What a Week?!

Crikey, this week has been manic! Because I knew I was having a few days off at the tail end of the week, I had to go like crazy to finish up stuff at work. I even had to bring stuff home - huff. Consequently, I've had absolutely no time to do any crafting or blogging at all this week. Sorry I've been neglecting your blogs, I hope to have a shoot round today or tomorrow. I've picked up a few little bargains over the last couple of days and also collected my SU stuff from Sam yesterday, so I am dying to get crafting now!

Although, I am going to have to take a few hours off from stamping up a storm this afternoon as I am having my shoulder length hair all lopped off (it's now about 2-3 inches longer than it is in my profile pic!). Think Rhianna, Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud or Victoria Beckham and you will get an idea of what I am aiming for! As drastic as it sounds, I have had my hair like that before and I really liked it. Fingers crossed it all goes OK this time!

Anyways, luckily I did manage to make a card last weekend that I haven't yet shown you. It wasn't for a challenge or anything, it was a 'just for fun' card! It also gave me chance to ink up one of my Rubber Romance stamps that I got a couple of months ago but haven't yet used.

I think this Basic Grey paper works brilliantly with the Rubber Romance images. The images are bold and the papers are bold so it's a great combination. I will admit to getting the proportions a bit wrong on this card and so had to attach a punched border panel to the bottom to try and balance things out. I think it looks OK now though.... just hope you agree!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Rubber Romance.
Paper: Basic Grey - Scarlets Letter, DCWV CS, Bazzill Smoothie CS and black card from stash.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Copics.
Embellishments: Hobbycraft border punch, heart charm from ebay, ribbon and brads from stash.

Thanks for visiting!
Pin It

Anyone Fancy a Swap?

I'm trying to be good and not spend too much money on craft stash for the next couple of months but am getting a little bored with my current stamps....! To stop me buying more, I wondered if anybody would like to do an image swap with me? I've got lots of Rubber Romance, some My Favorite Things, Pink Cat Studio, a few Alotas etc that I'd be happy to stamp up in return.

The only snag is, I would like to swap with a Copics/Promarker user as I'd like to swap images that are stamped in Copic friendly ink... I have a box of images from previous swaps which I can't use with my pens as the ink bleeds all over the place and I get in a right state!

So, if anybody wants to swap Copic friendly images, I'd love to hear from you!
Pin It

Friday Sketchers #40

Well, think the mojo is slowly coming back. I managed this card (plus another I'll show you tomorrow/Wednesday) yesterday and it wasn't too much of a painful experience!

The good news is that I am off work 1/2 of Wednesday and then all day Thursday and Friday (and Saturday and Sunday of course!) so that means I've got lots of crafting time coming up! I'm especially looking forward to Thursday as I'm heading down to Sam's to pick up my SU order (can't wait!) AND I also realised that it is craft day on QVC! Guess where you are going to find me.....!

Anyway, onto my card..... I've recently been going through all of my digital paper packs and trying to catalogue them so that I know what I have. Yes, I know that is mega sad but there are some gems in there that I've totally forgotten about! Just like the set I used on this card to make my entry to this week's Friday Sketchers challenge.


I am pretty pleased with this card as I got to use more new stuff. Not just new new stuff but old new stuff too. You know, the stuff you buy but never get round to using? It's also a bit of a first as it is my first ever truly successful doodling attempt! I've totally got it sussed.... you just hold the pen higher up so that you don't have as much control and can't push as hard! Genius huh?!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Cupcake digi images by Sally-Ann Hancock, Pink Petticoat sentiment.
Paper: Free digi paper download from here.
Ink & Colour: Promarkers (didn't have the right Copic colours!).
Embellishments: Dew Drops, Corner squiggle from DaFont applied using Safmat.

Have a good week peeps and thank you for all the "You haven't lost your mojo!" comments - you are all the bestest bloggy friends ever! ~x~

Pin It

Challenge Combining!

Missing: Mojo.

Wanted: My mojo back.

Yep, it's totally gone walkies. I tried to use it Friday night and only then realised it had gone... Saturday wasn't much better as I had a "Why can't I get any of my paper to look right together?" session, closely followed by a "I need X,Y and Z... If I had them, I would be fine!" rant. Poor Ali. It must be a nightmare living with me!

Anyway, I did manage to make something. It is totally basic but took me HOURS to make. I managed to combine the sketch for challenge 1 of Truly Scrumptious and the theme for Cute Card Thursday - Signs of Spring.

Goodie List........
Stamps: CC Designs, Pink Petticoat Girly Curly Sentiment.
Paper: Freebie Download... just wish I could work out where it is from....
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Promarkers.
Embellishments: Toadstool charm from ebay, buttons, ribbon and eyelets from stash.

Right, I'm off to sit at the craft/dining table for a couple of hours to see if Mojo has decided to make an appearance!

Pin It

A Spoon Full of Sugar

Don't you just love playing with new goodies.....?! What goodies have I got? Well, I've recently got my mitts on some yummy Magnolia images, thanks to my friend Kirsty and so I've been practicing my colouring on them. I've also purchased some yummy taster sets of Prima flowers from ebay and I totally love them....will defo be buying full size packs of these babies! AND, I have seen so many lovely little charms on everyone elses cards that I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon too! What on earth would we do without ebay eh?!

For this card, I followed the sketch which is this weeks challenge over at A Spoon Full of Sugar. It's a great sketch, you should have a go!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Magnolia.
Paper: Papermania - Retro Flowers, Bazzill Bling.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Copics.
Embellishments: White satin ribbon, Prima hydrangeas, Metal charm from ebay, Provocraft rub-on sentiment, glass blobs!

I'm eagerly awaiting yet more stash.... my Stampin' Up loot! I had a great time at the party and Sam was a great hostess, especially as she made the most gorgeous cupcakes for us all! As for my purchases, I could easily have gone seriously crazy as everything is totally gorgeous. However, I was {surprisingly} majorly restrained! I was trying to buy things that would work with my current stash and which fitted my 'style'. I ended up starting small with some DP, card and a stamp set, which is less than I thought I'd get. But, I've now got my eye on coordinating ink pads, some more DP, card and a few of the sentiment sets..... The bug has got me!

Hope you are having a great week - only 2 days to go until 2 days off! Woo-hoo!
Pin It

My Last 'Am I a Scrap Addict?' Card....

I'm pleased to report that Ali G came up trumps..... There was a knock on the door on Saturday morning, I opened it thinking it was the man from Next with a pair of jeans (!) and instead found Ali standing there with a huge bunch of red roses! They are totally lovely and I spent the rest of the weekend mooning around like a love sick fool!

But I did manage to fit in a trip to the new Ikea that has opened in town. I went on day 4 and it was very busy.... On the previous day, 25,000 people had been through the doors! Recession?! What recession?! I did manage to get some little jars for my flowers though (which I've colour coded obviously) and a set of wooden storage draws which I thought would be ideal for stamps (by manufacturer, naturally). Do you know, I think I have an unhealthy obsession with organisation.....!

Anyway! Onto my card. This is my last ever 'Am I a Scrap Addict' DT card and amazingly, for once, I managed to stick to the sketch! Check me out! I'd like to say a massive thank you to Deanne for the last 6 months of wonderful sketches. I can honestly say that I have created some of my most original cards using them.

What do you think of these gorgeous Autumn Leaves Rhonna Farrer paper? Isn't it gorgeous?! It has cute little owls on it... so tweet! Sorry....! Anyway, I'm dead chuffed with this card as I managed to use this vellum DCWV quote which I've had kicking around since I started crafting. I really love the effect of layering this over the DP. I'm also really pleased that the sun was out on Saturday when I took this picture as the colours are a really true match to the real thing. It's amazing the difference a bit of sun can make isn't it?

Goodie List........

Sentiment: DCWV.

Paper: Autumn Leaves - Rhonna Farrer, Core'dinations.

Embellishments: Hobbycraft border punch, Papermania brads and white satin ribbon.

I'm off to my SU! party tonight so better dash as I need to get the dinner on!

Pin It

Happy Valentines...

... to you all! Hope your loved ones spoil you all day long! Ali and I haven't swapped cards yet as he left for training at 6am this morning. I've got his stuff all ready to go but I fear I'm not going to be quite so lucky... His final words to me last night before going to sleep were "Please don't be mad at me tomorrow - the weekend snuck up on me quicker than I thought it would...." Oh well, a last minute card and some flowers picked up from Tesco's Express on his way back from training are better than nothing aren't they?! At least we are spending the day together and are having a nice dinner tonight (Mexican - yum!), thats the most important thing after all.

What did I get him? Well, I found this great website called Cocoapod where you can personalise chocolate! As he adores white chocolate, I used their build-a-bar service to create a completely white bar with his name on it. Such a fab website! I wrapped my bar in some brown parcel paper which I stamped with a red heart stamp. It looks really good, so I'm happy.

Anyway, onto my card. I decided to make a gatefold card as this is something a little bit different for me. However, because of that, I'm not quite sure how successful it is....! And whilst I really love this downloaded paper, and in fact all downloaded paper, the final effect never quite looks as professional and glossy as when you use pre-printed manufactured paper. Do you also find that or is that just me?!

Goodie List........
Stamps: Pink Cat Studio - Sweethearts.
Paper: Digi download from here.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Copics.
Embellishments: Hobbycraft adhesive gems, Sizzix photo corners and ribbon from stash.

Enough of my rambling, enjoy your day!
Pin It

Ahh... Take a Deep Breath

I really feel I should take the advice of the sentiment on this next card..... what a week?! Things have been a bit manic at work as I had a tricky deadline so I've been staring at spreadsheets for 7 hours a day. I've been a bit pooped by the time I've got home so subsequently, not much crafting going on unfortunately. However, I did manage this one using the MFT stamps Ali got me for Christmas.......

During a quick trip into Hobbycraft last Sunday, I spotted these gorgeous American Crafts papers in the sale and somehow they 'fell' into my basket.... Then, I turned the corner and came face to face with the punches. I stared at the display longingly, hoping a Martha Stewart punch (or 7!) would appear. Unfortunately, no such punch was in sight. However, I did find the one I used on this card. OK, it's no MS masterpiece. BUT, it was a whole lot cheaper....... £2.99! What a blinkin' bargain?!

Goodie List......
Stamps: My Favorite Things - Serenity Now.
Paper: American Crafts - The Goods 'Baby Girl'.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Copics.
Embellishments: Hobbycraft border punch, Prima flowers, Cuttlebug Oval Die, Poppicrafts ribbon, bead spacers from ebay.

I'm a bit excited as I'm going to my first ever Stampin' Up party on Monday night. Mmm, just think of all those lovely goodies.... I've got a wish list already and that's before I'm surrounded by temptation! My invitation says I can bring a friend so if you live anywhere near Southampton and fancy being my +1, just let me know!

Right, best be off! Gotta make Ali's valentines card tonight. Nothing like cutting it fine eh?!
Pin It

Friday Sketchers #38

Do you know, I've been agonising over these BG Two Scoops papers for about the last 6 months? No matter what I did with them, I never quite seemed to be able to get them to sit quite right together. This always really annoyed me as I could see that everyone else was completely able to chuck any combo together and get a blinkin' masterpiece! Well, I decided it was high time that I stopped faffing about and just shoved them together and do you know what? I don't actually think it looks too bad!

I made this one to this weeks Friday Sketchers sketch and thought that the cute BG cupid paper would go great with both the season and also my new fave stamp set! I also managed to find some card in my Core'dinations pack that actually went with the papers - a fact that I think makes me dislike the whole thing a lot less than I had on previous attempts!

Goodie List......
Card Stock: Core'dinations.
Paper: Basic Grey - Two Scoops.
Ink & Colour: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copics & ProMarkers.
Embellishments: Hobbycraft adhesive gems & Papermania ribbon.

Pin It

A Spoon Full of Sugar

So the snow has gone.... now we are getting stacks of rain! Do you know what? I'm starting to think that all us Brit's really can talk about is the weather!

Did you all have a good weekend? I went out for a yummy lunch with my friend yesterday but did manage to get some crafting done on Saturday. One of the cards I made was the one below, following this weeks sketch on the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge blog.

I ordered these adorable Billy & Lily Sweetheart stamps from Dies to Die For last week and I am totally in love with them! Aren't they gorgeously amazing?! These beauties coupled with this lovely Piggy Tales paper made this card a joy to make. Although, spot the {deliberate} mistake..... I positioned the panels too high on the page! Thank heavens for adhesive gems eh?!

Goodie List........
Card stock: Bazzill.
Paper: Piggy Tales - Red Riding Hood (I think!).
Ink & Colour: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Copics & Promarkers.
Embellishments: Ribbon (from Marlene), Hobbycraft Adhesive Gems.

Pin It

Call Me...Blurry Bo Bunny!

And what better way to christen my new and lovely blog than with a really rubbish photo. Boo. I reckon I have tried to take a picture of this card about 100 times.... all round the house and using every setting available on the camera. I even tried scanning it. But, does it look any good? Nope. And why?! It's all because of my beautiful Bo Bunny Smitten papers! Damn that shimmer effect! In the end, I gave up.... here is the best I could do!

I covered my white blank with brown Bazzill smoothie cardstock and added dotty Smitten paper. Onto this I layered more Smitten paper and my super cute MFT image 'Call Me'. I jazzed it all up a bit with Prima's and some ribbon loops and added some final bling with adhesive gems.

I'm totally gutted I can't share this with you properly as IRL, it is so pretty!

Pin It

A Sparkly New Look!

Well, lucky for us, we only got 2 days worth of snow here which, compared to the rest of the country, means we got off very lightly! I hope wherever you are, you aren't too snowed in :o)

So.... what do you think of the new look?! I have to say, I am super impressed with myself that I managed to get the thing on here and then tweak the html code all by my very self! Its amazing what you can do on a cold, damp, Friday evening isn't it?! I still have a few things to add and a few more things to tweak but all in all, I think it is nearly there.

Though, I have to say it looks better viewed in Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer. For some reason, I get hideous blue/purple boxes around the buttons in the top left of the screen in IE but in Firefox, they look beautiful. I think I'll stick to viewing in Firefox.... then I can remain in blissful ignorance!

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with a new card or two. Could post now but I am feeling very sleepy..... that might be because it is 1.20am though!

Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
Pin It

Am I A Scrap Addict #11

Blimey. Snow! Where on earth did that come from?! My readers from the US will fall about laughing when they read this but 2 -3 inches of snow caused utter chaos today in Southampton. Across the South, it is officially the most snow we have had for about 20 years. The whole place has looked amazing, so pretty. However, the roads were an utter nightmare as most of them around our area had not been treated at all so they were like giant ice rinks. It was a very surreal experience to be pirouetting down our road in the car! More snow today but thankfully, the roads look a little clearer....wish me luck getting to work!

I'm a day late in posting this - sorry Deanne! - but here is my DT card for this weeks Am I a Scrap Addict? sketch challenge. I must admit, I completely forgot about this one and so it was a total rush job trying to make it. I completely ballsed up the first attempt, spent an hour trying to correct it and then shoved it in the bin. It was in all honesty, the worst card I've ever made! So, I ended up with this plain and simple one. It's not 100% faithful to the sketch but in an abstract way, all the elements are still there..... if you look closely.....!

Anyway! Moving swiftly on..... The image is Pen Pal by Sugar Nellie which I can actually colour in properly now I have Copics (my Promarkers felt too chunky to get in all the little areas). The paper is Piggy Tales and the pink card my image is mounted on is K&Co. My 'Thinking of You' sentiment is from a MFT set.

By the way, I have to share with you my amazing parcel that arrived this week. I decided I fancied some new paper so I did a quick search on ukscrappers and found The Craftz Boutique. Not only did they have lovely papers, they were fab prices too. So I purchased and the next day, they were in my hands. "That's great but lots of retailers have quick shipping" I hear you cry, "What's so great about these guys?". Well, not everywhere packs your papers like this do they?!

I cannot tell you how super-dooper chuffed I was! Made my day :o)

Hope you all stay safe and warm with all this snow around!

Pin It

Papertake Weekly...and Copics!

Just a quick one today so that I can post this card in time for the Papertake Challenge sketch. Ali is waiting to get on the PC so I had better be swift!

I made this card using a gorgeous Hangler and Stanglar image that my friend Kirsty sent to me. Isn't it the cutest?! I coloured with..... Copics. I'm afraid that I have sidelined my ProMarkers at present as I cannot seem to get any depth to my colouring, to the point that I just gave up in the end and purposefully coloured everything flat. So, I decided Copics were for me. They arrived in force yesterday and I LOVE them. Although, my pinks seem a little bright..... I'm wondering....what are everyone's favourite pink Copic combos?

So anyway, back to the card. The papers are Bo Bunny 'Smitten' which are gorgeous as they have a wonderful shimmer to them. The oval sentiment tag comes courtesy of a Cuttlebug die and the sentiment itself is made of Doodlebug rub-ons.

As you can see, I had to change the sketch slightly as it just didn't look right all on one side.....hope it still counts in the challenge!

So..... what do you think of the colouring?! An improvement? I really hope so as I was getting so fed up with it being so flat :o( Ooh, by the way, I must say a massive thank you to Rach as I have been obsessively stalking her blog recently, looking at her Copic selections for each and every card! Thanks so much for being so inspirational Rach!

Pin It