One Stop Craft Challenge

Well hello there lovely people!

It's been a while, hasn't it?!  Lots of things going on, the garden is almost complete of it's transformation and we have made a start on sorting out the playroom.  Just waiting for THE call from Ofsted now....fingers crossed it'll be soon.

Anyway, onto my card.

It's Saturday and that means it's time for another challenge at One Stop Craft.

This week, we would like to see your cards, using

Three Circles

We are sponsored by the Doodle Pantry, who have a wide range of images available.

Here is my card:

Quite a simple card this week - I have used a Doodle Pantry image - Vintage Auto and coloured with my promarkers.  I also added a tiny bit of brown prisma colour pencil for some shading - quite pleased with the look :)

I then used some Vintage Photo distress ink around the edges, embossed some brown cardstock with Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and added 3 PM buttons - simples ;)

The sketch I have used is a past Sketch Saturday sketch - here, with my twist on it ;)

So pop on over to the blog, and see what the design team have created this week!

Another Card

Hiya Everyone,

Well we did the "visiting mum's" thing on Sunday, but we had some bad news about Jamie's mum's youngest dog :(  She told us earlier in the week that he had to go the vets and unfortunately, he had lymphoma.  The vet said he'd have a month to live, at most.  Anyway they tried him on some antibiotics for a week, but when we went round, he was just so poorly!  I could tell straight away that he wasn't good, and after talking through their choices, Sharon and Darren (although not said it to each other) know what's going to happen on Wednesday when they go back to the vets.  It's the best thing for Bailey, but we'll all miss that little guy :(

Anyway, onto my card....here is the card I made for Sharon.

Very simple card - green glitter card with circles punched out, matted onto pink SU cardstock and X Cut flowers added on top.  Doodlebug bling for the centres.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Allsorts - Three in a Row

- The Crazy Challenge - Go Green

- Love to Create - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking xxx

Less Is More - Masking

Morning Bloggers!

It's a lovely sunny day here, not ventured outside yet, but hoping it's warm :)

Happy Mother's Day

to all the mummies out there today, but especially to my wonderful mum - love you lots!!!

I've been busy trying to get as much as my paperwork done as possible this week, and there's still so much to do before Wednesday!  I have a lady coming from the Early Years Team on Wednesday, to assess my paperwork etc, before I send off my registration form to Ofsted - it's going quickly now, but it still could be another 4-6 weeks before I am registered.......can't come soon enough if you ask me!  I can't wait!!

Anyway, onto my card for today, the challenge over at Less Is More this week, is masking, and here is my effort.

Sorry about the shadows on the photos...

A very simple card - I took the dog stamps and stamped onto a Post-it Note and then cut out each little dog. I then stamped my first dog straight onto my card blank.  I then took my mask and placed it directly over the first dog...then stamped the next one and masked on so on, until I had a line of dogs ;)

The dogs are coloured with, you guessed it, promarkers :)  Have left the colouring simple, no shading or blending as I wanted a very graphic looking image really.  I am going to use a black gloss pen and add some shine to the dog's noses, but my other pens are up in the loft, and Jamie is going to be working in the garden all day....I can't get up into the loft on my own :(

The stamps are made by Woodware - I think!

Finished off with the fab sentiment - Love me, Love my Dog!  So true!

Just entering this into Less is More today.

Thanks for looking. Xxx

Just Added

I have just added a couple of blog candy badges in my sidebar.

My wonderful friend Lizy, has been blogging for a year now, and has some lovely blog candy up for grabs.  If it wasn't for her blog, we would have never have become friends......now it's rare if we go a day without txting each other!!  She's one in a million ;)

And I recently found this amazing blog - Sticky with Icky.  Vicky has some amazing cards on her blog, and I only dream of being as talented as she is!  Her candy is a fab gift voucher for Saturated Canary.

Just wanted to let you all know ;)

Xxx

One Stop Craft DT Card

Hello everyone,

Told you I have some exciting news to share....

I am now a proud member of the design team for One Stop Craft Challenge Blog.  And as it is Saturday, here is my first DT card for you all.

The challenge this week is Mother's Day with Ribbon, and we have two lovely sponsors for the challenge.

The Ribbon Girl are offering a £5 gift voucher to use on their website.

And Bugaboo are offering a prize of 7 digi stamps.

Fab eh?!

Onto my card:

-Image - Bugaboo - Ava Flower Patch, coloured with promarkers

- Patterned paper - DCWV Spring Stack

- Pink Cardstock - from Stampin' Up but unsure of the exact colour (sorry)

- Flowers - Hero Arts

- Bling - Papermanina - Henbury Collection

and the ribbon is just some that I found in my ribbon box.

I used a sketch from the Sweet Stop, but unfortunately, because I couldn't upload until today, I missed the challenge.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

- Passion for Promarkers - For Mum / Female Relative (this is for Jamie's neice)

and

- Divas By Design - Favourite Things (my favourite colour; pink & favourite embellishments; flowers & bling)

Thanks for looking xxx

Less Is More - Neutrals

Hiya,

Here is my entry in this week's Less is More challenge.

The challenge this week is neutrals.  I kept this card as a OLC and very simple.  I used watercolour card for the base and stamped the image with tea dye distress inks.  The image is a Wags and Whiskers image, and I think it is called, He Loves Me.  I finished the card off with some papermania bling.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

- Less Is More - Neutrals

- Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

and

- Lollipop Crafts - Clean and Simple

I've also got some very exciting news to tell you all, but not sure I can tell you yet ;)  Teasing I know, but as soon as I have the go ahead to tell you, I will!

Thanks for looking! xxx

Back Again!

Well I bet you didn't expect two posts in one day - nope, neither did I! LOL :P

I was just looking around some of the challenge blogs and came across Papertake Weekly's sketch, which finishes tonight I think....and I wanted to make another card today, so just HAD to make and upload it ASAP.

So here it is....

Sorry about the bad lighting....I used another Lili of the Valley image - this time, it's Blowing Bubbles.  Again I used promarkers....the paper is DCWV from a stack, but not sure which.....and then some pinky purply pearlescent cardstock embossed with Swiss Dots again - my fave at the mo.  And finished off with some lovely ribbon that I found in my box!

I am going to enter this into the following challenges:

- Papertake Weekly - Sketch

- Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking. xxx

Missing In Action

I'm back!!

Sorry I have been missing in action for a little while - things have been really busy here the past couple of weeks!  Jamie had a week off work, so we spent the whole week decorating...we managed to get the kitchen finished - just need some shelves up now and we decorated the living room too.  His next project, is to fence off the garden, which he started yesterday.

I have also been busy sorting lots of things out ready for when I start childminding - the spare room is now completely full of toys, books and some clothes and lots of other bits and pieces too - no longer is it my craft room though :(  

That's another reason I haven't been doing so much crafting lately, most of my stash has been packed up and put into the loft.....I have kept essentials in our bedroom, but not really been feeling inspired by it to be honest.  But then I stamped some images the other weekend, when my mum and the girls were over...and spent the last couple of days doing some colouring...

Yesterday, with Jamie's help, I managed to get into the loft (being short with step ladders and a high loft, doesn't mix well) and bring down some more supplies.

So here is one card I made last night.....

I have used the gorgeous Lili of the Valley - Never Too Old For a Hug image, which I have coloured with some promarkers.  The pink embossed paper was a piece that I found in my stash, which I know for certain I have had for over 2 years!!  I have also embossing the white circle with Cuttlebug - Swiss Dots folder.  I think the flowers are Prima, and again, have had them for quite a while too - as I bought them the last time I went shopping at the craft show in Harrogate, which was definitely at least 3 years ago! I added some Papermania buttons for the flower middles, used some random Studio G letter stamps for the sentiment, and added some Papermania gems to finish the card off.

You can see our new wallpaper in the background....I LOVE it!

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Sketch Saturday - Sketch 197

- My Time To Craft - Circle Circus

- Divas by Design - Spots and/ Stipes

and finally

- One Stop Craft - Button It

Hope you like it :)  Thanks for looking xxx

Oh, before I go - Lizy gave me an award whilst I have been MIA...I'm getting round to finding some bloggers to pass it onto - watch this space :)

Mum's Birthday Card

Hello Bloggers,

I have been a bad blogger recently, haven't I?  Lots of things going on though, the childminding course is well under way, and I have also started my paediatric first aid course.  I have also found out that I can get started with the registration process now, rather than waiting until the end of the course....so it definitely all systems go now!

Jamie has big plans for fencing off the garden and I want to get a few paint jobs around the house done, and then it's onto buying toys and stuff for the little ones to play with!!  It's all very exciting!

Anyway, onto my card for today....

This card is for my mum's birthday...which is tomorrow :)

The image I have used is another Pollycraft - Kiki with cakes and again I have used promarkers....the card I have used isn't too good though, to be honest.  I had read that Ryman had some art card that people had found to work well with promarkers....but it's not brilliant.  It's OK if you are doing very simple colouring and not layering your colours, but too much ink, and it bleeds over the lines....also it doesn't seem great for seamless colouring either.  So this image isn't coloured in the best!

I have used some purple and lilac pearlescent card that I found in my stash.  I used a cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, and an X-cut punch for the flowers.  I then added a craftwork cards circle sentiment.

The sketch I have followed is from Sketch Saturday.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Sketch Saturday - sketch

- One Stop Craft - for the one I love (I love my mum ;))

- Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy

- Crafty Cardmakers - Monochrome Magic

Lizy, Keiran and I are off to Hobbycraft tonight, to see Jen in action...she's demoing the Big Shot tonight....and mum has given me some money (early) for my birthday, so let's see what I come back with :)

Thanks for looking xxx

Less Is More - Pinky

Hello everyone,

Before I start, just want to say hello to my new follower :)  Thankyou to everyone for following my blog, I really appreciate it!

Here is my entry into this week's Less Is More challenge, which this week, is a sketch.  The sketch must be followed exactly.

Now the photos aren't the greatest, and I have noticed that my borders aren't very straight either, but I am staying at mum's tonight, so not able to do anything about it right now.

I used a white linen card for the base and used a Stampin' Up rollergraph jumbo wheel for the decorative panel.  I think it's called Swirls...or something similar.  The wheel is inked with versamark and I have then used a bright pink mica powder.  

I then added a bright pink border with pale pink satin scallop border with an X Cut flower punch, using a white pearl gem for the flower centres.

I finished the card with a best wishes stamp, which believe it or not, I have had since I started cardmaking almost 11 years ago......which until now, had never been inked!!

The challenges I would like to enter are:

- Less Is More - A Sketch

and

- Birthday Sundaes - Birthday Wording

Thanks for looking. Xxx

Nice Weather For Ducks

I'm back again...

Here is another card I made over the weekend, and the girls persuaded me to enter the card for a DT call over at One Stop Craft Challenge too.

The image is another Pollycraft one - this time a Swings & Slides image called; Nice Weather for Ducks.  I have coloured her in with promarkers and a couple of Lizy's polychromo pencils.  I am really proud of the colouring on this image - thanks to Lizy and Jen for their hints and tips ;)

The paper is from a DCWV stack that I have, a complete surprise find that matched perfectly with the theme for this card.  The yellow card and ribbon are from Jen's stash and the blue pearlescent card is embossed with the cuttlebug - swiss dots folder.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

- One Stop Craft Challenge - Under The Weather & DT call

- Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

and the sketch is from

- The Sweet Stop - Sketch 142 - but I am too late to enter this challenge.

Thanks for looking! xxx

A Special Card

Hello Bloggers,

Where on earth has this week gone? Only seems like 5 minutes since Lizy and I were over at Jen's, crafting all weekend!

Well I'm going to post a few cards today, showing some of the cards I made over the weekend.  Unfortunately, a lot of the challenges the cards were made for, have closed now, so I am trying to find new challenges to enter them into.

So here is my first card.....this is a special one for Jamie.

Now this card was the first card I made on Saturday, over at Jen's.  I wanted to enter the Less Is More challenge, and when I saw Lizy's fab entry, I knew exactly what to do.  So thanks Lizy, for the great inspiration!

The image is Pollycraft - Baxter & Bridget - Sweethearts, which I coloured with promarkers.  I then used heart nesties to create the aperture and a frame.  When I was gluing the frame onto the card, I noticed a couple of white speckles on the card.  We were a little baffled as to where they came from, but came up with the idea of using them to my advantage...so I borrowed Jen's white pen, and added some more white dots to create a panel down the card.  I also added a black heart, cut with the smallest nestie with an added heart gem for an embellishment.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Less Is More - Cut It Out

- Cute Card Thursday - You're A Gem

- Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

and finally

- Cupcake Craft Challenges - All You Need Is Love

Thanks for looking! xxx

Who Is She?

Hello Bloggers,

I have just been looking for inspiration for a few cards, as Lizy and I are off to Jen's for a crafty weekend tomorrow....but the urge was too much and I ended up making a card rather than putting something together for tomorrow.

It's a little different for me - made the card a little grungy with distress inks but I really like it....

Whatcha think?  I have had the image stamped and coloured (with promarkers) for quite a while and only yesterday did I decide to do something with her....now, I thought she was a Greeting Farm stamp, but I can't seem to find her online anywhere - so who is she?!  Does anyone else have the same stamp and know where she's from? I really like her and would love some more girls similar.

Anyway, I used some Bazill cardstock for the base and the paper is by Chatterbox.  I am sure if they are still making paper or not, but I have this paper in my scrapbooking stash for such a long time, and the colours were perfect for this image.....OK I'll let you into a little secret.  The pink accents on the girl's outfit were actually cream, but when I found this paper, I recoloured them pink.....so the paper does match her now ;)

The ribbon, flower and gems were from my stash.  I have used Tea Dye distress ink for the grungy look.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Seems A Little Sketchy - Sketch 4

- Cupcake Craft Challenges - Born on a Winter's Day

and

- I (heart) Promarkers - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking! xxx

Pollycraft Card

Hiya everyone,

I have managed to get another card made today - loving all this creative play time at the mo, but this will soon be a thing of the past once I start childminding.  Will just mean that me, Lizy and Jen will have to plan more crafty days over the weekends....that'll be fun :)

Anyway, onto the card for today....

I have used a Pollycraft image that was in my bundle off Lizy, for Christmas...it's Jerry Kisses - Drummer.  After forcing the printer to take the card, I managed to print onto some watercolour card and then used my Whisper pens to colour the image.  However, ink jet ink and water don't mix very well, as you might be able to see, the ink ran and bled into the image a little.  So I stopped watercolouring and just used the pens normally.  Still like the effect though.  I used a circle punch for the image and a quickutz cookie cutter die for the scallop circle.

I don't know the name of the paper I'm afraid, as it's from my huge pile of scrapbooking stash and it was in my scrap bag, so no idea who makes it......added some Papermania buttons to the corner.

The sketch I have followed is from Sketch Saturday.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Sketch Saturday - Sketch

- Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Bingo

and 

- Cards for Men - Boys & Their Toys

Thanks for looking :)

It's A Boy

I'm back again - two days running!  I'm doing well ;)

Whilst having a look for bird stamps for the Less Is More challenge, I came across a little duck stamp - no idea where it came from, but thought it was quite cute.....and hadn't been inked yet...so I had a quick play this afternoon.

This is another OLC for the Less is More challenge - I stamped the duck onto watercolour card (which I used for the card base) and then made a mask of the duck and found a nestie that fit nicely around the image, and grabbed my SU inks - I choose a pale blue ink (can't remember the name) but because the sponge I used had been used already, the background came out darker than I wanted......I then watercoloured the duck using my Whisper pens and added a stamped sentiment.

Hope you like it :)

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Less is More - One Layer Cards - Birds

Thanks for looking :)

Long Time No Blog!

Well hello everyone!!

It's been just over a month since I last blogged!  Time just ran away with me over the festive period and the first week of the new year has been spent recovering from a chest infection.....

But I'm back and I'm blogging again! Yay!

It was Jamie's mum's birthday yesterday, and even though they are a "no card" family, I still made her one.....

Quite a simple card - white card base stamped with a flower stamp using black memento ink - I think it is an Anita's stamp, computer printed sentiment cut out with a nestie and coloured using pearly chalks.  And three flowers stamped and cut out with pearl centres for embellishment :)

I really am on a roll again now, and think having a gentle push from Lizy is helping too ;)

Here is my next card, which is my first Christmas card of 2012!  I know, I know, but like many other people, at least I'll be prepared for this Christmas :)

A very simple card, mainly made for the Less is More challenge, which is a one layer card using a theme of birds...a penguin is a bird, isn't it?  Never sure if it's a bird or a mammal! I have used a Little Claire's stamp, stamped directly onto my card blank using black memento ink again.  I have coloured the image using Sakura Stardust pens for the glittery look.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Less is More - One Layer Card - Birds

Sweet Stampin' -All That Glitters

and

ABC Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking and hope you like my cards!

See you all soon x