Spots and Dots

I made this card using papers that were a freebie gift from one of my craft magazine subscriptions and I roughed up the edges with my scalpel. I then printed the Sugar Nellie image and coloured her in with my Promarker pens.

I added the Craftwork Cards sentiment and some flowers, leaves and pins to finish off the overall effect.

I love how this card turned out.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to read my posts. I hope you like the cards here and take a few moments to leave a message or two.

Thank you x

Highclere Decoupage

I made this card a little while ago but Darren, my boss was so pleased with it, that I wanted to share it with you.

He had arranged to take his partner Jayne, to Highclere House (where Downton Abbey is filmed and located) for her Birthday, last month, as she is a big fan. So of course I had to make the card all about that.

I downloaded a picture of Highclere and printed it off three times. I then used the more prominent parts of the image to decoupage it. The picture doesn't really do it any justice but like I said, I had to share it with you as not only was Darren pleased with it, but I got a 'tip' too. How cool is that???

The inside of the card was the same image but very printed very feint and over the image was the itinerary for the day, which began with her breakfast, a wonderfully relaxing massage followed by the tour of the house and the gardens and then a lovely lunch. She's a very lucky lady. I'm sure that the only other thing that could have made her day more perfect would have been if Alexander Skarsgard had been doing the massage himself.

Pretty in Pink

Hi ladies (and gents)
I made this card for the following Blog Challenges.

• Lili's Little Fairies Challenge, Pretty in Pink (must use a Lili of the Valley image)
• The Cutie Pie Challenge, Glitter and Bling

 It's the first time I have entered the Cutie Pie Challenge so I hope I meet their criteria. Anyway, enough shout out to the Blogs, here's the card I made.

I made this really sweet card for my grandmother, who I affectionately call Nanny. She has been in the hospital for the past three weeks but I am delighted to say that she was discharged on Wednesday of this week and this is a 'happy thoughts' card for her.

The background paper which I attached to an 8 x 8 inch white base card, is from Craftwork Cards and has a shimmer effect that you can't really see in the photograph. I then cut a smaller piece of pink shimmer card and ran it through the Big Shot to add a patterned texture and mounted that onto black card. The image is from Lili of theValley and the sentiment 'Sending Lots of Happy Thoughts Your Way' is from Penny Black. Both the image and the sentiment were also mounted onto pink card and then re-mounted onto black cardstock.

The N-A-N-N-Y letters have been cut out by hand and I coloured the image with promarker pens. I then added some wedding sparkles (the swirlie bits) that I bought in a bargain bucket at Hobbycraft - I knew they would come in useful for something and they finished this card off perfectly).

I then added a few other smaller bits of bling.

Hope you like it

So much news...

Hi guys and girls
I can't believe it has been a few months since I last posted on here.  So much has happened to me, I don't even know where to begin. I guess I could just start with the recent and let you all fill in the blanks.

Last Thursday I went to Queens Square to visit the Neurology Hospital where I had a lumbar puncture and several other motor sensory tests done. I'm not really sure what they are looking for (to be honest I'm not really sure that they are either) but I feel like I have been given a full MOT.

Never mind the fact that I have been in absolute agony ever since I had the anesthetic injection in my spine. That hurt 'more' than the actual lumbar puncture.

I have also got a new car... well, it's new to me, wanna see?  I collected him from Middleton Cheney the Saturday before last and YES... the number plate is currently 'DOA' but that will change very soon. Not that I am superstitious or anything, but hey why tempt fate. Besides I have a personal number plate anyway, so I'll just transfer it over.

I have called my new car 'Mr Grey' because I just love the 'Fifty Shades of...' books. I have just finished reading the final book and please... E L James, can we PLEASE have the Christian Grey version of the books as soon as possible. I am most intrigued to find out his relationship with Ana through his eyes.

Thanks for your loyalty and your patience. I look forward to putting some new cards on here soon. Once I have hunted down and snared my mojo...

Contained Excitement (almost)

Hi Girls and fellow crafters

DON'T GET TOO EXCITED BUT... you know I am turning 40 this May???  Well.. my gorgeous hubby has decided to be a little creative himself and is... wait for it... (no wait, I'll let you guys read the WHOLE article first before I spoil it... Now, it's not going to happen all at once because we are doing it ourselves so it will be a work in progress, probably over a few months, maybe even a year as we are also fitting it around a monthly budget. But... without further ado, here are the photos of Stage 1, 2 and 3.

Stage 1 -

Chop down silver birch trees in garden, as we had blooming millions of 'em. Well, alright... five at most but there might as well have been millions of them for all the bloomin' seeds that came in the house at the end of the summer months.

Stage 2 -

Have a huge bonfire, burning said trees after giving away as many logs as possible to family, friends and anyone really that still has the luxury of an open fire at home (mostly to mum and dad, bless 'em).

Stage 3 -

and... the final stage (SO FAR). The planning of size (12ft x 10ft), digging out, levelling off and digging up of path that used to be there. Any ideas as to what is going on this space yet???

A CRAFT SHED... just for me. All mine... MY space, just mine, no kids, no lawn mowers, just shelves and shelves of pretty papers, wood stamps and clear stamps among other crafty related things... I am soooooo excited I can't tell you.

Watch this space for regular updates as and when work progresses. It's brilliant. I can't tell you how long I have dreamed for this. I live in a bungalow and share my craftroom space with an almost redundant kitchen. I have to cook for them sometimes but would rather be crafting. Nevertheless, it's happening... YAY!!!

Hugs

FF Challange: Add a Charm

Hi peeps and Forever Friends Challengers

Here's the latest fortnightly challenge card, which this time is... 'Add a Charm'. 

Remember, you don't have to use a Forever Friends image on your card.  You can either use one of those gorgeous, huggable bears or, you can use any other image of your choice, as long as it is an animal. Now, you're not telling me that you don't possess an animal stamp, digi, decoupage sheet or just an old birthday card that you can recycle and add a charm too... are you??? Thought not!

Now go create a card and take part in this fortnight's challenge. It's a great way to get inspiration, but it's also a great way to showcase YOUR work.

We'd love to see what you create and who knows, maybe you'll even get to win a prize??? Good luck.

Here's my card for the challenge.

I decided to make an easel card (mainly because I haven't made one for a while and also because I like the way charms hang on easels) to which I added the digi image.  I also added a sentiment (freebie) from Create with TLC. I also added a Birthday sentiment from Craftwork Cards to which I adhered my Charm, with a little wire, to the card and then added some colour co-ordinated ribbon as well.

I cut out some letters and spelt 'SISTER', on plain white card and added them along the bottom of the easel 'stopper'. I then traced around the outline of the letters with a gellyroll glitter pen and then added some gemstones to finish it off.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today and good luck!

Hugs,

FF Challange: Ribbons and Lace

This fortnightly challenge for Forever Friends is all about Ribbons and Lace. And the sponsor this time is Whoopsi Daisy who created this lovely image.

As a DT member of the Forever Friends Challenge blog, I have been away for a while and wanted to make a special card. Although I didn't have any lace, I found a lace doily and added lots of layers to give the card dimension, plus I used a variety of colours.

I coloured the image with Copics and Derwent Watercolour Pencils and the sentiment was a freebie from Create with TLC. I then added some adhesive gem stones to finish the card off.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs

Mother's Day Bling

Hi peeps

A late addition to my blog this evening. Just had to share this card with you as I have spent the best part of this evening making it, despite the fact that the children are going back to school tomorrow, after a LONG half term week off work with them. Phew! I'll be glad to go back to work next week for a rest.

Despite my busy week at home with the children, you'll be pleased to hear that I STILL HAVE NOT GIVEN INTO TEMPTATION and still haven't had a cigarette since the 10th January... YAY ME!

Anyway, sorry, I'm rambling on again aren't I??? Here is the card to which I was referring to earlier. A Mother's Day card commission that I just had to do on brown paper wrapping and add a few other finishing touches to. Not a CAS card but hey I think it still works. I love it, so even if you don't, it's all good. Hayley, who ordered the card in the first place loves it and the customer is ALWAYS right.

I was tempted to add 'more' to it though, but Steve persuaded me not too as he thought it was enough with the roses and the bling and the letters and the sentiment. Perhaps he is right, I don't know. I do still feel that perhaps something is missing with the letters though, it just doesn't look right. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have the time to leave a brief comment. If not, thanks for visiting anyway.

Right, off to beddie-bies for me, need my eight hours now I am getting old you know. Gonna be FORTY this May, can't believe it... I still feel like an eighteen-year-old on the inside, when did this ageing, middle aged thingy thing start?? Help! Anyway, going to down a pint of water now and I'll see you all again this week sometime, I hope.

Take care, sleep tight and god bless
Hugs

Special Things

This is a really cute card that I have made with one of my new 'impulse buy' Lili of the Valley stamps.

I actually bought quite a few Lili of the Valley stamps at the Alexandra Palace show back in September, and believe it or not, I have only just got around to using this one. Can't believe I left it so long.

Anyway, I digress...

I decided I liked the idea of stamping onto brown wrapping paper and then colouring with my Derwent pencils as I really love the vibrancy of the colours that results.

The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts and was a present from my good friend Sarn, many... many moons ago. I decided to keep the card CAS so that the main focus would be the fabulous colours of the image and the really cute image itself. So I added nothing else other than the two ribbons that run along the bottom of the card.

Here is a close up of the image so that you can see the different colours I have used to create light and shadow. I haven't blended any of these colours as the wrapping paper soaks the Sansodor up too quickly and leaves a mark so I scrapped that idea straight away.

Hope you like my card and thanks for stopping by on this beautiful Sunday morning.

Hugs x

Marvellous Mothers

Another card that I have made for a work colleague, for Mother's Day is using a Digi Stamp Boutique image.

The background paper is leftover scrap and I'm really sorry, but I cannot for the life of me, remember who created it.

Anyway, I printed the Digi Stamp Boutique image off twice and decoupaged the top half of the image. I added some ribbon to the base of the card and coloured the image with my Copic Pens and Derwent watercolour pencils.

I hope that you like this card and I thank you once more, for popping by and visiting me today.

Hugs xxx