Shop 'Til You Drop!

Good morning everyone,

It's Thursday again, so it's time for another Crafty Little Fairies challenge, and this week it's the turn of the Pink Fairies to host the challenge.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered last week's challenge - we always love looking at your fabulous entries .. don't forget to check the challenge blog to see if you have won last week's prize.

This week our challenge theme is

Shopping

and we are very pleased to be sponsored  by  Delicious Doodles

who are kindly offering 4 digis of the winner's choice.

Please remember that in order to be eligible for our prize you must use stamping (rubber or digi) as the main focus of your project.

Well I honestly don't know where the past fortnight has gone to, as this is the first card I have managed to make in that time. I'm definitely not fitting in nearly as much crafting as I used to ... but I'm trying to be kind to myself and not put myself under too much pressure - after all crafting is supposed to be fun!!

Personally I definitely think shopping is fun if  I'm in the mood for it, so I thought this was a really sweet challenge. Here's what I did - do check out the main challenge  blog for some fabulous inspiration from the rest of the DT.

Admittedly I don't have many stamp that fit this theme, so this one sprang fairly quickly to mind!  I may have had this stamp a long time, but I still think it's pretty cute!

Stamps: LotV "Dropping the shopping!" and "Christmas sentiment tags";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; image decorated with glimmer dust;

Papers: Wild Rose Studio "Annabelle's Christmas" (free with craft magazine);

Supplies: flowers and pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts; ribbon from my stash;

Tools: large classic circle and lacy circle nestabilities; Leone Em "Ash Branch" leaf die; Cuttlebug "Snowflakes" embossing folder.

Challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Sketchie (rotated 180° )

Fab 'n' Funky #205 - Christmas 

Winter Wonderland - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Allsorts #247 - Ladies' Day

Deep Ocean #72 - Just For A Girl

Stampin' for the Weekend - Flower Power

Creatalicious #60 - Pearls & Glitter

Divas By Design - Make It Sparkle!

Kaboodle #212 - Use Ribbon

ABC Christmas - D is for Die Cut

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes With Pearls

Christmas Cards #13 - Anything Goes

That's all for today - hope you can join us over at Crafty Little Fairies this week.

Hugs,

Crafty Little Fairies DT - Lavender & Lace

Good morning everyone - another week has flown past, it's Thursday, and so it's time again already for another Crafty Little Fairies challenge.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined the challenge last week - it's always so lovely looking at your creations.

This week it's the turn of the Pink Fairies, our challenge theme is 

Lavender & Lace

We are thrilled to be sponsored by Stamp and Create

Don't forget that in order to be eligible for the prize, you must use a stamped image on your creation.

I really liked this theme as I love soft lavender and lilac hues, and am also a big fan of lace ... together they make me think of vintage inspired, serene cards. Here's what I made.

I distressed all the edges of my  papers using my TH distressing tool and also distressed some soft lilac ink onto my image background. I also did a bit of faux stitching all around the edges of my papers.

Stamps: LotV "Pretty  Bouquet" and "Everyday Grungy Sentiments";

Media: Promarkers & Flexmarkers;

Papers: make unknown - a gift from my lovely friend Jennifer;

Supplies: flowers from various places including Wild Orchid Crafts, Hobbycraft (cherry blossom), The Ribbon Girl (spirals) and local craft shop (baby's breath); lace from The Ribbon Box; pearls from The Hobby House; cheesecloth from the Ribbon Girl; ribbon from my stash;

Tools: large floral oval nestabilities; Tim Holtz distressing tool.

Challenges:

Creative Romance - Sketch

Allsorts #243 - Vintage

Fussy & Fancy #106 - Vintage

Divas by Design - Vintage With Lace

Bunny Zoe's (January) - Stitching

Sweet Stampin' - In Stitches

Incy Wincy - Ribbons & Pearls

The Hobby House (January) - Ribbons

Crafting For All Seasons #69 - For The Girls

Crafty Catz #215 -  Monochrome

The Ribbon Girl - Anything Goes

Lili of the Valley - Anything Goes (5th & final entry)

Passion For Promarkers #232 - Anything Goes

Hope you can join us at Crafty Little Fairies this week, and look forward to seeing your creations.

hugs,

Crafty Little Fairies - Autumn Colours

Good morning everyone and welcome to another Crafty Little Fairies challenge. Thanks so much for all your entries last week - so good to see you sticking with our new venture.

This week it's the turn of the Pink Fairies, and our theme is

Autumn Colours

So we would love to see all your rich shades of red, deep yellows and golds, oranges and/or browns - lovely!

This week's kind sponsor is Teresa from My Crafty Heart with a £10 store voucher - woo hoo!



Don't forget the challenge is now open to all makes of stamp (inked or digi) so have fun!

The rest of the DT have filled the air with autumn colours - here is my effort.

The truth is I don't use autumn colours very much ... but I thought these yummy LotV papers would fit the bill so I based everything else around them. Don't you just love this cute image ... I thought it goes so well with the papers. :-)

Stamp: LotV "Emma Pot Plant";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; image edged wtih "shabby white" frantage;

Papers: LotV "Country Lady";

Supplies: flowers all from Wild Orchid Ceafts apart from white rose; berries by Magnolia from the Glitterpot; lace and twine from The Ribbon Girl; pearl from The Hobby House; sentiment from LotV Art Pad 8; gingham ribbon from my stash.

 Challenges:

Lili of the Valley Ideas To Inspire (September) - Ribbon & Lace

Wild Orchid Crafts #86 - Inspired By Autumn

Sketch Saturday #277 - Sketch

Hope you can join us in the Crafty Little Fairies challenge this time - good luck!

Hugs,

Hello Cupcake!

 

Hi everyone - hope you are enjoying the long weekend if you're here in the UK.

 

Now I would be the first to admit that I'm no cook (luckily my darling husband can cook so we don't starve!) and nor have I ever been interested in baking. However for some bizarre reason, since my mum passed away I have started to have a strange urge to bake something ... and specifically cupcakes! This first came over me about three weeks ago - I didn't even own much in the way of baking equipment, so I spent about two weeks looking around the supermarkets and one or two specialist shops in order to get the necessary bits and pieces together. Having got that far I had a bit of a delay as I had a rotten cold for a week and a half, but last week I finally got down to business and made my first ever cupcakes - vanilla with raspberry buttercream icing.

 

So today I thought I would celebrate this success (I took a few in for my colleagues and they seemed to go down well) with a pic of the cakes, and a card to match :-)

 

First ... the cupcakes ....

 

I made them in rather large cupcake cases so the recipe for 12 only made 7 lol! (and I had to sample one to make sure they were cooked before icing!!)

 

 

The icing is a bit amateurish as it was rather soft for piping so I lost all control of my piping bag, but hey they still tasted the same!!

 

And now here is the card I made.

 

 

I just love this adorable image - I just hope that people will continue to reach their hands out eagerly for any future cupcakes I might make!!

 

 

Stamps: LotV "Hello Cupcake"  and "Sentiment Tags"; Penny Black sentiment from "Bubbly" transparent set;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; "Shabby White" frantage in image and paper;

Paper: Docrafts "Vintage Notes";

Supplies: flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts; lace from Hobbycraft; heart pearls from The Hobby House; lace from John Lewis; rose printed ribbon and doily from my stash.

  

 

Challenges:

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #171 - Sketch

 

 

Shabby Tea Room #181 - Picture Inspiration + Flowers and a Tea Theme

 

 

Crafty Creations #236 - Shabby Chic

Papertake Weekly - Flower Power

Crafting For All Seasons #59 - Tag It!

Totally Papercrafts #181 - Tags & Hearts

Gem of A Challenge #94 - Anything With a B

(Bow)

Totally Gorjuss #198 - Bows

Bunny Zoe's Challenge (August) - Bingo!

(tag / sparkle / flowers)

Crafty Ribbons #58 - Anything Goes With Ribbon

 

 

That's all for today ... back to the Christmas cards now ... and maybe I'll bake a few more cupcakes ... :-)

 

Hugs,

Lili's Little Fairies Team B Challenge - Red, White & Blue

 

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's challenge at Lili's Little Fairies. Thanks so much to everyone who joined in last week's challenge - fabulous entries as always.

 

This week we are helping our friends across the pond to celebrate July 4th with a colour theme of

 

Red, White & Blue

 

You can interpret this however you choose, so long as you stick to the colour theme as your predominant colours, and use either a LotV stamp or die cut as the focus of your creation.

 

This week we are thrilled to be sponsored by Crafty Ribbons

 

 

with a £10 store voucher :-)

 

 

The rest of the DT have waved the flag with their fabulous creations ... here's my effort.

 

 

Now I have to hold my hand up and say I did struggle a bit with this one, as I don't really go for this colour combo at all .... but I DO rather like it for Christmas cards. So here it is ... my third Christmas card of 2013 lol!

 

Stamps: LotV "Shine A Light" and "Christmas Grungy Messages";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; plentiful glamour dust on the image;

Paper: LotV "Nitwits - Frosty Christmas";

Supplies: ribbon from Hobbycraft; gems from The Hobby House;

Tools: decorative labels eight nestabilities; Cheery Lynn "Queen Anne lace" border die and "Lace Corner - Deco B" corner die.

 

 

Challenges:

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #163 - Sketch

(rotated 90 degrees to the right)

 

 

Craft Your Passion #169 - Red, White & Blue

Creative Inspirations #221 - Red, White &  blue

Kaboodle #178 - National Day or Flag Colours

(UK red, white & blue)

Cheery Lynn #87 - Christmas in July

Pile It On #26 - Bling

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Bearly Mine #93 - Anything Goes

Stampin' For The Weekend - Anything Goes

 

Thanks for visiting today, and look forward to seeing your creations this week.

Hugs,

Pretty In Pink

 

Good evening everyone, and welcome to that very rare event .. yes I've made a card!! As of those of you who know me well know already, I'm not doing much crafting at the moment due to family circumstances - I'm a bit short on time but moreso than that I have very little mojo.  However I'm on leave from work this week and not going away, so this afternoon I just felt like making a card - the first one in three and a half weeks!! So without further ado, here it is!

 

 

I sat down with no clear idea of what I was going to make, and just glanced at my challenge notebook to get a few ideas. I obviously haven't been entering many challenges recently, so I thought I'd try to make up for lost time today lol!

 

 

Stamps: LotV "Emma Rose Garden";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: Papermania "Lucy Cromwell" (background) and LotV "Perfect Pair" (paper roses);

Supplies: ribbon and cheesecloth from The Ribbon Girl; lace from John Lewis; pearls from The Hobby House; sentiment from LotV art pad 7 (sentiments); daisy and small roses from Wild Orchid Crafts; white spray and doily from my stash;

Tools: large classic circle and scalloped circle nestabilities; Marianne Design "English Rose" flower and leaf dies; Joy Crafts "Floral Flourishes - Butterfly" die.

 

 

 Challenges:

Lili of the Valley (July) - Pretty In Pink (hope there's enough pink on there!)

I ♥ Promarkers #174 - Pink & Blue

Bunny Zoe's Challenge (June) - Wings

Totally Gorjuss #190 - Wings

Oldie But A Goodie - Butterflies

(old stash is my paper and rose die)

Crafting For All Seasons #55 - Make It Girly

My Mum's #7 - Just For Girls

Marianne's Design Divas #23 - Lace & Pearls

Crafty Catz #189 - Say It With Flowers

Dream Valley #60 - Make Your Own Flowers

Fab 'n' Funky #177 - Use A Doily

Crafty Ribbons #50 - Anything Goes With Ribbon

Simon Says - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp & Show - Anything Goes

Crafts & Me #138 - Anything Goes 

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes 

 

Not sure when i'll be back again, but hope it will be before too long :-)

Hugs,

Sweet Blossom

 

Good afternoon - at last a bit of good weather, and just in time for the late Spring Bank Holiday in the UK - yippee!

 

It has made me come over all spring-like, so I thought I would make a card with one of my new acquisitions, this gorgeous Whimsy stamp called "Sweet Blossom".

 

 

 Stamp: Whimsy by Syvie Zet "Sweet Blossom";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Paper: Prima;

Supplies: flowers by Wild Orchid Crafts; pearls from The Hobby House; ribbon from Hobbycraft; sentiment by Craftwork Cards; doily from my stash;

Tools: large and large classic scalloped circle nestabilities; Marianne D "Branch Forest" die; Martha Stewart "garden trellis" edge punch and "monarch butterfly" punch; Cuttlebug "daisy pattern" embossing folder.

 

 

 Challenges:

Joanna Sheen - Girls, Girls, Girls

Creatalicious #50 - For The Girls

Allsorts #208 - Happy Birthday

Marianne's Design Divas - Get Your Dies Out

Sweet Stampin' - Doilies and Dies

Cute Card Thursday #270 - Tie It Up

Crafty Ribbons #46 - Anything Goes With Ribbon

MAWTT - Embossing

By The Cute & Girly (May) - Flowers

Everybody-Art #237 - Flowers

Passion For Promarkers #199 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Whimsy #59 - Anything Goes

 

 

 That's all for today - enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Annabelle's Meadow

Good afternoon everyone - hope you're all enjoying the weekend. This is my first post for 9 days as I have been suffering from a distinct lack of mojo ... had a sore throat and raging earache this week so I've felt more like curling up in front of the TV after work rather than crafting! Anyhow I have eventually got myself slightly into gear, and here is a card.

 

 

not a great picture I'm afraid as everywhere in the house is either glaring sun (yippee!!) or in shadow ... the greens on this card are not really true but alas it's the best I can do!  I decided to have a go with this extremely pretty stamp "Annabelle's Meadow" by Wild Rose Studio, which was a freebie in this month's Quick Card Made Easy magazine.

 

 

 

Stamps: Wild Rose Studio "Annabelle's meadow" (free with issue 112 of Quick Cards Made Easy magazine); LotV "Everyday Sentiment Circles";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV "Perfect Pair";

Supplies: all flowers by Wild Orchid Crafts; berries by Magnolia from The Glitterpot; pearls from The Hobby House; silky crush ribbon from The Ribbon Girl; doily from my stash;

Tools: martha Stewart "monarch butterfly" punch.

 

 

Challenges:

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #152 - Sketch

 

Allsorts #203 - A Passion For Flowers

Bearly Mine #82 - Spring Flowers

Penny Black & More At Allsorts (April) - Blossoms & Bows (2nd entry)

Divas By Design - Butterflies and Birds

Oldie But A Goodie - Make It Girly

(sentiment stamp and pearls are over 6 months old)

Crafty Ribbons #43 - Pink & Green

Top Tip Tuesday #99 - Say It Isn't Sew! (non-machine sewing)

Live & Love #10 - Bingo! (pink, 2 papers, pearls)

 

That's all for today -  hope you're enjoying the long overdue spring weather we're having :-)

Hugs,