Friday 31 May 2013

Happy Father's Day

This is the only Teddy Bo image I have, but after seeing the lovely cards which Laurie makes with them, I thought I'd dig this fella out again and have a play.


Papers are from my LOTV Nitwits pad, colouring by Promarker and the scarf paper pieced.

Challenges;
Papertake - Sketch
Cards For Men - Dad
Jx

Thursday 30 May 2013

Chillaxing!

Well come tonight there will be plenty of that! Alan finished his last exam yesterday, and Colin today, so yipee, the exams are over with at last, now we can enjoy Summer - hopefully with the sun and chillax!

First however I must tell you about the current challenge over at Moving Along With The Times, set again by   Hazel and this time it's a super little sketch - I do so like sketches to follow!

So here it is... simples!
So for my card, I used one of the new LOTV images, some LOTV Nitwits paper and kraft.  The card is then finished with Die-namics grass, buttons & a ribbon.  And here it is;

Challenges;
Cupcake Crafts - Boys
Kaboodle Doodles - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Happy Birthday
Here Come The Boys - Buttons
Passion For Promarkers - Add Ribbon, Lace or twine - I chose ribbon
Paper Pretties - Embossing
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Finally, a little bit of MAWTT news to share with you all... the challenge is going to take a well earned Summer Season break, so this will be the last challenge for a bit.  We plan to re-launch 3rd October so will see you all back in the Autumn, Jx

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Tie A Ribbon

Not round the Old Oak Tree this time though!

Couldn't resist that one! And I also couldn't resist joining a new design team...

I'm a Diva now too!

Yup folks, I'm thrilled to announce I'm now a paid up member of the Divas By Design DT and just couldn't wait to join in on the fun over there!

This week, the challenge is set as

Tie A Ribbon

And the fabulous sponsor is, 2 Cute Ink,


and boy are their stamps cute! I love my cat's as you know, & they have a super range of kitty images.  So I chose to work with Cupcake Kitty available here

Papers this time are again LOTV Nitwits and colouring by Promarker.


A simple little card to begin with, as I find my way as a Diva - prepare for more flamboyant cards as my time with them increases!!!

Challenges;
Sketch n Stash 114 - Their sketch + new LOTV paper & a new image.  Old kraft & ribbon.
Card Crafters Circle - Food

31st May
Today I noticed I'd won at Card Crafters Circle with their food inspired challenge. The prize being a digi bundle from Melonheadz.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Wedding Day

This week, my boys are finishing off their exams, Alan finishes first on Wed night, then Colin on Thurs, so after a really busy spell at their books, it will be great to spend a bit more time with them.

Can't wait till the weekend, and neither can they!

Today however sees another challenge at An Oldie but A Goodie, chosen by Francesca.

Weddings

For this challenge, the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop are sponsoring us and are offering our lucky winner this lovely embellishment set,




Remember when entering our challenge to use something older than 6 months and to tell us what it is.

In my case, everything bar the die cut hearts is over 6 months old.  The papers are Wild Rose Studio, Wedding Bells,  the stamp by Sugar Nellie and the ribbon & pearls bits & bobs I had.





Challenges;
Sugar Bowl - Anything goes with Sugar Nellie
Crafty Catz - A fancy fold or two - Easel card
Lady Anne's Challenge - Easel Card
Stamp With Fun - Wedding
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me - Lots of Layers

Please also have a lookie at the rest of the DT's great cards on the main blog.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Peek-a-Boo

Think I might as well apologise now - heading into a LOTV phase!  Been saying it for a while now, but what with the LOTV candy from Debs followed by a LOTV prize win, I seriously have loads of their stamps I've never used!  Not all are the new release, but they are new to me and I intend to use them for a bit!

Today's card uses the fab Peek-a-boo image available here.  It's been given a little Promarker colour using the warm grey set, then the card was completed with Basic Grey paper & kraft.  Again it's papers from that Little Black Dress pad that are finding their way onto male cards!

Challenges;
Basic Grey - Inspired by a song - Your My Best Friend, Queen
Lili's Fairies - Spots & Stripes
Sketch Saturday - Sketch 259
LOTV - Boy oh boy
Southern Girls - Going Spotty/Dotty
Jx

Wednesday 22 May 2013

CaS - Stamping on Designer Paper

I do love CaS cards and one of my favourite CaS challenges at the moment is CASual Friday.  This week their challenge was to stamp on designer paper. so I whipped out an old MME sheet and this is what I made.


The stamps used are from a Hero Arts clear set bought a few years ago.  The card is finished with a doodle border.

Challenges;
CASual Friday - Stamp on design paper
Sweet Stampin - Oodles of Doodles Jx

26th May
Yipee! My card was in the spotlight over at Sweet Stampin and won me a £10 voucher over at Crafter's Companion.



Tuesday 21 May 2013

Kitty Thank You Card

The SQA exams are under way in Scotland at the moment and ours is one of the households involved as Colin sits his Higher exams.  So far he has 2 under his belt - only another 3 to go! With this on going, you'd think I'd have plenty time to craft - wrong!  Sadly I've ants in me pants at the moment, and can't settle as I go through the nervous waiting process to see how each exam went.  Then this will be made worse on Fri as Alan heads into degree exams! Roll on the Summer holidays I'd say!!!

This thank you card uses an a favourite LOTV image of mine coloured by Promarker.  Doodlebug paper and my Die-namics grass again.


Challenges;
Lilis Little Fairies - Thankyou
Craft Your Passion - Party Animals
Kaboodle Doodles - Stripes and or circles - I went circles & dots
Passion For Promarkers - Anything Goes
The Ribbon Girls - May - Lilac Challenge
Sweet Sketch Wednesday - No 206 as below;


22nd May
So chffed this morning to see I'd won at SSW - 206.  Love this challenge and the great inspiration, & love my prize of stamps from DSB. Jx


23rd May
Also placed in the top 3 at Lili's Little Fairies - thanks you lot, Jx


Saturday 18 May 2013

A Special Birthday For A Special Friend

A few weeks back it was Deb's 50th birthday, & so I made her a card and sent her my best wishes along with it.  Clearly I couldn't blog my card at the time, but I can now & here it is!





The paper is Andrea Jayne, Hot Diggity Dog again and the stamp, Funstamps, Painted Lady on Musk Mallow.  The butterfly is Pippa by Memory Box & the border, MS Doily.  All colouring done by Promarkers.

Challenges;
Crafting For All Seasons - Think Pink
Simon Says Stamp - Flower Power
As You Like It - 2 Favourite colours - Pink & Brown - specifically kraft brown!  Love both these as pink makes super girly cards & kraft goes with just about anything! A great combo in my eye!
Stampavie & More - Kraft
ALBC - Kraft It
By The Cute & Girly - Flowers
One Crazy Stamper - Flowers
Milk Coffee Challenge - Shabby Chic/Vintage
Art Impressions - Show Your Bow

Finally, I just want to say a huge thank you to Debs for the lovely candy prize she sent me to celebrate her birthday... just look!



Thank you so much Debs, you have been exceptionally generous to me, Claire & Sam!

Friday 17 May 2013

Anyone For Tennis?

I got this images ages ago and coloured it up for my nieces Birthday card in March, but somewhere along the line it never quite made it onto a card and the image has only just re-surfaced in time for a couple of challenges this week!

The yellow paper on my card is by Tim Coffey, the green - who knows!

Challenges;
Sketch Saturday - Sketch 258
Crafty Creations - Keep It Simple
I Love Promarkers - Simply Does It
Allsorts - Any Sport - Tennis
Crafts & Me - Use a digi - digi it is!
Polka Doodles - Spring colours/pastels Jx

Thursday 16 May 2013

Colour Challenge

Gee I've posted a lot of stuff this week, 3 posts on Tues was a record for me I'd say, and after a day of rest, I'm back with another card and a new challenge over at MAWTT challenge , this time set by Hazel. The current challenge is just for fun & the prize is a 2 week Guest Designer spot with us - so if you fancy it, here's the theme this week;

Colour Inspired Challenge

And here is the colour palette to work from;


So, I went for the paler shades in this one - cause that suited the papers I had, and here's what I made;


I know I didn't quite hit some of the colours on the palette above, but as I said, it's just for fun so hopefully I'll be let off with this!

For my card, I coloured an LOTV girlie image with Promarkers then combined her with Andrea Jayne Hot Diggity Dog papers and loads of die cuts!

Challenges;
Sketch n Stash 113 - Old LOTV stamp - but lotsa new dies (-thanks Debs)
Wags n Whiskers - Girl Birthday
Cupcake Craft - Lots of Layers
The Paper Nest Dolls - Pearls, Pearls, Pearls
Papercraft Star - Pastels
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

To see the rest of the DT's slightly more compliant cards, hop on over to the MAWTT blog page. Jx

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Happy Anniversary

Three posts today - not like me I know, but then again today is no ordinary day.

25 years ago today, I married my husband Craig at Kings College Chapel, Aberdeen in glorious sunshine. And so this second post is especially for him to wish him a Happy Anniversary.
- Hope he has a look on, cause I won't say!!!


I've kept the design quite simple, I did at one point have the card covered in flowers, but then decided in the end to go with die-cuts and a ribbon as I thought a male would prefer a less fussy card.


The embossing was done using my early anniversary present of A Big Shot - thanks Craig, just what I wanted, even though I couldn't make up my mind in the shop.  I think my cutlebug has seen better days now and isn't as good at embossing or cutting things in just one run.

My card also ties in nicely with the new challenge over at An Oldie But A Goodie, where Laurie has picked

Inspired by A Song
as the theme.

So my song is Love is All Around by Wet Wet Wet - not only a great song, but it was also at the top of the charts when I was due my first baby, Alan, so it's a song I've loved for ages.

As well as having a wedding image, I also tried to go old, new, borrowed & blue on my card.  My oldie being the embossing folders, my newbie being the image.  Borrowed - with the assistance of the lovely Debs, the die cut heart on a bow and finally little blue hearts on the sentiment!

Finally, cause I know you'll all be dying to see... a photo from 25 years ago. Jx


Sorry it's not that sharp, but that's cause it's a photo of a photo - digital hadn't been invented then!!!

Challenges;
Polka Doodles - Anniversary
Simply Challenged Challenges - Wedding couples
ABC Challenges - Wedding or Anniversary - I went with Anniversary
Sketch n Stash - Sketch 113 - New image from the Paper Nest
Stamping Sensations - Embossing & Texture - Use of 2 embossing folders & dies + gems

Tag - You're It!

Sorry you lot, you'll be sick of Anniversary projects by now! Last one - a little tiddler tag, which is actually really cute!



And here it is on my gift.

The image is coloured with Promarkers then fussy cut and raised onto the tag with silicone glue.  The tag itself is cut using a Spellbinder die and the tag is finished off with a Memory Box Precious Heart die cut (from Debs!)

Challenges;
Digi Darla - Tags
LLF - Anything but a card - So I made a gift tag. Jx

16th May
Thanks Lili's Little Fairies - you placed my tag in the top 3, Jx



Thank You For The Music

Morning everyone, hope you are all well and ready for a new challenge over at an Oldie But A Goodie.  This time it's Laurie who is in the driving seat & I think she's gone with her favourite theme, which is...

Inspired By A Song
Remember also to use something older than 6 months on your card and tell us what it is.

A lovely challenge don't you think, but you wouldn't believe the number of problems this challenge has caused! More of that later but first, the prize...


Paper Nest is a new stamp company to me, (you've maybe heard of them), and they are giving our lucky winner  a $25 spend in their on line shop - What a fantastic prize!!!  Us DT girls were also  lucky enough to get out grubby mitts on these super stamps and so I chose the current freebie - Playing Dress Up available here for my card.  I thought she was lovely!


So for my card I used MME paper, Be Amazed, Kraft, my MS doily punch, and a lovely Die Cut again from Dies To Die for (CC Cutters - Flower Border).  I so wish Tracey wouldn't bung these samples in with orders - cause that now means I want another die!!! (Thanks Tracey, I love it really!) My oldies this time are the buttons - bought from Elzybells, so they must be old as that shop closed ages ago!

As for my song, well it's Abba and Thank You For the Music - yup, it's the girl with golden hair.  Click on the link for a listen - and to see those great costumes those girls used to wear!

So that's my take on the challenge, now see what the rest of the team did here before joining in on the fun.

Challenges;
Stampin For The Weekend - Button it up
Sweet Sketch Wed - Sketch 205 rotated - it is ok to rotate???
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Jelly Park - Girly Girl
Divas By Design - Anything Goes
Passion For Promarkers - Birthdays


Finally, the problems this time around.  Well this is one of 3 cards I made for this challenge as there was a bit of a mix up with sponsors and dates!
My initial card used another sponsors image,(I posted it last week), then shock horror I twigged the date and thought best make an anniversary card. (It's my Silver Wedding Anniversary today!)
Then I realised it was the Paper Nest who were our sponsor this time, so obviously I wanted to use one of their images.  Again, a bit of a hic-cup and a delay, so I thought, instead of using my selected wedding image I'd use the current freebie instead!  This I did & I'm glad cause she's lovely but that then leaves the small problem of an anniversary card for today too!  As I write this post I have two options - post the card I originally made or make the Paper Nest one I planned - depending on the time I have over the weekend will determine whether it's a double card post!

Saturday 11 May 2013

Happy 18th Birthday

When I saw this Woodware stamp, I knew it would be a good one to have.  Boy's 18th birthday cards can be a bit troublesome, so I thought this stamp might make life a bit easier.

Simple card today, with the 18th paper pieced using Doodlebug paper.  The card is then finished off with candy and that's it!


Hope you all have a good weekend, it's turned chilly again here so there won't be any gardening.  I should go for a run, but it's just started to rain & my motivation is somewhat lacking... we'll see!

Challenges;
Totally Papercrafts - CAS
Cute Card Thursday - Something Blue
Little Miss Muffet - Pieced Off - Paper piecing
Lexi's Creations - Happy Birthday
There She Goes - Paper Piecing
Here Come The Boys - Paper Piecing
Paper Creator's Crafts - For The Boys
Jx

19th May
One of my favourite male challenges just picked me for their top 5 again, thanks Here Come The Boys! Jx


Monday 6 May 2013

Troublemaker

Anyone that follows my blog will know I'm a big Olly Murs fan, so when I saw an Inspired by a Song challenge, I thought I'd try and make a card based on one of his songs... but which song?

To help me out, I turned to the lovely Bugaboo - if ever you're stuck, chances are they will have an image that suits as they have images on everything!

So, I went with... Slingshot Sean & Troublemaker! (Feel free to have a listen while you read on!)


The papers this time are Basic Grey - a selection from several packs.  Colouring by Promarker & the sentiment LOTV.

Hope everybody has had a good Bank Holiday.  I spent most of it in the garden having a tidy up.  It was actually quite warm for a bit...till it started to rain! Jx

Challenges;
Crafty Catz - Inspired by a song - Troublemaker by Olly Murs
Sketch Saturday - Sketch 257
Catch The Bug - May Anything Goes
Basic Grey - Mix n Match - papers from, Granola ; Archaic & Little Black Dress
Glitter n Sparkle - Anything Goes
Digi Sketch Challenge - For The Boys
Passion For Promarkers - To Die For - Spellbinder circle & scalloped circle
I Love Promarkers - Put A Button On It

11th May
It's funny how some challenges you enter regularly you never win on, then others you enter and first time you win.  I've been in both categories, and one elusive challenge for me has been Crafty Catz, but that all changed today!  For the first time I have won a challenge there, I'm so pleased.  I know it was a random winner pick too, but who cares, I just wanted to win it!  & the prize - a super £10 voucher at LOTV! Brilliant cause that comes on top of my candy win from Debs - £25 LOTV voucher - so guess what? Lots of LOTV coming soon to a blog near you!  Thanks guys, Jx


Thursday 2 May 2013

One For The Guys

This week over at Moving Along With The Times, Carole has chosen

One For The Guys

as the theme, and we are lucky enough to be sponsored by Jo Channing.  Details of the prize are on the MAWTT blog page.




For my card, I used a Stampelkallan stamp and some Basic Grey Papers, Little Black Dress ( - Not very masculine sounding but they were just the ticket!), kraft and lots of layers!  I'm actually really pleased with how this one turned out, with the paper pieced shirt then the decoupaged tie to finish!

Now check out the rest of the DT's cards before joining us on our current challenge.

Challenges;
Basic Grey - Masculine - Little Black Dress papers
Artistic Inspirations - Lots of Layers
Kaboodle Doodles - Brown or Tan
Crafting For All Seasons - Monochromatic - Brown

Jx