Grandparents Day

I thought I'd missed Grandparents Day this year, as it's usually at the beginning of September, but it turns out that they've moved it this year to next Sunday (5th October)...so there's still time to get your cards done! As I didn't have much time to craft, I've kept my card very simple, and used some Penny Black 'Bear Blanks' gifted to me by my lovely friend Carol. The alphabet stamps are by Studio G, the paper is by Basic Grey 'Archangel', and once again I've used my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder.

I did make one other card last night, but it's for a friend's birthday next week, and as I don't want her to see it on here first, I'll save 'til then to upload it.

Quick Image Swap Wallet

Just a quickie for a one-to-one swap with a buddie over on the Docrafts forum. The image is a Penny Black stamp 'Dotted Petals' gifted to me by my lovely friend Karen, coloured with watercolour pencils. I've embossed the background cardstock with my trusty Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 16

I didn't get much time to craft this weekend, but I couldn't resist joining in the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the theme this week is 'Seasons'. I've gone for winter, as I'm in desperate need of building up my stocks of Christmas cards.

The image I've used is a stamp called 'Royal Mail', which I've coloured using watercolour pencils, and added glitter to the snow. The gold star is a brad bought from Tescos last year, and the papers are from last year's DCWV 'Christmas Stack'. I've added 'snowflakes' embossed in gold (not sure that they're really snowflakes, but are little extra shapes from two different sets of Hero Arts clear stamps 'Whimsical Months' & 'Anytime Messages', and my other snowflake stamps were too big to fit!) The 'postmark' sentiment stamp (by Three Bugs in a Rug) is also embossed in gold, and mounted on to Nestabilities.

My first awards!

Wow - just seen that my friend Pauline has given me TWO awards! I've been so busy this weekend (one flatmate moving out, and another moving in, and loads of music to arrange), that I've only just seen the comment she left me on Friday!

The first is the 'Wylde Women' Award, the purpose of which is to to send love to and acknowledge women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

The rules are:

1 You can give it to one or one hundred and any number in between - your choice.

2. Make sure you link to their site.

3. Link back to this blog site http://www.tammyvitale.com/ so Tammy can visit all these wonderful women.

4. Remember the purpose of the award.

Now, I've been inspired by so many fabulous blogs, so much so that I just HAD to start my own blog! Most of those that I would like to nominate, already have this award (quite rightly so!), and I hope that nobody will mind if I give them a second one!

Tracie whom I met through the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, and encouraged me to start my own blog.

Lorraine for her friendship and all of her wonderfully inspiring cards.

Emma who makes me laugh, and is generously giving her time to organising a card appeal for Support Our Soldiers.

I would also give this award back to Pauline for her friendship, and all the helpful advice she gave me when I was setting up my blog, if I were allowed!

The second award is the JAVABLU award.

The rules are:
1. The winner can put the logo in her/his blog.

2. Put a link back to the person who gave you the award.

3. Nominate at least 5 persons with a blog, but first you have to tell why you want to give it to those persons.

4. Put a link to those you have nominated.

5. Visit the blogs to the nominees and tell them you gave them an award!

Again, it's not difficult to think of people that deserve this award, but they already have this one too!

Julie whose cards I have always admired from when I first spotted her gallery on the Docrafts forum a year or so ago.

Cathy for her friendship and her fab cards!

Jo for her friendship and her constantly positive outlook on life!

Lorraine for her friendship and stunningly beautiful cards.

Mand for her friendship and fab gorgeous cards.

Tracie for her encouragement setting up my blog, and all her fabulous cards.

Thanks Pauline for these two awards!

I did find a couple of hours this evening to make a few cards, but couldn't get any decent photos taken under the yellow glow of the energy-saving lightbulbs, so I'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to upload those!

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by Pauline a couple of days ago, and my initial reaction was AARRGGHH!!!! lol Having gotten over the shock, I've had a think and have to admit that I'm struggling to think of enough interesting facts about myself!

The rules are:

1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes:

1. When I first started this crafting business, I had NO idea just how addictive it was, or just how much stash I would accumulate...I started with a small plastic storage box, then added another, and another, and another, and another, then some more to house my stamp collection, then a drawer, and a shelf in the airing cupboard, and now two...when will it end???

2. When I'm not crafting, I like to cook and bake. My favourite recipe is Delia's 'Four Nut Chocolate Brownies', which I've made soooo many times I've got the recipe memorised! If you'd like to have a try, the recipe can be found here .

3. I work as music teacher, teaching flute & clarinet (and recorder if I must!) privately, and in several schools in London. I never thought I'd enjoy teaching when I started my first job 9 years ago, and although it can be really hard work sometimes, I love it now.

4. I actually like doing H*******k! Sorry for my bad language! lol

5. I don't really like hot sunny weather...I much prefer it when it's cold, and I love watching thunderstorms - as long as I'm safely inside!

6. I was resistant to setting up a blog, as I was sure it was going to mean that I'd get less crafting done...in fact it's making me do more, as I'm rapidly becoming addicted to all the wonderful challenge blogs!

7. I can cross my eyes, and move them independently from each other...not quite sure how I discovered that! lol

Right, now it's my turn to tag some people. As I've only been blogging for a few weeks, I've really struggled to think of 7 people to tag, so apologies, if you've recently been tagged by someone else. I'm tagging: Cathy, Lorraine, Jo, Tracie, Julie, Mand and Emma. Sorry girls!

PS - just to clear up any confusion...the word is 'Housework' lol!

80th Birthday Card

This is a card I've been asked to make by my Aunt as a special 80th birthday card. I don't know the recipient, so have decided to play it safe, and rather than go down the 'cute' route, I thought I'd use a floral image (Penny Black stamp 'Gossamer') gifted to me by my friend Karen. I've coloured it with pearly paints, and then decoupaged the flower heads and leaves. I've kept the layout quite simple, and have used complimentary shades of purple card, some with embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder. The sentiment stamp (by Hero Arts) is embossed with pearlised lilac embossing powder. I made the tag using Nestabilites, and then added numbers, die-cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet, and tied it on with a piece of lilac ribbon.
This card is not my usual style, but overall I'm pleased with it - I just hope that my Aunt likes it too!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 15

The challenge over on the Penny Black Challenge blog this week is to decorate the insides of our cards. This is something that I don't usually do, and I've kind of stretched the term 'inside' with my card, and created a second flap on the front of the card, which I have decorated the inside of. I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps ('Birthday Dog') for the main image on the front of my card, and have coloured it with watercolour pencils.


The front of my card:

I've used a mixture of papers by Papermania ('Sweet Nothings') and Dovecraft ('Birthdays'), and have had fun with my Nesties again. The sentiment stamps are all by Hero Arts from a set called 'Fabulous Birthday'.

Inside the flap on the front of the card:

I know that technically it's not the inside of the card, but I thought that it was a fun idea!

Papertake Weekly Challenge...helped along by a Spoon Full of Sugar

Been feeling festive today...must be all that sunshine! So I've made a card for the Spoon Full of Sugar challenge, which has the theme 'Christmas is Coming' this week. I've combined it with Katharina's fab sketch for this weeks' Papertake Weekly Challenge. It's the first time I've entered a card for either of these challenges, but it appears that I'm quickly becoming addicted to blog challenges!
I've used the Penny Black stamp 'Snowy', coloured with pearly paints, and mounted it on layers of white card embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' embossing folder, matted on to pink and purple mirror card. All finished off with a bow of purple satin ribbon.
I really love the elegance and simplicity of this layout, and I'm sure I'll be using it again.

Cute Card Thursday meets Friday Sketchers

This is the first time I've made a card for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge blog, but as the theme this week was food...how could I resist! I've combined it with the fab sketch this week by Kristine over on Friday Sketchers.

For my main image I've used a Penny Black stamp from the T for Transparent set 'Party Critters'. The other cupcakes and the sentiment stamp are from the 'Cupcake' Clear Design set by Hero Arts. All images were coloured with watercolour pencils, with the frosting on the cupcakes highlighted with glitter glue, and mounted using Nestabilities. The papers are by DCWV ('Christmas Stack'), and I've used faux-stitching to create borders around the different designs, and behind the three smaller images.

I've just seen that I've been tagged by Pauline ...need to have a think before I post my answers...

Friday Sketchers #19

I seem to have a thing for pastel colours at the moment, and have used another couple of papers from the gorgeous 'Sweet Nothings' paper pack by Papermania on my card for this week's challenge. I've combined them with a Penny Black stamp ('Party Perch') and some buttons from my stash. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with this card, as it seems to be missing something. I tried adding a sentiment, and some flowers underneath the buttons, and even some ribbon...but it still didn't look right, so I took them all off again!

Image Wallet

I'm taking part in the Image Swap over on the Docrafts forum for the first time this month, so have had a bit of a stamping session this afternoon. I've made this wallet to put them all in using these instructions on Katharina's fab blog.
I used a stamp by Woodware ('Deco Flowers') as my image, mounted on circles cut with Nestabilties, with a piece of Cuttlebug embossed card ('D'vine Swirls') behind.

Sarah Kay Challenge 11

This week's Sarah Kay Challenge is to use a 'Trio of Papers' on our cards. I picked three different designs from the 'Sweet Nothings' paper pack by Papermania, and based my colours for the image on those. I chose to keep the layout quite simple, as there's rather a lot going on with all the different patterns in the papers.

Hope you like it!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 14

Well, after all the gorgeous girly cards over on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog last week, I suppose it's only fair, that the challenge this week is to make 'A Man's Card, But No Blue'.
I struggled to decide which stamps to use, as most of mine seem to be more suited to girls cards, but in the end I thought I'd have a go with some of these cute 'Bear Blanks' that my friend Carol sent me a couple of weeks ago. I didn't really have a clear idea of how this card was going to turn out when I started it, as it sort of 'evolved'! I've used papers by Daisy D's, and sentiment stamps by Hero Arts ('Anytime Messages'). I stamped the letters on the bear blanks with some cute little alphabet stamps by Studio G that I picked up recently in The Range, for the bargain price of £1! I guess that this card will be perfect for Fathers Day next year...if I can remember where I've put it by then!

Hope you like it!

Happy Birthday Uma!

It's my crafting friend Uma's birthday today, and she, like me, loves her Penny Black stamps, so of course I've made her a card using one. The stamp is called 'Message from above', and I've coloured it with watercolour pencils. The patterned paper is by DCWV ('Pocket full of Posies' mat stack), and I've used co-ordinating colours of pastel coloured card behind the main image, some of which has been embossed with my Cuttlebug ('Swiss Dots' embossing folder). The sentiment stamp is also by Penny Black ('Critter Party' set), and has been stamped and embossed. I've finished it all off with some lovely flowers sent to me by another of my crafting friends, Kaz.
Hope you're having a lovely birthday Uma!

Friday Sketchers #18

This is the first time I've joined in this challenge, but I do like having a sketch to follow - it's nice when someone else has done most of the thinking for you! I've kept my card quite simple and unfussy - I needed to add some more guys cards to my stash. I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps (Birthday Dog), coloured with watercolour pencils. The sentiment stamp is by Autumn Leaves (Talking in Circles 2), and has been stamped and embossed. The circles were all made using Nestabilities, the paper is by Papermania (Sweet Nothings), the ribbon from a £ Shop set, and the buttons are from my Mum's button jar!


Hope you like it!

Sarah Kay Challenge 10

The Sarah Kay Challenge this week is a sketch - I love sketches, I find them great for quick cards, as it's usually the layout that I spend ages dithering about! The image I've used on this card was sent to me by my friend Cathy (who also gave me the lace trim), and I've coloured it with watercolour pencils. The paper is by Dovecraft (Amethyst - Floral Prints), and the flowers are by Prima.

Hope you like it!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 13

This week over on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge Blog, the theme is 'One for the Girls'. Now, I'm not really a very 'girly' girl, but I've tried my best, and gone for a pink and green colour scheme, with paper by Basic Grey, which I think is quite feminine. I've used one of my new Penny Black stamps, that I got for my Birthday last month, called 'Bunny Friends'. I masked off some of the image, so that it would fit onto a smaller card. The greeting is from the Cuttlebug alphabet set 'Olivia', and I've finished the whole thing off with a couple of Prima flowers, and a border of faux-stitching in white. I'm going to send this card to my swap partner, for the September Friendship Card Swap, over on the DoCrafts forum.

Hope you like it!

Bits'n'pieces Challenge

My crafting friend Samantha, set a group of us a challenge, to make a card with a selection of items that she sent to each of us. The items were: two stamped images (Flowers & Butterfly), a piece of Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossed card, one silk flower, one silver flower brad, a piece of sticky ribbon and a metal-rimmed tag. As you can see, I've also used a few extras: paper by DCWV (Christmas Stack), adhesive gems (Papermania) and a small butterfly charm.
I also used pink chalk on the embossed cardstock, and the circular mat behind the stamped images with to soften the 'whiteness'. So here it is:

Sarah Kay Challenge 9

This is the first time I've joined in this challenge, as I've only just started my blog, but I was tempted by the theme of this week's challenge - 'Purple & Green', as it's one of my favourite colour combinations! The image on my card was sent to me by Cathy for my birthday a few weeks ago (who also sent me the lace that I've used on this card). I've coloured it with watercolour pencils, then matted and layered it on to a combination of purple and green cardstock. I embossed one piece using my new Cuttlebug with the 'Birds & Swirls' folder, and then added some small Prima flowers. The sentiment is from a set by Studio G - another birthday gift from Pauline .

Hope you like it!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 12

I love this challenge blog - in fact it's all the fabulous blogs by DT members and challengers that has inspired me to set up my own blog! I've been entering the challenge right from the beginning, but as I didn't have my own blog, Tracie has very kindly been uploading my projects each week - thankyou!


Well, on to this weeks challenge, and the theme is 'Stars & Stripes'. After rumaging through my Penny Black stamp collection, I discovered that I only had one stamp (Cat on the moon) with a star on it, so that became my starting point. I coloured the image with watercolour pencils and used some pearly paints on the moon and stars, and mounted it with my new Nestabilities. The striped element is the paper by DCWV (Glitter Mat Stack), and I finished it all off with a few confetti stars, and a silver embossed sentiment (from Penny Black 'Party Critters' set).

Hope you like it!

First Post!!!

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and got myself a blog - please let me know what you think!
It's been fun the last couple of days trying to figure out how this all works...and I'd like to say a BIG thankyou to my friend Pauline for some excellent help and advice! Please go and check out her fabulous blog if you haven't already seen it.
So, as I've been spending so much time sorting this all out, I'm afraid I don't have a card to upload today, but I have a couple of challenges I'm hoping to catch up with tomorrow - so watch this space!
Happy crafting,

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