Jane's Lovely Cards

Lovely hAnglar Only Challenge DT - Anything Goes

2012-02-19T14:00:00.001Z

Wooohoooo!!! I'm so excited about today's post!! I decided to try out for the Lovely hAnglar Only Challenge's DT call and I made it onto the team!!! I'm thrilled to be joining this group of amazingly talented ladies!! This is the first challenge back after a long break and all the team are joining in for this one and our theme is "anything goes". My papers are from MME.

I have coloured my windswept hAnglar girl with copics and added some little highlights on her cheeks with a white gel pen.

I added lots of flowers from my stash, all from Wild Orchid Crafts except the chiffon one which is from The Hobby House and the tulip which is from Magnolia. I added some lace and ribbon from my stash too.

The gorgeous pink twine is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop and the button is from my stash.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Lovely hAnglar Only challenge! We have a fantastic prize from The Ribbon Girl....

...look at those lush spring colours!! Pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

The Sketchy Challenges DT - Bettina's Sketch and Whiff of Joy DT

2012-02-17T23:00:00.001Z

Woohooo!! It is time for another fab sketch at The Sketchy Challenges and this fortnight our lovely Bettina has provided the sketch. I have used scraps of papers without names - I'm really trying to be good and use them all up before buying any more!! I've distressed the edges and added stickles only as I wanted to keep the soft look of the papers.

This is Henry with Large Flower from Whiff of Joy's new release. He's so cute! I've coloured him with copics and for a change I added some white dots to his cheeks with a gel pen which I think really finishes him off, so I think I'll be adding those to all my Henry's in future. I punched a little hole in the centre of the flower and added some flower stamens to add some 3D interest to the image.

The butterfly was cut with the new die from Whiff of Joy and I twisted a couple of flower stamens to create the body and antennae.

I added some gorgeous Whiff of Joy ribbon in moss green and a butterfly charm from the Hobby House.

I used Magnolia's swirl die to cut the green swirl and added some flowers and a button from my stash. The gorgeous doily behind the image mat is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at The Sketchy Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

A Vintage Layout for Webster's Pages Challenge

2012-02-16T08:00:00.002Z

I have another layout to share with you today using a very old photograph of my beautiful Nannan when she was a young lady. Sadly she is no longer with us and I really wanted to create a page with this photo in a style that she would have loved, using things she loved. I am entering my layout into the Sparklers challenge at Webster's Pages, you can find details on Webster's Pages blog if you fancy joining in too. The gorgeous paper is, of course, from Webster's Pages and I have distressed and curled the edges so they suit the vintage photograph.

I created a frame for the photograph with some chipboard painted with picket fence crackle paint. I then stamped over the top of it with a Hero Arts stamp and inked the edges with vintage photo distress ink.

You need to use Webster's Pages sparklers to enter the challenge and here is mine which I've attached to a metal filigree piece so that it looks like a broach. My Nannan loved to wear broaches. I added some trim from my stash from the outside edge of the layout to the "broach".

She also loved her garden which was filled with gorgeous flowers everywhere and so I have added lots of flowers from my stash along with a gorgeous cameo from Webster's Pages which I have painted to match the colours of the papers (a bit of a nightmare but worth it in the end).

I have added a scrap of lace and some pearls to the top right corner.

This gorgeous butterfly was a gift from my lovely friend Debbie.

My Nannan loved to crochet so I have added a crochet doily by Kaisercraft to the left of the photograph along with more flowers from my stash. I entwined the frame and flowers with a long string of pearls too as she always wore some when she went out on special occasions :).

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Challenge DT - My Sketch

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000Z

Woohoo! It is time for another challenge at Whiff of Joy challenges and this fortnight I have created a sketch to follow. I have used the oh so adorable Henry Mouse Hugging Heart for my card and the papers are from K&Co.

I have coloured Henry with copics and then tried to create an aged enamel look for the heart by painting it with crackle paint and then covering that in glossy accents. The gorgeous butterfly was cut with the new butterfly die from Whiff of Joy which is released today along with all the new stamps.

I created some lollipop flowers with some scraps of the paper and some gorgeous Whiff of Joy brads.

I have used the gorgeous Vintage German Postcard stamp from Whiff of Joy behind the image and the lush ribbon is from Whiff of Joy too!

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Whiff of Joy Challenge! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Deep Ocean Challenge DT - Pink and Brown

2012-02-14T20:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! (or should I say Yee Ha!!) It is time for another challenge at Deep Ocean Challenges and this fortnight we have a gorgeous combination of pink and brown for our challenge. As you can see, I have created another layout - just loving scrapping my photos so much!! This colour scheme was perfect for these funny pictures of my little girl dressed up on her rocking horse!

LOL! I just love the different expressions on her face!! I added some little gingham butterflies here and there to the photos.

I used some gorgeous lace from my local dressmaking supplies store and lots of gorgeous flowers from my stash. They are all by Prima except the little brown chiffon ones which are from The Hobby House. The star was gifted to me and the buttons are from my stash.

The sentiment was created with Webster's Pages alphabet stickers.

The butterfly is a chipboard one from my stash which I have covered in checked paper and used a couple of pins for the antennae.

I had a go at spritzing the page with glimmer mist to create a splashed effect, although it didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped - I wanted bigger splotches!! The "yee ha" was also created with Webster's pages stickers.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Deep Ocean Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Magnolia-Licious Challenge DT - Brown and Blue

2012-02-14T09:08:00.001Z

Woohoo!!! Happy Valentine's day!! Are you doing anything romantic today?? It is time for another fabulous challenge at Magnolia-licious challenge with an amazing prize of a $25 gift certificate for the Magnolia-licious store!! This fortnight Norma has chosen the gorgeous colour combination of brown and blue for our challenge. I thought it would be fun to create an "old photograph" by colouring my image in sepia tones for this card. The paper is from Basic Grey's Wisteria collection.

I have used Vintage Photo distress ink to colour Tilda and Edwin. Don't these two look cute together!? This is Tilda with Love Lace shoes, she is out of stock at the moment at Magnolia-licious but here is a link to her mini #235. The Edwin I have used is Shy Rose Edwin #175.

I added some flowers from my stash along with some cheesecloth and some punched fern leaves.

The ribbon is from Whiff of Joy and the centre on the ribbon is from The Hobby House. I created the photo frame with a nestabilities die cut from grungeboard which I then embossed in bronze and distress powder.

I created the butterfly from a Prima e-line flower which I have stamped text onto before creating some antennae and a body from flower stamens.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Magnolia-licious challenge! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy DT - February Release Preview

2012-02-13T08:45:00.000Z

Woohoo!! I have a Whiff of Joy preview to share with you today from the images that will be released on the 15th February - not long to go now!! I have used the gorgeous sketch at Sketch Saturday for my card.

I have coloured the image "Gardening" with copics.

The sentiment is also from Whiff of Joy as is the gorgeous blue ribbon. The flowers are from Wild Orchid crafts and I cut the leaves with a Whiff of Joy die.

How gorgeous is this butterfly die?? It comes with two other dies and will also be released on the 15th :).

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Magnolia Down Under Challenge DT - One Word Sentiments

2012-02-11T21:00:00.002Z

Woohoo! It is time for another challenge at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and this week our challenge is to use one word sentiments on your cards/projects. I was thrilled to win Koala Hugs Tilda a few weeks back from Bronlyn at Shop Bron in the Magnolia Lovers Challenge - isn't that koala so cute!?!? I love it, and it will be perfect to make cards for all my Australian friends :). I created the shape of my card with Tim's plaque and postage die from kraft cardstock. The papers are by MME.

I have coloured Tilda and her cute koala with copics and also created the ground for her to stand in with copics.

The flower is by Hero Arts and the little button is from The Hobby House. The twine is from Whiff of Joy.

I used another Tim Holtz die to create the "hugs" sentiment from some pearlescent cardstock.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the teams stunning cards! Thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy DT - Valentine's Card

2012-02-11T08:00:00.001Z

Good morning! Hope you're all having a lovely Saturday so far. It looks so beautiful from my window - it is sunny but snow everywhere - so sparkly and white! I'm sure I'll be having a snowball fight soon with my children if it hasn't turned to hard over night :). Today I have a Whiff of Joy Valentines card to share that I created for a magazine submission in November. The magazine hasn't been issued yet so I'm not sure if it made it in or not. I used papers by Sandylion from my stash and some gold cardstock. I coloured Henry with copics and then masked him so that I could use a Tattered Angels stencil and tattered rose distress ink to create the heart background.

The sentiment is by Cat's Life Press from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop, embossed in gold.

I cut hearts from the gold cardstock with a sizzix die and created the roses with sizzix 3D flower die. The ribbon is also from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.
The XO border is from Whiff of Joy as are the brown gems around Henry.

I also used a hearts border from Whiff of Joy.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Just Magnolia & hAnglar & sTanglar DT - Pink, Lace and Pearls

2012-02-10T08:00:00.010Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge over at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge and this week Mo has chosen a super gorgeous theme of Pink, Lace and Pearls! Such a lush combination and perfect for the girlie card I needed to make for my friend's little girl! I was so lucky at Christmas to win one of the Magnolia Advent Calendar days and included in the gift was this cute Tilda stamp and gorgeous love heart paper.

I fancied a change from Copics as I do a lot of Copic colouring behind the scenes and at times it feels quite stressful and fast so I had a lovely slow down and used distress inks for a change. Isn't Tilda just the cutest in this tiger suit and I think you can colour her in any colour really, seeing as it's a fancy dress costume! I added stickles to the bow and around the edges of the image mat.

The large flower was cut from pink tulle and some of the paper using the peony doohickey die and the other flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and the leaves were also cut with a doohickey die. The brad is from The Hobby House.

I added some glittery clock hands using Tim's weathered clock die and attached them with a brad at the 4 o'clock position seeing as she is 4 :). I finally used my butterflight on the edge die - it has been sat unopened for a couple of weeks now (tut, tut!) and I added some tiny butterflies to it with a Martha Stewart punch.

The letters were cut with another Tim Holtz die and covered in stickles and the ribbon for the bow is from my stash.

I added some pennants to some bakers twine from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop and a stickled number four to the centre flag.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the teams stunning Pink, Lace and Pearl creations! Thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Lil Lad Futuristic Stefan Preview

2012-02-09T06:00:00.001Z

Woohoo! I have another preview to share today from Tickled Pink Stamps' new futuristic range and today it is Lil Futuristic Lad Stefan's turn! I have used an unknown paper from my stash.

Stefan is coloured with copics and I have added glossy accents to his visor. I did some doodling around the circle mat with a silver pen.

I also wrote Happy Birthday in a kind of futuristic style of writing (well that was the idea LOL).

I hope you like it! Pop over to the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see what the rest of the amazing Pink Ladies have created with him! Thanks for looking! x

I Would Give You The World - Let's Get Shabby Challenge #31

2012-02-08T08:00:00.001Z

I have another layout to share today - I'm just loving creating layouts at the moment :)! This one is for the Let's Get Shabby Challenge which is to create a project and include the title or any of the lyrics from the song "This is the New Year". I loved the line "I would give you the world", from the song and thought it would be perfect to go with this picture of myself and my children at a recent photo shoot that we did. The gorgeous paper is by Webster's Pages, from the Ladies & Gents collection.

The sentiment has been written with Webster's Pages alphabet stickers and I used some gems from Whiff of Joy to create the part circle underneath.

OMG I'm in love with these flowers from Webster's Pages!!!! drool!!! I think it works so well just on it's own - a real statement piece!

I added some black lace from my stash under the photo along with a heart cut with a sizzix die and a Prima pebble.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Lil Futuristic Lolita Willow Preview

2012-02-08T06:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is preview time again at Tickled Pink Stamps and for this release we're heading on into the future! This is Lil Futuristic Lolita Willow. The paper is from Basic Grey's Indian Summer paper pad.

I've coloured Willow with copics and added glossy accents to the boots, gloves and parts of the dress for a PVC look to her space age outfit :).

The flowers are from my stash and I added glossy accents to the yellow and orange ones. The letters and numbers were cut with a Tim Holtz die and have also been covered in glossy accents.

Pop on over to the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see what the rest of the Pink Ladies have created with Willow! Thanks for looking! x

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop DT - Anything Goes

2012-02-06T08:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop and this month our theme is "Anything Goes". I was so excited when I received my DT pack from Sarah for this month! The colours were so gorgeous and right up my street! I thought I'd try something different and bought a couple of plastic headbands to decorate for my little girl and am so pleased how they turned out. Everything I have used to decorate them is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop!

I used the lush rose silky crush ribbon (my favourite from the whole shop!) to create a large blousey rose for the first head band which I've decided is for her to wear at parties (as it is so posh!). I created some little leaves for it with sea moss seam binding.

I wrapped the entire headband with more of the sea moss seam binding and then added the pink cut out hearts ribbon over the top. I think this makes it look so pretty and was so thrilled it worked!

Here's another shot of the headband from the side and just because I'm so in love with it!

For the second headband (which she can wear everyday if she wishes), I left the head band how I bought it and created a rolled rose from more of the rose silk crush ribbon. I made some leaves as for the other rose with the sea moss seam binding and then added a sprinkling of gorgeous rose pink dew drops in the centre.

Here's a picture of my little girl modelling her party headband......

....and her every day headband. When I asked which she liked best she said she loves them both the same :)!

I'm sure this won't be my only forray into headbands - I enjoyed making them so much and they look so much prettier than ordinary pastic ones! I hope I've inspired you to join us this month at The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creatins. Thanks for looking! x

The Sketchy Challenges DT - Sandra's Sketch

2012-02-04T08:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at The Sketchy Challenges and this fortnight we have a gorgeous sketch by Sandra for you to play with! I decided to create another layout - I'm loving using all my "only for special projects" stash! I took the gorgeous green and the pretty floral dress from this photo of my little girl when she was learning to walk as the inspiration for this layout. The papers are a mix from my stash without names, but I can tell you that the floral paper is from K&Co's Madeline paper pad.

I added lots of gorgeous flowers from my stash - most of them are by Prima and I think the leaves are by Petaloo. I cut a large circle from white cardstock and punched around the edge with a Martha Stewart punch to create the edging.

The butterflies were cut from more of the K&Co papers and I have added pearls to their bodies. I have sewn around the main page twice - once straight and a second time in a wavy pattern. I've used the same punch that I used on the circle for the edges of the pink paper.

The letters are by Webster's Pages.

I added part of a Prima swirl and a K&Co button to the folded over corner of paper.

More gorgeous flowers - the large flower is by Prima, the rose from Wild Orchid Crafts and the beaded flower is from The Hobby House.

Here's a closer view of my little cutie pie taking those first steps!

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at The Sketch Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

A Hobby Horse for The Hobby House

2012-02-03T08:00:00.002Z

Today I thought I'd share the final card in the little collection I made for The Hobby House using the cute Nellie Snellen stamps. How cute is this little boy on his hobby horse?

I have coloured the image with copics and inked around the edges with gathered twigs distress ink.

I thought it would be fun to create a fringed border with ribbon to match the fringing on his trousers. The ribbon, papers, and all embellishments are from The Hobby House. The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and is also available from The Hobby House along with the matching die.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Challenge DT - Black and White Images and a Tutorial

2012-02-01T08:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Whiff of Joy Challenges and this fortnight we have a favourite theme of mine - to colour your images in black and white only! If you're unsure how to do this and you'd like to join in then you're in luck as I have created a tutorial showing how I colour images in black and white for the Whiff of Joy Inspirations blog today! The papers are by Basic Grey from their Curio paper pad.

I have used Willow With Umbrella for my card as I thought she'd be great in black and white seeing as it's a dull rainy day for her, bless her! I added some stickles to the raindrops too.

I added some flowers from my stash. The blossom and rose are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The gems are from Whiff of Joy and I've used a Martha Stewart punch along the bottom of the image mat.

The gorgeous ribbon is also from Whiff of Joy - available in some gorgeous colours!

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy too, from a previous kit I think.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Whiff of Joy Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

Deep Ocean Challenge DT - Love You

2012-01-31T20:00:00.001Z

Woohoo it is time for another challenge at Deep Ocean Challenge blog and woohoo again as I managed to create another layout!! This one is of my gorgeous baby boy when he was just a few hours old - aaaaaahhh! He's seven now! How time flies, it seems like only yesterday that this photo was taken! Our theme for this fortnight is "love you". The gorgeous paper is from the Lullaby Lane collection by Webster's Pages.

I made the crochet flower myself and the button is by Basic Grey.

The "we love you" is alphabet stickers from Webster's Pages.

I added a selection of flowers and buttons from my stash along with a satin bow as it reminds me of the satin edging you get on baby blankets :). The cute wooden duck button is from The Hobby House and again I have made the crochet flower myself. The blue spotty button is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop and the blue tulip is from Magnolia.

I think the chipboard letters are by BoBunny but don't quote me LOL - I lost the packaging! I have painted them with picket fence crackle paint and added some tiny blue bows that were a gift from my lovely friend Louise.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Deep Ocean Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's "Love You" creations. Thanks for looking! x

A Cute Little Indian

2012-01-31T08:00:00.006Z

I have another cute little Nellie Snellen image to share today from the collection I made for The Hobby House.

I have coloured the image with copics and inked around the edges of the image mat with gathered twigs distress ink.

The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and is also available from The Hobby House.....

......as are the cute wooden buttons.

I cut a zig zag edge by hand to match the zig zag trims on the little boy's indian costume.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Magnolia Down Under Challenges DT - Edwin Only

2012-01-28T20:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and this week we would like to see just Edwin on your cards! Bless him, he doesn't get much of a look in does he with so many cute Tilda images! I decided to make a get well card using the gorgeous Dr Edwin #000 stamp available exclusively at Magnolia-Licious!!

I have coloured Edwin with Prismacolor pencils using the burnishing technique again. I have inked around the edge of the image mat with walnut stain distress ink.

The Get Well Soon sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and the gorgeous flower is from Magnolia. I used the doohickey heart swirl die and a Martha Stewart punch on the border. The checked paper is from Magnolia and the graph paper is by Girls' Paperie. I drew a temperature chart in red to add to the get well theme.

I have added a chipboard heart cut with a sizzix die and the rose is from Wild Orchid Crafts. The twine on the little tag is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop. Did I say tag?

The twine is attached to a little thermometer shaped tag I created that tucks behind the image - you can write a message on the back. The mercury bulb at the bottom is a half pearl and I have drawn on the rest of the markings.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning cards. Thanks for looking! x

Another Cute Cowboy

2012-01-28T08:00:00.002Z

I have another Nellie Snellen cowboy card to share today that I have made for a collection at The Hobby House.

I have coloured the image with copics and inked around the image mat with gathered twigs distress ink.

The ribbon, gems and charm are also from The Hobby House and I have cut the stars with a sizzix die.

The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and is also available from The Hobby House.

I hope you like it and I hope you can pop back again later as I will be sharing my Magnolia Down Under Challenge card! Thanks for looking! x

Just Magnolia & hAnglar & sTanglar DT - My Sketch

2012-01-27T08:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge and this week it is my turn to host the challenge and I've provided a sketch which I hope you'll enjoy using! I'm also sooooooooooo excited today - I'm going to watch Swan Lake tonight!! eeeek!!! I have always wanted to see a ballet and I just can't wait! My card may look a little familiar as it is very similar to my preview Goodbye and Good Luck card - they were made on the same night for two teachers who were leaving my Son's school! The gorgeous papers are by Magnolia and I've distressed them with walnut stain distress ink.

Tilda is coloured with copics and I've added stickles to her apron, teardrop and lace on her handkerchief. I've inked around the image mat with victorian velvet distress ink.

The tag was cut with a doohickey die and I have added some letter tiles created with Hampton Arts alphabet stamps. The butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch as was the border on the white cardstock.

The gorgeous blossom is by Prima and the rest of the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I added some cheesecloth behind the image and a butterfly charm from The Hobby House.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar. Pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

Sundays With Crissy DT - Beat The Mid-Winter Blues

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000Z

Woohoo!! It is my turn to create a card for the latest challenge at Sundays With Crissy challenge and this month our theme is "Beat the Mid-Winter Blues". The best way to beat them, I thought, is to make a bright, summery card with lots of gorgeous flowers! The paper is from the Prima Annalee pad, inked with walnut stain distress ink.

I have coloured Crissy's gorgeous image, Birdie Friend, with copics.

I have added lots of gorgeous flowers from my stash to create a little garden for her. The gorgeous satin flower is by Prima.

I added a bit of doohickey fence and some spotted ribbon from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at Sunday's With Crissy - there are still four more days to join in! Thanks for looking! x

A Cowboy for Sketch Saturday

2012-01-26T16:31:00.001Z

Ooops! Bit late today - been so busy! I have a card to share that I have made for a collection at the Hobby House using some cute Cowboy images by Nellie Snellen. I have used the gorgeous sketch at Sketch Saturday for my card.

I've coloured the image with copics and inked around the edges of the image mat with gathered twigs distress ink.

I inked a chipboard star with gathered twigs distress ink and then added lustre rub ons for a metallic effect. The ribbon, buttons and charm are all from The Hobby House.

The sentiment is by Whimsy Stamps as is the matching die I've used to cut it out. These are also available from The Hobby House.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Magnolia-Licious Challenge DT - Photo Inspiration

2012-01-24T07:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Magnolia-licious Challenge and this fortnight Cabio has chosen a fabulous photo for your inspiration! You might want to get yourself a drink and biscuit or three before reading further as I've gone a bit mad with the photos LOL! I was inspired by the gorgeous red and the bird house in the photo and at first had the intention of making a card with an aperture to hang the birdcage from, when I had a sudden flash of inspiration to alter a piece of packaging I was about to recycle instead LOL. I have decorated a plastic tray from the bottom of a chocolate Santa's box.

First I'll show you the super cute mini Rose Scent Tilda #255 perched on her birdcage swing in the garden! I've coloured her with copics. I painted the birdcage with pickett fence crackle paint and added a couple of gems.

To have room for the swing I had to cut a piece off the Tim Holtz flourish die cut so decided to use it on the corner here and added a metal butterfly from The Hobby House. Both have been painted with crackle paint. I also added a piece of doohickey fence #12 die cut and some pink flower stamens to represent some tiny flowers at the foot of the fence. The leaves have been cut with the rose leaf doohickey #18 and also given a touch of crackle paint on the tips.

I added a strip of fence along the back edge of the "garden" and a large butterfly punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I've filled the entire tray with lots of flowers from my stash to create Tilda a gorgeous garden to play in! Most of the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and some have been gifts from my lovely crafty friends.

I also added a couple of crochet flowers from The Hobby House and the brad in the centre of the Prima flower is from Whiff of Joy.

I've added more flower stamens in the middle of the garden - I love the softness it gives the flowers.

The gorgeous ribbon around the edge of the tray and for the bow is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

I fastened the birdcage to the flourish with part of a curtain hook I've been hoarding in my stash and tied it with bakers twine from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

Phew! Thanks for staying with me if you've made it to hear! I hope you like my creation and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Magnolia-licious challenge. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking!

Whiff of Joy DT - Post Karte

2012-01-23T08:00:00.003Z

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I have a Whiff of Joy card to share with you today using lots of gorgeous new goodies that Katharina has just got in store! I have used papers from K&Co's Madeliene paper pad, inked with gathered twigs distress ink. I'm entering my card into the Colour Create Challenge which is Pink and Green.

How beautiful is this post card stamp from Whiff of Joy!?!?! I just know I'm going to be using it a lot! I have stamped it onto kraft cardstock and then dipped it into some splatters of rose glimmer mist on my craft sheet.

The gorgeous ribbon I've used for the bow, and the roses is also from Whiff of Joy - it is very supple for creating flowers! The brad on the bow is also from Whiff of Joy and I added some roses from Wild Orchid Crafts and some butterflies punched with a Martha Stewart punch too.

I tore into the edges in places for a lovely worn look and tucked some contrasting paper behind.

I have used a Martha Stewart border punch and added some lace behind which I've sprayed with rose glimmer mist.

The beautiful ribbon garland and sentiment are from Whiff of Joy too and come in a fabulous set with lots of sentiments.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

The Sketchy Challenges DT - Kellie's Sketch and a layout for a challenge!

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at The Sketchy Challenges and this fortnight we have a fabulous sketch by Kellie!! I'm so excited about this particular week because, as you can see, I have created a scrapbook page and for the first time am entering a scrapbooking challenge with it! One of the things I have promised myself for this year is that I am going to do more scrapping and mini album making - for one thing, it makes me kind of sad that I create so many cards that simply sit in a box once completed - it seems sometimes like a waste of time and embellishments and sometimes kills my mojo :( - another reason is that I have all these photos and keep hoarding extra special embellishments for scrapping and then don't do any scrapping LOL! Anyway, this is my first layout of the year and hopefully I will keep up with it (at least until the album hubby bought me for Christmas is full LOL!). I am entering my page into the Bird is the Word challenge as I managed to use this month's word "remember"!! This gorgeous paper is one of the papers I've been hoarding as it would be such a shame to cut it into pieces for a card. It is from Panduro Hobby and was perfect to match the cardigan in the photo and bring the colour out a bit more as the photo is soooo old!

LOL - can you guess who the cutie pie in the photo is?? Yes, it is me :)! I am about 20 months old here. I have a copy of this photo from my Mum as one day when we were looking through the old albums we were astounded by this photo and my daughters complete resemblance to it!! My daughter thinks it is a picture of her LOL! I didn't want to cover up the flower in the corner of the paper so have cut around some of it's petals to slide the photo behind it.

I have added a selection of flowers from my stash - the crochet flower and wooden button are from The Hobby House and I thought it was perfect to tie in with the chunky cardigan I'm wearing! The rose and blossoms are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the leaf and glitter rose are by Prima.

The gorgeous tan and red velvet rose buds are from Webster's pages.

The patterned paper is by Cosmo Cricket and the letter tiles I created with some kraft cardstock and Hampton Arts alphabet stamps. The swirl was cut from chipboard with Tim Holtz' elegant flourishes die.

The gorgeous bloomer ribbon is from Webster's pages and the turquoise braid is from my stash. The "remember" letters are by Bo Bunny. I distressed the edges of the papers and inked them with walnut stain distress ink.

The patterned paper is also a little pocket for a journalling card made from kraft cardstock. The tab was cut with a spellbinder die - ooooh now you can work out how old I am as I've shown you the year :) LOL!

The butterflies were punched from kraft cardstock with Martha Stewart punches - I couldn't do without butterflies on a scrap page about me - they are my favourite!

These two photos show the gorgeous patterns in the corners of the paper - I love these vintage colours!

Phew! long post - sorry! I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at The Sketchy Challenges. Pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Release Day!!

2012-01-20T18:00:00.000Z

Woohoo!! The amazing Lil Greek God Lolita range is now available at Tickled Pink Stamps!! I have created a card using the amazing, and rather gorgeous, Lil Greek God Apollo Lestat for my card today. The papers are by Bo Bunny, inked with walnut stain distress ink.

I have coloured Lestat with copics and inked around the edge with gathered twigs and antique linene distress inks.

I created the sentiment myself on the computer and have added it with a brad from my stash. I added some doohickey rose leaves and a button.

I crumpled up a Tim Holtz adage ticket before inking with gathered twigs distress ink and have attached it with a brad.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Saturated Canary GDT Call

2012-01-20T14:20:00.001Z

Today I have a card to share that I have created to enter the Saturated Canary GDT call using the gorgeous Indian girl image by Krista Smith. The papers are a mix from my stash and I've sewn all the edges and inked with gathered twigs distress ink.

I have coloured the image with copics and inked around the edge of the image mat with antique linen distress ink.

I have added some gorgeous prima leaves, a feather (to match the one in her headdress) and some pine cones for a rustic autumn feel. The blossom is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The rose and key charm were both gifts.

I added a couple of brads from my stash.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

December Daily - Pages 16 to 21

2012-01-20T08:00:00.001Z

As promised I'm back with more pages from my December Daily album! Again, all the papers are by MME, inked with walnut stain distress ink. I used some Dovecraft number stickers for the 17th's date and added a large journalling tag, also by MME as I had no photos for this day. As we spent the day watching Christmas films I added a couple of strips of Tim Holtz' film strip ribbon and some gold stars that had fallen off a Christmas garland!

On the 18th I made the mincemeat for my mince pies so thought I'd add the recipe to a kraft recipe card by MME. I made a little pocket for the recipe card and added some lace along the top edge. To add a bit of interest to the page I cut the edge with Tim Holtz' plaque and postage on the edge die, punched some holes and added a tinsel ribbon handle for turning the page over.

The 20th was another photo heavy day. So not only did I create another fold out page but added an extra page too! We took the children to a tea party with Santa at a local garden centre. This is the second time we've been - they absolutely love it! While we're waiting for tea to be served Santa comes and chats to all the children then after tea they visit him in his grotto to receive a gift. The first photo is on the outside of the fold out page showing my children talking to Santa. I added the date with glitter stickers and wrote "Tea with Santa" with a gold gel pen.

On the other side of the fold out page I added a photo to the back of the photo on the front showing my daughter during tea. I added "wow!" with glitter stickers. The page under the fold out flap has a picture of my Son with Santa in the grotto.

The extra page shows my daughter in the grotto and I added a bit of journalling on a circular tag and a bow from my stash.

On the reverse of that page is a photo of my Son during tea and another journalling tag. I added a present charm to the bottom of the tag which I coloured with copics to match the papers.

The 21st was my husband's birthday so another fold out page! I circled the date on a calendar tag with some red stickles.

I added "happy birthday" with glitter stickers adding some of the letters over the photo of my husband blowing out his candles :). Being four days until Christmas I was obviously rather busy but made a chocolate cake simply decorated with some icing snowflakes so he didn't feel too left out! He really doesn't like his birthday being so close to Christmas as it does tend to get rather overlooked so I always try to make as much fuss as I can manage during this hectic week!

I hope you like it! Not many pages left to show you now! Thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Lil Greek Gods previews

2012-01-19T13:10:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is the last day of previews over at Tickled Pink Stamps and that means these gorgeous Lil Greek Gods will be available to you tomorrow! I think I said the other day that Kellita was my favourite but now I've completed my colouring of Willow I think she may have stolen the crown! This is Lil Greek Goddess Lolita Aphrodite Willow - love her stunning dress! The papers are all scraps from my stash with no names, sorry.

I've coloured Willow with copics and inked around the edge of the image mat with tattered rose distress ink. I added some gorgeous pearls along the bottom from The Hobby House.

The flower was a gift and I added some pink tulle and a glass pebble along with a heart pin which I recoloured with copics to match the papers.

The sentiment is by Whiff of Joy and the lush ribbon is from my stash. I added a little pearl, again recoloured with copics, to the left corner of the stand so that the easel sat evenly on it and the bow.

I used Tim's elegant flourishes die to create two gorgoeus swirls around the image. One at the top left....

....the other at the bottom right.

I hope you like it! Pop over to the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

December Daily - Pages 7-15

2012-01-19T08:00:00.002Z

Today I have some more pages of my December Daily album to share. All the papers are by MME and have been inked with walnut stain distress ink. For the 7th I covered some number and letter stickers with red stickles to match the red glitter swirl on the paper. I made my Son's costume for his Christmas Pantomime this day - 2 hours of painting leopard spots on some old pyjamas LOL! I have tucked a tag under the photo giving details.

I knew we had a lot happening on the 8th so I made a larger page with a fold out piece so that I could add more photos.

Sorry about all the blanking out - I don't like to put pictures of other people on without permission :). The 8th was my Son's school Christingle ceremony. I used some glitter alphabet stickers to spell out Christingle and the "8th". All the small children in the audience are given a Christingle orange too so the middle photo is my little girl holding hers! I used some red velvet ribbon to separate the daytime events from the night time event and also because the Christingle orange has a red ribbon around it. The evening was my husband's work Christmas party so there is a photo of us dressed up ready to leave. I have created a pocket behind the picture of my daughter for a journalling tag.

I used a date tag from an MME die cut sheet for the date on the 9th and recycled a gold gift voucher envelope. I have used some Dovecraft stickers to write "learn songs" across the envelope and I added a blossom and brad to create a little handle to open the envelope with.

Inside are the lines and songs my Son had to learn for his Christmas pantomime.

On the 10th I took my daughter to her nursery school Christmas party - she had such a great time and was amazed when Father Christmas arrived. I love this photo of her with Father Christmas - she was actually talking to him when it was taken but I think it looks like she is just in total awe at seeing him! This is why I gave the page the title "wonder" :). The number 10 was cut from some MME paper too.

No photo for the 11th. My daughter helped Daddy find a suitable branch in our garden to use as a Christmas tree for our dining room so I have written about that and added some festive foliage and flowers. I used Tim's scrollwork on the edge die along the edge for a bit of extra interest.

On the 12th we decorated the branch Christmas tree from the garden so I have a picture of it and did my journalling on a circular tag and hung it like a bauble at the side of the photograph. I have covered it in glossy accents to look more like a bauble.

The 13th was my daughter's Christmas play at nursery so I had a few photos for this day so another fold out page was in order. She was dressed as a snowflake so I used the Tim Holtz snow flurry die along the edge of the paper.

I attached a photo of my little snowflake onto a piece of cardstock with a fold at the right hand side so that I could attach it to the flap but it still allowed the flap to open.

On the page under the flap there is a photo of all the children (again blacked out for privacy) and I added some plastic snowflakes from my stash. The sentiment is from the MME die cut sheet. The children sang this song at the end and it was just adorable so I had to add this sentiment to this page! I still had another photo I wanted to add of myself and my daughter after the play so I added it to a piece of paper and created some ribbon hinges so that it could fold up beneath the flap on the right! When you fold the photo up there are the tickets for the performance on the back.

The 14th was my Son's turn to perform :). They performed Alice the Musical so I wrote Alice with glitter stickers. There is a pocket under the photo for a journalling tag which I added a circular sentiment too that acts as a tab to pull the tag out with.

The tag has a close up of my Son on one side and my journalling about the play on the reverse. Hehehe, what a cute snow leopard!

On the 15th my husband and I walked to our village church along with my Son's school for their Christmas sing a long. This is one of my favourite school events and I go every year. They sing traditional carols, songs from their Christmas play and some modern Christmas songs too - it's so much fun! I used a strip of music paper to add the number 15 on and simply added the song sheet from the church and some foliage, berries and flower to the left.

Phew! Are you still with me LOL?? If you are thank you so much and I hope you've enjoyed my December Daily pages! I'll share some more pages tomorrow! Thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Challenge DT - Love is in the Air!

2012-01-18T08:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge over at Whiff of Joy challenge and this fortnight our theme is "Love is in the Air" - perfect for those valentine cards you might be needing soon! I have used papers from Memory Box distressed with walnut stain distress ink and one oh so cute Henry Mouse from Whiff of Joy.

This is Henry with Large Rose and he's my favourite from the January release - so cute and the rose is so lush! I was colouring on kraft the other day and it occurred to me that I had never coloured Henry Mouse on kraft and that he might look really cute as a white mouse so decided to give it a try. I love how he turned out! I coloured the rose and pink parts of Henry with copics and then coloured the rest of Henry with pencils.

The border along the bottom of the image is the Heart Lace border from Whiff of Joy. The "I love you" is by Magnolia from the winter kit. I embossed it with bronze embossing powder and I have coloured the heart with copics and covered in stickles.

This is one of my favourite sentiments - it is by Cat's Life Press from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

I made all of the roses using the sizzix 3D flower die from the same Memory Box paper and added some black rose leaves with a doohickey die for a striking combination against the red, kraft and white. I also added some cheesecloth behind the image.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Whiff of Joy challenge! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning cards! Thanks for looking! x

Deep Ocean Challenge DT - Sparkle

2012-01-17T20:00:00.001Z

Woohoo! It is time for another challenge at Deep Ocean Challenges and this fortnight our theme is Sparkle. I have used the gorgeous sketch at Crafting Life's Pieces challenge for my card.

I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to the trim on her dress and her shoes. I love the way she has her head on one side - so cute!

The gorgeous ribbon and the heart pin are from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop as is the pink button twine. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts except the one with the brad which is by Prima. The brad and the die for the cute little tag are from Whiff of Joy.

The gems are also from Whiff of Joy and the lace is a scrap from my stash.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at Deep Ocean Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Lil Greek Gods previews

2012-01-17T06:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! Are you loving the Greek God previews at Tickled Pink Stamps as much as I am?? The images are stunning and the Pink Ladies are really outdoing themselves with their creations! Today we are previewing Lil Greek Goddess Lolita Orpheus Kellita. She is just so beautiful with her tumbling locks! I had such fun with this card. I wanted to create a 3D card with a greek temple for her to be standing in and had this idea to try to make some columns and they worked, thank goodness! The papers are by 7 Gypsies distressed with walnut stain distress ink.

I have coloured Kellita with copics and cut her out completely so she can stand beautifully next to her white alabaster columns LOL.

The columns were created with white cardstock and the plinths on top are tab nesties. I've inked here and there with walnut stain distress ink to add a bit of definition and then added a gorgeous leafy vine of ribbon around one of the columns and some tiny butterflies to the other.

There are butterflies everywhere on this card - I went a little crazy with my butterfly punch LOL - I think I've had withdrawal symptoms from not using it for months due to making Christmas cards!

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and have been sprayed with pearl glimmer mist for a gorgeous lush shine.

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and yep there are more butterflies around the sentiment LOL.

I have added some more leaf vine ribbon to the right of the columns and a rose and yet more butterflies LOL. I have added an acetate quarter circle to the back of the column so that I could have the illusion of a butterfly seemingly fluttering in the air above the card.

I hope you like it! Pop over to the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see the rest of the pink ladies' gorgeous cards. Thanks for looking! x

Careful Gorguss Girl!

2012-01-16T11:22:00.000Z

LOL "Careful Gorguss Girl" is what I thought when I saw this stamp - must be my Mummy autopilot kicking in - well she does look rather precarious on all those books!! This is the last card in my collection for The Hobby House using the gorgeous Girl's Paperie papers and Gorjuss Girl stamps.

I have coloured the image with Prismacolor Pencils onto kraft cardstock using the burnishing technique.

The stunning rhinestone edge is from The Hobby House - I just love this one - so useful!

I added some gorgeous lace, flowers and ribbon from The Hobby House and some butterflies punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Tickled Pink Stamps DT - Lil Greek God's previews

2012-01-15T06:00:00.019Z

Woohoo!!! I have a Tickled Pink Stamps preview to share with you today. I have been taking a little break from the DT for the past couple of months but am back now, ready and refreshed to bring you some previews of the stunning new release Lil Greek Gods! Today's preview is for Lil Greek Goddess Lolita Armetis Lylah. I have used papers by First Edition and distressed them with walnut stain distress ink.

I coloured Lylah with copics and inked around the image mat with tattered rose distress ink.

LOL here's that doohickey cloud die again!! I added some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and a lush green bow from my stash and a scrap of lace. The dream ticket is by Tim Holtz.

I hope you like it! Pop over to the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see the stunning inspiration from the rest of the Pink Ladies! Thanks for looking! x

Magnolia Down Under Challenge DT - Black and White Image

2012-01-14T20:00:00.000Z

Woohoo! We have a new challenge for you over at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and this week we'd like you to colour your images in black and white - a technique which I love! I couldn't wait to ink up Tilda and Edwin cuddling each other - such a gorgeous image and perfect for cards from my two little ones! I made this for their Grandad's birthday.

I've coloured the image with copics and inked around the edge of the image mat with black soot distress ink.

The ticket sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and then I have written Grandad on it.

The Birthday Wishes sentiment is also from Whimsy Stamps and the little wooden button is from The Hobby House. I have used Tim's weathered clock die behind the image.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Gorjuss Girl

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000Z

Woohoo! At last it's the weekend - it seems to have been a very long week! I have another Gorjuss Girl card to share from my collection for The Hobby House. The papers are by Girl's Paperie and I've sewn all the edges and distressed them with walnut stain distress ink.

I have coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils and inked around the image mat with antique linen distress ink.

The gorgeous swirl is from The Hobby House and I added some tiny roses to it here and there.

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and the lace, along with all the roses are from The Hobby House too.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! Have a lovely weekend. x

Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar DT - Jacque's Sketch

2012-01-13T08:00:00.021Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge and this week we have a gorgeous sketch by Jacque. I have used papers by Magnolia and distressed the edges with walnut stain distress ink. Sorry about the poor photos, I suddenly remembered I had two good luck cards to make on 20th December and had to photograph them very early in the morning so my son could take them to school!

I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to the apron on her dress and the lace on her hankerchief. I've inked around the edge of the image mat with victorian velvet distress ink.

The large flower is by Prima and the rest of the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I have added some cheesecloth behind the image and some punched butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch.

I stamped the sentiment with individual alphabet stamps from Hampton Arts and then cut them out into little tiles. The butterfly charm is from The Hobby House.

I sprayed the entire card with pearl glimmer mist - you can see in this photo how shimmery it makes the image.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar. Pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the team's stunning cards! Thanks for looking! x

Another Gorjuss Girl for Two Challenges

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000Z

I have another Gorjuss Girl card to share today which I'm entering into two challenges - Timbroscrapmania Challenge which is wings and Bunny Zoes Crafts Challenge which is a gorgeous inspiration photo.

I've coloured this cute little Gorjuss Girl with Prismacolor Pencils again. The butterflies were punched with Martha Stewart punches.

The rose ruffle trim and flowers are from The Hobby House. I've sewn all the edges and distressed them with walnut stain distress ink.

The gorgeous corner bling is from Hobby House too.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

A Gorjuss Girl for Everybody Art Challenge

2012-01-11T11:59:00.001Z

I have a gorgeous Gorjuss Girl to show you today from a collection I'm making for The Hobby House using scrummy Girl's Paperie papers. I think these papers have to be my all time favourite papers ever. I have some in my stash myself but can hardly bare to use them LOL! Everything on my card is available from The Hobby House. I am entering my card into the Everybody Art Challenge who want to see Shabby cards.

I've coloured the image with Prismacolor Pencils onto kraft cardstock. I'm really pleased how this turned out - I didn't blend with sansador this time but tried Chris' burnishing technique from a recent Magnolia Ink and I much prefer this way of colouring with pencils than blending - thanks Chris!

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and I added some lace and flowers from The Hobby House.

The gorgeous corner swirl is a new item from The Hobby House and there are lots of gorgeous designs to choose from.

The gorgeous rose ruffle trim is also from The Hobby House - this one is my favourite colour but it is available in several other scrummy colours too! I've sewn all the edges of my card and distressed with walnut stain distress ink.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Magnolia-Licious Challenge DT - Pink, Red and White

2012-01-10T07:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Magnolia-Licious Challenge and this fortnight Cabio has chosen the gorgeous colour combination of pink, red and white. I have created a card for my Sister in Law's birthday using the gorgeous Yoga Tilda #3038 from the Winner Takes it All collection. The papers are from MME and I've sewn the edges and distressed them. I'm also entering my card into Wild Orchid Craft's challenge which is "anything goes".

I coloured Tilda with copics using the no lines technique. I have added some stickles around her feet and to the frill on the t-shirt.

Here's my cloud #30 doohickey again :)! I have stamped the Happy Birthday stamp by Magnolia and added stickles to the edge of the cloud.

I used a Martha Stewart punch along the edge of the pink paper and cut swirls with the doohickey heart swirl die #26. The gorgeous aida flower is by Prima and the brad in the centre is from Whiff of Joy. The rest of the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The fence was cut with the doohickey fence die.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Magnolia-licious! Pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the team's stunning cards! Thanks for looking! x

Brick Cake Anyone?

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000Z

LOL I don't have a card to share today but I have been being creative in the kitchen instead the last few days so thought I'd share with you the cake I made for my Father in Law's birthday. He's a builder so the obvious idea for a cake was a brick! Although I actually think it looks more like a loaf of bread that's turned a funny colour LOL - I couldn't get the top and sides to stay straight - too hot in the kitchen I think! The cake inside was chocolate madiera cake with chocolate buttercream.

Here's a side view. In hindsight I think two smaller bricks would have looked better as this is a bit out of proportion. I was pleased with the colour though. I created the texture on the sides with a cheese grater.

I added some tufts of grass and some ivy leaves and lots of blobs of icing to look like cement - in fact my favourite part of the whole cake is the blog of cement on the right of this picture - I think that looks the most realstic! Thanks for looking! x

The Sketchy Challenges DT - Corry's Sketch

2012-01-07T08:00:00.002Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at The Sketchy Challenges and this fortnight Corry has created our sketch - and it's a gorgeous one!! Today is my Father in Law's birthday and this is the card I made for us to give to him - hubby choose the image - he likes to send funny cards!! It is the first time I've used Super Edwin! The papers are a mix from my stash and I'm afraid none had names left on them. I've distressed the edges of them.

I have coloured Edwin with copics and changed his "E" to an "R" with an alphabet sticker, my copics and some gold stickles. This image really makes me giggle! Especially as he is coloured with my Father in Law's hair colour!

One of my christmas presents was the cloud doohickey and I'm just loving it sooooo much! It is on a lot of my new cards at the moment! I have hand written "to a super Dad" and added some button twine from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

On the other cloud I have stamped a Happy Birthday stamp from Magnolia.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at The Sketchy Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's amazing cards! Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend! x

Whiff of Joy Challenge DT and another preview - Charms and Bling and a tutorial

2012-01-04T08:00:00.022Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Whiff of Joy Challenges and this fortnight our theme is charms and bling. I have another preview image to share with you today that will be released by Whiff of Joy on the 5th January. I've used papers from Basic Grey's Curio paper pad.

I coloured the image with copics and I've added glossy accents to their noses and eyes.

I added a bow from my stash and a cat charm which I coloured with copics to match the card. It is tied on with some button twine from Whiff of Joy.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at Whiff of Joy Challenge. Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning cards! I have also popped a tutorial on the Whiff of Joy Inspiraions blog on how to make a heart shaped easel card like the one I showed on Monday. Thanks for looking! x

Deep Ocean Challenge DT - Shabby Chic (Lot's of White)

2012-01-03T20:00:00.009Z

Woohoo!! It is time for another challenge at Deep Ocean Challenges and this fortnight our theme is "Shabby Chic" - so lots of white and paint and gorgeous shabby details. I have used some gorgeous new paper from Magnolia and a new stamp, #3010 Tilda with Daisy.

I thought she'd look cute coloured with the no lines technique in white. I've coloured her with copics and added some stickles to her dress and hair bow and around her feet.

I went crazy with some new goodies. My new punch I've used along the edge of the image mat. I've also tucked some cheesecloth behind the image along with a doohickey tag and the heart lace die cut.

I got the gorgeous flag and cloud doohickey for Christmas too and put the flags to good use creating my sentiment. I've painted the edge of each one with crackle paint and inked them with walnut stain.

I added a selection of flowers from my stash. I created a daisy to match the image using a Prima e line flower and a brad which I coloured yellow with copics. I added doohickey rose leaves and another heart swirl along with a swirl from my EK success punch. I also added a strip of lace from my stash.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Deep Ocean Challenge. Pop over to the blog to be blown away by the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

At Last! My December Daily Days 1-5!

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000Z

Woohoo!! After my disasterous start to my December Daily album when my printer broke I have finally been able to complete it with photos from my new printer :)! It certainly made it hard work doing it all in one go but I love the end result and will definitely be doing one again this December! Above is my first page. All my pages are cut from MME papers - they're gorgeous with lots of glittered designs! I have simply added a number 1 from Tim's vintage market die with green cardstock. The journalling label is from MME's Life Stories range and the photo shows my little ones showing the things they'd done on the 1st December at school and playgroup.

On the second I got the most fabulous surprise in the post from a sweet friend of mine so of course that had to be my photo for that day! You can see here that I added a hole with a tinsel "handle" to help turn over page one/two. The gorgeous chunky number and letters are from a BoBunny diecut set.

I covered a chipboard number with red stickles for the number three and cut a label from some contrasting MME paper. I added a poinsettia from my stash and a gem swirl. The leaf fell off a decoration and the question mark is also from the BoBunny sheet. The photo shows them with the toys they found in the advent calendar that morning.

Nothing much really happened on the 4th so I took a photo of how the mantel in our lounge looked in the evening - very cosy!

Day five is an acetate page which I've stamped a Tim Holtz pinecone stamp around the edges with stazon. This is the day I posted all my overseas letters and parcels.

Here you can see the stamping around the edge of the acetate page - it is a little difficult to show in it's full glory but you get the idea. That's it for today - I thought I'd spread the pages out a little otherwise it would be a very long post! Thanks for looking! x

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop DT and Whiff of Joy DT - Be My Valentine!

2012-01-02T11:36:00.001Z

Woohoo! Happy New Year!!! It is time for another challenge over at The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop Challenge and also time for me to share my favourite image from Whiff of Joy's new collection being released on 5th January! Our challenge them at Pretty Little Ribbon shop for this month is "Be My Valentine". I have used papers from the Winter Garden pad from Panduro Hobby.

How amazing is this Henry Mouse!?!?! I love him with all that swirling ribbon and his cheeky little tongue sticking out as he aims LOL! I've coloured him with copics and added stickles to his wings. I've inked around the image with worn lipstick distress ink.

I added a selection of flowers from my stash and the gorgeous ribbon and twine are from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop as are the heart pins. The charm is from The Hobby House. I used Tim's Vintage Lace die to create the paper lace around the edge of the heart.

The gorgeous sentiment is by Cat's Life Press, from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - I love circular sentiments don't you!? I've inked around the edges of it with worn lipstick to match the image and added another double bow and a flower to the side.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop! Thanks for looking! x

A Look Back at 2011's Creations

2011-12-31T08:00:00.007Z

Phew!! I like to do this every year on the 31st December - a look back at my favourite creation for each month of the year - it always amazes me how hard it is to choose and also how many cards I make that I don't actually like very much when I look back at them! I think I will make it a crafting new year's resolution to only put creations on here that I'm 100% happy with! So, without further ado here are my favourite creations from 2011 - some months have a couple as I just couldn't decide - I hope you enjoy looking through them! If you would like to know more about how I created any of the cards click on the photo to go to the original post.

DECEMBER 2011

I love this one as I thought I'd get my distress inks out to colour with after over a year of not colouring with them and so was very pleased how it turned out!

This was for my husband's birthday - I loved how the image turned out and the gold leaf and crackle paint heart I made.

NOVEMBER 2011

This was my card for my little girl for Christmas - loved how the window idea turned out and the Christmas tree!

OCTOBER 2011

The first card I made with the autumn Magnolia kit - love white colouring on kraft cardstock!

SEPTEMBER 2011

The card I made for my husband for our anniversary.

A canvas I made for my little girl's room using Whiff of Joy's princess stamps.

Sorry....3 for September LOL! I love this gorgeous image and the colours of this card - it is one I can't part with!

AUGUST 2011

My ice cream cone and bowl of ice cream card that I made for a Magnolia Ink competition - the ice cream cone was published in the magazine - yay!!

The first "no lines" image I was happy with. I also won a trophy at our village produce show for this card - "best craft item in show" :)

JULY 2011

The set of gifts I created for my Brother's wedding.

JUNE 2011

This is the card I created for my Brother's wedding.

MAY 2011

I love how this turned out and the brightness of it is unusual for me. One of my first times colouring with Prismacolor pencils too!

APRIL 2011

I was so pleased how this turned out and I love the colours.

MARCH 2011

The card I created for my little girl's 3rd birthday inspired by her gorgeous fabric wendy house.

FEBRUARY 2011

I was really pleased with the colouring of this one and I love the papers! - another one I can't part with LOL!

This was the card I created for my Mum for Mother's Day.

JANUARY 2011

A gift box I created to put my husband's valentine gift in. I love the gold on the red heart and it is still on display in our room after all these months!

I hope you enjoyed my rather long look back at 2011's creations!

I want to wish you all a healthy and happy new year!! See you all in 2012 :)!!!! x

My Last Christmas card for 2011!

2011-12-31T08:00:00.005Z

Here is my last Christmas card for the year to show you (at last LOL)! This was another commissioned card for a little girl to give her grandparents. I've used scrummy Magnolia papers for this one - this particular paper has been my favourite Christmas paper this year.

I coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to her wings and ornament.

I added a doily behind the image and flowers from my stash along with a couple of tags cut with nesties. The "Nanna" and "Grandad" are peel offs.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy DT - Preview Time! - Love Birds

2011-12-30T11:08:00.000Z

I have another Whiff of Joy Preview for you today! Well, actually it is two previews as these cute little birds are separate stamps. They will be released on 5th January. The paper I've used is from Basic Grey's Indian Summer paper pad and I've distressed the edges with walnut stain distress ink.

Each bird is coloured with copics and then I've mounted the smaller bird on one layer of foam pads and the larger bird on two layers of foam pads for extra definition.

I used the gorgoeus heart swirl stamp from Whiff of Joy's Christmas Swirls collection, embossed in gold to add interest to the top corner and I've added gold stickles inside the hearts.

The sentiment is from the winter Magnolia kit, also embossed in gold.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

A Trio of Stempelglede Christmas Cards

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000Z

Only one more Christmas card to show you after these - promise! :) I loved making these using the Stempelglede photo stamps as I created all three in an hour! Unheard of for me and perfect seeing as it was the 23rd of December LOL! All the papers are from the MME Lost and Found Christmas pad and the edges distressed with walnut stain distress ink and stickles. On the above card I added a doily and some flowers from my stash along with some distressed holly leaves cut with a sizzix die. To make the photo look even older I crumpled it up and then opened it out again - this creates little cracks in the gloss of the paper which attract the vintage photo distress ink creating the most amazing old photo! It looks just like the sort you find when looking through your grandparent's photos! Along the edge of the photo I used some die cut faux dresden paper left over from one of Tim's tags.

I created some tissue music paper for this one with my rediscovered Tim Holtz music stamp and inked it and the image with vintage photo distress ink. The flower and ivy leaf are from my stash and the brad is from Whiff of Joy. The gorgeous snowflake is from the Hobby House and I painted it with white acrylic paint. I added dots of gold stickles along the bottom edge - my new favourite thing to do since Tim's tags!

This final card uses a stamp from another Stempelglede set, this time I've embossed the image with gold embossing powder and then inked the edges with vintage photo distress ink. I added some more tissue music paper and faux dresden paper border along with some ribbon from my stash. The brad is from Whiff of Joy and the rose and pin are from my stash. The snowflake under the rose is from The Hobby House as are the pearls in the corners. I hope you like them and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy DT - Preview Time!

2011-12-29T11:16:00.001Z

It is that time again to preview the Whiff of Joy images which will be released next month. These will be released on 5th January and are all of a valentine theme. I have used the sketch at Papertake Weekly for my card.

How adorable is this Henry with his gorgeous bow!? I coloured him with copics and added some stickles to the dots on the ribbon.

I added a selection of flowers from my stash and the brad and the die I have used for the leaves are also from Whiff of Joy.

I used a Prima pebble for the centre of this flower and have used cheesecloth behind the image.

The sentiment is from Tickled Pink Stamps and the cute little wooden heart button is from the Hobby House.

I used a thin strip of organza to create a bow - love the shabby edges!

I hope you like it! I'll have some more previews for you in the next few days and don't forget to visit my Whiff of Joy team mates for their previews! Thanks for looking! x

Santa Tilda

2011-12-29T08:00:00.002Z

I'm nearly finished showing all my Christmas cards - honest LOL! This is another commissioned one which was for someone's sister, as you can see. The paper is from MME's Lost and Found Christmas pad.

I coloured tilda with copics and added stickles to the fur trims on her dress and hat.

The holly leaves were left over from my greaseproof paper version of Tim Holtz' glassine ones from 12 tags of Christmas and the flowers are from my stash. I also added a couple of bells with some twine from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

The ribbon is also from The Pretty Little Ribbon shop and the pearl centre is from The Hobby House.

I embossed a sentiment in silver to tie in with the "sister" peel off I used and the tag is cut with a nestie.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-28T08:00:00.005Z

Morning! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas with your family and friends and are not feeling to ill from working your way through all the Christmas food and drink! I thought I'd share another Christmas card today that was another last minute commission. It is very similar to a card I did earlier on in December as I had run out of ideas by the 22nd when I made this so thought it was easier to case myself LOL!

I used Edwin from the winter kit on this card which was quite a funny choice as the card was for a police officer and then I realised this Edwin is dressed as a burglar as he's stolen Tilda's heart LOL! I added a punched snowflake to his jumper to turn it into a Christmas jumper and to hopefully make him look a little less like a burglar - although he's obviously a very cute burglar anyway!

I used the Magnolia fence doohickey and have added lots of snow writer pen to it and on the ground.

The sentiment is embossed in silver and is from an older Magnolia Christmas collection and I added lots of flowers from my stash.

All the colouring was done with copics and I added stickles here and there to the night scene.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Sundays With Crissy Challenge DT - Anything Goes!

2011-12-27T14:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! It is my turn to share my card for this month's Sundays With Crissy challenge! This month our challenge is nice and easy - anything goes!!! Usually the DT use Crissy's gorgeous digi images but my printer has broken so I have used an equally gorgeous stamp by Crissy, Jingle Bell Ride from Whimsy Stamps.

I have coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils and copics and added stickles to the mane and tail and the fur trims. I wanted to create a really magical feel by adding a hazy background and lots of gold stickles dots.

I think this image is so gorgeous it hardly needs embellishing. I opted for some bakers twine from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop as it reminded me of the candy canes on the image and a button from my stash.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this month at Sundays with Crissy Challenge! Thanks for looking! x

Tilda with Teddy Bear

2011-12-26T08:00:00.003Z

Here is another of my last minute commissioned cards. This one was for a little eighteen month old girl. The gorgeous sugary colours of the bauble paper from last year's Magnolia collection was perfect for this!

I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to her dress and dots of liquid pearls around her.

The gorgeous ribbon is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop and the crochet flower is from The Hobby House. The snowflake was cut with a doohickey die and the other flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I embossed the Sweet Christmas Dreams sentiment so that it would match the peel off I had to use as the lady who requested the card wanted Daughter on it. The sentiment is on a tag cut with the Dream Tag doohickey.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

A hAnglar Card for Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T08:00:00.004Z

Woohoo!!! At last it is Christmas Eve!! I have one of my commissioned cards to share with you again today. A special card for someone to give their girlfriend. I thought a hAnglar boy image would be best for this. The papers are by Magnolia and have all been stitched and distressed with walnut stain distress ink.

I masked the image together with the cookie basket and have coloured both with copics. I added stickles to the gingerbread cookies to look like sugar.

I added a bow with some lush ribbon from my stash and a present charm from the Hobby House which I've painted with acrylic paint.

I added a poinsettia from my stash and used a pearl bead for the centre and some more gorgeous flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The mistletoe and holly were die cut with Tim's Festive Greenery die and the heart pin is from my stash.

To make the card extra special I decorated the inside with the same Magnolia papers. I used the gorgeous Christmas text from Magnolia on the left side and the holly stamp from the autumn kit on the right side, leaving space for a personal message. I added some more holly leaves from the festive greenery die and some tiny pearls for the berries.

I hope you like it! I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very

Merry Christmas!

Thank you all for your lovely comments and support throughout the year, I appreciate every single one of you! x

The Sketchy Challenges DT - Lizzie's Sketch

2011-12-24T07:00:00.006Z

Woohoo!! It's Christmas Eve! I LOVE Christmas Eve don't you!?!?! All the yummy things being prepared for tomorrow....the smell of mince pies warming....going to get the turkey......sending the kids to bed early so we can get building and wrapping toys!! I think mine are going to have to go to bed at about 5pm today so we can get the dolls house and bike done that we have to build LOL!! I am doing lots of food preparations today - a ham joint, tiramisu, bread sauce, stuffing, and peeling all the vegetables for tomorrow - busy day!!

It is time for another challenge at The Sketchy Challenges today, and yes I know, you're probably far to busy to be bothering with a challenge right now but what perfect timing for you to be able to create something with all the crafty stash Santa brings you tomorrow :)! We have a sketch for you by Lizzie this fortnight. Now I have to admit I was a little stumped at first...I think this sketch would be amazing done as a scrapbook page with the heart as a photo but I didn't have time to do one of those. Then I found the diecut reindeer on the floor of my craft room that was left over from one of Tim's 12 tags and that gave me the idea for my card.

This sketch is also perfect for using up all those scraps that I save (and I'm sure you do too LOL). Even the card base of my card was a scrap left over from creating my daughter's snowflake costume! I thought this was going to be such a quick card to create but it actually took a considerable amount of time to decide what order I was going to lay the scrap strips down in for the best effect!
The reindeer was cut with Tim's Reindeer flight die from pearlescent cardstock.

The sentiment is by Stempelglede and the gems are from my stash.

I hope I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at The Sketchy Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking and have a fabulous Christmas!!! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 24

2011-12-24T06:59:00.001Z

Good morning! It is time to open the last window on the Whiff of Joy advent calendar! If you discover which designer is hosting today's prize you have a chance to win the stamp used on their card.

Katharina, Alice, Colleen, Gio, Ingrid, Jane, Jane Millard, Jeanette, Lori, Sandie, Sonja, Tutorialblog

Good luck! x

A Symphony of Purple Snowflakes for TOMIC

2011-12-23T10:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! Not long now! My kids are uncontrollable from excitement the last few days LOL!! I had another last minute order for cards so used the opportunity to join in the latest TOMIC challenge which is to use the colour purple and snowflakes. No problem as this gorgeous purple paper from this year's collection is my favourite! I've added white paint here and there around the edges and distressed them with a paper distresser and stickles.

I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles around her feet and to parts of her clothing.

I added a bow from my stash and a snowflake charm from The Hobby House that I have painted with acrylic paint.

I added a selection of flowers from my stash. The pearl brad is from The Hobby House too and the large silver snowflake was a gift. I added a glass pebble that I have added a punched snowflake to.

Here's a close up of the pebble - I think it looks like a miniature paper weight! so cute!

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Tilda with Candy Cone

2011-12-23T08:00:00.003Z

Predictably I have another of my last minute Christmas cards to share today - are you bored of them yet LOL?? Thank goodness my craft room is closed now until after Christmas - I was getting arm ache from so much colouring! I also ran out of the cardstock that I make my card bases from and so had to resort to some smaller cards! The papers are by Magnolia, inked with walnut stain distress ink.

Tilda is coloured with copics and I have added stickles to her shoes.

The poinsettia is from my stash and the other flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I made a little scroll from some Magnolia paper that has music on, tied with some twine from Whiff of Joy.

The ribbon was pale green and I've coloured it with distress ink for a more Christmas green. The Joy charm is from The Hobby House.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 23

2011-12-23T07:00:00.001Z

Good morning! It is time to open another window on the Whiff of Joy advent calendar! If you discover which designer is hosting today's prize you have a chance to win the stamp used on their card.

Katharina, Alice, Colleen, Gio, Ingrid, Jane, Jane Millard, Jeanette, Lori, Sandie, Sonja, Tutorialblog
Good luck! x

Another last minute card :)

2011-12-22T08:00:00.001Z

Here is another of my last minute Christmas cards! Phew! I've made so many cards now in the last week that I think I'll be showing them until New Year! I have used Magnolia papers for this one and the edges were distressed with my distressing tool and stickles.

The image is coloured with Prismacolor pencils blended with Sansador and I have added stickles to her wings and the heart.

The sentiment is also by Magnolia and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The crochet flower is from Bunny Zoes and the brad in the centre is from The Hobby House.

The large snowflake is a plastic Christmas ornament.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 22

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000Z

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-21T08:00:00.005Z

Today is my husband's birthday! This is the card I've made for him. As soon as I saw this gorgeous Tilda in my winter kit I wanted to colour her like one of those black and white photos where they choose part of the photo to add colour to. I'm really pleased how she turned out! I have used papers by Magnolia and sewn and distressed the edges.

I coloured Tilda Sending Love Letters , #282 with copics and I've inked around the image mat with black soot distress ink. She is available for preorder from Magnolia-Licious with 17% off!!
The sentiment is from Magnolia too and was embossed with sea foam embossing powder. I wrapped some chipboard hearts with Tim Holtz tissue tape. The button is from my stash and the gorgeous button twine is from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

The gorgeous plaster corner piece is from Panduro Hobby.

This chipboard heart was first painted with pickett fence crackle paint and then I placed it face down onto some gold leaf before the crackle paint was dry to get a patchy covering of gold leaf. I then coated over the top with rock candy crackle paint and then finally painted over some of the gold with white acrylic paint - love how it turned out!

I decorated the inside of the card with the leftover strip of Magnolia paper, another heart and a flower punched with a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 21

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000Z

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 18 Winner!

2011-12-21T06:59:00.000Z

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my card for the Whiff of Joy advent calendar. Sorry I'm a little late drawing the winner. The lucky lady winning the From Heaven Above stamp from Whiff of Joy is:

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-12-20 23:51:32 UTC

and that is Marion! Congratulations Marion! Please email your address to me so that I can arrange for your stamp to be posted!

Deep Ocean Challenges DT - Warm Wishes

2011-12-20T20:00:00.005Z

Woohooo! At last today my Son breaks up from school!! No more trudging about in the cold twice a day for a while :). We are going straight from school to tea with Santa at a local garden centre!! They are so excited about it! We went last year and it was so lovely for them! It is time for another challenge at Deep Ocean Challenges and this fortnight the challenge is "warm wishes". I opted for sweet Tilda all wrapped up warm for my card. The papers are also by Magnolia. I'm also entering my card into the Wild Orchid Crafts challenge who would like to see Christmas Friendship cards.I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to her hat and hand warmer.

The white flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts and the purple and cream rose is from Hobby Craft. The holly leaf was cut with Tim's festive greenery die.The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy, embossed in gold and the crystal spray is from Hobby Craft. The gorgeous lilac blossom was a gift from my gorgeous friend Louise.

I have sewn all the edges of the papers and added a bow using ribbon from my stash.

I used a Martha Stewart punch on the edge of the kraft cardstock and some gold glittered cardstock for the image mat.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us at Deep Ocean Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Vintage Christmas Card

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000Z

I'm back with another one of my six last minute Christmas cards I had to make! As time was of the essence I was searching everywhere for ready coloured images and things that would make the whole process quicker. I found this Stempelglede image already stamped and coloured with distress inks from last year while I was experimenting with these amazing photo stamps. The stamping isn't quite as crisp as it should be, which is why I hadn't used it but I don't actually think it looks too bad now it's on the card.

I added a snowflake decoration from my local garden centre behind the image and a poinsettia from my stash. The blossom and rose are from Wild Orchid Crafts - love the colour of that blossom! The pearl and the pearl brad are from The Hobby House.

I added a scrap of gold ribbon I found in a box of christmas decorations when we were decorating the tree. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and was cut with the tag die from Whiff of Joy too. The gold thread was originally the hanger on the snowflake decoration. The border was punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

The quickest two cards ever!

2011-12-20T08:00:00.002Z

Phew! I'm getting there with my backlog of Christmas cards!! I would be finished already but my husband handed out cards to his colleagues and I ended up with requests for 8 cards!! Argh!! I really need to learn to say no this close to Christmas but I guess I'm just thrilled people like them enough to want to buy some :)! These have to be the two quickest cards I've ever created! I wanted a couple of flat cards for posting as I've already spent a small fortune posting ones with flowers etc on! I had some tiny scraps of paper in my stash with baubles on that would have been hidden by an image so decided to use them on their own. They're smaller than I'd usually make because of the size of pieces I had to work with but at least that's another two cards out of the way!

The first one I added a band of ribbon from my stash and a single gem to the centre of the red bauble.

The second one I added a tiny ready made bow to the wreath and another single gem to the bauble. I think I could be converted to this type of card very easilly at Christmas time LOL!

Hope you like them and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 20

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000Z

Star Card!

2011-12-19T08:00:00.010Z

Good Morning! Is anyone else starting to panic now LOL??? Why does it always seem to get to a week before Christmas really suddenly without you realising LOL??? I made the mincemeat for my mince pies yesterday so I'm slowly crossing those jobs off the list, just not as quickly as I'd like! I have a star card to show you today that I created using Debbie's fabulous tutorial in the Magnolia Ink magazine. I actually made the base for this for the Magnolia-licious challenge and then got a bit stumped as to how to decorate it and gave up LOL! As I need cards that are quick to make now this was perfect as I only needed to add the image and embellishments.

I have used Tilda with Cross Stitched Heart #3082 on my card and I coloured Tilda with copics using the no lines technique.I added a ribbon around the whole card and under the image mat so that it can be tied in a bow to keep the card closed. The snowflakes were cut with a doohickey die and the rose is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I've stamped the sentiment with weathered wood distress ink and added it to the card with a cute little peg from Hobby Craft. The roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the white rose was a gift.

Inside I simply added a circle mat to write in with a Magnolia sentiment.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 19

2011-12-19T07:00:00.003Z

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 18!

2011-12-18T07:00:00.006Z

Welcome to another window opening on the Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar and today it is my turn to host again :)!! I have used the gorgeous From Heaven Above by Norma Fickel for my card today and if you leave a comment on this post you might be lucky enough to win this stamp for yourself!

I have coloured the image with copics and added stickles to her wings and halo.

The ribbon, pins and charm are from my stash and the plastic snowflake is recycled from a Christmas garland. The blossom is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The sentiment is by Magnolia stamped with Archival Coffee ink.

Hope you like it and thanks for looking! Good luck! x

Magnolia Down Under Challenges DT - Red, Cream and Gold

2011-12-17T21:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! Time for another challenge at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and this week we have a scrummy colour combination for you of red, cream and gold! I have used a mixture of papers from my stash. I know the red one is by Magnolia but I'm not sure on the other. All the edges have been sewn. I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to the white trims on her hat and dress and the ribbon on her gift.

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy, embossed in gold and the brad is also from Whiff of Joy.
The large poinsettia and small cream flowers are from my stash and the blossom is from Wild Orchid Crafts. The holly leaves were cut with Tim's festive greenery die.
I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's stunning creations! Thanks for looking! x

Christmas card overload!

2011-12-17T08:00:00.002Z

LOL This happens to me every year so you'd think I'd have learnt by now! We sat to write out our Christmas cards and there was I thinking we were going to have some left over, but no, seven short - seven!!!! Argh!!! so I had to go into cardmaking overdrive and luckilly managed to get six done over two evenings so only one more left to do and luckilly it doesn't need to be posted! This is one of the six, using a gorgeous Tilda which luckilly I'd already coloured when having a play with my Prismacolour pencils! The papers are by Magnolia too - no sewing though - I was up against the clock and didn't have time!

So, like I already said, Tilda has been coloured with Prismacolour pencils, blended with sansador and I've added stickles to her wings, halo and star. I also added some dots to her cheeks with a white gel pen.

The poinsettia is from my stash and the leaves were cut with a sizzix die from greaseproof paper, left over from one of my Tim's 12 tags. The pearl sprays were cut from an old Christmas garland.The white flower is by Prima and the brad is from The Hobby House. I also added a scrap of cheesecloth and some gold braid that I teased out to look a bit like tinsel.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 12 and and oops moment!

2011-12-17T08:00:00.001Z

Woohoo!! At last I found time to create the final tag from Tim's 12 tags of Christmas! I'm so glad I did as this one was a really great one to do! But first to my oops moment! If you've been following the tags I've created you'll know that on two previous tags that called for a music stamp I have sat scribbling my own, taking up considerable time......this tag called for a script stamp so off I went to my basket of wood mounted stamps for mine.......only to find a Tim Holtz music paper stamp that I'd completely forgot I had! DOH!!!! How embarrassing to have so much stuff you forget what you have - needless to say I didn't mention the incident to my husband LOL!!! Anyway, back to the tag. I stamped the script stamp onto the tag and then painted it with white acrylic paint. I then stamped my newly discovered music stamp onto some tissue paper and adhered it over the top of the script stamping, crumpling it as on Tim's tag.

I cut my own house shape from some grungepaper and painted it with sky blue paint by Claudine Hellmuth. I then painted some white paint over the top to lighten it before covering in rock candy stickles. The edges were then inked with walnut stain distress ink and a bit more white paint added along the edges. I wrote the "all is calm" myself and added a tiny braided mirror and a winged charm from my stash as I don't have any of Tim's fractured dolls.

I created the faux dresden paper following Tim's instructions and cut "wish" using the vintage market die and layered it with black letters too. I added a snowflake charm and a couple of clear beads from my stash to the ribbon.

I also cut some of the faux dresden paper with Tim's lace die and added it along the bottom along with some tinsel. I added dots of gold stickles all around the edge instead of the platinum stickles Tim used.

Love how Tim made this flower! I made mine from ordinary tissue paper stamped with a Whiff of Joy background stamp and I also added a swirl and a branch piece from the festive greenery die.

This has got to be my absolute favourite of the tags with the tag from day one following in a very close second place!! Now I just have to decide if I'm going to part with them on gifts or keep them for myself for inspiration of all the great techniques I've learned! Hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar Challenge DT - White + one

2011-12-16T08:00:00.001Z

Woohoo! It is time for another challenge at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge and we have a fabulous theme for you for this challenge of white plus your choice of one other colour. I have chosen to use white and brown - inspired by the gorgeous reindeer paper I've used from the MME Christmas glitter paper stack. We are taking a teeny tiny Christmas break so this challenge will run for two weeks! Perfect for some inspiration for all those crafty goodies Santa's going to bring!

I have coloured Tilda with copics and added stickles to her dress.

The gorgeous satin ribbon is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy, embossed in gold.

The flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts and I added some mistletoe cut with a doohickey die. The pins are from my stash. I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us this fortnight at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar Challenge! Pop over to the blog to see the rest of the team's gorgeous creations! Thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 15

2011-12-15T07:00:00.001Z

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 11

2011-12-14T09:34:00.000Z

Here is my version of tag 11 from Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. I have to say I was a little unsure about making this one but I set myself the goal of making all twelve this year so had a go and photos just really do not do this tag justice! The distress inked glossy cardstock looks so beautiful in real life and I especially love the water splashes - looks just like snowfall! I inked the tag with tumbled glass and faded jeans distress inks before splashing with water and setting with my heat tool.

I'm a little disappointed with my "glass" shrinkie leaves - they're not really big enough! I don't have Tim's holly die so used my sizzix die and the leaves are clearly a lot smaller than Tim's die!

I didn't have the Santa stamp of Tim's either so used a Stemplelglede stamp instead. I inked the leaf areas with peeled paint distress ink and the berries with festive berries distress ink. I love how striking it looks against the blue!

Here's a shot to show how shiney the tag is - such a gorgeous glossy finish! The sentiment is also by Stempelglede, stamped onto glossy cardstock and then inked with festive berries distress ink. I'm so glad I tried this tag as the inked glossy cardstock is something I'm definitely going to be using again!

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Some Very Exciting News! Magnolia-licious Challenge!

2011-12-13T07:01:00.000Z

Wooohooo!! Today I finally get to share some news that I have been bursting to tell you all for such a long time now!!! The lovely Diana Crick - owner of Magnolia-licious recently asked if I would like to join the Magnolia-licious Challenge design team!!!!!! Would I!?!?!? Oh my goodness, I was completely bowled over! I don't think it took even a second to say yes!! So, here is my very first post for the Magnolia-licious Challenge blog team :). This is the only challenge during December as the design team are taking a well earned break for the holidays so the challenge will run for four weeks. Diana has picked a perfect challenge for this time of year of "stars".

I have used the oh so cute #241 A Little Gift Tilda and coloured her with copics. I've added stickles to the wrapping paper of her little gift and her wings. I just love the braids on this Tilda - so gorgeous! I have used paper by Magnolia which is available from Magnolia-licious as part of the Fairytale paper pack.

I added a selection of flowers from my stash and a large white bow. The holly leaves were cut with Tim Holtz' festive greenery die.

I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border and some star charms from my stash.

The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy, embossed in silver and cut out with a nestie.

I hope you like it and I've inspired you to join us over at Magnolia-licious Challenge! There is a fabulous prize on offer of a $25 gift certificate for the Magnolia-licious store!

Pop over to the challenge blog to be totally amazed by the rest of the team's creations! Thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - window 13

2011-12-13T07:00:00.003Z

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar winner!

2011-12-12T09:37:00.000Z

Wow! thank you all for your lovely comments on my Whiff of Joy advent calendar post on the 10th! The winner of the Christmas Dance stamp, as chosen by random, is...............................................

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-12-12 09:32:52 UTC

Congratulations Nhanda! Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be posted out! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - 12th Window

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000Z

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 10

2011-12-11T11:23:00.000Z

Well, I had to stay up late to get this one done but I managed it! I'm so glad I did, if you haven't tried the technique Tim shared on creating your own transparencies with clear tape you really must have a go - it is unbelieveable! I don't have any facets so created one with acetate and one with a glass pebble. I wrote out the music myself for the background with a permanent pen as I don't have the music stamp. Wish the light wasn't so poor - this tag is so gold and shiney in real life and the photos just don't do it justice.

Here's a close up of my first "bauble" you can just see the effect towards the left where you can see the metal shining through the image. I didn't have any images of Santa Claus that were small enough unfortunately so the "believe" doesn't really make much sense to the rest of the tag LOL - never mind!

Here's a close up of the pebble one. I used just ordinary sellotape for mine and it worked brilliantly!

I added a couple of silver beads from my stash and some tulle. The embossed holly was stamped with a Stempelglede stamp.

I added some grungeboard letters and covered them in gold stickles as I don't have gold paint. I should have inked the edges black first - can tell it was late LOL - I think I might see if I can get them back off and ink them as they would look much better that way.

The baubles are attached with jute string and a tiny brad at the top.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 11

2011-12-11T07:00:00.000Z

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 9

2011-12-10T10:12:00.001Z

If you're looking for my Whiff of Joy advent calendar post click here.

I'm back on the ball with Tim's tags now and managed to create this one the same day! I stamped Tim's flourish stamp with everygreen bough distress ink and embossed it as I didn't have the stamp Tim used. I've then inked with festive berries and embossed again before inking with vintage photo around the edges. I'll definitely be doing this double embossing technique again, it looks amazing in real life! I used Tim's vintage market alphabet die to create the letters -the Once Upon a Time one is on my Christmas list ;). I've covered the letters and the swirl in glossy accents and added some gems to the swirl.

I don't have the halloween die so just cut a candle and candlestick freehand from some grungepaper. I added some dribbles of candle wax by going in with glossy accents a second time once the first layer was dry.

Just love the effect of bunching all the festive greenery up together. I don't have kraft core cardstock so inked the edges of mine with vintage photo distress ink instead.

Here's a close up of the enamelled effect - looks so beautiful!

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! x

Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar - Window 10

2011-12-10T07:00:00.002Z

Welcome to the Whiff of Joy Advent Calendar!! Woohoo!! Today it is my turn to host Whiff of Joy's advent calendar window! One lucky commenter on this post will win the gorgeous stamp that I have used.

I've coloured Christmas Dance with coipcs and added some punched flowers around the image using an EK success punch. I then added rhinestones to the flower centres and red stickles to the petals.

Ooops! not sure why this picture turned out so blurry - sorry! The ribbon, charm and pins are from my stash. The heart border was cut with a Whiff of Joy die.

The fabulous sentiment comes with this stamp! I've added red stickles around the edge of the sentiment and around the edge of the glittered vellum backing paper.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking! Don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning this gorgeous stamp and matching sentiment! x