Friendly Sunday !

Don't die of shock ! Yes, I'm blogging again !!! I've had quite a crafty weekend seeing that the "Cat's" been away and I have managed to finish two DT pieces and made a card for a challenge so I feel really chuffed with myself.

My good friend Lorriane from Simon Says Challenge has joined up with 5 more of her friends and started a challenge blog called "Totally Papercrafts". Their first challenge consists of a blog hop and the challenge is "Friends". Their first sponsor is Simon Says Stamp and the prize is a gorgeous Hero Arts cling stamp - ooooh yummy !!!

The DP's are 3Bugsinarug "Happy Bird-day".

The image is of course Anya and she has been coloured with ProMarkers. I have stamped some Whiff of Joy flourishes around the edge in antique linen distress ink.

The friends stamp is by Hero Arts and this has been stamped in Elzybells Strawberry Fool ink. The ribbon was destined for the bin but then I found this use for it ! Just goes to show you shouldn't throw anything away ! The button (which I sewed onto the homemade tag) is from Elzybells "Strawberry Fool" buttons. Elzybells have a terrific new range of co-ordinates which if you are like me, you will just fall in love with !

The pearls are from my stash.

I hope you too can join them as its a very easy challenge to take part in.

Right, must go and tend to my roast port - yummy.

The girls have been playing "pirates" all afternoon and have made a pirate ship from a margarine container, a cannon from a roll of paper and have been "blowing" canon balls at me while I've been making my card ! It's not just boys who get into bother !!! At the moment they are sword fighting with coat hangers and I just know I'm going to have tears any moment ! Poor Fizzy is being made to be "Hook" while "Peter" is trying to kill her - lovely !!! Wish you could hear the conversation going on that I can hear !!! - ummm, perhaps not !!!!

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you leave. As always, they always mean so much to me.

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy if you haven't already. You can find it HERE !

Have a great Sunday evening !

Oh boy ! and a Plea

Good morning ! Yippeee, the sun is finally shining but its white with a sprinkling of snow and its freezing out there - can't have it all now, can we ? hehehe

Did you see the number of entries we had for the Simon Says Challenge DT call ? 286 on the blog and even more by email !!! I am so excited to report that my new teamies are DENA , JANE AND MARTINE. Many congratulations and I'm so excited to be working with you all.

Now, I made a card for a challenge last week but me being me didn't read the rules properly and found I could only make one card for the challenge ! Never mind I thought, I'll keep it until next week, there must be challenge it will fit in with next week. Ummm, all sketchy, girly, hearts and flowers this week I am afraid. The only challenge I can find my card will fit in with is Spoon Full of Sugar where their challenge is "Freestyle" so anything you like !!!

The DP's are by The Paper Cellar and were a gift from my best buddy Tara. She knows how much I love making boys cards so these were just perfect - thank's again darlin !!

The image is a Sugar Nellie stamp called "Little Artist" and he has been coloured the ProMarkers.

The matting and layering has been done with Core'dinations and I used the Argyle embossing folder for the Cuttlebug and sanded it down.

The button and raffia are from my stash.

I had better get a move on. Modern dancing for Ski this morning which will give me the opportunity to go into town and have a mooch around the material shop for some more ribbons (like I really need any) and then hopefully I can do some crafting this afternoon. DH is working so its just me and the girls all weekend so while the cats away....... !!!!

IF YOU CAN SPARE A FEW SECONDS MORE, PLEASE READ........

Oh, just before I go, have you seen this post on my lovely friend Judy's blog ? Here is what she has to say.....

"In the month of March myself and my family are going out to visit my sister and her family who live and work in the Philippines. We have not seen them or their children for 3 years so we are very excited.

My sister Rachel and her husband Neil work for a project that is called Bukang Liwayway(or translated is called 'Dawn for the Poor'). This is a Christian based organisation that aims to help the poorest of the poor in urban areas. The work they are involved in is spiritual, physical, educational and practical as they seek to improve the lives of those who live in these slums.

Rachel (my sister) is very involved in a livelihood project which teaches the women how to make cards which are sold and then help provide for their families and the education of their children. Now these ladies literally have NOTHING! They make what they can out of recycled buttons, ribbon, wrapping paper etc. They are very resourceful!

But when I look around my craft room I am ashamed at how much I have gathered and probably will never use or need. I am going to be having a clear out and would love to bring a suitcase full of craft items to give them a boost. (who needs clothes???)

While I am out there I am going to be helping my sister giving some lessons in colouring and embellishing their cards! So if you have stuck with me this far I am thrilled!

My request to you is, if you have a couple of stamps, stamped images, small stickers or light items that you will not need or use, maybe you would consider donating them to the ladies of 'Yunik Crafts', to help with their livelihood project!I am not asking you to send much... maybe just what would fit in a small jiffy envelope ....no more! I can then bring these out to the ladies with the warmest wishes from the crafting community in the UK. I know how much it will mean to them.

Now , if you feel you could help in this small way please e-mail me and I will send you my address. you are just sending to me in the UK NOT to the Phillipines!! ( you can find the 'contact me' button on my sidebar) I will accept any donations until 28th February and on that day I will pick one of the donations to be eligible for some blog candy! I haven't got that organised yet ... but I will post a photo soon!Be sure the candy will be worthwhile!Thanks so much for helping in this way,

Judy x"

Judy has pictures of what parts of the Philippines looks like when we are lucky enough to holiday there but in real terms the slums these poor people have to live in just to show the contrast. She also has a lovely picture of a lady at work on one of her cards. I am sure you will join me in knowing this is a very worthwhile cause and something we can all help out with. All of Judy's contact details are on her blog which you can find HERE Please help

I am sorry for the long post, but I thought you might like to know about this amazing gift Judy is hoping to take to the ladies of Yunik Crafts.

Have a great weekend.

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

Colour Create Challenge

Good morning and welcome to another Colour Create Challenge. It's a good job we have these bright and colourful challenges as its not bright and colourful outside. Another dull and rainy day by the looks of it.

This week, it was my choice of colours. I have chosen soft pink, soft blue, white and silver, no optional extras this week



The rest of the DT have done an amazing job with these colours, each and every card is so different and so pretty - go and have a look !

The DP's are a mix of BasicGrey Sugar Rush and Bittersweet.

The silver card is from my stash which has been used for matting.

The image is gorgeous, isn't she ? She is by CC Designs, Rosalie with roses. I have coloured her with ProMarkers and I added some sparkles with a Copic Spica pen to the roses.

The sentiment is a BoBunny rub-on.

I'm not sure if you can see it very well but I have added some swirls to the image too using a set of stamps by Whiff of Joy. I stamped them with Perfect Pearls medium and brushed it with the pearl perfect pearls powder. It actually looks very pretty in real life !!

The ribbons and charm are from my stash.

The flowers are Prima hydrangeas with a large pearl in the centre and some stickles around the outside.

We have a great prize on offer this week from Stretch 'n' Bubbles digi stamps and hope that you can join us in our challenge.

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy if you haven't already. You can find it HERE !

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you leave, they always mean so much.

Have a great day !

Simon Says Challenge

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge.

Wow, what an amazing response we have had to our DT call and our Punch It challenge ! Over 280 entries to our DT call on the blog and even more emails that came in too. As you can imagine, it will be a very hard choice so please bear with us. Heidi is still at the CHA show and will be back shortly and then we can all come up with the lucky two who will be joining us !!!

This week's challenge is "New Baby".

This week we are being joined by the lovely and very talented CATHY who has agreed to be in the Designer Spotlight. If you haven't visited her blog you are in for a treat !!

The Design Team have made some lovely creations for your inspiration too

The DP's are DCWV Nana's Nursery and are actually a lot nicer pink than in this photo !

The image has been stamped in Hero Arts blossom shadow ink (I just love this ink !). The outside of the image I heat embossed with razzle dazzle silver embossing powder so its very twinkly !

The little buttons are BasicGrey and all the rest is from my stash.

All I need now is for a baby girl to be born !

Heidi is very generously giving away a $25 P&P free shopping spree to the lucky winner and with all those new goodies that have been ordered at the CHA show this week arriving in the next few weeks, they will be a very lucky winner indeed !

I must now dash around and get all those jobs done that can only be done while I'm home alone for a couple of hours ! Perhaps another cup of coffee before I do though hey ?!!

Toodles for now !!!!

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy if you haven't already. You can find it HERE !

BasicGrey Blog Candy # 11

THIS BLOG CANDY IS NOW CLOSED !

Please see the new rules for entering this candy !

Well, here we are again with another fantastic BasicGrey Blog Candy courtesty of Simon Says Stamp ! Just look at these amazing goodies you could win ! Just remember, Eskimo Kisses isn't just for Christmas and with more cold days and snow forecast for February, its absolutely perfect and just look, you also have a few crystal snowflakes thrown in for good measure !!

So, what do you have to do to win my candy ?

Some of you will be used to it by now but for those first timers, here goes :

Well, there are no strict rules and the comments I make below are not compulsory to enter this draw but it would be nice if :

You could give your support to Simon Says Stamp, BasicGrey Challenges and myself by becoming a follower if you are not already. Add my blog candy to your sidebar and please feel free to "take away" my blinkie !

Join in with us at BasicGrey Challenges and also Simon Says Stamp's challenge blog, Simon Says Challenge ! You can combine challenges with both of these challenge blogs which is great news !

This blog candy will be open to everyone Worldwide (including all DT members of both challenge blogs) until Saturday 6th February when I shall draw a winner with a random number generator and post a new fabby blog candy for you to enter.

To make it much quicker for me to choose a winner, I am going to start using Mr Linky but there is a catch !!! Every fortnight I shall ask you a question and I would like you to answer that question after your name. It will be a one word answer so not difficult.

This fortnight's question is : Which is your favourite BasicGrey product at the moment ?

For example, you would leave your answer as Jo Nevill (Sugar Rush)

Anyone not leaving the answer to my question will have their name deleted to stop spammers and also people only entering for the sake of it (if you know what I mean and I don't wish to be rude in anyway).

I would like to give a huge thank you to both Heidi and Steph of Simon Says Stamp for giving me this fantastic candy again for you to win.

Good luck !

BasicGrey Blog Candy # 10 - WINNER

I can now announce the winner of my first BasicGrey Blog Candy of 2010 !! Thank you to all of you who entered.

The lucky winner is........

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 23 - Gila
Timestamp: 2010-01-23 19:34:59 UTC

Many congratulations. If you could please email me with your full name and address I will ask Steph of Simon Says Stamp to send your goodies to you.

BasicGrey Challenges

Good morning and welcome to another BasicGrey Challenges ! I know I keep saying it but I just can't believe how quickly the time passes by, this is our last challenge for January already !!


Have you seen the sneek peeks of the new BasicGrey lines they are releasing at the CHA show next week ? Oh my goodness, I have just died and gone to Heaven !!! They are all so delish. You can see them here http://www.basicgrey.com/scrapbook Now all I need is the money to buy them all !


This week our challenge is "Animals"


We have a fantastic prize generously given to us by Simon Says Stamp - loads of yummy Magnolia goodies and some gorrrrrrgeous brads to go with them !


Now, again, I apologise for the terrible photo. I've been waiting for the sun but he hasn't been around for the last week and I've struggled to get this looking decent even with my photo program so please bear with me and I am sure you can imagine what it really should look like !!!

The DP's are BasicGrey "Sugar Rush", so bright and colourful and springlike which the card is but the photo isn't !!

The image is by Joanna Sheen "Messy Rabbit" which my gorgeous friend Tara W gave to me last year and sadly, I never used him until now. He has been coloured with ProMarkers.

The ribbon and egg brad are from my stash.

The little green pearls are from Quixotic Paperie and I treated myself to a couple of the Bazzill Basics jewel templates to do the swirl which are also from Quixotic Paperie.

The prima flowers were a lovely Christmas present from my lovely friend Lorraine and the pearl brads are old Papermania ones.

The rest of the team have made some amazing cards again this week which you must go and have a look at - all so different.

I am trying to kickstart my mojo a bit and settle down and make some cards outside of DT work. I started last night but then got drawn away by Silent Witness ! I have an image half coloured and hope to finish it off today as DH is working this afternoon/night so while the cat's away.......... !!!

I think I shall enter my card in the challenge over at Quixotic Challenges as their challenge this week is to use an old stamp and I think this one qualifies even though its a new stamp but never been used !

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy. You can enter by pressing just HERE !!! I will be drawing the winner later on today but stay tuned for more delish candy !

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

Have a great weekend !

Simon Says Challenge

Good morning and welcome to another challenge at Simon Says Challenge !

What a fabulous response we had to our "shabby chic" challenge last week and just look at those numbers for the DT call and we still have another week to go ! There are many stunning entries and the decision is going to be tough !

This week we have a nice easy challenge for you as I am sure that either in use regularly or hidden in a drawer somewhere you have a few punches !! So this week, the challenge is to use your punches.

The DT were given a fabulous DT pack by Heidi and mine contained some gorgeous Hero Arts cling heart stamps which I was dying to try out !

The DP's are BasicGrey "Sugar Rush".

The punches I used are a corner punch for the card and papers, Martha Stewart heart punch, EK Success retro flower punches and a woodware leaf punch.

The large heart is Hero Arts and I've added a Melissa Frances transfer and also a wooden heart which I painted with picket fence distress crackle paint and sprayed the whole heart with marshmallow glimmer mist.

The smaller hearts are also Hero Arts which I have had for a long time but only just discovered again hidden away and these have been stamped with Hero Arts blossom shadow ink.

The ruffled ribbon is from my stash.

We look forward to seeing your punched creations and don't forget there is still time to enter our DT call.

Heidi is very generously offering a $25 P&P free shopping spree in the Simon Says Stamp store as the prize for this challenge.

This week we have a guest designer - Sue AKA Scoopystuff. Please help me welcome Sue - head to her blog & leave her some love!!!!

Now I was going to take off the snow effect from my blog but by the look of today's weather, I think it ought to remain a little while longer ! Very heavy rain has turned into very heavy snow within the last half hour and the traffic reports are going mad with people suck in their cars in Gloucester and even Swindon ! It's amazing that it always happens on a Wednesday too. This is the third Wednesday in a row !

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you may leave, as always, they mean so much especially at the moment as I'm not being very blog active but I'm trying to leave as many comments as I can in return.

Take care and wrap up warm !

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy. You can enter by pressing just HERE !!!

Colour Create Challenge

Well, what a fantastic time we had yesterday ! With the main roads well looked after, we made our way to Warminster Park and found ourselves some fantastic sledging slopes ! We all had a scream and the atmosphere was full of fun and laughter. The park itself was so pretty and the lake virtually frozen and those poor ducks and swans were so hungry !

Looks like we are now in for a big thaw so what will we all talk about now ?!!!!

We had a fantastic response to last week's challenge of lemon and lime - thank you to all those who joined us.

This week our fabby teamie has chosen these gorgeous, gorgeous colours with the optional extra being texture.

Oooooh yummy !!

The base card is kraft card.

The white corrugated card is from The Papermillshop. I have just noticed that this was my last piece and the had very little of it when I bought it so I'm not sure if its a usual line they stock.

The DP's are My Minds Eye Signature Christmas as was ideal for this colour combo.

The kraft corrugaged card is from my stash.

The image is by Lili of the Valley and he has been coloured with ProMarkers. I also added some faux stitching around the edge.

The brads are BasicGrey.

The string, button and label are from my stash.

The rest of the DT's cards are fabulous, you just have to see them. I get blown away every week at how different all our styles are. We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Right, must go and get my gear on for the walk to school. School is open late this morning and I had a very disappointed face stare at me when it was announced on the radio the school was opening ! Still, the sledge we have is also ideal for grass and there is nowhere better than Westbury White Horse on the edge of Salisbury Plain for grass sledging in the Summer - wheee !

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you leave - it was lovely to see you !

Take care and wrap up warm !

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy. You can enter by pressing just HERE !!!

Simon Says Challenge

Good morning and welcome to another Simon Says Challenge. Boy, the week's go by quickly !

This morning we have woken up to a very thick blanket of snow again and the schools are all closed or opening late for exams but the traffic reports sound dreadful. The good news is that we managed to get our hands on a sledge so guess where we will be trudging off to later on ? hehehe !!

Now, back to this week's challenge. Our challenge this week is "Shabby Chic" and for all those of you, who like me, wonders what this really means, I found this on Wikipedia.

"Shabby Chic is showing signs of wear and tear, distressing, whites, worn or bleached out pastels, rustic"

The DP's are My Minds Eye "Laundry Line" and they have been torn and distressed with a distressing tool and then I inked all the edges with distress ink.

The image is by Sarah Kay and coloured with ProMarkers. I added some faux stitching and again, inked it all with distress ink.

The ribbon and string are from my stash.

The tag is from a little bag of tags I bought ages ago and forgot about until I made my card. I also inked this with distress ink.

The sentiment and heart is by Hero Arts.

The rest of the DT's cards are gorgeous, you must hop over and have a look.

Heidi is very generously giving away a $25 P&P free shopping spree which will come in very handy what with the CHA show just around the corner and all those super duper brand new goodies will be winging their way in store while they are on the plane back no doubt !!

Thank you so much for your visit and for any comments you may leave - its always such a pleasure to see you.

Don't forget we have a Design Team Call on the challenge blog so if you fancy working with us fantastically creative and fun loving ladies - add your name to the Design Team Call post on the Challenge Blog. All we would like you to do is take part in our forthcoming challenges so we can see your work. The call closes on Tuesday 26th January.

Don't forget to enter my BasicGrey Blog Candy. You can enter by pressing just HERE !!!

Enjoy your day and think of me bombing down the hills ! I think we need to make the most of it because by the sound of it, it will all be gone by the end of the week if not tomorrow.

Simon Says Challenge DESIGN TEAM CALL !!

As you may recall, both Anna and Kim left us recently which has left us with two spaces on our fabulous Design Team !

Do you fancy joining us on our fun and exciting team for weekly challenges ?

If so, all you have to do is leave your entry to our forthcoming challenges on Mr Linky on the Design Team call post or, if you would prefer, email us at simonsayschallenge@hotmail.com.

Don't forget to also add your entry to the challenge posts so you are also in with a chance of winning the fantastic prize !!

ALL entries must be brand new and never seen before on your blog.

This Design Team call is open to everyone all over the World but you must have a blog.

The call will close on Tuesday 26th January 9pm CET, 8pm GMT and we will inform the lucky two as soon as we are able after that date.

We can't wait to see your entries and meet our new Teamies ! Good luck !!!

BasicGrey Challenges

We wish you all a very warm welcome back to BasicGrey Challenges after the Christmas and New Year break.

Before I tell you all about our new fabby challenge and fantastic prize, I have some very sad news to share with you. Our fabulous DT Member Kristen has sadly decided to step down from the team due to family commitments. We are all so sorry to see you leave us and wish you all best wishes for the future and don't forget to keep popping in for a chat !

For this fortnight's challenge we have a photo for inspiration for you

Here is how I was inspired !!!

I have no idea what the stamp is I used for the background - sorry. The pattern has been stamped in Versacolor Polar Blue ink.

The DP's are BasicGrey Granola and I tried very hard to recreate the pleating from the roman blind in the window. At the time of making my card I had no idea how to go about this and tried to copy some pleating which had been done on a card my gorgeous friend Kim sent me a while ago. I think I will get away with it but its not as professional as Kim's !!! hehehehe Well, blow me just as I photograph my card and send it to the forum for uploading, Mina of Just Magnolia has a tutorial published on the Just Magnolia Blog telling you exactly how to do paper pleating ! What a coinsidence ! Now that I have the proper instructions, I will try and give it another go !!!

The lace is from Quixotic Paperie.

The image is by Stamp 'n' Stor Art Stamps and she has been stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I have put a wash of blue distress ink on the larger rose and sprayed all the roses with marshmallow glimmer mist.

There is a fantastic prize on offer courtesy of Simon Says Stamp - all Nook and Pantry themed goodies - go check it out along with the rest of the DT's amazing cards !

Thank you for your visit and for any comments you may leave. They mean so much to me.

Don't forget to enter my Blog Candy which can be found just here !

Take care and have a great weekend. Looks like we are in for a rough ride on Sunday with more snow and icy winds forecast. Can't say I'm too keen on the icy winds but I'm like a kid at Christmas about the snow and no doubt won't have any sleep on Sunday night 'cause I'll have my nose pressed to the window seeing what is happening !!! It's such a rare event in this part of the Country that on the whole, most of us enjoy it and can't wait for more !!

Wrap up warm and see you soon,

BasicGrey Blog Candy # 10

THIS BLOG CANDY IS NOW CLOSED.

Well, here we are again ! A new year and new blog candy for you to enter courtesy of Simon Says Stamp ! I've just noticed and its spooky - blog candy number 10 for the start of 2010 - oooh !! hehehe

So, what do you have to do to win my candy ?

Some of you will be used to it by now but for those first timers, here goes :

Well, there are no strict rules and the comments I make below are not compulsory to enter this draw but it would be nice if :

You could give your support to Simon Says Stamp, BasicGrey Challenges and myself by becoming a follower if you are not already. Add my blog candy to your sidebar and please feel free to "take away" my blinkie !

Join in with us at BasicGrey Challenges and also Simon Says Stamp's challenge blog, Simon Says Challenge ! You can combine challenges with both of these challenge blogs which is great news !

This blog candy will be open to everyone Worldwide (including all DT members of both challenge blogs) until Saturday 23rd January when I shall draw a winner with a random number generator and post a new fabby blog candy for you to enter.

I would like to give a huge thank you to both Heidi and Steph of Simon Says Stamp for giving me this fantastic candy again for you to win.

Good luck !

Simon Says Challenge

Good morning from a very, very snowy Wiltshire ! It is soooo exciting !!! I have never seen snow as deep as it is here at the moment and it is still throwing it down, the air is just thick with snow ! We had our noses pressed to the windows all night last night as they said it would start snowing yesterday afternoon but we didn't have a flake until after we went to bed at 11.30pm so I half expected to wake up this morning to a normal day - which usually happens around here !

We must have predicted this type of weather at Simon Says Challenge when we fixed this challenge as the theme this week is "Hot Chocolate". You can of course use an image which shows lots of yummy chocolate or choose chocolately colours, the choice is yours. The DT have done an amazing job yet again and after I have written this up, I'm off for a mug of the chocolately stuff !!

I actually made my DT piece before Christmas and made it together with my eldest daughter so the girls could give it to their Dad as part of his Christmas present and he loved it and had never seen it before which made it extra special.

I cut the tag by hand and typed and printed off the "Snowman Soup" poem.

The image is the snowman by Magnolia which was actually released a couple of years ago but I only managed to get my hands on him at the NEC in November. Ski coloured him with ProMarkers and she added lots of stickles all over him and rock candy stickles to the edge of the tag so he is very twinkly too. She did a great job, don't you think ?

We then inked the edges with china blue distress ink and added some festive ribbons.

The mug is of course a Christmas mug and we added to it two sachets of hot chocolate drink (Cadbury's of course although I do prefer Galaxy ;o) !!), mini marshmallows (less half a pack for me and the girls to eat while we were constructing it !!!), a candy cane and some chocolates to eat with the yummy drink.

The prize for this week's challenge is of course the fantastic $25 shopping spree in the Simon Says Stamp store and with all those lovely new goodies coming out, what an amazing prize to win !

We also have a Designer in the Spotlight this week. JOEY from JOEY'S STUFF has agreed to join us :-) You may remember Sydney, Joey's daughter was in our spotlight too for a recent challenge :-)

Well, wrap up, keep warm and enjoy the snow ! I look forward to seeing all your chocolately creations.

Thank you so much for your visit and for any comments you leave.