Canonburycreations

Less is More week 56 Don't scrap it!

2012-03-02T00:33:00.001Z

Wow I'm running really late this week for the LIM challenge. Chrissie and Mandi want us to use our left over bits and pieces to make a card. Well all my scraps go in a carrier bag and eventually when it gets too full the recycle bin gets them! I do use the scraplings for bookmarks but as for the rest...............!
Anyway here is what I've come up with:

The stamped image is an old one that I made with the imagepac stamp maker and
it was in the bottom of my bits bag. I had stamped it for another LIM challenge last year but never used it. I had one sheet left of the dotty paper and thought it would look better mounted on that rather than plain white. Hope it still qualifies for the challenge?
Sentiment is printed on my xyron printer.
Just seen how many entries there are for this challenge and I've not commented on any of them so please excuse me this week:)

Just found out that I came TOP 3 in the Sir Stampalot challenge last week and it's thanks to Sally H who encouraged me to enter!

Thanks for visiting me and leaving comments, they are much appreciated :)

MMM week 38

2012-03-01T00:12:00.000Z

Hi everyone, sorry if I've missed commenting on your blogs this week but we were in Portsmouth for a long weekend and things have been very busy here. No baby yet............!
Anyway it's the last week of ROMANCE over at Make My Monday and they have asked us to use FLOURISHES and DIAMONDS. I was going to combine it with the Less is More challenge but my card is not CAS enough but all the components are leftovers from other cards!
Here it is:

The base card is black ribbed card stock and the strip on the left is a piece stamped with a flower in black Memento and leftover from another card. The flourishes are cut on my Silhouette and highlighted with clear gems. The sentiment is computer generated, fussy cut and popped up on foam dots. Gems are also applied to the centre of the flower.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate any comments you make so that I can visit you:)

MMM week 37 Victorian Romance

2012-02-22T14:12:00.000Z

Afternoon to you all on this wet and very windy day! Definitely a crafting day and to this end I have made 2 cards for the challenge over at Make My Monday. The continuing theme is Romance and this week they want to see Victorian Romance.
I'm not sure if 2 cards are allowed but never mind, I had already finished a card for the challenge when I saw Anna Griffin on QVC and was inspired to make a card using her papers and casing one of her ideas:)

A scalloped card base with torn Anna Griffin paper and topped with some images from the internet. flowers made from the BP and leaves from my Silhouette. A couple of lace leaves sponged with Victorian Velvet DI.

This is the one inspired by Anna Griffin. Using all her papers, decoupaging the leaves and flowers and punching out several borders to layer on top of each other. Sentiment is from Darkroom door Love Letters and punched out with SU label punch

Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Less is More week 55-theme

2012-02-19T01:02:00.001Z

Whoopee, no stripes or acetate or unusual colours this week at Less is More, it's theme week and we have to use:

PUNCHES and DIECUTS!

Now this could potentially cause a problem, getting carried away and forgetting the clean and simple rule!
Strangely enough I bought two new punches this week so how intuitive was that?
One of them is a ribbon punch and my first thought was that it could be a fence and so that is how my card evolved :)

I stamped the card with a stampendous stamp using a versacolour pad. I punched card with the ribbon punch and created a scalloped edge with fancy scissors. I used stamps by Judith on the outside of the fence and added small punched flowers (my other new punch), a punched butterfly and sentiment. The hummingbird is stamped and cut out.

I'm also entering this in the Stampalot challenge where the theme is In the Garden.

Thanks for taking the time to visit me and hopefully leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Celebration Cake

2012-02-17T00:39:00.000Z

Evening all, a very late post having just got back from our weekly quiz, but the internet was down before we went and I wanted to post this.

As you probably know I am just a little excited about impending grandmother hood and have been making a nappy cake to take down for my darling DIL. I've seen them on the internet and decided to have a go myself and this is the result:

The cake is made from rolled up nappies and each tier is covered with baby blankets and clothes. The scratch mitts I twisted and turned inside and they resemble roses. The teddy is a comforter and covers the top tier. I arranged little pull on bootees around the bottom layer. To finish I covered it in cellophane and a big bow.

If you would like to have a go all the details can be found HERE

Thanks for visiting me and I appreciate any comments you leave so I can visit you:)

MMM week 36

2012-02-14T22:55:00.000Z

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and hope you are all in receipt of chocolates and or flowers:)
Do you like my new blog background, I was fed up looking at snow!
This week over at Make My Monday the continuing theme is still Romance but they would like to see Hearts and Flowers using diecuts. The sponsor is Marianne dies and so there are some lovely dies for the winner!
This is what I came up with:

It's an A5 white base card matted and layered with pink card and burgundy embossed Debbi Moore BP. The floral DP is by Anna Griffin and fussy cut with a rose bud decoupaged. The die cut flower, leaves and hearts I cut with my Silhouette. The sentiment is a Hobby Art one from Jenny Mayes.
Thanks for taking the time to visit it is much appreciated:)

Less is More week 54 one layer card

2012-02-12T18:01:00.000Z

This weeks challenge for the Limettes is to use STRIPES on a one layer card. I have had lots of ideas since yesterday on how to create stripes and guess where they all are? In the bin!!! The occasional, not bad one, seemed to be the same as ones already posted and I can now see what Chrissie and Mandi meant when they said it wouldn't be easy:)
Anyway I have come up with two and I think I prefer the first, let me know what you think.

I used PM's to draw the lines and stamped the two images on top with black Memento ink. The cat is a PSX stamp that I've had since the beginning and the little bird is from SU Everything Eleanor. The sentiment is from my xyron and quite appropriate I thought!

I scored lines on this card of different widths and stamped within the first two with a very old ceedee sentiment stamp set using SU Perfectly Plum. I used a water brush to paint the narrow border and swiped the bottom with the ink pad. The round sentiment from the same set I embellished with a pink heat brad. Apologies for the poor photo quality, I love the pearl card but it always has a pinky hue however much I play with it and the ink looks different although I only used Perfectly Plum throughout.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, I'm off to check out and comment on everyone else:)

MMM Romance

2012-02-11T20:54:00.000Z

The theme this month over at Make My Monday is Romance and this week they want to see
LOVE LETTERS - SCRIPT OR VERSE
Here is what I've come up with:

I used kraft card for the base, the layer was stamped with Marina Mist using Darkroom Door Love Letters stamp set. I distressed the edges with Crumb Cake and attached a punched edge sponged with Marina Mist using a Martha Stewart punch. I cut the hearts by hand and stamped them with various stamps from the Love Letters set. The love bird was a freebie from Craft Stamper. I ruffled ribbon around one side of the heart and the the leaves were punched with the Su bird punch and the flower was made from the wings that popped out at the same time! The sentiment is from the same set.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and I appreciate any comments you leave me:)

Less is More 1st Anniversary!!

2012-02-07T23:48:00.000Z

Happy 1st Birthday to Chrissie and Mandi

Congratulations to Chrissie and Mandi for taking us on such an enjoyable journey and encouraging more WHITE space on our cards!!

This is week 53 and we are back to a colour theme, the same as the inaugural week and this time it's

AQUA.

This is what I came up with and it's using my new SU stamps (Spiced Paisley) that were a gift from the stamping extravaganza day on Sunday.

Stamped with Baja Breeze with a little decoupage and a couple of pearls. The organza ribbon I swiped with the same ink but it's not photographed well and looks grubby!!

Hope everyone is managing to stay safe and warm and do pop over to the LIM blog and check out the fab ideas from Chrissie and Mandi and all the entries for the challenge.

Crafting Heaven!

2012-02-06T18:38:00.000Z

Evening all thought I would show you what I've been up to this weekend:) I was at another Stampin Up extravaganza day hosted by the amazing Jenny Moors and arranged by my sister Karen and her friend Anne.
Back to back craft from 9.30 till 4.30 with 30 crafty ladies having a wonderful day. Here is what I came home with:

Just noticed one of my flowers has disappeared from the S!! The box was already made up and we had to decorate the front and the lid.

We made file dividers and 6 cards to take home in the box!

We also were given the the new Spiced Paisley stamp set as a gift which we used to decorate the dividers and the first set of cards.
My sister acts as a brilliant B&B for us but was slightly taken aback to see us on Friday as she thought we were arriving on Saturday!! She's still talking to me though:)
Hope everyone is safe and not snowed in, thanks for taking the time to visit me:)

Butterfly sketch

2012-01-31T17:55:00.001Z

Wow what a busy weekend! We were in Portsmouth helping my son and his wife decorate their bedroom before baby Nolan arrives:) We've already done the nursery and Lara is obviously in nesting mode as she is decluttering and tidying everywhere. I spent the weekend going between B & Q, Homebase and Sainsburys, buying tiles, curtain tracks, wallpaper and grocery shopping. They are also having a new kitchen next week! Hope this baby doesn't arrive early:)
Anyway back to crafty things, I decided to combine both challenges over at LIM and MMM.
For the LIM challenge this week we have a SKETCH and we have a few basic ground rules.

We would like the card to be

rectangular
in landscape orientation
with the band remaining in a vertical position

As it's a very simple sketch, we would like it to remain as is without any rotation of either the card or the vertical band.

Sounds a doddle doesn't it? That's always a bad feeling:)

The challenge over at MMM is still following the NATURE theme but this last week we must use Butterflies and or Dragonflies.

So this is what I have come up with and I hope you like it.

My base card is cream and distressed with Tattered Rose DI and shadow stamped with random butterflies and dragonflies. The panel is a piece from DCWV Far East collection and I stamped a large double butterfly stamp from Creative Expressions and decoupaged the large one. A little glitter and a few pearls complete the card. The sentiment is from my xyron printer.

Thanks for popping by and I hope you'll come again:)
Forgot to say congratulations to Mandi and Chrissie for the 1st anniversary of their amazing challenge blog!

One-Layer Wednesday 76: Color in Winter

2012-01-27T00:15:00.000Z

I'm always fascinated with the fabulous CAS cards that Susan creates on her blog and thought I had to have a go at her OLW challenge.
This week's OLW is to make a one-layer card that uses white, gray, with a pop of one bright color of your choice. (If you must, you may use black for the sentiment.) This is what I have come up with and hope I have not gone overboard with the pop of colour but it's difficult with blossom not to leave any out!!

My base card is white pearl and I stamped the blossom branch(Sheena Douglass) and Little Vermillion(SU) with grey Versafine. I added a pop of orange to the blossoms and a pearl bead. The sentiment is from the same Sheena set but I'm not happy with the placement:(
We're away for the weekend in Portsmouth, finishing off a few bits before baby Nolan arrives so I haven't got time to do another one:)) I do love both these stamps though! Apologies for the poor photo quality.
Thanks for visiting me it's much appreciated.

MMM week 33 Flowers and leaves

2012-01-24T17:59:00.000Z

Hi everyone, what a miserable drizzly day it's been here! Been to aquafit this morning and decided to spend the afternoon crafting:)
Over at Make my Monday the continuing theme is still NATURE but this week they want to see Flowers and Leaves. I shouldn't have posted my last card so quickly as it would have been just right for this challenge! Anyway this is what I came up with.

The base card is pearlised and stamped with a Darkroom Door image in Victorian Velvet DI and distressed with Spun Sugar and Pumice Stone DI. The frame is a cut and emboss frame that has just been embossed, the centre removed and Victorian Velvet and Pumice stone sponged on top. The flower is a Papermania build a flower stamp set that I stamped in Versafine grey ink and coloured with the same DI inks.The centre of the flower I put a blob of silicone glue and pushed lots of yellow seed beads into it. The leaves are from the same set and coloured with PM's, shaped and attached with silicone glue. The sentiment is from the same set as well and matted on card inked to match. I added some pink pearls within the frame.
I'm also entering my card into the Crafty Cardmakers challenge which is to use beads on a project.
Thanks for taking the time to visit it's much appreciated and a big welcome to my new followers:)

52 CCT Theme Challenge #1

2012-01-22T19:15:00.001Z

Hi everyone, I thought I would enter the 52 Christmas Card Throw down challenge as I haven't made a Xmas card for ages!!
I'm hoping my card will pass muster with Mynnette and Jacqueline, they are asking for Xmas flowers and I have used an Amaryllis stamp as they always flower around the festive period! Actually I don't appear to own a poinsettia stamp, something to be rectified before next Christmas!

I matted green pearlised card over the spine of my white base card and stamped with black Memento ink and coloured in with PM's. I decoupaged some of the petals and the leaves were stamped separately, moulded and attached with silicone glue. I added some faux stitching and a sentiment . Hope it fits the challenge, it is Christmassy colours anyway:)
Thanks for taking the time to visit, please leave a comment so I can visit you too!

Less is More week 51 Theme

2012-01-22T00:47:00.000Z

Evening all and a very special welcome to my new followers, I'm delighted that you have decided to follow me:)
Well here we are, another week over and time for a new challenge over at Less is More. It's theme week and the theme is "Cut it Out". So I need to produce a card with a hole or aperture.

I decided to use my Silhouette and cut an abstract swirls and flower scalloped circle. The base card is white and I punched out a fancy circle and stuck down some patterned paper inside with the cut circle on top. The sentiment was created with my xyron printer.
I also wanted to share with you a card wrap that I cut which I think is absolutely beautiful but definitely not Less is More!!!

Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment on my work, it's much appreciated!

Glitter and BLING!!

2012-01-21T08:00:00.001Z

Hi everyone and welcome to day 1 of the Glitter and Bling blog hop hosted by Gill McCall. If you have arrived from Linda - http://lindasimpsoncraftypieceofheaven.blogspot.com/ then you are on the right track but if you have just come across my blog and want to start from the beginning cross over to
Gill -.http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

For my first card today I have used images from Debbi Moore and created an A6 easel card. I added silver glitter and feathers to glitz up the beautiful lady and the base card is covered in some of Debbi Moore's papers which came in one of her inspiration magazines.

My second card is also from the magazine. I cut out the main image and glued it onto a base card overlapping at the top so that when I cut around it left a hinge at the top and allows it to open. Glitter added to the gold filigree and her dress and mask.

I hope you will visit all the blogs in the hop as Gill will be offering blog candy to one lucky person.

Thanks for visiting me today and the next crafter in line is
Becky-http://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

Birthdays

2012-01-19T17:07:00.000Z

Afternoon all, just a quick post to show two cards for friends with birthdays today and tomorrow.

The first one was inspired by the amazing Marianne, do check out her blog and is a napkin card within a book folder. The second one uses a digi image from Pamela, Vintage digital stamps, Loads of lovely images and beautiful papers!

Using my new Darkroom Door stamps and DI and SU inks

The napkin fold, think how we used to tell fortunes!! stamped with clarity corner stamp and inserts are shagreen paper. The centre is two punched circles and the ribbons are vintage ribbon.
My friend Jean was quite impressed when she opened it:)

This card is for Wendy who is an amazing dressmaker and also makes fabulous cakes! The image is a free dig from Vintage digi stamps where Pamela posts wonderful free images and papers. I coloured the image with PM's and matted on black ribbed card. The BP's are from my stash and the rosette was made with the leftovers with buttons added.

Thanks for looking and sharing your thoughts and a welcome to my new follower, Ephemera:)

Make My Monday week 32

2012-01-17T10:15:00.000Z

The challenge this week at MMM is to:

CREATE A SCENE

We want to see land scapes, sea scapes, garden and lakes - all containing trees, plants, animals, birds or insects.

can I please draw your attention to the overriding theme this month which is

NATURE

I love the MMM challenges and wanted to try something different. I'm always inspired by the collage projects that Yvonne(Meggysway) creates and so I have used a small canvas this week.

I've never worked on canvas before so that alone was definitely a challenge!!! It's a small canvas and I covered it with a layer of acrylic paint in buttermilk. From then on it was a case of stamping to create a scene and adding DI. I quite like the finished collage but don't think it's up to a challenge standard:) I'm already working on another scene, this time, a card, so I may be back!

I'm also entering it into the challenge over at Fashionable Stamping where the theme is Butterflies or Bugs.

Thanks for taking the time to visit I love to read your comments:)

Less is More week 50-one layer

2012-01-15T01:13:00.000Z

This weeks challenge from Chrissie and Mandi is a one layer card and the subject is

So no layers and minimal embellishments. For once I had a couple of ideas that came together quickly and are definitely CAS!

My first image is from Vintage Catnip and it was a sheet of various birdcages from which I chose one I liked and digitally added a little bird to it. I then shaped the sentiment around the handle and coloured the image with PM's. I added the little bird from SU Everything Eleanor. I punched the opposite corners and added a contrasting paper behind to give definition to the card. I added three silver dots to the other corners.

This one was a freebie from Cuddly Buddly crafts which I coloured with PM's and added a sentiment. I embossed lines top and bottom and marked some faux stitching. Chrissie and Mandi have some wonderful ideas on their blogs and there are lots of submissions on the challenge site to whet your appetite, so why don't you have a go:)

Many thanks for visiting, your comments are much appreciated.

MMM week 31 Animals

2012-01-09T21:06:00.000Z

Oooh goody it's a new challenge over at MMM and with the continuing theme of NATURE the challenge is to use ANIMALS.

I created 3 cards but wasn't happy with them and then I found this cute raccoon and the rest is history, as they say!

He's a digi image, not sure where from, and coloured with PM's. I used a clarity corner stamp inked in Spanish Olive around the edges, cut it out with a labels die and matted with black card. The embossing is a Tim Holtz folder inked with Pumice stone DI and the base card is pearlised charcoal cardstock. The sentiment is stamped on a freebie ticket stub from KLdezign.

Thanks for visiting, you know I love to read your comments and return the compliment.

Less is More week 49 Colour

2012-01-08T22:41:00.000Z

Evening all, Chrissie and Mandi over at LIM towers have set us a colour challenge this week and it's
Predominantly Purple
Now I don't possess much in the way of purple card or even ink! Most of my inks are verging on lilac so I hope my card will pass muster.

My topper is a window die that I cut in half and cut the shaped piece off the waste and added it back to create a smaller window. I inked it with a Marvy ink block which gave it a slightly distressed look. Using the square waste pieces of card I stamped the water scene,(Canadian stamp) attached them to the base card and used foam squares to put the frame on top. The shell embellishments are shrink plastic stamped with a freebie from craft stamper and glossy accents for highlights.
The sentiment is printed with my xyron and punched out using half of the SU label punch with ribbon inked to match.
Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment so I can visit you:)

Decoupage

2012-01-07T07:30:00.008Z

Hi everyone and a very Happy New Year to all my blogging friends! This is our first challenge of the year at Creations by Gill McCall and this year we are doing monthly challenges which gives you plenty of time to create some wonderful projects.

Our theme this month is

I have chosen some new Darkroom Door stamps with images of Paris. I love these stamps and LB Crafts were closing down and all the DR stamps were less than half price! Well what could a girl do but BUY them :))

My base card is pearl and I made an easel card with it. IRL the card looks all the same shade of white but the light is not good and has given the topper a strange shade!! The side view proves my point!
The top I scored around to create a double frame and stamped the postcard image in the centre. The Arc de Triomphe is stamped with black Memento several times and I cut out the pillars and the statues to create the decoupage. The topper is matted onto black card and mounted on foam pads. The corners are peel offs and on the inside I stamped the corners with a Clarity stamp and the stopper is the postcard image again punched out in a scallop and the edges distressed with black soot DI with one little black pearl added.
Hope you like it, please check out the rest of the DT cards for inspiration. Good luck with the challenge and thanks for visiting me:)

Make My Monday week 30

2012-01-02T23:13:00.001Z

Another post this evening, I love the MMM challenges and this one has let me play with all my new stamps:)
There is always a monthly theme and January's is NATURE and the challenge this week is BIRDS.
I got a bit carried away and used my favourite bird, the SU Little Vermillion and my SU Everything Eleanor stamps and French Foliage!

My base card is pearl stock which I scored to fold halfway across. I covered the inside with shagreen paper with a blue tinge. The left side I stamped with the Everything Eleanor flourish and the little bird using Crumb Cake. The main image started with a Prima mask sponged with Stormy Sky DI and then overstamped with French Foliage using Bundled sage and Soft Suede inks. The gate is printed on acetate from Joanna Sheen's Country Garden cd and has been languishing in my scraps waiting for a suitable moment. The birds are Little Vermillion with the bottom one punched out from the SU punch so that I could use the leaves. The label was stamped and folded around and a flower stamped with Bashful Blue and distressed with Crumb Cake and mounted with a brad. I used my new Memory box die for the top left corner and sponged to match. Finally I matted onto pale green card and attached to the left hand side of the base card. The sentiment is printed onto freebie ticket stubs from kldezign using my xyron digi printer.

Thank you for persevering with my long post but I kept on adding to my card, definitely not a CAS card this time:)

Less is More week 47 Just one Word # 2

2012-01-02T21:56:00.000Z

Evening all, just a quick post with a 2nd card for LIM as I am loving my new Darkroom Door stamps. This one is again from Lovely Ladies. I have a DT post coming up on Saturday using another of the sets I bought:)

Again stamped with black Memento ink and SU Crumb cake. Matted onto Kraft card and mounted onto white pearlised cardstock between embossed lines. Two little brads added to make the tassels appear to be hanging from the card. The sentiment is one that came in a C & C goody bag.
Thanks for visiting me your comments are always appreciated:)

Less is More week 47 Just one Word

2011-12-30T11:10:00.001Z

Well that's Christmas over for another year and just the New Year festivities to survive:-)
The challenge this week from Chrissie and Mandi is JUST ONE WORD. So basically anything goes but the sentiment has to be one word. I was tempted (not difficult) just before Christmas when I saw that Linda Brown of LB Crafts was retiring and selling loads of stock off at mad prices! Linda stocked Darkroom Doors stamps which I love and so I had a browse and found they were less than half price OMG! So I bought 4 lots :-) Sadly the shop is now closed but Linda's blog lives on.

This card I made using one of the stamps from The Lovely Ladies set. I liked the film strip effect, it is stamped with black Memento ink, matted onto black card and mounted on foam strips to a white card base.
The sentiment is also matted onto black card and I added black pearls.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and I'd like to wish my lovely followers and blogging friends a very happy and healthy 2012.

Lilac and blue sketch challenge

2011-12-24T07:30:00.022Z

This is our last challenge for 2011 at Creations by Gill McCall and this time it is a sketch using the colours of lilac and blue.
I hope you'll join us and check out the other DT creations on Gill's blog.

I have made a tent card and covered it with a paisley paper by Anna Griffin which I took over the back of the base card. The doily was inked with mauve marvy ink and the circle of BP was punched out. The strip of lilac paper is by Debbi Moore and the topper is courtesy of Jacki Daniels!! She sent me a beautiful birthday card with this image on and I just had to reuse it:) The ribbon is vintage binding that I inked to match.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you will join in our challenge this time, good luck!

Less is More Week 46

2011-12-21T17:14:00.000Z

Afternoon all, running a bit late this week, in fact I nearly forgot to do a card for Chrissie and Mandi! Eeeeek!!

Well it's nice to make a card other than a Christmas one:) It's theme week and it's MUSIC

Well here is what I made and I hope you like it. Actually there's two, can you spot the difference:)

Not sure which I prefer but both will come in handy for birthdays coming up.

I used a pearl base card and scored two lines vertically and stamped with black Memento ink a set of stamps from Stamp Addicts vintage range. I added some black peeloffs along the scored lines and to accentuate the black piano keys, it was less messy than EP! The sentiment is an old CD one.

It is my husband, Jim's, birthday today and I made two cards, one from me and one for Dominic to give him. They show the different aspects of Jim's character!! He's been doing lots of decorating lately. Apologies for the poor photo quality but I only thought to film them late this afternoon when they were on the mantlepiece!!! Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and followers xx

Mine:

Dom's

Make My Monday

2011-12-19T08:00:00.002Z

Morning everyone and welcome to my guest spot on the DT over at Make My Monday. I was delighted to be asked to create a card for this weeks challenge which is continuing the SEASONAL theme but with the addition of a tag.
I have chosen to create a tag in a box card, which is a design I found on the very creative blog of Marianne. There is a tutorial on her side bar showing how to make it.

1.I have used green card stock covered with Bo Bunny paper and over stamped with soft suede SU ink using the Young Vermillion stamp from SU and a Clarity corner flourish. I punched out a label to use as a background to pop up my little bird and the waste made a frame for the other image.
The sentiment is a metal embellishment that I coloured with alcohol inks to match the card. You can just see the punched edge of the tag poking out of the top of the card.

2. Gently pull the tag sideways and the holder for the tag appears. This is made with Bo Bunny card and is attached to the inside of the box card with a brad to allow it to move. I have added a stamped label, punched out and popped up with foam dots.

3. At last here is the tag!! More Bo Bunny paper, a strip of gold leaf and a stamped label which was a freebie from a magazine waiting to add the the recipient's name. I punched the edge and added a gem to ease it out.

Thanks you for visiting and putting up with such a long posting but I wanted to create something special for my guest spot:)
Do check out the MMM blog for the DT cards which are always inspirational.

National Cupcake Day blog hop

2011-12-15T08:00:00.004Z

Today's hop is hosted by Gill McCall and is to celebrate National Cupcake Day! What a great day to celebrate. I thought of making some cupcakes but with Christmas just around the corner and all the excesses I decided to stick to a card!!
If you have arrived from..Becky.. you are on the right track for this hop but if not and you want to start from the beginning go to Creations by Gill McCall.

I created my card and decoupage in Craft Artist and finished it off with some paper pricking around the edge.
To continue with this hop and see what everyone has made the next person on the hop is..Ashley

Check out all the blogs as Gill will be giving away some blog candy to a lucky person who collects all the hidden letters around the hop.

Hope you have enjoyed visiting me and please leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Make My Monday

2011-12-13T00:16:00.000Z

This weeks challenge over at MMM, still in festive mood, is to use red ribbon. The DT cards are fabulous and worth checking out.
I have used a pale green pearl card and scored a fold 1" in to create a spine. I stamped with the pine cones from SU pines and poinsettias with soft suede ink and only re inked on the 3rd stamping. I matted the oval topper onto some embossed BP from my stash and pleated some red organza ribbon around the back. I added a bow as well. I punched 4 holes in the spine and threaded through some more red ribbon. The pine cone on the topper is glittered as are some of the berries around the card.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Less is More week 45 one layer

2011-12-11T23:55:00.000Z

Wow it's very cold and frosty over at LIM Towers with a new challenge of a one layer card and the theme is:

Actually I think I like the graphics better than my card:)

The base card is pearlised and I inked up my stamps with SU Bashful Blue and added some tiny pearls and 3 clear gems for the large snowflakes. The alphabet stamps are from Docrafts but the snowflakes were freebies from a magazine. I sponged ink onto the edges of the card and although the top right hand corner looks green I can assure you it's not!! I may have another go later this week.

Just thought I'd show you the word book card that I made for Dominic's ( my eldest son) friend Pat who is the proud father of baby Dylan. I used the cd Funky Daze and some embellishments from Craft Artist.

Thanks for visiting and coping with a longer post than usual! Please leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Red and Green

2011-12-10T07:30:00.005Z

The theme for the challenge over at Creations by Gill McCall is strangely enough - all about christmas at this time of the year - wow there's a suprise!! We would like you to create a red/green theme christmas project - anything at all in any style.

Well it had to be a card for me as I needed some more!

I used Bo Bunny backing paper and added some peeloffs in the corners. The topper is a stamp from Papermania embossed in silver and coloured with PM's. I punched it out with a scallop punch and distressed the edges with Bundled Sage DI. I added ribbon from my stash.

Good luck with the challenge and remember you need to be a follower of Gill's blog to take part. Check out the rest of the DT projects for inspiration.

I am also entering this card at Try it on Tuesday as their criteria is Father Christmas.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and please leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

Less is More week 44 colour

2011-12-05T23:11:00.000Z

Well here we are at the start of another week and one week closer to Christmas, which is a bit scary, as I haven't finished my shopping! It's my sister Karen's turn to be host this year so no Christmas dinner for me to worry about!
I'd like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes that were left on my blog last Friday, I had a lovely day culminating in a fabulous French meal with Jim and my best friend and her husband. I also got very excited when I was asked to be a guest on the DT for Make My Monday this month, woo hoo!! Then this morning another email to say I'd won some pearls from the Simplicity blog. I may have to buy a lottery ticket this week:)

Anyway I digress and so onto this weeks challenge that Chrissie and Mandi have set for us over at Less is More. It is a colour week and they have chosen GREEN. Not a colour choice I use very often but better than ORANGE!! So here is what I have come up with.

I stamped the sentiment (no name, bought in Canada) with Spanish Olive versamagic and mounted onto pearl green card. With a glue pen and chameleon glitter I highlighted the letters and the branches which were from an SU punch. Apologies for the poor photo quality as it's difficult to see the the glitter on the letters and the gems are a very pale green.

I have also entered it into the MMM challenge which is to use glitter on a seasonal card.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and leaving a comment as I love to visit you:)

MMM week 26

2011-12-03T17:43:00.000Z

This weeks challenge over at Make My Monday is continuing with the Christmas theme and is to make a
DECORATED BOX (IN A CHRISTMAS STYLE)
I don't make many boxes except for the odd exploding box for special occasions eg weddings and christenings but I have made this box design once before with fairies on it and thought I'd try a Christmas one:)
I've used red card for the base of the box and the lid and some card from Bo Bunny for the inside. I stamped over the red card with a stamp from SU Pines and Poinsettias and added white glitter to the pine cones.

I punched out a bird and branch from an SU punch twice and stuck the 2 birds together over the branch and used silicone glue to attach it to the base and added a couple of rose buds to cover the glue.
The lid is stamped with the poinsettia design from the same set and I punched out some holly leaves from more Bo bunny card and added berries and attached them to the front. I used a small round punch to create finger holes to allow for ease of opening.

You can just glimpse some stamping under the finger hole and that is a Christmas tree in a pot stamped on all 3 sides but I forgot to photograph it!!

Check out the fabulous inspiration that the design team have created and thank you for visiting me and hopefully leaving a comment so that I can visit you:)

Week 43 - Recipe - A bit of bling!

2011-11-27T16:11:00.001Z

This weeks challenge from Chrissie and Mandi over at Less is More is:

A BIT OF

I decided to use an old stamp that I bought at Ally Pally 15 years ago but it has no name on it! I think I got it from Stamp Addicts so it's probably Judikins. I inked and embossed in gold on red card and dry embossed a frame around it. I added red and white pearls for the holly and mistletoe berries and used glitter for the leaves and poinsettia. I matted with gold mirri and mounted it onto a pearl base card having already dry embossed a frame for it to go in. Then disaster, I got an inky smudge on the left corner so now you know what my little robin is hiding!!! He is a SU punch.

Just off to peel a few potatoes to go with the lovely casserole that my son Dom has slow cooking in the oven :) We had a great afternoon singing in Hampstead and our audience went wild, probably because they were mainly family and friends!!! We may be on youtube later :)
Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment so I can visit you.

Recycling challenge

2011-11-26T09:00:00.000Z

Gill's challenge at Creations by Gill McCall this week is one to get your creative juices flowing.

We want you to create a project using nothing but recycled items - you can however use a new topper, stamped image or such like but all the other materials MUST be recycled items.

As it's so close to Christmas I decided that would be the way to go! I made a crossover card with pearl card and covered the left side with a piece of card cut from one of last years cards. I used a punch to cut out the sentiment from the same card and glittered the edges and the M and C. This I attached to the inside so it is visible when the card is closed. The gold bow is from a box of chocolates.

I hope you like my recycled card but please pop over to Gill's blog and check out the rest of the DT offerings and hopefully you will have a go and I'll get to see what you create:) Please remember that to take part you need to be a follower of Gill's blog and mention it when you do your posting. Good luck!

MMM Week 25

2011-11-25T23:46:00.001Z

It's still Christmas over at Make My Monday, but this week they want to see more Christmas with the added extras of

FLOWERS, FOLIAGE OR SNOWFLAKES.

I'm a bit behind this week as we had another long weekend away (not that I'm complaining!) and we are singing this Sunday in Hampstead at the turning on of the Christmas lights and I needed to rehearse:)

Anyway here is what I came up with. I've used my new EF and window die to create a scene and just added some colour with DI and some glitter! The snowflake is a Whimsy die and the sentiment is from the SU Pines and Poinsettia set. The foliage is from Stamps by Judith.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and hopefully leaving a comment so I can visit you as well:)

November RAK card

2011-11-25T16:59:00.001Z

Just a quickie to showcase the lovely card I received from Sabina showing the things that make her happy! Presents, yellow and alcohol inks;)

Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment so I can visit you;)

Less is More Week 42 Theme

2011-11-22T23:07:00.001Z

Chrissie and Mandi at Less is More have set us a theme this week and the theme is:

Silhouettes

n. A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black.

I couldn't find anything in my stamps that inspired me so I checked through my digis and images gathered from the internet and came up with a silhouette of the Paris skyline.

The only thing I added was glossy accents to the silhouette and gems in the corners. The font is Scriptina. I love the simplicity of the skyline.

I decided to have a go at another card and chose a bridal theme.

I matted the image onto silver mirri and glittered her jewellery and bouquet. The base card is pearlised and I added organza ribbon and a pearl spray and a pearl for the dot on the i on a slightly crooked sentiment! I need a stamp-a-majig, hope you're listening Karen!!!!

Less is More week 41 Leaves

2011-11-16T23:23:00.000Z

This weeks challenge over at Less is More is LEAVES. Now if only Chrissie and Mandi had waited a couple of weeks my French Foliage set would have arrived!!! Karen said I could use hers while we were there at the weekend but inspiration didn't strike and I was all crafted out:))

I inked up the leaves on a hydrangea stamp from Papermania with Big n Juicy spice and stamped them randomly across an A6 card. The sentiment is from an old See Dee set using the same ink.
I scored lines either side of the sentiment.

This card used the same ink on a Rubber Stampede stamp which was one of the first stamps I bought. Similar format as the one above.

I much prefer the my first card but thought I'd post both anyway:)

Thanks for taking the time to visit and leaving me your thoughts:)

MMM Week 24

2011-11-15T17:18:00.000Z

With the continuing theme of Christmas this weeks challenge at MMM is to
Make a CAS Christmas Card with emphasis on the Sentiment.

CAS means Clean and Simple, minimal layers and no bulky embellishments - we want to see lots of White Space.

I have used a Denami whole page stamp with gold ink and cut it down to a 4" square and then into 4 x 2" squares.

I edged the squares with a gold leaf pen and popped them up on foam dots.The Christmas sentiment is from the Pines and Poinsettia SU stamp set embossed with gold EP, cut out and mounted. I added the pine cones from the set as well because I just love it!! One embellishment too many maybe, but hey ho, I like it:)

Thanks for visiting and leaving nice comments they are much appreciated:)

Craft Barn Blog Candy

2011-11-15T00:02:00.000Z

Shhhh don't tell anyone but the Craft Barn are giving away the most amazing blog candy to celebrate reaching over 600 followers! The candy is over £200 worth of crafting goodies:)

Check out the details here and if only you and I enter we have a great chance of winning!!! You have until November 25th to enter.

A CRAFTILICIOUS weekend!

2011-11-14T21:31:00.000Z

Hi everyone I'm back from my crafty weekend! It was amazing, a whole day of stamping with the fabulous Jenny Moors (Stamping Up demonstrator) and then the following afternoon spent at the Taunton craft fair:)
It was a full on day and the results can be seen in the photos. Jenny makes the day really special by personalising name tags, bottles of water, matching notepads, pens and gift boxes with chocolates and sweets!! We used the stamp set Pines and Poinsettias and were given them to keep as well.

Very conveniently my sister Karen provides fabulous B&B:)

3 Christmas cards and a gift bag which can be seen below

The tin in the middle holds 9 Christmas tags, 3 of each design that can be seen in front.

We made a topper for the lid with pleated card to form a rosette and the pine cones.

The piece de resistance is the box frame below. I loved making this and thought how adaptable it could be for different occasions, weddings, births etc! You know what I'll be doing soon:)

Thanks for visiting me and I look forward to seeing what you think:)

MONOCHROME - CARDS FOR MEN / BOYS

2011-11-12T09:30:00.002Z

Hi everyone and welcome to the second challenge this month at Creations by Gill McCall. This challenge is to create a monochrome card in the theme for boys/men so anything goes.
I've been quite taken with anything to do with steampunk lately and as I had a card to make for my BIL Noel I chose to use this theme.

I used kraft cardstock with a grid design on it for the base card. I embossed some packaging with a Tim Holtz EF with clocks and cogs and sponged antique linen and frayed burlap DI over it.
The penny farthing was a freebie from BTFC that was inked with the same inks and I added a plastic dome and a watch part.
The corner decoration is embossed kitchen foil with a hole punched in it and an eyelet added. I then inked the edges and cut around the clock face and inserted the topper into the cut. The other image of cogs is a freebie from KLdezign. I finished off with ribbon, a sentiment and my BIL's name.

Please check out the rest of the DT inspirations and remember that to take part you need to be a follower of Gill's blog, link it to the challenge and mention the challenge in your posting. Good luck with the challenge and thanks for taking the time to visit me:)

Lest we forget!

2011-11-09T12:46:00.001Z

Just a quick posting today for 2 reasons, it's exactly a year today since I started my blog and I have had a great time making many friends along the way and learning so much from you all. I would like to thank the crafters who follow me and leave such lovely comments they are much appreciated:)
The second reason relates to Remembrance Day. I was looking through a box and came across a lot of old postcards dating from the turn of the 20th century and all family related. One of them was an embroidered Xmas card that was sent from France to my grandmother from her brother. It's beautiful and I may try and use the photo to make a digital scrapbook.The flap lifts up to allow a little message to be put inside.

Hope you like it and many thanks for supporting my blog during the last year. I hope you will continue and allow me to visit you:)

This was the back of the postcard.

Just came across a few more! The small cards were the inserts.

Birthday Boy!

2011-11-09T10:00:00.001Z

It's my BIL's birthday today and we are off to Somerset for the weekend to visit them, mainly because my sister Karen and her friend Anne have arranged another SU stamping extravaganza day and I am taking part. The last one was in July and I had a fabulous day and this time we are making Xmas cards.
I digress, here is the card I made for Tony.

Tony is somewhat fond of a glass of white wine and I made this card from the Wine buffs cd rom. I used it once before for another male card but as often happens the "want" for this cd was not a "need" and so it languishes in my cupboard:)
I printed out the image and mounted it onto dark card, folded it in half and punched two holes and added some ribbon. The labels were printed separately and stuck on. The back is a mirror image.
My next post will be all about my SU stamping day, can't wait:)

Thanks for visiting and all the lovely comments you leave, much appreciated:)

MMM - Week 23 - Christmas

2011-11-08T23:29:00.000Z

The theme this month at MMM is CHRISTMAS, chosen by Suzi B.
And the first week's Christmas challenge is

VINTAGE / TRADITIONAL

I have to say that this would be my choice for any Christmas card as I love all the vintage images.

Anyway this is my interpretation of the challenge but do go and check out the DT inspiration as their cards are beautiful.

I covered my base card with paper from my stash and stamped randomly around the edges with a spruce stamp and dots from Stamps by Judith. The main image is a La Blanche stamp, stamped with memento and coloured with PM's. I added some glitter to the snow but it's not showing up in poor light! I wrapped green ribbon around the card, matted the image onto gold mirri and attached to the base card with foam strip. I punched some holly out from the BPand added some glitter to the berries. The snowflake is a die from Whimsy Stamps which I sponged with bundled Sage. The sentiment is a digi but I don't know where from and I sponged that as well and added a gold edge with a krylon pen.

Thanks for visiting and you know I love to read your comments:)

Less is More Week 40 colour challenge

2011-11-06T00:45:00.000Z

The challenge this week for the Limettes is a colour one based around the bonfire night theme.

Our first week of the month is another Colour challenge and redolent of bonfire flames we have chosen

Red and Orange

Check out the wonderful inspiration on the blog that Chrissie has created. Orange is not a colour that I use and I was a bit stuck as to what to do. After several attempts using different stamps and getting ink everywhere I cleared my desk and found this stamp lurking at the bottom of a pile of bits and pieces!!

I used a square base card and masked off a triangle and sponged colour in with spiced marmalade DI. I inked the stamp with SU rose red and also the sentiment. I coloured a brad to match and attached the sentiment with foam dots. I'm quite pleased with the outcome but still wouldn't use this colour combo by choice:)

Thanks for visiting and the lovely comments that you leave they are much appreciated.

MMM Design team call and CAS-ual Fridays CF27

2011-11-05T01:17:00.000Z

I've only recently come across the MMM blog and their challenges and I was lucky enough to win a fabulous prize in September with my steampunk entries. I love the way there is a continuous theme throughout the month and also different techniques highlighted in the mid week motivation. Anyway they are now looking for more people to join the design team and so I thought I would have a go. My favourite thing is stamping but I also love using my digital Craft Artist package and now my Silhouette!

I would love to be part of the DT as I find them creative and inspirational and hope that I would be considered good enough to join them. To be in with a chance I have to submit a card based on Celebration. Well goodness me that covers sooo many things!!

I finally decided to make a card using my new silhouette and this is what I came up with. I am also entering it for CAS-ual Fridays which is to Create a Clean And Simple card with a panel or design element that goes Over the Edge of the card front.

I cut the card, heart and butterfly on the Silhouette and used some Debbi Moore pearlised linen paper to highlight the design on the bottom. I threaded ribbon through the heart sponged the edges with mauve chalk ink. I used the same ink on the butterfly and overstamped with a Clarity corner stamp. I added some jewels and a sentiment.

Fingers crossed and thanks for taking the time to visit me:)

MMM Challenge 22 - AUTUMN LEAVES

2011-11-02T16:34:00.000Z

This is the final week of Autumn challenges over at Make My Monday and this week it is autumn leaves. I've been away quite a lot lately and and have not been able to take part in the challenges but I love leaves and the DT samples are lovely.
So here is my card:

I stamped my base card with a judikins leaf cube using versamark and heat embossed with clear EP. I sponged ink over using Bundled Sage, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed DI and buffed the resist with a tissue. I inked a piece of card with the same inks and stamped the leaf several times with Bundled Sage and cut them out. I added highlights with the other colours and used silicone glue to attach and shape them onto the card. The sentiment is computer generated and sponged with inks, raised up with silicone and has another leaf as decoration. I added glossy accents to the leaves and finished with a jewelled brad.
Thanks for visiting:)

Less is More Week 39 Lucky Dip - Stars # 2

2011-11-01T23:31:00.000Z

Sorting through an old See Dee set of sentiments I came across this stamp and thought of this weeks LIM challenge! This is my second card this week but a very quick one. I used a small square base card and stamped with black Memento ink and added some ribbon and a pearl! Easy peasy:)

Thanks for taking the time to visit and leave a comment:)

Less is More Week 39 Lucky Dip - Stars

2011-10-31T22:17:00.000Z

This weeks challenge for the Limettes is inspired by the guest designer Vicky and because she is such a star that is the theme this week!

I didn't think I had anything suitable but came across a set of stamps that came free with a magazine that I hadn't really looked at.

I stamped the tree with versamark and embossed with gold EP. I stamped an extra star and popped it up with a foam dot and matted onto kraft cardstock.

The strip across the centre is stamped with gold ink and a gold dot added to the centre of each star. The tree is raised on foam strips onto a square card base.

Thanks for visiting and i love to read any comments you leave and visit you too:)

Anniversary

2011-10-27T18:43:00.000+01:00

Hi all just a quick posting of the card I made for my sister Karen's wedding anniversary today.

I made a stepper card and covered the side panels with a botanical paper from my stash. There were lots of elements on it and I cut out several for the embellishments which I highlighted with glossy accents. The two central panels were matted with Debbi Moore paper.
Thanks for taking the time to visit;)

Less is More week 38 Recipe

2011-10-23T19:54:00.001+01:00

Nice to be back in the groove again after missing 2 weeks challenges at Less is More, not that I'm complaining, Greek islands are very nice!!
Anyway this week the challenge is a really easy recipe which is simply

POLKA DOTS

As long as your design is Clean and Simple, has some white space (or its equivalent) and polka dots in evidence somewhere, it will be perfect for this challenge.

I have used a JS stamp, very retro, which I thought suited polka dots perfectly. I stamped onto white card using black Memento and again onto blue dotty paper. I then paper pieced the hat and dress and added a couple of pearls. I used PM's for the skin and hair and added a tiny piece of ribbon on the hat.

I matted onto blue and white card and the sentiment is from my Xyron printer.

Check out Chrissie and Mandi's wonderful inspirations and join the rest of the Limettes every week on this wonderful challenge blog:)

My sister has just pointed out that my stamp is from Creative Expressions so apologies for misleading everyone:)

July Rak card

2011-10-22T17:36:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to show my rather belated but welcome card for July from Barbara!
We are just back from a break on Zakynthos which was lovely although we experienced a hurricane last weekend! Felt like we were in the middle of a disaster movie:) Luckily it only lasted a day and a half and we were able to get some sun on our old bones and pootle about the island:) I'd like to know who turned the heating off since we went away!!! BRRrrrrr......
Unfortunately Tulsa, one of our cats, died on the day we travelled home but he was nearly 18 and had a good life. He was a rescue cat that had been abandoned in a box and my son, Dominic, found him Thursday morning curled up in a shoe box where he had died. Strange eh? The other coincidence is that another cat of ours also died whilst Dominic was looking after her!!!! That was 15 years ago but he's getting paranoid having to deal with dead cats!

Transport theme challenge

2011-10-22T07:30:00.001+01:00

Gill's challenge this week is to create a card, SB layout or project using a transport theme.
My youngest son, Keir, had a birthday in August and I wanted to make a card for him that re-lived his car experience earlier this year. He got to drive an Audi 8 several times around a test track in Surrey and had a ball! Photos were taken by me and the official camera and I have used these to make the card.

I made the BP on Craft Artist with a photo I took as Keir drove back in, faded it out and mounted it onto card. I cut a channel out at the bottom as you would for a slider card. The car is one of the official photos and Keir can be seen in the driving seat. I printed it out, cut around it and mounted it onto card. I attached it to a long strip of card so that it could be pulled across the card. I mounted it all onto a cream mat and a burgundy base

card.

The corners are embossed and the wording across the top says "0-60 in 3.2 seconds". I printed this out in bubble font to replicate the car dials. Pulling the happy birthday strip moves the car across the card.

Check out the DT designs on Gill's blog and good luck with the challenge.

Remember you need to be a follower of Gill's blog, link your post directly to the challenge and mention CBGM in your posting.

Thanks for visiting today:)

October Rak card

2011-10-08T21:04:00.000+01:00

A quick post to show the lovely card that I received yesterday from Donna, who doesn't have a blog yet so I can't tell you to go visit her! If you are interested in receiving a lovely card each month then go and check out Gill's blog and all the info is there :)The theme this month was colours of your flag and Donna very creatively has put at the bottom " Red, blue and white make Lilac!" Definitely thinking outside of the box:).
Off to bed soon as we have an early flight tomorrow morning, all packed and ready to go! Happy crafting while I'm away:)

Vintage Wedding

2011-10-08T07:30:00.003+01:00

Gill's challenge this week is to create a wedding card with a vintage theme and use an element of lace - there is no sketch so just use whatever layout style you fancy.

I found a beautiful download on Craftsuprint and thought it would be perfect for the challenge. I printed out all the elements which includes pyramage and a matching envelope.

I attached lace all around the frame and matted the main image onto an 8 x 8 card base. The bow on the front is part of the download but looks very realistic and I added a pearl to the centre and chameleon glitter to the bouquet and veil. The whole download is printed out on to 3 sheets of card but more than one card could be made if you wanted to.

Hope you are inspired by Gill's challenge and check out the rest of the DT samples.

Good luck with the challenge and remember you have to be a follower of Gill's blog, link your post directly to the challenge and mention CBGM in your posting.

Thanks for visiting:)

http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/2011/10/cbgm-blog-challenge-17-vintage-wedding.html

Maze book

2011-10-06T16:59:00.000+01:00

I made this maze book for my friend Jackie for her birthday a few weeks ago. Until I retired last year Jackie and I worked as a team assessing hairdressing apprentices in their workplace and finding full time students weekly work experience in salons which she now does on her own. We catch up regularly and I wanted something special for her so this is what I made with lots of shaped tags that pulled out and had various

friend quotations on the back of them .

The papers are from Debbi Moore.

Thanks for taking the time to visit me it's much appreciated:)

Less is More week 35 - colour

2011-10-06T16:25:00.000+01:00

Here we are again and it's time for another COLOUR challenge.

This week we have chosen

THE COLOUR OF YOUR EYES

You don't necessarily have to have an exact match, but if your eyes are blue, then any shade of blue will be fine, likewise with brown, grey, green etc.. (We aren't as mean as all that!)

However, the colour you choose should be the predominant colour on your card... we don't want to see just a hint of it.

Just managed a quick card for this weeks LIM challenge in between holidays:)

My eye colour is green and this is what I have come up with using Spanish Olive versamagic and a stamp from I can't remember where!

Thanks for visiting:)

Celebrations

2011-10-03T18:57:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone and a special hello to my new followers from our World Cardmaking day blog hop! Hopefully you will check in on all the days as there is some amazing blog candy on offer:)

We are just back from a lovely weekend in Portsmouth to celebrate my DIL's birthday and had a fantastic afternoon in Hamble.

Lara's card is a cross over card, which is two square cards joined together and each flap is cut in half diagonally so that the decoration on the centre panel can be seen. She loves Forever Friends and anything sweet, hence the cakes in the box!

The paper on the front is an embossed one from some candy that I won a while ago. The label with the sentiment was cut from my silhouette and the bear was stamped and coloured with PM's and mounted on a beaded oval nestie. I punched 2 holes with eyelets and threaded brown ribbon through and tied a bow.

Today is our anniversary (41 years, how did that happen!) and I used the same stamp to make a card for Jim. The BP was from the same candy and I used an MS punch to edge it and added some ribbon and mounted the bear onto a nestie.

As I write this I think Jim is frantically making me a card on Publisher and Dom(eldest son) is cooking a wonderful risotto:)

Thanks for visiting and we are off again on Sunday to Zante so apologies for the lack of comments on your blogs but I will try to visit if I can get internet access!

WORLD CARD MAKING DAY 2nd - 6th OCTOBER 2011

2011-10-02T07:30:00.014+01:00

Hello crafters and welcome to The World Cardmaking day blog hop on this the 2nd October.

This is a 5 day blog hop with 10 different participants each day hosted by Gill of CBGM

As it is World Cardmaking Day the participants of the hop are donating cards to Gill McCall for charity. Plus in the line up each day you will find a UK crafting celebrity taking part among us mere mortal crafters !!!

Ok then on with the hop - if you have arrived here in blogger land from Becky and want to hop along then you're on the right track and I hope you enjoy what you are about to see, not only from me but from all the participants - each day remember to leave comments as there will be BIG blog candy from Gill and from sponsors of the hop, for what Gill thinks is the most interesting comment and she will announce the winner 2 days after the hop closes.

For this hop I have made 4 cards

For the first one I have used a pearlised cream base card, added some spotty paper to the bottom half and covered the join with white glittered ribbon. The flower was punched twice and joined with a pink brad. The flourish was cut with my Silhouette and sponged with Tattered Rose DI. The sentiment is an old cd stamp.

My 2nd card is a download that took my fancy from Craftsuprint. I have decoupaged it and added an organza bow to the shoe.

The 3rd card is has been printed out from a Joanna Sheen RHS cd and then decoupaged. I matted on to green mirri card and added a vintage ribbon bow. The sentiment was printed on the computer and bowed out to cover the stems.

My last card uses free digi leaf paper from TLC and a stamp from Forever Friends which I coloured with promarkers. The bow is vintage ribbon and the sentiment is an old cd one.

Well I hope you like what I have come up with. Now your next hop stop is http://lilodesigns.blogspot.com/ where you will find another wonderful creation from Alethea

Dont forget to come back for day 2 in this 5 day hop. Thanks for hopping and see you tomorrow:)

Rak card

2011-09-30T17:43:00.001+01:00

Just a quick post to show the beautiful card that I received this morning from Alethea in Australia. Thanks Alethea:)
We came back yesterday from a fabulous trip to Loch Lomond and we are off again to Portsmouth for the weekend and to a Greek island next Sunday:)
I've missed out on a couple of challenges but am all scheduled for the World Cardmaking blog hop on Sunday. Hope you will join us for the ride.

Scrapbox challenge

2011-09-24T07:30:00.002+01:00

Apologies first for the photo quality but the light was poor and some of the scraps were shiny!!
Anyway this week's challenge at CBGM is

to create a project using scraps or elements from your scrapbox - the topper can be new but everything else needs to be from the scrapbox. For this challenge you need to take a before and after photo.
My base card is white A5 and I distressed the edges with Antique Linen. The backing paper is similar to brown parcel paper and was the insert on a pack of parchment paper, I punched the corners with MS daisy punch and matted it to the base and wrapped a length of brown vintage ribbon around the middle. The yellow layer was mottled card stock with a torn edge and I used the waste from the punched corner to create the negative daisy shape. The top piece on the left picture was left over from a print out of a BP from a cd and I tore it and positioned it on top of the yellow card stock and using a small tonic punch, punched out flowers from the yellow card for embellishments. The flower was also punched out of the remaining scraps and a gem brad used to hold them together. The topper is a bookmark that is from a series of art pictures, this being Klimt, that I found in The Works. I matted it on to a strip of gold mirri card that I cut with decorative scissors. The sentiment is stamped on an SU label stamp.

Good luck with the challenge and please remember that to enter you must be a follower of Gill's blog and link your post directly to the challenge and mention Creations by Gill McCall in your posting.
Thanks for looking and please let me know if you have visited so that I can visit you:)

Och aye the noo!

2011-09-23T19:12:00.000+01:00

Flying up to Loch Lomond to stay with friends tomorrow and hoping for good weather, haha! I'm hoping for some internet access just to keep up with blogland but forgive me if I don't get to visit you:)
Wonder what the challenge will be tomorrow from the South coast Divas?
This is where we are staying!
Have a good weekend everyone :)

MMM - Challenge 16 - Metal Steampunk

2011-09-21T12:42:00.000+01:00

This week over at MMM the criteria is:

This week continuing our STEAMPUNK theme we would like to see someMETAL on your cards or projects.

I am really enjoying the Steampunk theme, never having tried it before and so delighted to have been chosen in the top 3 two weeks running:)

The only real metal I used on my card was a coiled wire, some staples and a few cogs.
The BP is from GRaphic 45 and I cut out the image of the debutante and ran it through a Tim Holtz EF and highlighted parts with gold paste. On the background I added some gloss to the flowers and the dressmaking model and alphabet bubbles to the words.
I embossed a strip of gold mirri with the TH EF and coloured with alcohol inks. I cut some cogs with my Silhouette and coloured them in the same way. I raised this part on foam dots and the dress form image came from BTFC and I distressed with Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade and added the watch parts and a small bow. I finished off with some green staples and a coiled wire. The base card was white A5 and the edges distressed with the same DI's.

Thanks for visiting today:

Less is More 33 x2

2011-09-20T00:09:00.000+01:00

First of all I'd just like to welcome my new followers, Ikgra and Vicki who joined during our pirate blog hop. Thanks for following me:)
This week everyone is doing their best to try and reach a 1000 entries for the Less is More challenge , especially Viv, who is doing sterling work having posted 16 cards already!!!
I have made a Christmas card using my very early Christmas/Birthday present from my OH! I finally decided on a Silhouette and have been having great fun playing with it:) I cut this card out and the labels for the sentiment with it. I added green card behind the cut image and edged the labels with a green PM.
Thanks for looking and don't forget to leave a comment so I can visit you:)

Talk like a Pirate Day blog hop

2011-09-19T09:00:00.003+01:00

Welcome me 'earties to our Talk like a Pirate blog hop hosted by
Gill If you have just been wondering through blog land and landed on my beach then you are very welcome, but if you have arrived from
Alethea http://lilodesigns.blogspot.com/ then you are hopping the correct plank!

For my first offering I have made a card using Craft Artist that I am going to send to one of my nephews. I started with a desert island background and added the characters and necessary
accessories for a pirate! The photos show the front, back and inside of the card
I added gems to the treasure chest!

For my second project I have made an easel card. For the front of the card I printed an old map from the internet, distressed the edges with ink and tore and curled some of it. I cut out an image of a galleon and raised it up with foam pads. The pirate is a digi image that I printed out a couple of times and decoupaged. The inside scene was created on Craft Artist and I used the treasure trunk as the stopper.

Hope you have enjoyed looking at my projects and you can catch the next pirate here by visiting
Jacki - http://cardsbyjacki.blogspot.com/

http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/2011/09/international-talk-like-pirate-day-blog.html

Less is More Week 33 - 1000 Challenge - Anything CAS Goes

2011-09-18T17:09:00.000+01:00

The challenge this week is:

Now we are going for the 1000 submissions.

Anything CAS Goes

I have made a card and am entering it in 3 challenges:

LIM, OLW and CAS-ual Friday . The OLW challenge is to stamp an image and colour it and the CAS-ual friday one is to make a small card no bigger than 4" x 4" and state the size. The LIM challenge is anything CAS goes!
I stamped one of the images from the Docrafts Forever Friends Black and Gold stamp set and coloured with PM's. The sentiment is an old cd one which I stamped in versamark and embossed with copper EP. I added glitter to the centre of the flowers.
Welcome to Sandra, a new follower and thanks to everyone who visits and comments:)

MMM - Challenge 15 - Steampunk Monochrome.

2011-09-14T11:00:00.004+01:00

The steampunk theme continues at Make my Monday but this week they would still like to see STEAMPUNK creations with a MONOTONE theme . Create a new project only using ONE colour and the various tones of that colour.
For the BP I downloaded an image from the internet, changed the colour to blue and matted it onto blue card. The base card is white but smudged with stormy sky DI. The airship is from BTFC as is the penny farthing and sundial. I applied plastic domes for highlights, punched two holes with eyelets and hung a steampunk heart from a chain. I thought it was a good idea to add the plastic bubbles but it affected the colour in the photo because the PM's I used were all shades of blue but they appear grey and brown!!

thanks for visiting I love to read your comments:)

Make a Tag

2011-09-12T00:56:00.000+01:00

Having seen the beautiful tag that Meggymay posted I checked out the challenge called Fashionable Stamping and the DT have made some amazing tags! I have only ever used tags for sentiments on cards and not as a creation in it's own right. I enjoyed making the ATC's so a tag is just a bit bigger, right?
Firstly I coloured the tag with Bundled Sage and Victorian Velvet and then spritzed a flourish stamp from Creative Expressions with water and stamped randomly across the tag before blotting with tissue. I then used the same stamp and inked with the same inks for more definition. The glamorous lady is stamped with SU Pretty in Pink and then again in Wild Wasabi and the hat cut out and decoupaged with foam pads. I added pearls and feathers and some glitter. The bag and fan are old stamps from a vintage cd set. The lace strip at the bottom is an old one from Glenda Waterworth and I used my Xyron to print the sentiment and martini glass. Leaves were stamped and added to a fabric flower. The tassel is attached with a fabric polka dot brad.

Sorry about the poor photo quality :(
Love to read your comments so please let me know you passed by:)

Less is More Week 32 - One Layer - Seeing Double

2011-09-10T22:21:00.000+01:00

Wow it's Saturday again and time for all the Limettes to get creative for this week's challenge at
Less is More! I'm always surprised at how early some of them appear!!!

now we're on to the second week of the month, which is a....

ONE LAYER CARDentitledSEEING DOUBLE
So on your entry this week, we'd like to see TWO of something.

I loved Mandi and Chrissie's cards, such great techniques and thought this would be a fairly easy theme but guess what, my reject box is full:)
Finally I decided on a mix of digi images and ink.
I'm not sure who drew the stamps but it was someone called Celia!! My first card I printed out the cats and the sentiment (TLC) using Craft Artist, as it's easy to position everything. I masked off a square and also the cats and used a chalk ink to colour the centre. I shadow stamped the corner using grey ink with a strange little stamp that has various sizes of toadstools on it. Not sure where I got it from but I think it was a 50p bin at Ally Pally! I embossed a frame around the square and added a glitter collar to the cats.

My second card was generated on Craft Artist. I downloaded a drawing of a chaise longue and arranged the cats to sit on it. Again I added glitter for the collars. I showed it to my OH and he thought it was an old boot!!

Cute as a cupcake

2011-09-10T07:30:00.002+01:00

Gill's challenge this week over at CBGM is called Cute as a Cupcake! Mmmm!! I thought about making some as my creation but that would have meant eating them!
I remembered a couple of years back buying some paper templates from Anne-Marie designs during the big fair at Ally Pally, one of which was a cupcake. So a search ensued which is difficult in my crafting area as it's a 7 x 3 cupboard under the stairs! Anyway I found it and this is what I made:
Patterned paper from my stash, strawberry stamp, a freebie from Craft Stamper and the ribbon I wound round into a rose and printed Happy Birthday onto the rest.

Good luck with the challenge and don't forget to check out all the other cards from the Design Team for inspiration:)

OLW 63 Baby Card

2011-09-09T00:04:00.001+01:00

I'd heard quite a bit about OLW and decided to check it out as they are back on the scene after a summer break.
The criteria is:

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of cardstock folded in half.

2. Make a one-layer card with a baby theme.

3. Please share your creation by posting your card online and then using Inlinkz below to link to it.

4. Please make sure you are linking directly to the relevant post – not just to your blog.

5. Most important of all…HAVE FUN!

The theme is for a baby card and I decided to use a digi from BTFC. Carmen shares fab images and some of you may have seen me use them on challenges for Less is More and Make My Monday.

I love this image it reminds me of the Princess and the Pea! I printed it out on a 5 x 5 card base and coloured it with PM's. The sentiment is also by BTFC.

I love this style of card thanks to LIM!

Love to read your comments so please let me know you have passed by:)

Steampunk #2

2011-09-07T23:11:00.000+01:00

I now have very inky fingers having decided to have another go at the steampunk ATC challenge over at Make My Monday!! It's a strange thing with ATC's but it's almost as hard not to overload the card (I keep wanting to add more) as it is trying to create a CAS card:)
I used some lined Kraft card for the base and distressed it with Frayed Burlap and Black Soot. The stamps I used are from Paper Artsy that I received when I first subscribed to Craft Stamper and have never used them!! The compass is an image that I downloaded and printed out.
Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment so I can visit you:)

Steampunk!

2011-09-06T00:44:00.002+01:00

I was over at Sue's blog and saw that she had made some wonderful ATC's with a steampunk theme. These were for the challenge at Make My Monday, which is not one I have participated in before, but the theme interested me. I have only made ATC's once before a couple of years ago but thought I'd have a go!
The criteria is as follows:
This is the first Monday in September and that means a brand new theme and challenges. This month they have been chosen by Cath and her theme isSTEAMPUNK.
Steampunk is based around the Victorian era and tends to incorporate elements of science fiction and fantasy with futuristic innovations such as fashion, culture, architecture and art.
So that being said your first challenge is to create a STEAMPUNK ATC.
ATCs can be any medium, stamped or collaged however they must be 2.5" x 3.5".
I used some old map backing paper for the base and then used various images from Kldezign to create my ATC. I distressed the base and images with Victorian Velvet and Black Soot and used promarkers to colour the images. I used foam pads to lift the images and stamped a postal mark from Darkroom Door. the ticket was also from KLdezign. I attached a circle of embossed foil with a brad to one corner. I enjoyed this challenge and may have another go at it:)

Thanks for looking and I love to read your comments;)

Less is More week 31 Colour

2011-09-05T00:10:00.000+01:00

Saturday means a new challenge from the South Coast in the shape of Less is More and as

it's the first Saturday of the month so we have a colour themed challenge once more and this time it is

METALLIC

We'd like to see CLEAN & SIMPLE cards with something that has a METALLIC finish to it... ink, embossing, card, charms, actual metal... come on people let's get creative!

There are some fabulous cards already submitted and Chrissie and Mandi's are inspirational as always!

I have not been very successful with metal as I always end up cutting myself! So I have resorted to using kitchen foil, folded several times and run through my cuttlebug. The folder is a cut and emboss frame but I just used the centre piece. The bells were also run through the cuttlebug and then embossed with silver EP and matted onto silver mirri.I added some silver cord but I may take it off again as I'm not too happy with it, what do you think?

Anyway thanks for taking the time to visit me and please leave a comment so I can visit you:)

Birthday boy and official news!

2011-09-03T22:58:00.000+01:00

It's my eldest son's birthday today and I found an amazing card on Gill's blog which I loved and had to case! Check out her blog as she has some beautiful cards and ideas to inspire:)
The official news is that we are to become grandparents in March for the first time!! So exciting I may have to knit something:)
Dominic loves old documents and I found a map of our county, Middlesex, on the internet and used it to cover the front of the card. I distressed it with Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap and Torn Lipstick. I tore and curled the edges and stamped a man on the side and added some embellishments to the corners. The insert was matted onto brown card and stamped with some vintage images and distressed with DI. I cut the corner off using a circle punch and attached ribbon with a brad.

We had a birthday BBQ yesterday and luckily it stayed mainly dry! We had a gazebo to shelter under but only needed it once. This weather is getting slightly depressing, perhaps September will be an Indian summer?

Thanks for looking and you know I love to read your comments and visit your blogs:)

Less is More week 30 Recipe

2011-08-30T23:46:00.000+01:00

Wow what a great challenge this week for the LIMs!

This week we are back to Sketch or Recipe

We have chosen a Recipe this time

Take 3 Challenges

We want you to choose 3 from any of our previous 29 and combine them in your design.
There is a list of our previous challenges under the tab heading at the top of our blog and you can also see the previous sketches under a separate tab.

Please state which 3 you have chosen.
NB There is no need to adhere to the One Layer if that is on the week you choose.

You may wish to go for your favourites or maybe your least...acetate springs to mind!

Most of all, be creative, have fun, remember our white space and the all important

"Less is More"

So much choice and such wonderful submissions on the Less is More blog that it is definitely worth visiting:)

I decided on:

A touch of Red

Something that moves

Embossing

I used a DL base card and dry embossed a flower shape from my Easi score board and added a red gem to the centre. The stamp I inked with black brilliance and stamped directly on to the card. I stamped again on to red card and paper pieced the dress. I added some red glitter and the sentiment I printed out and inserted randomly. Apologies for the poor picture quality but it was very dark here today and I always get a pinky glow on white card!

Thanks for looking and please leave a comment if you visit, I love to read them and visit you as well:)

Anything that Flies CBGM

2011-08-27T07:30:00.001+01:00

Gill's challenge this week is to produce a card basing it on "anything that flies" so that can be birds or beasties, air transport methods, myth & magic or anything that can fly.
I chose a backing paper and image from TLC where Paulette gives away amazing free digis, sentiments and papers nearly every day, so check her out:)

I matted the backing paper onto a ribbed pearlised card and mounted onto white card which I distressed with Antique Linen.
I mounted the topper on the same card and distressed the edges with ink and used a pen to create a faux line of stitching with 4 small brads in the corners. I added 3 square brads in opposite corners on the backing paper and the sentiment was produced on my xyron printer.
Good luck with the challenge

http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/2011/08/cbgm-blog-challenge-14-anything-that.html

Less is More second attempt!

2011-08-22T10:52:00.001+01:00

The men in my house are bonding over some sci-fi film so I thought I'd have a go at another card for this weeks LIM challenge.
I was sorting out my digi stamps into categories so that I can find them easily and came across this one from BTFC. Carmen gives out amazing free digis and vintage images so do go and have a look!
I thought this image was perfect for the challenge and coloured it with PM's and added some glitter. Not sure where the sentiment came from apart from the internet:)
It reads: butterflies soar into the hearts of man, they sail boundless and free

Thanks for looking and as always please leave a comment so I can visit you:)

Less is More week 29 -things that move

2011-08-20T23:05:00.001+01:00

The challenge over at Less is More this week is "things that move".

This week's challenge is a 'Theme' and we would like to see

Things that Move

This could be interpreted in a variety of ways...an actual moving component on your card, so a pop up, a shaker, a spinner, a charm, a tag... we could go on...

On the other hand your card could have an image of something capable of movement, so the scope for that is almost infinitesimal!

So many things to choose from, what to do?!!! In the end I have gone with my little hummingbird stamp. This was my souvenir from our trip to Prince Edward Island last year that I found in Michael's.

I folded the card so that the front fold was shorter and stamped the floral branch from one of Sheena's sets and coloured with PM's. I then stamped the hummingbird 3 times and coloured the images and bent the wings and mounted them on the card. The sentiment is from the same set.

Thanks for looking and please leave a comment so that I can visit you:)

St Luke's Charity card challenge

2011-08-19T13:45:00.000+01:00

The theme this month for the St Luke's charity card challenge is "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside".
Now I don't possess any suitable stamps so I created a card using Craft Artist. The picture in the photo frame is a photo of the entrance to Dartmouth that I took and I used software to turn it into a pencil sketch so that I could give it a colour wash. I decoupaged the starfish and the shell and added some gingham ribbon.
This is a challenge that is well worth supporting, check out the link and also look at the amazing DT cards:)
Thanks for looking and please leave a comment they are much appreciated.

Less is More week 28 one layer using INK no 2!

2011-08-19T10:52:00.000+01:00

This weather is absolutely terrible so I had a little play again and and came up with 2 more cards for this week's LIM challenge. I've even had the lights on it's been so dark!!
Anyway 2 quick cards, the first one I brayered a band of Kaleidocolour Riviera ink and stamped my Venetian stamps set from Darkroom Door on top. Love this set!

The second one I used a watercolour paper with a honeycomb texture and sponged DI around and masked a sun so that I could stamp the butterfly from the SU Strength and Hope set across it.
Kept me busy while I was waiting for some silicone glue to dry on another card:)

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any comments you leave!

Less is More week 28 one layer using INK

2011-08-16T00:04:00.000+01:00

This week's LIM challenge is :

The special feature we would like to see this week is for you to

USE INK
** This does include ink pads **

...hopefully in a way you haven't tried before.... or using a favourite technique.

If you can avoid using the computer this week, that would be great, but we wouldn't want to to miss a week if the computer is your only method of card making.

I've made a couple of cards but may try again later in the week. My first card uses a resist technique, which is something I have only done a couple of times. The stamp is by Jenny May and is stamped in versamark and embossed with clear EP. I then masked a square around the image and used DI in Bundled Sage and Worn Lipstick as the background and burnished the resist with a tissue to remove any ink. I stamped the corners with a clarity stamp.

My second card uses the same stamp but I inked it up with SU Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi. I used a water brush to drag some of the colour around to create light and shade. The sentiment was inked with Wild Wasabi and I added just a touch of glitter to the centre of the flowers.

Thanks for looking and I love to read your reactions to my creations:))

Believe in the Magic! by CBGM

2011-08-13T07:30:00.002+01:00

Gill's challenge this week is to create a project on the theme of "believe in the magic" based on the sketch below:

For this challenge I have used stamps from polkadoodles and coloured them with promarkers. On the left corner I decoupaged some of the smaller elements and added a fairy that I shrunk down on shrink plastic. The butterfly is a 3D one from my stash and the sentiment was created with my xyron digital printer using Ballerina font. I added glitter to some of the images and some peel offs around the edge.

Good luck with the challenge:)

A new arrival!

2011-08-10T18:58:00.001+01:00

A very good friend has just become a grandmother for the 3rd time, all boys! I love boys:)
The new arrival is Edward Joseph and I've been busy making congratulation cards for the parents and grandparents.
The first card is one that I cased from Chrissie Stokes and thought it was such a lovely idea which could be adapted for different occasions. Check out her blog as she creates some amazing cards (her latest post are more lovely baby cards) and with Mandi she is the founder of Less is More challenges.

I created a basic side stepper card and the stamp was a freebie from a Docrafts Creativity magazine. The edges are all sponged with blue ink and have pearls for handles. The teddy stamp was coloured with PM's. He really should be a bluey grey colour but I didn't have the right PM so he is a more traditional colour:)

The 2nd card is a square scalloped base with some torn gingham paper and paper ribbon and the info is printed on to a memo note. These were all created on Craft Artist. The baby image was a free digi from Beyond the Fringe Crafts that I coloured with PM's. Carmen and her family create beautiful digis and they are all free so go check them out.

Please leave a comment if you are passing by as I love to read your reactions:)

Bah Humbug White on White

2011-08-08T18:34:00.000+01:00

It's been ages since I partied with the ladies over at Humbug Hall and I thought I should remedy that:) The theme this week is white on white which is odd when you get together everything you think is white and find it's all different shades of white!
I used one of my new Tim Holtz embossing folders that Karen made me buy lol! this one is called Crackled and I thought it looked wintry. I cut around it to match the scalloped card base and I smeared versamark over the embossing and applied white glitter. The topper is a cuttlebug folder and I cut it out and used white ribbon for the bow and wrapping. I punched out small flowers and added them to the centre with a jewel in the middle. I used the waste from a sequin die to look as if it was snowing on the card

Thanks for looking and I love to read your comments:)

Less is More week 27 Colour

2011-08-06T16:45:00.002+01:00

This week's challenge over at Less is More is to use the colours of your National Flag and I decided to use red and white, the colours of the flag of St George for England!
It's most unusual for me to come up with any ideas on the same day as the LIM challenge is posted but I had a couple of ideas and even stopped emptying the dishwasher to have a crafty go:))
I hope my first card has enough "white space" on it but I liked it anyway :o
I used red linen card and my SU bird punch which I love and punched the edge of the white card with MS daisy punch. The sentiment I stamped with versamark and embossed with white EP. The birds and sentiment are raised with foam dots.

My flag

My second card was very easy using red card and a doily as a topper with a rose made of the same card. the sentiment was stamped and embossed with versamark and white EP and 2 eyelets with red ribbon threaded through.
Thanks for looking and I love to read all your comments:)

RAK club

2011-08-03T11:03:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone just a quick posting to showcase the beautiful card that I received today from Linda (Simpson that is). I'm assuming it's my July card as it's a summer theme but it's also a gorgeous shaped card which is this month's theme:))
There are lots of lovely decoupage layer which I hope show up in the photo.
For anyone interested in joining our group it's called the RAK club and stands for Random Acts of Kindness. It means that the lovely Gill, who hosts it sets the theme for the month and gives us the person to send a card to. Consequently we all get to receive something lovely in the post other than bills and junk mail! Checkout Gill's blog for more info.
Thanks Linda :)

Cocktails and Dreams

2011-08-01T07:30:00.002+01:00

everyone and welcome to the Cocktails and Dreams blog hop hosted by Gill McCall. If you have just happened upon my blog and would like to join the hop from the beginning click here to go to Gill's blog.

If you have arrived from
Alethea http://lilodesigns.blogspot.com/ then you are on track with the hop.
I love cocktails and hopefully you do too and I have created 2 projects to share with you.
The first is a scrap page that I made for my son and DIL with memories of their honeymoon in Cuba 3 years ago. I used Craft Artist, a digital programme, to create the page and decoupaged some of the elements to give depth.

My 2nd creation is a card .The background is printed with names of cocktails and the toppers are photos of various cocktails that have been framed. I glazed the glasses to create texture.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit and the next stop on this hop is
jacki http://cardsbyjacki.blogspot.com
Thanks for looking andI love to read your comments they are always welcome:)

Less is More Week 26 - Lucky Dip

2011-07-31T18:01:00.000+01:00

Ok, so we have our 'Lucky Dip' week as it's the fifth Saturday of July.

The challenge is

FEELING FRUITY

Chrissie and Mandi would like to see fruit on our cards or fruit colours...easy peasy 'lemon' squeezy! Yeah yeah!!!

Well the one thing I don't have in my stamp collection is a fruity one! Having checked out some of the fantastic entries I think Susan has them all :)

I remembered having seen some fruit on Beccy's site and went to see the digi's in her archives. Sure enough there was a pear but I loved this basket of apples.

I printed the image out in Craft Artist so that I could bend the text and then I used my promarkers to colour in, heavens it sounds like I'm back at primary school!

I used a basic 7 x 5 white card and the apple on the text I drew, coloured and wrote the text on it and then used a little silicone glue to lift it slightly, hope that's ok with the "crafty duo".

So there we have my entry for this week, thanks for looking and your comments are always a joy and much appreciated!

Graduation collage

2011-07-31T00:16:00.000+01:00

A collage I made with Smilebox to celebrate a special day :))

Free digital collage created with Smilebox

Design Team Blog Hop

2011-07-30T07:00:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone I am part of Gill's CBGM DT and we are all taking part in a DT blog hop hosted by

Dee of Vintageheartfeltdesigns blog. The theme of the hop is birthdays and here is my card:

The stamp is a Papermania Hydrangea stamp and I inked it up with SU Pretty in pink, Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi and Certainly Celery. The flower and ribbons are from Meiflower and the border is punched with a Martha Stewart punch and embellished with pearls

If you would like to see our teams entries then click HERE for CBGM blog or if you would like to take part in the hop then please start back at Dee's blog ......

Thank you for hopping and I hope that you enjoy our creations and maybe be inspired to join in on our future hops which are always advertised on my blog.

Please leave a comment as I love to read your reactions to my cards.

Thanks for looking;)

Graduation Day

2011-07-27T09:30:00.001+01:00

Today we are in Southampton watching my darling DIL receive her degree, for which she achieved a 1st ! We have an early start as her graduation is at 9.30!!
I had already made Lara a card when we first got the news, but I forgot to take a picture for my blog, silly me!
Anyway I have made her a box which contains her favourite Lindor chocs and a small gift wallet.
The box was a printout from TLC and is most probably for graduates from primary education, check out the images, but Lara will be more interested in the chocolate!

The wallet is made for a gift card or money and I found it on Vicky's blog. As you will see they can be customised to suit anyone. I used navy card and stamped the front with versamark and the wrap is held together with a brad and has a topper decoupaged on the front. The images were from the Scrapbook Flair website.

Thanks for looking:)

Less is More week 25 "ribbon/button or both" no 2!

2011-07-24T20:14:00.000+01:00

Getting ahead of myself this week with another card for the LIM challenge! Needed to get in early as we are off to sunny (I hope) Portsmouth on Tuesday for my darling DIL's graduation. This is a second degree through her work and the clever girl got a FIRST!! I have made a couple of graduation themed creations which I'll post tomorrow.
Meanwhile here is my 2nd LIM card. I made a ribbon flower with grosgrain ribbon and the centre is made with the SU die and the other buttons are from my stash. The stems are punched from my SU bird punch and inked with Bundled Sage.
Thanks for looking:)

Less is More week 25 "ribbon/button or both"

2011-07-23T23:37:00.000+01:00

Well I must be psychic! I got so excited with my new embosslits button die that I rushed through another card for last week's LIM challenge and what did I find this morning? A ribbon and button challenge! Too quick for my own good:)
Lovely cards as usual from Lady and Diva LIM, I'm always inspired by the tips and techniques that they share with us.
Anyway on to my entry this week, I decided to use some alphabet stamps from The Stamp Man and do another Christmas card! I stamped the letters and coloured them with promarkers and used glitter to outline the shapes. They are mounted on gold mirri and the ribbon is from Meiflower. Of course I had to use a button:) which I overstamped and threaded purple cord through.
Thanks for looking:)