Sketch Saturday

What a great sketch today on Sketch Saturday.

I love purple so it's a bit purple!!! LOL with a dash of jade green.

I used Bazzill card stock and embossed some of the edges. I stamped my flower and paper pieced it with this gorgeous paper I got from the lovely Heather. It really is a beautiful design. The centre of the flower is highlighted with Sakura pens and then I added seed beads.

Some gems and my sentiment to finish!!

Thank You's!!

I received these two gorgeous cards today from two lovely friends.

This one is from the gorgeous Sinikka!

I love it with the cute Kitties!!

The next one is from the lovely Fe.

A Congratulations card for me joining the working world again!!

Thanks so much you two - I will treasure them for sure. How lucky am I to have such great friends!

Catch Up on Lovely Awards...

Well I have received a few awards recently so have to get them posted up!

First these three gorgeous awards came from Carolyn - the sweetest lady who makes the best House Mouse cards ever.... She is definitely responsible for my love of those little mousies... when I first started blogging and had no Mousies to enter the HM Challenge with she sent me a whole heap of images all the way from the US - I always remember that!!

The next award came from my lovely talented SBS Sister Joey.

Finally the last one came from my lovely friend in Holland - Patti.

Thanks so much ladies for thinking of me - Such great awards too.

I am passing these on to everyone who stops on by - please grab them for your blogs - it's so hard choosing people.

New Kadoodle Stamps!!!

Today the Craft Barn are releasing 8 new Kadoodle Stamps designed by Carol Staples and Sandra Dry.

Take a look at the two Carol has designed - they are so fun and quirky and check out the names!! MA IGGLY and PA IGGLY!!!

How Cool are they??

Here are the cuties from Sandra! They are called Loupy Loo and Bobo!!

Aren't they adorable.

I can't wait to have a play with these babies!!

So if you fancy getting your crafty paws on this lot hop over to the Craft Barn today.

The ladies also have some brilliant cards on the Kadoodle Blog. So take a peek at their fantastic work there AND starting next Saturday there will be some blog candy up for grabs too. So check back then.

Card for Kadoodle Blog

Here is another card for Kadoodle using Christine's Bay Tree Cottage Stamp.

Used Versafine Ink Pad to stamp the image then highlighted parts with a glitter gel pen.

I stamped some topiary bushes!! Cut them out then added seed beads to them. Added ric rac and a button to finish.

Oooh! and check back tomorrow for news of some exciting new stamp releases!!!.......

Friday Sketchers....

Such a lovely sketch this week at Friday Sketchers.

I used Basic Grey papers for my card and the image was coloured with Pro Markers - thought I'd give them another bash!!

Tag You're It !!

Morning Taggers!!

It's almost the weekend too!!!

Well we have a great  TYI challenge this week and the lovely Anne chose this wonderful theme which is :

"DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND!!"

We ALSO have a great sponsor this week too - Karen from Scrapz has kindly donated this gorgeous plate of  Paper Artsy Stamps PLUS a surprise organza bag of ribbons, charms, die cuts and other assorted goodies etc.

Oooh! Do ya think they'd notice if I entered incognito - dark glasses, a wig perhaps!!! LOL

I love shopping at Scrapz they have some mighty fine stamps I can tell ya!!

So here is the stamps you could win:

Karen will choose the winner and we will announce who that is next week.

So come on you budding Taggers, get your bling and sparkles out and join us this week and it could be YOOOOO!!! winning these yummy stamps!!

My tag is of course using Marilyn again - who else fits the bill for this theme!! Boy she is certainly getting an airing this week. I liked the little glint on the photo for this challenge, normally I would be tutting and pulling my hair out but I kept it in for the glint of diamonds!!! Lol

 

Colour Inspiration 43

Kristina has picked out great colours again this week. I love these Inspiration challenges.

Had such a lovely afternoon today. Went to see a friend from my old work. She is a brilliant quilter and sews beautifully. OOh!! what a crafty session we had!! I couldn't believe how amazing her recent quilts were - such a lot of work - !!!!

Animals Galore!!

Charisma Challenges and Cute Card Thursday both have Animals as their theme.

I got this elegant and sleek Puss from Dawny P this week - she knows me well - Me being the mad cat lover that I am!!! LOL

I've decided it's a lady Puss!!

Coloured her with watercolours and some glitter and of course no self respecting lady puss can be without a diamante collar and a touch of glitter!!! Well I kept the card sleek and streamlined too.

Cuttlebug - Be Inspired No 20

Cuttlebug Challenge this week has a brilliant sketch by Valerie Salmon.

I really enjoyed this sketch - lots of distressing and inking, Papers are from Melissa Frances and All my Memories. I embossed down the side in reverse with my Cuttlebug edging strip then highlighted it with a bronze Sakura pen to make it look a little like stitching. The sentiment is embossed and inked.

Added some Tim Holtz sprockets and tags. Flowers are a mixture from my stash. There is also a rub-on at the bottom but you can hardly see it!! Grr!!

Wheee !! A New Job!!!

Afternoon (just!!) everyone!!

Well I have managed to get myself a job - working in a local clothes shop - well it's quite a big shop really. The owner is really nice and everyone else seems really nice.

Went for the interview last Thursday and he called me yesterday to go see him again and he offered me the job.

I have been saying for ages now I didn't want to go back to an office, so this well be a bit of a change for me.

The hours aren't full time so not sure how I will get on moneywise!!! LOL So much stash to buy you know!!! LOL

So my blogging time will be drastically cut, but I will try and come visit you in between my DT stuff and other projects - although I might not get round to see you all as often as I do now - Grrr!! That's the bit I love!!! I also have another project on the go indirectly linked to card making and it is also proving a bit time consuming so please don't think I'm abandoning all my wonderful bloggy buddies.

Well I'm off to get my hair cut - EEEk I have 9 minutes to get there - Oh Dear!!- Byeeeee!!!

What is going on with Mr Blogger tonight??

Oh dear peeps!!

I have been trying to visit blogs tonight but Word Verification is just not loading on your blogs so have been unable to comment . Grrrr!!

Now this could be an omen and perhaps an appropriate time for me to mention the dreaded Word Verification again which is so prevalent in Blogland which I can totally understand but I really want to visit you all and sometimes it does hinder visiting and commenting especially when you type in what you think are the letters only to find they are wrong and have to "Try Again" and even "Again!!"- Grrr!!. (My eyesight definitely isn't what it used to be and having to spend time re typing those bloomin' fiddly letters is such a waste of bloggy time especially too for us DT members who really love coming and checking out all your fabby creations, which for me is one of the best things about challenges...

So tonight unfortunately I haven't been able to comment on those blogs with word verification in place - don't know if it's just my blog or if it has been happening to others.

Now by all means if you want to stay safe make sure you have comment moderation which also helps stop those unwanted robotic comments!!!

Me? I have nothing (although at first I didn't even realise I had WV on and had to turn it off after someone told me I had it on my blog!!)- I just go with the flow and to be honest I think I have had to remove three comments at the most since my blogging started, but should I be inundated with unwanted visitors I will just put comment moderation on.

Some folks have word verification AND comment moderation.......

Okay oops bit of a long post/rant but I know this has been raised before but boy those WV are creeping up and up!!

So Please!! Please!! Give it a go and turn off the dreaded Word Verification!! ........ Just Say No!!!

Crazy Amigo Challenge

Well it's been a while since I joined the ladies over at Crazy Amigo and also some time since I did anything resembling any form of mixed media.

Now the theme this week is Faces, so any excuse to get out my fav stamp of all time the gorgeous Marilyn....

So out came the acrylics, texture paste to name but a few and I actually did an ATC - just for a change...

Do you know I had forgotten just how much I love doing this sort of thing...

Yummy Surprise from Dawny P

Oh boy! What a lovely surprise I got today from Mr Postie!

A square box which was ripped open rather sharply I must admit and take a look at what popped out!!

All from the wonderful Dawny P

Isn't this just gorgeous and look at all the Puss images she sent me!! the box has pride of place on my desk already, filled with my pens, knives and rulers already!! That card is even better in the "flesh" LOL!!

Dawny you're a wonderful friend and your blog is so fun and always makes me grin from ear to ear. If you need inspiration, fun and laughs then you must stop on by The Pink Piggy!!!

Lovely Friend Award...

Got this lovely award from Kristin today.

Thanks so much Kristin that is so nice of you to think of me.

Kristin is the owner of the gorgeous Norwegian shop Kort og Godt and also the Just Xmas and Birthday Cards Challenge.

Papertake Weekly Challenge

I thought I'd have a go at Dawny's fantastic sketch this week for Papertake Weekly Challenge.

Now Dawny loves her Pro Marker Boys but I struggle with them so much, so used to water colours and the easier shading that comes with it, well not one for letting loose my Pro Markers just yet I thought I'd try them out again - Mmmm not sure about this image though- they bleed a lot too - Grrr!!! - Any tips welcome!!!

Cupcakes and Bears!!

Had a lovely afternoon today - Met up with some old colleagues and had a right old chin wag, eeeh! and more cakes too!!!- It was great to see them again..

Came home and had a go at Cupcake Craft Challenge which was a lovely sketch and Forever Friends' colour theme Black and White which I love anyway so I have combined the two.

A Place to Bark - - -

I have been visiting Bernie's fantastic blog "A Place to Bark" since I started blogging - Bernie Berlin is an accomplished artist and has this massive love for animals. She has tirelessly campaigned against animal cruelty and puppy mills. Recently she has been building a new animal shelter and the work her and her team do just amazes me. They rescue so many dogs and cats it's scarey....

If you want to feel uplifted, inspired then go visit Bernie's blog, it always brings a tear to my eye reading about all the recent dogs/cats she has saved...

Here is a video made by mixed media artist Suzi Blu

Colour Create - Week 4

The colours this week at Colour Create are Pink and Grey - Great combination. The added little challenge is "Cute & Cuddly"

Well I love my Mousies and this is one of the stamps I bought yesterday on my crafty forage!!! Mudpie's Morning Kick Start!!!

I haven't done this shape for a while so decided to air it again!

The papers are Daisy D and Anna Griffin. Mudpie is coloured with watercolours and stickles , although you can't see the sparkles in the photo!

I stamped out some cupcakes, cut them out and coloured them with Sakura pens and liquid pearls.

Well I'm off to clean this "fur pit" - Grrr!!

Too nice a day for cleaning but it has to be done or another week will come and go! However did I manage when I was working!!!! LOL

Crafty Pad Sketch..

Well it's back to crafting today and we have a great sketch today at The Crafty Pad. It'd be great if you could join us.

This week you have to use a Faith image and use all the elements of the sketch and of course you can flip it whatever way you like!

My Faith stamp is from the "She's Got The Word" set which you can purchase from Debbie at the Crafty Pad.

I coloured the image with watercolours and layered her onto some gold mesh like paper. All the papers are from Chatterbox, the card stock and wave border is from Bazzil. I punched little circles from the paper to make a sort of scalloped edge down the wide of the layered image.

Added a tag sentiment, paper flowers and some buttons.

Crafty Pad - Sneaky Peek!!

Well not much crafting today, but a lot of crafty buying!!! EEK!! Again!!

Went for a day out with my mum and nan and just happened to find myself in a couple of craft shops!!! as well as a lovely coffee shop with home baking!!

What could be better crafty stash and cakes!!! He He!!

Oooh they had some yummy stuff and one even had House Mouse stamps at really reasonable prices. Well I bought a couple of those cuties!! So looks like I'll have to travel a wee bit to stock up since my local shop has now closed but it isn't as far as the Paper Mill which is a bit of a nightmare to get to from here.

Anyway just got my DT card done for tomorrows Crafty Pad Challenge..

Friday Sketchers

Another great sketch this week over at Friday sketchers.

I just love these cute "Me to You " Bears. I have a collection of the actual bears too!! LOL

Well this little lady is coloured with the usual watercolours, the paper is from Pink Paislee and Basic Grey and the cardstock is beautifully embossed with little flowers from Bazzill - lovin' that!!

Added some chipboard, crocheted flowers with little brads and little pink stars which I found lurking in my stash!

Hope you all have a great weekend whatever you are doing!

Och no! that's the bloomin' rain on - Grrr!!

Tag You're It Friday!!

Morning Taggers!!

Another great bunch of Taggers again last week - it's so great to see so many of you coming back week after week!

This week it was my turn to pick the theme for TYI and I chose :

"Circles and Swirls"

Oh Boy! do I love my swirls as you have probably noticed they often make an appearance!!!

So we want to see at least one circle and one swirl on your tag this week.

Looking forward to visiting you all!!

Oh! and the winner of the Sugar Nellie Stamps from last week was Melody!!

Congratulations Melody!!

Charisma Cardz Challenge

How could I resist this cute theme!!

"Hugs and Cuddles"

on Charisma Cardz Challenges.

My card stock is a mixture of Core'dinations and Bazzill layered.

The paper is bits from my overflow stash!! LOL Coloured the cute Ellie Stamp from Stamposaurus with watercolours.

Added Prima flowers and brads to the centres with a little bow in the corner.

Some of my Birthday Goodies!!

Bit of a long post but hey ho!!!

Well it's a lovely sunny spring like day today!! It's soo good to see some sun!!

Just thought I would post up some of the gorgeous cards and goodies I got from my lovely bloggy buds and friends. I had a lovely day yesterday. Having a carry out meal tonight not sure from where as I am having a night out with the girlies tomorrow and we are going to the Tai first - Yumm!!

This came from my lovely lovely friend Sabina in Australia - she sent me a gorgeous bracelet which she made to match the necklace she had already sent me earlier - and yaaay!! some of the lovely doily tablecloth which I love to use!! Hrrmmm!! the choccie doesn't look like that now - Mmm!!

Tina said she tried to send Poppy Dog but she ate all the stamps!! LOL

Thanks so much for my beloved Braveheart Teen!!!

Debbie sent some lovely images for me to play with too - Thank Yoooo!!

Dee shares the same birthday as me!!She was 60 yesterday and phoned me at 9.25am - needless to say I was still in bed!! EEK!! Hope you had a great day!! Her daughter Fe sent some lovely flowers and brads needless to say they were whipped into my stash right away!!

More yummy choccies and the cute Happy Hopper card from Jo!

Nancy sent me this gorgeous card and image as part of the OWOH Giveaway.

So thanks to everyone for your lovely cards - I love Blogland!!!! Siiigh!!