DO YOU FANCY SOME FAB CANDY??

PLEASE SCROLL TO THE NEXT POST TO SEE MY CARD FOR TODAY

This is my second and also a quick post because I have just been over to the Craft Barn http://thecraftbarnblog.blogspot.co.uk/ and they are giving away some fabulous Candy to a lucky winner.

All you have to do is become a follower and carry out the instructions on the Craft Barn site.  Entries close on 9th September 2012.

 
How lovely is this Candy - best of luck to you all especially MOI! LOL.  You have to be in it to win it - as they say.

Bigs hugs to you.

SUE

ALMOST WHITE PAPERCRAFT CHALLENGE

Hello and good morning fellow bloggers.  This is the earliest I have ever put anything on my blog so I might be a little bog-eyed!

I am posting a card that I made yesterday for Linda's (Creative Harmony) Challenge - http://creativeharmony.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/almost-white-papercraft-challenge.html.  I started out with one idea in my head ie I was going to do the background as half embossed.  I changed my mind, as per usual, then just followed my imagination.  I hadn't a clue where I was heading, however I was really pleased with the result.  If it is tooooo lilac-y Linda, please feel free to delete it though.

My colours are White Base, Lavender diecuts, White/Lavender flowers with a little hint of green.

 

Ingredients :

White card from Sue Wilson's Neutral card pack

Persian Motif/Accents die

Ironworks Motif

LOTV Sentiment stamp
Milled Lavender DI
Flowers/Ribbon from my stash

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, I hope you like the card I made for Linda's Challenge. 

Big hugs to you all and I hope you have a great day - even if it is raining - as here!

SUE

TOO MANY SHERRIES/SANTA'S ON HIS WAY - AUGUST RUDOLPH DAY CHALLENGE

Hello there blog friends and followers - I hope you are all enjoying your day, it's overcast here so I don't feel guilty that I am not gardening or anything else strenuous!!!  I could be ironing I suppose - then again  - nah still too strenuous!

I made these two cards just before I became a blogger.  I was going to post them later on but I feel they are appropriate for Sandra's August Rudolph Day Challenge at http://stampingforpleasure.blogspot.co.uk/ .

This card is called Too Many Sherries - my hubby says it is really me 'n' him after we have had a sherry whilst cooking Christmas dinner!!  I haven't used too many 'add-ons' because of the really glittery background card - it stands out on its own.  I do like the ribbon through the red mirri because it just matches the colours of the Christmas trees! 

 

This is my second entry and is entitled "Santa's On His Way" - I just love this stamp because of the expression on Rudolph's face - bless!  The mirri card has little holly leaves on it - not thumb prints!  I don't use much mirri at all, but I do like it at Christmas.  The ink was dragged in towards the picture - something I like to do sometimes instead of the normal circular motions with Cut 'n' Dry foam.  This will be going to my little neighbours next door!

 

Two apologies to make - the first is that I can't tell you which stamps they are at the moment, simply because I need hubby to move 8 deep plastic boxes of card to enable me to get into my stamp cabinet.  If anyone does want to know - just say so in your comment and I will be able to find out next week.  The second apology is the quality of the pics - hubby wasn't around to do them for me, so I did them myself - methinks we should stick to what we are good at lol!!!  It was quite dark and I am useless with cameras.

 

Anyway thank you for stopping by and having a peep at my blog - I hope you like my cards.  Any comments are gratefully received.

 

Have a happy afternoon.

 

Hugs to you all

 

SUE

TWINCHIES CHALLENGE # 4 ADD A FLOWER.

I am entering two Twinchies into the "Show us your Twinchies Challenge" - http://twinchie-twinchiehotmaillive.blogspot.co.uk/.   The theme is 'Add a flower'.   I found this lovely blog and Twinchies are definitely my size - ie 2" x 2".  You probably all know about my procrastination trait - well I saw this last night and made two this morning!!!!  No scratching my head or thinking for hours and hours!  Yipee I love doing these.

I did both of the backgrounds slightly differently - the first one, entitled "Dreams" was made with DIs using my Cut n Dry foam then I stamped over the top in silhouette style with some of Sheena Douglass' stamps. I wanted to depict a flowery meadow with the bird (just going to fly to his nest for a kip) sitting in a tree in the moonlight.  A couple of pearls and little white stones finished off the top corners.

The second one was made using DIs again, but this time I used those big brushes to swirl the ink over the card.  I then stamped "Remember" at the bottom of the square and added some poppies and foliage to the middle.  I popped some little bits left over from a die cut onto the corners for interest.

I hope you like these, I feel they may become addictive. 

Thanks for stopping by and for any comments you may leave.  I am having so much fun!!!

Big hugs to you all.

SUE

NEW HOME : FAB 'N' FUNKY CHALLENGE NO 135

Hi there to my blogging friends and a special hello to my new followers - thank you so much for stopping by and leaving your great comments.  You really cheer me up!!!

I mentioned recently that I had made a quick card for a new neighbour (quite a first for me 'cos I'm not known for being quick)  and I am now going to post it for you to see. 

The first one is taken without the light so you can see the detail.  The next one is taken with light so that you can see how it shines.

I mainly did this with peel-offs - not something I use a lot of these days.  However, it is the underlying techniques that I really loved playing with.  Some time ago I had been playing with my spritz bottles and had made some backgrounds which I then put aside.  I decided to use one for the New Home card - however this had to be quick so I found my peel-offs and got out my mirri card and alcohol inks.  This was soooo enjoyable 'cos I had lovely inky pinkies!!!   I blobbed the mirri with the alcohol inks then put the peel-off leaves onto the mirri before cutting them out.  I cut two pieces of mirri for matting with a piece of 'alcohol blobbed' mirri in between.  Being a meany I gutted the alcohol mirri so that I have a bit left in my bit box!!!!   I then cascaded the leaves over the whole front with foam pads to give them a 'lift'.  I do like the twirly bits so I added loads of them in between, popped a NEW HOME peel-off on the front and Bobs your Uncle!

I hope you like this very simple card.  It has been suggested I should enter this in the http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  so here goes.

Once again thank you for stopping by - I love blogging!

Hugs to you all. xx

SUE

FRIENDSHIP DOUBLES JOY

Hi there blog friends - thanks for the recent comments I have received, you certainly helped me along.  Anyway I am back now and I have a card which I think you all deserve.

Hubby finished off the pics for me but I was busy looking at your blogs and have just got around to putting it on here.  I loved this 6 x 6 pad as soon as I saw it on the show with Hels.  I'm not one for making spur of the moment cards - I procrastinate toooooo much.  However when this pad arrived I had a sudden urge to make a card and I even had half an idea in my head - yippee!

Here is the result -

A couple of close ups to follow

And finally - a sideways shot!



Ingredients :

6 x 6" Cardstock Pad - Canvas Corp.
Venetian Motif die
Creative Expressions Sentiment stamp
Raffia
Antique Linen/Black Soot DI
Flowers from my stash


I really hope you like this one - especially the sentiment.   Thanks to all of you for stopping by, I am now back in the saddle - not that I can ride lol - and will be blogging whenever I can.

Big hugs to you all.


SUE

SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE - SUNDAY STAMPER (W 218)

Hello to my blogging friends out there.  Having a bit of a week this week, so I am only just posting my entry for Hels' Sunday Stamper Challenge.   I don't want to go into it right now - nothing too major, just upsetting - so I will keep this short.

Never having tried this before I thought I would keep it simple, but I loved diecutting the images out of metal foil. I blobbed a little alcohol ink over the diecuts in the middle of the horizontal and vertical lines just to mess them a little to match the stamp.  Bless my hubby, he was photographing the card for me and came rushing in thinking that he had smudged the ink - I could see the relief on his face when I said it was supposed to have the 'smudgy' effect.

Ingredients:

Lace Doily Motif

Moroccan Motif/Accent

Scalloped Labels One

Regal M-Bossibility folder

Dusty Concord Distress Ink

Milk card from Sue Wilson's card pack

Lilac Bazzill Bling card

Sheena Douglass Sentiment stamp

As I said above, I am entering this in Hels' Shiny Happy People Challenge - if I have done the link correctly.

Hugs to you all - sorry I haven't been by for a day or three - will be back shortly.

Thanks for dropping in.

SUE

DOGS ARE FOR LIFE!!

Hi there to all my blog friends and also to my new followers, your comments have been truly wonderful and I am so glad you like my efforts.

I am not posting a card right now - although (wait for it) I have an idea buzzing around my bonce for Hels Sunday Stamper challenge!!! Yes that's right, it does feel as if my constipation of the brain has gone - well at least for half an hour!

I am watching Hels at the moment but she is having to wait for the presenter to stop waffling (grrrrr) this really gets my goat.

Anyway - I just wanted to post this note on my blog - Linda from Creative Harmony has asked her followers to bob it on their blogs if they agree with the sentiment.  I really do believe in this whole-heartedly.

A dog's life

The longstanding campaign aims to raise awareness of the consequences of treating dogs as gifts or toys. Every year hundreds of thousands of children plead for the latest fad or top toy on the market, only to discard them a few weeks after Christmas when the novelty wears off. Unfortunately, the same perception is also apparent with dogs. We are continually seeking to change this.

"A dog is for life, not just for Christmas".

If you agree...copy and paste this into your blog....thank you

Linda xx

 

Thank you so much for stopping by.

 

Big hugs to you all.

 

SUE

BAH HUMBUG - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hello there blog friends - and to my new follower - Hi and thanks so much for following me and adding such lovely comments. 

I decided to put a 'C' card on my blog today - well it is August after all - I actually made this one last year.  I do love these stamps, they are from Jayne Nestorenko's Adorables collection and you can build up all sorts of scenes.

The backing paper is from her CD and I printed it out on pearl paper.  The die cuts are some I did waaaay back and were from my bit box.  I inked around the edges but instead of doing the normal circular motion, this time I just tilted the piece of Cut n Dry then dragged it onto the card with just a 'sweep'.

It is a really simple card and I hope you like it. 

I love reading your comments - you have built up my confidence no end and I really love being part of the blogging community - my hubby often hears me say "oooh I've  had a lovely comment from ....... , she's one of my blog friends".

Loads of hugs to you all

Bye for now and thanks for stopping by!

SUE

A SCENTED GARDEN!!

Hello there blog friends and a special hello to my new followers - at last I have finished my tag!!!!   I am so happy that I am unblocked - so to speak.  I was going to call it something slightly different but, in the back of my mind, I have a feeling it is probably a naughty book!!

Anyway, I covered the tag in pale 'word printed' paper and then dabbed chalk ink onto it through several 'That Special Touch' masks.  I cut the foliage, butterfly and label using my Spellbinders.  I found the birdcage in my 'bit' box and can't remember who made the die without foraging!

Before this came into my brain though, I decided I must use some of the Frantage glitter - hence the gold streak!  Prior to making up the Bitty Blossoms in white handmade paper, I stamped over them with a background script stamp just to add a bit of interest.  I used some pale green printed paper for the solid butterfly and then added touches of chalk ink over the embossed bits.  The top of the butterfly is cut in parchment.  The label was stamped in Maroon Archival ink and I also inked around the edges. I popped some little pearls into the centres of the flowers and glued two flowers inside the birdcage.  No trapped birdies for me.  Just before I glued the butterfly to the tag, I scrunched a small piece of 'Spider Web' and placed it underneath the butterfly.  A little bit of ribbon at the top of my tag finished the project.

And here it is ... 

Now that my hubby is taking the pics for me, I have asked him to do some close ups of various bits.

The piece of white plastic underneath is not part of the tag - just something to prop it up!

I hope you like this - thanks for stopping by and for all your comments.

Hope my next project doesn't take me as long.

Hugs to you all

SUE

YOU ARE SO KIND!

Hello blog friends - better late than never as they say.  I am still working on my tag but have terrible constipation of the brain.  Nothing is moving so I am stuck.  I have finished ironing (no I didn't do it all because there is three weeks' worth) my back is really playing up today even though I have been doing my physio exercises.  I figure if I do a bit (of ironing) every day it will soon go - ready for the next lot on Friday - oh joy.  While I was ironing I was doing some inspirational thinking - supposedly - but nothing came to mind.

I have decided to pop another of my creations on my blog today instead - hope you aren't thinking that my tag is going to be a work of art when it's done 'cos I will start giggling now and tell you ...... as if!!!

Here is something I made earlier - da da - no sticky back plastic in sight.

The patterned paper is from my stash and I used Bazzill Basics card for the backing, borders and for the diecut.  This card is 6" x 6" so I wanted a small border punch, the one I used is by EK Success.  I twisted some beige/white and blue/white Bakers Twine together and then added a bow of the same colours.  The three buttons are really pretty - they look a little like Abalone shell as the colours change when the light catches them.  The sentiment is one from a plate by Creative Expressions.  Before I assembled the card I went around the edge of the blue backing card with my distressing tool and I also cut out a faux diecut for the matting of the sentiment.  I learnt this from Sue Wilson and I love doing this - just another way to put your dies to use.

That's all for now lovely blog friends - a big big thank you to my new followers and for your brilliant comments.  I do think my Dolls' house has set many of you off thinking about your childhood houses.  Forgot to mention that I still have my doll - a Christmas present when I was 9 - her name is Sandra and she sits on the chaise in our bedroom, still wearing the clothes that my Nan knitted for her.  Although her shoes and bloomers were made by me when I first had her.  

Sorry I'm going off on one again.  Lots of hugs to you all out there, see you soon - hopefully with the tag that is freezing my brain into inactivity.

SUE

STRAYING FROM THE NORM!!!

Hi there to bloggers one and all.  Today I thought I would stray off the path of papercraft and go to one of my other hobbies.  Hope you don't mind.

When I was a little girl I had a small dolls 'bungalow'.  My Nan always came with me to buy mini bits and pieces,  she was as fascinated as I was and was always a source of information.  Anyway when we moved house, my lovely bungalow was left behind in the attic - I was 9 at the time but there are somethings you remember when you are young and this is one of those memories.  I bet you are all going 'ahhhhh' - but I can say that I did get over it - sort of.

Many, many, many years later I saw a programme about dolls houses and it set me off again.  My hubby wanted to know what I would like for my 50th birthday and I said ..... 'a dolls' house please'.  He did look at me rather oddly, but by then he was used to my, shall we say, foibles.  The house he bought came in pieces so he built it for me and I chose paper and paint and we decorated it together in the Victorian style.  He put all the electric lights, lamps and fires in for me, each one lights up separately and the lamps and fires flicker.   

I still don't have it all finished but it is coming along nicely, I thought I would share a pic or two of the kitchen with you on this occasion - it is my favourite room so far.   Apologies for the pics I need a few lessons from hubby!!!!   I bought the dresser and table ready made but I try to buy most of the furniture in kit form and then I sand the pieces, glue them together and stain/varnish them.  This is also a very therapeutic hobby.

Mrs Broom (the cook) has been dressed by me from her cap down to her bloomers. 

I hope you like it, I will be back to my cards next time.

Hugs to you all and thanks for stopping by, I do appreciate your lovely comments.

SUE

GIRL ON A TOADSTOOL!

Hi there lovely blog friends - I know I am never very early with my blog but I have just returned from a lovely lunch with my hubby to celebrate our anniversary.  Now I just want to sleep!!!!

Anyway whilst I am still almost awake I thought I would post the card I finished yesterday.  This is for my little next door neighbour Katie - 8 today (I can remember when I was that age ........ just).

I got the image from a Polly Pickleberry cd - I'm not really into cds but I do like this one and the Polka Doodles cds because of their digital images, they really are nice and I love using my Promarkers.  I did my usual inking around the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink.  I had the yellowy paper in my stash and the gingham was a freeby with a magazine.  The two red borders were punched with a Martha Stewart punch and I threaded some of the vintage ribbon through.  I used a scalloped edge square die for the digital stamp and a scalloped rectangle die and a plain rectangle die for the sentiment.  I used a little ink around the edges of the large scalloped die and small plain die - naturally!!!  The '8th' was a peel off, mainly because I had some to hand. 

I popped three little rose heads underneath the sentiment and used some butterflies from the 'waste' off a Butterflies Circle diecut.   Now for a little confession (for which I am not at all ashamed, lol) my Promarkers 'bled' just on the edge of the toadstool and I had red ink over the edge so I removed most of it with the blender pen and - following a flash of inspiration for me!! - I popped on the butterflies.  Four little bits of Card Candi in the corners of the picture and it was complete.

Thank you for stopping by, I do hope you like my girl on a toadstool.
Crafty hugs

SUE

LADY IN GOLD!

I have just decided (it does take me a long time to make any decision!!) to enter this card into Hels Sunday Stamper Challenge - 216 Gold.  I am not sure whether I am doing this right so please bear with me.

My hairdresser asked me to make her a card for her daughter's birthday as she was going to be 21.  I  made this card for her in March and she was pleased with it.

She had requested blue and gold and asked for an old style stamp.  I had showed her some of my collection and she picked out 3  stamps, then told me to choose.

I used a piece of white card which I inked over with Distress Ink (I chose a mixture of blues) I then stamped a few twirly foliage bits in Versamark ink and then embossed them in gold.

I stamped the image with Coffee Adirondack  ink and dabbed the edges with Versamark and embossed in gold.  I layered both pieces on blue card and added a few 'handcrafted roses' from Craftime.  I popped a blue grosgrain ribbon down the side and added a small key as a 21st token.

Hope you like this.

Thanks for stopping by - hugs to you all.


Sue

A REQUEST FROM LINDA (LINDYLOO)

Hi there blog friends - I am in the middle of making a card for my young next door neighbour and I am therefore going to make this one really short.  "Can she" I hear you wondering?   Well I am the first to admit that I waffle - always have done and always will do lol! 

Anyway the sweetie who is Lindyloo has asked if she could see a picture of 'moi'.  I know you can't see my other picture properly but there is a reason for that - ie I hate having my piccy taken.   Ooooh there are soooo many chins and I can never get me head in the right position to lose any!!     Well, here we go -

It has been so difficult to find a pic of me other than on holiday - I really am camera shy!!  Oh and my hair is no longer blondish - I've gone back to my normal brown!!

As for this one, when I have curled and primped my hair ready for going out, I always ask my hubby if my hair is alright.  We were on this speed boat having just got off a 14 hour flight and he suddenly said "By the way your hair looks nice" - think this pic is just before I said a naughty word!!

Well that's all for now, will be back very soon with the card that I am now going to finish.

Crafty hugs to everyone out there, especially Linda,  and thank you for stopping by.

Sue