Gentle Wings of Hope

Hi to all my blogging friends! Well, I've had a little spare time this afternoon to have a bit of a play in my craftroom, here's what I made...

I've used my beautiful Wings of Hope digi stamp from Whimsy (the money from each digi stamp bought, minus the paypal fees, will be donated to help following the catastophe in Haiti). I've gone for a really soft and gentle colour scheme, using the colours Pastel Green and Blossom from this weeks Passion for Promarkers Challenge. I've also used a selection of greys (Warm Grey 1, Cool Grey 1 - 4) for the winged horse's coat. Here's the list of ingredients...

Digi Stamp - Wings of Hope (Whimsy Stamps)
Colouring - Promarkers, Sakura Glitter Gel Pen
Flowers - Daisy Punch (Woodware), Card Candy (Craftwork Cards)
Ribbon - Artemio
Corner Detail - Martha Stewart Punch
Pearls - Bunny Zoe's Crafts
Card - Bazzil

I do apologise for the less than straight photo, but it's kind of awkward taking the picture in the house, at night, without flash! And to think I once did photography at Uni! Talk about out of touch! I should be ashamed of myself!

My Name In Print!

I've some really exciting news which I've had to keep under wraps until now! I was asked a few months back if I'd do an interview or "Reportage" for Passion Cartes Créatives which is a national french card making magazine. Of course I jumped at the chance, it's not everyday I get my name on the cover of a magazine! The article describes my passion for card making, a little about my life in France, and my little cat Réglisse also has a staring role (he even has his photo in the mag). If you're interested in reading the article, you can find it here (click on "Reportage PC9)...
Reportage PC9

I'm really chuffed with the article, the magazine have done a great job! Even my mug shot doesn't look so bad (I hate my photo being taken).

Something Sweet...

Just wanted to share this card with you, it's for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, the theme is "Something Sweet". The little mouse has hit the jackpot here don't you think? Papers and flowers are from a new kit due to come out from The Creative Cottage, aren't they just the most gorgeous pink?! Watch out for the new kit, it's fab!

Wags n' Whiskers Challenge

Morning ladies! Just a quick post to help raise awareness about a fab challenge blog over at Wags n' Whiskers. The Wags n' Whiskers DT are concerned as there hasn't been much participation in their challenge, which is a weekly one every Friday! The only stipulation is to use a Wags n' Whiskers stamp on your card/project. I for one have joined in every week since receiving my first Wags n' Whiskers stamp, and I even won a new stamp a few weeks ago on the challenge! It would be such a shame if the ladies had to pull the plug on the challenge through lack of participation, so come on all you girls and boys, if you have even just one Wags n' Whiskers stamp have a go! This week the challenge is a colour one, BLUE - WHITE - BROWN, and you could win yourself a lovely Wags n' Whiskers stamp of your choice!

Be Inspired!

This week over at the Wags n' Whiskers blog the challenge is to "Be Inspired". You have to choose someone who inspires you and make a card from this inspiration. Here's my card, I have chosen Debby from "A Scrapjourney" as my inspiration...

Debby's cards and scrapbook layouts are just beautiful, I love her style of cardmaking. She always uses 3D to bring her images alive, her colouring is fabulous and her layouts are always so varied. Thanks Debby for sharing your beautiful creations with us all!

I have to say, I rather like my little card, although it took ages to do colouring and cutting all those bits out! I tend not to make many cards like this as they take so long to do, but I must admit the 3D effect definately brings the three little characters to life! Here's the recipe...

Stamp - Furry Friends, Wags n' Whiskers
Colouring - Promarkers
Paper - Stampin' Up, Tea Party
Flowers - Woodware daisy punch, Craftwork Cards Card Candy
Ribbon - Artemio
Decorative Corner - Martha Stewart Corner Punch

Well, I have two birthday cards to make before the weekend so off to get started - or I might just crash out on the sofa and watch The Hairy Bikers! Hope you have a lovely evening whatever you do!

Mega Candy Announcement

Hi... I found this post on Brenda's blog whilst doing a bit of hopping, so I'm spreading the word! There's a rather special prize up for grabs, which is a secret, and also various other prizes. Check out all the info on Brenda's blog, but be quick as the "One Off Challenge and Blog Hop is on the 1st of Feb!

Cupcake Craft Challenge #75 - Matching Set

Good morning! That's another week of 2010 gone by, can you believe how quick time flies! It's Monday, so another chance for you to join in the fun with us at Cupcake Craft Challenge! This week our DT member Liza has set us a challenge to create a "Matching Set", there's lots of possibilities... card & tag, giftbag, candle... here's what I made...

This week's sponsor is In Style Stamps, who kindly supplied the DT with a digi stamp to use on our creations. They are offering 4 digi images to one lucky winner this week! So here's the lowdown on my card and gift tag...

Ingredients

Digi Image - Kayla Sitting - In Style Stamps

Promarkers to colour

Paper - K & Co Amy Butler 6 x 6 Pad

Nestabilities - Round Plain & Small Scallops

Hearts - Sizzix Sizzlits

Ribbon, rafia, pearls from stash

Sentiment - Lyndsey Marie Designs

My set is for three challenges this week, the first is the Passion for Promarkers challenge which is "girls, girls, girls" this week, the second is Crafty Catz challenge which is "Love", and finally the third is Cute Card Thursday "Fairy Fantastic". I think my card safely covers these!

We'd love it if you could join in with our challenge this week, so if you need any more inspiration don't hesitate to pop by the other DT blogs to see their lovely creations!

Wings Of Hope

Good evening! Hope you're all tucked up nice and warm indoors! We're the lucky ones, lots of people don't have a home to keep them safe and warm. Here's a little card I made earlier today, and the story behind the image I used...

Yesterday whilst doing a little blog hoping I came across this beautiful digital stamp called "Wings of Hope" which was designed by the very talented artist Crissy Armstrong. Crissy had recently designed a new range of stamps for Whimsy Stamps featuring some magical carousel horses, and asked Denise from Whimsy Stamps if she could design a special carousel horse with wings to help raise funds for Haiti, and so "Wings of Hope" was born. Isn't it just beautiful!? This limited edition digital stamp is available to purchase from Whimsy's Online Store from now until the end of February 2010. Whimsy has agreed to donate all proceeds from the sale of this stamp, minus the Paypal fees to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund for Haiti.

I couldn't resist as the horse is just beautiful, and of course the money from the sale of this digi stamp is going to help the people of Haiti following the dreadful disaster almost two weeks ago. If you can, please pop by Whimsy's Online Store make your purchase to help raise more money for this worthy cause.

Boy Birthday and a Cute Little Bear

Good evening...hope you're all enjoying the weekend (apart from the miserable weather that is - but then it's about all we can expect in January).
I have two little cards to share with you, they were both "quick" cards...I usually take an age to do a card but these were probably done in about half an hour (each card)...

The Forever Friends Challenge this week is "Quick and Simple" so I thought I'd have a go using this cute champagne bear stamp, it's an old stamp so it also qualifies for the Quixotic challenge which is to "ink up an old stamp". The papers here are from Papermania Signature Regency A4 Pad... I got these for Christmas from hubby and was so pleased when I opened the pack, they're just gorgeous (although this card isn't a good example to show...will do another card to show you these papers in more detail)!

Your gonna need your sunglasses for the second card, it's a bright one! I don't know anythying about the image as it was a RAK from a friend, but the papers are K & Co Hopscotch. I also used my new Martha Stewart Zig Zag punch. This card is for two challenges... Stampavie & More "Boy Birthday" and Simon Says Stamp "Punch It".

Enjoy your Saturday evening, thanks for visiting!

Magnolia Thank You

Good afternoon blogging friends! Well the snow has well and truly gone here, but it's made way for the rain...how long until Spring?!

I have a little thank you card to share with you today, I've used one of the Tilda stamps I got at the end of last year, she was feeling a bit lonely in her little box...

I've done this card for three challenges (I'm on a roll at the minute - I can't remember the last time I did so many challenges), Just Magnolia challenge which is to make a Thank You card (a nice easy one), Colour Create would like to see you use the colours Kraft, Blue & White (I love these colours together), and finally I've used the super sketch from Friday Sketchers.

It's been a while since I've done a card using a Magnolia stamp, and doing this one made me remember how much I like these stamps. I think this is definately my favourite card of late, I just love the colour combo. The papers I used here are ones I won over a year ago and haven't used, why I don't know as they're just lovely. They're from a Norwegian company called 3ndy Papir. Well, for anyone who's interested, here's the what I used to create the card...

Ingredients

Stamp - Tilda holding rose - Magnolia
Promarkers to colour
Sentiment stamp - Stampin' Up
Corner stamp - Meredith Fenwick Designs
Paper - 3ndy Papir
Pearls - Bunny Zoe's Crafts
Ribbon & Lace from stash (ribbon is vintage - hubby's gran's)
Sparkle (on rose, wings & hair) - Sakura Gel Pen

Well that's all for today, thanks for popping by, take care x

Gorjuss Birthday

Hi, I'm back with my second post for today (my Cupcake Craft Challenge DT card is below).

I was going through my stamps the other day (I've got a few lol) and thought it had been quite a while since I've used one of my Gorjuss Girls, don't you find that you tend to neglect stamps once you have a few new ones to play with? Anyhow, I've made a little Gorjuss Birthday card, thought it was about time these little beauties came out of hiding...

I followed the Kathy's sketch from The Sugar Bowl and added an element of "Distressing" as required for the challenge. The card also fits several other challenges; My Time To Craft, where the challenge is to have a CAT on your card, and Simon Says Stamp has a "Shabby Chic" theme, phew! Not often I get a few challenges in one!

The papers are "Exquisite" from Papermania, and the little sentiment is my friend Lyndsey's own design (thanks hun).

Have a lovely cosy evening, I have a feeling I shall craft as my o/h is working late tonight!

Cupcake Craft Challenge #74 - Sketch

Good morning! It's Monday and time for another Cupcake Craft Challenge. This week we have a sketch for you, our DT member Kathrin has come up with a fab layout for you, here's my DT card using the sketch...

This week we are sponsored by Di's Digi Downloads, so the Design Team were kindly given a digi stamp of their choice to use, I chose this lovely image of the sweet girl and her pony. Here's what I used to create the card...

Ingredients

Digi Stamp "Maisy & Pony" Di's Digi Downloads
Promarkers to colour image
Paper "Bloom & Grow" My Mind's Eye
Corner flourish - Sissix
Charm & Spacer - The Hobby House
Sentiment Stamp - "CC's Signature" Range - Papermania
Flowers - Prima
Ribbon & eyelets from stash

I'm entering my card into The Creative Inspirations challenge, where you have to use something "NEW" (the image), Digital Tuesday Challenge which is "Emboss it" (paper is embossed) and also for the ABC Challenge which is "L" for layering (lots of that on my card too).

Why not have a go this week, there's 5 fabulous digi stamps up for grabs for one lucky winner. Hope you can join in the fun!

Bright and Colouful Birthday

Good Morning to you all! It's the weekend...YAY!!! Well, today the snow has almost gone here, although the weather is looking rather damp and miserable so I have a very bright and cheerful Birthday card to share with you...

This card is for a friend's little girl, I'm sure she'll love the bright colours and cute little picture! Here's what I used...

Stamp - "Aynsley's Surprise" Wags 'n Whiskers
Promarkers
Paper - K & Co, Papermill Shop
Flowers - Prima
Ribbon - Papermania
Buttons - Bunny Zoe's Crafts
Heart Shape cut from Bazzil card

This card is for two challenges, this week over at the Wags 'n Whiskers challenge the team would like to see hearts on your cards, and the challenge at Crafty Catz is to make a Birthday Card...simples!

Well, I'm going to spend the day cooking seeing as it's so horrible outside, I've promised my hubby I'll make him a curry for tea so I'm off to find a good recipe on the net. I usually do my own thing...bit of garam masala here...touch of coriander there etc but I'm going to try to do a korma so will check out if there's any good recipes out there...I love indian food! Maybe I'll even pluck up the courage to make a naan bread too?

Hattie Digi Stamps

Good Morning! Just a quick post this morning to let you know about some cute digi stamps that The Creative Cottage are doing (they have a buy one get one free offer on this week), as well as Sherbet the Bear (see previous post) there's also a cute little girl called Hattie. She has various "accessories"...I chose her holding a chain of paper hearts...

Isn't she cute?! I've coloured her with Promarkers, papers are Doodlebug and the hearts were cut out of card (I made my own template). I've used the sketch by Dawny P from Papertake Weekly Challenge, what a great sketch this week!

Thanks for popping by, I hope to be back over the weekend! Hugs!

Alternative Valentine

Hi again! This is my second post for today, I just wanted to share a card I've done using another of my new Wags n Whiskers stamps, it's a Valentine's Day card but not the traditional kind...

I've kinda modelled it on myself and my little cat, although he paints using mud on my tiled floor instead of paint!

The image is called "Budding Artists", coloured with Promarkers, the papers are My Mind's Eye "Wild Asparagus". I also used my new MS punch for the Zig Zag border.

This card is for two challenges: The Wags n Whiskers Challenge "Valentine's with a twist" where you need to avoid using red (safely done that) and also the Passion For Promarkers challenge which is to use the colours "Cool Aqua & Cocoa".

Ok, that's it for today, I'd love to sit and play more with my new toys but have to get on unfortuately! Thanks for popping by!

New Beginnings & Bright and Sparkly

Back with another card for two challenges, this time it's the "New Beginnings" challenge at Papertake Weekly Challenge and the "Bright & Sparkly" challenge at Crafty Catz Challenge. I've gone for a New Year card with my new Wags n Whiskers stamp...

I just love this stamp, those 3 little friends are just so cute! This card is for my friend so I thought the image was quite fitting. Both the stamp and the paper were pressies for Christmas, my very well informed (about crafting) hubby bought them for me! Isn't he good! Here's what I used...

Ingredients:

Stamp - Furry Friends, Wags n Whiskers
Paper - Amy Butler, K & Co
Flower - Prima
Gems from stash
Sentiment stamp - Oogaloo

I'm really into doing bright cards at the minute, you might well have noticed! I think I just need cheering up following this long, cold spell! Not to mention the lack of daylight we're getting! Roll on Spring!

Cupcake Craft Challenge #73 - Going Girly

Good Afternoon! It's Monday and time for another Cupcake Craft Challenge, the second for 2010! This week our theme is "Going Girly", we'd love to see all your girly creations, so make sure you get out all your flowers, gems, pearls, hearts etc... the more girly the better! The challenge this week is sponsored by Stretch n Bubbles, all the DT were given an image to work with, I chose this cute little owl...

Ingredients:
Owl image - Stretch n Bubbles
Promarkers
Paper - "Flowery" from Papermania
Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch
Ribbon & Brad from Papermania
Mini Heart Brads from my stash


I'm entering this card into two challenges, A Spoonfull of Sugar for their theme "hearts" and Cute Card Thursday for their "All New" challenge (I used my new image, paper and MS punch).

Pop over to the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog to see all the other gorgeous DT creations and check out the fab prize up for grabs from our super sponsor!

Hope the snow is easing up where you are, keep warm & safe!

Digi Stamps from The Creative Cottage

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post to let you know that there are some new digi stamps over at The Creative Cottage, as well as some other kits/paper packs. Here's a little card I made with the new Sherbet digi stamp...

I've gone for some bright colours to try to warm things up...just how long is this cold spell going to last?

Ingredients

Sherbet Digi Stamp (The Creative Cottage)
Promarkers
"Flowery" Paper Pack (Papermania)
Ribbon (Dovecraft)
Sentiment Stamp (Cuddly Buddly)
Punches (Martha Stewart & Stampin' Up)

Well, that's all for tonight...I shall be back tomorrow with a card or two as I plan to delve into my new stash later! Ohhh I'm soooo excited!

Cupcake Craft Challenge #72

Hello and Happy New Year to you all!

Sorry I've not been around during the holidays, I spent some time with family back in the UK! It was lovely to see everyone, but wow... you guys are really spoilt with the snow! I lost count of the snowmen I saw whilst over in Blighty!

Ok, so now for the craft stuff! Well as you may be aware, I was Guest Designer for Cupcake Craft Challenge during the month of December, and I was delighted when I was asked to stay on as a permanent member of the Design Team! I'm joining a team of super talented ladies, thanks so much for putting your faith in me to fly the flag for Cupcake!

Ok, here goes for the new challenge (I'm a day late as this challenge began yesterday), so for the first challenge of 2010 we'd love to see your NEW BABY creations. Here's my DT card...

Ingredients:

Image - Stamp from Penny Black (not sure of name)
Colouring medium - Promarkers
Paper - K & Co
Sentiment - Stamp from Artemio
Embellishments - Ribbon (Papermania), Brads (Poppicrafts), Gems

I'm entering this card into 2 challenges, Stamp Something which is "New Somethings" (I used some of my new Promarkers and the ribbon - had it for a bit but never used it) and also By The Cute & Girly Challenge which is "NEW".

Nip over to the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog to check out the prize and also the lovely creations from the other DT members!