Talk to the Bear

Afternoon blog friends.

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

I am feeling really chuffed at the moment. I have been asked by Dream Valley Challenges to be part of their team. And...watch this space for another team I have been asked to join. Gosh I am going to be a busy girl. Little did I know when I started blogging just a few months ago that it was going to be such an important part of my life. So to all the friends who have joined me along the way and the wonderful people from the challenge blogs, I want to say a huge thank you. 

The card I have today is Mo Mannings Talk to the Bear. 

Isn't she so darn cute. And look at the expression on the teddy's face - he does not look a happy chappy!!!

The papers are some I downloaded and love these colours - sure makes a change from pink!!!

Papers - The Paper shelter (Distinguished)

Colouring medium - Copic Marker

Butterflight die - Tim Holtz

Leafy die - Cheery Lynn

Sentiment - Whimsy stamps (computer generated onto whimsy stamp)

Ribbon and pearls from own stash. 

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges

http://whimsyinspires.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes
http://www.pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - for the girls
http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Ribbons and bows
http://www.totallygorjuss.blogspot.no - punches and dies
http://atcswithattitude.blogspot.no/ - anything goes
http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.co.uk - anything goes

See you soon. 

                           
               

Butterfly Babies

Morning friends.

I can't wait to colour this little cutie in knowing that I will be helping children with the terrible disease that is Epidermolysis Bullosa. Krista from Saturated Canary is donoting money from the sale of this digi for 1 week to help these poor little children. Why not check out Krista's blog where you can find details of this terrible disease.  

It's my Party

Hi friends.

As I mentioned last week I was at the funeral of my friends mum only to be told when I got home that another friend sadly lost her mum. Well that funeral was today. It was such a beautiful service and  I don't know how anyone can keep composed enough to give a eulogy but she did and how proud I am of her. It was in difficult circumstances but it was so lovely to get together with three close friends. We have been together through marriages, divorces, births and I guess the rites of passage inevitably sees us together at funerals. 

As I do when I am feeling emotional - I make a card. It is LOTV's It's my party. So love this image.

I used this image when it was my step daughters birthday last year because this is so Kayleigh.

It never took very much to get in a strop. Thankfully it didn't take much to get her out of one either. 

Will somebody slap me and tell me "you have more crafty bits in your stash - you don't always have to use that butterfly"!!! Would be difficult though cos I love it. 

Just for a change I am going to list items used at the end of the post. 

Craftwork cards - card blank

LOTV - It's my Party

Coloured with - Copic Markers, Pro Markers and Flexi markers

Nitwit collections - backing papers

Memory box - Butterfly on ribbon - available from many on line stores

Tim Holtz - Butterflight border - bought at local craft shop

WOC - Flowers

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - Princess metal embellishment.

|I would like to enter this card into the following challenges.

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - add flowers
http://craft-roomchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Childhood memories
http://squigglestamps.blogspot.co.uk - Dies and Punches
http://www.craftdoormagazine.com/ - anything goes
http://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.co.uk - girly girly, prim and proper
http://cutedaisymay.blogspot.co.uk/ - things with wings
http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ - for a child
http://cardcrafterscircle.blogspot.co.uk/ - Ribbon and roses
http://deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - use metal

Thank you for stopping by. I am now going to view your wonderful blogs and make a comment or two. See you soon.

Keep Calm and Drink Wine

Morning blogger friends.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend and the sun is shining. As I mentioned on my last post I have had quite an emotional week but I am feeling much better now. Thank you all for your lovely comments. 

I was having a good old wander round on Pink Gem Designs site last week and could not resist the Digi for today's card. I think I may just have to take the words on this post very seriously indeed. Forget all those well meaning and philosophical captions that are around on Facebook and lots of other media - I believe I need no other advice than what is on this card!!!

 The card blank is from Craftwork Cards. The papers are a mixture of Pink Petticoat and Gina Jane Studios. 

I have made the scalloped border by punching out some hearts and turning them upside down. 

The leafty die in from Cheery Lynn and the Butterfly die is from Memory Box.

The Large flower is from a Papermania pack and the rose is from WOC.

Russ is taking me to Costa's for a coffee now so when I sit down this evening after taking my cards advice - I will be back to wander your blogs and leave some comments. Have a good week friends and see you all soon. 

 I am entering this card into the following challenges.

http://paper-craftingjourney.blogspot.co.uk/ - sentiments
http://crazychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Spots or Stripes
http://ladybugcrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ anything goes
http://craftingforallseasons.blogspot.co.uk/ - things with wings
http://myheartpiecesdigitalstampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk - anything goes
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk - sentiment
http://digidoodleshopsbest.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Baby Boy

Hi friends.

I will try and not be too gloomy as I am writing this post but to be honest I feel very gloomy. I have been to my friends mums funeral today which saddened me deeply. They were all so brave and Denise I love you and I am so proud of you. Big hugs. As soon as I got home I found out that another dear friend lost her mum on Monday. Double wammy eh!!! I did not tell Russ about the second loss as he was so chuffed today to be invited by his boss to go to Manchester to watch the Man United match this evening and I did not want to spoil his fun. So I am feeling a bit sorry for myself and the wine is going down very well and I may possibly start to slur my sentences soon. - is that possible!!! 

On the plus side, to try and cheer myself up I made a card. It is a LOTV stamp Baby Boy which I have had for a while now and not inked up before. 

Baby Boy

I started with a card blank from Craftwork Cards. The papers are from Nitwit collections called Sunshine and Laughter. I have coloured the little cutie with a mixture of Copic Markers and Pro Markers.

The border is by Memory Box and is called Cherish border - available from many on line shops. 

The ribbon and the bling button I received after winning a challenge and are from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop which I need to pay a visit to and stock up on the gorgeous ribbon. Hey, there's a thought - that would cheer me up no end. And the beauty of on line shops - they never close!!!

The flowers are from WOC and the sentiments are from LOTV. The butterfly is a punch all over the page punch from Martha Stewart.

I am entering this card into the following challenges
http://mymumscraftshopchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Challenge 75 - Hearts and flowers

http://disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - more than 1 die cut/punch
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com.au/ - Bingo - Border die/yellow/button
http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.nl/ - Things with wings
http://mymumscraftshopchallenges.blogspot.co.uk - Hearts and flowers
http://diekreativenstempelfreunde.blogspot.co.uk/ - new stamp
http://hookedoncraftchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - for a male
http://itsybitsyindia.blogspot.in - All the B's - Bow, bling
http://sassycherylschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - die cuts
http://www.craftdoormagazine.com/ - anything goes

Enjoy the rest of your evening friends.

Love Birds

Morning friend bloggers.

Hope you are all well and enjoyed your weekend - don't they go just to darn fast. 

My card today has been made for a colleague at work who asked my to make her a Wedding Card. The Wedding card I put on a previous post is for the same Wedding party so I wanted to make something very different from that. Well I found this gorgeous digi from Pink Gem Designs called Love Birds and it fitted the bill perfectly. Good pun there as digi's are so good on the pocket. 

Love Birds. 

Aren't they just so so sweet. The Card Blank is from Craftwork Cards and the papers are from Pink Petticoat - love these papers.

I have paper pieced the image with the paper apart from the wings which I coloured with Copic Markers
The flowers are from WOC

The floral die is by Memory Box and is called Catalina Wreath. I purchased this from a craft fair but it is available from many on line stores. The Ribbon and the heart are from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop which I won from a challenge. I shall definitely be buying some more ribbons from them as my winning stash was just gorgeous.

I am entering this card into the following challenges.
http://songbirdchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Defying Gravity
http://paperprettiesblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - add ribbon
http://dreamvalleychallenges.blogspot.co.uk - celebration
http://lovetocreatechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Thing with wings
http://cinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/ - colour combo
http://simplycreatetoo.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes
http://www.tammyscrapincorner.com - anything goes
http://heckofachallenge.blogspot.co.uk - anything goes
http://thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - bling it on

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed your visit and if you leave a comment I will be sure to visit you.

Rosie with Presents

Good Afternoon friends.

Gosh it's so quiet. All I can hear is myself pressing down on the computer keys. Bliss. Russ has gone paint balling. Sophie has gone out for the day to see Phantom of the Opera (lucky girl) so there is just myself and Lara (the cat). I am really enjoying the silence whilst I can. Hope you are all well. Thank you for the information about a candy give away - that will be on my to do list during the next couple of weeks.

For my card today I have used LOTV Rosie with presents. 

She has been coloured using Pro Markers and Flexi Markers with a Polychromo pencil for the shading around the image. The papers are from Nitwit Collections .

The flowers are from WOC and the sentiments are from LOTV. The die butterfly is by Memory Box. The ribbon is from my own stash and sorry but I can't remember where I bought the corner die.

I am entering this card into the following challenges
http://thesquirrelandthefox.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes
http://wildorchidchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Layer it up
http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Sugar and Spice
http://stampandcreateblog.blogspot.co.uk - Anything goes
http://promarkerchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ Yellow and green
http://paperprettiesblog.blogspot.co.uk - Create a birthday card

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

A question for my blogging friends

Morning friends.

No card today but I have question that I am hoping you can help me with. I have thoroughly enjoyed the past few months in the blogging world. I do feel sorry for Russ though as he has lost the chatty Sharon because I have always got my head stuck in computer. 

As a way of thanking all you wonderful people for becoming a follower, I would like to give away some candy on my blog and wondered if you could tell me the best way to achieve this. Should I set up a linky device or a random generator and which one is the easiest. 

When I reach 100 followers I am going to give away a LOTV gift certificate and more give always for every 50 after that. This is not a bribe to become a follower (although I would love it if you did) but a genuine thank you to each and every follower who spends their time giving such wonderful comments. 

 Bye for now

Little Ballerina

Morning friend bloggers

Hope you are all well. The theme over at Diva's by Design this week is "For a Child". The challenge has been sponsored by Lili of the Valley. Whoever wins this challenge is going to have such a hard time picking which of their totally gorgeous stamps they would like.  I have used the adorable Little Ballerina - isn't she so cute.

Little Ballerina

The card blank is from Craftwork Cards and the papers are from NitWit Collections called Apple Butter Charm Too. I have coloured her in with Pro and Flexi Markers and she has had Diamond Sparkles added to her skirt.

The flowers are from WOC. The Sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps and the butterfly die is by Tim Holtz called Butterflight.

Because this is a card for a 3 year old child I have added 3 birthday candles to the card which can be detached.

The ribbon is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop

I am entering this card into the following challenges
http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ - butterflies buttons and bows
http://southerngirlschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - bling
http://nellieshandmadecards.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/little-ballerina.html - layers
http://thepapershelter.blogspot.co.uk/ - punch it
http://paperprettiesblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - punch
http://deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - celebration
http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Pink

Patchwork Daisy

Good afternoon blogger friends.

I didn't think I would be back today but I was just having 5 mins whilst wandering around the web when I clicked on Lili's Little Fairies Challenge blog. They have extended the current challenge whilst they search for some more DT members. Well, there's I thought, I thought (does that make sense). And the next minute I am in my craft room putting together a card to fit this challenge. (Has to include black). Well I tell you, a miracle happened this afternoon. Normally a card would take me between 2 and 4 hours depending on the mojo.  But I kid you not I have completed the card and will have published it in approx 2hrs. I have to say I am pretty pleased with the results

So here goes. 

Patchwork Daisy

The card blank is from Craftwork Cards. The image is by LOTV and is called Patchwork Daisy - so cute. I have used Copic Markers and a Polychromo Pencil for the shadow.

The papers are by Gina Jane Studios and are a download.  I love these papers - don't know why I haven't used them before.  The ribbon is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop. The butterfly die is by Memory box.

The flowers, hat pin and metal embellishment are from WOC. The border butterfly die is by Tim Holtz called Butterflight. Love love love this. 

And one last picture for good measure!!!

I am entering this card into the following Challenges

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Add some black
http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - black/pink

http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/ - things that make you go awwh
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.co.uk/ - Add gems
http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.co.uk - birthday themed card
http://ribbongirls.blogspot.co.uk/ -  add some pearls
http://cutedaisymay.blogspot.co.uk/ - buttons or bows
http://lovetocreatechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - bows or twine
http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.co.uk/ colour challenge
http://theribbonreelchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Blk/white/pink

Thank you so much to my followers for taking the time to wander through my blog and a big hello to all non  followers who have called for a visit. Happy Crafting

List of Challenges

Morning friends.

I have no card today but I thought I would share with you my challenge list. I found that searching the web for challenges in which I could enter my cards very time consuming. So, I decided to spend some time (a whole day to be exact) trolling through the net and compiling a list. I will keep adding to this list as I come across new challenges. The list is in alphabetical order and they are linked. I hope you will find this as useful as I have. 

See you tomorrow

Tilda Ballerina

Evening friends.

Well it looks like the start of a new week is the start of a much cooler week. Best get the grass cut before the rain starts again. That's enough boring stuff how has the craft world been for you. I have managed to get two cards done today. The one I am now posting and a DT card for  Diva's by Design which will go out on Wednesday. I think I have been in a definite pink and yellow phase today as I have used these colours for both cards. They have also both got the Tim Holtz Butterflight die which I bought last week. I absolutely love this die but have not bought it before as I was told that it will not go through the Wizard or the Grand Calibur. Well...I decided to buy it and had a word with Linda who runs a craft class in town and she kindly let me cut a few out on her Culttlebug. And when I got home I found out it does actually work in my wizard with the pink plate. Yipee. 

For today's card I have used the gorgeous Tilda Ballerina

Today's card I have used the gorgeous Tilda Ballerina

Her face and hair have been coloured with Pro and Flexi markers and her dress and the shading have been coloured with Polychromo pencils and blended with Sansador.  The papers are from NitWit Collections called Apple Butter Charm Too. 

The flowers and hat pin are from WOC. The ribbon is from The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop. The Sentiments are from LOTV. The gorgeous die is by Tim Holtz called Butterflight and the small butterfly die on the robbon is from Whimsy Stamps.

I am entering this card into the following challenges

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.co.uk - layers
http://southerngirlschallenge.blogspot.co.uk - All about the Flora
http://thesquirrelandthefox.blogspot.co.uk -Anything goes
http://www.lovesrubberstampschallenges.com/ -Anything goes
http://natalieandamy.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything goes
http://simplymagnolia.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything goes
http://justmagnolia.blogspot.co.uk/ - / butterflies and bling

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Mirror Mirror

Evening blogger friends

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. As I told you in my last post my daughter Sophie fell and cracked a bone in her hand. The swelling didn't seem to be going down and she was in a lot of pain. We decided we needed to go back to the hospital. Good job we did as she didn't just crack her bone in her hand, she broke two fingers and cracked a bone in her wrist also. She has gone from a splint to a plaster. Bless.

On to my card for today. This is a card I made a while ago but decided to do some tweaking. The stamp is a LOTV stamp called Mirror Mirror. 

The image has been coloured in Copic Markers. I can't remember where the papers are from as I have had them a while. The flowers are from WOC as are the metal embellishments. 

The butterfly in the top left corner is by Memory Box and the butterfly in the bottom right is by Whimsy stamps. The sentiment is also from Whimsy Stamps. The ribbon and the hat pin are from The Pretty Liitle Ribbon Shop.

I am entering this card into the following challenges.

http://deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.ca - Things with wings
http://www.tammyscrapincorner.com - anything with wings
http://blog.ribboncarousel.com - bows
http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.co.uk - add a flower
http://www.lovesrubberstampschallenges.com - anything goes
http://thepinkelephantchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - use patterned paper

Thanks for stopping by and have fun the rest of the weekend.

Craft Room Storage Ideas

Hello blogger friends and followers. 

I just wanted to share with you some of the storage I use for my craft products. To save money (so that I can buy crafty bits)!!! I have begged a lot of storage from work. Hopefully it may help or inspire you with any storage problems you may have.

The stand below used to have sunglasses on it. I saw it out in the warehouse ready to be skipped. Oh no, I can think of a lot better use for it than in a skipped!!!

Great storage for all my rubber stamps. 

 My Clarity Stamps are on another side

Spellbinders on another side

I purchased some wooden blocks from a Craft Fair (I will add the link when I remember where I bought them) to hold my Pro Marker and Flexi Markers but found as time went on that I had not got enough. I merchandise the Rimmel Make Up stand and work and when last month we had a new stand put in, I was right in there!!!

The cases that used to hold lip glosses were perfect for my Markers, so rather than them be skipped  I put them to good use. 

These are the original holders

and these are the lip gloss holders. Luckily there was enough so that I could keep all the colour groups in a different holder.

My Copic Markers are in a plastic carrier which held price label overlays.

My flowers and my most used punches are on the shelves above my desk so that they are in easy reach.

My final picture is a clothes hanger which I keep all my odd lengths of ribbon. I found that if I kept them in a draw, they would end up in a mess once I had waded through them. 

If any of you crafters have any ideas on how to store backing papers - particularly downloaded papers as I get in such a mess with mine I would love to hear them.

Thank you for stopping by.