Melt my heart like April Snowflake!

Hello .... still off work today and not feeling great - slept till nearly 11.30 am so I must have been feeling bad! Just managed to sit down for an hour or two to make a card to take my mind off it. I recently bought a few new (to me!) Sugar Nellies including this adorable Christmas stamp "Snowflake" - as my target of one Christmas card per week is currently running about 13 weeks behind I thought it might be good to reduce the deficit lol!

This card is for the new Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge - loved this week's sketch. My card is actually quite a lot more sparkly than the picture shows, but I guess that's English springtime for you (April showers and all that ...very dull here today!)

Recipe:
Main image: Sugar nellie "Snowflake", watercoloured and decorated with Glamour Dust;
Sentiment: Penny Black;
Paper: BasicGrey "Figgy Pudding";
Supplies: White pearlescent card punched with MS "Scalloped Dot" punch; snowflakes die cut using Cuttlebug small snowflakes die; ribbon and gems from my stash.

Just off to put my feet up now and have a cup of tea ... hope you are all having a good day.

Stamptacular - Charmed I'm Sure!

Been off work sick today, so tried to do a bit of cardmaking even though my mojo was having a nap somewhere lol! Not great when your head is like cottonwool!!

I hadn't got round yet to entering the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge, but this week's Challenge #4 is to use a charm on your card ... and as I have really gotten into charms over the past couple of months I thought I'd have a go.

I inked up my new Sugar Nellie stamp "Basket Full of Happiness" - isn't she gorgeous? Actually I inked her up several times because for some reason I couldn't seem to get a good impression .. but I got there in the end. I coloured my image with the usual watercolour pencils and put some li'l gems in the flowers in her hair ... aww! I cut out the shape using my large deckle rectangle nesties, and inked the edges. My papers are Melissa Frances (floral) and free with a magazine (striped); flowers are by Prima and Papermania; paper roses are from Hobbycraft; swirls were cut using my Spellbinders Shapeabilities "Doodles" and leaves punched using my Leone Em Ash Branch punch; lace was an RAK from Cathy; charm was from ebay shop Dolls Made Up; pearl gems from my stash. Sentiment stamps were free with this month's Creativity magazine (front) and WOJ (inside).

And here is the inside .....

Hope I feel a bit more like cardmaking tomorrow lol!

Corks a poppin' !

A lady in my office is going to be 50 next week, so I wanted to make her a celebration card. I tried to follow Dawny's fab sketch over at PTW ... I rotated it 90 degrees and substituted a swirl and flower for the "bar" across the main image, plus I added a second lot of text, so I hope it qualifies :-)

I would also like to enter this into two other challenges, namely
Simon Says Challenge #2 which this week is recycle ... my swirls are cut from holographic card which was formerly an Asda tissue box!
E-A-C #36, which is only one scrap paper

And here's the inside ....

Recipe:
Image: Forever Friends, coloured with watercolour pencils and decorated with glamour dust.
Sentiments: See-D "Celebration Messages" (front), Hero Arts (inside).
Paper: Melissa Frances.
Supplies: Swirls cut using Shapeabilities "Doodles"; pink and white daisies by Papermania; pink rose from Hobbycraft; pink flowers (inside) - Prima; pink and silver gems by Papermania, heart shaped button by Doodlebug.

Penny Black Challenge #46 - anything goes!

Another week has flown by and here we are at Saturday again, which can mean only one thing ...yep, it's time for another Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Thanks for the fantastic response to last week's challenge - there were lots of fabulous interpretations of Nat's sketch. As always, don't forget to check the blog to see who won last week's prize.

This week we decided to be kind, so the challenge gives you the widest possible scope - yes, literally

Anything Goes!

That's right ... the rule is - there are no rules, except of course that you must use a Penny Black stamp or sticker on your creation. So let your imaginations run riot!!

And this week we really have got a super prize ... so sad we have to give it away cos I want it lol!! Heidi from Simon Says Stamp has kindly sponsored this week's prize...

... which is this fabulous transparent PB set - "Spring Friends " - how cute is that?

All the DT members have really given their imaginations full rein, so please do visit their blogs and check them out.

As we had a free choice this week, I thought I would continue with last week's theme of trying out different Penny Black "looks", and I have tried to go with vintage/shabby and sepia.

The whole thing was based around my only vintage PB stamp ("Rain or Shine Friends") which I really love ... teamed with a new WOJ sentiment stamp that I thought went with the image just perfectly! I coloured my image with watercolour pencils (skin) and everything else with a brown Marvey marker, watered down to give different shades. I also inked around the edges of the image with distress ink, and matted onto some "distressed gold" cardstock which I cut with deckle-edge scissors. The flowers are both Prima, lace is from Hobbycraft, cute umbrella charm from ebay shop "Dolls Made Up", and the papers, large metallic bead cap and pearl gems are from my stash. (sorry the papers didn't have a make written on them!) I also threw in a bit of faux stitching and tearing on the papers just to liven things up a bit!

No interior shots of this card as I didn't have time to decorate it (yet!) ... by the time i finished the front it was already past my bedtime lol!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and look forward to seeing all your "freestyle" creations.

Now I hope this isn't too cheeky, but on the basis of "so many challenges.... so little time ..." etc. I would like to enter this card also into this week's Stamp Something challenge, which I spotted a matter of moments after logging on after posting this card - you've got to admit, the fit with the challenge of flowers and showers is just too good to miss! :-)

7 challenges - well knock me down with a feather!

Every month a group of crafty friends and I get together for a little "bits & pieces" challenge where one member sends out a kit .... and all 16 of us then have to make a card using some part of each item from the contents. This month I received a kit from my crafty friend Kaz, which contained:

1 piece or green cardstock embossed with leaves

1 piece of pale yellow handmade paper

1 piece of white Japanese silk paper

1 large green jewel brad

1 length of white/silver ribbon

1 white feather

OMG!! I thought .. this is all very pretty and nice, but what am I supposed to do with a feather ??? And just to add a bit more brain ache, the other element of the challenge was to make our own flowers ....eek!

Time was passing by and inspiration wasn't coming to me, but as the deadline had passed and I also needed to make a "get well" card for my other friend Squirrel who has just had a big knee op, I thought I'd better get to it!! As usual I also cast around for other challenges to inspire me, and here is the result ....

I bought my new WOJ Melinda on Monday and she struck me as very apt for a get well card; and then it occurred to me I could tie her in with the theme of a white feather ... thank the angels for that! I was still struggling with the handmade flower theme, but I had seen another fab card by my friend Samantha featuring a gorgeous flower for which she has put a great tutorial on her blog, and decided to give it a go! So finally I was up and running.

I would like to enter the card for the following challenges:

Stamp With Fun - I have laid out the card in line with this week's sketch

Stamp Something - yellow, green and blue - which I have reflected in the cardstock and papers

Cute Card Thursday #56 - Floral Fantasy

One-Stop Craft Challenge - Decorative Cuts (my greeting is Cuttlebug diecut, and I have punched the edges inside and out)

Creative Card Crew #7 - Round and around - I have made a circular flower, used a circular brad, and punched a border of circles using my new MS "Scallop Dot" punch

Dutch Dare #44 - Favourite Things - well I have so many ... but at the moment my Melinda stamp is right up there, as is my new MS punch.

...and of course I have made the card for my friends' challenge, making a total of 7 :-)

Recipe:

Image: WOJ "Melinda with bouquet", coloured with watercolour pencils and Sakura glitter pen (flowers), and wings deorated with Glamour Dust;

Papers: BasicGrey "Oh! Baby Boy" collection;

Supplies: papers used for flower, green cardstock, brad , ribbon and feather from my friend's kit; raffia lace from Hobbyraft; flowers inside by Prima and Floradoodles; edging created using MS "Scallop Dot" punch (from ebay); large gold beadcaps (flower centres) from the Hobby House; pearl gems from my stash.

In the end I'm actually pretty pleased with how the card turned out, and think I may well use the idea of a white feather with Melinda again in future :-)

Fantastic WOJ news for northwest crafters ... and Katharina's summer kit candy

Great news for all northwest England crafters .... we now have our own local stockist of the gorgeous Whiff of Joy stamps ...yippee!! Paula and Michelle at Craft in Time, Orford Lane Warrington have recently become a stockist, and WOJ stamps are NOW IN STOCK!! They have put my little order aside so I am so excited I can hardly wait to get over there (I own only 2 WOJ figures + a set of sentiments up to now .. but boy is that about to change!!)

Craft in Time is well worth a visit .. not only do they stock the fabulous WOJ but also a great variety of other stamps inc. Sarah Kay, Penny Black and lots more .... plus a fab range of 12 * 12 papers, cardstock, all sorts of other cardmaking, scrapbooking and jewellery making supplies ! They are open 7 days a week too, so what's not to like? Even better, Paula has another HUGE order of WOJ's in the pipeline which she is hoping fervently will arrive in time for her to take to the Happy Stampers fair at Port Sunlight on May 9th .... so why not visit her stall there to stock up??

As many of you will know, Katharina Frei is now taking pre-orders for the WOJ Summer Stamp kit ... and is celebrating by giving away 2 complete sets - WOW! Visit her candy post on her blog to find out more and enter!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #45 - Sketch .. and DC April friendship card

Welcome to the weekend, and to week 45 of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Hope you have all had a good Easter, and not got too grossed out on all those choccie eggs lol!

Thanks once again for everyone's inspired efforts for last week's challenge - there were some fabulous ideas, and there will be some very lucky recipients for all those gorgeous gifts! Don't forget to check the challenge blog to see who won last week's fabbie stickeroos.

Onto this week's challenge, which is a sketch by our very own Natalie. We hope you love this as much as we did - it's a fab one to work with. The DT members have been busy creating some gorgeous samples to inspire you - hope you will visit their blogs for a look.

As always we have got a fantastic prize on offer - this week it is this cute set of stamps donated by our very own Jacqui - thanks hun! Don't forget that the only rule to be entered for the prize is that you use at least one Penny Black image (picture or sentiment) or a PB sticker on your creation.

This week I have decided to have a little change from making a cute card - I really adore all the PB cuties as I think they have such loveable faces and real personalities ... but there are also so many more "looks" you can achieve with PB's. I really love the brushstroke flowers as it is so easy to achieve a really artistic watercoloured effect. I'm also having a bit of a "lilac moment" as I'm really loving these serene colours.

This card is also my Docrafts April friendship card for Kirsten - I hope she will have received it by the time this is posted!

Here is a bit more detailed view of the brushstroke flower image .... I have also broadly followed the sketch to decorate the inside ....

Recipe:
Main image: Penny Black "Quite Dandy" coloured with Marvey brushstroke pens & cut out using nesties. Background sponged with "thistle" Colorbox Q ink, and edges inked with Versamagic Chalk Ink in Spring Pansy;
Sentiment: Whiff of Joy, mounted on slider cut out using Cuttlebug;
Papers: Karen Neuburger for Paper Adventures (florals); paper Pzazz (blue sponged) - all edges inked with Versamagic chalk ink as above;
Supplies: Butterfly charm from ebay shop Dolls Made Up; flowers from WH Smith; paper roses from Crafts4u2do; ribbon, pearl gems and dragonfly brad from my stash.

Happy weekend everyone, and looking forward to seeing your creations :-)

D&D with Charisma ... and some lovely awards!

I'm still loving my D&D stamps even though I've had very little chance to use them just yet. This week's D&D challenge #5 is a sketch, so I thought I'd have a little play yesterday evening inbetween watching the TV.

I was also keen to enter a card for this week's Charisma Cardz Challenge #14 as the theme is purple and green ... and as luck would have it I picked out a piece of paper that I loved the other day that is exactly those colours !

Recipe:
Main image: D&D stamp "Candyfloss" coloured with watercolour pencils and Sakura sparkle pens.
Sentiment: Penny Black transparent set "Salutations".
Paper: Bo Bunny (I think!) from Craft in Time.
Supplies: Green pearlised cardstock punched with MS doily punch; lilac pearlised carstock embossed wtih Cuttlebug "Floral Fantasy" folder; raffia lace crom Hobbycraft; flowers from Prima, WH Smith, green FloraDoodles and paper roses from Crafts4u2do; large pearl gems from winning Camilla's candy :-)

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Now I have really been a naughty blogger, cos I have received three award over recent weeks, but I haven't put them on my blog - I really do appreciate them but time seems to have flown by so fast ...the main probelm has been finding time to think about and pick who to pass them onto :-)

Anyhow .. I have decided to procrastinate no longer, so this is my mega catch-up session !! ......

First of all, I received this fab award from my PBSC DT teamie Domi :-) Now I really am naughtily late in posting this ... sorry hun! Not sure how many peeps I am supposed to pass this on to, so as it says "Top 10 Fav's" have decided to pass it on to my top 10 commenters as they are kind enough to visit regularly and make my heart smile :-) So that would be .... Bev, Riet, Tasha, Helen, Sharon, Marcea, Carole, Tracy & Rach (Domi is also a top commenter lol!).


Secondly, I got this lovely one from Sharon - she is one of my best blogging buddies and her kindness means a lot. I thought I would like to pass this one on to a few people I know who have recently started their own blogs, to say fab work! and keep it up!! So that would be Sue, Carol and Squirrel.


Last but by no means least, I have received the fab Lumas Thorn Award from the elves at Lumas Thorn and from the lovely Bev. Now there are a lot of blogs I enjoy visiting and quite a few that really do inspire me loads ... but of all the blogs I visit Bev's is right up there ... and judging by the number of followers she has clearly there are a LOT of people who would agree with that lol! So I'm really touched by this, and would like to pass it on to 5 peeps who inspire me the most - not only with their fab cards but also by their kindness and fun. Now this is a hard one .. but I'd like to pick Helen, Sharon, Tracie, Jacqui and Debbie .... sorry I couldn't pick more !!

Hope everyone is enjoying Easter week :-)

Sugar Bowl #8 - My first Gorjuss Girl!

There's a fantastic sketch by Tiets on the go over at the Sugar Bowl, so I had to spend some of my holiday crafting time having a go, whilst at the same time building up my stash of cards for upcoming birthdays.

This is my first Gorjuss Girls card - sadly not due to a sudden rush of ordering, but an RAK kindly sent to me by Domi - thanks hun! I really love this image though, so I may have to flex my credit card when it is back in stock lol!

Recipe:
Main image: SN "Gorjuss Girl" "Sitting", coloured with watercolour pencils.
Sentiment: Penny Black "Critter Party" transparent set.
Papers: Basic Grey (the orange flowery paper) K&Co (background) and Papermania ( the tiny bit just peeking out at the top).
Supplies: Papermania "gemstones" cardstock; "labels 2" nesties; pearlised cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug "Bloom Dots" folder; Prima flowers, held in place by a large spacer from the Hobby House; Spellbinders Shapeabilities "Doodles"; charm from Dolls Made Up ; Doodlebug sugar coated brads; raffia lace from Hobbycraft; MS doily punch (inside).

And the inside ....


Hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday ... I still have another day's holiday tomorrow (yippee!)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #44 - Gift

Happy Easter everyone, and welcome to week 44 of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Hope you are all enjoying the long weekend, even though the weather hasn't been too great as yet. It was fabulous to see everyone's Easter cards last week ... how cute were all those bunnies, chicks etc... - it really put a feeling of spring in the air! Don't forget to check the challenge blog to see who has won last week's fab prize.

This week we would like you all to show your caring and sharing side, as the theme is to make a

gift

Hopefully this gives you a lot of scope, and we can't wait to see what ideas you come up with - as always, the only rule is that you use at least one Penny Black stamp or sticker on your creation. To check out the fabulous ideas from the rest of the DT, please do hop over to the challenge blog.

As always we have a beautiful prize on offer this week - 2 sets of the latest stickeroos donated by Tracie, with a selection of adorable images.

Well, this truly was a challenge for me, as I have only ever made cards until now. I have already regaled my fellow DT teamies with the sad but hilarious tale of my intial creative efforts .... let's just say that none of my nearest and dearest are going to be burning a gift candle anytime soon lol!! As time went by photos of the other DT's glorious efforts started to pile up until I was in a right lather ... but luckily in this 24/7 information age I was able to turn to Youtube, where I found this Particraft tutorial for a gift bag..... I followed the tutorial for the basic shape and decorated it in a Penny Black style!

The shape of the bag immediately suggested to me being filled with couple of dinky toiletry bottles, so I took that as my theme. I made the bag from double sided Deja Vu's paper, and decorated one side with the cute image of the cat in the bath from the PB transparent set "Bubbly", mounted on my new "labels 3" nesties. The image is also quite sparkly as I had a good shake of the Glamour Dust over the bubbles, but the dull photo conditions haven't really highlighted that. On the other side I used the "spoil yourself.." sentiment from the same set for the gift tag - it just seemed right with the pampering theme.

My flowers are a mixture of Papermania and Prima; brads are Doodlebug sugar coated; and I have also incorporated a yummy new large spacer which arrived yesterday (with a few packets of its mates!) from the Hobby House. Leaves are punched with the Leone Em Ash Branch punch - ribbon and small spacer are from my stash.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the Easter break.

Hugs

Sketch Saturday #45 - Easter bunny

I really love this week's Sketch Saturday sketch which was produced by my friend PBSC DT friend Tracie; and Icouldn't wait to use it for one of my Easter cards .. in fact I like this sketch so much I'm planning another card with it as well.

This is my last Easter card - I haven't managed to make as many as I would have liked this year, but I have still enjoyed doing them.

For this one I used a gorgeous RAK image that I received in a Docrafts friendship swap with Margaret (Arum Lily) - it is PB "Bunny Bath" - I think I may need to buy it lol! I coloured the bunny using watercolour pencils and a little glitter on the butterfly, and sponged the edges with Colourbox Q pink ink. I matted the image onto lemon pearlescent card using my brand new large deckle rectangle nesties, which I found a couple of days ago in my local craft shop Edwin Allen, despite them being out of stock in all the major online stores - yay! I also embossed the lemon card using the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls folder, and mounted the lot onto paper from the Papermania "Sweet Nothings" pack. I finished off with raffia lace from Hobbycraft threaded with narrow ribbon from my stash; a mixture of Papermania and WH Smith flowers pinned with a Doodlebug sugar coated brad; and charm, spacer and pearl brads from my stash. The sentiment is also by PB.

I'm on holiday from work today so I'm chillin' .. just need to decide whether to do some cardmaking or go shopping .. or then again maybe I could go craft shopping lol!! Actually I received a little package of yummy spacers from the Hobby House today, so maybe I'll just stay in and play!

Thanks for looking!