Creative Card Crew Challenge

I realised I hadn't got round to making a card with the fab sketch that featured over on the Creative Card Crew Challenge. Melissa was guest DT and made a beautiful card and I meant to use the sketch earlier as I find them really inspiring and they help me get creative.

It is really simple (as you know most of my cards are!) and also I wanted to make one real quick! So I used my Whispers to colour an image sent by Debbie (thanks!) then place it on some cuttlebug embossed papers (thanks Oonie!) and then onto the card with some peel offs (yep I have used peel offs for the first time ever!!!). This is destined for a young nephews birthday in September.

Thanks CCC and looking forward to the next one.

Scrummy stash

Over at Glitter Me Silly, Caryn is celebrating her first year of blogging and is giving away some stash to celebrate. There are lotsa Chrimbo bits so perfect for all the seasonal crafting go and take a peek, great blog too!

Super talented daughter time!

Yep Mols joined me in the crafting this weekend and she made this fab card for her friend's birthday in September. She had the little blinged up dragonfly (which apparently is some sort of tatoo/skin decoration) and took inspiration from the colours and pinched everything else from my stash!!! She wants me to enter this in the Crafty Place summer children's challenge so will post a pic over there too!

Sketch Saturday challenge

I am really loving following sketches at the moment and I have created a new home card for a friend using this blog challenge. I have turned the sketch on its side and used an image I found on the internet, coloured in with whispers pens. The paper and flowers are K & Co.

Get Sketchy challenge

I came across this blog challenge this week and just loved the sketch as it was so simple! It sums up my card making really very simple. So the card has been left with minimal embellishments and I quite like the clean lines, what do you think??

Lili of the Valley challenge sketch

I decided to enter the LOTV challenge for the first time as I was inpired by the talented Paula, she was guest DT and you can see her blog here.

I have used a Lilli of the valley Moggi die cut as the image and I have turned the sketch on it's side. I made this card last night without looking at the online sketch and it is slightly different but I hope will be ok for the challenge! Thanks all at LOTV, great fun.

Finally some crafting!!

I have actually managed to make some cards this weekend though I needed to make 3 for boys and as you can see I didn't quite manage to make one (hangs head in shame.... must try harder, must try harder!)

Firstly I bought one of those cute mini wooden easels to place my cards on for presenting on here and on challenge blogs as I figure it might make them look better (hahahaha!!). Here is the first card I made showing off my easel in the garden whilst searching for sunlight (not much in Surrey today!)

This card was inspired by a Di Hackman sketch though i actually changed it and Molly said she thought it would look better the other way round so I made an upside down version too!

inspired by Liberty Cottage

I have finally got round to catching up with some blog following and noticed that Liberty Cottage has a new fab look to her blog so I hopped on over to shabbyblogs.com and got myself a new look too! What do you think??

Hopefully it will insire me to do some blogging of my own and even some craftiness!!! It has just been too busy with all the comings and goings of the summer holidays plus I really must do some housework (bleurgh!!)

If anyone kows how I can get some pigginess onto my blog then do let me know!

Thanks xxx

magnolia candy alert!!!

I love this blog for all the inspiration it gives me!! As an added bonus the Cat's Whiskers has a Magnolia stamp on offer check it out!!!

''I don't do black''

I never wear black (except for the black shoes I have to wear as part of my uniform but that doesn't count as not my choice!!) But I have made the exception with my card making for the Funky Fairies Black and White Challenge this week, just getting my entry in at the last minute!!

I used a swirl and a flower downloaded from Funky Fairys and the rest of the embellishments are all Papermania I think. Chesk out Funky Fairys shop as they have 35% off at the moment but you have to be quick as it only last 2 days.

I also made a card for K and the last card I made for her was pink and she ''doesn't do pink'' so decided to go much darker this time....

Although it is fairly simple i spent ages faffing about trying out different looks and designs and in the end I actually quite liked it!! Not too sure about the black and white creation but I may adapt it slightly.

Bootsale bargains

I went to a car boot sale on Sunday morning! The first one that I have been to since I moved here 8 years ago. My friend was selling some bits so I decided to go for some moral support and to help entertain the kids (both hers and mine!!).

It was a really hot sunny day and I came away with some sunburn but also some bargains!! Firstly I came across this letter rack that cost the pricely sum of 50p. It now has pride of place on the hall table in an attempt to try and keep some order admidst the chaos!!

We have just thrown our coffee maker out as it was refusing to percolate and we had just decided to buy a new one for about £30. Guess what I bought at the boot sale???

Here it is in use!! It was being sold by a couple who were selling many new and lovely items all in perfect condition, hubby also had a brand new with tags Gap shirt from them for £1.50. I paid £4 for this pristine machine though without instructions but look what I managed to make................

a cappuccino!!!

Celebratory-super-sweet-blog-candy

Over at crafty pagan designs there is a great bit of candy on offer it is for some sugar nellie stamps of your choice!! Woop woop!! Take a look over here and remember you have to be in it to win it!!!
Thanx K as had not seen this site before and will be following regularly now xxx

Beautiful Basic Grey Candy

What a tasty treat 2 blogs offering Basic Grey goodies I am sooo excited (yes I am that sad!!) Basic Grey Challenges happen every fortnight and they have a shiny new blog here that I have started following and they are offering some yummies!! Take a look and sign up too. Now I have found them I might even join in the challenges (just hope I am good enough!!)

Rambling Boots has ravishing blogcandy!!

Wow guys take a lookie over here!! Not only can you see how fabtastic the new Basic Grey Eerie set is but you can have a chance to win the whole lot!!! OMG!!!

i ma gonna become a follower of this blog as it looks really great!

Good luck and hope you win it!!

Steph has blog candy!!

I have been following Steph's blog for a while and admiring her crafty skills. Her site often makes me laugh not least of all because it is called 'where did all my money go'!! Isn't that brilliant then it says confessions of a papercrafting addict......... sound familiar to anyone???

Anyway visit her fab blog here and you may win $150 voucher to a store of your choice!!

Thanks Steph and good luck.

Hopefully by now Melissa (over on MSE) has received this card to welcome her beautiful baby boy Elliot to the world. I was lucky enough to meet Melissa earlier in the year and she had a teeny tiney baby bump and now she has a gorgeous son! This is also my entry to this fortnight's card challenge over on MSE.

Congratulations Melissa xxxx

More elephants

I am so in love with this cute elephant that I have used him on several cards recently and these are the latest additions to the herd!! One was a belated birthday card for a teenager and the oher was a quickie thank you to the wonderful Rainmac who sent me lovely Christmas stash (the infamous missing pics??!!) and because I was sending her stash as her name was picked out

by DS in the card challenge I hosted on MSE.

Wishes do come true!!

If you look back to my post on 17th July I did a wish list as part of the '8' lists.


Top of my wish list was a job for hubby and he started a job this week!!! I had not actually discussed his lack of job on any public forum, though close friends and family obviously knew. He is self employed and contacts had been pretty thin on the ground but after 4 months and 5 interviews he is back in the land of the employed!! YIPPEEE!!!

Number 2 on my wish list was a cuttlebug and I have also got one of these now!! I was paid twice as much as usual, apparently I was owed some money in arrears (what a great surprise!!) so I treated myself!! As you can see I have already used it on a couple of thank you cards.

My new toy is being put to good use and I hope to get some more embossing folders and some dies to try soon!

As a final note just wanted to say don't give up on your dreams as I am living proof that wishes really do come true xxx

More cards

I made these cards a while ago now when I had all the bits out for the monochrome challenge, just took it a bit further and blinged it up a bit. I kept them until I had someone to send them to as I really liked them. They have now been received by 2 virtual friends, one who sent me some images and the other who has had some health problems recently.

This card was one of those mega quick ones!! Just thrown together with love but not a lot of time!! This was for a family that had all of us plus 3 other families over to celebrate/commiserate the girls all leaving junior school. Although most of them will be in the same school none of them are in the same class and one girl is going to a different secondary school so it really is the end of an era!

My ATC

This is the beautiful ATC I received from Saveapenny in the 'noses' themed swop on Craftyplace. It is soo cute and even has a matching envelope.

Thanks xxx