Season's Tweetings

I am feeling happy today. Look what I found, my wee girl and robin stamp with the cutest sentiment. I had misplaced these, it must be a couple of years ago. it was my favourite and I was devastated and so where some of my customers, they loved it too. I came across it when I rummaging about in one of my boxes with card scraps, how it got there I'll never know. I will be much more careful with it now it has been found.

Isn't she gorgeous :) I've stamped it on a piece of card that I ran through the Northern Flurry embossing folder and just coloured it in with my markers. Simples!

Blogging tonight whilst catching up with my Sky+. Some of these drama series are too good to miss.

...... 'til next time ...... xx

CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge #6

Good morning crafty folk, another wet, dull and totally miserable day here in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. Shouldn't complain, the predictions for the next month are heavy snow and temperatures plummeting to -20! Yikes, that will not be fun. It is only a prediction and Mr Weatherman may have gotten it wrong as they sometimes (?!) do, ha.

I'm blogging early today, much to do, first stop is the gym. I was at the doctors yesterday and he was impressed with my improvement but has still given me another 4 weeks off work, and I have to keep doing what I'm doing :) happy with that.

Today i thought i'd play along with the sketch challenge over at CAS(E) this sketch . They do a fab job with the sketches there and I love looking at all the submissions. Here is the sketch

And here is my take on it

I've used cherry cobbler, kraft and lucky limeade. The ornament is from the ornament keepsake set and i've embossed it using the cherry scented powder, delicious lol. The leaves are Little leaves sizzlits, More merry messages (again) for the sentiment and some bakers twine and some be of good cheer paper for interest. Can you spot the bling?

I made another similar card but I think I prefer the one above.

Well that's me off to the gym, and if it puts me in a good enough mood I may even venture to the shop. We have a humungous new Asda store opened in town yesterday, am dying to see what they have to offer but I really can't be bothered with crowds so it may have died down a little, well, hopefully.

Have a good day folks ......'til next time xx

Festive Medallion

Good afternoon crafty folks, no challenge from me today. Predictably another Christmas card though.

I think I actually love this card so much I may just send it to myself!

Don't you just love the medallion stamp, it has so many uses. This is stamped in cherry cobbler and i've embossed it using the divine cherry scented powder. I wish we had smell o vision so you get the effect! I've created a wee bow using a vintage brad and some tulle ribbon. The whole thing has been sprayed with champagne shimmer mist and a little extra bling with a rhinestone, can you spot it? :)

My poor stampin' scrub has worked extremely hard this week and it had got to the point where it wasn't really doing what I needed it to do. So, i took out the pads and scrubbed them in warm soapy water, they've come up good as new. Wasn't sure if this was something I should be doing but I'm glad I tried, it worked a treat.

Now I'm off to watch the cycling, world cup in Glasgow, do not disturb sign is up :)

Have a good weekend ...... 'til next time ...... xx

CASology Thanks

Everything this week has gone at the speed of light, I've almost missed it. Having said that I have managed to blog every day.

Today I'm playing along with the CASology cue word challenge. 

Thanks is the word and my aim again today is super speed. So here is my card, made in less than 5 minutes, but no less effective. :)

This uses the SU hostess set Tagtastic stamped in the gorgeous melon mambo, layered on black and kraft, and some rhinestones for a wee lil bit of sparkle.

There are already some fabulous cards submitted for this challenge so it's def worth a look for some inspiration.

The weekend starts here folks ...... 'til next time ...... xx

Clean & Simple FTL216

Today I thought i'd join in the fun with the wee sketch challenge over at Clean & Simple Stamping Pop on over there to see some beautiful cards. This is the sketch

No surprise for guessing that i've created another Christmas card :)

Everything in this card, except for the sentiment, is from old stash that i'm trying to use up. I do love the nesties square with the scallops although I don't use it very often. Reason being that it doesn't cut out cleanly. There is always one side that I have to fight with no matter how many times i run it through. Having said that, this is the largest of the dies and i've never tried any of the other (slaps wrist) maybe they're ok.

Maybe that's just what i'll do now as I have the dinner all prepped and ready to go, will just need to watch the clock so I don't forget to get the kids from school. :)

'til next time ...... xx

Washout Wednesday

Goodness me, how miserable it is looking out the window today. It has been raining constantly since I got up. And it's that really fine mizzle that soaks you right through in no time at all. 

I did venture out to go to the gym and then will have the school runs later, then the door will be locked and no-one's getting in or out :) I will admit i do like this time of year, dark nights make me feel all warm n cosy inside.

Today I thought I'd try a card that was shown at the recent convention. A nice wee quirky take on a Christmas tree. Now mine hasn't turned out half as well as some of the one's i've seen but not bad for a first attempt.

I used some old stock of ballet blue card for the background, crumb cake and the tree used the pennant punch and festival of prints DSP. The sentiment is More Merry Messages in choc chip.

I have to say I've found More Merry Messages invaluable in making all my recent cards. I love them all and they can all easily be used either on the card front or on the inside.

Think I need a wee lie down before the school runs start! Have a good day folks.

'til next time ...... xx

Super speed Tuesday

So far my day has whizzed by without me seeing a lot of it. Chores, shopping, picking up sick children and my Mum & Dad's admin.

We all need quick and easy things to help us along with our daily routine so the cards today are just that.

How simple is that? Festival of prints DSP, Snow festival tags and a sentiment from More Merry Messages :)

same again ..... but different. Aren't these tags wonderful for quick and easy cards, and very effective. Here's another with a little bit more to it.

This time we have Baja Breeze card & DSP, pear pizazz ribbon and a wee element from my hodge podge tin, which incidentally was one of first purchases from SU ...... and i'm still using it .... fab!

Now i'm off for some more super speed. My SIL is consultant for Slimming World so she has given me a recipe for quick and easy curry sauce which is also supposed to help speed up weight loss. Hmmmm, not sure how tasty it will be given that the first 3 ingredients are, a tin of baked beans, a tin of tomatoes and a tin of mushy peas (?)! I am trying to keep an open mind so maybe i'll pop back tomorrow and let you know how it turned out.

Now matter how hectic your day, make someone smile and tell someone you love them :)

'til next time ...... xx

It's Monday ..... time to get challenged!

Happy start of the week everyone :) I do hope you are not feeling the Monday blues?

New week and i've taken steps to start as I mean to go on ...... yes ..... i've been to the gym, YIKES! Now this is a very big step for me and marks a milestone in my recovery. The staff in the gym are fab and so understanding about my lack of fitness. They have taken my under their wing and this time next they'll have me like Lara Croft. Well, maybe not lol, but at least i've taken the first step which is always the hardest.

Another challenge I set my self today was CAS(e) This Sketch

I saw this on my friend Karen's blog and felt like joining in the fun. Here is my entry ....

Whisper white card, SU festival of prints DSP, cherry cobbler ink and merry mini punches. I adore these punches, you can use up the tiniest bits of paper, you know how us crafters never like to throw anything away lol. The sentiment is from SU More Merry Messages and of course no card is complete without the bling ;)

My 3rd and final challenge involves collecting the boys from school and getting them to the dentist on time! If you know where I live you will know that with all the roadworks in town at the minute this is the hardest challenge yet! Wish me luck.

'til next time .... xx

Preparing ....

...... so yesterday I thought, it's almost halfway through November and I haven't really started my cards. My MIL always asks for about 20 cards and she likes to have them written so she can post them ready to arrive on peoples doormats on 1st December ...... oh to be so organised!

I didn't really have anything in mind or any specific ideas when I went into the craft room so I started just lifting bits of this and bits of that ..... you can image the mess i've made, come on, we all do it :) It's no fun being a tidy crafter lol.

Anyway this is what i came up with.

Cherry cobbler card and ink, festival of prints paper and some seam binding ribbon. i've used the Four Seasons stamp which perfectly inside the large scallop circle punch. I just sponged the edges a little to make it stand out more. Also added a couple of those glitzy rhinestones.

So, I liked this stamp, and I like it in this colour, so here is offering No.2. Same colours, same stamp, some tulle ribbon and a vintage brad. Didn't turn out too bad eh?

I think I need some practice at tying bows ........ I will admit to some serious bow envy when I look at other peoples work lol. 

That's it for today folks, if you've dropped by leave me a wee note so I know i'm not talking to myself :)

'til next time ...... xx