In My Pocket

I have missed the last few weeks of this challenge so apologies to Hels. Thought I had better join in this week as the theme was "Butterflies" and I love them. I have used Rustic Gems papers to cover the envelope. I tore around the edges of the paper to go on the flap and inked around the edges with green chalk ink. I then stamped two butterflies in deep green ink and used Stickles to add sparkle to their dots and bodies. Both butterflies are hidden by the flap when closed. I stamped the bird in the same colour ink at the bottom of the envelope. For the front of the flap I stamped a flower onto some Rustic Gems paper, stuck it to some card and cut it out. I have placed a little heart gem in the flower centre. All of the stamps are from Hels own range of stamps, Stitchels, which can be found at The Artistic Stamper. I haven't stamped a sentiment yet as I haven't decided who to send this to.

Scrummy Stash Cafe challenge

Haven't managed many challenges this week but I hope to get some done over the next week or so. Th challenge from SSC this week was to have bling/sparkle on your project. I have used paper from DCWV Glitterstack and placed it on a square blank, leaving a small border. I took some lilac Bazzill CS and embossed it using my new Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder- I think I might be in love with this!!!!
The stamped images were ones I got in an image swap a while ago. I coloured them with pencils and blending solution and stuck a bit of bling in the centre of the flower. The bumble bee's wings were also filled in with Stickles for extra sparkle.

I love Sugar Nellie

I adore the Sugar Nellie stamps and got another couple of them earlier this week. This image is called Pen Pal. She has been stamped in black Staz-on and coloured in with pencils and Zest-it blending solution. The paper is from the Glitter Stack from DCWV which has so many scrummy papers in it and the card stock is from my stach. I then inked around the edges of the card, added some of my new coloured beads(from my Secret Sister parcel), and a couple of Primas with brads in the centres.

Thank You Michelle

Look at all these lovely goodies that I got yesterday. My Sisterhood of Blogging Stampers group did a Secret Sister recently. We each had to buy our allocated sisters some goodies and enclose some handmade things too. Michelle is over the pond so there were things in my parcel that you probably can't get here. Here is a list
12x12 papers
Studio G acrylic block and 4 sets of clear stamps
3 Close to My Heart cube inkpads
Hero Arts clear stamps & gems
Heidi Swapp brads
Imaginisce blooms
Snag'em Stamps clear stamp
2 Close To My Heart ribbon rounds
2 American Crafts ribbon spools
3 gorgeous cards made by Michelle
metal charms
vellum quotes
lots of sparkly gems
stamped images
flat backed beads in three different colourways
Close To My Heart rub-ons
Close To My Heart pewter paper clips
Phew!!! Aren't I so lucky :0)
Thank you so much Michelle, I am thrilled to bits with my parcel and thanks to Sonja for organising the swap.
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Stampin' Up a storm

I have had a very happy time tonight playing with more of my demonstrator kit so I thought I'd share the samples I made with you. I adore the stamped images and all colouring has been done with Stampin' Up's Blending Pastels, which I now love. I am also addicted to the stamp cleaner and Stampin' Scrub. It makes cleaning your stamps soooo easy!!!! Wish it did the same for cleaning the house....well, I can dream can't I.
I hope you like them and thanks for stopping by
Sharon
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Another SU card

I made this card as one of my samples for when I do my first workshop(YIKES!!) and decided to enter it in this week's Arty Girlz challenge which was "Blue". All products are from Stampin' Up and I just love the Stampin' Around Wheel for making background papers.
Hope you likey, thanks for looking
Sharon
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What's Black & White & Red all over?

A newspaper!!!! :0) A little joke I remember from my childhood.
Actually black, white and red is the challenge from My Time To Craft this week. I managed to get stuck in to my Stampin Up Demonstrator kit yesterday and made a number of cards. Decided to make one that would fit in with Lesley's challenge. All products are from Stampin Up and I love the sentiment.

Funky Fairy Challenge 28

This week's challenge was "Stitching". You had to use stitching on your project, real or pretend! I have made an A5 card which I covered with Funky Meets Shabby Chic paper. I then matted a pink paper from the same range which had been torn around the edges and inked with a pale pink inkpad. I stamped around the "seam" of the pink paper with HOTP stamp using Blazing Red Staz-on. Then I took some green paper, (again Funky meets Shabby Chic),tore and inked around the edges and doodled a straight stitch around it with a Sakura pen. The image is another of my beautiful Sarah Kay ones from Shaz at Funky Fairy. I have watercoloured it using co-ordinating pencils. I inked around the white card with the pale pink ink pad and then mounted it at an angle on foam pads. Finally I popped some Primas on the side and squeezed a blob (note technical term)of some pink Liquid Pearls into the centre of each. I haven't put a greeting on yet as I haven't decided who to give this to.

First Christmas cards of 2008

These cards were made for two different challenges. Firstly, the square card has been made for the Artistic Stamper July challenge which is "Christmas in July" The A5 card is my entry for the Papertake Weekly challenge which was to make a Christmas Card.Both cards have the fabulous Madonna & Child stamp by Linda Luckin on them.The stamp can be obtained from The Artistic Stamper. For the square card the image was coloured with glimmer chalks.The image was matted on some blue Bazzill. I also cut a mat from the same blue Bazzil and attached this to the card blank. Then I matted a smaller piece of patterned paper which is by Heidi Grace,is embossed and utterly delicious.The image was mounted on foam pads to give some dimension and a peel-off greeting was added.
The other image was coloured with watercolour pencils. I matted it onto yellow and then blue Bazzill cardstock. I used some paper from my stash and cut a mat slightly smaller than A5 which I placed on the card blank. I then cut a narrow strip of yellow Bazzill and placed it horizontally across the card. The image was then placed towards the top of this strip, again on foam pads. A peel-off greeting was placed to the side of the image to complete the card.

Funky Meets Shabby Chic & Sarah Kay

I decided that I wanted to use some more of the fabulous papers from Funky Fairy's latest collection Funky Meets Shabby Chic. I had to do a little altered something for a friend so decided to make a clock out of an old CD. I covered the CD in some background paper, cut out the centre and ran a Copper Krylon pen round the edges as well as around the entire disc. Then I took one of my lovely Sarah Kay images that I won from Funky Fairy herself and watercoloured her and cut her out before sticking her to the clock. I assembled all the clock parts and then added a couple of Primas with gems in the centre. I am posting this tomorrow so hope the recipient likes it :0)

Whiff of Joy stamps launch

Katharina is just about ready to launch her fabulous new range of stamps. The website will be launched on 30th July and she will be taking pre-orders for the Charlotte & Charlie Winter collection from this date. As a special opening feature there will be FREE SHIPPING on all pre-orders.
Do you want to know more and have a sneaky peek at the new stamps. Visit her blog Here
Be warned, you will want them all :0)
Sharon
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Wylde Women Award

I would like to thank my blogging sister Caroline for giving me this award. Cheered up my Sunday.
It's the Wylde Women Award and the rules are:
1. You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.
2. Link back to this blogsite so Tammy can go visit all these wonderful women.and remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgement to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy

Hels
Andrea
Lydia
Tina B
Katharina

Whiff of Joy Guest Designer call take 2

I decided that I wasn't very keen on my last card using Katharina's sketch so I have made another to enter.I tell you, when this stamp range hits the shops, it is gonna go like hotcakes!!!!!The previews are just must haves. Check them out Here
I have used the Picking Apples stamp from Sugar Nellie which I got a few weeks ago but hadn't used yet. The background paper is from the Glitter Stack from DCWV and the cardstock is Bazzill.I watercoloured the image with my cheapo pencils(must invest in some decent ones when I have some dosh). The ribbon is from my stash as is the little tag which I have added with a white mini-brad.
I am much happier with this card and hope you like it Katharina

Friendship Tags

I have had a lovely messy time with my Distress Inks since I cam home from work. My hands have a sort of rainbow effect on them :0)
All three tags are the same, the theme for this month's swap was "Friendship". I started by Stamping half of a Paper Bag Studios stamp onto each tag. Post it notes come in very handy for this.I made a mask of the stamped image and then blended Distress Inks in Peeled Paint and Dusty Concord over the tag.I watercoloured the girls using Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Aged Mahogany and Scattered Straw. Then I stamped the other half of the stamp, containing the sentiment,onto mountboard and blended the same inks around a mask of it.I masked the image of the girls again and stamped a swirly Tim Holtz background over the entire tag in Dusty Concord. The mountboard was then edged with gold Krylon pen and glued in place above the image at a slight angle.
The other side of the tag was coloured by blending the two inks again and then I stamped the Scratches stamp by Tim Holtz in Peeled Paint across the tag. The Friends stamp is by HOTP and was stamped in black archival ink. Finally some fibres and I was done. I am really pleased with how these have turned out and hope whoever gets them in the swap likes them too. Thanks for visiting
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Katharina Sketch challenge

Katharina has decided to start up her own stamp company which will be called Whiff of Joy. From the samples I have seen, I know that I will want them ALL!. Katharina will be looking for guest designers at some point so she asked anyone interested to make a card using a sketch. You can check it out Here and have a look at her wonderful cards. Anyway, I decided to use this sketch. Not I hasten to add that I consider myself of the ability to be a guest designer, but if you don't try, you'll never know.
The papers are from a pad that I won(yes, it's that Funky Fairy blog candy again :0))I have stamped a Paper Artsy ballerina in embossing ink and embossed her with Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder in a very delicious pink.She was then matted on some lilac Bazzill and placed on foam pads over the ribbon, which is from a Brenda Pinnick scrapbook kit. I then attempted to cut a circle from Bazzill (think I need to invest in a circle punch) and placed a peel-off greeting on it. Hope the stamped image shows up in the pic
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Sarah Kay Challenge

This is the first time I have entered this challenge. I recently won some fab blog candy from Shaz at Funky Fairy and this was one of the stamped images in it. The challenge was not to use a square in your project. I have therefore stuck to rectangles for this card. The beautiful image is watercoloured and matted onto some background paper(also in the blog candy), and some pink Bazzill cardstock. I have then added a couple of blooms with a purple brad in the centre. Guess what? The blooms were in the blog candy too :0)
Hope you like this card, I was really pleased with it
thanks for looking
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Artistic Stamper challenge

Jennie has set a challenge this month over on her blog.All you have to do is use a Magnolia, Tilda or Stitchels stamp on your project to be in with a chance of winning a Magnolia stamp. Have a look Here for details. I have made two cards to enter. Both images were ones I received in blog candy that I won from Nicola at My Paper World. I have watercoloured them both. The papers used are from the Glitter Stack from DCWV and the cardstock is Bazzill.
Hope you like them and thanks for dropping in
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BLOG CANDY ALERT

Shaz from Funky Fairy is celebrating 11000 posts on her inspiration blog by giving away some candy. The lucky winner will win FREE FUNKY FAIRYS PAPERCRAFTS PRODUCTS FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!! *WOW)
Shaz says
This post will stay open until midnight july 31st.Then on 1st August 1 randomly chosen person will win themselves free stuff for a year. So the winner will receive ALL Funky Fairys products that are released between 1st august 2008 and 1st August 2009. which will consist of downloadable kits etc and rubber stamps....and who knows if anthing else will get thrown in the mix...i never plan ahead...so who knows what is coming..lol
To be in with winning this special one off candy....simply leave a comment on this post,saying why you would like to be the one to win :) Also link this post on your blog....its as simple as that.
So what you waiting for???...Someone has to win it....so it could just be YOU!!!!
Good luck everyone :)
Shaz x

Pop over to her blog for a look Here

I recently won some blog candy from Shaz and it arrived today- it is fabulous so have a go

Sunday Stampers/In My Pocket

Yes, I am managing to find time for some challenges again now that I am back to work!!?? How that figures I don't know. Anyway, Hels sets both these challenges and Sunday Stampers this week was "Flowers". I have used the new Stitchels stamps, created by none other than Hels herself. They can be bought from Artistic Stamper and they are Helen's first attempts at designing rubber stamps so congratulations to her, I love them!I have stamped four flowers and two butterflies, coloured them with glimmer chalks from Dovecraft and cut them out. I arranged them on the card, some on foam pads and other just with Sticky Dots, then stamped the greeting using Studio G alphabet stamps.
In My pocket theme this week was "ribbons". I have used papers from the Glitter Stack from DCWV. I bought this during my first ever visit to the Range while visiting down South. It is a simply gorgeous collection of papers, yum, yum! The ribbons and embellishment are from a scrapbook kit by Brenda Pinnick and the message on the front of the pocket was part of a stamp. (I notice the a friend of mine also used this idea, promise I didn't copy you Heidi, I had thought of it before I saw your pocket).The pocket is held closed with a chipboard photo anchor and brad, also from the Brenda Pinnick kit.Thanks you Hels for two great challenges and thanks to everyone who pops in for a look
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Scrapbook Challenge

Lesley over on Craft Swap challenged us to:
1.Use ONE photo
2.Use ONE main colour
3.Use stitching (either real or doodled)
4.Use handmade embellishments

Here is my attempt, using a photo from a recent trip to visit my relatives. My boys just adored this trampoline. Even had a wee bounce on it myself :0))))

Thanks for looking
Shazza
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Another accordian book

I made one of these for myself a week or two ago and a friend asked me to make one for her. She has friends getting married and is giving them money as their present. She thought this would make a nice little gift for them to put some of their pics in. I have to thank my blogging sister Vicki once again for the tutorial.I have saved it so I can make more in the future. Hope you like it and thanks for dropping by
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Tidying up the scraps

I promised myself when I started tidying my little crafty space that I would use up the scraps of paper and leftover toppers that had been lying around for ages. Here are some of the cards that I ended up with. All the papers and toppers are from Joanna Sheen discs and the cardstock is Bazzill. My little table is much clearer now- stops hubby moaning about the mess and gives me more room to create in :0)

I managed some crafty time!!!!

Yes, it has been a hectic two weeks off work and I finally managed to get some crafting done. I have not managed any challenges unfortunately but hope to get back to them soon. I needed to get cracking on my fat pages for a House Mouse list I am on over on Craft Swap Forum. I used the same image for the pages I made, watercoloured it and then used various papers to decorate the pages. I am now about half way through what I need to do so feel a bit better about that. I also fell behind with a Me to You Swap, birthdays and a Secret Sister swap I am doing with my Sisterhood 16. I made some altered dominoes using Denim, Terracotta and Bottle alcohol inks. The stamps are by Catlifepress and have been stamped in black archival ink.The stamped side was then covered in Glossy Accents which shows up a bit too much in the photo :0)
The birthday card was made from a Crafter's Companion disc, which has lots of lovely images on it.
I hope all the recipients like their pages/cards/gifts and apologise now for any that are late.

Funky Fairy's New Papers/Blog Candy

I arrived home today to lots of e-mails but one in particular grabbed my attention. Funky Fairy have new downloads available to buy and I could not resist ordering the Funky Meets Shabby Chic papers. Also on the e-mail Sharon from Funky Fairy let me know about the blog candy competition she is running on her own blog. To enter you have to create a project using blue, green and pink. This gave me the perfect excuse to use my scrummy new papers:0)
I have coloured Tilda with metallic pencils and matted her onto green dotty paper. I placed a strip of multi dot paper down the left hand of an A6 Blank and then placed Tilda onto the card. I covered a small piece of card with the green dotty paper and used a peel-off for the greeting. This was mounted on foam pads. I have some birthdays to catch up with so at least I have made a start
By the way, I must also say that I had a lovely weekend.The scrapbook was loved and brought a tear to Maxine's eyes. Plan to craft and blog hop for the rest of the week so I hope to catch up with you all.
Thanks for visiting
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Another mini-scrapbook

This is only the second one I have done and is from the Brenda Pinnick kit I got last summer from QVC.All of the photos are from our fab holiday in Lanzarote last June where we met the nicest family. We are invited down to their house this weekend and are joining them at a family party on Saturday night. Hubby has his kilt ready and I got the most gorgeous dress yesterday- £80 down to £24...BARGAIN!
Anyway, I decided to make up this scrapbook as a gift for them. We are really looking forward to seeing them again and the boys are very excited about going on a sleeper overnight to get there. Can't imagine I'll sleep much though :0)
Won't be blogging much so see you when I return and thanks for stopping by
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Sunday Stampers- This Ole Heart Of Mine

This weeks theme is "hearts".
I had to make a wedding card so decided to incorporate hearts in it. I used a stamp by PaperArtsy and stamped it with an embossing ink pad. The embossing powder was holographic sparkle by Personal Impressions. I then covered half of an A5 blank with black cardstock which has little glittery flecks of silver through it. Then I got to use my new Big Shot and cut out the bride & groom's names in white holographic cardstock. I glued these in place and then printed off the sentiment on the PC. It was matted onto the black CS which in turn was mounted on the white CS using foam pads. This was then adhered to the card.Finally I added a little charm which says "Now & Forever" on it. Hope you can make out the hearts in the photo.I took two photos at different angles just in case.

Brilliante Award

Thank you so much to Jennie. for this award, I am honoured. The rules of this award are
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls/guys you've nominated
The 7 people I have chosen who I don't think have already been given this are

Tina
Bee
Kerry
Aimee
Vicki
Sonja
Fifi


There are many more deserving blogs that I visit regularly but I am limited to seven. Keep up the good work girls
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