls from my stash on the other. The holly leaf die also comes in the set and I added some red pearls to the leaves. The sentiment is also in the set.

The ribbon is from my stash.

Right, that is me ! Time to get the washing on and then go up to school to help with reading. I wonder how many of the boys will fall off their chairs while swinging on them today ? hehehe ! It always amazes me that when boys read to someone they just can't sit still !!

Thank you for your visit and I hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

Papertake Weekly - Christmas Crackers !

2011-11-22T14:13:00.005Z

Good afternoon ! Sorry I am late with my Papertake Weekly post, I was busy typing it up this morning when I heard this rumble, bang and crash, went to investigate to find a car had come down the road too fast, went through my neighbours front garden wall, our garden wall and came to a stop inches from the front of my house ! You can imagine my shock ! Within a few mintues there were 5 police cars, an ambulance and fire engine ! Thankfully everyone was OK and there were no injuries and my house is still intact however I do have an open plan garden !

It could have been so much worse so I count my blessings.

Anyway, onto this week's challenge over at Papertake Weekly.

This week our theme is "Christmas Crackers"

No you don't have to make a cracker – but you can if you want as some of the DT did. No, we just want to see your Christmas faves – so Yule rules this week. If it’s festive, then it’s fine :)

As you can see, I did make a cracker !

The papers are Echo Park "Merry Christmas"

I have of course used Tilda and she has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The trees have been die cut with a Marianne Creatables die. I have added some liquid applique (love this stuff !).

The ribbon is from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your entries. The DT's creations are amazing, real inspiration if you need it !

Thank you for your visit.

Simon Says Challenge - Thanksgiving/Thank You

2011-11-16T09:48:00.005Z

Good morning ! Not a very nice morning here, very dark, drizzly and cold. Looks like Blogger is having a change this morning too. The box I am typing in is now blue and the "Edit Html" and "Compose" buttons are now on the right hand side of the page. Lets just hope that its working properly !!

It's time for another Simon Says Challenge and this week our theme is Thanksgiving/Thank You
Next week the U.S will be celebrating Thanksgiving so we are dedicating this challenge to Giving Thanks, for those of us who don't celebrate we can make Thank You cards/creations instead :-)

This week the Design Team are showcasing HERO ARTS products. If you have any Hero Arts products we would love to see them but if not, then we just want to see your amazing creations and join in with our challenge this week !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's I used are Prima "Annalee"

I used Hero Arts Layered Flowers Stamps. I stamped it 3 times and cut out each layer and layered it up with sticky fixer squares. I added some little sparkles to the centre too which were from my stash. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Find Joy Stamp Set

I also used the tag die from the MFT stamp and die-namics set "Tag You're It" and the dotty border is from that set too. I have found this stamp set very versatile and just love it !

The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration. Hop over and take a look !

I am entering my card over at the Creative Card Crew Challenge as their theme is "Thankful"

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing you !

Have a great day and thank you for your visit !

Papertake Weekly - When is a card not a card ? When its a.....

2011-11-15T09:49:00.004Z

Whoooo hooo ! I'm back ! and good it feels too. I took a break for a couple of weeks as I got myself into a right ole tizz ! The house was a tip and was beginning to resemble a haunted house with all the cobwebs and dust around. My ironing pile was totally out of control with even Summer clothes still waiting to be ironed and I was feeling overwhelmed with the mess and my DT work, commission work, kids homework and activities and I just burned out.

You will be pleased to hear the house has been blitzed and is looking like new and all the ironing has been done and everyone is happy and I feel more in control - phew !

I am back with the first of my DT's and it's Papertake Weekly. Our challenge this week is ...

When is a card not a card ? When its a.......

Gift tag !

I made a circular card, punched some snowflakes and stuck them around the edge and then stamped the Lili of the Valley snowman image onto a circular piece of card and then layered it. I was a bit silly really because I put the ribbon on the back of the card and in hindsight should have attached it to the front of the card because then you could have used it as a decoration for the tree when its been used as a tag ! I shall remember that for next time !!

I added some glossy accents to the decorations on the snowman's arms and lots of Stickles for the snow.

The sentiment I made on my PC.

The ribbon is from my stash.

We hope you can join in with our challenge this week. The DT have made some amazing creations for your inspiration as always.

I am entering my tag into the following challenges :

Bows 'n' Berries - Make a Tag !

Craft Your Passion - Let it Snow

Hooked on Crafts - Something Punched

Lexi's Creations - No straight edges

Looking forward to seeing you again shortly !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday - Snowflakes

2011-10-28T09:00:00.002+01:00

Ahhhh this is my last Friday as Guest Designer for La La Land Crafts. I just want to thank Irina and the girls on the fabby team for having me - its been a ball and I've loved every minute so thank you from the bottom of my heart !

This week we are here to inspire you with SNOWFLAKES !

The DP's are Echo Park "Season's Greetings"

The image is the gorgeous La La Land Crafts "Angel Marci" and she has been coloured with Copics. For a full list please see the La La Land Crafts Blog.

All the snowflakes are from my stash.

The sentiment is by Pink Petticoat and I have printed this onto a piece of vellum which has a sheet music pattern on it.

We hope we have inspired you enough to join in with our punchy challenge ! Don't forget to link up in the Customer Gallery if you play along. You could be the lucky winner of our monthly prize.

PaperPlay Challenges - Halloween Inspired

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to another PaperPlay Challenges !

This week we want to see your projects inspired by Halloween.

We are being sponsored by the amazing Zoe at Make It Crafty ! The DT have used some of her digi images for this challenge.

The DP's are BasicGrey "Eerie"

I have used the digi stamp by Make it Crafty called "Eerie Scene" and I have coloured this with a mixture of chalks and Copics.

I also used the new digi stamp by La La Land Crafts and this little chap is called "Pumpkin Luka". He is only going to be available as a digi. He has been coloured with Copics too.

The spider came from Asda in a pack of them ! He is hanging by a piece of cotton to make it look like a bit of spider's thread !

I added a tag. This has been stamped with an Inkadinkado stamp called "Happy Halloween"

The button and ribbon are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week with your inspired by Halloween projects. The DT have made some awesomely spooky cards for your inspiration !

Have a great Thursday and thank you for dropping by today !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes

2011-10-26T08:00:00.001+01:00

Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge ! Thank you for all your "Inspired by Nursery Rhymes/Fairy Tale" projects last week, we certainly were inspired !

This week its ANYTHING GOES ! The DT are showcasing Bo Bunny and Studio Calico products this week. If you have any of these, we would love to see them but if not, its not compulsory to enter this challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's are Bo Bunny "Crazy Love". This is such a yummy pad of papers ! They have all been machine stitched.

I used a Fiskars "Threaded Water" punch for my punched border

The tag was made using the MFT "Tag You're It" stamp and die set - love it !

The ribbons and flowers are from my stash.

We hope you can join us this week in our challenge and we look forward to seeing more of your amazing projects.

Have a great Wednesday and thank you for popping by today !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday - Punch It !

2011-10-21T09:08:00.004+01:00

It's Friday and that can only mean one thing - it's Inspiration Friday over at La La Land Crafts !We are here to bring you some inspiration and this week its all about PUNCHES ! Fortunately its the crafting type of punch !

The DP's are October Afternoon "Thrift Shop"

The image is La La Land Crafts "Baking Marci". Baking Marci is a special edition stamp as she is only being released as a digi ! I must say, I love using digi stamps, they are so versatile and of course, you don't need to find storage for them (only on the groaning PC !!). She has been coloured with Copics and you can find a full list of colours on the La La Land Crafts Blog.

I punched the bottom of the red DP with a Martha Stewart lace punch.

The flowers were punched from some old daisy punches I have in my stash.

The little sentiments underneath Marci are from a set by Waltzingmouse Stamps.

We hope we have inspired you enough to join in with our punchy challenge ! Don't forget to link up in the Customer Gallery if you play along. You could be the lucky winner of our monthly prize.

Simon Says Challenge - Nursery Rhymes/Fairy Tales

2011-10-19T10:45:00.006+01:00

Here we are again with another Simon Says Challenge ! I swear the weeks are getting shorter !!

This week our challenge is Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales ! If you need inspiration, the rest of the DT have made some amazing projects for you !

We are also showcasing Magnolia stamps. If you have any Magnolia stamps we would love to see you use them but its not compulsory for this challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I was inspired by "The Princess and the Frog"

The DP's are Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" and these have all been machine stitched with metallic gold thread which I am loving at the moment.

The Magnolia stamp I used is called "Fairy Tale Tilda" and the sentiment is also by Magnolia "Kiss Me I'm a Prince" stamp

We look forward to seeing your amazing projects again this week.

Thank you for popping by today. Have a great Wednesday !

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Spooky Hues !

2011-10-18T12:04:00.003+01:00

Welcome to another challenge over at Papertake Weekly. Thank you to everyone who joined in with our challenge last week, we had lots of awesome entries !

Our challenge this week is SPOOKY HUES ! You don't have to make a Halloween card, just use Halloween colours i.e. orange, green, purple, black etc.

We are being sponsored by The Ribbon Girl with some gorgeous ribbons for you.

I made this little "Trick or Treat" bag and I'm amazing I had the chance to photograph it as the girls got their little mits on it as soon as it was finished !!

I used a spider's web Cuttlebug folder to emboss the black card and then brushed some Perfect Pearls all over it to give it a "moon shimmer" !

Tilda the Witch has been coloured with Copics and ProMarkers.

The glitter spider is from a pack of them from Asda

The sentiment is by a set by Inkadinkado.

We look forward to seeing your projects this week. If you need some inspiration, take a look at the DT's awesome projects this week !

Thank you for popping by ! It was great to see you !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday - Halloween

2011-10-14T09:42:00.007+01:00

Thank Crunchie its Friday !

It is that time again where us gals over at La La Land Crafts bring you some inspiration and this week its all about Halloween.

Not only do we have inspiration for you but also a SURPRISE RELEASE ! There is another Marci and another Luka to add to your collection. They are being released as digi's first and then stamps in early November so you can hop over to the store and buy yours now ! There is Baking Marci (she is holding a delish apple pie) and Pumpkin Luka (he's holding a.... pumpkin !).

Now when I saw the theme for this challenge as being Halloween, I got this idea in my head of making a spell book from some micro slide holder cards I have but my memory of them was wrong and they were far too small so I looked on Splitcoasters and saw a paper bag book which was perfect. I only used two bags as I have very little Halloween goodies I wouldn't have been able to fill it !

Here we go with all the piccies :

Lovely Irina sent me some Pink Paislee "Hocus Pocus" papers and canvas borders in a DT pack and so I used them.

The image is "Witch Marci" and she has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics. The little spider and its web in the corner are from an Inkadinkado set called "Witches Brew"

The ghosts, bats and glittery lettering are all from my stash.

These are the first two pages. I found a great Halloween poem on the internet and so printed it onto one of the sheets of DP. If you click on the picture, you may be able to see what it says !

This is a picture of the tag that I tucked inside the first pocket of the paper bag

I haven't tucked anything inside the pocket on these pages yet. Hopefully the girls will be getting dressed up so I have saved it so I can make another tag and add their photo.

On these pages I printed out the Witches Spell from MacBeth (so doing O Level English at school did pay off after all !!!)

We also have Skeleton Luka and he has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics. There is another pocket on this page so I will have to fill that one too.

We hope we have inspired you enough to join in with our scary challenge ! Don't forget to link up in the Customer Gallery if you play along. You could be the lucky winner of our monthly prize.

Hope you have a fantastic Friday and thank you for popping by today !

I am joining in the following challenges :

Charisma Cardz - In stitches (I have used stitching on my papers and tag)

Hanna and Friends - Halloween

Samuel Taylor's Challenge - Halloween. They have a super prize of a Tim Holtz Configurations Box for one lucky winner !

PaperPlay Challenges - Cupcake

2011-10-13T19:12:00.004+01:00

What a busy day I have had ! Keeps me out of mischief !!

Welcome to another PaperPlay Challenges. This week our theme is "Cupcake"

This week we are very kindly sponsored by the wonderful Angie of "Little Darlings".
Be sure to check out Angie's rubber stamp line - they are stunning. They are available over at Angie's own online craft store - Love to Stamp.

I followed the sketch over at MFT "Let's Get Sketchy" Challenge over at Splitcoasters and I am entering my card into this challenge.

The DP's I used are October Afternoon "Thrift Shop". These have all been machine stitched. I found some gold and silver metallic thread in Tesco or Asda and I've been loving stitching my cards with it. It gives the card a very subtle sparkle which is lovely.

The image is by "My Favorite Things" called "à la modes Birthday Girl" and she has been coloured with Copics

The little button brads are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your sweet creations !

Have a great evening and thank you for your visit !

Simon Says Challenge - Halloween/Goth

2011-10-12T09:30:00.005+01:00

The winner of my little gift box for the Papertake Weekly blog hop has been drawn. Please see the post below to see if you were the lucky winner !

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge. Thank you to everyone who entered our Sparkle and Bling challenge, we had a great turnout.

This week our challenge is HALLOWEEN/GOTH.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

Now, I could list a number of people I thought of while I was colouring this beautiful woman but somehow I don't think I will make myself very popular !

The DP's are BasicGrey "Eerie". I also used some of the Tim Holtz Tissue Tape on them. These pieces are from the set "Hobgoblin".

These fantastic stamps are by Inkadinkado and are called "Witches Brew" and I have coloured the images with Copics. I inked the edges with a mixture of Pumice Stone and the new Fall limited edition distress inks

The sentiment is also an Inkadinkado stamp from the set called "Mini Scary Words"

The ghosts and bat are from my stash.

The rest of the DT's cards are very scary ! Fly over and take a look, you might get a fright while you are there !

Thank you for floating by today !

Papertake Weekly - Get in Shape

2011-10-11T11:20:00.006+01:00

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with our Birthday celebrations over at Papertake Weekly. As you know, I was giving away a little gift box to one lucky person and so without further ado that person is.....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

45 - JLJ Designs

Timestamp: 2011-10-11 11:00:19 UTC

Many congratulations ! Could you please email me with your full address so I can send the gift box to you ?

This week our challenge is "Get in Shape". We would like to see you use three different shapes on your project and one can be the shape of the project.

I used a rectangle (shape of the card), circle (doily) and triangles (banner).

The DP's are Pink Paislee "It's The Little Things" ♥

The image is a digi by Some Odd Girl called "Dancin Kaylee" and she has been coloured with Copics.

The banner is an MFT banner die and comes with the letters so you can add text.

The sentiment is a download from Bizzy Becs

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The DT have made some awesome cards for your inspiration - pop over and have a look !

Thank you for popping over today and for any comments you leave - they always mean so much.

Bye for now,

Jo x

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday - Spots and Dots

2011-10-07T11:40:00.007+01:00

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MY PAPERTAKE WEEKLY POST AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN MY LITTLE BOX OF GOODIES THEN PLEASE SEE THE POST BELOW THIS ONE !

Good morning and welcome to Inspiration Friday over at La La Land Crafts.

This week our theme is "Spots and Dots"

I decided to make a money/gift card holder for Christmas.

The image is La La Land Crafts "Carolling Luka" and he has been coloured using the following Copics :

Skin : E000, E00, E13, E11, R20 and R21

Hat : E25, E23, YG97 and YG95

Coat : E25, E23 and E41

Top : R59

Holly : YG97, R27

Book : YG97, YG95 and R59

The DP's are Echo Park's "Merry Christmas" with various elements from that 12x12 kit

The felt snowflake border I believe is made by Papermania (I found it amongst my Christmas stash).

The wooden snowflakes are also from my stash. I added some gold stickles to them

Here is a shot of the inside of the card :

I edged all the papers with the new Picket Fence Distress Stain and I love it ! Great to give that "snowy" or aged look.

I made a little pocket and edged the top with the Tim Holtz snowflake edge die.

Hope this has inspired you and remember you can join us by linking up your La-La Land Crafts makes to the Customer Gallery and they don't have to be spotty or dotty !

Thank you for popping by. Have a great Friday !

Simon Says - Sparkle and Bling !

2011-10-06T09:52:00.006+01:00

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MY PAPERTAKE WEEKLY POST AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN MY LITTLE BOX OF GOODIES THEN PLEASE SEE THE POST BELOW THIS ONE !

Good morning ! Sorry I was AWOL yesterday with my Simon Says Challenge post. I think some kind hacker got into my email account and sent various spam messages to people which we had to deal with. We thought we had rectified it a few days ago but then more messages were sent and we couldn't even get into the email etc. because the passwords and username were not recognised. Anyway, after removing over 200 trackers and spy things from my PC I seem to be back up and running ! I wouldn't mind but I have decent internet security too !

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with our Anything Goes challenge last week. We had over 1,000 entries !

This week our challenge is SPARKLE AND BLING. The DT are showcasing Stampabilities stamps this week, these include Peanuts, House Mouse, Happy Hoppers and others if you have them we would love to see them used on your cards but you don't have to use them to join in

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I don't know why but I am really enjoying making Christmassy things at the moment which is a good job because at least I won't have a mad rush nearer the time !

The DP's I used are by Echo Park (lurve these papers as much as MME ones !) and these are called "Merry Christmas". I machine stitched all the papers with some lovely metallic silver thread. I just love the look of it as it really does give sparkle.

The images are from a House Mouse clear Christmas stamp set. They have been coloured with Copics.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The rest of the DT have made some gorgeous cards for your inspiration.

Have a "hack free" Thursday ! Thank you for popping by !

Happy Birthday Papertake Weekly !

2011-10-04T12:00:00.005+01:00

Yes, its Papertake Weekly's 4th Birthday !

To celebrate we are having a blog hop with lots of yummy scrummy prizes along the way ! Have you found any yet ?!!!

Our challenge this week is ANYTHING GOES with the option of using something punched !

If you have arrived from Lisa's blog then you are heading in the right direction ! Your next stop will be Mary's blog

I have made this little gift which is going to be a prize on my blog for one lucky blog hop winner.

I covered a large matchbox with Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" paper, a doily and a punched strip of Springtime paper.

The image is of course a Hanglar image and she has been coloured with Copics.

The lace and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The little bits and pieces inside consist of some seam binding and lace and I have hidden underneath a mixture of charms, buttons, flowers and little wooden snowflakes and a little bunch of pink sweetheart flowers.

If you would like to win this gift then please enter using Inlinkz below linking the card you have made for this week's challenge to celebrate our Birthday ! I will choose one lucky winner next Monday with the random number generator !

We hope you enjoy hopping and we look forward to seeing all your fabulous Birthday creations !

BasicGrey Challenges - Nursery Rhymes/Fairy Tales

2011-10-03T18:02:00.005+01:00

Good evening !

I do apologise for being so late with my BasicGrey Challenges post. The family and I decided to make the most of this beautiful sunshine and spent most of the weekend out and about.

Over at BasicGrey Challenges our new challenge is all about Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

I decided to make a bookmark for Mollie as she is an avid reader.

The DP's are BasicGrey Capella and Curio.

The sentiment is from a stamp set by Indigo Blu I purchased at the NEC back last year.

I also tried out my new Spellbinders Edgeabilities which will take some getting used to and I think probably look better on plain coloured card.

The rolled flower is an MFT die with a Kaisercraft brad in the centre.

I also used some new cotton tape by Prima at the bottom. This is a bit like sticking plaster you can buy on the roll but you can stamp on it.

The seam binding is from my stash.

We are again being sponsored by the fantastic Simon Says Stamp and the lucky winner can win a $25 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this fortnight.

Thank you for popping by today !

La La Land Crafts - New Release !

2011-10-01T09:26:00.005+01:00

Hellooo ! What an amazing Saturday this is going to be !

Did you know that today is World Cardmaking Day ? A day for the card making community to unite and celebrate the connection and creativity that is the heart of card making! When it was founded in 2006, it was exclusive to the Paper Crafts magazine audience only. However, due to its popularity, the "holiday" grew to include everyone world-wide. Celebrating the start of its sixth year, World Card Making Day is celebrated annually on the first Saturday in October!

Over at La La Land Crafts we are celebrating today with the NEW RELEASE of 8 new stamps to the already amazing collection ! Check out these beauties !

Aren't they just amazing ?! These stamps can be pre-ordered as of today and will be shipped on 15th October. You can find them in the La La Land Crafts Store now !

The DT have worked really hard and produced the most amazing projects to show off the new release. Check them out over at the La La Land Crafts Blog !

For my card I used the brand new RUFFLES MARCI. I paper pieced her dress and headband and coloured the rest of her with Copics.

Skin - E000, E00, E13, E11, R20 and R21
Hair - E27, E25, E23 and E35
Shoes - E25 and E23
Dress/Headband: Paper pieced with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Sunshine"

The DP's are My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Sunshine" and I have machine stitched all of these.

Marci is sat on an MFT die-namics doily.

The pearls, the "cute" stickers and burlap trim are all part of the Sunshine collection.

I hope that you are all as excited as we are by this new release of fantastic stamps to the La La Land Crafts collection.

Happy Cardmaking Day ! I hope your day is full of inspiration and creativity !

Thank you for popping by today, it was lovely to see you.

Enjoy your sunshiney Saturday !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday - Autumn Colours

2011-09-30T09:46:00.006+01:00

Feeling hot, hot, hot ! Another sweltering day ahead me thinks !

It's Friday and that means that its "Inspiration Friday" over at La La Land Crafts. The rest of the DT showed you some amazing projects they had made with our theme this week of autumn colours. Team Friday have some amazing projects to show you today so hop over to the blog and check them out !

The image I have used is "Winter Marci" and she has been coloured with the following Copics

Skin - E000, E00, E13, E11, R20 and R21
Hat - E25 and E23
Hair - E35, E42 and E41
Coat - YG97, YG95, YG93
Boots - E25 and E23

The DP's are by Imaginisce called "Cider Apple" and I bought these last year sometime. I adore these papers and wish that more Imaginisce products could make their way over the Ocean to us !

The leaves are by Prima

The sentiment is by Magnolia

The raffia and decorative corner are from my stash but you can buy similar over at Simon Says Stamp !

Hope this has inspired you to think of Autumn colors for your next card and remember you can join us by linking up your La-La Land Crafts makes to the Customer Gallery and they don't have to be Autumnal !

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Rainbow Lady's - Autumn/Fall Colours

Crafting for All Seasons - Fall Colours

For Fun Challenges - Warmth

Freshly Brewed - Autumn Colours

I Brake for Challenges - Fall

Little Darlings Challenges - Fall/Halloween

Thank you for popping by. Have a great Friday !

PaperPlay Challenges - White and One

2011-09-29T13:48:00.003+01:00

Good afternoon ! and a very hot and sunny one it is too ! Why could we not have this weather when the kids were on holiday ?

It's time again for another PaperPlay Challenge and this week our theme is "White and One". The DT's projects are fantastic, a real inspiration.

I have been up against it these last few days and so decided to cheat and make something quick but it was also something I have wanted to try for a little while now, make a Christmas bauble ! I know this looks a lot nicer with patterned paper but I think this one has a "minimalist" look !!

I used white Core'dinations card and ran it through my Bug with a snowflake embossing folder.

The ribbon is from my stash

The brad is a BasicGrey brad.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your projects !

Thank you for popping over and have a great and sunny Thursday !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes !

2011-09-28T10:42:00.006+01:00

This is my second post for today. My Papertake Weekly post appears below !

Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge. Thank you for all your terrific entries to our punches and dies challenge !

This week, our challenge is ANYTHING GOES. The DT have been using brads in their projects this week. If you have any brads we would love to see them but if not, you can still enter anyway !!

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Away We Go" and these have been machine stitched.

The sentiment and little scooter are from an MFT stamp and die set called "You Move Me"

I also used the MFT scallop edge die too

The words across the top and bottom are from a set of transparent ribbons I had in my stash and had forgotten about !

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

Have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - A Sketch !

2011-09-28T09:29:00.004+01:00

I am so sorry that I am running a day behind in my posting. I have been unbelievably busy and I don't think my feet have touched the ground ! I seem to be spending my life up and down to school as Izzy now stays until 1pm (they do like to increase the times gradually !) and all the after school activities with meetings combined as Mollie is going away soon with Brownies, are just overwhelming !

Anyway, onto this week's Papertake Weekly challenge. Our gorgeous Dawny has designed another sketch for you !

What a great sketch to use, hey ?

This challenge we are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp !

We also have some news for you :-

"Before we get to the cards we have some news for you.

Firstly we have a brand new member of the Papertake Crew and she is the fabulous and one and only Mary. Yes, we now have mother and daughter on the team so Andrea has to behave herself now lol. Welcome to Papertake chick, we are so happy that you have joined us and we cannot wait to see what you make xxx

There’s also some more news … next week

Papertake Weekly is 4

so we are having a bit of a doo :) You won't want to miss it cos there are giveaways galore and we have some 4 fabulous sponsors joining us, plus giftage here and there as well. So make a date sweeties and we hope you can join us to celebrate :)"

The DP's are a mixture of Prima "Printery" and My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found - Blush" as I wanted to add a touch of pink to the card. The papers have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Tiddly Inks and is called "You and Me" and this has been coloured with Copics and ProMarkers

The sentiment I printed onto vellum.

The flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Shopping our Stash - Black and white and one other colour (mine in pink)

Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes

The Crazy Challenge - 3 colours of your choice

Have a great day !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday

2011-09-23T10:12:00.004+01:00

Good morning and welcome to another La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday !

Every Monday and Friday the DT showcase a new and creative challenge and this week, its embossing (wet or dry). You can see the DT's inspirational cards over at the La La Land Crafts Blog !

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found - Blush" and these have all been machine stitched.

The image is La La Land Crafts "Marci with Rose" and she has been coloured with Copics

I cut the heart with heart nestabilities and then embossed the white heart with a Cuttlebug folder called "Love Language". It also comes with the word dies too which I have used.

Please make sure that if you make any projects to upload them to our customer gallery and you could win a prize !

Thank you for popping by today ! Have a great Friday !

Simon Says Challenge - Dies and Punches

2011-09-21T10:08:00.006+01:00

What a beautiful, sunny Autumnal morning this morning. It was a fantastic walk to school this morning, I love Autumn mornings

It's Wednesday again and time for another Simon Says Challenge.

This week, our challenge is to use die and/or punches in your projects.

The DT have all used My Favorite Things Stamps and/or Die-namics Dies on their creations. You don't have to use them to join in but if you have them why not dig them out and use them

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's I used are from the fantastic Echo Park kit called "Merry Christmas" and Basic Grey "Manila" and they have all been machine stitched.

I used the MFT Notebook Edge die on the manila paper and inked it with vintage photo distress ink.

The tag was made from the MFT set called "Tag You're It" which is a fantastic set which includes both stamps and the tag die. There are loads of stamps to choose from in this set, its very versatile.

The sprig of holly I punched using a Martha Stewart holly punch and I used little red pearls for the berries.

I used coloured Memento Ink too which makes a nice change from black. Simon Says Stamp set all the little dew drop ink pads and these are fantastic !

The ribbon, snowflakes and button are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your projects using dies and/or punches.

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Card und More - Colour Challenge, red, brown and cream

Shopping our Stash - No colouring allowed

Ooh La La - Punches and Dies

Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Use Shapes and/or die cuts

I hope you have a great Wednesday ! Thank's for popping by today !

La La Land Crafts - Inspiration Friday

2011-09-16T10:51:00.004+01:00

Good morning ! It's Friday !!

Over at La La Land Crafts its Inspirational Friday. Each Monday and Friday the La La Land Crafts Design Team bring you a new and inspiration theme and this week it's to use a doily. Wow, you should see the DT's projects again this week, they are amazing !

I was lucky enough to be asked if I would be a Guest and I snapped up the chance to work with these inspirational gals !

The DP's I used are October Afternoon "Farm Fresh" and they have all been machine stitched.

The image is "Sugar 'n' Spice Marci" and she has been coloured with Copics.

Skin : E000, E00, E13, E11, R20 and R21
Hair : E29, E27, E25 and E35
Dress/Hairband/ Shoes/Apron/Heart : R29, R27 and R24
Apron/Socks : E41 and E42
Spoon/cake : E25 and E23

The lace and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The little "sweetheart" sentiment is from a set by Waltzingmouse Stamps called "Half Baked Gingerbread Joy".

I believe the "handmade" sentiment may be a stamp by Cats Life Press

Don't forget you can play along with us ! Just add your project to the customer gallery and you could be in with the chance of winning our monthly prize !

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Crafting for All Seasons - Birthday

Crafts and Me Challenges - Add a Heart

Ruby's Rainbow - For The Girls

Thank you for popping by today ! Have a great day !

Square Cracker Tutorial for La La Land Crafts

2011-09-15T11:30:00.014+01:00

Good morning ! This is my second post for today !! If you are looking for my PaperPlay Challenges post then please click HERE !!

You may remember that I made a square cracker last week as Guest Designer for La La Land Crafts Inspiration Friday ? Well, I was asked if I could do a tutorial of how I made it so here it is. You can also see the whole tutorial on the La La Land Crafts Blog.

Supplies-

12” x 11” patterned cardstock for cracker

2 x end stiffeners - 2” x 11”

1 x centre stiffener – 3½” x 11”

Nestabilities square (measuring 1 1/8”) or square piece of card measuring 7/8th” x 7/8th”

How To -

Score the patterned cardstock and all the stiffeners along the 11” edge at 2.5”, 5”, 7.5” and 10”

Attach the two end stiffeners to the ends of the cardstock and the centre stiffener to the centre of the cracker.

Using the centre square of the Nestabilities square die or your template square, draw **diamonds across the score lines making sure the centre of the diamond runs through the score line. Also make sure the points of the diamonds are also lined up. When you get to the end of the cardstock, draw a triangle shape as shown. Repeat this both ends of the cracker.

Score three lines, one line above the top of the diamond shapes, one through the centre of the diamonds and one below the diamond shapes.

Fold all the score lines and at the ends make two mountain folds and a valley fold.

Assemble the cracker and fold the ends.

Embellish as desired, and add your favourite La-La Land Crafts image. Add ribbon on both ends and your cracker is complete

**You can make the diamond shapes larger so that the ends of the cracker “pinch” more and can be used as a proper cracker when a snap is added to the centre. If adding a snap, attach the snap with a small amount of glue or tape to the centre and each end of the snap otherwise it will not snap when pulled!.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I do hope you will try your hand at one of my Crackers ! - and don't forget to link up in the customer gallery if you do and tell me about it so I can come and leave you a comment !

PaperPlay Challenges - Punches and Dies

2011-09-15T11:11:00.005+01:00

Good morning and welcome to another PaperPlay Challenges. Thank you to everyone who joined in with our challenge last week, your creations were just amazing.

This week our challenge is "Punches and Dies" which is self explanatory !

We are being sponsored by Whiff of Joy this week who are giving the lucky winner one of their stamps !

The DP's I used are the new Prima ones called "Printery" and I also used the Prima "Annalee" papers for the frame. I cut the frame using the lacey square nesties. The black border was punched with a Fiskars punch called "treaded water" I think ! I have had it for ages !!

The image is by Tickled Pink Stamps and is called "Lil Lolita Kellita" and I have used the digi version and just used her head. She has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics.

I have also used a Magnolia Doohickey die for the swirl under the flowers.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing what you do with your punches and dies ! The DT have made some very inspirational cards for you again this week.

Thank you for popping by to see me. Have a great sunny Thursday !

I shall pop back later to see if my card fits with any challenges !

Simon Says - Sing It !

2011-09-14T13:10:00.005+01:00

Sorry I am running late with my post today. Izzy was at school again this morning and I was invited out for a cuppa so I took the opportunity to have an adult conversation !

It's time again for Simon Says Challenge and this week our theme is "Sing It" (song or film title inspired). The DT have made some very inspiring cards so hop over and take a look !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I have based my card on the film "Superman" !!

The DP's are Cosmo Cricket "The Boyfriend"

The images are both by La La Land Crafts. The window is from a stamp set called "Super Hero Stamp Set" and the boy is "Starboy Luka" both have been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The stars were cut from Spellbinders Nestabilities Stars.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and inspire us with a song or film !

I am also entering these challenges :

Bearly Mine - Button It Up

Creative Craft Challenges - Buttons and Bling

Craft Your Passion - Use the "F" Word - flying and film !

Creative Stamp Friends - Card for a Man

Thank you for popping by and for any comments you may leave. It was lovely to see you !

Papertake Weekly - Things with Wings !

2011-09-13T10:53:00.004+01:00

Good morning ! I hope you are all OK and enjoying the peace and quiet now the kiddlies are back to school ? I still have a little one at home as school is very slow in starting for the little ones but she starts mornings next week and I just know she will be so excited to finally get going. It will be nice to be back into a routine again.

It's Papertake Weekly time and this week our challenge is "Things with Wings" so anything that flies !!

We are being sponsored by The Ribbon Girl this week.

The DP's are First Edition papers "Love Letters" which have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Tiddly Inks and is called Lilliclaire Makes a Wish. She has been coloured with Copics and ProMarkers and lots of diamond Stickles !

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The DT have made some super cards for your inspiration this week.

Thank you for popping by ! Have a great day !

Going Crackers in La La Land !

2011-09-09T10:02:00.004+01:00

Good morning !

I have some exciting news ! I have been asked by the fantastic and talented gals over at La La Land Crafts if I could be a Guest Designer for the next couple of months. It only good me a millisecond to make my decision !

So its Inspiration Friday and this week we had to make "Anything But a Card" - that is one that gets my brain cells working. I have recently made some Christmas crackers for a commission, the usual ones you see at Christmastime and while I was racking my brains (during the wee hours of course !) I was thinking of square crackers, just to be different ! After a search of the internet, seeing various cracker designs made on computerised machines ! I put various ideas together of how crackers and boxes are made and came up with this :

The cracker is more of a gift box as the ends are very open (if you know what I mean). I have added a "snap" to this one so if you wanted to pull it, you would have to squeeze hard !!!

The scrummy papers are Echo Park "Everybody Loves Christmas". I am just in love with all Echo Park papers at the moment, especially the new Christmas ones that have just been released (I will never save any money, will I ?) !!!

Here is a list of the pens I used to colour the gorgeous image of Marci with Snowman.

Skin - E000, E00, E13, E11, R20 and R21
Hair - E27, E25 and E35
Hat - R29, R27 and R24
Coat - R29, R27, R24 and Y23
Boots - R29 and R27 and ProMarker Warm Grey 4
Skirt - YG97, YG95, E43 and E42
Snowman - YG97, YG95, B0000, E25. ProMarkers Burnt Orange and Pumpkin
Diamond Stickles and Picket Fence Distress Stickles

Please hop over to the La La Land Crafts blog to see what the other DT members have made - wow, they certainly are an inspiration !

You can also take part by adding your project to the La La Land Crafts Customer Gallery and you will also be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize ! We look forward to seeing your amazing projects !

Thank you for visiting me today ! Hope you have a great day !

Simon Says Challenge - Multi-Fold Cards/Creations

2011-09-07T08:54:00.004+01:00

Thank you so much for all your lovely kind comments on my win yesterday. I'm still on cloud nine and can't wait to receive my prize but receiving all your kind comments, not only on here but also on Facebook, really did give me a warm, fuzzy feeling !

It is Wednesday again and time for another Simon Says Challenge ! Did you enjoy the blog hop ? We will be back later with a list of winners for you so keep checking the Simon Says Stamp blog for that news and to see if you have been a lucky winner.

Our challenge this week is "Multi-fold".

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The Design Team are this week showcasing My Mind's Eye or Jillibean products. If you have any of these then we would love to see them but they are not compulsory for this challenge.

I made a centre step card, instructions for which I found on Splitcoasters.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found" Sunshine 6x6 Paper Pad and this range of new papers are just so yummy. MME gets better and better with every new release in my opinion and I have to have them all !!

I also used My Mind's Eye Sunshire Layered Stickers and My Mind's Eye Sunshine Trims and My Mind's Eye Sunshine Pearl Swirls.

The roses are from my stash and the leaves I punched from a new Papermania punch I have recently purchased which punches the leaves and embosses them too - it's great !

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Crafty Boots Challenge (had to be done !!!) - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Sewing (all my papers were machine stitched)

My Time to Craft Challenge - Just Between Friends

I hope you have a great day and manage to get lots of crafting done seeing as it won't stop raining !!

Thank you for your visit, it was lovely to see you !

Whooo Hoooo I won !

2011-09-06T10:11:00.004+01:00

I won ! I won ! I won the La La Land Crafts Contest !

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported and voted for me in this contest. I am so grateful to you all and I certainly couldn't have won without you.

I also want to thank a few of my very special friends (you know who you are !!) who advertised in all the places they could think of, even their own blogs, to support me. I thank you so much for your love, support and kindness.

Thank you also to Irina for such a fantastic prize and also for such a fantastic commenters prize too which was won by Trina !

If ever you need my vote or support for anything, you know where to come !

Thank's again,

Mwah !

Jo xxxxx

Please Vote for Me ! La La Land Crafts Contest !

2011-09-04T10:46:00.004+01:00

Today is the last day for voting over at the La La Land Crafts Contest !

I am still begging for votes as I am only a few behind and its getting very tense !!! PLEASE if you like my card PLEASE vote/comment for me. My card is number 17.

EDITED TO SAY : Every comment will put put into a draw so that YOU could win a set of 12 Copic Sketch pens !!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has already voted, I am so grateful to you and can't thank you enough. If ever you need my support for anything, please drop by and ask, and I'll be there !!

BasicGrey Challenges - Celebrations !

2011-09-03T08:44:00.005+01:00

If you are looking for the SIMON SAYS STAMP STAMP-TEMBER BLOG HOP then please click HERE !

Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted but I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !! There are only 2 days left to vote - the contest closes on 5th September !

Good morning and welcome to another BasicGrey Challenges ! Thank you so much to everyone who entered our "Anything Goes" challenge, we had a huge amount of entries and they were all super amazing !

Our challenge this fortnight is "Celebrations".

As always we are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp !

The DP's are BasicGrey "Hopscotch" and these have all been machine stitched.

The image is by CC Designs and called "Cupcake Birgitta" and she has been coloured with Copics.

The sentiment is also by CC Designs called "Handy Additions"

I stamped the sentiment and then cut it out with an MFT Bracket Tab Die-Namics die

The seam binding and button are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge and we look forward to seeing all your celebrations projects !

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Crafty Sentiments - Ribbons and Bows

(I'll look for some more later !!!).

Thank you for your visit and I hope you have a great Saturday !

PaperPlay Challenges - Make Your Own Flowers !

2011-09-01T18:09:00.004+01:00

Oooh what a lot of hoppers we have ! I hope you are all enjoying the Simon Says Stamp Stamp-tember Blog Hop ? If you are looking to take part in the hop then please click HERE and it will take you directly to that post.

It is Thursday again and time for another PaperPlay Challenges !

This week our challenge is "Make Your Own Flowers"

We are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp !

You may remember a while back I made a similar card to this one well, this one I have given to Izzy's best friend who is starting school with her on Monday and they are in the same class.

The DP's are a mix of My Mind's Eye "Hattie" and October Afternoon "Report Card". These have all been machine stitched.

The image is of course by Lili of the Valley and she has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics. I also covered her shoes in glossy accents to look like patent.

The flowers were punched from a retro flower punch.

The brads and ribbon are from my stash.

The wording was creating using a Dymo.

I hope you can join in with our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your handmade blooms !

I also entering these challenges with my card :

Aud Sentiments Challenge - Card/Sentiment for a Girl

Charisma Cardz Challenge - Anything Goes

Moving Along with the Times - Handmade Flowers

Pixie Dust Challenge - School is Cool !

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Back to School

Use It Tuesday - Back to School (I hoard ribbon and papers - thousands of each !!)

Thank you so much for your visit !

Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted but I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !!

Simon Says....Stamp-temper Blog Hop and Treasure Hunt !

2011-08-31T08:04:00.016+01:00

For the second year in a row, Simon Says Stamp and Show & The Simon Says Stamp Challenge are joining forces to bring you a SUPER hop and treasure hunt to celebrate the approaching fall and winter holidays.

To help celebrate we will be giving a BIG BASKET OF CRAFTING GOODIES tothe winner of this hop! PLUS 3 $25 VOUCHERS to the Simon Says Stamp Store ! The vouchers will be the hidden treasure on 3 DT blogs and you have to find them.

The Blog hop will finish on September 5th, 2011 at on the Simon Says Stamp & Show Blog.

The theme for both challenges this week will be ANYTHING GOES. You can make anything you like … a card, an ATC, a Scrapbook layout … the possibilitiesare endless !

You will need to hop through each blog, find the little parcel of goodies and make a note on which designer’s blog you found them. You do not HAVE to comment on all the DT blogs but we would appreciate any comments you would like to leave. If you lose your way at any time a full list of all the participating blogs with links will be available on Simon Says Stamp Challenge and the Stamp and Show Challenge blogs

The last stop on the hop is the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge blog. You will need to leave a comment there with the names of the 3 blogs with treasure chest pictures. The comments will be moderated so you will not be able to see the answers.

For more details please refer to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge or the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge blogs for more details.

If you arrived here from Dan's Blog then you are going in the right direction otherwise you need to start at the beginning on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

Oooh I'm just loving making Christmas things at the moment !

The DP's I have used are Pink Paislee "Father Christmas" and these are soooo yummy ! I have machine stitched them all.

The image is by La La Land Crafts and this is "Santa Marci" - isn't she the cutest ? Simon Says Stamp has just started stocking these stamps and carries a huge range of them ! She has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics. I have covered her trimmings with Diamond Stickles

I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder "Snowflakes" and I cut the embossing out with Nestabilities Large Deckled Rectangles

The chipboard Christmas tree is from my stash. I inked it with Peeled Paint Distress Ink and then added some Diamond Stickles to it.

The sentiment has been made using some ribbon from my stash, a tag cut from Nestabilities Tags Five and words from a Hero Arts sentiment sent to me in my DT pack from Heidi.

The flower is from my stash. I took out the stamens and placed a punched snowflake in the centre and then replaced the stamens. The snowflake is from a Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

From here you need to go to the super talented Linda Coughlin for more inspiration :-) I would appreciate a comment if you would like to leave one

Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted but I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !!

Happy Hopping !!

Papertake Weekly - A Sketch !

2011-08-30T18:58:00.007+01:00

Phew, that a day ! Hubby has a few days off and we are making the most of the last few days of the holiday and its been a busy day with some retail therapy and gardening which the girls love ! I'm no gardener but even I saw it was becoming a jungle !

Now, before I tell you about this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge, yes, you know what is coming..... !

Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted but I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !!

Here is the next exciting thing I need to tell you about !

Hi all :-) Did you remember to write the date on your calendar ?? The SOOPER DOOPER Stamp-tember Hop and Treasure Hunt starts TOMORROW, Wednesday 31st August at 12MN Ohio time (6pm CET, 5pm UK time) on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog

Be there or be SQUARE !! :-)

Come along and join in the FUN !!!! :-)

Also there will be lots of fantastic candy giveaways on the Simon Says Stamp blog throughout September ,, so keep a close eye over there for plenty of chances to win some yummy goodies :-)

Now onto this week's challenge over at Papertake Weekly.

We have a fantastic sketch for you designed by our very own Dawny

We are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp this week with a fabulous prize of a $20 shopping spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store !

The DP's are the super yummy new My Mind's Eye papers "Lost and Found - Blush". I have sewn all these on my sewing machine.

The image is a gorgeous Hanglar girl. She has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics.

The lace and pearls are from my stash.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts

The sentiment is from a stamp set by Hero Arts.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your take on Dawny's sketch.

Thank you so much for your visit today and I hope you can vote for me ! Not long to go now until voting closes and you will never hear me pleading again !

See you tomorrow for the start of the Stamp-tember blog hop !

I am entering card into the following challenges :

Just Magnolia and Hanglar Challenge Blog - Bingo (gems, flowers, ribbon and lace)

Heartsong Inspirations - Anything Goes and/or Favourite Colour Combo

My Craft Spot - Stitching/sewing/faux or real

Pile It On - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun !

Simon Says Challenge - A Sketch !

2011-08-24T12:04:00.013+01:00

What a bright and beautiful day we have today ! I'm running late with my post today as this is the second time I have typed it all out as it just doesn't seem to be working for me today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is second time lucky !!

Before I tell you about the new challenge over at Simon Says Challenge, I have a couple of other things to tell you about.

I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !!

Thank you so much to everyone who has so far voted - I am so grateful to you x

The second piece of news is very exciting :

We need you to cancel all plans next week ! We need you to join us on a HUGE STAMP-TEMBER BLOG HOP AND TREASURE HUNT !

For the second year in a row the Simon Says Stamp and Show & the Simon Says Stamp Challenge are joining forces to celebrate the approaching fall and winter holidays. Be sure to come back on August 31st, (MN Ohio Time, 6 pm CET ) to start the hop. It will run through to September 5th. Simon Says Stamp is offering a FANTASTIC GRAND PRIZE , and there will be other opportunities to win some hidden treasure too ! So make a note in your diaries and make sure you are here to join in the FUN !! :-)

This week Dawny has made us a fabulous sketch to follow, thanks Dawny xx You may rotate/flip the sketch as you like but the original sketch must be 'there' to see :-)

As usual Heidi will be giving one lucky entrant a $50 voucher to spend in the Simon Says Stamp Store !

The DP's I have used are October Afternoon "The Thrift Shop"

The image and sentiment are a gorgeous stamp set from Fawn Lawn called "Sew Lovely". I have paper pieced the dress.

The flowers are some Prima flowers I found in my stash.

I am also entering the following challenges :

Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes

Crafty Ann's - Scallops and/or fancy edge

Paper Playtime - Anything Goes

Deep Ocean - Light Blue

Sketchy Colours - Shades of Blue

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

We look forward to seeing all your takes on Dawny's sketch. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration again this week.

Thank you for your visit and I hope you have a super sunny Wednesday !

Papertake Weekly - To die for !

2011-08-23T15:10:00.006+01:00

So sorry I am late in posting my post this week. I have been out with the family this morning to the Oasis in Swindon and had a fantastic time in the pool there and then off to Pizza Hut for lunch. I'm just about ready for a kip in front of a DVD now !!

Yet again, before I tell you about this week's challenge over at Papertake Weekly, I would like to remind you of my plea !!!

I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!! My card is number 17 so I would love it if you could comment/vote for ~17 !!

Back to this week's challenge over at Papertake Weekly. Our challenge is "TO DIE FOR" so we would like you to use die cuts on your creations this week.

We are being sponsored by Dies to Die for and have a fabby £10 gift voucher to win !

The card I made was for a commission a couple of weeks back for a teacher leaving the girls' school. I also made a matching gift box to go with it. I misread the brief for this challenge and though "to die for" was something "to die for" not to use die cuts !!!! Luckily I did use a die cut on my card and box !!!

Now you can probably see why I chose this card to use for this challenge ! The image is of Tilda (to die for !) and she has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics (to die for !).

The DP's are Websters Pages (to die for !) and these have all be machine stitched and I used a gold leaf pen around the distressed edges to give a more distressed look. The pen is again, to die for !

The gathered up proper vintage seam binding in the most gorgeous green colour (to die for !)

Butterflies from a Martha Stewart punch (to die for !) and pearls from my stash.

Gorgeous flowers too (to die for !) and a Magnolia Doohickey die (you do die when you see the prices of these things !) to finish things off !

This is the inside of the card. I made the inside like a "post-it note" with around 10 or so pages so that the staff could all have space to sign and yet the card wasn't A4 in size !

This is the top of the gift box I made. I also used some K and Company paper on the top too and also another Magnolia Doohickey die, the tag die. All again "to die for".

I am sure you can see where I was coming from now !!

The rest of the DT have some amazing cards to show you this week and using die cuts too ! We hope you can join us in our challenge.

I am entering the following challenges :

Magnolia Down Under - Flutterbys

Heart Song Inspirations - Shabby Chic and/or pearls

Hooked on Crafts - Wings

Corrosive Challenge - Girlie

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Flowers

The Official Magnolia Inspiration Challenge - Recycle (I did recycle the base card as it was originally a folder !)

Thank you for your visit. See you back here tomorrow for Simon Says Challenge ! Have a great day !

BasicGrey Challenges - Anything Goes !

2011-08-20T09:50:00.005+01:00

Morning dudes ! It's BasicGrey Challenges time !

Before I tell you all about the new challenge over at BasicGrey Challenges I am still begging for votes for my card over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge !

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar - I am desperate as you can tell !!!

So, the theme over at BasicGrey Challenges is ANYTHING GOES ! Very easy but please do remember you need to use at least one BasicGrey product in your project. Unfortunately we had lots and lots of entries in our last challenge who didn't use any BasicGrey products and so didn't qualify for our fantastic prize of a $25 shopping spree in the Simon Says Stamp store. For more details of how to enter our challenges, please see the challenge blog.

The DP's are BasicGrey "Archaic" which were just perfect for this surfing dude ! The papers have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Tickled Pink Stamps and is called "Lil Lad Stefan". He has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics.

The buttons are BasicGrey buttons.

The string and wooden beads are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this next fortnight and we look forward to seeing all your wonderful projects ! The rest of the Design Team have made some wonderful cards for your inspiration this week.

I am entering the following challenges :

Alphabet Challenge Blog - O only 3 embellishments (buttons, twine and beads)

Raise the Bar - Beat the Heat ! (nothing better than beating the heat than heading out into the cool surf !!)

Stampin For the Weekend - Holidays

Tickled Pink Stamps Challenge - Anything Goes

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you may leave. Hope you have a fantastic weekend and let's hope that sun gets shining on us !

Take care dudes !

PaperPlay Challenges - A Recipe !

2011-08-18T08:57:00.015+01:00

Rain, rain go away ! Another dark and miserable day for the kiddos :(

Before I tell you all about the new challenge over at PaperPlay Challenges, can I please beg you to vote for me over at La-La Land Crafts Challenge ?

You can see my card HERE and there is a link so you can leave a comment to vote for me - pretty please !! There are also details at the top of my sidebar (when it decides to work) - I am desperate as you can tell !!!

So the challenge over at PaperPlay Challenges this week is a recipe :

3 different embellishments, 2 papers and 1 lace.

Our sponsor this week is Just Some Lines

My 3 embellishments are the butterfly, the flowers (which are both from Wild Orchid Crafts) ad the pearls.

The 2 patterned papers are from My Minds's Eye "Hattie" and they have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Just Some Lines and is called "Emo Amber and Alek Sitting" and I have coloured it with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics.

I am also entering the following challenges :

Crafts and Me - Blue/BlueGreens

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Stitching

Gingersnap Creations - Teens

Ruby's Rainbow - Stitching

Truly Scrumptious - Lace

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your recipe creations. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you may leave. Have a great day !

Back soon !

Jo xxxx

Simon Says Challenge - Food and Drink

2011-08-17T07:50:00.008+01:00

Good morning ! Looks like its going to be a nice day today, perhaps I might be able to get out with the girls to the park or somewhere. Yesterday was very miserable and raining so we stayed in and made chocolate cupcakes - yum !

It's time for another Simon Says Challenge. Thank you to everyone who joined in with our "All White" challenge last week, looks like you really enjoyed that one ! Thank you for all the lovely comments I received for my card too ! I was amazed at the response and so grateful.

This week our challenge is FOOD and DRINK !

The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration again this week and we are thrilled to have Heather back with us too !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye "Hazel" and I just adore all My Mind's Eye papers as you have probably noticed ! These have all been machine stitched by moi !

The image is my MFT "Pure Innocence" "Popping By" and she has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers both of which Simon Say Stamp now sell in their store ! The sentiment is in the stamp set too

The film strip is an MFT die-namics die called "Mini Film Strip"

I also used the MFT "Small Scallop Border" Die-namics die too

We look forward to seeing all your yummy creations for our challenge this week.

Did you see my Papertake Weekly and La-La Land Crafts card yesterday ? The one I would be so grateful if you could vote/comment on ? ! Well, Simon Says Stamp are now selling La-La Land Crafts stamps now and have a huge range of them in stock ! You can find them in the "All New - Just In" section.

I am also entering the following challenges :

Hooked on Crafts - Sweet Treats

The Crazy Challenge - Movies

Paper Playtime - Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes - Just Saying Hi

Thank you for your visit and hope you have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - Bingo ! and La-La-Land Crafts Challenge !

2011-08-16T07:57:00.010+01:00

Good morning ! I hope you are all OK, fit and well and enjoying the Summer holidays with the kiddos ? We had a lovely day spent with friends yesterday, a walk by the river and canal and then a pint in the pub - would have been even more fantastic if it hadn't have been under the shelter of umbrellas !!!

Here we are again with another Papertake Weekly challenge. Thank you to everyone who joined in with our "Grow Your Own" challenge last week, it was fantastic to see all your homemade flowers.

This week we are playing a game of bingo !!

We are being sponsored by the fantastic Ribbon Girl this week !

I have also made my card this week for the content that is going on over at La-La Land Crafts. They are celebrating the first birthday of Marci and Luka with the most fantastic prize of a set of 36 Copic pens !! Now naturally I would give my right arm to win this prize and I am hoping you can help me !!

If you like my card I would be soooo grateful if you could go over to the La-La Land Crafts blog and leave a comment voting for my card to win ! Here is the link for you

http://lalalandcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/08/contest-with-sweet-prize-36-copic.html

So, here is my card :

The DP's are by BasicGrey "Hello Luscious" and have all been machine stitched.

The image is of course by La-La Land Crafts and is called "Marci with Flower". I have used the digi version. Marci has been coloured with Copics.

I used two Martha Stewart punches for both the fence and the grass.

The sentiment is by Hero Arts "Anytime Messages"

The flowers and silver corner are by Wild Orchid Crafts and I have used a Magnolia Doohickey behind the flowers.

I am keeping everything crossed that you can vote for me *big grins* !!

I am also entering these challenges :

Pink Elephant Challenge - Stitching

Crafty Calendar - Hot Colours

Card Makin' Mamas - Happy Birthday

Crafty Sentiments - Punches and Die-Cuts

We are looking forward to seeing all your bingo entries. Have a great day and thank you so much for your visit !

Simon Says - All White !

2011-08-10T08:05:00.012+01:00

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge ! I know I keep saying it but boy, doesn't the time fly by ?!

Thank you to everyone who joined in with our challenge last week, we had lots of fabulous entries.

This week we have an interesting one for you - ALL WHITE. We would like to see your "all white" creations with exception to the image which of course can be coloured. The DT have some amazing cards for your inspiration this week.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I made this little picture/topper using the lacey circles nesties and classic circle nesties.

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Argyle" on the centre circle.

The Tilda I have used is called "Secretive Tilda" and I just love her. She has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics. Did you know that Simon Says Stamp now sells ProMarker pens ? They sell lots and lots of sets of them together with the proper paper to use them on too ! Just search under "Promarkers" or "Copic" and you can see the whole range of pens !!

The flower has been created using the MFT die "rolled flower" and I have added a pearl to the centre.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your "All White" projects !

I am entering my picture/topper into the following challenges :

Just Magnolia and Hanglar - Anything Goes (with the option of glitter)

A Spoonful of Sugar - Happy Birthday

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Happy Birthday/Celebration

Craft Room Challenge - White on White

Dutch Magnolia Lovers - Bingo (cream, pearls and white)

Thank you for your visit. Have a great day !

Papertake Weekly - Grow Your Own !

2011-08-09T14:51:00.009+01:00

Helloooo ! I hope you are all OK and still enjoying the Summer holidays ? We have been out and about and been busy doing lots of things we don't normally get the time to do.

We are back again with another Papertake Weekly Challenge and this week we want you to GROWN YOUR OWN ! We want you to include flowers on your work but the catch is that they have to be homemade and made by your own fair hand with dies and punches or altering a bought one or using things from your stash.

The rest of the DT have lots of inspiration for you this week.

This week we are being sponsored by Whiff of Joy.

The DP's are Fancy Pants "Its The Little Things" and these have all been machine stitched.

The images are from a MFT stamp set called "Four Point Frame". I absolutely love this set as it has so many stamps in it and its very versatile. It also comes with a metal die too !

The flowers have been made with an MFT die called "rolled flower" and I have added a pearl to the centre.

The seam binding and pearls are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

Thank you for your visit and see you back here tomorrow for Simon Says Challenge !

Simon Says - Christmas in August !

2011-08-03T08:36:00.006+01:00

Welcome to another Simon Says Challenge ! Thank you to everyone who joined in with our challenge last week, we had lots of amazing entries.

We have two challenges running at the moment. One of them is the CHILDREN'S CHALLENGE of ANYTHING GOES which is running from 1st to 29th August and we have two fabulous prizes of a $25 shopping spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store for two lucky winners !! All details of the challenge can be found on the challenge blog.

The new challenge we have starting today is CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST ! So we want to see all your Christmas creations !!

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's I used are Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather" and these have been machine stitched.

The image is by CC Designs and is called "Cocoa Emma" and she has been coloured with a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers.

The ribbon is from my stash.

The sentiment is from an Inkadinkado clear stamp set called "Christmas Tag Wishes"

We hope you can join in with our challenges and we look forward to seeing your amazing creations again and don't forget to get your children involved too !!!

Thank you for your visit - it was lovely to see you !!!

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes !

2011-08-02T19:40:00.003+01:00

Welcome to another Papertake Weekly challenge ! Thank you to everyone who joined in with Dawny's sketch last week, we had some fabulous entries.

This week our challenge is ANYTHING GOES with the optional extra of using metal. We are being sponsored by Lili of the Valley. We also have two new Guests joining us so please hop over and give them a warm welcome.

Before I went off on my hols to Cornwall last week I had this image already half coloured up and so I decided that as I missed last week's challenge, I would use the wonderful Dawny's sketch.

The image I used is by Tickled Pink Stamps and is called "Lil Lad Stefan"

The DP's are by American Crafts called "Campy Trails" and I just lurve these ! They have all been machine stitched.

I made the sentiment on my PC.

I added some little brads to the corners so that's my metal !

This chap reminds me so much of my holidays last week, anyone who was anyone was a Surfing Dude !!

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

Thank you for your visit !

Simon Says Challenge - A Shaped Card

2011-07-27T08:00:00.002+01:00

Welcome to Simon Says Challenge ! Thank you to everyone who joined in with our newspaper challenge last week - your entries were fantastic !

This week our challenge is SHAPED CARDS. The DT are showcasing Spellbinders products so if you have any, we would love to see them but if not, it is not compulsory for this challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The Spellbinders nesties I used for this card are Classic Circles and Scalloped Circles.

The DP's are Fancy Pants "It's The Little Things"

The image is from the MFT set "Just My Type"

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration of all different shapes !

Thank you for your visit and have a great week.

BasicGrey Challenges - Heather's Sketch

2011-07-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to another BasicGrey Challenges !

Yes, its that time again when we have another challenge for you ! Heather has designed a fantastic sketch for you all, I hope you enjoy it !

Just remember you just need to use at least one BasicGrey product to be able to qualify for our fantastic prize of a $25 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store !

I made this card for the girls' dance teacher who is having an operation at the end of the month. I hope this little cutie ballerina brings a smile to her face !

The DP's are BasicGrey "Urban Prairie".

The image is by Lilli of the Valley and she has been coloured with a mix of ProMarkers and Copics and also the Copic Spica pen which gives it a lovely sparkle.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

We hope you can join us in our challenge and we look forward to seeing all your entries.

Thank you for you visit and have a great weekend.

Simon Says Challenge - Use Newspaper !

2011-07-20T10:39:00.006+01:00

Wow, thank you so much to everyone who joined in with our Anything Goes challenge last week. We had 1121 entries altogether, the most we have ever had so thank you. As a special thank you Heidi gave away two $50 shopping sprees to check the blog to see if you are a lucky winner !

This week we welcome two new DT members to the family so please hop over to the challenge blog and give them a warm welcome !

Our challenge this week is to use NEWSPAPER. It can be the real mccoy, newsprint designer paper, a stamped image or even something that you find inside a newspaper. The rest of the DT have made some amazing cards for your inspiration.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's I used are Fancy Pants "It's The Little Things" and these have all been machine stitched. I also used real newspaper too !

The images of course by Magnolia and we have Love News Tilda and the Postbag with Love Letters stamps. These have been coloured with a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers.

The sentiment is from a MFT clear stamp and die-namics set called "Just My Type".

We hope you can join us again this week and we can't wait to see all your entries !

I am entering my card for the following challenges :

Craft Your Passion - Use Text

Hooked on Crafts - With Love

Magnolia Down Under - Make a Scene (could be pushing my luck with this one ?!)

Thank you for your visit and have a great day !

Huge Prizes over at Simon Says Challenge !

2011-07-19T19:23:00.001+01:00

PLUS

IF we make it to 1000 entries this week over at Simon Says Challenge, Heidi will give a $50 voucher to 2 lucky entrants to spend in the Simon Says Stamp Store !!! Please link any creations that you have made since last Wednesday ,,,, Anything Goes !!! :-)

Good Luck to all :-)

Papertake Weekly - Getting Cute !

2011-07-19T09:29:00.005+01:00

Welcome to another Papertake Weekly ! Thank you to everyone who joined in with our "Hot" challenge last week, just a shame we could only imagine what it feels like !!!

This week its all about getting cute - a very easy one I am sure you will agree.

We are being sponsored by Wendy's Digital Delights and we have two fantastic guest designers too !

The DP's are by Marianne Design "Roses are Red" and these have all been machine stitched

The image is by Penny Black from the clear set called "Betsy Bluebell". These are just the sweetest and cutest images ! She has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I have just fallen in love with the sweetheart flowers so be prepared to see a lot of those coming up !

I am entering the following Challenges :

Totally Papercrafts - Girly Girls

Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes

Hooked on Craft - With Love

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Before I leave you I just want to mention that my lovely friend Sandie has some super duper blog candy on her blog which ends on 31st July ! There is a link to the candy in my sidebar so if you click on the photo you should zoom straight to it !

Thank you for your visit. Hope you have a great day and see you back here tomorrow for Simon Says Challenge !

PaperPlay Challenges - Things with Wings !

2011-07-14T13:34:00.005+01:00

Welcome to another PaperPlay Challenges.

This week we have a lovely challenge for you THINGS WITH WINGS.

We are being sponsored by Meljen's Designs .

The DP's are First Edition Papers "Animal Antics" and these have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Meljen's Designs and is called "Firefly Fairy". She has been coloured with a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers and lots and lots of Stickles !

The sentiment is by Lilli of the Valley.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts with the lovely Magnolia Doohickey flourish behind them.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week.

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Divas By Design - Pastels

Flutterby Wednesdays - Fairys, butterflys etc. with photo inspiration

Clear It Out Challenge - Wings

Thank you for your visit and hope to see you again soon !

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes !

2011-07-13T09:20:00.005+01:00

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge !

Thank you to everyone who joined in with our stitching challenge last week, your entries were all amazing.

Before moving on to this weeks challenge we would like to welcome Becca aka Becca's Crafty Corner to the team !! I am sure that you will all have visited Becca's blog but if not you are really in for a treat ! :-) Welcome aboard Becca :-)

This week our challenge is ANYTHING GOES. The DT are showcasing "Stamps Happen" stamps. If you have any "Stamps Happen" stamps we would love to see them but if not, it is not compulsory for this challenge.

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye - Lime Twist - Life of the Party which have all been machine stitched.

The image is by Stamps Happen and is called "Fairy with Balloon" and has been coloured with a mix of Copics and ProMarkers

The buttons are from my stash.

The sentiment is from an old Melissa Frances clear stamp set.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your amazing creations. The DT's cards are just gorgeous, please hop over and take a look for your inspiration.

I am entering the following challenges :

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Things that Fly

Deep Ocean Challenge Blog - Cards

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Thank you for your visit and enjoy the sunshine today (while it lasts !).

Papertake Weekly - Hot, Hot, Hot !

2011-07-12T11:34:00.006+01:00

Helloooo ! and welcome to another Papertake Weekly Challenge !

This week our challenge for you is HOT HOT HOT (if only !) so we would like to see some hot colours i.e. red, orange, yellow, pinks. There are some beauties made by the DT, take a lot at the challenge blog for inspiration !

We are being sponsored by The Ribbon Girl.

The DP's are Pink Paislee "Soiree" which are just perfect for bright Summery cards and these have all been machine stitched.

The image is a digi stamp by Some Odd Girl called "Sunny Mae" and she has been coloured with a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers. I have of course added some glossy accents to her sunglasses.

The postcard I made using a mixture of Tim Holtz postcard stamps and a postcard stamp from Lilli of the Valley.

The lettering is by Jenni Bowlin and I picked these up at the NEC ages ago.

The ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are a mixture from my stash and Wild Orchid Crafts.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing your hot creations !!!

I am entering my card into the following challenges :

Some Odd Girl - Bright and Blinding

The Crazy Challenge - Summertime

Creative Stamp Friends - Summer

Lexi's Creations - At the Beach

Paper Playtime - Summer

Thank you for your visit !

It's Time For......Cupcake Sunday !!!

2011-07-10T20:02:00.005+01:00

Good evening ! I hope you have had a great weekend ?

Today is the hubsters Birthday and after enjoying the cupcakes I made for the first time last weekend his request was that I made some more preferably with chocolate in them so on with the apron and chef's hat and taaaa darrrrr - here we go !!!

This was a very simple recipe actually found by my mate Sandie (who I ought to mention has some super duper blog candy on her blog which finishes on 31st July) this morning when I was hastily trying to find a chocolate cupcake recipe on the internet because I had of course left it to the last minute !! My angel on horseback signed into MSN and found me this one !! A lot less faffing about, you just chuck all the ingredients in a bowl and mix - simples even for a novice like me !

They went down a storm !

I found a lovely sounding recipe for carrot cake cupcakes today so keep your eyes peeled for hopefully another Cupcake Sunday !!!

Have a great week and thank's for your yummy visit !!

BasicGrey Challenges - Doilies and Ribbons

2011-07-09T11:22:00.005+01:00

It's Saturday and another BasicGrey Challenges !

Before I tell you about our challenge this week I would just like to congratulate our amazing and wonderful daughter Mollie on her super duper school report. She has just completely blown us away with the levels she has achieved this year and we are so proud of her ! She has worked so hard and we couldn't be more delighted that she has been rewarded for all her efforts - well done darlin ! xxxx

Now, back to BasicGrey Challenges ! Our challenge for the next couple of weeks is DOILIES AND RIBBONS - very easy ! Just remember you just need to use at least one BasicGrey product to be able to qualify for our fantastic prize of a $25 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store !

The DP's are BasicGrey "Marrakech" and these have all been sewn by machine. I always forget about this paper pad but are perfect for this bright card.

The image is a digi stamp by Some Odd Girl and is called "Beachy Tia" - dont' you just love her ! I just love these images/stamps, they are so quirky and fantastic to colour. She has been coloured with a mixture of ProMarkers and Copics. I added some glossy accents on her sunglasses which I am really pleased the photo picked up.

The doily and ribbon are from my stash.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

That wonderful sentiment is by Hero Arts, from a pack that Simon Says Stamp sent me in a DT pack but I am sure you must be able to buy it in a clear stamp set. I shall have a look and if I find it, I will link it !!!

We hope you can join us in our challenge and we look forward to seeing your fabulous entries.

I am entering my card for the following challenges :-

Some Odd Girl - Bright and Blinding !

Card Makin Mama's - Summertime (being sponsored by Some Odd Girl !)

Totally Papercrafts - The Beach

Dutch Dare Card Challenges - Summer Fun

Stampin B's - Beach Scene

Thank you for your visit and I hope you have a fandabbydozy weekend !

Simon Says Challenge - A Stich in Time

2011-07-06T09:27:00.007+01:00

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge ! Another bright and sunny morning and I'm raring to go today !

Our challenge this week is "A Stitch in Time" so we would like to see stitching on your projects - simples !

The lucky winner will of course win that super duper $50 spending spree in the Simon Says Stamp Store ! Thank's again Heidi for being so generous.

I decided to make a picture for this challenge for a change after finding an old photograph mount lying around.

The DP's are October Afternoon "The Thrift Shop" which I have had for quite a while and never broken into !

I stamped a background with a Hero Arts stamp called "Dots and Flowers " onto sticky back canvas. I then stamped the image which is by Tim Holtz and called "Vogue" on the top. I used Vintage Photo and Black Soot distress inks for the stamping.

The mannequin chipboard shape is by Maya Road from a gorgeous little set called "Sew Cute". I covered this with Victorian Velvet distress ink and then glossy accents. The clock face and angel wings are from my stash. I made my own crackle paint for the wings after inking them with Victorian Velvet distress ink.

The card with the lace wrapped around it was downloaded free from here. The lace is from my stash but I see that Hero Arts make a similar one. The pins are also from my stash but Simon Says Stamp sell lots of lovely trinket pins actually far nicer than these ones (note to self : add to shopping list) !!

The buttons are from my late Grandma's button tin.

The flowers are from my stash.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and we look forward to seeing all your stitched creations whether by needle, pen or stamp !

I am entering my picture into the following challenges :

A Spoonful of Sugar - Sewing

Clear it Out - Wings

Everybody Art Challenge - Use Shapes

Have a great day and thank's for your visit !

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes !

2011-07-05T13:54:00.005+01:00

Good afternoon ! I hope you have enjoyed the sunshine which looks like it was another short lived spell seeing as its now chucking it down with rain ! Still, at least we might get some sleep tonight.

It's time again for another Papertake Weekly and our Anything Goes week. As usual there is an optional extra and this week its to use BUTTONS !

We also have another guest DT call so if you would like to join us then please let us know !

We are being sponsored this week by Lili of the Valley who will be giving the lucky winner a £10 gift voucher !

I can't believe that my little baby is starting school in September. I just don't know where the last 4 years has flown ! I can't bring myself to buy her uniform yet but thought I would at least get prepared and make her a card or even give this one to her best friend and make another one.

The image is of course by Lili of the Valley and she has been coloured with a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers.

The DP's are My Mind's Eye, Stella Rose "Hattie" - always love this as "Hattie" is Izzy's middle name so always reminds me of her ! The alphabet paper is by October Afternoon "Report Card".

The letters are some letter tiles by K and Company I picked up ages ago at the NEC.

We hope you can join us in our challenge this week and don't forget to say if you fancy joining us as a Guest DT !!

Thank you for your visit and see you tomorrow with Simon Says Challenge !