Glitter, Glitter Everywhere!

I think I may have gone a little OTT with the glitter on this card...my excuse is that it's for a couple of 'sparkly' challenges...and you can never have too much glitter on Christmas cards! lol
The image is from the 'Christma Critters' set by Penny Black, and the glittery papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye. I cut the snowflakes using Cuttlebug dies, which I coated with a generous helping of Glamour Dust.

I also gave all of the edges a thin border of Glamour Dust...not something I've done before...but I rather like the effect, so I expect you'll be seeing it again! lol 

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Cardmakers - Glitter & Sparkle
• Paper Sundaes - Christmas in August
• Wild Orchid - Make it Sparkle
• Winter Wonderland - All I want for Christmas

A also had a little play yesterday afternoon, and made some flowers following this tutorial that I found on Joanne's blog...I rather like how they turned out (really easy to make too!)...but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them! lol

Summer Lovin'

I'm trying to summon back some summery weather with today's card...made yesterday while the winds were blowing the hail and rain against the windows! lol
I've used an image from the 'Hugs' set by Penny Black...and the papers are from the 'Quite Contrary' freebie pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed all of the edges, and added some faux stitching with my CutterBee bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp is form the CCSR set by Papermania, and the ribbon and flowers are from Poppicrafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Sweet Stop - Sketch
• Crafty Sentiments - Summer Inspiration
• Penny Black Saturday - Summer Lovin'
• Your Next Stamp - Bold, Bright Summery Colours

Pile It On! - Goodbye!

It's time for a new challenge over at Pile It On!, where the theme (rather appropriately for the awful weather we're having this Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK) is:

'Farewell to summer/Goodbye/Missing You'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Digi Doodles...who have also very generously provided the DT with some of their fun images to work with.

I've done something a little different (well for me anyway), and have made a tag to fit over the neck of a wine bottle. The image I used is 'Mr Dodiddle at High Speed'...well I thought he looked like he was going somewhere! lol I coloured him with water colour pencils, and added some Glossy Accents to his shell and eyes. The paper I used is from the 'Penny Lane' glitter stack by My Mind's Eye, the sentiment was done on my computer, and I also added some Craftwork Cards card candy. Here it is being modelled by a bottle of wine:

Here are the challenges I Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - Goodbye!
• Allsorts - Park or Garden Inspiration (Well...you do find snails in the garden! lol)
• C.E.S. - Anything Goes
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything, but Christmas
• C.R.A.F.T. -  Milestone Birthdays/Anything Goes
• Craftalicious - Purple & Green
• Digi Doodles - So Distressing (Ok...so I only lightly distressed the edges)
• Totally Papercrafts - Clean & Simple

Please take the time to check out the fabulous projects by the rest of the Pile It On! DT.

Just Cute Bears - Embossing

The theme of this week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is:

'Embossing'

We also have a DT call running on this challenge...so if you fancy joining our friendly little team, you can find all the details here.

I've used several Cuttlebug folders for the embossing on mmy card - 'Swiss Dots', 'Ice Crystals' and 'Snow Dots'. The adorable image is 'Little Star' by Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is also Lili of the Valley (from the A5 Christmas set) and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and then I coated them with Glamour Dust.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Teddy Stampers - Sketch
• Lili of the Valley - Dotty About Circles
• Totally Gorjuss - Christmas in August

For more inspiration, check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Just Cute Bears DT buddies.

More Awards!

I received two more awards this week...the first one is from my lovely Just Cute Bears DT buddy Kat...thank you!

I'm supposed to pass this on to 7 bloggers...but as I already did that last week...I won't this time.

The second award is from one of my followers...Debs M x...thank you!

I'm supposed to tell you 7 interesting facts about myself, before passing this award on to 7 people...but I can't even think of one right now...so rather than bore you with 7 'uninteresting' facts...or repeat the same ones I always use...I'll skip over that part! lol

So...as it would happen, I have 7 lovely DT buddies over at the Just Cute Bears Challenge...so I'm going to pass this award on to them:

Annie
Becky
Cathy
Jenny
Kat
San
Sarah

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Get Ahead for Christmas

The theme of this week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is:

'Get Ahead for Christmas'

Well...I've been getting ahead for Christmas since Boxing Day last year...I just can't help myself...Christmas cards are my favourite type of card to make! lol 

I've used another of the Lili of the Valley stamps I got for my birthday...it's called 'Carol Singers'...I coloured it using watercolour pencils, and then added a touch of glitter to the snow and fur trims. The paper is from the 'Eskimo Kisses' pad by BasicGrey (available here at the Secret Crafter), and the adhesive pearls are from a selection at the Secret Crafter.

For more festive inspiration, check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge teamies.

It's Henry!

I haven't used 'Henry with Cupcake' in ages...so when I saw the fab sketch for this fortnight's Whiff of Joy Challenge...I thought it was about time I inked him up again. I used sparkly paper from the Penny Lane stack by My Mind's Eye, a sentiment from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp, flowers & ribbon from Poppicrafts and a few Papermania buttons.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Create4Fun - Birthday Cards
• Incy Wincy - Buttons & Bows
• Sew Many Challenges - Happy Birthday

Sledge Ride

Yet another Christmas card from me today...I promise I'll have something non-festive for you tomorrow! lol
This one follows the sketch from the Penny Black Saturday Challenge...I rotated it to fit my image...from the 'Holly-Jolly' set. The sparkle papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye...and I matted them on to some shimmery blue card from the Paper Mill Shop. I cut some snowflakes using Cuttlebug dies from the same card, and added a Papermania pearl brad to the cetre of the largest one, and some adhesive pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts) to the smaller ones. I used Glamour Dust on the snow and furry trim on the image, and a drop of Glossy Accents on the Snowman's nose.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Crazy Challenge - Christmas
• Creative Craft - Transport
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Christmas
• Cupcake Craft - Blue & Green
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - Glitter & Glitz (they are also having a DT call on this challenge...so if you love PB's as much as me...go check it out!)

ABC Christmas Challenge - R is for...

It's the lovely Cathy's turn to host the ABC Christmas Challenge this fortnight, where we've reached the letter R...and the theme is:

'R is for Rudolph'

(Optional Extra to include Brads)

We are sponsored for this challenge by Wild Rose Studio...who are offering the lucky winner their choice of two of the stamps from their Christmas collection.

They provided the DT with some lovely images to work with, and I've used a cute little reindeer digi image on my card, with some glittery papers from the 'Wonderful Winter' stack by My Mind's Eye. I glittered the large brads (from Poppicrafts) using holographic embossing powder, and added a dollop of Glossy Accents to 'Rudolph's' nose...well I just had to! lol

I'm also entering this card into a few other challenges:

• Sketchy Thursday - Sketch
• Stamp Something - Digi Something
• Critter Challenge - Red & Stripes
• Sew Many Challenges - Christmas in August

For more inspiration from my fabulous DT buddies, please stop by the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Get Well Bunny

I've used another of the new stamps I got for my birthday on this card...'Get Well Bunny' by Lili of the Valley...isn't he adorable...I just love the carrot medicine! lol
I followed the sketch from the Lili of the Valley Challenge...where I was so excited to see that I made the Top 3 last week with this card :0) I used papers from the 'Wisteria' and 'Kioshi' pads by BasicGrey, embossing the plain one with my 'Kassie's Brocade' Cuttlebug folder, lightly sanding the surface to reveal some of the white core of the paper. I added a few adhesive pearls, and an organza ribbon bow. I'm also going to enter this card into Stampin' for the Weekend's 'Anything Goes' challenge, and Totally Stampalicious' 'Texture' challenge.

Skating

Yet another Christmas card today...my stash of festive cards is already overflowing! :0)
I've used another of the lovely stamps I got for my birthday...this was from Uma, and is called 'Skating' (by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie). I made this card about a week ago...and followed the sketch from the Stampavie Challenge...but forgot to blog it before the challenge closed! lol Nevermind, I've found some other challenges it fits...but there's quite a few so I'll list them at the end. The glittery papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' stack by My Mind's Eye, the snowflake was cut using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Cyrstal' die, which I covered with Glamour Dust...it was a bit big, so I chopped off the ends! lol I added some sparkle to the 'ice' on the image with a Sakura Stardust pen, then cut it out using one of my deckled rectangle Nesties, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

Challenges for this card:

• Bah! Humbug! - Winter Wonderland
• Charisma Cardz - Die Cuts
• Moving Along with the Times - Glitter
• My Time to Craft - Glitter & Glitz
• Winter Wonderland - Walking in a Winter Wonderland (My couple are skating...but I hope that still counts! lol)

A Couple of Awards...

I've been such a bad blogger...I recieved a couple of awards in the last couple of weeks...but just haven't managed to find the time to blog them and pass them on.

The first one is from my lovely friend Uma.

There are 5 rules to this award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award...thanks Uma! :0)

2. Copy and display the award on your blog...done!

3. List three things you love about yourself:

1. I'm never bored...I can always find something to do! ;0)
2. I have a good memory...always useful for listing the names of items used on a project!
3. I'm organised...people may laugh at my alphabetised music scores, and CDs...but I hate wasting time looking for things!

4. Post a picture you love:

You'll probably recognise this as my profile photo...it's of my parents' dogs Cassie & Seamus...sadly they're no longer with us...but I do love the way that Cassie has her paw on top of Seamus' in this photo! :0)

5. Tag 5 people you would like to pass this award onto. I always struggle with this part...I'd like to give it to each and every one of you...so this time I've chosen to pass it on to five of my most regular commenters:

1. Kelly
2. Sandra
3. Riet
4. Mary
5. Claire

Thanks ladies for all of the lovely comments you leave me! :0)

The second award is from Sharon:

Awww...thanks Sharon! :0)

Now...I'm supposed to pass this blog award on to seven people...how to choose??? Well...I have seven lovely DT buddies at the ABC Christmas Challenge...so I'm passing it on to them to say a BIG thank you for all of the hard work they put into their creations, and for making it a great fun team to be on! :0)

Annie
Cathy
Jayne
Lacey
Lols
Samantha
Squirrel

Phew! I did have another card I was going to blog today...but I think I've spent enough time on here today...and I've missed the deadline for one of the challenges it was for already...so, I think I'll do that tomorrow! lol

Just Cute Bears - Pink & Brown

The theme of the Just Cute Bears Challenge this week, is a yummy colour combo:

'Pink & Brown'

We are sponsored this week by Wild Rose Studio...who are very generously offering the winner of this challenge two stamps of their choice!

I've used one of the Lili of the Valley 'Busy Bears' on my card...'I Baked a Cake'. The pink paper is from the My Mind's Eye 'Quite Contrary' freebie pad, the sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, and the ribbon and flowers are from Poppicrafts.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - sketch
• Paperplay - Pink to Make the Boys Wink
• Wild Orchid - One for the Girls

Do pop over and check out the creations by my lovely teamies on the Just Cute Bears Challenge.

Just a quickie...

Just a quick post...I meant to blog this earlier, but time ran has run away from me today! lol
I've used another of my new birthday stamps...'Toby with Roses' by Wild Rose Studio. The papers are from the glittered 'Penny Lane' stack by My Mind's Eye, the ribbons, and flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

Challenges for this card:

• Midnight Madness - Sketch (the simple one...rotated)
• Cupcake Crafts - 2 Paper, 2 Ribbons, 2 Flowers (Oops...missed the deadline...didn't see that they'd changed it to Saturday this week! lol)
• Pink Elephant - Ribbon & Sparkles

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Blue & Cream

The theme for this week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is a colour one, set by the Secret Crafter herself, the lovely Wendy, and she has chosen:

'Blue & Cream'

I decided to make a Christmas card...and try out some of the new goodies I got for my birthday...the adorable Lili of the Valley stamp ('James Bear - Pile of Presents'), and 'Ice Crystals' Cuttlebug folder (available here at the Secret Crafter). I cut out the image and mat using some of my Nesties (click here to see the range available at the Secret Crafter), and then added a few adhesive pearls (available here at the Secret Crafter).

For more inspiration from my fabulous teamies...please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Puppy Post!

I've another of my new birthday stamps on this card...it's one of the adorable new Lili of the Valley releases called 'Puppy Post'. I coloured him with watercolour pencils, and then added some Polar White Flowersoft for the snow. The papers are from the 'Tis the Season' collection by Bo Bunny, and the snowflake brads are by Dovecraft.

Here's a close-up of the 'snow':

Challenges for this card:

• Sketch & Stash - Sketch
• Creative Cottage - Christmas
• Sew Many Challenges - Christmas in August
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Christmas in August

Mmmm...Cupcakes!

I know I used this image recently...but when I saw the photo inspiration for this fortnight's House Mouse & Friends Challenge...I just had to use it again! I water coloured the image, and added some glitter glue to the cupcake frosting...although it doesn't show up very well in the photo. The papers are from the freebie 'Quite Contrary' pad by My Mind's Eye, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly. I followed the sketch from the Sweet Stop, and am also going to enter this card into the Crafty Cardmakers 'Birthday' challenge, and Creative Friday's 'Cupcake/Muffin' challenge.

More Birthday Thank Yous!

Well, I arrived home today, to be greeted by a lovely pile of envelopes...and inside were more gorgeous birthday cards and goodies! :0)

So...I would like to say thank you to:

From my lovely Just Cute Bears DT Buddies Sonia & Cathy.

From Sue.

From Samantha & Sue.

From Kaz (aren't those little notelets just adorbale!?)

Thank you everyone...you all helped make my birthday really special! :0)