Friday 28 August 2009

Finally Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! Just a short post & one last Hero Arts project before I leave for the airport hotel and a 2 week holiday to Orlando! This will be my last post for a while I may check in with a photo here or there or a best buy as I am planning on buying lots of crafting goodies!!


This tag is for this weeks Hero Arts Challenge 'Color It'. I stamped my Santa image onto a kraft tag. I used a HA acetate tag as a template. I coloured my image using Prisma Color pencils. I the created a mask & stamped a snowflake background over the top.


A few dots of Stcikles, a few gems & some ribbon to add interest & dimension & a simple sentiment! I really enjoyed making this tag & it was very quick & easy I might just have to make more for Christmas!

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Kraft
Ink: Memento Black, StazOn White
Stamps: Hero Arts Candy Cane Santa E3697, Holiday Tags CL108, Stunning Snowflakes S5069
Accessories: SU! Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, White Organza Ribbon, HA Gems & Star Dust Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by! Catch Ya Later!

Thursday 27 August 2009

Special Day Hero Arts Color It Card!

HAPPY Thursday to everyone!!! I am HAPPY today as I only have TWO sleeps till ORLANDO! Mega excited now & only 6 hours of work Friday morning!! YAY!! Anyway, back to todays card! One of my work friends Jennifer gets married on Friday and so I made her and her husband to be Colin this card.


I'm loving Kraft card stock at the moment & I'm STILL loving my heart winged butterfly!! It never seems to leave my desk! It's such a LOVELY & versatile stamp!


I stamped the butterfly onto kraft card with distress embossing ink from Ranger. I have just bought this ink pad & after one use I am very impressed with it. It gave a lovely juicy image & took the embossing powder really well. I coloured in my butterfly using prismacolor pencils.

The heart flourish is stamped onto the kraft card base using chalk ink. I added a little bit of lace and a sentiment that lets them know I am thinking of them even though I am not at the wedding.

I added three heart brads to the top right hand corner to balance the card out. I am really pleased with the simplicity of this card.

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Kraft & Sweet Blush
Ink: Distress embossing Ink from Ranger, Colorbox Chalk
Stamps: Hero Arts Heart Winged Butterfly F5158, Heart Flourish K5153 & Special Day C2720
Accessories: Lace from stash!, White Embossing powder, heart brads from stash! Foam Pads

I am packing & tidying today in preparation for leaving for the airport tomorrow evening! I hopefully will find a lil bit of crafting time as I have another couple of things I would like to make. Thanks for stopping by today!

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Hero Art Color It Challenge!

Happy Wednesday! Today I am at work so I prescheduled this post I do hope it works!! This weeks challenge over at Hero Arts is to 'Color It'! I LOVE to colour and so I was excited to see this weeks challenge! Then it stumped me! I couldn't think of a Hero Arts stamp to colour in!! I went through my stash and found my favorite stamp from the Fashion Flowers collection 'Hibiscus Style'. For a very long time I have been inspired by this card of Nancy's and so I thought I would use the inspiration to make my card.


I created a mask of the stamped flower to be able to layer the flowers on the card stock. I used my Copic markers to colour the flowers in and also my other HA favorite the Heart Winged Butterfly! I added some Star Dust Stickles to the butterfly for some sparkle!

I really LOVE how bright and cheery the colours are against the black and white of the card :)

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Smokey Shadow, SU! Whisper White
Ink: Memento Black
Stamps Hero Arts Hibiscus Style E3273, Heart Winged Butterfly F5158, Freinds Always C3890
Accessories: Masking Paper, Star Dust Stickles, SU! Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Copic Markers

Hope to have another card to share on Thursday I really want to try out the colouring on Kraft Card as Jennifer has done in her video on Tuesday HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Raspberry Suite Color Inspiration Challenge #15

Happy Tuesday All! Well, I just knew this week was gonna go slow as I am on my countdown to Orlando!! Today has gone extra slow!! I had a plan this morning and it didn't go well!! LOL! When do plans ever go exactly as planned..?

Anyway, I was going to bake a Yoghurt cake for my friends at work tomorrow and I have finally got round to it this afternoon. When I went to weigh out my ingredients the digital scales had run out of battery so I went to the shop & bought new ones but still it decided not to work :( so I thought Oh well I've had my use out of them I will go out and buy some new ones. So I went to my local department store & bought some. Got them out of the box turned them on & all i got on the display was 'Err' darn I was beginning to give up! After half an hour of ironing I got bored & thought right I will go to Argos buy new scales & then go swimming so that is what I have done this afternoon! The cake is now baking & smells good :)


Yesterday I had some free time & so I made this card for Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #15. You can check the details HERE and the colors! Yesterday I received my SU! order from the US which made me happy :) along with the new in colors of card stock and a couple of the ink pads I had ordered the Big Shot Butterfly Die Oh how I have wanted this for soooooo long!!

I kept my card really simple & message free to use for any occasion that may arise! I had to use one of the butterflies too!

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: Cream from stash, PTI Melon Berry, Spring Moss, SU! Regal Rose
Ink: SU! Mellow Moss, PTI Melon Berry
Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basics 2, Beautiful Blooms
Accessories: Big Shot Beautiful Butterflies, PTI Hibiscus Burst Topnotch Twill, Foam Pads & Papermania Gems

Thanks for stopping by today! Tomorrow I will share a card I have made for this weeks HA challenge. It is my last 12 hour of work tomorrow before my holiday :) after that I only have a 6 hour shift of Friday!! I'm so looking forward to SUNSHINE as it seems that Summer in the UK is over for this year :(

Monday 24 August 2009

Sitting Gorjuss!

Happy Monday everyone! This is going to be the longest week of my life as I count down to Orlando!! Though today has gone quite fast mainly as I slept in as I was so tired after working Friday, Saturday & Sunday :(

Today I thought I would share a card I made last Thursday. My friend Kerry brought her Gojuss Girl stamps to stamp club last Wednesday so I could stamp some images. I just love this one and it is so nice to colour like all of them are :)


I used my Copic markers for this & kept the card quite simple. I like simple as you have probably noticed from visiting my blog & seeing my creations!! I used foam pads to adhere the Gorjuss Girl & I am really pleased with my colouring!! Talking of colouring be sure to checkout the Hero Arts Blog this week as the challenge is all about colouring!

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Smokey Shadows, SU! Whisper White
Ink: Memento Black
Stamps: Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girl Sitting, PTI Polka Dot Basics 2, Handwritten Notes, Fancy Flourishes
Accessories: Foam Pads, Papermania Gems, Ribbon from stash!

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to check back tomorrow for another card installment! Today I have been working on a card for Dawn's Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge #15.

Thursday 20 August 2009

My Studio!

Last night at card club my friend Kerry set a challenge to have pictures of our studios uploaded to our blog by Saturday afternoon! As it was raining this afternoon I got on a tidy spree and cleaned my studio! So while it was still tidy I took some pictures!

This first picture is taken from the hallway as you enter my working space. The shelf has a few nic naks & such. The pin board has a selection of diecuts & embellishments & really needs sorting but I will save that for another day! On top of the bookcase is my Cricut & Big Shot. The shelves are full of crafting & design books. The paper storage has non-branded card stock in various colours.

The next picture is of my desk & laptop & monitor set up. I can duel screen so I can watch TV as well as surf the internet. I also have a view from my window of the road & my back garden. There is always something interesting going on! Under my desk is boxes of scraps, patterned paper scraps, box of embellishments, box of wool & box of material!

This photo is of ikea boxes filled with various crafts and essential things!! The 12x12 boxes have card stock & designer papers & next to them are designer paper pads like Basic Grey, PTI & Amy Butler. The jars are full of ribbon & lace there are flowers & a box of Gems on the top shelf too. The next shelf houses my Cuttlebug & Bind-it-all with my SU! Hodgepog, Flowers & Marker Sets. Just out of shot on the same shelf are Got Flower Jars.

I then have card Stock in magazine holders SU! sorted by color family & PTI. On the shelf below are non-branded color card stock that would not fit in my other non-branded card stock storage! The boxes below store PTI Ribbon & buttons, SU! Ribbon, Satin Ribbon & Various Ribbon! I like ribbon!


The tall unit houses different things in each draw from to[p to bottom : ink pads various, chalk ink pads, essentials like double sided & foam pads, Die cuts such as Spellbinders & Cuttlebug, glues & liquid adhesives and lastly glitter & glitter glues! On top are my SU! Ink pads arranged by color family!

The shelves on the wall hold compartment boxes holding all kinds of embellishments like: buttons, brads, eyelets, charms etc. Hidden away are my college folders & A2 light box which is the best thing I purchased for my degree! In the stool is material on top is a document box holding assorted papers, acetate, shrinkles, poly bags etc.


This is my stamp shelves! To the right side is the sofa bed with an array of my FAVE soft toys! At the top of the shelves are the stamps I don't use as much they are stored in A4 clear boxes & need labeling! They are sorted by Manufacturer if I have a lot of one otherwise theme such as flowers, Christmas etc! In the small boxes on the right are my Copic Markers - need more A5 boxes so I can sort them!


I then have SU! sets on the top & middle shelves. The middle shelf also houses PTI & Hero Arts boxed sets. The bottom shelf holds A4 boxes with Penny Black Gneral & Christmas then Hero Arts Stamps divided into 7 groups! Clear sets, Christmas, Design Blocks x2, Flowers, Images & Sentiments. Then I have HA boxed sets. The chest of drawers below holds punches in the two small draws. The Top big draw has various embellishments which need a good sort out! The bottom draw holds envelopes!


This is a view of the door & the in built cupboard which has a bookcase holding more boxes of craft materials & stacks of non-branded card stock. It also houses my sewing machine & needlework box. It is very messy inside so I wont show you that!!


I hope that you have enjoyed the little tour of my creating space! My studio is moving soon into the garage once it has been converted so I will share when it's all sorted! I am hoping it will organise me even better & help me sort through a lot of things I am hoarding! Hope to be back later with a card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday 19 August 2009

I'm sorry it's been so long!

Apologies for being gone for so long, last week was a busy one & this week I've not been feeling so great :( after a FAB day at Ripon Races I had not realised how much I had caught the sun as it was a nice day but rained and was overcast for a bit anyway I got sunburn to my chest & as I am so pale it has been giving me bother all week on my days off work! Anyway, I was feeling a lot better last night & I managed to make a card for this week Hero Arts Challenge. You can read the details HERE.

The title of this post is quite fitting also for the purpose of this card! It is for my best friend from school who lives way down south & whom I have not written to or seen for a LONG time. As this weeks challenge is to 'Mail it' I instantly thought of Angie & made this card.


I have been lacking in motivation also & I found inspiration from Tiffany's card HERE. Thanks Tiffany for giving me inspiration. I used one Hero Arts Clear Set on this card with a few embellishments & really kept it quite simple.

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: SU! Kiwi Kiss (Retired), Whisper White & PTI Raspberry Fizz
Ink: SU! Kiwi Kiss (Retired), Always Artichoke & PTI Raspberry Fizz
Stamps: Hero Arts Clear Design Share Laughter CL151
Accessories: Queen & Co. Brad, Hero Arts Neutral Flowers, PTI Raspberry Fizz Designer Paper, Foam Pads & Star Dust Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Blog Candy Winner!

Sorry it's been quiet around here I have just about recovered from my DIY session last weekend plus a night shift! I hope to have some cards to share tomorrow & later in the week. For now I would like to announce the winner of the blog candy ........ Chris Millar. Congrats Chris if you could email me your address I will post your goodies out to you. Thanks for everyone who left a comment it is always appreciated.


Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday 6 August 2009

WHoo Hoo!

Just a little post to share my EXCITEMENT! After a 3 hour drive down the motorway with a slight divert to a craft shop! Lol! I arrived in rainy Aylesbury! While chatting & catching up I thought I'd checkout the 'TAG' winners over on the Hero Arts Blog & to my SURPRISE I came 2nd!! Whoo Hoo! My submission can be seen HERE on my blog and HERE on the Hero Arts Blog!

Be sure to scroll down to see my card post for today!

Hero Arts SNEAK PEEK Inspiration Challenge

Hey All! Today I am sharing a card I have made for this weeks HA challenge over on their blog. This week they are giving Sneak Peeks of their 2009 Holiday Collection. It's exciting to see the new stamps and my Orlando craft shopping list seems to be getting longer! Lol! Hope that Michael's & Joann stock up on HA!

The inspiration for this card comes from Sneak 2 HERE. My inspiration was the colors, light blue, light yellow, a tiny bit of light pink & light brown! I also got inspiration from the scallops and the few polka dots.


I had drawn this sketch out the other day in my sketch & inspiration note pad where I jot down ideas & colors combos and things for when I need a spark of mojo! I looked through my HA stamp collection and found the 'Scroll Tree' that I had not use for a while & thought it fir perfect in this section & color scheme.


I kept this card really simple & as the pink is kept to a minimum along with the scallops it would be a good 'Thanks' card for a man if needed. The yellow layer is stamped with SU! Polka Dots using Barley Banana ink & they are quite subtle.

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: SU! Almost Amethyst, Barley Banana, Close to Cocoa & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Close to Cocoa, Barley Banana
Stamps: Hero Arts Scroll Tree F4927, Just Wanted CL175, SU! Polka Dots
Accessories: HA Pink Gems, Pink Organza Ribbon, Foam Pads, Fiskars Border Punch

Today I am off down south to stay with my brother for a couple of days. There is much DIY to do on my mums house so that we can eventually rent it out. Also it is the last chance I will be able to go down before we go to Florida at the end of the month. Hope you all have a FAB day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday 5 August 2009

SPCC Challenge #9

Hello! Today I am sharing a card I made for this weeks SPCC color inspiration. I really like the colors this week :) I made this card yesterday in between organizing, resting & cooking tea! I decided to use my PTI 'In Bloom' set again as it was still on my desk! I paired it with the 'Fancy Flourishes'

Below are this weeks colors.


I stamped the largest bloom onto Orchid Opulence CS using Orchid Opulence ink and layered the blooms again, I really like the effect & dimension it gives. I then stamped the flourish using Vintage Cream onto the Close to Cocoa CS and stamped the sentiment using Close to Cocoa ink. I added a few lilac gems for a little sparkle and this section is mounted onto the card base using foam pads.


The Barely Banana section is stamped with SU! Polka Dots using Barley Banana ink. The ribbon is organza. I am really pleased with how this card turned out :)

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: SU! Orchid Opulence, Barley Banana, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Ink: SU! Orchid Opulence, Barley Banana, Close to Cocoa, PTI Vintage Cream
Stamps: PTI In Bloom, Fancy, Flourishes, SU! polka Dots
Accessories: Pink Organza Ribbon, SU! Corner Rounder Punch, Lilac Gems, Foam Pads

Today I am keeping myself busy with swimming, more organizing & tidying with a bit of crafting squeezed in! Tonight is card club so I am looking forward to spending time with my friends doing something we all LOVE & most of having a laugh! Hope you all have a HAPPY day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Tilda with Tulips!

Finally I am able to share this card with you! I made it for my friend Kerry's birthday way back in July but with being ill I have only just been able to give it to her today when we met for coffee in town! Kerry is so much fun to spend time with :) I met her through card club and I'm so glad I did!


This is my first Magnolia 'Tilda' stamp and I had never really thought about purchasing them until I saw Kerry coloring one in at card club & I thought to myself they are to darn cute - must get one!! So I did! So I thought it only fitting to put one on Kerry's birthday card!

I colored her with Copics & I am getting the hang of them now also thanks to Kerry! Kerry has been a world of inspiration to me & introduced me to many new products & ideas. You can check out Kerry's NEW BLOG.

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Kraft & Plum Pudding, SU! Whisper White
Ink: Memento Balck, SU! Perfect plum, PTI Vintage Cream
Stamps: Magnolia Tilda with Tulips, PTI Handwritten Notes, Polka Dot Basics
Accessories: Copics, PTI Hibiscus Burst Twill Ribbon, Foam Pads

This afternoon I have been organizing a few things for my holiday like spending money & booking the cats holiday & also done a little more organizing in the garage. I have spared a little creative time for a few projects!!

Thanks for stopping by & HAPPY Tuesday!

Monday 3 August 2009

Mod Squad FAB Friend!

Today I thought I would share a card I made last week when my new PTI goodies arrived. I had ordered Dawn McVey's New Set called 'Mod Squad', it's kind of a funky set with a retro feel. I just loved the images & sentiments in the set & couldn't wait to use it!

I used the flower stems & the funky four flower's. The flowers are mounted on foam dots for dimension & I liked how Dawn had added gems to the small areas inside so I lifted that idea!


The sentiment is from the set & on that panel I stamped the background using one of the other stamps in Scarlet Jewel onto Scarlet Jewel card. Its matted onto Spring Moss before adhering to the base card.

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Scarlet Jewel, Spring Moss, Cream from stash
Ink: Scarlet Jewel PTI & SU! Mellow Moss
Stamps: PTI Mod Squad
Accessories: SU! Corner Rounder Punch, Fiskars Border Punch, Gems Unknown, PTI Scarlet Jewel Satin Ribbon, Foam Pads

I really enjoyed making this card & I know I am going to have a lot of fun using this set more!!

Well, I have been busy, busy, busy today sorting & tidying my garage so that I can turn it into a studio so that I can eventually work from home when I finish my degree in 2 years but most importantly work in there as SOON as!! The room I'm in now is fairly big and I have a large desk but I just NEED more space!! I did quite a lot today & hope to finish tomorrow so that later in the week Karl & his dad can start putting the wood frame up on the walls!

I hope to find some time this week though to have a go at this weeks Hero Arts Challenge and also SPCC new color challenge and maybe a few others. I'm going to my brothers on Thursday till Saturday to do some decorating at my Mums house so that eventually we can rent it out! I feel like DIY woman this week while I'm not at work! I will have plenty to share even though I won't be making cards while I am away!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday 2 August 2009

SPCC Challenge #8

Super quick post tonight!! Better day at work but my bed is calling my name! Lol! Anyway, managed to finish my card tonight for SPCC color challenge!! The colors I found super hard this week again!! It was the yellow again & the dusky durango!


I used my new 'In Bloom' set from PTI & kept it really simple! Sorry for the bad photos it gets so much darker earlier now in the UK & I'm not in the mood for messing on!!


The colors are quite bright in real life but the photos have made them even brighter! Each of the flower layers are mounted on foam dots for dimension!

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: SU! Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Summer Sun & Ruby Red
Ink: SU! Mellow Moss
Stamps: PTI In Bloom & Polka Dot Basics 2
Accessories: SU! Markers in Summer Sun & Ruby Red, Foam dots, SU! Corner Rounder

Hope I'm in time to enter for the challenge this week!! Thanks for stopping by & I have more to share tomorrow!

Saturday 1 August 2009

Raspberry Suite Color Inspiration Challenge #13 Card #2!

Hello! This is going to be a super short post for me as I am MEGA tired after a long hard day at work & I am back tomorrow for another 12 hour shift :(

I got my new PTI goodies on Friday YAY! and I had some time to use them and make a 2nd card for Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. One of the sets I got was 'In Bloom'. I just loved the look of the biggest flower stamp which you can do all sorts with. For this card I stamped it 3 times in Berry Sorbet & cut it out and layered it!


The flower layers have Star Dust Stickles over them which adds a little bit of sparkle!

{Ingredients}
Card Stock: PTI Pure Poppy, Berry Sorbet & Spring Moss, SU! Whisper White
Stamps: PTI In Bloom & Beautiful Bloom (Sentiment)
Ink: PTI Berry Sorbet, SU! Mellow Moss
Accessories: Fiskars Upper Crest Border Punch, SU! Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Star Dust Stickles, PTI Berry Sorbet Bitty Dot Designer Paper, Foam Pads

I had started a card for this weeks SPCC color challenge but I am too tired to finish it tonight. I hope that work tomorrow is not as bad so I can come home & finish my card!! Oh well off to bed now!! Thanks for stopping by!