Fairy on Tiptoe

Hi everyone, this little sweetie has recently taken up residence at my house and I was desperate to use her, so I thought I'd enter this weeks LOTV challenge which is a sketch by Dawny P. This is a first for me as I've never entered one of their challenges before.
Another first with this card was remembering to use my Flowersoft on the little flowers. I've had a couple of pots of this for well over a year now and never got around to using it before. I was a bit apprehensive, but everything worked well and I love the textured look. Oh and I also used my new Stardust Stickles quite liberally too LOL.
I can't remember the last time I entered a challenge, so with that thought in mind I've managed to fit my card to quite a few and they are:

Lilli of the Valley - Challenge 55
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Dazzle Us
Passion for Promarkers - Pink Birthday
My Time to Craft - Xtra Special
A Spoon full of Sugar - Floral Delight
Stamp Something - Happy Somethings

Card Details:
* Image -  Lilli of the Valley 'Fairy on Tiptoe'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Papermania 'Blueberry Hill'
* Sentiment -  Papermania 'Rose Garden'
* Everything else from my stash

I'm hoping that this will see the start of  my return to crafting and blogging (in fact, I'm working on another card at the moment) and I'll also be resuming my DT role with Sketch & Stash from the next challenge too.
I've been visiting and commenting on some of my fave blogs over the last week or so and I'm looking forward to catching up with you all in the coming days.
Until then, thanks for visiting and take care,

WOYWW - a bit of a cheat?

Hi everyone, well, this post title refers to me, or maybe more to the point to this photo!
Yes, I know you've seen it before and only a couple of days ago too, but there IS a reason for posting it again, honest!

You see, for ages now I've been wanting to join in with WOYWW (what's on your workdesk Wednesday) but what with one thing and another I've never managed it.
Well, last week Julia and the rest of the gang celebrated a WHOLE YEAR of fun and I really wanted to start off the 'new' year by being a part of it all, so yesterday I reminded myself NOT to clear up all my mess when I finished what I was doing, but instead to take a photo ready for today.
Obviously, I promptly then forgot all about it again and cleared up my mess, which means my workdesk looks exactly the same as this again at the moment.
In view of this saga I hope I may be forgiven and allowed to join in and I promise I'll try really hard not to clean up next week!

For those of you who think I've now lost the plot completely and have no idea what I'm talking about, take a trip over to the beloved leader Julia's blog and look at all the other WOYWW gang members workdesks......but BE WARNED it's very addictive!!!

 

My new haven and an update

Hi everyone,

Well as promised here are the photos of my new craft room.  I've included some 'before' photos too so you can see the difference.

BEFORE

AFTER

I have to say the photos don't really do it justice, it is so bright and has loads of storage space for all my 'stuff' (although I think I could possibly do with even more!!!???!!!)
My darling DH was so busy and he couldn't have chosen a hotter few days could he, bless him.
I have got doors etc. but I told DH I didn't want them fitted yet as I'm sure I'll need to adjust some things once I start working in there. I also thought that if I can see my stash I may be more likely to use it, rather than forgetting about it all the time, which is what I tended to do before.
I'm sure I'll have doors on some of the base cupboards eventually, but I think I may leave the wall cabinets as they are so I can have space to store my pretty 'bits and bobs'

My visit to the Doctor on Friday went quite well and I'm hoping that 'normal service may resume shortly' lol! at least as far as my blog is concerned.
Following on from my little break from crafting, I've decided to step down from a couple of my DT roles though, so in future I will no longer be part of either Crafty Ann's Challenge or the CD Sunday challenge. I'm sad to leave them but we will all stay good friends and keep in touch and I'm sure I shall be joining in some of the challenges too.
I shall still remain part of the DT for Sketch & Stash and I'm hoping to get back to joining in with them again very soon.
I'm sure I've made the right decision for me at this time and although I shall miss the fun we used to have, I think I shall enjoy the freedom of 'just because' crafting again rather than fitting in with a particular theme. All I need to do now is get better at finding challenges to match the cards I make!

I'm sorry this has been such a long post, but I wanted to let you all know what's been happening and thank you for all your support and understanding.

...and the winner is......

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to  thank you all for joining in with Crafty Ann's blog hop last fortnight and to let you know who won my 2 giveaway sheets from the gorgeous, new flower collection.
My winner was Myrto!!!
Congratulations Myrto, just pop over to the challenge blog and e-mail Ann to collect your prize.
I hope the rest of you will remember to pop over to Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog to find out who the lucky winner of the final 5 sheets was and don't forget to join in with the team again for the next challenge which is to use your (World Cup) country's colours.

As you can see, I'm still not blogging at the moment, although I have been doing lots of colouring lately and I'm sure all these coloured images will come in handy once I'm back card making again.
Actually I'm totally fed up with myself now and just want life to get back to normal. My darling DH has even kitted me out with a brand new craft room to try and cheer me up, bless him! I'm so lucky to have him.
I'll share some piccies with you all once it's finished. It seems like a good opportunity to have a good old sort out too, heaven knows what I shall find that I'd forgotten about!
I'm off to the doctor's later today, so we'll see what happens there. For those of you who know me well, you'll realise that (as ever) I'm hoping for an instant miracle cure!! LOL!
Thank you for all the supportive messages you've been kind enough to leave me, they really have helped to brighten my days.
Love and hugs to you all until next time

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog DT Card #15 and Bloghop!

Hi everyone, it's already time for challenge #15 at Crafty Ann's and we're having our very first BLOG HOP!
We're celebrating the launch of the Flower Collection of pre-coloured images from Crafty Ann's Digi Shop .
To join in, you need to start at the beginning which is the challenge blog so if you have come to me from there you're on the right lines.
To be in with a chance of winning these two sheets from the new collection, just leave me a comment. The winners will be announced at the start of challenge #16 on 4th June (for my prize and for the main challenge blog prize)

Don't forget to collect the two words you need from me which are: MAKE and PEOPLE
When you leave here, your next stop will be Ann who has some wonderful inspiration for you and two more sheets and two more words.
When you have visited all the blogs, you need to end up back at the challenge blog and follow the instructions on there to find out what to do to be in with a chance of winning the final 5 sheets.

You've probably noticed that there's no card from me today, actually I'm having a little break from things for a while.
Following my beloved Mum's death in January, things have been getting a little overwhelming and I've decided to take some time off to try to sort myself out.
I hope to be back with you all before too long though, and I may be doing some blog-hopping and commenting (who knows?)
Until then, take care blogging buddies and thank you for all your comments and support.
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon

Sketch & Stash DT card #35

Hi everyone, today's card is for the Sketch & Stash challenge, where this week we are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp and our sketch is by the lovely Lols.

It seemed like a long time since I last used one of the fabulous Mo Manning images, so this is another of the ones that I purchased a little while ago from Digital Pencil Too and is called 'Bye Bye'.

Card Details:
* Image - Mo Manning 'Bye Bye'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - My Mind's Eye
* Sentiment - Digi download
* Everything else from my stash

The gorgeous digi sentiment was one of a few that I downloaded some time ago. Unfortunately, whilst trying to organise my PC recently, I lost the copyright notice and I now have no idea where it originally came from, so if you know please drop me a line.
Don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to see the other DT cards and find out who our lucky winner was last week.

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog DT Card #14 and some news!

Hi everyone, it's time for Challenge #14 at Crafty Ann's where the theme this fortnight is 'Anything Goes'
Be sure to read to the end of the post for some exciting news

I'd like to thank all of you who have been joining in with us lately, we seem to be getting more entries with every challenge.
Unfortunately I've been unable to leave a comment on some of the foreign blogs as my PC just shows their blog text as little squares. I've tried using a different search engine (which worked for some of my fellow DT) but, alas, no joy for me. If you are one of those people please accept my apologies and also my thanks for continuing to join in with us each fortnight.

Card Details:
* Image - Crafty Ann's 'Aga', Stamping Boutique's 'Chair' & Magnolia's 'Kitchen Tilda'
* Colouring medium -Promarkers
* Papers -Papermania & K & Co
* Sentiment - Greeting Card Factory CD
* Everything else from my stash

I asked Ann to create this range cooker as I thought it would be perfect with all those little cooking cuties and how right I was! She has done such a superb job of designing both this and the little armchair that I asked for, so THANK YOU ANN!
I couldn't wait to use this and had such fun creating this little kitchen scene, I love it and I hope you like it too. I used some subtly patterned Papermania paper as wallpaper behind the range (not sure it shows up too well in the photo)
I know how lots of you love the freedom of an 'Anything Goes' challenge theme, so I hope you manage to join in with us again this time.

And now for that special news......
Don't forget to join us for the next challenge on 21st of May because we have our very first BLOG HOP to celebrate the launch of...................no, you'll have to wait until the 21st for that bit - but there are prizes to be won on every blog so don't forget to put the date in your diary! 

CD Sunday Challenge 3 - Baby Talk

Hi everyone, it's Sunday again so that must mean another CD Sunday challenge .
This week's theme is 'Baby Talk' so why not get digging into those CDs and join in.

Card Details:
* Image - Joanna Sheen's - Baby Love CD
* Papers - My Mind's Eye & Hot Off The Press
* Punch - Martha Stewart 'Doily Lace'
* Everything else from my stash

I love this image of the sweet toddler climbing the steps to reach her doll, so adorable (look at those chubby little arms and legs! aaahhh)
Thanks to everyone who entered the challenge last week, the DT loved seeing what you all created and we're hoping you manage to join in with us again.
Don't forget to pop over and check out what everyone else created this week.

Sketch & Stash DT card #34

Hi everyone, today's card is for Sketch & Stash, where we're being sponsored by Whiff of Joy this fortnight and Becky has designed yet another wonderful sketch for us.
Thank you to all those of you who managed to join us for the last challenge, the DT loved seeing all your entries.

Card Details:
* Image - Whiff of Joy 'Oakley with Slipover' and 'Tree Stump'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers -Papermania 'Springtime'
* Sentiment - Greeting Card Factory CD
* Everything else from my stash

My new stash was my papers, I thought they looked great with this cute image.
I just loved using this sketch as it allowed the image to be the focal point, I really liked the uncluttered look of it.
I hope you get the opportunity to join in with us again this time and please pop over to the challenge blog to see what everyone else came up with.

CD Sunday Challenge 2 - Artfully Asian

Hi everyone, I'm back today with my card for the second challenge at CD Sunday where the theme this week is 'Artfully Asian'.
Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm not 'into' oriental style cards. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing what other people do with the lovely images, but personally I'm useless at making them look attractive. Consequently I never make oriental cards if it can be helped, so this theme really WAS a challenge for me.
In order to try to make my card a little more appealing, I decided to use the wonderful octagonal easel card template from Crafty Ann's.

Card Details:
* Image - Joanna Sheen's 'Oriental Dreams' CD
* Papers - K & Co
* Everything else from my stash

I used a Sakura Pen-Touch gold pen (also from Joanna Sheen) to edge the template, mounted the image onto some pearlescent paper, designer paper and gold miri card and finished off with a couple of oriental peel-offs.
The 'stand' part of the easel card was embellished with Spellbinder's Shapeabilities 'Fancy Tags' die cut and the sentiment was produced on the PC.

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog DT Card #13

 Hi  everyone, today's card is my DT creation for Crafty Ann's Challenge where the theme this fortnight is a recipe.
Pop over for more details and to see what the rest of the DT have come up with, you won't be disappointed.
We're also welcoming a new member of the DT......
Irene has agreed to join us and I'm so happy as I've always adored her style of card making, so I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with her permanently from now on.

This image from Ann has to be one of my favourites, I think it has such a beautiful 'vintage' look to it.
I've made this a large card (8x8) and added quite a lot of embellishments to it as it's also destined to be my best friend's birthday card.
It's very sparkly, so she's sure to love it as she's a great believer in the adage that a girl can never have too much sparkle (now you know why we're best friends, we always think alike)
By the time I'd finished making this my whole house sparkled, so I think I'll have to pop a note in, to warn her to have her hoover handy LOL!

Card Details:
* Image - Crafty Ann's 'Music Collage 3'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Crafty Ann's 'Polished Brights - Earth Tones (pale brown)' and
                 Doodlebug Design Paper Potpourri 'Bon Bon Boutique- Daydream'
* Sentiment - computer generated (on tag) and Dawn Bibby peel-offs (on ribbon)
* Everything else from my stash

I used Crystal Lacquer on the violin and bow, to give it a glossy finish as if it were well polished wood (well that was the plan anyway) The tag was hand drawn and then stamped with Personal Impressions 'Swirls & Flourishes' clear stamp using 'Walnut Stain' distress ink. The dark chocolate satin ribbon is part of a prize of gorgeous ribbons that I have had sitting in my stash for ages, because I think they're much too beautiful to use.

I do hope you manage to join us, oh and if you joined in with our last challenge, don't forget to pop over to check who the lucky winner was.


Have you seen this fabulous candy being offered by Rach?
You have until 2/5 to enter, but please don't, as I really want to win this lol!

Just Magnolia - First Birthday Celebration

Hi everyone, I think I may just manage to make this challenge by the skin of my teeth!
As Just Magnolia are celebrating their 1st birthday and because I'm a HUGE Tilda fan, I really wanted to join in with this challenge and I've been trying to get my card ready and join in their bloghop for nearly a week now. Still, better late than never.
The sketch was from the lovely Mina and was an absolute joy to use (I shall be using this again and again) and there was also the optional twist of 'Thank You' which I decided to go for.

Card Details:
* Image - Magnolia 'Tilda with Tulips'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Laura Ashley and K & Co
* Mat - Nellie Snellen frame
* Everything else from my stash

I used my distress inks to edge the mat while it was still in the cuttlebug, but I don't think I did a very good job of it. I've seen this effect used on other blogs and it looks much better than mine, ah well, practice makes perfect.
I hope you like this as much as I do (I NEVER normally like my cards!) and I'll be back again on Friday with my DT card for Crafty Ann's challenge.

CD Sunday Challenge 1 - Wings and Things

Hi everyone, well today's the launch of Wendy's brand new challenge blog CD Sunday Challenge!
The first theme is 'Wings & Things' which should give you loads of choices for using your CDs. Will you go for birds, butterflies, fairies (like me) or something completely different?
Whatever you decide on, we'd love to see your finished creations, so please try and join in with us. If you need a little bit of inspiration, try checking out the DT cards, they're just amazing!
I made a silly mistake with this by deciding to tint  the punched edge with my Promarkers. It looked OK at the time, but it has bled rather nastily now, probably due to using pearlescent paper (something I shall have to remember for the future) 

Card Details:
* Image - My Craft Studio 'Walk in Wonderland'
* Punch - Martha Stewart deep edge 'Garden Trellis'
* Everything else from my stash

If you're anything like me, you have lots of CDs that hardly ever get used (I usually seem to forget about them until after I've made a card!) so I'm really looking forward to getting in the habit of using all those beautiful images, papers and embellishments that I'd forgotten I had, if you're the same, why not join in?
Maybe you already use lots of CDs in your crafting, if so, why not share the end results with us?
Either way the DT would love to see what you all manage to create and don't forget to let us know which CD you used......we may just have to add it to our wishlists!

A Family Card and Happy Memories

Hi everyone, I thought I'd just post this card that I made for my wonderful Uncle's birthday.
John is my Mum's brother and was the baby of the family, sadly he's been quite poorly for a while but he usually loves the vintage style cards that I make (not that he's biased or anything lol!) so I hope he likes this one too.
I've had these vintage car images for ages, so long that I can't remember where they originally came from, I'm afraid.

Card Details:
* Papers - K & Co and Hot Off The Press
* Alphabet Stickers - Brenda Walton (from QVC)
* Everything else from my stash

I'm entering this card for the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew #48 - Happy Birthday
My Time To Craft #87 - Pretty Pearls
Paper Cutz Challenge #36 - 3 Patterned Papers

Speaking of my lovely Mum, I thought I'd pop on a photo which I've just framed. It was taken 5 years ago at my eldest son's wedding. It was such a lovely day and this brought back so many happy memories. The photo originally included a couple of other people, but I scanned it and cropped them out as I wanted it to be just Mum and I.

I'll be back on Sunday with my first DT card for Wendy's brand new CD Sunday Challenge so if you're not otherwise engaged, why not pop over and take a look or drop by here to see what I've come up with.
Take care blogging buddies!

Sketch & Stash DT card #33 and some news

Hi everyone, here's my DT card for this fortnight's  Sketch & Stash challenge.
My new stash is the beautiful Whiff of Joy stamp and my neglected stash the lovely Fred She Said freebie flowers.
This fortnight the brilliant sketch is by Becky and it's also her turn to pick the next guest DT.
Don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog and see if you were lucky enough to win the Simon Says voucher last fortnight and just take a look at the DT and guest DT cards for this challenge, they're amazing!
We're being sponsored by Bunny Zoe this time and these are the gorgeous prizes on offer:

Card Details:
* Image - Whiff of Joy 'Shopping Willow'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Papermania 'Simply Elegant'
* Flowers - Fred She Said 'Pink & Mellow'
* Everything else from my stash

I have some news for you, starting on 18th April there will be a new challenge blog called 'The CD Sunday Challenge'
As the name suggests, this will concentrate on cards made using crafting CDs (whether it's papers, images or just embellishments) and the very exciting part for me is that I've been asked to be one of the DT!!!.
You may already be aware that Wendy has been making CD Sunday cards for some time and showcasing them on her blog, but now she's decided to start a challenge blog as the perfect opportunity to make better use of those gorgeous CDs we all seem to have. I always seem to forget about using them, how about you?
I'd love it if you could try and join in with us, just pop over to the challenge blog to see more details.

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog DT Card #12

Hi everyone, this is my DT card for Crafty Ann's Challenge, where the theme this fortnight is 'Let the Sunshine In'. You can interpret this any way you wish, as long as it's to do with the sun or summer.
Pop over to the blog for further details and to see the other DT cards for some inspiration, and while you're there don't forget to check and see who our lucky winner for Challenge 11 was!
I couldn't believe how many of you joined in with us for the last challenge, I had such a fab time visiting all your blogs and I hope you'll manage to join in again this fortnight too.

Card Details:
* Image - Crafty Ann's - 'Bluebell Sheet'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Crafty Ann's - Polished Stone 'Pastels'
* Punch - Martha Stewart deep edge 'Garden Trellis'
* Everything else from my stash

I'm afraid I haven't managed to do much lately. A mixture of neck and back pain, together with a large case of the blues struck, so I've decided I'll just have to 'go with the flow' and craft and blog when I feel up to it.
I'm sure a lot of this is to do with losing Mum earlier this year, so I'm expecting it all to be an ongoing problem for a while yet.
I'd like to say a huge 'Thank You' to all of my friends who continue to visit and leave me such lovely comments, they mean so much to me.

Sketch & Stash DT card #32

Hi everyone, it's time for challenge 32 over at Sketch & Stash.
To those of you who entered challenge 31, let me start by saying how difficult you made my task of choosing a guest DT. Your entries were absolutely gorgeous and I just loved that you all managed to create your own take on my sketch.
My final choice will be posted on the challenge blog today, together with the winner of the $10 gift certificate from Digital Delights, so don't forget to pop over and check.....it could be YOU!
This week we're back to another gorgeous sketch from Becky and the challenge is being sponsored by the wonderful Simon Says Stamp so why not try to join in, there are 2 whole weeks until the closing date.

I hope you like my card and if you are in need of any inspiration, please pop over and check out the other DT cards, because they're all fabulous, as usual.

Card Details:
* Image - Mo's Digital Pencil Too - 'Mummu'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Laura Ashley - 'Traditional'
* Punch - Martha Stewart 'Valentine Lace' & EK Success 'Retro Flower'
* Sentiment tag - Crafty Ann's - 'Ticket' (handwritten by me)
* Everything else from my stash

The image I chose this week was another recently purchased from Mo. I just LOVE Mummu, she has such style! I must tell you that all Mo's images are a dream to colour and this one was certainly no exception.
I made the flowers from the 'Retro' punches again and they have been sprayed with Glimmer Mist, sprinkled with Glamour Dust and I added some Stickles to the edges for extra sparkle. I even remembered to use some 'Vintage Photo' Distress Inks to distress the edges of the image and the flowers!

Sadly, my neck started playing up again yesterday, so I'm in absolute agony again and can barely move my head at all (without lots of yelping!).
I had lots of 'little challenges' set for myself this week, now I guess I'll just have to see how things go!

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog DT Card #11

Hi everyone, it's time for Crafty Ann's challenge again (how fast did that fortnight go?) and the theme this time is:
A card, gift or memento for a someone special to you.
A short while ago, I asked Ann if she could make a digi image of a nice, comfy armchair, to be used for my sitting cuties. Well, she came up with this fabulous creation, which was exactly what I'd had in mind. Unfortunately, I was too late to use it for my last DT card, (although I notice that certain other DT members managed it! LOL!) so I just had to use it this time. From what I gather, a lot of you are finding it pretty irresistible too!
(I've requested another couple of items to go with the cute images too, so watch this space!)

Card Details:
* Image - Crafty Ann's 'Easy Chair' & Charmed Crafts & Cards 'Elegant Annie'
* Colouring medium - Promarkers
* Papers - Crafty Ann's 'Wood Grain' & Laura Ashley 'Contemporary'
* Punch - Martha Stewart 'Double Scallop'
* Mat - Nellie Snellen Oval frames
* Pearl Pin - Simon Says Stamp (part of my recent challenge card win)
* Sentiment - Computer generated
* Everything else from my stash

In case you wondered, I made the pattern on the chair by using a Glitz rubber stamp wheel 'Stitches' (another part of my challenge win from Simon Says Stamp) I originally thought I could use it for the edges of some of my cards (so it looked like stitching) but trust me, these are harder to use than they look, so I wouldn't hold your breath on seeing it used until I've had lots more practice! LOL!