Kaboodle Doodles Challenge # 14

This week its all about scallops - and no, not the fishy type !! ;o) so go get your scissors, punches, circle templates, nestabilities and get a scalloping !

There is also a fabby new kit available in the Kaboodle Doodles shop called "Contemporary Christmas" and this kit is gorgeous with lots of very girly colours so ideal for those little nieces (or indeed big ones), Mum's and Sister's or just a special girl in your life.

This is the card I made for this week's challenge :

I used the new Kaboodle Doodles "Contemporary Christmas" Kit for the patterned papers.

Elzybells "Sprinkle Snowflakes" stamp coloured with ProMarkers. I also added some Stickles to the snowflakes.

Nestabilities for the plain and scalloped circles.

Stampendous sentiment stamp.

Fiskers water threading punch for the scalloped border.

Woodware snowflake punch. These snowflakes also have Stickles on them.

The gems and silver elasticated ribbon/braid are from my stash.

Why not go over to the Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog and have a go at the challenge this week and have fun !

BasicGrey Challenge #13

"For this weeks challenge we would like to see an aperture in your creation. It can be any shape, size or quantity that you like (for those of you not familiar with an aperture, an aperture is a hole or opening that acts as a window on your creation, and of course not forgetting to use at least one item from BasicGrey somewhere on your creation"

Well, yet again my blood ran cold when I saw what the challenge was to be this week -I have never made an aperature card in my life ! I was determined that I was going to make one myself and not cheat and buy one and decorate it ! I was actually surprised at how easy it was.

This is my creation for this week and what I used to make it :




The CS I used was Bazzill Basics "ruby slipper" which I covered with the scrummy BasicGrey Wassail patterned papers.

The aperature was cut with my nestabilities and I put a piece of acetate over it and stamped it with my Inkadinkado snowflake stamp and white Stazon. I also put a tiny amount of Stickles on the snowflakes to make them slightly glittery.

Tilda was very kindly given to me by the wonderful Martine and I coloured her in my newly acquired ProMarkers which came highly recommended by a few people (you know who you are !!) and I was pursuaded to buy some and try them out. I now "need" all 92 colours as I have fallen in love with them !

The poinsettias are Making Memories and have BasicGrey Wassail brads in the centres. I used gold Stickles on the petals and added a charm which I bought from e-bay.

The sentiment is a Studio G stamp.

The holly is also Making Memories which has gold Stickles on it too.

The snowflakes I bought from Potato Patch Crafts the last time I visited. These are gorgeous.

I'm showing two pictures of my card so you can see the inside a little and also those gorgeous snowflakes.

I'm looking forward to visiting you to see your fantastic creation this week !

Keep warm and well,

Time for Bed

Oh I wish !

I have been asked by my friend to make Christmas cards for her children. I feel honoured to be asked.

I made this one for her little girl who is nearly 7.




To make this card I used :

Bazzill Basics red card and Core'dinations blue/green card.

My Minds Eye "Be Merry" patterned papers.

Elzybells Christmas Dreams stamp painted with distress inks. The curtains I paper pieced with the patterned paper and I also added some stickles to the stars and moon and added some "snow" to the windows.

The ribbons, buttons and Christmas tree brad are from my stash.

The charm is from e-bay.

The flowers are from Poppicrafts and Hero Arts which I also covered in Stickles.

The sentiment is PC generated.

What a yukky morning its been here. Its absolutely freezing and thick fog and it looks as thought its going to stay for the weekend. I shall have to stay snuggled up in front of the fire and make a few more cards (I'm making lots of wishes today :o) ).

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Sneak Peeks !

I'm feeling better than I was although its still hanging around and driving me mad. The good news is that I have finally felt up to playing again and my goodness, it does feel good. I thought I would show you a couple of sneak peeks of what I have been up to this week. Both of these are my DT pieces for the BasicGrey Challenge Blog and the Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog both of which will have a brand new theme this weekend.

For BasicGrey this Saturday.....



For Kaboodle Doodles on Sunday .......



Hope you are all feeling well and keeping warm ?

Take care and thank's for looking in !

Jo x

What a lucky girl I am !

I have received another award and here it is :



The award has a lovely sentiment behind it, which is:

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight blogger’s who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Isn't that fantastic ? The wonderful people who have given me this award are Tara, Steph, Jackie, and last but definately not least TaraG . Thank you so much, it means such a lot that you have thought about me.

Now the problem is that I have to pass this onto 8 other lovely people but I've been sat here and I have struggled just to pick out 8 so, breaking all the rules as usual, I would like to pass this award onto everyone that reads my blog to say thank you for taking the time to read my blog and look at the cards I make. I love to read all your comments and I love to return the favour and look at your blogs and creations too.

I'm feeling a little bit better now and have managed to pick up a pair of scissors today and made my BasicGrey card for the next challenge. I have missed crafting so much. Thank you for all your good wishes.

BasicGrey Challenge Blog - Challenge # 12

Sorry about my absence all week, I'm not a well bunny at the moment and all I want is my bed which I can't have because my DH is away all day and I have the girls to look after. I think I have the beginnings of a chest infection and typical, it only gets worse as the Doctors close their doors.


Anyway, down to business. Over at the BasicGrey Challenge Blog this week, the theme is embossing. It can be dry embossing or heat embossing or any other type of embossing you can think of !


This is the card I made earlier in the week.

The patterned paper is BasicGrey Euphoria (yes, I finally managed to get my hands on a 6x6 pad and it is beauuuuutiiiful !).

I embossed with my cuttlebug some pink card and distressed it with some white ink.

The images are an Inkadinkado stamp with no name ;o( and I heat embossed the image with metallic purple embossing powder. I then rubbed over the images with pink and purple Colorbox chalks.

The flowers and beads are from my stash.

Back to the sofa now. Hope you all have a good weekend and keep warm - it is freezing here today.

P.S. Martine is also holding a DT call on the BasicGrey Challenge Blog. Looking forward to meeting my new playmates !

Craft and Coffee - The Perfect Combination

I finally had the chance to go to Potato Patch Crafts again in Devizes for their Tuesday Craft and Coffee Morning as my DH is at home and was able to babysit. This is a real, real luxury for me as I very rarely get the chance to go out on my own and do what I want to do.

There were four of us and we had a lovely natter, lots of crafting and lots of coffee and it was perfect.

I have had some Prima clear stamps for a little while now and just looked at them not knowing where to start. I was thrown in at the deep end last week when for the BasicGrey challenge I had to make "one for the boys" for my DT piece (you can see my card below) and I decided to use these stamps. I wanted to try my hand at resist stamping as I had seen a tutorial on the Hero Arts blog and was keen to have a try and this was the perfect opportunity so I took my Prima stamps with me. This is the card I made.




I used distress inks and stamped the leaves in clear Versafine and then clear embossed them. I then rubbed distress inks over the top. I then mounted them onto some copper coloured card. The florish stamps and the background stamps were also in the set I have. It's not bad for a first effort but I would like to have another go sometime.

I also made this card very quickly at the end as I was keen to try the huge holly stamp. Unfortunately I didn't take the name of it but it is gorgeous and there are so many ways you could use this stamp. I decided to heat emboss it in gold.

I know this stamp is in a set of unmounted stamps and they are grey in colour but if anyone knows the name of it or who makes it, I would be keen to find out. I can always contact the shop to find out but then I might be pursuaded to purchase the set !!!

Kaboodle Doodle Challenge # 12 - Monochrome

This week, the theme on the Kaboodles Challenge Blog is monochrome. Oh dear I thought, this is as bad as making a card for a chap ! How surprised I was then when I saw that the BasicGrey Challenge this week was to make a card for a chap !! I did however surprise myself and I thoroughly enjoyed making the chap's card and also the monochrome card. After all, this is why they are called "CHALLENGE" blogs, isn't it ?!

Anyway, this is my monochrome card and I used to make this card :




Grey paper kit from Kaboodle Doodles.

Inca Stamp 3D Scroll Butterfly which I heat embossed with seafoam white embossing powder.

The ribbon is from Poppicrafts.

The sentiment is from a set of KandCompany clear stamps Brenda Walton Chelsea Sentiments.

The flowers are Hero Arts.

The brads and pearls are from my stash.

I am looking forward to seeing your monochromatic project !

BasicGrey Challenge Blog - Challenge # 11

Gosh ! The time flies when you are having fun !! I can't believe we are on week 11 already.

Anyway, enough of the waffle ! This week on the BasicGrey Challenge Blog its all about boys ! ;o)

"This weeks challenge is to create something for the boys, i can hear the shrieks all the way over here in Northern Ireland lol, i know exactly how you feel, men's cards are just too darn tricky but this is a challenge blog after all and that's exactly what we are doing, Challenging you, so good luck and remember that your creations must contain at least one item from BasicGreyand for your hard efforts on this challenge we have a fabby prize on offer for one lucky winner which has kindly been donated by our new sponsor The scrapbook Garden"

This is what I made for the challenge this week and I loved getting down and dirty for this one ! I love using distress inks but so far, I have only ever used them for edging and painting. I had also bought myself some Prima clear stamps which are totally different to anything I have used before, very "Tim Holtz" ! I have been sat looking at these stamps for weeks and I eventually said to my DH "why on Earth did I buy these ?". This week I was thrown into the deep end and decided to give "that look" a try and I hope I have done it justice !




To make this card I used :

Distress inks in vintage photo, walnut stain, peeled paint and pine needles all mixed in a big mess on a piece of card ! I then stamped the images in vintage photo and Versafine onyx black.

Prima Clear Stamps "Dance" and a touch of glossy accents on the bird

Bazzill green card, BasicGrey Archaic patterned paper and Core'dinations brown card

Brown ribbon from Poppicrafts (this does have hearts on the reverse but you can't see them !).

Archaic buttons and brads and cord from my stash.


Unfortunately, we also have some sad news this week. We are saying goodbye to our fabulous DT member, Chris. On a personal note I would like to say a big thank you to Chris for being such a fabby team mate and for giving me lots of inspiration and I wish you luck and happiness in the future and keep up your fantastic work !!


Looking forward to seeing your "one for the boys".

Cracker Surprise

It has been so long since I took part in a challenge and seeing as I have been a good girl and made my DT pieces in good time this week, I decided to have a go and make a piece especially for a challenge for a change. The challenge I chose was on Cute Card Thursday where they want you to use red or green.

This is the card I made :

I used Elzybells Cracker Surprise stamp which I painted with distress inks.

The patterned paper is Papermania Christmas pad. The green card is Core'dinations.

The poinsettias are Making Memories and the spacers and brads are from my stash. I put some gold Stickles on the petals.

The button and ribbon are also from my stash.

The sentiment is part of a PaperArtsy stamp which was stamped in Brilliance Lightening Black so it has a gold shimmer to it.

The charm is from e-bay.


This little chap is so cute, I forgive him for pulling that cracker !!!!

Make a Wish

I made this Birthday card for one of Ski's friends who is going to be 7 at the weekend.

To make this card I used :

Papermania patterned papers.

Pink Core'dinations card cut with my nesties.

Make a Wish House Mouse Stamp painted with distress inks and I added some tiny beads to the cake to look like sprinkles. I took another piccie so they would show up better.




The buttons are various ones from my stash.

The flowers are Prima Forever Flowers and the brads are from my stash. The spacers I bought from e-bay and they came all the way from Hong Kong and I received a fabulous service. Will definately buy from there again.

The sentiment is from a set of clear K&Company stamps Brenda Walton Chelsea Sentiments.

I took the layout of this card from a sketch I have seen somewhere but for the life of me, I can't remember where ! I look at soooo many blogs I get very confused. I shall rack my brains and if I remember, I will put in a link !

Edit : I have just found the sketch I used ! It came from Friday Sketchers !

I have just seen on A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge blog that their challenge for this week is to make a card for a child. I think this card qualifies, don't you ?!

Remembrance Day Poem

I am sorry that this is posted so late in the day but I saw this poem on the box of poppies in town when we bought one today and just had to share it as its so moving and made Ski understand a little more about what Remembrance Day means. We shall remember them.

A POEM FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in the town today.
The poppies dear, are the flowers of love
For the men that have marched away.
But why have they chosen a poppy , Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my love, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.
But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red
Red is the colour of blood, my child
The blood that our soldiers shed.
The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief
For the men who never came back.
But why are you crying Mummy?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are for you my child
For the world is forgetting again.

Author unknown.

Christmas Village

Another Christmas card !

To make this card I used :

Red card from The Papermillshop covered with acetate and stamped with an Inkadinkado snowflake stamp in white Stazon.

Silver card which I embossed with my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder

White card embossed with Winter House Cuttlebug Folder

The ribbon is from my stash

The Poinsettias are from a garland being sold by Tesco ! The garland is 1.8m long and the Poinsettias are attached to wool so they are very easy to remove. I think it cost me £3 but there are loads of Poinsettias on there.

I've been tagged and received an Award !

I've been tagged by the lovely and talented Kathleen . Thanks !

This is how it works. You have to link to the person who tagged you and list the rules on the blog. Then answer the five questions and tag five people. Add links to their blogs, and let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Things I love

1. My beautiful girls and hubby

2. A good giggle

3. A lovely holiday where I can relax and feel the warm sun and watch my girls have enormous fun

4. Shopping in craft shops - any will do !

5. A good, cooked meal.


Things I hate

1. Wet wool - oh my goodness - just thinking of the feel of it sets me going !

2. Broad beans.

3. Nuts - I actually very, very allergic to them so they frighten the life out of me !

4. Headaches and feeling ill

5. Having to wait for things !


Music on my ipod or playlist

Sorry, I am going to have to be very boring about this because I haven't got an ipod and I don't have a playlist ! Running round after Fizzy all day doesn't give me any chance to listen to music and with a 7 year old in the house I am continually bombarded with High School Musical - all three of them !!

I do however have a varied taste in music from Depeche Mode, Take That, Beautiful South, Justin Timberlake, Abba and loads more besides.


Favourite foods/drinks

1. A nice cup of tea

2. Doolies (like Baileys but is vodka and caramel !)

3. Sweets

4. Crisps

5. Lovely steak meal with prawn and advocado cocktail for starters.

I have also received this terrific award from Tara and Toni for which I thank you both.



I would now like to tag and pass this award onto :

Steph

Toni

Lindsey

Tara

Sally-Anne

Kaboodle Doodle Challenge # 11 - Buttons and Bling

This week we want you to raid your stash for your buttons, gems, glitter and anything else you can lay your hands on which are sparkly. Go on, surprise us and show us what you can come up with !

I had bought a lovely, scrummy jar of Christmas buttons from my local craft shop a while ago so I raided those and thought about making a Christmas tree from them. I'm actually very pleased with the result.

To make this card I used :

Kaboodle Doodles new Christmas Kit for the patterned paper and also the tab. I used Doodlebug rub-on's for the "Merry and Bright".

Silver card for matting and layering.

Sequins from my stash with a Stickles centre.

Ribbon from my stash.

I look forward to visiting your blogs !

BasicGrey Challenge Blog - Challenge # 10 - Glitter

It's the week to get covered in glitter (if you aren't already !). The challenge this week on the BasicGrey Challenge Blog is to include glitter on your creation. We also have a glittering prize this week too from CraftyKrafts and gorgeous sparkly creations from the DT so sprinkle yourself with a little glamour dust and fly over and have a look.

This is the card I made for the DT challenge this week.

I used dark purple and light purple Core'dinations card for the matting and layering and the pattered paper is BasicGrey Lilykate.

The image is a House Mouse stamp called "Rubber Stamping : Mice Style" from Simonsaystamp which has been painted using distress inks.

The flowers are Prima Forever Flowers also from Simonsaysstamp with waterfall Stickles added to the petals.

The ribbon is from Cards and Craft . The buttons are Dress it Up "Cat Stuff".

The brads and spacers are from my stash.

I'm looking forward to see your fabulous creations this week.

One for the boys

Yes, I'm lucky enough to have a male birthday coming up too ! (I wouldn't have said that a few weeks ago !). Why are these cards always so difficult to make ? Answers on a postcard please to.......!

To make this card I used :

Woodware card pack with blue Core'dinations.

Watercolour paper with faded jeans distress ink and some white ink for the sky and a strip of BasicGrey paper for the grass which I found in my box of off cuts which I can't bear to throw away ! See, they do come in useful sometimes !!

The stamps are Hero Arts Trees, Birds and Messages which I painted in distress inks and the tree I highlighted with glossy accents.

The ribbon is Maya Road.

The photo clips are Papermania.

Pretty Ballerina

Wow, a break from the Christmas cards ! Now we are back to school, the birthday invites have started to roll back in but it does make a change from making all those Christmas cards.

To make this card I have used :

Really cute ballerina stamp from Sally-Ann of Love to Doodle which I painted with Whispers pen for her hair and worn lipstick distress ink for her leotard/tutu. I added fruit punch Stickles to her leotard/tutu too !

The pink paper is Core'dinations punched with my Fiskers punch and I added some lace and a heart button from my stash.

The flowers are American Crafts paper flowers with mini brads and spacers and also fruit punch Stickles.

I made the angel/fairy myself.

Elzybells Mouse Bauble

Isn't he just the cutest chap you have ever seen ? This stamp from Elzybells Stamps is gorgeous.

To make this card I used :

Mouse Bauble stamp from Elzybells Stamps painted with distress inks. I covered the bauble in glossy accents to make it look like glass and then brushed some Stickles onto it. I didn't want it too sparkly and brushing it on with a paint brush gave it a little sparkle.

The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye "Be Merry by Zoe Pearn". I realised after sticking this paper to the card that it does actually say in the wording "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" ! Had I seen it before I would have made it more prominent - I'll do that on my next one !!

The dark red card is Core'dinations ColourCore cardstock. These are fantastic and I shall definitely buy another pack of these. The colours of them are so scrummy and are so versatile.

The holly leaves and berry brads are Making Memories Fa La La from CraftsULove and I have added some crystal Stickles to the leaves.

The buttons are from my stash.

Fabby new blog - must see !

Craft Stamper Magazine have a new blog right here and they are also offering some scrummy blog candy too. Their magazine is fantastic and I love it to bits so I shall be a regular visitor to their new blog. Go over and have a look.

Looking out for Santa

I'm slowly making my way through the Christmas cards I have to make and started using my new Elzybells stamps which arrived while I was on my hols. I love these stamps and the good news is I have loads to choose from now.

To make this card I used :

Patterned paper by My Mind's Eye "Be Merry by Zoe Pearn" and Bazzill green cardstock.

Elzybells "Christmas Window" stamp coloured with distress inks and DecoArt Glistening Snow Writer.

Papermania Christmas ribbon and clear, glittery snowflakes from my stash.

Kaboodle Doodle Challenge # 10 - Christmas Brights

"This week we are getting in the mood for Christmas (after all, its only just over 7 weeks away ! - sorry !). This is going to be no ordinary Christmas challenge though, we want it to be a bright and cheerful Christmas with lots of different colours, those you possibly wouldn't necessarily expect to see in Christmas projects. Go on, surprise us and show us what you can come up with !"

"Good news ! A new kit will be arriving in the Kaboodle Doodles shop very soon. It is the new Christmas kit full of lovely bright papers and images for you to use. The Design Team have been trying this kit out for this week's challenge and this is what they have come up with. Keep a look out in the shop so you can get your download."

This is the card I made for this week's challenge with the new Christmas Kit.

The patterned paper, parcel and tag are all from the new Christmas Kit.

The ribbons, jewels and pink card are from my stash.

I used Doodlebug rub-ons for the wording and everything was decorated with Crystal Stickles for that added sparkle.

I look forward to seeing your Christmas bright creations this week.

BasicGrey Challenge Blog - Challenge # 9

"For this weeks challenge we would like to see you get all festive with your creations and create something in the theme of Christmas, I am sure you are probably all making your Christmas creations already so this one should be an easy one for you and if you haven't started your Christmas creations then this challenge is perfect for you :).

Last week was our guest designer Emma's last week with us, i hope you enjoyed your time with us as much as we loved having you part of the team emma, I hope you will continue to visit the blog and hopefully take part in some of our challenges :). This week though I hope you will all join me and the team in welcoming our new guest designer for the month of November, Donna, welcome to the team Donna we look forward to your contributions to the challenges this month"

This is my festive creation :



I used a green Bazzill card which I stamped with a Inkadinkado snowflake stamp and white Stazon.

After talking myself round to the fact that they had to be used and not just stroked, I used my new BasicGrey Wassail 6x6 pad and brads. These are a must this Christmas, they are so scrummy. I also used some new Elements Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock which is amazing and fantastic for that distressed look.

The snowman image is a stamp from Inkadinkado just called "Snowman" which I painted with distress inks, peeled paint, weathered wood, fired brick, spiced marmalade and antique linen. I had seen a technique used on Tara's blog where she had used a cracked glass technique with clear embossing powder. I had some Rangers Crackle Accents which I decided to use and then rubbed it when it was dried with some vintage photo distress ink. I think it distressed the image very well.

The sentiment is an Inkadinkado (Kathy Davis) stamp called "Share the Goodness) which was stamped in Brilliance coffee bean ink.

The flowers are Hero Arts flowers with spacers and BasicGrey Wassail brads and cinnamon Stickles added to the petals.

The snowflake charm is from e-bay.

I am looking forward to blog hopping again this week and seeing all your festive creations.

Sparkly Santa

This is the card I made before I went away but it was too wet to photograph at the time.

To make this card I used :

White card with (Christmas song sheet) Anita's Christmas Silver Vellum wrap.

Habico clear Santa stamp, stamped with Stazon and his beard covered with glamour dust. If you click on the image to make it larger, you can see all the sparkles.

The sentiment and florish are PaperArtsy Christmas stamps with little pearls added.

The flowers are from Poppicrafts with a spacer and brad from my stash.

The ribbon was from Craft Central.