Merry Christmas Everyone

Just a very quick post to wish everyone of my blogging friends a very Merry christmas and a Happy New Year.

It's been a fun year joining in wih challenges and showing off my creations so hopefully it will be more of the same next year!

It's going to be a quiet day for us so I'll probably be asleep sometime after dinner, hope you all have the kind of day you've got planned and enjoy yourselves. xx

CD Sunday - Tag it!

Good Sunday morning to you all, we've had a huge snow fall on Friday and that kept me in yesterday but I do need to get some shopping done so will have to venture out later and I'm not looking forward to it.

This week over on CD Sunday we have chosen the theme of TAG IT! Now as usual you can make anything you like as long as you use something from a cd so come on over and join us.

I was asked for a card for a couple who are celebrating their 1st Christmas since they got married so I chose to use these cute lilttle inuits from Mo's digital pencil, such a great image and although they are children I thought  it to be ok for what I wanted. The backing paper and the insert are from the Artylicious cd Seasons Greetings, I added a flourish and some pearls and then used the same cd to print the tag. Hope you like it!

I am entering this into the following challenges

Crafty Ann's - Anything goes

Sundays with Crissy - Christmas is coming

CD Sunday - Three of a kind

Over on CD Sunday this week we want you give us three of a kind, the design team have been thinking hard and have come up with some quite different ideas.  For my three I have used ribbon down the side on my mum's Christmas card, the image and backing paper come from Joanna Sheen's latest cd Enchanted Dreams. This is a really pretty cd and if you like something a bit different then check it out.

We hope you'll come and visit us and join in with us this week, we are looking forward to seeing your creations.

I am also entering this into the following challenges:

Ellephantastic Challenge - Christmas/Winter

Totally Gorjuss - Snow

Sparkles 1st challenge - Christmas

CD Sunday - Christmas Sparkle

Good morning all, it's Sunday so that can only mean one thing and it's a new challenge from us at CD Sunday.  This week we are back with another fabulous sponsor who is giving away a cd of the winners choice, so if you fancy a cd from the great Ooh La La range then come on over and join us.

This week we have chosen the theme of Christmas Sparkle, well I guess anything to do with Christmas will do because as soon as you add glitter and gems etc., you're sparkling.  My card is made from the Christmas Presence cd from Ooh La La as all the DT are this week, I have used one of the snowmen and there are a few fabulous ones on there, I have layered him up with some of my nesties (what did we do before they arrived), and the backing paper is just that bit different as it looks like it's been woven.  Abit of glitter and ribbon which was white until I used my Promarkers on them, another what did I do before them items.

I do hope you'll join us this week as we make our final preparations for Christmas, we look forward to seeing your great designs.

Christmas Animals

Over on Rainbow Lady's blog this week she has challenged us to do something with Christmas Animals. She couldn't have timed it better, I have just made an advent calendar from the Ivory Cats cd by Joanna Sheen. The calendar should be made on an A4 but I wanted something that would fit on my desk so I made it an A5, it was going to be an easel card but thinking about how much space I have on my desk in work decided to fold the base in half and stick it inside the front forming a base. I have used a glittery backing card to mat the calendar onto, and this is my input to Christmas in the office. 

CD Sunday - White Christmas

Good morning everyone and what a cold one it is! We haven't had any snow here but everywhere is white and very frosty. I think we need to stay in with a warm cuppa in front of the fire.

Over on CD Sunday this week we are having a White Christmas, now had I known what this weather was going to do I could have just popped outside and taken a picture but instead I had a play with MCS Walk in Winter Wonderland. I love this set of discs and didn't really need to do an awful lot to make this card, the backgrounds would make a card by just printing them out but I decided to pop the fairy on and put the wording on by using one of the newer features allowing you to use the shaping just by clicking a button.

I hope you'll go and have a look at the rest of the DT efforts and hopefully join in with us this week.

I am also entering this one into the Bah! Humbug! final challenge for this year and they are asking for a blue Christmas, now I didn't know what their challenge was going to be but as this card is quite blue it fits perfectly, nice one ladies.

Rainbow Lady's challenge - Edge it

Over on Rainbow Lady's challenge blog she has asked us to edge it, so I have used a couple of gold mirri strips and cut the pattern out using my nesest MS punch. I have attached acetate to the card which has made  it almost impossible to photograph but you can get the idea.
This is made with the latest set of cd's from Debbie Moore called the venetian collection, I am loving using them at the moment.

If you can, go and have a look at Cynthia's blog, she has some exciting news to share and she's thinking of having a DT so if you're interested in that then give her a shout, she has some exciting challenges and they do make you think a bit but are great fun.

CD Sunday - Shabby Chic

This week over on the CD Sunday challenge we want you to have a go at doing something with the theme Shabby Chic. Now the team have made some great stuff and hopefully you will pop over and have a go.

 My card this week was made for my sisters birthday, she was 60 this time but didn't want to be reminded of it so I made this, with no 60 in sight. This is from the Joanna Sheen cd Ivory Cats, it's a fairly new addition to my collection but so well worth the money as it's a fab cd.

Bah! Humbug! - Lovely in Lilac

Over on Bah! Humbug! this week the challenge is lovely in lilac, well I've just got the new Debbie Moore set of CD's  and these two were on the masks disc. I only wanted to print them fairly small so told the printer I was using A5 paper.  These two card are A6 made frm an A5 card cut in half so they open sideways.

The backing paper is from Season's Greetings from the Artylicious range and both the masks have had gold and diamond glitter added in fairly generous amounts and then had gems put on them to really bling them up. 

I cannot take credit for the idea of using the masks as Christmas card that came from a friend of mine but she doesn't have a blog yet so I can pinch the idea for myself.

CD Sunday - Lavender and Lace

Well guys you did us proud last week with our Natural World challenge so here's hoping you will all continue and join in with us this week.

The theme this weekover on CD Sunday  is Lavender and Lace and for this I have used the cd Ivory Cats from JoannaSheen, this is a fairly new purchase for me and now I wonder why I didn't just go for it when it first came out. The images are fab and what the team do with the backing papers needs to be seen.

Another Seraphina card

This is another of the Sepaphina samples done for the recent launch of the cd, this is an A4 folded lengthways and the flourishes were cut on the cricut.

Bah Humbug - Fancy Folds

This is my entry for the Bah Humbug challenge this week which is fancy folds, I don't know if this has a name but it is folded and I guess fancy so it fits.
This is the card done for the round robin we have over on Rainbows Forum, in this case it was a set of stamps to use and I decided to make a faux snow globe with the polar bears looking at the north star.  The backing paper is silver embossed vellum and I added just a bit of detail with the ribbons on both the edge pieces.  There is a sentiment on the actual card but I took this picture before I added it.

Over on Rainbow Lady's blog this week it's make a picture so I am entering this into that challenge too.

CD Sunday - The Natural World

Hello all and a very happy Sunday to you all, this week over on CD Sunday we have a very special sponsor for you, the lovely Joanna Sheen has given us a fabulous prize of £30 to spend in her shop.

Now I almost feel cheated here cos I can't be a winner, but not to worry because Joanna is very generous and has given the design team something to keep us happy and we get to work with one of her best cd's the Jayne Netley Mayhew Collection 2. 

This week our challenge is entitled The Natural World, now for us it was easy as we used this fabulous cd but you can interpret it in any way you choose.  As usual as long as you use something from a cd you can enter our challenge, it doesn't have to be a card, it can be anything you want and I  can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Just a quick note for all you new crafters, don't think we judge the entries and choose the best, we don't the winner is picked by our little froggy friend and is purely random, to be honest I don't think we'd want to pick a winner as every entry is worthy of winning.

Now onto my card this week, I don't really have to tell you much about it as you know which cd I used to create it and all I had to do was print the background on 160gsm paper and the images onto silk finish photo paper, I matted it onto some pale blue pearl card and used my Martha Stewart punch to make a lacy border across the middle of the page, a little white satin bow and it's done. Oh I almost forgot the sentiment is stamped and then I used a small die to cut it out.

I am including this card in the following challenges

Alphabet Challenge Blog - B is for bird

Fairytale Challenge blog - Anything Goes

Crazy 4 Challenges - Square Cards

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Inspired by the letter B

More Seraphina

This is another of the smaples I did for the launch of the Seraphina cd, not sure if the decoupage shows very well.

Seraphina Through the Ages Samples

I made a few samples for the new cd Seraphina Through the Ages from Doolicraft, lovely images and so easy to work with. This is the first of a few I will be showing you over the next few days.

CD Sunday - It's Spooky

Good morning crafters all, this week at CD Sunday we are being very predictable and want you to
join us with a spooky offering.

I have used a backing paper that was freebie last year from Glenda over at Grapicus, I wasn't going to save it as I didn't use it last year but it has fitted our challenge so well I'm glad I did, the image is from A Card Makers Year by Joanna Sheen, this quite a useful cd as it has bits and pieces from different times of the year so there is always something you can use.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Rainbow Lady's Challenge

Ooh La La

Totally Gorjuss

Crafty Catz

Daring Card Makers

Create with Connie and Mary

Dutch Dare Card Challenge



All of these blogs have a halloween themed challenge this week so it's a bit of fun to join in.

Bah! Humbug! GD Spot #5 - Presents

Well today is my last posting for the month of October and my guest designer spot for the Bah!Humbug! ladies, I have thoroughly enjoyed doing my bit and hopefully you will have liked at least a little of the cards done.
Now on to this weeks offering, the photo was taken in the evening so the colour isn't right and it looks a bit odd. I decided to use a non christmassy image and dress it up a bit, it is from MCS and I've added stickles to the ribbons to bling it up a bit. The die cut bauble is from a set I bought last year and never used and the ribbon is coloured with the ever present promarkers, the backing paper is from a pad from DCWV and has been well used this year with everything being matted onto gold mirri.

CD Sunday - No Embellishments

Good morning all, it's another Sunday and for us it can only mean one thing, another challenge from us at CD Sunday, and this week it's No Embellishments.

We are quite excited this week as we have two new team members, we have Wendy from Crafting Purple Crazy amd we have Carol from Carol's Parchment Place. Both have very different styles so pop over to their blogs and check them out, they have both produced something to give you a bit of inspiration this week so hope you'll all join in and make their first week a bumper one.

Now onto my card, when I first started to make cards I was a bit afraid of using embellishments as I was unsure of where to put them and if they looked right but now I love them so this challenge really had me wondering what on earth I was going to do. I did start a card using MCS but it just wasn't right so I have put that on one side and I will bling it up a bit, one of my other teamies used the Ooh la la cd - Dreams of Tranquility, this reminded me that I bought this to do a card for someones 60th birthday and had forgotten I had it so, out it came and what you see is the result. So thank you Christine for reminding me to practice what I preach and dust off the unused cd's.

This image is called Elemental Ballet Water and I think being such a dramatic image it is easy to make a card with so very little on it, the backing papers are part of the collection and I have used a very famous quote which just seems to fit perfectly, a bit of gold mirri and it's done.

I do hope you will join us this week and keep watching as we have some fabulous sponsors coming up, the next one on 7th November is one you will all want.

Bah! Humbug! GD Spot # 4 - Elegance

It's Friday so that means it's another week for the Bah! Humbug! challenge and my 4th week as GD, this week the theme is elegance.

For this I decided on a slim card as I feel that just by them being tall and slim we are already halfway there, the backing paper came in a pack and is by Doolicrafts. I thought the angel fitted the bill so printed her from the MCS Walk in Winter Wonderland, I have attached her to a piece of acetate to make her look like she is flying and added a simple sentiment which was stamped in Versamark and coloured with Perfect Pearls.

Quite a simple card but hopefully it fits the bill.

CD Sunday - Monochrome

Good morning all, another Sunday is upon us and that means a fresh challenge for us on
CD Sunday, this week we would like you do do something in monochrome. I have done a white card and cheated a little because my bit from the cd this week is the insert, I have used MCS Walk in Winter Wonderland.
The front of the card is done using my cuttlebug and several different folders, the tree is I think a papermania folder and a friend bought it while out thinking I may like it and I do. The little stamped sentiment came from the set I bought from QVC a few months ago.

Last weekend the Papermill shop had an offer on card and it was very chaep so I bought it although I wasn't 100% sure of the quality, they also had an offer on vellum which was £6 a box with approx 200 sheets so as it was £5 postage under £30 I ordered that to so didn't have to pay postage, this is both the card and the vellum which arrived and the quality is really good so if it's still on offer and you haven't tried it it is worth the money.

Bah! Humbug! GD spot #3 Vellum

So sorry I'm so late posting this but I forgot it was Friday and went off to work, anyway over on Bah! Humbug! this week the challenge is vellum. I decided to to do a larger card for this one and embossed everything in gold. This card is for the mum of one of OH's friends who now lives in America and his mum is on her own, it started off by accident as David used to buy a box of cards for certain people but had forgotten this lady so I sent one of my cards down. Well she was over the moon and even took it out with her to show her friends so now each year I try to do a special card for her.

Hope you like it!

Pink Christmas

Here's a selection of cards done for the fund raising we are doing in work, I don't mind a bit of pink but I'm getting sick of seeing it now. I'm off to use some blues and browns for a change.

The fairy cards are printed off from MCS Winter Wonderland, for once I have just opened them and printed as they are on the sheet and put them together as I needed them to be quick cards. The others are using the same things I used for the Bah! Humbug! cutie challenge.

CD Sunday - Not a card and DT call

Good morning and yes another week has gone by so it's Sunday again and that means another challenge from us at CD Sunday, this week it's Not a Card.

I decided to make a calendar and for this one I've used the Jayne Netley Mayhew cd2 set, Joanna always gives us a choice of calendars on her cd's and this one has dogs and cats on it. I wanted one that would sit on my desk so used an A4 piece of strong board and cut a piece off the end to use as a stand, I then printed out one of the backing papers from the cd. Funnily enough this particular paper is with the topper image of the dog which is on the front of the calendar. The calenars print out as A4 but if you tell your printer you are using A5 paper then it just shrinks it down and I find it a lot more manageable.

I made a calendar in the same way from precious petals this year and a couple of my friends wanted one so ended up doing three, we'll see if there is the same reaction this time.

This week we are looking for a couple of new members for the DT so if you fancy using all you unused cds and joining us then pop an entry in and add DT onto the end of your post so we can come looking at what you do. I'm really excited about it as it is good to inject some new ideas into what the team are already doing.

Bah! Humbug! GD spot#2 - Cuties

Well this is the second week in as guest designer for the ladies at Bah! Humbug! and this week the theme is cuties. Cuties are so popular and so easy to work with that I had done a few and couldn't decide which ones to use so I decided to use two, the first one is an image cut from a sheet of paper from papermania in fact the backing paper came from the same pad. I have made a spring and mounted the image onto that and since posting the picture I have added a pair of googly eyes so this would be great for a child.

The second card is stamped from a stamp I bought as part of a set from QVC a few weeks ago and it stamps out really well, this pair are coloured with the ever present Promarkers.

We are doing a bit of fund raising in our office at the end of the month for breast cancer when everyone wears pink, we baked cakes last year and sold them to add to the collection, I don't really do much baking so offered to make some cards and that's why these cards are pink based as they are going into the box to sell, I hope to have about 20 done by the time the day comes around. Not much but every little helps I guess.

Bah! Humbug! Guest Designer Spot!

Good morning all, well it's Friday and it's October so it's my turn to do a DT spot over on

Bah! Humbug!.

The ladies decided to use the theme across the miles so with that in mind I've done a card for the family in Oz, I used the new MCS disc Walk in Winter Wonderland and made it into an easel card, it doesn't really show but I've used quite a bit of glitter across the sky and the snowflakes are cut from glitter card.

Hope you can join in with this challenge and I'll be visiting your blogs to see what wonderful creations you all come up with.

Bah! Humbug! - Text

Over on Bah! Humbug! this week the ladies want us to use text, this card is using some text panels from a HOTP booklet I have had for a few years. There is a main image and then a smaller one for the inside of the card, I have used a black card with silver embossed snowflakes that came from a visit to Kanban a year or two ago, the panels are softened with chalks and layered onto glitter card.
I like the look of the glitter card but it is a pig to get anything to stick to, I have used pinflair but you can see it a little through the paper so this will have to go to someone who's a bit shortsighted,lol or maybe I need a diecut snowflake to cover it. I added the silver ribbon to finish it off which is another purchase from a while ago, in fact I think it came with something else
but is wire edged so not good for tying into bows.

CD Sunday - Stamp on your cd

Good morning all and as it's Sunday it's time for a new challenge over on CD Sunday, this week we're asking you to stamp on your cd. No I don't mean jump up and down on it, just use a stamp with it, now this can be any theme you like and any type of stamp. I have made the stamp the main part of the card but you could just use a sentiment or something small, anything goes with this one really.

This week the backing paper has come from the Artylicious cd Decadent Brocade, all the papers I have used have been inked using distress inks, the colours I have used are Wild Honey and Bundled Sage. The stamps are from a sheet from Graphicus and it has some great birds on it most I've never really used.

I am also entering this into some other challenges this week and they are

Southern Girls - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - A Tweet and a Flutter!
The Stamp Man - Distress
Taylored Expressions - Sketch
Daring Card Makers -things that fly, flutter or hover in the sky
Alphabet - U unused stash
ABC Challenge - D is for Distressing

Rainbow Lady's - Feathers

I do hope you'll come over and join in with us, I'm looking forward to seeing your creations.

A Couple of Christening cards

I was asked for a christening card so made the top one but was undecided about it so made the white one, anyway I took them both into the office and the person who had ordered it came back to me and told me she had sold the other one so that was a good idea to take them both in.

The first one is from Joanna Sheen's Baby Love and the image on the second one is from an MCS cd which was in black but I changed it to the pink.

Two fairly straight forward cards that were well recieved.

CD Sunday - Shades of Blue

Over on CD Sunday this week we would like you to use shades of blue, please check out the samples from the team as they have been busy and have come up with some great stuff.

My card this week is made using the Peacock Summer Party from Artylicious it is still available, I have to admit to not using it very often and as I was looking for something came across it and thought it would be ideal. I like the way Glenda arranges her cd's into colour stories making it easier to decide which design to use. The topper is also from the cd, it is quite large so I resized it to fit in with what I was doing. The doiley was white so I coloured it with a powder blue promarker, I also coloured the flower, ribbon and the paper I stamped the greeting onto, the backing for the doiley was cut on the cricut.

I do hope you will join us this week and I am looking forward to seeing your creations.

I'm also entering this into Crafty Ann's challenge which this time is monochrome.

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 35 Favourite medium

Well as the girls over on Bah! Humbug! are being so very generous this week and letting us choose our favourite medium I thought I'd give it a go,well it would be rude not to, after all I missed last week.

I have chosen to use rubber stamps and promarkers as my favourite, the rubber stamp is called Cool Ride and I won this a part of some blog candy earlier in the year but have never used it, apart from stamping it out to see how it looked. I printed the backing paper then sprayed it with spray and sparkle I then matted this onto red silk mirri card, I coloured some white ribbon with a marsh green promarker which I wrapped around two edges of the patterned paper mat.

I stamped the horse in versafine imperial purple as I prefer this to black as I find it gives a slightly softer image, the horse was coloured with yes you've guessed it promarkers and then I used some stickles glitter glue for the fur trim and snowflakes, the colour of the stickles is Star Dust.

I coloured some clear gems with the same gold promarker that I coloured the pole and trim on the coat and then finished it off with a light dusting of Bundled Sage distress ink around the edges. Yet another card for the Christmas box so hopefully there won't be any panic for me this year.

CD Sunday - Sponsored Challenge

O.K. Guys it's Sunday and it's the FIRST sponsored challenge over on CD Sunday

We are being sponsored this month by the very generous Sharon Duncan who is going to give one of you lucky people a copy of her latest animal cd

We think that the challenge is an easy one for you all and as the prize is an animal cd we want you to use animals in you project this week.

I do hope you will join us over on CD Sunday and hopefully you will be inspired by the fab creations of the design team.

My card this week is from Joanna Sheen's Jayne Netley Mayhew cd, I have used an A4 card and scored it twice at a suitable place either side to make a card similar to a gatefold but not joining, I then used my MS punch to do a border on each side and then put the backing paper and the topper inside, the words are from a very old song but seemed to fit, once the everything was in place I cut a piece of acetate slightly bigger than the back of the card and stuck this to the inside of the two front pieces this is what helps the card to stand.

I hope to see you all over on the challenge blog and look forward to visiting you to see the wonderful things you have created. Don't forget to go over to Sharon's site for a browse around she has some great things on there and it's free postage! Just click on the logo to go to the site or on the cd cover to go straight to the cd details, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

Bah! Humbug! - Charms

Over on Bah! Humbug! this week they have asked us to use a charm, well looking in my stash I have quite a few charms but couldn't find anything christmassy. I was just about to give up when I remembered the sheets of images that I had hidden away in a drawer and decided that I would use one for this weeks challenge. I have used a charm of a goose so it ties in with the image.

I have made an easel card which is an A6 in size, I don't tend to use foam pads but with these stackers they are better to keep the images level, I had a root around and could only find a few so have only used half of the stackers leaving another four layers to use in another card.

CD Sunday - Jingle Bells

Hello all, here we are on another Sunday morning so that can only mean one thing, yes it's a fresh challenge over on the CD Sunday challenge blog, this week we are asking you to to use the theme jingle bells.

For my card I have used an old faithful cd from Joanna Sheen, Victorian Christmas. I have printed everything onto 160gsm paper from Staples and then sprayed it with spray and sparkle, I have matted both the backing paper and the topper onto silver mirri board and coloured a peel off in deep pink to match the bells. The snowflakes are cut with spellbinders dies out of a card I coloured with silkies, I just put some silkies onto my mat and swooshed the card through it.

I do hope you will join us this week and don't forget that we will be starting our monthly sponsored challenge next week so bookmark us so you don't forget.

Crocheted Throw

After finishing the baby shawl I had the bug so decided to do something for the house and have made this throw, it was made on a large hook so didn't take long but I'm quite pleased with it and will have to have a think what to do next.

Winter Wonderland for Bah! Humbug! Challenge 32

Over on Bah! Humbug! this week it's a winter wonderland and once again I am bringing up the rear. This week I have used an image from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Christmas, I have printed both the image and backing paper on to 160 gsm paper and then sprayed it with spray and sparkle but not sure if you can see it on this picture. I coloured some white ribbon with a red promarker and also some clear gems with a gold one.

The mats are red silk mirri card and it's all finished with a greeting from Kanban that I got a few years ago and still have sheets of.

CD Sunday - Wedding Aniversary

Good morning everyone, well yes it's Sunday again so that can only mean one thing, yes a new challenge over on CD Sunday, and thanks to all who joined in last week.

This week we want you to think wedding anniversary and as it was my anniversary yesterday this fitted in with me very well, I have used some black tapestry card which I am very protective over and only use it now and again for something or someone special. I have embossed some lines around the picture to make a frame, the picture is from
The Jayne Netley Mayhew Collection from Joanna Sheen and I have added a fancy stamped corner which I have embossed in gold and some black pearls on the other corners to balance it out, I took the picture into MCS and then added the words, I do like the feature that allows you to colour pick from part of the image so everything matches perfectly.

I do hope you will be able to join in with us this week and don't forget as long as something comes from a cd you can enter and it doens't have to be a card, with us anything goes.