Mmmmmm...cake...

I've had a fab day today. Most of it was spent in the Trafford Centre (Tim would argue that this is NOT the best way to spend a day), we met up with our friends Ruth & Adrian and met their gorgeous new daughter Florence. After that we did a bit of Christmas shopping, then had a late lunch - with no pudding! I then went and spoiled that by making cupcakes when we got home, as I'm off to a work friends house for lunch tomorrow. This is her first week of maternity leave so a few of us are descending on her to keep her company for a bit! She doesn't like chocolate (mad, I know) so I've made very scrummy (we obv tested them to be sure) strawberry jam cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing - yum!

Here is my card to celebrate Florence's arrival...
I'm entering it into the Totally Gorjuss and Sketch Saturday challenges.
The challenge this week at Totally Gorjuss is to use any cute girly type image (but if you use a Gorjuss girl you get a double entry).
And the sketch at Sketch Saturday this week is:
I've rotated it, and as the sentiment is part of the image, I've left that part out. The leaves on my flower are another flower with some of the petals cut off, though you can't see it too well in these pics.

Supplies used: Image - Pink Petticoat "Sweet Cheeks", coloured with ProMarkers (Satin, Plum, Aubergine, Lavender, Lilac, Carnation Pink) and glittered with shimmer chalks and Diamond Stickles, Papers - Pink Petticoat, Flowers - Prima (glittered with Diamond Stickles), Dew Drops, Ribbon from stash.

There's no escaping Christmas...

Second card of the night! This is my entry into the Cupcake Craft and A Spoon Full of Sugar challenges. I've used the sketch from the Just Magnolia challenge, but alas, I've missed the deadline - useless! I forgot the deadline was 10pm...
So here is the sketch, which I've pretty much adhered to without any alterations.

The challenge at Cupcake Crafts is to use a Digital image or paper - I've used the fab new Pink Petticoat "Fairy Lights" papers.
The challenge at A Spoon Full of Sugar this week is to make a card for Baby's First Christmas or for a Pre-Schooler. I've gone for baby's first christmas as I can give this card to Connor from his dad and I. I know this Christmas will mean nothing to him as he'll only be 5 months old, but it hasn't stopped me getting excited about it!

And here is my card...
Looking at it here I think I may put some shadowing around poor Edwin so it doesn't look like he's just sitting on thin air! I'm very pleased with how his hat and coat turned out though - I used Doodlebug flock on the white bits to make them look fluffy. Quite effective methinks!

Supplies Used: Image - Magnolia "Santa's Helper", coloured with ProMarkers (Sandstone, Raw Sienna, Cocoa, Satin, Holly, Coll Grey 4, Berry Red, Pine, Ruby, Cardinal Red, Blush), fur on coat - Doodlebug Crushed Velvet Flock (Lily White), Papers - Craftwork Cards blox and Pink Petticoat "Fairy Lights", Sentiment - Doddlebug Candy Shoppe rub-ons in Ladybug, Ribbon - Anitas (DoCrafts).

Totally Gorjuss & ICS#43

I thought I'd treat myself the other day to a daylight lamp - how fab are they?! I'm doing so much of my card making at night now, I was really struggling with picking the right colours and papers. I also thought it might help with taking some decent pictures - not sure about that yet, I think more practice is required. However, clearing some room on my craft desk would probably help...

Here is my entry into the Totally Gorjuss and Inspirational Card Sketches challenges.

Over at Totally Gorjuss the challenge is Blues for Christmas. I figured my little Bumble Bee could be mistaken for a Christmas Fairy!

The sketch at ICS this week is...

Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girls "Bumble Bee", coloured with ProMarkers (Blue Pearl, Denim Blue, Cornflower, Blossom, Rose Pink, Caramel, Cocoa, Burnt Umber, Satin, Blush), glittered with Stickles (Cotton Candy, Baby Blue), Papers - Craftwork Cards blox and Pink Petticoat "Fairy Lights", Big Snowflake - die cut but not sure where from, coloured with ProMarker (Cornflower) and glittered with Doodlebug Lily White Sugar Coating Glitter, Small Snowflake brads from stash (sorry, don't know where they're from either!)

41 Days til Christmas...

... better get a wriggle on with those Christmas cards then hadn't I? So I have sacrificed an evening of X Factor (not really, am watching it now on Sky+ so I can whizz the adverts!) to make the following card. It gave Tim the chance to try and fix his Xbox - yes, less than a week after COD:MW2 (I know what I'm talking about) came out, his Xbox has packed up. He is NOT impressed as he has potentially lost ALL of his saved games, oh dear, what a shame says I.

Anyway, onto my card which is my entry into the Anyone for Anya? and Papertake Weekly challenges. Anyone for Anya this week is a 3-2-1 recipe, 3 pieces of paper or card, 2 buttons and 1 bow. I've bent the rules slightly and used three different types of paper/card rather than three pieces, but I say rules are there to be broken! Papertake Weekly this week is "Digi Sparkle". The digi elements of my card are the papers and sentiment which are Pink Petticoat and the sparkle is there in the form of Stickles and Glimmer chalks. Apologies for the poor lighting/rubbish photography, that's what you get for leaving it til evening to photograph your cards!
Supplies Used: Image - The Greeting Farm Miss Anya "Rain Snow Shine", coloured with ProMarkers (Cocoa, Caramel, Burnt Umber, Cinnamon, Blush, Satin, Cardinal Red, Ruby, Grass, Forest Green, Holly, Pine) and glittered with Shimmer chalks and Stickles (Cotton Candy, Candy Cane, Frosted Lace, Black Diamond), Papers and Sentiment - Pink Petticoat, Everything else from stash.

This post has nicely taken me to the end of X Factor... hmmm, the twins were awful but strangely entertaining as usual - loved Danyl and Olly (though have to agree that Olly's vocals got swallowed up by the song), not loving Jamie so much anymore - can he sing a song without punching the air? - finding it mildly annoying! ?LLoyd & JEdward in the bottom two? We shall see...

Bling-tastic

The challenge over at the Totally Gorjuss blog is to get your bling out! Not a problem for me, as it's rare for me to make a card without Stickles and/or crystals and/or shimmer chalks - this card has all three!
Being a rocker myself, I enjoyed colouring in my little goth girl, I'm particularly pleased with her funky socks. I had originally glittered the skull in her hair but when it dried it didn't look like a skull anymore - just a big blob of glitter! After scraping all the glitter off (not easy!) I settled for some Glossy Accents instead.


Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girl "Little Goth Girl", coloured with ProMarkers (Caramel, Cocoa, Henna, Burnt Umber, Satin, Blush, Plum, Aubergine, Lilac, Lavender, Black, Cool Grey 4), Stickled with Black Diamond, Hair also highlighted with copper pen, Papers - Pink Petticoat & Craftwork Cards Blox (not sure that they do these anymore?), Ribbon - Papermania, Flowers - Prima & punched from Craftwork Cards blox paper, Adhesive Pearls - Kaisercraft, Dew drops, Diamante Spray, entire card covered in Shimmer Chalks!

12 Days of Christmas

Check out the 12 days of Christmas blog hop for Whimsy Stamps to celebrate the release of their new stamps.

The first stop is Bev.

Mystery blog candy to be won!

Simon Says have A Spoon Full of Sugar

The challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge this week is to "Give Thanks". I've combined this challenge with challenge #76 at A Spoon Full of Sugar, which this week is a sketch by Sonja.

I coloured this image a while ago for the Passion for ProMarkers blog, but then got distracted by the arrival of Connor, so missed the deadline! How inconsiderate of him! Anyway, she's been sat waiting patiently for me to use her. I found the perfect papers to go with her whilst rifling through my stash, though I love this paper so much I didn't want to cut into it! Perhaps I should buy two from now on - one to look at and one to use!

Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girls "Sitting", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Cool Grey 2, Cool Aqua, Turquoise, Pastel Pink, Rose Pink, Blossom, Lavender, Raw Sienna, Cocoa) and glittered with Stickles (Turquoise & Cotton Candy), Papers - Craftwork Cards Blox & Bo Bunny, Ribbon - DoCrafts, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Flowers - Flora Doodles & Prima.

Back to the 80s

The following card is my entry into Week 24 of Passion for ProMarkers. This weeks colours are Grass and Canary, not an easy colour combo to work with I'm sure many would agree, as they're both quite bright colours, however, I used this to my advantage and gave 80s Anya an outing! I've also used Sketch #41 over at the Inspirational Card Sketches challenge... It's not often I go for blonde hair on my images as I never seem to be able to stop it looking too yellow. I thought I'd give it a go here though as I felt this particular Anya would enjoy life better as a blonde!

Supplies Used: Image - The Greetings Farm "80s Anya", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Buttercup, Sandstone, Primrose, Soft Lime, Canary, Tulip Yellow, Grass, Emerald, Leaf Green, Oatmeal) and glittered with Stickles (Lime Green & Yellow), Papers - Craftwork Cards Blox & Doodlebug Paper Potpourri (Bumblebee), Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Shimmer Chalks, Prima Flowers, Woodware Scallop Punch, Swarovski crystal.

Just Magnolia Challenge - Monochrome

A card tonight for the Just Magnolia challenge blog. The theme this week is Monochrome - I've chosen blue (slightly obvious from the pics!). I thought this lovely lady suited a get well card so that's one for my stock box. I've invested in some more ProMarkers and am loving playing with them, but perhaps I should challenge myself to make a card without a coloured image!

Supplies Used: Image - Magnolia "Tilda in Spring Rain", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Sandstone, Caramel, Cinnamon, Blue Pearl, Pastel Blue, Denim Blue, Cool Grey 2 & 4, Powder Blue, Cool Aqua, Sky Blue, Azure, Cyan, Cornflower) and glittered with Stickles (Baby Blue, Waterfall & Diamond), Papers - Craftwork Cards blox & Bo Bunny, Dovecraft Shimmer chalks, Prima flowers, Doodlebug brads, Ribbon from stash, Woodware scallop punch.

On a Roll...

Wow, I seem to be on a roll at the minute with my card making - it probably helps that Tim is on a night shift so I have my evenings to myself for a few days. Not that he normally minds me disappearing to make cards, it just means more Xbox time for him!

The following card is my entry for the Simon Says Stamp and Papertake Weekly challenges. The challenge at Simon Says Stamp this week was "All That Sparkles" and the Papertake Weekly challenge is the following sketch...

Hopefully my card is sparkly enough! My little lady has been shimmer chalked and stickled, the ribbon is glittery and I've glittered the flowers too...

Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girls "Bumble Bee", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Cinnamon, Caramel, Sandstone, Cornflower, Blue Pearl, Blossom, Rose Pink), glittered with Stickles (Crystal & Cotton Candy) and Dovecraft shimmer chalks, Papers - Pink Petticoat & Craftwork Cards blox, Ribbon from stash, Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Prima flowers, Dew Drops.

Papertake Weekly & Cupcake Crafts Week 64

Here is my other card of the night - scraping in (hopefully) for the Papertake Weekly challenge and super early for the Cupcake Crafts Challenge (well, early for me anyway). The challenge at Papertake is "Spots n Stripes" and Cupcake Crafts this week is a sketch by Caryn.

Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girls "Flower Girl", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Henna, Blossom, Rose Pink, Apple, Meadow Green, Grass) and glittered with Stickles (Lime Green & Cotton Candy), Papers - Pink Paislee, Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Butterflies - Woodware punched from a birthday card!

ICSketches & Passion for ProMarkers Challenges

A couple of cards tonight, scraping in at the last minute for a couple of challenges!
This first is my entry for sketch #40 at Inspirational Card Sketches as well as Passion for ProMarkers week 23, where this week you can use any colours but must include an animal somewhere on your creation.
This card is pretty simple - I tend to make my christmas cards in batches (generally because I leave them til the last minute) so I like to keep them unfussy so they don't take too long to make! I spent ages playing around with the layout and papers for this card and am still not sure about it - I'll see how I feel when I look at it again in the morning!

Supplies Used: Image - Penny Black "12 Days of Christmas", coloured with ProMarkers (Cool Grey 2 & 4, Warm Grey 2, Blossom, Gold, Canary) and glittered with Gold & Diamond Stickles, Papers - My Minds Eye, Pink Petticoat & Craftwork Cards Blox, Snowflake - Fiskars punch, Swarovski crystal.

Cupcake Craft Challenges Week 63

Here is my entry for Week 63 of Cupcake Craft Challenges. This week is a sketch...

I haven't really made any changes to it as I liked it just the way it was! I used one of the Sugar Nellie Leanne Ellis stamps "Catch A Falling Star" - I got a few of these for my birthday back in August but this is the first chance I've had to use any of them! I've stamped a few up though ready to colour, so guess what I'll be using on my next few cards?!

Supplies Used: Image - Sugar Nellie Leanne Ellis "Catch A Falling Star", coloured with ProMarkers (Turquoise, Emerald, Lime Green, Yellow, Canary, Soft Lime, Lemon, Sandstone, Caramel, Cinnamon, Ivory, Blush, Pastel Beige) and glittered with Stickles (Diamond, Turquoise, Lime Green), Papers - Bo Bunny & Costco, Prima flowers, Making Memories brads, Dovecraft shimmer chalks, Dew Drop, Ribbon from Stash.

A Blogging Frenzy!

Last blog of the night, I promise! A few more cards to show, none of them particularly inspiring I have to admit, but not bad considering this little man has been taking up most of my time. I just had to share this photo to show off his cool t-shirt. He also has a nice little collection of "bad" shirts which are waiting in the wings for a suitable outing. His dad has a taste for, shall we say, "different" shirts - bermuda, paisley, giant flowers etc etc. Hence we have been given lots of similar shirts for Connor so he can look just like his dad!

And on to the cards...

This was for my husbands recent 30th birthday - he looks so pleased with himself in his snazzy jumper and dungarees! We spent the night having a meal at the Hilton in Manchester (expensive, but YUM) then drinking around the Northern Quarter (in bars slightly too trendy for me!).

Supplies Used: Papers & Numbers - Pink Petticoat, Dew Drops, Ribbon from stash.

This card was for our friends who had a lovely baby girl called Francesca in September. Seeing as her and Connor are only a few weeks apart, her mum and I have been going for lots of walks together to compare notes!

Supplies Used: Image - Pink Petticoat, coloured with ProMarkers, Butterflies - Woodware punches, Papers & Ribbon from stash, Swarovski crystals.

This last card was for my brothers birthday...

Supplies Used: Image - Penny Black rubber stamp "Air Express!", coloured with ProMarkers and glittered with Waterfall Stickles, Papers - Pink Petticoat, Letters - Doodlebug & DCWV.

Passion for ProMarker and Papertake Weekly Challenges

Here is my entry for the Passion for ProMarkers challenge (to use Poppy Red & Forest Green ProMarkers) and the Papertake Weekly challenge (Sketch #26).

Although the ProMarker colours this week were very Christmassy, I've bucked the trend and gone for a birthday card instead!
Supplies Used: Image - Magnolia "Tilda with Huge Bunch of Roses", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Poppy, Berry Red, Cinnamon, Raw Sienna, Forest Green, Pine, Gold, Canary, Pastel Blue, Cornflower, Cocoa) and bling added with Candy Cane, Yellow and Diamond Stickles, Papers - Rusty Pickle & Costco (don't know the actual make - sorry!), Sentiment - Craftwork Cards, Butterflies - Woodware punches, Prima flowers, Swarovski Crystals, ribbon from stash.

Baby Brain Strikes (probably not for the last time...!) - A Spoonful of Sugar Challenge

I have finally found some time to make some cards because I felt like it, not because I had to - this definitely helps with my crafting mojo and builds up my card stocks! Sooooo, I thought I'd enter some challenges as I haven't entered any for ages. Off I went, armed with colour schemes, sketches and stamped images, and produced some decent (I think!) cards. However, finding the time to blog about them was a different story! Hence, I have missed the deadline for the Just Magnolia challenge (which was "Bright & Zingy" btw). Doh! Never mind, the card was a 2-4-1 card so can also be entered in the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge. Lesson learnt, I have now gone cold turkey on FarmVille and CafeWorld (Facebook members will understand!) and have set my sights on being a little more productive with my precious spare time!

So here is my entry for the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge #74, which is a sketch by Debbie.
Supplies Used: Image - Magnolia "Tilda with Lilacs", coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Cinnamon, Raw Sienna, Gold, Pumpkin, Lemon, Canary, Lime Green, Apple and bling added with Starry Night Stickles, Paper - Sassafrass, Dovecraft chalks, Butterflies - Woodware punches, Prima flowers and Swarovski crystals.

More cards to follow...

It's been a long time...

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! There is a reason for that though - this perfect little cutie pie...

Connor finally arrived, five days late, and not too big at 7lb 12oz (!). So the last few weeks have been a bit mad round here. We're slowly getting some semblance of a routine though and he only gets us up once or twice in the night so we're quite lucky!

Anyway, I'm gradually finding some time for card making, so have a couple to show.

This first card was for my cousins wedding last week. We all had a lovely day and Connor looked very smart dressed up in his little shirt and waistcoat combo!

Supplies used: Image - Autumn Leaves Stamp "Word Flourishes", Papers - Pink Petticoat, Sentiment - Doodlebug Rub-ons, Ribbon from stash, Swarovski crystals.

This next card was for a friend who has just bought his first house with his girlfriend. We had a lovely BBQ in the rain on Saturday to celebrate - typical brits!

Supplies used: Image - free with Craft Stamper magazine, coloured with ProMarkers and glittered with Stickles, Papers - Pink Petticoat, Sentiment - Doodlebug rub-ons, ribbon from stash.

Just Magnolia Week 14

This is my entry for the Just Magnolia Challenge blog - the challenge this week is to use buttons.

Supplies used: Image - Magnolia Tilda with Sunflower, coloured with ProMarkers (Ivory, Blush, Lavender, Lilac, Yellow, Gold, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Henna, Apple, Grass, Pastel Blue, Cornflower, Warm Grey 2), Baby Blue Stickles, Papers - K&Co 6x6 "Garden Collage", Prima flowers, Swarovski Crystals, Buttons & Ribbon from stash.

Passion for ProMarkers Week 9

Wow, week 9 already! As a relative newcomer to ProMarkers I'm really enjoying taking part in these challenges, and following their tutorials, as it's really helped me with my shading and blending. It's also making me use colour combinations I might not have otherwise used. The challenge this week is to use Lime Green and Rose Pink.
My card today is for my friend's little girls 2nd birthday next month. She's a little cutie and this card will suit her perfectly!

Supplies used: Image - "HG Snuggle" stamp from The Greeting Farm, coloured with ProMarkers (Lime Green, Rose Pink, Blossom, Amethyst, Soft Lime, Ivory, Blush, Lemon, Pastel Yellow, Gold, Warm Grey 2 & 5, Cool Grey 4), eyes on soft toy Glossy Accented, Cotton Candy Stickles, Number 2 embellishment - Tim Holtz Grungeboard, Papers - Craftwork Cards, Flower - Flora Doodles, Ribbon from stash.

ICSketches # 26

Here is my card for the Inspirational Card Sketches Challenge blog.

This particular card is for a man's birthday so I dug out one of my trusty Penny Black animal stamps - not a scrap of glitter in sight!

Supplies used: Image - Penny Black "....to You", coloured with ProMarkers (Pastel Blue, Cornflower, Blossom, Rose Pink, Berry Red, Poppy, Raw Sienna, Cinnamon, Warm Grey 2, Yellow, Gold), the beaks have been Glossy Accented too, Papers - Sizzix Little Sizzles "Pastel".