Recipe

You'll be glad to here, our snow has all gone again, still very cold, but at least the sun has reappeared!

Today at MAWTT Hazel the boss lady has given us a recipe to follow - I was hoping for cake or biscuits, but no it's a recipe for the perfect card!  So all you need this week is;

1 Digi Imade; 2 Design Papers; 3 Embellishments 

& a pinch of glitter!

And that according to our Hazel will help you create the perfect card, so here is my attempt...

Now first off, I apologise for it being another round card - no shaped cards from me and then 2 in close succession! (Those dies were expensive you know so I gotta get the good of them!)

Anyway, it's another sweet All Dressed Up image - Little Star to be precise.  First Edition Up Up & Away papers and 3 pearls as my embellishments - the banner & hearts don't count!

So, over to you now kiddies, let's see what you make. Jx

Challenges;
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Crafty Boots - Things With wings
SSS Monday Challenge - Anything Goes
All Dressed Up - 33 - Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge - Shaped card
Passion for Promarkers - Easel does it!
I Love Promarkers - Release the glitter - glitter wings!

Oops, just realised this is Wed not Thurs! Sorry folks I'm a day early, the current MAWTT challenge is still running! Jx

Nursery Rhymes

On Saturday, I was out cutting the grass and tidying up the garden, been in the garden most days this week, enjoying the Spring sunshine and getting things in shape.  But yesterday, the weather had different plans, it snowed for hours, blizzard conditions returned and everything was white.  Luckily it hasn't stayed for long, just a few pockets of snow remain and hopefully I'll get back to my gardening soon! In the mean time, it's challenge time again over at Ooh La La and this week it's the turn of Susan to pick her theme and she has selected

Nursery Rhymes

Now as I don't have little toots any more I don't often make really kiddy cards however I scrolled through my bits and bobs and decided on the rhyme;

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Bare with me on this cause I do get there! So, in said rhyme the maid was in the garden...hanging out the clothes, right, when down came a black bird, and pecked off her nose!

You will be relieved to know that my card does not depict a hidious scene of said event, instead, it was a snowy day like yesterday, so the maid hug the clothes up inside, avoiding said bird!!!

And here is my card, made from the lovely Ooh La La CD - Everyday Occasions.

Challenges;
Crafty Gals Corner - 16 - Girls girls girls
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Chocolate Coffee & Cards - Use a die cut - Stitched rectangle for sentiment
That's Crafty - Keep it simple
Papertake - Cute as a button - Well I think she's cute washing her dolls clothes
CD Sunday - Layer it up - do faux layers count?

Agapanthus

It's been a while since I just made a card, not for a DT project or a specific person in mind, but the other day I had time so I did!

Think I'm inspired by all the lovely images in the new Ooh La La CD - The Paula Oakley Collection.  There are so many gorgeous images on that CD, and I never realised they were all hand painted by Paula.  Well I never really stoped to think about it actually, but when you do, you realise just how lovely they are!

So starting at the beginning of the CD, with the very first image, I chose Agapanthus - a gorgeous purple flower which was great fun to layer up in decoupage.

Backing papers were also off the CD - and look - an insert too - all printed to match the papers used and you guessed it, off the CD!

The card was then finished with lace and pearls and will be entering the following challenges;

CD Sunday - Purple Crazy
Fantastic Tuesday - Pearls
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Wonderful Wednesdays - Anything Goes
Everybody Art Challenge - Pearls (320)
Card Mania - Flowers
Woopsie Daisy - Flowers
The Corrosive Challenges - Floral Frenzy

Orders for this CD can be placed on the Ooh La La website here.

Anything But Square

Today's challenge over at MAWTT has been set by Kelly as...

Anything but Square

And this is something that I rarely do so it was indeed a challenge for me.  Made easier by the fact that I recently purchased some large circular dies with this challenge in mind - and you know what you're like when you get something new!

And talking of new - that stamp is too!  It's by Beccy's Place, and I won it a couple of weeks back in a challenge.  It's part of a set called "Catitude" and it has some brilliant quotes on it - which you will see in the coming weeks! (Thanks Beccy for my prize>)

Paper is a MME sheet, (Lost & Found) and colouring by Promarker.

Challenges;

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything goes

Di's Digi Designs - Include an animal

Craft Your Passion - Anything goes

Eureka Stamps - Four Legged friends

Crafters Cafe - Animal Antics

Crafting By Designs - Shaped cards

Crazy4Challenges - Pet, cat! C4C281

Di's Digi Designs - Include an animal

Jx

Lots of Layers

Well that was a quick week, Colin's week's holiday has flown past and it's now Monday again, which means it's a new challenge over at Ooh La La, and this time Pauline has chosen the fabby theme of

Lots of Layers

Which is great if you do lots of matting and layering of your images, but also great for doing decoupage - so come on you lot, get those foam pads and tubes of silicon dug out and get layering!

Obviously with an intro like that I chose to do delightful decoupage, and here is my card...

Now the image was quite big this time so I kept my card simple, one paper, a diecut and a sentiment, and that's it!  But with an image as gorgeous and colourful as this, is there any need for any more?

I'm also going to try and learn how to resize these bigger images as it's something I can't do for now - I've been getting help and advice from the lovely DT ladies, so watch this space!!!

Challenges:
Crafty Calender - Add A Sentiment
4 Crafty Chicks - Diecuts - the grass
Creative Knockouts - Birthday Wishes
Crafting for All Seasons - Animal Magic
Deep Ocean Challenge - Things with wings
Fan-tastic Tuesday - Anything goes & Die/Punch - I chose my grass die
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Try It on Tuesday - They who have wings

The image and papers today come from the Ooh La La - Shawn Jenkins Collection CD, available here.

And finally - my tulips are in bloom! So I guess they are Spring after all!

Happy Easter

No card to share with you today, but rather some news and a photo!

First off, Happy Easter everyone, hope you all have a lovely weekend, and that the sun is shining where ever you are.

And now for my photo - obviously it's several years old now, but it just brings a smile to my face every time I see it!

This is Colin & Alan one Easter Sunday...

Both boys would have left the house, with little baskets in search of eggs left by Easter bunny - clearly big brother found the majority and little Colin was not pleased!!! Look at his face - brilliant!

Obviously both boys got the same amount of eggs despite Alan finding more - but Colin didn't know that as the photo was taken!

Anyway that's the photo - now for the news..

As you all know I'm now on the Ooh La La DT and it is from there my news originates.  There is a new CD launching from Ooh La La next week, and it will be featured on Create & Craft by Kathryn Sturrock on Tues 7th April at 2pm.

Now you can see samples of cards we've already made over on the Ooh La La blog and I have to say it's a really lovely CD.  If you want you can pre-order it here or if you prefer to wait till the C&C launch make a note to be seated at the telly on Tues at 2pm!  I know I will be as the CD is just brilliant!

So, that's my news for the day.  Hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday weekend. Jx

Birthstones

April already folks, boy this year is flying past! Next week we have both boys home from Uni for their Easter break, Alan gets three weeks off but Colin only gets one :(

But before all that, we have a new challenge over at MAWTT, and its Hazel who has set our theme.  She has asked us to make a card using our birthstone colour.  And in case you are struggling to know what that is, here's a helpful little chart;

Now my birthday in March so I'm aquamarine and after much searching, I decided that this image off the Ooh La La CD - The Shawn Jenkins Collection kinda captured the colour I was after.

I love the sentiment on this card, and the card itself is very plain - the image says it all!  It's just layered up then finished off with pearls.

Challenges;
7 Kids College Fund - Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything goes
Try it On Tuesday - They who have wings
TPE292 - Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create - Anything goes
CD Sunday - Sentiment - love it!