Got Another One Done!!!

I've managed to get a bit more done before work tomorrow!!!

This card is for the Whiff of Joy Challenge using their fab sketch. I've used my WOJ 'Cat with Bow' stamp for the first time - isn't she sweet? I've watercoloured her and chalked the edge of the piece. The paper is from DCWV 'Old World' stack and more of the Gemstones...one sheet to use in this pad, so you may see more of it on my next card too!!! The gorgeous rope/ribbon is from my local haberdashery and is sticky backed - so it's perfect for card making - not sure how it would be used in sewing tho?

See you all tomorrow :)

Forever Friends........

Anyone else fallen off the 'Happy Bus'?


Sunday 3rd January today which can mean only one thing.............back to work tomorrow :(

I know, I'm lucky I get 2 weeks off at Christmas, but that doesn't make me feel any better today! Oh well, needs must - and at least I can start thinking about what new stash I need to get now that I don't need to buy Christmas pressies, food, drink etc!!!

On to today's card - This one is using a Forever Friends images that I have watercoloured and Gemstones Card. The Grey/Brown card is the nasty backing piece that comes with lots of cheapy pads - thought it broke up the shine of the Gemstones and tied in with the Teddy ok too.

I'm entering this card into two challenges - Simon Says Stamp, who have asked for 'Party!' and Cute Card Thursday, whose sketch I have followed.

Pop over to check out both challenge blogs if you've not seen them before - they both have fab prizes on offer, and as always the DT's cards are gorgeous!

Thanks for popping over and paying me a visit - and don't go too far, will be Candy time soon!!!

Off to squeeze a little more crafting in before tomorrow :(

Another Calendar :)

Evening bloggers and Happy 2010 to you all - I hope your New Year Celebrations went well, and the only Fireworks were the one's you'd planned!

I do love Christmas and all of the celebrations (not as keen on New Year anymore) but it is nice to get back to reality and start planning 'normal' things again! Like challenges!



Last year I'd wanted to make calendars - but ended up throwing out 20 2009 calendar booklets in June! So this year I have promised myself to get a few done. I'll give myself to the end of January before I decided it's too late to give them out again!

For this one I have followed the sketch over at Truly Scrumptious and used the optional extra - vellum to make the flowers, if you look very closely at the picture above you can see some behind the net ribbon too!

This is also the first time I have participated in the Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential Challenge. Their spec for this challenge was 'Calendar'.

I've also entered it into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge which for this week is 'Happy New Year...New Beginnings'

I've used 3 of the Penny Black Blank Teddies stamps and watercoloured them, used peel off numbers for the year and glossed each tile with Anita's 3d Gloss. The paper is from DCWV Butterflies and the backing sheet is Gemstones. The net ribbon was in my Secret Santa gift from one of my fab crafty buddies and the brads are PM.


I have a huge confession to make.............I borrowed the idea of the Teddies holding the year from someone - but I can't for the life of me remember who, I've been looking - but can't find!!! If you've done a similar calendar with these Teddies and I've commented saying I might have to borrow your idea, PLEASE leave me a comment saying so....I can give you the credit then ;)

Edit... Thanks for the comment and link Helen, yes it was your PB Teddy Calendar that inspired me, I had initially thought it was you but couldn't find it when I went looking!!! See Helen's calendar here.

Stamping For The Weekend - and others...

...last ones of 2009 - A Calendar.



Well after all of the season's festivities and laziness I thought it best I try and get back into the swing of the Challenges again. I missed most of December as I was really not prepared - as usual I must add! And all that baking I did - My freezer was jam packed full of seasonally wrapped and labeled lb loaf cakes, but thankfully they were all delivered in the fortnight before Christmas so there was plenty of room for the truck load of food we seemed to need!




Back to my first 'post-Christmas' Challenges.....

I've also decided to ignore my '1 card, 1 Challenge' rule from now on! I guess if the Challenge Blogs don't mind why should I??????? Also means I can participate in more Challenges :)

Stamping For The Weekend has had a special fortnight challenge due to Christmas, and it finishes tomorrow, nothing like cutting it fine eh! They wanted a Calendar.

And Cute Card Thursday who close at 8pm (!!!!!!!!), have asked for something to do with New Year...

And...Allsorts who want 'Anything BUT a Card' - I do hope their challenge is running for 2 weeks and not the normal 1 week - otherwise I'm a little too late!





I have used a gorgeous HM image and watercoloured it. The papers are from MME - Bloom & Grow. The flowers were from a great crafty friend for Christmas and I added some chalks to them. I finished off with a little note pad and pencil holder......I'm not quite sure how the note pad will stand up to being used as I've 'cleared/tidied away' my perforating cutter, so don't think the pages will tear off very easily! I think I'll send this to my Mum. I'll just have to tell her to be gentle!





Thanks for taking the time to visit - and if I don't 'see' you before..........Happy New Year!

Hope Your Christmas Went Well :)

Hi bloggers :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas - safe and warm :)

We had a great time here - even tho the kids are much older now it was great to see that we can still make them speachless with their presents! Ben was totally bowled over when he ripped the paper off his Gaming Chair - he just stood there like an overwhelmed 5 year old.....and he's 18!
I do love Christmas and the ability we have as mothers, to completly throw everyone off the trail of any presents they have..............even Rob was gobsmaked with his complete collection of 'House' on DVD!
Zoe and Ceri were also chuffed with their new TV's and Brad - our Border Collie - hasn't let one of his new toys out of sight since! I took a pic of him pulling a cracker with me, it was fab - but not a very good picture - think I will have to 'stage' another one and get the focus right this time!!!


I'm itching to get back into crafting now - Zoe bought me a mini sewing machine so I no longer have to lug my full size one each time I want to add a few stiches to a card......guess what'll be included on all of my January cards now!!!




If I don't 'speak' to you before, have a wonderful New Year - and if you get hit by this snow we are promised in the UK this week, keep warm.

ABC Christmas Challenge Blog Hop!

Good Morning on this gorgeous Christmas Eve - I've already been to Morrisons this morning and was in Tesco's at midnight last night - so I'm not going out again until New Year!!!



Just wanted to let you all know about a fab new Challenge Blog designed to help us all ensure Christmas 2010 is not so much of a rush............well, with our cards anyway! And their Blog Hop starts today :)


Here's a section taken from the new ABC Christmas Challenge Blog........



"..........Welcome to ABC Christmas Challenge Blog! After speaking to many people it seems to be a common problem that Christmas creeps up on us every year! So this challenge will run on a fortnightly basis, on alternate weeks to our Sister blog ABC Challenge. The Idea is to have fun and create 25 cards or Projects in time for Christmas 2010 your projects will be based on a theme or technique using the letters of the alphabet in turn. ................................. We hope you enjoy this new challenge and have fun creating those projects you promised yourself you would get done for this year and did not have time.

..........................We have been busy organising this exciting new challenge blog to share with you all, and we are hoping you will want to help us spread the word......that ABC CHALLENGE has a new sister blog!

..........................Be sure to leave comments on the project that they [the 7 DT Members] have been busy making to help inspire you, to be in with chances of winning their great prizes... some of the DT gang have Mr Linky set up and others a comment system...either way you have 7 chances of winning a brilliant prize! "



The Hop is open until midnight 29th December and if you collect the letters along the way up for grabs is the gorgeous Popcorn Christmas stamp set - so go on... get hopping!!!!

Wishing You All A Very Merry Christmas.....

I would like to thank every single one of you for the fantastic support and many friendships I have made over the past year :) I wish each one of you - and your families, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010.

Huge thanks to the wonderful people who have taken the time to send me a Christmas card - I really appreciate your thoughts - I just wish I could've got around to sending out as many as I'd have liked to!!! All this baking has taken its toll on my Christmas cards - I've even had to send out some left over from last year!!!! And all of those new Christmas goodies I bought to play with........................................will have to remind myself next year that I don't need anything new! As if!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Blog will be 1 year old towards the end of January and all I am saying is I have been 'squirreling' things away all year ;)

I must off and do some more HW (Arhh!)

Still got shopping to do, food to prep, cards and pressies to deliver........................................................................

Going to leave you with a gorgeous pic of my favorite place in the world - Central Park, New York

Merry Christmas

My First Easel Card....

A really quick post before I pop off to bed!

Finished this card tonight. I made it with an A5 size face.

I used Die-cut FF decoupage and the matching papers. I also printed the verse and sentiment onto one of the matching papers.

I originally worked to the Sketch & Stash challenge - but the image was too big and the sketch got 'lost'! Never mind :(

Looking forward to this week in work - as I'm off Wednesday, Thursday & Friday......................I wonder if 2 day weeks will take off - be nice wouldn't it?

Have a great Monday, whatever you are doing :)

My Favorite Christmas Song!

Got another Christmas card done tonight!

I'm doing well, if I keep going at this rate I should have enough by December 1st........................................................2010!

I've managed to squeeze 3 challenges into this one ;)

Allsorts - Christmas Carol or Song (My favorite Christmas song ever - All I Want For Christmas. Has to be the Mariah Carey version tho!)

Sketch Saturday - Fab sketch

Penny Black Saturday - 'Winter Wonderland'

I've used my gorgeous 'Slapstick' snowman image from Penny Black - if you've not got any of these stamps................you MUST, they are fab!

He's coloured with Promarkers and highlighted with Glitter Glue.

Can't wait for the weekend - loads more baking to do as I didn't get any done last weekend - Ceri was in an Irish Dancing competition Saturday & Sunday, but more importantly I plan on a huge blogging 'catch-up' :)

Thanks for popping by,

Blue Jelly Too......SANDs Candy

Here's a pic of the first installment of cards I'm sending to Victoria over at Blue Jelly Too.

You get 1 entry for each card/gift you send her - these will then be passed on to SANDs to raise money, visit her blog to find out more :)

Off to make a few more Christmas cards................................................I had my 1st one today in the post - Thanks Sharon, how dare you be so organised!!! ;) lol

SFTW meets CCT.....

Another really quick post before I head off to work!

This week over at Stamping for the Weekend is a fab sketch to follow, so I have teamed this up with Cute Card Thursday's 'Teen Terrors'!!!

I have used papers from Papermania's Naughty & Nice Christmas selection from last year, the image is from the Christmas set by Kerry Jo - I love Kerry Jo's images :) And I've added some colour to her with a few watercolour pencils.

Thanks for visiting - Have a great day :)

WOJ Quick Upload...

A really quick upload this morning before I head off for the place I have to visit everyday in order to buy my supplies!!!!

Updated: I obviously didn't get my lack of enthusiasm across correctly above - I wish it was a shopping trip - but unfortunately I meant going to work! As in, if I didn't I wouldn't be able to buy my goodies!!!......................Mind you it shows that us crafters have shopping on the mind 24/7!!!!

The sketch over at Whiff Of Joy this week is very interesting! Looks great in the diagram but I had trouble trying to relate it to my papers etc!!!! But then that's why they're called 'challenges'!

I do hope the fantastic DT over at WOJ will accept my card as an 'almost followed sketch' entry - I did try hard to!

Another One!!!

I'm on a roll here fellow bloggers! I just wish I could keep on rolling rather than having to stop to do boring stuff.............like going to work or cooking tea :(

This week over at Simon Says Challenge the theme is Animal Antics.......something with an animal on it somewhere.

My brother's birthday is this week so I've made this rather 'predictable' Animal Antics card for him! The button is made with layers of card topped with some Gemstones Card and the gorgeous Candle border was done with the great border punch that I got in the fantastic candy I won from Chris over on Twinkles Glow With Stamps - Thanks Chris.

The more I look at this card the more I'm disliking it! The ribbon makes it look like a winking face!!!

Off to try and do a couple of Christmas cards, or I'll be popping to the shops in the first week of December!!!

At Last......................A Card!!!!!!!!

Hi Bloggers :)

Am I glad to be back on here, there's only so much baking you do before you start getting sick of it!!!! I have all sorts of cakes coming out of my ears - it's that bad I've even started dreaming about cakes instead of colours and layouts and ribbons.................It MUST be bad!!!!!

Well I've managed to get a card done today - I've had this image coloured for WEEKS and have been waiting for the right card to call out for it - and it did today! I saw the sketch over at Friday Sketchers for this week and just knew it would go perfectly with the gorgeous Siku and Shiya from Mo so have combined the 2 challenges!

This week's sketch over at Friday Sketchers is by Jeanette and it's fab!!!

Mo's Challenge is a recipe of 3 papers, 2 ribbons and a decorative edge. The papers are all last years - the 2 pinks are from DCWV's Rose Tinted Christmas and the blue is from Dovecraft's Winter Wonderland. The ribbons are a gorgeous velvet in blue and pink and my Decorative Edge is made using my Fiskars Snowflake Border punched into some of the blue paper and then attached to the back of the image. The image is coloured with Promarkers and finished off with Glitter Glue on the fur trims.

Thanks so much for popping over to have a look - I hope it wont be too long before I'm back (I've not got too many more cakes to bake!)

I'm a BAD Blogger!!!

Hi All :)

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here! I haven't done any blogging for a little while - although I'm trying to visit my blogging buddies as often as I can!

I was planning on doing a big 'crafty catch-up' over the weekend - I've not done a challenge card for over a week - but it didn't work, I made a start on my 'Christmas' baking instead!
"What" I hear you exclaim...........

I love to bake cakes and over the past few years have accumulated quite a few people who place orders with me - so Saturday and Sunday I made 14 Carrot Cakes, 10 'Exotic' Boil & Bake Cakes (exotic cos they have papaya, mango, pineapple etc in them!), 12 of my very special and very secret recipe Chocolate Cakes - and those are to go with the Cherry & Coconut and Lemon Drizzle ones that I did the weekend before! Next weekend it's the Orange & Cranberry, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip and Coffee & Walnut! My freezer looks like Mr Kipling's!

I've been trying to think of some more flavours to play with, so maybe you could help me! Tell you what, if I go with your suggestion I may even send you one! Don't worry about the recipe - just tell me what flavours you think might be good for Christmas!