Good Morning to you all out there! This week's challenge over at Going Grey with Scrap Creations is really a fun one!! You have to create a card that is 'Movie Inspired'!!! At first, I was a bit stumped - I just couldn't seem to think of any film titles and was being really dim but then I had a little look through my stamps and all of a sudden I had tons of ideas!! In the end, I decided to ink up this Greeting Farm stamp because I haven't used her before and I love these 'cheeky' ones. My movie is 'Bad Girls' - you know, the western starring Drew Barrymore!?! I followed the sketch over at Anyone for Anya, and I'm also going to enter it into Chrisma Cardz Challenges #38, which is 'Anything Goes'. Here's my card:

Image - The Greeting Farm coloured with promarkers, Papers - Bo Bunny. Also used - Cuttlebug and Nestie/Nellie Snellen Dies, Bazzill Basics Template and GlitzIt Red Gold Glitter Glue.

Yet again, my Bazzill Basics templates saved the day because I felt as though there was something missing until I added the glitter glue flourishes - I really must get some more of them.
Anyway - do hop over and have a look at the other DT creations and make sure you play along!!! Bye for now!

Evening Everyone. Here's the first card (of many I'm sure!!) that I've made with the latest Some Odd Girl release called 'The Tinies' - I've been waiting for these little cuties to be released for ages after seeing a preview of them and I just fell in love with them straight away. Can you see why? I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

• Inspirational Card Sketches - ICS#84.
• My Partner in Crafting Crime - Challenge #12 Clean and Simple.
• Allsorts Challenge Blog - Week 71 Plain and Simple.

And here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Some Odd Girl coloured with promarkers, Papers - October Afternoon, Sentiment - Mrs Grossman. Also used - chalk ink (around edges) and Stickles.

Hope you likey! Right, well I must dash cos I've gotta write up my DT post before bed and it's silly o' clock already!! TTFN.......

It's Magical Monday again!! Or at least it is at 'There's Magic in the Air' with Paper Cupcakes (although it probably doesn't feel quite so magical for those of you who are back at work today after the weekend ;-) lol). This week, the Design Team challenge has been set by Patti P and we were all given a set image to work with - I had 'Batty about Candy Corn' - soooooo cute (is it weird to think like that about a bat?) and we had to use this photo as inspiration:

And so I found myself making my second Halloween card in as many days. Now in the UK, we don't make such a big deal out of Halloween as our US counterparts, I mean, yes, the kids go out 'Trick or Treating' and some households will carve out a pumpkin but that's about it, so I've never made a card for the occasion before this year and I didn't have an suitable papers. I have recently made the most wonderful discovery - there's a lady in the US called Summer Driggs and she designs lots of different papers and gives them away on her website here and so I used the 'Happy Halloween' paper kit.  Here's my card:

I'm also going to be entering it into the following challenges:

• Crafts and Me - Challenge #13 Easels.
• Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic (I don't see why a bat wouldn't count, eh?!)
• Stamptacular Sunday - Challenge #78 Season's Change.
• Stamp Something - Something with Fall Colours.

I've lost a follower!!! I wonder where they've gone (and why???) I was most upset!! If it was you who's jumped ship can you get in touch and tell me why you've left me?!?

OK - I think I've waffled on enough for one day! Hop over and play along with us at Paper Cupcakes!!

Back soon!

Hey there, everyone! Today is a special day for me because it's my first DT posting for Southern Girls Challenges. In case you haven't heard of this Challenge before, it was started up by Louise and Tracy, who are both New Zealanders and it's aimed at encouraging crafters down under to enter challenges (on most challenge sites people are not eligible for the prizes if they live down under). But of course, anyone worldwide is welcome to enter and there are two prizes - one for those down under and another prize for international participants. The first challenge went out on 9 September but I'm on the other team, so I've had to sit on my hands and wait until my turn came around today!!! The challenge is 'Recycled Jewellery' and so on my card, the two butterflies hanging on some chain were from a necklace that I actually managed to break the very first time I wore it (I was quite wee'd off about it at the time, but it's come in handy now, eh!) I'm also going to enter this card into two 'Anything Goes' challenges at Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge and A Spoon Full of Sugar. OK - so here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Digital Delights by Looby Loo coloured with promarkers, Paper - Cosmo Cricket Delovely, Ribbon and Flowers - Papermania, Butterfly on chain - Topshop!! Gems - from stash. Also used - Cuttlebug and nesties.

I really hope that you'll take part in this challenge because last fortnight we had an amazing number of entrants and it'd be great if we could  get the same number (or more!) again. I hope you like my card - leave me a message and let me know where you're visiting from! TTFN.

Morning everyone! Today is the day for my second DT card for Going Grey with Scrap Creations!!  This fortnight's challenge is Fall (or in the UK - Autumn!) themed cards and we are lucky enough to be sponsored by Fred, She Said digital images. Hop over to the challenge site to have a look at the other DT members fab creations using these images and make sure you join in with the challenge for your chance to win some!! OK - so here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Fred, She Said coloured with promarkers. Papers - Basic Grey, Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Flowers - Woodware, Glazed brads - Papermania. Also used - Martha Stewart punch and Distress Inks.

I'm also going to be entering my card into the following challenges:

• Basic Grey Challenges - Challenge 29. A sketch by Tara G (Talking of which, their DT call ended a few days ago and I've not heard anything so I assume I've been unsuccessful. Quite gutted really because I LOVE BG papers!!!! Anyway, thinking out loud there.....)
• Creative Card Crew - Autumn or Fall!
• Everybody Art - Challenge # 109 Autumn.
• Cutie Sunday - # 110 Autumn Colours.
• Stamp Something - September Digi Day (use a digital image).
• Creative Inspirations - Autumn Colours (which is also a DT Call).
• Stampel Magie - Challenge # 19 Autumn Colours.

Right, well I really hope that you like my card. Please leave me a comment and if there's anyone new to my blog, please become a follower (I've had 59 for ages and I'd love to make it to 60!!)

Bye for now!

Good Morning, it's Magical Monday again at There's Magic in the Air with Paper Cupcakes and today's challenge was set by Patti N - to use the image titled 'Easy Does It' and we had to 'Bling it up'! I followed the sketch over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and I'm also going to enter it into this week's Totally Papercrafts challenge, which this week is 'Happy Birthday'. OK, so here's my card:

As always, I hope you like it and please leave me some love. But most importantly, come over and join in with the challenge at TMITA - I'd love to see what you come up with!!
Laters,

Morning all! Can't believe another two weeks have flown by and we're drawing ever closer to Christmas (eek!), so it's time for Sunday Sketch and Stamp!! This week we've had a great sketch from Ger to work with and images from our sponsor, My Favourite Things stamps (http://www.mftstamps.com). Here's my card:

At least I've made a start on my chrimbo cards now, eh ;-) lol  Hope you like my card - let me know what you think! And I hope you'll take part in the challenge so I can hop over and see what you've done with the sketch! Hope you're having a great weekend! Enjoy your day. 
Hugs,

Hey y'all. How's it goin'? Are ya havin' a Happy Friday? Right, I'll stop shortening words now! I'm going to enter today's card into the following challenges:

• One Stop Craft Challenge - Week 97: Fashion throughout the Years.
• Lil Lolita Boutique Challenge - # 15: Buttons.
• The Sweet Stop - Sketch # 73.

When I saw the Fashion challenge at OSCC, I just knew that I had to enter and use one of my newest stamps that had just arrived from Bunny Zoe's - all of the Lil Lolita stamps are based on a fashion decade and 80's Sookie was made for this challenge!! I thought I'd better check up and see if I could fit my card into the Lil Lolita challenge and I was already planning to use the button that's in the centre of the flower but then I remembered that I had these teeny, tiny star shaped buttons that matched up perfectly with Sookie's top and the backing paper, so I decided to line these up along the image panel. And lastly, this week's sketch from The Sweet Stop was a dream! Right, well here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Lil Lolita coloured with promarkers, Papers - American Crafts,
Ribbon - Papermania, Glitter flower - Petaloo, Clear Flower Button - Doodlebug,
Tiny buttons - Trimits.

So - what do you think? Are you feeling the 80's vibe? Does it make you want to break out the leg warmers and prance around to Fame or Flashdance? If so, mission accomplished!! Anyway, hope you likey!! TTFN!

Evening everybody. This fortnight's challenge over at the Some Odd Girl challenge blog, you had to use at least 3 or more images on your creations. Now after making the Tilda side stepper card a short while ago, when I saw this challenge, I thought that a side stepper would be the perfect way to showcase lots of images. I'm also entering this card into Paperplay Challenge's week 37 - All shapes and sizes. OK, so here's my card:

Lots of pics, but I think you have to take lots with a side stepper. And this is how I did it: I used a BCE template to cut the side stepper out, then I used direct to paper technique using a chalk ink pad to colour the panels blue, I attached the 'grass' strips that I'd cut out of Bazzill Basics card using a Martha Stewart punch. Then I attached all the images, which I'd already resized and printed, coloured with promarkers and cut out. And that's it. Simples!!
I hope you like it. I'd love to hear your comments. Back soon, blog friends!

Evening peeps. I only discovered that Cute Card Thursday's Challenge this week is 'Play on Words' and because I know that lots of my new Elzybell's stamps have got some fantastic phrases, I just had to take part in this challenge. I also used Stamptacular Sunday's sketch #76 cos I thought that it worked with the stamp's CAS kinda feel. I'll keep it short cos I've only got about half an hour til the deadline!! So, without further ado, here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Elzybells coloured with promarkers, Papers - American Crafts. That's all folks!

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think and leave me some love!! TTFN xx

Evening All! I've been dying to ink these stamps up ever since I got them and I can't believe that I'm only just getting around to it now!! I've made this card for the following challenges:

• Friday Sketchers - Sketch #119.
• Stamp Something - Something with spots and stripes.
• Totally Papercrafts - Challenge #33 Let's go dotty!

I even managed to use my Slice again on this card - for the brolly and raindrops - it's my new best friend, lol! Here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - SWALK coloured with promarkers, Papers - SWALK, Gems from stash. Also used - Stickles and Slice.

I'd love to hear what you think, as always. Your comments really mean alot to me and a big thanks to those of you who always take the time to visit and comment! Back soon!

Good Morning!! It's all very exciting as today is my first posting as a member of the Design Team for Going Grey with Scrap Creations and this week we have to use our favourite digital image. Now I can't really narrow it down to one cos there are so many gorgeous digi's out there but over the weekend Some Odd Girl had a digi day over on Paper Craft Planet that I took part in and as I hadn't had a chance to share the card that I'd made with you, then I thought I would use it for today's challenge!! (Some Odd Girl images come pretty high on my list of favourites anyhow!!) When I made this card, I also tried something that I've never done before, I cut some heart shapes out using my Slice and placed them onto my card, then I used some shimmer spritzers to create my masked/spritzed background - being as it was the first time I'd ever done it, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out!! I then mopped up the excess ink on my craft mat with a piece of copier paper then once it had dried, I again used my Slice to cut out different sized flower shapes then I got my son (who'd been watching me craft!) to screw them up then unfurl them and I layered them up with a brad - so I had a perfectly matching flower!! I'm also going to enter this card into the Chrisma Cardz Challenges # 36 which is 'Try Something New'!! Here's my card:

I hope you like it. I'd love to hear what you think and I'd love it if you'd play along with the challenge too! TTFN. Mwah!!

Morning all. Today we took part in my favourite kind of challenge for the Design Team over at 'There's Magic in the Air' with Paper Cupcakes. The lovely Melanie wanted us to use any image and she'd provided us with a sketch - now I do love a sketch! For me, it's deciding on a layout that always takes me forever so when I'm working to a sketch I find it all much easier! As for the image, I used the fabulous 'Sea Horse', which I'm sure you will agree is fantastic - I LOVE it!! And I recently bought the Imaginisce papers called 'Splash Dance', so with the image they were made for one another!
Right, here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Paper Cupcakes coloured with promarkers, Papers - Imaginisce, Shell stickers - American Crafts. Also used  - Stickles Glitter Glue in Waterfall.

What d'you think? I'd love to hear from you. And I'd also really, really love it if you'd take part in the challenge too!! Then I could come round and visit you! Til next time.....

Evening blog peeps! Hope you're not too sad that it's Sunday night and the weekend's almost over - just think, only five more days and it'll be the weekend again!! (Guess I'm a glass half full kinda person!)
Tonight's card is one that I was asked to make by my next door neighbour for her grand-daughter and the layout I had in my head kinda fitted around this week's Mojo Monday sketch #155. I also dusted off my much-neglected Slice to cut out the numbers and the circle shape - I really must start using it more often!! Right, here it is:

Ingredients: Image - Kenny K coloured with promarkers, Papers and lettering - American Crafts, Ribbon and Bow - Papermania, Sentiment Ticket - Caz, Glitter flourishes - QVC. Also used - Slice.

I hope you like it (as always) and I hope you'll leave me a lovely comment!!

Til next time!

Good morning, everyone. 9/11 is a day that will live in our memories forever - not just those in the USA who were affected directly, but including those of us, like me, who watched the events unfold on television and who will never forget that fateful day. It is a day that has changed almost every aspect of our lives and it's a day to remember the 3,000 people who died on 9/11 and a day to remember the troops that still continue to fight the war on terrorism. In the spirit of this day, Operation Write Home is hosting a special blog hop of which we, the DT members of The Stamping Boutique are honored to be a part of.

You should've arrived here from Lorie (http://live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/) and from here, you need to go to Jenn R (http://jennlovestostamp.blogspot.com/). But here's the list in full, in case you've dropped in or out at any point or need to start at the beginning! 


Collette http://collette-heavensent.blogspot.com/
Christy http://christyszaneycreations.blogspot.com/
Debbie http://www.stampwithdebbie.blogspot.com/
Genevieve http://www.scrapmuscade.blogspot.com/
April http://allaboutthelowers.blogspot.com/
Stacie http://hestiashelper.blogspot.com/
Lorie http://live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/
Marie (me!) http://www.cardmakingbird.blogspot.com/
Jenn R http://jennlovestostamp.blogspot.com/
Jan http://www.jans-gonestampin.blogspot.com/
Jenn M http://jenmcgee46.blogspot.com/
Amanda http://www.colouringourworld.blogspot.com/


Here's the card that I made with the super cute 'AJ the patriotic soldier' from The Stamping Boutique:

Please visit The Stamping Boutique blog where the ribbon stamp that some of the DT girls has used is available as a freebie and where Christy will tell you some more about OWH. Or you could visit the Operation Write Home site directly at http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/


Have a great weekend everyone and I hope you're enjoying our 'hop'!

Afternoon everyone. I hope you're all having a fine Tuesday - the weather in London is pretty pants and it's back to looking like winter again! I really enjoyed making today's card and I actually tried something that I've never done before - paper piecing (can you see - I've paper pieced the cat and her skirt and cardi?) I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

• Paperworks Co - Sketch challenge #49.
• Basic Grey Challenges - #28 and DT Call.
• Anyone for Anya - Back to School.
• Creative Card Crew - Back to School.
• Fussy and Fancy - Challenge 18: Back to School.
• ABC Challenge Blog - C is for Charms.

Now firstly, I must explain something about my card. Lots of my friends are teachers, I don't know why they all gravitated towards the same profession, they're friends that I've known since school and some went into teaching at university, whereas a couple of others did something else at uni and started work but then went back and did their PGCE and became teachers. One of my friends has been off work on Maternity Leave and now that the children have gone back after these summer holidays and started Autumn Term, she's had to go back to work. So - this card is for her and it's a bit of a play on words with Fall being the American word for Autumn IYKWIM! Whereas most of the cards are made for children in the Back to School challenges, mine's for the teacher! And for some reason, I've always thought that this Greeting Farm character looks like a teacher - do you see it too??

I'm also putting myself forward for the Basic Grey DT. I've had a bit of a run recently of being successful at securing DT positions (which btw only makes me happier and happier!!), but as most of the DTs I'm on are fortnightly, I've still got plenty of time to spare and how could I not apply to be on the Basic Grey DT??? You might recall a short while ago, I was using Basic Grey papers on every card I made and in the end I had to make a conscious decision to use another paper manufacturer!!! Basic Grey is by far my favourite and I've got pretty much every collection that they've brought out since I got started in cardmaking!! Only the other day, I ordered Pyrus (which I've used here) and Jovial, which arrived super speedily (as always!!) from Bunny Zoes - I LOVE that shop.

Anyway, I think I've waffled on enough for today - here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - The Greeting Farm coloured with promarkers, Papers - Basic Grey Pyrus, Twine and Lettering - from stash, Charm - Quixotic. Also used - Nellie Snellen die.

Hope you like today's card (and wafflings - lol!) Leave me some loveliness and fingers crossed for the DT!

TTFN,

Betcha didn't expect to hear from me quite so soon!?!? Well, of course it's my regular 'Magical Monday' DT card for 'There's Magic in the Air' with Paper Cupcakes! This week Nilla - fresh from her holidays - decided to set us a real challenge!!! Or it was for me anyway! We had the choice of any Paper Cupcake image (which is always good, of course) and we had a recipe to follow - 1 ribbon, 2 embellishments, 3 designer papers and 4 flowers! Thankfully when I saw Challenge #119 at 'A Spoon Full of Sugar' - which is a sketch - inspiration struck!! Here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Paper Cupcakes coloured with promarkers. Papers, Flowers and Buttons - Papermania. Ribbon - from stash.

I hope you like it, I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out! And I really hope you'll play along with us over at TMIA!! Laters, blog fans!

Morning Folks! Sunday Sketch and Stamp is more 'Monday' Sketch and Stamp this time around but if you've visited the revamped site that Maggie has been working so hard on, you'll understand why. I think it looks fantastic!! This fortnight we had a sketch to work on from Erin and we were very kindly given some images to use from this challenge's sponsor, Meljen's Designs - we really were spoilt for choice, I had such trouble deciding which of the fabulous images to use but in the end I decided to go with 'Miss Fancy Cat' - even the name is rocking!!! Well, without further ado, here's my card:

Ingredients: Image - Meljens Designs coloured with promarkers, Papers - WRMK, Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Ribbon and Bow - Papermania, Also used - Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Range Glossy Accents, Gems and Pearls from stash and Stickles!

Can you see the glossy accents and gems on her glasses and the pearly pen necklace and hat detail?

I hope you like my card, please leave me some love and I really hope you'll play along with us over at the new, improved site and then I get to see what you do with the sketch! TTFN.