September Card Chain Challenge

Hi everyone, I'm just squeeeeeeeeeezing in before the end of the month with my September CCC post.

As you all know I love Deborah's Card Chain Challenge! Nothing compares with the thrill of receiving a beautiful card and of making new virtual friends along the way. This month Deborah is celebrating one whole year of challenges so big congrats and very many thanks to her for organising all the fun!

I sent this card to the lovely and oh, so talented Pia.

I did a little altering to this sweet Diane Duda/Sugar Nellie stamp to add the leaves!

...and just look at what I received from sweet Rikke in Demark!

The papers and colours are just gorgeous and I love that flower.

The little bird detail on the notecard is so sweet.

Thank you Rikke!

It's sign up time again over at Deborah's blog so why not join in the fun for October!

My Gorjuss sister-in-law!

It's my sister-in-law's birthday tomorrow... shhhhh, don't tell anyone but it's the big 40!

I decided to make another Gorjuss girl card and got heavy with the Distress inks to create the layered background. Lot's of lovely Hero Arts stamps and a sentiment stamp by Crescendoh too. I had so much fun with this one!

Here's my SIL with my sweet niece earlier this year. Don't you think that Gorjuss girl image is just perfect for her?

Happy crafting everyone!

Well, anything goes!

It was launch day over at SCSC yesterday as Wendy and the DT girls showcased her newly released collection of manga inspired stamps. As I live close enough to Wendy's shop to be able to visit I have actually seen some of these gorgeous designs in real life... and I've also bagged myself a cute Italian Girl stamp!

SCSC Challenge #101 is 'Anything goes' so I thought I'd enter this little anniversary card that I've made for my sister-in-law and her hubby. They are celebrating 10 years of marriage this week. I cannot believe that their lovely wedding day was soooooooooo long ago!

The cute ducks are a Penny Black Slapstick stamp. I've not used one before and have to say that I am very impressed. The stamp gave a really good, crisp image and stuck perfectly to the perspex block. I coloured with Promarkers and Versacolour ink.

Challenge #130 at Cute Card Thursday is Flutter and Tweet. These guys might flap and quack but they are still birds so can waddle over and join in the fun!

Finally I have just one thing to say: OK, so who stole the weekend?????

Oh well, at least I did alot of housework and made two cards.

Happy crafting everyone!

Gorjuss giveaway result!

Hi everyone, just dropping by to announce that comment no. 6 is the winner of my giveaway... and that would be Lynne from NI!
Congratulations Lynne, that cute little mirror will be in the post asap!!!!

Also here's quick heads up for some mystery Torendi Candy currently on offer over at my good friend Beth's blog IFR. I can't believe that Beth's inky fingers have been working their magic as part of the Torendi DT for a whole year now. Beth will be stepping down from the team and this blog candy is by way of a fond farewell. Drop by at this post for a fabulous retrospective of Beth's year as a Torendi girl and all the details of how to sign up for her candy draw.

I baked apple and cinnamon muffins yesterday with the first crop of apples from our tree - yummy! And we have an amazing number of pears ripening too, so I am on the look out for a few pear recipes and would welcome some suggestions.

Have a happy Sunday!

With a little help from my friends...

Since starting my new job I don't get as much time for crafting as before... so it was a real pleasure to sit down last weekend and make my card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. However, I didn't get the opportunity to photograph it until about five minutes ago!

This week the lovely Helen provided this perfect little sketch for Challenge #100.I wanted to use some of the papers from a K & Company Designer pack that I bought some time ago. The pack is called 'Sparkly Sweet' and has some really pretty patterns. I thought that a nice girly Anya would be perfect to match with the soft, muted colours of the papers.

Anya comes courtesy of my sweet friend Vicky and the gorgeous laser cut paper is from the adorable Virginia... it's always good to get a little help from my friends!

While I'm on the subject of the Secret Crafter don't forget to drop by tomorrow as Wendy and the DT girls will be launching the latest selection of gorgeous manga style stamps. I've seen a few sneak peaks and have to say that they are all brilliant!

Happy crafting everyone!

A Gorjuss giveaway!

Hi everyone, I'm back with a card today.

No surprises that it features that sweet Gorjuss image 'Untamed' again as this is such a favourite of mine at the moment!

The pretty paper is from Kaisercraft. I cut it to size, added tiny Stickles dots, stamped a Hero Arts sentiment and butterfly, and that was just about it. Job done - what a quick and simple card!

When I started colouring these images I decided to take a peek at Gorjuss creator Suzanne Woolcott's blog. I was so sorry to read about Suzanne's health problems following surgery. Suzanne's partner is caring for her full time and although Suzanne's work continues to grow in popularity you get the feeling that a little extra money in the bank wouldn't go amiss.

With this in mind I popped across to Suzanne's Etsy shop and made a few purchases. There are some great little gifts and stocking fillers available there.

Here's one of them....

This sweet little pocket mirror is my latest candy giveaway.

Please leave a comment on this post to go into the hat (or other suitable receptacle!) and I'll draw the winner next Sunday. If you take a look over at Suzanne's Etsy site and make a purchase you know that you'll be helping one of Blogland's most favourite artists and her family!

If you want to share a link to this post on your blogs that would be great.

Hugs to you all!

And the winner is....

Hi everyone, thanks for dropping back.
The winner of my little LOTV giveaway is the adorable, and VERY talented, Julie from Julie's Inkspot!

Congratulations chick, please could you email me with your address so that I can get that cute stamp in the post to you!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Making a start on Christmas!

Back in January I had grand plans of making Christmas cards throughout the whole year. The idea being that when the festive season arrived I would be cool, calm and collected and able to turn to a shoulder high pile of gorgeous cards dripping glitter and sparkle. Instead it has taken me until September to make my first Christmas card... and this is only because of those wonderful ladies over at SCSC prodding me into action with Challenge #98!

To be honest my mojo is a little low-low today due to back pain and I have to say that it does show in this card. I don't like to be a quitter but I might have to go and lie down for a little while if it doesn't ease up.

This sweet little angel isn't from the LOTV Christmas collection 2010. I bought her in about February (see told you I was full of good intentions) and it has taken until now to get her inked up.

I wanted to experiment with the gorgeous coloured pencils that my hubby bought for me earlier this year. I coloured with Promarkers and then went in to add definition with the pencils. I used baby oil and paper stubs (a bargain from Wendy's) and blended and re-coloured until I got the effect that I was looking for.

And if you want to make a start on Christmas here's a little helping hand from yours truly.

Just leave me a comment to go into the hat for a little candy in the shape of this totally cute LOTV stamp called 'Christmas candle'. I think the girls have surpassed themselves this year as their Christmas 2010 range is just adorable!

I'll draw the winner a week on Saturday so don't forget to drop by again.

Happy crafting everyone!

Blue and distressed!

The question is does this title refer to today's card or to me and my bad back?

This card is for one of the many June's that I know. This June is a dear friend to myself and my hubby and we really don't get to see her as often as we'd wish. June always has a funny story to tell and she is the only person who could make breaking her foot sound amusing!

I was on a bit of a monochrome vibe when I made this card and used Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans and Broken China Distress inks as they are all such gorgeous complimentary shades.

There's a real mix of stamps too: Hero Arts Heart Flourish, Old French Writing and Raindrop Background. The main image is Topiary Bush from Personal Impressions and the layered swirls are created using my really old Personal Impressions stamp that is missing it's label!

This card really sparkles with all the Waterfall Stickles, but unfortunately looks slightly flat in these pictures. I think if I was making this one again I would 'ground' the image of the topiary as it appears to be floating in mid air and looks a bit odd!

I'm entering this card in the curent Sir Stampalot Challenge which is 'All distressed' (thanks for the nudge in that direction Sally). Check out the DT girl's creations as they are all totally gorgeous!

Anyhooo, must go. I need to work on my card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge as the weekend will be here very soon!

Happy crafting everyone!